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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1959)
WEATHER Light rain today; partly sunny Wednesday; highs 55 60; low tonight 28-34. VeiTDBlTDg Established 1896 Daily except Sunday School lets Approved Two Are Elected To School Board t By 3UCK BUCHANAN Observer Staff Writer . A handful of voters yesterday approved the School District No. 1 and Rural District school bud gets and elected two members to the school board in La Grande. Forrest Masters was elected to the School District No, school board with a 188 vote to tal. John Thomas Jones Jr. re ceived 107 votes and Robert Barnes, 72. The post is for five years. Mrs. Arlo Noycs, now serving an appointed term, received 328 votes lor a one year position, one was unopposed. A total of 390 votes were cast 315 yes, and 75 No, to approve the School District No. 1 budget. Voters approved a proposed $174,691 levy on 'a six per cent limitation to balance a $1,401 010.38 expected budget. ,Therc were 308 Ycsi votes cast on the Rural District School bud get, and 75 negative votes. Charles' Reynolds and Carl Webster were running neck and neck for the member- at large post on the Rural School District board. All votes are not yet tallied. Reynolds received 229 and Webster 150 in La Grande, Rey nolds 51 and Webster 65 at Un ion, Imbler gave each 21 and North Powder gave Webster 36 and Reynolds 19. At Union Royal Wilde received 77 votes and Lyle Witherrite 50 for a chair on the Union school board. Other voting at Union showed 89 yes and 49 no on the Rural School budget; 79 Yes and 45 No on the Union School budget. The-vote-wmVrnot be official until " the ' rural school board meets to canvass the vote. Winnie Casts Spell Over White House WASHINGTON (UPD Sir Win ston Churchill cast his spell over the White House today, operating from an imposing four-poster bed in the second-floor residential quarters of President Eisenhower. Befitting his age of 84 and a long-standing distaste for the ear lier hours of the day, the doughty old warrior from Great Britain let it be known that one of his famous habits had not changed he would not be stirring until ear ly afternoon. .v. Sir Winston, jabbing the floor with his gold-headed cane and wagging his famous "V" signal, walked faltcringly on the arm of the President into the White House late Monday to begin a Sentimental visit with his old com rade jn arms of World War II. There was a ouiet dinner Mon day night with the President and his wife; their son, John, and his wife, Barbara, and Anthony Mdn tague Browne, Sir Winston's per sonal secretary. Then the former prime minister wno regarded 3 a.m. as a reason able bedtime during his World War II While House visits, lum bered down the hall to the Rose Room and retired before mid night. Eisenhower had a busy day scheduled at the office, but planned to devote the late after noon and evening to his fabulous visitor whose very presence cre ated an atmosphere of nostalgia and even excitement among mem bers of the staff. The President planned a rela tively small stag dinner for Sir Winston tonight, and a larger stag affair Wednesday night. BULLETINS SALEM UPI Tha Ortaon Heusa today passed and sent to Hi. Sanat for confirmation tha two major tax bills proposed by tha Damocratic-controllad 50th Oregon Legislature. Rep. Clarence Barton D-Co-qullle carried the major income tax bill en the house floor. Its passage by both Houses is one of the major obstacles te ad journment of the Legislature. Veto en the main Income tax measure was 31-17. SALEM UPI - The Oregon Senate today passed, 17-13, a bill to abolish the State Beard of Central. If new feet te the governor. Biidg f ? CENTER :: - .. ;v1 "OFTHE SO'V 3 UNITED STATES . C NORTHEAST OF THIS POINT! '""N Vt,i ' pifeS fa ji k U II II II 3 --I ' SEVEN MILES TO GO The new geographic center of the 50 United States, located in a wilderness area, was marked in ceremonies along Catherine creek yesterday seven miles from the real spot. A sign telling of the area was erected on Highway 203, seven miles northeast of the real spot. Looking over the new sign, from left above, John Ferguson, Oregon Centennial Commission "Uncle Sam," from Portland; Miss Sharon Noyes, local Centennial queen and Bernal Hug, representing pioneers of Oregon. " (Observer Photo) SIGN ERECTED SEVEN MILES FROM U.S. By H. E. PHILBY Obtarvar Staff Wrlttr The new geographic center of the 50 .United States Unas almost located yesterday. A sign, seven miles from the actual wilderness spot, was erected to dirct travel ers. - Aq Oregon Centennial Commis sion representative, dressed as "Uncle Sam," along with La Grande, Union and Baker off i- ptals and the San Carlos,- Calif., men wno located the spot on the map, participated in ceremonies beside Catherine creek on High way 203. The sign is located sev 20 Per Cent Employment Gain Noted In Increased construction activity in logging, lumber ' and retail trade resulted in a 20 per. cent gain in employment last month, according to Ernest O. Burrows, manager of the stale employment office. Burrows said the recall of wor kers on lay-off status in construc tion, logging and lumber mills was the important trend in April's labor market. A moderate number of new hires was noted in retail trade. , Full scale construction has been resumed on Highway 30. The cost of construction now in progress in this area is estimated at $6,000, 000, Burrows reported.