Lynda van Kempen

The unidentified driver involved in a hit-and-run crash in the Kawarau Gorge on Friday afternoon must have noticeable damage to their vehicle, police say.

Claiming a record is sweet but surviving a recent brush with skin cancer is even sweeter, champion shearer Damien Boyle says.

The receivers of Summerfruit Orchards Ltd are pleased with the interest already shown by potential buyers of the operation, which is one of Central Otago's biggest stonefruit businesses.

The task of converting Alexandra's Molyneux Stadium into a shearing shed for a national contest goes like a well-oiled machine.

One of Central Otago's biggest stonefruit operations has gone into receivership.

Having two high-profile people visit Central Otago this month talking about their experiences with depression and how they turned their lives around is a real coup for the district, those involved in a suicide prevention trust say.

A spare tyre, four buckets and a beer handle.

An $8 million fund to enhance and maintain the national cycle trail opened last week and the network's trailblazer may be among the first to benefit.

Christmas holidays will not be the same again for Ron Paterson. The 79-year-old Dunedin man will have to find a new holiday spot, after camping regularly at the Fraser Domain for about 60 years.

Locals helping locals is how the people behind the newly formed Otago Suicide Prevention Trust describe the group.

Four years after being declared technically insolvent, the Alexandra Blossom Festival has improved its finances to the point where it can start handing out grants again.

No action will be taken against the person who placed a potentially lethal and explosive chemical in a Roxburgh wheelie bin last week, resulting in a rubbish collector needing medical treatment for chlorine inhalation and poisoning.

Anything that helps to recruit and retain rural doctors is a positive move, rural health providers in Otago say.

The dream of a $500 million resort and lifestyle development at McArthur Ridge near Alexandra is over.

The Northburn Wine Company is seeking planning consent for a subdivision as part of its deal selling its vineyard and function venue to a global luxury goods group.

A Vincent Community Board member's ''absolutely over the top'' outburst at a meeting yesterday provoked a barrage of criticism from his fellow board members.

Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean is backing moves to seek tourism funding for the proposed Clyde underpass which would link the town with the Otago Central Rail Trail.

Otago's pioneering wind farm developer has just unveiled plans for its third wind power venture, this time a $16 million project near Bluff.