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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 19, 1959)
t Communications Letters to the Editor must bear trie name and address of the writer although under .certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right tc edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the paper; in fact the contrary is often the case. Editor's note: In a commun ication yesterday, written by Don Korth of Talent, a mis print indicated the school dis trict 6C levy is 43.3 mills. Ac tually it is 56.3 mills. Sees Sarin gs To the Editor: Impartial honest facts presented for vot ers consideration in the com ing election should not injure anyone. 1. In 1957 the rural school law was revised to provide an equalization of taxes for rural purposes. All districts will contribute to this fund by tax ation, but after equalization the richer districts will not receive any money, but pay "into this fund. Phoenix dis trict this coming year will pay 52,818.57 to this fund, whereas Talent district will receive $27,505.28 from this fund. The combined consoli dated district w,ould receive $24,686.71 from the rural school firhd. -x- 2. The following figures have been received from the county school superintend ent's office. -Medford High school, grades 9 through 12, has an enrollment of 1,704 with 59 teachers, or an aver age of 28.8 pupils per teacher. Ashland High school has an enrollment of 704 with 29 teachers, or an average of 24.3 students per teacher. Central Point High school has an en rollment of 634 students with 32 teachers or an average of 19.8 students per teacher. Phoenix High school has an enrollment of 196 pupils with 14 teachers, or an average of 14 students per teacher. The combined Talent - Phoenix school would have an enroll ment now of 325 students. Projecting this number to 350 for the coming year, or 19 teachers with' 342 pupils or an average of 18 students per teacher, would save four teachers in the present sepa rate schools. This would be a - saving of approximately $20, 000 which, when added to the $24,686.71, makes a total of $44,686.71, or a saving of 7 - mills of tax for a combined district. C. J. Hunter Route 1, Box 341 -' Talent, Ore. Mere Study Necessary .To the Editor: One of the purposes of the consolidation program in Jackson county is to reduce school costs through more efficient systems. The proposed Phoenix-Talent consolidation will not achieve this. We suggest in stead that both Phoenix and Talent remain as they are un til such time as some real ben efit could be gained by a con solidation. Nothing will be lost by waiting until both communi ties have an opportunity to study the problem and evalu ate the time table of later con solidation, if this is indicated. Now is not the time to con solidate! A hasty decision now could very well mean addi tional tax burdens for both communities. As a Phoenix resident, I am especially con scious of the nearly $100,000 additional which will be need ed immediately to add two classrooms and build a gym nasium, should we consoli date. If we remain as we are, we are assured that the educa tional needs of each commu nity can be adequately met without additional tax levies. A vote against this hasty procedure Wednesday, can give us all time for more sober consideration of the sit uation. We hope voters in both communities will consid er carefully before they tax themselves unnecessarily. . John Caulkins 3790 Calhoun rd. Phoenix, Ore. Fads Set Forth To the Editor: In view of certain thoughts expressed in your communications column, we feel is necessary to submit the following facts to clear up apparent misunderstanding. 1. The Talent teachers were placed on a salary schedule for the first time this year which was designed to place them on the basis of training and experience, and . none were raised to the extent' of $900 per year or anywhere near. 2. At the present time, the Talent school district does not have any indebtedness for which we are not bonded. 3. The Talent school dis trict has contracted buses for a number of years from a pri vate individual and has found it to be less expensive and more efficient than owning our own. 4. The Talent school board does not have any building plans. The only work planned to be done on our elementary school is to comply with the recommendations made by the state , fire marshal for which bids have been accept ed. (Mrs.) Nona McAbee, Chairman, Board of Directors. Talent School District 22 Slop and Think To the Editor: You register ed voters of School District 4, STOP AND THINK! Don't, I beg of you, vote on the Talent-Phoenix consolida tion from an emotional view point. Let's take time out to think this thing through to a sound and reasonable conclu sion. By that I mean let's re ject a hastily conceived and hurried plan to join our schools as outlined at the mo ment. If consolidation is really GOOD,, then it will be offered to us again for further consid eration. Why not watch for a while the outcome in such schools as do unite their dis tricts in the hope of improv ing their educational advan tages? Are they REALLY any better off? Time and only time can supply the