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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1957)
Try I ley Trapp ID MM Storm Flooding Follows Deadly Tornadoes In Southwest Area Wyoming, Denver Dig Out of Snow Br UNITED PRESS Floods followed an outbreak of deadly tornadoes in the south western storm belt today, bring ing new distress to portions of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. In New England, widespread frost was reported with record low temperatures for this late in the spring. A United Press count showed at least 29 persons killed in the violent weather during the last ;wo days. Twenty were killed in the tornado at Silverton, Tex. Oklahoma seported eight storm deaths and Kansas one drown ing. Flood Conditions Rip At Wichita, Kan., the weather bureau warned that conditions along the Little Arkansas river were ripe for a repetition of the disastrous floods of 1951. Some residents of North Wich ita already were moving their furniture and belongings to higher ground. Homes were flooded by the overflow from storm, sewers and from shallow Chilshom creek. Gov. George Docking ordered National Guard' units on a standby basis at Wichita, El Dorado, Newton and Eureka, Kan. Workers were busy sandbag ging the levees along the Little Arkansas, and firemen readied boats for evacuation duty. Eight Dead in Oklahoma In Oklahoma, eight persons were dead and more than 500 had been driven from their homes by the Cimarron river, on its worst rampage in history. New rains of up to eight inches fell today and flood wa ters closed more tnan 40 major highway routes. Practically every bridge tm the Cimarron ' was heavily damaged or washed out. Enid and Dover, Okla., looked like "one big lake" from the air Thursday, with floodwaters ranging up to eight and 10 feet deep. The floods hit on the heels of a 13Vi inch rainfall. Cheyenne, Wyo., dug out from a " snowstorm : that left seven inches of snow on the ground early today. Two inches of snow blanketed Laramie, Wyo., and one inch was report ed at Denver. Up to 14 inches of snow bur ' ied sections of southeast Wyo ming. Police Arrest Three California Men Three California men are be ing held in the Jackson county jail pending-word from author ities in Oakland, Calif., where they reportedly are wanted to face burglary charges. They are Everett Becraft, 35, Los Angeles; George Edward Marino, 31, Sacramento; and Peter Mascio, 34, Hollywood. They were arrested Thursday by two Medford police officers at East Main and Almond sts. Officers stopped' the three on suspicion after they appeared to be "casing" a building. Police said an investigation revealed the car they were driving recent ly was stolen from Las Vegas, Nev. The "car contained eight suitcases with more than 40 articles valued at hundreds of dollars, police said. They said they believed the articles were stolen. Eugene Firm Submits Low Bid for Crater Lake Job Coast Construction and Exca vation company of Eugene was awarded a contract for con struction of water and sewer facilities for a new residential area near headquarters at Crater Lake National park. Superin tendent Tom Williams an nounced today. The Eugene firm bid was 536, 360.70. A total of 13 bids were received. The project, part of the park service's Mission 66 program, calls for construction of 3.800 feet of water lines, 3,900 feet of sewer lines, a 20,000 gallon sep tic tank and related disposal field. New Development The new residential develop ment will be in the Munson val ley headquarters area, and will provide modern living facilities for permanent park employees. Park service personnel now live in cabins built several years ago and intended for summer use only Williams said funds are now BeK. - Htt City to Ask PUC For Hearing on Speed of Trains The Public Utilities commis sioner will be asked to hold a public hearing in Medford in the near future on the maximum speed limits of Southern Pacific trains at railway crossings in Medford. The Medford city council last night authorized Mayor John Snider to file a petition with the PUC requesting an investi gation and hearing on train speeds. Present maximum sped limits designated by the PUC for trains operating within the city at Southern Pacific crossings are 35 miles per hour except at Main and Sixth sts. where the speed limit is 10 mph. Population Growth The council's resolution noted population growth, increased traffic volume, accident records, signalization difficulties and oth- Hearing Called on Rezoning Property North of Jackson A public hearing on annexa tion of an area of land north of Jackson st. and east of Biddle rd., proposed as the site for a new Sears Roebuck and company store, will be held' June 6. ' Xhe city council called -the hearing last night. The vote was unanimous, although Councilman Fred. Robinson, in explaining his vote, indicated he was against, the annexation proposal. Located in Island The