David Bruce

Oamaru's new traffic lights, the first of which are due to be operational next week, will be controlled from Dunedin.

Didymo is returning to the lower Waitaki river, but for anglers it is not as bad as before big flows in January.

Earthbound asteroids and what can be done about them will be the subject of an illustrated talk at the Waitaki Boys High School auditorium on March 12 by United States astronomer Dr Robert Jedicke.

World War 1 medals stolen about a year ago and offered for sale by a Wellington company were bought back by the Auckland family who had originally given them to the North Otago RSA.

Surfing combined with family fun will be the feature of Kakanui's Big Day Out, a fundraising event on Saturday, March 7, for the Kakanui School.

Water may have to be spilled today from Lake Benmore as Meridian Energy Ltd manages high lake levels in its Waitaki storage lakes.

The next stage to get approval to build a $300 million cement manufacturing plant near Weston starts in Oamaru next month before the Environment Court.

The Wellington film-maker planning a major feature film at Lake Benmore and Duntroon says the project is still on, despite experiencing financial and distribution problems.

A move to link pay rises for Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton, Waitaki district councillors and community board members to the percentage rise in rates for the next financial year failed at a council meeting yesterday.

The Waitaki hydro storage lakes are virtually full after heavy rain at the weekend and, if there are further downpours, Meridian Energy Ltd may have to consider spilling water again.