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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1956)
of lilt ii - . ' ' - . fer Proposed 10-Year Program Will Cost About $1656,100 Alternate Plan From Recent Traffic Survey A plan for a 10-year through- street program in Medford was presented to the ;city council last nignt. It calls for a less extensive and less expensive system than that proposed earlier. The coun cil voted to forward copies to the Medford planning commis sion, but withheld action pend ing a state highway commission decision on location of a pro posed freeway in the Medford vicinity. Expenditures Stated The proposal calls for expend itures totaling $1,656,100 over 10 years, with some 10 per cent of the project being completed each year once started. ; The plan is an alternate to the state highway commission's 25-proiect program costing an estimated $10,870,000, of which the city would have to pay $4, 130,000. The plan was submit ted by the highway commission in September, 1954. City Manager Robert Duff said the basic highway commis sion plan was used in preparing the alternate plan, which was prepared to reduce the over-all cost to' a feasible plan for the city. Among the major changes is elimination of a long railroad underpass and 66-foot pavement at 10th st. between Grape st. and Central ave. Duff estimated savings ' of about $768,200 on constructing a grade crossing with 44-foot pavement. -Other Modifications Duff said other streets have been modified to save right of nrav costs and movinff of build ings. Several street widths have been reduced from 66 feet to 52 feet with parking prohibited during peak traffic hours. ' Duff noted that there are ad vantages to an underpass over a grade crossing at the 10th st. location, but added "the advant ages do not seem to justify the greater expenditures for an un dercrossing at least for a number of years." . One of the major items on the alternate plan is a Main st Eight st. couplet instead of a Main st.-Sixth st. couplet. Duff noted the new', proposal costs about $59,330 more . than' the original highway commission plan, but he said there are sev eral advantages of the Main st., Eighth st. couplet. , , Advantages Listed This couplet would go from Riverside ave. to the west city limits, with an additional . rail road -crossing and ' east-west street, create less damage to property on West Main st., elim inate several left turn move ments on and off West Main st., and cause less damage to the city park, Duff said. It would extend across River side ave. and Bear creek to con nect with Main st. near Haw thorne st. . Duff noted that the same gen eral priority as first recommend ed is followed in the modified plan, and variations from the 3iginal priority - have been based on the estimated 1970 traf fic volumes. . , . . ? The new plan was prepared by Vernon Thorpe, Medford traf fic engineer. DOW-JONES AVERAGES -v New York (U.R) Dow-Jones final stock averages: 30 indus trials 471.23, off 5.33; 20 rail roads 156.51, off 1.76; 15 util ities 65.26, off 0.33," and 65 stocks 167.75, off 1.72. Sales to day were about 2,170,000 shares compared with 2,060,000 yester day. .' Fulfillment of Blood Quota Seen In Appointment List A total of 361 persons had made appointments up to mid- morning today to give blood this afternoon during the visit of the Red Cross bloodmobile. , Delighted Red Cross workers were hoping to obtain 300 pints from the donors figuring the .usual number of rejects and "no shows" or 50 more than the quota. If this hope is fulfilled, it will be the first time in many months Medford will have met the quota. Shady Cove Success In Shady Cove yesterday, 213 persons appeared and 173 pints were obtained. No quota had been set, but state blood bank officials said it would be a "good Thiry 50th Year MEDFORr 20 Pages BEDFORD, ORE Flood Survey Bills Slated in Congress, Meeting is Told First Major Step Seen in Action Grants Pass Bills will be in troduced into, the house and the senate this week to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engi neers to complete surveys of wa ter use in the Rogue basin, Vic: tor Boehl, Grants Pass, an nounced yesterday. Boehl made the annouifce- President Eisenhower has authorized the allocation of an additional half-million dollars for disaster area relief in Ore gon,' Congressman Harris Ells worth advised the Mail Trib une this morning. The money is in addition to the sums already allocated for flood re lief and rehabilitation in areas stricken by the late-December floods. Congressman Ellsworth said Gov. Elmo Smith has been ad vised of the additional alloca tion. ment here at a meeting of rep resentatives of organizations in terested in flood control. Important Step Boehl said the bills, to be in troduced by Sen. Wayne Morse m.-Ore.l and Congressman Har ris Ellsworth (R.-Ore.) represent the first important step toward flood control. ReDresentatives of 45 organi zations in Jackson' and Jose phine counties which liave en-1 dorsed a resolution asking tor a corps of engineers survey lead ing to flood control met at Grants Pass to formulate plans for a permanent flood control organization. The group adopted the name "Rogue Basin Flood Control and Water Resources association" and selected a nominating com mittee of seven men to choose 24 nominees from which a board of directors consisting of 16 men will be elected at the next meeting. Committee Named Those on the nominating committee are Ralph Moore and Donald Cameron, both of Grants Pass; r Miles Williams, Shady Cove; Harold Gebhard, Central Point; Fay I." Bristol, Rogue River; Larry Gushing, Illinois Valley and Dri Edward Chance, Rogue River.. J A motion was adopted provid ing anyone could suggest nomi nees to the nominating commit tee by writing to any of the members before the election to be held next Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Redwoods hotel. It was .