Jtorf ©rford ^ews Poet Office Box 5 9~445 Port Orford, Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY -c^..J clots mail prroleje» aULherued it Port Orford, Ore. uxiis L Feltnerm .................... Editor and Publisher Paul L. Pet^.-tor. ............................................... M anaging Editor Heard the latest one about the council chambers at city hall? It's n o - called the Rumpus SaaecnpCM» In Carry County (p er year ¿n a d v a n c e ) ............................ $3 X> Outxide Carry County ................................................... $3 50 Single Copy.................................................................. 10 Cents R oom . -P - .V .nounceeenta. Notice*. New» and A dvertising Mast be in the Office by StOO p. m. Tuesday* ------------ M E M B E R --------------- NEW SPAPER P U B L IS H E R S ASSOCIATION N M p A pee Association - Founded 1S95 Reasons Not Justifiable Member* of the city council, including three new a l­ dermen, Delbert Neal, Dick Coergen and Kent Wagner, ex­ ercised sound judgment when they refused to permit mayor Adolph Windmaiser to dictate to them at the last regular council meeting. And Wagner summed it up as neatly as it could be when he stated that it looked as if the mayor was trying to start trouble before they got started. Allowing the fact that the mayor thought his action justified,it is also a fact that the city government is con­ trolled by the charter, and the charter cannot be changed at the whim of any individual. Cnly the people can do this, by a majority vote. The duties of elected city officials are clearly de­ fined in the charter, as are those of appointed officers and employees. And the method of removal from office or employment is also defined. The charter does not grant the power to any individual (with the exception of the mun­ icipal judge who is also governed by state laws) to exer­ cise sole authority except by consent of the majority of the elected officials. At the meeting Tuesday night, however, the mayor apparently decided not to accept the opinion of the city attorney or the decision of the council in his attempt to remove two commissioners from office, instead, he has sent a copy of the charter off to the State Attorney Gen­ eral, asking his opinion; after rescinding" his verbal re­ signation the next day. In our opinion this does not show good faith or confi­ dence in the judgment of the attorney, members of the council or the citizens of this city who approved the charter. We further feel that the reasons of ca use for removal of commissioners Petersen and Price were far more petty and personal than justifiable, and also constituted a reflection against farmer mayor Jim Wilson's judgment while he was at the helm of city government.. . and mayor St. Clair be­ fore him. Rather than dividing and tearing down, efforts should be directed towards uniting and building up. Only then will benefits be realized and progress made. Another Chief Resigns With the resignation of police chief Curt Weir last week, this city will have seen five chiefs come and go since 1961. During the tam e period, seven years, there have also been ten patrolmen and two special officers on the department. One patrolman is still with the depart­ ment but if rumor and conj ecture can be considered, even his days may be numbered. That's a staggering total of seventeen policemen. This is a deplorable record for any city to be saddled with. A record that will make it increasingly harder to se­ cure competent police officer* in the future. Because the record would certainly indicate that something is not quite right somewhere in the city administration, inasmuch as during the same period there has been no change of em ­ ployees in the public works department or the clerk's of­ fice. Maybe the answer can be supplied by mayor Wind- maiser, who was police commissioner from 1961, when he first took office as an alderman, until January of 1967 when he was switched tolicense and building commissioner by mayor St. Clair (a change that Windmaiser agreed to by acquiesence).The reason for the current police department problem has already been explained; the mayor doesn't think officers are arresting enough people. If there are reasons for the excessive turn-over in the police department... there must also be a solution. And