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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1955)
0 mw o FAMILIES SLATED Major rehabilitation assist ance for the hundreds of fam ilies stricken by last week's floods along the Rogue river will get under way probably tomorrow, according to Red Cross officials. The organization in the mean time is continuing the emergen cy assistance which it has been offering to flood victims since the river first rose out of its banks last Wednesday night. The burden of providing this assistance food, shelter, cloth ing and Christmas presents for youngsters has fallen on the volunteers in each community affected. Community Units The Jackson county chapter of the Red Cross is unique in that it is organized on a com . o munity unit basis, each of which operated independently during the days of uie flood emergency. It is through0 these local units that the emergency assistance is stili being provided, with the chapter coordinating the work. The ?tional Red Cross has given a "blank check" to the local chapter to pay for What ever emergency relief is neces 3 sRy. Miss Josephine McNamara, a professional disaster worker, has arrived to supervise the long-pull job of providing aid where necessary in the rehabili tation work yet to be done. Two other trained workers are being assigned here. Jar. Homl3S Q Preliminary estimates, based on weefc end survey, indi cate that about 400 families, mostly in the Shady Cove-Trail and Rojue River areas of Jack son county, were left homeless, .sc&ie df ftiem temporarily. A number of thm have already been able to move bak into their homes, and are able to provide for-their own needs. But others .still ar receiving bed ding, fofod, shelter and clothing to get them past the emergency "period. The rehabilitation job has sev eral aspects, according to the Red Cross officials. The agency ill work hand in hand with rv3the Small Business administra tion, which is authorized to pro vide long - ter, lew- interest loa-ns to those needing them to make their business operative. Others, who either suffered smaller amounts of damage, or who are better fixed financially, will need no assistance at all. Red Cross Assistance Still others, whose loses were great and who cannot see their wav clear to assume the obliga tions of loans, will receive out right non-reimbursable assist ance from the Red Cross direct ly, for furniture, for necessary appliances, fohousehold repairs and reconstruction. Each case will be handled on an individual basis, based on the need of the individuals as brought out by conferences .with them. The Red Cross does not call this assistance charity. It is, rather, a means by which people assist their neighbors who are in temporary difficulties. Neith er does the agency reveal the na?hes of those who are being assisted on the theory 0that each recipient of aid is entitled to his own privacy in matters of this nature. Estimates Incomplete There is still no firm estimate of the amount of damage caused by the floods in Jackson county. Probably the greatest financial loss will be to homes and busi nesses along the river, where the total will run into the hun Bicycle Licenses Placed on Sale Bicycle licenses for 1956 are on sale today at the city police station. Police urged children having bicvcles to purchase licenses for them dSing the Christmas holi days. Purchasers of licenses must show police either the old license plate or identification furnished by police when the old plate was purchased, o To register new or unlicensed bicycles the serial number, wheel size, brand name, name of the brake, and main and trim colors of the bicycle are required. Licenses cost 25 cents. Li censes aid police to identify and recover lost or stolen bicycles. Weather FORECAST: Fog or low cloudi ness tonight and Wednesday morning. Partly cloudy Wed nesday afternoon. Low to night 29. high Wednesday 45. Temp. Highest Yesterday 54 Lowest this Morning 33 j?rec. to 4:30 a.m. Today 17 dreds of thousands of dollars. County Engineer Paul Rynning has estimated the damage to county roads at more than a quarter of a million dollars. Damage to farmers' crops and fields may never be totaled, for much of the damage will not show up for months. But the county agents here fear the total will be tremendous. Agricultural damage includes immediate harm to crops, but even more serious is the drown ing of trees, the washing away of fertile topsoil, and the de positing of infertile non-organic silt on cropland. Anxious Queries Keep Red Cross Officials Busy Hundreds of wires and tele phone calls from anxious rela tives and friends kept profes sional Jackson county Red Cross personnel busy over the long holiday week end. Mrs. Helen Wilson, executive secretary, said she and Mrs. Nor- ris Porter, secretary, have an swered