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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1959)
Island City Bv GRADY PANNED. Observer Staff Writtr ISLAND CITY iSpecialt About 200 Island City area r-si-der.ts packed in'o the Farm Bur eau hall here last night and isk cd questions that ranged Lorn burrowing gophers and drifting snow to odors and seepage of the La Grande city commission over the city's propos-d si'.e for a new sewage disposal plant near here. SID BURLEIGH State Your Name SI u J I r! LA GRANDE 53rd Issue 64th Year Band Leader Cugat Says His TV Quiz Appearances Rigged Events WASHINGTON UPI) Band Leader Xavier Cugat, who won $16,000 on the TV quiz $64,000 Challenge," said today his appear ances were rigged and that he went along in a role of "make believe, to make a good show." Speaking with his well-known Latin accent, the portly Cugat gave his story to House investi gators and then told'the Congress men: "If there was too much make believe, I wish you could do some thing about it without giving en tertainment too much of a black eye." Cugat testified that his publicity agent, Mai Braverman, assured him when he lined ap his appear ance on the program in June, 1958 that he wouldn't have to "worry about a thing." The 58-year-old baid leader said he assumed this meant he would be asked eary" questions in his Van Doren Loses Post As Teacher At Columbia U. NEW YORK lUPI) Charles Van Doren's dream of following in the footsicps of his illustrious father as a revered teacher and scholar was shattered today. Just a few brief hours after Van Doren revealed to a congres sional subcommittee that he be came enmeshed in a web of lies and deceit to win $129,000 on a rigged television program, the board of trustees at Columbia University announced acceptance of his resignation. The board's ruling could mark the 'end of his career as a teacher. Busy Beaver Fells Tree, Cuts Power A beaver cut down a large tree on California-Pacific's power line in the Gordon Creek section north west of Elgin last night. The tree, 10 inches in diameter, broke both wires of the 7.200 vo't line serving eight farms in the Gordon Creek area. Cali.ornia-Pacific linemen com pleted repairs at 11 p.m. POLITICIANS WATCH RESULTS Several States, Cities Vote Today In Off-Year Elections WASHINGTON (ITU - Amer icans vcte today in off-year elec tions which will be studied close ly for clues to Democratic and Republican prospects in the na tional races just one year away. In one of several big City may oralty contests, former GOP presidential aspirant Harold Stas sen is the underdog in Philadel phia to the Democratic ir.cum be it, Richardson Dilworth. Kentucky elects a governor in a race which has featured an old fashioned political brawl among the Democrats, involving out going Gov. A. B. 'Happy i Chan dler. Republicans hope the split will help them to victory. Mississippi elecis a governor. But the Democratic candidate, Ross Bennett, is unopposed. Vir ginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, New Area The city has proposed construc ting lagoon type oxid.-.tion ponds on. the Rex Griggs ranch east of La Grande pending the outcome cf Friday's special CMu.ono bond el-ctiui in LS Grande lor this purpose. The oxidation ponds have been i presented as the most economical , and as feasible as two other al-1 ternatives. They are: I 1. Construct an tntirily new - R Iff ED DRAPER It Will Stunt Growth category, popular music, or he v.-culd be coached. Sure enough, he told the House subcommittee, show producer Mert Koplin ran through the ques tions and answers before his ap pearances. Cugat Subpena Under subpena, Cugat flew here from Lake Tahoe. Nev., for Ivs appearances in the Congressional quiz which Monday heard a pain ful confession of TV "deception" from Charles Van Doren, who won $129,000 on the now defunct show "21." The probers also were told Monday that associated producer Shirley Bernstein of the $64,000 Challenge" secretly coached some DA Posing Perjury Raps NEW YORK (UPH Dist. Atty Frank Hogan's office indicated trday the possibility of perjury indictments against TV quiz show contestants who made false state ments to a grand jury will have to be considered. Hogan said Monday a great number of the 150 contestants who appeared before the grand jury investigating rigging of quiz shows did not tell the truth. On the possibility of perjury in dictments. Hogan said" . . . It's a matter that will have to be con sidered and not in terms of one