Medford mail tribune., January 03, 1960, Image 11

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10 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.
Sunday, Jan. 3, 1960
. will be
SECTION OF TENTH Tenth st.
widened to four lanes from Grape to Wil
lamette st. This view shows one section be
tween Central Ave. and Riverside ave. that
has been completed. The city hopes to start
construction on the Tenth st. bridge over
Bear creek next month. The Tenth st. project
is scheduled for completion by 1964.
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COLUMBUS AVE. This view of Columbus
ave. looking north from Stewart ave. shows
the present condition of this street. There
is only a light gravel surface here now, but
starting in 1961 Columbus will be paved
and widened to four lanes from Stewart ave.
to McAndrews rd. A section of Columbus
has been completed between Jackson st. and
McAndrews rd.
10-Year Program
Expected to Be
Completed in r67
Br GREG NOKES
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
Medford's 10-year street
improvement program, auth
orized by the voters in No
vember, 1956, has proceeded
well on schedule for the past
two years, according to Ver
non Thorpe, city engineer,
and unless some unforeseen
stumbling blocks should arise,
will be finished by its sched
uled completion date in 1967.
In 1956, the voters author
ized the city to float a $220,
000 bond issue and levy a tax
of $143,600 each year for 10
years, for a total of $1,656,000
which will be project's cost to
the city.
Another $467,500 will be
asssessed to property owners
affected by the program if 50
per cent will sign a petition
to be assessed. Much of the
program hinges on the ap
proval of property owners,
If they do not approve peti
tions to improve streets abut
ting their property then the
city will either have to bear
the entire cost, or forego the
improvement altogether.
Assessing Property
In assessing property for
street improvements under
the city charter the owners
pay for the first 36 feet of
street width in residential
areas, and the first 44 feet of
width in commercial areas,
with the city pa3'ing for any
and all improvements exceed
ing these widths.
The program is comprised
of 10 main street projects
scheduled for construction at
various times between 1957
and 1967, with approximately
10 per cent of the program be
ing done each year. It has
been necessary to depart from
the original schedule, on cer
tain projects, in order to take
advantage of special condi
tions which have changed the
STREET MAP This street map of Medford shows the
planned street development in the ten-year street improve
ments program started by the city in 1957. The solid lines
show the portions of the program that have already been
completed and the dotted lines those proects remaining to
be done. There are plans for four new bridges over Bear
creek in the program.
A Tribute
To The Elks!
This fine and fraternal organization ranks as one
of the happiest and most charitable in America!
B.P.O.E. Best People on Earth! Surely they ARE
among the best. They have fun of course.
Dances, parties, smokers, picnics. But underneath
their gay exterior are hearts of gold, with hands
outstretched always to help some less fortunate
person. That Elk's tooth on a chain or in a coat
lapel isn't just decoration. It symbolizes a man
who practices the Golden Rule daily. He's an
Elk! More power to him!
Selma Man Injured
In Thursday Mishap
Cave Junction Charles
Richard Strohkirch, 19, of
Selma, was injured about
noon Thursday when the car
in which he was riding went
out of control on Highway
199 near Idlewilde.
He was taken to Seaside
hospital in Crescent City,
i Calif., and later flown to
Medford by Mercy Flights,
Inc., for treatment at Rogue
Valley hospital.
Californian Buys
Port Umpqua Paper
Reedsport - (LTD - William
M. Tugman, retiring editor
publisher of the Port Umpqua
Courier, a weekly newspaper,
said Saturday the paper had
been sold to Earl Sykes Jr.,
El Cerrito, Calif.
Tugman, a longtime editor
of the Eugene Register Guard,
had been running the Courier
since late in 1954.
priority of some projects or
made their construction fi
nancially advantageous to the
city.
Cost of the work done so
far has been adequately cov
ered by monies allocated the
program, although there have
been a few cases where the
cost was more . and a few
where the cost was less, but
these have balanced each oth
er out.
Large Project
One of the largest projects
in the program is the Main st.
