COUNTY AFFAIRS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 99, 7 February 1936, Page 6

COUNTY AFFAIRS

/ THE GRASS FIRE MENACE. paving proposals accepted. PROGRAMME OYER FIVE YEARS. The Ashburton Count,yi Council met tlus morning, when there were present Messrs I>. J. Morrow (clianman), L Lambie, R- Houston,. JFrampton, W. CL Gal agher L H J. Crothers, J. Bland C. A. uam pion and H. C. B. Withell. The Chairman's Statement. The chairman reports as follows.— All reasonable steps have been taken £,‘when the Hinds Excise » closed, and have also. arrangedl for the hi 6 which* 21 fires lnive often and i„ which the council “ U area ot plantations J S ”nd oSanise for lighting out, teeaUs? as immediate and collected VT ‘hi he*available to assist when can be done by the, has few workmen available. -Uie g work done last year by the officeis or the Telegraph Department m gathei Z information of the locality and extent of the outbreaks of fire, aid St! this information to enquirof great benefit and assistance and it is pleasing to know That the same services will be available tins year if the necessity arises. The utmost care must he exercised by over^ body, as the country from the hills to the sea would he threatened it an outbreak occurred. i As heavy crops were general out the County this season, it was evident that work would »e avaiWlo for all able-bodied men. I the^ iol6 thought it advisable to release all ie lief workers from their occupation with the council, and also all our roadmen and workers who could be spared, so that they could participate in harvest ing work. It is pleasing to report that nearly all the men formerly employed under the No .o Scheme liaie obtained employment. “A rabbit committee ot faimeis 1 the Ashburton Gorge has been fpmed under the Unemployment Boaid s No 11 scheme for the purpose ot utilising relief laToui for tie destruction of rabbits in that locality. It w P IO P? bcd to employ from six to eight men for some weeks at this work, and I lia\c authorised tlie Clerk fa »'■*■ tieasurer for the scheme, and advance the wages to the men, on beluili of the Unemployment Board. It appears to me that the council could provide employment for a number of men under the same scheme in destroying rabbits and clearing the cover m some of 0111 plantations, in localities where rabbits are numerous. Decision in regard to rabbit destruction was held over till next meeting, when more men will he available for tlie work.

The Engineer’s Report The engineer (Mr HI A. Vezey) reported— Although the lowest rainfall for January for four years (1.08 inches) was recorded in Ashburton last month, the frequency of light showers along the foothills'and the almost absence of north west conditions have enabled full supplies to he obtained at practically all headworks of ’"'•ter race system. The exception has been Lower Acton supply, where the Rakaia river dropped below the invert level of the intake with the result that occupiers m the Doric district have had supplies reduced. By means of fascines the river level has been raised, and a. fair flow is now passing into the race. It is very evident that the action of this council in taking over the maintenance of some of the submain races was a step in the right direction. A continuation of this policy would improve the supply to the lower levels. Many occupiers are still very backward with, the removal of rank growth from the distributing races, and a commencement Jjas ROW been made with the enforcement of the waterworks by-laws. Ash burton-R an gi tata With the exception of a brief period on January 17 and 18 a full supply, has been running in the South Ashburton main race. A nortlirwest gale on the 17th played havoc with the willow trees at the intake and broken branches and debris completely filled the race and blocked the gates. The gates at Cavendish and Lincolnfields were also affected. The intake has since been scooped out, and a commencement has been made in harrowing the weed from the bottom ol the race. Roads and Bridges The crushing plant completed operations at Winchmore Church Corner on December 13, and was shifted to Conway’s pit near Doyle’s Corner, Ruapuna, on January 20. _ A commencement has been made with the crushing of 1224 c. yards of shingle for the Montalto road grant. The output to date on this work is 244 cubic yards. in the Allenton District, Allen’s road has boon patched, and Belt road and Oak Grove have been graded. Most of the Allenton footpaths were mowed during December. A culvert has been installed in front of the new Fire Brigade building. “Dangerous Corner” signs have been erected in Mount Somers. The crusher for a period of 56 days crushed 1147;} cubic yards, crushing being carried out on 13 days. . The inspector (Mr E. N. Johnson) reported—“ Some four months have elapsed since a report of an infectious disease was received, the County being in a healthy state. Disinfections have been, carried out. at dwellings where deaths have occurred from tuberculosis, one at Mitcham and one at Rakaia, also disinfected dwelling after the removal of a tuberculosis case.

Ninety-eight drivers’ licenses have been issued at this office, during the month, while six have been issued at Methven, .making a total of 3052. Twenty-eight new drivers have been examined and licenses issued making a total of 137. Heavy traft'c fees have been collected and motor trucks checked up. Legal opinion was received by Mr R. Kennedy that the protest 'to the council to the proposed allocation by the Main Highways Board should be maintained. Recourse could be had to section T~ of the Main Highways Amendment Act 1925 and the provision of section 135 of “The Public Works Act 1928“ invoked, he advised. The Engineer’s schedule of paying and highway improvements over a period of live years (as published on page 7) was adopted. The following additional roads were placed on the list: —• Methven to Rakaia (selection to be made later)- Mitcham to Lauriston; Hinds to Rangitata bridge (preferential); Longbeaeh Road; Wakanui Road (to Cairns’ corner); Maronan Road (to Lismore corner).. The additions were made because the Council considered its demands in the past had been too modest. It was decided that the Inspector should take steps to enforce the conditions imposed on the contractors cutting the plantation at the Methven racecourse. It was stated that the contractors had made a “terrible mess” of the work. The chairman said; that severe action would be taken to ensure the conditions being carried out. The Irrigation Scheme. The Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple) wrote that the Ashburton irrigation scheme had been approved and the engineer at Christchurch had been requested to make a start with the work as soon as possible. In regard to the letter from Hr. Weston (published on Page 7) dealing with the soil survey question, it was agreed that the conference suggested should be held on February 28, commencing at 10.30 o’clock. Mr R, Buick sought permission to fence a portion of the road at the new Gorge bridge* for the purpose of a stock camping site, and it was decided to withhold decision till the riding members have inspected the site. \ copv of the new schedule ot rates imposed’by the carriers in Ashburton County was received from the No. 8 (District Transport Licensing AuthoUt Mr Carr said he was troubled by the thought whether the smaller men were brought into the agreement as to prices by threats as had been stated. One wondered how long the wheat-growing industry would survive under cartage prices such as had been fixed, with increases of up to 3d a sack *°Mr Lambie said lie was not paying any more this year than he did last year.