CATCHING UP: We revisit news stories from around the Bay | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

Peninsula park step closer

A proposed regional park on 9ha of prime harbour-front land at the tip of Plummers Point near Tauranga is close to becoming a reality.

The land was bought from the Thorne family when Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Norm Bruning interceded when a developer offered to buy the farm.

The highly prized block is now owned jointly by the Tauranga and Western Bay councils after funding issues were resolved by Environment Bay of Plenty buying out the councils' $1 million share in the Papamoa Hills Heritage Park.

A 106-page draft management plan for the regional park will be considered at the August 3 meeting of the joint councils' governance committee, then it will go out for public consultation.

It is proposed to call the park Huharua - the name local hapu, Pirirakau, had always given the peninsula.

Earthworks at one of the peninsula's Maori pa, Ongarahu, are still visible on a corner of the park. Otherwise, the land is mostly under orchard.

Transforming the area into a passive recreational and historic reserve will cost $1.6 million, with about $700,000 proposed to be spent over the next four years and work completed by 2013.

An open day is scheduled for September 3 to help the public compile submissions on the management plan.

Two other major public park proposals being developed are the off-road active park at the top of the Tauranga Direct Rd to Rotorua and the Wairoa River Valley green corridor plan. John Cousins
Bureta shops are open for business
ALL of the flood-stricken shops at Bureta have re-opened, having met the requirements to rescind the "red sticker" status.

The corner dairy and Xi Wu Takeaway shop on Bureta Rd both opened this week after being closed for business for 46 days.

Dairy owners Jay and Amita Shah are delighted to be back in business - they were evacuated when their home was flooded too.

The couple and their two children had been staying in a motel since May 18.

"We are very pleased things are back to normal," Mr Shah said.

The lower Bureta Rd shops were hit hard by the flooding - especially when cars continued to use the road, causing waves to crash through windows and even break glass doors.

Bonni's Beauticians and Village Hair Designers re-opened last month after rebuilding, repainting and repairing the damage from flooding.

The shop owners were happy to be in business again after council health officials closed them down due to possible contamination.

Another store on the block, PC Wholesale Clothing, was able to reopen soon after flooding thanks to quick work to restore the damage. Anna Bowden

Bay firm buzzingwith new deal

Comvita New Zealand has signed a new deal with a British manufacturer to produce an improved version of its honey-based wound dressing.

Medical products company Brightwake, based in Nottingham, is supplying ApiNate dressings for markets in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The dressings, which combine absorbent alginate (seaweed) fibres and active manuka honey, are sold to hospitals, rest homes, doctors' surgeries and pharmacies.

Now, Paengaroa-based Comvita wants to increase its product range with a longer-lasting dressing, which it is in the process of having trademarked.

Medical division manager Ray Lewis said the dressing had a different structure.

"We have improved the handling and release of honey to the wounds."

The dressing would be applied to the hardest-to-heal wounds and could be left on longer.

Comvita chief executive, Graeme Boyd, said the agreement with Brightwake means "we have the necessary manufacturing capability to progress in the global wound care market.

"The early acceptance and sales of medical honey products mean we can accelerate the development of next generation products," he said.

A clinical trial being undertaken in New Zealand is measuring - against standard treatment - the healing effect of manuka honey on leg ulcers in the elderly.

The "Honey as Adjuvant Leg Ulcer Therapy" or HALT trial is recruiting patients through district nurses from the central Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Boards and Christchurch's Nurse Maude Association.Graham Skellern
Growers unite to stop avocado thieves

More than 100 Katikati avocado growers and enthusiasts have formed a Kauri Point Rd and Ongare Point patrol to catch thieves in the act.

Members plan to roam the area each night and relay any suspicious behaviour to police.

Avocado orchardists across the region have been hit by thieves over the past month, with some stealing thousands of dollars worth of fruit off trees.

The growers held their first meeting last week and have patrolled since the weekend.

The group organiser, who did not want to be named for fear his orchard would be targeted, said he hoped to attract more members to the patrol.

The group has the support of Waihi police, who attended its first meeting.

"If we find someone suspicious or see something we will just back up and try and block the road or call the police or other members," the spokesman said.

Those interested in joining the group should call (021) 061 4165.Rachel Tiffen
George finally gets some answers

Patient pensioner George Wood has finally found out how much he must pay to care for his wife fulltime in a private hospital - but the news hasn't come from the Health Ministry.

Despite a ministry promise that a letter would arrive in the first week of last month spelling out why the $636 a week he has paid for the past two years was no longer enough, Mr Wood is still waiting to hear from the Government.

His wife Margaretha, 78, is in long-term care, suffering from Alzheimer's.

And even though a new fee structure began in July 1, Mr Wood, 79, and others like him have received no official word.

Eventually, Associate Health Minister Pete Hodgson replied to a personal letter from Mr Wood, stating that the new fee would be $642.10 a day.

"It's an absolute absurdity," Mr Wood said. "All this fuss for just $6. Why couldn't they come out and say so at the start?"

Althorp Private Hospital has also written to Mr Wood warning that an increased levy would soon be applied on top of the fee structure "due to grossly inadequate funding". Paul Dykes
Song and dance nets $6500 for flood fund

A night of singing and dancing Off Broadway has helped put a dent in the Bay's much-needed Mayoral Relief Fund - raising $6500.

The Tauranga-based musical production group, in association with the Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club, performed at Holy Trinity Church, Devonport Rd, on Wednesday evening.

Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club president John Binns said it was hoped the show, which featured numbers made famous by Les Miserables and the Phantom of the Opera, would raise in-excess of $10,000.

"We raised about $6500."

Mr Binns said the show was well-accepted with about 530 people paying to see the show and contributing to donations afterwards.

"Everyone was coming out and just raving about it. The performances were top-notch," he said.

The club had previously donated $1000 to the flood relief effort.