a solution must be sought if adequate police protection is to be provided fcr the citizens of this city in the future. We feel that Curt Weir is an officer dedicated to his profession and to the performance of its duties. That should be enough to ask of any police officer. But Curt also gave freely of his off-duty" time to work with the Cub and Boy Scouts, to teach youngsters in bicycle safety, to speak to civic and student groups about the problems of law en­ forcement, and to participate in other phases of commun­ ity life. He was more than the chief of police. .. he was a friend of the comm unit)’. And he will be missed by the community. S a le m S c e n e by Everett E. Cutter Senate President Expects Early Tax Reform Vote If the Senate President gets his fir s t wish this year, Ore­ gonians w ill vote in late March o r early A p ril on tax reform — probably on a retail sales tax measure with provisions fo r property tax re lie f and lim ita ­ tions. “ I want to refer to the people a realistic tax program and not just something to vote on,” Sen. E. I), (nehbs) Potts, D- Grants Pass, declared twodays after his re-election as Senate leader by Republican and con­ servative Democrat coalition members. “ Whether tax reform w ill be approved Is something we Just don’ t know until a sound pro­ gram Is submitted,” he con­ tinued. “ But last November's vote on the 1 1/2 percent lim ­ itation sent the message— cer­ tainly a message to me— (fiat people want lower property tax­ es. And that means a complete tax overhaul.” Sen. Potts ts confident that the upper chamber w ill be pre­ pared to act quickly on any proposals sent from the House, where revenue measures o rig ­ inate. He has re-appotnted Sen. Harry Bolvln, D-Klamath F alls, 4 < to the Taxation Committee chairmanship. Armed with the experience of 1967's regular and special sessions, research of the House tax group and sen­ ators* recommendations from interim studies, theSenate Tax­ ation Committee ” wUl have a good tax program, s im ila r to the program which in 1967 was defeated by one vote.” Adds Sen. Potts; “ Tills ses­ sion» 1 don’ t believe we w ill lack that vote.” Now It would appear the sales tax w ill have more support all around. The House Taxation Committee was among the firs t to meet; it is studying the sales tax. And Gov. Tom Mc­ C all’ s program coincides in Its major provisions with the lil-fa te d 1967 legislative pack­ age. Most agreement, and the gov­ ernor’ s recommendations, now center around a 3 percent re­ tail sales tax and 16 2/3 per­ cent corporate tax Increase to raise state funds necessary to bring state aid for local school <>perating costs up to 50 per­ cent, and thus lighten the load of local property taxpayers. (The Oregon Education Assoc­ iation has estimated that basic From the Desk of: Sen. Sam Dement New Interest Plan Will Help Curry Home-Buyers 2—Port Oford News, Thursaiy, Jamary 23, 1969 Hcw many of you caught the unintentional pun last week? Remember.. . title of the new Pacific high m u s i c a l is ... -W h ere's The Mayor?" -P - Every m ce in a while 1 run across an article or anecdote that really turns me on. Last week cue such article appeared in the Illinois Valley News at C a v e Junction. Publisher Bob Grant had picked it up from the Lcszg 3each,Calif.,Independent- Press Telegram, from a column by George Robesons. It deals with flying saucers as seen by inhabitants of other worlds: "Thousands of Americans have r e p o r t e d seeing those things chat a special department of the United States Air Farce call Unidentified Flying Ob­ jects, and the object cf the re­ sulting Air Force mvestigacLn is to jxcve that those people are crazy. Everybody knows there are no such things as space ships from another planet. The crea­ tures on the moon knew that, too, and they have a similar in­ vestigative agency which takes reports from crazy people on the things those poet souls they have seen. Let's sup­ pose that we are hearing one end of a telephoned report hem a momman, so that we may realize how silly these reports of "flying saucers" are: "Yes Sir, this is the Agency fcr Investigation of Unldenrifi- ed Earthy Cbiectx.. . well, we certainly appreciate your in­ terest, what sort of object did you se e ? ,., now, what do you m e a n by "a great big bell, ” sir?.. . Yes, sir, 