contestant."' Hogan said his office had qncs t'oned at least 300 contestants and about half of them appeared before the grand jury. "A good many contestants told the truth," Hogan said, "but then there were a great number who did not, so you can see the rami fications of the problem." Hogan also indicated that a de termination of whether perjury indictments would serve any use ful public purpose also would have to be considered. He said the grand jury might be interested in knowing if any former contestants showed any signs of contrition, such as "cor recting" their previous jury testimony. grand I Jersey and New York vote for members of the state Legisla tures. Many Local Elections In addition to Philadelphia, other major cities holding elec tions include Cleveland and Co lumbus. Ohio, Pittsburgh. Boston. San Francisco, Indianapolis, Ind , and Bridgeport and Hartford. Conn. Hundreds of other cities ard counties also will ballot far local officials. If Slassen loses, it could mean the end of the political road for the former Minnesota governor. 1W8 and 1952 GOP presidential contender, disarmament adviser to President Eisenhower and los er in the Pennsylvania GOP gu bernatorial primary last year. Strong Future Prospect Dilworth would become' a sewage disposal plant J. Repair the present facility fust fast of tht city. City commissioners told the as-j-muled county property owners last night that they were sur? of one th'ng. "La Grande has to hni'd a new sewage facility." This fact was rie known to La Grand m-eral years ago by state 6i .. ity. The oxidation type plant idea, agreeable to the State DAVE SLAGHT Mountain Lagoons? n JiJ.lH 11 ) .. I uiaain - - n ...... i r - -;:-. --.'-0 " ? jui mmm Mmi I -LjM LA GRANDE, OREGON, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1959 contestants. She is the sister of conductor-composer Leonard Bern stein. After hearing Cugat's story, the subcommittee encountered a re luctant witness, John Ross, man ager of 12-year-old Patt;. ..'., who won $32,000 as a contestant on the "$64,000 challenge" in Jan uary, 1958. Reluctant Witness Ross requested that he not be required to testify in public be cause the testimony "may tend to incriminate, defame or degrade some other person." After a brief huddle, the sub committee went into closed ses sion, but there was no indication she would be questioned. Before clearing the caucus room of other spectators, the subcom mittee showed a filro of the show on wlvch Patty, who then was only 11, won $32,000 answering questions about music. Under questioning during his 45 minute performance in the House caucus room, Cugat admitted he didn't give the true picture of his experience when he was ques tioned by New York District At torney Frank Hogan. 63 Years Ago Opened Store By NEIL ANCERSEN ' Observer Stiff Writer Sixty-three years ago this week W. IL Bohenkamp and his wife made their first sale when their new store opened in La Grande. The bill, totaling 50 cents, was charged to Frank Pike, railroad engineer. The sale was: one cake pan, .15 cents, one washbasin, .10 cents, and one No. 2 lamp chimney. 25 cents. The Bohnenkamp organization has grown from a simple hard ware store into a modern thriv ing business that deals in furni ture, appliances, hardware, sport ing goods and other items. Dur ing their 63 years of business, Bohncnkamps have sold automo biles, farm equipment and oper ated a funeral home. The company has survived a major fire and, with the excep- tion of Sunday's and holidays, has never closed its doors. The strong prospect for a future nom inal on for governor or U.S. sena tor if he beat Stassen. The cam paign reached a climax last week when Democra's charged that Stassen did rot pay his city wage tax from 1053 to 1956. After Chandler's own choice for Kentucky governor lost in the showed Democratic primary, he no enthusiasm for the winner, Bert T. Combs, who was backed by Chandler's political rival, for mer Sen. Earle C. Clements. The Republican candidate is former Congressman John M. Kobison. The GOP hopes for a re peat of the 1956 election outcome when Kenublicans won two U.S. Senate seats in Kentucky. Demo crats blame Chandler, or at least the factional strife, for the loss. esidents Question Sanitation Authority, was arrived at after several years of study by a competent engineering firm they pointed out. It was plain to see how the crowd felt last night about th matter. and various ques'ions were pumped at Dr. Gordon Clarke, commission president, anil Dave