OKOKE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144778, 7 September 1915, Page 8

OKOKE.

BT TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT. August 30.—Another successful euchre garty and dance was held in the Okoko chool on Friday in aid of the Belgian Fund. It was a fine night, and the attendance was good, and a most enjoyable evening was spent in aiding a good cause. \ Prizes were donated by the following: Mrs. A. F. Jones and the Misses Whittaker, Messrs. C. Dunbar, T. H. Lee, T. Wright, A. M‘Keown, A. F. Jones and R. W. Burnet; Master Stanley Lee brought 14s, proceeds of the sale of honey; Mrs. G. W. Rogers also helped to swell the amount by the sale of buttonholes; Mrs. D. M‘Donald donated a picture, the proceeds (13s) to go to the Wounded Soldiers’ Fund. The sum of £9 2s 6d has been paid into the Belgian Fund. Mr. D. Lucas and others supplied the music for the dance, Mr. J. W. Ross acting as M.C., and Mr. A. M'Kcown kept the door. There is now a strong committee elected representing Qkoke and Piko to run the patriotic euchre parties, and the next one is to be held in the Piko School on September 24, and it is to be hoped Okoke will support it as well as the Piko settlers have supported them in the past. The following amounts have been paid into the Taranaki Herald and Budget Belgian Relief Fund by the late committee, and aro the gross proceeds, all expenses for prizes, tickets, firing, lighting and exchange having been donated: —1915: January 7, £3 3s 6d; February 3, £8 6s; March 6, £7 6s 6d; April 13, £22; June 5, £6 12s; August 30, £9 2s 6d; —total, £56 10s 6d. Sept. I.—The rainfall for August was 4.41 inches, which fell on eleven days, the maximum, .97 inches, fell on the 30th; for the same mouth last year 2.41 inches fell on fourteen days. After a fortnight’s exceedingly, dry and fine weather good rains have fallen, and the grass should come away well now. Our roads are open once more for wheel traffic, and the recent fine weather has dried them up considerably, still it w r ill be a long time before they are back to their original state before the floods, and if the County Council persists in planting willows on the sunny, side they never will be. It cost us £2OOO to shift several miles of our road from the shady to the sunny side of the river. Apparently our money was only wasted, as in the course of a few years it will bo shady again. Taranaki being naturally a little moist, willows are exceedingly dangerous, as every piece you drop grows, and I am told in the course of twenty years will entirely alter the course of a river. One canhot help noticing the difference in the road where anything keeps the sun from it, even,, the metal in shady places cannot stand the traffic. It is of vital importance that the road should get every ounce of sun that it can, and it would come far cheaper to put the road, if necessary, back in the solid bank than look after the wfllows and eventually have to remove them.