1 know what a bell looks like. Is that what this thing looked lik e ? .. . and you saw it ten times over a period of a couple of days, right? Was it j ust sort of flying around you or did i t . . . j ust now and then, huh? Did thé bell ring, sir?.. . it just looked like one —okay. Well, did It make any noise at all?, . . w a i t , le t m et get this straight—it talked to you? On y o u r radio. Cn your venusian transistor rad io ... "C o u ld you make out what it was saying?.. . Several voices, school support this year will amount to only 17.7 percent.) Sen. Potts supports this con­ cept— “ we have been trying to attain that 50 percent figure since Pve been in the legis­ la tu re ” —and agrees that there must be a property tax lim i­ tation tied to any reform if It Is to accomplish its purpose. He would prefer a tax re­ fund instead of sales tax ex­ emptions; possibly the refund could vary in relation to a tax­ payer’ s earning jxrwer and pro­ portion of his income he spends un such necessities as food and drugs. The amicable Senate leader also supjxirts Gov. McCall’ s proposal to completely phase out Oregon’ s inventory tax, but would like to see It eliminated at a rate faster than 5% an­ nually. “ It’ s the most unfair tax there is ,” he states fla tly . "Business has been more than fa ir with the legislature; In the 1967 special session it took cuts in its tax re lie f approp­ riation right along with state departments and agencies.” In most other legislative areas, Sen. Potts ts more cautious, preferring to watt and see what may be needed. He believes last session’ s beach b ill was a good one, fo r ex- amide, and that next steps should be taken only after rec­ ommendations come from the Highway Department. A ir and water quality legis­ lation, likewise, must be built upon solidified results of the landmark laws passed here two years ago. Election laws reform and Constitutional revision, to include consideration of the Project 70’ s Task Force Ideas, also are slated for circumspect p rio rity In the Senate. Sen. Potts is confident that the standing committees he ap­ pointed w ill prove equal to the task of solving the most com­ plex problems. “ Our main them e," he says, " Is to do what Is best fo r all Oregonians and not act In the narrow s p irit of party pol­ itics. “ No party has a corner on brains, and we are going to use the very best brains in the Senate to give every idea fa ir consideration.” He hopes to hold more com­ mittee hearlixs in the eve­ ning, I tU a interested c it­ izens more opportunities to testify. He hopes to “ k e e p everybody working” on the 22 Senate committees, which are Curry county's low.income ru ra l fam ilies have a greater chance now thar ever le fo re to become homeowners as a result of the new federal in te r­ est supplemert plan on home loans, according to Eugene M. Denney, local representative of the Farm ers Home A dm inistr­ ation. Denney said the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1966 makes it possible fo r the fed­ eral government to apply an In­ te r e s t supplem ent paym ent to rural housing loans made to low-income rural fa - Ules that w ill lower the cost of buying a house. The interest supplement plan on rural housing loans w ill be administered through the F ar­ mers Home Adm inistration,the U . S. Department of A g ricu l­ ture’ s credit agency. Under the interest supple­ ment plan Denney said that fam ilies earring as little as $3,000 annually could possibly qualify fo r as much as an $8 /XX? loan to buy a site and con­ struct a house. The new plan allows fo r In­ terest supplements to reduce the payment of interest on hous­ ing loans to as low as one percent. “ This new pla n ," Denney sa­ id, “ w ill be extremely helpful in removing the substandard housing in Curry County.” The actual supplement a fam­ ily receives w ill depend or, the owner’ s income and number of people In the household. A minimum requirement is that a borrower who does not have enough to pay his loan in sta ll­ ment In fu ll w ill pay at least the amount that would be due if the interest rate were 1 per­ cent. For example, a fam ily with five children and an annual gross income of $3,000. would receive an interest supplement of $222. a year on ar. S8,0CC. rural housing loon. The fam ily No Dividends On