LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The members of Toko Playcentre thank the following organisations for helping out and supporting us for our 50th Jubilee held last month: ANZCO, Silverfern Farms, Bradley Livestock and Toko Home Kill for supplying and butchering meat, Westpac for supplying the barbecue, our local Countdown and New World Supermarkets for drinks and food, Yarrows for supplying bread, FarmSource for the icecreams, Purely Wood Toko for our Life Members Plaque, Amity Court Motel for providing napkins and pens, Pack Centre for plates, the Toko Lions and Toko Rural Woman for helping out with our dinner and Taunt Contracting for supplying metal for our muddy carpark.

We were blown away with all of your generosity. We really appreciated the support you gave to us for our special event.

We would also like to thank the TSB Community Trust and the TET for their very generous grants provided to us for our new matting area under our fort, that we had completed in time for our jubilee.

We are very grateful for your continued support on our projects, and think what you do for our local communities is amazing.

E EVANS Toko Playcentre president.

The article entitled ‘Old road’s future up for debate’ in the June 13 2018 edition of the Press contains a couple of comments that should be clarified.

The Whangamomona and Stratford Councils (the merger took place in 1955) had ceased ongoing maintenance of the road from Whangamomona to Aotuhia long before the mid-1980s, though the Murphy family used to get Ron McCartie to tidy it up with his bulldozer from time to time while they leased part of the block up to the late 1970s.

Lands & Survey wanted the Stratford County to officially close the Whangamomona Road in the early 1980s to allow them control and ownership of it between Aotuhia and the Poarangi Station which they had bought from the Gilmour family.

But as a council we refused, maintaining that it should remain public for potential recreational and access use in the future.

However they were granted permission to undertake some upgrading to improve the road.

Later in the decade the Stratford County removed a bridge that had been deemed unsafe after someone had torched it.

Back in the earlier days before the last Aotuhia settler (Ted Wylie) moved out in 1942, the valley could also be accessed from Makahu, via the Kohi Saddle.

This was the route upgraded and metalled for the Lands & Survey land settlement scheme in the early 1980s, the entire cost of around $1 million for the new road being met by the government.

DAVID WALTER former Stratford County

Council Chairman

The news that our region is aiming to become free of pest predators is great as I doubt there are many, if any, people who would claim rats, possums, stoats and their ilk are anything but a pest.

A shame however, this can’t be extended to also introduce restrictions on other animals. I am not suggesting we ban pet cats, but, given their natural tendency to hunt some of our native birds, perhaps we could introduce some limitation at least?

Maybe limit the number of cats a household can have to two, over which number neighbours would have to sign an agreement to allow more.

Then compulsory microchipping and maybe even a curfew — stopping cats going outside at night?

Not only would this reduce the number of birds being hunted by the cats, it could also have a second benefit — reducing the number of times cars swerve along streets as a cat darts out in front of the driver at night?

Dog owners have to go through various hoops and pay for the privilege of pet ownership, why not cat owners? S ROBBINS.