Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, February 28, 1958, Image 1

Historic Oregon Newspapers

Medford mail tribune., February 28, 1958, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextTil 0 oK (rW IM IN (fa Parade, Initiation By Legion Saturday American Legionnaire! from outhern Oregon posts will parade in downtown Medford Saturday afternoon, as part of a Legion jamboree and in itiation. Posts in Medford, Ashland, Grants Pass, Cave Junction, Roseburg, Klamath Falls and Lakeview will be represented. Parading with the Legion will be the Grants Pass Cave men, various high school bands, Boy Scouts, the 40 and 8 locomotive, a 100-man unit of the National Guard, a Camp White poppy float, local dignitaries and the Legion auxiliary. The parade will form at 4 p.m. at Ivy and Main sts. It Mack Will Give Consideration To Demands To Quit Washington (IPl Federal Communications Commission er Richard A. Mack said to day he would "seriously con sider" demands that he re sign. Mack heretofore has insist ed he had "no intention" of quitting his FCC post in the face of charges which he has denied that he let money and friends influence his commission 'decisions. But today he appeared shaken in his resolve after Chairman Oren Harris (D Ark.) joined other members of a House investigating sub committee in telling the com missioner he should resign. "Used by Friends" Harris, whose group has been hearing Mack's testi mony the past two days, said the commissioner has been "used by his friends." He told Mack, "you are to be pitied." But he said that if Mack did not submit his resignation President Eisenhower who apopinted him to the FCC . should immediately request it. , Mack, obviously moved, said he would "seriously con sider" Harris' suggestion that he quit. With that. Mack asked that the hearing he recessed until next Wednesday, when, he presumably will give his an iwir. The subcommittee agreed to the recess. Wet Weather Stops Construction Work Construction work on 'the Eighth st. couplet has been stalled during the past week because of wet weather, ac cording to Jack McCormick, state highway engineer. He .said the contractor,1 M. C. Lininger, has completed about 80 per cent of the work in connecting storm sewers near Laurel st. with the city's recently completed Eighth and Vkth" st. "storm sewers. The contractor has also started work in clearing trees and shrubs from a section of the courthouse lawn and library park for the couplet. McCormick said Lininger would have 100 work-days to complete the project. Work stoppage by wet weather will not be counted, he added. (SuflOetSn Los Angeles (W Con-Tici-author Caryl Chessman, 36, today lost his bid io es cape long -delayed execu tion when Superior Judge Waller R- Evans rejected his contention that a 1948 trial transcript was faulty. Australian Tourist Activities Director Interested in Sno-Cat Harold . Best, secretary and director of tourist activi ties and immigration for New South Wales, Australia, visit ed southern Oregon Monday and Tuesday. He was a -guest of Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Tucker, Ashland, and was en route to San Francisco. Best said he operates a chalet in New South Wales at the 6,000-foot level and was especially interested in the Tucker Sno-Cat manufac tured here. "It is not generally known that in the southern Alps of New South Wales, extensive snow fields, as large as the whole of Switzerland, exist will start at 4:30 p.m. proceed ing on Main st. to Bartlett, right to Eighth St., and will disperse between Eighth and Ninth sts. A buffet dinner and social hour will be held at the Jack son hotel from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for legionnaires and guests, including Gov. Robert Holmes and his executive sec retary, Harry R. Swanson Jr. A 12-man color guard of National Guardsmen will ac company Post 15 Commander Keegan Townsend, Medford, and others to meet the gov ernor's party at the Medford airport at 6:45 p.m. At the 8 p.m. meeting in the armory, which will be open to the public, Mayor John Snider and County Judge Rodney Keating will welcome the legion. State Commander Charles Huggins will introduce the governor. Commander Townsend will preside. Santiam Post 51 ritual team will initiate Legionnaires. Miss Laura York, Medford auxiliary president, will in troduce state auxiliary offic ers. Pins will be presented to auxiliary members who have donated 50 hours of hospital work. A dance and fun fest at the Jackson hotel Pioneer room will follow the main program. Governor Holmes will be at the hotel until 12:15 p.m. Sun day, Townsend said. Air Force Thor,' Carrying New Cone, Launched Cape Canaveral, Fla. (IP) A Thor intermediate range; missile, carrying a new nose cone designed to return a nu clear warhead from space and smash an enemy target, was launched with a mighty blast today. The new technique, al though perfected for military purposes, also might lead to licking the reentry problem of a man-made satellite. The trim missile, its blunt and rounded nose cone glisten ing in the bright morning sun, blasted up from the Cape Canaveral launching site a few minutes after 5 ajn. (PST). A great cloud of smoke and fire boiled up from the launching pad. Success or Failure? The missile slashed through a layer of clouds after 40 seconds of flight but was visi ble again for about 20 seconds before it disappeared, trail ing vapor, behind more clouds. The " Air Force announced only that the Thor was fired and said nothing about the success or failure of the flight or how far the Thor went. In previous flights a Thor is reported to have flown some 2,600 miles, although it is designed only as a 1,500- mile range ballistic missile. 