We sometimes take for granted the things that are good about the Ashburton District – from our stunning high country to our Council facilities and basic services.

I was delighted to hear from our Customer Services team that a woman who spent Anzac weekend in our district had phoned to thank Council for creating a great place to visit.

She spent time at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum, the Ashburton Library and the Ashburton Domain, and enjoyed being able to walk everywhere in what she described as a tidy and friendly town.

Receiving a message like this is good for the soul, as Council often deals with complaints or is the subject of misinformed criticism on social media.

The smooth running of core services like drinking water, wastewater, rubbish collection, roads and outdoor spaces requires dedicated and persistent good effort 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Genuine compliments create their own positivity, whether you are shopping at the supermarket, buying petrol or enjoying a community facility.

It was great to see the huge numbers of young people taking part in school holiday programmes recently, and I’m sure further fun is already being planned for the July school holidays!

A headline about the best hidden road trips in the country also caught my eye this week, and I was proud to see Lake Heron featured. Our high country and Hakatere Conservation Park was seen as a magical spot.

Last week’s rain was not so magical for some, though the district seems to have got off lightly compared to our neighbours to the north - our early estimates of roading damage are between $100,000-$150,000.

It was the first big rain event for the new Mount Somers water treatment plant too. In the past, Council would have issued a boil water notice after such a big rain event, but the new membrane filtering technology did its job well and there was no interruption to the township’s water supply.

It was the same for Methven's new membrane treatment plant, which opened 18 months ago.

In the past week I’ve also been seeing local data from the Mayors Taskforce For Jobs programme, which helps young people not in training or education into jobs. It’s a nationwide programme supported by mayors up and down the country, and our local programme has had a lot of success.

If you’re keen to come on board as an employer, please get in touch.