A survey favoured kerbside recycling but the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre continues to be the only option for Whanganui householders.
Photo / Bevan Conley
A survey favoured kerbside recycling but the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre continues to be the only option for Whanganui householders.
Photo / Bevan Conley
June 8
Repairs to slip-damaged State Highway 4 meant a long detour for anyone planning to travel from Whanganui to Raetihi.
A full road closure on 80km of SH4 was to be in place for five days from June 10. The Whanganui side of the closure started at Kaimatira Rdand Whanganui River Rd, while the Raetihi side of the closure was at Alexandra Rd.
Local residents still had access to their properties but delays were expected.
The detour NZTA recommended was between Bulls and Waiouru on SH1, which added an extra hour to travel time.
During the closure, crews were removing overhanging material and unstable rock caused by a slip near Kakatahi, 50km north of Whanganui.
Road closures on State Highway 4 began after a slip in June.
Photo / Bevan Conley
June 15
A breakdown of how the Whanganui economy is performing was revealed, but even the chairman of the district's economic development agency said GDP figures were a bit of a "black art".
The Whanganui & Partners' May 2019 quarterly report to Whanganui District Council revealed Whanganui's median house price as of March this year was $262,500 - up 25 per cent on 2018.
Consumer spending in Whanganui reached $339 million between December 2017 and December 2018, an increase of 6 per cent.
The "economic dashboard" of the report showed Whanganui gained 42 businesses and 359 jobs from June 2017 to June 2018.
June 22
Children wearing wigs of all shapes and lengths came out to make a statement and raise funds for the Child Cancer Foundation.
Now in its fourth year, four Whanganui primary schools and one early childhood centre participated in Wig Wednesday.
Brunswick School encouraged their students to get involved with the fundraiser by wearing wigs all day and bringing a gold coin donation.
"We have always had a high percentage of our school get involved with Wig Wednesday," Brunswick School office administrator Judy Huthnance said.
Amelia Bennett, a cancer survivor and a student at Brunswick School, wore a wig and brought her beads of courage to school to show the other children.
PAUA Early Childhood Home Based Care Service, Upokongaro School and Whangaehu School also participated in Wig Wednesday to raise funds.
June 22
An upheaval in the international market for recyclables meant the prospect of a council-funded kerbside collection in Whanganui remained in limbo, Whanganui District Council waste minimisation chairman Rob Vinsen said.
China had been phasing out its collection of recyclable materials since 2017 and prices for paper and plastic have collapsed.
New buyers were entering the market, but it was yet to settle down.
In this environment, the council was lucky it did not have a ratepayer-funded kerbside recycling collection, Vinsen said.
"The state of the recycling marketplace makes it high risk to start collecting a lot more product at this point in time."
In a survey conducted in October 2018, 60 per cent of Whanganui residents said they wanted some form of council-funded kerbside collection; 44 per cent wanted it for both rubbish and recycling, and 16 per cent wanted it for recycling only.
Firefighter Bryan Barkla's research provided plenty of background as Whanganui celebrated 100 years of professional service.
Photo / File
June 29
The Chronicle paid tribute to the professional Whanganui fire crews who helped keep us safe for 100 years.
The professional brigade officially took over from the voluntary brigade on June 30, 1919.
The establishment of a paid fire service followed an investigation into the voluntary brigade's handling of a fire at Fosters Hotel in 1918.
Operational support Senior Station Officer and researcher Bryan Barkla said the hotel was beyond saving and the fire broke through to neighbouring premises, destroying several of them.
After the volunteers had gone home, thinking the fire had finally been extinguished, the alarm was again sounded - this time for the adjoining printing premises of AD Willis.
To address the public unrest, a few days later the mayor set up a commission to investigate all aspects of the incident, the fire brigade, its equipment and the town water supply.
