Port Orford news., August 24, 1967, Image 1

Four Homes Saved In Tuesday Fire
THIS p h o to m o n ta g e
shows almost full width of
Tuesday's Hubbard Creek
f ir e . Blaze began in slash
near extreme right of pic­
ture and traveled just past
extreme left before being
contained a b o u t 9 p .m .
Four houses were in the
fire's path and all were
saved.
TPort (Orford îù’ius
Vole 10 No. 21
Fish Die In
Polluted Rogue
DISTRICT WARDEN Tom Lane, left, directed the initial firefighting from thislocation
where fire started, in slash left by Keith Smith logging operation. Elmer Bens and son Joe
survey the scene.
Concentrated efforts by the
Coos Forest Protective Associa­
tion and local volunteer fire­
fighters were responsible fo r
saving four homes within the
perimeter of a blaze Tuesday
afternoon that consumed be­
tween 30-40 acres on the west
side of Hubbards Creek south of
Port Oford.
The fire, reported about 12:30
p. m ., started in slash from an
operation just off old Highway
101 recently logged by Keith
Smith of Brookings. A Coos For­
est patrol pumper arrived at the
scene within minutes but winds
worked the flames into a blaz­
ing inferno, blowing sparks a-
cross the old highway into dry
ass and brush that broke into
ame and raced up-hill. Dis-
trictFire Warden Tom Lane dis­
patched the pumper to the -El­
mer Bens home situated in the
A LIMP garden hose on the roof is a reminder of action
direct path of the fire. Bens and
that saved the Elmer Bens residence at the top of the hill
Jim Peterson were already on
and about midway through the fire path.
the roof hosing it down as the
fire spread, finally to surround
the house and continue south­
ward to homes owned by Henry
Abderhalden (vacant), Dal Weir
and Mary Lee Fraiser.
Adolph Windmaiser also re­
sponded to the Bens home with
the city's small pumper.
Many local volunteers joined
the Forest Patrol and home-
owners in fighting the wind-fan­
ned b la z e that soon had en­
gulfed all the homes with in­
tense heat and smoke.
Lane said he had 35 men on
the scene and he couldn't esti­
mate the number of volunteers
that responded. In addition there
were nine pumpers, including
those owned by Blaine Marsh,
Griffey-Laird, Ken Rogge, the
city of Port Orford and Oregon
Construction Co. The F o r e s t
Patrol had three Cats on the line
and Keith Smith brought in one.
THE Fraiser home can hardly be seen, at right, through
The blaze was contained a-
sparse stand of burned trees and brush. The new house was
bout 9 p.m. after it had crossed
just recently occupied.
Highway 101 just west of the
Hubbard Creek bridge and burn­
ed into driftwood and dry grass
along the beach.
Three tankers and 20 men,
including 10 from Western States
Plywood and volunteers from the
Gold Beach f i r e department,
patrolled the fire through the
night. Asked about mopping up
operaticau, Lane s a i d it was
impossible to tell but that it
would "be a long show ,
Damage to homes consisted
mainly of excessive smoke and
loss of foliage and windbreaks.
Two Forest Service men were
overcome by smoke and were
hospitalized, as was Elmer Bens
with bums on his eyes. Peterson
was also treated for eye bums.
All the men were reportedly
o. k. Wednesday.
We don't know what started
Tuesday's fire, Lane said, but it
is being investigated. Fire dan­
LOOKING down-hill, south, the Abderhalden house is at
ger is still at the critical stage,
left and the Weir heme at right Fires burned all around
warned Lana,and extreme cau­
them.
tion should be exercised at all
S
tim e s .
by H. E. Timeus
Curry County Commissioner
The fish die off, fingerling
salmon and steelhead, continues
in the Rogue River. As reported
earlier—we believe a combin­
ation of high water temperature
and pollution to be the cause.
An on site field inspection trip,
so m e three weeks ago—from
Graves Creek to Trail, at which
time colored photos were taken,
showed the main problem to be
from just below Grants Pass tc
Bear Creek. Findings were re­
ported to Leo L. Baton, Sanitar­
ian in Medford.
