Time bank allows cashless trading
Time bank allows cashless trading
Waitaki residents are now trading time rather than money, after the district's first time bank community was successfully set up.
odt odt
Job seeker jump with layoffs
Job seeker jump with layoffs
The 192 workers made redundant at the Summit Wool Spinners textile plant on Thursday will double the number of people in Oamaru looking for jobs, but Work and Income says job opportunities are flowing in.
Concern for ratepayers in wake of closure
Concern for ratepayers in wake of closure
Although fears are growing that job losses at the Summit Wool Spinners textile plant in Oamaru could mean higher rates bills for residents if employees leave town to find work, business owners still see the town as a good place to be.
Redundant staff struggle for jobs
Redundant staff struggle for jobs
An Oamaru woman made redundant from the Summit Wool Spinners textile plant last year is still out of work and fears those about to be axed will face similar problems finding employment.
Safety concern over bus wheelchair anchors
Safety concern over bus wheelchair anchors
The Ministry of Education has acknowledged some school buses may not be suitable for transporting all wheelchair-bound pupils, after it was made aware of the safety concerns of the parent of a disabled Oamaru teenager.
Prisoners evacuated
Prisoners evacuated
Prisoners being held at the Oamaru police station were yesterday evacuated from water-soaked cells after firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the station.
Crisis meeting in bid to save jobs
Crisis meeting in bid to save jobs
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton hopes the new owner of Oamaru's woollen mill can be convinced to retain as many staff as possible, saying it would be a ''dismal day'' for the town and the wider Waitaki district if that did not happen.
Oamaru and Waimate schools to get social worker assistance
Oamaru and Waimate schools to get social worker assistance
Social workers will be provided at schools in Oamaru and Waimate, as part of the expansion of a government programme to meet the needs of ''at risk'' children.
Tougher line on fire permits
Tougher line on fire permits
As North Otago dries out following a spell of hot, dry weather, Civil Defence staff in Waitaki are implementing a harsher approach to issuing fire permits, but are stopping short of issuing a fire ban.
Song, art to make mark
Song, art to make mark
Oamaru residents are being fashioned into a male voice choir in preparation for a ''spine-tingling'' sunrise performance to form part of the town's centennial commemorations of the arrival of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ship SS Terra Nova in Oamaru Harbour.
Caber toss draws crowd
Caber toss draws crowd
Caber tossing once again caught the attention of Waimate residents and visitors on Saturday, as the annual Waimate Caledonian Games attracted a good crowd, and some overseas competitors.
Dean calls for quick ban on 'legal highs'
Dean calls for quick ban on 'legal highs'
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean is urging a swift end to the continued sale of so-called legal highs and a protest march against the sale of synthetic cannabis in Oamaru is planned.
Speed limit reminder
Speed limit reminder
School children in Omarama return to class on Monday, and motorists have been put on notice to keep their speed down.
Too soon to talk about funding
Too soon to talk about funding
North Otago irrigators say it is too early to know if they will be applying for funding from a new investment company due to be set up by the Government.
Canal work saves thousands of fish
Canal work saves thousands of fish
Thousands of fish have been successfully removed from the Tekapo canal with ''virtually no mortalities'', as part of preparations for a $125 million repair of the canal's leaky lining.
Salmon season may be a washout
Salmon season may be a washout
After paying between $120 and $150 for fishing licences, anglers on the Lower Waitaki River are facing the possibility that a whole salmon season could be lost due to high flows on the river.
Men sought for Scott retelling
Men sought for Scott retelling
The original European newspaper headlines detailing the death of Captain Robert Falcon Scott 100 years ago will be read out on the steps of the former P and T Cable building in Oamaru next month, as part of a re-enactment of the arrival of Scott's ship SS Terra Nova in the town in 1913.
Hoping for kilt-wearing weather for the games
Hoping for kilt-wearing weather for the games
Good kilt-wearing weather is needed in Waimate this weekend to boost the number of people willing to ''toss the caber'' at the annual Waimate Caledonian Games.
Railcar demand too small
Railcar demand too small
Despite conducting two successful trials of passenger train services between Dunedin and Oamaru, the Taieri Gorge Railway is not ready to reintroduce regular daily services.
Distilleries could return
Distilleries could return
Whisky distilleries could once again return to Dunedin after a 15 year absence, if a trade mission to Canada and the United Kingdom is successful this week.