RAGLAN Chronicle 1

CHRONICLETHE RAGLAN

EST. 1903

Whaingaroa news for you weekly 29th May 2014 - Issue #395

Local Business Serving Raglan District Since 1996

Departing Returning/ArrivingMorning: 8.00am 11.00amAfternoon: 1.30pm 4.30pm

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p5Lindsay and Belinda

p6Kids art to wear

p7Annual Plan hearing

p15What’s on

2 RAGLAN Chronicle

Raglan Ink Ltd home of the Raglan ChronicleOffice Open Mon - Fri 9.00am - 4.00pm, Wainui Rd, Raglan

Ph: (07) 825-7076 Fax: (07) 825-7078 Post: P.O. Box 234, Raglan Email: info@raglanchronicle.co.nz

Advertising & Articles The advertising and editorial content deadline will be Monday at 12pm week of issue.DISCLAIMER

Opinions and views expressed in the Raglan Chronicle do not necessarily represent those held by the Editors or Publishers. Every care will be taken in the preparation and placement of submitted material but the Editors/Publishers shall not be liable for errors or omissions or subsequent effects due to the same. It is the submitters responsibility to ensure material is not libelous or defamatory. The Editors/Publishers reserve the right to abridge, alter or decline any material submitted to the Raglan Chronicle to meet the constraints of space and/or maintain a reasonable standard of language and decorum.

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Contact: Administrator Jan Mitchell ph 825 5122

SUPPORT OUR SUPPORTERS! The businesses and individuals advertising in the Raglan

Chronicle are participating not only to promote their businesses, but to show their support for our community

paper – so be sure to tell them you saw them in the Raglan Chronicle.

Local businesses are the foundation of our community - and they make it possible for us to bring the Raglan

Chronicle to you.

dining guideBanteay Srey Cambodian Restaurant. Dine in or takeaway. 23 Bow Street........825 0952

Jo’s Takeaways. Te Kopua Domain......................................................825 8761

Marlin Cafe & Grill. Dine in. On the Wharf...........................................825 0010

The Shack. Dine in or Takeaway. 19 Bow Street..................................825 0027

The Raglan Club. Dine in or Takeaway. 22-24 Bow Street.................. 825 8278

Meet with the DJA series of Q & A’s with our local DJ’s

Jivan Rao from Raglan Area School with his wearable art. See full story page 6.

Mass on Saturday evenings at 5 pm.

1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays in Raglan2nd and 4th Saturdays in Te Mata

Further information: Raglan 825 8135Fr Anselm Aherne: Frankton 847 5688

www.raglancatholic.org.nz

RAGLAN HOSPITAL & REST HOME

27 - 29 Manukau Road Ph. 07 825 8306 Fax: 07 825 8855 Email: raglantrust@xtra.co.nz

Caring for the ones you love

This week the Chronicle caught up with Eddy Cross (Captain Pugwash).

How did your DJ name come about?

A friend suggested “Captain Pugwash” after seeing my sailing boat. At a time I was trying to come up with a “Non De Plume” for my show and it stuck.

Where do you perform as D.J.?Raglan Radio 98.1FM. My show

is Tuesday and Saturday from 1pm - 4pm.

Particular theme for your show?Having grown up with music of

the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s, I play and love all the music of that period.

How did you become a D.J.My daughter informed a D. J.

who was leaving that her father loved music, so here I am after 14 years on Raglan Radio, still loving the experience.

Unusual experiences on air? When starting out Chris Thompson

rang the station while I was doing my show, and said he enjoyed hearing my type of music, at a time when I was thinking of quitting and wondering if anybody was listening. So you could say that changed my mind to stay.

What kind of music do you prefer?

Artists like Sinatra, Ella, Rod Stewart, Elton, traditional jazz, Rockabilly, Motown, Disco, any music with beat, bounce and melody.

Best thing about being a D.J.Sharing my music, meeting

visitors from all around the world who pop into the station, interviewing musicians and people of interest in Raglan.

