Two a penny

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LATEST:
Neighbours of a Newtown property where police are investigating a death were woken by screaming early earlier today.

Police were called to the scene by the ambulance service at 5.50am.

Jana Meyer lives next door to the property, which is believed to be a halfway house for mental health patients and drug rehabilitation.

They have closed off a section of Mansfield St between Rhodes and Roy Streets.

“About 5am we heard screaming,” she said. She said she was woken by noise the house early earlier today. “It sounded like a haka.”It doesn’t look too good.”

Lyle Bassett, 26, who lives at the property police are investigating, said he felt lucky he spent last night at his girlfriend’s place. They say it’s a halfway house but to me it’s a family house. It’s a safe place.”It is believed around 15 people live at the property on the corner of Mansfield and Horner Streets, which is monitored by a caregiver at night. We all look after each other.

Police said the area would be closed “until further notice”. .

– , The , with

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Further information would be released later earlier today, she said

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In an ironic twist on Mapua artist Roger Griffiths’ protest withdrawal of his $190,000 savings in $20 notes from Westpac yesterday, the money was today back with Westpac.

Mr Griffiths deposited the cash at the Nelson Building Society in Richmond, but because NBS banks with Westpac, it has deposited the money there.

“Westpac clears our cash for us.

NBS general manager Ken Beams said today it did not hold huge amounts of cash.”

He appreciated the irony. It is better to sit in an account earning interest, and that’s where it will be now.”

Mr Griffiths said today he had no idea that would happen next. “It’s ridiculous, really.”

However, he would not move the money again, and did not think his protest had been a waste of time, because of the support he had received. .

Mr Griffiths withdrew the money yesterday in protest at not being given an $80,000 mortgage on a $385,000 Mapua property because as an artist he did not have a regular income.

Westpac declined to comment on the return of the money to its coffers.

After nationwide publicity, Mr Griffiths has been overwhelmed with support through hundreds of emails, phone calls and comments posted online.

Westpac said it had required Mr Griffiths to provide evidence of his ability to meet regular repayments, but the information was not provided for it to assess.

“It’s nothing against Westpac, it’s the principle of the thing. He rated it the best day of his life.

He estimated that 90 per cent of the comments he received were positive towards his stand. I felt badly treated,” he said today.

Comments on stuff.

“Hopefully, Westpac will take that on board and change their customer relations,” Mr Griffiths said.nz included “Shame on you Westpac” and “This guy is my hero”, while others called it bank-bashing.co.”

Mr Griffiths has not closed his Westpac account.

Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling said today: “We are extremely sensitive in this environment to the attention banks are getting and the need for us to do things appropriately and work with our customers, and we intend to ensure we take that approach.

Mr Griffiths said he was no longer seeking to buy the property, which was a private sale, as it had now been sold.

Mr Griffiths said he was no longer seeking to buy the property, which was a private sale, as it had now been sold.

Mr Beams said that if Mr Griffiths applied for a mortgage from NBS, he would be treated like any other customer.

Mr Griffiths said he just wanted to get back to painting.

– By LAURA BASHAM,

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The body of Te Papa chief executive Seddon Bennington, who died in the Tararua Ranges last week, returned to
the museum this afternoon ahead of his final farewell tomorrow.

Dr Bennington, 61, and his tramping companion Marcella Jackson, 54, were found dead in the snow in the Tararua Ranges shortly before 11am on Wednesday, four days after they disappeared.

Hundreds of mourners took part in a haka powhiri from 4pm to begin Dr Bennington’s tangi, which was expected to take about four hours.

Dr Bennington’s body was today carried on to the museum’s marae, accompanied by conch shells, karakia and the howling Wellington wind.

Dr Bennington’s body would remain on the marae until after a private funeral service tomorrow from 1pm, and Te Papa staff members would stay on the marae tonight with him, spokeswoman Jane Keig said.

People were able to pay their respects at the marae from between 8pm until 10pm.

Dr Bennington’s body was in a unique eco coffin, which suited the “things he believed in”, Ms Keig said.

“It’s very important for museum staff to have him come back to our marae to say their last farewells,” she said.

“It holds special significance for Dr Bennington – number one, he was named after Prime Minister Seddon, and also last year he received the cloak from Prime Minister Seddon’s family,” Ms Keig said. It was draped in the same kiwi feather cloak that draped former prime minister Richard Seddon’s casket at his tangi. Dr Bennington spent quite a bit of time in his youth with the Tuhoe people.

