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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1958)
WEATHER Eastern Oregon: fair, little temperature change today, tonight and Friday. High both days 85-95. Low tonight 50-00. o selves 44? KSESSSf baity except Sunday LA GRANDE, OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1958 Price 5 Cent es Dint Dutch - Airlmer Atlantic With Crash 99 KlEAR TRAGEDY Bill Muncey (circle) bobs in the water after his hydroplane wont out of control and collided with a Coast Guard patrol boat during the unlimited hydroplane Gold Cup race on Lake Washington, Seattle. Both boats went to the bot ton, and Muncey and the two Coast Guardsmen were injured. Muncey's boat (at right of the Coast Guard boat) was the defend ing champion. Miss Thriftway. ' City Commission Studies Varied Problems Here City commissioners last night considered a wide variety of prob lems, look action on some and put off others for further study. Led .by Mel Elder as spokes man, a delegation of La Grande Jaycees appealed to the commis sion for additional use of a city grader for improving the Jaycee- npoiisui eu muu i cue u cuai ui ha liranae. me request was grimed with comment by Com- Jflssi'ojn President Robert Mc lillan that "benefits actually ( House Passes Farm Measure WASHINGTON UP1 An : admmistralion-backcd bill to pro vide .lower price supports for far mers cleared the House today With the support of both Democra tic and Republican leaders. , It was passed by voice vote ov- cr the protests of some farm belt congressmen of both parties. They denounced it as a "complete sell out of the Midwest grain farmer and an "unconditional surrender" to Agriculture Secretary Ezra T. Benson. The measure would permit sup ports to drop as low as 65 per cent of parity for corn next year and for rice and cotton in 1962. The minimum price floor now is 75 per cent of parity. .Democratic farm leaders reluc tantly agreed to give Benson I much of the authority he sought to cut price props in order to gel a farm bill that would cancel the planting cutbacks, which they called "disastrous." . 'I he bill now goes to the Senate, which previously had passed a similar measjire providing for ev en greater concessions to Ben son s demand for lower price supports. Conservation Reserve Program Data Due Soon Full information about the con servation reserve program of the Soil Bank for 1959 will be made available to farmers of Union coun ty within a few weeks, Ben Rob inson, chairman of the Union county agricultural stablizialion and conservation committee, said today. At the same time, Robinson said, agricultural men will be given the opportunity to partici pate in the 1959 program. The conservation reserve is be ing opened early this year be cause the other portion of the Soil Bank, the acreage reserve program, will not be in effect in 1959. 'Under the conservation reserve program, farmers may contract with the department of agricul ture to reduce their acreage of harvested crops for' a period of iO years or less, and devote this acreage to conservation practices. Iu return for this contribution w I come back to the city through funds raised by the Jaycee pro ject." Award of the bid for a special police car was held over until next meeting pending study of the three bids offered, by M. G. Goss Motor Company, Hand Ford Sales atid the Hamilton Motor Company Vacation' of "an - alley in, block 22, Chaplin's Addition, was' ap proved when there was no ob jection from; the audience. Police Chief Oliver Reeves was asked to investigate and report his recommendation on request by Clark's Dairy for a parking zone at its new dairy products outlet in the former Sugar Bowl location at the Fifth and Depot triangle. Bechtel Bros, application for city fire protection for the new bowling alley property adjoining the Little Pig Drive-In was ap proved with payment of the $50 fee. . City Manager Fred Young was instructed to write two hangar owners a,t the airport to move to locations' staked out for them by the city, in order to make avail able a more desirable living site for Eldon Downs, airport mana ger. Additionally, three hangar own ers will be requested by the city to pay the standard $12 rental. Possibility of locating the con templated sewage lagoon on the city airport property and pump ing the effluent by means of a compressed air lift station was discussed by the commission and the City Engineer, Dave Slaght. On motion of the commission Young was instructed to write a letter