Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, December 11, 1958, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., December 11, 1958, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextiarttpafciB umto CHARTER AMEIMDEbaEIXrr Dai Aire Unusually High Turnout Reported; 2,723 Votes Cast 1,623 No Ballots; 1,100 for Proposal Medford's municipal off street parking proposal was defeated at the polls yester day by a margin of about 20 per cent. Of a total of 2,723 votes cast, there were 1,623 "No" returns and 1,100 voted "Yes' in the unofficial tally. Official observers consider ed the vote unusually high for a special election, al though only 20 per cent of the total registered voters participated. A report from Hedrick Jun ior Hi2h school, scene of the Ward I voting, noted that 160 people were still in line when the polls closed at 8 p.m. Those waiting at ' Medford High school, where Ward II voted, required an hour after closing time to be processed. Total voting by wards: Ward I: Yes, 321; No, 480 Ward II: Yes, 307; No, 479 Ward III: Yes, 172; No, 322 Ward IV: Yes, 300; No, 342 Official Canvass The official canvass will be held by the city council at 8:30 ajn. Friday in the citv hall council chamber. The DrOTosed charter amendment would have au thorized the city to pledge its full faith 'and credit be hind the issuance of general obligation bonds for initial financing of municipal off- street parking facilities. Its defeat marks the second time in two years that Med ford s voters have turned down a municipal off-street parking program. In the 1956 general election, a comparable but not identical measure was defeated by a margin of only 393 votes out of a-total of 9,321 cast. Proposal Endorsed Yesterday's proposal was endorsed by Mayor John W. Snider, the city council, the Retail Merchants association, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Med ford Safety council.' A special advisory commit tee to the mayor led a cam paign to educate the public in the ballot measure's nature and in the steps that would follow it if approved. These steps would have included establishing a downtown as sessment district of properties benefited by the off-street parking and selection of the facilities to be constructed. Prominent in discussion of facilities was the "Keeney Plan" for a self-parking plat form straddling the Southern Pacific tracks. Proponents of the measure agreed today that the search for some means to solve the city's parking problem must continue. Other Solutions "The city must look to other possible solutions," May or Snider commented. "Off street parking is only an ex tension of on-street parking, and as such merits the full attention of this administra tion." "The problem's still there," Otto Ewaldsen, a member of the mayor's committee, said. "Someday it's got to be met." Otto Frohnmayer, president of the chamber of commerce, said he believed those oppos ing the measure nevertheless recognized the problem's ex istence. "I think it is now time," he said, "for the oppo sition to come forward with a plan they think might be feasible." City Councilman Fred Rob inson, Ward I, said that peo ple he talked with this morn ing "in every case were con cerned over increased taxes." One opponent of the meas ure said he thought public suspicion had been aroused by a lack of sufficient informa tion. County Assessor Ray Schumacher said, "The prin cipal of taxation was not in volved so much as the prin cipal of lack of information." George Goodman, private downtown parking lot opera tor, had no comment on the election. "If you want to know anything," he said, "go ask my lawyer." Eisenhowers Host Supreme Court Washington 0JPD President and Mrs. Eisenhower will open the shortest White House social season on record tonight with a dinner for the Supreme Court. 53rd Year Medford 30 PAGES 1$ PLANT ROSES - As a Centennial project and to beautify the grounds of the historic Log Town cemetery, members of the Apple gate Valley Garden club planted a row of 66 cuttings of the Log Town rose stock at the cemetery Tuesday. Setting one of the slips, above, are, left to right, Mrs. Bob Argument Heard by Court in Nunn Case Salem The State Su preme Court Wednesday heard arguments of attorneys in an action brought by Mr. and Mrs. John Eacret, Klam- math Falls, to restrain Gov- ernor Robert D- Holmes from. commuting the death sentence for Billy Junior Nunn, 29, of Klamath Falls. Nunn was convicted by a Jackson county circuit court jury for the slaying of Alvin William Eacret, 14, of Klam- Teamsters Told To Obey Orders Washington - (UPD - Federal Judge F. Dickenson Letts to day ordered , James R. Hoffa and the giant Teamsters Union to obey at once clean-up or ders from court-appointed monitors. Without spelling it out in so many words, Letts also made it clear that he feels he has the. power to remove Hoffa and-other top teamsters from office or punish them for con tempt if they fail to obey the Board 'of Monitors in the fu ture. Russia Refuses To Release Pilot Berlin -(UPD Russia today rejected American demands the Soviets release a U.S. Army pilot held by East Ger man Communists since he par achuted into the Soviet zone Dec. 3. A spokesman for the Soviet Embassy in East Berlin said the matter was outside Soviet jurisdiction which meant Russia would insist the Unit ed States negotiate with Com munist East Germany ' if it wants the flier returned. The flier is Lt.-Richard Mackin, 27, Washington, .D. C, who bailed out of his small liaison aircraft when he ran out of gasoline and wandered into East Germany. Vehicle Registration Department Head Fired SaIem-UPD-John C. Kerrick, 56, has been dismissed as manager of the registration division of the State Motor Vehicle Department. He had served the state for 29 years. . 'Failed To Cooperate' Director James F. Johnson said he asked for Kerrick's resignation' because Kerrick "failed ' to cooperate fully with the reorganization pro gram now under way in the department." Johnson himself is resign ing when Mark Hatfield be comes governor Jan. 12. Kerrick said he does not plan to contest his dismissal. MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1958 Sorber, president of the club, Mrs. George Brown, Mrs. Rolland Smith and Mrs. Glenn Smith. Mrs. Rolland Smith is the grand daughter of Mirium McKay who planted the original rose near her home in the settle .ment of Log Town nearly a century ago. . ath Falls, in a state park east of Ashland. The slaying oc curred April 19, 1956. The verdict was later affirmed by the State Supreme' Court. Three reprieves have been Lissued ,bjf .GovJiolm,inUhel case. JNunn was originauy scheduled to die in the gas chamber March 28 of , this year. Action Filed The action to prevent a gov ernor's commutation was fil ed by Mr. and Mrs. John Eacret, parents of the victim, in Jackson county circuit court. The suit later was transferred "to Marion county circuit court. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Val D. Sloper, following a hearing, held that the governor could not be re strained from granting a commutation. Later the case was appealed to the State Supreme Court. In the arguments -heard on Wednesday Assistant Attorn ey General Peter Herman, argued that the state consti tution gives the governor dis cretion whether the death sen tence shall be commuted. He explained that the courts do not have authority to control the governor's pardoning power. Walter D. Nunley, Medford attorney for the Eacrets, em phasized that the governor cannot commute a sentence on the basis of conscientious objection to the death pen alty. Safe Taken from Harvester Office A thief or thieves-stole a safe- containing $60 in cash, $320 in checks, records and a number of keys early this morning from the office of International Harvester com pany, 2232 Biddle rd., accord ing to Medford police. Investigators reported en trance was gained through breaking a window pane and reaching in to unlock the window. The safe was pulled from the company's office out the front door. He is not under state civil service. He said he planned to re sign "effective immediately." Johnson said he deeply re gretted having to let Kerrick go, but said he wanted to leave the department com pletely reorganized when he resigns. Received Promotion In 1957, Kerrick's record prompted Johnson to promote him from manager of the driver's license division to the larger registration divi sion. Kerrick's successor will be appointed by whoever takes over from Johnson. Slips of Inn Tftun Dnco am LUU I U H 1 1 IWJW QIC iseare Club Planted by To make sure the Log Town rose will be perpetuat- i 1 - - i j n neer life in the Ruch area, members of the Applegate Valley Garden club Tuesday planted 66 rooted slips of the rose along the roadside bord er of historic Log Town cem etery. i The original bush, now nearly 100 years old, is lo cated just past the Forest creek turn-off on Highway 238. It was planted by Miri um McKey, member of a pio neer family who made their home in the settlement of Log Town. The bush is now marked by three short wood en posts and is encircled with white rocks. The cuttings planted at the cemetery were not from the original bush, but from other bushes in the area that were slipped from the one planted by Mrs. McKey,. according to Mrs. Bob Sorber, president of the Applegate Valley Garden club. Inside Fence Holes in which to plant the cuttings were dug just inside the fence of the cemetery, and were filled with fertilizer and top soil, which will give them a better chance to start than if they were planted in the native red soil,, Mrs. Sorber said.- Lance Offenbacher, whose wife is vicepresident of the Garden club, dug the holes and hauled the top soil for the planting job, while Glenn Smith furnished the soil and fertilizer and donated the use of a loader. Both men assist ed with the planting. Club members working on the project included Mrs. Sorber, Mrs. ' Offenbacher, Mrs. Francis Krouse, Mrs. Ed mund Ramsay, Mrs. Rolland Smith, Mrs. George Brown, Mrs. Glenn Smith, Mrs. John Janssen, Mrs. Armin Richter, Mrs. Michael Loftus and oth ers. The idea to plant the rose cuttings was discussed at a re cent meeting of the club and is the first of a number of Centennial projects planned for the Applegate area. WEATHER FORECAST: Cloudy with a few sprinkles tonight. Fog continu ing through midmorning Fri day. Partly cloudy Friday after noon. Little temperature change. Low tonight 48. High