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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1959)
1A MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. 1 1 ;Hf5 'ill I if a lK-r 'mCiw W'tt w -f ill nfpj BP ; o f , 2-. -ft. t fifty. "21 V-i "-. " . . 41, -'TT-.- t "i I . :. ' iS , W ... ff .ag CHARRED TIMBER Countless trees such the city of Ashland following last August's as these stand in charred ruin high above forest fire. 4-H Club News Happy Stilckers The second meeting of the Happy Stitchers 4-H club was brought to order by Cherlee Becker, secretary. President Jerry Calhoun and Vice Presi dent Kristine Schade were absent. Marlene Nougier and Joan Eslinger attended to work on Girl Scout needle craft badges. The group practiced embroi dery. The club's new junior lead er is Mary Ann Carnegie, who is in her fourth year of 4-H work. Suzie Elliott, Reporter Whis Knils The ' fourth , meeting of. the Phoenix Whiz. Knits 4-H club GROVELAND - ..ii)m;My,,j 10 o o a U o LEW 3 O s i lo o o O . , Medford, Ore. Acres f AshI Sunday. Dec. 6. 1959 -irw was held Dec. 2 at Mrs. Grove's home. She handed out pamphlets on knitting for fun to the girls who wanted them. The" members who were pres ent were Carol House, Bonnie Simmonds, Marilyn Kantor, Robin Barns, Diane Bolz, Cheryl Bolz, and Linda Cox. Robin Barns provided re freshments and Cheryl Bolz will provide refreshments at the next meeting, Dec. 16 at the home of Mrs. Grove. Linda Cox, "Reporter Valley Experimenters On Nov. 22, the Valley Ex perimenters 4-H club held their second meeting of the year at the home of their leader, Mr. Glidden. Joe Hosick, Funeral Director, to carry out your requests in a manner you can trust SP 2-5488 Lew Miles to help you with all cemetery requests, selections and accurate information. Only member of the Oregon Interment Associa tion in Medford. SP 2-2344 Together they represent 38 years of experience,, in all phases of funeral service in Jackson County Feel free to call us af any time for information. SISKIYOU FUNERAL SERVICE MILES Mortuary opening soon Columbarium Ground rhterment 605 Highland Drive . . . Siskiyou Memorial Park i4J There was a new member, Margie Root, and three vis itors, Rodney Heidemann, Mrs. Root and Mrs. Jones, at the meeting. There was no new business and' the meeting was adjourn ed early. - ' Refreshments were served. Larry Mitchell, Reporter. MORAL: DON'T COMPLAIN Pulaski, Va. -' (UPD - Claude Ratcliffe complained to police Friday that four cases of ro man candles were stolen from his store. He was immediate ly arrested on a charge of violating the town's anti-fireworks ordinance. . Joseph Conrad, the writer of sea stories who died in 1924, held a British master mariner's certificate. All Within Siskiyou Memorial Park . -ft - II V .QJLQJLZQJLQ JIQ Soil Conservation Projects Being Done on FS Land By BOB WALTERS. Mail Tribune Staff Writer Ashland-Four months ago, the steeply sloping, heavily forested areas above this city were charred to a dull eb ony by a fire that was po tentially one of the most dangerous in the history of southwestern Oregon. But, in about four more months, a portion of these lands gradually will begin a return to the color intended by nature green. The. U.S. forest service al ready has spread 8,500 pounds of rye grass seed over the 608 acres for which it is re sponsible, and an 11 man crew has been working on soil conservation projects for nearly three weeks. Grass By Spring Grass should be growing in the area by spring. Trees may be planted there about the same time but, if not, plant ing will start in the spring of 1961 at the latest. No single individual stands to take full credit for the re seeding and conservation projects being conducted in the Rogue River National Forest, but one man Ash land District Ranger Harold (Red) Thomas certainly has done his share. " ' Thomas, a ranger for 23 years and the man who was in charge of the fire fighting operations from start to fin ish last August, is under standably proud of the work being done. And be terms the cooperation and coordination among officials of state and federal .agencies and the city of Ashland as "marvelous." Local residents will recall that the big blaze started the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 8, when two relatively small fires, one on a hill west of Jackson Hot Springs and the other on the Ashland Mine rd., burned rapidly through manzanita and brush until they combined. On Way io Picnic Red Thomas and his family were on their way to a pic nic that Saturday. When he spotted one of the then small fires, he immediately turned back to Ashland. Thomas spent the next two days and nights directing more than 400 state federal and volunteer fire fighters. I The blaze, which eventually covered some 4,600 acres, was brought under control Aug. 10. - The following day, District Warden Curt Nesheim of the state forestry department an nounced that the two fires "were incendiary