terminating the city's inter est in ambulance operation under the present contract because the Dempscy-Snodgrass Funeral Cha pel intends to provide ambulance service about Sept. 1. to production adjustment the gov ernment makes an annual rental payment to the farmer, based on the productivity of his land. The government also shares in the .cost of establishing the conser vation practices. The 1959 program will have three major changes not in effect this year, Robinson said. They arc: a higher average' level of rental payments with individual i ales' depending on productivity, agricultural value and rental rat es for similar land in the area; a higher payment rate as an in centive for Mlie farmer to place ell eligible cropland in the re serve; a priority system for ac cepting contract applications which gives preference to farm trs offering land at the lowest cost per unit of productivity. Notification will be made to farmers as soon as the county of fice is ready to receive applica tions, Robinson said. Union County's Wheat, Grass Seed Crops Hit Crop yields of 'Union county wheat and grass seed are appreciably below 1957 production, County Extension Service Agent Ted Sidor reported today. The wheat crop, nearing completion of its harvest, is down "an estimated 10 to ,15 per cent from last year, Sidor said, and the loss on grass seed is expected to run "at least 30 per cent, possibly 40 per cent." The agent said that unusually hot weather in May resulted in the grass seed crop loss. The wheat crop was hurt by nphids, root rot, stem and leaf rust, resulting in shriveled crops. He attributed the mild winter nd accelerated growing period during the spring to the high infestation of crop diseases. "Farmers generally are quite disappointed over the yield," Sidor said, "particularly after early signs had pointed to a high yield. He said that yellow dwarf vi rus in some barley fields in the valley is so thick that the barley won't even be cut. Harvesting of wheat is getting underway in the upland fields of Wallowa county, the agent said, and early indications point lo some crop damage. Crews Battle 4 Area Fires Crews fighting fires for the Bu- reau of Land Management late Wednesday brought the . Shell Rock fire south of Vale under control after it had burned some 800 acres. - , -'. ". V The-30O0-aore fire-east Df- Lime" on the Oregon-Idaho border was listed as still out of control Wed nesday night but it was no longer spreading. The Lime fire was bombed with borate from planes throughout the day as crews fought to keep, it from spreading into timber"', on rough terrain, United Press In ternational reported. Under control and in the mop up stages were fires west of Homestead which burned 4500 acres Tuesday, and the 4O0-acre grass fire south of Myrtle Creek. All major fires in Washington state were reported under control but fire danger in eastern sectors of both Oregon and Washington continued to be listed as critical. Elvis Presley's Mother Succumbs MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UPI Mrs. Gladys Presley, 42, mother of singer Elvis Presley, died of an apparent heart attack today only a short while after reporting she felt "so much better." Presley, on a seven-day emer gency furlough granted when- his mother's liver ailment grew more serious earlier this week, was re ported almost overcome with grief. Mrs. Presley's husband, Vernon, was at her bedside in a local hos pital when she died. Elvis, who was asleep at his $100,000 subur ban mansion "Graceland," arrived at the, hospital shortly after his mother's doctor had pronounced her dead. ITALIAN YACHT WINS - LAS PALMAS, Canary Islands UPD Italy's Arctica II was an nounced Wednesday night as the winner of the Brest to Las Pal mas yacht race, covering the dis tance In 171 hours and 19. minutes. Tillamook Fire Anniversary It was at 1 p.m. 25 years' ago today that the first Tillamook fire broke out in Gales Creek Canyon in northwestern Oregon. Ten days later the fire "blew .up" and what had been a 40,-'000-acre fire developed into a conflagration that destroyed 250,000 acres and killed 12 billi-' on board feet of timber. On the morning of the fire the sun was clear and hot and an east wind swept across the val ley and into the slopes of the Coast range. ' v Foresters had been urging loggers to close down their op erations, but there was then no law to force: such closures. Up. in Gales Creek Canyon, 15 miles County Road Slate Clean During July While traffic deaths throughout the state hit a new high