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-
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DESIGNS.
Pittsburgh Paint Store
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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.
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