answer. If the overall result is strong ly on the plus side, then by all means consolidate. Right at the moment though, rumors, both pro and con, are thicker than that early spring smudge, and just about as hard to see through to deter mine the truth. Remember we do NOT have to consolidate now! The school consolidation was not directly written for schools with a four year ac credited high school. So, once again, let's stop and think! Remember that old saying: "Marry in haste and repent at leisure." Bertha W. Gammill Route 4, Box 428 Medford. Student Protests To the Editor: I have' been following all the controversy both in the news and in com munications concerning the Phoenix-Talent consolidation. but thus far I have not seen any student participation in this debate. As a student of Talent High school, I wish to voice my opinion on this matters I speak only for a small minority of students in Tal ent that are against consoli dation. I have gone to Talent schools for 11 years and do not wish to complete my edu cation in a strange school. The majority of the students who are for consolidation want only larger social and athletic programs. But is this what we are sent to school for? Those parents I have talked with seem to think the stu dents will benefit greatly from this consolidation. All we will gain is a foreign lan guage and a vocational course The requirements for en trance into an Oregon college do not contain a foreign lan guage, and certainly not something such as arts and crafts, or the like. Talent has one of the highest scholastic reports in the valley. Our sci ence and math,- commercial, English and social studies courses are taught by some of the finest teachers available, I agree, completely with Cloe Small, who says that Phoenix is being "played for a fish" because if consolida tion goes through, Phoenix will have to take on the Tal ent indebtedness. No com- PATTERNS at re.9U,ar p.rleJ liSF . ---i got second for fS 'Tl SV 1( WAUPAPER I gfi. " ym 99 5preads evenly I I Fast and ffi- 1 lb. hangs 10 VAjUw I harm walls, lap '-- b . iLETu 906 mw mxim IMMEDIATE DELIVERY ( ON 150 DESIGNS. Pittsburgh Paint Store 1 1 W. 6th St. Phone SP 2-6883 munity should have to help another pay its debts. But what really irks me is this quote from Alf B. Mek vold concerning the question whether there was a possibil ity for the Phoenix and Tal ent districts to stay as they are: "It is to be emphasized that at no time has the Reor ganization Committee consid ered a proposal to leave either Talent or Phoenix as they are." Since when has one man, or even a committee of a few men, had the right to tell whole communities what they will do or what they will not do? The way it is put, Talent and Phoenix will consolidate whether they want to or not. If the voters are against consolidation this time, it will only delay the action 30 days, when the mat ter will be brought up for vote again. The opinion of most people is, "We have to do it, so why not do it peace ably?" Is this democracy? How is it possible that the people can be forced to do something' they don't want to? I leave you with that thought. Sally Kenyon, " , 202 East Main st., v Talent. More Consolidation Data To the Editor: To keep the record straight, we would like to correct some misinforma tion contained in a letter ap pearing in your Communica tions Column of May 17: 1. From the information we have received from Talent the new salary schedule adopted by Talent provides varying in creases in the teacher salaries for next year, with an aver age salary raise per teacher of approximately $500. Each teacher was not raised $900. 2. It appears that as the Phoenix and Talent budgets were separately made and are voted on separately by each district, there can be separate levies in each district to pay for its own budgeted expendi tures during the coming year, in which case Phoenix would not be paying the Talent teachers raise, or any part of it. 3. We have been informed that any debts that Talent has, outside of its bonded in debtedness, will be cleared up before a combined levy is placed upon the district if consolidation is successful. 4. Should the two districts consolidate, any monies spent for the Talent bus transporta tion would come out of the amount budgeted for it in the Talent budget, which figure is ample to handle such ex pense without help from the transportation funds provided for in the Phoenix budget. 