Slaght, ctiy engineer and acting city manager. After tracing the present city DR. F. M. KOVACH Why Not Closer In? ODE TO THE MOON LONDON UPI The Rus sian moon photographs have answered a wistful question asked 3 years ago by British Poet Ronald Ross: "O moon when I gaie on thy beautiful face "Careening along through the boundaries of space "The though has often come into my mind I "If I ever shall see thy glori eus behind." Set County Appeal Of Ruling On Fescue Seed Importation A decision by the U. S. Tantf Commission which may seriously cripple Union County fine fescue seed growers will be appealed. Ted Sidor, Vrinn .County Exttn sion agent, said today. Sidor and three other Oregon residents appeared before the commission earlier in the year on behalf of Oregon seed produc ers. The commission report states that "red fescue seed was not being imported into the United States in such increased quanti- Bohncnkamps In La Grande record is amazing when a person considers the average life of a furniture store in the United Stat es is seven years, statistics show. The fire occurred in Septem ber of 1913, when a' blaze gutt ed the two upper stories of the building. Business was conduct ed as usual while reconstruction work went on overhead. Middle of Street The first store was opened in a small room in the Huntington block in early December, 181)6. For a short time the firm occu pied a frame building on the site of the present store. But when the company expanded, the frame building was moved to the middle cf the street and busi ness continued as usual. After the new building was complete, Adams Avenue was still unpaved and horsedrawn wagons were frequently mired in the mud in front of the store, ac cording to Mrs. Bohnenkamn. The street was not paved until 1910. When the firm started in 1(106. only Mr. and Mrs. Bohnenkamp worked in the store. Through the years many La Grande resi dents have been employed there. Presently, the store employs 14 full-time employes and three members of the family. Chase Bohnenkamp was the first son to enter the family business but was soon followed by Lynne who had charge of the furniture department. Hal Boh nenkamp had charge of the un dertaking branch of the firm for a period after he joined the or ganization. With rare exceptions, a Bohn enkamp always has been en rolls in the La Grande P u.b 1 ' sch"?' . 5ys,em , ! " ? luuay mt- ki iii".iiiiu- rcn of the firm's founders are udonH Mrs. Bohnenkamp has an unusual record. Her three sons were graduated from the system, 10 grandchildren cover ed the same route and ntw many of her great grandchildren are' covering the path set years tio. The three sons and their wiv es have contributed to cultural. See YEARS on Page Eight . wayi history from the begin "'ng of the disposal plant con structed in Hes. which now fails to function properly and does not pass shite health standards. U.irn? tinned the speaker's stand over to Siaght for an engineering r. port. Many Questions Joe Kidd. Kt. 2, said that th site ulm.li ill,, city has taken an op' ion on lor $.so.5O0 (there are CARL HELM JR. Legal Technicality ERVER 8 Pages Dentist Blamed Over Mad Halloween Caper KREMOXT. Calif. UPI Dr. William V. Shyne. a prominent dentist, was sought by police to day on a charge of giving candy coated laxative pills to 30 chil dren on Halloween. The children became violently ill. and Municipal Judge Edward Quaresnia issued two warrants Monday charging Shyne with "out rage of public decency" and "un lawful disicnsing of drups." In s either actual or relative (to domestic production), to cause or threaten serious injury to the do mestic industry producing like or directly competitive products. The commission refused, on the basis of its finding, to ask the President to withdraw or modify the present 1 cent per pound du ty or to limit the amount of seed which can be imported. Limit Imports The Oregon group had asked the commission to limit importa tion of seeds at five million pounds which is one third of the present 15 million pound domes tic consumption. Last year. Sidor said, 12 mil lion pounds of fescue were im ported. U.S. seed growers will produce bctwttn 10 and 12 mil lion oounrli this year. Uninn County produced mere than a million and a half pounds of seed last year which sold for 3863.000. . "Seed growers at the present time must sell considerably be low the cost of production if they want to sell now." Sidor said. "This, he said, is directly due to the huge amount of imported seed on the