Where Mid Canterbury students attend secondary school in the future will be determined by clearly defined zones.

Mount Hutt College already has a zone in place and Ashburton College is now in the process of establishing its own zone that will come into play when the school roll hits 1350.

Currently there are a number of students who are travelling to schools that are outside what are likely to be the new zone boundaries and that can continue until the roll cap at either school is reached, Ashburton College principal Ross Preece said.

In drawing proposed zone boundaries, he said the college had worked as near as possible to natural district boundaries – the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers with the existing Mount Hutt College zone boundary used in the west.

The college had also requested the MInistry of Education take the zone as close as possible to the school’s transport entitlement zone, Preece said.

In the draft there were minor changes in two areas along the Rangitata River, with a sliver of land towards the coast now becoming part of the college zone and another around Carew-Peel Forest School that would be within the Geraldine High zone.

The zone will also include an area in Rakaia that is part of the Ellesmere College zone

The college’s roll is at 1200, with students from across the district attending.

This could continue until the 1350 cap was reached and that was likely to be around 2022, Preece said.

“That’s where the rubber will meet the road as we can currently take all students, but there’s no great sense of panic. Over the next few years we can still take anyone who wants to attend the college.”

Establishing a zone made sense, he said, and a roll cap made it easier to plan longer term.

A bubble in Year 8 student numbers would boost the roll next year, but Year 7 had smaller numbers and that again would impact on the college roll.

Those factors, combined with the mobility of families for work reasons, made it difficult to know exactly when zone rules would be enacted, he said.

The zone, however, will be in place by the end of this year.

All contributing schools will be contacted as part of the consultation process and information is available on the college website and hard copy maps are available at the college office.

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 July 2019

Forty-five years after meeting in Ashburton (from left) Alan Dowdle, Ruth Gamblin, John Gamblin, Peter Gallagher and Jenny Dowdle are coming together for a cycling tour. Photo supplied.Five former Ashburton College friends are teaming up to ride 1400km along the banks of the Rhine river to celebrate their 60th birthdays.

The 16-day trip starts in the Swiss Alps at the source of the river and finishes in the Netherlands, where the river empties into the North Sea.

The students, who went to college in the 1970s, include Ashburton couple Alan and Jenny Dowdle, Christchurch couple John and Ruth Gamblin (John is Jenny’s brother) and Invercargill man Peter Gallagher.

Peter’s sister Anne, who did not go to college, will also join the cycle party, which leaves for Europe at the end of the month.

Jenny said the group had remained firm friends since their school days 45 years ago.

The five went to Ashburton College but also were connected through the Ashburton Intermediate, where Peter’s father and John and Jenny’s father were teachers.

Five years ago they began talking about ways to mark the 60th birthdays of Alan, John and Peter and, as cycling enthusiasts, they eventually decided on the Velo15, an organised cycle tour along the length of the Rhine.

There are 14 cycle days, with some of the legs up to 125km.

Jenny said the group had taken part in the Grape Ride last year and had a lot of fun.

They were looking forward to cycling through four countries – Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands – and sampling the local foods and cultures on this trip.

The tour company has organised their accommodation and will carry their large bags. The cyclists will wear day packs.

Jenny said Europe had been baking in a heatwave recently, with temperatures of up to 40ºC and she was hoping for cooler temperatures.

While she is fit, she is the least experienced cyclist in the group and is not looking forward to a “screaming descent” in the first stage.

The Ashburton couple are taking hybrid bikes (a road bike/mountainbike cross) for the journey, which is mostly on sealed pathways.

“It will be a really good social time and a great way to see the different countries.”

Peter said the close friends might now live in different towns, but they still got together to hang out regularly.

Jenny now works at the college where they met.

By Linda Clarke © The Ashburton Guardian - 12 July 2019

Simon Barnett and Phil Gifford have left their days of radio hi-jinks behind. Photo supplied.Returning to radio has been a great experience, not just for himself, but also wife Jodi, says Simon Barnett.

The celebrity host, originally from Ashburton, has been out of the broadcasting studio for more than a year following Jodi suffering a seizure and requiring surgery and treatment for brain lesions.

“It’s been a pretty torrid year with my wife’s health,” the 52-year-old said.

“We are getting through it, we are convinced she’s going to get through it.”

He had been by Jodi’s side for 14 months at their Christchurch home, and had not really left her at all.

“That was probably the biggest hurdle for me, just being apart from her,” Barnett said of his return last week to radio.

He is broadcasting from Newstalk ZB’s Christchurch studio, alongside his former co-host Phil Gifford in the afternoon slot, midday to 4pm Tuesday to Friday.

Barnett said Jodi was getting stronger but still not at the stage of being left on her own, and other family members were at home with her while he worked each afternoon.

Barnett said Jodi listened every day, barely missing a single minute of their show.

And if she was not at home, such as the other day when she was in the supermarket with their daughter, she would still be listening, through earphones.

“She’s enjoying me being back on air and really loving it,” Barnett said.

“She’s always just been such a massive support in my life, I would not be the man I am and certainly would not achieve anything like the success I have, if it wasn’t for Jodi,” he said.

And it was fantastic to be working back alongside Gifford, who had moved from Auckland to Christchurch to do the show.

The pair joined More FM in 1997, coming there from 91ZM.

They built up a loyal base of fans, entertained by their hi-jinks and banter.

For Barnett and Gifford it is a completely different role this time round on talk radio.

The ZB mission is to discuss and debate the issues that matter to New Zealanders.

It’s news-based, because that is what people are talking about, but not news-heavy or adversarial, Barnett said.

And Barnett is enjoying not having to get up at 4.30am, as he had to do for almost three decades in breakfast radio.

“Every single second was precious at that hour of the morning, you were really pushed for time,” Barnett said.

By Susan Sandys © The Ashburton Guardian - 12 July 2019