Kia Ora team.

Welcome to the icy grips of winter which brings with it the highs of a bustling town but the lows of the pesky inversion layer. Tough times for all those who are relatively solar-powered but I’m sure the bluebird days can’t be far away.

Great to see the first of the local ski fields up and operating on Saturday and with it some fashionably (?) bright outfits gracing the town in the evening that followed. Fantastic for our local businesses to see lines of well-behaved patrons keen to enjoy a night out. Long may the good behaviour continue.

A few common trends coming to our attention over the past fortnight.

Several vehicle accidents occurred in areas where ice and grit were present. Add a spoonful of speed to those slippery suckers and you’ve got all the ingredients for a bad experience.

Alcohol has been a contributor to two crashes. On both occasions, the drivers were well over the limit and extremely lucky to walk away from their vehicles.

Another intoxicated driver was fortunate they only made it a few hundred meters before falling asleep at the wheel with the vehicle coming to rest against a curb. All these occurrences have the potential to cause major damage or worse, injury to innocent members of the public. Dumb luck is only going to keep people safe for so long.

Great work this weekend by our partners, Community Patrol, as they located one of the drink drivers mentioned above and pointed out an extremely intoxicated young man that needed some help finding his way home to bed.

Two people can be very thankful to the efforts of our local Coastguard volunteers who plucked them from the darkness of Mou Wahu Island after their ill-conceived expedition plans went awry. Just another lesson in the pitfalls of not adequately planning adventures at this time of year.

Some great results with the apprehension of more light-fingered shoppers. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $4 air-freshener or a trolley load of groceries, theft is theft and people will be held accountable for their actions.

On the topic of great results, congratulations to the members of Wanaka AFC for their win against Green Island in the third round of the Chatham Cup on Saturday. Punching well above their weight!

Less than great was the idea of some out-of-town lads who thought it would be amusing to let off fireworks on the doorstep of a random residence and then later a park bench downtown. When located, the individual was remorseful for their actions and the disturbance they had caused a visiting family.

Regardless of how much people may be under the influence of various substances, it would be pleasing to see people who are about to make a poor decision given timely and sage advice by those around them prior to committing acts of stupidity such as letting off fireworks, driving intoxicated or getting into verbal/physical arguments.

Enjoy the area and all the perks that come with residing in this great place but … take the time to check in and look after one another, life isn’t always a box of fluffies.