Warmer home grants open
The Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme is now offering grants for insulation and heaters to low income, owner-occupied homes. The grants cover two‐thirds of the cost of installing insulation....
View ArticleChildren have fun playing sports and don’t need to satisfy adults’ ambitions
Playing sports has clear social, physical and mental health benefits for children. But evidence shows that youth sports in Western societies have become increasingly controlled and regulated by adults,...
View ArticlePastime for yacht restoration
Inside a corrugated iron shed deep in Tamahere, a 132-year-old kauri lady sits cradled by a boat stand. Tamahere is not the oddest place this 45ft yacht has lived. Thirty years ago, she was moored next...
View ArticleThe word on email programs
What constitutes a good email program? Well, partially that it's not made by Microsoft, for starters. I know a lot of people use Outlook, and I'm not against it, necessarily, but there are so many...
View ArticleCandidate nominations open
Nominations have opened for local body elections, including those for the Waikato District and Waikato Regional councils. It's time to consider whether you think you can make a difference in your...
View ArticleChoosing a garden winner
Choosing the right plants for your gully or garden is a challenge. Not only are we spoiled for choice with thousands of species to choose from but it’s not unknown for a plant to thrive in one corner...
View ArticleRates notices in mail
The Waikato district's general rate has risen 5.19% this year and ratepayers will see what that means in notices in the mail next week. Individual rate increases will vary depending on ratepayers'...
View ArticleMum and daughter star
Grace Raynel's moving poem about her late mum, her guiding light, made her the supreme winner of the Waikato District Libraries 2019 Matariki competition. Grace, from Ngaruawahia, said the competition...
View ArticleBech elected unopposed
Tamahere ward councillor Aksel Bech has been elected unopposed to the Waikato District Council seat he first won in 2016. But for one other ward, elsewhere in the district hotly contested elections are...
View ArticlePitfalls in online ads
One of the problems of the internet is how difficult it is to advertise online. So much of the web is funded by advertising that it’s hard to get away from it – unless you install an ad-blocker. So you...
View ArticleA climate for change
The people have spoken. A June Ipsos poll found that climate change was an issue of personal importance to 79 per cent of Kiwis (up from 72 per cent a year ago). Fully 69 per cent of us have become...
View ArticleIn donkey doo-doo on Silk Rd
"It was during the fourth roadside squat, this time in a fetid ditch next to a donkey paddock, as the sun scorched the back of my neck that I thought “this was not what I had in mind.”" But that was...
View ArticleCall to action on paths
Action is building on the call for safe pedestrian and cycle ways for Tamahere as its two halves become cut by an ever wider and busier State Highway 1. A petition has been launched and a public...
View ArticleToe toe the line on pampas
Here in our fertile lush region everything grows like a weed, including the weeds. As you would expect in a warm temperate part of the world, we have a huge variety of pest plants. There are the...
View ArticleSculptures set for park
A unique combination of sculpture and seating is set to make the central Tamahere Park a must visit. Renowned Tamahere sculptor Marti Wong has so far created three one-of-a-kind park seats thanks to...
View ArticleLocals urged to take stand
The Tamahere community is urged to attend a public meeting on Thursday, September 12, 7.30pm, in the Tamahere Community Centre to back demands for safe pathways around the community. Action has been...
View ArticleLocals angry at losing to cars
The high toll the Waikato Expressway is taking on the Tamahere community was made crystal clear at a public meeting last night. More than a hundred people turned out for the biggest public meeting in...
View ArticleThieves hit playground again
Thieves have twice stolen the hammocks swinging at Tamahere's new playground and also hit a nearby private property. Since it opened in June, four hammocks have been stolen from Tamahere Park - two in...
View ArticleLook out for voting papers
Local government voters will be able to cast their votes in the 2019 Waikato District and Waikato Regional Council elections from today. Voting papers are in the mail and expected to be delivered by...
View ArticleSH1 detour from Oct 1
A detour taking southbound traffic off State Highway 1 and on to the Tamahere off-ramp will be in place for up to six weeks from October 1. The southern-bound traffic will then travel through the...
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