OTOROHANGA NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18229, 17 January 1931, Page 8

OTOROHANGA NEWS.

ITEMS OF INTEREST. (Our Resident Representative.) Generous Rainfall. After the warm Christmas weather, which parched the pastures and gardens, copious rains have fallen during the past fortnight. The heaviest I fall for this month, so far,, was on Monday, when ,51in. was registered at Otorohanga. On January 1, 90 degress of heat was recorded. Unemployment Fund. Mr S. J. Fortescue, secretary of the Otorohanga committee which controls the local unemployment funds,'reports that out of £3O originally allotted he has £l2 in hand, thus indicating that there are few needy cases in this district. Vital Statistics. The vital statistics for the Otorohanga town and district for;the year ended December 31, are:—Births 85, marriages 14, deaths 11. At the moment, the general health of the community is very satisfactory. Re-Valuation of Otorohanga. The State Department’s officers have completed the re-valution of all properties within the Otorohanga town area. Although there are a few variations in the business centre, the valuations stand almost as formerly. Personal. Mr A. S. Cooper, a London business man, is making his first visit to this Dominion, and is the guest of his brother, Mr Fred Cooper, of Otorohanga. Mr Charles A. McKinney has been recommended by the Taranaki Board of Education for the appointment of headmaster at the Otorohanga District High School. Mr McKinney has been acting as organising teacher under the Taranaki Education Board. Island Sports Ground. At a special meeting of the improvement committee of the above, the honorary engineer recommended that the contract for extensive improvements to the surface of the island be terminated at once.—Agreed to. 1 A sum of £l2O has already been expended on improvement works. There is a credit of £6O in the bank, £2O to come from a concert, £2O from subscriptions promised, and an anticipated £4O from a special picture to be projected by the Otorohanga Municipal Pictures. These totals will be sufficient to put the grounds in good order.. Court Business. For the quarter ended December 31, the following business was transacted at the Otorohanga Magistrates’ Court, the figures for the corresponding period of the previous year being in parentheses:—Number of local plaints issued, 50 (69); distress warrants, 11 (6); judgment summonses, 17 (13); warrants for committal, 7 (nil) ; gross total of civil summonses served, 154 (113); total fees received £125 13s 6d (£llß 3s 6d); number of criminal charges against males, 28 (9); against females. 3 (nil). There were no arrests in either quarter. Town Band. At a special meeting of members of the Otorohanga Town Band it was

resolved to re-organise the band, and to instruct the bandmaster, Mr Newsome, to re-grade the junior players. The old liabilities of the band had been reduced from £52 to £23 during the past three months. Railway 'Management. The recent increase in freights on the products from the Otorohanga Gravel Company’s Works, has compelled this concern to call a halt in its operations in the meantime. Local bodies, country councils, builders, contractors, etc., are not prepared to pay the excesive railway freights demanded by the New Zealand railways. During the twelve months the company paid £3500 cash to the railways for its products railed from Otorohanga. It is hard for the layman to understand why the freights and fares have been recently raised when the railways are losing huge sums of money each year. Jn Otorohanga alone, by their action, -they will lose annually between £3500 and £4OOO, as well as placing a large number of men who were in regular employment, on the unemployment register.