What is the worst?I can not think of anything bad -

it’s such a great buzz being a D.J.Your best shows?Interviewing 25 local Raglan

identities over six months, on their back grounds, life experiences, and living in Raglan. Having recorded these interviews, they can be heard in the Raglan Museum. There some amazing stories.

What song gets you on the dance floor?

There is more than one song - Neil Diamond, Trini Lopez, ABBA and Disco.

RAGLAN Chronicle 3

Cornerstone are Glastonbury bound

Also at H.G Webb House, Cnr Boundary & Victoria Streets, Hamilton

Cornerstone Roots are - L to R: Naomi Tuao, Reiki Ruawai, Kaea Ruawai, Ashley Pirie, Aaron Bush and Brian Ruawai

Tons of rock trucked in to protect bridge

Not just a festival for music, art and culture lovers but a British institution, Glastonbury

Festival is easily one of the biggest open-air music festivals in the world.

Since its inaugural event in 1970, Glastonbury headliners include the likes of David Bowie, Neil Young and Bob Dylan right through to Jay-Z, Beyonce, and this year, Metallica and Raglan’s own Cornerstone Roots will be taking the road to Pilton, Somerset to perform at the legendary event.

Cornerstone’s journey to Glastonbury has been “three, four years in the making,” says bassist Naomi Tuao. Meeting one of the bookers for the festival a few years ago, and giving him some of their CDs, there was also local connection through Victoria Connell that also helped the eventual outcome.

Licensing their second album ‘Free Yourself’ to Berlin based Crazy Planet Records, their European booking agent delivered the confirmation that they’d booked Glastonbury last week.

“The Glastonbury Festival is definitely exciting for us. It’s been a 12 year journey so far and many people have supported us through the years and we never thought it would lead this far at all. It’s kind of surreal to go from playing our local YOT Club in

Raglan to one of the most famous festivals on the planet - it’s daunting,” said Naomi.

Glastonbury will be one stop for Cornerstone during their European tour, with plans to depart on June 23 to play the Festival. They will also be touring Bristol and Brixton in the UK, then on to Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Netherlands, Hungary and France.

“We have a great time slot, we’re on after the British two tone Ska band ‘The Beat’ so we’ll have to kick it up a notch, draw on our experience and just play our music. It’s always inspiring to see the caliber of artists playing at these festivals as well.”

While the cultural differences are noticeable over in Europe, Cornerstone Roots’ unique style of roots music has received great crowd responses during their previous visits.

“Reggae is popular in Europe but tends to lean more towards the Jamaican style where as our musical interpretation branches into other styles that push the genre… We were the first NZ band to play some of these festivals and in many places English was very limited. The music is what connected us and the crowds were in to it,” said Naomi.

Busy planning and fundraising for their European tour, Cornerstone are also

excited to announce that their latest single ‘Is It Real’ featuring Reiki Ruawai, is in the process of being mixed by acclaimed Canadian artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Dubmatix.

“We’re pretty excited about that tune when it arrives,” said Naomi.

This Queen’s Birthday Weekend Cornerstone roots will be holding a fundraiser gig for their European Tour with 10-piece heavyweight band Three Houses Down, DJs Jamin-I and Ras Drulox and of course Cornerstone themselves - with each ticketholder receiving a free download of the yet to be released EP, “CSR: Live Recordings @ Byron Bay.”

The YOT Club will also be donating a percentage of their bar sales as well as serving a special ‘Cornerstone Cocktail’ on the night. You can also show Cornerstone your support by visiting crowd funding website PledgMe and donating towards their tour. You can visit the page at the following link: https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/2114

Cornerstone Roots, Road to UK/Europe Fundraiser with support from Three Houses Down, Jamin-I and Ras Drulox, Sunday 01 June @ YOT Club, doors open 8pm, presales $25 from Raglan Roast, YOT Club or eventfinder.com

Maki Nishiyama

Heavy machinery’s been shifting a lot of rock around at the entryway to Kopua Domain over the past week as contractors shore up the foundations of the two-way bridge.

