Petition launched to ‘save Tinwald Pool’
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
She saved the town’s water fountain and now has her sights set on saving the Tinwald pool.
Christina Cox was shocked to learn the council’s decision not to open the Tinwald Pool this summer and launched a campaign to gather community support to ensure it’s only a temporary measure.
“I couldn’t believe they were even thinking about it.”
When the council had planned to relocate the town centre water fountain in 2019, Cox started a petition to help halt the plan.
Now she has started a similar campaign for the pool.
“I’d love it to be saved.”
Members of the community feel the same with her online petition already closing in on 500 signatures.
Cox used to be on a Tinwald pool committee when her children were younger, spending plenty of time poolside and has started taking her grandchildren to the pool.
The domain has had recent upgrades adding in a basketball court and now plans for a disc golf course, but is taking away the pool, she said.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
The pool has a series of problems that has caused the council the close it for the summer, but they are solvable problems, Cox said.
“I don’t know about the solution but considering it’s the only outdoor pool in town that’s open to the public, they should be coming up with solutions.”
It’s leaking 17,000 litres a day from unknown locations and the ageing treatment equipment that is close to failing requires a significant and costly rebuild.
The pool had a $66,000 loss in the 2021-22 season which had its highest patronage.
The pool had limited operating hours last summer due to a staffing shortage, with a lack of lifeguards also impacting the hours at EA Networks Centre pools.
The combination of issues caused the councillors to make the difficult decision to close the pool this summer and will consider the options for the pool, including an estimated $3m rebuild, in the long-term plan.
In the meantime, Cox hopes the pool gets enough community support to convince the council the pool needs to be retained.
The closure means that Ashburton will be without an outdoor pool this summer unless the council strikes up a deal with Hampstead School.
Otherwise, the option is the EA Networks Centre’s pools or a drive out of town to one of the other district pools at Hinds, Mayfield, Ruapuna, Mt Somers, Rakaia, or the non-council pools like in Methven.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.2% Summer
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36.3% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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