Two a penny

.

Two people have died on New Zealand roads this weekend.

This morning a 78-year-old Hauraki man died at the scene of a crash close to Paeroa.

The driver of the ute was the only other person involved and was unhurt.

Police said the man attempted to do a U-turn in the path of a northbound ute close to the intersection of Rangiora Road, Komata, on State Highway 26.

The dead man was driving west and hit an oncoming car, Sergeant Steve Salton said.

About 1am yesterday (Saturday) a 22-year-old man died at the scene of a two-car collision on Auckland’s Upper Harbour motorway, close to the Greenhithe Bridge.

On Friday morning two teenage girls were killed in a car crash in Whangarei.

He suspected speed to be a factor in the crash.10am.

The pair, who were aged 17 and 18, were killed when the car they were in rolled down a bank on Anzac Rd and into the front yard of a property in suburban Morningside just after 1.

The two were in the back seat of the car and not wearing seatbelts, Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said.

Police said they were locals.

They received minor injuries and did not need hospital treatment.

There were three other women, aged 16 to 19, in the car.

Ms Kennett said the car lost control on a bend and no other vehicles were involved.

The driver was breath-tested at the scene and was found not to have been under the influence of alcohol.

Also on Friday, a woman died after her car and a truck collided close to Dargaville, 58km south west of Whangarei.

She said the road would have been wet as it rained in Whangarei yesterday and overnight.

The woman driver of the car died at the scene. . The three deaths on the road on Friday fell outside of the weekend reporting period.

* The weekend road death toll was earlier incorrectly reported as five.

-

- Next National story: -
Immigration ‘has to be fixed’

- National Homepage -

.

Hundreds of women are paying for new “egg-timer” fertility tests, with experts forecasting increasing numbers will freeze their eggs. .

Since their introduction, hundreds of women each month have paid about $400 for the test and follow-up consultation.

Previously, women had to pay for a less accurate and more costly ultrasound scan to determine fertility.

The Health Minister is considering a recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology, which guides the Government on fertility issues, that the use of frozen eggs be allowed for some individuals.

Experts say the tests will see a consequent rise in the freezing of eggs, despite it still being illegal to thaw them.

Collyer said one in four New Zealanders now had infertility issues.

The new egg tests had attracted “a lot of interest from single women”, said Michelle Collyer, chief executive of support group Fertility New Zealand. The egg-timer tests allowed single women and couples to make informed decisions about when and how to have children, she said. This had climbed from about one in five several years ago.

A lot of single women had not met “Mr Right” yet and wanted to know how long they had before they were unable to conceive or could do so only with great difficulty.

Many women in their 30s who called Fertility New Zealand about the tests said they were likely to consider freezing their eggs if they found they had a limited time to conceive. “That means people are often putting their career before embarking on a family.

“We are dealing with a lot of social infertility now rather than biological infertility,” Collyer said.”

Obstetrician and gynaecologist Andrew Murray, the medical director of Fertility Associates in Wellington, said its “egg-check” tests provided important information for single women and couples in deciding when to start a family.

“The egg test gives people more information about what their options are and, as far as I’m concerned, the more information the better.

Few people had eggs frozen at Fertility Associates, and they were predominantly cancer patients.

Having the test, and freezing eggs, were a kind of “fertility insurance”, he said.

Currently, a frozen embryo was far more likely to be successfully thawed than a frozen egg, he said.

Ad Feedback –>
loadAd(’300×250′,’STORYBODY’,300,250);

However, it was likely that if the thawing of eggs was allowed and the related technology became more sophisticated, more women might do it, Murray said.

The cost of being inseminated with donor sperm was about $1000.

It cost about $10,000 to freeze either an egg or an embryo, Murray said.

Women produced a finite number of eggs at birth.

Repromed deputy medical director Dr Greg Phillipson said its egg-timer tests assessed levels of the hormone AMH, which related to a woman’s egg supply.

If, for example, a woman scored 10 per cent, it was likely she had a limited window of opportunity to conceive, he said.

If, for example, a woman scored 10 per cent, it was likely she had a limited window of opportunity to conceive, he said.

It was likely that if the moratorium on thawing eggs was lifted, more single women with limited fertility would freeze eggs for when they met their life partner, Phillipson said.

BACK ON FERTILTY TRACK

At 31, Caron Gutovitz believed she had years left to conceive a child.

However, after a new blood test that determines how many eggs a woman has left, Gutovitz has found she is nearing the end of her fertility.

