Local & General

Chronicle (Levin), 24 August 1949, Page 4

Local & General

I 9 Not a Comet. A brilliant meteor in the north- ! ern sky about 8 o'clock on Sunday S night gave many Dunedin people cause to think they had seen a new Comet. The meteor was par- | ticularly hright, With a blue head i and a long, pinkish tail. It was first seen in the east beyond the Otago Peninsula and flashed across | the sky toward the west, the whole journey lasting only a few seconds. j Problem Children. ! It was intended to extend the I visiting-teacher system to Maori j schools as soon -a s possible, the ! 'Minister of Education, Mr. McI Combs, told ther^inual conference j of the Auckland* Federation- ctiof ; Parent-Teacher, -Associations on j Monday. "Visjting teachers really | try to solve the problems of children. In very iriany cases they salvage a delinquCnt to make him a useful citizen. Their investigation of problem children is invaluable."

■ Schools Closed. j Over the last 10 years the Eduj eation Department had closed ; 543 small schools and consolidated ! them on 282 larger schools, said I the Minister of Education, Mr. Mc- : Combs, addressing the annual conf ference of the Auckland Federaj- tion of Parent-Teacher Associa- : tions. Expehditure on school buses had risen from £402 to £29,000 last year, and the Department now owned 125 buses. The transport of children to and from school last year cost £615,000.

Fortune For Dog. Rip, the dog with the highest standard of living, has died in Victorih, jBritish polafnbia/ df a heart attafck.'ll-Rip, - a wire-hstired ; terrier, was 10 yekrs old; ; 'Twb years ago, Rip's mistre^s; Mrs. ' Marguerite Spratt, left Rip 250,000 dollars (A£78,125). Her will provided that the dog must sleep on her bed and bathe in her private bathtub. When the guardian in charge of Rip became ill, the terrier was sent to lesser luxury on a pension of 75 dollars (about £A23 10s) a month allowed by the qourt. Boarding Allowance. The increase in boarding allowances for children attending primary and post-primary schools is to be 5s. This was announced by the Minister of Education (Mr. McCombs) when he addressed the Auckland Federation of ParentTeacher Associations, Amplifying the Budget proposal of further assistance to parents whose children had to hoard away from home in order to attend school, the Minister said the increased rate of 15s a week would apply at the beginning of the first term next year. He also stated he hoped to announce details of new values for university scholarships and bursaries later this : week. Tramwaymen's Service. The case for monetary recognition of long service by tramwaymen was again commended to the Auckland Transport Board on Monday by the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Tramway Authoiities' tJnion. Replying to the board's decision not to take any action, the union referred to the "increasing industrial practice of giving practical recognition for long service as an added sitmulus in obtaining satisfactory staff and gi^ng inducement to retain the sermces of experienced employees.,, The union also pointed out thatih Melbourne extra payments for service ranged from 3s weekly to 12s for periods from 10 to 40 years. The chairman, Mr. H. A. Anderson, commented that the national union should make the move for such payments.