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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1958)
M ites Wth li 0)i SHARPSHOOTER Ray Harp, 901 West 10th St., Medford, displays the pelt of an unusually big coyote that he bagged with a shotgun while hunting near Table Rock rd. on the Rogue river this week. Harp said pen Doorway (Partially Blamed for Death Toll Sweet Gum Trees to Be Planted One hundred sweet gum, or liquidambar styraciflua, trees, the first of the large orders of trees for Medford's street tree planting program, have arrived at Southern Ore gon Nursery, the Medford street tree committee has an nounced. Four streets in Medford have been designated fof sweet gum tree planting, in cluding Pennsylvania st. be tween Oakdale and Rose aves., Siskiyou blvd.. Black Oak dr., and Country Club dr. The remainder of Pennsyl- Festival Fund Nears Half Mark Contributions to a new theater building for the Ore gon Shakespearean Festival neared the 50 per cent mark today, when a total of $135, 992.93 of the $275,000 cam paign goal was reported at a luncheon in the Red Cross building here. The total contributed from Medford sources is now $43, 748.50; Ashland's contribu tions total $39,376.09, for which funds are available to match that. , A total of $10,712 was add ed in the special gifts division bringing that division's total to $36,542; and $2,240.25 was added to the out-of-town gifts, bringing that total to $5,767.75. In material gifts, $2,642 was added today, bringing the overall total to $5,042. The building fund cam paign started in mid-November, and is expected to be completed by Christmas. Al fred S. V. Carpenter, Med ford, is general chairman. The campaign is being con ducted to raise funds for con struction of a theater build ing at Ashland to replace the Festival theater torn down after last season's plays. Circuit Court Subdivision Requiring a subdivider to dedicate land for park or rec reation purposes, or pay a cash equivalent, recently was upheld by a circuit court judge in Multnomah county. The proposed subdivision ordinance for Medford in cludes a comparable provis ion. The city's recently-created parks and recreation commis sion has sought information on whether it is considered constitutional. The proposed ordinance will be discussed tonight at a joint meeting of the council men and planners in city hall. The decision upholding Multnomah county's require ment is reported in the cur rent newsletter of the League of Oregon Cities. That county in City vania st. is under study by landscape architects to de termine the feasibility of us ing .sweet gum to the end of the street, the committee said. Width of the street, overhead lines and view all must be considered before a specific tree can be recommended. " On Pennsylvania st., the trees will be planted between 50 and 60 feet apart, but on other streets the plantings will be 75 to 80 feet apart, because of the view, the com mittee said. " The first two sweet gum trees were planted last week end by Stanley C. Jones, 512 Pennsylvania st., who ' has agreed to help coordinate plantings along the street. The sweet gum grows to a height of about 40 feet with a spread of 8 to 25 feet, the committee noted. In the fall, it has a crimson or yellow coloring and is regarded as one of the most attractive ac cent trees. The tree is adapt able and tolerates both heat and cold, the committee said. Specific information on planting trees is available from the tree committee or from County Extension Agent C. B. Cordy. Volunteers are now contacting residents along the streets where sweet gums may be planted, but those who are not contacted may obtain information from Bob John son at SPring 3-5018, or Paul Jorgenson at SPring 2-9572 in the evening. BULLETIN Washington -OJPD- Presi . dent Eisenhower today transferred control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Pasadena, Calif., from the Army to the National Aeronautics and Space Ad ministration, but retained " the Army ballistic missile program under Army con trol. Upholds Requirement requires $37.50 per lot as the alternative to dedicating land. Circuit Court Judge James W. Crawford held the regula tion to be a valid' exercise of the police power and not a taking without due process. He also held it to be a regula tion and not a tax, as the plaintiff had maintained. '. He based his Nov. 20. opin ion on.ORS 92.044, which au thorizes cities and . counties alike to regulate subdivisions in this manner: "Where the additional stan dards are ' considered . neces sary to carry out develop ment patterns or plans and to promote the public health, safety or general welfare." The statute includes educa tional and recreational needs among those that regulations