On Monday evening Mayor Michael Laws hosted a special civic function for the A-grade winners of the 2008 hospitality and hygiene gradings.

Mayor Laws noted the significant increase in A-grade eateries and food outlets since the Council last published food ratings in 2006. The recipients are pictured with their certificates. Click on the image to see full-size image.

The ratings benchmark every food outlet - be they a restaurant or a dairy - who have gone out of their way to achieve an A-grading. It is an outstanding achievement and the public of Wanganui can feel very pleased that standards have lifted so significantly over the past two years.

The winners of A-grades for 2008 are:

379 The Avenue Restaurant, 39 South, Alma Junction Dairy, Alma Junction Fish and Chips, Anne Hulme Honey, Aramoho Mini Market, Aubergine Café, Bean 2 Coffee, BP Avenue, BP Carlton Service Station, BP on the Quay, BP Wanganui East, Brunch Tucker, Bulk Barn Wanganui, Burger King, Bushy Park Homestead, Cactus Creme Café, Cake Connection, Caltex Victoria Ave, Canaan Apiaries, Castlecliff Golf Club, Challenge Castlecliff, Chatters Café Ltd, Chefs Choice, Dublin St Butchery, Dublin St Dairy, East Side Dairy, Element, Espresso Garden Café, Essence Catering, Fitzherbert Ave Home Cookery 1, Foodmill, Grand Hotel, Havoc Coffee Roasting Limited, Heads Road Lunch Bar, Imlay Butcher Shop, Infusion Catering, Kai Iwi Tavern, KFC (520), Kowhai Park Lunchbar & Dairy, Land Meat NZ Ltd, Liffiton Castle, McDonalds Express, Muffinz 4 U + Munch More, Parnell's Café Ltd, Pizza Hut (780), Platters Outcatering, Puriri Country Fried Chicken, Rapido Espresso House, Red Eye Café, Reflections Café, Renown Bakery, Rockgas Wanganui, Rosewood Manor, Savages Cake Shop, Savages Hilltop Bakery, South Beach Café, Steak Out Takeaways, Stellar Restaurant and Bar, The Bank Bar, Thistle Sweet Shop, Trax Restaurant, Victoria Fish Shop, Visions on Rutland, Wanganui Boys & Girls Gym Club, Wanganui Golf Club, Wild Oats.

Stunned by the outstanding success of the recent Prospace Billy Webb Centennial Challenge event, Mayor Michael Laws has confirmed the commitment of Wanganui District Council to make this an annual event and commit financial support for it in the Ten Year Plan.

With crowds of up to 20,000 people in Wanganui on the day and a worldwide viewing audience of around 100 million people, the event has the potential to become an iconic Wanganui event – marketed nationally and internationally. Both Mahe Drysdale and Olaf Tufte enjoyed their time in Wanganui and commented on the great atmosphere the event generated.

The event came together in a relatively short three-month time scale, with Cr Philippa Baker-Hogan conceiving the idea and pulling together a team including transatlantic rower and event organiser Rob Hamill, Rowing Wanganui, Wanganui District Council and support from sponsors Prospace and Powerco Wanganui Trust.

Mayor Laws praised Cr Baker-Hogan's work on the project. "If you think one person can't make a difference just look at Philippa Baker-Hogan. She drove this event and has done an outstanding job."

Planning will shortly begin on next year's event, including the timing of the event which this year coincided with the Jury Cup regatta.

The results of Referendum '08 have been released, proving to be a challenging set of results to interpret.

Of 14,436 votes cast (46.3% of the electoral roll) the Events Centre/Velodrome was placed as the most popular project with 37.7% of all first preference votes. Whilst it was also the most popular of all total choices (first, second and third) at 67.0%, the Kowhai Park development was a close second with 63.0% of votes. The least popular project (both as a first choice and total choices) was the new library project to be sited in the central city.

Mayor Michael Laws said that "interpreting these results – and then placing them in the context of the Council's Ten Year Plan – is going to be something of a challenge".

The full set of results is available on this page.

On 3 November 2008, the Wanganui District Council approved the Draft Wanganui District Council Cemetery Monument Policy for public consultation. The Council invites the public to provide feedback on the draft policy. The objective of the Wanganui District Council Cemetery Monument Policy is:

• To provide standards and certainty for all in relation to monuments and adornments at Council owned cemeteries.