Friday 52-55. Temp. Highest Yesterday 59 Lowest this Morning 48 Prec. to 10 a.m. Today 01 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 4:39 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow 7:31 a.m. Moonset tonight 6:14 p.m. First Quarter Dec. 17 PROMINENT CONSTELLATIONS Cassiopeia, high in north 7:43 p.m. VISIBLE PLANETS Mars, in the east at sunset and in the west 2:19 a.m. Jupiter, rises 5:28 a.m. Rooted Price 10 Cents Tribune No. 225 Bombing Blamed On Disgruntled Ex-Cult Members Murder-Suicide Plot Unraveled Chatsworth, Calif. - (UPD -Tape recordings and notes to day showed the bombing of a religious sect's monastery which 'claimed 10 lives' was a carefully planned murder suicide plot aimed at Krishna Venta, the cult's leader. Two hour-long tape record ings and notes left by two disgruntled former members of the Fountain of the World religious colony just west of here disclosed the men were determined to "bring the mas ter , (Krishna Venta) to jus tice." People Will Know "If we don't return, people will know what happened," the recordings which were left for the men's relatives said. , Ralph Muller, 33, and Pet er Dumas Kamenof, 42, both of Joshua Tree, Calif., were identified by authorities as the former members who ap parently lost their lives along with Venta and seven other nprcnns inrliiHinir twn rhil. dren' in the blast which p- ped through the sect's monas- 4. - TIT I I Ltri y vv euiieauctjr. Tapes Found in Truck Three persons, including two girls, were seriously in jured. The tape recordings were iuuuu iai.c iTcuucauaj uigui. parked near the colony. An empty dynamite box also was found in the truck as well as a tape recorder and two notes left by Kamenoff for his sis ter and son. Ventura County . Coroner Virgil Payton said the con tents of the notes would not be released until later "be cause they might have an in fluence on the case." Payton said the contents of the notes and other infor mation he had showed Mul ler and Kamenof deliberately touched off a pack of 20 dyn amite sticks they bought earl ier to kill themselves .and Venta. The men had been members from 1949 to 1957 of the sect whose nearly 70 adherents here lead a simple life and wear long robes, no shoes and let their beards grow. The recordings were made shortly before the bombing, according to undefsheriff Vol ney Cummins. The recordings . said the men were unhappy with the master and that they had tried through the authorities to bring him to justice," Cum mins said. "But, unable to do so, they said they would take care of matters them selves." Ashland, Gold Hill 'Differentials' Out Salem-(UPD-Proposed differ ential rate increases fop tele phone service in Gold Hill and Ashland have been eliminated from Pacific Telephone com pany's request for higher rates. During a Public Utilities Commission hearing on the proposals today, attorneys for the PUC and the company agreed to eliminate consider ation of several extended-area differentials, including those proposed for Gold Hill and Ashland. This means that if the rate increase - for the state is ap proved, Gold Hill and Ash land rates will go up the same percentage as those in Med ford, for example, rather than an added- "differential" amount. . . ; Rate increases sought state wide approximate 9 per cent. : ' i DOW-JONES AVERAGES New York (UPD Dow-Jones final stock averages: 3 0 industrials 563.07, off 1.91; 20 rail roads 155.30, off 0.34; 15 utilities 87.86; off 0.09, and 65 stocks 196.20, off 0.53. Sales today were about 4.250,000 shares compared with 4,340.000 shares Wednesday. North Koreans Demand Return Of Civilians . 'Forcible Kidnap' By UN Charged Panmunjom, Korea -(UPD- The Communists demanded today the return of more than 2,200,000 North Korean civil ians who fled to South Korea. North Korean Maj. Gen. Kang Sang Ho, made the de mand at a meeting of the Mil itary Armistice commission here to counter a U. N. request that the Reds release 48 South Korean fishermen held by the Reds since Nov. 7. U. S. Rear Adm. Ira H. Nunn, senior member of the U. N. Armistice commission, rejected the Communist de mand with a simple 12-word statement: "I categorically deny that our side has sfby personnel of your side." - Kang said two million North Koreans were "forcibly kidnaped" by the United Na tions during the Korean con flict and another 200,000 were abducted from North Korean islands in the Japan and Yel low Seas. "All mankind " will con demn your inhumanity in forcibly keeping these per sons against their will," Kang said. The United Nations de manded that the Communists "release without any delay" six fishermen and one boat seized Nov. 7 and 42 fisher men seized in seven boats Dec. 6. The vessels were taken off the eastern coast of Korea in the Japan Sea. The Reds rejected the U. N. demand, saying the six men seized in November, had "vol unteered", to remain in North Korea because they had fam ilies there. Kang said the other 42 were under arrest charged with vi olating North Korea waters. He said . the North Korean government would take "nec essary measures" against .tf"Tn QHnwt"g an invpstiga- tion. Second Bowling Alley Planned Plans to construct a second bowling alley here, the Pear City Bowl, have been an