IN TOWN AND OUT

Southland Times, Issue 20794, 7 June 1929, Page 8

IN TOWN AND OUT

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Accident In Arcade.

The dangerous practice of cycling through the Arcade was responsible for an accident yesterday which might well have had serious consequences. A small child standing beside its mother was knocked over by a boy on a bicycle and suffered severe facial abrasions.

His Good Turn. The following story illustrating the spirit of the Scout movement was told last evening at the meeting of the Boy Scouts District Committee: A fire occurred in a chimney in South Invercargill recently, and while .different suggestions for its suppression were offered by members of the crowd which had gathered, no one did anything. A boy arrived upon the scene and, when he had ascertained what was wwong, obtained a sack and climbed on to the roof. He placed the sack on the chimney and sat on it, at the same time calling to those below to close all doors and windows to prevent a draught. The fire was quickly smothered, and when the boy descended from the roof he was offered five shillings for his services. He politely refused to accept the reward, “because he was a Scout,” and slipped away without waiting for further thanks.

» * * * Those Lorry Drivers. Two motorists returning from Bluff the other day had the unenviable experience of having to follow in the wake of a slow moving motor lorry for at least three miles. The car drivers took turns in getting as close behind the lorry as was safe and sounding the horn continuously, but nothing could disturb the lorry driver who kept either in the centre of the road or hugged the right hand side. It w*as quite possible that the noise of the lorry prevented its driver hearing the horns sounding behind him, in which case he was not being intentionally discourteous. The lorry was not. equipped with the necessary mirror which would enable the driver to see a following vehicle. By the time that they had crawled along for three miles both car owners felt strongly inclined to lay an information against, the lorry driver for obstructing the road, for they felt that a warning was necessary to try to check such thoughtlessness, heedlessness or discourtesy. » c * «

Town Schools and Water. The committees of the town schools have long held that the charges made for water supplied by the Borough Council to the schools was more than their capitation allowance would bear. In some cases the cost of water to a school amounted to £3O or £4O per annum. Applications have been made to the board for increased capitation allowances to meet the water charges, and to meet these applications the chairman of the board (Mr A. W. Jones) has given notice of motion that with a view to relieving the heavy burden on the town school committees the board should pay the charges for water in the event of the council refusing to supply the water free of cost. Mr Jones informed a Times reporter yesterday that he had made inquiries throughout New Zealand and had found that the charges were not so heavy in the north. The Wellington Board pays the charges and no charges are made by the Auckland City Council.