Multiple offers have been received for the sale of Matangi Station, and the vendors are currently working through the tenders with the agent.PGG Wrightson rural sales manager Brent Irving said there were a range of offers put forward, but declined to say whether they had come from within New Zealand or abroad.Matangi Station has been owned by the Sanders family for more than 100 years and there have been concerns within the wider mountainbike community that the Matangi MTB park might be lost in the sale.Mountain Bikers of Alexandra (MOA) had 700 pledges of financial support to buy a public access easement at Matangi Station following a public meeting last month.It could cost up to $1.6 million to buy an easement to ensure future public access to 140 km of trails for walking, cycling and running trails.  The current recreational permit doesn’t guarantee access and will expire in 2035. “At the end of the day, the majority of people understand the benefits that the bike park brings to the town and tourism, and the vendors are well aware of that, and it’s part of the consideration,” Brent said.Even if the vendors negotiated a deal the leasehold property had to be signed off by the Crown Commissioner, and so the sale couldn’t progress until then - which could take up to 12 months, he said.Matangi was originally part of Galloway Station, one of Central Otago’s pioneer runs, which was first established by Scottish brothers Watson and Alexander Shennan in 1858, and divided up in 1916.John Sanders’ grandfather acquired the Crown pastoral lease for the 11,400 hectare station in September 1923.Jack Sanders established the Matangi stud in 1940 when he bought half the stock from the dispersal of the Puketoi stud, first registered by pioneer Watson Shennan.Read more: Hundreds pledge to support Mountain Bikers of Alexandra

Omakau School has a new classroom - a tunnel house to be exact.The 14m x 6m structure was officially opened during a ceremony on Tuesday, a milestone for the people who made it happen and those who watched from the sidelines as it took shape.Principal Adelle Banks praised Anna Gillespie who had the vision, sourced the funding and could see the potential it would bring to the school, along with Ben Gillespie and Andrew Kerr who brought it to life.Ministry for the Environment provided funding for the structure and the Otago Regional Council paid for the equipment needed to set it up.The tunnel house is already being put to good use by children who are growing plants from seeds, which will eventually be added to the Thomsons Catchment Project they help monitor.As part of the project, the school’s senior pupils test the water once a month at about seven sites, and have also planted native plants around the wetland.Omakau School children have been transplanting native seedlings into bigger pots. They transplanted 488 plants, including 18 kōwhai, 106 ribbonwood, 102 mānuka, 62 carrex, 84 cabbage trees, 51 harakeke and 65 toi toi. PHOTO: SuppliedSome of the seedlings they grow in the tunnel house will also be available to purchase, Adelle said.“It’s an absolutely amazing asset for our school, and hopefully one that will span generations.”Each of the school’s classes are growing vegetables in the tunnel house, which the children will eventually be able to cook and eat, while learning about the process of paddock - or in this case - tunnel house to plate.Read more: Omakau School supports local environment

Vandalism to Alexandra’s public toilets over the past year has amounted to $57,000 worth of damage, and police say security cameras will make their job a lot easier.The Central Otago District Council’s property team was also called out to Pioneer Park on Saturday morning, to clean up broken glass from beer bottles, including in the children’s play area, toilets and steps behind Central Stories.Industrial vacuums have had to be used to make the area safe again, and Senior Constable Graham Perkins said extra patrols of the area didn’t find any offenders.“We really need security cameras in there,” he said.This has been reiterated by other police officers also in recent weeks, as they continue to struggle to find any leads for damage around the town without substantial proof.Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said council has discussed security cameras in the past, but they unfortunately were not high on the priority list, “which is extremely truncated at the moment due to the long list of cost increases that we have no choice over.”He agreed it was a “phenomenally annoying and needlessly expensive problem” caused by a very small number of people.Read more: Police report: Wilful damage, domestic incidents, more rodeos

