General News

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31726, 9 July 1968, Page 12

General News

Twice Ab Wet More than twice as much rain has fallen in Christchurch this year as fell in the same period last year. By 9 a.m. yesterday 19.03 in had been recorded at Harewood since January 1. On July 8 last year the reading was 9,37 in. Traffic Lights Tenders would close on Friday, and traffic control lights should be installed at the Fendalton Road-Straven Road intersection in two or three months, said the chairman of the Waimairl County Council (Mr D. B. Rich) yesterday. He was commenting on a letter in “The Press” yesterday in which “Action Please” criticised delay in installing the lights. Fire Drill Hundreds of workers tn the Government Life building in Cathedral Square left the building when the internal fire-alarm system sounded at 2.23 p.m. yesterday. The last person was out of the building within four minutes and a half. Firemen on three engines from the Headquarters station answered the automatic alarm, but it proved to be a false alarm caused by a technical fault Postage £l6 Ils 8d An urgent parcel of radio parts posted by a Bristol manufacturer to the National Airways Corporation in Christchurch recently carried 59 stamps. The stamps, to a value of £l6 Us Bd, covered a 16in by tain area of the wrapping. The wrapping is being kept at N.A.C. headquarters in Wellington as a souvenir. Bagged Rubbish The Paparua County Council is investigating the use of disposable paper bags for its domestic rubbish collections. It agreed at its meeting last evening to get information on the system from the Nelson and New Plymouth City Councils, and to arrange for an explanatory film to be screened to the Sockburn and Hornby town committees. Folk-lore Or Facts Folk-lore and facts in the psychology of advertising are among the topics to be discussed by Dr F. R. Wickert, professor of psychology at Michigan State University and head of its graduate school of business administration, during a course at the University of Canterbury next month. He says common advertisers’ assumptions about consumer behaviour need to be checked against “a sober analytical psychology, based on research findings.” Quartet Invited A Linwood High School quartet has accepted an invitation to attend the Dominion final of a sponsored secondary schools musical competition in Wellington early next month. The sponsor will pay its air fares and arrange billets. Groups from three other Christchurch secondary schools will play in the final. Pecan Producer A Tauranga horticulturist, Mr J. A. B. Stuart-Menzies, hopes that pecan nuts will become a big industry in the Bay of Plenty and has b.gun growing more than 100 of the trees. Even if his experiments were wholly successful, an industry would not start there for three or four years, Mr Stuart-Menzies said. About 70 trees could be grown to the acre and each tree would yield about 10001 b of nuts a year. Much interest had been shown in the project by firms in Auckland and in the South Island as well as private growers in the North Island, Mr StuartMenzies said. An American company which distributed pecan nuts had also got in touch with him, he said.