telegrams and calls from all parts of the United States from persons seeking news of those in flood areas. Red Cross officials this morn ing praised the work of volun teers in the Rogue River and Shady Cove areas who have been working "around the clock" since last Wednesday night. Organized Crews Mentioned especially were di rectors of civil defense Leroy Webb, Rogue River, and Ray Briggs, Shady Cove. Webb organ ized a crew of 10 trucks and 20 men who first evacuated families and furniture, and are now help ing to move them back and clean up the area. Mrs. Charles Babcock has been in charge of much work in Rogue River as mass care section chief, assisted by Mrs. A. P. Klomhaus and Mrs. William Zierser. Also working in Rogue River are John Lynd. command er of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Mrs. Lynd, president of the VFW auxiliary; Mrs. Sue Morrow, and Mr. and Mrs. Gold ing of the Rogue River Grange. Ed Strother serves as mass care section chief for the Red Cross at Shady Cove, assisted by Mrs. E. W. Segessenman, Mrs. Lola Bartus, and John Wilson. Numberous other volunteers have worked through the Red. Cross, Grange and veterans groups, it was reported. Road Conditions State police this afternoon reported the following road conditions: Highway 99 north Road open, some detours. Highway 99 south Chains required over Siskiyous. Highway 99E in California closed; 99W open. Highway 66 Chains re quired. Highways 38, 42 Closed. Highway 101 Closed south of Coquille, open from Cres cent City to Port Orford, one way traffic at Florence, only emergency traffic north of Coquille. Highway 199 Slides, open to one-way traffic. Highways 34 and 36 Open to coast. DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (U.R) Dow-Jones final stock averages: 30 indus trials 485.81 off 0.78; 20 rail roads 163.39 up 0.89; 15 utilities 64.12 off 0.21, and 65 stocks 172.24 up 0.04. Sales today were about 2,010,000 shares. Soviet Budget Shows Decrease In Money For Military, Increase In Power Sites Moscow (U.R) Soviet oil out put is soaring,' the government announced today. Petroleum Industry Minister Mikhail A. Evseyenko told the Supreme Soviet at a special ses sion of the Russian Parliament that he will "successfully fulfill" the aim of an 85 per cent in crease in oil output this year over 1950. Speaking before a morning session of the Council of the So viet one of the Supreme So viet's two equal chambers Evseyenko Said oil output in eastern regions of the Soviet Union now represented 58 per cent of the country's total out put. Bejore World War n, he said, Oregon Counts Toll Of Dead; Five Die In Slide at Remote Coos Bay Drowning Brings Number to 12 Portland CU.R) Flood-battered southwest Oregon counted a mounting toll of death and de struction today from slides and raging waters including a trag edy in which five members of one family were killed when a rain-soaked hill crushed a house at Remote. There was hope the waters would recede today. Another drowing was report ed in the Coos Bay area, bring ing the death toll from floods in Oregon since last Wednesday to 12. More people had to be evacu ated yesterday. Roads Blocked Some main routes in western Oregon still were blocked this morning but Highway 99 was reported open all the way. The slide at Remote in west ern Coos county resulted in death to Marion E. Neal, 40; his wife, 39; and three of their children, Tommy, 18; Mary, 16, and Becky, 20 months. Two oth ers, Billy, 6, and Margaret, 12, were taken to a Roseburg hos pital. Douglas County Coroner L. L. Powers said the only mem ber of the family to escape injury was Arvis,' a 7-year-old boy. Powers went to the scene be cause the Highway 42 was block ed between Remote and Co quille. The Neal home was swept about 300 feet across a field. Word of the slide was relayed by ham radio. Coquille Isolated The Coast Guard reported yesterday that an unidentified man drowned in the Coos Bay area when he missed a step into a boat that was trying to evacu ate him. He was swept away by the Coquille river, the Coast Guard said. Coquille was virtually cut off from the outside world with roads out and communication lines down. The Coquille river reached a record 26.7 feet last night. A number of families were evacuated from flooded areas around Coquille yesterday and were being cared for by the Red Cross in Coquille Community hall. Civil Defense Director John Pickett said that many houses were flooded along the riverbank and several were in danger , of floating away. A bridge washed down the Co quille river by Coos Bay Lum ber Company employees set out to "beach" it. Umpqua Going Down Myrtle Point also was hard hit and ham radio operators said the city was without power. A helicopter was to try to fly an electrician into the area today. Riddle, a southern , Douglas