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.