can provide for. after he shot the animal once, it charged him and it took the remaining shells in his automatic to bring it down. He collected a $5 bounty from the county. Flames, Gases Allowed To Reach Upper Classrooms Chicago - (DPD - Fire experts speculated today that an open doorway at the head of a stairs turned the second floor of Our Lady of the Angels school into a furnace of death for 87 children and three Roman Catholic nuns. But they disagreed as to whether doors actually hung in the doorway Monday when flames, possibly touched off by a youngster's carelessly tossed cigarette shot up the starwell from the school base ment and pushed suffocating hot gases through six class rooms. The office of Coroner Wal ter J. McCarron announced the inquest would begin Wednesday, Dec. 10. Two investigators of the Na tional Fire Protection associa tion said they found that there were two heavy wooden doors at the head of the stairs and that they had been wedged or hooked open. No Evidence of Door But Deputy Fire Commis sioner Albert H. Petersen said city fire investigators found no indication that there was a door at the landing. He said "if there was a wooden door we would have found evidences of it such as hinges and had there been a steel door I assume it would have remained." , Petersen agreed with the association investigators that if the doorway had been closed off, the fire toll might have been considerably less. Percy Bugbee, general man ager of the association, said "a simple blunder of open doors appears to be the major cause of the heavy loss of life." Officials View Ruins "The simple precaution of keeping these second floor landing doors closed would have kept the intense fire and hot gases out . . . for many precious minutes," Bugbee said in Boston. "In all likeli hood every classroom could have been emptied in time." California Fire Marshal Joseph Yockers and three Cedar Rapids, Iowa,- fire of ficials toured the blackened ruins in the hope of learning lessons that could be put to use in their schools back home. Fire experts from other cities were expected to make similar inspections. (See Stories on Page 8) 53rd Year M EDF0RD Pages Phoenix Named in Court Suit Over Sewer Assessment Decree Sought To Stop Sale of Land A complaint has been filed in Jackson county circuit court by Alex and Jean P. Baldigan, Phoenix, against the city of Phoenix involving a sanitary sewer system as sessment. The Baldigans seek a de cree from the court enjoining the city of Phoenix against selling or attempting to sell their property or enfoncing collection of the assessment. The cost of constructing the trunk sewers was $38,167.87 and the lateral sewers about $61,470, the Baldigans allege. The Baldigans state that part of their property against which the assessment is lev ied was sold and the city was notified of the change of ownership on Oct. 5, 1957. The Baldigans then asked that Phoenix give them the segre gated total of the assessment between the two properties. Figure Assessment The property owners charge that they figured $977.25 is what the assessment would be on the parcel of land they own and paid $48.87 -as the first installment under the Bancroft plan. However, this was refused by the city, they claim. - The Baldigans claim they are not benefited by the sew er construction since the city neither has any right to the disposal of sewage nor owns a sewage disposal plant. The city uses a trunk line which extends through the South Bear Creek sanitary district into the Medford-sewage sys tem. Medford has terminated the contract with the sanitary district, but it continues to re ceive sewage into its system and the sanitary district is still paying for the disposal of it, a Phoenix spokesman said. Because of the contract ter mination, the Baldigans claim Phoenix has no right to sew age disposal. Building Planned For BLM Offices A 14-room building to house the Medford off ices"of the bureau of land manage ment will be constructed at the City Office park, corner of Barnett rd. and South Riv erside ave., it was announced today. Bids will be opened Wednes day, Dec. 10, at 3 pjn. for the building. The one-story building will be owned by O. L.' Williams and will be leased to the Gen eral Services administration for BLM. The structure will be of brick and be 200 by 40 feet. BLM is tentatively scheduled to : occupy the building March 1, 1959. BLM's offices are now on the third floor of the city hall. The city of Medford is expect ed to move some of its' depart ments on the second floor to the top floor, City Manager Robert Duff said. 