Hampden's debate on the merit of New Zealand chasing economic growth is going ahead on February 19, with the Labour Party putting up a team to replace the National Party team withdrawn last year.
Sunflowers at Totara, just south of Oamaru, are a picture, with many people stopping to photograph them.
Subjects as diverse as the Christchurch earthquake and the Kaikoura tsunami will be discussed by about 100 delegates at a geomorphology conference in Oamaru next week.
The norovirus outbreak in North Otago since the beginning of this month appears to have abated, but people are still being warned to remain vigilant and follow precautions.
Fears the Waitaki District Council-owned Dunback or other East Otago water schemes could be privatised as part of a proposal to harvest water from the Shag River have been allayed by those directly involved.
North Otago's representative rugby jerseys will be seen on the playing fields of Papua New Guinea after the North Otago Rugby Union donated a set of 22 uniforms to a team coached by North Otago resident Bill Kingan.
Management of the Oamaru Licensing Trust could be shifted back to Oamaru if a move by new trust board member Barry Monks is successful.
A contrast to the more modern aircraft, a replica Hawker Hurricane, was the star attraction at the North Otago Aero Club's annual fly-in at Oamaru Airport yesterday.
About 60 firefighters will battle it out for top honours in a "rare event" in Oamaru next month.
Sixty cases of norovirus in the Oamaru area have been reported to Public Health South over the past month.
Teacher Mel Sloan has had an exciting school holidays organising an overseas trip and collecting a new car for a year after winning the Attitude Spirit supreme award in December.
A hearing of appeals against water being granted from the lower Waitaki River for a new $200 million scheme irrigating up to 40,000ha in the Waimate area has been delayed.
Two film sets built in North Otago for the beleaguered Kingdom Come movie remain in place, but the Waitaki District Council now wants to know what is going to be done with them.
An outbreak of norovirus in Oamaru that started last month and appeared to be easing this week has hit again, with Oamaru Hospital handling three patients at the emergency department on Tuesday night and one yesterday.
Anglers frustrated by high rivers in the Waitaki catchment after heavy rain earlier this month may still have to wait "several weeks" before fishing returns to normal.
Reidston is still in limbo with its contaminated water supply, but Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean is confident the problems will soon be resolved.
The third major project in about a year at the Oamaru Harbour is due to start within a month now that a contract worth about $300,000 has been awarded for landscaping and roading along Marine Pde esplanade.
The Waimate fire which blazed across 178ha just before Christmas has still not been declared officially out, a formal process which South Canterbury principal rural fire officer Rob Hands is cautious about rushing into.
An expo aimed at giving young people a chance to try out courses planned by Youthtown in Oamaru is being held at the Waitaki Recreation Centre on January 30.
A process to handle development in the Mackenzie and Omarama basins could come from Minister for the Environment Nick Smith within two weeks.
