NOTES ABOUT TOWN.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XIII, Issue 1099, 13 May 1903, Page 2

NOTES ABOUT TOWN.

[By ''Incogkita."]

One of'the most needed Council works has at last been completed. I refer to the asphalting of the footpath in the main street, which should have been done long ago ; but considering the shortage of County funds, I suppose we should be thankful that it' has beep dene at all. I notice the footpath' is being properly formed in Belmont Road from Spry's corner to the railway station. The new. piece of ! asphalt is certainly much better than ' the pieco done last year, which, is i already getting much the worse for wear, and which shoi^d receive another coating of sand and tar before 9 tan ing operations are suspended. Besides the fact that we now .have a splenc'rd footpath along the main ; street, it is gratifying to know that.the building, generally Jcnown as thjeu "rookery," has at last been shifted back to the boundary line, the owaer haying thought it advisable to remove the building before the asphalt was laid down. lam forry I cannot give , to the Council the credit for that building being removed, for although.; they-sent notice to the owner many months ago that it must be in its right place within a month, yet when the owner, failed to do the work they never took any faiiher action to compel him to do go. In Paeroa, as in i many other places, there are two laws —one for rich, and another for poor.

It was with great pleasure I heard the other day that tho local volunteers had decided to form a Gymnasium Club in connection with their corps. This is certainly a step in the right direction. There are many young feHows in the local coi ps who, despite all the drill they have gone through, have not attained to that picture of physical beauty we look for, and expect to find, in trained members of a volunteer corps. The gymnasium, if the men avail themselves of the opportunity of using it, will do for them what the rifle and drill have failed to do. I notice that a strong committee has been formed, and the gymnasium will soon be in working order ; but I would like to mention that unless the movement is supported by both officers and men it is likely to fall very flat. I say this because it is so often re-, marked that certain officers do not take the amount of interest they should in their corps, or in anything connected >ith it. I hope, however, as regards the gymnasium, the officers as well as the men will take the matter up in real earnest, and make the movement a thorough success.

The County Council deserves some credit for having decided to put an end to a standing nuisance. I. refer tq the hab.it of "shopkeepers in'the main street, of throwing the sweepings from their shops on the footpath and into the water table. The Council has passed a resolution to the, effect, that in future shopkeepers be compelled, in. accordance wtth the ByLaw, tq provide a box into which they must put th,p sweeping and other rubbish from their shops, for removal by the contractor. \Vnile they are doing this, I think the Goiinpil officials should enforce the By-Law which provides, that persons shall not block up the foqtpath or road, as is. done every day of the week (Sunday included) in Paeroa, by the leaving of packing cases, etc, in front of business. pije,mis,fts.