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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1958)
BALE T Tollgafe Area Medford Tribune Gets 15 Inches of S: MS STORBa BELTS Nil ' if 1 r & M V 'M, 2 FUND RAISING LEADER - Alfred S. V. Carpenter, above, is shown opening last night's "kick-off" dinner for the cam paign to raise $275,000 for reconstruction of the Shake spearean Festival's theater in Lithia park, Ashland. He is chairman of the drive, and last night was paid tribute for his leadership in this activity as well as in other community projects throughout the valley. (Smith - Classic). School Board at Little Rock Quits; Blossom Fired Little Rock, Ark. -0JPD -Five of six members of the Little Rock school board Wed nesday night announced their resignation effective midnight Friday, and dismissed school Supt. Virgil T. Blossom. A new board will be select ed in an election on Dec. 6. At a packed public meeting the board decided to pay $19, 741 to Blossom in severance pay, plus $1,100 for this month. His contract was to run another 18 months. One Remains , The only board member who did not resign was Dr. Dale Alford, an outspoken segregationist who defeated incumbent Brooks Hays for Congress in the Nov. 4 gener al election in a last-minute write-in campaign. Wiley A. Branton, chief lawyer for the National As sociation for ' the Advance ment of Colored People in Arkansas, said the resigna tions "will not alter our plans whatsoever." Branton said he "regretted" seeing five members of the board and Blossom out of of fice, but added that "any new board will be bound every bit as much" by federal order to integrate, as was the old board. Make Medford Beautiful ifmiiii. j1LJJ t - JT- v. rrf m TERMINAL ( I ANOTHER APPROACH - The Mail Tribune in its inventory of unsightly scenes in and around Medford turns today to what the visitor arriving or departing by air is likely to notice driving to or from the airport. These signs could use a coat of paint. Or perhaps new, more attractive signs would be in order. " Shakespearean Festival Fund Drive for Theater Under Way An enthusiastic group of some 200 volunteer workers last night "kicked off" the drive to raise $275,000 for reconstruction of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival asso ciation theater in Ashland. The dinner, held at the Tally-Ho restaurant about half way between Medford and Ashland, was marked by a friendly rivalry between the two cities, a challenge to "get the job done fast," and an announcement that collection has already started to come in. Chairman of the drive is Alfred S. V. Carpenter, who presided last night, and who was paid a glowing tribute for his long record of civic generosity which has bene fitted the Rogue valley in more ways than most people are aware. Made Necessary The fund drive was made necessary by condemnation of the old Elizabethan theater in Lithia park by the state fire marshal. New plans, drawn by Architect Jack Ed son, Medford, and stage de signer and technical director Dick Hay, have been prepar ed. The old building has been razed, and Contractor Frank (Scotty) Fairweather, Med ford, is ready to start con struction. Carpenter opened the meet I ura, FOUNDER REMINISCES - Angus Bowmer, the founder and present producing director of the Shakespearean Festival, is shown above during his talk at the fund-raising dinner last night, as he reminisced about past festivals, predicted success for the fund drive and the 1959 season, and pointed out that twice before the people of Ashland have responded to the challenge to build a "new festival." (Smith Classic). ing by announcing he had re ceived a donation for $10,000 just before the dinner. Other contributions . have ' already been received by members of the campaign drive. Jimmy Dunlevy, master of ceremonies, introduced a number of workers, and read The Medford city council last night broke precedent by voting unanimously lo endorse the fund - raising campaign to build a new Shakespearean Festival theater in Ashland. The informal action was based, according to Mayor John W. Snider, on the fact thai the festival is an im mensely important asset to the entire county and the state as a whole, and that the success of the fund drive will assure continua tion of the state's outstand ing cultural event, as well as one of the three top tourist attractions. wires from a number of per sonages who could not attend but who are interested in the drive's success. He also moderated rivalry which broke out between Hugh Coleman, Medford, and Clarence Bell, Ashland, over which city would raise its quota first. Bell bet Coleman $100 (to go to the fund drive) that Ashland would, and Cole man accepted. Bell character ized a gift