All local primary and secondary schools will re-open today, with the exception of Otane School.
Schools were closed for most of last week due to cyclone Gabrielle, with a majority of Central Hawke’s Bay schools opting to stay closed for instruction until today.
School bus services continue to be disrupted in Central Hawke’s Bay and Tararua District however due to the condition of some local roads.
Meanwhile Hunter Park, Lakeview, and Waipawa Kindergartens will remain closed for today and tomorrow.
Otane School will make a decision later on when it will reopen.
--------------------
One of the schools that is re-opening today is Waipawa School.
Pictures of the clean-up at the school were posted to social media over the weekend, with a number of volunteers chipping in since last Thursday to help out.
Principal Paul Jamieson said all classrooms were fine, but they did suffer some damage in storage sheds and rooms out the back of the school.
He said the outside environment suffered the most damage, although there is nothing that can’t be fixed with a bit of time, and money.
Mr Jamieson said they count themselves very fortunate that classrooms were not affected.
He said the community turnout for the initial clean-up on Thursday was “amazing”, and they can’t wait for children to return today.
------------------------------
The Central Hawke’s Bay District Council is asking residents of Waipawa and Otane to conserve water following pump failures at the Tikokino Road bore.
Council Chief Executive, Doug Tate, said both pumps failed early this morning after being flooded, meaning the top of Waipawa, and Otane, will lose water again unless people “critically conserve it”.
He said tankers are on the way to help top the reservoirs up.
-------------------
The Patangata Bridge has been restricted to light vehicles only.
The Central Hawke’s Bay District Council put the restrictions in place over the weekend, with vehicles over 3.5 tonnes in weight unable to use it until further notice.
The Council said heavy vehicles may compromise the structural integrity of the bridge, and engineers are monitoring it regularly.
Fifty roads in the district are still closed, with many more open with restrictions.
Meanwhile the Tararua District Council has re-opened some rural roads.
Over the weekend, the Council said access was now open from Dannevirke to both Pongaroa and Herbertville for all vehicles.
River Road is still hazardous and is open to 4WD and emergency vehicles only.
Currently there are 35 roads closed in Tararua District, with 20 of them open to emergency vehicles only and 15 roads that are closed to all vehicles.
----------------------
There has been an overwhelming response to calls for donations for those affected by last weeks flooding.
Ascende Church in Waipawa will be open today and tomorrow for those needing items but will not be taking anymore donations for the time being.
They are aiming to re-open to take donations again on Wednesday.
The Ascende Church is on the corner of Ruataniwha and Kenilworth Streets in Waipawa and is open between 10am and 3pm.
-------------------
Only a handful of properties in both Tararua and CHB remain with power.
In Tararua, only six properties were without power as at yesterday afternoon.
In CHB, Centralines spokesman, Danny Gough, said there are still 30 customers off across the entire network.
