Well back into the first week of the school term and if I could ask you to continue to show care when driving past our schools.

Although the majority of the school holiday visitors have gone home now the work has been continuing to keep Police busy.

The week has seen Police deal with further reports of family harm matters and numerous driving complaints.

The roads continue to have ice and care will need to be a priority, winter is still with us and the roads can be treacherous.

This week our significant efforts in stopping drink drivers have led to the apprehension of six drink drivers. The occurrence of this type of offending does not seem to be reducing. Unfortunately some of the levels of alcohol we are seeing are extremely high with one person recording four and a half times over the legal limit. This is very disturbing.

Dry July for many seems to have failed, perhaps they can try again and go for an Arid August. I would heartily recommend contacting Alcoholics Anonymous or any of the other agencies for support if you are wanting to manage and control your drinking.

Senior Constable Cranfield, our community police officer, has been dealing with reports of dogs attacking sheep in the Gladstone Road area at Lake Hāwea. If you reside in the area please ensure your dogs are under control to ensure the safety of livestock. He continues to investigate the matter and would appreciate any information to identify the dogs involved.

We are seeing a worrying trend of skis being stolen from the ski resorts this year, more than previous years. This is a timely reminder to keep an eye on your equipment when up the mountains. Many of the thefts occurred within minutes of the owner leaving them in the racks.

Over the next month and a half an increasing number of our community will be effected by employment changes as the Covid-19 support runs out. Please continue as a community to show the compassion and support that you did to one another through lock down.

Have a safe week.