The team faces are changing in the station this week, with Ben Wallbank leaving the police and following his filming and photographic dream. All the best for this Ben.

Quite a road policing focus in the Crimeline this week.

The snow in the area is making things hard with grit on the roads. The snow on the side of the roads is melting and flowing across the roads and freezing. Watch out for this in the valleys.

Maungawera Hill gets to be tricky in the mornings so please slow down, especially if you are one of the first over the hill in the mornings. Over the years we have pulled a few cars out of the ditch on the south side. It’s kind of like the ditch of shame having your car parked there.

We have had a crash at a give-way sign with the person failing to do so. Stop signs seem to be fearing better with no crashes at these lately. But still watch the one on Riverbank and Ballantyne Road, it gets busy there.

Black ice was the cause of a crash on Cardrona Valley Road, by James Road. Also just along from there is the area where the stones get washed down and on to the road which pose a serious risk, so watch the speed around there.

Ballantyne Road from Riverbank Road east to the end on State Highway 6 has been 60km/h for some time now. There are many reasons including a few that we can see; the road is like a rollercoaster with no long-distance view where a speeding vehicle can see clearly for any distance, there are driveways within these low areas on the road and tractors and cars etc come out of these things, sheep are herded along the road, and the school bus stops on the road.

Please slow down along here. Unfortunately, some big value speeding tickets and a couple of driver licence suspensions have been given out lately on this road.

This week saw the Blue Light Adventure and Skills Training (BLAST) programme wrap up. Twenty or so youth have been getting themselves out of bed super early to partake in various activities all term. This week saw them go out with a bang and I would like to thank all involved; Wānaka Lions, The Fit Collective, Kahu Youth, Wānaka Police and all the community groups who put their hands up to be involved. Let’s do it all again next year!

The Black Seeds concert was well attended, and things seemed to go pretty well. However there was significant intoxication in town on the weekend and some public nuisance behaviour with picnic tables and the like relocated on to the road. Just remember, if the police are required as a taxi, it’s likely to not be your home address.

All the best for the coming week.