county town, remained isolated by high water today. The Ump qua river at Roseburg was re ported going down this morn ing, however. The Coquille began levelling off last night but high tide early today was expected to delay the runoff. The Rogue river, which reach ed an all-time high last week, was reported falling yesterday but creeks in the area flooded. The Willamette river was falling at . Portland after going more than four feet over flood stage Christmas day. Ike To Leave For Vacation Tomorrow Washington U.R) Presi dent Eisenhower will leave here by air tomorrow for a two-week vacation at Key West, Fla., the White House said today. White House Press Secretary James C. Hagerty said the President is1 taking the advice of his physicians to go south for sun, fresh air, rest, and exer- 1 nice the eastern region contributed only 6 per cent. Power Stations Budget discussion proceeded in the Supreme Soviet today fol lowing introduction of a new money bill at yesterday's open ing session. Beside announcing a 10 per cent cut in defense ap propriation, the finance minister also announced the USSR is building new atomic ' power stations. He said the Soviets, following up construction of a 5,000 kilo watt atomic pilot plant, are now proceeding with major stations of 50,000 kilowatts and 100,000 kilowatt capacity. The budget cut was announc ed at the first session Monday MED' J)iTRIBUNE . United Press Full Le United Press Full Leased Wire 50th Year 14 r cDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27,, 1955 Price 5c No. 238 RAJVit'i-.Giw G xu.Vr.ri This aerial photograph of inundated Yuba City was made from an. Air Force plane as 8,000 were Seven Are Killed In Accidents in State GverWeekend At least seven persons lost their lives in Oregon traffic acci dents during the Christmas weekend. A three-car accident near Camp Adair yesterday afternoon resulted in the death of an elder ly Corvallis couple. The victims were H. A. Franklin, 78, and his wife, Kathryn, 71. State police said their car was traveling south when it strayed into the path of a car driven by Edward Thurber, 40, Willamina. Thurber was hospitalized' in Corvallis. A third car, driven by Dean W. Frost, 37, Oakridge, went into a ditch to avoid the accident. He was not injured. Crashes House Choon N. Louie, 36, Cottage Grove, was killed Christmas night -when the car he was driv ing left the road and plunged into a house. No one was in the house at the time. Donald H. Wilkison, 21-year-old McMinnville sailor, was kill ed when his car plunged off the road near Carlton Sunday. He had been home on Christmas leave. Harry E. Conklin, Salem, died Sunday in a collision on High way 99 north of Salem. In earlier traffic accidents, Charles J. McCall, 53, Gervais, and William Hiscoe, 47, Beaver ton, were killed. 'Always Fair Weather1 In Sutherlin Theater Sutherlin (U.R) Volunteers were frantically piling "sandbags in the main street here yester day as flood water rushed into homes and businesses. Water was also rushing into the town theater and it was inevitable someone should no tice what was playing. It was: "It's Always Fair Weather." by Minister of Finance Arseny G. Zverev. The supreme Soviet's second session was scheduled for this afternoon and the session is expected to end Wednesday. The Supreme Soviet was ex pected to go further into the subject of the budget, presented in: the form of an appropriation bill which placed the emphasis on housing, consumer goods and industry rather than arms. The new 1956 budget cut de fense spending from 112,000, 000,000 rubles (approximately $28,000,000,000) to 102,500,000, 000 rubles (approximately -S25,-637,500,000). In effect it wiped out last year's 12 per cent mili tary hike which was the first since the war. On Road Crews Working Jo Open Inaccessible Sections"1 Road crews are working throughout the county today in attempts to repair immediately all dangerous spots and make accessible a number of areas iso lated by wash-outs, according to County Engineer Paul Rynning. McKee bridge on the Apple gate river was opened Saturday after repairs were made to a washed out approach and - Red Blanket road was opened after a washout near the Red Blanket bridge was repaired. Some Roads Still Closed Still closed are Bear Creek bridge on Crater Lake highway; Sugar Pine creek bridge on up per Elk creek; Netherlands bridge on Big Butte creek, three miles off Crater Lake highway; a small bridge at the head of Trail Creek road;and an irriga tion bridge on " the Gold Hill Tolo road. Rynning said he hoped the Gold Hill-Tolo road would be opened today. Table Rock road north of By bee bridge was opened before the week-end, although it is still rough, Rynning said. The state highway depart ment is in charge of repairs to the Crater Lake highway, as well as of the washed out high way