Insurance Information being circulated throughout the country that Con­ gress recently passed a b ill granting World War n veterans a special dlvident on th e ir GI insurance Is completely erron­ eous, H. G. Helmstetter, Act­ ing Manager of the Portland Veterans Administration Re­ gional Office, said today. As a result of this mislead­ ing Information, VA Insurance cfflcs are being flooded with inquires. Because of this, the VA ask­ ed newspapers, veterans ser­ vice organizations and other in­ terested groups to take an active interest in despelling this false Information. H e lm s t e t t e r said no leg­ islation has been jassed or even introduced in Congress to fay special insurance d ivi­ dends In many years. In 1950 the VA paid special insurance dividends of about $3- b illlop to nearly 16 m illion World War n veterans. you say.. , ozze of th e m said w hat?.. .What is "orange ju ic e - sir. . . no, I don't know what it is either. But I'll bet you know a lot about another kind of 'juice,' don't you, sir?.. . No, I'm not getting smart with you, It's just that we have to be a little sus- pic ious of some of these reports, and you've got to admit that a story about a great big bell fly­ ing around in the air ten times in a couple of days, talking to people is a little bit out of the would receive as an interest supplemert the difference be­ tween their annual scheduled note, $50« (principal and in­ terest;, and th e ir annual in­ stallment If it were figured at l-~, $286. In this example, the fam ily’ s monthly payments of principal and Interest on an $8,000. Icon amortized over 33 years would be approximately J 24. Denoey said Farmers Home Administration would r e v ie w interest supplement a g r e e ­ ments every two years with borrowers. K recessary', sup­ plements w ill be adjusted at renewal time, based on the borrower’ s income and family size. Another feature of the new act is an interest supplement on loans to develop nonprofit rectal and cooperative housing fc r low-income fam ilies. Lower payments by the sponsor of the housing project as a result of the interest supplement are to be translated into lower rents fo r the tenants. Farmers Home Adminístra­ le® ru ra l housing loans are made to applicants who are unable to obtain the required credit from other sources. Further Information on the interest supplement plan can be obtained by contacting M r. Denney the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month with­ in the hours of 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the County Agent’ s office in ' Gold Beach, o r by mail addressed to P.O. Bax 311, Grants Pass, Oregon 97526. IRS Urges Use of Pre-Addressed Form Taxpayers who received a 1968 Form 1040A o r a Form 1040 with a preaddressed label on It are urged to file that form If It fits their needs and they’ re eligible to'use R. A. G. Erickson, D is tric t Di­ rector of Internal Revenue fo r Oregon, saio today that substan­ tial savings w ill be realized if the form provided Is used because fewer key-punch oper­ ations are necessary to pro­ cess the return. “ It also helps us u tilize the fu ll capabilities fo r which the Automatic Data Processing system was design­ ed,” he said. If your name o r address has changed, make the necessary corrections and strike through lig h tly the preprinted in­ form ation. If you have a re­ fund due, this w ill help Insure delivery of the check to the correct address. Taxpayers should also verify that their correct social security number is entered on the return they file . The filin g deadline fo r 1968 tax return Is A p ril 15, 1969. The 55th session of the Ore­ gon State Legislature is now assembled. Many people have compared the start to a giant machine grinding Into action, but there are many small cogs to activate, align and organize before the machine itself runs MKKMbty. It is a tim e of o r­ ganization, getting acquainted, setting up committee assign­ ments and finding your way around the capitol area. At present, the o fficial ses­ sions are short, but im pres­ sive, with.the posting of colors, ro ll call, prayer by a different chaplain each day. The actual working day begins much ear­ lie r with committee sessions, mail, reading five newspapers, plus the weeklies, getting the e and files set up). Any “ spare” moments are spient