Lynda van Kempen

The turnaround in the fortunes of the Alexandra Blossom Festival was noted by the Vincent Community Board this week and "rewarded" with a grant of $26,000 for this year's event.

Myths surrounding the Central Otago gold rush will be exploded during a conference in Cromwell later this year which marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the region.

An affordable housing subdivision is one option for developing pine-plantation land along Dunstan Rd, on the outskirts of Alexandra.

Fourteen submissions have been received on the Cromwell Community Board's plan to buy property to expand the town's historic precinct.

A Loadall digger was unlawfully taken from a gravel plant and driven about 500m down a steep bank into the Clutha River on Wednesday night, Alexandra police said yesterdayThe digger belonged to Delta and had been parked in a gravel plant near Eclipse St, Constable Darrell Cowan said.

A helicopter was used to string a power line back across the Clutha River at Ettrick yesterday to replace one broken by a digger the day before.

Clyde's first speed hump has drawn some criticism but is having the desired effect in reducing speeds in the town's commercial centre.

A record field of 800 riders lined up for the 12-Hour Naseby Challenge this year.

A teenager who was found to have a breath-alcohol level more than double the legal adult limit was allegedly driving a vehicle which rolled at the Cromwell roundabout at the intersection of Barry Ave and Inniscort St about 2.30am on Sunday morning, police said.

A quick response by a teenage occupant of a Clyde home and by the fire crews prevented a kitchen fire from spreading to the rest of the house, Clyde Chief Fire Officer Richard Davidson said last night.