NORTH OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24825, 27 January 1942, Page 7

NORTH OTAGO

STREET LIGHTING BOARD AND COUNCIL COMPROMISE ON ALTERATIONS The Waitakl Power Board at its monthly meeting yesterday decided to accept an offer from the Oamaru Borough Council of £BSO per annum for street lighting, provided the board and council .shared the cost of Installations and alterations on a 50-50 basis. A letter was received from the Oamaru Borough Council offering £BSO for street lighting and intimating that payment of the December quarter account was being held over meantime. The engineer (Mr I. Calmer) reported that the offer of £BSO was on a par with tlie board's offer of one-third of the gross, plus cost of alterations, on which the board had spent up to £2OO. Mr J. McDiarmid (chairman) said he thought the board and council should share the cost of alterations on an equal basis. . , Mr G. T. Gillies moved that the council s offer be accepted, and said the council was faced with heavy expenditure on account of the war, as, for example, the E.P.S. expenditure, Mr McDiarmid said if the council put up the rates on account of war expenditure the ratepayers would pay them cheerfully. The board could not play with the community’s funds. Mr A. R. Tait said the council wished tc clear up the matter for this financial year up to March 31, 1942. After further discussion, the board accepted the council’s offer with the provision stated. Mr James McDiarmid (chairman) presided at the meeting, and there were present: Messrs J. M. Forrester. E. S. Brewster, G. T. Gillies, R. B. Meek, A. R. Tait, G. O. Pringle. James Newlands, A. B. Lang, the acting secretary (Mr H. P Kent), and the engineer (Mr I. Dalmer). Patriotic Funds Speaking of the married employees of the board on military service, Mr McDiarmid said the board had decided to make up the difference between military pay and wages. Mr Gillies said it would only be fair to the other ratepayers, to pay £1 for £1 given in making up pay. to the Patriotic Fund. Mr McDiarmid said when the annual balance was brought down after March 31, the board would devote something to the Patriotic Funds. The board would not overlook its duty. Mr Tait said the board would be asked to contribute to the big Patriotic Fund appeal to be made shortly, and the discussion thereupon ended. New Range Terms

There was considerable discussion on a proposed revision of the terms for financial assistance under new range terms, with a view to reducing the term of years for payments. Mr Gillies moved that the terms be for a third deposit and the balance spread over three years, with a minimum of £1 per month. Mr McDlarmid suggested a quarter deposit, with a term of three years, and after further discussion the matter was referred to the town members as a committee to revise the new range terms. Correspondence The Power Boards' Association forwarded a letter from the Oil Fuel Controller urging country members of the board to make arrangements for attending meetings without using petrol in private cars, as the consumption of petrol had to be reduced to a minimum.—Received. Finance The acting secretary, Mr H. P. Kent, reported that the sales of electricity for December amounted to £6104, compared with £5897 for December, 1940, and £5388 for December, 1939. The sales for the nine months amounted to £41,314, compared with £40,532 for the corresponding period in 1940, and £37,887 in 1939. Installations on terms for December totalled £396, compared with £376 in November. £306 in October, and £434 in September, and the balance outstanding under hire-purchases totalled £8022 at December 31. The balances and receipts, with comparative figures for December, 1940, in parentheses, were as follows:

Power Fund, surplus £BO 13s Id; loan accounts, overdraft £273 13s; receipts—sales of electricity, fittings, etc., £3641 (£3549); cash sales of. fittings, £IOB (£9o);—total. £3749 (£3639). Accounts totalling £10,037 5s 9d (Power Fund £9251 19s 2d, loan account £785 6s sd) were passed for payment. Four applications for financial assistance under new range terms were approved. Engineer’s Report The engineer (Mr I. Dalmer) reported that a considerable rush of wiring and installation work was dealt with just before Christmas. There were installed 15 ranges, 15 water-heaters, 5 motor and other apparatus, 9 new consumers were connected to the system, 49 extensions and alterations were carried out, and 74 disconnections and reconnections were dealt with, as well as inspections attended to. The load added for the month was 135 kilowatts, but against, this there was the cutting off of a large motor installation at the T. and P. factory. Lines and jobs were completed at Windsor, Otekaikc, Kakanui, Airedale, Tokarahi, and elsewhere, and a considerable amount of overhaul work was proceeding in the Hakataramea Valley. The board received 1,333,600 units from the Government supply, and generated 3293 units by water set, making a total of 1,336,893 units for December. The demand on Government supply was 2882 k.v.a, and the total load on the system was 2999 k.v.a. A request for a circuit between the Government sub-station and the power station, to be provided on the Telegraph Department's lines, had been refused on unknown grounds. The wood water-pipe continued to give trouble by leaks developing, and war .conditions were making the board’s work very difficult. As the board’s undertaking had been classed as an essential industry, it was hoped that some relief would be given to the board in the case of two or three officers. So far the board had lost seven promising juniors, its secretary, two wiremen, the chief Inspector and three of its line staff for military service. He had inspected the Waitaki river crossing, and it would be necessary to carry out some further small amount of protection to one of the board’s poles.

FIRE AT FLOUR MILL

BRIGADE'S PROMPT ACTION

A fire which broke out yesterday afternoon in the oatmeal department on the top floor of Messrs J. and T. Meek’s flour mills was quickly checked by the Oamaru Fire Brigade. The prompt arrival of the brigade prevented the fire from spreading. Another factor In preventing the spread of the fire was that the building was constructed of Oamaru stone. The contents of the kiln in which the fire broke out were destroyed, but the damage was not serious. The speed of the brigade’s action was shown by the fact that the alarm was given at 2.25 p.m. and the fire was extinguished within 15 minutes, OBITUARY MRS W. J. CAIN Mrs W. J. Cain, of Thames Highway, Oamaru, whose death occurred on Friday, was born in Perthshire, Scotland. One of the very early pioneers of New Zealand, she arrived at Port Chalmers in 1859 with her parents, Mr and Mrs Whittock. She was the youngest of a family of eight who have all predeceased her. She was married at Port Chalmers to Mr W. J. Cain, of Kurow, by the Rev. Mr Grant. Mr Cain controlled the ferry boat above Kurow which was later washed away, as was also another ferry built further up the river. During her residence at Kurow Mrs Cain took a keen interest in the welfare of the residents. Mr Cain died in 1904 and Mrs Cain later moved to Oamaru, where she had lived for 36 years. She was buried in the Kurow cemetery on Saturday.

AMUSEMENTS Majestic Theatre—A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama will be shown to-night, when Frank Morgan, Ann Rutherford, Kent Taylor and Fay Holden appear in the mystery attraction, “ Washington Melodrama.” Opera House.—George Formby, in the army now, will appear to-night and tomorrow afternoon and night, in the comedy. “ Gunner George.”

ITEMS OF INTEREST IN AND ABOUT TOWN The Titles. —High water at the Port of Oamaru for January 27 is at 11.36 a.m. and 12.2 p.m. Post Office Hours. —The curtailment of hours of attendance at the Oamaru Post Office will not come into force until February 2. This means that after February 2. the public counter will not be open from 7 to 8 p.m. daily and on Saturday afternoons, and the telegraph service between 7 and 8 p.m. will also be abolished. PERSONAL Mr James B. Grave, of Oamaru, recently completed his sixtieth year with the New Zealand Insurance Company, and as a mark of esteem for his services over such a long period, the directors and general manager presented him with an engraved cigarette "box. and Mrs Grave a silver rose bowl. The manager and staff of the Dunedin branch, of which Mr Grave is a former manager, presented him with a case of pipes. Mr J. H. Milligan, formerly of Oamaru. and now of Christchurch, is spending a few days in Oamaru. KUROW The children from the Health Camp at Kurow will return on Friday after a four weeks’ holiday. The camp has been supervised by the North Otago Children’s Welfare Society. The children have been in the hands of experienced nurses and cooks. Presents of vegetables, preserves and jam have been greatly appreciated, and the camp staff has been assisted by relays of young women who have gone to Kurow to give voluntary help and also by Kurow residents. The Kurow District High School granted the use of a room as a staff dormitory and also the use of the school baths.