Eighth st. couplet which is al
most completed. When finish
ed it will make those streets
one-way from the bridges to
the west city limits. The one
way system from Elm st. to
Riverside ave. was completed
in July, 1958, on schedule,
and the section including the
new Eighth' st. bridge will be
finished this month.
When the bridge is finished
it will be made one-way east
bound and the Main st. bridge
will be one-way west bound.
The cost of the project was
$227,200, of which the city
paid 25 per cent or $56,800.
The state paid 75 per cent, or
$170,400, of the project be
cause it is a part of the state
secondary highway system.
Only one section of the
10th. st.-llth st. project has
been completed and that has
been the extension of 10th st.
between Central and River
sides aves. This short stretch
was not scheduled for con
struction until the latter part
of the 1959 fiscal year, but be
cause of a clause in the right
of way agreement calling for
immediate construction, it
was completed in April 1957,
with a substantial saving in
total cost.
The stretch between Cen
tral ave. and Riverside ave. is
52 feet wide and provides for
four lanes of moving traffic,
as will the rest of 10th st.
from Central ave. to Willa
mette st., when the project is
completed.
Schedule Change
A stretch of this same proj
ect from Columbus ' ave. to
Central ave. was not done
when scheduled in preference
to another section from River
side ave. to Portland ave. On
this latter section, some right
of way has already been pur
chased, designing of a new
bridge over Bear creek is in
progress, and some grading
has been done.
When completed the proj
ect will make 10th and 11th
sts. a one-way couplet west of
Grape st. The new bridge will
be built across Bear creek and
will follow the east bank to
east 10th st.. just west of Port
land ave. Tenth st. will be
widened to Willamette st., re
lieving traffic on Main st.
considerably.
The bridge is being designed
by the city in conjunction
with the state highway de
partment, and it is hoped that
bids will be called early this
year, Thorpe sa?o..
Charged for Work
The state is helping the city
to -design this bridge for no
other reason than that it has
the necessary facilities for
bridge design, where the city
does not. This is a service pro
vided all cities by the state
whether or not it has any in
terest in the bridges. The state
then charges the city for the
cost of the work done.
The bridge was originally
planned to be a two-lane struc
ture, but the increased traffic
volume has cause it to be pro
jected to four lanes.
Several sections of a third
main project, the Jackson st.
improvement project, have
been completed or are under
construction. Pavement for a
four-lane street has been laid
from Biddle rd. to Genessee
st., and another four lane sec
tion on Jackson st., between
Lindley and North Berkley
Way has been paved.
New Section
A new section of Jackson st.
between Barnburg rd. and
Sunrise ave. has been opened
and paved 24-feet wide; plans
are for eventual widening to
Medford Pharmacy
101 North Central, Corner 6th Ph. SP 2-6253
Weekdays: 8:30 A.M. to 10:30 P.M.
Open Sundays and Holidays-10 A.M. to 9:30 P.M.
We Salute Our Town!
46 Flu Cases Are
Reported in County
! Forty-six cases of influenza
were reported to the Jackson
county department of health
for the week ending Dec. 31,
45 of them in Medford and one
i in Shady Cove, according to
Dr. C. I. Drummond, public
'health physician.
There were four cases of
pneumonia reported, all in
Medford, and one case of scar
let fever in Ashland.. j
Other communicable dis- j
eases reported were, whooping j
cough, Medford 1, strep throat, I
Medford 1, chicken pox. Ash- I
land 1, ring worm, Ashland 1. !
Washington - (LTD - Army
Col. Perry M. Smoot ret., 78,
commander of the Hawaii
unit of the National Guard at
the time of the Japanese at
tack on Pearl Harbor, died
Thursday at the Wilmington,
Del., Veterans hospital.
Mubbard IBros.
WILL BE
CLOSED
FOR INVENTORY
Tues. - Wed. - Thurs.
January SK 6 and 7
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY CALL
SP 2-6189
44-feet. The city purchased the
right of way for this section
through condemnation pro
ceedings two years ago.
This project, the remainder
of which is not scheduled for
construction until 1964, will
improve Jackson st., from Mc
Andrews rd. to Hillcrest rd.