'I Don't Quite Know How To Tell You This " MKMtlMWniil MEDFORD, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1958 ' '' BRIAN B. MULLEN Deputy District Attorney Medford Man Named Deputy District Attorney Brian B. Mullen, Medford attorney, will be the new dep uty district attorney for Jack son County, District Attorney Thomas J. Reeder announced today. . Mullen will start work in the courthouse on Monday, Dec. 15, Reeder said. He will serve as second deputy. Gerald Scannell, now sec ond deputy, will be promoted to first deputy district attor ney, Reeder explained. Scan nell will replace John C. An icker, who is leaving this month to work for an Oregon City law firm. Mullen, 27, is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State col lege where he received a bach elor, of arts degree in 1951, and of the University of Mis souri law school at Columbia, Mo., where he received his law degree. While attending Southeast Missouri, Mullen was a member of Sigma Tau Delta, honorary for English majors. The new deputy district at torney passed the Missouri bar examination in 1954. Follow ing ' that he served with the U.' S. Army for two years. He passed his Oregon bar exam ination in 1957 and has been practicing law in Medford for a year. DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York -OIPD- Dow Jones final stock averages: 30 industrials 558.81, up 0.24; 20 railroads 154.05, off 0.27; 15 utilities 86.06, up 0.15; and 65 slocks 194.22, up 0.03. Sales. today were about 3,460,000 shares com pared with 3.320.000 shares Tuesday. WEATHER FORECAST: Variable cloudi ness . and mild temperatures through Thursday. Patchy val ley fog during late night and early morhing hours. Low to night 42. High Thursday 65. Temp. Highest Yesterday 65 Lowest this Morning' 41 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today ...r 4:39 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 7:24 a.m. Moonrise tomorrow .12:12 a.m. Last Quarter tonight 5:24 p.m. PROMINENT ' . CONSTELLATION Orion, in the soth- east .. -10:35 p.m. VISIBLE PLANETS 'Mars, high in south east . :. 8:56 p.m. and high in southwest 11:46 p.m. Jupiter,- rises 5:51va.m. ivtf A tt 40 Homes Burned As Malibu Flames Go Uncontrolled 2,000 Firefighters Fail To Hold Lines Malibu, Calif .-(DPD-An out of control fire gorged on 20,000 acres of brush and watershed today, destroying 40 homes, including those of movie per sonalities, and sending flames licking toward the Pacific ocean. As the some 2,000 firefight ers battled the blaze on a 40 mile perime.ter, there were en couraging developments. Pre viously gale force winds dim inished to 25-35 miles per hour. Concentrated aerial bombing with a water-borate solution was proving effec tive. More Homes Threatened But there was still a, threat to hundreds of homes, "includ ing those of the exclusive Mal ibu Beach colony often the summer playground of movie stars. More than 2,000 persons had been evacuated from the area. Movie stars joined their neighbors in the fight against fire. Roofs of homes were wet ted down with garden hoses, and backfires were started to drive the flames back across the Pacific Coast highway, which was cut off to traffic from Topanga Canyon east of here to Pt. Mugu, some 20 miles north.' The flames leaped Pacific Coast Highway and moved to ward the Malibu colony. Equipment diverted to the area at least temporarily stopped the wall of flames 100 yards short of an emer gency hospital and shop build ings edging the colony. Pumper units patrolled the vital Malibu Canyon road, spearing their plumes of wa ter as minor patches of flame leaped over. Fire officials feared that if the canyon road were bridged the flames could spread into heavily populated areas. At least a dozen firemen suffered burns and hundreds of others had their eyes treat ed for smoke damage. . Trial Expected to Last All Week The non-jury trial of the State vs. the California Ore gon Power company is ex pected to continue through to Friday, according to" Jackson county circuit court- observ ers, i Hearing the case is Circuit Judge Orval J. Millard of the first judicial district. The state is asking that $40,682.40 be paid the state forestry department in fire-, fighting costs by the Cali fornia Oregon Power com pany. The state alleges the costs were incurred during the Sykes creek fire on Sept. 5, 1955, when 4,200 acres of for est land were burned. Copco has one of its transmission lines through the fire area, the state alleges. . Warren Dresbach, who lives at the scene of the fire testi fied yesterday " concerning strong wind which helped start the fire. Another wit ness, Mrs. Ruth Davis, gave similar testimony. Dresbach continued his testimony this morning. Don ald Maus, state forestry de partment official, told of his examination of the area and pictures he took while flying over it. Temperature Sets New Record in City Yesterday's 