Vandalism not the reason

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 615, 5 December 1995, Page 4

Vandalism not the reason

• As one of the owners of the house recently moved from 112 Seddon Street, Raetihi, to Railway Row, Ohakune (Bulletin, 28 November), I would like the following put on record. The relocation of the house was the culmination of a plan formulated some two years ago. V andalism played no part in our decision to undertake such a project. In fact, I can't imagine anyone lunatic enough to go through the frustration and expense of shifting a house in order to overcome a problem which tenants, deadlocks and bolts would have solved. Yes, there were squatters; yes, there was vandalism. However, I am appalled that you assumed so much about our reasons for re-siting with no attempt to check the facts, and saddened that you chose to portray, in headline and text, such a negative image of Raetihi - 99.9 per cent of whose residents neither squatted in nor vandalised the house. To some of these residents we owe our thanks: the evervigilant next door neighbours who watched out for our interests, the local police officer who also kept an eye on the place, and Neil Black from Raetihi Hardware whose assistance and advice on various matters was invaluable.

Elaine

Stevens,

Wellington

EDITOR REPLIES: We felt the story, as it was presented to us, highlighted a real vandalism problem in both Raetihi and Ohakune which needs adressing. However,

the Bulletin regrets that the story was innacurate and we apologise to the owners and readers for this.