Grant funds playground upgrade
A Temuka kindergarten has been able to update its playground and create new play areas for children thanks to a $20,000 grant.
An upgraded sand pit and a new tunnel were just some of the features Rhona Day Kindergarten was able to create with the grant from Southern Trust, head teacher Bev O’Connor said.
‘‘To help us with some playground upgrades and just beautification, but also providing exciting play areas for children,’’ Bev O’Connor said.
‘‘It was an extremely generous grant,’’ she said.
The kindergarten committee had plans drawn up towards the end of 2014 for the playground upgrade, and a quote put the work at around $27,000, she said. The kindergarten raised some of the money before applying for the grant.
Some of the changes pre-empted new health and safety requirements, and some related to repair and maintenance, O’Connor said.
‘‘We’re an Enviro School so a lot of the things we did were sort of sensitive to that type of development ... We tried to make it as natural as possible, fitting in with what was here.’’
An example of that was the kindergarten’s sand pit - the end of it was disintegrating so a few local river rocks were installed and a small wooden bridge was built to stabilise it, she said.
A new addition to the playground was a bean frame.
A planter box of beans was put at the end of the sand path, and during summer the beans grew up over the frame creating a cool, shady tunnel for the children to play in, she said.
Southern Trust area representative Greg Clapp accepted an invitation from the kindergarten to go and see the changes enabled by the grant. The kindergarten held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the new and improved playground on Monday.
Clapp said it was a worthwhile project for the trust to be involved with.
Centres to be sold
A pair of Timaru early childhood centres look set to be sold to a big national player as their owner sells-down South Island assets. Privately-owned Little Wonders Childcare Group has confirmed it is selling its Glenwood and West End centres, with four others in the lower South Island, to Auckland-headquartered Evolve Education Group. Little Wonders Childcare Group managing director Ben Hurst on Monday declined to discuss the move as his company continued to inform its client families. An Evolve representative was also unable to be contacted. In a press release, Hurst confirmed centres in Timaru Dunedin, Oamaru and Cromwell would be sold. Little Wonders management was working closely with Evolve to ensure a smooth transition ahead of the contract being settled next month. ‘‘It is important to us in the transition to Evolve that the Little Wonders communities and the delivery of a quality educational programmes to our children and their families are not impacted upon,’’ Hurst said. The company most recently opened its Glenwood centre, on Wai-iti Rd, in August 2013. Hurst will continue to own and operate centres in Auckland and Wellington. Evolve is a listed company that operates more than 100 centres and employs about 2000 staff across New Zealand. The company recorded a statutory net profit after tax of $15.6 million in the year to March 31, 2016.
Trees removed from cemetery
Twenty trees at the western corner of the Fairlie Cemetery have been felled to create more burial space as the cemetery nears capacity, according to the Mackenzie District Council. The area will provide for up to 300 more plots which is expected to cater for increasing demand over the next 20 years. Some of the trees were more than 80 years old and were becoming unstable, the council said in a press release.
Police notebook
Incidents to reported to police yesterday include:
A 35-year-old Winchester woman was processed for drink driving after being stopped by police on Earl Rd, Temuka at 3.20pm on Monday. She recorded an excess breath alcohol level of 454 mcg.
A man was processed for drink driving on Nelson St at 1.25am on Monday. He recorded an excess breath alcohol level of 502 mcg.
A 15-year-old male was arrested for burglary at 10.50pm on Sunday after he was located near the Playhouse Theatre on Church St, after the alarm was activated.