65-degree tem perature set a new record for the date and today's maxi mum is expected to establish a hew high for Dec. 3 for the Medford vicinity. The 65 reading yesterday was the highest for the Med ford weather station for Dec. 2 since a 63 maximum on the date in 1915. Temperature today is ex pected to reach 65 degrees, compared to the previous high for the day of 58 on Dec. 3, 1945. Portland-(UPD-The 43rd an nual convention of the Ore gon State Sheriffs, associa tion is under way here. Tribune Flames laker Sieiriss f;j3 HENRY C. HERZOG Domiciliary Manager New Manager of Domiciliary To Take Oyer Jan. 1 Camp White - Henry C Herzog, recently appointed manager of the VA Domicil iary, will assume his duties here Jan. 1, Acting Manager Banks I. Paul announced to day. Herzog has a background of experience as lieutenant col onel of the Army Air Corps during World War II, and as assistant manager of the VA Hospital and Domiciliary, Wadsworth, Kan., since 1946. He succeeds Eugene K. Ricker, who retired in June after five years as manager during a period of extensive building development. Paul, who has served as manager for the past six months, will retain his position as assistant manager. Community Affairs Herzog is a member of the Elks and the American Leg ion. He was active in com munity affairs and recently served as instructor of civil affairs and military govern ment at the Army Reserve school at Kansas City, Kans. Herzog was the ranking member of the 1944 class at the Command ' and General Staff college, Ft. Leaven worth. He joined with the Vet erans administration after the war and was assigned as per sonnel officer at Ft. Washing ton, Md., before being trans ferred to Wadsworth as assist ant manager. Herzog, 50, is a graduate of the University of Alabama. He taught for several years and was employed at one time by Western Electric com pany, Kearney, N. J. He was born at East Orange, N. J. Herzog is a member of the American College of Hospital Administrators. Portland (DPD Delegates from seven states . met here today to start forming a new Western States Regional Council of the International Woodworkers of America'. Councilman Says Ballot Measure Is Not Tax Measure; Explains Reason for Move The ballot measure to amend the city charter which Medford voters will decide in a special election Dec. 10 is not a tax measure and should not be construed as such, Act ing Mayor Paul Meyers, coun cilman from Ward IV, said today. Meyers spoke at a meeting of a citizens' advisory com mittee on parking which met to discuss ways of expediting the educational program rela tive to the ballot measure. The councilman noted that "months of study and survey work" by municipal planning leaders has been done to formulate an overall plan "to keep our growing city strong and progressive. Most of the plan hinges on. the provision for adequate parking, and specifically, it hinges on the formal approval of the char ter amendment," he said. Price- 0 Cents No. 218 Half-Block Area Wiped Out by Costly Blaze Damage Figured at Half Million Dollars Baker-(UPD-Fire wiped out half a downtown block on Main street here Tuesday night and heavily damaged other businesses on the block before being controlled about 10:25 p.m. First estimate of total dam age was "conservatively" set at half a million dollars. Initially destroyed by the blaze was a building housing a drug store in the middle of the block and office upstairs. The Oregon Motor club build ing next door and an insur ance agency also were gutted. Bank: Hit The blaze burned the roof and a wall of the First Na tional bank, a regional maga zine agency and Moose lodge. Heavy water and smoke and some fire damage was report ed at the H. C. Stevens De partment store, Reed Furni ture company, Baker State bank and the Baker Business college located over the state bank and the furniture store. The fire was thought -to have spread from the base ment of the drug store. Two firemen narrowly es caped when a wall of the First National bank collapsed while they were spraying it with water. No injuries were re ported. The flames were first noticed about 6:30 p.m. All available firefighters and equipment from Baker plus help from La Grande, Union and Elgin fought the fire. Total loss in the drug store was more than $250,000, ac cording to owner Henry Lev inger. Other available individ ual estimates included: First National bank, $20,000; Leo Adler Magazine agency, $35, 000, and the Moose lodge, about $3,000. Warrants Served On Weed Parents Weed, Calif. -(DPD- Warrants have been served on seven adults following investigation of what police termed a pitched battle among four lo cal high school girls Monday night. A complaint was filed in Weed Justice Court by the mother of one of the girls. The girl spent Monday night in Mt. Shasta hospital receiving treatment for a black eye and bruises. Police said investigation in dicated mothers of two of the girls took their daughters to the Weed school playground and that the other two were escorted by five young men. The fight followed. The warrants charged con tributing to the delinquency of a minor by permitting minors to fight. Commends Committee Meyers commended the vol unteer committee for its in terest in the community pro ject and cautioned members to be alert to-unfounded rumor or honest, misunder standings which could detract from the faithful presentation of the facts. ' . .