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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (July 22, 1959)
WEATHER Sunny Thursday with chance of isolated afternoon thunderstorms over moun tains; low tonight 47-53; high Thursday 95-100. LA OBSERVER 280th Issue 63rd Year LA GRANDE. OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1959 Price 5 Cents ormeir Governor McKay ilment At Age GRANDE ill fU c F Dies Heart i r j 1 1 r ...... & .."v County School Board Has Two Alternatives After Voter Rejection By NEIL ANDERSEN Observer Staff, Writer The refusal of Union County voters to pass the school reorganizations measure at Monday's special election re turns the contested issue to the county school board. There are two alternatives open to the board after the j overwhelming objection of the voters. first, the same plan can De submitted to the voters at a special election called and conducted in the same manner and to be held not earlier than Ike Blasts INikita's Criticism MEASURING STEM FLOW Dan Bishop, research forester, for the Lodgepole study shows Marv Beeson, a geology student who is working with the Forest Service for the summer, how they plan to catch any moisture that comes down the trunk of the trees. The tubing and jar at the base of the tree catch the water which is msasured by the researchers. (Observer) I'CV J :4 mm 1 r" WHAT WAS THAT MEASUREMENT? The length and depth of the uncovered Lodgepole pine rots .are being measured and charted by Dan Bishop, right, and Marv Beeman. The tree is cut off a few inches from the base and the web of roots uncovered so the foresters can find out how much moisture the roots take from the soil. ' (Observer Photo) WASHINGTON UPI Presi dent Eisenhower said today the Russian press is giving a distort ed and untrue picture of "captive nations ' in the Soviet sphere. ' He fired back at Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, who criticized the President's proclamation of "captive nations week" calling for prayer on behalf of captive peo ples. Eisenhower said he saw no con nection, however, between attack in the Moscow newspapers in tnp past 24 hours and Vice President Richard M. Nixon's imminent vis it to Russia. , The President said he hoped Nixon will be able to convey the temper and the feeling of the American people to Khrushchev during his vistf. The vice1" president leaves fof Moscow tonight after holding a final conference with the Presi dent on his plans for a "little summit" meeting with Khrush chev and a scheduled goodwill tour deep into Siberia. Can Talk About America Eisenhower said that s i n d c Khrushchev would be host to Nix on, he assumed the Soviet leader would set the tone of the talks. But he said that Nixon would le able to express the feeling of the American people better than any one else. Nixon is not part of this coun try's diplomatic machinery and can do no negotiating, the Presi dent said, but he should be able to impart valuable information to Soviet leaders. !. Wagon Train Enters State NYSSA Ore. UPI -Oregon's f . centennial wagon train, which left Missouri three months and three days ago, crossed the Snake River p Tuesday and entered its home state. The seven wagons, which got a sendoff from former President Harry Truman in Independence, Mo., have 400 miles to go to com plete their trip to Independence, Ore. '' ? A big welcoming party wa on hand as the wagons crossed the j s bridge from Idaho. It inclu'lcd t Oregon Secretary of State Howell , Appling ana icnicmiiai vuiuiiua-1 sion chairman Anthony Brandon-1 thaler, who were in Missouri when the train began its journey. ! The train, led by waconrnajtcr i Gordon Tex Serpa, crossed Kan sas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Ida ho. It will arrive in Independence on the night of Aug. lj. ; . , , -.-r.. Kids Learn New Way To Get Bottle Of Pop A complaint about children taking the caps from soft drink bottles still in the machines and drinking it through straws was registered with the La Grande police yesterday. George Bruce, 1608 Z avenue, a representative of a soft drink firm, said that children were get ting into the machine at the Tri angle Richfield service and mess ing up the machine the police reported. one year from the date of the election at which the plan was originally rejected. Second, the committee can de vise a new plan of reorganization, which the committee believes will be more acceptable to the legal school voters of the territory af fected, and submit the new plan to the State Board of Education for approval in the same manner as the original plan was submit ted. If the State Board approves the plan a special election can then be called. The election must be called Within 30 days of the State Boards approval. The election shall be held within 60 days from the date tne committee receives the ap proved plan. The reorganization turned down by voters in Monday's election would have provided for a cen tralized purchasing unit located in La Grande, a three man board from each attendance unit to ad vise the seven man schoolboard on problems and recommendations within the unit and would have eliminated elementary schools that didnt have high schools in the same program. When the law was passed the counties were given five years to pass satisfactory reorganization plans. Failure to pass such legis lation would mean the dissolution of the present committee in July, mi. With the polling results, with the exception of' Elgin, confirmed, the final vote was 237 to 639 again st reorganization. Elgin has an unofficial count of 56 yeses and 158 negative votes. In the voting of a special ad ministration district that would include only North Powder and Muddy Creek, the voters approved such reorganization 124 to 49. Muddy Creek voted against the issue with 47 negative and 27 af firmative ballots. La Grande, Island City, Palmer Junction and Ladd Canyon were the only communities approving the Issue. La Grande passed the measure 129 to 102, Island City 42 to 29, Palmer Junction 3 to 2 and Ladd Canyon 9 to 3. The biggest vote against reorgani zation came from Union where the change was rejected by 247 voters with only six approving. Imblcr rejected the issue 121 to 10, Cove 105 to 28, Fruitdale 8 to 5, Telocaset 8 to 3, Alicel 11 to 1 and Starkey 3 to 1. . DOUGLAS McKAY Former Governor Dies Gov. Hatfield Praises McKay SALEM, Ore. CU1MI Gov. Mark Hatfield extended Oregon's sympathy to the family of former interior secretary Douglas Mc Kay, who died today at the age of 66. 