The egg-timer or egg-check blood test was recently introduced to New Zealand.

Since then, hundreds of women have had it.

Gutovitz had her son, Owen, about two years ago, and had been trying to conceive for the past year.

Eventually, she turned to fertility experts, who discovered scarring on her uterus.

This had been removed, but she was still unable to get pregnant.

“I had the egg-check tests and it showed that my fertility was very low,” she said. “It showed my ovaries thought I was far older than I am.

“My body thought I was 40-something instead of 31. The result was pretty unexpected because I wouldn’t have thought I had that problem.”

The egg-check test is done via a blood test.

Results take about 10 days and are plotted on a graph against a person’s age.

Gutovitz said the test results had “radically” changed her outlook on getting pregnant.

She is now starting in vitro fertilisation treatment.

“If I hadn’t done the test, I would have continued to try and get pregnant through less invasive techniques. This way I know what my options are and I’m not going to find myself running out of time.”

- KIM THOMAS,

.

Fellow bikies performed a haka chant as the coffin of Rebels motorcycle club life member Richard Roberts was lifted from a motorcycle sidecar at a crematorium in Canberra.

About 300 bikies attended Roberts’ funeral on Monday, remembering the man they called ”Rebel Rick” as a ‘’superstar” of drinking who ”loved the chicks and they loved him”.

”He was feared by those who didn’t know him, but loved by those who did,” a fellow bikie, known as Pappa, said of Roberts in a eulogy.

The 57-year-old New Zealand-born father of three was fatally shot last Tuesday at a suburban Canberra home.

”He was a hard worker.

Another Rebel said the slain man had ”loved his club and loved to ride”.

Roberts was a New Zealander who shifted to Australia in 1973.”

Roberts was also remembered as a man with a ”heart of gold” who ”could make you laugh”.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s cover version of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, with the poignant lyrics ”Regrets? I’ve a had few”, was played after the eulogies. .

Earlier, a procession of more than 300 bikies and an empty hearse moved through the northern suburbs of Canberra from a Rebels clubhouse in Queanbeyan to the Norwood Park Crematorium under police escort.

Bikies from Rebels chapters as far away as southeastern Victoria, the NSW central coast, Gundagai and Sydney attended the funeral.

A police car stood by as the bikies, most of them wearing helmets, ran a red light at the entrance to the crematorium.

The coffin containing Roberts’ body was carried on a sidecar. Police have charged 20-year-old Russell Field with their murders.

Roberts and Gregory Carrigan, 48, were shot dead outside a southern Canberra house last week.

Ad Feedback –>
loadAd(’300×250′,’STORYBODY’,300,250);

A spokeswoman for ACT police said the funeral and the procession through Canberra on Monday morning were incident-free.

The slayings were initially thought to be an explosion of violence between outlaw bikie gangs, but a long-time Rebels member has said they resulted from a bitter ”love triangle”.

The proposed laws would allow police to apply to the Supreme Court for an order to prohibit members identified in an outlaw motorcycle gang from associating with each other.

The funeral was held as the NSW government is considering introducing tough new laws aimed at stamping out violent bikie gangs.

The night before Monday’s funeral, a Hells Angel member, believed to be Peter Zervas, 32, was gunned down outside his Sydney home.

One bikie at the funeral wore a provocative t-shirt which read, ”Love us or hate us, you’d better get used to us”.

.

The man, who survived the shooting, is the brother of Anthony Zervas, 29, who last week was bludgeoned to death at Sydney airport during a brawl between members of the Hells Angels and the rival bikie gang Comancheros

.

Fellow bikies performed a haka chant as the coffin of Rebels motorcycle club life member Richard Roberts was lifted from a motorcycle sidecar at a crematorium in Canberra.

About 300 bikies attended Roberts’ funeral on Monday, remembering the man they called “Rebel Rick” as a “superstar” of drinking who “loved the chicks and they loved him”.

The 57-year-old New Zealand-born father of three was fatally shot last Tuesday at a suburban Canberra home.

Another Rebel said the slain man had “loved his club and loved to ride”.

“He was feared by those who didn’t know him, but loved by those who did,” a fellow bikie, known as Pappa, said of Roberts in a eulogy.”

Roberts was also remembered as a man with a “heart of gold” who “could make you laugh”.

“He was a hard worker.

Roberts was a New Zealander who shifted to Australia in 1973.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s cover version of Frank Sinatra’s My Way, with the poignant lyrics “Regrets? I’ve a had few”, was played after the eulogies. He had strong Maori connections.