-Bui'ding permits issued by La Grande to taled $95,980 in April, compared to $29,642 in March and $67,825 in April, 1958. New construction in Federal Board Enters Dispute TILLAMOOK (UPI) The Fed eral ' Mediation Service has en tered a labor dispute at the Til lamook County Creamery Associa tion plant. A fedcal mediator talked Mon lay with members of the Tilla nook local of the striking Team sters Union and. a committee .Yom the- board of directors of he Association. The employer :orr.mittee scheduled a meeting odpy to consider a union pro )o.'.ui. , The strike started last Thurs lay over wages for 18 fluid milk )lant employes. About 150 persons lave been idled. A management spokesman said he plant was operating in all lepartments. Milk producers who supply the plant have been wflrk ing there. OLDEST BELGIAN DIES . BRUSSELS, Belgium UPI Mrs. Mieke Duray, Belgium's old est citizen, died Monday on her 104th birthday just a few hours before she was to receive an hon or "visit from the mayor and the city council. v . aak . . . aw . GEOGRAPHIC CENTER en miles northeast from the ac tual geographic center and 32 miles from La Grande. Wiljilim ,D.Bolmes?' wno start ed studying . astronomy in his youth, told, a joint meeting of the Chamber of Commerce and Lions club yesterday noon how he arrived at the center of the United States including Alaska" and Hawaii. He said another man mav cal cuiatc tne center and vary as inucn as two inches from my figures," H6lmes said. "A third man, not yet born, will again calculate the area and tell us this Area Island City now totals $20,000. The employment office manager also stated in his monthly report that "recent frost damage to the area's cherry crop -has not been fully evaluated but some estimates run as high as 50 per cent." Shortages for experienced work ers in logging and sawmills may develop in June according to Bur rows. The demand for workers in construction, retail trade and ser vice industries is expected to in crease during the next 30 days. A shortage in waitresses, cooks, chambermaids and service station attendants is expected to develop as tourists come for the Oregon Centennial. Burrows urged service industry employers to estimate their fu ture needs and contact his office as soon as possible. QUEEN CROWNED Jim Epley, president of the La Grande High School student body, crowns Marilyn Waite, Queen of the May Music Festival at the school last night. The festival continues on Wednesday and Friday nights. (LHS Photo) LA GRANDE, OREGON, ...'-r-aiCZ5:jlX3.i which was wrong," the former Montana resident declared. Hclmes describing how he de termined that the spot 'was locat ed in Union county, said he used the only methods of measure ments acceptable by scientists. He said he used the Coordinates of the world. These are mathemat ical lines used to determine the l.ingitude and lattitudc of any spot in the world. It is this system of measurement, he said. that can be communicated to any scientist so that he will know exactly where you have located any given point on earth." Holmes brother, Benny, told the group that "while I was run ning around with the girls in school. Bill was studying astron omy.' Both men arc graduate en gineers. William is president and Benny is vice president of the year-old Research Publications, Inc. As a youth William Holmes discovered" thai one end of his Helena, Montana home "traveled faster" around Ihc earth than the other end. Through the use of astronomical calculations Holmes set out to determine just how much faster the one end of Ihc house traveled because of its location in relation to the cquar lor. The brolhcr team said they would be back in La Grande "a number of times" in the near fu ture and indicated a desire to go off the beaten path to the actual center of the United States which is located at an elevation of 6,- 500 feet, under an estimated 10 feet of snow in federal forest land. I 1 ; 'EXII TUESDAY, MAY 5, 1959 Ike For Hopes Steel Solution WASHINGTON iHMt Presi dent Eisenhower called today for mobilization 0f public opinion iiyainsi any sieel industry wane agreement that would be clearly iiuiauonary. Some ronorlcrs construed Ei aiMimiwui s news conterencc re marks as the first hint of federal intervention if the agreement is inflationary. But he was not clear on this point. The President appealed to man agement and labor lo use good sense, - wisdom and economic statesmanship in the current nc gotiations. Otherwise, he said, in the long run Ihc U. S. cannot slad idly by and do nothing. Eisenhower said he deplored Ihc possibility of putting the govern ment at the collective bargaining table. He also said he disapproved ol Having lo resort to mandatory wage-price controls heeause, once you do that, it will hurt the Amer ican system. Then he added that he wanted to make clear that we arc con cerned about the situation and can not stand idly by. ine rrcsuient did not say whether he thought any kind of wage increase would be harmful. The