5. In the event of consoli dation, building will be done only after careful considera tion of the needs of the com bined district, and only after careful thought is given to the locality of any new additions Also, the voters will have the opportunity , to vote on any such measure. We appreciate the fact that many rumors circulate on con troversial matters. However, regardless of whether the con solidation vote is favorable or not, we feel that every effort should be made to quote only authorized information from reliable sources. - Jamse Loring Martin, 4189 Colver rd., Medford R. B. Baker, v 1526 Camp Baker rd., t Medford Migrant Laws Passed To the Editor: - Five bills recommended by the Interim Committee on Migratory Labor were passed by the Leg islature. They - include mini mum standards for housing and sanitation, safety inspec tion of motor vehicles, a pilot program for education of chil dren, licensing of farm labor contractors, v and an Inter Agency Committee of state government agencies to coor dinate the program. There is no other state that has passed such a complete, balanced pro gram at one time. These laws will help Ore gon farmers by encouraging an adequate supply of season al farm labor when needed. They will help the migrants by encouraging decent condi tions. They will help the Ore gon communities in which mi grants work and live by en couraging health, sanitation, safety, and better education al opportunity. Some bitter ness developed in the legisla tive fight over these bills, but it is hoped that this will dis appear when it is realized that the program is moderate and fair. Those of us who support ed these bills recognize that the future of Oregon is tied very closely to the future of our farmers. We know that most Oregon farmers treat their seasonal farm workers with decency and justice. We deeply believe that correcting the abuses created by a small minority and improving the conditions of Oregon's 50,000 migrants will be of benefit to our entire state. Legislation is not, however, a solution to social problems. At best, good laws can create standards and a framework for community concern. With the increasing awareness of migrant problems resulting from the legislation, Church, Farm, PTA, and other groups long interested in migrants may find a climate of opinion favorable to increased volun try efforts. For example, pro grams need to be developed to help teach migrants the proper use of . facilities furn ished by farmers, Spanish speaking migrants can be taught the fundamentals of the English language, health education can be fostered, day nurseries can be established for migrant children while their parents work, and com munities can develop pro grams to welcome our migrant visitors into town. Some of this has been done in the past; much more needs to be done in the future. On behalf of the Interim Committee, I would like to take this opportunity of thank ing the thousands of people throughout the state who have worked for the migrant labor bills. Let us make cer tain that this community con cern continues, and we join together to make this pro gram a success. Don S. Willner, Chair man, Legislative In terim . Committee on ! Migration Labor, Corbett Bldg., Portland, Ore. Mining Recollections To the Editor: Having a romantic turn of mind and attentive ears around the turn of the century for the tales of adventure and gold discover ies as related by a few of the remaining old "fifty niners" who mined around Wood ville, then a rather silent and peaceful community, the news of a new gold strike traveled in "a closed circuit" over the prospectors' "grapevine" line of communication. One rather startling event after the first installation of electric power in the quiet village, a young local hombre rode up to one of two taverns and proceeded to shoot the electric lights out. One of the local amusements was hard rock hand drilling contests among the miners. One very seldom got hold of a currency greenback bill. They were a rare sight, except the gold certificates were available when anyone demanded a ' gold note instead of gold coins in exchange. Most of the min ing was placer and numerous grass root pockets, although quartz gold, hard rock miners were found that were produc-1 ers for some years. One account of "good pick-1 in's" in particular was the j leasing of a placer, claim up Wards creek where the for mer owner was suspected of having buried a cache of gold nuggets in an old tea kettle several years before in tbs same mining claim until his earthly departure. Anyhow the new lessee made a fair sized stake to set himself up in a future business of his own, when he was rewarded with" unusual good returns from a season's hydraulics. As the years slipped by most of the former mines either were exhausted or did not continue to produce on the same basis. That does not ac count for mismanaged opera tions as new sources will al ways be located. Bert Kissinger, 520 Boardman st., Medford. Portlander Ordered Held for Grand Jury Portland -DPD- Karl Leo pold Metzenberg, 26, was or dered held for grand jury ac tion Monday in connection with last Friday's fatal shoot ing in a cafe here of Larry Maurice Bolton, 19. Municipal Judge John J. Murchison said there was suf ficient evidence to justify holding Metzenberg for the grand jury. Missile Launching Time Said Reduced Vandenberg AFB, Calif (CPU A new pushbutton control system for intercontinental ballistic missiles is said to cut launching time from 15 hours down to about 15 minutes. Air Force officials said the system built by RCA would enable missile crews to fire a retaliatory warhead five min- MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. C leiyay. May 19, 1959 utes before a Russian-fired ICBM could travel here from a Soviet base. Electrical Wiring & Repair Industrial ' Commercial Residential Can Jack Henbest p ROGUE ELEC. 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