Crew of the Auckland & Coromandel Westpac Rescue Helicopter were tasked to a very special mission in Beachlands yesterday morning.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust had invited 25 year Beachlands residents Tony and Carol Hatton to this year’s Code:1 launch at their Mechanics Bay base last Thursday. Tony’s rescue in Northland’s Kellys Bay featured on last night’s show — the first of 10 new episodes.

It was with sadness that Tony rang the Trust last week saying he was unable to attend the launch party due to poor health. Tony was recently diagnosed with cancer.

After wishing him all the very best, the crew felt more could be done to make sure Tony didn’t miss out. They then struck upon an idea. If the Hattons could not come to the preview party, the crew would bring the party to them.

With the couple’s blessing and the rejuggling of training schedules, Pilot Rob Arrowsmith, crewman/co-pilot Simon Owen, and retired intensive care paramedic Bruce Kerr popped in to say hello and show Tony his episode before it screened last night.

All three men, who attended Tony’s mission on New Year’s Eve last year, were determined to make it happen. The only staff member who was unable to attend was HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) pre hospital and retrieval medicine doctor, Dr Brendan Wood who has since returned home to Canada.

Armed with morning tea and a laptop, the crew met outside the Hatton’s home and received a very warm welcome.

Tony, 74-years-old at the time of the accident, got into a spot of trouble while holidaying at Kellys Bay on the northern side of the Kaipara Harbour over summer. It was around midday New Years Eve and Tony was keen to take a quick dip.

Tony entered the water from the beach’s sea wall. As he landed, his feet and legs stuck fast in the mud below. Falling forward, he was unable to get up again. Carol, who was relaxing nearby with friends, says it soon became clear that something was very wrong.
Realising he was in trouble, Tony managed to crawl on his hands and knees, and get back to the safety of the sea wall. It was a struggle, but he made it out and on to land. The victim of a near-drowning, he had taken in a lot of sea water and collapsed with exhaustion.

Thanks to the quick thinking of the small seaside community and campers, emergency services were called in and within 28 minutes of being tasked, the Auckland & Coromandel Westpac Rescue Helicopter had arrived at the scene. In a serious condition, Tony, together with Carol, were air lifted to Auckland Hospital where Tony would spend several days recovering.

Tony and Carol agree, that had the helicopter not attended, Tony might not have made it. They were delighted to be able to thank the crew in person yesterday.

Tony’s health may be poor but he certainly has not lost his sense of humour. He joked with Carol that she could have told him to brush his hair for his big debut on the telly!

The mission was especially significant for intensive care paramedic Bruce Kerr. It was his second to last mission of over 3000. After 45 years serving as a paramedic including 20 years as an intensive care paramedic with the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, Bruce retired that same day. Bruce still works for the Trust on a part-time basis liaising with past patients and with community groups interested in learning more about the Trust’s work.
A new series of Code:1 aired at 8pm last night on TVNZ 1. Tony’s rescue was one of three missions to feature.

• Text Chopper to 8663 to make a $3 donation to your local rescue helicopter service or visit rescuehelicopter.org.nz.

Curious and happy, young faces watched Chinese parents and grandparents make warm comfort food on a cold Thursday morning as they stuffed dumplings with a filling and expertly sealed them.

As part of the Chinese Cultural Day, Pigeon Mountain Primary School had organised a host of activities that included dumpling making, tai chi, calligraphy, paper cutting and table tennis.

Principal Ian Dickinson says that with 44 per cent of students at Pigeon Mountain Primary of Chinese origin, the school embraces different cultures and encourages parents and grandparents to participate in a range of school activities.

He informs that the primary school is part of cluster with Macleans College and Bucklands Beach Intermediate that shares a Chinese resource teacher who helps students learn Mandarin, a compulsory language at school.

Libby Banks, a teacher who organised the Chinese Cultural Day says the celebration is part of International Languages Exchanges and Pathways (ILEP) which offers nationwide support to develop learning languages and provides individualised professional learning and development for teachers.

“This is part of the professional development for staff members as it helps us to improve our knowledge of teaching and make learning more interesting.”

The Chinese festival held for five classes from year 1-6 also included a Chinese lunch for students, thus making it a fun experience.

Interestingly, most of the teachers at Pigeon Mountain Primary are qualifying in languages at NCEA level as part of their professional development, in order to explore other worlds through collaboration and languages.

As Ms Banks who has been on educational trip to Korea and a school trip China says: “With languages we can travel and understand others better. It’s the best way to experience other worlds, cross borders and broaden our horizons.”

Bookstore chain Whitcoulls is shutting up shop at Pakuranga Plaza.

Pakuranga Plaza’s landlord GYP Properties, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Global Yellow Pages, has confirmed to the Times that Whitcoulls is to vacate the shopping centre.

The store is expected to close at the end of the month.

Meanwhile the owners of Whitcoulls, James Pascoe Group, told the Times they had no comment to make.

The Times also approached Whitcoulls CEO Brenda Pennycuick but has not yet received a reply.

A Pakuranga Plaza spokesperson provided this statement from GYP Properties:

“As owners of Pakuranga Plaza we are committed to redeveloping the centre and we are presently working with architects and designers on a master plan that will breathe new life in to the local and wider communities. It is through this process that we unfortunately have some churn of retailers; however we will be actively engaging with many top brands through the development planning and construction to ensure a vibrant new shopping and dining experience for everyone.”

