TO THE EDITOR

Dangerous crossing

Regarding the difficulties of crossing Spa Rd, ( Taupo¯ & Tu¯rangi Weekender, May 24), there was a zebra crossing on lower Spa Rd for many years but it was dangerous. There was a fatality there in the uphill lane in 1998, after which the crossing was done away with and the present structure built. Congestion on lower Spa Rd is going to continue to steadily get worse, which strengthens the case for a second bridge linking onto

pepe St. GRAEME CHISHOLM restricted. Of course the second paragraph is nonsense, and not meant to be believed, especially the words “significant danger” and “friable”. Other pronouncements of recent times on the subject of asbestos cement should not be believed either, but were bandied about pretty carelessly, and the words “friable asbestos“as a reason for TDC building replacement are very annoyingly still mentioned in the publication LOVE TAUPO that is supposed to be an authoritative “document” assisting people to help TDC with its decisions for the next 10 years. The biggest being the siting and speculative cost of new council chambers. A second bridge is apparently on a back burner in the meantime.

I W WALKER to them before entering the pool I would have been miffed too. I’m aware of the protocols around moving through fishing pools together, but the reality is that it matters little and in my experience the notion that moving through the pool first gets you to untouched water and therefore better fish is highly flawed. What problems would have been caused by continuing to fish below this angler? I suspect none. Without excusing insulting and threatening behaviours, all might well have been avoided if Mr Ching and colleague had simply continued to fish the pool. Mr Ching continues by asserting that “It is not uncommon for “locals” (his quotation mark not mine) to bully intimidate and assault visitors to Tu¯rangi!” He further asserts that it is “behaviour that is symptomatic of an inherent problem.” I challenge Mr Ching to furnish facts to back up these assertions. As a long-term resident of Tu¯rangi I am resentful of his allegations and, furthermore, find the quotation marks around the word locals offensive as he clearly is referring to Ma¯ori locals and the logical conclusion is that he assumes all local Ma¯ori are aggressive, angry, and abusive! He is being covertly racist by making these statements. Further to this, Mr Ching seems to infer that there is a link between the (agreed) dire state of the town centre and the unfortunate events in the river, and suggests that “locals” would like it better if they had the river to themselves and to live in a ghost town. The reasons for the state of the town centre are many-fold, but “locals” wanting it that way is not among them. Being a long-time local I (along with many other residents) would like nothing more than to see a re-vitalisation of the town centre, and in fact, at least two local businesses are currently spending money further developing some areas. The letter is a classic example of someone jumping to the top of the ladder of inference, claiming bold and unsubstantiated “truths”, and reasoning based on the emotions created by a tense and unpleasant situation. I would ask if Mr Ching reported the incident to the police? To me this would have been a much more logical and reasoned response than the letter he chose to publish. CLINT GREEN (abridged) 2.30pm booking we had to wait around 20 minutes just to pay our entry fee, it was clear from the first moment of arrival that the said pool was very under-staffed. The facilities were filthy, from the piece of chicken my daughter found on the bottom of the kids’ play pool which she insisted on recovering and showing me, to the filth in the changing rooms. Sitting in one of the spa pools after the swim I looked down and saw a film of around 10mm of dead skin floating on top of the water. I was disgusted. It was a very busy day, with wet weather and an event in one of their pools obviously putting a strain on resources. At one point I counted 80-plus kids in the play pool, being monitored by one lifeguard who was clearly not interested in their welfare nor in fact his job. We sometimes take Taupo¯’s AC Baths and its staff for granted. It’s just ‘sat there’ up on the hill waiting for us to use. Whenever I email for a booking — they reply within 10 to 15 minutes on business days, confirming our lane space. Our athletes from all over New Zealand remark every time they come, just how clean the facilities are and how comfortably warm the water temperature is. And the lifeguards genuinely look like they enjoy what they do and they’re engaged and focussed on their primary role — safety. Thank you very much for making our job as a coaching company based here in Taupo¯ so easy. Consider it a BIG thumbs up to what you’re doing, AC Baths.

STEPHEN BRADLEY