Members of the Sustainable Tarras group opposed to the now shelved Tarras International Airport have been quietly celebrating their win.Last week they had a toast with a bottle of Maori Point Gold Digger, “but it’ll be drunk with a healthy dose of scepticism as Christchurch Airport remains our neighbour,” their Facebook page said.The group thanked the community for all of its support leading up to last week’s major decision by Christchurch Holdings Limited (CCHL) to park up its airport project in Central Otago.Sustainable Tarras has been fighting the proposal for the past three years, including researching material and sending it to the Christchurch City Council (CCC).“We’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to understand the industry and get a sense of the landscape where it’s operating in,” group member Suze Keith said.Investing in a major project like this in the current cost of living crisis was a folly, Suze said, and the group knew the financial situation made it extremely unlikely to happen.In a letter to airport bosses CCHL last week, the CCC finance and performance committee said it was concerned that resources were being expended in developing this project, “which we estimate to have a very low chance of being implemented in the next decade or longer.”CCC made it clear it would not be able to provide equity or debt funding to the CCHL group, and said engagement had “fallen short” of its expectations regarding consultation with them.Sustainable Tarras was made up of just eight members, with support from people all over New Zealand, who meet fortnightly to discuss their research and keep up with CCC agendas and papers related to the airport.Suze said from what they had discovered recently, it appeared basically CCHL had “built their own sandpit to play in because the others won’t let them play in theirs.”But, the last say must come from former Air New New Zealand sustainability advisor Sr Jonathon Porritt who told Carbon News last week that the idea of a new airport at Tarras was “completely bonkers,” from a commercial point of view.

Hundreds of submissions have been lodged for the new Hawkeswood Resources mining application at Millers Flat.Alexandra-based owner Simon Johnstone said he was overwhelmed at the amount of support from not just the local Central Otago community, but also those who supply services to their gold mining operations.“The local community is right behind it. I didn’t realise how far reaching this gold mining proposal will be. We’ve actually had submissions from all over Otago and Southland."The company had been involved in gold mining at Olrig Station and has now applied for a 10-year resource consent using a gold dredge on the banks of the Clutha River - 1km from the Millers Flat township.A total of 470 submissions were received for the 10-year mining application, which he said was expected to create around 30 jobs and help revive the Teviot community.Five submissions were opposed to the proposal, including several landowners and iwi, whom Simon said he was currently in discussions with.A separate water and discharge consent was also needed through the Otago Regional Council, and independent commissioners would be appointed for a hearing shortly.Hawkeswood has also obtained a Crown Minerals mining permit that was valid until April 2033, and is aiming for a six-day operation.It is expected to move 12 million cubic metres of earthworks on the 68ha site in four stages, and talks have already been had with the Clutha Gold Charitable Trust on diverting the track.The new Government is progressing changes to resource management laws as part of its 100 Day Action Plan, and a new fast-track consenting process will be released this week.Simon said he was excited to see what this meant for his proposal - Santana Minerals' new ‘Rise and Shine’ gold mining proposal at Bendigo was expected to be on the list of projects being fast tracked.

Dozens of people paid a visit to the Teviot Valley Rest Home last weekend, keen to see what it had to offer.Forty people visited the 14-bed facility on Sunday as part of an open day, which was designed to gauge enough interest to fill its six vacant beds.One has been filled since the open day, leaving five still available to people in need.Manager Robyn Niederer said the open day, which was a first since her time as manager, had gained lots of interest within the community.“It was really good. People came and had afternoon tea,” she said.“There were lots of people from the community and a couple of people from [outside] the community.”She had a range of people dress the rooms up for the occasion, which was turned into a competition, allowing people to vote for their favourite.A raffle also proved popular, Robyn said.The home is also in the process of getting a new garden at the front of the premises, so the day was an opportunity for people to see the plans for that too, she said.The rest home has also been giving away some of its arm chairs, which were surplus to requirements.About half a dozen went to new homes during the open day and more were still available to people who wanted them.