to the drive as "an investment, not a donation." Some of the others intro duced included: Archie Fries, president of the association, who spoke of the gratitude of the associa tion members for the help and the "magnificent spirit" evidenced in the drive. He predicted that it could not help but .be a success. Mrs. John Cotton, Ash land chairman, who spoke of the important role the Festi val plays in the life of Jack son county and Oregon as a whole. Bob Vobrhies, Ashland, who predicted that Ashland would exceed its $50,000 goal and said that "it should raise $150,000." Mrs. Paul Selby, who re called acting in the festival many years ago, and of the fulfilled dreams of its found ers. Mayor Richard Neil of Ashland, who predicted ; his city would more than carry its share of the fund-raising WEATHER FORECAST: Cloudy and cooler through Friday with occasional rain in valleys. Snow level low ering to 4,000 feet tonight and 3.000 feet Friday. Low tonight 38. High Friday 45. TEMP. Highest Yesterday 51 Lowest This Morning 44 Prec. to 10 a.m. Today .73 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 4:52 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 7:01 a.m. Moonset tonight 7:32 p.m. Moon rides low. First Qaarter . Nov. 17 VISIBLE PLANETS Saturn, below the Moon. Mars, high in the south at mid night, is now noticeably brighter than Sirius. the bright star low in the southeast at midnight. task. Sid Bassett, Grants Pass chairman, who reported on the organization in that city and promised substantial help. He said the motel, res taurant and hotel people "don't have a very good or ganization of their own, so we're organizing them to get this job done." -Don Ostensoe, Portland, assistant vice president of the First National Bank of Ore gon, who spoke of the state wide impact of the festival, the reasons why the . drive must succeed, and the "inter national language" of the theater which build's Ore gon's prestige throughout the world. He reported that out of 20 calls he made yester day in Portland, he was given 18 checks including one from an airline stewardess who had never seen the festi val, but who "wanted to help." -Glenn Jackson, Medford, who discussed the economic importance of the festival to the valley, and said that in this area, "what we have is created by the people of the area." It was he who paid tribute to the past and present generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter. Reminisced on Festival -Angus Bowmer, founder and producing director of the festival, who reminisced brief ly about festivals past, and of his predictions for the fu ture. He said this is the third time he has seen the festival faced with "starting from scratch" again, and he knew it would open in July, 1959. He pointed out that both times in the past it was Ash land people who got it start ed, and said, "It's nice to have some help from outside Ash land, this time." Principal speaker was Glenn Stanton, Portland, distinguish ed architect and past presi dent of the American Institute of Architects, who spoke on the cultural growth of Amer ica, and the role the festival has to play therein. He term ed it a "great asset" to the state, and discussed it in terms of Oregon's Centennial celebration next year. Advise Expansion ' He advised an improvement and expansion of accommoda tions for visiting tourists, and urged continued attention to making the state attractive to visitors. The festival is "not a Portland show," he empha sized, but while located in Ashland, belongs to the en tire state. "One can't think of Ash land without thinking of the Shakespearean F e s t i v a 1," Stanton declared. "If Ashland were without the festival, it would be a calamity." Wires of support and en couragement read by Dunlevy came from Dore Schary, Kath leen Norris, Radioman Frank Hemingway, Maurice Evans, Dr. Margery Bailey and oth ers who have had an interest or a part in past festivals. The Ashland kilty band pror vided music before the dinner. 28 Pages Special Commissioners Consider Part of Sudivision Bill Complaints of Dump At Jacksonville Heard The Jackson county plan ning commission last night considered part of a revised subdivision ordinance, heard further complaints on the Jacksonville area garbage dump and recommended a recreation site to the county court. A number of recommenda tions were made by subdivid es on the revised ordinance. Bob Mclntyre, suggested the ordinance be split into two parts. One would deal with general provisions and be a simplified version. The second part would go into the techni calities which subdividers would have to know. Another subdivider, Mark Boyden, suggested that the planning commission "get into signing of county plats." The ordinance should