nounced. Equipment has been order ed and plans are being pre pared, according to John Tomlin and Fred Anderson, who will build and operate the new establishment. A 16 lane layout" is: contemplated. Anderson reported that no definite site has been select ed but that several, both in side and outside the city lim- its, are being considered. He said that he and Tomlin plan a trip into California this week end to look over new alleys. The two men said that they felt that the town and inter est in bowling have grown to such an extent that a new alley is needed. Anderson stated that he intends to re tain his interest in Medford Bowling" lanes, which has 22 alleys. He is proprietor of the present facility. An extensive beginners' program is proposed at the new layout. Anderson said that it is planned to use 10 lanes for league play and the other six for open bowling. Talent Project Work Progressing Work on at least some phases of the Talent project will be ahead of the predict ed schedule because of mild weather this fall, James Calla han, project engineer for the Talent project, has reported The bureau of reclamation official said the delivery canal from the Howard Prairie res ervoir to Keene creek will be completed about July 1, a month earlier than expected previously. Work on the tunnels is ex pected to continue through the winter if the present mild weather continues, Cal- lan said. Lining -of the Cas cade tunnel was completed last week. Green Springs tun nel is now being lined. Work ers are starting to line the Emigrant tunnel. A concrete plug is being placed on the upstream portal at Emigrant reservoir so wa ter for irrigation can be maintained there next sum mer, Callan said. Approximately 400 men are now working on the pro ject, Callan said. banners To Study The Jackson county plan ning . commission last t night again asked the district at torney's office to check the proposed garbage disposal or dinance as to legality. The commission passed a motion directing a letter be sent asking the district at torney's office to examine the proposal either as an ordi nance or as a set of rules and regulations which might be passed by the county court. The action followed a state ment by Deputy District At torney Gerald J. Scannell in which he questioned whether such an ordinance is needed. Some planning commission members said that is not the reason they asked the district attorney's office to check the ordinance. They asked if it was legal, they pointed out. Public Hearing The planning commission hopes to hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance in Man Arraigned on Federal Charge; Held for Officials Leslie Melvin Simons, 38, of Corpus Christi, Texas, was arraigned before U.S. Com missioner f rank Van Dyke this morning , on a federal complaint of violation of the Dyer act, interstate transpor tation of a stolen automobile. Simmons, who appeared in district court yesterday, was arrested by Oregon state po lice Tuesday on Highway 99 near Central Point. With him at the time of the arrest was Donald Paul Goodrich, 54, of Petaluma, Calif. The pair were arrested when a state patrolman be came suspicious and checked the two men and their car. Simmons has been bound over to the grand jury by District Court Judge James M. Main on a charge of carrying a con cealed weapon with bail set at $5,000. Goodrich Released Goodrich, who was released by authorities following ques tioning Wednesday, was ar rested several hours later by state police on a warrant from Turlock, Calif., for a check charge. Authorities reported that he signed a waiver of ex tradition and is being held in the county jail for California officials. The federal complaint was filed against Simons in Port land Wednesday afternoon. At the time of his arrest, police said that he stated that the automobile he was driving had been stolen in Lafayette, La. Simons is also wanted in Idaho for parole violation, po lice reported. Simmons is being held in county jail by federal author ities on $2,000 bond.' Investi gation is continuing in the case, it was reported, as other charges may be filed against the man. He waived the right to an attorney and a prelim inary hearing at the arraign ment this morning. Sunday Deadline for Toys for Firemen Sunday, Dec. 14, is the last day that city firemen will accept broken and discarded toys for their annual Christ mas project. N They said that response for toys has been excellent and that they have on hand all that they will be able to re pair and repaint for distribu tion as Christmas gifts to youngsters of needy families. The renovated toys will be on display at the Franklin warehouse, Fir and Third sts., on Friday, Dec. 19. Med ford Lady Lions will hold an open house that day to show the toys to the public. Refreshments will be served. Lady Lions will begin distri bution of the toys on the fol lowing day. Salem -(UPD The State Board of Education has decided on a 175-day school year next year. Ask EDA Belli January, but is not sure the Jan. 12 deadline for submit ting the ordinance to the coun ty court can be met.