Rebecca Ryan

Ngapara farmers Peter and Janine Stackhouse are reeling after finding about 200 of their sheep shot.

The ''bloodied slaughter'' of almost 200 sheep on a Ngapara farm has shaken the community, who have aired concerns that the culprit is still at large and motives remain a mystery.

Young people charged over a crime spree were in a stolen car pursued by police at high speed just hours after being remanded on bail in Dunedin, police say.

For Waitaki and Waimate district residents, Saturday's opening of the second and last of the two new bridges over the Waitaki River marked the start of a new chapter in the area's history.

A Network Waitaki bill for an elderly Hampden man is being reviewed by the company, after the 85-year-old queried his responsibilities for lines and fuse maintenance.

As poor conditions forced the cancellation of some flights from Dunedin and Queenstown airports yesterday morning, Oamaru put on stunning blue skies for the first commercial flight from its airport to Christchurch since 2009.

Trapped in her vehicle after it tumbled down a bank and into a pond, Helen Kay found strength she never knew she had to smash a window and swim to safety with her cat.

Oamaru-born Rebecca Hill has returned home to head the Waitaki Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).

The Duntroon Volunteer Fire Brigade was allegedly blocked from attending a grass fire on Thursday afternoon by a ute and trailer driven by a person who had been spotted in the area at the time the fire was lit.

Negotiating with a young man intending to take his own life by jumping from a 45m structure at the Glenavy dairy processing plant in April was a matter of acting on instinct, John Kurene says.

An engineering geologist was lowered down a Kakanui cliff face along Beach Rd south of Oamaru yesterday morning to inspect the site of a second slip of limestone into the sea.

This summer is going to be ''huge'' for Oamaru, Brian de Geest says ahead of the opening of his Steampunk-themed beachfront cafe development.

Tucked away off State Highway 83, in Otematata's Market Pl, a commercial laundry business is making waves throughout North Otago, South Canterbury and the Waitaki and Mackenzie districts.

Police are following positive lines of inquiry after threats were made to a security guard at the Oamaru Work and Income New Zealand office on Tuesday.

Isobel Ryan's eyes are firmly set on the New Zealand open championships next year.

More than 600 people looked fear in the face at the old Waimate Hospital last month, helping raise more than $10,500 for the Waimate Centennial School's playground upgrade project in the process.