Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1947 POISON—A POTENTIAL DANGER Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 94, 14 February 1947, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1947 POISON—A POTENTIAL DANGER

Local & General

THE wave of feeling occasioned by the deliberate poisoning of dogs in the Kopeopeo area during the earlier part of the week has assumed a more serious aspect than when first reported. Analysis of the baits prove that a very potent dose of strychnine has been utilised on each and the meat thrown to dogs in their own properties. This means that in certain instances this highly dangerous meat is left lying about until discovered by the dog- victim.' A child or a toddler has but to handle the meat for a second to carry a veritable death sentence on its finger-tips. For this reason alone—quite apart from the dog-loving aspect—every person in the vicinity should join in hunting down the culprit. Likewise an urgent warning should be issued to all children to keep well away from any such bait or anything remotely resembling an innocent piece of raw meat. The time is ripe, with public temper whipped to the point it now has reached, for a definite crusade against the perpetrator of this cold-blooded practice. The culprit must be discovered and the whole recurring question with all its visciousness stamped out for good.

Hospital Fire Protection .. The Hospital Board has decided upon the purchase of two hydraulic reels and hoses as additional to the fire fighting gear at the Whakatane Hospital.

Tar-sealing of Hospital Entrance The Hospital Board has decided to authorise the sealing of the entrance as recommended by its Works Committee, snd to approach the Borough Engineer for estimated r cost and carrying out of the work.

Powers of Hospital Boards “I read somewhere that Hospital Boards are in the melting pot. We’re not! We’ve boiled over long ago and gone phut! We’re only a lot of rubber stamps with no say-so in anything we want to undertake.” Mr H. C. McCready at yesterday’s meeting of the Whakatane Hospital Board. ',

Painting of Hospital When only one tender for the painting of the Whakatane Hospital was reecived, the Board at its meeting yesterday referred the whole matter back again to the Works Committee together with the suggestion that a price estimate be obtained from the person who drew up the estimates. Bay of Plenty With the abundant sunshine in the Bay of Plenty during'the past two or three weeks the Bay is truly named. From all accounts a superabundance of hay is also being harvested this year in striking contrast with last year’s experience. Quite a few farmers are in the enviable position of having more hay than they need—or apparently so!

Housing Problem Again “I want to emphasise a point which we have all overlooked,” said Mr J. Mullins (Chairman of the Hospital Board) when speaking of the staff problem question yesterday. “We may seek to engage a porter, engineer or a gardener, but we are tied hand and foot unless we can supply accommodation for them.” She Meant Well Some weeks after receiving £4OO compensation for the loss of some jewellery, an pld lady informed a certain insurance company in Auckland that she had found the missing property in a cupboard. “I didn’t think it would be fair to keep both the jewels and the money, so I thought you would be pleased to know that I have sent the £4OO to the Red Cross,” she wrote.

Not Justified: If all mankind minus one were of one opinion and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would no more be justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. —John Stuart. Mill.

V~. Refusal to Pay Mr H. C. McCready at yesterday’s meeting of the Hospital Board intimated that a recent patient in the hospital who had been sent to Auckland by Ambulance, informed him that he absolutely refused to meet the account for £ll which had been sent to him as a result. The truth was that, although quite capable of travelling by train or service car he had been compelled to take the Ambulance. Beer in Taxis An offence under the emergency regulations which does not appear to be very widely known in parts of New Zealand is that it is illegal for a taxi-driver to carry liquor whilst he has \as a passenger a native. This view was expressed in the Wairoa Magistrate’s Court the other day by Senior-Sergeant C. Mcßae while pi’osecuting Colin Aspdent, taxi-driver, who was found with a dozen bottles of beer in his car and a Maori as a passenger.

Surf Club Activities The Whakatane Surf and Life-Saving Club will commence activities on Sunday next when all members and intending members are asked to attend at the Pavilion for splitting up into patrols. An apology is extended those ladies who were excluded from the public meeting, and a cordial invitation is extended to interested- ladies to visit the Pavilion during the afternoon for the purpose of forming if posible a ‘Ladies Patrol’ and also a Social Committee.

Whale Steak and Eggs While he was on holiday in Marlborough Sounds, Mr R. L. Macalister, chairman of the reserves committee of the Wellington City Council, visited the whaling station and was presented with a whale steak. Anxious to see how it compared with a beef steak, Mr Macalister took it to his home at Blackwoods Bay and, without informing the party of friends there of its nature, had it cooked with eggs in the ordinary way beef steak has been cooked for hundreds of years. Only two of the dinner party knew what they were eating, and the others were surprised when they were told afterwards.