Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, May 10, 1955, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., May 10, 1955, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text?J BOS 4 Tats; r0 mm Medford United Pr uU tMiid Win 50th Year 22 Pages Increase in Millage Limitation, Hike In Tax Base Asked Need for More Funds For City Use Cited The Medford city council last night voted" to go ahead with plans for an election to author ize slightly increased real prop erty taxes in the city. At a special session, it in structed City Attorney Frank Farrell to draw the necessary documents for a special election. The vote would ask approval to increase the city's tax base by $65,000 annually, and to amend the city charter by increasing the limitation on property taxes from 12 mills to 18 mills. The election will be held prior . to June 20 to allow time for pub lication and a public hearing on the budget before the July 15 budget deadline. Committee Recommendation The action followed a citizens' budget committee recommenda tion urging an election to "con tinue presently existing services for the people of the city of Medford, and in order to devel-" op programs deemed necessary for the progress" of the city. The increase -wu necessary, the budget committee 'said, for additional expenses as well as present services. The commit tee recommended the increase after several weeks of study. Among expenditures for which the increase was recom mended are "remodel city jail, codification 'of city ordinances, provide funds for the operation of the planning commission, es tablish additional traffic signals, establish employees' life insur ance plan, provide, additional personnel for engineering de partment, in anticipation of ex tra work required in future an nexations." Addition Suggested City Councilman Fred E. Rob inson suggested a clause be add ed to the committee's recommen dation to include an arterial street program as well as annex ations. Other members of the council "agreed. City Manager Robert Duff pointed out that "If we don't change the tax base this year, we will have to next year." He add ed that the increase in tax base should have no effect on future plans of annexation. Farrell told the council the city charter would have to .be amended where it limits the levy to 12 mills. The $65,000 increase would raise the general fund levy to about $288,000 and based on present assessed valuations the levy would be a little more than 14 mills. The council agreed that the charter amendment should in crease the levy enough to more than take care of present needs. Needed for Progress Mayor Earl Miller, who read the citizens' budget committee recommendation, said the tax base increase is necessary "if Medford is to continue to pro gress as it has in the past few year." , . He pointed out that the 12 mill limitation was established when the charter was approved more than 40 years ago. ; A preliminary general fund budget of $590,442 was submit last month for study. The pro posed budget was $31,750 over the amount allowed by the six per cent limitation on increases. Revenue Static " The budget was prepared by Duff "on the basis of continuing the minimum service commen surate with the growth of the city and services requested by its citizens have necessarily been deleted." He pointed out that the city's revenue was almost static while expenditures stead- ilv increased. Farrell was asked to have the necessary documents to in crease the tax base ready for the next regular council meeting May 17. MEDFORD, OREGON, ARRIVE FOR TREATMENT Nikito Kashiwabara, American-born Japanese nurse on staff of Alt Sinai Hospital in New York, greets 25 Japanese girls from Hiroshima, Japan, who were disfigured by the atomic explosion there during war. Thev are here to receive free plastic surgery. Next to Miss Kashiwabara is ing flowers. The girls range Forecast of Supplies Of Irrigation Wafer For Summer J improved The outlook for summer irri gation water supplies in south western Oregon has brightened somewhat during the last month, it was reported today. Above-normal increases of snow pack, and below-average temperatures which have de creased snow melt during April were cited by W.T. Frost of the Soil Conservation service, Port land, and R. D. Church, Medford weather bureau, in reporting the improvement from the "dim out look" reported a month ago. Prolongs Streamflow The delay in snow melt and runoff will result in prolonging the expected streamflow suffic iently to wipe out some previ ously expected shortages, they said. However, mountain soils are continuing to soak up much water, it was added, due to the dryness resulting from lack of autumn rainfall. Stored water increased only a little last month, and 'remains short in Fish lake and Emigrant reservoirs, the report said. Fish lake is expected to receive 13, 500 acre