ThE Bay of Plenty Beacom Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEB. 25, 1944 Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 52, 25 February 1944, Page 4

ThE Bay of Plenty Beacom Published Tuesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, FEB. 25, 1944 Local and General

Citizens Band Donation The Whakatane County Council has decided lo donate the sum of £2 2s to the Whakatane Citizens Band. Dangerous Mokorua Corner The Whakatane County Council has decided to take the necessary steps to make the Mokorua corner on Hillcrest less dangerous in view of the increased use of the Maraetotara Road since 'the establishment of the. new cemetery. Thornton Hall "lit is possible that a proposal may come before us from the residents of Thornton regarding the future of their hall," said Mr J. I,* Burnett, chairman of the Whakatane County Council last Tuesday. "I understand many of them Avant to retain this building and if they want to do this we will probably hear from them." Up in the Air According to the Automobile Association's sign post 011 the intersection of St. John and Elliot Streets, Cape Runaway is 71 miles and Motou is 4ft 1 2 miles vertically above Opotiki. The sign post was knocked over some, time ago and now reposes on the slide of the road with its arms pointing heavenward. —Opotiki News.

Muddy Footpaths The footpath outside the Union Bank on Wednesday bore evidence of the amount of water in tlrr gutters during the morning when the water overflowed in many places on to the footpaths leaving a layer of mud behind it. The staff of the bank were greatly iinconvenienced by the "lake" outside their front entrance-, while, even after it had subsided, it still behoved pedestrians to tread carefully in order not to lose their balance.

A.T.C. Dance The jjublic is reminded again o f the Grand Whoopee Air Training Corps dance on to-night in the Winter Show Buildings,, Whakatane. The Gaiety Boys are in charge 01 the music ; a committee of ladies in charge of the supper, and all are combining to make this dance one of the biggest hits on the social calendar. Come! In spite of rain, hail, snow, traffic <'ops, punctures and whatnots. You'll enjoy yourself.* Trespassers Those of the public who hav been gathering mushrooms on Ngatknva scheme, are reminded of the fact that this is Government property, and any one entering without permission is liable for prosecution. So< far there has been only oiv 1 paddock where the mushrooms have been left untouched—the deterrant being a rather high spirited Jersey bull. Unfortunately it 3s impossible to place a bull in every paddock, but the public shoud remember that by gathering mushrooms on the scheme without permission, they are breaking the. law.

Submarine ? With the river extremely swollen, some very realistic effects composed of logs, and debris have lormcd a passing parade for the public of Whakatane. One in partiicular on Wednesday consisted of several logs floating down together, wliich r when viewed side on, had the extremely realistic form of a submarine c6inplete with conning tower, periscope, and guns mounted fore and aft on tlie ''deck." Reports say that the "submarine" made its appearance early on Wednesday morning up past the bridge and did, not breakup till it had passed the lower end of the Strand.

Venturesome Eel A local business, men on his way to work on' Wednesday morning noticed a disturbance in the drain outside the Borough Council and, despite wind and weather, stopped to investigate. It turned out to be an eel roilghly 3ft Gin long and 2in thick, which had come up through one of the drain gratings. Although stranded, he was, nevertheless, very much alive, and resented .strongly any form of interference especially from businessmen. Finally after twisting and turning for some length of time in order to get away from human interference, liefell back through his hole iii the grating, and resumed (supposedly), his life in the underworld--1

Gymkhanas on Page 8 Readers attention is drawn lo thepublication of the gymkhana advertisements which appear on page 8 of this, issue. Smoko Postponed Owing to so many of those- who had signified their intention of attending the. Welcomb Home Smoko which was planned for Saturday, being isolated by the floods, it has been decided to postpone the function until the following Saturday, March Ith when the same procedure will be observed. A. and P. Society Favoured It appears as if the recent rain was holding oft' especially as a favour to the A. and P. Society, so that they would be. able to make a success of their gymkhana which was held on Saturday at the Domain in Whakatane. It is. to be hoped that the promoters of gymkhanas which are to follow w 7 ill be just as fortunate as regards the weather. "It is an Ancient Mariner—-" Proof that New Zcalanders (and Whakataneites in particular), have the true blood of mariners in their veins was shown on Wednesdaj 7 when a small flattie with one extremely hardj' occupant was seen out on the river. Despite tlie exertions of the sailor at the oars, he wa.s making very little progress in the required direction. We arc ex-

pecting a report some , time next week that he has reached his destination. Circumventing the Water Problem Difficulty in coping with the water was experienced on Wednesday in several shops in the upper end of the Strand. One in particular, a stationer's, experienced difficulty in keeping in check the water Hooding through their roof over tlie library department. This necessitated going to the extreme length of boring numerous, holes in the floor, and also constant mopping on the part of the staff. This flood business h:is become rather trying.

New Fashion Set The greatest difficulty of residents of Whakatane. over the past few days seem to have been in keeping their footwear dry. Accordingly, most of them have taken the lino of least resistance and removed their shoes—the easiest and simplest method of keeping them dry. So far the business men of Whakatane have not been moved, to follow this custom, but. we have a feeling that if the flood keeps up it will not be long before they are paddling round in bare feet also.

Edgecumbe Bridge Incident Tlie rai't of logs against the river bridge at Edgecumbe kept a gang of P.W.D. men busy throughout Wednesday and the succeeding night. The weight against the wooden structure- was at one stage so great that the bridge had a perceivable buckle in it, which was only oascd alter the logs had been freed. Alter an all-night vigil the men were exhausted and were relieved by a local gang who replaced them to enable tlicm to have a little; well-, earned rest. They had; been continuously at work for 37 hours.

Flood Gear Tlie latest addition to a car's emergency gear is, apparently, equipment to battle with the flood. In one case noticed on Wednesday, this took the form of a sixteen foot dinghy fully equipped with everything necessary for a safe journey across waters unknown, strapped lightly across the radiator. Far from enhancing the look of the car, it gave it rather the. appearance of a snow plough but still, when cne is separated from his home by a stretch, of deep muddy water one's car looks to others is not of the greatest importance. Which is Right ? Many of the Americans, though they have been some time in New Zealand, have still not mastered the art of riding and driving on the left hand side of the road. In fact , last week in Whakatane, with so many servicemen riing hired bicycles it was quite a common happening to meet, a cyclist coming round a corner, to our way of thinking, on the wrong side of the road. Of course it is merely one's point of view as to which is the proper side, although, the Americans say when questioned on the point: "I guess, you New Zea'.anders just got off on the wrong .foot! That's all."