Waikato District Council says the work – part of its bridge maintenance programme – will help protect abutments underneath the bridge and protect the footings from further erosion.

The project was scheduled to take two weeks, and the council said on Monday things were on track with the work set for completion by the end of this week.

The council consulted with Whaingaroa Harbour Care and the Waikato Regional

Council over the work, which required a resource consent. A.T

4 RAGLAN Chronicle

Community funding supports local initiatives

12 Wallis StPO Box 164RAGLAN

Dr. Fiona BoldenDr. Rebekah DoranDr. Mike LotenDr. Jennifer HughesPh: Fax: 825 0104A/H: free nurse telephone advice

OPENING HOURS: Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri 8am 8am 8am 8am 8am 7pm 7pm 5pm 7pm 5pmCloseOpen

825 0114

24 hours a day - on 8250114

Stairmand ranked in ‘Top Ten’

Taylor Hutchison in action over the weekend

Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand has placed third at the Quiksilver Saquarema Prime event in Brazil

(Monday 26th May) elevating him to fourth in the world on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series.

Stairmand was joined by fellow Kiwi Richard Christie (Gisborne) who placed fifth at the event jumping him 74 places to ninth on the rankings.

The two surfers enjoyed a great run at the event which was held in predominantly large 2.0m plus waves over the five days of the event.

On the final day both surfers succumbed to one of the local favourites and eventual winner Wiggolly Dantas of Brazil.

Stairmand progressed through one further round on the final day of the event eliminating Charles Martin (GLP) before coming up against Dantas. In their match up Stairmand started well but fell on an early wave allowing his opponent to stretch out his lead. Stairmand ultimately needed a 9.17

point ride for the win and was left short.“I had a great event over here, I secured

some big rankings points which will help with my attempt to qualify for the ASP World Tour next year” said Stairmand before boarding a

plane to head back to New Zealand.“It was great that both Ric and I did well

and I am looking forward to some time at home over the next two weeks before the next event in Mexico” he added. SNZ

Raglan’s Billy Stairmand in action in Brazil. Image - Daniel Smorigo /ASP South America

Fencing off a new wetlands area at the Lorenzen Bay stream, developing an indoor/outdoor nature classroom for the students of Waitetuna School and progressing a new mountain bike track for families are some of the newest projects supported by the Meridian Te Uku Community Fund.

The fund approved $4700 for the Kirikiripu Catchment Care group to allow them to fence off and plant a wetlands area around the Lorenzen Bay stream and in time the construction of a public walking track.

“The Lorenzen Bay stream leads to a part of the Whaingaroa Harbour that is popular with families, fishermen and shellfish gathers making the quality of water an important issue. Restoring the native vegetation in the catchment will not only improve the habitat for native birds, lizards

and shade for freshwater fish, but will also help restore the character of the Kirikiripu Catchment,” says Sam Stephens, Chair of Kirikiripu Catchment Care.

New entrants at Waitetuna School will have the opportunity to learn about the world in an interactive way in a new indoor/outdoor nature classroom thanks to a $2000 grant from the fund.

“This new nature classroom will provide an environment where the whole community can feel welcome and encouraged to participate in the children’s schooling and it will help give the children a strong foundation to become confident lifelong learners,” says Mariella Brunton of Waitetuna School.

The community funding panel also chose to grant $4,000 to contribute to a network of family friendly bike trails through the Wainui reserve pine plantation. “The track will provide ongoing recreational

opportunities for the families of Raglan and visitors to the region as mountain biking is becoming extremely popular and this track will meet a growing demand,” says Dave Currie of the Raglan Mountain Bike Club.

