LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 March 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Fatal Fall. Mr George Adams, aged 76. was killed instantly on Thursday afternoon when he fell from a haystack while loading a lorry and struck his head on a pile of sleepers. The fatality occuired on the farm of Mr E. V. R. Cridge, Slacks Road. Awapuni. Military Enlistments. The slow rate of enlistments at the Masterton Defence Office is being maintained. Since publication of the last list some days ago. only five more enrolments have been received, those of the following: Messrs R. Wardell (Te Whiti); D. H. Tilyard, P. G. Atkins (Masterton): R. S. Hodder and B. Galbraith (Eketahuna). Children’s Procession. Mrs T. Jordan and Miss M. Cameron have been appointed judges of the pets, fancy dresses, decorated prams, carts and cycles to be staged by Masterton children on Saturday next as a centennial feature. ■ The children and their exhibits will form a procession led by the West School Band. The procession will take place at 10.30 a.m. Flood Damage. Flood damage in the Wanganui county is estimated at £BlO by the engineer, Mr R. R. Dawson. Reporting on the damage at the monthly meeting of the Wanganui County Council, Mr Dawson said the cost of clearing silt and replacing fillings and metalling in Kaiwhaiki Road would be £165. Removing slips and replacing metal on Fields track would cost £290. Similar work on the Mangamahu Valley road would cost £215. On Te Hue road replacing fillings and removing slips would cost £l4O. A proposed deviation on Kaiwhaiki road, if carried out, would cost £586. Maori Battalion Inspected. Congratulations on their coming forward so splendidly in response to the call for service were extended by • the Governor-General, Lord Galway, after an inspection of the Maori Battalion at the showgrounds, Palmerston North, yesterday morning. The battalion paraded at full strength, and, after the inspection, his Excellency took the salute at the march past. Accompanying Lord Galway was Captain Lord Dormer, and with him at the saluting base were Lieut.-Colonel G. Dittmer, officer commanding the Maori Battalion. Colonel R. Row, officer commanding the district, and Captain L. R. Neilson, area officer at Palmerston North. A Czech Joke from the Protectorate. The village mayor was informed by the Nazi police chief that von Neurath would visit the district and flags must be flown. The mayor demurred, but yielded under threats. Von Neurath was delighted with his reception. A Little later a similar request was made in honour of the Gestapo chief, Himmler, with like results. The Nazis, believing that the Czechs had been won over, were highly pleased. Then the Fuehrer himself was duo. The mayor demurred even more strongly, much to the surprise and anger of the police chief. “Why not?" he stormed. •'Because.’’ replied the mayor meekly, "I cannot tell my people a third time that President Benes is coining, so you will have to shoot me as you said.” Gifts for Soldiers. The question of instituting unified 'control of gifts and amenities for soldiers in the camps was discussed at a combined meeting of the Taranaki. Hawke's Bay and Wellington provincial patriotic council on Thursday. There had been overlapping in certain directions, it was stated, and Wellington had been distributing its own gifts to all soldiers, whereas the two other provinces had sent chiefly to their own men. It was decided that the Wellington council control the distribution of all the camps’ amenities and sports gear. In this way each eamp will receive only what it is short of. The cost of the control will be shared in the following proportions: Wellington, 66 per cent: Taranaki, 171 per cent; Hawke's Bay. 16! per cent.