Suspicious fire
Police are investigating a suspicious fire that burned down an abandoned house in Eketahuna. Local fire crews attended a small fire at a house on Nireaha Rd at 8.25pm on Saturday, which they put out, but another fire started at 11.30pm on the same night. Eketahuna fire chief Max Meyer said the abandoned house was fully involved when the crews returned. He said crews didn’t leave the fire until 2.45am Sunday, by which point the house had burned to the ground. Police confirmed the fire was suspicious and said inquiries are ongoing. The fire follows three other suspicious fires in Wairarapa in the past four weeks. Police said they had no information to suggest the fires were related but said investigations continued.
Centenary a success
Wairarapa College principal Matt White said the school’s weekend celebrating the centenary was a success. Over a thousand past pupils and staff attended the events, which included sports, performances, school building and farm tours, historical displays, and a gala dinner on Saturday night. White said he had received superb feedback. “A lot of people were able to reconnect with their friends and staff from when they were at school, and many people said they were impressed by our staff and students, who helped make the weekend such a great occasion.”
Retailers group meeting
Masterton District Council [MDC] is inviting interested businesses to join a new retailers’ business group, which MDC has set up to address retail crime and antisocial behaviour, and to help bring back vibrancy and positivity to the Masterton CBD. The next meeting is on Wednesday, 15 March, at 7.30am at Waiata House, 27 Lincoln Rd, Masterton. Representatives of businesses can email [email protected] for information or to register their interest.
Libraries closed
All Wairarapa Library Service branches will be closed this morning for staff training. The affected branches – in Carterton, Greytown, Featherston and Martinborough – will be open again at 1pm. Regular hours of 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, will resume tomorrow.
