Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, September 08, 1955, Image 1

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Medford mail tribune., September 08, 1955, Image 1

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1955)

Page of 28 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (4.1 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Page of 28 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page Textjrz O MEDF0B United Press Full Leased Wire 50th Year yTRIBUNE ' . ' . United Press Full Leased Wire ' 28 Pages Mw JN, THURSDAY; SEPTEMBER 8, 1955 Price 5c No. 144 MBS FAB 08E60H FIBES ; ' : ' : 1 - FOREST FIRES HIT CALIFORNIA At least a dozen major fires hit California's timber and grasslands consuming more than 126,000 acres. At left a mushroom-like column of smoke rises above forest fire near Eureka in north 33 western part of state where 400 men battled on the fire lints. At right firefighters drag a water hose in the General Grant Grove area in Sequoia National Forest in central part of state. Fire here threatened stands of huge redwood, including the world's oldest tree, the General Grant Redw ood, known as the nation's Christmas Tree. Some 1700 firefighters staged an all out fight to save the redwoods. Fprest Fire Heads Up Most California Fires Back Fire Lifts Threat To Yreka; 14 Homes Burned . Yreka Fire fighters today had a line around the major por tion of the disastrous Haystack forest fire, but the blaze is still uncontrolled. It has burned ovfr some 75,200 acres. etlmath National forest offi iK1 said this morning that the north zone of the fire has jumped the Klamath river, and is burning in Beaver creek north of the Klamath A hot fire was burning to the' northeast. Back Fir Successful A back fire set yesterday in ihe Yreka area was termed "100 per cent successful," and na tional forest officials repeated that the town "is in absolutely no danger" from the main fire. However, Yreka residents are till on the alert to stop any pot fires which might result from burning embers. National forest officials said the city has built up a sufficient water sup ply to. handle any spot fires which might develop and 10 pumpers are standing , by. Throughout Siskiyou county, a total of six major fires are burning and damige is being estimated at $3,500,000. Four teen families have been burned out, and are being cared for by the Red Cross. Soldiers Give Aid 8 Weary fire fighters got some unexpected help yesterday when 900 soldiers en route from Ft. Ord, Calif., to Ft. Lewis, Wash., were sent in to battle the flames, Fire fighters, some of whom have been on the job since Monday, are reported working "with impaired effectiveness,'' andrare being replaced with fresh men as rapidly as possible. ,-The situation on other Siski you fires looked like this: i Sterling mountain Expected to te under control early this afternoon. Kidder Creek-Hays Creek in Scott valley About 8,500 acres with no control. Some 470 men on the line. . Taylor creek in Salmon area 1,000 acres burning into flat ter country where . bulldozers can aid in thejbattle. Six Mile in Salmon area 4,000 acres (reported at 800 yes terday burning into flatter country. U.S. Acknowledges Complaint on S. P. State Sen. Philip Lowry has received acknowledgement of his complaint against - Southern Pacific railroad from an assist ant to the U. S. attorney general. The assistant said the depart ment would make a review and study of the complaint and in form Lowry of its .decision. The senator wrote Attorney General Herbert Brownell last month protesting the discontinu ance of Southern Pacific pas senger service in southern Ore gon. He based his protest on the possible violation of a congres sional railroad act of 1866. Logging Ban Still Effective in Jackson Salem (U.R) Generally improved weather conditions ov er Oregon prompted State For ester George Spaur to lift the logging ban in several counties. The closure was recinded in the Tillamook burn and in Clackamas, Marion, Linn, Doug las and Lane counties. However, the ban Still is in force in Jose phine and Jackson comities. C rews Mopping U p All Major County Fires; Reseeding Sterling . mountain forest fire in northern California is burning into the edge of Rogue National forest in lh -Miller Glade area,' Rogue for est headquarters here was in formed early this afternoon. : Crews were mopping up all major fires in Jackson county today, arid favorable winds and higher humidities this morning indicated the worst of the local forest fire problem is over. With increased visibility re sulting from a north wind, which blew most of the smoke out of this area, some small fires still were being discovered. However, crews were being sent out to them, and no unusual trouble was expected from any of them. Planning to Reseed The Bureau of Land Manage ment