Many of us dream of going to France for the ultimate vineyard experience. However, Monte Christo Winery provides Alexandra with a taste of France in their backyard.Nestled in the picturesque Central Otago surrounds, Monte Christo features all the mod cons. An impressive underground cellar, bespoke accommodation and delicious food create an unforgettable vineyard and cellar door experience. Like all things in Central Otago, 2 degrees of separation connected the Paris family to the site of Monte Christo. Nicholas Paris was keen to find Monte Christo, a historical winery he’d read about in his studies. He and his father Stanley, who grew up in Central Otago, set off in search of the estate, without success. Proprietor Stanley Paris later discovered that the Monte Christo property was in the stewardship of his second cousin. The Paris family (Stanley Paris, Alan Paris, Catherine Paris, Nicolas Paris)From there, an ambitious restoration project brought a new lease of life to the grounds to honour the original roots of Monte Christo and its founder Jean Désiré Féraud who is said to be the founding father of wine in Central Otago. The restored stone buildingThe original stone building has been tastefully restored to create a hub for an intricately curated wine-tasting experience. Monte Christo caters for all wine lovers with a carefully crafted selection of wines with unique Central Otago flavours. Their light, fruity Rosé is a stand-out perfect for those warmer summer days.Monte Christo caters for lovers of all different types of wineOne of the standout features of Monte Christo is their beautifully crafted underground wine cellar. Built as an homage to the undergound cellars in the Old World, especially France, where the founder J.D. Féraud originated, the cellar is one of only a few found in the greater Central Otago region.   With plans to open in March, this versatile space will be used to host intimate private tastings, tours, and events, including a winemaker's lunch in early May to celebrate the end of the harvest season.The wine cellar provides a taste of France in the heart of Central OtagoVisitors can enjoy a flight of Monte Christo's uniquely Central Otago wines in the Cellar Door, or book a private seated wine tasting experience with a dedicated host, while learning about the vineyard's history.The staff's dedication to storytelling shines through while visiting Monte Christo. You’ll no doubt leave feeling enriched with the area's history, wines and the people who started it all. For visitors looking for a more immersive experience, Monte Christo is in the process of making a truly exceptional education experience through the development of their on-site wine production winery. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about all the ins and outs of winemaking from people with world class knowledge in the field.  Find us on The Central App under EatlDrink. Monte Christo Winery and Stay Monte Christo Winery

Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) attended a fire in Springvale Road on Sunday night, after a discarded cigarette butt caused the deck to become alight.Constable Graham Perkins said emergency services were called to the property around 6:15pm after the occupants noticed smoke coming from underneath the house.One of the occupants had been having a cigarette on the deck, “and with those winds it has picked up the embers,” he said.  Fire officers had to cut into the deck before they could extinguish the fire.Alexandra Police were called to assist officers in Cromwell at an address after a search warrant was executed following a suspicion of cannabis growing.Four large cannabis plants were found inside a glass house over six feet tall, as well as an unsecured firearm, ammunition and utensils for methamphetamine.In a separate incident, investigations are underway into the ownership of nine large cannabis plants found in a glasshouse at a Cromwell Air B n B, by the guests staying for the weekend.Const Perkins said they described the glasshouse as having a “rainforest” feel about it.Police also caught an Australian tourist travelling 127km/hr through the Cromwell Gorge, who was tucked in behind an ambulance called out to an emergency with its lights and siren going.On a positive note, Cromwell Police were pleased to be able to donate some unclaimed bikes to Upcycles Charitable Trust, to prevent them going to landfill.Senior Constable Darren Kidd, of Cromwell, has also been promoted to Sergeant and will be starting in his new position in Alexandra in a few weeks' time.Alexandra Police has a number of staff vacancies with four officers leaving or changing to new departments - one is heading to Invercargill, two to Australia and two moving into rural and roading.

