Fun and winners in Waiatarua

I’m pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Cutest Pets in Waiatarua competition, but the announcement is bittersweet. Unfortunately, one of the winners, Roupert the Rabbit, has passed away. I’m sure this little bunny brought a lot of joy into the world during his short journey, and he will leave a hole in the hearts of those who loved him.
In the other categories, Whiskey and Max used the power of cuddles to win the Cutest Couple category. Among the dogs, it was a close contest, but the winner (by a paw) is Archie. Now, when it comes to the Cutest Cat, let me explain what happened.

We received an absolute mountain of votes in the Cutest Cat category, and in the end, there was only ONE vote that separated the top two. The top two cats both received more votes than any other category winner, so because of this, and because it was so close, it’s been decided that this year there will be TWO winners for the 2024 Waiatarua Cutest Pets Competition. Congratulations to Marshall and Alfie, who both won the hearts of our community.

         •        Cutest Dog: Archie

         •        Cutest Cats: Marshall & Alfie

         •        Cutest Couple: Whiskey & Max

         •        Cutest Exotic Pet: Roupert

This is the second year that we have held this competition, and it’s without doubt incredibly popular. To put this into context, any posts on the Waiatarua Facebook page about the Cutest Pets Competition received ten times more likes and comments than an average Facebook post. The current plan is that when we run the competition next year, we will be looking for sponsors, which will enable us to hand out some great gifts to our lucky winners.

Hall Hire

We have been promoting the hire of our community hall recently, and this has prompted some interesting feedback. We received several complaints from people who tried to hire the hall but couldn’t do so because we didn’t respond in time. Firstly, I need to apologise. This was never our intention, and we weren’t aware of the extent of the complaints until it was brought to our attention. I want you to know that this situation had nothing to do with our commitment to getting the hall hired but was more an indication of what happens when all of us are volunteers. Unfortunately, despite our commitment to the community, we all have jobs, families, and other commitments, which sometimes make it difficult to give the level of service that people expect. As a result, we have adapted our systems so that any new bookings must come through the website or by email because we found that with phone enquiries, we were often too busy to realise they had come through. Hopefully, by utilising the website, we will be able to improve the usage of the hall, but if anyone ever has any complaints in the future, feel free to contact me directly.

Quiz Night

The always popular Quiz Night is coming back to our Waiatarua Community Hall, so get your diary ready and make yourself free for Saturday, 14th September. It’s a 7 o’clock kickoff with tickets costing five dollars (payable at the door). Also, bring your own food and drinks.

Community Day

Our annual Community Day is on Saturday, 2nd November. Please contact me if you’re interested in having a table, but be quick because they are always popular. This is ideal if you have any crafts, art, or food items you wish to sell.

In Other Waiatarua News

 We are working on turning the green area in front of the library into a garden. There’s no timeframe at the moment, but we are hoping to work on this gradually.

 We failed in our grant application to seek funding for a resilience plan. While this is disappointing, it is also understandable, as there are many other communities desperately seeking this funding. We are currently looking at alternatives.

 We are considering options to amend the fire exit in the Community Hall so that it meets current code requirements. I can’t say too much about this as the situation is constantly changing, but I assure you that we are working with the council, and a lot of time and effort is being allocated to this issue.

We’ve had four new members join our Waiatarua Ratepayers and Residents Association last month. We are at record levels in terms of membership, which makes a dramatic difference to what we can do in the community, but we can still use more people. So if you are not currently a member, please sign up as it’s only $20 per year per household. For details, go to waiatarua.org.nz.