ASHBURTON.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17922, 16 November 1923, Page 7

ASHBURTON.

PERSONAL. The Ashburton Electric Power Board has appointed Mr Jas. W. Timlin, of Dunediif, its secretary, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr Jordan. There wero 67 applicants for the position. Mr B. F. Barlow tendered his resignation . as assistant to the engineer at yesterday's' meeting of the "Power Board: The resignation was accepted. Athletics. ~.._.' '. *. The evening meeting held by the Ashburton Amateur Athletic Club on Wednesday was a very successful affair. Good form was shown by various runners, A. McClyinont coming put on top, winning the 220 yds and the 75yds handicap. McClymont is a.short nuggety youth, who would not give the suggestion of/ being a useful sprinter. However, he had a fairly easy win in both his races. The keen easterly breeze did not help the runners'at all, and the 220 yds and mile were won through stamina more than through brilliancy. M. Farrell, last year's polo cup winner,,showed useful form on the track. His long suit has always been field events/ but it was his stubbornness that landed him a good second to McClymont in the 220 yds. He would in all probability. have fully extended the winner had he not been a starter in the'mile. G. 'H. Nicoll ran a well-judged race in the mile. He was giving 35yds to the limit man, who in turn was receiving 75yds from the scratch runner, B. Wood. Nicoll assumed the lead shortly after the half-mile, and was never again headed. C Campbell showed great promise. He did not' judge his race well, leaving it too late, but over the last 100 yards he was going faster than anyone els'e in the field. Campbell should be an early winner over a half or mile. The Athletic Club could do well with the services of a trainer, and it is a pity that some old athlete could, not be procured to teach some of the : finer points of the game. There is some very promising material to work upon, and the club members are very en-; tlmsiastic. The meeting was well managed, and reflected credit upon the committee and the secretary. Each event was started right up to,time, a {.♦• at improvement upon last year, when competitors became cold waiting about. The next evening meeting will be held on November 28th. General News. The members of the Borough Council inspected the machinery at the Fire Brigade Station, on Wednesday. The Borough Council was represented by the chairman of the Fire Brigade Committee, Mr W. G. Hillier, members of the committee (Messrs J. Thompson and E. F. Horrill), and Mr B. Kerr. Several of the public were also present. The Brigade was mustered outside, under the command of Superintendent _ T. Barber. After preliminary exercises, the men mounted tho motor-engine, toured round the block, and drew up at the hydrantyn front of the fire station. Here th& hose was run outj connexions made, and the, brigade tower mounted, with the hose ready for action. All was done in remarkably quick time. Mr W. G. Hillier addressed the parade before its dismissal. He said he was pleasOd at >he efficiency of the turnout, which was a credit to all concerned. Mr B. Kerr also con.gratulated the officers and men upon the fino 1 showing. He believed that on the work done that night, the Brigade could rank