As a recruiter one of the questions I ask when speaking to potential employees is ‘What’s important to you in a role?'I can unequivocally say that in the last year ‘being able to make a difference/help with positive change’ has been the standout response. I have had candidates choose their values over their pay, and I think we can take a lot from that.People want to feel that what they're doing is good, and they're interested in doing positive things that actually make a difference. If that’s what motivates people, I feel like business owners need to listen up.This doesn't mean that professional development, flexible hours, bringing your dog to work, having your birthday off and the choice to work from home aren't also important!Values: So how can we look at authentically encompassing social or environmental positive change? See that word I snuck in there ‘authentically’? To be truly authentic you have to move in line with your values.To achieve this, you first need to develop your values, making them meaningful and relevant to your business. What do you want your company culture to look like? How do you want your business to behave? How should people feel? How should the business be seen or how should people feel about it?Your values do not have to be set in stone, they evolve and grow as you do and guess what? If you include your current employees in building these values you have their buy-in too, plus you’re all accountable. The values that you come up with should be revisited and visible for all to see.Team Culture:Feeling included, valued and listened to within the team is all the motivation people need to get out of bed in the morning. When people willingly invest their time in your team, it's a testament to the power of teamwork, as the saying goes, "Teamwork makes the dream work."On the flip side, if you claim 'teamwork' as a core value but experience weak communication, isolated departments, and a lack of team-building activities, it undermines collaboration and camaraderie among employees, leading to lower productivity and morale, which won't be great for your company culture.  Employee Well-being:Creating a positive employee experience and a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported boosts their happiness and engagement, leading to better productivity and job satisfaction. Keeping talented people around not only saves money on hiring but also keeps important knowledge within the company.On the flip side, a toxic work culture with long hours, high stress, and little care for mental and physical health brings down morale and makes people leave their jobs more often. This not only hurts individual performance but also puts the health of the whole company at risk.In conclusion It’s all common sense when you take a step back and look at the big picture. So, I challenge you to look at your values and ask yourself if you are using them to support decision-making within your team. Is it time for a refresh and can you ask your team their thoughts?Get them right, make them spread like wildfire around your organisation and see everyone thrive! Now that’s a key way of attracting amazing and qualified candidates and encouraging them to choose you. EASI NZ would love to help your local businesses and ensure that your operations, policies, and procedures all reflect your company values and how you would like to present your business to potential customers. Contact us for more information about aligning your HR strategy to fit your business needs. 

Further funding for the Riverside Park Trust stage one plaza has been confirmed, with Central Lakes Trust (CLT) committing $250,000 to the project.The trust confirmed this week that its CLT grant had been approved and they could push on with plans for the new plaza downtown area, at the lower end of Tarbert St.The plaza will include public toilets, bike racks, seating and shade trees, and the river access pathway will lead off a viewing platform overlooking the confluence of the Manuherikia and Clutha Mata-Au rivers.Work should be completed by the end of December for stage one, which was estimated to cost $1.4 million, and the Central Otago District Council has also committed $650,000 through the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan.In December 2022, all necessary resource consents for the project were granted and the concept plan that was consulted on with the public in 2022 developed into a new design. The Tourism Infrastructure Fund of $325,000 has also been approved through council, and other applications include Lotteries – Otago/Southland Regional Community grant $50,000 and the Otago Community Trust $185,000.Stage two of the project will involve ongoing enhancements at a cost of $1.36 million, carried out between 2025-2028, once the original infrastructure is in place.

A fire in a roof, a vegetation fire and a medical event have been keeping some Central Otago fire crews busy this weekend.Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) received a call to a vegetation fire at Moa Creek at about 11.15am today, which a crew from Dunstan and Omakau attended.A FENZ spokesperson said a motox event was taking place at the location at the time.The crew also received another callout while enroute to the same location following a medical event.The spokesperson said event organisers had almost extinguished the fire themselves and a medical team were also on site to assist the person in need of medical care.“We went out to assist the people at the site there and then there was a medical event, but they had backup.”He praised the event’s organisers for having emergency procedures in place.At 11.20am a crew from Alexandra attended a roof fire at a Bridge Hill address.“Our crews got to work with some equipment to extinguish the fire [which was] suppressed within about 15 minutes.”Although there has been some rain in parts of Central Otago in the past 48 hours, the district remains in a prohibited fire season, which means a total ban on open-air fires, and all previously granted fire permits are suspended.The district is also under a strong wind watch.MetService has issued a warning, stating northwest winds could approach severe gale in exposed places from 10pm tonight (Sunday) until 5am tomorrow.Read more: Central now in prohibited fire seasonTo hear more about Central’s fire risk listen to The Outlet podcast. For more weather information click on The Central App’s weather button.