August 17, Don McGregor,
Chairman of Josephine County
Board of Commissioners advised
writer that Josephine County is
taking steps to aid several ply­
wood mills in disposing of glue
residue—deadly to fish life. This
residue has been, and may still
be, dumped into drainage.
Inspection of Skunk Creek,
Grants Pass, 3 p. m. August 17.
Creek running chocolate brown.
Seven r*ady-mix trucks parked
with d i s c h a r g e spouts over
stream. Conclusive evidence of
waste dumped into creek. Gravel
crusher operating—wash water
discharging directly into stream.
Creek still extremely dirty a-
bove crusher.Has to be discharge
from mil Is. Air temperature too
hot to continue inspection trip.
Will be back later.
5:00 p. m ., August 17—Bear
Creek discharging filthy reddish
brown water into Rogue. Two
more ready-mix trucks. Snow
should be about gone by now?
We realize the valley has a
sewage problem, and expect no
overnight cures. However, the
words "study", " e v a l u a t i o n "
" s u rv e y " , etc. are becoming
obnoxious. We are advised that
the last legislature passed more
and stricter anti-pollution laws.
Just what we need, more laws?
May we respectfully submit—
What good are laws, rules and
regulations, i f those charged
with enforcement, fail to dis­
charge their duties?
On my next field trip, I will
be accompanied by an officer
armed with several John Doe
warrants. For those parties found
in flagrant violation, s u c h at
ready-mix trucks,crushers, e tc .,
I shall personally sign the com­
plaints.
SQUARE DANCE WEEK
From Sept. 3 to 10, Oegon
square dancers will celebrate
Square Dance Week throughout
die state.
A total of 129 square and
round dance dubs, all members
of the Oregon Federation, in­
cluding 6500 dancers, will par­
ticipate in special fun events
such as public dances in shop­
ping centers, teenage exhibi­
tions, commercial displays, and
the promotion of b e g i n n i n g
square dance classes. A kick-off
dance 1* scheduled at the arm­
ory on the State Fairgrounds in
Salem,Sunday,Sept.3,at 7 p.m.
The organized clubs in the
state schedule bi-monthly dan­
ces throughout the year where
square and roiaid dances are
featived, plus visitations to other
clubs. These regular activities
are clim axed by a state festival
staged at a different location
in the state each summer and
hasted by the clubs in that par­
ticular area.
rhursday, August ¿4,
Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon 97465 Price Ten Cents
Federal Receipts
Paid To Counties
Payment of $21,761,299.91 to
the 18 O & C counties for fiscal
year 1967 has been announced
by the Bureau of Land Manage­
ment. Up $796,013.92 from the
year before, payments are one-
half of the receipts from re­
source management, mostly
from timber sales, on O 4 C
lands.
Western Oregon counties this
week received checks totaling
$2,401,303.76 from the Federal
T r e a s u r y , representing the
counties’ share of June re­
ceipts from management of re­
vested Oregon and California
Railroad grant lands. Checks
applying to the first 11 months
of fiscal year 1967 were mailed
to the counties, July 3.
Coos County’s total receipts
for the fiscal year amounted to
$1,290,240.88. Curry’s share
was $801,910.27.
Distribution of receipts is
in accordance with the O & C
Act of 30 years ago. The Act
entitles the 18 western Oregon
counties to three-fourth of
O 4 C receipts. However, for
more than a decade they have
voluntarily requested Congress
to appropriate one-third of their
share for use by F e d e r a l
agencies in western Oregon for
road and recreation site con­
struction and maintenance, re­
forestation, and certain other
purposes.
Seasons Closed
By Fire Danger
The Oregon State Game Com­
mission closed all archery and
controlled deer and elk seasons
in the state In an emergency
order last Wednesday. The clo­
sure went Into effect Aug. 17
and will remain In effect until
further notice.
In announcing the closures.
Commission chairman J o e
Smith of Klamath Falls stated
that, ''The closure is based on
current extreme Preconditions
and forecasts of a continuing
high hazard situation w h ich
seriously Jeopardizes Oregon’s
wildlife resource.’
