The Royal New Zealand Air Force’s 40 Squadron will be flying into Whakatāne on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to carry out tactical training exercises at Whakatāne Airport.

Whakatāne District Council Manager Business Services, Aaron Milne, says the RNZAF exercise will involve several night-time landings and take-offs at the airfield, over both nights, with the squadron’s C-130 Hercules aircraft.

This year’s World Breastfeeding Week will see mothers across New Zealand attempting to break the record set last year of 1571 women breastfeeding simultaneously.

Locations are being set up across New Zealand for mothers and babies to come together and celebrate breastfeeding. 

Toi Te Ora – Public Health Service is supporting Big Latch On events throughout Bay of Plenty. Whakatāne mothers wanting to join the event can come along to Allandale School on Alexandra Ave at 9:30 am on Friday, 2nd August. 

The school holiday fun continues at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre – next Wednesday 24 July, with musical duo Pacific Curls putting on an exciting and interactive performance for children of all ages to enjoy.

Pacific Curls will be performing several sessions, starting at 10 am in the Sheaff Family Gallery, to celebrate the culmination of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and Matariki events.

A major upgrading of Edgecumbe’s wastewater reticulation system is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The $1.2 million upgrade will significantly lift sewerage pumping and piping capacity in the western sectors of the town and should bring an end to longstanding sewer overflow issues.

Expressions of interest are invited from suitable persons for consideration for appointment as the Commissioner and/or List Members of the Shared Eastern Bay of Plenty District Licensing Committee. Applications close 26 July 2013.

The Eastern Bay Shared District Licensing Committee will have responsibility for all local decisions on applications made under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, including:

Landslide risk assessment studies for the Whakatāne, Ōhope and Matatā escarpments will be considered by the Whakatāne District Council on Thursday.

Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi is delighted to have Pacific Curls with us on Wednesday, 24th July. They will be presenting an exciting and interactive experience for children aged 5–12 years old. Several performances are planned to take place throughout the day, each lasting for about 30 minutes. The sessions are filled with music, dance and stories.

Plans for a multi-million dollar, integrated coastal residential, retirement and marine precinct development in Whakatāne will take shape over the next six months, following the signing of a heads of agreement between the Whakatāne District Council and developers.

The agreement signals a commitment to investigate a ‘masterplan’ approach utilising the Council’s large Piripai and adjoining Bennett’s Block landholdings for a major new lifestyle development. Signatories to the agreement are the Council (WDC), Hopper Developments Limited (HDL) and Whakatāne Marina Limited (WML).

Contractors are nearing completion on needed work to the Nga Tapuwae o Toi track. However, poor weather and other site complications have delayed completion of work on the site.

The originally intended completion date for work on the track was approximately 30 June. With the weather-induced delays, main structural completion is expected by the end of next week, with site tidy-ups to follow the next week.

At this time, contractors estimate the track work should be fully completed by mid-July. Signs on the track will be updated accordingly today.