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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.