already is planning to re seed burned . out areas with ponderosa pine, douglas fir, and grass. Planting will be done in areas where seeds fail to take hold. E. K. Peterson, district for ester for the bureau, said this morning that all merchantable fire-killed timber will be salv aged. He estimated that it would be the early part of 1956 before appreciable volume of salvage timber could be placed on sale. Acreage of BLM land hit by the various fires is 440 acres on Timber mountain, west of Jack sonville; 1,700 acres on Sykes creek, north of Rogue River; 650 acres on Blackwell hill; and up wards' of 500 acres on Sterling mountain and Dough peak in southern Jackson county. ' Revise Estimates Estimates of total acreage burned on the various fires are still being revised. The figures do not, in generalT reflect new acreage burned, but rather ad ditional reports and more ac curate estimates. ; The fire figures are: Black well hill, 3,000 to 3,500 acres, including both Central Point Rural Fire district and state forest patrol lands. Sykes creek, 5,000 to 6,000 acres. Timber mountain,. .2,500 to4,000 acres. Nugget butte, 100 acres. Middle . fork of Rogue river, 160 acres, Gardner peak, 100 acres. Dough peak, about 100 acres. .Sulphur gulch, 60 acres. Sterling moun tain, Oregon section, no accurate figures.' All these fires are con trolled and are being mopped up.' In Crater Lake National park, all known fires are "under con trol. Crews were sent out to two newly reported fires this morn ing, and one fire was discovered during 'the night. In the park, as in other por tions of this area, the increased visibility has resulted in discov ery of the new fires and new Adenauer in Moscow For Round of Talks Moscow (U.R) West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer ar rived by plane today - for five days of talks with Soviet leaders aimed at German unity and the release of 200,000 German prisoners. ';" ' Adenauer was met by Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin and foreign minister V. M. Molotov. He shook hands with the Rus sion leaders and chatted with them a few minutes in. the clear, cold afternoon air. " ; Beaver Creek; Under Control Scheduled possibles" are still being picked up. ' Four Medford area amateur radio mobile station operators were sent to the Mt. Shasta, Calif., area late this morning after an appeal from- Klamath National forest officials in .Yre ka for help in radio communi cations. They were Vic Milnes, Darby Cunningham, Dwain Franklin and Wayne Clymer, according to Dwight Albright, Jackson coun ty Civil Defense communica tions chief. ".-.--. (See Story on Page 5) . Upper Applegate Grange Hall Burns; Loss Near $18,000 Fire destroyed the Upper Ap plegate Grange hall at McKee bridge, in the Applegate valley, at about 8 p.m., yesterday. Loss was estimated at from $18,000 to $20,000. It was partly covered by insurance. Cause of the fire : was not known. Forest service personnel and residents of the -area stood by, but the fire roared through the building so rapidly'that they could only protect other ' build ings and work to keep the fire from spreading. Plan To Rebuild . Grange officials said this morning that a meeting will be held as soon as possible in an attempt to decide on future ac tion. They added, however, that they definitely will rebuild. All equipment owned by Up per Applegate Grange was in the building. There also were sev eral stoves, and an electric range. Grange members had just f in ishe rebuilding the stage, a new curtain had been hung, and new covering had been placed on the kitchen floor. Work had been done in prep aration for a Grange visitation program - scheduled for ' Friday night. " Mrs. Pearl Burns is master of the Grange. WANTS CRACKDOWN Rep. Joe Holt, (R-Calif.) above, today urged that . the -United States crack down on Russians' visiting this country unless , the Soviet government satisfactorily ex plains why he was detained at gunpoint in Moscow, on Aug. 31. Holt said a Russian army offic er held a cocked pistol at his head for more than an hour after he tried unsuccessfully to obtain permission to take a picture of a Russian school. (See story on Page 1, Sec. 2) 600-Acre Blaze Out of Control North of Etna , . San Francisco U.R) The California Division of Forestry Fire Control announced today the scattered fires that have blackened more than .170 square miles of forest areas ' in Cali- iornia during tne week were virtually all under control. "Most of them are now 90 per cent under control and we expect complete control by to night," said Fred Herbert, a fire dispatcher. "The only danger is from wind. We believe we can hold most of the fires in check if we' don't get a big blow." Etna Fire Blows Up - There was one exception. A 600-acre fire 10 miles north of Etna in Siskiyou county blew up last night and fanned