President said in reply to a news conference question that. however deplorable the prospect of Government intervention, the steel negotiations involve tjie en tire American public and the eco nomic well-being of the nation. He said that the entire country must look to steel management and the United Steel workers Union for wise conduct of their contract negotiations. Otherwise, in the long run. the government could not stand still and do nothing about any agreement that prom ised to be clearly inflationary. Warming to the subject, Eisen hower suggested that all Ameri cans make it clear that they are i , . :, . aecpiy concerned over me long range effects of the steel nego tiations and will not stand idly by if they are to be damaged. Wagon Train Heading West HEBRON, Neb. (UPIi-The On to Oregon Cavalcade was heading west again today and due to reach a point 1 1-3 miles cast of Oak, Neb., tonight. The wagon train stopped over night here Monday after traveling about 25 miles during the day. A tornado alert was posted dur ing the evening, which didn't add to anyone's comfort. Gale Carnine, one of the scouts from Itoschurg, Ore., was greeted here by his stepsister, Mrs. Wal liicc Sherwood, Stromsburg, Neb., who traveled 80 miles lo meet the train. They have never met be fore. The people on the wagon train had dinner in a building on the edge of the city park. The moialc of the . group was -reported very high at the end of the 10th day on the trail. MARJORIE CANTOR IS FAIR LOS ANGELES (UPI- Mar- joric Cantor, comedian Eddie Cantor's eldest daughter, was re ported in fair condition today at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital where she was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment. MIM Mil I 111 IT Ml 1M , Ill I -111 QUEEN AND COURT The 1959 May Music Festival Queen, Marilyn Waite, and her court reign over activities held at the school last night. From left are Princesses Joan Diehl, Gayle Jackman, Queen Marilyn Waite, Patty Parker and Sharon Hodgins. 1 They will head festivities throughout the week. (Joe Diehl Photo) ' ' SGT. D. J. CASCIATO Casey Casciato Is Transferred Stale Police Sergeant D. J (Casey) Casciato, head of the area office here for the past nine and one-half years, will be trans ferred to the West Slope office in Washington county effective June 1. Casciato will be in charge of the West Slope office, a larger post than the headquarters here, He has been a slate police officer for the past 22 years. The sergeant, a sports fan, has been a booster of local athletics activities during his stay here. He has managed Little League teams for several years and is presently chairman of the Youth Activities committee of Elks Ledge 433. He has two children, Eddie 11 and Candy 5. He has been living at 1707 Oak Street with his fam ily. Band Concert Opens Music Week Festival A demonstration of -mass band directing and a novelty band num ber were two of the highlights of the 1959 May Festival at La Grande High School Inst night. Students are now working on final rehearsing for Wednesday and Friday night performances. " Band r,Director Donald Scotfl showed the magic of a wand by using the long stick to direct four separate bands and an audience of more than 450 in a grande fnale number. With the 92-piece high school band on the stage and three junior high school bands seated in the front scats of the auditorium, Scott asked the audi ence to participate in singing "God of Our- Fathers." The four bands totaled 302 musicians, Scott said. - With flashing stage lights and drums working up to a crescendo, the high school bond played a novelty composition of "Stormy Weather." This year's edilion of Ihc an nual May Festival opened with Queen Marilyn Waite and her court being seated alongside the stage. A boys' quartet, a girls' trio and a mixed ensemble provid'-'d additional musical cntcrtinmcBt last night. The Wednesday night program will feature a musical style show wilh a western theme by the high school orchestra. The western theme will be carried on into the final Friday night production, along wilh some heavier orches tration numbers. ELM A CUSICK DIES Elma Cusick, 78, who lived at K02 2nd Street here, died early this morning. Services will be announced later for the lifetime resident of Union county. 50th Legislature In Final Tax Vote SALEM (UPI) The 50th Oregon legislature was in its final hours today. Both House Speaker Robert Duncan (D-Medford) and House Tax Committee Chairman Clarence Barton (D-Co-quille) said an effort would be made to end the session to night. Major remaining action is the tax program which Demo crats approve and to which Republicans are opposed. The Democrats control both Houses of the Legislature" A house caucus approved the tax plan but Republican members said they would not support a bill which eliminat ed federal income tax deduc-" ' tions on state inpome tax re turns and also lowered the rates. The major bill of the program. dealing with income taxes. House bill 670, was to come up for action sometime today in the house and will probably be quickly referred to the Senate for confirmation Major objection of the Republi cans is that the bill docs n o t broaden the tax base