be pass ed and the revisions made as problems arise, he suggested. Criticizes Section Mclntyre criticized a sec tion ' requiring a surety be posted by the subdivider, which states that on approval of the final map and prior to installing improvements the subdivider must sign a per sonal surety that improve ments are installed in com pliance with county require ments. Improvements could be made within the subdivision being improved for sale, but a subdivider could operate without improving the rest of the plat. B. M. Hoover, who with his father, Charles Hoover, is a Camp White area farmer and subdivider, agreed with Mclntyre's criticism of ' the personal surety section, estab lishing access roads into or through subdivisions was nec essary. Mclntyre pointed out that no subdivision could be financed without approval of the necessary roads by the county engineer. Ground Elevation The section dealing with ground elevation and contour lines also is not necessary, Hoover and Mclntyre said. Study and discussion of the ordinance was continued until the regular meeting Dec. 10. The commission recom mended to the county court that two acres on Dead Indian rd. be purchased for a road side recreation site. Commis sioner Jerry Latham said own ers would sell if the county vould install a pipe under the road and install a drinking trough for cattle. The acreage is on the road to the Howard Prairie reservoir. Statement of Policy The commission also rec ommended to the county court a statement of policy from the bureau of land manage ment regarding possible rec reation sites obtained from the bureau in a land exchange agreement. This, Latham ex plained, applies to two par cels of land on the Little Applegate and Star gulch which could be used for rec reation sites. E. W. Hannen and R. S. Tretreault, chairman and sec retary, respectively, of the Jacksonville planning com mission, complained of game carcasses, dead fish and gen eral garbage which, he said, have been left uncovered on the dump grounds near Jack sonville, owned by the City Sanitary Service. Edwin Gebhard, planning commission chairman, said there is nothing the county or the commission can do until the garbage disposal ordi nance is approved. Jack Eaton, planning technician, said the legality of the proposed ordi nance is now being studied by the district attorney's office. Drivers Urged To 'Winterize' Habits Salem-(UPD-Twentl-six traf fic deaths, 18 of them since last Friday, have caused Ore gon traffic safety officials to fear that the state may be headed toward another record- killing November unless drivers '.'winterize'! their driv ing habits. MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1958 'Obviously Not A Presidential Prospect They Seem To Like Him" v Schools to Recreation Medford public schools will cooperate to the fullest extent with the city's new park and recreation commission in re gard to recreation facilities, Elliott B e c k e n, assistant school superintendent, told the commission last evening. The schools are in full ac cord with the ideas behind the new commission, he said. School facilities have been available to the public through local independent groups, Boy Scout troops, and church groups which form the many organized athletic leagues in the town, Becken added. Also representing the schools at the meeting were William A. Barker, member of the schol board, and Keith Hockersmith, chairman of the school reorganization commit tee." In explaining the purpose for the joint meeting, Com- Heaviest Rain of Season Falls Here Heaviest precipitation of the season fell in the Medford vi cinity today. Medford station of the U. S. weather bureau reported .73 of an inch of rain from mid night until 10 a.m. The rain brought the total for Novem ber up to 1.18 inches and for the season to 1.88. Squally weather with oc casional precipitation in the valleys is forecast for tonight and Friday with the possibil ity of one or more hard rains tonight or tomorrow morning. Snow level is expected to drop to 4,000 feet tonight and 3,000 on Friday. Deadline for Tax Payments Nears Deadline for paying prop erty taxes is Saturday, Nov. 15, tax department officials stressed today. The county courthouse will remain open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. that day to accommo date persons wishing to make payments. The front door of the courthouse building will be open for the convenience of the public. Those paying their taxes by mail must have them in the mail prior to midnight Nov. 15. - ' CP Junior High Entered Last Night Central Point-An estimated $11.50 was taken from the Central Point Junior High school principal's office last night, Central Point police re ported today. . The dial on a safe