Other local projects to receive grants from the fund include:

Raglan Junior Soccer – soccer ball replacement - $2854.19

Te Whakaoranga o Karioi – reprinting walking and cycling maps - $1250

Raglan Light Exercise Group – contribution to equipment - $1000

Raglan Community House Society – printing of suicide and violence support brochures - $1000

Raglan Sports Netball Club – new uniforms - $1000

Whaingaroa Environment Centre – nature booklet - $1250

J Buchanan

RAGLAN Chronicle 5

Life’s a beach and basic huts

Ocean Beach’s spaceship house looks to be going nowhere fast but

next door things are really taking off.Beach huts of sorts have sprouted at the

property, which overlooks the harbourmouth, as an enterprising couple pursue their dream of re-establishing a small backpacker-style accommodation business-cum-naturopathic clinic right on Raglan’s wild west coast.

They may not be your traditional beach huts on the sand but Belinda Ehrlenbach and Lindsay Slade’s simple 10 square metre cabins are just across the road, on an elevated site, which captures both the coast in all its moods and all the action as kitesurfers scud from one side of the harbour to the other.

There was only a tiny bach on the corner of Riria Kereopa Memorial Drive and Wainaumu Rd when the couple bought the leasehold property last year for around $100,000.

Nine months on the interior of the bach

has been transformed, while outside they’ve added a lean-to and decking that links up with the two new cabins and a similar-sized hut which serves as Belinda’s naturopathic clinic. There’s also a flourishing veggie garden.

“I like the idea of connecting different buildings with the deck,” says Lindsay, a builder who grew up on a family farm at Te Akau on the other side of the harbour. The huts and the revamped bach – now a cosy cottage – are his handiwork and “I just followed around with my paintbrush”, Belinda admits.

It was about this time last year that the couple sold Belindsays Backpackers, close to town on Wallis Street. They’d both lived and run the business there for about 16 years in all, and Belinda had also used the distinctive lilac-coloured character house as a base for natural therapy and massage, building up a clientele she has now simply transferred six kilometres out to the beach.

Ocean Beach is a “very inspiring” environment in which to live and work, she told the Chronicle last week as rain threatened and wind whipped up the waves. “Maybe not quite (so inspiring) in this weather,” she conceded.

Belinda is also a qualified yoga instructor, and for four years now has attracted people from Raglan, Te Uku, Te Mata and Waitetuna to her Monday night sessions in Te Uku Hall.

She was baking cakes when the Chronicle called, in preparation for a Sunday get-together of both old and new yoga students at their home. A social get-together, she stressed, without exercise – “just having fun for a change”.

It was to be part of a busy weekend, with

a MediHerb workshop on liquid blending to go to in Auckland all day Saturday. She’s right into ‘natural wHealth’ as she calls it on her business cards.

Now in her early 50s, Belinda came to Raglan 21 years ago at the end of some travels from her native Germany and settled with Lindsay who she’d met a few years earlier on a yacht in Whangarei. Belinda’s first thought on arrival in town, she admits, was “oh my gosh, where have I come to?”

Raglan, she says, was beautiful and “quaint” but everything closed at 6.30 or 7pm. Coming as she had from a university town on the outskirts of Munich, it was definitely a culture shock.

But times have changed and the couple can now build on Raglan’s reputation as a tourist town. Their self-contained huts have been used already for guests.

And while Belinda is also loving walks and yoga on the beach, and both are enjoying the “unbelievable” views from their new

deck, there is another very good reason why they want to stay forever and that’s the growth of aloe arborescens on their section.

Lindsay’s long been using the juice from the plant – a succulent related to aloe vera – for an alternative treatment which he believes has helped cure him of cancer that was diagnosed a couple of years ago.

On full moon every month now they harvest their own product for their own use, often with a dozen or so others looking on and learning the intricate process.

Lindsay had spotted the plant growing in abundance when they did a drive-by of the property and says he “almost ran to the real estate (office)”. Buying the property was “meant to be”, he reckons.

With their onetime one-room bach now having luxuries like internal walls and insulation, and their cottage businesses up and running, their feet are firmly planted in the Ocean Beach sand.

Edith Symes

The view of Belinda and Lindsay’s property from the roadLindsay and Belinda

for longtime Belindsays pair

6 RAGLAN Chronicle

Animal Health ColumnFor Raglan People + their Pets

As a vet clinic, every year we see more and more stray and feral cats and kittens coming through our doors.