'Doug McKay's life story is one of remarkable rise from a family- supporting paper boy to a presi dential confidant. "Through it all he maintained iron-clad integrity and was true to his beliefs while never losing the common touch. Severely wounded in World War I he ex hibited inspiring courage to make a valiant comeback by reaching the heights in both business and mihlic service. On behalf of the state he served as legislator and as chief executive I extend offi cial sympathy to his family." Grande Ole -- Opry Due Here In September The Grande Old Opry will be in La Grande, Saturday, Sept. 5, according to' Mel Elders who is president of the La Grande Jay-cces. The show will begin at the I,a Grande high school at 7:30 pm. Webb Pierce will be the main attraction along with Jimmy Newman, Mecca recording star. Judy Lynn, "America's champ ion girl yodelcr , will be here along with Pat Kelly and Rex Rinohardt who is a Yucca re cording artist. Smokey Pleacher, a comedian, and Gene O'Neil, and the Judy Lynn band will also appear on the program. "You'll hear country music and comedy at its best," Cooke said. This will be the first time this tioupc has appeared in La Grande. Tickets will go on sale August S. There will be a dance after the show featuring some of the stars and the Judy Lynn band at the armory. Admission for adults will be $1.50 and admission for children from six to 12 will be $100. CABINET JOB HIGHLIGHTS LONG POLITICAL CAREER SALEM (UPI) Douglas McKay, 66, who rose from a newspaper boy to become Oregon's second cabinet officer in history, died today. The former interior secretary ctiea in a local nospuai ioi- lowing a recurrence of a heart ailment complicated by kid ney trouble. Death came at a.lo a.m. ins wite, ftiaoei, was at nis nea- side. McKay, a lifelong Republican, was President Eisenhow er s surprise choice for interior i secretary shortly after the 1952 election. At his death he was chairman of the U.S. section of the International Joint Commis sion, which has the job of decid ing upon joint use of water re sources belonging to both the United States and Canada. McKay, also a former Oregon governor, suffered his only defeat at tlie polls in 1956 after he re signed from the cabinet to run against one - time Republican Wayne Morse for the U. S. Sen ate. Attended OSC He became interested in politics early in life and was freshman class president at Oregon State College in 1913. Subsequently he became mayor of Salem, a state senator and finally governor. He held the latter position when Ei senhower summoned him to the cabinet. He was the first man from Oregon to be named to the cabinet since George H. Williams, then mayor of Portland, was named attorney general by Presi dent Ulysses S.Grant. McKay met Eisenhower shortly after the latter returned from Europe. He was one of the first governors to call for Eisenhower's nomination at the 1952 Republican convention. A delegate to the same convention was Mfyse, then an Eisenhower supporter. Shortly after taking the cabinet post McKay ran into a storm of opposition from advocates of fed-fedcrally-dcveloped hydro e I c c tric power. The administration fa vored a "partnership" plan whereby private power firms and the government would share the cost of dams with the govern ment paying for navigation and flood control. Hells Canyon Recalled One of the biggest battles dur ing his term of office was over Hells Canyon on the Snake river between Idaho and Oregon. The Federal Power Commission eventually awarded permits to Idaho Power Company to build three smaller dams in the big canyon instead of a huge single project favored by public power interests. McKay was a backer of the Colorado river project, supported by senators of both major parties. But conservationists criticized the original plan which called for flooding a natural scenic attrac tion and tho plan later was modi fied. At one time McKay headed a public power group in Oregon which worked for a flood control program In the upper Willamette valley. His nomination to the cabinet Sea McKAY On Page S Terrorists Hurl Bombs At Embassy GUATEMALA CITY 'UPD Terrorists hurled bombs at the U.S. Embassy, an archbishop's residence, and an electrical plant Tuesday night causing some dam age but no injuries. There was no immediate ex planation for the attack. Guate mala City has been remarkably free of violence in recent months. U.S. Marines guarding the em bassy said they did not see or hear anything unusual before the explosion. The blast broke sever al window panes in the embassy building. U.S. Ambassador lister Mallo- ry hurried from his home on the outskirts of thc city and Guate malan President Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes arrived to make a per sonal investigation. Fuentes picked up several pieces of the bomb and examined them. Both he and Mallory said they had no idea who threw the bombs or-why. Marine guards said the bomb appeared to have been a tube of gunpowder triggered by a hand grenade fuse. A second bomb shattered the front doorway of the residence of Msgr. Mariano Rvoscll Arellano, Roman Catholic archbishop of Guatemala. The archbishop said he was amazed at the attack and had no idea what caused it or who was responsible. Authorities said the third bomb exploded at the Mariscal electri cal works but did not cause enough damage to interrupt elec trical service. Forest