over 8,500 acres and still remained out of control today. The fire in the Klamath National Forest is many miles from the fire that threatened to destroy Yreka yes terday. Ten men were injured when seared ' by heat ' on their arms, faces and necks while fighting a big . burn near Santa Barbara, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, yesterday. Nine of them were Mexican nationals pressed into forest duty and the 10th man was a Forest Service foreman. None was burned critically, al though nine remained in the hos pital today.. v The men were licked by flames when a fire line got out of control in Glenn, Annie Can yon late yesterday afternoon, and billowed across nearly 50, 000 acres of brush lands. Trains and highway traffic through the area, which had been brought to a halt was resumed today, al though precautions were taken against another outbreak that might close Highway 101, Cali fornia's important coast road. Complete Fire Lines . A 17.000-acre timber and brush fire in the Sierra east of Fresno was , surrounded with safety lines, except for a half mile gap in the Converse Basin area. Sequoia National Forest Supervisor Eldon Ball said heli copters were flying in men and equipment in an effort to plug the last hole in the fire line near Sampson creek. The men, he said, were forced to rely mainly on hand operations be cause of the rugged terrain. The line probably will be completed later today. Rome (U.R) Secretary of Agriculture Ezra T. Benson ar rived here, today for an interna tional farm conference destined to affect - dinner tables 'around the world. " Gallant Black Panther Fights To Death With Five Lions To Protect Mate in Zoo Chicago (U.R) A gallant black panther, aging but still full of jungle courage, fought to the death with five lions to save his mate at the Brookfield. Zoo. Spring at Lions. Visitors, watched in horror on Wednesday as Snowball, a 12 year old panther from Sumatra, sprang at five lions who had been let into his cage by mis take.; ' ' , ' Snowball never had a chance. A single blow from a huge lion's paw broke his back and he was dead within moments. But his mate, spitting fury from a ledge in the cage, was unharmed. Airliner Crashes At Burbank Field; Three Persons Die Attempted Return To Airport Fails Burbank, Calif. (U.R) A DC3 Currey Air Transort pas senger plane, believed carrying 30 persons, crashed shortly after take-off at Lockheed Air Ter minal today when it encountered engine trouble and tried to re turn to the field. At least three persons were killed and 24 injured, police re ported. The plane was identified by the control tower as a non scheduled airliner which took off for Oakland at 8:40 a.m. Air port control authorities said the plane's pilot radioed him seven minutes after takeoff that . the plane was having "a little trou ble and am turning back." Hits Other Planes The two - engine plane at tempted its landing but fell short of the runway by about 200 yards. It crashed into two Air Force C54s and then smashed into a maintenance hangar oper ated by the Lockheed Aircraft Service Co. One ; of the victims was an employee of the service com pany. He tentatively was identi fied as Willie Malone. One other victim was identified as the plane's co-pilot, Keith Dutson. The third body was identified as Joseph A. Dradsher, 31, the plane's pilot, Chula Vista, Calif. Crash investigator M. H. Mar tin said he believed there were about 30 persons on the plane, including eight to 10 servicemen. The injured servicemen were taken to the Air Force Base Hos pital in Long Beach. Hit Telephone Wires Malone was working on the wing of a military plane when the non - scheduled airliner smashed into it. The plane, while circling for its emergency landing, hit some telephone wires, witnesses re ported. It then catapulted into the first C54, killing Malone, and pushed that plane into another C54. .The, transport skidded across the yard in front of the hangars and wound up with its battered front end just inside a hangar. Ashland Firm Gets Contract With City E. C. Dodson, Ashland, awarded the contract for was con- struction of a water-intake con trol structure at Big Butte spring yesterday at a regular water board meeting according to Robert L. Lee, asistant city water supperintendent. Dodson's bid of $2,263 was $376.20 less than another bid received from Myron Corcoran, Medford, Lee said. Dodson must begin the construction work within 10 days. : The contract calls for the fill ing in of approximately 21 cubic yards of concrete, reinforcement with 1,940 pounds of reinforcing steel and the installation of con trol valves and access opening covers. The work will be done on the north intake of Big Butte springs. Rumson, N.J. (U.R) Movie star Conrad Nagel and his pretty Canadian bride, Michael Smith, were honeymooning today after a quiet and simple