reading, reading, reading—the amount of printed material that passes over the desk is fab­ ulous and inform ative. People are extremely helpful and more than w illin g to help newcom­ ers. They really make you feel at home. In the Senate b ills are read three tim es. The fir s t time, or F irs t Reading, Is the simple Introduction of the b ill by tid e . Second Reading follows, usually the next day, also by title only, and the b ill is assigned to committee. H, o r when, the b ill comes out of committee, it has the im p » ra n t fu ll Third Reading and is ready to be discussed and voted upon. The Advisory Committee on the Oregon Legislature included in their proposed changes a re­ duction in total committees to 11 in each house, identical In name but differing in the num­ ber of members in each house. The new lineup fo r the 55th session lis ts 40 committees in both houses; 22 in the Senate and 18 In the House. Senator Dement is vice chairman of Ways and Industry, and a mem­ ber of Highways, Elections, Health and Welfare. We are, at present, sharing an office with Sen. Ken Je rn - stedt of Hood River while an­ other office is being completed. Until then we do not have a permanent office or telephone number, but can be reached through capitol operators. When you watch.the Representatives and their secretaries working completely 'at their desks on the House F loor, an office, no matter how sm all, Is a distinct advantage. We began the week here with Gov. and M rs. Tom McCall’ s Sunday evening buffet fo r all 90 legislators and their spouses. Six inches of snow o u ts id e - spring flowers, delicious food and good company Inside. Sen. Dement spent Saturday (Ian. 18) in Newport touring the Ma­ rine Biology Laboratory. A tour and panel discussion at H ill­ crest School fo r G irls was held Sunday. We hope the people of Coos and Curry counties w ill w rite , call or drop In to see us— either on business or to v is it. As much as the schedule per­ mits, we plan to be available. If you have a refund due on your 1968 Federal Income tax return, a sure way to slow It up Is to mail your return to an Incorrect address. A. G. Erickson, D is tric t Di­ rector of Internal Revenue fo r Oregon, said today that Ore­ gon taxpayers should mall their Federal Income tax returns d ir ­ ectly to the IRS Service Cen­ te r, 1160 W. 1200 South Street, Gold Beach—Would you like Ogden, Utah 84405. to leam to make slacks for A preaddressed envelope fo r yourself and others? The Exten­ this purpose Is included with sion Department will be offer­ your tax-form package. If it ing a free workshop to all ladies was mislaid o r lost, a new interested in making women's envelop« may be obtained from slacks. your nearest IRS office. There will be preliminary Checks o r money orders In meetings at the following dates payment of the tax should be and times: made payable to: “ Internal Rev­ Port Orford: J an. 29, Charles enue Service.” Morgan residence. Pants-Making Workshop Set Brookings: J a n . 30. Chetco Grange Hall. "Well, how could the big bell CCMING EVENTS Gold Beach: Jan. 31, new of­ in'uJtyousir?.. . it said that the fice building. Friday moon looked like dirty beach Report Cards All meetings will start at 10 sand with a lot of footprints, is Wrestling, a. m. Myrtle Point, that a direct quote’ Gkay, but there, 7 p. m. I don't suppose you're any hap­ Saturday pier with some things here than I am, sir, and I guess we all get Wrestling, Mapleton Tournament, 12:30 p.m . to feeling that people are talk­ Monday ing about us from time to time —you might not believe this, but Cham, cf Com ., noon Tuesday I used to get that feeling when Friday, January’ 31, 1969, is I as a kid over at Sea of Fer- PTO, 7:30 p. m. the deadline fo r employers to Wrestling, Bandon, tility High School and the foot­ give employees their 1968 W-2 here, 7 p. m. ball team went into a huddle. form s, showing the amount of Rotary, 12:10 p.m. "But 1 need to get some more earnings, income tax withheld Wednesday info from you, here—did the big and social security information, P. C. a-idge Club, 8 p. m. bell land or look like it was A. G. Erickson, D istrict D ir­ going to or anything like that? ector of Internal Revenue fo r . . . and you didn't see any little Oregon, said today. I RENTED green men et out, or wave at Forms W-2 