Mayor Annette Main will switch on the newly installed lighting scheme around the Virginia Lake Band Rotunda next Tuesday evening.
 
The Band Rotunda is 100 years old and was built in 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. It has been used for band concerts to entertain visitors to the reserve and for the Carols by Candlelight event.

The Band Rotunda is a very popular venue for weddings and for wedding photographs, as well as offering visitors to Virginia Lake a quiet place to sit and view the lake.

The lighting project has been enabled by the Virginia Lake Trust, which was formed in 1998 after a group of local people who cared about the Virginia Lake reserve got together to exchange ideas about ways in which the area could be supported and developed.

Since that time the Trust has raised more than $300,000 for a variety of projects at Virginia Lake including providing seats and picnic tables, tree lighting, path construction and retaining walls and most recently the Band Rotunda lighting project. The Trust also secured $10,000 from the Powerco Wanganui Trust towards the lighting project.

The Trust works closely with the council to ensure that Virginia Lake remains one of Wanganui’s premier parks. It organises two working bees every month where around 15 volunteers help with improvements in the reserve.

The new lighting installation will ensure that the Band Rotunda will be clearly seen at night from Great North Road and the walking paths on the northern side of the lake. Work has also taken place to gradually lower the foliage of Pohutakawa trees in the area to give a view of the Band Rotunda from around the lake and road.

Come along and see the lighting switch on

The community is invited to join Mayor Annette Main and members of the Virginia Lake Trust for the lighting switch on, which will take place at 6.30pm on Tuesday, June 21. The switch on will take place by the Peter Pan statue, near the lake.

On Wednesday, July 13, a group of 30 students from the Wanganui Collegiate School boys’ and girls’ 1st XI soccer teams and nine adults will travel to the village of Satitoa, Samoa to assist the local primary school.

Three of the adults work at Wanganui District Council and have been to Satitoa previously to work on building projects in the aftermath of the Samoan tsunami. They are travelling as private individuals to support the work that the students will be undertaking.

The village of Satitoa suffered devastation in the September 2009 tsunami, in which 15 villagers were killed and 90% of the buildings and homes washed away. The people of Wanganui raised $40,000 to support the relief efforts for Samoa and in December 2009 a council-led reconstruction team of 11 people spent 10 days in the village constructing a communal building to serve as a pre-school and church.
 
In 2010 two more Wanganui teams visited Satitoa, helping to re-build the waterfront motel that was destroyed in the tsunami, finishing work on the school, undertaking demolition work on damaged buildings and helping villagers with general building work and re-establishment of plantations.

The key project for the visit in July is to build an adventure playground for the new primary school. A container of materials needed for the trip is being packed on Saturday, June 18, at Collegiate School. The container will include the building materials and H3 treated wood needed to construct the adventure playground.

The group is seeking donations of gardening and building tools to be given to the villagers. A lot of their basic equipment was lost in the tsunami and has not been replaced. Items do not need to be new, but should be in working order.

Donations of gardening and building tools can be dropped off between 9.30am and 2.00pm on Saturday, June 18, at Collegiate School at the Uniforms on Grey entrance, Grey Street.

The July 2011 trip will be the final trip involving significant recovery projects due to the progress that has been made. There is currently a significant range of equipment in Satitoa brought over by the various teams including a fridge, tools and a generator. Councillors recently voted for the equipment to be disbursed to the villagers at the end of the July trip.

Five young people from Wanganui are the first recipients of the Youth Committee’s $300ship scheme, which started this year.

The $300ships are designed to help young people in the Wanganui district reach their potential in anything they are interested or involved in. 

Twenty one applications were received and a panel of Youth Councillors assessed the applications, before deciding on the five final recipients.

The $300ship awards were given to:

Tom Pringle, aged 17 years, to attend the Outward Bound Classic Course. Tom hopes to increase his confidence, self-awareness and leadership skills through challenging himself on the course.

Kristina Sue, aged 24 years, to attend the Open Touch World Cup in Edinburgh, Scotland, representing New Zealand as a ‘Touch Black’. This is a life-long dream for Kristina, who hopes to develop personal skills to empower younger athletes who wish to do the same

Kelli Benge, aged 18 years, to travel to the World Mounted Games Championships in Denmark as part of the 2011 New Zealand Team. Kelli will compete at the highest level, experience another culture, promote New Zealand and gain confidence that may inspire others.

Tom Symes, aged 17 years, to compete in athletics at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Championships in the Isle of Man, UK. Tom is hoping that competing at an international level will lead to future international selections at a higher level, for example World Championships and the Olympics.

Samantha Prince, aged 17 years, to progress her photography interest through purchasing an external hard-drive for camera and editing software.

The successful applicants will provide a one-page report following completion of the activity they requested funding for.

The next round of $300ship funding opens on 1 July 2011.

Following a recent staffing review the Sarjeant Gallery has developed three new Curatorial and Management positions.

Curator of Collections
Closing date 11 July 2011

Assistant Curator
Closing date 11 July 2011

Gallery Operations Manager
Closing date 11 July 2011

To view information about these vacancies click here

We welcome members of the public to attend our meetings.
           
Council – Tuesday, June 21 (1.30pm, Council Chamber)

• Confirmation of Council Minutes from meetings held 19 May 2011 and 26 May 2011; Adoption of the Council’s Annual Plan 2011/12.

Infrastructure and Property – Tuesday, June 21 (2.00pm, Council Chamber)

• Use of Upokongaro War Memorial Hall; Petition for Removal of Tree at 17 Raine Street;  Petition for Two Speed Humps in Talbot Street towards the Rangitikei Street Corner; Petition – Smart Start Care and Education Centre Request for Safe Means of Crossing Parsons Street; Infrastructure Update Report – June 2011; Wanganui Maintenance Alliance;  Dublin Street Safety Improvements; Land Transport (Road User) Amendment Rule 2011; Property Group Activity Report – June 2011; Level 1 Energy Audit; Wanganui War Memorial Conference and Convention Centre – Policy 2009; Wanganui District Councils’ Forestry Joint Committee.

Community and Environment – Thursday, June 23 2.00pm, Council Chamber)

Strategy and Finance – Tuesday, June 28 (2.00pm, Council Chamber)

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.