feet of added storage during the April-September period, but Emigrant lake is not expected to fare so well, since much of the snow cover which feeds it is already gone. TID Supplies Down The forecast said that Med ford and Rogue River Valley Ir rigation districts should have a satisfactory" season, although there will be no water to spare. Talent Irrigation district likely will run out of water late in August or early in September, unless summer rains are abnor mally heavy. Satisfactory supplies were forecast for Eagle Point and Grants Pass Irrigation districts. Search Pressed for Worker Thought Trapped in Debris New York (U.R) Emer gency crews searched through a giant mass of twisted steel, smashed timbers and fresh cem ent today for a construction worker feared buried alive when a huge section of the uncomplet ed New York Coliseum's main floor collapsed with a roar. Sugar Poured on Cement Workers poured a half ton of granulated sugar on moun tains of fresh cement in the wreckage to keep the cement from hardening until they find some trace of the missing man, Joseph Lombardi, 55, of Brook lyn. All other workers on the pro ject escaped with their lives, po lice - said, although nearly 100 caught oa the main floor TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1955 -"JO expi in age from 17 to 31. Using Storage Water Talent The Talent Irriga tion district has started supple menting stream flow with stor age water from Hiatt and Emi grant reservoirs, Robert Kent, district manager, said toda. The total in both reservoirs, Kent said, is about 16,700 acre feet, compared to 26,000 acre feet at this time last year when both lakes were full. Hiatt lake now contains about 11,500 acre feet, and Emigrant lake about 5,200. Kent said he does not expect Emigrant reservoir to rise any unless rains increase . stream flow, but that Hiatt lake may rise. a little from. melting snow in the, vicinity. . ' Last year, storage water was first used about the last of June. Kent said, however, the water level in the reserviors is not as low as it has been at other times during the 16 years he has managed the district. Portland Girls Arrive In London on Good Will London -(U.R) Sixteen girls from Portland, Oregon., flew in to London today on the begin ning of six week good will tour of Europe. The girls are members of the Little Chamber Orchestra of Portland. Male conductor of the all-girl orchestra is portly Boris Sirpo, who began to build up the team only 212 days ago. The girls are aged 15 to 28. After concerts in Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki, the orchestra will give one per formance at London's Royal Fes tival Hall early next month. They then will visit Bremen and Amsterdam before flying home. when the center section sudden ly gave way and dropped with a thunderous roar 20 feet to the floor below. Police said 48 persons were treated for injuries. 27 at the scene and the rest in hospitals. None was in serious condition. The $33,000,000 coliseum pro ject overlooks Columbus Circle in mid-Manhattan. The project had been scheduled iat comple tion in March of 1956. Eyewitnesses said the first hint of the near-disaster was a slight rumble, accompanied by a trembling of the floor under construction. Then, before wor kers could run for safety, a huge area of the floor gave way, car rying several screaming men with it, Tribune United Preu Full Leased Wire Price 5c No. 43 Shteemoko Nimoto. cann Eastern European icials Gather n mem-- Moscow (U.R) - Officials of the East European Commun ist nations led by Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin converged on Warsaw today to set up their own "Eastern NATO"- to coun ter the rearmament of West Ger many. Disclosure that Bulganin . as well as Foreign Minister Vyach eslav Molotov were attending the Warsaw conference was a clear sign of the major' import ance the Soviet government has attached to the meeting. Zhukov Expected Soviet Defense Minister Mar shal Georgi Zhukov spent last week end in East Berlin for cele brations of the end of World War II and was expected to be in Warsaw for the conference open ing Wednesday to set up a mu tual aid treaty and a unified mili tary command. " : : North Atlantic alliance plan ners in Paris said between 80 and 90 satellite divisions will be ful ly integrated into Russia's war machine when the "Eastern NATO" comes into being Wednesday. They said the Soviet concept of a "unified command" will permit the Kremlin to coni trol all the armed forces in name as well as in fact. Red China Observer Premiers, foreign ministers and defense ministers of the other " seven : East - European Communist nations also were at tending. Communist China an nounced it was sending an observer. Preparations for Wednesday's conference was set at a similar meeting in Moscow last Nov. 29 Dec. 2. It appeared the Warsaw con ference