Earlier, a procession of more than 300 bikies and an empty hearse moved through the northern suburbs of Canberra from a Rebels clubhouse in Queanbeyan to the Norwood Park Crematorium under police escort.

Bikies from Rebels chapters as far away as southeastern Victoria, the NSW central coast, Gundagai and Sydney attended the funeral.

A police car stood by as the bikies, most of them wearing helmets, ran a red light at the entrance to the crematorium.

The coffin containing Roberts’ body was carried on a sidecar.

Roberts and Gregory Carrigan, 48, were shot dead outside a southern Canberra house last week.

Roberts and Gregory Carrigan, 48, were shot dead outside a southern Canberra house last week.

Ad Feedback –>
loadAd(’300×250′,’STORYBODY’,300,250);

A spokeswoman for ACT police said the funeral and the procession through Canberra on Monday morning were incident-free.

The slayings were initially thought to be an explosion of violence between outlaw bikie gangs, but a long-time Rebels member has said they resulted from a bitter “love triangle”.

The proposed laws would allow police to apply to the Supreme Court for an order to prohibit members identified in an outlaw motorcycle gang from associating with each other.

The funeral was held as the NSW government is considering introducing tough new laws aimed at stamping out violent bikie gangs.

The night before Monday’s funeral, a Hells Angel member, believed to be Peter Zervas, 32, was gunned down outside his Sydney home. .

- AAP

.

The man, who survived the shooting, is the brother of Anthony Zervas, 29, who last week was bludgeoned to death at Sydney airport during a brawl between members of the Hells Angels and the rival bikie gang Comancheros

.
Police interview 140 prostitutes in Manning murder probe

By JO McKENZIE-McLEAN - Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Police have spoken to about 140 prostitutes and 40 minders in their hunt for the murderer of a Christchurch woman. .
Her body was found in the Avon River in Dallington.
Williams said police had spoken to a man they were seeking. She had been strangled, stabbed in the chest several times and beaten about the head and legs with what appeared to be a piece of reinforcing steel.
"At this stage in the investigation we still believe it is likely that Mellory has been picked up from her corner by a vehicle around 10.
He was in the area the night of Manning's murder, driving a silver Ford Focus.45pm, and the telephone inquiries definitely indicate that all is not well by 11.
"This also seems to fit with her watch stopping at 10.30pm as she failed to reply to the next set of texts that were sent to her," Williams said."
The violent attack would have caused considerable blood loss where she was attacked, in any vehicle that she was in or anything she might have been wrapped in, Williams said.58pm.
Police had still not identified the vehicle or driver of the XR6 or XR8 Ford Falcon that Manning was seen in.
He appealed for information on anyone who might have changed their behaviour since December 18, who were reluctant to use their vehicle, had suddenly sold it, cleaned or altered it, or said they had sold it.
Police had identified about 100 cars and had sent out about 20 inquiries to other towns, Williams said.
Police had identified about 100 cars and had sent out about 20 inquiries to other towns, Williams said.
Also of interest was a man in a blue 4WD possibly a Toyota Hilux who approached a prostitute about 10.
Men had been driving four-wheel-drive vehicles in the Manchester Street-Peterborough Street area in central Christchurch about the time Manning must have been picked up, including a dark-coloured one either black or blue with chrome wheels and tinted windows, he said.
He is described as European, slim, with grey stubble, balding at the front and greying hair at the back.35pm and asked for prices.
Williams asked that person or anyone knowing him to contact the police.
He was described as "rough-looking" and was wearing a blue jersey with holes in it.

.
Joust a bit of good, clean medieval fun

The Thursday, 08 January 2009

/The
JOUST GOOD CLEAN FUN: Caroline Egemalm of Sweden battles to maintain her balance on her mount after taking a hit during a jousting practice session, ahead of a world invitational jousting tournament in Upper Hutt this weekend. .
"You just feel a big impact.
Although it all seemed like a bit of fun, there was nothing pretend about the horses, armour, or the lance blows that jousters aimed to inflict, organiser Callum Forbes said."
While serious injuries nowadays were rare, jousters who fought in medieval times when the head was considered a fair target were more likely to feel pain. If it's off-target it can hurt you.
Competitors were not the only ones examining forward to the tournament, Mr Forbes said.
The 12 competitors taking part in the tournament will all face one another during the weekend, with the person with the highest total points score crowned the winner..
"The horses . really love it..45am on Saturday and Sunday."
Re-enactment clubs The Company of the Dragon, based in Brooklyn, and the Order of the Boar, based in Upper Hutt, will take part in foot combat and archery displays during the tournament, which kicks off at 9.