of 37 for the month of July, Union coun ty's record of road fatalities was clean for the period, a check with the state department of motor vehicles and state jolice offices disclosed here today. The state's 37 fatalities put the seven months' toll at 214 per sons who have lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes this year. For the same period last year 30 persons died in July and the sev en months total was 232. " The state department reported that a particularly disastrous weekend for the third straight month sent .the fatality count mounting. In July it was the sec ond weekepd after a relatively safe and sane Fourth of July noli dav when only one death was re ported. During a 54-hour period from July 18 to 23, 13 persons met death on streets and . high ways.'. r v ""C'W Amanda Zabel, Mabel Morton To Visit Here Friday Two former La Grande resi dents closely linked with activi ties of Eastern Oregon College and the community will be in at tendance tomorrow for the annual summer commencement. " They are Dr. Amanda Zabel, former head of the college Eng lish department, and Miss Mabel Morton, one-time valley corres pondent and women s page editor for The Observer. Friends disclosed today that Dr. Zabel and Miss Morton, who left La Grande several years ago to make their home together in southern California, are driving here for commencement tomorrow and plan to renew acquaintances with old friends on the faculty and throughout the community. Bill To Increase Social Security Benefits Approved WASHINGTON (UPI) The Senate Finance Committee today approved a bill to boost social se curity benefits despite the threat of a presidential veto. The committee approved the House-passed bill by voice vote after voting down, 9-6, a motion to eliminate public assistance pro visions of the bill. In a token gesture to the Eisen hower administration, the commit tee reduced the House-approved maximum on average, monthly public assistance payments. The amount was cut from $66 to $65 a month for adults and from $33 to $30 for dependent children. out of Forest Grove, a logger had a single log to bring in be fore closing. As the huge Douglas fir ground its way to the landing, the spark occurred. The fire call went out, but before loggers could get their tools in, the fire had car ried to the top of a tall snag nearby. The east wind, caught burning debris and carried it half a mile across the canyon into dry slashings. . The fire literally exploded. It flamed through the tops of trees ' with a roar that could be heard down in the valley. , Firefighters were called from fields, forests and cities. With 75 To Receive Degrees Speaker at tomorrow's Eastern Oregon College summer commen cement is Dr. William C. Jones of llio University of Oregon. 'The Good 'Life" is the subject of his address. The' ceremonies honoring 75 EOC degree candidates will be held at 10 a.m. in the College Theatre. Fifty-nine of the can didates are scheduled to receive bachelor of science in education and 1(1 the master of science in education degrees. Dr. Jones is dean of adminis tration, and professor of political science at the state university. What If The Driver Eats Onions? COPENHAGEN, Den. (UPI) A Danish inventor claims to have devised an electronic "atmosphere-tester'1 whicli shuts off a car engine at the slightest hint of alcohol on the driver's breath. Hellweg Friborg, 52, a radio technician, Wednesday told the newspaper Ekstrabladet his de vice also would react to narcotics and carbon monoxide. Once the shut-off system has been installed the inventor said, the driver can not switch it off. Two- Drown Near Nyssa 'V.OOTABtfO (UPI)-,Bdies of two Boise, Ida.', fishermen were re covered from the Snake river just south of the Nyssa-Oregon Snake river bridge where they drowned when their boat carrying four men swamped, throwing all four overboard. Recovered were Earl Allen, 35, and Gerald Zimmerman, about 44. Their companions Mike K. Cahoon and Thomas Doye, also of Boise, managed to get to shore. The accident occurred on the Idaho 'side of the river. Police said the boat was equipped with life jackets but the men were ap parently not wearing them. , 2 Hurt As Balloon Crashes In Pasture ASHLAND, Wis. (UPI) An Air Force captain preparing for a space exploration flight and his civilian instructor were hos pitalized today with serious in juries received when their open gondola balloon crashed In a pas ture. Capt. Grover D. Schock, 32, Galesburg, III., who was making his first balloon flight, and Otto