Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 6, 21 January 1942, Page 4

Local and General

Price of Eggs Eggs are at present selling in Whakatane at 1/10 per dozen. Pensions Payable The post office notifies that oldage benefits will be payable this month on Thursday 22nd 3 and that miscellaneous pensions including family allowances will be available on Friday 23rd. Interest in Ballot Keen interest was exhibited in yesterday's ballot, with childless married men the central figures and naturally the butt of numerous jocular remarks from others not "in the money." Most seemed to be bearing up cheerfully, although a popular opinion was that as they were to be taken from their homes they would ratlver "go the whole hog" and cross the water rather than serve in home defence. As one young man remarked, "I may as well be in camp tis there is not sufficient business here to keep me busy and out of mischief."

Brighter Weather With most of the largely depleted number of usual holiday makers at Oh ape having returned to their homes, the weather has greatly improved on that experienced at the height of the holiday season, and swimmers report the surf to he of very pleasant temperature. Recent By-Election An interesting comparison of the number of men and women voters who exercised their votes at the recent Bay of Plenty by-election is revealed in figures taken out by Mr M. Cole, returning officer for the Bay of Plenty. Of the 9722 electors on the roll 5347 were men and 4375 were women, the number of men voting being 4020, compared with 3581 women. This meant that 132 men and 794 women did not vote. These figures do not take into account the fact that 137 soldiers voted outside the electorate. The great difference in the number of men antf women who voted is no doubt ac-i counted for to some extent by the number of men serving overseas who did not record their votes, while on the other hand a large number . of men overseas would not be on the roll.

Bathing Popular The improved swimming facilities at the old wharf are increasingly popular and those frequenting this spot are grateful to the Harbour Board for having built the dressing sheds, walled the banks and provided the spring board* Many Airmen Chatting with a press representative, Squadron-Leader A. C. McArthur, Re'ruiting Officer for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, mentioned an interesting fact. The training of airmen in New Zealand was now, he said, at its peak, the result, being that 5000 to <5000 fully-trained j men were "turned out" per annum. It had been calculated, he added, that if they took off in aeroplanes from New Zealand for the Motherland at the rate of one every thirty seconds, the first machines would have arrived in England before the last left the Dominion. Seasoned Campaigner Soon after the outbreak of war he enlisted, was accepted, and was whisked over to the battlefront. From there he was subsequently invalided home and in due course lie arrived at the conclusion that he could once more consider himself fit. But though he was fit, the Expeditionary Force would not accept him, for be had enlisted under age—but, lo and behold, having duly registered according to the law of this courttry, this seasoned campaigner now expects to be drawn in a Territorial ballot—though it is two years since he was accepted for overseas service, this man is still only 18 years of age! His record would be surely one hard to beat. Headline Readers The fast moving events of to-day tend to increase the number of "headline readers"—people .who hastily scan the headlines of the news and fcindly imagine they then have read it, even to the extent of quoting, arguing and generally knowing all there is to; know. An instance where this deplorable habit has encroached to the smaller local papers not given to inducing in "scream ing" headlines came to light recently in Whakatane. An article in the BEACON Avas headed "Borough Overspent" and before long the Mayer and the Councillors received a barage of enquiries from perturbed ratepayers. Those ratepayers "who professed to be so interested in their town as to immediately start a moan on this occasion were "headliners" of the first water as the opening paragraph of the article referred to the Rotorua Borough and the article concluded with an acknowledgment that it had been culled from the Rotorua Post. Highwaymen Still! There is at least one local resident who doesn't believe that the days of the "High Toby" have departed. He was found in a "ropable" state recently violently conveying his opinion of the ancestry elf some drovers who, without permission, had turned some thousands of sheep into his grazing paddock—which was incidentally rather short of feed. As far as could be gathered they did not stay long. He told many people of this cheeky action but could not get a word in when he met a King Street resident who had had his section entered by a bullock. A drover who apparently had no» control over his stock and very little over his language had a herd on the highway In King Street and they were giving him the run around, O'ne charged into the suburbanite's section, rushed past his back door and was making a nice mess of the garden. The drover, apparently thinking to make a proper "job" of the garden if he couldn't of anything else, cantered down the drive over the garden and so on until he had the 1 beast on its wav. It can be imagined how the garden looked when a bullock and a horse had finished digging the potatoes, onions etc.