and were set by two unidentified per sons." The Ashland office's offi cial report, prepared by As- JOE HOSICK, Mgr. CALL Mausoleum Crematory ' yamniii .u'J.,..i' .," MiW:l....Llj . mm 000 Byro Area RESEEDING PROCESS Five of the 11-man U.S. forest Kerr (left) determines the contour of the land with a .long service crew now working in a 608-acre section of forest wooden plane, other employees dig furrows. The crew's ' above Ashland demonstrate the method in which trees foreman, Von Steele (far right), brings up the rear and soon will be-planted in the burned-out area. While Albie deposits tree seeds in the furrows. MayorSchrunkRaps Handling of Cases siJ&!B FIRE'S TRAIL This photograph, taken tlirough some 4,600 acres of hilly timber from a helicopter by Dr. B. A. Cope of land above Ashland by the fire last August. Ashland, shows a portion of the trail blazed sistant District Ranger Bob Taylor and forwarded to the'1 office of the regional forest er, stated that "the fires were started with old newspapers stuffed into heavy plastic bags and set on fire." The arsonists still are "unidentif ied." Dangerous Problems Once the fire was under control, the forest service and the city of Ashland faced other dangerous problems. The blaze had created serious flood and sediment hazards within the Ashland creek watershed, which is located immediately upstream from Ashland and is the city's mu nicipal water supply area. Something had to be done, and done quickly. But this, of course, took money. .. After the Ashland district filed its report, the chief of the U.S. forest service follow ed through by asking the sec retary of the U.S. department of agriculture for S10,800 for reseeding and conservation work. Cited by the chief was a 1929 agreement between the department of' agriculture and the city of Ashland for the purpose of conservation and protecting the city watershed. The agreement was still in effect, the chief reported, but destruction of the protective forest cover threatened the objectives of the pact and created flood and sediment hazards to the water supply facilities. Source of Funds Of the total funds request ed, S9.500 was to come from the forest service, S330 from the bureau of land manage ment and S970 from the city of Ashland. The $9,500 from the department's emergency flood prevention fund was approved Oct. . 13 and the BLM and Ashland readily agreed to contribute their shares. The treatment prescribed in the Ashland district office report was to "establish cover' and initiate reforestation of the burn area (and) decrease the hazard of flood damage to Ashland Canyon rd., Gran ite, st, the regulatory reser voir, Lithia park, homes along Granite St. and the Plaza business district." i The expected benefits, the report continued, will equal 1.7 times the cost of the proj ect. This meant that by spend ing $10,800, probable flood and sediment damage costing $17,940 could be avoided. Acres in Forest The 608 acres covered by the ooerations include 4o6 acres of the Rogue River Na-j tional Forest, 112 owned byj Ashland and 40 of public do main. Forest Service Pilot Ed Scholz, making passes as close as 100 feet from the treetops, spread the 8,500 pounds of rye grass seed from a twin-J engmea ueecncrait plane in a single day, Oct. 19. Purchase of only rye grass seed led to a substantial sav ings, according to Thomas. Originially it was planned to buy rye grass and jinouiitain broom seed and the reseeding project was estimated at a cost of $4,700. However, on the recommen dation of Avon Denham, as sistant regional forester at the Portland office, rye grass seed was purchased for just over S1.000 and the total cost, including use of the forest service's own plane instead of rented -helicopters, . came to only S1.627. Dry Weathehr Blessing Soil conservation work -the digging of contour fur rows and construction of check dams - began Oct. 24, and, Thomas said during a visit to the area last week, the recent dry weather has been a blessing. i "The greatest erosion dang er," he said, "is the impact of the individual raindrop. Now we have a good carpet of needles and dry weather to protect the seeds that are al ready in." The trip to the work area consisted of a bumpy ride up a ZVi - mile - long mountain road to a point more than 3.800 feet above sea level. Contour Furrows An 11-man crew, working under the direction of fore man Von Steele, a forest service employee, vhas dug contour furrows over an .av erage half-mile stretch per day and constructed nine check dams daily during a 15 - day period. Three of Steele's men work exclusive ly on the dams. The workers started at the top "to keep from getting snowed in," Thomas said, and will continue working "rain shade trees Trees topped, trimmed, re moved, cabled or cavities cared for by experienced tree surgeons (licensed and insured for your protection!) or shine, until we get fin ished." He estimated that the fur rowing and . dam building could