Local and General News

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21304, 25 March 1939, Page 8

Local and General News

Fishing Rivers The Opihi and the Rangitata Rivers are reported to be in excellent order, and if weather conditions I hold, good sport for anglers is assured at the weekend. Salmon have been caught in both rivers dur- | ing the week, and on Tuesday 32 were landed at the Opihi. Royal Assent His Excellency the Governor-General (Viscount Galway) has advised the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture that his Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the granting of permission to make use of the prefix “Royal” in its title. —(Press Association message.) Car’s Wild Career With the driver apparently having lost control, a motor car set out on a fairly wild career in Stafford Street on Thursday night. As it approached Cannon Street it swerved sharply to avoid another vehicle, and it appeared that the driver then lost control, as a little further on it crashed into a new car, denting the rear mudguard badly. It is understood that the driver’s identity has been established and that a charge will be laid. Post Office Improvements The Chief Postmaster, Mr A. L. M. Willis, informed a representative of “The Timaru Herald” yesterday that very shortly renovations and alterations in the money order office of the Timaru Post Office were to oe carried out. Although the dimensions of the money order office would not be altered, said Mr Willis, the equipment would be modernised by the provision of five tellers’ boxes and a bronze grill across the counter. High powered diffused lighting would replace the existing system at the money ordercounter, the postal counter and in the ledger room. Timaru Airport Progress Inquiries at the Timaru Airport yesterday elicited the information that a good strike of grass had been obtained on the remaining 30 acres in the north-east corner, the last remaining area to be sown. The sowing has now been completed and once the grass has consolidated the whole area will be ready for use. The administrative building has been completed and the work of preparing the ground before the tarmac is laid is now proceeding. The airport is already being more extensively used by club and private ’planes, and recently there were no fewer than three visiting ’planes on one day. Fireman Loses His Teeth What terrors a fire holds for a fireman is always appreciated, but at a recent meeting of the Wellington Fire Board a member of the brigade reported by letter that while on duty at the fire in the Salvation Army’s waste paper store in Miramar his false teeth were “precipitated into the fire by a jet of water.” Seeing that his teeth were lost while on duty, he asked for some consideration in the matter of their replacement. On being asked by the chairman (Mr S. 8. Dean) whether he had any false teeth in store, the superintendent replied in the negative. The board agreed to contribute £2/10/- toward the cost of a new set of teeth. Barter With Germany Importations of German goods into New Zealand, under the import licensing system, have been regulated recently on a similar basis to goods from other foreign countries, according to the experience of Auckland merchants, and it is expected that the volume of the trade meantime will be sufficient to meet the needs of the barter arrangements operating between the Dominion and Germany. The effect of this arrangement is generally to assure to Germany that credits created by exports from New Zealand to that country shall be used in the purchase of German goods. It is not thought that the trade treaty between the two countries is jeopardised by the import regulations. Foul Play A definite example of foul play and the awkward situations that can arise from it were seen in Timaru yesterday afternoon. A white leghorn rooster which had apparently escaped either from a nearby auction mart or from a buyer at the sale was the cause of a thrilling chase in the midst of the dense Friday traffic in Stafford Street. Hither and thither it dived and ran with several anxious people risking their lives, it seemed, among the wheels of cars and bicycles. The bird did not seem to worry about the rules for pedestrians as set out by the Minister of Transport, and by those insidious means seemed likely to elude its keen pursuers. Whether it was caught or not is still unknown, but later in the evening there were no signs of its presence. Possibly the bird had flown. Seadown Drainage A meeting of the Seadown Drainage Scheme Committee was held on Thursday night. Mr R. M. Seivwright presided over a full attendance of members. The secretary made complimentary reference to the attitude adopted by the Washdyke branch of the Crown Tenants’ Association. This body evidently appreciated the need and urgency of the drainage scheme to the district, and were to be thanked for the representations they were making. He also reported that the Levels County Council was now co-operating and assisting in a splendid manner, and on behalf of the committee he had offered every assistance to the Council. Several members complained of seepage waters, due entirely to irrigating activities, stating that ordinary farming operations were impossible on account of the presence of large areas of water just below the soil surface. The chairman assured members that the Hon. R. Semple was fully cognisant of the position and that he felt sure no time would be lost in starting the work as soon as the legal formalities regarding the loan proposals were completed. He urged the need of patience and co-operation with the Levels County Council and the Public Works Department.