area, totaling 12.6 acres, is located in an "island" which is surrounded by the city but not part of it. Now owned by Dr. I. D. Phipps, it is under purchase option to Buttress and McClel- lan, Los Angeles contracting and architectural firm, together with another 15.7 acres of Dr. Phipps' property now inside the city. It is understood the entire 28.3 acre site would be used for the proposed new store, including parking facilities. ' The planning commission rec ommended the annexation, and will consider rezoning of the area from "single family" to "limited commercial," at a pub lic hearing May 27. to permit construction of the store. Sears Roebuck and company now owns a location between Central, and Riverside ,aves. at about 10th St., bur- it has been indicated the site is, inadequate in size for the store being planned. - Some opposition to the Sears store has been evident, largely from some downtown merchants, who discussed it at a meeting earlier this week. No action re sulted from the meeting. Vofers Turn Down , -Annexation at Eugene Eugene (tPt A' move to annex two large suburban areas to Eu gene was an apparent failure today, on the basis of still in complete returns. Eugene voters balloted over whelmingly in favor of annexa tion of River Road and Oakway-Wil-la-kenzie districts but resi dents in those fringe areas gave equally heavy margins against the proposal. available for construction of six residential units at Crater Lake National park, and bids will be called for the structures '.in the near future. He added that addi tional employee housing at the lake will be pushed to comple tion as rapidly as funds become I available. .Other bids were received from Bessonette Construction com pany, Medford, $37,757.61; Bros- terhous Construction company, Klamath Falls, $40,918.29; Deller Construction company, Eugene, $49,449.29; Harold W. Salter, Rogue River, $46,982.95; Aus 1 a n d Construction company. Grants Pass, $41,430; Graham Brothers, Ltd., Klamath Falls, $50,898.40; P. J. Bush and sons. Cottage Grove, $42,748; R and M Construction company. Cen tral Point, $48,374.95; M. C. Lin inger and Sons, Medford, $41,- 562.12; W. H. Conrad company. Inc., Medford, $52,516.30; River side Construction company, Port land, $43,789; and G. C. Motley, Inc. Klamath Falls, $51,698.85 Again er conditions at the crossings in dicate the present SP speed lim its are excessive. The council also directed City Manager Robert Duff to com pile and prepare evidence on railway speeds at crossings for presentation to the PUC hearing officer. Further restriction on the speed of trains was suggested by the death last week of a 28-year-old Medford woman and her un born child. The city has no direct au thority to regulate railway speeds. State statutes vest that power exclusively in the state for cities with less than 100,000 population. Mayor Snider read letters from the Medford Safety coun cil and Medford Ministerial asso ciation and a petition signed by 67 Medford residents protesting the lack of safety practices by trains in Medford. . - The letters criticized SP's au dio-visual warning devices where signals continue to sound at crossings when no train is near. They also protested SP's prac tice of "flying switching." The petition urged the council to request the PUC for 10 mph limits at all railway crossings in Medford and guard rails at all crossings as well as under passes and overpasses. City Attorney E. R. Bashaw said ' according to PUC . repre sentatives in Salem the maxi mum railroad speed limits at Medford crossings are in line with those of other cities similar in size to Medford. The mayor read a telegram from L. R. Smith, SP division superintendent, stating the rail road 'informally agreed with Mayor Earl Miller in 1856 that the SP would reduce train speeds m accordance with those proposed by the council in Feb ruary, 1956. ' ' Smith indicated, in- the tele gram ' that the instructions is sued to enginemen have been followed. Former . Mayor Miller said today he had never made any "individual . agreement" on the matter. He added that a mayor has no authority to act without council consent. .. Maximum speeds at crossings proposed by the council in Feb ruary, 1956, were 25 miles per hour except 15 at 11th, Fourth and Third sts. and 10 at Main and Sixth sts. According to city records no acknowledgement of the coun cil's proposed schedule of speeds was ever received from the Southern Pacific. Only objection to the council action last night came from Councilman Robert Van Sickle. Van Sickle said slower speeds would , add to the congestion of traffic in Medford and that the recent accidents involving the SP in which two people have died, "aren't accidents in which the SP should be held solely responsible." - ' Ordinance Adopted On Liquor Control A new municipal liquor con trol ordinance was adopted by the Medford city council last night. Most significant section of the