-. suggested that the board of directors include about an eaual number of men from both counties, with representa tives from the county courts, city governments, Granges, soil conservation districts, sports men and businessmen. MDeton PhUadelphia vU.R5 -Connie Mack, baseball's grandest old man and for generations the greatest name in the game, died today. He was S3. Salem (U.R) Warden Clarence T. Gladden has accept ed the resignation of Al Rich ardson as food manager at Ore gon state prison. showing" if 100 pints were col lected The Upper Rogue operation was to "pay back" the blood bank for supplies used by a child in the area during a long illness. Donors there were from Prospect, Shady Cove, Trail, Butte Falls, Eagle Point, and the surrounding small communities and countryside. Until 6 p.m. The bloodmobile will be open at the Elks temple today until 6 pjn. "Drop-in" donors will be I welcomed, although if there are no vacant appointment times, they will be asked to return at the next blood collection in heet P odd RECORD SNOW PARALYZES SOUTHWEST Two uniden tified youths stroll past unused parking meters in Amarillo, Tex., where a record five-day blizzard left up to 29 inches of snow on level ground and drifts several feet deeo. At least 30 persons have died in Texas, Oklahoma and" New Mexico from the storm. County Off icials Tell Worry Over Dangerous Rodenticide Poisons County . officials have voiced their..' alarm' .concerning' .the: ..un restricted : use of a powerful rodenticide, 10-80, which has re sulted in the deaths of a number of dogs in this area recently. County ' Sanitarian Robert Hart said today that a pest con trol firm is using 10-80 m local stores and on dumps and other property throughout the area, to control rodents. State and city police also are investigating re ports of inadvisable use of the poison. Health Hazard Such practices are against rec ommendations of the state and county health departments, Hart said, and present a serious pub lic health hazard, f The poison has no known anti dote, and under present prac tices it is entirely possible that Fire Station Bids Called by Council Plans were approved and an ordinance adopted by the Med ford city council last night call ing for construction bids on the new East Side fire station. Bids are scheduled to be open ed Friday, Feb. 17, and present ed at the council's Feb. 21 meet ing. The new fire station will be located on Highland dr. opposite Siskiyou blvd. City Manager Robert Duff has estimated $28, 504 is . available for construe tion. '. , v.; . Plans call for concrete block construction. Duff said, . how ever, that an alternate plan is being prepared for wood frame construction , with exterior stuc co finish and plastered interior. He said this is desirable because builders have expressed concern over a shortage of competent brick masons in the Medford area, .which might delay con struction. N Councilmen 'Too Busy7; Return Television Set . Because Medford has a busy city council, councilmen last night decided to return a tele vision set which had been donated by KBES-TV so the council could watch a popular program Tuesday nights. Mayor pro-tem John Snider pointed out that "because the council is . busy, it does not '. have an opportunity' to use it for the purpose for which it was intended.":, For that rea son. Snider suggested the set be returned, "with thanks." The council obtained the set after it passed a resolution ask ing the sponsor of the Sergeant Bilko program to change the time of the .program for: the convenience of the council. A copy of the resolution was for warded to the sponsor. i Price 5c tiBUNE FEBRUARY 8, 1956 No. 274 a youngster or unknowing adult could -suffer serious effects' from the substance. ' A nerve gas de veloped during the war, it re quires only a small amount to be fatal.'" V- ? .- "T Although a state law prevents sale of 10-80 in Oregon, purchase of the poison has been made from outside the state and at the present time there are no legal restrictions on its use. ': Precautions Taken ; Precautions have been taken by the company which makes it unlikely that persons might come into direct contact with 10-80 in .the stores, Hart stated, as it is placed in small contain ers which only the rodents can enter. Dogs either get the bait : di rectly through another source, or chew an affected rodent. Al though '' 10-80 has '. not been proved dangerous on rontact alone, . it is deadly if it enters the bloodstream, according to Hart. . . , . He explained that other poi sons, not so dangerous to other animals,, can be used for rodent eradication. Warfarin, a common rat poison, provides little danger of injuring other animals, he said. It is expected that a statement requesting legislation banning use of the rodenticide in Oregon will be presented at the March 1 hearing dh Medford of the leg islative interim committee. . Al Sarena Hearings Ended by Committee Washington The long-drawn- out Al Sarena hearings are over unless Sec. of Interior McKay requests a congressional investi gating committee to hear him in the case. The joint house-senate com mittee probing the issuance by the interior department to Al Sarena Mifiing company of min ing patents -; on claims in the Rogue River National forest voted today: .