Winzcn, Minneapolis, developer of the balloon, were- returning to earth after a test flight Wednes day night when the g o n d q I a plunged about 125 feet to the ground near Lake Superior. Girl Electrocuted By Store Mechanical Horse R.OY, Utah (UPI) A 4-year-old girl was electrocuted here Wednes day by a mechanical horse at a grocery store. Debra Barber, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Phil C. Barber, Syracuse was dismounting from the ma chine when it sent an electrical charge through her body. She was pronounced dead at a hospital aft er doctors tried unsuccessfully to massage her . heart back into action. . about 1.000 CCC men they fought the blaze for 10 days. Then on the morning of Aug. 24, the Tillamook fire broke out on its west side along a 15 mile front, uprooting trees, twisting them off and cracking cliffs with the terrific heat. ' The break-out caused charred . needles, ashes and cinders to fall in cities along the Pacific coast. , By evening the east wind died down and fog rolled' In, but the fire had spread from 40,000 acres to 257,000 acres in just 20 hours. That day Oregon fought one of the historic fires of modern times. But the 1033 fire was not the end of the tragedy. In 1930 i a .... ; v. ; ' :s: -..."! 1 .. ; S -Jka COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER Dr. William C. Jones of the University of Oregon will be speaker at summer commence ment at Eastern Oregon College tomorrow at 10 a.m. His sub ject will be "The Good Life." Lockout Of . Truckers Hits California SAN FRANCISCO , (UPI) Thousands of western truck driv ers sought unemployment heoefits. today as a result of it "slrtkeJock out affecting 11 western states. At the same time, the Team sters Union filed unfair labor practice charges against four truckers' associations, charging the lockout violated the Taft-Hartley Act. In Washington, D.C., Teamster President James R. Hoffa said he thought the dispute would be set tled soon. The dispute began Monday when 2,350 teamsters in Califor nia's Central Valley and in Western-Nevada, went on . strike for higher pay. ' Employers ordered a lockout in the Jl western states on grounds that the strikers were covered by a master agreement signed on May 27. . Unemployment offices in Cali fornia were besieged wilh out-of-work Teamsters seeking benefits. The State Department of Em ployment was investigating the drivers' , eligibility before making payments that could range up to $40 a-week. . . ' Truck-Stop Impact Spreads To Chicago CHICAGO (UPI) The impact of the truckers' strike-lockout in the West spread today to cripple trucking operations in the Chicago area, Trucking firms in metropolitan Chicago estimated that as many as 1,000 workers had been laid off since the strike- lockout began Monday in 11 western states. FRENCH SCIENTIST DIES PARIS (UPI) Prof. Frederic Jolio-Curie, 58, who won fame as an atomic scientist and top mem ber of ,thc French Communist parly, died in Saint-Antoine Hos pital tonight following surgery Monday for a stomach hemor rhage. , . Toddy another logger was careless and a second fire covered some 200, 000 acres. Again in 1945, 180, 000 acres was burned. , The Stale Legislature met the challenge in 1949 and furnished money to rehabilitate the Tilla mook area. Since then 25 million trees have been planted on ", 31,000 acres of forest land, 57,336 acres have been aerially seeded, 771, 872 snags felled and 140 miles of .fire breaks constructed. The State Forestry Depart ment now sees In the area the promise of future forests, fu ture Industry and future rccre utional facilities for Oregon. Aboard! Search Planes Sight Wreckage SHANNON, Ireland (UPI) A KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Super Constellation with 99 persons aboard, including at least 46 Ameri cans, plunged into the stormy North Atlantic today on a flight from Amsterdam to New York. Survival conditions were good, but there wa-s no solid report that any of the airliner's passengers' had survived the crash. The British Air Ministry said tfie French trawler General La cierc sent a message tonight say ing: "Can see lifeboats with men on board." But after a close up look, the Air Ministry said, the trawler messaged again there was no sign of life visible. Darkness was closing in swiftly on the disaster area and each passing minute dimmed hopes that any of those aboard had survived. Search planes flying over the scene reported sighting bits of wreckage, partly inflated life rafts and some bodies. But no sign