Briefs

Press, 2 August 1989, Page 3

Briefs

Rural youth ‘confident’ The recent growth of confidence in the rural sector is being reflected in young rural people as they see improvements in the prospects for farming, the president of the Young Farmers Club, Mr Murray Donald said. Mr Donald, of Southland, said the agricultural upturn was giving rural youth a boost of enthusiasm and said this was evident at their annual conference earlier this month. “We are coming through the economic downturn and young people can see a good future ahead in farming — where two or three years ago they would have been hard to convince of that,” Mr Donald said yesterday.—PA Elderly man- missing An elderly man has been missing from his Christchurch home since last Friday. Mr John Warwick, aged 78, was last seen leaving his Hastings Street, Sydenham, house about 4 p.m., wearing a grey cable jersey, greenish-brown trousers and carrying a small brown leather bag. He is a European, of thin build and with grey hair. He is hard of hearing and could be disoriented, the police said yesterday. Meat, fish stolen Meat and fish worth $BOOO was stolen from a Sockbum railway siding at the week-end. The offenders took 58 17kg packs of lamb and 50 10kg cartons of hoki. —Z Six rifles and two shotguns were stolen from a Bishopdale house at the week-end. The burglar took a .22 calibre Browning, .222 BSA Hunter, .270 BSA Magnetic, 7mm BSA Hunter, .303 Savage, .303 BSA, all rifles, and an Orbendorf Baikal shotgun and a Charles Osborne 12-gauge shotgun from the Bainton Street, property. The owner is a hunter. Vessel welcomed The Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand (E.C.0.) have welcomed the Government’s decision to fund a new fisheries research vessel. The Government approved $32 million to be spent on, the purchase of a new vessel, and other research, in the Budget last week. The E.C.O. chairwoman, Ms Paula Warren, said the groups had been concerned that fisheries management, which depended on good research, was suffering for lack of a suitable vessel. Youths charged Two youths have been charged with burglary after a bag allegedly stolen from a Christchurch track sprinter, Scott Bowden, was recovered by the police yesterday. Bowden, due to leave for the British athletics championships soon, returned home from work on Monday to discover the family house had been burgled and he had lost a pair of valuable orthotic inner soles for his running shoes.