Consultation
Copies of the Wanganui District Council Cemetery Monument Policy and submission forms are available for public inspection, during normal working hours, at the Customer Services Counter at Wanganui District Council, 101 Guyton Street, the District Library, Queens Park, Wanganui, and on this page.

The consultation period is from 4 November 2008 to 18 December 2008.

Submissions are welcomed and should be addressed to:
Cemetery Monument Policy
Wanganui District Council
PO Box 637
Wanganui 4540

Other methods of delivering your submission:

• Deliver to the Customer Services Counter at 101 Guyton Street
• Fax to the Council on (06) 349 0000
• Email us

If you have any queries or require further information, please contact Marie Gorinski at Wanganui District Council, phone (06) 349 0001 extn 8066 or email Marie Gorinski.

Submissions close on Thursday, 18 December 2008, at 5.00pm.

Assistant English Teacher to Wanganui's Sister City, Nagaizumi-cho, Japan

The Nagaizumi-cho Education Board is seeking applications for the position of Assistant English Teacher at its Junior High and Elementary Schools for 2009.

Nagaizumi, Wanganui's Japanese Sister City, is a thriving town situated close to Mt Fujiyama and three hours by train from Tokyo. It enjoys a mild climate and abundance of natural beauty, and its main industries include agriculture, medicine and paper manufacturing. Nagaizumi is special to Wanganui due to its enduring Sister City relationship of 20 years.

The period of the appointment will be for one year from 1 April 2009. By mutual agreement the term may be extended for a further 12 months. Preference will be given to applicants with a university degree and teaching experience. However, other interested persons with university qualifications are also invited to apply. A cheerful, outgoing personality and interest in Japanese culture will be important qualities in intending applicants. Single accommodation is available.

Persons wishing to obtain a copy of the Conditions of Appointment should contact Customer Services, Wanganui District Council, telephone (06) 349 0001.

Interviews for the Assistant Language Teacher will be held during January 2009.

Written applications, together with curriculum vitae and contact details for three referees, should be addressed to:

Governance Services Manager
Wanganui District Council
PO Box 637
Wanganui

Applications close at noon on Friday, 9 January 2009.

Current Assistant English Teacher Becky Lindsay (pictured below) shares some thoughts on her experiences in Japan:

I have been living and working in Japan for over 6 months now and it's been such an amazing experience.

If you are after an adventure and want some unique experiences then I definitely recommend you take up this challenge because there is so much to be gained. The job of an ALT has been very enjoyable. The kids are really friendly and curious. The teachers and principals of the schools have been very welcoming and inclusive, despite a bit of a language barrier at times.

I have weekends off, and Nagaizumi is in a very handy location for visiting interesting parts of Japan, so weekend trips by train have been very convenient and fun.

Being able to speak Japanese would be an advantage, but you can definitely still get by without it. Most ALTs I have met have had no Japanese knowledge prior to coming over. Living is relatively cheap and the pay is decent. I had plenty of money to travel and get out, as well as save a bit.

If you are interested and want some more information I'd be happy to answer your questions by email: becstar_135@hotmail.com

Becky

We welcome members of the public to attend our meetings

Council – Monday, December 15
- The Council will consider the reports from Committee meetings held in November and December along with reports direct to Council:
Temporary Road Closure – NZ Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club (Transport [Vehicular Traffic Road Closure] Regulations 1965); Parking Prohibitions – Anaua Street; Dublin Street Bridge to Park Place – Pathway, and Kerb and Channel; E-meeting – a Meeting of Council Conducted by e-mail; Special Consultative Procedure – Cemeteries and Crematoria Bylaw 2008; Results Referendum '08. Confidential items: Wanganui District Council Holdings Ltd's Report; Draft Growth Strategy; Contract 1379: After Hours Telephone Answering and Call-out Service; Broadband Investment Fund Update; Chief Executive's Report.

The meeting will be held at 3.00pm in the Council Chamber, 1st Floor, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui.

Agendas are available at the Customer Services Counter, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui, and the Wanganui District Library two working days prior to the meeting.