Martinborough Transport

With stock transport and farm fertilisation being essential services it was business as usual for Martinborough Transport’s around thirty staff. The office staff worked from home to keep the work flowing and the two garage mechanics were kept busy servicing the busy trucks. 

The application of farm fertiliser continued and also keeping up the  supply to the aero applicators who were taking advantage of the good weather to aerial spread in  the high country.

Some carrying was farm to farm transfers of stock. However most of the stock cartage is long distances delivering local and South Island stock to works at Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and TeKuiti. 

Drivers noticed that with very little traffic on the roads their travelling times were reduced by half an hour. They also fund it quite a challenge where to find where get some lunch along the way.

MARTINBOROUGH HEALTH CENTRE 

How a Health Centre Locks Down 

Lockdown may have been quiet at your place, but the Martinborough Health Centre was a hive of carefully structured activity as essential services continued. We knew from the start we had to be absolutely rigid in our application of the COVID-19 rules, no exceptions. 95 percent of our patients accepted this immediately for which we are very grateful.

We needed to separate patients with symptoms that could indicate respiratory infection from non-infectious patients, so we designated the inside the Health Centre as our Green Zone (safe area) and out the back in the carpark where we have the Porta-Cabin as our Red Zone (danger area). This is where we could treat our at risk patients and also undertake the swabbing for Covid-19 virus.   … Continue Reading

Keeping South Wairarapa running safely

Virtually all jobs at South Wairarapa District Council are “essential”, even in normal times.   The big challenges during the lockdown were setting up staff to work effectively remotely and establishing precautions to protect staff and contractors on the frontline, and the community from risk of infection.

Lynne Drake is one of two bylaws officers who provide 24/7 coverage. She had to set up an office in her spare room and work off a tablet.  “My contact with people was by phone or email.  I couldn’t go out and make my usual calls but most people were very understanding. Unfortunately people also started walking their dogs off leads in urban areas and we had an increase in attacks on people. There was also a rise in rubbish dumping in both urban and rural areas.  This forced our contractors outside their bubbles to deal with these breaches.” … Continue Reading

Library Bookclub 

Shall I tell you that what I missed most during the shut down was THE LIBRARY!!!Sure there were books on my shelf and through the generosity of friends was able to source more, but it was not the same.

When I go into the library I get to choose the world I will inhabit and the ideas I will absorb. Here there is the potential to explore the universe  and to listen to the voices of the world. To stand on the peaks and look into the stars, to descend to the valleys  and to hear the cries of the dispossessed, to open the doors of the past and to read the great words that has brought forth change. And also to find laughter and entertainment. Here truly is riches! … Continue Reading