marriage cer emony here eight days ago. Weather FORECAST: Continued fair through Friday. Low tonight SO. High Friday 85-88. Temp. Highest Yesterday 85 Lowest this Morning 49 . The lions were in the' pan thers' cage for only eight min utes before zoo attendants, using bars, . poles, and streams of water, -forced them from Snow ball's mangled body. . Fought for Mate Zoo Director Robert Bean said Snowball apparently sprang into battle to save the life of his mate and himself. A fluke of chance led to Snowball's death. He and his mate had been moved from their regular cage while it was being cleaned. Ten minutes be fore feeding time, keeper Cecil Aldridge, 37, let the five hungry liozu into the cage. wight In Forest Salem U.R) Dwight L. Phipps, deputy; state forester for the past six years, has been named state forester to succeed George Spaur, who is resigning Oct. 1, Gov. Paul Patterson said today. Spaur has accepted a posi tion with the International Co operative Association in Pakis tan. ' ' 30 Years Experience , . Phipps has had 30 years ex perience in various phases of state " forestry. He started as a patrolman in the old Jackson Local Employment At High Level in Month of August Employment in Jackson coun ty continued at a high level through August, according to John J. Patton, manager of the local office of the Oregon State Employment service. Demand for workers increas ed considerably during the lat ter part of last month, and is expected to remain good through September. There was no major increase, however, outside the fruit harvest and packing in dustry. Higher Than 1954 . Employment throughout the county is higher than at this time last year, Patton said. More than 100 business firms contact ed during August indicated em ployment as high or higher than was the case one year ago. ' In addition, seasonal work in creased near the end of the month with the start of fruit harvest. Packing houses were op erating at full capacity. , Non-agricultural job place ments during the month were the highest for any August since 1951, and higher than any month since Sept.. 1952. despite the fact that packing houses opened some two weeks later than usual. 359 Said Jobless At the end of August, unem ployment was estimated at 359 in Jackson county, including 200 women. This is 35 per cent below July, 1955, and 51 per cent less than a year ago. Indi viduals claimed unemployment benefits for 1,355 weeks, almost the identical number of weeks claimed during July of this year. However, the total was 30 per cent less than in Aug., 1954. . 1 Pear harvest is expected to reach its peak about Sept. 15. Return of many students to high school and college will increase the demands for labor, Patton said. He noted that harvest needs, plus an increase in industrial openings, may result in a severe labor shortage before the season ends. . ' . : Phoenix Man Waives Preliminary Hearing . Robert (Bobby) Lee Whise nant, 23, of 276 Hoyte lane, Phoenix, waived preliminary hearing on rape charges in dis trict court yesterday and was bound over on $2,500 bond. The case involves a 15-year-old girl. Also in district' court, Harold Ray Hudson, 34, of Springfield, waived counsel and preliminary hearing on charges of non-support and was bound over under $1,500 bond. Snowball and his mate were lying on a ledge when the big cats stalked in. The panther tensed, his muscles standing out under his sleek black coat. His long tail twitched. - Then in a single, graceful lunge of split-second fury, Snow ball leaped at the advancing lions. ' ;- Dead Within Seconds Snowball went down under two of the lions. Then the others sprang on him with vengeful claws. The panther was prob ably dead within seconds, wit nesses said. ' f hipps Spur ''Post 1 DWIGHT PHIPPS Forester Elevated county unit in 1925, which at that time comprised 700,000 acres of forest land. Three years later he was advanced to the position of district warden and shortly thereafter . Josephine county was added to his protec tive area, increasing it to 1,250, 000 acres. , He continued with the con solidated district until 1942 when he was transferred to the Salem office as assistant state forester in charge of protection. Early in 1950 he was appointed deputy state forester upon the elevation of Spaur to the office of state forester. Phils' war'acting state for ester while Spaur . was serving in the Armed Forces in Korea. Phipps is a veteran of World War I. (See story on Page 1, Sec. 2) New Citizens To Be Honored at Banquet Several new citizens, who re ceived final papers in naturaliza tion ceremonies before Circuit Court Judge H. K. Hanna early this afternoon, will be honored at a banquet at 7 p.m. today at Medford hotel. Speaker at the banquet, which is open to the public, - will be Frank Van 'Dyke, a member of the local .Americanism commit tee of the American