of life was reported. Surface craft racing to the area still were hours away and KLM headquarters in Amsterdam said there was "little hope" for survivors. A KLM passenger list issued at the Hague, Holland, carried the names of 46 persons the company said were Americans. A spokes man for the airline said earlier that "at,, ieast 10 nationalities" were included - in those aboard. The crew of eight was all Dutch. The ill-fated aircraft left Shan non airport at 8:05 p.m. p.d.t. Wednesday headed for Gander, Newfoundland. It apparently ran into a thunderstorm and crashed. THE HAGUE, .Holland lUPIr KLM '.Royal' Dutch., Airlines an nounced officially today that there were at least 46 'Americans among the 99 persons aboard the Super Constellation that crashed in the Atlantic off the Irish coast today. . Artiong the names released were these from the Far West: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Aarde, booked by Olympia Travel Ser vice at Seattle. - ' Willem Hooft, Winnemucca, Nev. bakery operator, who went to Hol land to visit relatives and to rep resent the Nevada Lions clubs at the Brussels World Fair.J Mr. and Mrs. Lee Van Wyk, Ripon, Calif., who wont to Holland lo visit relatives. He was a dairy farm operator. Mrs. Beulah Graff, Los 'Angeles Nationalists Down Two Russ-Made Jets TAIPEI (UPI) The Chinese Nationalists, scoring their first air victory in more than two years, shot down at least two and prob ably three Russian-made MIGs over Ihe Formosa Strait today, It was announced here. A Nationalist jet did not return from the dogfight 14 miles south of the Matsu Islands, officially be cause it was crippled by "engine failure." Search craft found no race of the missing jet. , Record Albacore Catch ASTORIA (UPI) Albacore in record quantity was delivered to an Astoria cannery Monday. The Radar, a Seattle boat, ' de livered 11 tons of tuna. Several other boats docked , with nine-ton loads, and several reported six to seven-ton deliveries. Q 1S ROUND-UP QUEEN AND HER COURT Judy Lailnka, Pendle ton, queen of the 1958 Pendleton Round-Up, It shewn with her royal court above. From left are Jan Beamer, Heppner; Marcle Bull, Portland; Queen Judy; Kay Smuli, La Grande, and Leretta Anderson, Proseer. The annual Weitern classic will be held Sept. 10, It, 12 and 13. Ike's Peace ; Plan Draws Opposition K By BRUCE W. MUNN , United Press International!' UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (URI) The Arab and Communist worlds united today to try to block President Eisenhower's Middle . and British troops are withdrawn from Lebanon and Jordam-'.:' The Arabs and Communists re luctantly conceded Risenhmuor outlined a constructive program. to end the threat of war by having the Arab nations-set up their. own economic development '.program, but the emphasis for' 'the ' time . being was on Soviet' charges'' of "aggression" against the U.'S. ' and Britain. ' ;, -' '.' British Foreign Secretary " Set- wyn Lloyd was going before the. emergency session today to out-' line Britain's Middle East iflosl- Hnn Aitthnritnllun cnnrioi! aaUltu, would place his country squarely KnVilnrl (Via 17li.Anr.n..,A. -1 W - .. - me .jjitui , woii wiaespreau . ap proval in Western Europe, ---in Washington-and in Latin America. It split the Afro-Asian bloc on tl.hlf.rt Iko Cnitln. tTrtlA I 1 A """.it tiic uuti UI1IU11 IINU UC ' pended' for support of its own troop withdrawal resolution and it drew a cool reception from the Arabs and the Communist states;. Even Western delegates to the United Nations doubted . .there could be any action on the Elsen hower six-point plan until after the problem of American and, British troops in the Middle East . could be solved. . ' . . Alicel Lumber Co. Fire V ' Put Out By Neighbors .' Fire which threatened stacks' of lumber In the yard of the Alicel Lumber Company was .' brought under ' control by . nearby - '. resl , dents last night. O - " r Bob Blake, associated with thi firm, reported there was "some loss of lumber," but said the fire was confined to the yard by th6 prompt action of neighbors and friends. . " '; ',- v. . ) t , First Aid Car Called For Ax Mishap, Illness ' Leo Matson of Elgin was admit "cd lo Grande Ronde hospital this morning after cutting his foot with an axe, officials of the hospital reported. He underwent surgery at the hospital. He was brought to La Grande by the Elgin; first aid car. ' . '-'. Marshall Hasting of La Grande was Taken to the hospital by the Amos Helm first-aid car after he became ill at home. - . . fa? '