below Ruch on the Apple gate river. Approaches to three bridges on main stem national forest ac cess roads have been washed out Local Auto Dealer Brings Christmas Joy To Flooded Family A Medford used car dealer brightened Christmas for a flooded family in the Tolo area last week, it was reported today by the Central Point rural fire district. - The dealer called the fire district and said he wanted to buy gifts for a family within the fire district who had been hard hit by last week's flood, it was reported. After check ing families in the district, it was found that a family of three small boys in the Tolo area faced a bleak holiday sea son because of flood condi tions at their home. The dealer bought Christ mas gifts for the three boys and the mother and father turned a drab Christmas day for the family into one of joy, a fire district spokesman said. The gifts were delivered by personnel of the fire district. Wives of district firemen have been saving used clothing for some time and gave them to the Salvation Army for dis tribution to families made needy by the flood, it wa repotted. ordered to evacuate the town, flooded by the raging waters of the Yuba and Feather rivers. , (International) Highways . 1 in the vicinity of Union Creek, according to an incomplete re port of flood damage to U.S. Forest Service installations. Approaches Washed Out Approaches to Kiter, Wood ruff, and Prairie creek bridges across the Rogue river and three smaller bridges ' across creeks have been washed out. Several large culverts and a number of smaller ones were also lost. A more complete survey of Forest Service damage is being made this week. Snow in the high mountains will delay a full damage report fot some time, forest officials said: Damage in the Elliott creek vicinity of the Applegate area appeared to be lighter than around Union creek, although a number of culverts have been washed out and roads are im passible, according to Jack H. Woods, forest supervisor. "". Grants Pass Man Reported Safe Grants Pass '(U.R) Fred Hale, 43, operator of the Grants Pass Air Service, was reported today to be safe and suffering from undetermined injuries following the crash of his light plane in rugged country west of here. Hale left here Saturday to fly Walter Geer to a field near his home in Marial. Reports reach ing here indicated that Hale was returning alone when the plane crashed near Black Bar lodge about 25 miles west of here. Earlier it was reported that both men were missing. Pilot Deke Miller landed here yesterday and said he had talked to Hale who told him to tell Hale's wife, 'Tell her I'm okay." Miller left here with a doctor to go to the bedside of the injured pilot. Miller said he was told Hale crashed near the lodge Saturday night and that two caretakers had taken care of him until Glenn Wooldridge, veteran Rogue river guide, moved him by boat to Marial. An Air Force helicopter was en route here today to pick Hale up and. return him to Grants Pass. Patrols Exchange Fire In Gaza Strip Today Jerusalem (U.R) An Israeli patrol exchanged automatic weapons fire with Egyptians near the tense Gaza Strip today. No casualties were reported in the brief exchange. It was the third incident re ported in the border area in two days. 'Black Christmas' Sets New Record For Holiday Deaths By UNITED PRESS The .""black Christmas" week end of 1955 set an all time, all holiday record for traffic deaths, a steadily mounting death count showed today. The three-day Christmas week end became the deadliest holiday in the nation's history when the United Press count passed the 588 record set over the four-day Christmas weekend of 1952. The count showed a total of 621 traffic fatalities from 6 p.m. Friday until midnight Monday. There were 72 deaths in fires, 7 in plane crashes and 131 in mis cellaneous accidents for an over all accidental death toll of 831. Texas had the worst record with 54 traffic deaths. Illinois had 46. Michigan and California each had 44. The death rate during this year's three - day holiday was seven every hour. Safety experts felt sure this killing pace would push the final count close to the 600 mark. Ned H. Dearborn, president of the National Safety Council, said the nation's motorists had turned the holiday into a "black Christmas." Christmas Turns Black "We may have dreamed of a white Christmas, but we have turned it black with a record of death, destruction and disaster on the highway by which no American can help but be de pressed, ashamed, and fright ened," he said. The death count mocke'd the spirit of Christmas and some persons even stooped to looting the bodies of the holiday vic tims. Such a case was reported at Webster City, Iowa, after an 8-year-old girl was killed in a smash-up Monday. Someone got to the wrecked car before po lice arrived and made