Car hits power pole

A car hit a power pole near Manakau. The crash happened at 5.10pm on Sunday on State Highway 1 near Manakau, outside Tatum Park, a police spokeswoman said. The pole, along with the wires, came down in the crash.

House fire probe

A house fire in Palmerston North is under investigation. Emergency services were called to the fire on Tremaine Ave, between Vogel and Ruahine streets, at 12.50am on Sunday, a fire service spokeswoman said. Milson fire station officer Richard Harley said the fire was suspicious and was believed to have been lit underneath the house. There was nobody home at the time. A fire safety officer and police were at the house on Sunday morning investigating.

Climate change scientist dies

Long-time member of the Royal Society of New Zealand Manawatu¯ branch and climate change scientist Dr Kevin Tate has died. Tate was a soil chemist and expert in ecosystem processes. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1995 and won the Marsden Medal of the New Zealand Association of Scientists in 2005. He researched climate change for more than four decades. Tate was also a judge at the Manawatu¯ Science and Technology Fair for several years and he mentored pupils undertaking school science projects.

Talk about wetlands

With more than 95 per cent of Manawatu¯ ’s wetlands gone, a plant ecologist is encouraging people to look after the remaining wetlands. Massey University’s Dr Jill Rapson is hosting a talk today, 7.30pm, at the Palmerston North City Library. The entry fee to the talk is a gold coin donation.

Art deco train ride

An art deco train ride from Ka¯piti Coast to Napier has been so popular it’s sold out. The restored diesel locomotive with heritage carriages is heading through the Manawatu¯ Gorge on its way to the 30th Art Deco festival in Hawke’s Bay on Saturday. It starts at Paekakariki, while also picking up passengers in Levin and Palmerston North, with several other stops on the way.