REDUCE SPEED
Congratulations to council for installing the new footpath on the south side of Kerikeri Rd.
The upsurge in pedestrian traffic shows the community has truly embraced the new walkway. Unfortunately, more than half the users live on the other side of the road and it can be a difficult and dangerous process to cross to gain access to the footpath.
Traffic has increased dramatically over the last few years and is particularly bad during school travel hours.
The 80km speed limit is no longer warranted. It is now a hazard to pedestrian traffic that is easily mitigated by a lower speed limit.
I have watched children try to cross the road with great concern. Council, please address this hazard and lower the speed limit and install an island as part of the Access Rd turn redesign before there is a serious accident.
John Sanderson
Kerikeri
GRATEFUL THANKS
My sincere and grateful thanks to the honest person who found my wallet in Kerikeri and handed it, intact, into the police station. You have restored our faith in human nature.
M Foster
Kerikeri
SMART DOG
I don’t know how much progress has been made to get Laska released since The Bay Chronicle article, but I am hoping there is the odd sensible person working in animal management.
Laska is obviously a very intelligent and cared for pet who, on this occasion, has been a bit smarter than her owners and taken a small leave of absence. If it is not possible to determine what is the object on the video then the maximum [penalty] would have to be a first time warning.
Laska might be like my dog Jackie who has a first class hatred of rats and could have been assisting the council in their bid to make Northland rodent free.
All we can do is pray that common sense will prevail and hope that we have been given the full story and this is only the first time that Laska has come to the attention of animal control. Paul Rappe
Coopers Beach
NOT ACCOUNTABLE
The grandmother who potted one of the young offenders running riot in Kaikohe deserves our respect and admiration and so too does the mother of two other teenagers involved.
She realised the behaviour was totally out of order and exercised her social responsibility. The pity is others didn’t act in a similar fashion. When police went to some of the culprits’ homes, they were set upon by the parents.
Instead of reprimanding their kids for robbing a liquor store, the parents turned on the people upholding the law. That shows the problems exist in the homes of these kids as well.
The young ‘crims’ are not accountable anymore. They know, if caught, the only punishment will be home detention.
We have 22 police stations in Northland but 16 of them are unmanned. There are far too few police.
Everything is stacked in favour of the criminals. Burglars in the North know they have a 97 percent chance of getting away with their crimes.
We have to return this country to what other generations knew: That crime doesn’t pay.
At the moment crime does pay. Winston Peters
Northland MP
HAVE YOUR SAY
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