Legion. The banquet is being sponsored by the local Legion post and the Elks. ; - ; . Those who participated in ceremonies this afternoon have completed ' examinations and qualifications.' " for. : citizenship following classes ; conducted by Mrs.' G. Q. D'Albini recently. WCTU Delegates Reeled Officers All five officers of Oregon Woman's Christian Temperance union were reelected this morn ing by delegates attending the 72nd annual convention 1 here. Sessions are being held at First Methodist church and will close tomorrow noon. - Holding ' office for another year will be Mrs. Fred J. Tooze president; Mrs. William I. Har gis, vice-president; Mrs. M. G. Weatherby, corresponding sec retary; Miss Jennie M. Smith, treasurer and Mrs. C. C. Fa nr. recording secretary. Mrs. Farr is f om Coos Bay and the remain ing four are from Portland. Mrs. Tooze has served as presi dent for the past several years. Baseball AMERICAN Chicago 8 10 Washington Trucks, Martin (7), and Lol lar; Stobbs, " Abernathy (6), Ramos (8) and Courtney. ' Kansas City New York 0 13 CeccarellL Herbert (4). Har rington (4), Boyer (8) and W. Shantz; Turley and Berra. Detroit - : 5 8 1 Boston '. ... 4 7 2 Aber, Birrer (3) Gromek (5) and House; Nixon, Kinder (9) and White. Bly Man's Body found by Searchers In Burned Area Snow Mountain Blaze Jumps Fire Line By UNITED PRESS Fire crews battling five ma jor forest fires raging out of control over some 16,000 acres of brush and timber in southern and central Oregon today were plagued by treacherous changes in wind. The most serious fire in the Round Butte area, 12 miles west of Bly, had claimed the life of one firefighter. The body of Wesley Weston, about 40, of Bly, was found by searchers this morning in a smoldering section of burned over land. Companions Get Help Weston, an employee of the Ned Putnam Logging operation, and three other men went-into the fire area , by truck yester day. His companions lost sight of him in the dense Shoke and returned to get help. It was the second death to be recorded in the series of forest and brush fires rhich broke out in scattered sections of the state last week end. A fire near Sen eca in northeastern Oregon last Sunday claimed the life of. El wood Jackson, 38, of Bak0. The largest blaze was in the Snow Mountain area in central Oregon near Ochoco and Mal heur National Forests. It jumped a fire line yesterday afternoon and by today had cov ered more than" 7,000 acres. Some 300 men were working on the blaze," but one Forest Service observer said the whole area was "hot, muggy, windy and ready to blow" and doubted that the fire would be controlled today. Bly Threatened Other large blazes "were in southern Oregon. A fire at Whis-' key Flat broke away yesterday and burned to within one"-mile of Bly, on the Klamath Indian reservation, before a S?idden shift of wind turned it around. The fire, fought by 200 men, had covered more than 2,200 acres and still was out of con trol. - The Klamath Forest Protective association said a 300-acre fire was ravaging valuable ponder osa pine stands on the south fork of the Sprague river. Some 150 fire fighters had ringed the blaze yesterday, but 25-mile-an- hour winds scattered flames over the line.. . ,, In Fremont National forest, a 2400-acre fire was burning on the rim of Summer lake. Cattle Lost Another large fire in the for est, at Dray Prairie south and west of Bly, was contained after reaching 1000 acres in size. The Snow Mountain blaze, en gulfed at least one large cattle ranch. The Bureau of Land man agement said the Officer ranch, south sol. Izee, lost a band of cattle An estimate of me numb er of head lost or the extent of further, ranch damage was not available. . Pair Being Detained State forestry investigators to day were holding William Clar ence Scheligh, 53, and his son, William Lester Scheligh, 26, in connection with a series of small blazes along Coyote Creek road near Grants Pass. The younger Scheligh was re ported to have admitted tossing lighted matches from a truck as the pair drove along the road in the Wolf Creek area. The Schelighs live nearby in a trailer J house. Ashlander Fined $970 On Overload Charge, James Waldo Akerill, 693 Roca,"st., Ashland, was fined $970 on an overload charge in district court yesterday. The truck, owned by Joseph Barnett of Ashland, which Ake rill was driving had a legal ca pacity of 75,200 pounds,- and when weighed at the Table Rock scales Aug. 26, the gross weight was 94,500 pounds, some 19,300 overweight. There wre 19 logs on the truck. Of the total . fine, $500 was paid, with the balance due later. Denver (U.R) President Eisenhower remained unmoved today by the mounting chorus of optimistic Republican predic tions that he will run again. He gave no indication that he will abandon his original intention not to reveal his plans until next year.