Hamish MacLean

Clutha Health First chief executive Ray Anton is staying silent about an announcement his board will make on June 16.

The 11m by 7m stainless steel waka designed by Russell Beck for Owaka will honour the shared history of both Maori and Pakeha in the Catlins town of about 300, the Invercargill sculptor says.

An elderly man lost ''everything'', including his best friend, in a fire that tore through his Clinton home the day before his 85th birthday.

Work to extend sealing on the Nuggets Rd near Kaka Point could begin next summer.

Rosebank School year 6 pupils Brooke Kendall (11, left) and Jorja Richards (10), raise their hands to show they want to meet Jess the dog during the Clutha District Council's dog safety demonstration at the Cross Recreation Centre, in Balclutha, yesterday.

''Scary,'' is how Mike Verdoner describes driving in the Catlins Coast Rally.

A real estate agent ''befriended'' a severely intoxicated man, who allegedly had a concealed knife, as he tried to defuse a tense situation outside his main-street Balclutha office yesterday.

A flight instructor's quick thinking was credited with preventing a tragedy when the plane he and a trainee pilot were flying experienced engine trouble shortly after take off.

Thousands of volunteer hours, and the generosity of the Milton community, have been poured into the rejuvenated Moore Park in Milton.

Concerns are growing for a 79-year-old South Otago man who has been missing since Wednesday night.

Balclutha police are searching South Otago roads for a missing 79-year-old man.

Kiwi ingenuity could play a greater role in New Zealand's pest control.

Alcohol-related disorder over the weekend has Balclutha police concerned.

For the first time females outnumber men studying at Lincoln University, helped significantly by female enrolments at its Telford campus in Balclutha. Hamish MacLean finds women are on the rise on the farming front.

The Southern Scenic Route reopened yesterday after a major slip on the Chaslands Highway in the South Catlins closed it last month.

In its 27th year, the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards will be an emotional one for organisers, this year's main organiser, Wade Paterson, says.