David Bruce

After four years of hard work, Omarama residents can now see physical progress on the project to turn their memorial hall into a community centre.

Pioneering winemaker Antonio Pasquale still believes the Waitaki Valley can produce great wines, but is selling his Kurow Winery to take on a new viticulture challenge at his Bay of Islands home.

The Waitaki District Council is expected to approve a proposed 3.5% rates increase at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday so it can then ask people what they think.

The long-term future of the Summit Wool Spinners plant in Oamaru will not be known until May at the earliest, with new owners Godfrey Hirst employing 61 workers in the interim.

Police are going to target crime hot spots in and around Oamaru, after a two-month operation that has already made the town safer.

A small trading loss has been made by Waitaki District Health Services for the first six months of this financial year, but chairman George Berry hopes that can be recouped.

Oamaru could have its jazz festival back, 27 years after the last one was held.

''A year of two halves'' is how Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust chairman Phil Hope described a tough 12 months that ended with a financial loss for the owner of 17 of Oamaru's heritage buildings.

Waitaki District Council property manager Dougall McIntyre has left, but no-one is saying why.

Victorian skills were on display everywhere at Totara Estate yesterday - making a dry stone wall, horseshoes, wool yarn, coppice crafts and even pickles.

If anybody has the right to the title Camp Father at Camp Iona it is Ken Gemmell.

Traffic lights are not needed at the controversial pedestrian crossing in Oamaru's North End shopping centre - instead, motorists need to slow down and pay more attention, business owners in the area believe.

The Waitaki District Council is working towards making sure the resource consents it holds for a variety of activities are not breached, but in some instances that may mean major new investment.

The sale of the Waitaki Valley's only winery should not affect the region's wine-producing capabilities, the head of the valley's wine growers' association says.

Councillors could have a greater involvement in managing the Waitaki District Council's property portfolio, with outside expert help.

People thinking of standing for the Waitaki District Council or its community boards in this year's local body elections may get the chance to find out more about the work involved before they make a final decision.