Local News - The Marlborough Express

News

Something's rotten in our river

The Marlborough Express

A chair, a mussel float, a shopping trolley, a fence post and a road sign stand are all part of a pile of rubbish that has prompted a Blenheim man to appeal to residents to look after their rubbish more carefully.

From lines to above the vines

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Marlborough Lines' network electrical inspector Kerry Chapman got more of a buzz than usual when he went to work on Saturday.

Caskets to fit growing dimensions

IAN ALLEN - The Marlborough Express

A funeral director in Blenheim isn't planning on buying a new cremator to accommodate larger coffins just yet.

Man jailed for sex with 13-year-old

The Marlborough Express

A Waikawa man found guilty of unlawful sexual connection with a 13-year-old girl still believes he is innocent.

Man cleared of threatening to kill

The Marlborough Express

A jury has acquitted a former Blenheim man of threatening to kill his former partner.

Proof of project is in the pudding

JARED NICOLL - The Marlborough Express

Havelock gardeners are preparing to cook up a storm to show off the area's fine foods.

Rough clothes earn rebuke

A police prosecutor asked a man who appeared in Blenheim District Court to be better dressed when he returned to court.

Bracelet shoplifter foiled

The Marlborough Express

A woman who tried to steal two bracelets from a Blenheim jewellery store believed she would have got away with if an off-duty policeman was not in the store, police say.

Time in custody lowers sentence

Time spent in custody and on curfew while waiting to be sentenced lowered the final penalty for a Blenheim teenager who supplied cannabis to friends.

Man denies threats to kill

The Marlborough Express

A former Blenheim man living in Australia since 2003 is on trial at Blenheim District Court for threatening to kill his former partner.

Costly exercise as man 'relives youth'

The Marlborough Express

A 39-year-old man "relived his youth" when he did donuts in his car and then drove away from police, his lawyer says.

Rena experience valued resource

Staff who responded to the wreck of the Rena off the Tauranga coast last year have built skills that will be valuable if there is a similar disaster here, says Marlborough District Council regulatory manager Hans Versteegh.

Tagger targets business signs

The Marlborough Express

A tagger has left a trail of damage after spray-painting business signs advertising an artist's home gallery in Leitrim St, Blenheim.

Interest expected in sale of vineyards

Two Marlborough wine companies are for sale after financial difficulties: Tetley Brook Vineyard through a mortgagee sale, and Sedgebrook Estate through a receivership sale.

Drainlayer keeps licence

The Marlborough Express

A Christchurch drainlayer was sentenced to 200 hours' community work for drink-driving.

Picton pergola among bequest suggestions

CATHIE BELL - The Marlborough Express

Golden sand imported for a beach, a pergola for wedding photos and festive lighting along the foreshore are some of the suggestions made by Marlborough Express readers on ways to use a bequest given by a Christchurch man to the Picton foreshore.

Salmon submission date nears

The Environmental Protection Authority is tracking towards a March 3 opening of submissions on New Zealand King Salmon's application to triple its marine farming area in the Marlborough Sounds.

Puzzle as man found on shore

TANIA BUTTERFIELD - The Marlborough Express

A water taxi driver who went to help a seriously ill man in the Mahau Sound on Friday says he has no idea how the man came to be washed up on the shore.

Jobs at risk as Trents faces closure

KAT PICKFORD - The Marlborough Express

Ten employees of Trents wholesale warehouse in Blenheim may lose their jobs if the Stuart St store is closed.

Wall goes to remove trouble spot

CATHIE BELL - The Marlborough Express

A digger and workmen started removing the wall in front of the Blenheim Library yesterday, in an effort by the Marlborough District Council to open up the space and make it less attractive for young people to meet in.

Rustler ordered to repay sheep farmer

The Marlborough Express

A Renwick man has been ordered to pay back half the value of the sheep he and another man killed on a Northbank farm.

Red or white with your grub?

The Marlborough Express

What's the ideal wine match for a huhu grub? Red or white for lamb's testicles? Rose or riesling with cricket satay?

Opshop broken heart club band

The Marlborough Express

Blues, Brews and BBQs festival headline act Opshop performed CPR on a man with heart problems when he collapsed at the motel where they were staying.

Among the Sounds' best-kept secrets

TANIA BUTTERFIELD - The Marlborough Express

As Maurice Brown sits at the edge of Nydia Lodge, basking in the summer warmth and taking in the scenery, he thinks about the Marlborough people who have not yet discovered this part of the region.

