Palmy North

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

‘B’ grading redemption for pie man

By JESSICA SUTTON and MARIKA HILL - Manawatu Standard | 1:00PM - Saturday, 31 July 2010


PASSED: Central Pie and Smoke Shop owner Leighton Haar, aka Naked Pie Man,
scored 48 out of 50 in a food-handling quiz, giving him back his B grade.
 — MURRAY WILSON/Manawatu Standard.

PALMERSTON NORTH'S NAKED PIE MAN is back in B-grade business after scoring 96 per cent in a food-handling quiz — making the city a D-free zone.

On July 21 the Central Pie and Smoke Shop was named and shamed after receiving the only D in Palmerston North in the latest food grading released by the city council.

Owner Leighton Haar, aka Naked Pie Man, was unable to find the certificate from a food-handling course that was required for a B rating.

A local shopowner suggested he renew his food-handling certificate by completing a 50-question, $25 test online.

He passed with 96 per cent last Friday.

After receiving his certificate, Mr Haar said he went to the city council on Wednesday expecting a fight.

But all he needed to do was mention his cult status as the Naked Pie Man.

"It just changed, I went from being treated like someone who was a waste of time to a VIP." Within hours of showing his new certificate, a city council officer hand-delivered his B-grade rating. "They gave me absolutely wow service."

City council environmental protection services head Wayne Jameson said the Naked Pie Man can proudly put up his B certificate.

"He was able to provide the evidence of training and he scored enough points for a B.

"Now we have no Ds left in Palmerston North," Mr Jameson said.

He said there was no legislation that stated someone who was handling food must be clothed.

"The matter of community moral standards are not reflected in a food hygiene inspection."

All food premises in the city were judged on conduct and practices, cleaning and sanitation, training and shop presentation, he said.

The Naked Pie Mayor

The celebrity shop owner is considering running for mayor. The city council has invited him to an information seminar on August 10. He said he could save the city thousands in wasted expenditures.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/3978469/B-grading-redemption-for-pie-man

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Birds duck out of city for breeding

By MICHELLE DUFF - The Manawatu Standard | 1:00PM - Saturday, 21 August 2010


NEW DUCKS: New Ducklings just arrived in the Square.

DUCKS have deserted central Palmerston North in droves, seeking out more intimate surroundings for the breeding season.

At last count, 11 ducks were waddling around in The Square. The inner-city duck population usually sits at 150. The Esplanade's usual flock of 300 had dwindled to 40.

Palmerston North City Council parks and property manager John Brenkley said he had become concerned about the dearth of ducks last week, and asked his team if there had been a "mass culling" he did not know about.

The answer was less sinister. It is breeding season, the ducks have flown off to hatch their offspring in more private pastures.

"We're not culling them or anything like that, it just seems to be some sort of natural thing. They'll be back, there's no doubt about that, probably with a lot of ducklings in tow."

On the upside, it meant less duck poo to clean, Mr Brenkley said.

A sign erected six months ago, advising against feeding the ducks, had only been partially successful.

"People are still feeding them lots and lots of bread, which is the worst thing you can feed a duck because it all comes out the other end."

Esplanade aviary keeper Peter Russell, aka The Birdman, confirmed the ducks would be strolling through rural paddocks, or lining the riverbed until their young were old enough to adapt to city life.

Insects were plentiful in the countryside, providing much-needed protein for baby ducks, and there would be more shelter.

"There's not as much cover as there used to be in the old days [in The Square] because all the bushes have gone now and they don't nest there, so they'll be more inclined to go somewhere they can hide."

The relocation of McDonald's to Ferguson Street had also put many ducks off living in The Square, as there were not as many discarded burgers to scavenge, he said.

The first four ducklings were spotted in The Square last week. A mass return should take place around January.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/4047271/Birds-duck-out-of-city-for-breeding

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Feisty Fred fights back

Ticketed for parking over his own driveway

By TALIA SHADWELL - Manawatu Standard | 7:08AM - Thursday, 10 January 2013


PAPER TRAIL: Fred Symes took on the council over
his parking ticket. — WARWICK SMITH/Fairfax NZ.