Central Otago residents are going all out in support of the Love Grace Handbag Appeal, ensuring women in need of basic essentials do not go without.The initiative welcomes people to fill a handbag with everyday items, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, plus extra items if they wish, which are then passed on to the Dunedin Women’s Refuge.The Love Grace Handbag Appeal was launched in memory of Grace Millane, who was killed in an Auckland hotel room in 2018 by a man she met on a dating app.Central Otago coordinator Philippa Bain said the support received across the district so far had been “fantastic”.“We have seen a fantastic response from the community in the first two weeks of the appeal, particularly from our smallest wards. Roxburgh is really showing its heart and community spirit, already having donated 18 bags!”As of Wednesday, Alexandra was a close second with 17 bags.A collection of the many bags donated by Roxburgh residents. PHOTO: Philippa BainThe Love Grace Handbag Appeal New Zealand was launched in memory of Grace Millane. PHOTO: SuppliedPhilippa said there were a total of 37 bags received so far, however there were some areas she had not been able to get a total for yet, so hoped that number would increase.The bags are being collected at Cromwell, Roxburgh, Alexandra and Maniototo public libraries up until Friday, March 8 - International Women’s Day.A list of items people are welcome to add. IMAGE: Supplied“There are some lovely stories coming back from our wonderful library collection points,” she said.“Groups of women in the community [have been] getting together to make up bags to support this wonderful charity, it’s really heart warming.”With just over a week left, Philippa said there was still time for people to put a handbag of items together if they wanted to, which they can drop off to their nearest library.Preloved handbags are welcome, she said.To find out more, visit the Love Grace Handbag Appeal New Zealand Facebook page.Read more: Donations welcome in Central for handbag appeal

Two friends since 1987 are driving around New Zealand in a Triumph Swallow Doretti from 1955, stopping off in Alexandra - just like a scene in a movie.Helen Ferner’s "TR2 in a party dress” was brought into her family back in 1977, and lovingly restored in 2010.She remembers learning to drive in it as a teenager and this year invited her friend Helen Fehr from San Francisco to join her on the Triumph National Tour.There were only 276 cars like it ever made in the world, and on Saturday the 37 triumphs on tour will head out into the Maniototo, before heading south to Invercargill.The two Helens in the Swallow Doretti (1955).An original Triumph engine.The two Helens have had a challenging time in the old girl - the new electric ignition failed in Blenheim and one of the team rescued them. Then they got a flat tyre at the Murchison turn off and finally broke the jack when fixing it.There was nothing these two once structural engineers couldn’t deal with, and they are looking forward to travelling toward Milford Sound over the weekend, as well as the Catlins after Invercargill.They are the only all-girl team on the tour, which is this year hosted by the Deep South Group of Otago/Southland, which has six local Central Otago members - the majority being in Dunedin.PHOTOS: The Central AppRead more: Triumphs get their own eras tour to Central

Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan says the Government needs a bit of a “pat on the back” for its decision to offer all councils around the country the chance to defer its long term plans.With Three Waters out and a third of the CODC’s budget allocated to that, the financial team needed time to adjust to the new figures.Listen to the interview on this mornings podcast The Outlet - The voice of Central - click the banner below Mayor Cadogan warned back in January that rates could head above 20 per cent this year, and confirmed again yesterday in The Outlet podcast (enter link) that council was in survival mode “we have to just do business as usual. There isn’t room in the budget for great, big sparkly projects.”So, the council will get back on track to where it was in 2017, still concentrating on drinking water standards and a new ‘direction’ stopping the discharge of treated and untreated wastewater into rivers and streams. But, that all costs significant money.The council will defer adopting the 2024-34 Long-term Plan by 12 months and has opted to prepare an Annual Plan for 2024-25.This option was recommended to council because it gave staff the ability to build in yet to be determined costs such as water supply, sewerage and stormwater. It also meant being able to incorporate New Zealand Land Transport Authority (NZTA) funding for roading projects, also unknown at this stage, into the LTP next year.The council was conscious of the fact that the regular striking of rates and invoicing cycle would remain the same as previous years under this option too.Consultation on the Annual Plan will begin at the end of April and run for one month. The Annual Plan will be adopted by the end of June.