According to the announce­
ment, the Douglas, Jackson,
and Josephine Agricultural con­
trolled deer hunts in southern
Oregon were affected Immed­
iately. The antelope seasons
opened as planned, Aug. 19.
P. W. Schneider, state game
director, urged all anglers and
hunters using the Oregon out-
of-doors to be extremely cau­
tious with the use of fire, since
conditions are as dangerous as
they have been for a number of
years.
Farmers Required
To Pay Insurance
Farm ers throughout Oregon
soon will be required to carry
workmen’s compensation in­
surance for the first time in
the history of the 54-year-old
law, acconllngtoareleasefror.-
the Oregon Farm Bureau Fed­
eration.
Oo and after Jan. 1, 1988,
farmers with a yearly payroll
of $1500 or more, and who hire
one or more workmen, must
have workmen’s compensation
insurance.
County Seeks State Fish Help
Judge Fell Campbell, Com­
missioner Ryce Wilson and Ar­
chie McVay m et withthe Fish
Commission in Portland, Mon­
day, Aug. 14, at 9 a. m. to dis­
cuss fish propagation for Curry
County. The meeting lasted for
tw o hours. Robert Schoning
State Fish Director, and eight
members of his staff were (ire-
sent to answer questions and ex­
pia in dieir program for the Ore­
gon Coast. A pilot program fi­
nanced by local citizens of Cur-
Oregon Log Truckers To Decide State
Rate Regulation Question At Convention
Oregon Log Tizrckers As­
sociation members from 27
counties will meet In Salem
this weekend to cast a deciding
ballot on the question of whether
or not the association will ask
the State of Oregon to regulate
the log hauling rate.
In addition to a comprehen-
Water Rights
To Be Topic
The Curry County Soil and
Conservation District is sponsor­
ing a public information m eet­
ing pertaining to water right
laws, use and filing. It will take
place an Wednesday, Sept. 6, 8
p.m .atthe Chetco Crange Hall.
Principle speaker will be a
representative of the State En­
gineer's Office in Salem. Ques­
tions from the audience will be
received and answered follow­
ing the program presentation.
The district supervisors en­
courage all commercial, dom­
estic and agricultural water-
users interested in water use and
storage laws to attend.
Disposal Area
Open To Public
The new refuse disposal area
constructed by Curry County for
the convenience and benefit of
the mid-county residents is now
ready for use. Located one-hall
mile east of U, S. 101 south
Nesika Beach interchange on
old highway, it is on property
leased through courtesy of U. S,
Plywood-Champion Papers.
Commercial accounts are
asked to continue with their
present collector and no car
bodies are to be dumped. Law
officers will be on the lookout
for promiscuous dumps and of­
fenders will be arrested.
The nil them and central
areas having been taken care
of,now leaves only the Brook-
ings-Harbor area.It is extremely
difficult to locate a dump-site
that Is acceptable and obtain­
able.Progress is beingmade, ad­
mittedly slow, in the southern
section and it is hoped that this
service can be provided before
long, said county commissioner
Heck Timeus.
Crime Talk Tonight
"The Challenge of Crime in
a Free Society" will be the sub­
ject of a public talk by police
chief Curtis Weir at 7:30 p. m
The event will be in the coun­
cil chambers of the city hall
nd open to anyone interested.
slve report on rate regulation
which will be presented to log
truckers at the convention by
the association staff, a panel
discussion by authorities of two
states will highlight Saturday
afternoon’s convention pro­
gram.
Title of the panel discussion
will be, ''Log Hauling Rates. . .
Negotiated, State-set or Stat­
us Quo.’’
The log hauling Industry was
successful in 1959 in getting
both houses of the legislature
to pass legislation regulating
log hauling rates; how aver, the
bill was vetoed by Gov. Mark
Hatfield.
The convention Is expected
to attract nearly 400 log truck­
ers and their .wives. The con­
vention Is open to all log truck­
ers In Oregon and will Include
on the agenda a full business
and social program.