A PALMERSTON NORTH retiree’s surprise at a parking ticket issued after he parked in front of his own driveway, turned to amusement when he performed a spellcheck on the offending infringement notice.

Church Street resident Fred Symes had popped home for a pit-stop in August last year, parking briefly by a culvert in front of his own driveway without blocking the entrance to his garage.

He returned to his car and an infringement notice informing him he owed the Palmerston North City Council $40 for the offence: "Stopped within 1 meter of vehicle entrance" [sic].

Mr Symes addressed a letter to the council challenging the ticket and offering some spelling lessons.

He told the council the name of the suburb in which he lives is not "Palmerston North", and was also certain that a "meter" better describes a contraption fed coins by motorists than to a unit for measuring distance.

"I asked them [the council] in what locality of Palmerston North my suburb lay, was it Ashhurst, or perhaps Woodville? They didn’t like that one bit."

Because he had parked in front of his own driveway — but not due to his keen eye for spelling — the ticket was waived.

However, this Christmas, Mr Symes’ amusement waned when his gardener, aged in his 80s, also received a ticket when a lack of available car parking spaces on busy Church Street forced him to park in the same spot to unload his equipment.

"I’m a bit concerned about the enthusiasm of the [parking] wardens in this city," Mr Symes said.

Pita Kinaston, principal environmental health officer at the Palmerston North City Council, said the spelling error Mr Symes spotted was regrettable.

Council staff issued tickets to vehicles blocking driveways for a variety of reasons — "most notably so residents can get in and out of their properties and so emergency services can reach their required destinations", Mr Kinaston said.

"It’s also important to note that only vehicles parked within 1 metre of a driveway are ticketed. The first ticket was waived because it was recognised that it was Mr Symes’ driveway."

The gardener would not have been issued a ticket if it had been clear he was making a brief stop, Mr Kinaston said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/8161478/Feisty-Fred-fights-back

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Hahaha....not enough Palmy Northers are karking it!   


Falling number of burials forces fee hikes

By JANINE RANKIN - Manawatu Standard | 9:50AM - Saturday, 27 April 2013

THE COST of dealing with death in Palmerston North is going up again, partly because there is not enough of it going on.

City council charges for burials and cremations are rising 10 per cent from next month, but the income will still meet less than 60 per cent of the actual costs of running the Kelvin Grove cemetery and crematorium.

The number of burials, cremations and ash burials there has dropped from about 1000 a year a decade ago to stall at around 600 for each of the last three years.

The council figures also show falling numbers of burials, with the cheaper option of cremation favoured by about two-thirds of those organising funerals.

Council finance strategy manager Steve Paterson said the fees and charges would have to rise by a further 9 per cent, or 20 more plot purchases and burials a year would have to occur, to meet the 60 per cent user-pays target. At the moment, there are about 150 burials a year.

But the funeral industry was one of those activities where the council faced competition, and could not dictate the price.

For the last 10 years, cremation services have been available at Beauchamps in Palmerston North, and people in Levin also have a local cremation option.

That leaves a group of four funeral directors supporting the Kelvin Grove crematorium and cemetery in most cases, unless families specifically request cremation or burial elsewhere.

Mr Paterson said the costs of running the burials and cremations activity had increased as the cemetery grew and because of increased costs of administering consent requirements. The council is also facing likely costs for strengthening the crematorium building. It has been identified as earthquake prone, with steel reinforcing in the concrete frames falling short of modern building standards.

Council property manager John Brenkley said the council was waiting for law changes about the timeframe and requirements for earthquake strengthening before recommending which council-owned buildings should be improved, in which order, and to what level.

Under the new schedule of burial and cremation charges, a plot will cost $1710, up from $1554, and interment fees rise from $755 to $830. The cost of cremation goes up from $475 to $522.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/8604022/Falling-number-of-burials-forces-fee-hikes

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Last week in Palmerston North....

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Pre-christmas rage in Palmy North....


• Stunned shoppers duck flung furniture outside Palmerston North cafe