LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 August 1940, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Electric Power Suspension. Power suspension will be arranged on Sunday in the Featherston region (The Knoll to Featherston) from 1 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. to allow urgent repairs. Table Tennis. Table tennis games played last night in the Wairarapa Association's competition resulted as follow: A grade: Winter Sports I beat Social Security, 16/4; Fire Station beat Winter Sports 11, 12/8; Mauriceville East beat Post Office, 19/1. Stone Bottles Prohibited. The sale of aerated waters in stone bottles is to be prohibited, and they must be contained in glass bottles in future. Notification of this is contained in amended Sale of Foods and Drugs Regulations gazetted last night. The object of the prohibition on the use of stone bottles is to ensure the highest possible hygienic standard. Golf Courses for Sheep Grazing. ' The use of golf links for sheep grazing purposes during the war was considered by members of the New Zealand Golf Association recently, and it was decided to make inquiries from the Department of Agriculture to ascertain what could be done in the matter. Gambling Among Bowlers. That he had noticed that gambling took place among visitors on the green with reference to games in progress was mentioned by Mr T L. Arnott at the annual meeting of the Palmerston North Bowling Club. Mr Arnott deprecated this and suggested that members should co-operate in stamping out any .tendency to introduce such a practice into their pastime. Motor-cars and Wild Life.

How the greatly increased number of motor-cars in the United States of America had an important effect on wild life was told by Mr L. W. McCaskill, lecturer in biology at the Christchurch Training College, in an address to the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand. It was calculated, he said, that many thousands of mammals and birds were killed each week on United States highways, on which the speed of travellers was notorious. The figures had been compiled by a recent biology survey. American Dust Storm.

“I think the last great dust storm was one of the best things that happened to America, as it greatly helped conservation measures being stimulated,” said Mr L. W. McCaskill, lecturer in biology at the Christchurch Training College, in an address to the Canterbury branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand. “It was the red dust trickling on to their white marble buildings, their white suits, white coats, and the white bands of their cigars that actually brought home to the men that mattered the gravity of the soil problem.”

Influenza Epidemic on the Wane. The recent influenza epidemic, which manifested itself among men of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Trentham Camp, is now definitely on the wane. The numbers of fresh cases reported during the past few days have shown a distinct decrease. The influenza is stated by the medical authorities to have been of a mild type. On Tuesday there were 169 patients at the Trentham Racecourse, and 39 in the camp hospital. This is a very low proportion of the large force of men in camp. There were only nine fresh cases reported in 24 hours. Damages Awarded.

Damages of £2523 4s were awarded in the Supreme Court, Wellington, yesterday to the widow and children of a man who died as a result of being knocked down by a motor-car. The claim rose out of an accident in Taranaki Street on March 21, when Frederick William Billows, aged 49, a clerk in the Government employ, was knocked down by defendant’s car, at about 7.30 in the evening. He died in Wellington Hospital on April 7. Besides his widow, he was stated to have left four children, two boys of seven and 13 years, and two girls of 16 and 17. The case was heard before the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) and a jury of twelve. Plaintiff was Gladys Billows, widow of the dead man. Defendant was Cedric Gay, labourer. Teacher Abused. For entering a classroom and abusing a woman teacher in front of her pupils. Albert William Lark, father of one of the pupils, was fined £3 and 10s costs when he appeared before Mr Miller, S.M., in the Waipawa Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Constable B. ■Le Cpmpte stated that defendant’s eight-year-old son had come home at lunch-time with a story that Mrs I Reckin had been knocking him about. Defendant went to the school and proceeded to abuse Hie teacher in front of her pupils and other women teachers. Among other things he threatened to throw her through a window. Later the headmaster investigated the affair and found that the boy's allegation against the teacher was an invention. On behalf of defendant Mr C. G. E. Harker said the boy had told a convincing story and another child of defendant had backed it up. As soon as defendant fount! it was a fabrication he had gone to the school to apologise and had sent a full written apology to the teacher.