'Tell Understanding McCormack Demands Washington (IP) House Democratic Leader John W. McCormack (Mass.) renewed his demand today that Presi dent Eisenhower disclose his secret "understanding" with Vice President Richard M. Nixon on taking over the presidency. Salem (W The State Emer gency Board has appropriated $30,000 for preliminary plan ning on a new labor and in dustries building in the Capi tol Mall. for four or five months of the I year," .Best stated. jis These snow fields are be ing developed as sources for hydroelectric power, the stor age of water for irrigation of the western plains and as tourist resorts." Guests at the" chalet must be carried over snow from five to 11 miles, from June through October, depending on snow conditions, according to the visitor. "Hence my 'interest in the Tucker Sno-Cat which is be ing used, apparently quite successfully by the, British Antarctic expedition," he added. "The Snowy Mountains Hy-i CARLOS W. MORRIS Seeks Reelection County Coroner Seeks Reelection In May Primary Coroner Carlos W. Morris, 48, of 128 Mistletoe st., Med ford, announced today his can didacy for reelection on the Republican .ticket. Frank Perl previously announced he would seek the GOP nomin ation in the May 16 primary election. Deadline for filing for nom inations in the primary is Friday, March 7. Morris has been coroner since 1954, when he was elected by a write-in vote after the previous coroner re signed. Morris also served as coroner between 1948 and 1952. Partner in Home He is a partner with Mrs H. W. Conger in the Conger- Morris Funeral home, Med ford. He has been associated with the funeral home since 1939 He was born in Gold Hill in 1910, the son of a pioneer family there. Motris noted that Oregon residents voted in 1956 to re move the coroner s office so revisions to bring the office ud to date could be made Under the present law, the coroner is unable to conduct inquests or autopsies without a request from the district at torney. He said that many times an autopsy is needed to clar ify the cause of death, but tne district attorney may not re- auest one if no criminal ac tion will follow, leaving the cause of death obscure. Morris, a member of the Oregon State Association of County Coroners, "has been active during the past two years working with the legis lative, pathologists, district attorneys and sheriff's asso ciation committees and other interested groups" to bring about necessary changes in legislation. He said he be lieved such changes may be passed in the next legislature, Morris added that the cor oner must investigate all deaths that might be the re suit of crime, self-inflicted or accidental. "Only by complete control of his duties in office can the coroner properly pro tect the rights of the public," Morris said. Wishes of Family At all times, of course, when there is a death coming under the jurisdiction of the coroner's office, the wishes of the. family are paramount as to which mortuary will have charge of the memorial serv ices," he added. Morris is married, and they have three children. One spn, Steve, is a senior at Medford high school; another, Brad, is a University of Oregon stu dent, and ' their daughter, Judy, works for Pacific Tele phone ana .telegraph com pany in Sacramento, Calif. droelectric authority, which carrying out the work of building dams "and power sta tions in the area, is also inter ested in securing additional Sno-Cats for suitable snow transport for its workers as they continue construction work during the whole of the year. "My visit to Medford has been made (after my attend ance at Santa Barbara for the annual conference of the Pa cific Area Travel association) to investigate the suitability of the Tucker Sno-Cat for general use in our Southern Alps," he said. A demonstra tion of the vehicle was given at Crater Lake this week. 52nd M EDF0RD 18 PAGES Many Children Drown as School Bus Leaves Road 12 Others Saved in Kentucky Tragedy Prestonsburg, Ky. (IPl A loaded school bus plummeted over a 50-foot bluff into the Big Sandy river today. Eight een to 24 children and the driver apparently were killed or drowned. 1 Twelve children escaped from the bus and were res cued. The tragedy occurred on U.S. 23 about three miles south of here when bus driver John Derossett, 22, tried to avoid an automobile wrecker and a half-ton truck which had skidded into a ditch on the side of the road. Kentucky State Trooper Bill Lycan said the school bus glanced off the left rear cor ner of the wrecker and ca reened across the highway, striking the shoulder of the road and a parked car. Teeters, Then Falls The bus teetered sickening ly on the edge of the .bluff for a moment, then rolled over and down into the Big Sandy, swollen some 20 feet above normal stage by recent heavy rains. Lycan said the bus did not sink immediately, and some of the students escaped through the emergency door, which Derossett apparently was able to open. Derossett and Donald Horn, driver of the wrecker, got on top of the bus and helped sev eral children get out until the bus sank out of sight in the swirling .water... : 23 Believed Dead James Green, chairman . of the Floyd county school board said he believed 23 children and the driver were dead. Prestonsburg High School Principal James B'. Volen is sued a list of 16 high school and four grade school chil dren unaccounted for and be lieved to have been on the bus. It was possible that some may have missed the bus, and also possible that others not listed were on it. The river was being dragged and diving equipment was sent to the scene, but the bus had not been located several hours after the accident. GP Man Charged With Letter Theft Robert W. Craig, 51, Foot hill blvd., Grants Pass, was arraigned Thursday morning before U.S. Commissioner Frank Van Dyke in Medford on charges , of theft of four letters containing money from the U.S. Postal service Craig, a postman in Grants Pass for 11 years, was ar rested Thursday by postal in spectors. It was charged that he had taken the letters from corner mail boxes. Craig was released on $1,000 personal appearance bond and is scheduled to ap pear before the federal grand jury in Portland. He was also removed from duty by the postal department. It was reported that Craig had been under surveillance for some time by postal in spectors. Huge Blizzard Stalls Traffic in Midwest By UNITED PRESS One of the worst Midwest blizzards of the winter raged with undiminished intensity today, stopping traffic in its tracks and virtually isolating communities in parts of Ne braska, Kansas and the kotas. Da- Five Cent Postage Said Still in Trouble Washington Pi The ad ministrations five-cent stamp was still in trouble today even though it has twice been approved by the Senate. There were indications it may take a licking in the House. Manila (IPl The recall of Maj. Gen. John B. Ackerman, top U.S. Air Force command er in the Phhilippines for liv ing too luxuriously at gov ernment expense shocked of fical American and Philippine quarters today. Year MEDFORP Co' Cottage Grov -sheriffs raid on a lo. al -ardroom Thursday night resulted in a scuffle between a deputy sheriff and an assistant police chief and in parking tickets being placed for a time on sheriffs' cars. .. , Lane County Sheriff Ed Elder said he and nine dep uties took part in the raid on the cardroom and arrested four persons. He said three deputies had been inside the Talent Man Dies Of Injuries from December Mishap Clifford Carl Nicholson, 54, of 203 Gibson st., Talent, died at Sacred Heart hospital Thursday from injuries re ceived in an accident Dec. 26, 1957, at the .Jackson coun ty gravel pit. He was em ployed by the Jackson county roads department and had been a patient at the hospital since the accident. Nicholson was reported to have suffered multiple hip and pelvis injuries in the ac cident, according to Jackson county sheriff's deputies. He was pinned between a truck and a support pillar for the rock crusher hopper. At the time of his death Nicholson was a member of the Talent city council, a po sition he held for several years.- He was a member . of Talent Methodist church and the Gideons. Born in Colorado Nicholson was born April 10, 1903, in Snowmass, Colo., and moved to Talent in 1951 from Gooding, Ida. He is survived by his widow, Ruth E. Nicholson, Talent, four children, Roger Nicholson and David Nichol son, both Talent, Mrs. Dale Knight, Gooding, Ida.; and N e a 1 Nicholson, Hillsboro', Ore.: four grandchildren; and four brothers' and one sister, John Nicholson, Medford; Hod Nicholson, Clarence Nichol son, and George Nicholson, all of Colorado, and Mrs. Katie Eib of West Virginia. One son, Richard Nicholson, died in 1940 in Idaho and a brother, Jim Nicholson, died in 1949 in California. r Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 1, at 2 p.m. at Litwiller's Mountain View chapel, Ashland. Miss Alice Mae Woolley, pastor of Talent Methodist church, will officiate. Private graveside services will be held Monday, March 3, at Mountain View cemetery. Two Nominations Filed With Clerk Two men seeking Republi can nominations in the May primary have filed this week with the elections department in the county clerk's office. Filing today was Joseph D. Walsh, candidate for the of fice of sheriff. He had pre viously indicated his inten tions to run after Sheriff Howard Gault stated that he would not seek reelection. Walsh, 31, lives at 473 Freeman rd., Central Point, and is chief criminal deputy in the jacKson county sher iff's office. Chester Wendt, Jackson county commissioner, filed Tuesday for reelection to that position He is completing a four-year term having first as sumed his present office on Jan. 1, 1955. WEATHER FORECAST: Fair through Saturday. Valley foj again early Saturday, clearing by midmorning. Cold again tonight with low 28. High Saturday 55. Temp. Highest Yesterday 48 Lowest this Morning 2g Prec. to 4 a.m. Today, Trace Our Skies Tonight Sunrise 6:50 a.m. Sunset 5:59 p.m. ine noon sets Satur day 3:35 a.m.. In the constellation, Gemini, ' and will be Full ....March 5 VISIBLE PLANETS Saturn, rises 3:07 a.m. Jupiter, due south .3.35 a.m. Venus, rises 5:01 a.m. Mars. low in south east . 