These cats and kittens are riddled with fleas, infested with worms, unvaccinated, under-fed, and often terrified. With the help of our stray cat fund, we do our best to get these cats up to date with the necessities, de-sex them, and prepare them for finding their forever homes.

With the longer/warmer summers we have been experiencing, cats are able to go through more breeding cycles, meaning more litters of kittens. Throughout the ‘kitten season’ we have numerous amounts of kittens surrendered to us, some abandoned or, worse, dumped in rubbish bins, buried in the sand and so on. To this, I would say there are other, more humane options. You can surrender unwanted cats or kittens to our Clinic for either rehoming, or if necessary, to be humanely euthanized. All we ask for is a small contribution/donation to our stray animal/wildlife fund so that we can afford to care for, treat, and feed these animals. Donations can be made at the clinic, and are always greatly appreciated.

If de-sexing your cat is a problem due to cost issues, there are always options available.

Please contact the clinic and discuss these options with the Nurses.

Fill in your details below and return it to the clinic to be

in the draw for 50% off your cats spey or

castration.

Hot deal

Name:

Address:

Ph no.

Pet name:

Options for desexing your pet

We are thrilled to have Shai Nair join us this Sunday

(June 1st) to share her expertise with her range of Bolu teas.

Shai is a tea sommelier who really knows her tea! She will be in-store from 2-4pm to provide tastings and share her knowledge. Tea has always been a big part of Shai’s life. Her forefathers were tea planters in India, and as a teenager she boarded at a school surrounded by tea plantations. With a career in hospitality management, Shai has lived and worked around the world, from Paris and Vienna to Geneva and Singapore. But when a Waikato lad stole her heart she found herself living in Hamilton with a young family and it seemed the perfect opportunity to pursue her passion for tea. Shai has

spent several years building her knowledge of tea. A certificate in tea from the US Tea Institute was completed first, followed by tea sommelier training in Sri Lanka.

We will also have food tasting over the long weekend and of course fresh local produce, sourdough breads and croissants.

If you fancy a health check Natalie is available for naturopathic health consultations and massages and Bronwyn is also available for consultations.

So make the most of the last long weekend for a while and call in and see us, to make an appointment for a consultation, please phone us on 8257444. Thanks.

The Herbal Dispensary Team

Tea tasting at The Herbal Dispensary

Shair Nair and her Bolu tea range

Creative kids off to Art to wear show

Since the beginning of term two, students at Raglan Area School have been busily working away creating wearable art pieces as part of their curriculum.

The culmination of all their hard work was put on show last week as they held their very own wearable arts show leading up to the Raglan Artowear show this weekend.

“Every year we cycle through different projects, last year we did a production, ‘Alice in Squanderland,’ and this year we did wearable arts. It’s the second year we’ve done it so it’s fairly new and it’s a pretty cool way of incorporating arts in to the curriculum,” said teacher Hilary Elliot.

Organising the school’s wearable arts show along with colleague

Kim Geros, Hilary says it has been a busy second term with the teachers and kids only having three weeks to turn their designs into reality.

“As well as making the actual art wear, we also focused on the process of technology as a whole so things like taking a design, testing it and problem solving as well as coming up with a concept and idea behind the art,” said Hilary.

With around 200 kids from new entrants through to year 8’s getting involved, a show was held last Wednesday at a packed out Raglan Area School hall to present all the creations.

“It was a really great feeling seeing everything come together. Seeing the kids blossom and seeing the ideas they had was really cool. Some of the kids had stage fright and were scared to get on stage but they still got up there and managed to do it,” says Hilary.

The show was judged by Jean Carbon (Artowear organiser & fashion designer), Rodger Gallagher (Raglan Community Arts Council chairman) and André Ngāpo (Writer) with the top ten overall entries selected to enter the Artowear show on Saturday 31st May.

“This whole thing really wouldn’t have been possible without all the help from parents who bought in sewing machines and were so generous with their time,” said Hilary.