market. Sidor said that an appeal is now being prepared. Says Mountain Sheep Dam Fought By 'Fanatics LEWISTON. Idaho (UPD-Kin-scy M. Robinson, Spokane, chair man of Pacific Northwest Power Company, told the Inland Empire Waterways Association Monday construction of Mountain Sheep dam wa.f being opposed by "fa natics." Robinson said persons deter-! mined that a private utility shall not build a dam on the middle; Snake river had "turned to the Nei Perce dam. which would de stroy the salnon resource on the Salmon river." i Robinson was one of several speakers during the openi'g day of the two-day 2iith annual con vention of the waterways group. He said Mountain Sheep was first proposed in HM7 by the Corps of Engineers and had been subsequently endorsed by three other reports by the corps. He opposed delay of the project. SECOND-CLASS STATUS MADISON. Wis. i UPI i Sen. Willium Proxmire 'D Wis.l said Morday Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (Tex t and his fellow Southerners have reduced the North's influence in the Sen ate to "second-class status." Proxmire told the Madison Trades and Lalwr Council that "the charge that the U.S. Senate is the Soulh's revenge for the Civil War ha.t a painful ring of truth." Sewage Plant Site acres i would be directly across try read from his residence. He posed such questions as eas-ments, lugoon overflow and evaporation. He said th:it he had two wells that served his home and feared contamination from the nearby ponds. lioth Slaght and Clarke assured him that engineering tests proved o' herwi.se and pointed out that preliminary soil drill specimens JOE HARRISON Do You Have Permission? Five Cents Shyne. 40. denied the charges Sunday but police were unable to serve the warrants Monday. The dentist was not at home and he did not appear at his office. Lt. Lowell Creighton of the po lice department said he would issue an all-points bulletin for Shyne today if the dentist was not located. Police said about 450 of the lax alive pills were, tossed into the trick-or-treat bags of youngsters Halloween night. Thirty of the children later suffered attacks of vomiting and diarrhea which lust ed several hours. Inspector Lee Rieman said the pills were traced to the home of Shyne. The .inspector said labora tory tests established that the pills were bitter aloe, a strong purgative. Ur. Leonard Ortega, who helped to run laboratory tests on the pills, sakl it was possible that "a child eating enough of these," could have died from dehydration. Hieman said as many as 30 pills were found in some of the bags. Police Probing Store Burglaries City police are investigating a burglary at the La Grande Mar ket, 1604'i Adams Ave., which netted thieves $9.50 in change last night. Entry was gained through a beck window of the store. All other windows in the building are screened, police said. Thieves ignored 20 cartons of cigarettes and several rolls of pennies. Police sp-culate that there may be some connection between the La Grande Market burglary and the one Sunday at Hyde's Super market in Island City. IKE ENDORSES DINNERS WASHINGTON (UPD - Presi dent Eisenhower endorsed Mon day a nationwide series of GOP dinners next January, designed to honor him as well as kick off 19U0 Republican campaigns. DISH Kiwanis volunteer members here line u p in a practice pancake "dry run" in prep-" aration for their big pancake feed coming up later this week when Aunt Jemima'' of national fame will be in La Grande. Festivities are slated Thursday and Friday at the Armory. Left to right, Buck Haydcn, Ralph Ward, Don Dolvin, Norm Koopman.-L Vernon DeLong and Marvin Moe. See story on page 3. Observer Photo) - showed solid compaction at the site. A Certain Ditch Joe Harrison, Kt. 2, questioned the us of a ditch that would i handle po- sible overflow from the lagoons. He sa.d the ditch was I an incorporated one and known ;as the McAllister Ditch. "This i ditch services several families. How do they feel about this? Do I you have their permission to dump DR. GORDON CLARKE Speaking for City Com mission, 1 am opposed to condemning land for ox idation pond site. Steelmen SaySupply Plentiful WASHINGTON (UPU The United Steelworkers told the Su preme Court today there is enough steel in this country to insure the nation's health and safety even if the 112-day old strike continues to the end of the year. The union's attorney, 51-year- old Arthur J. Goldberg, made this statement in opening oral argu nients on the steelworkers' plea that the tribunal