Mandy Kimber » Issues facing Havelock North

still working for havelock north

Mandy — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:43:50 +0000

I may have been defeated in last Saturday’s local body election and not now be one of the two representatives on HDC for Havelock North, but I will still be taking a very active interest in how HN fares within the Hastings District Council. I am planning to be a lot more vocal, now I am not constrained by Council protocol, when it comes to Havelock North. As a supporter of the Regional Sports Park, I will keep up my interest in it’s progress, especially during the next six months when the fight for the velodrome is on. After great success by the cyclists at the Commonwealth Games and the ever progressing Rotary Pathways, cycling is a must in Hawkes Bay. I have received great support from around NZ (and a few from overseas) offering commiserations at my loss. Most were as dismayed, as I was, that HN have lost their female councillor. Sad, as I represented over half HN’s population and now that has vanished! Losing two female councillors on HDC changes the gender balance on the council, not an improvement. Watch this space!

teenage drinking

Mandy — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 03:38:23 +0000

I read with interest today the latest research done in Melbourne, conducted by researchers at Melbourne University’s Youth Mental Health Centre. I was particularly interested in this research, as this field of research is the very reason my son Mike went to Melbourne to train in psychiatry. He wishes to eventually specialise in adolescent psychiatry. The research has contradicted earlier advice to parents on how to help their teenagers develop responsible drinking habits. Talking to teenagers about alcohol in the hope they will develop good drinking habits doesn’t work! However parents can influence their children by limiting the availability of alcohol and fostering a good relationship with their children. The researchers also say children under 15 shouldn’t drink alcohol at all, as if this is done, there is a significant risk factor for developing alcohol-related problems later in life. Strategies suggested from the research include; parents setting an example in terms of mature drinking and behaviour, limiting availability of alcohol, parental disapproval of teenage drinking and good parent-child relationships involving support and communication. This adds weight to my feeling that many parents of teenagers in Havelock North do not take a responsible attitude to their drinking and the drinking of their children. They do not model appropriate drinking behaviour themselves and we wonder why we have a teenage drinking culture in our village!

McDonalds

Mandy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:44:11 +0000

Over the next few months, residents in Havelock North will express their views on the prospect of the fast food giant, McDonalds, making an impact on their village. As almost everyone knows, their chosen site is on the roundabout, straight off the Havelock Road bridge. It may be the first thing people will see when they drive in from Hastings. However, when discussions with the planners at HDC start, much talk will be given to design and impact on the village. There is no reason why the new building can’t be in keeping with the village design concepts, much like the art deco McDonald building is in Taradale. I have had feedback from local residents in Havelock North, ranging from McDonalds will give part time job opportunities to our teenagers to it was inevitable that McDonalds would come here, so make sure it is not the first thing we see coming in to the village. I have to admit that McDonalds provided me with a job in 1984 when my young family was living in Whangarei. During those desperate Muldoon years, we had rampant inflation and with a single income and three small children, we couldn’t afford to buy Christmas presents that year. I applied for, and got a job working the front counter at McDonalds. I worked each weekend for five months until we left to live, closer to grandparents, in Gisborne. Such an opportunitiy is important for teenagers, as they learn the importance of punctuality, appropriate appearances and making job commitments.

Youth drinking a community problem

Mandy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:11:38 +0000

Many, many concerns were raised on the drinking culture of younger people on Friday and Saturday nights and the mindless vandalism that occurs in the early hours of the morning. The Council share these concerns and have voiced these in the form of a submission to Parliament on the Sale of Liquor Act.

I am of the view it is a community problem and cannot be solved by just a single thing, say closing bars an hour earlier. The whole community needs to take some responsibility, perhaps by making sure they don’t buy alcohol for their teenage children and allow them to wander the streets after consuming large quantities of RTDs (ready to drink) or beer at home. It would be a nasty surprise for Havelock North citizens to come out on to the streets after 11pm to see the state of many of the teenagers when they lurch into the CBD, after hiding their bottles of alcohol in bushes and behind walls, to consume and discard on their way home at 3 or 4am! I feel many parents do not want to know what their teenagers have been up during the evening, as long as they are quiet on their way to their bed and don’t wake them up!