Ron Eckman Jr. took off from New Kensington and 25 years later landed in Las Vegas. Eckman, 48, enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from Valley High School in 1991. He was an aircraft electrician, working on fighter jets at bases around the world and even traveled with the
“At Waitapu, people were asleep [in their vehicles] then you see them get up and use the long drop toilet.” At Taupata, three vehicles displayed a self-contained sticker. Despite being removed as an official camping spot under the amended council bylaw, Taupata is a road reserve meaning self-contained vehicles cannot be banned. Eckman questioned whether all the vehicles with stickers were actually self-contained. He said the amount of vehicles at the sites ranged from a few to more than a dozen, varying from day to day and time of day. “The numbers always vary because people come and go.” Eckman said at Taupata the council had a legal responsibility to protect shore birds, including godwits, South Island pied oystercatchers, white-fronted terns and banded dotterels which roosted there.