From left: The thief inside the Bottle-O store. Store owner Charanjit Dhillon jumps the counter to chase the thief. The store owner returns after taking the stolen alcohol from the thief. Images / Supplied
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2022. Here’s what made headlines in March:
March 2:
“My body just melted over my head as I hit the ground.”
This is the moment two-time ultramarathon winner and renowned running coach Kerry Suter’s life changed forever.
“It felt like all of the bones had been taken out of my body and I just completely flopped onto the ground.”
Just a week earlier, he was running across all three volcanoes in Tongariro National Park - and doing it in 18 hours.
He couldn’t move his legs or arms, he told the Rotorua Daily Post, through shallow breaths from his ICU bed in Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital.
March 3:
The Ukraine war and economic sanctions on Russia were expected to drive up already high petrol prices, creating a “scary” time for motorists.
Petrol stations around the Bay of Plenty were advertising 91 between $2.627 and $2.789 per litre, 95 between $2.907 and $3.059 per litre, and diesel between $1.817 and $1.989 per litre.
According to Government monitoring, the national average price per litre at the end of February last year was $2.174 for 91, $2.318 for 95 and $1.389 for diesel.
The price of oil increased https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/russian-invasion-of-ukraine-will-hit-petrol-prices-kiwisaver-in-nz/VPIPENVINDMG42QWEWQ7YAIDAA/’ target=’_blank’>since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with it sitting at US$105 (NZ$156) per barrel compared to US$92 (NZ$135.84) the week before.
Meanwhile, an economic expert predicted inflation and high living costs would be with us for some time.
March 5:
‘’You just have to live your life.’’
That is how young Kiwis flying in the face of Covid-19 and the war in Europe felt as they headed off on what was once considered, a rite of passage - their big Overseas Experience.
The global pandemic, rising death rates and border closures quashed the dreams of a generation, but the lure of adventure was making a comeback.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was “scary to think about” for many, but it was not putting them off their travel plans.
March 9:
A Bay of Plenty mother and father were desperately trying to fulfil their 3-year-old son’s bucket list of dreams before he died of cancer.
Riding in a helicopter, going for a spin in a sports car and visiting kindy were just some of the wishes on Tutemaungaroa Hillman’s - aka Tu’s - bucket list.
Abbey and Ben Hillman, of Whakatāne, said their lives fell apart in late 2020 when they received the “horrendous” news that Tu had an aggressive rare form of brain cancer.
The couple and their six children, Jerome, 14, Kassius, 11, Braedyn, 10, Nina-Jë , 3, Tu, 3, and 6-month-old Tuhoe-Potiki lived in emergency housing. Jerome also had serious health issues.
Abbey Hillman said her son had undergone four surgeries, including two shunt operations and a stem cells replacement, four rounds of chemotherapy, and six weeks of radiation therapy.
March 9:
Armed with a set of nunchucks, Charanjit Dhillon jumped over his liquor store counter and chased a thief out the door until the thief’s pants fell down.
The fit Bottle-O Fenton St store owner - who is a former Bollywood movie choreographer, kickboxer and regular runner of up to 20km - was yelling at the thief “run, how far can you run?”.
He only got about 100m down the road, with Dhillon hot on his tail, before the thief fell to the ground. Dhillon told the thief “come on, get up” but when he did, the thief’s pants had fallen down.
The drama unfolded on March 5 about 8.25pm and was captured on CCTV. The footage was posted on social media and attracted thousands of comments and shares.
March 11:
It happened so fast Rosie didn’t have time to be afraid. One moment, she and partner James were gingerly navigating a corner on the dirt highway leading to the beautiful and remote Lake Waikaremoana in Te Urewera.
The next, they were plummeting backwards down a steep 200m-300m bank. She told reporter Maryana Garcia of the dramatic crash - and what she wanted done to prevent another.
March 12:
Ninety-year-old Ray Punter thought Rainbow Springs would always be part of his life.
“I’d envisioned my grandkids pushing me around the park on a wheelchair when I retired.”
But in March Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporate Services https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/iconic-rainbow-springs-nature-park-confirmed-to-close-animals-to-be-rehomed/MSVYKCJ5SMXRX2HHRXOZAJOHX4/’ target=’_blank’>announced the park would close permanently, citing a lack of financial viability.
Punter said he and other employees were made aware of the park’s closure two weeks before it was made public.
“I’m very sad because I thought even in my retirement I’d be able to visit the fish and the trout and the other animals.”
Rainbow Springs first opened in 1931 and celebrated its 90-year milestone last year.
March 24:
A barber fined $48,000 for not complying with vaccine mandates was refusing to pay as many Covid restrictions were lifted.
Ants Haines, the owner of My Barber on Rotorua’s Hinemoa St, said it had been a tough year since he started refusing to follow vaccine pass rules at his business.
“I’ve felt like I’m the virus,” he told the Rotorua Daily Post.
His comments came after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the Government would no longer require vaccine passes from 11.59pm on April 4 when it was projected the country would pass its Omicron peak.
Haines said he believed he attracted WorkSafe attention because he was vocal about his objection to the mandates.
March 25:
The head of the Rebels gang “fried the town” where he lived because of wide-scale drug dealing but his lawyer begged a Rotorua judge to “show kindness” and recognise he had a hard childhood.
James Patrick Duff, 51, was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court to 15 years’ jail by Judge Greg Hollister-Jones. Duff previously pleaded guilty to 31 charges relating to dealing methamphetamine, LSD, ecstasy and cannabis as well as charges of participating in an organised group, firearms charges and offences where he tried to interfere with justice.
The father of three was considered the kingpin of the syndicate and was starting to spread his drug dealing networks throughout the North Island when police busted his operation in October 2019.
His arrest came after a six-month police investigation codenamed Operation Ulysses.
March 26:
They were screaming for him to stop being an idiot and let the sober driver take the wheel.
But drunk and stoned Hunter Ericsson, 20, didn’t trust anyone else with his ute - his “baby”. He hit speeds of up to 180km/h before he lost control, crashed and killed a passenger, his friend.
Joshua Heath, 19, was flung from the rear seat and later died in Rotorua Hospital.
His devastated family werein tatters but said the only glimmer of positivity is Joshua had wanted to be a donor and his organs have saved six lives.
“I guess it’s nice to know his heart is still beating out there somewhere,” his grieving mother, Nikki Heath, told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend.
Ericsson was in March sentenced to two years and nine months in jail after pleading guilty to recklessly causing Joshua’s death and refusing to give a blood sample.
Sian Habgood was hit by a car while sitting inside a restaurant.