COUNTRY NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24836, 9 February 1942, Page 8

COUNTRY NEWS

TAPANUI Borough Council.—The ordinary monthly meeting of the Tapanui Borough Council was attended. by the Mayor (Mr^J.J L. Wylie) and Crs R. Duff, A. G. Dumbleton, J. Gosden, and F. Lischner. Before commencing the formal business, Cr Duff expressed the sympathy of council in the loss the Mayor had suffered by the death of his sister. A motion of sympathy was carried m tha usual manner.—The Under-secretary of the Department of Lands and Survey wrote stating that, in order to place thu Show Ground on a proper basis, he considered that the most satisfactory procedure would be to promote legislation by means of a clause in the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. He asked to have the views of those interested as to the purpose for which the area could suitably be used in future. He thought that the position might be met if the area was, vested in the Crown and made a public domain, which the Borough Council would control in the same way as it at present controlled the Whisky Gully Domain. It was agreed that the letter; be referred to Mr Naylor to ascertain the opinion of. members of the Farmers' Club and advise at next meeting of the council.—Cr:J. D. Edgar wrote tendering his resignation a* a councillor, as he would not.be in a posi-" tion to give the council business the attention necessary. Cr Edgar's resignation was received with regret. The town clerk was instructed to write and thank Cr Edgar for his services to the borough The town clerk reported that no application had , yet been received for the posi-' tion of sanitary contractor. A general discussion took place on the possibility of installing septic tanks. At the present time it was not considered advisable to? the, council to enter upon a comprehensive sewerage scheme, as' this would entail raising a snecial loan; It.was agreed that the present position could not be allowed to continue indefinitely—The town cler* explained that compulsory enrolment was now in force in the E.P-S. At first-it; was thought enrolments for the whole district would be lodged with hini, but ; now enrolments of those persons. residing in ttni Tuapeka County were to be sent to the county clerk, Lawrence, while those in the borough would go to Mr Carroll. He suggested that a meeting of the local E.P.S. Committee should be held within the next week or two, arid this was,agreed

Magistrate's Court—The quarterlyf sitting of the Magistrate's Court was presided over by Mr W. R. Quin, J.P ; ,-and Mr J; L; Wylie, J.P. A number of civil cases were adjourned or.;struck outr and the. only case for hearing was one in which Verne e Potts, farmer, was charged, on the information of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, with having possession of 14 opossum skins hot bearing an official mark contrary to regulation 11 (1) of the Opossum Regulations, 1934. Donald McLeod, ranger, explained that the skins were received in •Dunedin on October 12, whereas the last day for stamping the skins was October a. He had no doubt that the skins-were taken in season. Potts, who pleaded guilty, said he knew the skins had. forbc in Dunedin by a certain date, but had forgotten the; date. As the skins were automatically forfeited, Potts was ordered to pay court costs (10s) only. ' .

LAWRENCE

Red Cross Society—The first monthly meeting of the Lawrence Red Cross Society for the year was-held last Tuesday afternoon, when Mrs R. P. Batchelor presided over a good attendance of members. A circular letter was received from the executive of the W.W-S.A. regarding the necessity of the enrolment of all women war workers in this body. It was decided to forward letters of sympathy to Mrs Mathias and Mrs Henderson. Schools Reopen.—At the Lawrence District High School the roll number in the primary department is 103, a decrease of two on the previous year. In the secondary department there are 21 pupils on the roll, an increase of .five on the-previous year. The teaching personnel is the same. Centennial Memorial Committee.—A meeting of the Lawrence Centennial Memorial Committee was held recently, the Mayor presiding. It was reported that " after the completion of the paddling pool at the baths the committee held a balance of approximately £lO. Some- improvements were necessary lo the paddling pool, and it was decided to hand over the balance to the Lawrence Borough Council, which had undertaken to complete the work. . Easter Bowling Tournament—Advice has been received from the South Otago Centre of the Bowling Association that the proposal of the Tuapeka Bowling Club regarding the holding of a bowling tournament on- the Lawrence green on Easter Saturday and Monday had been approved.

Lawrence V.A.D.—The first of a series of practices by the Lawrence V.A.D. in preparation for the E.P.S. try-out to be held on Saturday week was held on Wednesday evening last. A good attendance of members was present, and keen interest was taken in the proceedings.

RANFURLY

Home Guard.—After a lapse of several weeks while seasonal work was being carried out, weekly parades of the Ranfurly unit of C Company, Maniot<>to Battalion, were resumed on Thursday evening last. There was a fair attendance of Guardsmen, and instruction included lectures on the tommy gun, bayonet fighting, and bomb-throwing. The coinpany commander, .Mr W. D. Rutherford, has stated' that parades will be held every Thursday, and that the training }n the future will be much more extensive, as supplies of material are coming to'hand. Each week lectures will also be delivered by the n.c.o.'s. A supply of boots has been received by the battalion, and it is expected that these will be issued to.men of the Ist Division immediately. Rainfall.—Further heavy rain has I&een experienced in the Ranfurly district, and since February 1 a total of 1.91 inches has been registered. For;theumorith of January 2.15 inches were registered, making a total since the beginning of the year of 4.06 inches. ,'

Drainage.—Some months ago the matter of a town drainage scheme was introduced, and after consideration was held over. At that time, however, it was decided to proceed with a partial scheme affecting areas in Bute, Thomas, and. JohVi streets. This work has been! comrheiiced. and when completed will connect a further 16 residences with the main street drain. ' Fat Lambs.—The fat lamb season in the district is ftow in full swing, and several thousand lambs have been railed from the district each week. In spite of the exceptionally dry Spell experienced early in the season, the drafts are particularly good and compare favourably with those of previous years. .