Beach Day on Sunday

The Marlborough Express

More FM's annual Beach Day will make for a fun-filled family outing at Whites Bay on Sunday.

Digital TV meeting today

The Marlborough Express

More than 80 per cent of households are already watching digital television and enjoying more channels and better pictures. F

Life's a picnic; and a triathlon

Linkwater School held its first school triathlon on Friday.

Fishing club donates $3000

The Crow Fishing Club has donated $1500 each to the Marlborough Child Cancer Society and the Ogilvie-Lee Emergency Centre in Picton from profits made during its annual fishing competition last month.

Plans ready for trust's new hospital

Plans to build a new Churchill Private Hospital in Blenheim have been approved by the Ministry of Health.

Love's sweet call not for blokes

IAN ALLEN - The Marlborough Express

Kiwi blokes aren't the most romantic in the world, says Makana Confections assistant retail manager Jan Watts.

Art sale helps a family

Watching art enthusiasts out-do each other with the on-line bidding for Summer Jamieson's latest acrylic painting has been exciting for the Waihopai Valley artist.

Two hurt on d'Urville Island

Two Christchurch men aged 45 and 81 were injured when a six wheeler Argo ATV tipped backward on d'Urville Island this morning, a Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter spokesperson says.

Humour key to partnership

A Marlborough couple have shared the truths behind their 25th wedding anniversary, which will take place tomorrow, on Valentine's Day.

Rezoning proposal raises concerns

CATHIE BELL - The Marlborough Express

The committee hearing an application to rezone rural land for housing has concerns about the effect that could have on businesses at Omaka airfield, chairman John Maassen says.

Unemployment up

The Marlborough Express

Unemployment in Marlborough, Nelson, Tasman and West Coast has risen slightly during the past year, but is still below the national average.

Wine award prospects

The Marlborough Express

Eleven Marlborough wines are in the running for trophies at an international wine competition in Australia this month.

Train fire suspect

The Marlborough Express

A fire possibly caused by a passing train burnt about 3 hectares of grass near Seddon on Thursday night.

Dog owner prosecuted

The Marlborough Express

The Marlborough District Council successfully prosecuted dog owner Tony Crapper for allowing a dog to foul in a public place, not removing the faeces and failure to keep a dog controlled or confined.

Reporter retreats to tasting tent

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

A mingled smell of crushed grass and rich tannins filled a tent at the festival on Saturday, when winemakers ran a tasting of red wine varieties grown in Marlborough.

Wine tour, girls? Why not

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

The biggest change in the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival in the 21 years she has attended is the weather, says "Raquel", the leader of the 22-strong group Girls on Tour.

Winery water under scrutiny

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

The Marlborough District Council is studying whether winery wastewater disposal is damaging soils.

Well to check water quality

PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

The Marlborough District Council will drill a monitoring well downstream from Rai Valley town-ship.

Police rescue tot from ditch

The Marlborough Express

A two-year-old girl was rescued from her pram after it ended up in a culvert on Leicester St, in Picton, on Saturday.

Assaults, drugs keep police busy

The Marlborough Express

Police arrests late last week included a 29-year-old male factory worker who was found with 35 cannabis seedlings in the Waihopai Valley, police say.

Summer entertainment

The Marlborough Express

About 500 people turned out for the Marlborough 4 Fun Summer Concert in the Park at Pollard Park, in Blenheim, yesterday.

Joie de vivre bubbles over

The Marlborough Express

Black and gold won the day for No 1 Family Estate, judged the best site at the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival on Saturday.

Clifford Bay ferry research

TANIA BUTTERFIELD - The Marlborough Express

The Government has no intention of pursuing a new interisland ferry terminal at Clifford Bay at this stage, despite investigating the viability of the project, the man leading the Clifford Bay investigation says.

Unruly festival-goers 'stretch police'

SAM MORTON AND PENNY WARDLE - The Marlborough Express

Police had one of the busiest nights for months on Saturday after the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival, arresting 42 people from 4pm to 5am in Blenheim.

Workers fined for freedom camping

JARED NICOLL - The Marlborough Express

The number of freedom campers sleeping out illegally in Marlborough peaked over the last month due to wayward vineyard workers and Kiwi holidaymakers, says Marlborough District Council.