be completed in about 50 more working days. Thomas described the road leading to the -work area as a major break in carrying out the project. The last 1V miles of it, he said, were "redis covered" when the crew be gain plotting its course. It had last been used about 60 years ago by wagons hauling logs down from the mountain tops. To Be Fertilized The 608 acres, which Thom as said are "all the U.S. for est service can legally do any thing about," are to be fer tilized next spring, in. March or April, depending on the weather. "We "hope," he added, "to plant trees in the same fur rows next spring." If they are unable to, he said, the trees "will be planted for sure in the spring ot '61." Meanwhile, Thomas said he's pleased with the progress of the work - and the money beirg saved. . "Any money saved on one thing can be spent on doing another," he concluded, "and we'll continue working until the money runs out or the weather drives us out." 1st Degree Murder Indictment Out Portland - (UPD - An indict ment of first degree murder against Ruby Lee Howard was dismissed Friday 4n the court of Circuit JudgQ Pro Tern F. C. Howard. - The dismissal was granted on the motion of Deputy iDs trict Attorney David Robin son. It will be resubmitted to the grand jury next week. ' The judge granted the mo tion while the process of se lecting a jury was uncomplet ed. The woman is accused of the fatal shooting of Winston Roberts on Aug. 14. ATTENTION... ,SAVE YOUR TREES! NOW IS THE BEST TIME to remove dead wood and mistletoe from your oak trees. For best results, let us trim any of your (except walnut) ... NOW! ' RAY CHAMBERLIN TREE SERVICE Phone SP 2-8052 Reseedecl Portland - H'PD-Mayor Terry Shrunk Friday expressed con cern over recent near riots and indicated "slap on the wrist" court sentences for of fenders are unless. The mayor said, "If young punks cpn tear u police uni forms and damage police cars and get. away with it, we are inviting riots. The mayor referred to re cent disturbances near Jeffer son High school, the Knott st. community center and on Un ion ave. The mayor made his re marks at a meeting of depart ment heads and asked Muni cipal Judge J. J. Quillin for a report on handling of recent cases. LEGISLATOR FINED Salem - (UPD - State Sen. Richard Groener (D-Milwau-kie) was convicted in Salem municipal court Friday of turning from a wrong lane. Municipal Judge Douglas Hayes fined him $10. ' He had pleaded not guilty. DON'T MISS OUR oiiday Special Year Around Pleasure for "THE WHOLE FAMILY thi-ZB : -:. : I 1 " 1 srS THE ZERO FREEZER UP-RIGHT TYPE Reg. NOW 25 Cu. Ft $389.00 $349.00 21 Cu. Ft 339.00 314.00 17 Cu. Ft , 292.00 279.00 13 Cu. Ft 269.00 - 259.00 10 Down Balance over 12 mos. on Approved Credit. We carry our own contracts at a low Interest Rate. As a Special Offer Until Dec. 31 Our Christmas Gift to You . . . A $10.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE With The Purchase of Each Freezer . . . May Be Applied Against Purchase Price THESE FREEZERS MAY BE SEEN AT . . . ' Medford Feed & Seed 330 North Fir Completion Dale For Interchange At GP Is Delayed Grants Pass Completion date of the South Grants Pass or Redwood interchange has been set forward until next March or April, according to A.,L. Chapman, resident en gineer for the state highway department. The base layers of asphal- tic concrete will soon be laid on the new interchange, but the finishing layers will have to wait until warmer weather, Chapman said. Asphalt cools so rapidly in cold weather that it is im possible to get a smooth sur face he said, but the base layers can be poured, and any roughness will be corrected by the finishing layers next" spring. Chapman outlined some major changes in traffic rout ing that will take place in the next week or so to facilitate construction. To Use New Bridge These changes will include ending the use of Caveman bridge for two - way traffic. The bridge will be one - way southbound, and northbound traffic will proceed to the new Seventh st. bridge. Some existing traffic ob structions on Sixth and Sev enth sts. will be removed, ac cording to Chapman, and Voorhies Way will become a two-way street to funnel traffic between them. Temporary surface routes will be used to bring traffic off of the Williams and Red wood highways, he said. This will mean some stops for cars traveling these routes, but they are only temporary until the new underpasses are ready for use, Chapman add ed. Nearly 4,000 feet of curb ing will be installed on the underpasses this winter, he said, so they will be ready for paving next spring. LENIN TRIALS OVES 'Moscow (UPD The official news agency Tass has report ed sea trials of the atomic icebreaker Lenin have been completed. The report said the 16,000-lon vessel was ca-' pable of circling the world four times without calling at any port. The Chalice well at Glas tonbury, England, has never failed to provide water even in drought periods. Phone 3-4503 I
