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Shoplifter walks off with $5000 painting
By MELANIE VERRAN – East And Bays Courier Friday, 19 December 2008
A cocky thief who stole a painting worth close toly $5000 from a Newmarket gallery could be giving it away as a Christmas present.
An oil on canvas by Kiwi artist Rosemary Parcell was nicked from the Morgan St Gallery on December 9.
Gallery director Louise Reid says she was wrapping up an artwork in a back room at 10.
She didn’t realise it was gone until her business partner worked the next day and asked where it was.35am when "some asshole walked in and walked off with a painting worth just under $5000".
"He was very cheeky.
"We looked on the CCTV and saw the guy just walk in and take it," Mrs Reid says.
"He had to walk down the bloody street with it.
It is signed in the bottom left corner and is named Garrocha."
The painting – about 1 metre square – depicts a black horse and rider with an orange background.
Mrs Reid believes a middle-aged Pakeha couple was responsible for last year’s shoplifting and suspects last week’s thief may have been the same culprit.
A similar incident this time last year prompted the gallery owners to install a CCTV system.
"He’d have to have known it was here.
She says it was undoubtedly a calculated theft.
"He’ll give it away as a Christmas present.
"He’ll give it away as a Christmas present.
Newmarket senior sergeant Wendy Spiller says the shoplifter knew what he was doing."
Mrs Reid says artists rely solely on the income from their painting sales "so this is a particularly cruel crime at this time of the year".
"A lot of people wouldn’t realise it was worth $5000," she says.
"It’s the sort of painting that’s pretty specific.
"The market for resale is going to be very limited.
She says the theft is an "unusual occurrence" at a time when most shoplifters are targeting electronic goods such as cameras and cellphones.
"Perhaps he is going to give it as a Christmas present to an unsuspecting family member. ."
Anyone with information about the missing painting should call the Newmarket police station on 529-5630.
"Or maybe he’s going to keep it on his wall.
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Hewitt to warn soldiers of perils of drink
– Monday, 15 December 2008
The army has engaged former All Black Norm Hewitt to teach soldiers about the dangers of alcohol abuse as it emerged yesterday Burnham soldiers were sent home from East Timor after a drunken pub crawl while on duty.
A New Zealand Army spokeswoman said alcohol was a concern for the entire country and the army as a section of society was no exception.
Hewitt has built a reputation as a responsible-drinking advocate since being forced to admit he had a drinking problem when he smashed through a glass sliding door at a Queenstown apartment in 1999.
"The New Zealand Defence Force has very strict policy with regards to the consumption of alcohol while on duty and takes these incidents seriously.
The army released a statement yesterday saying eight Burnham soldiers had been sent home for drinking while on duty.
"The soldiers received between 12 and 27 days detention in the services correction establishment at Burnham Military Camp.
"The breach of military procedures was dealt with firmly by a summary trial in Timor-Leste following a military police investigation."
The six-month posting to East Timor was a "dry mission", it said.
The soldiers got drunk, swore at locals and drove their army truck.
Eight armed soldiers had abandoned a patrol of the capital, Dili, and gone drinking in two bars and in a United Nations cafe, a Sunday newspaper reported yesterday.
The section commander in charge at the time of the pub crawl was demoted from corporal to private.
The army spokeswoman yesterday said none of the soldiers had been discharged from the army.
The programme was supported by Major General Lou Gardiner, the Chief of the Army, who felt strongly about the issue, the spokeswoman said.
The army's alcohol awareness programme was not in direct response to the incident, but as a "responsible employer" it had been looking at the problem for some time, the spokeswoman said. .
At Burnham, troops were spoken to by medical officers and senior staff, including the chief commander and formation sergeant major.
Their regular tasks in theatre include carrying out patrols, liaising with locals and providing assistance to UN police.
New Zealand troops recently left for the sixth, six-month rotation of about 150 Kiwi troops to serve in East Timor.
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Man dies after van hits house-movers
By KAREN MANGNALL – Thursday, 06 November 2008
A Papakura man is dead after his van ploughed into convoy of house-movers in south Auckland early earlier today.
Police said Dean John Candler, 30, died at the scene of the crash on Great South Rd, Manurewa close to the intersection with Corin Ave about 1.
Constable Steve Shaskey said six trucks were in a convoy "lit up like a Christmas tree" while moving two houses.15am.
The van passed the first house transporter but clipped the corner of the second house, veering head-on into a truck following with house-moving equipment.
The lead driver "jumped on the radio" to warn the rest of the convoy about a white van driving past erratically in the opposite direction.
The dead man was the only occupant of the van which was extensively damaged along the driver's side.
"The truck had almost skidded to a stop by the time the van hit it," Mr Shaskey said.
Alcohol and driver fatigue are being investigated as causes for the crash, Mr Shaskey said.
No-one else was injured.
"Nobody knows what he was doing out at that time of night.