While the Chronicle does not want to give too much away before the much-anticipated Art to Wear show, highlights from the Raglan Area School included a giant Bubbling Crocodile, inspired by the Margaret Mahy story and a couple of Lego inspired caretaker heroes.

Maki Nishiyama

RAGLAN Chronicle 7

Annual plan hearing over in two hours

A charity group is calling out for volunteers to muck-in and do their bit for water quality with an innovative tree-planting event on the Kaitoke Peninsula this weekend.

Multi award-winning charity Sustainable Coastlines, along with Meridian Energy and the Whaingaroa Environment Centre are working with schools from around the region and are calling out to volunteers to help this Saturday afternoon.

They are inviting volunteers to come along on Saturday the 1st from 1:00PM – 3:00PM to help with planting over 1,000 trees and mulching the area, then enjoy a free barbecue provided by Meridian.

“It is the perfect location,” says Sam Judd, Co Founder and CEO of the charitable trust, “right in front of Raglan Area School, at a campsite where schools from around the region are lucky enough to go for camps.”

The area is a public walkway, meaning that people will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labour down there for many years to come.

One major challenge was preparing the site, which Sustainable Coastlines has done with Community Probation Service workers from the Department of

Corrections.“We give them an educational

presentation in the morning so that they know why the work needs to be done,” says Judd, who has led

offenders on the site to process more than 250 cubic metres of green waste.

“We have realised that giving them a sense of purpose through

the presentation– even though it takes an hour out of the day – easily doubles their output,” he says.

The event will mark the launch of Sustainable Coastlines

nationwide “Love Your Water” training tour, which will see them building capacity in communities by training them to motivate people to look after waterways and coastlines.

Call for Raglanites to get involved in tree planting

Local students involved in last years planting event.

Council asks dog owners to register now Breast cancer awareness luncheonThis is the season when woman all over New Zealand are breakfasting together with the aim of raising funds for Breast Cancer Research.

You may recall last year Suzanne Ker and her team ran a fun morning of laughs and entertainment and raised over $800.

It’s happening again. We have compiled a stack of gifted items from our very generous business community and Julie Hanna has kindly agreed to bring her auctioneering skills to amuse and

cheer us along on this endeavour. A guest speaker is organised to share simply of her journey with breast cancer.

So do come along with a donation for entry and extra cash to join in the auction.

Saturday June 7Th 10.30Am @ Vision Church Raglan west. (7 Taipari Ave).

For catering purposes please phone and book with Suzanne on 825 6560, or leave your name and the number attending, on her answer phone.

V Vandy

Waikato district dog owners are being asked to register their dog by 20 July 2014 to receive the prompt payment discount.

For the third year running, Waikato District Council is offering a savings of up to $22 for those who register their dog promptly.

All dog owners will receive their renewal notices in early June reminding them that registration for the year 01 July 2014 – 30 June 2015 is due.

General Manager Customer Support Sue Duignan said dog registration is not only a legal requirement, but is also in the best interest of your pooch.

If you are a new dog owner or already have approved status the dog registration fee is $91 (or $69 if you pay before 20 July). The Council’s policy is that all new dog owners are ‘approved’ and to remain an approved owner you must not have any of these offences marked against you; impounded dog, registered complaint, prosecution, an infringement fine,

non-notification of changes to ownership details and repeated non-payment of registration fee.

If you have general owner status the fee is $117 (or $96 with the discount) and Selected or farm dog fees are $62 (or $41 with the discount).

Failure to register a dog can result in dogs being seized, an infringement fine of $300 or prosecution.

More information on dog registrations is available on Council’s website www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz

As consultation exercises go it didn’t turn out to be Waikato District

Council’s, or for that matter Raglan’s, finest hour. Or two hours, to be precise.

The council’s decision to bring a session of its draft annual plan hearings out west this year – a move aimed at making it easier for Raglan folk to have their say – proved something of a fizzer on Tuesday when only nine locals took the opportunity to present submissions.