in the office was knocked off and the safe damaged, police said, but the safe was not entered. Other desks in the office were ransacked, they said, and about 50 cents taken from the clerk's desk. ectioii-- Support Program mission Chairman Jerry Pou los stated that the group "had to start somewhere." He .said that it was necessary for trie commission and public schools to work hand in hand to pro vide a full recreational pro gram. He added that the combined efforts would give the public more usage of present and future facilities by avoiding duplication in many areas. Becken reviewed for the commission the school sum mer recreational programs, which include baseball, ten nis, arts and crafts, and music sessions. He mentioned a defi nite gap in the program since it caters to a certain type child and then only for part of each aay. The city needs a much ex panded recreational program, he continued, which would in clude facilities for adults, and offer a more extensive pro gram in tennis, golf, and simi lar activities. Planned Programs He mentioned that some of the outlying areas need plan ned recreational programs more than in the downtown area, but said that at some schools, both grounds and fa cilities are adequate and well used. Speaking of the present school recreational facilities available to the public, Becken mentioned that the schools were currently paying the en tire bill. One specific item mentioned was the amount of water used, paid for at the regular city rate. He added that in the future where playgrounds would ad join school grounds, rest room facilities in the school build ing would be . used, thus in creasing the janitorial load for the schools. He said that in such incidents, financial ar rangements would have to be made. Commission members sug gested that recreational pro grams be set up in districts to correspond with those of the schools. Hockersmith added that this could cause addi tional problems, particularly in areas where the school dis tricts extend outside of the city. Advisory Group Poulos explained that the commission serves as an ad visory group to the city coun cil regarding park and recrea tional activities in the city. He stated that once a recreational director is hired by the city he would coordinate his work with the schools. He would also check on future school sites for possible purchase by the city of adjoining land for recreational sites. The director, to be hired on a 12-month basis, is ex pected to be hired by the first of the year in time to pre pare a program for, the sum mer, it was announced. Members of the commission reviewed for. school repre sentatives points from a talk by Dr. Lynn Rodney given before the group last month. Dr. Rodney is chairman of the university's recreation and outdoor education curriculum. No. 201 Amendment to Authorize Bonds For Parking Units Dec. 1 0 Set as Date For Medford Vote Medford voters are to de cide Dec. 10 whether the city should take charge of financ ing off-street parking facili ties. Bonds to be iv;ued under the proposed charter amend ment to pay for such facilities would be general obligations of the city. But city officials do not anticipate any general levy except under extreme cir cumstances. " The city council, after call ing the election at its special meeting last night, endorsed the proposal themselves by unanimous vote of the seven members present. An earlier proposal, along somewhat similar lines, was defeated at the polls here in the 1956 general election. Issue Bonds If the present amendment passes, the city could issue up to $500,000 in bonds to acquire property for off-street parking facilities, construct such facilities and operate them. The bonds would be guaranteed by "the full faith and credit" of the city. Special assessment districts comprising the properties ben efited by the facilities would be created. The council's intention is to establish such a district to in clude the downtown business area. The specific boundaries would be decided later, fol lowing a public hearing. The city , could acquire necessary property by pur chase or by lease up to 50 years. Plan Being Studied The proposal would permit the "Keeney Plan" multi-level parking platform straddling the Southern Pacific railroad tracks. This plan is currently being studied by city officials and other interested groups. 