have to be filed HE > ’ • THROUGH THE you, or offer you a ride some­ with Income tax returns and place.,. they just talked, uh- those who had more than one WANT ADS huh.. . did you get the feeling job last year should make sure they were talking just to you or they have received all of them 9» . . . you think they we’e ’alkiag when they file their returns. to some other Earthr len, nuh? "Well, I've got to admit that you have a dandy report here, but I'm not sure my superiors F o r A u t o , L ife a n d F ir e are oing to buy it. We've never had a report of any "talking” before. \re you sure it didn't In s u r a n c e , S e e say anything that could give us a line on why they came here' Walt, let m a write this down— the last message was, "Pleased to inform,there is a Santa Claus." Well, I think that clears it all up pretty well, sir, and thanks chaired by members of both for calling. Good-by, sir. "HEY, ROG, you should have parties with political persua­ Your Port Orford S tate Farm Agent sions all along the lib e ra l- heard thb last call I got—this guy sees a great big bell flying conservative spectrum. “ We have to keep busy, and around, see, and it’s talking to we have to do what ts t est fo r him a b o u t Santa Claus and the people," Sen. Botts sums making nasty cracks about the up. "T h is session we are deal­ landscape, and the .«ople in­ State Farm Insurance Com an iet ing with problems, not with side are drinking seme kind of Home Office* Bloomington I Dino* juice, se e .. . " p o litics.” ordinary. OBITUARIES George Chenoweth George D. Chenoweth, 95, Gold Beach, died Friday, Jazz. 17, in Gold Beach, where he lived for 86 years. He was bom Nov. 5, 1873, in Sonoma, California. Mr. Chenoweth was a rancher in the Gold Beach area before retirement. He came to Curry county in 1884 and settled in Denmark.He was with the Can­ adian Farces in World War L Surviving is a son, Norman, G o ld Beach; daughter, Neva Boyd, G o ld Beach; b r o th e r , J a m e s L ., Charleston; sister, M y r tle McCracken, M y r tle Point; and many grandchild­ ren and great grandchildren. Services were at 2 p. m ., Jan. 20, in th e First Presbyterian Church in Gold Beach, with Rev. C. Wayne J u l i e r officiating. Burial was in the Gold Beach cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Smith's Funeral Horae in Gold Beach. John Fromm John Fromm, 84, Sixes, died Saturday-Jan. 18, in Gold Beach. He was b o rn Sept. 1, 1882, at Brush Creek n e a r H u m b u g Mountain and lived his entire lifetime in the area. He was a dairy farmer. Survivors are sans, Lex, Gold Beach; Clint, Sixes; and Leland, Gresham; d a u g h te r , Yvcnne Fromm,Port Orford; sisters, Kate Caughell and Anne Caughell, o f Coquille; brother George, Bandon. Services were held on Tues­ day, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m . at the graveside in Port Cifard cem e­ tery with the Rev.Walter Park­ er of St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Gold Beach officiat­ ing. Arrangements were under the direction of Smith's Funeral Home in Gold Beach. John Chenoweth Another of the old-timers of this area passed away on Mon­ day, Jan. 20, at Langlois. John Chenoweth . ho landed at Battle Rock during August of 1885, w h e n he was nine ye irs old, died at the age of 92. Mr. Chenoweth was born, in Occidental, C alif., M a r c h 9, 1876, and came with his par­ ents by boat to the famous Part Crford landmark a n d placed their household goods on the beach until it could be hauled by team and wagon to a spot up the hillsback of Denmark where the family took up a homestead. His father was a rancher during his lifetime and John continued in that field and dairying. On Dec. 15, 1904, he married Nellie Foster of Four Mile who survives, and last year friends helped them and relatives cel­ ebrate their 64th wedding an­ niversary. To this union were bom four children, two of whom survive, Mrs. Loma Keeler of Ninilchik,Alaska,and Mrs. Shir - ley Eryson of Long View, Wash. Also a sister and brother, five grandchildren a n d 10 great­ grandchildren are left. Funeral services were held cn Wednesdayjan.22, at 2 p.m . at (he Community Church in Lang­ lois • ith Pastor Den Roth offici­ ating. Medical Premium j , Slay Same The monthly premium older people pay fo r the voluntary medical Insurance part