Latest news with #Huntly
NZ Herald
07-08-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Main Street Cafe Huntly wins award for rhubarb and raspberry pie at NZ Pie Awards 2025
After the award announcement, pie sales skyrocketed and they were sold out two days in a row, Linton-Brown said. While Linton-Brown couldn't remember how many pies she made on the days they sold out, she believed it was hundreds. Linton-Brown, originally from Auckland, fell in love with pastry when she was still in high school. But it wasn't until 2022 that she opened her own cafe. It's a family-run business, with her children heavily involved as well. For the family, the awards win came after 'rough' times and challenges, which meant Linton-Brown had been almost ready to close the cafe's doors. 'We've been broken into, which cost us a lot of money, and recession for our business was tight too. Huntly's Main Street Cafe won Gold for their rhubarb and raspberry pie at the 2025 Bakels NZ Pie Awards. Photo / Malisha Kumar 'It was either dig my heels in further or close my doors,' she said. But closing up shop did not come easy to her. 'I'm no quitter. 'I don't want to give up, and I kept that capacity in me to keep pushing forward.' Having overcome those challenges made the national pie award win taste twice as sweet. 'We dug our heels in, and it was hard. But I'm incredibly grateful I did.' Other Waikato winners were the Baker Tīrau, taking silver for its steak and cheese pie and Hamilton's High Bakery and Cafe, which won silver for its vegetarian pie in 2024, and this year won silver for its bacon and egg pie. The sign outside Huntly's Main Street Cafe. Photo / Malisha Kumar The High Bakery and Cafe posted on social media: 'We did it again'. 'Thanks [to] our loyal customers for believing in us, supporting, and enjoying our pies.' Lunchbar Eighty 8, also of Hamilton, won bronze for its creamy paua pie in the Gourmet Meats category. Auckland's Rosedale Bakery & Cafe won the Supreme Award for its potato top pie. The first Pie Awards were held in 1996 to inspire the baking industry to keep on innovating. The Bakels Supreme Pie Awards have now grown to around 600 entries across 11 categories, which are blind-judged by a panel of industry experts. Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
RNZ News
04-08-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Gentailers agree to stockpile coal at Huntly Power Station
Photo: Lynn Grieveson The country's big four power companies have signed an agreement to set up a coal stockpile at Huntly Power Station to support security of electricity supplies. Genesis has struck a deal with Contact, Meridian and Mercury to amass up to 600,000 tonnes of coal reserves, which when added to the current stocks will total potentially 1.1 million tonnes. Most of the coal is imported from Indonesia, and the Huntly units can burn as much as 10,000 tonnes a day. The resource, which in due course might also include biomass wood pellets, will keep Huntly's coal and gas fired Rankine units in operation and available to provide quick starting generation when renewable electricity supplies are pressured, as well as reduced gas supplies. Genesis chief executive Malcolm Johns said without the deal one of the units would have been shut down early next year. "To keep this unit in service out to 2035 requires significant investment. The agreements announced on Monday are essential to making that investment and ensuring a fuel reserve is in place for energy security." Preventing a repeat of 2024 winter The agreement has been prompted by market conditions in winter 2024. A combination of low hydro-lake inflows, low wind conditions and fluctuating natural gas supplies sent wholesale electricity prices soaring and forced emergency measures to avoid shortages. "The country was hit hard last year by an unexpected and significant shortage of gas , and that problem is not going away any time soon," Meridian chief executive Mike Roan chief executive said. Minister of Energy Simon Watts said the energy reserve would help to uphold the country's energy security. "This agreement will provide a crucial buffer against future dry winters, helping maintain power supply and keeping energy costs stable for New Zealanders." Johns said the power companies would approach the Commerce Commission to ensure the agreement did not break competition rules, and the power offer was not exclusive to the big four. "[This] is open to all participants in the electricity market from gentailers to independent generators and retailers, and large industrial users." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Councillor seeks clarity over house fire response