new ordinance pertains to the purchase or possession of liquor by a irtihoF, according to City Attorney E. R. Bashaw. Viola tors can now be tried i.. munici pal court instead of district or circuit court, Bashaw said. He noted that the new ordi nance, in general matters per taining to liquor control enforce ment, will give the city of Med ford more authority. The ordi nance also reenacts and incor porates all state laws on liquor control, he said. The ordinance, patterned aft er a model ordinance prepared by the League of Oregon Cities, provides for various phases of liquor control to be all under one ordinance. Previously, Med ford liquor control regulations have been scattered in several different ordinances. . . Damages Awarded in Mitchell Flash Flood Fossil (W A $15,000 judg ment has been awarded Lena Sigfrit for damages done to her property in the disasterous Mitch ell flood of July, 1956. It was the first of 10 cases to come to court against the State Highway Commission as a result of the flash flood which swept down Mitchell's main street, washing out roads and destroy ing buildings. i Six Grants Pass Students Injured On Blackwell Hill Car Hits Rear of Cement Truck Today Six Grants Pass High school students were hospitalized in Medford this morning after the car in which they were riding struck the rear of a cement truck on Highway 99 on the north slope of Blackwell hill,' north of Central Point. Condition of the six girls, five from Grants Pass and one from Rogue River, was believed serious. The accident victims were identified by police as Yvonne Erickson, 17, of 1248 Schroder lane, Virginia Spliethof,' 16, of 200 Lewis ave., Sharon Plantz, 16, of 225 Lincoln rd., Charlene Palmer, 16, route 2,. box 328-B, and Dixie Lee Turk, 17, of 1417 East Park st.,all of Grants Pass, and Jo Ann Wood, 17, route 1, box 103, Rogue River. : State police said identification was taken from contents of purses and billfolds. ' . Senior 'Skip Day' : According to police, the acci dent occurred about 9:57 a.m., while the youths were en route to Jackson Hot Springs for a senior class "skip day." They were " traveling - south, on the highway when their car appar-, ently struck 'the rear of the ce-' ment truck, also southbound on the highway. " Officers said ihe cement truck, which was knocked about 119 feet up the. hill by the impact of , the crash, was traveling at an estimated "speed of 17 miles per hour. The .car, operated by Miss Plantz, traveled more than 200 feet along the highway shoulder before hitting the truck, police said. ,. Lester Dusenberry, 704 Palm st., Medford, was driver of the truck; Two ambulances were sum moned to the scene. Two of the injured girls were taken to Rogue Valley hospital and four were taken to Sacred Heart hos pital. Officers are still attempt ing to learn details of the acci dent." Council Approves Mutual Assistance The Medford city council ast night approved participation by the fire department in a mutual assistance agreement with 13 or ganized fire districts and munici palities in Jackson county. A similar mutual assistance agreement has been effect in Jackson county since 1950, ac cording to Fire Chief Gordon Barker. The new agreement pro tects districts aprticipating in the agreement from liability, Barker said. - . Purpose of the agreement is for a unified fire service for the countyBarker said. No com munity could provide enough fire equipment in case of a major fire. Districts will now "have access-to fire equipment of other areas.. ' ' Barker said a central dispatch system probably will be set up at the Medford station for con tacting other districts. Fire departments participat ing in the agreement are Med ford, Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Eagle Point, Cen tral .Point, .Gold Hill, Rogue River, Rogue River Rural Fire department, Central Point RuraL Shady Cove Rural, and the Camp White Fire department. . Salem HP) Sen. G. D. Glea- son, Portland ijemocrai, toaay became the first formal candi date for president of the 1959 Senate. ' v "Remember All Those Nice Peanut?" ' ' 'JgJgiBL.i 24 O, " Wm7J ' 6 PRESENTED PIN Jim Murray, right, shop foreman at the Mail Tribune, was presented a -40-year membership pin Thursday by the Medford Typographical union No. 559. The presentation was made by Clark E. Ander son,' president of the Oregon Typographical Measure To Increase Basic School Support CBeare IHIouse City Decides Not to Assume I indebtedness Of Water Districts The city of Medford will not' assume bonded indebtedness of the Midway and Elk City water districts if the Berrydale area is annexed to Medford. . ' , . ' , ; The sci ty "--cotmeilla si flight took action on the matter after hearing a report by Robert Lee, city water superintendent. The city water commission recom mended the city not assume the indebtedness of the two areas. Bonded indebtedness of- the Midway district is $74,000 and the Elk City