Make the most of life
Steve Bullock is the area commander for Taupo police, which encompasses Taupo, Turangi, Tokoroa, Putaruru and Mangakino police stations and areas. This month he talks about how important it is to make the most of the time we have. Young drivers learn abou
As I recover from three weeks of the Man-flu I am reminded of just how great it is to be alive and living in the South Waikato. With the Grim Reaper knocking on your door you take time out to reflect on life and more importantly what is important and what is not. The sudden death of big Jerry Collins is also a stark reminder of how quickly our journey can end and how important it is to live while we are living.
For me what is most important is that we are all safe and feel safe, in our homes, communities, and on our roads. While we in police do our very best here day in and day out, it is the community that makes the real difference. Back in 1829 the founder of modern day policing, Sir Robert Peel of the London Metropolitan Police, stated ‘‘the people are the police and the police are the people’’. He spoke of ‘‘ policing by consent’’ which means that we are only able to do our job when we have the support of our community. He was right then and he is right now, we are united, one and the same. Next time you ask what are the police doing about it can I ask you to consider what you are doing about it and what it is that you want us to do? We all have a role to play especially so in terms of prevention.
It’s funny how when you are low you think about how you got there, could I have prevented being sick? Who gave it to me? Maybe if I was fitter and healthier I would not be feeling this bad. I am now signed up for the eight- week challenge with Fighting Fit and let me tell you that after the first night I thought I had indeed died. While I struggle to regain my fitness and lose the pounds father time has given me over the years, I am reminded of the need for maintenance. No point in going all out for a short period of time and then going back to the fridge and couch programme. It is the same for crime and crime prevention, no point in locking up a baddy and then forgetting about him or her. I can tell you that at the moment we have a number of serial offenders active in our community, we catch them, they are released from jail and they continue their merry way. One of them walks into business yards day or night looking for something that is not bolted down, he then pinches it, whatever it is. Like I said last month if you see some rooster in your yard that does not belong there, call police. If you don’t he will be stealing from you, no ifs, buts or maybes. Crooks like this never change and we need to be watching them, at all times.
My thumbs up this month goes to one of the young doctors at Tokoroa Hospital. With high fever, increased heart beat and struggling to breathe I was taken to the emergency section on a Monday night. After a series of routine checks the Doc told me, in nice terms, to harden up and ‘‘guts it’’ out. He refused to give me antibiotics or any drugs saying that the best results would come if I healed naturally. In a world where we have pills for everything, excuses for everything and we worry about everything, he gave me back some perspective. Get on with it, life’s short. Thanks Doc. My thumbs down goes to the mongrels who are stealing chainsaws from rural properties and off the back of utes. Seriously, there is nothing lower than stealing a man’s chainsaw, nothing at all, not even the manflu. South Waikato students were shown the harsh realities of driving recklessly at this year’s Young Drivers Expo.
In its fourth year, the expo was organised by the district council which hosted more than 200 high school students over two days.
St John, Tokoroa Fire Brigade and police attended with informative displays at the South Waikato Sports and Events Centre.
Council road safety co-ordinator Robert Cathie believed the messages were effective because of the interactive activities.
‘‘This is the most effective thing in getting the message across.’’
One in particular was the ‘‘beer goggles’’ where the students had to walk in straight line, throw balls into a bucket and do a child’s puzzle with blurry vision.
The students also listened to the first- hand experience from Jade Beale who was in an accident outside Tirau in December 2011.
The accident was caused by a woman who was texting and driving and unfortunately died.