The Columbus ave. project,
which will not be completed
until 1963, will improve and
extend that street from Stew
art ave. to McAndrews rd.
A section of this project be
tween Jackson st. and McAn
drews rd., was moved up the
schedule and completed early,
for two reasons. First, the
right of way was obtained at
no cost from the Jackson coun
ty housing authority, and sec
ond, a new school shop build
ing and an Army Reserve cen
ter were to be built at an early
date and were scheduled to
face on Columbus ave.
By obtaining this right of
way for nothing, the city
saved $10,000 which had been
allocated for its purchase.
More Right of Way
Some more right of way be
tween Prune st. and 10th st.
has been acquired and docu
ments are being prepared for
the rest.
Another project will im
prove Stewart ave. from Riv
erside ave. to Columbus ave.
Work on Stewart ave. will
not begin until 1965 as sched
uled, but the city has spent
$27,000 as its share to date of
a concrete box culvert on the
north side of Stewart ave. con
structed by the county road
department. This culvert re
placed one section of the haz
ardous ditch now running
parallel to Stewart ave.
Nothing has been done on
the Willamette ave. project
between 11th st. and Barnett
rd., except for some prelimi
nary studies with the state
highway department to try
and work the extension of
Willamette st. into the pro
posed interchange with the
new freeway at Barnett rd.
This particular project is not
scheduled to start until 1967.
The Fourth st. project which
is planned to improve that
street between Central ave.
and Riverside ave. is being
expanded. Additional plans
are now being developed to
extend Fourth st. across Bear
creek to connect with Jack
son st. at Biddle rd.
New Bridge Planned
The new bridge would large
ly eliminate traffic conges
tion at the five-pronged inter
section of Riverside ave.,
Jackson st., and Third st. The
necessary data is now being
prepared for the bridge de
sign and paving plans.
Another project, not includ
ed in the program approved
by the voters, is the extension
of . Siskiyou blvd. to Hoover
school from Willamette st.
This necessitates the purchas
ing of right of way from the
Odd Fellows cemetery. The
city proposes to gain the nec-;
essary funds for this project
by using money received
from the state tax fund.
There are six other major
projects scheduled, work on
which will not start until lat
er in the program.
Repaying Projects
One of these projects is the
Grape-Holly sts. resurfacing
project, which calls for repay
ing both the streets, starting
in 1962.
A project scheduled for a
1960 start is on Oakdale ave.,
which will be widened, re
paved, and regraded from
Fourth st. to 12th st. When
completed it will allow for.
SlfSSJ."? west hocke. rink eny winter weather that
4uaw aney, cam., sue oi tne winter Olympic Games.
First Group in '60
Climbs Mt. Hood
Portland -0JPD- Three mem-;
bers of a Whitman College
party claimed to be the first
to climb Mt. Hood in 1960.
They reached the summit
early Friday.
It was said to be the third
time in a row that a party
from the school climbed the
mountain on the first day of
the year.
Those of the party who
reached the top were Stan
Kozlowski, Bremerton, Wash.;
Ross Kennedy, Olympia, and
Gordon Larson, Vancouver,
Wash. Larson is not a student
but joined the party on the
mountain.
COMMENTATOR DIES
New York - HTD - Claire
Mann, a writer and radio and
television commentator on
health and beauty, died at
her home of cancer Friday.
She was 48.
ley View dr., from Valley
View dr. to Hillcrest rd., and
from Hillcrest rd. to Black
Oak dr.
This project is a good ex
ample of the necessity for as
sessment. Already the city
plans to bear a cost of $136,-
300 for the difference between
a 36-foot and the planned 44
foot width. The property own
ers will then pay for the cost
of the project up to 36-feet
if they approve of the assess
ment. But, if they do not ap
prove, then the entire cost
will fall to the city.
The accompanying map
shows how this program will
ease the traffic problem in
Medford, and make the city
a pleasure to drive through
when it is completed,
four moving lanes of traffic
between Seventh and 12th sts.