What was originally billed as a 4 1/2-hour hearing at Raglan Bowling Club was all over around 5pm, only two hours after it began, leaving an impressive complement of mayor, councillors and executive staff to revert to discussion of other matters until dinner was served.

Whether Raglan apathy was to blame, or so few took advantage of the unique opportunity to talk to their elected council on home turf simply because many Raglanites never received the glossy council mailer urging them to make a submission, is anyone’s guess.

But it didn’t stop some of the handful who did bother to make a submission feeling a little peeved – or that they hadn’t been given much time of day – when despite the circumstances the council stuck closely to the 10 minutes allotted each submitter. And Mayor Allan Sanson didn’t help by insisting even after some thought-provoking presentations that there was only time for one or two questions.

While the council would no doubt argue it had to stick to the 10-minute rule to be fair to everyone it hears during the annual plan process, it

seemed almost absurd that – while waiting on the last two submitters – councillors spent about a half hour of the two hours questioning then approving on a show of hands a staff bid to up the corporate communications budget by $90,000.

That, coincidentally, was more than double the $40,000 district-wide pot Mayor Sanson told one Raglan submitter was available for funding requests like his. Raglan Community Radio manager Aaron Mooar was seeking $6600 to replace outdated computers in time for the station’s 20th anniversary this November, and had believed the money could come from a community wellbeing fund.

Also putting the hat out was Raglan Community Arts Council chairman Rodger Gallagher, who sought a $2600 grant to cover rates on the Old School Arts Centre. Minutes earlier -- wearing his “personal” hat

-- he’d pointed out to councillors that while the annual plan proposed a 1.9 percent rise in the general rate, hikes in water and sewerage rates and higher recycling costs meant the overall rates increase for Raglan would be around 5 percent.

“Compared with Waikato Regional Council [a 0.3 percent rates rise] that’s shocking,” the former community board chair told councillors.

Another arguing for council funding was Raglan Chamber of Commerce president Dave Currie, who sought ratepayer help for the 4km mountainbike track planned at Wainui Reserve and a continuing council contribution to the Sunday bus service that operates as a community partnership.

Other submitters included John Lawson (wanting paper roads opened up to create a triangular

out-and-back route over Mt Karioi), community board member Matt Holl (urging funding for town parking and a structure plan for the CBD), Kim Bredenbeck of the Waikato Enterprise Agency (seeking a bus stop outside the Information Centre) and Susan Bamber (complaining at the state of rural roads).

The last words from the Raglan contingent went to community board member Bob MacLeod, whose wide-ranging submission covered everything from the need for a Raglan spatial plan to calls for water metering plans to be halted until their benefits could be shown and for the council to give the Te Kopua block back its original Maori name.

“If there’s no questions of Bob, that’s it,” said Mayor Sanson, and the Raglan audience left.

A. T

8 RAGLAN Chronicle

RAGLAN Chronicle 9

Queen’s Birthday weekend at the YOT ClubTo celebrate the long weekend we have

a wide range of gigs at the Yot Club. Friday brings Tom Batchelor on his

Dragons of the North Solo tour . Tom entered our consciousness as a

contestant on the country’s first X Factor. Since than he has been touring the country, both with his band The River Jesters, and as a solo artist playing originals and a few select covers. Tom will be playing solo, with three long sets starting at 10 pm.

Saturday the 31st sees the 2nd edition of local dance party West Coast. The first one ‘packed out’ - with people queuing to get in. Expect the same here with music covering Drum and bass, dubstep, electro , breaks , hip hop, jungle and more!

As mentioned on page three, Sunday brings local legends Cornerstone Roots to the Yot Club with support from 3 Houses Down, Jamin-i, and Ras Drulox.

Up and coming gigs include Local funk soul brothers Fanga and Andy bring their best tunes to the Club on Friday 6 June.

Raglan favourites the two-man blues explosion of Swamp Thing play on the 7th June and local funk band Mighty Mighty play on the 14th June.

The Yot Club open from 5pm Wed to Friday and midday Saturday, Sunday till late. Free pool, karaoke, great food, sweet sounds, sky sports, and tasty drinks.