Police would like to hear from anyone who can tell them what Mr Candler was doing in the hours before the crash.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Counties Manukau serious crash unit on (09) 261-1302. .
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Woman on the pull gives blokes a shock
Tuesday, 04 November 2008
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‘ONE OF THE BOYS’: Towie Pam Manning lovers her job and the reactions she gets.
Tired of sitting at home watching television while her husband was out towing vehicles, Pam Manning decided to become Kapiti Coast's first fully licensed "lady towie".
Getting the licence was "a piece of cake".
She was an office manager for 30 years before deciding to sit her HT licence and complete a course to get behind the wheel of one of her husband's tow trucks.
"You do not often see a woman getting out of a tow truck – women are often rapt and really interested to see a woman doing what is usually a man's job," she said. She loves her job and is amused by the reactions she gets when she hops out of the cab. It is very chivalrous of them, but I just say, 'Don't worry, I have my licence, I know what I am doing. . "I can see no reason why women cannot do it – the only thing a man can probably do is ratchet the tie-down one more notch.' "
She says she is "not a small girl" and has no problems using raw power to push vehicles into position to be picked up or winching them on to the truck. "We have worked as a husband and wife team for 17 years, she has helped with salvages, which rely on trust, especially when a vehicle is 20 metres down a bank."
Husband Bruce says he is delighted to have his wife driving trucks. She is good at her job, one of the boys.
"There is not much she cannot do, believe me, but she has got more bolshie."
Since Mrs Manning got her licence last year, another Kapiti Coast woman has followed suit and got her licence last week. A lot of people like dealing with her at emergencies when people are upset – by the time she has had a laugh with them they are easier to deal with.
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Sir Ed stamps to help Himalayan projects
By STACEY WOOD Friday, 31 October 2008
Stampscommemorating Sir Edmund Hillary go on sale next week, but New Zealand Post will not say how much of the proceeds will go to his beloved Himalayan Trust.
The series of five stamps, marking Sir Ed's life, from his conquest of Mt Everest in 1953 to his induction as a Knight of the Garter in 1995, go on sale on Wednesday. . A limited-edition coin will also be available.
The $2 stamp features Sir Ed with a group of Nepalese children, who benefited from the work of the Himalayan Trust, which he established in 1960. Some proceeds would go to the Himalayan Trust Sir Ed founded – but he would not say how much.
Coin and stamp dealer John Mowbray said the stamps and coins were likely to be around in sufficient numbers in the future, so would not be worth a lot to collectors. For four decades he worked closely with the charity and helped to build more than 30 schools, 12 medical clinics, three airfields and many bridges and freshwater pipelines.
Tokelauan stamps featuring Sir Ed will be issued on the same day, in a run of 10,000.
However, he predicted they would be the most popular in a long time. They will be available to buyers in New Zealand and focus on Sir Ed's earlier career as a mountaineer and explorer.
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Police bust Hamilton ‘pot’ street
By BELINDA FEEK – Tuesday, 16 September 2008
A raid on a quiet Hillcrest cul-de-sac has shocked police who discovered cannabis cultivation in every house on the street.
Although there are only three homes on the Hamilton street, all were busted for cannabis and two of them were linked. The occupants of that house, three men and one woman, now face cultivating cannabis and possession-for-supply charges.
Acting Detective Sergeant Graham Pitkethley, of the Waikato Crime Control Unit, said "a sophisticated indoor hydroponics operation" was found in the first property, growing more than 40 cannabis plants.
Cannabis seedlings were found growing outside the third property.
One of the men is also connected to the neighbouring property and faces additional charges for 10 cannabis plants found there.
Mr Pitkethley said the cultivation operations in the first two properties were believed to be linked while the third house was operating separately from its neighbours. A woman now faces several charges, including possession of cannabis for supply. "We don't come across that too often .
The crime control unit or drug squad were not easily shocked, but Friday's bust surprised them…"
All five people were expected to appear in Hamilton District Court this week. It is unusual that you get something at every house, so it was a surprise.
A World Health Organisation report this year put New Zealand second only to the US in a survey of illegal cannabis use in 17 countries. Although Hillcrest was a high-student area, Mr Pitkethley confirmed those arrested were not students, but people "that should know better".
"From a policing point of view the increased use of hydroponics-growing operations means cannabis is no longer a seasonal threat," Mr Pitkethley said.
Meanwhile, the availability and strength of cannabis being found by police is causing concern."
The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana (Class C) is three months in prison and/or a $500 fine.
"It is now a drug available year round and there's significant information out there to suggest it is used as a stepping stone to other drug use.
Twelve ounces of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy were allegedly found in the possession of a 25-year-old man earlier this month. The maximum penalty for importing, cultivating and/or supplying cannabis is eight years in jail. Three people appeared in court on Friday on drug charges.
The cannabis was found in his car while a search of a house near Waikato University revealed the LSD and ecstasy and more cannabis.