- To permit McKay to testify if he expresses a desire to do so. An aide told the committee he would do - so upon his return from the funeral of Gov. Paul Patterson. . -v To keep the record -open for 10 days for the inclusion by any committeeman of documents or other material relating to the case. v To terminate the hearings and proceed to work on a report of findines of the hearings, which began in Portland last Novem: ber and have sputtered along intermittently since. Washington' (U.R) Assist ant Air Force Secretary Travor Gardner has submitted his resig nation in protest against admin istration -research policies. City Bus Lines Plan To Eliminate Non-Rush Traffic Declining Revenues Given as Reason Evergreen Bus lines last night notified the Medford city coun cil the company proposes to re strict city operation to "rush" hours only starting Tuesday, Feb. 21. Ralph B. Matthews, manager of the line, said the restricted service "will be -feasible only if a sufficient number of passeng ers in addition to students, con tinue to use the service." He said buses will operate between 7:15 and. 9:15 a.m., and be tween 2:15 and 6:15 p.m. daily under the new schedule. Maintain Routes Present bus routes will be maintained during those hours, he said. The new schedule elim inates all Saturday service, he said. Evergreen operates bus ser vice on two routes in Medford. One serves the east side extend ing to the country club, and the other operates southwest of the downtown area. Matthews said a survey of passengers using the , service showed an average of 14.9 per sons during each hour of opera tion iii October last year. Dur ing November, there was an av erage of 14.2 persons; in Decem ber it was 15, and last month 11.6. "This is exclusive of school children riding on reduced rate school tickets," he said. The av erage revenue per passenger during the four months ending Jan. 31,. this year, was "slight ly in excess of 14 cents," he said. 24 Needed Total "If operation of bus service on the present routes and sched ules 'is to continue," Matthews said; -revenue equivalent to 24 full fare (not school) passengers per . hour of operation - will be necessary." He noted that the figure is more than twice the number of passengers using the bus during January, and a 60 per cent increase over : the De cember number of persons; . On a monthly basis, Matthews stated,' "the difference between actual . revenue and that requir ed amounted to approximately $360 per month for December, the. -best month, and- $430 per month1 during January, the poorest." . "Evergreen -Bus lines cannot afford to continue operation of the city service on the present basis," he added. "Unless some means for obtaining the addi tional-revenue can be worked out in the very near future, re striction ". of service to 'rush hours' appears to be the most promising course." Matthews pointed out that the problem of public transportation within cities is not peculiar to Medford.- "Declining revenues and increasing cost of " public transportation have forced many transit companies to seek some means which -would either increase- revenue or reduce ex pense of operation," he said. Matthews noted that increased fares in many cities provide ad ditional revenue, but said in creases do not appear probable here because of additional loss of passengers.'. He noted that fares here have increased once since the company started ser vice 10 years ago..".-.. Fares here have increased from 10 cents a ride or three tokens for 25 cents to 15 cents a ride or 10 tickets for $1.25. School fares have increased from 10 rides for 60 cents to 10 rides for $1, he said. Matthews noted that increas ed use would be "highly desir able from the standpoint of the community as well as that of the bus company." He said use of the private automobile, and increas ed facilities by private firms for parking have contributed to the decrease in patronage., .-, Train Abandonment Hearings Scheduled Salem U.R) Public hearings on the Southern Pacific's aban donment of passenger service to Ashland last August will be held March 13 and 15, the public service commission has an nounced. ' - - - The March 13 hearing is sched uled to be held in Roseburg and Medford will be the site of the second day's proceedings. At the liearings Commissioner Charles. Heltzel will determine if the railroad company is pro viding reasonably adequate service to the area. Decision Will Be Determined by Health Condition Statement Planned At News Conference Washington (U.R) Presi dent Eisenhower told a news conference today that he thought he would be , able to announce his decision on a second term by the end of this month. Mr.