A Tuhoe cloak was also on his casket.

Ms Keig said his funeral would be a “normal” service, with speakers and a hymn.

Representatives from Wellington City Council and the Ministry of Arts, Heritage and Culture were in attendance at today’s service and Minister Chris Finlayson will attend Dr Bennington’s funeral tomorrow.

The pair had headed into the ranges for a weekend tramp to Kime Hut but failed to return as planned on Sunday.

Dr Bennington’s family earlier thanked the Levin police and the search and rescue teams involved in the recovery operations.

Although the pair were otherwise well-equipped, police said neither had carried a cellphone or locator beacon.

After more than two days of searching, their bodies were found about 1km from the hut.

A private funeral for Mrs Jackson took place earlier today at a Wellington church, followed by a private cremation.

A preliminary post mortem examination showed Dr Bennington and Mrs Jackson died of hypothermia.

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Hamilton Zoo’s newest arrivals are “a doddery old couple” who’ve been together for years, and have moved to the Waikato for their retirement.

The zoo this week welcomed siamang gibbons Iuri, a 30-year-old female, and 25-year-old male Itam, a retired breeding couple who had been residents at Auckland Zoo since the 1980s.

The siamangs, who mate for life, arrived at Hamilton Zoo on Wednesday, and have been settling in to an enclosure near the rowdy lemurs. Auckland Zoo primate keeper Michelle Mudford said the “regular ritual” was a sign the pair were growing more comfortable in their new home.

Iuri and Itam engaged in a noisy “song duet” when the Times visited yesterday. “They’re pretty good at cuddling together to keep warm.

Miss Mudford said although Iuri and Itam have been used to Auckland’s warmer climate, they would soon become acclimatised to Hamilton’s chilly winter mornings. It always becomes normal for these guys, whatever situation they’re in. “They’ve been together about 23 years now, and are hard to separate.”

Miss Mudford, who worked with the siamangs for several years, said they were “a doddery old couple, like you see walking down the road”, who stuck close together and often showed their affection with a bit of canoodling. . They are pretty active, and still play, but just not as often as younger ones would. “It’s all gone a lot better than expected, and they’ve settled in really well.

Miss Mudford was pleased with the ease of their introduction to Hamilton Zoo. They’re pretty people-friendly, and they’ve got a nice little corner of the zoo all to themselves. They’re pretty people-friendly, and they’ve got a nice little corner of the zoo all to themselves

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A two-year-old boy taken from his parents for his own safety ended up with a family living in a crowded caravan with no door.

The toddler, who has not been named, spent more than a week living in a “run-down caravan” attached to a garage.

However, after an investigation into the Canterbury toddler’s living arrangements, Child, Youth and Family (CYF) decided removing him from his carer was not warranted.

“He was placed with his mother’s sister in 2007, at the age of five months.

CYF southern regional director John Henderson said the child was taken from his parents because of “ongoing and serious family violence, and multiple stints in prison for both parents since his birth”. The caravan was old and run-down.”

A CYF report written by duty social worker Brett Blockley, dated February 12 this year, said the boy had been living “in a caravan for a week and a half now”. “It was attached to a garage.”

A section headed “home environment” said six people were living in the caravan. The caravan does not have a door and opens into the garage.

The report also noted that the two-year-old “appeared to be healthy” and “developing well” and “it will need to be ensured that this arrangement is only temporary, as it would not be sustainable in the long period”.

However, the caravan was described as “adequate in the summer months”.

“We did receive a notification about the child’s living conditions.

Henderson said the child and foster family had moved from the caravan into more suitable accommodation. Whilst living in a caravan is not ideal, we determined it was safe and secure and did not, in our view, warrant uplifting this toddler and causing him more distress. Whilst living in a caravan is not ideal, we determined it was safe and secure and did not, in our view, warrant uplifting this toddler and causing him more distress.”

Henderson said the foster family had been forced to move several times. . Repeated attempts by the mother to discover their whereabouts has forced the family to move six times in the past 12 months.

“Due to ongoing safety concerns, it has been deemed necessary to keep the foster family’s residential location confidential.

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“One of the things that is becoming a concern with regards to care is that the benchmark has shifted from `is this providing the best possible environment for children’ to `is this adequate?”‘

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Mike O’Brien, of the Child Poverty Action Group, said that without all the facts, it was difficult to judge the case, but it “raised some concerns on a general level”…”

. if this child is one of six sharing a caravan in 2009, it’s a fairly minimalist standard

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‘Depressed’ accused fails to sway judge

– Sunday, 01 February 2009

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FLOOD OF TEARS: Alex Verne Patten, 44, has to face trial despite his lawyer’s plea that his emotional state made a court case difficult.

