Articles by Utopia Support

First aid test a competition

Monday 10 September 2012 | Published in National

Developing first aid skills and passing them on to others was the primary objective behind a revived Rarotonga First Aid Competition. While International Red Cross Day was actually on Saturday, the celebrations organised by the Cook Islands Red Cross were brought back a day to combine their efforts simultaneously with New Zealand, who marked the […]

Seeto's rollercoaster

Monday 10 September 2012 | Published in National

An opportunity to serve the community has lead to Rotary district governor Ron Seeto take on what he believes is an “exhilarating” role. Seeto started as the governor of District 9920, which includes Rarotonga’s club, on July 1. Since then it has been a large, thrilling ride for the architect. “When you’re president like John […]

Airport biosecurity boosted by NZ

Monday 10 September 2012 | Published in National

Agriculture secretary Dr Matairangi Purea has hailed New Zealand’s contribution to Rarotonga International Airport’s biosecurity control after about $6000 worth of equipment was handed over to the ministry. Amongst the goods donated by New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries is an amnesty bin stationed at the airport’s arrivals department. The bin will help ensure any […]

Suicide awareness campaign underway

Monday 10 September 2012 | Published in National

Today marks the start of a seven-day awareness campaign to promote suicide prevention. The group driving the campaign is made up of people representing Te Marae Ora, Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the private sector, and non-government organisations like the Cook Islands National Youth Council and Te Kainga. Most of the work has been […]

Maggie: standing up for the people

Monday 10 September 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

“Congratulations to the Tupapa MP George Maggie Angene for standing up and risking his own neck in support of the CIIC workers who were laid off work,” a smoke signaller writes in response to Friday’s front page article ‘George Maggie breaks rank’. “This is the spirit of the kind of MP we all want, standing […]

New lawyer sworn in for Toa litigation work

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in Features

Chief Justice Tom Weston admitted a new lawyer to the Cook Islands bar on Friday. “This is a slightly more pleasant task than all the sentencing I’ve been doing this morning,” Weston joked before welcoming Auckland lawyer Rebecca Rose to the bar. Rose is in Rarotonga to help the Crown in the Toa Petroleum litigation. […]

Drainlaying students' commitment impresses

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in Features

Visiting Wintec assessor Pete Shields is impressed at the levels of commitment shown by students on the cusp of completing the first-ever drainlayers qualification. The course, which began in 2010, will see the first lot of graduates finish at the end of the year. The Hamilton-based tutor was on hand at the Cook Islands Trade […]

Experience of a lifetime in Frankfurt

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in Features

Cook Islands performers have showcased our culture to potentially millions of people in Europe in recent weeks, according to Glenda Tuaine of Motone Productions who reports from the Akirata Dance Troupe tour of Europe. ALL PHOTOS GLENDA TUAINE Frankfurt is a city that feels safe, the centre of German commerce, it radiates a vibe of […]

Kata - September 8, 2012

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in Kata

Aussie trip builds group

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

Students from the Cook Islands Sports Academy (CISA) are setting their sights on a mixture of culture and sport when they depart for Sydney at the end of the month. The auction fundraiser held at the Rarotongan Beach Resort and Spa on Thursday night saw members of the sporting academy showcase their cultural dance item […]

I felt it was the happiest time

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

This week on the Kids Page, Grade Six Takitumu School students share their experiences of participating in the Pacific Leaders Forum, in both Maori and English Opening of the 43rd Pacific Forum 2012 On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon it was an awesome day for the opening of the 43rd Pacific Forum 2012. It was at […]

New waterpark open for fun!

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

Waterpark aficionados, take heart. The Rarotongan Resort & Spa has commissioned a gigantic inflatable waterslide – a three-story toy with a six-figure price tag that’s taken up residence on the side of the road opposite the resort. Six pumps keep the slide inflated by day, and rest while it’s deflated each night. The launch was […]

Sun blocks signal from Telecom satellites

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

Telecom services will be affected next week due to the position of the sun knocking out their satellite signals. Solar outages are a natural phenomenon which occurs twice a year when the sun is positioned directly in line with ground-based satellite dish antennas. During these brief eclipse periods, the sun’s radiation overwhelms the signals from […]

Suicide prevention campaign on the road

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

Talk about it – talk about your problems and issues with people who care. That is the key message from the Youth Suicide Prevention Committee who this week revved up their awareness campaign with a billboard on the back of one of Cook’s Passenger Transport buses. It’s a bus that is used on the school […]

Prison for probation breach

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

A well-known offender has been sentenced to three months in prison for flouting the rules of his probationary sentence. On November 23 last year Daniel Tonorio was sentenced to 12 months of probation with the first six months on community service, for committing four burglaries. One of the terms of his probation was a curfew […]

Call to clean up

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in National

The first event of Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative’s second annual Rubbish Roundup kicks off today. Telecom Cook Islands has signed on to sponsor today’s clean-up at Black Rock and Social Centre from midday, and encourages anyone interested and willing to lend a hand to come along and help out. Last year, volunteers collected over one […]

We all need better pay to stay

Saturday 8 September 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

“The government has increased the prices to nearly everything here in Rarotonga,” a smoke signaller writes. “Why don’t we all stand up and strike for a rise on the minimum wages so we can afford to stay on our island instead of relocating to New Zealand or Australia? Pay rise for all, just saying.” A […]

Bishop in Rome

Friday 7 September 2012 | Published in Church Talk

Cook Islands Catholic Bishop Paul Donoghue is currently in Rome taking part in a renewal course for Catholic Bishops. The course is for bishops ordained in the last two years and 90 new bishops are in Rome for the course. Sixty-five of the new bishops are from Africa, 20 from Asia, three from Papua New […]

Choice for life

Friday 7 September 2012 | Published in Church Talk

We have had a feast of activities to keep us occupied over the last month. Te Maeva Nui, Constitution Day, Olympics and more recently the Pacific Forum meeting. Fathers’ Day came right at the end. Each of these life filled events attempts to bring out the best of some aspect of humanity and gives us […]

Kata - September 7, 2012

Friday 7 September 2012 | Published in Kata