NEWS OF THE DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1940, Page 6

NEWS OF THE DAY

Additional Recruit. An additional Taranaki recruit to proceed to Trentham with the main body for No. 1 Infantry Training Unit with the Fourth Reinforcements is H. G. Fawcett, Waitara.

Elderly Man's Sudden Death. An elder ly man, Mr, Joseph Felix Butler, a retired farmer living at Carrington Road, New Plymouth, aged 80 years, died suddenly in Lemon Street shortly after two o'clock yesterday afternoon, As he has been treated lately for heart and other troubles there will be no inquest. Road Sealing Contracts. The Egmont County Council yesterday accepted the tenders of Messrs. Mathews and Kirkby, at £533 6s 8d, for topdressing a mile each of the Okahu and Warea Roads. and of Mr. A. J. Scott. at £1380 10s 5d, for drag sealing 225 chains on the Lower Oeo, Arawhata and Patiki Roads. There were three tenders in i each case. Waterfront Control. No advice had been received at New Plymouth yesterday' concerning the announcement from Auckland that the waterfront control scheme would come into operation there on Thursday, and within a few weeks at all other ports at which overseas vessels call. Taranaki has a special interest in the contract system, because it was at Patea that it was tried as an experiment. Hawk Destruction. A letter of congratulation to the society on the way in which it has cleaned up the hawk menace in the province was received by the Hawkes Bay Acclimatisation Society from a poultry farmer. The farmer stated that before the society took on the job of destroying hawks, there were thousands flying about the district, but now there was a decided decrease in the number to be seen. This had saved the lives of hundreds of fowls and ducks, which meant a great deal, particularly in time of war.

Home Guard Organisation. The offer of the Rahotu troop of the Legion of Frontiersmen to-organise the Home Guard movement in that part of the county was accepted by the Egmont County Council yesterday. A suggestion was made by Cr. J. S. Tosland that the organisation at the Opunake end of the county might be undertaken by the Opunake Returned Soldiers' Association. During a brief discussion it was pointed out that at this time of year it would be difficult for councillors to spare the time to organise. It was also considered that it would be difficult for country people to attend parades. , Bravery of Airmen. Reference to the 29 decorations awarded to New Zealanders for their part in air warfare to date was made by the Minister of Defpnce, the Hon. F. Jones, during a bvoadcast. He said 22 New Zealanders had received the Distinguished Flying Cross, one with a bar, three the Distinguished Flying Medal, three the Air Force Cross and one the Croix de Guerre. "There are 1000 of our young men serving with the Royal Air Force," said Mr. Jones. "You can depend on it j 'there will be many more brave deeds by the Anzacs of the air, who can rightly take their place with the members of our army and navy."

Women on Farms. That there were a number of young women at Wellington anxious to do some work on farms in summer was mentioned in a letter received by the Manawatu executive of the Farmers' Union from the head office of the union. The women would be prepared to do such work as hoeing crops, the letter said, and the executive was asked for an opinion as to whether the services of women's organisations set up to assist the war effort would be required on the land. It was decided to reply expressing appreciation of the gesture of the women and saying that if the occasion arose farmers would be pleased to make use of their services. Aid to Navigation. Visible for many miles out to sea, the blue glow of the mercury vapour discharge street lights installed along Main street at Opunake proves to be a considerable aid to navigation, as does the Hawera water tower, illuminated by Neon lights. This information was given to an Opunake resident who was being entertained recently by the captain of a coastal vessel lying at the New Plymouth wharf, his informant stating that, by means of these distinctive landmarks bearings were easily established on night voyages along the coast. It has also been noticed that the blue street lights at Opunake offer assistance to the pilots of night-flying aircraft, which appear to check their course when over the town. Polish Railways. Addressing the Wanganui Rotary Club, Mr. M. Sendyk, a Pole who left his country some 18 months ago, said that one of the measures taken by his people to retard the Nazi invasion was to destroy railway time-tables. That, he said, might not seem impressive, but when it was known that trains, both international and national, had to pass through Warsaw every few minutes, something of the intricacies of the time-table could be imagined. He said that it was estimated that it would take competent engineers and train administrators 15 years to restore the time-tables to proper shape and sequence. Mr. Sendyk also said that many of the oil-carrying trucks were effectively punctured by the Poles and the oil allowed to run to waste. Coastal Highway Improvement. A further stage in the work of bringing the New Plymouth-Opunake State highway tip to the standard of modern traffic requirements will be reached during the next few days by the completion of thc improvements to the road at the Opunake factory on the New Plymouth side of Opunake. The narrow one-car bridge over the Otaki stream set at an awkward angle in a hollow has been replaced with a modern two-car ferro concrete structure built at a higher level, and the grade and alignment of the road on both sides have been considerably improved. The fiilling on the New Plymouth side has been metalled and traffic has been using it and the bridge for some time. The formation on the Opunake side, where the work was of a much heavier nature, has been practically completed. and thc metalling is also well advanced, so that it should not be long before motorists are able to use the new roadway, which will eliminate one of the few remaining danger spots. Buyers of summer dress materials are advised to purchase their requirements at Scanlans Melbourne Corner now before stocks become depleted. The new designs in Jerseylaine, "Summer Breeze." "Cesarine,' "Corinna" and Honolulu prints are very attractive and are selling freely. See windows