Operations of Rural Fire Department Are Reviewed
Central Point-C. C. Thomp
son, chairman of the board of
directors of the Central Point
Rural Fire Protection district,
said Friday the district's bud
get for this fiscal year is the
smallest in the last five years,
"and nearly 10 per cent under
our 6 per cent limitation."
Thompson, in lieu of an an
nual report, reviewed 1959
operations, presented a gener
al picture of the district's fi
nancial position, and made
recommendations for the
1960-61 fiscal year.
He said "the budget board
and the board of directors
lived up to our promises to
the voters to reduce the bud
get substantially if they
would pay off the indebted
ness on the equipment." As a
result, this year's budget is
the smallest in the last five
fiscal years, he noted.
"We will this year spend
$1,750 on replacement and
new equipment," he said. New
equipment, he added, is for
the protection of firemen.
both paid employees and vol
unteers. Increases in Pay
Moderate increases in pay
were given employed staff
members, Thompson said, but
added that "we are still con
siderably under the average
pay scale for firemen." The
board's program has been to
bring the pay scale in line
with other fire districts as last
as the financial position justi
fies it, he added.
Adequate money is avail
able in this year's budget, he
said, for the training program
and for building maintenance
and repair.
Thompson said the district
is "likely to run a little over
the budget on the cost of op
erations." This, he noted, is
due to a large increase in the
number of fires. Firemen
were called to 176 during
1959, compared to 129 in
1958, he noted. The cost of
operations also has increased
because of the increase in the
cost of insurance. Increasing
the public liability and prop
erty damage limits was re
sponsible for some of the in
crease in the insurance costs,
he said.
Increase in Efficiency
Thompson called attention
to the increase in efficiency
of the department.
In 1956, he said, the fire
loss ratio was 18.77 per cent,
in 1957 it was 9.46 per cent
and in 1958 it was 8.11 per
cent. The 1958 national aver
age for class 9 protection was
14.99 per cent, he noted. Fig
ures for 1959 are not yet
available.
The fire loss ratio is com
puted from the amount of loss
against the insured valuation
of property under Oregon
Rating Bureau standards.
Thompson noted that the
figures are for insured cov
erage only.
"While we may run over
our budget for this fiscal year
by $500 to $1,000, our cash
position will show a credit
balance of $2,000 to $3,000,"
Thompson said.
Reasons Noted
There are two reasons for
this, he explained. One is that
more taxes have been col
lected than anticipated, and
the other is revenue from pro
tection given to companies
like Southern Pacific which
are in the district but not on
Safeway Stores Here
To Offer Stamps
Safeway stores in 12 Ore
gon cities, including Medford,
will offer Gold Bond stamps
starting Monday, Jan. 25, ac
cording to G. M. Mangan,
Portland division manager
for Safeway.
Other communities where
stamps will be offered are
Myrtle Point, Coos Bay, Co
quille, Florence, North Bend,
Newport, Taft. Grants Pass,
Redmond. Madras and Bend.
Gold Bond stamps entered
the Oregon market in Decem
ber, 1958. and are offered by
several Safeway stores and
other retail merchants in the
state.
The trading stamp com
pany, Mangan said, probably
will establish a gift center in
Medford along with others in
the state. Manager of Gold
Bonds Oregon division is
Orville B. Hammer, Portland.
Business Meeting
Slated in Portland
Portland The second an
nual business conference
sponsored by the University
of Oregon's school of business
administration will be held
Feb. 3 at the Benson hotel
i here.
Authorities in the field of
economics will lead discus
sions on the Landrum-Griffin
act, the Ford Foundation and
Carnegie Corporation, prob
lems of urban decentralization
in the next 10 years, and the
Communist economic threat.
Information c o n c em ing
registration is available from
the school of business admin
istration offices in Eugene.
the district's tax rolls.
As of Jan. 1, Thompson re
ported, the district had a
credit balance of more than
$13,000 with the second and
third quarter payments still
to be received by the county
treasurer. Expenses for the
balance of this fiscal year
should be only slightly more
than $14,000, he said.
Replacement . of the dis
trict's pickup truck and in
creases in pay or a retirement
program, or a combination of
both, should be considered in
the future program, Thomp
son said. Either in the next
fiscal year, or in the 1961-62
fiscal year, the district should
replace the second McCulloch
pump.
Increases in the 1960-61
budget, he said, should be
made for operation of the fire
department, particularly for
the operation and repair of
equipment.
The assessed valuation of
the district for the next fiscal
year should increase from the
present $9,200,000 to about
$9,500,000, Thompson said.
This, with the cash carry over,
should enable the district to
budget an additional $2,000
more than this year's budget
and still remain within the
6 per cent limitation, he added.
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.
Sunday, Jan. 24, I960
OFFER RESOLUTION"
Washington -0IPU Two doz
en House members asked Con
gress Thursday to express "a
profound sense of indignation
and shock" at the desecration
of places of worship at home
and abroad. The resolution
was offered by Rep. Barratt
O'Hara (D-Ill.) on behalf of
the bipartisan sponsors.
Woman Succumbs After Home Fire
Dallas, Ore.-flJPD-Mrs. Oleda
Riggs Lloyd. 49, Grand Ronde,
died in a Dallas hospital today
of burns suffered in a house
fire Thursday night.
Willamina Fire Chief Jim
Shipley said the woman had
been trapped in a small house
she shared with her brother,
Roger Riggs.
Riggs told firemen he tried
to start a fire in a wood stove
about 10 p.m., using a can
of gasoline. There was an ex
plosion and he was driven
out of the house. Flames
trapped his sister, who had
been asleep on a sofa.
A neighbor, Knute Strom,
broke into the house and car
ried the woman out. He suf
fered hand burns.
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