-The coun ty court will be informed of possible delay because of more examination needed by the district attorney's office on the proposed ordinance. Commission Chairman Ed Gebha.rd said the group should be more careful in ob taining definite directions from the county court, which had requested originally that plans ' be drawn up to con trol garbage disposal in the county. It is still possible the coun ty court may take no action on the ordinance after the planning commission approves it, he warned. Not Consulted The planning commission has not been consulted by the county court on any name changes on roads, Gebhard said. State law indicates it should be, the commission chairman advised. The proposed subdivision ordinance and recent revisions were examined by the com mission. It will, be studied further at the next commis sion meeting. The commission decided to consider at the next meeting sending copies of the proposed subdivision ordi nance to subdividers and oth er interested persons. Follow ing their examination, a pub lic hearing may be held later, it was indicated. One of the main changes is a paragraph which states "A parcel of ground being planned as a subdivision will be surveyed ; for individual sewage disposal by the county health department upon re quest of the planning commis sion. A report of the health department's findings togeth er with recommendations will be made by the planning com mission." Made On Request The change was made on request of Chief Sanitarian Orie Moore. In his letter to the planning commission," Moore said one reason for op position to the original draft was that too much autority was in the hands of one indi vidual, the sanitarian. Under the original proposal, a sub division could be rejected on the basis of sanitation after a survey of private sewage dis posal facilities. Commissioner Bob Boyer suggested that more definite "guide-posts" be set up for the county clerk in determining approval of signers of sure ties. One part of the proposed subdivision ordinance states that "Signers of sureties shall be approved by the county clerk for financial responsi bility." Lighting Contest Set in Eagle Point Eagle Point A Christmas home lighting contest will be held in the Eagle Point area sponsored by the Eagle Point Lions club, according to Dar rel Copeland, chairman. Residents in Eagle Point city limits, as well as. those near the city, are eligible to enter, he said. Contest regis tration must take place by Saturday, Dec. 20, at Olsen's confectionery. Homes will be judged Sunday, Dec. 21, ac cording to Glen Clymer, judge chairman. Prizes will include $10 for first prize; $7.50 for second; $5, third; and $2.50, fourth. 'It's Kind Of A Minimum Loss Believed Caused In Early Hours Aftershocks Roll For Several Minutes San Francisco-UPD-A sharp earthquake followed by sev eral aftershocks rocked and rolled San Francisco and a. 50-mile area for several min utes early today, but it caused only minimum damage. The University of Cali fornia seismograph laboratory in Berkeley said the temblor measured between 4.75 and 5 " on the Richter scale and was centered 18 miles southwest of Berkeley in Daly City. Daly City is a suburb on' the southwest edge of San Francisco that suffered wide spread damage on March 22, iD7, trom a quake that had a Richter reading of 5.25. Today s quake was first re corded at 1:49 a.m. (PST) and kept the sensitive needle jig gling for several minutes afterwards. It was felt in downtown San Francisco with a rolling motion about 1:53 a.m. , Residents of the Westlake area of Daly City said the quake was preceded by a kud explosion." Sharp Jolt, William Benn, a United Press International teletype; operator who lives in West lake, said the shock woke him up. I heard a loud report," he' said, "and then there was a sharp jolt. It seemed to me it was as sharp as the one in March, 1957. 'Some figurines we had on a shelf fell to the floor and our pictures were crooked. I went out into the garage and found all my tools had fallen to the floor." The quake touched off minor slides on Highway 1 which runs along the coast. However, the road was not I blocked. 1 Ray Riva, assistant seismo- logist at the Berkeley labora- tory, said "It looks as though we'll have- afterquakes "and similar shocks following this one." He suggested that residents keep away from windows and large objects and that valu able objects be placed on floors. Flood of Calls "We've had a flood of calls from people in San Francisco and the East Bay reporting that pictures fell, but as- far as we can tell that's been the worst of it," Riva said. Riva went on to say that the earthquake came as no surprise. We've expected this be cause of the dry ' weather we've been having," he said. California is currently ex periencing its worst autumn drought since the gold rush days of 1849. Today's quake was felt in all directions from San Fran cisco in Sonoma and Marin counties to the north, in Ala meda and Contra Costa coun ties to the east and in San Mateo and Santa Clara coun ties to the south. Business Building Collapses in Baker Baker -(UPD- A building housing a furniture store and second store offices located near the scene of a half mil lion dollar fire last week col lapsed today with heavy dam age shortly before it was to open for business. Salem (UPD All Oregon open routes are clear of snow and ice. Two - Stage Thing"