Service Of Lodgepole Researchers Study Role Pine In Watershed Areas :5 Firemen Answer Call At La Grande Cafe The La Grande fire department answered a call at the Royal Cafe. 12034 Adams Ave. yesterday at 11:45. The cause of the alarm, accord ing to Fire Chief Ray Snider, was defective wiring. JLjf n 7 &r ' " ' I r - i V . -J CHECKING Bishop checks the automatic rain guage located in an open meadow. The $250 instrument ac tually weighs the water that falls into the tank from the funnel shaped top The guage can be set for a day or a week. Foresters have it set for a day for a more sensitive reading. By Virginia Anderson Obierver Staff Writer The U. S. Forest Service Re search division is studying the characteristics of Lodgepole Pine forests in an effort to learn more about its watershed patterns. The Lodgepole has a small i trunk and Is found in closely grouped stands. It has very little commercial value since its dia meter is so small, but it plays an important part in the water shed management of areas where it is found. "Mountain water is the life blond of communities clustered around the watersheds of the Blue and Wallowa mountains." said George Garrison, research center leader. So any grasses or trees which .either aid or prevent in drawing the maximum amount of water from an area are impor tant to Forest Service people. In most of the valleys of East ern Oregon precipitation Is defi cient. The annual precipitation in the best mountain snow catch ment areas Is 45 to 60 inches. Ir rigation in Eastern Oregon is then dependent upon mountain lands and makes possible a heal thy diversified agriculture. According to the 1950 agricul ture census, about B8 per cent of Oregon's Irrigated lands were lo cated east of the Cascades. Ap proximately 50 per cent of Ore gon's irrigated lands '620.172 acres) are dependent upon run off water from the Blue and Wal lowa mountains. This water yield amounts to more than seven mil lion acre feet of water annually. The watershed areas and the increased water catchment in these areas is important to for estry personnel. The Forest Service research program in this field is new. "The present program is directed to ward understanding of timber types occupying the major snnw catchment areas," Oarrison said. Since lodgepolcs grow so close together, a light snow fall is caught in the trees and evapor ates. Even this small amount of water lost over a widely forested area could mean the difference between watering lawns every day and water rationing. As one phase of their experiment the foresters are trying to dis cover just how much water the lodgepole branches actually col lect. In order to do this they mea sure the rainfall. A rain guage is placed in a meadow where over hanging branches can't reach it. A second guago is placed in the forested area and tho amount of rainfall here is measured. The difference between the meadow figures and those taken beneath the trees should show how much of the moisture the pines arc col lecting. In conjunction with the lodge pole experiment, the foresters al so study moisture content of the soil throughout the season of urowth. The tests arc taken on three levels. Inside the forested area Rishop and his workers measure the amount of water that comes down the trunks of the trees. Bishop said that they usually don't get much except in a heavy storm. Root patterns are also studied to determine how much moisture roots take from the soil. Bishop in this phase of the experiment has selected two trees for the pattern study. The trees are saw ed off a few inches from the ground and then the roots arc carefully uncovered and charted to aid in determining the amount of moisture tho roots absorb from the soil. A theory that the researchers are working on is one of growing the Lodgepole in strips so that instead of catching the light snows In the branches and evap orating It would fall to the ground and. If planned correctly, the shade from the nearby trees would keep tho snow on the ground longer and decrease the loss from evaporation. Another theory involves re placing the Lodgepole stands with another more valuable commer cial tree that docs not store so much snow in its branches. This theory calls for an increased knowledge of the pine to find out where it grows the best and how beneficial a replacement would be. Herter Claims Reds Trying To Trap West GENEVA (UPI) Secretary of State Christian A. Herter charged today tht Russia is trying to make the West it's "unwitting ac complice'' in a plot to hold all of West Berlin for ransom. Herter sharply rejected a new "concession" offered by Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromy ko at today's session of the Big Four Foreign Ministers Conference. Gromyko pledged that Russia would take no "one-sided action" during a possible Berlin truce or the negotiations following it. The U. S. leader pointed out that the Russian offer still had a big string tied to it insistence that a Berlin truce must have a time limit. Gromyko's speech indicated no great change in the Soviet posi tion on Berlin. In particular, it gave no Indication that Russia is willing to withdraw its "impossi ble" demand that West Germany and the Communist East should have equal representation in ne gotiations for German reunifica tion. So far as could be learned, the Soviet foreign minister did not re fer directly to the "one-sided ac tion" most objected to by tho West a separate peace treaty between Russia and Communist East Germany. Gromyko's statement was a re ply to western demands for .a clear statement of Russia's con ditions for a Berlin truce. Information Gathered For City Directory The gathering of information for a new city directory began yesterday in La ' Grande under the direction of Guy E. Vaughan. a representative of R. L. Polk fc Co., Portland During the next couplo of days representatives of the firm will be making house to house calls to gather information for the book.