Accusations of bullying and threatening tactics from Central Otago District Council elected members to their Cromwell counterparts were brought to light yesterday.Cromwell Community Board chair Anna Harrison gave a passionate speech in the public forum of council, saying she was shocked and dismayed upon hearing about the inflammatory behaviour of some elected council members towards her board.She said the comments had been used to try and belittle board members and persuade them to “fall into line,” regarding the council’s proposal to change the delegated authority of each ward in the district.“I hope the mayor calls out this sort of behaviour and pulls the council into line,” she said.The perception was that Cromwell would lose control of its assets under the council proposal, and the board was strongly against the move.Anna told the council that the behaviour made her have concerns about predetermination, and she asked what was the hurry, “and why won’t you engage in discussion”?Councillor Tamah Alley asked Anna why the CCB thought that the discussion about delegated authorities was linked to districtisation?“If you rip the heart out of your community boards now, the conversation about districtisation that may happen in a year, or later will have no relevance to them because the delegations won’t exist anymore anyway,” Anna said.The CCB believes the conversation about districtisation needs to come first.Chief executive Peter Kelly confirmed a report would come to the council in August regarding districtisation, when questions could be asked about how they treat everyone’s assets.He also confirmed that the decision made today regarding delegated authorities would have no impact on rates for each ward in this year’s annual plan.Eight other Cromwell residents also spoke in the public forum, along with Teviot Community Board deputy chair Mark Jessop.Former CCB board member Robin Dicey questioned why the council would risk “pissing off” the largest constitution in the district, and asked whether the CODC was hiding something.Deputy Mayor Neil Gillespie said the council had let the community boards down and done them a disservice, and didn’t think they should be taking it any further.Cr Alley said she’d heard that more people wanted to speak in the public forum, but hadn’t done so out of fear for their safety, which was a bit sad.Mayor Tim Cadogan didn’t address the alleged behaviour, but told council they’d had an exceptional debate, and said they shouldn’t be progressing the issue further at the meeting.“We need a clear majority and a consensus and everyone heading in the same direction, and we’re not.”The council decided to leave the delegation discussion for now, with a decision made by the end of the year; meanwhile a paper would come back to council in August about districtisation.

Big brother - or in this case the Central Otago District Council - is not watching you from your kerbside bin.Small white discs, called radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, were discovered under the lip of some bins by members of the public over recent weeks, who shared their concerns online.Many were worried they were being monitored.While the RFID tags could in fact do that, the Central Otago District Council (CODC) has chosen not to use the function.When activated, the tags contain data on the serial number of the bin, which enables the kerbside collection trucks to identify if the bin being collected is located at the property the bin has been assigned to.This ultimately ensures the ratepayers are getting the bin services they are paying for in their rates.The RFID tags are placed on the bins by the new manufacturer, regardless of whether they will be activated. PHOTO: The Central AppHowever, Central Otago District Council infrastructure manager Quinton Penniall said while the bins have been fitted with the RFID tags, they are inactive because the council does not use the function.“With the change in kerbside collection contractor in July 2023, the manufacturer supplying bins for CODC also changed,” he said.“The bin manufacturer fit RFID tags to all bins produced, regardless of whether the functions will be used.”He said all 140L red bins issued during the bin rollout and any red, yellow, blue and green bins delivered by CODC’s new kerbside collection contractor from July 2023, will be fitted with an RFID tag.“The RFID tag only works when it is close to the kerbside collection truck receiver, however as this function is not being used by CODC and is therefore inactive, there is no data being reported at the time of collection.”

