Issue February 2015

You are cordially invited to the joint opening Thursday 5th February, 4pm onwards. Enjoy wine, refreshments and art

It’s your opportunity to serve your community and help people. Training is provided.

Waiting weekend, Friday 6 to Sunday 8 February VISIT ARTISTS’ STUDIOS & GALLERIES IN WAIKANAE & PEKA PEKA 10-3pm each day Maps and location inside Contact...

The Kings Sister by Anne O’Brien, The Bassett Road Machine-Gun Murders by Scott Bainbridge, Five Minutes Alone by Paul Cleave, Otaki Historical Journal, Volume 36 (2014).

Dead puffer fish washed up on the beach are a common finding. They are covered in sharp 1-inch spines as a warning to predators to keep away. You couldn’t imagine that dogs would find these appetising but they do. Pufferfish contain a potent neurotoxin, ‘tetrodotoxin’, which is stored in the skin and internal organs.

As the Christmas spirit fades you might find yourself struggling to keep up. If your financial situation has changed and you are finding it difficult to keep up with repayments, contact the lender as soon as possible.

The first public meeting of the year will be held at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 3 February 2015 in Rotary Hall. The speaker will be Rear Admiral David Ledson ONZM RNZN, who will discuss stories from the National War Memorial bells — the carillon. New members welcome.

The current exhibition at the Heritage Bank Museum features members of Otaki and Te Horo families who served in WW1. Among them were three Cook brothers, along with Rikihana and Hohepa Carkeek and Pirimi Tahiwi.

Sonia South and her sKids Holiday Programme support team start at 7.30 in the morning, and don’t go home before six at night. Last Tuesday they had 24 children booked, aged from 5 to 14.

Otaki lived up to its sunny reputation and delivered blue skies and warm temperatures for the opening days of Otaki Potters Club recent fundraising event, the Festival of Pots and Garden Art. The sheltered 10 acres of Anam Cara,were a perfect foil for the array of local and national artwork.

Take some simple precautions to keep your much loved pet healthy, happy and safe this summertime.

I heard a great saying recently at a colleague’s farewell morning tea: ‘Whatever the question is, community is the answer’. And I knew then that perfectly expressed what I feel about the Otaki Community Patrol. Almost two years ago a small group of people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and ages joined together to re-form the local patrol, under the umbrella of the national Community Patrols of New Zealand.

Trial Dates - Netball 2015: All 3:30pm Seniors, Wed 11th February; Juniors, Wed 25th Feb; Intermeidate, Tues 10th, Thurs 12th March

Journeying up Otaki Gorge is not for the faint-hearted. The road follows Otaki River, from the Horowhenua township of Otaki, towards the river’s source in the rugged Tararua Ranges. The last 5km is unsealed, narrow and winding, with plunging drops to steel-grey river waters on one side, and steep, forbidding cliffs, often wrapped in cold wisps of white mist on the other.

WANTED: Netball coaches for all year levels - please send contact details to Sports Co-ordinator, Kirsty Doyle, kdl@otakicollege.school.nz or ring College and ask for Kirsty.