No police progress in Kitchener ram-raid inquiry

Police are asking for more community help with their inquiries into the Kitcheners Cafe ram-raid of late November.

Detective constable Johnnie Low told The Star that investigators “continue to appeal for information about the ram raid.”

A stolen front-end loader was used by the raid perpetrator to slam into the Kitcheners frontage in a bid to snatch the ANZ Bank’s ATM machine housed in the front corner of the cafe.

CCTV footage showed the loader driven at speed into the front of the building, ripping apart the building’s corner but failing to dislodge the ATM machine _ which was knocked over by the force of the colliding loader bucket.   

Police later confirmed any cash in the machine would have been coloured by liquid dye inside the ATM following the collision, rendering it unusable. … Continue Reading

Public recycling bins a failed experiment, withdrawn

Misuse of public recycling bins which sees “high levels of contamination” dumped in them in the South’s three main towns means these council bins are being withdrawn and “repurposed.”

South Wairarapa District Council is the latest local body to remove the recycling option and repurpose the bins for general landfill collection because users refuse to follow simple recycling rules. 

Instead, general rubbish is dumped into the recycling bins _ even when a general rubbish bin is close by.

“We have had a large response from the community about the misuse of recycling bins in the three main towns,” officials said in a statement. “The bins are emptied three times a week but one bin (the recycling one) has to be repurposed, due to high levels of contamination” with general rubbish. … Continue Reading

Oldest recent visitor does slow streak through skies

Comet C/2024 G3 (Atlas) sliced through the skies mid-January, slowly fading on its first visit to the Sun and planets in 180.000 years _ and likely to never visit again. 

“It’s basically starting to disintegrate, so it will fade, but nobody knows how rapidly,” said Otago Musdeum astronomer Ian Griffin. Viewing it was a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”

And that was the case for White Rock Road resident Warren Bolger, who took his camera, walked to his front gate and provided The Star with the result.

It shows a rather faint comet tail as the now headless wonder, Comet Atlas, made it way past earth _ likely to not visit this part of the Universe again as it slowly decays.

Bolger notes: “This photo was taken on the Editor of The Star’s property boundary at direction c.a. 240 deg SW at 10pm last evening (Jan 22).”

Setting up to catch the Noctourism wave

Nocturnal + tourism equals a new and leading trend in world tourism, rated the No. 1 new attraction and reported by the BBC as the coming opportunity. 

It has been named Noctourism.

In a report setting out what industry pundits describe as “the seven travel trends that will shape 2025,” the organisation lists “Noctourism” as the top new tourism option in a key list of seven. … Continue Reading