.
Mourners tell of lifelong friends

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

Thethree men involved in a car crash that left two of them dead were friends since they were "wee fellas" and "loved each other to bits".
David Setu Patrick Iafeta, 19, and Jimmy Junior Rere, 20, both of Porirua, were passengers in a Honda car that hit the barrier in the southbound lane of State Highway 1 near the Aotea Quay off-ramp about 10pm on Saturday.
Both men were thrown from the car, one on to the motorway, the other into a car park about 40 metres below, near the Interislander ferry terminal.
The driver of the vehicle was taken to Wellington Hospital and is understood to be recovering well after surgery.
They died at the scene.
Police would not comment further about the crash yesterday.
Early investigations into the crash suggested the driver had not been drinking and the passengers were wearing seatbelts.
The trio, who worked as bouncers at a central city bar, were on their way to work when the crash happened.
"We're still in shock and can't believe this has happened.
Mr Rere's brother, Tunganekore, told The the three were late for work and "started putting the pedal down"."
Yesterday, the families were grieving at their homes surrounded by relatives and friends. It sucks, to be honest.
A spokeswoman for the Iafeta family said Mr Iafeta's body would be taken to a marae later today.
As Mr Rere's parents prepared the family home for their son's body to lie at rest before the funeral, people flicked through photos of the victims and shared some of their favourite memories with each other.
Tunganekore Rere said the trio had been friends since they were "wee fellas" and hardly a day went by when they weren't hanging out with each other.
Tunganekore Rere said the trio had been friends since they were "wee fellas" and hardly a day went by when they weren't hanging out with each other.
"He was a pretty choice brother."
His brother was a "bit of a comedian" who was always smiling. I'm going to miss him heaps. He was always cracking jokes and making people laugh.
"They had this favourite fishing spot they used to go to all the time."
The friends loved to go fishing, but catching the "big one" was not high on their agenda.
"They would leave the lines in the water without bait and then just sit there and muck round, joking and teasing each other. They would chuck their lines in the water, but they didn't bother putting any bait on their lines.
"I'm shocked to hear that you passed away big bro."
Mr Rere's Bebo site was flooded with messages of condolence, with one person saying she would miss his "bear hugs". We are all going to miss you heaps. We are all going to miss you heaps."
Another said: "Jimmy bro, I'm speechless. ."

.
Prison report slated as officers suspended

- Monday, 08 September 2008

A report into allegations of corruption at Christchurch Men's Prison has been branded a whitewash after the revelation that three officers are under investigation for serious misconduct.
last week reported that an officer at the prison was on 48 hours special leave while allegations against the officer were investigated.
The investigations come less than two weeks after Corrections issued a report into the troubled Christchurch prison dismissing all but one of the 25 allegations of corruption and misconduct levelled by "Corrections Officer 1".
The officer has since been suspended and the Corrections Department has now revealed that a further two officers at the prison have been suspended and are under investigation.
He said the report had found managers were not negligent and that all was well in Bravo Unit at the prison.
Nigel Herring, the former Corrections Association local chairman, who supported the officer's allegations, said the latest suspensions showed the report was a whitewash. The report is very much a whitewash of the events and the outcome and recommendations are next to nil.
"They've deliberately avoided all the managerial issues I raised and asked them to look at.
"The department remains confident that corruption is not widespread at Christchurch Men's Prison," he said."
Corrections southern assistant regional manager Ian Bourke said he stood by the report's conclusion.
"It is possible that the officer may be cleared of any wrongdoing.
There was always "a small number of staff who let themselves and their colleagues down", Bourke said."
Bourke would not detail the allegations, but serious misconduct included a wide range of offences other than corruption including theft, violence, dishonesty, sexual harassment and inappropriate use of the department's computer system. When these types of allegations are made, immediate steps, often including suspension, are taken while the matter is fully investigated.
It said the "partaking of biscuits" by an officer with a prisoner was the only other instance of inappropriate conduct identified.
Last month's report ordered further inquiries be carried out over one alleged case of corruption for which "there is sufficient information to warrant continued inquiry".
In the report, Monk states sharing food "is an important component of staff actively building rapport and maintaining ongoing communications with prisoners".
The southern region manager, Paul Monk, defended the practice of sharing food with prisoners.

.
"We would encourage staff to identify opportunities for communicating with prisoners in less formal settings and eating their respective food together is one of those opportunities," Monk said