will be short since Molotov is expected to be in Vienna this weekend to sign the Austrian state treaty. However Bulganin, making his first trip outside the Soviet Union since he became premier early this year, would be the top Soviet official in Warsaw anyway. Winter Wheat Crop Set At 652,886,000 Bushels Washington (U.R) The Agriculture' Department today estimated 652,886,000 bushels of winter wheat will be harvested this year. ' Today's estimate based on May 1 crop conditions, compares with an April forecast of 662,252,000 bushels, below the 1954 winter wheat production. . The estimated winter wheat crop added to the previously esti mated production of 177,000,000 bushels of spring wheat, would mean a total wheat crop of 829, 886,000 bushels for 1955. This compares with a total 1955 pro duction of 969,781,000 buthela. Parley Thiru . .maged In Air Battle Off North Korea Yanks Attacked Over International Waters Tokyo (il.P.) American Sabrejets, outnumbered two to one, shot down two Communist MIGs and damaged a third in a blazing battle off the coast or North Korea, the Air Force an nounced today. No American planes were lost. The Air Force said a flight of 12 to 16 Communist MIGs at tacked a flight of eight Sabre jets "oyer international waters" off North Korea and that the Americans returned the . fire, shooting down two and sending a third into a smoking dive to ward the Yellow Sea. "The U.S. Air Force fighters, all assigned to the 35th Squad ron of the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, were on a patrol mission off North Korea when the attack occurred," the announcement said. "After the MIGs began firing at the Sabres the American planes returned the fire. In the ensuing,, battle two Communist pilots bailed out and the third plane was last seen diving straight down trailing smoke." The Air Force said the MIGs were shot down by Capt. R. V. Fulton of Bernardsville, N.J.; Lt. B. C. Phythyon of Wadsworth, Ohio, and Lt. J. E. Mclnerney, Garden City, N.Y. "The Communist planes ini tiated the attack approximately 50 miles southwest of Sinuiju," the Air Force said. Sinuiju is on the Yalu river in northeast Korea. The dogfight happened over the Yellow Sea which separates the Korean peninsula from the China main land. - An Air Force spokesman said the jet fighters were not accom panying reconnaissance bombers JgSkZ&.Jofr. aj?ateoV.by...them4 selves. - The spokesman said "this at tack was a little farther south" than a similar battle last Febru ary when a flight of North Ko rean Communists MIGs attacked a flight, of Sabres escorting a U.S. reconnaissance bomber. Man Admits Taking $970 in Currency Berkeley Wayne Keller, 33, Cascade Gorge, was jailed yes terday by sheriff's deputies on a grand larceny' charge involving $970 taken Saturday afternoon from Prospect Shopping center. The money was taken from an unlocked safe, while a clerk was in another part of the store waiting on a customer. The money, all in bills, was in three bundles held together by rub ber bands. Sheriff's deputies said Keller has admitted taking the money, and the man's statement says he was drunk at the time, they added. Records indicate that some $855 found in a pickup truck owned by Keller is being held by the sheriff's office. - Keller is scheduled to appear in court today or Wednesday for' arraignment, according to Gene Piazza, deputy district attorney. NeubergerChallenges Rep. Coon To Debate ; Washington (U.R) Sen. Richard L. Neuberger (D-Ore.), challenged Rep. Sam Coon (R Ore.), today to debate how the John Day power facilities should be developed in eastern Oregon. "During the past week you have called me various names because ' I have been factually critical of the so-called 'partner ship' power bill which you have introduced to turn over the John Day power facilities to certain private utilities," he wrote Coon. "It seems to me the public is entitled to facts and not to epi thets." ' " '" ' ' - Neuberger proposed public de bates next September in five eastern Oregon communities. He suggested The Dalles, Baker, I Pendleton, Bend, and Klamath Falls. : Baseball AMERICAN Chicago 4 7 1 Boston ' 2 9.0 Keegan, Dorish (6); Fornieles (I) and Lollar; Brewer, Kinder (9) and White. NATIONAL Brooklyn . 3 8 0 Chicago ... 