'But the Keeney Plan would not be the only possibility. A Jackson County Cham ber of Commerce resolution urging the mayor and council to "forthwith initiate proceed ings ' for adoption of the Keeney Plan was presented at lat night's meeting by Otto Frohnmayer, president of the chamber. ' ' Three primary resources on a year-to-year basis, would be available to pay off the bonds. First would be revenue from the facilities themselves once they were in operation. Second would be a portion of on-street parking meter revenue. The proposed amend ment limits this portion to a maximum of 25 per cent. The council would decide the spe cific amount before the bonds were issued. Special Assessment Third would be the special assessment on benefiting properties in the assessment district. This assessment would make up the difference be tween the first two resources and the amount required to pay off the bonds in any one year. The city, it is understood, could go ahead with a bond ing program without referring the matter to the voters at all. Its authority would be a law passed by the 1957 legislature in Salem. (Continued on Page 15) ' West Offers Ban on Nuclear Testing Geneva (DPD The United States, in a new move to break the present Geneva deadlock, today offered the Soviet Union a treaty for an East-West ban on nuclear tests and a control system to po lice it. Conference Recessed A draft of the treaty was handed to the Soviets by U. S. Ambassador -James J. Wadsworth when the bogged down East-Vest conference on ending nuclear tests met for its eighth formal session. The conference recessed until next Monday to give the Snow Overnight Astoria, Portland Receive Soaking By United Press International Gale warnings were flying along the Oregon coast today a? Pacific storms continued to blast away at the Pacific. Northwest with wind, rain and snow. The weather bureau said gusts of wind up to 65 miles per hour were expected late today along the coast. Rain was expected to slack off to night and Friday. Snow fell in mountain areas. The first big fall of the sea son was reported in the Toll gste area of the Blue moun tains where 15 inches fell overnight with more coming down today. Meacham had four inches of snow and Ka- mela, between Meacham and La Grande, had six inches. Still Snowing Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood reported it snowed all day Wednesday and was still snowing today. A heavy rainstorm struck Wednesday, bringing 2.50 inches of rain to Astoria. Port land got an inch of rain in eight hours during the day, and liigh water hampered traffic in several parts of the city. Gusts of wind up to 39 miles per hour were reported. Two 13-year-old Milwaukie boys, Ralph Garber and Paul Edwards, were stranded for a time on Elk Rock island in the Willamette river. They had walked to the island in the af ternoon but the water rose and they had to be removed by boat. Truck Swept Away Near Brothers on Highway 20 in eastern Oregon a gust of wind swept a truck and trailer over an embankment but the driver, Don Comer, Richfield, Idaho, escaped injury. Rivers were still within their banks but the Santiam, at Jefferson was 11.3 feet this morning, just 1.7 feet below flood stage. The weather bu reau said Cascade tributary streams would rise sharply today and the main stem of the Willamette would have a moderate rise in the next two days. But the Willamette at Albany today was at 4.8 feet, more than 15 feet below flood stage. In western Washington flood waters from a number of streams began to recede today although several low lying sections still were under water. From six inches to three feet of water covered parts of the Green River valley and parts of the Auburn-Kent high way south of Seattle were under water. A rock and earth slide bur ied alMhe concrete poured to date for Seattle City Light's high gorge dam on the upper Skagit river Wednesday but no one was hurt. Official Canvass of Ballots Progressing The official canvass of bal lots cast in the Nov. 4 general election will not be completed until late next week, elections department officials reported Xoday. The delay is due to the un usually high number of write in candidates which slows con siderably the official canvass. The department . reported that that some errors had been found, particularly the trans position of digits, but added that it was nothing unusuaL DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (IPD -Dow-Jones closing stock aver ages: 30 industrials 560.75. off 1.64; 20 rails 154.48, off 0.51; 15 utilities 85.90, up 0.13; 65 stocks 85.90, off 0.42. Sales today were about 4.200.000 compared with 4.400,000 Wednesday. Treaty for Russians time to study it. The U. S. move to break the current deadlock in the nuclear ban talks came a few hours after a renewed frontal attack on the West by the Communist bloc in the other East-West Geneva conference now underway-the parley on prevention of surprise at tacks. No Signs of Progress The surprise attacks meet ing also is deadlocked over its agenda and showed no signs of progress today. Details of the U. S. treaty were not disclosed. .