Jones Wins
Salmon Derby
A Wedderbum man placed
first in the men’s division of the
CurryCounty Fair's first annual
salmon derby, according to Bill
Crook, fair manager.
M.H. (Jim) Jones led his div­
ision with a 42-pounder caught
at Gold Beach. N. I. Neilson of
Sacramento was second with a
40-pound fish while Ivan Bill­
ings of Hunter Creek was third
with his entry. Billings' fish
weighed 39 pounds.
Mrs. De lures Nowlin of Nesi­
ka Beach was first in the wo­
men's division when she enter­
ed a 36-pound salmon. Linda
Butler of San Francisco was sec­
ond with a 35l-pound fish while
La Jolla, C alif., Dorothy Ward's
34-pound entry gained her a
third spot.
Brett Jacobs, a Cold Beach
youth, topped entries in the juv­
enile division. His fish weighed
36 pounds. Second was Harold
Rowe, just a pound short of Ja­
cobs' mark, while Dan Berry of
Brookings was third with his 34-
pound entry.
ry County was one of the man
topics of the discussion.
Fell Campbell, Ryce W ilson
and \rchie McVay asked the
F ish Commission to assist the
local citizens in the pilot pro­
gram. The Commission agreed
to send a fish biologist in the
area to go with Archie McVay
to check out a site on the Chet­
co River and one at Lobstei
Creek on the Rogue River. .Af­
ter this inspection is made they
willm akea decision on the pi­
lot hatchery program Campbell
suggested that a public hearing
be set up at the Curry County
Courthouse in the very near fu­
ture, and the Fish Commission
be asked to attend the meeting
and explain their program tc
the general public and answer
questions from interested citi­
zens in the area. The Fish Com­
mission agreed that this was a
good idea and Mr. Ernest Jef­
fries of the Fish Commission
and Fell Campbell agreed to
set up a meeting at the con­
venience of the Fish Commis­
sion. AU interested persons are
u r g e d to attend this public
meeting. Notice will be given
in all three county papers as
soon as this meeting can be ar­
ranged.
Bill Steuer, Superintendent of
Prairie Creek Hatchery in Hum­
boldt County, California, who is
experienced m fish propagation
is making a study of the quantity
and quality of the water in the
streams of Curry County for pos­
sible hatchery sites. When this
study is complete, Steuer wUl
m a k e a report to the County
Court of his findings, his opinion
and recommendations of pos­
sible hatchery sites. Then the
County Court will contact the
F is h Commission for further
progress and aid in getting the
program started.
The County Court said it is
not soliciting contributions from
the public for a county-owned
a n d operated hatchery. T h e
County Court feels fish propa­
gation is a responsibility of the
State Fish Commission. Since
the fis h that are released in
Curry County go into the Pacific
Ocean and tra ve I many hundreds
o f miles, they lienefit other
counties and states as much as
Curry County and the court said
it leels Curry County taxpayers
should not have to bear the bur­
den of building and operating
such a facility. At least, not un­
til every effort lias been made
to get the State to carry out this
program,at the State's expense,
which th e y assured the court
they were aware of this being
their responsibility, and woidd
make every effort to increase
the f is h population in Curry
County, a c c o r d i n g to Fell
Campbell.
DATES TO REMEMRER
Birthday wishes go out this
week t o Debra Price, Kevin
Port Cleaners, now Sanders,
Rodgers, Ken Dennison and Leo formerly located in the Jensen
A. Hubbard.
Center, has moved to quarters
Anniversary wishes go to Mr, on Highway lul and Washing­
and Mrs. J ack Sm ith.
ton St., on the corner west of
Cleaners Move
WEATHER
Max Min
Date
46
Aug, 16 69
55
Aug, 17 73
52
\ug. 18 71
49
Aug, 19 66
SI
Aug, 20 78
58
Aug. 21 75
the bank.
Rain
. OO
. oo
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.00
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.CM)
Hours will remain the same,
from 8 a. m. to 6 p, m. week­
days and 10 a. m. to 4 p, m. Sat­
urdays.
The Rocky Mountain system
Is the longest and highest chain
In North America.
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