Lights a ‘beacon of hope’

29 April 2020

From tonight night skies in Te Kuiti and Otorohanga will be lit up with a “beacon of hope” as the country moves into Alert Level 3.

Today a crew from The Lines Company (TLC) will light the hugely popular star on top of hills in both towns.  The star is normally lit at Christmas time while a cross lights up the skies over Easter.

The company has sponsored both lights for decades.

TLC chief executive Sean Horgan said because of lockdown, the Easter crosses were not lit this year . Alert Level 4 meant TLC was only able to focus on essential electrical work and sending people out to physically light the crosses was not allowed. He has had “all sorts of people” people contact him to say they had missed it.

“While they understood why, some people were really, genuinely upset not to see the cross this Easter, especially given the additional stress within our community.  There’s a lot of history behind the cross and the star and its something King Country families get a lot of pleasure from.”

Based on that, TLC will light the star today as a “beacon of hope” as the country moves to slowly back towards Alert Level 2.  The star will stay lit while Alert Level 3 is in place and would provide a reminder that there really is light at the end of the tunnel, he said.

“I’m hoping it will encourage people to stay positive and to remember that we’re all in this together.  While lots of things have changed, some things haven’t and there is still much to be grateful for.”