THUMBS UP & DOWN

■ Thumbs up to Dave Locke firewood supplies for stopping to help my mum when she was struggling with a flat tyre in the pouring rain. I was shocked to hear how many didn't bother and drove straight past an older lady on her own. Thanks Dave!

■ Thumbs up to the crew at the Spark Trails Working Bee on Saturday. The Dirt Jumps and Pump Track at Spa Park look and ride fantastic. Mason is the best trail boss.

■ Thumbs up to everyone who supported the Secondhand Bike Sale last Saturday. Kids Bike Taupo¯ appreciates your enthusiasm and it's so good to see people getting hooked up with recycled bikes.

■ Thumbs up to Dixie McCormack for 25 years service in the sanitation team for Taupo¯ District Council. Cleaning toilets and picking up litter, making our town beautiful. Hope you get a thank you and a big hug from council. From an appreciative ratepayer.

■ Thumbs up and thanks to

Tu¯ rangi New World and our local community for the Family2family food parcels Tu¯ rangi Foodbank has received.

■ Thumbs up to AJ at Advanced Plumbing and Gas. Amazing service and workmanship. Thanks again for everything you do in our community. Very happy clients.

■ Thumbs up to Andrew, a manager at Mitre 10 Taupo¯ who went the extra mile to sort out a problem for us and even came to our residence. We can't thank him enough for his outstanding customer service.

■ Thumbs up to Deanna at Noel Leeming. On Saturday July 11, my Dad and I needed some assistance from someone tech savvy to help install a smart watch to a mobile device. The device was not playing ball, so a new phone purchase was required! We received fantastic customer attention and service from Deanna.

■ Thumbs up to Victoria at Flooring Xtra. She organised a desperately-needed carpet removal and replacement in just four days! Amazing service. Brilliant to deal with someone so lovely and so efficient. Highly recommended!

■ Thumbs up to Shivi and the team from Bakers Delight for supporting our students at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. We really appreciate your generosity, thanks Shivi.

■ Thumbs up to Aunty Kate and Uncle Dan who had us stay in the first week of the school holidays showing us lots of different and fun things to do and see in and around Taupo¯ . We had a blast, thanks.

■ Thumbs up to Kelsey of Tech Central who came to my house to install my two new Spark phones to a new wireless connection with small changes to my computer. Helpful, professional service.

■ Thumbs up to Debbie at Tremains Rentals who has just been incredibly supportive and efficient. She is an absolute gem and made a stressful time (with a few hurdles) heaps easier by being there every step of the way. Thank you so much for everything you have been amazing and very patient!

■ Thumbs up to all the calls and new clients from my advert for my massage and pain relief clinic. Thanks for saving my business and going local. A big welcome to everyone.

■ Thumbs down to council political correctness gone insane. An accidental slip of the tongue regarding a very old phrase. An apology offered and then a Code of Conduct complaint? If this is all council has to worry about, we are all very much relieved as rates obviously will be much reduced this year. Accept Mr Boddy's apology and in turn apologise to Mr Boddy for council's very unfortunate lack of judgment in this matter. Please demonstrate better judgment on such matters in future and concentrate instead on our core council business.

■ Thumbs down to the Taupo¯ Mayor and councillors for their crude pack attack on Cr Boddy. What he said was not PC and he immediately apologised for it. It was then published that the mayor called Cr Boddy's behaviour “filthy and disgusting”. Which councillor will make a Code of Conduct complaint about that? What a pack of hypocrites. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

■ Thumbs down to the mayor and his council for the grossly overacted shock and horror show regarding an off the cuff comment made by a fellow councillor. We all make a verbal mistake on occasion and whether we like it or not, it was a saying which dates back to the 1840s, and had a different connotation to your interpretation. Not one of us is perfect, let alone squeaky clean! Time to call off your bulldogs mayor and accept the apologies, let it be a lesson . . . to us all. Thumbs up to the councillor concerned for your grace and dignity in the face of the “virtuous” and overacted precious tirade from your fellow councillors.

■ Thumbs down to our Mayor and chief executive for the embarrassing and pathetic complaint that you made and have caused to one of your councillors and work colleagues. A slip of the tongue of a very old quote which your councillor apologised for as soon as he said it, should have been end of story. But no, you blew it all out of context and made it known publicly. I feel very disappointed in you and any other councillor that agreed with your dealings. I believe a public apology to Cr Boddy is the least you could do.

■ Thumbs down to the Mayor and Taupo¯ District Council for “accepting” a six-storey building in the Taupo¯ CBD. It's not the hotel we're complaining about. Accepting six storeys means this dumb council has now set a future building height precedent in the CBD, of a minimum of six storeys, higher than Queenstown. Whatever next?

■ Thumbs down to the selfish person who complained about getting a wet Weekender two weeks ago — spare a thought for the people (usually children) who get soaking wet while trying to deliver you a dry newspaper.

■ Thumbs down to the idiot driver in the small grey car who obviously thought it funny to drive his car south across the Control Gates bridge on the pedestrian footpath last Thursday morning. I just hope somebody got your number and refers it to Police because you are not fit to have a driver's licence.

■ Do you have a bouquet or a brickbat? Email your thumbs up/ thumbs down to us at news@taupoweekender.co.nz, text us on 021 241 4568 (insert the code TW at the start of your text message) or drop them into our office in Waipapa House, Paora Hapi St, Taupo¯ . Thumbs up/thumbs down may be edited or abridged. Personal attacks or thumbs down that refer to easily-identifiable people, businesses or groups won't be published.