enough. If the Legislature manages to adjourn tonight it will be the 114th day of the session, short of the 128-day record achieved by the 4th legislative assembly. The major tax bill would bring In some $B9,200,000 compared with about $63,400,000 brought in now. This would support a general fund budget of about 315 million dollars. Latest estimate of the budget for the state from the gen eral fund is about $33,400,000. This was made by Rep. Keith Skelton (D-Eugene), co-chairman of the Joint Ways and Means Committee. , ' Rates Givrn The proposed plan would lower rates to a low of 2.5 per cent and a high of 7.5 per cent. The rates which begin for both joint returns and single persons at 2.5 per .cent-tor $1000 income for the former and $500 for the latter, continue progressively up to 7.5 per cent on incomes of $30,000 or over for married per sons. In the case of single per sons the '7.5 per cent rate is reached at an income in excess of $15,000. The joint return rate of those with incomes of from $1,000 to $2,000 is three per cent; from $2,000 to $4,000, five per cent: $4,000 to $15,000, six per cent; $15,000 to $30,000, seven per cent; and over $30,000 7.5 per cent. Single person s rates of 2.5 per cent for the first $500 income are $500 to $1,000, three per eent; $1,000 to $2,000, five per cent; $2,000 to $7,500, six per cent; $7,'500 to $15,000, seven per cent and over $15,000 7.5 per cent. House Votes Planning Money SALEM (UPI) The Oregon house voted today to restore plan ning money for a proposed wom en's prison into the budget for building state institutions. These funds had been elimi nated by the Senate. Another Senate cut for a re habilitation center at the new in termediate penal institution here was not disturbed by the House. The bill will now have to go back to the Senate for confirma tion of changqs. Total cuts in the bill amounted to more than one million dollars. Price 5 Cants Hours; Today Mutilated ' Body Of Mob Victim Found BOGALUSA; La. (UPI) The battered body of a young Negro, lynched by a white mob, was found floating in the Pearl River near here Monday. Results of an autopsy were to be made public late today. The FBI intensified a search for the nine or 10 hooded white men who dragged their screaming vic tim. Mack Charles Parker, from an unguarded jail cell in Poplar ville. Miss., April 25. He had been held on charges of raping a white woman. Parker's body was found by an FBI agent and a Mississippi state trooper, his head protruding above thick underbrush in the swamp-country river, 20 miles west of Poplarvllle at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line. Parker s head was. reported to have been mutilated. But authori ties said that may have been caused by debris in the river. .. The augpsy results-were If be disclosed at Poplarville. Taktn To Mortuary - rarxers poay was taken from Charity Hospital here early today in an ambulance to Hall's Mor tuary in Hattiesburg, Miss. Parker was awaiting trial at Poplarville on charges of raping a 23-year-old .white mother Feb. 24 while her four-year-old daugh ter looked on. The alleged assault occurred near Lumberton, where the rape victim's car had stalled. The attack was made after the woman's husband left the vehicle to go to a garage. Parker's body was pulled from the river six hours after it was found. The delay resulted from the convening at the scene of a Washington-St. Tammany Parish (county), La. coroner's jury. - The body was bleached, appar ently from 4he long period of sub mersion in the 40-yard-wide river. When Parker was snatched from his cell he was wearing a pair of trousers in addition to his under-, wear. The trousers were missing when the body was found near the Mississippi shore of the river a liltlo over a half-mile south of this city. Found Ntar Bridge Parker and the lunch mob had been the objects of one of the South's largest manhunts. Neither the 40 FBI agents nor the large Mississippi Highway Patrol staff working day and night on tha case had reported any clues. A bridge which Joins Mississln- pi and Louisiana just above the river where the body was found may have been the dumping spot for the victim. There were no weights attached to the body. rarKer was carried feet first. screaming and shouting, from his normally unguarded third - floor Pearl River County Courthouse jail by the men, who first hit him with their fists. He was tossed into a car and a convoy of four or ' five vehicles sped him out of the south Mississippi town. A farmer, passing by the jail, saw the incident but could not identify anyone. Senate Refuses To Suspend Rules SALEM (UPI) An effort by Senate President Walter Pearson (O-Portland) to reduce an appro priation for purchase of land In the Capitol Mall from $700,000 to $500,000 was balked when the Senate refused to suspend the rules today to amend it. Pearson contended that the property below Union street in Salem should be fred and the Mall be restricted to Union street or perhaps Chemeceta street. Contending that it was too late now to change the limits of the Mall, Sen. Eddie Ahrens (R-Tur-ner) urged the Senate to support the ways and means recommen dation of $700,000. It did and th bill now goes to the governor.