5:40 a.m. A Y, FEBRUARY 28, 1958 ve Scuffle by Police n establishment as under-cover agents. Elder said the scuffle took place between Charles Rob erts, assistant police chief here, and Deputy Sheriff Wayne Dillon. Elder said Dillon was guard ing the entrance to the card room to prevent anyone from leaving or entering when Rob erts came up and tried to enter. He said the deputy tried to block the entrance CHARLES O. PORTER Plans To Run Again Porter To Seek Reelection From Fourth District ' Washington Rep. Charles O. Porter (D-Ore.) filed, for re election today. Porter said that he had filed for the Dem ocratic party nomination by mail to the Secretary of State's office in the state cap ital at Salem. He has been in volved this week on the floor of the House with supplemen tal appropriations for 1958 and in the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, of which he is a member, with postal and classified pay leg islation. "I like the job," Porter said, "and I hope very much that the voters decide to let me keep it." Elected U.S. Representative from Oregon's Fourth Con gressional District in Novem ber 1956, Porter is the first Democrat to represent south western Oregon in three-quarters of a century. He tried un successfully for the position in 1954. Porter said he would run on his record of "effective work for the people of the Fourth District." The record, he said, includes his work, during the first session of the 85th Congress, to get more than half a million dollars for the north jetty of the Siuslaw Harbor, the first Federal money obtained for the proj ect in 40 years. The congress man also noted that the funds sought for Fourth District public works projects and sur veys in the fiscal 1958 budget had been approved following his testimony before the House Committee on Appro priations. - Keith D. Skelton, Eugene, is chairman or tne re-eieci Porter for Congress com mijtee. Damage Slight by Valley Frost Today Only slight agricultural damage, if any, resulted from this morning's frost, accord ing to Don Berry, assistant county horticultural agent. The .temperature dipped to 28 degrees at the Medford air port this morning, and Berry said in the coldest spots the mercury probably got to 25 degrees. ' He said pears can stand temperatures as low as 23 de grees at present, and peaches showing color can stand 25 degree temperatures. Apricots near full bloom can stand temperatures of 28 degrees, he said. , v ' William J. Rogers, meteor ologist from Pamona, Calif., is expected in the valley early in March for the orchard heat ing season. Tribune Card Etaom iaid with his night stick and that a brief scuffle occurred. Elder said Roberts told Turn he was going to place tickets on the sheriff's cars which were doubleparked outside. Elder said he told him to go ahead with what he thought was his duty in the matter and that the tickets were placed on. the, cars. Later, the sheriff said, Roberts ap proached him and said he was voiding the tickets. Benson Critics Described as Ignoramuses' Washington (IP) A group of Republican Congressmen today labeled critics of Agri culture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson "ignoramuses" who will live to see his policies vindicated. The counterattack by Ben son supporters was the strong est in many months. It came after . President Eisenhower reiterated his backing for his embattled farm chief and Benson himself denied he was a political liability to Midwest Republicans. Knowledge in Trying Rep. Thomas B. Curtis (R Mo.) told the House the secre tary's critics are "ignora muses and don't even want to know about" the economics of the farm problem. He said Benson's "solutions may not work but at least he is lead ing from knowledge in trying to solve the problem." Rep. Charles M. Teague (R- Calif .) said Benson was trying to put the iarm program on a sound economics basis "God bless him and more power to him." Rep. Henry A. Dixon (R-Utah) promised "we'll live to see the day when Benson's policies will be vindicated." ti. ti. uross (K-iowa;, one of about 40 anti-Benson Mid west Republican lawmakers, said Benson had outlived his usefulness. Public Hearing on Naming Roads Set A public hearing on naming two roads in the Sams Valley area has been set by the coun ty court for 1:30 p.m. March 10. The hearing follows receipt of two petitions submitted re cently by residents of the area requesting names for the routes. "Sams Valley rd." and "Perry rd." were proposed in the petitions. The court expressed doubt as to the advisability of the name Sams valley rd., in asmuch as the Sams Valley highway was in the immedi ate vincinity. Youths Arraigned On Arson Charges Two Rogue River youths were lodged in the county jail today following arraign ment in district court on a charge of first degree arson. Larry Baker, 18, and a 