| second to none in the Dominion as a I volunteer unit. j A meeting of the committee of-the I Ashburton Amateur Swimming Club ■was held on Tuesday evening. A subcommittee, consisting of Messrs J. MeEae, A. Brunsden, D. McCallum, and E. Coker (secretary), was appointed' to wait upon the Borough School Committee at its next meeting, with a view to coming to some arrangement regard- : ing the use of the school baths. In the event of the weather becoming very warm, or the baths not being available at the time expected, it was decided to hold a further conference to decide upon the desirability of commencing the season at the 11 Domain Pool. "When applying for increased pay, linesmen engaged en "live" work told the Power Board yesterday that some 'men average .over two shocks, daily. Aii increase of a shilling a day was granted during work on live wires. An interesting point was raised before the Power Board when a dentist asked for compensation amounting to : £i for damage through fluctuation in voltage. He stated that the Board supplied 245 volts instead 0f'230, burning out tlie element in his steriliser and heater, blowing out fuses, and retarding the work generally. The chairman explained-that the fluctuations were on the Public Works side of the Board's switchboard. The Department was entitled to" vary 5 per cent. The Board itself had suffered. It was decided to forward the dentist's claim to the Department. Edward Staples, a blacksmith, died suddenly after his removal to hospital ou Thursday from heart failure following on pneumonia. Deceased had recently sold his: business owing to his health, and had just returned after a ■holiday at Akaroa. Plunket Concert. Next Tuesday the public of Ashburton will be entertained at the Theatre' BoyaLby a party of local and country children, who will give a concert under the direction of Mrs H. J. Chapman. The concert will be by no means u repetition of the one held some time ago as new songs, dances, sketches, and general items have been arranged. Pupils from the Borough, Allenton, Tinwald and Hainpstead. Schools will entertain, and there Will be little visitors from Methven. There will be also local talent including Messrs A. Todd, H. Naylor, and A. Nicoll. Ashburton. Power Board. The Ashburton Hydro-electric Power Board met yesterday. There were present: Messrs F. W. Watt (chairman), J. Cow, S. Smith, A. Horsey, A. J. Magsou, Hunter Morris, E. F. Nicoll, W. H. Bundle, A. McFarlane, and the Consulting Engineer (Mr J. B. Templin). Apologies for absence were received from Mr W. G. Gallagher and Mr J. C. N. Grigg. A matter of policy was mentioned in a discussion, following on a letter, concerning the cutting-back of trees in order that they should not interfere with the Board's lines. The question was raised in a communication as to whether the line should go on the other side of the road, changing place with the Post and Telegraph lines. Mr E. F. Nicoll said there appeared to be only one thing to do —insist on the trees being cut back. In this the chairman and members concurred. Mr H. G. Kemp reported-jhat the reconstruction of• lines and services in the Borough area had been continued; Peter, Wills, Cameron, Victoria and Moore streets having been changed over to A.C. and cleaned up. East street north of Wills street was changed over to A.C. on the 29th ult. and East street in the central area, on the Ist inst. The peak load on Lake Coleridge was increased by 50 per ,cent. on Friday, 2nd instant, due to having East street on A.C. and now stands at 120 K.W. The new entrance for low tension lines to the Power

House had been completed and one 4drcuit had been installed to carry the Low Tension A.C. supply .to East street. A heavy north-west wind gave considerable trouble on the old lines on the 22nd ult., bringing down three poles, and,' in addition, causing several shorts through blowing wires together. The Eunning Engineer (Mr A.'E, Brunsden) submitted a full report on conditions and working at the Power House. The Inspector (Mr E. E. Akers) reported that the 2 h.p. electric motor for the Power House garage had been delivered. and was being installed this week. Eleven applications for current had been received since October 12th. Fifteen new services had been connected since October 12th; 130 D.C. meters had been taken out and 83 A.C. meters erected. ~ Eifty-four meter panels had been converted to suit the A.C. supply. Seventeen applications for extensions to existing installations had been received since his last report. Eleven street lamps had been renewed. The number of consumers' complaints dealt with since October 12th was 26. The number of A.C. meters connected to the mains to date was 17., equalling 503-h.p. . Mr J. E. Templin (Consulting Engineer") reported that the Board had two 11,000-400 .volt transformers borrowed from the Public Works Department that were giving a capacity of 120 k.v.a. The Board was rapidly increasing the load to such an extent that he was afraid these transformers would be overloaded. However, by being able to borrow a larger transformer for Hampstead, it would be possible for them to swing some of the load on to it and relieve the load on the power-house. Again, the non-delivery of the generator for the Diesel was delaying them in the powerhouse, and they could not install the switch-board equipment until the new generator had arrived. A lengthy discussion followed on the clause recommending the Board to construct an 11,000 volt single eireuit line to Methven district. The discussion centred mainly on the class of line most advisable to erect in view of all the circumstances. The. chairman pointed out that the decision in connexion with the North branch scheme appeared to be the keystone to everything. In view of the fact that the Government apparently did not intend to duplicate the line for some four years, the hope was expressed that the Freezing Works, which would be big consumers, would make an independent application for supply. On the motion of Mr Nicoll, seconded by Mr Smith, the recommendation to go on with the construction of the Methven line was adopted. Mail Notices. For northern ports at 2.45 p.m.; late fee letters 3.10 p.m.; guard's van, 330 p.m. OUTGOING OVERSEA MAILS. {Approximate dates only.) Mails for United Kingdom and Continent of Europe (specially addressed correspondence on\y), also Pitcairn Island, Cristobal (Panama Canal), Central America, British, French ana Dutch Guiana, Venezuela, Republic of Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador, close at Ashburton Wednesday, November 21st, at 2.45.