Widening and paving of
McAndrews rd. from West
Jackson st. to Bear creek will
not get under way until 1966
as scheduled.
The King st. project, which
will call for improving that
street, specifically the inter-:
sections with Stewart ave. and !
11th st., is scheduled to start
in 1962. i
Main St. Project j
Another large project is ;
known as the Main st.-Valley
View-Hillcrest rd. project. This
project will call for the wid
ening to four lanes and the '
repaving, of Main st. from the j
Eighth st. connection to Val-
22 Persons Killed
in County in '59
Twenty - two persons, the i
same number as in 1958, died
during 1959 in traffic acci- j
dents in Jackson county, ac- j
cording to statistics compiled
by the Mail Tribune.
Majority of the fatalities
occurred during the first
eight months of the year,
when 14 deaths wrere record
ed. This was the reverse of
the 1958 trend when 14 per
sons were killed on the coun
ty's highways during the last
four months of the year.
Four of the year's accidents
accounted for two deaths
each, the same number of
double fatalities accidents as
in 1958. Two fatalities occur
red within the Medford city
limits.
Double Fatalities
Persons who died in the
double fatality accidents were
Clarence Frank Pinkerton, 62,
of 455 Courtney st., and Kay
Louis Gilbert, 21, of 439
Chestnut st., both Ashland,
Jan. 19 on Highway 99 near
Talent; Denzil Hubert Shilts,
42, Blue River, and Mrs. Ma
bel E. Lilja, 64, Redmond
Feb. 24. Highway 99 and
Neil creek; Mr. and Mrs. Ar
thur Bellows, 429 North Hol
ly st, Medford, May 31, when
their vehicle hit the Shakes
pearean theater wall in Ash
land; and L. D. Crank, 49, of
Costa Mesa, Calif., and Rob
ert William W r i g h t , 42, of
Vallejo, Calif., Sept. 6, on the
Little Applegate rd.
Killed on Medford city
streets were Charles Delbert
Miller, 83, of 1358 Biddle rd.,
Jan. 21, and Cnarles Joseph
Fry, 86, of 323 Chestnut st.,
Sept. 18, both pedestrians.
One-Vehicle Accidents
Five other persons died in
one-vehicle accidents during
1959. They were William
Henry Durbin, 54. of Grants
Pass, Jan. 25, on Old Stage rd.
near Rogue River; Harry L.
T a n t . 20, of Charleston,
Height, S.C., Feb. 17, on
Highway 99 near Rock Point
bridge; Harold Davis Shuch,
22, of 628 ',2 North Riverside
ave., April 11, on Highway
99 near Birdseye Creek
bridge; Richard Lee Jolliffe,
24. of Butte Falls, May 17,
when his motorc cle went
over an embankment on Butte
Falls highway at Crowfoot
rd., and Gary Lee Johnson,
22, Grants Pass, June 6. on
Highway 99 near Rogue Riv
er. Other fatal accidents which
involved more than one ve
hicle accounted for seven
deaths. Among those who died
were George Earl Riggens,
70, Camp White, June 8, in
tersection of Gregory rd. and
Agate rd.; Denzil Harry Mid
dlebusher, 62, of 331 South
Ivy St., Aug. 18, Highway 99
near Beall lane; Dwight Al
bro Robbins, 26, of 816 Tsy
lor St., Sept. 14. Highway 99
south of Medford; Mrs. Lou
ella Russell, 71, of Selah,
Wash., Oct. 30, Crater Lake
highway at Four Corners;
John Ralph Penning'
ton, 38, of 3525 Chicory lane,
Nov. 7, near Camp White
Domiciliary; Ronald Bernard
Harding, 22, of 1309 Stewart
ave., Nov. 30, on Hanley rd.;
and Jerry Austin Giesler, 28,
Talent, Highway 99 near
Phoenix, Dec. 29.
Seven of the fatal accidents
occurred near 5 p.m, records
show, while only four deaths
were recorded during daylight
hours.
The northwest African ter
ritory of Sierra Leone was so
named by the Portuguese sea
man, Pedro da Cintra, ia
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