0 11 Newcombe and Cimpenella; Hacker and CUtL FuDD DiravesfflgaflfioDD MO IEe Made Moire (Protest Cegistoredl Washington (U.R) State Department officials said today they will await a full investiga tion and official report by the Air Force before deciding whe ther the United States should lodge a formal protest with the Communists over today's Yel low Sea air battle. Pending such a report, they said, the department does not know whether a protest would be directed to North Korea or Red China. If it were the former, the U.N. Korean Command might make the protest, since the mere presence of MIGs in North Ko rea constitutes a violation of ar mistice terms. The fact that no "American planes were lost in the clash does not, technically at least, mitigate the gravity of an unprovoked at tack over international waters From a practical standpoint, however, it means that the State' Department" is under less pres sure to move swiftly than it would have been had American lives been lost. There was no immediate dis position in diplomatic circles here to regard the incident as a fatal blow to the current For mosa cease fire feelers. It was pointed out that air clashes such Equalization Board Continues Sessions , The Jackson county board of equalization continued its meet ings this morning, and County Assessor R, G. Fowler indicated that the sessions are expected to continue into next week. The, board meets each yearat this time to hear complaints on the amount of assessed valua tion placed on individual pieces of property in the county. The three-man board is ' empowered to change assessed valuations as needed to equalize assessments. Fowler said this morning that the board probably will not meet every day this week. All those having complaints will be heard by the board, but board members have requested that those wish ing interviews make appoint ments through the county clerk's office. Board members ' are County Judge Rodney Keating, Arnold Bohnert, and Ralph Cook. Mrs. Avgeris, Former Colestine Clerk, Dies Asnland Funeral services for Grace V. Avgeris, 63, clerk of the Colestine school district for more than 20 years, will be held Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Litwiller's Mountain View chap el. Mrs. Avgeris died Monday at a Medford hospital. ; v The services will be conducted by the Rev. John Thompson, as sisted by members of the Order of Eastern Star. Interment will be in Mountain View cemetery. The deceased was bom Sept. 17, 1892 at Snohomish, Wash, On Aug. 12,. 1928 in Medford, she was married to Theodore Avgeris, who survives. Other survivors include a brother, Charles Ernster, Seattle; Wash and a niece, Mrs. Helen Dunphy, Medford. , Mrs. Avgeris was a member of Alpha chapter, OES, Ashland, and ' attended . the ; Episcopal church. . Suspect in Burglary Arrested by Police Medford police late yesterday arrested and jailed Leslie Roy Walch, 402 Boardman st., Med' ford, on a charge of burglary. The charge was in connection with the theft of about $34 in quarters and half dollars from an ice house on North Fir st., owned by the Valley Fuel company, 26 West Main st., Saturday night. Police said Walch admitted pry ing the door open and breaking into three small cash boxes. Final Atomic Blast ' Scheduled Wednesday Las Vegas U.R)-r The 14th and final atomic shot of the Atomic Energy Commission's tests was scheduled : for tomor row at 4:05 a.m. (PST) after a morning weather evaluation to day.; " Another evaluation was plan ned for tonight as today's are essentially a symp tom rather than an underlying cause of over-all Far East ten sion, which U.S. officials hope the cease fire talks might help to relieve. Carrying Out Orders The U.S. planes which downed the two MIGs in the air battle were carrying out long standing orders to shoot back when at tacked by Communist aircraft. The orders grew out of a long series of plane incidents occur ing since the end of the Korean hostilities and involving attacks by Red Chinese, Russian and North Korean planes. Diem Moves To Draff Elections In South Viet Nam Saigon, Jndochina J(U.R) Pre mier Ngo Dinh Diem cleared the last rebel troops from Saigon to day and promptly formed a new government to draft the first free elections in South Viet Nam. The American backed Pre mier named a new cabinet which included members of the revolu tionary junta which supported him in his struggle for power with absentee Emperor Bao Dai. The new cabinet included no members of the various rebel warlord and religious sects that touched off Free Viet Nam's civil war in a. bloody but vain effort to 'oust the anti-Communist Pre: mier with a coup. '" Armies Massing Official reports warned that armies of the' rebel warlords fwere'r 'massing' .-to" the sOuflvwest of this capital of South Viet Nam for a possible counter-offensive against the Premier. Diem moved to forestall ah eventual. comeback of the Binh Xuyen gang of ex-river pirates by ordering the immediate con fiscation of its property in Sai gon. While government units cau tiously entered the heavily forti fied Dakao police station which the Binh Xuyen garrison evacu ated during the night, officials took possession of the society's 100 buildings, 20 villas and other property. . - Viet Namese officials said the Binh Xuyen, which lost two bat talions of troops in recent street fighting in Saigon, still had six crack battalions poised at Rung Sat, 20 miles to the south. With their powerful Hoa Hao religious sect allies, the insur