- Eisenhower made it clear that, in coming" to a decision, he will be guided by whether or not he feels he would be suf ficiently healthy to carry on the burdens of the presidency. In any case, he said, he will never go out barnstorming. Affection for Reporters He also said his present inclin ation is to make his announce ment at a news conference be cause he has come to develop a deep affection for his meetings with reporters. But he said that if a lengthy explanation might be necessary, that might be an other matter. Mr. Eisenhower was asked how he feels after a month of fairly full scale presidential ac tivity. He replied that at times he feels more, tired than before his illness. But he added with a grin that maybe is just a sign of advancing years. He is 65. The doctors, he went. on, say that his clinical record is splen did. Asked About Warren Mr. Eisenhower was asked a series of questions about the possible availability of Chief Justice Earl Warren as a Re publican presidential candidate. He said there were many ways Mr. Warren could be a candidate and the Chief Justice would en counter no opposition from' Mr. Eisenhower. . . Mr. Eisenhower - said, how ever, that he did not think it would be appropriate for him in case he decides not to run again, to ask any other Republican to make the race. Deplores Negro Riots To do so, the President said, would imply that, he could win the election for another man. - 'Other news" highlights at Mr: Eisenhower's meeting with re porters: - . .' -1. The recent riots involving a Negro student at the Univer sity of Alabama are deplorable. 2. He conceded that Russia might be ahead of this country in some aspects of the develop ment of guided missiles," but he thought the . United States ; is ahead in other areas. He said he thought this country's guided missile program represents the best possible effort of American scientists. . 3. He has not yet completed his reply to the latest letter from Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin. He wants to continue the ex change of correspondence with the Russian leader on the theory that this country should never take the position of blocking any available avenue to peace, no matter how tiny. . Asked About Plan 4. He will do everything with in his constitutional . powers to prevent an outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. 5. As far as he . .knows, his brother, Dr. Milton Eisenhower, president of Pennsylvania State University, has no political am bitions. (See story on page 6) Weather FORECAST: Fair through Thurs day with valley fog tonight and Thursday morning. Low tonight 27. High Thursday 55. Temp. ' Highest .Yesterday S. 46 Lowest this Morning . ; 24 January Unemployment Up; Improvement Is Predicted Unemployment in Jackson county last month increased 26 per cent over December, and was up 1,2 per cent over a year ago. January, according to John J. Patton, manager of the Med ford employment office. Patton noted, however, that 138 persons were placed in em ployment last month, indicating "the generally optimistic spirit of most employers in this area and the resulting effort on their part to keep things going." Work Shut Down He said heavy rains through out the month forced shut downs in several logging operations and log shortages reduced or stop ped work in other mills.'."The total amount of unemployment resulting from this was less than had been expected," Patton said. Unemployment as of Jan. 31, was estimated at 2,400, some 26 per cent above December, 1955, Patton' said, and 12 -per cent- above unemployment in THORNTON, SMITH SPEAK AT DINNER The 1956 political struggle be tween Democrats and" Republi cans will be. a battle of beliefs between "socialism and Ameri canism," Dan Thornton, former governor of Colorado and ad visor to President Eisenhower, said last night. ' Thornton ' and Gov. Elmo Smith spoke at a county Republi can Lincoln day dinner in the Jackson hotel. Thornton repeated a statement made Monday in Klamath Falls that he was sure,President Eisen- Gov. Elmo Smith indicated to reporters at a press confer ence yesterday afternoon that he . is strongly considering entering the race for the gov ernorship this fall. When asked if he would be a candidate he replied, "I don't know. I haven't made up my mind yet." But under repeated questioning he said, "Certain ly I'm not to be counted out of the picture." -When asked when he would decide, he replied, "I'm well aware of the filing date." hower would run for reelection. He said his belief is based on the fact that the. president's health continues to improve and that Eisenhower was not a man to step out of a "job half done." -Press Conference In a press conference before Thornton's speech he told re porters he believes it would be better for Eisenhower's health if he continued in the presidency. He suggested that the let-down Norblad To Seek Governors Post; Newbry Eyes Seat Salem (U.R) Rep. Walter Norblad - (R-Ore.) itoday an nounced he will be a candidate for - the Republican nomination for governor as - political fires, ignited yesterday, continued to burn brightly. The Oregon - representative is the first Republican to seek the office now held by Gov. Elmo Smith. : ;. - ' Yesterday, Portland attorney Lamar Tpoze revealed he was a candidate ' for . the . Republican nomination for United States Senator. Tooze had said before the death of Gov. Paul Patterson that he would run if Patterson didn't. If nominated, he would face Democratic Sen. Wayne Morse. " . Might Challenge Morse . . Also involving Morse was the report that Circuit Judge Donald E. Long of Portland might chal lenge him for the Democratic nomination for senator. , ' Multnomah c o u n t y sheriff Terry Schrunk raised some sparks when.he