Town Talk

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 289, 7 December 1939, Page 6

Town Talk

Sealing of Roads. i Following a decision reached at its I November meeting the Patea County | Council is calling for tenders for the • sealing of portions of the Kaharoa, | Kohi and Waverley Beach highways | and the Otauto Road. VVaioum Camp Facilities In order to sure that the telegraphic ! and telephonic facilities for the Waiouru military camp are sufficient to meet requirements, the Post and Telegraph Department has arranged for the installation or an extra line to the camp. This will be completed during the current week. Collegiate Cricketers. I As the Collegiate School cricket i eleven participating in the Wanganui ; competitions will be otherwise en- • gaged on Saturday o£ next week, the ' match set down for the next two Sat- ; urdays will require to be forfeited to 'Marist. However, an endeavour is be;ing made to arrange a one-day prac- • tice match on Saturday. Domestic Disputes. There is now a special court fur the hearing of domestic disputes and the work of co-ordinating the services of magistrates, clerks of courts and maintenance officers under the new legislation is in the hands of Mr. J. Wylie, of Wellington. He visited Wanganui and conferred with Mr. C. O. Pratt, registrar of the Supreme Court. Worse Than Naked Truth! A Wanganui resident writing to the City Council asking for street work 10 be done, begged in his letter not to give the stereotyped reply that the matter would be considered, or that it would be referred to the Works Committee. "A reply like that is worse than the naked truth," he wrote. A councillor: Then send him a copy of "Kathleen Mavourneen.” Children’s Fine Gesture. The children attending the Fordell ScTTool are*responsible lor a fine gesture in aid of the provincial patriotic fund. Through their teacher, Mr. F. Rockel, they have expressed a wish to forego their annual picnic in order that the funds may be devoted to the purposes of the patriotic fund. Thus the concert and dance to be held on Thursday of next week will be in aid of this worthy cause, and as parents are providing the supper and the children and local artists will supply lhe programme the gross proceeds will be available. Y.M.C.A. Annual Camp. The annual Y.M.C.A. camp will be held at the Kai Iwi beach in two sections, the boys camping from December 26 to January 16, and the girls going into camp from January 17 to 27. ine camp will be in charge of Mr. A. L. Routhwaite, general secretary, and several helpers. An appeal is made for gifts of jam, fruit, vegetables and farm produce for the boys and girls, and the general secretary advises that those with jam fruit to spare may obtain jars for filling at the Y.M.C.A. Cricket and other sports gear would also be acceptable. Centennial (.'overs. The six first-day covers and the descriptive booklet, which the Post Office is giving away in anticipation of the issuing of the specal Centennial stamps on January 2, are in great demand, and since Monday requests for them at the main post offices have been increasing. The idea is, and this is impressed upon applicants, that they should be used only wnen the new stamps make their appearance. The issuing of the covers before the stamps is to enable people to have them ready addressed for posting on January 2, when the Centennial stamps will be available for affixing to them. Raetihi Rainfall. Records taken for the Meteorological Department at Raetihi reveal that November was a comparatively dry month. Rain fell on 12 days and the total rainfall for the month was 2/12 inches, compared with 4.71 inches on 15 days in November of last year, and 3.9 inches on six days in November, 1937. So for this year 45.45 inches of rain have fallen at Raetihi, compared with 53.75 for the first 11 months of last year and 37.93 inches for the corresponding period in 1937. Rain has fallen on 147 days during the first 11 months of this year, the comparative figures for 1938 and 1937 being 184 and 150 days. Opportunity Appreciated. Stating that not everybody was given the opportunity to treat a Member of Parliament with scant courtesy, Dr. Denrick Christie, patron of the ■Wanganui East Swimming Club, speaking at Tuesday's farewell function, recalled with relish the "ducking” of the Wanganui M.P. at an opening of the season ceremony at Wanganui East. Feeling that two of the speakers had exceeded their time limit at the ceremony, several members of the club had pushed Mr. Cotterill into the baths, and had followed up the deed by tossing Mr. R. Harrison in to join him. "We appreciated the opportunity and also the spirit in which the action was taken," said Dr. Christie. Rivalry Develops. It is evident that with the formation of a second company of No. 2 class military reserve in Wanganui, a spirit of friendly rivalry between the two is going to devedop. There were one or two members of No. 1 company was present when No. 2 company was formed last night and a good deal of banter was heard when an invitation was extended to No. 1 men to join up with No. 2. "We are the ‘Dinks',” the No. 1 men declared. “Main Body, us and 'Old Contemptibles’ if you like. You're only reinforcements!” It is probably a happy augury that there is to be competition between these two units, as it will probablv stiffen interest in the training work to be done early in the new year. Efficiency Exams. The registrar of the Wanganui Supreme Court, Mr. C. O. Pratt, has been supervising the departmental ana efficiency examinations for which candidates have been sitting from the Native, Health, and Labour Department in Wanganui. These examinations la£t two days. The efficiency examination is applied in four sections. The candidates sit for the first examination when they desire to qualify for a salary higher than £205 a year, the second to qualify for more than £335, the third for more than £425, and the fifth for more than £515. Exemption may be granted in the £205 section if the civil servants make satisfactory progress and study toward any excepted profession or examination in university degree and perform their duty satisfactorily.