$43,000 collected for kiosk

Press, 12 June 1986, Page 3

$43,000 collected for kiosk

A cheque for $43,000 is exchanged by the station manager of Radio Avon, Mr Wayne Johnson (right), for a small model of the community police kiosk proposed for Cathedral Square. The Christchurch district commander of police, Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Jamieson, holds the cheque, while the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, holds the model. A Christchurch firm, Armitage Williamson Construction, Ltd, has been awarded the contract to build the kiosk. Its tender of $56,646 represents a gift of $3OOO towards the project. Off-site construction of the three-room hexagonal building will start today with work moving on-site in about six weeks. The completion date is 10 weeks from today. Radio Avon’s $43,000 was the result of a fundraising appeal by the station for the kiosk. It included $20,000 from the man who placed an advertisement in “The Press” calling for sterner penalties for crimes. The Christchurch Press Company gave $lOOO towards the kiosk and the Government gave a further $5OOO, making its total contribution $lO,OOO. Mr Johnson said yesterday that the station was considering meeting the shortfall between the amount raised and the contract tender. He was not concerned

about the recent criticism that the Government should have been responsible for raising the money. The station had been trying recently to become more involved in the community and rais-

ing funds for the kiosk had been an ideal opportunity, he said. “It was an ideal chance fcr us to do something for Christchurch. For the last 10 years Christchurch has done an awful lot for us

— it is nice to be able to turn the tables occasionally.” Mr Jamieson said the police were now looking for volunteers to run the office. No decision had yet been made as to

whether a police officer would be in the kiosk fulltime. Volunteers would be trained in a classroom and would then have some “on the job” training, he said.