NEWS IN BRIEF

A winning Lotto ticket was sold in Inglewood, winning the purchaser $30,361. The lucky person was one of 10 Lotto players to have reason to open the champagne with a win in Lotto’s second division draw.

The winning tickets were sold all over New Zealand.

The New Zealand Chambers of Commerce national conference is being held in New Plymouth this week.

Of the 30 chambers in New Zealand, 26 will be represented at the two-day event. Along with presentations and workshops, guest speakers include CEO of Venture Taranaki Trust Stuart Trundle and minister of small business Stuart Nash. Day sessions will be held at The Devon Hotel and Pukeiti Gardens on Thursday and Friday with a dinner function hosted at the Len Lye Centre. New Zealand Chambers of Commerce support over 22,000 members. Each chamber’s role is to influence and inspire business. As not-for-profit membership associations they promote, support and encourage sustainable, profitable business growth. For more information www.taranakichamber.co.nz parents’ accessing the check for their children. Taranaki DHB’s B4 School Check coordinator Kerryn Smith says the check gives each child the best possible start to school. The B4SC is the final Well Child check and is free for all children who have turned four. The DHB wants parents to bring their child in for their check as close to their fourth birthday as they can. “We encourage families to be on time for their child’s check so any problems can be addressed before they start school.” The check takes around 45-60 minutes with a nurse who covers off a child’s health and development, vision, hearing, teeth, height, weight, social and emotional wellbeing, and immunisations.

Rural Women New Zealand is calling for a review of the school bus eligibility criteria, particularly in the rural areas. Education Portfolio Convenor and Board Member Sue Higgin says the safest way for children to get to school in rural New Zealand is by bus, however the current eligibility criteria for the service means that children are being put in dangerous situations. She says if children live within 2kmof a rural school they are not eligible for the local bus service where there is one, and are forced to walk or cycle on roads with no shoulders, often used by logging trucks, stock trucks and milk tankers, making it treacherous. She says the rural bus is vital for farming families who have both a busy working life and distance, for those who live further away, to contend with.