Local Opinion

After a small hiatus I am back from leave and am looking forward to filling you all in with a review of the week showing how busy our staff have been. Monday –  A theft…

This time in 1980 in the United States activity was increasing at Mount St Helens volcano, Washington. Several earthquakes were detected in mid-March, alerting scientists at the United States Geological Survey (USGS, the equivalent of…

I often wonder who reads the ‘Faith’ column in the paper, that is, aside from me and the other contributors. I figure it must be people “of faith,” because we all have faith in something….

At full moon Maurice Mahon often went a little strange.  He was considered rather eccentric but not dangerous although he once threatened his employer, Mr Hunter, Sr, with an axe. He had been living with…

Waipa District Council’s debt level on June 30, 2022, was $149.5 million. A year later  it was $226 million, a rise of 51 per cent. By June it is projected to be $296.8 million, a…

I was recently fortunate enough to spend a day in and around Rotorua with GNS Science volcanologist Brad Scott and two visitors from the Tonga Geological Sciences. Brad has an incredible knowledge of the area….

Meghan Hawkes looks back to 1930 and reviews the stories making headlines in Waipā. Rabbits had spread extensively in the Waipā region and property owners were expected to exterminate them to the best of their…

In March 2023 my brother died suddenly and completely alone in Canada. He was fit, a regular tennis player, aged in his early seventies, but he also had some health issues. Nevertheless, his death came…

This week is Holy week in the Christian calendar. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday which celebrates the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem – the hope of Israel enters the holy city. As Holy Week…

There was no hope for John and Elizabeth Finch of Paterangi in an Auckland explosion, or was there? Meghan Hawkes recounts the story. Masses of flames and smoke shooting upwards for hundreds of metres over…