Police say alcohol was a contributing factor in a crash in the Clutha Valley late on Saturday that left a man and a teenager dead, a child fighting for his life and a close-knit rural community reeling.
Two long-serving Balclutha Red Cross members received the surprise of their lives when awarded honorary life memberships yesterday.
Mystery surrounds the sudden closure of the Tokomairiro Training Centre in Milton last Friday, and the confusion was compounded yesterday when it was confirmed the facility would reopen as usual in three weeks' time.
Plans to improve visitor facilities at Nugget Point will be a key issue at this month's Tourism Catlins annual meeting.
Balclutha's young people are a hungry but polite lot, if the response to a late-night free barbecue at one of the town's popular weekend gathering spots is any indication.
New Zealand author Ken Catran, a founding writer of Shortland Street, the television soap, will visit South Otago this month to talk books.
People on low-incomes living in cold and poorly insulated houses may get a welcome and warm mid-winter surprise through a scheme already proving popular around the Clutha district.
A Corrections officer at the Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) has been sacked for serious misconduct.
Free food and good company are being promised to Balclutha's young people joining the weekly congregation outside the Balclutha War Memorial Hall tomorrow night.
The corrections officer sacked from the Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) last month was fired for swapping letters with a prisoner, it was revealed yesterday.
Clutha community groups have only a few more days to ensure they are part of the district's biggest celebration of volunteers.
Lawrence marks its 150th anniversary in 2011, and an upgrade of its streetscape is proposed to to help the town look its best for the celebration.
Recycling, recreation, fluoridation and heritage will feature in the deliberations of Clutha councillors as they wade through submissions to the 2008-09 draft annual plan next week.
Bring many things to a marriage, but a sense of humour must be near the top of the list, according to a Balclutha couple who tomorrow celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
John Denston is not a man fussy about statistics and records, but the unassuming stockman from PPCS Finegand has assumed almost legendary status in recent days after completing 50 years' employment at South Otago's biggest industry.
It has been dubbed the "Milton Hilton" - a place where prisoners can relax in ultimate luxury while they do their time.
For a bunch of old men, they can sure talk the hind leg off a horse.
Balclutha Bowling Club committee members, still coming to terms with the loss of their clubrooms in a fire, will make a strong recommendation to rebuild when the issue is debated at the annual meeting this month.
Fire service investigators believe an electrical fault caused the April 19 blaze.
A new $4.4 million water treatment plant for Milton, which only cost the district's ratepayers about one-quarter of that price, will be officially opened on May 10.
Members of the public with an appreciation for gardens are being asked if they want to see more redeveloped areas