17-year-old youth are held un der 52,500 bail each. A 14-year-old also charged with larceny in -connection with the case was released to his parents, officials said. They were arrested Thursday night by state police. They were charged with setting fire to a small house owned by Ada and Donald McAlmond on Pleasant Creek Jan. 30. Juvenile authorities here who talked with the 14-year-old and his parents said the boy admitted they set fire to the home to hide evidence of a burglary. The older youths were bound over to the grand jury. DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (IPl Dow Jones final stock aver ages: 30 industrials 439.92, up 2.12; 20 rails 102.95. up 0.25; 15 utilities 72.49, up 0.48; 65 stocks 149.86, up 0.71. Sales today were about 1,580,000 compared with about 1470,000 Thursday. Price 10 Cents No. 266 Elder' said the sheriff's of fice acted after receiving complaints from Cottage Grove citizens about poker games in the cardroom.' He said Calvin C. Hand, 30, was charged with operating a for bidden game and that three others, Philip C. Cantonwine, 27; Clifford A. Bush, 29, and William G. Van Riper, 70, were charged with playing forbidden games. They were to appear in District Court today. RETIRES William P. Tuck er, Jackson county employee for 25 years, has announced his retirement as of March 1 He has served as constable the past seven years and was a justice of peace and worked in the clerk s office prior to that.. . . . Vets Hospital Is Still Possible A veterans general medical and surgical hospital at Camp White is still a possibility, ac cording to A, Eugene Orr, Medford, a member of the executive committee of the National Rehabilitation com mission of the American Leg ion. Orr, who appeared yester day at a house veteran affairs committee meeting in Wash ington, D.C., sent a telegram to reegan lownsend,- com mander of American Legion Post 15, in which he said the hospital is still a possibility. Orr said he held a confer ence with Congressman Charles O. Porter and Veter ans administration officials. He added that Sen. Wayne Morse's office and Porter said they would introduce neces sary legislation as soon "as we secure additional informa tion." The hearing with the house veterans' affairs committee, Orr said, was successful, and the American Legion was as sured that funds for veteran programs would not be cut during this session of con gress. Portland (IP) Georgia - Pa cific Paper Company's new Kraft paper and pulp mill at Toledo will be opened offici ally March 6. "By The Way, Who Appoints Those Fellows?' Mandamus Issued By High Court in Wernmark Case Opinion Will Ba : Announced Later Salem (IPl The Oregon Su preme Court today issued a writ of mandamus directing Jackson County, Clerk . Mrs. Bereth P. Hopkins to allow K. C. (Swede) Wernmark, Central Point, to file for Jack son county judge. The court said an opinion would follow. Wernmark asked for the writ on -grounds the post of county judge was not a judi cial one and should run for only four years like other county offices. Rules on Post Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton had ruled that the post should run six years. Rodney Keating, current county judge, would run for election this year if the post were four years, but would continue in office until 1960 if Thornton's opinion were followed. Twelve' Oregon counties where county courts have no judicial functions are affect ed by the high courts deci sion. Mrs. Hopkins, notified of the supreme court's action, said she had no comment at this time. She noted that the opinion would come later. . Order Issued An order naming the law firm of Roberts, Kellington and Branchfield legal repre sentatives for Mrs. Hopkins was issued by the county court .Thursday afternoon. . The firm argued in Supreme Court against a temporary writ of mandamus. Mrs. Hopkins earlier re fused to accept Wernmark's filing since, she said, the terra for county judge is not open for election this year. Also in Salem to observe the hearing is Keating. t Represent- Wernmark i - William Deatherage, Med ford attorney, represents Wernmark. In petitioning the county court for legal representation by the local firm, Mrs. Hop kins stated that "the county court is authorized and em powered to employ counsel in addition to the district at torney of the county to aid me m asserting my defense against the February, 1958, writ of mandamus issued out of the supreme court of Ore gon requiring me to file a declaration of candidacy for the democratic nomination of county judge or in the alter native defend myself against said writ ..." The court order allowed for $1,000 compensation for the legal representation of the firm to aid the clerk. - Maps of Precinct " Boundaries Made -: Maps of Jackson county and the city of Medford, showing precinct boundaries and numbers, have been pre pared by the1 Democratic party organization, it was an nounced today. K. C. Wernmark, 'Central Point, candidate for county judge, prepared the maps in cooperation with James Red den, Democratic party county chairman." The maps will be posted in various parts of the county! and a few will be available to interested individuals, Wern mark said.