Check out the YOT Club Facebook page for upcoming gigs and info: www.facebook.com/YOTClubRaglan

X-Factor’s Tom Batchelor

10 RAGLAN Chronicle

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Feature videos Photo Galleries

Dr Oliver Russell, Dr. Damian Kitcheman, Dr. Marcia Mitchley 10 Bankart Street, Raglan

Some exciting new ideas were discussed recently at the Annual General Meeting of the Whaingaroa Affordable Housing Trust (WAHT), which is committed to helping provide affordable housing in Raglan.

One new idea is to support people who own baches, but do not have the cash to make them fit to let. The Trust can provide the cash and some of the work to upgrade baches, which can then be let, so that WAHT can recover the cash invested, through rent paid by the new tenant. This is a win-win situation: once the costs have been recovered from the new tenant, the rental agreement continues, but the payments go to the bach owner, who now has an upgraded bach, and an assured income. The tenant has a

New ideas spring up for affordable housing

‘Smart’ Maxwell settling into Raglan grooveI f he could talk Maxwell the

pony would have a story or two to share about being a movie star.

In another life not so long ago, the eight year old miniature, with the big big personality was right at home in front of the camera transporting hobbits around the Shire. He’s now having a spell in Raglan West in the care of new Mum Lisa McLeod at Pim Blair’s horsey space near the beach, adjusting well to a quieter pace of life.

Lisa, a former Wellingtonian and now Raglan resident bought Maxwell, who she calls Puppy, from a trade-me site posted by the company who owned the ponies used in the Hobbit.

“For the first year we had him I was under contract to not say anything about his history just in case they

needed him back to reshoot scenes. That time has passed.”

Puppy belongs to Lisa’s eight year old son Rainer who attends Raglan Area School. He is 10.2 hands high; too tall to be a Shetland, too short to be a Welsh pony. Lisa is sure he has a strain of Arabian in him because of the way he snakes his neck when he’s excited and happy. Plans now for Puppy are to ‘break him into cart’ so he’ll be confident to cart children along the beach. To get used to this he’s about to head off for a week or two to a friend who has a cart in Cambridge.

“He is such a smart little pony it won’t take him long to get used to pulling a cart. My idea is that I will have a series of special little carts for children to have rides on. There will

also be costumes for them to dress-up with to have rides on him.”

Puppy has already been up close to Raglan pre-schoolers when Lisa took him to the local early childhood centre.

“He was a big hit and had a lovely time. He’s so very good, very gentle and calm. It was lovely to see the children go right up to him without hesitating to give him a pat. He lapped up the attention.”

If all goes according to plan don’t be surprised if one day quite soon you see a dressed up Maxwell and cart and children enjoying a stroll down the beach.

“He’s a little bit wary of the waves at the moment. He had never seen the sea before arriving here,” says Lisa.

Sue Russell

home which is fit to live in, and WAHT has recovered its funds for the next project.

Another new idea is to provide support for people who own their land, but cannot afford to build. WAHT has the funds to buy a caravan, which can be rented at an affordable rate, so the owner can live on site while working on building on the property. By saving on rental accommodation in Raglan, the building project can go along faster, with a saving on time and costs.

Meanwhile there may be people living in their own homes, which need upgrading, but the owner cannot afford the repairs. WHAHT may be able to help here.

WAHT is also committed to continuing its Warm Homes for

Raglan scheme. In conjunction with the Whaingaroa Environment Centre, they have access to free insulating curtains, carpets, draught stoppers and firewood. WAHT has a limited amount of furniture, which is available free to good homes. A list of what is available has been circulated to the Environment Centre, to local doctors, district nurses, the food bank, budget advisors, and the Community Centre.

Tenants, landlords, and property owners are invited to leave their details at the Whaingaroa Environment Centre, at the right of the Town Hall, or to phone them on 825-8480, so that we can discuss how to make life more comfortable and affordable in Raglan. V Glynn

Celebrity: Maxwell the pony with 8yr old Rainer and mum Lisa

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