In October 2015, grand plans for development.

The shopping centre was to introduce apartments, retail and entertainment with the aim of creating a “town centre” rather than just a “shopping centre”.

GYP Properties bought the plaza in 2014 for $96 million, and said it would spend more than half a billion dollars on the proposed development.

More than 900 dwellings were included in the plan, with a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom apartments with an average size of 100 square metres.

The site was also be home to a 10-storey hotel building, along with 10,000sqm of office space, 60,000sqm of retail and a conference facility.

Global Yellow Pages chairman Mah Bow Tan said at the time the company knows there is a need to balance commercial interests with those of the community.

“There’s plans for more night market activity, and for more green space. We want to create more a town centre than just a shopping centre per se.”

A man has been taken to Middlemore Hospital in a critical condition after becoming trapped between a rubbish truck and a tree.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Golfland Drive shortly before 11:30am.

A section of Golfland Drive has been closed and cordons are expected to be in place for some time.

Worksafe New Zealand has been notified.

A fight has broken out over a proposal by a leading civil engineering company to expand truck movements from Clevedon Quarry by up to 1300 per cent.

In decisions on the Auckland Unitary Plan, the Special Purpose – Quarry Zone was expanded and recognised as a regionally significant quarry.

Fulton Hogan currently operates the quarry and now proposes to expand the quarry, previously known as Warren Fowler Quarry – and increase the annual production over several years to 2 to 3 million tonnes per year, according to the Clevedon Protection Society, a community working group with 12 core members.

The group wants people to sign a petition to be presented to council.

The petition, addressed to Fulton Hogan, Auckland Council, Papakura/Franklin Councillors and community board, aims to protect Clevedon from increased quarry activities. Hoping to get around 2000 signatures, the petition calls for restrictions to truck movements which Fulton Hogan has applied for.

Resident Jason De Graff, who lives across the quarry at Highridge Road, says a public meeting attended by around 450 Clevedon residents was held last Tuesday at the community hall.

Mr De Graff has lived in Clevedon all his life and says he purchased a property at Highridge Road six years ago mainly because of the view. “Though the public meeting was well-attended, the locals don’t realise the massive impact the expansion of the quarry will have,” he says.

He believes the value of his property is going to plummet and fears that the locals “don’t have the financial clout to fight a company like Futon Hogan.

“They have millions of dollars to spend on the lawyers. We are worried that just 450 locals don’t have kind of money power to match them.”

Auckland Council’s Robert Hunter, manager Projects, Practice and Resolutions, Resource Consents, has confirmed council received a resource consent application from Fulton Hogan to expand the current quarry activities at its McNicol Rd site.

“It proposes to increase its annual production, over several years, to approximately 3 million tonnes per year.The application is fully notified, and the public is able to view the application on our website and make submissions until July 5,” he says.

“No decisions will be made until all of the submissions have been considered, and if appropriate, a hearing is held.”

The Clevedon Protection Society highlights its key concerns with the Fulton Hogan proposal:

• Daily truck movement increasing from an average 100 to 1306 per day (or up to 90 per hour) – a 1300 per cent increase
• Annual tonnage increase from 201,152 to 3,000,000 per year
• Operating hours increase from 10 to 15 hours Monday to Saturday (50 per cent increase), with up to 24/7 operations as required including four truck movements per hour over night
• Removal of up to 80,000,000 tonnes of aggregate over the next 35 years
• The Clevedon Protection Society says if the proposal is consented by Auckland Council, it will destroy the unique Clevedon amenity and rural lifestyle that so many people enjoy. They say that though they are not seeking to close the quarry but want Fulton Hogan to urgently reconsider its application.
• They fear that the community and environment cannot sustain what is being proposed and Fulton Hogan’s proposal must be substantially reduced so as not to create irreversible environmental and social damage.
• They want Fulton Hogan to explore all possible alternative transport routes and options.
• As one of the first quarry applications under the new Unitary Plan, the protection society also “urges” council to “very carefully consider this application and recognise the deep opposition being shown by the residents of Clevedon”.

What the Clevedon Protection Society says:

In 2000 the Environment Court carefully considered an application by the previous quarry owner Fowler’s, and in setting strict conditions, they established a very fair balance between the competing economic, environmental and community amenity interests. Although the new Auckland Unitary Plan places more importance on quarries to support the growth of the city, the environmental and community interests of Clevedon are just as fragile and important as they were when the Environment Court made its ruling. The roads to and from the quarry are simply not fit for purpose, and their use to transport up to 3m tonnes of aggregate a year from the quarry will drive all other users off the road including pedestrians, walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Residents along the primary truck route will be subject to significant increases in noise, dust, vibration and road safety issues which will result in a significant loss of amenity. This application will have a dramatic impact on a raft of outstanding community and environmental amenities including the National Te Araroa Walking Trail, the Wairoa River, various horse riding and cycle routes, the residents along McNicol and Tourist roads, Clevedon Farmers Market, Clevedon Polo and Equestrian Industry, Clevedon Village and more.
The proposed quarry expansion also poses a significant environmental risk to the Wairoa River and all parts of the community which operate along its shores.