- " He explained the planning which preceded the adoption of the wording of the charter amendment and emphasized the following points: .that it is not a tax measure; that it is a charter amendment, and as such requires a vote of the general electorate; that adop tion of the amendment will provide for the regulation and direction of orderly develop ment of off-street parking in Medford, and only that; and that limitations imposed by the amendment are thought ful safeguards to restrict fu ture council action to the Rum West Coasf Site To Send Monkeys, Mice Into Space Objects Will Be Returned To Earth Washington -(DPD -The De fense Department announced today it will launch a series of satellites with mice and monkeys aboard in an effort to learn how to put a man into orbit and get him back. - The program, called proj ect Discoverer, will be car ried out at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. The first shot of the series will be fired in about 30 days. Project Discoverer will use proved military rockets capa- , ble of putting as much as five tons of payload into an orbit around the earth. Russia's Sputnik III satellite weighs about a ton and a halt The heaviest U.S. satellite weighed about 38 pounds. The first moon of the new launching series will be fired into orbit late this month or early next. It will weigh about 1,300 pounds. Roy W. Johnson, director of the Pentagon's Space Agen cy, said further launchings may be expected at the rate of about one a month in 1959. Animals To Return . In disclosing the plan to use mice and monkeys as satellite "crews" during Proj ect Discoverer, Johnson said space experts believe they can bring artificial moons back to earth and land them within 200 miles of a desired point. Johnson said no attempt will be made to put a man in orbit in 1959. And the first animals, he said, probably will not go aloft until the fifth or sixth launching in the series. Project Discoverer plans now cover only next year, but Johnson said he expects it to continue indefinitely. Its main purpose, he said. is to develop "useful informa tion" for putting a manned satellite into orbit and bring ing it safely back. . Johnson said Project Dis coverer will be "the largest single item" in the advanced research projects agency's $460 million 1959 budget He refused to estimate the cost more precisely, or . to say whether the amount will be more or less than $100 mil lion. Pinball Machine Destroyed Today A pinball machine confis cated in October from Valley Billiards, Central Point, was broken up by Jackson county sheriffs deputies this morn ing. Sheriffs Officers Glenn Wright and Veryl Vanoose destroyed the machine with sledge hammers at the Med ford city garbage dump off Barnett rd. The pinball ma chine was confiscated earlier by Central Point police on orders of the Jackson county district attorney's office. Monday, the proprietors of Valley Billiards, Ernest Lytle and Aylmar Ditmanson, plead ed guilty in district court to charges of possessing and dis playing a game of chance. Each was fined $150 by Judge James M. Main. The complaint filed against the two men was signed by Central Point city police. - Portland (DPD Officials of colleges and universities from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska met here today to dis cuss methods of easing the high cost of education. specific task outlined.' Meyers said the city ad ministrative staff is now out lining a suggested assessment district for. the downtown core area and would probably release the information by this week end. . Phase Is Conditional He noted that this phase was conditional upon approval of the charter amendment, but was being compiled at the request of those who wanted assurance of the pro jected business area ; which would be affected. The exact boundaries still would be subject to issuance of the proper ordinance and call for hearing for the af fected benefited properties, Meyers pointed out. Meyers said any 1 council man or members of the com mittee would be happy to an swer any questions concern ing the measure.
