THE OPOTIKI NEWS Wednesday, August 31.1938. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 77, 31 August 1938, Page 2

THE OPOTIKI NEWS Wednesday, August 31.1938. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Monthly Stock Sale. The monthly stock sale will be hold at the Opotiki saleyards to-morrow. Alterations and additions may be seen in the advertisement. Fortnightly Pig Sale. Entries, including, a truck load of store pigs ex Gisborne may be seen in the advertisement of the fortnightly Opotiki pig sale, which will be held in the Opotiki saleyards on Monday next. Opening of Hatchery. The Ngongotalia hatchery at Rotorua will be officially opened by the Hon. W. B. Parry, Minister of Internal Affairs at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. The Mayor, Mr G. S. Moody will be present and it is understood that the president and secretary of the Opotiki Rod and Gun Club will also make the trip. Mr. J. T. Merry Retires. 'The announcement was made yesterday by Mir J. T. Merry, who intended contesting the Bay of Plenty seat as an Independent with Liberal leanings, that he had decided to withdraw from the contest, leaving Messrs A. G. Hultquist (sitting member) and W. Sullivan to fight a straight-out issueCrowing. Feed is still fairly scarce on the Opotiki flats, but there has been a very noticeable increase in the rate of growth as a result of the warm rains and milder weather generally. The wet state of the countryside however, will have a retarding effect until conditions become much drier. Trout Fry* A consignment of 200,000 trout fry was to have been liberated in the Opotiki district at the beginning of the week, hut owing to the heavy rain and the resultant flooding of streams, the fry had l to he released in the Rotorua Jakes. A further supply should he nyailablel in the near .future and it is to he hoped that the district will be more fortunate when these are available. August Rainfall. The rainfall for the month of August ending at 9 a.m. to-day was 8.11 inches, this figure being the highest for August for many years. Last year the fall was very low, being only 2.21 inches. The rainfall for the present month exceeded that of July by nearly two inches, hut rain fell on only 13 days as against 21 da\'s for July.

Condition of Highway. With the wet weather the .main highway between Opotiki and the Whakatane boundary has become very rough witli potholes and corrugations. The road in the Whakatane County, however, is in excellent condition and the Alain Highways Board’s gfader is still working on that portion of the road. Garden Pests. One result of the warmer weather during the past week has been that snails and slobs have come out of their winter quarters, and last night snails were about in thousands, many of them being on the footpaths. Considerable damage has already been done in gardens' by these pests, which are more numerous than most years as si result of the milder season. Concrete Path Completed. The concrete path in Bridge Street was completed yesterday morning and a very line job has been made of tho section by the borough staff. As soon as tho newly-laid sections have dried up the path will he available for use. The foreman- was authorised at last night’s meeting to put in short sections from the path to gateways, where desired by residents, the cost to he met by property-owners. Telephone Interruption. A telegraph pole just beyond the Wniotahi Biluff was blown over at an angle of about 45 degrees by the gnlo on Sunday evening. As a result of tho storm, telephone communication on tho western portion, of the county was out of order for some time.