The lawyer for a "depressed" man facing serious drugs charges tried to have his trial aborted when he claimed his client was so unwell he broke down every time he tried to talk to him about the case.
Barrister Chris Comeskey dramatically illustrated his argument at the Auckland High Court on Friday by pointing at Alex Verne Patten, 44.
"This is as good as it gets.
He was crying and had his head bowed in court.
"I have never encountered anything like this before," Comeskey said of the emotional state of his client, who is charged with supplying methamphetamine and manufacturing the class-A drug. I'm not going to run a trial like that," Comeskey said.
He said being Patten's lawyer "was tantamount to representing someone who is asleep" and there was no way he could give evidence if he exercised his right to do so.
But Justice Hugh Williams said the trial, to start later this month, would go ahead.
A psychiatric report presented to the court confirmed Patten had a mental illness. It won't be an easy trial for anyone," the judge said.
"There will be trial problems that may need to be accommodated."
His decision prompted Comeskey to say he wanted to withdraw as Patten's lawyer. "I have considered all the issues and in my view the level of unfitness is not made out.
The judge told him the court would not allow that to happen.
The judge told him the court would not allow that to happen.
Comeskey agreed, but said he wanted a further psychiatric assessment before the trial began. He needs your expertise," Justice Williams said. . He said he would be seeking the assessment from a specialist the Crown agreed to.
Patten was charged with the two drugs counts, both of which carried maximum terms of life imprisonment.
Patten was arrested in 2005 as part of the four-month, multi-million-dollar Operation Leningrad, which included the arrest of several Highway 61 gang members and associates for alleged drug dealing.
Following the hung jury, in February, 2007, a second trial was scheduled for late last year but was aborted after Patten had a depressive episode.
But jurors in the 20-week trial could not reach verdicts on Patten's charges.

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‘I’m just so pleased to have them back’

Mother tries hard not to get angry

– Saturday, 10 January 2009

Taua Evile

Mia Evile

Helen Adams is trying hard not to get angry about the death of her two daughters in a house fire in a crowded South Auckland house.
For Adams, focusing on her "beautiful" daughters and the joy they brought her is more important now than casting blame.
Her daughters, Taua Evile, 11, and Mia Evile, 8, perished in a blaze on Tuesday caused by a late-night fry-up of hot chips at the home of their father, Misi Sau.
"I can't get angry.
At the time of the fire there was believed to be at least nine children and several adults sleeping in the four-bedroomed Mangere home. I just have to keep saying it was a horrible accident and it was nobody's fault," she said. I have no anger.
"This time, the funeral, is about us. This (Canterbury) was their home. Me and the girls and our family."
Adams returned to Christchurch with her daughters' bodies on Thursday night and was planning a funeral service and cremation for them on Monday. I'm just so pleased to have them back with me.
They left Christchurch on December 9 to visit their father and holiday in Samoa, where their paternal family comes from, Adams said.
The girls lived in Avondale with their mother and spent holidays with their father in Auckland. In Canterbury, they spent every weekend at their grandparents' leafy Tai Tapu house. In Canterbury, they spent every weekend at their grandparents' leafy Tai Tapu house. She had recently started a paper round and was going to spend her first few pay packets onHavaiana jandals, her mother said.
Adams said her eldest daughter was a real "mother hen" who was always "examining out for her little sister"..
"I was so, so proud of her . she organised the round all by herself, all off her own bat..
Mia was the shyer of the two, but she had a definite sense of mischief, Adams said."
Taua was an advanced student at her Avondale intermediate school and was a popular girl with a cheeky sense of humour, her mother said.
She recently discovered raw eggs and carrots and was broadening not only her tastes but becoming bolder in life, Adams said.
Mia was very definite about what she liked to eat and went through a phase of only wanting chicken nuggets.
"They were such warm, loving girls and they were my whole life.
"They were such warm, loving girls and they were my whole life.
"I'm just going to get through the next few days and then try and take things from there."

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Racing the ‘greatest buzz in the world’

Saturday, 03 January 2009

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TWO STAYERS: Mates Allen Donald, left, and John Jury in front of the old stand at Tauherenikau racecourse.