gent army had 35,000 battle test ed men, in . Cochin-China and posed a serious threat to Saigon, the officials said. Alaska Ice Pool Pot Split 20 Ways . Nenana, Alaska U.R) The $104,500 Tanana river ice pool was split 20 ways today, 49 years after Gunny Sack Jack and his side kicks started the Arctic game of guessing the exact time. the ice would go out. The ice break-up, traditionally the beginning of spring in the far north, came at exactly 4:13 p.m. (PST) yesterday. There were 20 tickets carry ing that time, but many were owned by syndicates of more than one person. . Sourdoughs and cheechakos, who swarmed in here for the an nual event, denied that a fire which roared through this river boat town a few hours earlier had anything to do with the thaw. The fire leveled five buildings and damaged several others in the business district. : Russia's Stand Treaty Clause Vienna. Austria 0J.R) A stubborn Soviet stand on a vital clause delayed agreement on an Austrian state treaty and threat ened today to disrupt plans for a formal treaty-signing ceremony by the Big Four foreign minis ters here this week end. The llth-hour hitch developed over Austrian war payments to Russia. The Big Four ambassa dors to Vienna, who have been charged with drafting the treaty, will- make another attempt to resolve the deadlock today. A high conference source said the Russians may. be trying to force a four-power conference in Dulles Has Power To Arrange Parley With Russians Notes Dispatched Proposing Meeting . Washington (UJJ Th White House said today Presi dent Eisenhower is agreeable to a "feasible and useful" meeting of the Big Four chieff of state. Presidential Press Secretary James C. Hagerty told report ers that Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, now meeting in Paris with the British and French foreign ministers,, has -'full power" to arrange a so called meeting at the summit . with Russia. "The President has . always stated that such a meeting was a possibility," Hagerty said. t "Of course, the secretary of state is fully familiar with the ' President's views and if it seems feasible and useful that such a -- - irya. be held, the secretary has full power lo arrange for that on behalf of the President." Brief Session The announcement came after diplomatic sources in Paris re-' ported that Mr. Eisenhower had aweed to a limited meeting with 1 the premiers of Russia, France, and Britain. These sources said the Droposed meeting would be brief, possibly only two days, and would serve to 'Trick off a more extensive conference of Big Four . foreign ministers . to work out details of a cold war settlement. Diplomatic informants in Par is said identical U.S., British and French notes were dispatched to Moscow today proposing the chiefs of state meeting. . Early Summer Seen ' V The '. White House 'announce ment followed a series of cabled communications between : Dullet in" Paris and' the President -end his advisers here in Washington.; . ' European ' reports said the meeting might take place in the early summer. Mr. Eisenhower has long been cool to the idea of a meeting on the chiefs of state level until there was some assurance that such a meeting would produce results. The President told a news con ference recently that, he felt it would be better to hold preUm inary talks first on the foreign ministers level before bringing the chiefs of state together. But he emphasized his willingness to go anywhere, anytime, if he thought it would advance the cause of peace. - , Child Gets Polio After Vyeth Vaccine Washington (U.R) The Public Health Service today reported the first polio case among chil dren inoculated with vaccine produced by the Wyeth Labora tories of Philadelphia. It said a seven-year-old Perm-, ylvania boy developed bulbar polio seven days after receiving his first shot of Yyeth-produced vaccine. His case brought to 52 the number of officially confirmed polio cases among inoculated children. Of the other vaccinated youngsters stricken, 44 received shots of vaccine produced by the Cutter Laboratories, Berkeley, Calif., and seven with vaccine made by the Eli Lilly Co., Indianapolis. . Weather FORECAST: Fair ttt-OTfk ' Wednesday. Low tonight 41; . Mfk Wedntfday St. . TfBf. Hlgheit YeUrday IS Lowest thli Morning 41 on Vital Shags Work Vienna this week end instead of the scheduled treaty-signing cer emony. U. S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles,' British For eign Secretary Harold MacMuV' lan, French Foreign Minister An toine Pihay and Soviet Foreign Minister V. M. Molotov are ex pected to fly here this week to sign the treaty ending the four power occupation and setting Austria free as a neutral buffer in the cold war. - Conference sources said that unless the Soviets change their attitude: at . today's session the problem may be checked to the foreign ministers for solution.