said he was very much interested in running for governor -on the , Democratic ticket in competition with state Sen. Robert D. Holmes, choice of many Democratic leaders. Newbry Considering Norblad's announcement was followed by a statement from Secretary of State Earl T. New bry that he is "seriously con sidering" running for the Con- gressional seat Norblad would vacate. ; . Newbry must retire from the Secreetary of State's post since he has held it as long as statute allows for, consecutive terms." He has said he would remain active in public affairs. Although a registered voter in Ashland, where he has busines interests, Newbry has resided in Salem for the past eight years. He is 55 years old. . ... January, 1955, when weather was abnormally dry. Patton noted that although last month's figures are above those of January, 1955, "they are lower than any other Janu ary in several years." The num ber of persons placed in employ ment last month was a "good total for such a period of bad weather," he said. Picking Up Agricultural work, particular ly orchard pruning, got behind during wet weather, but .picked up toward the end of January, he said. In most cases, unem ployment was of short duration, he said. . y Patton said the outlook for employment beyond the next 30 to 60 days is good. The seasonal increase in new hiring, he said, will depend on the weather, but the month of March usually marks the beginning of the an nual turnup in employment ac tivity. . following completion, of a strenu ous job is often more detrimen tal than continuing. Thornton, gave blanket en dorsement to Renuhli pan fnraian policy. "I thank God we have a president and a secretary of state," he said, "who have pulled us back from the brink of war three times . . J can think of at . least three presidents who did not pull us back from the brink of war in 1916, 1941 and 1950. i, ior one, nope we continue to have a president and a secretary of state who will pull us back from the brink." Governor Smith In u . " aiccui immediately Drecedinff Thnm. ton's expressed regret over the aeam ot the late Gov. Paul Pat terson. He said he considered it a tremendous honor to be gov ernor and that he would try to liveup to the standards set by uuvernor .fatterson. Smith said hp believer, in local government at city, county and state levels. "Only by having good govern ment at the local level can we have good government at the top," he said. Smith, a Short, heaw.ser man who spoke slowly and carefully, said that the best trihnto licans could pay Governor Pat. lerson would be to dedicate themselves to the task he had begun. Thornton snoke bitterlv nfww what he called socialistic en croachment into the Demrwrnt. ic party. He referred to Demo cratic "brainwashing" and soc ialistic indoctrination of school children and college students. Democratic Candidate - "The Democratic candidate for the presidency, he said, will not come from the south but from the "socialistic leadership'' as represented by Averill Harri man and Adlai Stevenson, and would have the endorsement of the labor bosses. Thornton declared that , the failure of socialism might clear ly be seen in Great Britain and in the fact that the only two areas in the United States where there is a power shortage are in the Northwest and the Ten nessee valley, areas where the federal . government has devel oped extensive electrical pow er projects. "It is time we stopped apol ogizing for being a capitalist in this - great capitalistic nation," Thornton said. He stated that capitalism has made this coun try the greatest on earth and that the ' Eisenhower adminis tration has proven that it con tinues to be the "best way of life. ;-. . ; . .-, ' A crowd of about 265 people began the Lincoln club meet ing by singing a erse of Ameri ca. The Rev. Raymond W. Hum gave the invocation. David Frohnmayer," Medford . High school speech student, recited Lincoln's Gettysburg address, in keeping with the theme of the meeting.- Officers and guests were introduced by Lincoln Club President Donald B. Whalin who acted as chairman. Detention Home Medford city attorney Frank Farrell last night was instructed to .prepare a deed for about two acres of land near the. county shops to go to the county for a juvenile detention home. The city council received a re quest from the county court last night for the land, which is lo cated between property owned by Dr., Charles W. Lemery and the county shops just south of Barnett rd. The court said it had consid ered several properties in the valley, but only the city prop erty was considered accessible. County Judge J. Rodney Keating this morning expressed the court's "sincere appreciation for the council's action." He said he hoped the move would enable the county to begin pre paring the site for sewer and water facilities soon and com plete surveying. Plans and con struction could then be ' con sidered, he said. ; Funds for construction of a detention home were voted by the county in 1954. Medford Gets $71,288 in Highway Revenues Salem (U.R) State highway funds totalling $2,883,475 for the six-month period ending Dec. 31 were apportioned today to cities in Oregon. Bulk oivbiT money went to Portland which received $932, 114. Apportionment is on the basis of 10 per cent of highway revenues from registrations, gasoline taxes, fees and fines. Other cities included: Klam ath. Falls $59,406, Medford $71-288.