The ladies were out painting again this week in preparation for the opening of a phone shop in Princes Street. We will bring you details as they come to hand. And at Putaruru College, preparations are in place for the removal of a fallen tree caused by the winds a few weeks ago. Later today – can’t see the Woodsy for the trees.

This one day event is open to everyone and all the details are here. The day was co-planned with schools and the Prattler. All schools have full details that were supplied prior to Term 2 and the May Prattler also carried all the details. It’s important to note how to submit your photos and the fact that all photographs are to be digitally supplied un-edited – that is no use of any post-photography tools. We encourage everyone to get behind this photographic record of our area over one day. Schools have been encouraged to set times that best suit the age group of their students. Start your planning now.

The Wooden Farmer and Steinies Hairmasters hosted a Pink Ribbon Breakfast this morning at The Wooden Farmer from 7:00am til 9:30am. For each attending, $10 was donated to Breast Cancer. Shortly after 8:00 there was spirited bidding for a number of items on auction. The Wooden Farmer had many pink balloon groups hanging, the staff were all dressed for the theme as well as those attending.

The AGM of SeniorNet was held  yesterday at the Putaruru Hotel and after the formal business of Warren Anderson’s Chairman’s Report and Secretary Sheryn Hamley’s Annual Report, those present were addressed by the guest speaker, Grant Sidaway, employed by the Federation as its Executive Officer to manage the organisation at a National level. One aspect of Grant’s talk focused on what he described as the attributes of a tech-dependent world. These attributes were posed as questions. we no longer plan? we’re constantly socializing? best friends don’t meet in person but still remain close? we don’t focus on remembering details? there will always be an expert on hand with information we need? access to information makes us independent? but… we depend on others to share their information to help us? so… actually we are more dependent on each other? Grant then went on talk about what it means to be digitally competent. There are many frameworks that discuss this concept. Those Grant presented were: getting connected managing information communicating transacting creating problem solving staying safe These concepts are fairly common in educational discussions throughout New Zealand and there are many variations of them around the world. Some discussion then took place around the question: is the world a better place with social media? Following a brief questions section, the SeniorNet AGM was then closed.  

A number of Putaruru Business used the anti-bullying pink theme today to colourful effect. We catch up with some of the shops in this photographic collection. Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying, mobilising their whole school, after a peer was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Pink Shirt Day aims to create schools, workplaces and communities where all people feel safe, valued and respected.  

The exterior painting of Putaruru shop frontages continues. Recently it was Putaruru Fruit and Veges that received its planned make-over from the painting team working with Putaruru Moving Forward. It looks smart with its clean white and blue colours. Putaruru Fruit and Veg was one of the original concept images floated at the beginning of the town make-over projects.

We present a few budget comments today that have musical foundations – to set the score right and stave off the blues. Taxes: If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street; If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat; If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat; If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet. [The Beatles] Education: What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine? What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine? I learned our Government must be strong; It’s always right and never wrong; Our leaders are the finest men And we elect them again and again. [Pete Seeger] Health: Doctor, my eyes Tell me what is wrong Was I unwise to leave them open for so long [Jackson Brown] Infrastructure:   Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot They took all the trees And put ’em in a tree museum And they charged the people A dollar and a half to seem ’em [Joni Mitchell] Housing: So welcome home, see I made a space for you now Welcome home from the bottom of our heart Welcome home from the bottom of our hearts Keep it coming now keep it coming now You’ll find most of us here with our hearts wide open [Dave Dobbyn] Debt Reduction: I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay Ain’t it sad And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me That’s too bad In my dreams I have a plan If I got me a wealthy man I wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball [ABBA] The last word goes to our Finance Minister; Just a dream, just a dream All our plans and our all schemes [Jimmy Clanton] We’ll stop at this point, but feel free to offer more suggestions about the budget today – from a musical point of view.

Tirau Lions had their monthly dinner meeting this week at The Tirau Golf Club and hosted Hinuera and Cambridge Lions. The Tirau Fire Brigade and Putaruru/Tirau St John were presented with a Cheque for $7,000 each after the Tirau Lions Golf tournament was held in February and raised $14,000. Shelley Flintoft from St John and Jim Phillips from the Tirau Fire Brigade accepted the cheques from Club member Andrew Main and spoke of the work that they are involved in. It was rewarding to hear that the money they received stays in our community and is used either to purchase new equipment or help fund their invaluable service to us.   New Planters New planter boxes have been set up at the top of the hill in Tirau, kindly supplied by Notting Hill. These are now planted up and look very smart.

Yesterday this site received the greatest number of reads to date. We appreciate that. Firstly, general maps of Option Area 6. See the overview plan here. Today we bring you images from 4 locations in option 6 on the Draft Putaruru Growth Area Plan. These images are indicative only. And yes there was another frost this morning, but this cleared earlier than the one yesterday. Read the other posts about this topic and remember that you can comment from here.

Following the positive public meeting recently, a revised discussion version of the plan, (May 12th, 2017) has been released by the South Waikato District Council. We all have an opportunity to provide feedback to the SWD Council before 4pm on Monday, 5th of May. Today we show roadside taken images of two of the areas indicated in the plan. These photos are indicative only. The first is taken from the end of Ruru Crescent looking across towards Sholsan Street while the next looks back from Sholsan towards Ruru. The draft plan refers to this as area 8a.   Our next image is taken from the Scott and Overdale Road intersection and looks back across the land identified as 1 on the draft plan.   The establishment of new housing areas is a vital step towards ensuring the growth of Putaruru. Many who presently work in and around Putaruru have to reside outside the area because there is virtually no housing available.