overturn a lower court's hack-to-work order against the strikers. The high court's decision on the union's appeal will mark the first time it has ever ruled on Taft Hartley Law provisions authorizing 30-day no strike injunctions. Shaking in a calm, matter-of-fact manner, Goldberg cited pro duction figures to show that steel output has not been completely halted by the walkout. He said companies still in production are capable of producing 25 million tons a year, or enough to meet the nation's basic needs. The high court opened its oral arguments on the precedent set ting case at 11:05 a m., e s t , five minutes later than scheduled. Chief Justice Earl Warren, call ing up the case by name and number, announced that "because of cooperation of counsel on both sides, we believe there is no need to put a time limit on the argu ments, believing parties will take no longer than necessary. uoidoert argued the union s case first. Solicitor General J. Lee Rankin prepared to present the govern ment's side when Goldberg fin ished. There was standing room only in the majestic marble pillared court chamber, which was crowd ed with lawyers, tourists and the principal pdrties to the long dis pute. A long line of would-be spec tators waited patiently in the halls, hoping for a chance to get into the court room. WEATHER Few shewers and some clear ing tonight; partly cloudy Wed nesday; highs 47-54; low to night 2S-U. ; 7 ' 1 Tlfj rSSCIf1 OUT THE PANCAKES this sewage?" he asked. ' Harrison also asked Slaght if any of the wells in use in the immediate area ever had been tested by the city or engineers for a possible contamination check. Sid Burleigh, attorney from Island City who conducted the meeting, atked if ground tests had been made en the Griggs'., property, and was informed by Slaght that both the consulting engineers and state authority had made preliminary tests end found suitable soil compaction for the lagoon site. "" Dr. F. M. Kovach, Island City area businessman and whose pro perty is adjucent to the Griggs ranch, asked how the city could be so positive about oxidation ponds being cheaper than a con ventional type plant, and he also question-d the possibility of seep age. "Will the ponds be sealed?" he asked. "There seems to be several variables left unanswered on the part of the commission. I would like to know why oxidation ponds couldn't be put closer to La Grande," Kovach said. if; Clarke replied that a sewage plant might be built closer ,$ town if the city wished to us the power of property condemns tion and thus acquire suitable acreage. V 1 Ne Condemnation "This is something we doa't wish to do . . . condemn land. Tn present site could be purchased-.' and we have taken an option ua it for this reason." Clarke said: Mrs. Joe Harrison told the gS? thering, "We are not interested in having a sewage lagoon in oar front or back yards. Why not build it up in the hills back of tat Grande?" she questioned. Slaght said that even this had been thought of at one time but since oxidation ponds were bas4 primarily on gravity flow a sirrm lar sewage system up in the hills See ISLAND Pg Panamanians . Riot Against U.S. Police A. BALBOA. CANAL ZONE (UPI) Panamanian students demand ing the United States give up the Panama Canal Zone injured three V. S. policemen today in a wild. stone-throwing battle. The American police final ly broke up the attack -with tear gas and arrested two of the stu dents. They stood by with fire hoses ready in expectation of new and bigger onslaught. The battle raged across a road marking the border between Pan amanian and Canal Zone territory. It was near the Panama National Assembly building but only one Panamanian patrol car showed up during the early violence. The rock attack occurred when police refused to let the students carry their demonstration into the Canal Zone itself. The demonstration was stirred up by Former Panamanian For eign Minister Aquilino Boyd who had called for a "peaceful inva sion" of the Canal on this Pana manian Independence Day. Boyd, accompanied by his wife, four young children and a dozen followers, were permitted by American guards to go onto Canal Zone property after they warned him they would stop any trouble he tried to create. -" U.N. BARS OPEN UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (UPI) The only public bars open dur ing voting hours on this election day in New York were at the United Nations. The U.N. is an extraterritorialenclave in which national and state laws do not ap