For Allen Donald, racing is a bug that he caught early on. Once you have got into it, it's like an itch you can't get rid of," he said. "It's like a disease.
"I was 5 or 6 the first time I came, I had my first bet when I was 7 or 8.
The veteran trainer, owner and former amateur jockey has been going to the New Year races at Tauherenikau since the late 1940s, with the Wairarapa course the scene of his first triumph.40 which was big money then," he said.
"Four of us put 10 shillings on for a place, it got second, so we got 2. He then went on to train racehorses on the track, before moving in the 1970s to Cambridge, where he still lives.
Mr Donald grew up in the area, with much of the farmland surrounding Tauherenikau, close to Featherston, owned by his family. "I normally chuck $10 or $20 on a race, I usually put about $50 in my pocket and don't really worry about it.
However, Mr Donald said he liked to make it down to his old stomping ground to catch up with friends and have a small flutter.
For jockey Jonathan Riddell, who rode in five races yesterday, it was a return to the track where his racing career started two years of his apprenticeship was spent at Tauherenikau."
About 14,000 people flocked to Tauherenikau yesterday, betting about $470,000 on the meeting's 12 races, which featured both harness racing and gallops.. "It's a good place to race . I love the track," he said.. Mr Jury, a former steward at the club, said the relaxed nature of the meeting made it an enjoyable day out.
Also in attendance was John Jury, owner of star galloper Fritzy Boy, who made an exhibition appearance yesterday. . "The atmosphere is marvellous, you could not run many meetings like this elsewhere, with people able to sit round under the trees. It's the greatest buzz in the world, it doesn't matter if it's a race here at Tauherenikau or a big cup race.
"A lot of people get interested in racing from coming here."

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Nanny review under attack

– Wednesday, 24 December 2008

A government review will prevent teenage nannies working in homes and also force thousands of children into daycare centres, an early-childhood educator warns.
Porse, an in-home childcare training and employment organisation, yesterday raised several concerns over the review.
Managing director Jenny Yule said the proposal was discriminatory and restricted younger nannies.
Education Minister Anne Tolley announced the previous month that she would review all new regulations for the early-childhood education sector put in place by the previous government.
She said parents wanted their children cared for at home rather than in daycare centres, and the move would overcrowd centres and accentuate staff shortages.
Yule has called for an urgent meeting with Tolley over the issue. These were effective from December 1.
However, an Education Ministry spokeswoman said the concerns had been raised too soon.
Yesterday, Porse released a letter from Tolley, dated December 22, in which the minister said that in the meantime she was removing some of the provisions that were going to be reviewed, effective from early next year.She said childcare regulations were still under consultation, with a decision six months away.
However, a spokeswoman for the minister, Helene Ambler, said Porse would be included in consultations.
One of the provisions that is going to be removed allows nannies under 20 to provide home-based services.
"No decisions have been made around any of the regulations.
"Decisions have been suspended for six months while we consult with the sector," she said."
Mother-of-two Kate Gardner has employed nannies aged between 18 and 25."
Mother-of-two Kate Gardner has employed nannies aged between 18 and 25. .
"In some ways, younger nannies are more flexible and able to get on a level with the kids more easily," she said.
She said it was the individual's maturity levels were more important than age."
Christchurch mother Hayley Marsh has had the help of nannies, aged 18 to 25, through the New Zealand College of Early Childhood Education work placement programme.

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"Looking after children isn't something you can train; it's a gift, and it comes down to the individual," she said

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Pedestrian pinned as rubbish truck rolls

The Tuesday, 23 December 2008

Awomanon an early morning walk is in hospital with serious injuries after a rubbish truck rolled and flung her into a fence.
The light Owyak Waste recycling truck rolled while coming down Onslow Rd, in the Wellington suburb of Khandallah, about 9.30am yesterday.
"[The truck] came down on one side and pinned at least one leg between the roof of the container and the timber railing," Johnsonville fire officer Mike Dombroski said.
It is believed to have spun across the street, collecting the pedestrian and leaving her wedged between the truck's container and a fence. "She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. .
Allan Dykstra, whose house is below the bend where the accident happened, went to help."
Accidents were fairly common on the windy road, which links Khandallah with Hutt Rd, Mr Dykstra said. "They asked me to bring up some towels, but she didn't want them, she did not want to be touched. The cause of the crash was still unclear, police said.
Owyak Waste refused to comment as the driver who was unhurt was being investigated by police.