Whanganui news in brief: Prison numbers down, lake fails test and more

Whanganui Prison is holding fewer prisoners than previous years. Photo / file

Prison numbers down

The population of Whanganui Prison has been on a downward trend over the past few years. The facility at Kaitoke had 466 prisoners as at October 19, 2020, figures released to the Chronicle under the Official Information Act show. The figure is down on the population on the same day in 2019, where 539 prisoners were held at the facility and down further on that day in 2017 when it had 573 inmates.

Jimi Jackson to MC

Whanganui's Sound Valley music festival has announced that New Zealand comedian/actor/filmmaker Jimi Jackson will be the event's MC. Jackson's online videos have proved to be a massive hit over the past few years, and his social media followers now number in the millions. The festival, with a line-up including Ladi6, Kora, The Black Seeds, Tiki Taane, Krisy Erin and more, will be held at Cooks Gardens on February 20.

Dudding Lake fails test

The water at Dudding Lake Motor Camp and Picnic Park continues to be unsuitable for swimming. Its density of cyanobacteria has increased since last week, Horizons Regional Council testing shows. Lake Wiritoa has low densities of the algae and a low reading for E. coli and is suitable for swimming. For fuller information, see the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa website.

House fire

Two Fire and Emergency crews were called to a house fire in Hāwera just before 7pm on Wednesday. The well-involved fire was contained in the lounge of the Milmoe St house and a third fire engine that had been requested was stood down.