Falls Dam is almost empty for the first time since 1999 and many users across the Manuherikia catchment are moving to 25 per cent restrictions this week.Scheme flows were very low at 25 per cent and for farmers this was almost the equivalent of just delivering stock-water.Falls Dam operations manager Roger Williams said this week had been the most challenging of his 35-year career, but he wasn’t losing any sleep over it yet.“We’ve had water restrictions on average every second year, but none of them with this kind of seriousness,” he said.When the storage dam got below 50 per cent then it started putting a lot of pressure on, and it had been that way since the beginning of the year.“If we didn’t have restrictions and just poured the dam out, you might wait three months for it to properly fill again.”Capacity at Falls Dam was at 4 per cent at the weekend, and on Monday it was down to just 1 per cent.  At the start of last week it was at 11 per cent.The Otago Regional Council was keeping a close eye on the situation, and was cautioning farmers and rural communities to consider conserving water in the weeks ahead.  It hasn’t ruled out further restrictions.“We’re encouraging farmers to make plans and take action early with regards to stock feed and to reach out early for support and advice,” manager of science Tom Dyer said. Consent holders and catchment groups were doing a good job, which has so far avoided the need for the council to consider introducing water shortage directions.Both the Taieri and Manuherekia rivers were at low levels and were still being used for irrigation with users managing flows with combined storage and restrictions to achieve their respective minimum flow regimes.Otago regional councillor Gary Kelliher, who also farms in the catchment, said this was an extreme season and drought was something he was always ready for, “and that’s why the scheme is so fragile.”“We’re always just one rain away . . . it can be quite a forgiving catchment and at the end of the day the rain saves you. But, it’s incredibly challenging to farm through this,” he said.The 90-year-old dam at the head of the catchment needed rebuilt to hold more capacity, and it was hoped the new National Government would make this a priority.  

Teviot Valley Rest Home will open its doors on Sunday in the hope it can drum up enough interest to fill its five vacant beds. Staff at the 14 bed rest home do not want the beds to go empty, knowing how much of a need there is in the wider community for aged care.Robyn Niederer said an open home to showcase what it had to offer seemed like a good option and hoped people would make the most of the opportunity to have a look around.“We want to let the community know that there are beds available and to come and have a look because people don’t know [what it’s like] until they’ve brought someone in.”She said the rest home did not have hospital level care or a secure dementia unit.However, people with early onset dementia who did not require a secure unit could still be cared for in the home.Six local women have offered to dress the rooms up to showcase their true potential for the open home, and staff and residents will be on hand during the day to talk to people about what the facility can offer, and to show them around, she said.And, real fruit ice cream will also be available.In addition to the open day, Teviot Valley Rest Home will also have some chairs to give to the public for free.Robyn said the chairs are surplus to requirements so want to pass them on to a good home, possibly someone who might want some furniture in a spare room or man cave.The open day will take place on Sunday, March 3 from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

A Cromwell man who drove after consuming alcohol with two young children in the back of his vehicle, was stopped by police driving just 28km/hr.Constable Scott Vollweiler said the incident happened on Saturday morning at 1.30am, and the driver had an excess breath alcohol level of 842mcg.Const Vollweiler said he found it quite disturbing that the driver would risk the lives of the young children, even if he was driving very slow.Earlier last week a Dunedin man was charged with careless driving after a crash with another vehicle in the Cromwell Gorge.  Once he was brought into the station, officers then realised he had also been driving while suspended.Police had no issues after the Maniototo Rodeo in the weekend, with just a few motorists ticketed for various offences.Following on from last week's police report, nobody has come forward with any information regarding the vandalism of Alexandra's public toilets during late December and January.Const Vollweiler said luckily the incidents have since stopped, but they would still like to hear from anyone who has information about the vandalism, which included hand basins ripped off walls and smashed.There were no security cameras in any of the public toilets and police relied on footage from surrounding businesses that was often not reliable.