district $187,000. Seventy per cent of the assessed valuation of the Midway district and 40 per cent of the Elk City district assessed " valuation are included in the proposed annexa tion area. . ' . ... Indebtedness Listed . The Berrydale area is respon sible for repayment of about 70 per cent, or $52,000, of the $74, 000 Midway district debt and about 40 per cent, or $75,000, of the $187,000 Elk City district debt. ' Millage rate in the . Midway water district is 1.4, and in the Elk City district it is 9.3. . Lee ' said three reasons moti vated the commission's recom mendation: . ' - 1. There is no statutory re quirement that the debt be as sumed as was the case in the an nexation of the Kenwood-Grand-view area, 2. While the commission can absorb a 5,200 per year loss in revenue and additional mainte nance and operations costs as a result of the Berrydale annexa tion, assuming water district debts . would require a second water rate increase within the city equal in magnitude to the recent rate increase caused by the Kenwood-Grandview annex ation. 3. The water district debt in Berrydale was incurred primar- .r.-t OREGON, FRIDAY, MAY 17, ily to finance the cost of lateral ! water mains and should be as sessed against benefitting prop erty owners. .: i - ; Lee said in his report if Med fortTassumed' Berrydale's water district debts, the city as a whole would relieve Berrydale prop erty owners from paying lateral main assessments and the entire assessment procedure "would be open to question." The water superintendent pointed out the taxes to be paid to the water districts by the Ber rydale property owners ' are simply assessments for lateral water mains paid over an 18 to 25-year period. - y Berrydale residents will vote on annexation May 22." Last week the city council, - representing Medford voters, approved the proposal following a public hearing. ' . , (Sea Council Siory Pag 8) Plans Authorized for Sewer in Northeast City Manager Robert Duff last night was authorized by , the Medford city council to prepare plans and specifications for a sanitary sewer for about 1,370 acres in the Kenwood - Grand view area. The area was annexed to Med ford Jan. 28. Petitions signed by 410 Ken wood-Grandview1 residents re questing construction of a sani tary sewer in the area were ac cepted by the council early in March. The area in Kenwood-Grandview for which the sewer is planned is bounded by Delta Waters rd. on the north, Spring brook rd. on the east, Saling ave. on the south, and Biddle rd. and Crater Lake highway on the west. Studies are now being made to determine cost of the sewer project and to work out prob lems involving areas in Kenwood-Grandview that are sparse ly settled where sewer assess ments would be "exorbitant," according to Vern Thorpe, public works director. Beck's Relative Uses 5th Amendment Washington -Ijin The" Senate Labor, Rackets committee charged today that a relative of Dave Beck simultaneously got $50,000 from the Teamsters Union payroll and $51,000 from a company selling goods to the union. . ' .' . The relative. Norman Gessert, invoked the Fifth Amendment to this and all other questions the committee shot at him as lie began public testimony. He re fused to 1 answer four questions in the first 10 minutes. Gessert, a trim, gray - haired man with a stolid, craggy face, refused even to say that he knew his own attorney, Edward L. Carey, who sat besige him. Tribune 1957 No. 49 conference. He also represented the local union. Murray has ' worked- for the Maii Tribune since 1916. Others present when the pin was awarded were shop employees of the Mail Tribune. (Kftin Knackstedt photo) Budget for State Building Program i Salem Ml A basic school support increase from $80 to $95 per census child sailed through the ..Oregon House 58-1 late Thursday as the Legislature com pleted action- on" some"" of its most important legislation. ' Also meeting; little opposition in late voting was a $15 million budget for. the state institution building program which passed 52-3 and a higher: education $7 million building program which was approved 46-10. , . .All three bills now go to the Senate for confirmation. - In other action by the legisla ture, House Bill 732 giving the State Board of Education the same powers over Oregon Tech nical Institute as the Board of Higher Education has over col leges and the university passed the House 58-1. The most important unemploy ment compensation bill of the legislative session, boosting maximum benefits from $35 to $40 a week, passed the House 36-23 and went to the governor. The hard-fought, much-amend ed key district bill to change the formula for distributing state aid to schools finally made it through the Oregon Legislature Thursday. The Senate, voting on party lines, defeated House bill 722 to create a three-man paid - parole board. Smith Says Legislature Worst Within Memory Salem API Former Gov. Elmo