off with a wallet and purse containing $175. Fires Strike Suddenly The holiday was also marred by killer fires which struck without warning across the country. In the worst holocaust, a farm house blaze took six lives a mother and her five sons near Gaylord, Mich., Monday. A down-town city block in Lowell, Mass., went up in flames, caus ing $1,800,000 damage, and fires which destroyed an historic church and a rail terminal in Chicago were blamed for $1, 500,000 damage. Tokyo (U.R) An atoms-for-peace agreement, between the U.S. and Japan went into effect today with the exchange of notes in Washington, the Japanese Foreign office announced. Expect New Crests On San Joaquin, Sacramento Rivers Search For Missing Dead Halted By Water San Francisco U.R) The Feather river lashed back again today, pouring a new flood of muddy water through broken levees over stricken Yuba City to halt search for the dead. New crests were also expected in the threatened Delta areas of San Joaquin and Sacramento riv ers, but none so high as yester day, nor as great as the floods that earlier took at least 55 lives at least 13 in Yuba City in California and Oregon. Thirteen deaths were counted in Oregon and 42 in California, but scores still were missing and officials said there may be as many as 100 victims. Flood damage was expected to total more than $100,000,000. Residents Evacuated An additional 200 Air Force troops were sent into the Delta area today to sandbag and bol-' ster the weak levee system in the lying island country that is criss-crossed with river chan nels, canals and sloughs. Most of these islands consist of agri-' cultural and reclaimed land. The inhabitants already were evac uated and no additional loss of lives was expected either there or at Yuba City. Very few per sons live on the islands and most of them are farmers. The flooded rivers in other areas all rose some yesterday due to the new rains, but were subsiding again . today. Yuba City remained the gloomy spot. Water Contaminated The task of rehabilitation and control appeared almost insur mountable for Yuba City au thorities and 300 additional troops were being brought in to augment the 100 already there to protect lives and property. Flood workers faced another task as residents returned to de serted Yuba City. The water supply has become contaminat ed with the sludge of the floods and medical authorities prepar ed to inoculate for typhoid. All water had to be boiled or puri fied by chemicals. The muddy water began ris ing at the rate of three inches an hour during the night. Final ly they overflowed the gap at Gumtree, broken during last Saturday's flood when 10,000 persons fled for their lives. Search Delayed - The worst effect of the new flooding was the delay it causec? in the grim work of searching through the ruined houses and ' the debris for those who failed to escape last Saturday's wall of water. There may be as many as 100 victims, officials said. It also kept the city's resi dents from returning to salvage what they could from the ooze that covered what once was their homes. Armed guards patrolled the streets, imposing a dusk to dawn curfew to prevent looting. Any one in the city had to show a pass. The Army Engineer's office at Marysville, across the river from Yuba City, reported to Stanley Pierson, state director of civil defense, that the new crest "will no doubt cover most . of the territory that was cov ered in the last breakthrough." Worked Through Night ' Repair crews toiled through out the night in an attempt to repair the yawning gap in the 33-foot levee but the Army En gineers admitted they had "no hope" of fixing it before day break. The Yuba City situation ap peared to be the most serious in the Far West, where storms and floods have taken a toll of 53 lives and caused at least $100, 000,000 damage to the states of California, Oregon and Nevada. This was the situation in oth er areas: Eureka: Death toll in Hum-boldt-Del Norte county area rose to 11. More than 400 homes wiped out by Eel and Klamath river floods. Some 1500 other homes still unusable. Red Cross, civil defense caring for 1000 refugees. Several towns still without electricity. Russian River: River rising again at Healdsburg, reaching crest slightly below bankful stage last night. At Guerneville, a resort town inundated last week, river expected to reach bankful stage of 29 feet, then to start falling steadily. Watsonville: Pajarao river ris ing, but expected to crest below flood stage early today. Cattle Feed Needed Salinas River. Salinas river expected to flood the low lying areas.' Sutter County: Flood stricken dairy farmers in eastern Sutter county appeal for hay for 3000 head of cattle fodderless for five days. More than 200 homes and farms flooded in Nicolaus-Rio Oso area, 18 miles southeast of Yuba City.