A councillor has called for clarification on how it was decided which crew was alerted first to a fire which destroyed two homes in Ballater at the weekend. The local on-call crew from the town was at a wildfire near Huntly and the next nearest unit in Aboyne was unavailable due to staffing problems. Aberdeenshire councillor Geva Blackett has raised questions about the order in which crews were sent. It took nearly 50 minutes for firefighters to get to the scene from Tomintoul - about 24 miles (38km) away. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it would always attend every emergency using the nearest available appliance. It took the Tomintoul crew 49 minutes to arrive at the scene of the incident, followed by crews from Stonehaven (40 miles/64km away), Banchory (24 miles/38km) and Braemar (17 miles/27km). All the fire stations in the area are operated by on-call firefighters who respond to incidents using a pager. Nobody was injured in the incident, which destroyed two homes, one of them a council house. However, independent councillor Ms Blackett said she had concerns about where some of the fire crews were coming from. She said: "I have e-mailed one of the officers and asked for a bit of clarification. "I'm sure there's a very good reason why Stonehaven came out before Banchory, but I'd like to know what that is." Listen to news from North East Scotland on BBC Sounds More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Craig McGoldrick, assistant chief officer at SFRS, said: "We will always attend every emergency and mobilise the nearest available appliance to an incident using our standard mobilisation practices. "We were alerted at 17:26 on Saturday 28 June, to reports of a fire affecting two properties on Swann Place, Ballater. "Operations control mobilised three appliances to the scene from Tomintoul, Stonehaven and Banchory community fire stations." He said that due to "repeat calls" another appliance was sent from Braemar. "The Aboyne appliance was not available due to staffing at the time of this incident," he added. "There were no reported casualties and our crews worked to bring this incident to a safe conclusion." Homes evacuated as firefighters tackle property blaze
The Herald Scotland
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Another Scottish Tory defects to Farage's Reform UK
Knight said she felt left behind by the Conservative Party. She noted: 'I am committed to being a strong voice for those who are too often unheard and to working tirelessly to ensure that every child, regardless of their needs, is given the opportunity to thrive. This is not just a political responsibility — it is a personal mission. 'Scotland has been abandoned by the two-party establishment, which continues to prioritise self-interests and party politics over genuine change," Knight added. Lauren Knight represents Huntly in Aberdeenshire (Image: Aberdeenshire Council) The Huntly councillor's defection was presaged by the departure of four other Conservatives. Former council chief Mark Findlater, Mearns councillor Laurie Carnie, Ellon councillor John Crawley, and East Garioch councillor Dominic Lonchay have also joined Reform UK. Councillors Robbie Withey and John Cox have also signed up to the party, but continue to sit as independents. Glasgow City Council's Thomas Kerr, who defected to Reform UK in January, travelled to Aberdeenshire to welcome Knight to the party. Kerr said: 'Lauren Knight brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to Reform UK and I'm delighted to welcome her onto our team. 'We're now Scotland's fastest growing political movement and it's clear why – the SNP, Labour and Tories have broken Scotland. Reform is on a mission to fix it.' Read more: Aberdeen councillor Duncan Massey defects to Reform Analysis: Scottish Tories face 'existential crisis' as Reform support grows Finally, we have proof the BBC is helping Reform. It's become a danger to democracy A Scottish Tory spokesman said: "Under Russell Findlay, we're reconnecting with common sense conservative values of enterprise, self-reliance, fiscal responsibility and the rule of law. 'Every poll shows that Reform will only help the SNP. As we saw in last year's general election, they handed several seats to the SNP which would have otherwise gone to a pro-UK party. "Reform are likely to stand pro-independence candidates in the 2026 election and Nigel Farage has even said he's not worried about the SNP getting another five years in power. 'The Scottish Conservatives will continue to work hard to rebuild trust with disillusioned voters by holding the failing SNP Government to account and promoting common sense conservative values."
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
New facility to recycle construction waste near Huntly
A new facility near Huntly will process more than 60 tonnes of construction waste per hour, aiming to divert over 100,000 tonnes of construction waste from landfill. Building researchers BRANZ say typically 40 to 50 per cent of all construction waste goes to landfill. The $16 million Green Gorilla facility in Rotowaro opened this week. The project was co-funded by a $4 million grant from the Ministry for the Environment's Waste Minimisation Fund. The facility will be taking waste from South Auckland, Waikato, Thames-Coromandel, and the Bay of Plenty. Green Gorilla chief executive is Elaine Morgan. Photo: Supplied by Green Gorilla