Smith, addressing a meet ing of past and present Republi can state legislators here Thurs day night called the record of the present Legislature "the worst within the memory of any one connected with Oregon gov ernmental activity. , , According to the former gov ernor, the session has been notable for "lack of ability, ob jectivity and experience,, com pounded" by a complete void in leadership from the democratic governor." Signing of County Budget Delayed; Opinion Received Signing of the 1957-98 Jackson county budget, originally sched-j uled for Thursday afternoon, has been delayed. - Officials ' said the delay was caused "by inability to contact all members of the budget commit tee yesterday. Last signature was expected to be obtained today. Opinion Received An opinion from the attorney general concerning two items on the budget .was received late yesterday. The attorney general held that retaining ' $12,500 for operation and maintenance of the juvenile detention home1 be fore construction is completed is legal' as long as the funds are labeled for that purpose. He held the same was true concerning the proposed $104, 000 sinking fund for purchase of a new agronomy research sta tion. It was explained that it is illegal to hold funds for an un Sand Covers One Exposed Hand; All Efforts Defied Rescuers Call for Derrick and Bucket Manorville, N. Y. (IP) Res cuers abandoned efforts to tun nel through to 7-year-old Benny Hooper ' today and sent for a derrick and bucket te break through to the 21-foot well shaft in which he has been trapped -for more than 19 hours. Hope for the imprisoned youngster had been virtually abandoned as shifting sand cov ered his one exposed hand in the 10-inch shaft and defied all ef forts to shore a tunnel to him from an emergency parallel shaft. Last Ritas Administered Shortly after 10 a.m. (p.s.t.) Deputy Sheriff Phillip Corso an nounced: "This is a lost cause. We're going to have to change the whole operation." Corso said a derrick and bucket had been sent for and an attempt will be made with them to break through and "dig the boy out quickly." The last rites of the Roman Catholic Church had been ad ministered to the child a few hours earlier. Vacuum Pump Used ' In a desperate last effort to maintain life, if the child was still alive in his,10-mch prison, vacuum pump which had ear lier been regarded as too dan gerous for use was set up to clear the sifting sand from above his head. His hand, cramped above his head and the only part of him visible from above, disappeared under the falling sand at 9 a.m. Almost all hope for his life went with it. At about the same time, the sand bogged down rescue work ers in a parallel hole as they at tempted to tunnel through the 15 feet separating them from the boy. They worked frantically to break through. . ' . . Paronis Not Present The boy's parents were not present when the priest adminis tered the last rites. Friends say Benny has been a regular attend ant at a Methodist Church Sun day school. A Roman Catholic- Church spokesman said that in ' cases where a Driest comes uban an accident scene he may adminis ter, "conditional absolution," a form of final rite designed for situations in which the faith of a dying person is not known. Appointments Made To Plumbing Board Appointments of two plumb ers and a city official to the Medford ooard of plumbing ex aminers were approved by the city council last night. They are L. C. McLaughlin, master plumber; D. C. Endicott, journeyman; and H.. E. Mackie, city building inspector, was re appointed city , plumbing in spector. He has served on the board about nine years. Terms of the other two board members are one year. i . Purpose of the plumbing board is - to noia examinations lor plumbers, applying for a master plumber rating. Weather FORECAST: Occasional light rain through Saturday. Low tonight 48. High Saturday near 7. Temp. Highest Yesterday 7S Lowest This Morning St Our Skies Tonight ftunriso Sunset . 4:4 a.m. 7:2ft p.m. ..19:5 p.m. May 21 Moonrlse Last Quarter .......?. PROMINENT STAR Capella. low in northwest f it p.m. VISIBLE PLANETS Jupiter, high In ' south 8:01 p.m. Saturn, rises :5! p.m. Mars, sets 10:12 p.m. specified purpose in the county budget. However, the attorney general said money may be held for future use as long as the in tended use is named in the budget. Detention Home The detention home operation and maintenance . fund would not be used until sometime after September when completion of the building is expected. Prop erty near Jacksonville fof agro nomic research will be pur chased over a period of years rather than in a lump sum. Hearing on the proposed $2, 990,446.72 county budget has been scheduled for June 17. County Clerk Bereth P. Hopkins has indicated she will present a proposed salary schedule for all county employees at the hear ing. The schedule is expected to be similar to one used for civil service employees.
