LOCAL AND GENERAL

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4561, 17 April 1942, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A sitting of the Manpower Committee will be held in Te Awamutu on Tuesday next.

The Hamilton Borough Council has decided to invest £4OOO from its electricity reserve fund in National Savings certificates.

When he fell from a pony, Noel Laurence Gillard, aged 15 years, son o[ Mr R. C. Gillard, of Ngahinepouri, fractured an arm. He was admitted to the Waikato Hospital. It is pleasing to be able to report that all the money promised in connection with the local effort for “ Bombs for Bombers ” has now been paid into the Te Awamutu'Post Office. A particularly gratifying feature is that in many instances the amount actually paid in exceeded that originally promised.

Up to last night 4341 ration books had been issued at the Te Awamutu and district post offices. Yesterday, when there was an exceptionally large influx of country people into town, was an extremely busy day at the Te Awamutu Post Office, but the work of issuing the books was carried on expeditiously. It is anticipated that 7000 books will have to be issued locally.

The Auckland Education Board has made the following appointments of teachers: Sole teacher at Puahue, Mrs G. A. R. Galpin; assistant mistresses at Otorohanga, Miss M. J. Bathgate and Mrs N. Phillips; assistant mistresses at Te Kuiti District High School, Miss M. E. F. Smith and Miss P. B. Self; head teacher at Waitomo Caves (war appointment), Mrsß. Olsson; sole teacher at Oparau (war appointment), Mrs E. M. Clark.

The opinion that during the next dairying season men would have to be directed to undertake work in cheese factories in Waikato was expressed by Mr C- F. Allen, district man-power officer, at a meeting of the Auckland Man-power (Industrial) Committee at Hamilton on Wednesday. Mr Allen said a great deal of difficulty had been experienced in manning the factories during last season, and the position was becoming worse.

Replying to representations made by Waikato local bodies for a change in the system of hospital rating, the Minister of Health, the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer, has written to the Hamilton Borough Council stating that schemes for solving the problem had been prepared. These were now receiving the attention of the Government. The Minister said he hoped that it, would be possible for a change to be made in the not too distant future, but the matter was very complicated.

The acting Oil Fuel Controller in Te Awamutu, Mr A. S. Prisk, has been officially notified that farmers whose benzine requirements are subject to seasonable fluctuations are in future to be permitted to draw their supplies on a three-monthly basis instead of monthly, as at present. It has also been decided that vehicle owners in remote localities will be permitted to obtain motor spirits in containers to obviate vehicles making special trips to re-fill tank*.

An early fall of snow has occurred on Mount Egmont. On the northern side it reached down to Humphreys Castle, and on the Dawson Falls side to the zig-zag half-way down Fantham’s Peak. The summer has been phenomenal on the mountain, in that the summit has not once been clear of snow—the first season of this kind for many years. In normal years a snowfall is not usual on Egmont from late November to early May, but, in addition to the most recent, there were falls at the beginning of February and two on consecutive nights the first week in March. Though these falls were not heavy, they were exceptional for the time of the year.

A mild outbreak of eczema among sheep in several flocks in the Waikato has been reported from some sources, but additional reports indicate that there are only isolated cases in most districts. It is usual at this time of the year for a case or two of eczema to be discovered in the flocks, but some owners are concerned as the proportion is said to be slightly larger than usual. The most dangerous period of the year for an outbreak of this kind has been successfully negotiated. The expected spell of cooler weather when the rain ceases will do much to allay any possible spread of the outbreak, and owing to the lateness of the season, many prominent sheep owners are confident that even if the outbreak is more widespread than usual there is little cause for alarm.

To encourage rabbit destruction throughout the year, even when the market prices for skins are relatively low, a form of price equalisation is introduced by the Sale of Rabbitskins Emergency Regulations, gazetted at Wellington last night. The regulations provide that at periods when the prices for skins are high a levy may be imposed to form a deposit account, from which a price subsidy will be paid at other times. It is hoped thus to reduce to some extent the difficulties of the Rabbit Controller created by the manpower shortage. A committee to administer the scheme will comprise the Director of the employment division of the National Service Department, the Director-General of Agriculture, the Under-Secretary of Lands, and not more than four other members appointed by the Minister of Labour.

Two appeals were heard by the Auckland Man-power (Industrial) Committee on its first visit to Hamilton on Wednesday. Mr J. O. Liddell presided, and associated with him were Messrs W. J. Truscott and K. Simpson. The first, appeal was that of S- E. McKinder, a cheese-maker employed by the Bruntwood Co-opera-tive Dairy Company Limited. He desired to take up a share-milking contract. The man-power officer, Mr C. F. Allen, opposed the removal of McRinder. The company did not appear. After hearing Mr S. Lewis, who appeared for McKinder, the appeal was upheld. A ropeman employed at Ongarue by Ellis and Bumand Limited, H. R. Anderson, appealed against being required to remain in his present occupation instead of taking up carpentering work. appellant wrote agreeing to stay with the company until it could get a man to replace him, and the appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution.