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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1960)
WT TB88P (Ul Mi M SMI SCOOTIN' GROUNDHOG Mail Tribune Artist Bob Vroman gives his interpretation, above, of what would have happened here today if groundhogs lived in the Rogue valley. The bright sun certainly would have caused the old weather prophet to go scooting back into his hole to bring six more weeks of winter weather to the area. Without groundhogs to do their predicting, residents will have to depend on the weather bureau for their forecasts. Groundhog Shadow Visible in Most Sections of Nation By United Press International Groundhogs in most sec tions of the nation saw their shadows today and, according to the old legend, ducked back into the warmth of their dens to snooze through six more weeks of winter. Rain, snow and overcast skies hid the sun over much of the country on this Feb. 2, traditional Groundhog Day. The Punxsutawney, Pa., groundhog emerged from hi bernation on Gobblers Knob at 7:33 a.m., his followers said, and dived right back into his den when he saw his shadow. Disastrous Snows Forecast An official of the Punxsu tawney Groundhog Club said that meant "disastrous house high snows, hurricane winds, ice six inches thick coating utility wires and trees, -mercury dropping out of the bot tom of every thermometer in the land and highway, air and rail travel at more of a stand still than even Jimmy Hoffa could order." At Quarryville, Pa., watch ers of the Groundhog Lodge reported that their furry weather observer emerged at 8:01V2 a.m. and scampered back before the lodge's of ficial fiddler could serenade I him with "Me and My Sha dow." But Prince Dauphin III, the protege of the Sun Prairie, Wis., Groundhog Club, ignor ed ugly rumors that he is stuffed and predicted winter is on the way out. Mrs. Ray Patt, president of the Sun Prairie Groundhog Club, said .seven persons saw the animal dart cut of its bur row in ' cloudy weather and "scoot over the hill." "He didn't see his shadow, Free Textbook Rights Upheld Oregon City - (UPD -- Circuit Judge Ralph Holrnan today upheld the right of the Ore gon City school district to provide free textbooks to a Catholic school. The judge, in upholding Oregon's free textbook law, indicated he disagreed with previous judicial interpreters of state and federal constitu tions. But he said he felt compelled to follow the dic tates of the U.S. Supreme Court. Plaintiffs indicated they would appeal to the State Su preme Court. Gerald Wenner Retires as Ashland Bank Manager; Isaacs Named to Fill Position The retirement of Gerald H. Wenner, long-time mana ger of the Ashland branch of First National Bank of Ore gon, has been announced by C. B. Stephenson, president of the statewide banking system. He will retire under provis ions of the bank's pension program. Wenner will be replaced by Richard C. Isaacs, native of Jackson county aiid assistant manager of the branch, Steph enson said. Emmet Whitham, assistant cashier anc' loan offi cer, is being promoted to as sistant manager. The changes will be effective next week. "'enner has spent his entire !-3t :unf career in Ashland, beginning 45 years ago with so winter is over," Mrs. Patt said with finality. The Weather Bureau at Qhicago, in its national weath er summary, refused even to recognize that it had rivals in the forecasting business to day. But the government fore casters, like the majority of the groundhogs, found cloudy skies across most of the nation. Supersonic Runs Start Avalanches Spokane (UPD Operation Safe Slide an attempt to create avalanches by sonic booms was dubbed a suc cess by Geirger Air Force Base officials Monday .ifter two F-106 Delta Darts per formed the mission over gla cier National Park, Mont. Officials ; said the jet air crafts made a total of nine supersonic runs against the "avalanche target" area Mon day afternoon. The Air Force had been planning the move for some time but was de layed until skies were clear over the area and there was new snow in the park a fac tor needed to help start ava lanches in movement once a sonic Loom hits. Geiger officials called the plan the "world's first at tempt at finding a jet-age so lution" to constant threat of accidental avalanches. Above Normal Rain Forecast for Month Above normal temperatures and precipitation are forecast for the next 30 days in west ern Oregon, and the period will start with rain late to night and early tomorrow in the Medford area, the weather bureau said today. The outlook for the next few days is for rainy weather from storm fronts moving northeastward from the Pa cific. Rainfall yesterday totaled .55 of an inch until midnight last night. The total is .47 of an inch above normal, but the total precipitation since Sept. 1 is less than half the normal amount. Since Sept. 1 there has been 5.23 inches, or 5.72 inches below normal. Temperatures in this area are expected to range frum a low of about 40 tonight to a high of pbout 50 tomorrow, the weather bureau forecast. First National of Ashland. He advanced to assistant cashier before the bank was purchas ed by First National of Port land in 1935, when he became assistant manager of the Ash land branch. In 1941 he was named manager. Isaacs was born and grew up in Medford and joined the First National bank of Med ford in 1929. First National of Portland succeeded the bank in 1935. Isaacs was promoted to manager of the Central Point branch in 1947. He remained there until July, 1958, when he became assis tant manager of Medford branch, and one year ago he was appointed to a similar post at Ashland branch. Tax fkiw mpfowinent Plan Med Ray J. Schumacher, Jack son county assessor, today suggested that a new tax base be provided for operational school budgets to . improve Oregon's overall tax picture and place the state in a favor able position for industrial development. Schumacher said in analyz ing the levies for property taxation, "it becomes appar ent . . .that most of the local tax dollar is spent for school operation. Most . taxpayers agree that this is an essen tial service and few would sacrifice this for lower taxa tion." Present school operation, he added, accounts for the majority of school budgets, while bonded indebtedness for buildings would be the minor ity cost. Lists Five Points In finding a new tax base, Schumacher listed five points, which if passed into law he believes would relieve the property tax load and make a more favorable structure for school taxation. ' The five points are: 1. A statute limiting school taxes on property to bonding issues only. 2. Millage limitation for all taxing districts similar to the state of Washington. (The state of Washington has a statutary limitation of 40 mills for each taxing dis trict. Schumacher pointed out that such a limitation is pos sible if there is other means of obtaining funds, such as through a sales tax.) 3. Enactment of a sales tax allotted to operational school fund. From Stale Fund 4. Any additional amount needed to come from the state general fund. 5. This school tax fund to be administered at the state level and allocated to the school .districts jan a school child unit, based on the class of., the district. He said "these costs are commonly known." This departure from the pres ent system of budgeting would be a challenge to school ad ministrators to work within the level of comparable costs, Schumacher said. If these five points became law, the assessor said, "prop erty tax could be cut to less than half." He illustrated his point by noting that in the present Medford district, code 549-1, city of Medford tax is 28.6 mills, the school district mil lage is 35, and the rural school tax is 25.2 mills, a total of 88.8 mills. Total 37.2 Mills Under Schumacher's sug gestion the taxes would be city of Medford 28.6 mills and the Medford school bond levy of 8.6 mills, or a total of 37.2 mills. ' The net savings to the property taxpayer would be 51.8 mills, or $5.18 for each $100 of assessed valuation, he said. "While these school taxes must still be paid, the pay ment would be less painful under the sales tax and in come tax and would be more equitable," Schumacher said. He said he believed that "the voters of Oregon would accept the sales tax if it was coupled with this positive property tax offset." Schumacher's suggestions stemmed from present resist ance to property taxation, which he said required a "closer look of all taxing units to this form of taxation." The assessor said that under the reappraisal program, prog ress has been made to equal Whitham, a native of Port land, joined First National there in 1936 after seven years with the Federal Re serve Bank. He came to Ash land in 1937 and has served in all operating and loaning departments. He was appoint ed assistant cashier in 1948 and has been general loan officer since 1950. Wenner has been active in many community affairs through the years and is cur rently a member of the Hos pital Planning Commission of the city council, the chamber of commerce, Rotary, Elks and Methodist church. Isaacs is a member of the Ashland Realty Board, Ash land Chamber of Commerce and Rotary club. ize assessments. "This with the six-year reappraisal pro gram should insure the tax' payer equal distribution of the tax load," he noted. But he said this "will not eliminate the burden of taxa tion when most taxing dis tricts are faced with increased costs and wanted services." A letter outlining Schu macher's proposals has, been forwarded to county assessors and other officials throughout the state, he said. MRS. EVELYN NYE To Seek Reelection Mrs. Nye to Seek Reelection as Representative Mrs. Evelyn Nye, Medford, announced today she would seek reelection as state repre sentative from Jackson coun ty. She is a Republican. Last week, E. H. Mann and John Dellenback, both of Med ford, announced they would seek the Republican nomina tion for state' representative in the May 20 primary elec tion. No Democrats have as yet announced their candidacy. Robert Duncan, ; a Democrat, speaker of the house of repre sentatives, now occupies the other house seat from this county. Mrs. Nye said her principal reason for seeking reelection is for "an opportunity to put to constructive use for the benefit of the people of this county the experience which I gained in the last session." She was elected two years ago. On Committees During the last session, Mrs. Nye served on the standing committees on education, agri culture and livestock, and local government, and is now serving on the interim com mittee on education as chair man of the subcommittee studying quality of education and administrative practices. "This committee," she said, "with the exception of the interim committee on taxa tion, is probably carrying the heaviest load of legislative responsibility in state govern ment." Prior to serving in the legis lature, Mrs. Nye served 10 years as a member of the Medford school board and worked on the executive coun cil and legislative committee of the Oregon School Board association. She is a charter member and past president of the League of Women Voters here, past president of Repub lican Women, a member of the board of directors of Mercy Flights, Rogue Valley Manor and the School of Hope, and is a member of the Business and Profes s i o n a 1 Women. Mrs. Nye has lived in Jack son county most of her life and was graduated from Med ford High school and the Uni versity of Oregon. Her hus band, Stephen Nye, is a valley orchardist. Musas Candidates For Reelection Salem-rtJPD - Both members of the Musa Democratic hus band and wife team filed for reelection today. State Sen. Ben Musa of The Dalles filed his candidacy for reelection to the 16th district. He seeks a fourth term. His wife, State Rep. Kath erine Musa, seeks reelection in the 21st district and a third term. Regional Edition MEDFORD 12 Pages Police Join in Investigation of Truck Dynamiting Governor Hatfield Deplores Actions Portland -(UPD- Statecoun ty and city police have joined in an investigation into the dynamiting of 10 trucks serv ing the combined Oregon Journal - Oregonian newspa per here. , The trucks were dynamited late Sunday night causing an estimated $70,000 damage. . The combined newspaper has been published since last November when stereotypers went on strike and other un ions observed picket lines. No settlement has been reached. Incident Condemned Oregon Gox. Mark Hatfield Monday condemned the inci dent saying he deplored such actions. "The ystem from the same kind of warped minds that paint swastikas on build ings. The full state police fa cilities have been made avail able upon the request of lo cal authorities. It is my hope the culprits will be brought to justice and that there will be no repetition of such unwar ranted destruction of proper ty and the endangering of lives," the governor said. Six trucks in Oregon City, about 12 miles south of here, were wrecked, and minutes later dynamite blasts wrecked four more trucks in Portland. Rewards Offered The Oregon City trucks had been used to 1 haul newsprint to the Oregonian building where 'the combined Oregon Journal-Oregonian have been publishing " since the strike started Nov. 19. The trucks in Portland were used to haul newspapers and motion pic tures. - The Portland City Council offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the ar rest and conviction of those involved and the Portland Inter-Union Strike Committee offered a similar reward. The inter-union committee also issued a statement saying it has repeatedly condemned acts of violence. Schrunk Deplores Act It said in part, "we deeply regret this senseless dynamit ing of newspaper trucks be cause it gives an opportunity to some quarters to blame the unions through guilt by asso ciation." Mayor Terry Schrunk called it "an extremely serious blot on the city's . record. It re flects on both labor and management, and cannot be tolerated." French Assembly Vote de Gaulle Rule Paris - (UPD - The constitu tional committee of the Na tional Assembly tonight ap proved an amended -version of the bill td give President Charles de Gaulle semi-dictatorial powers to rule by de cree foi a year, informed sources said. Salem -(UPD Insured unem ployment reached 32,466 in the state last week, a total the State Employment De partment believes will be peak for the year. -fcT A IT MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1960 f v.- . I HIGHWAY CLUTTERED A heavy-duty road grader is shown removing debris from the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 40 after tons of mud, snow and rocks descend ed in an earth slide near Colfax, Calif., Mon day. The slide which snapped a major trans continental telephone cable, disrupted major communications service for over three hours. Money Approved For Irrigation District Work The U. S. Senate irrigation and reclamation subcommit tee has passed a resolution authorizing the Talent Irriga tion district to carry on minor construction work under a new repayment contract with the bureau of reclamation. Lloyd Tupling, administra tive assistant to Sen. Richard L. Neuberger, in a telegram to the Mail Tribune, said house interior committee ap proval will clear the way for the district to proceed with work without the 60-day wait ing period. The action will permit the district to use $300,000 to complete work on the east and Ashland canals in the district's rehabilition and en largement program in connec tion with the overall Talent project, "according ."to Walter Hoffbuhr, district manager. Waiver on Limitation Hoffbuhr said the district had to go to congress for a waiver of a $200,000 limita tion for work which may be done by an irrigation district working with the bureau of reclamation. Work done by the district on its lateral and canal re habilitation and enlargement had used the $200,000, Hoff buhr said, and more funds were needed to complete the work. The district is doing earth work on the east canal now, he said," and construction of structures is let on a bid ba sis. Earth work will be about 80 per cent completed and structures about 90 per cent done when this year's water season starts, he said. Work on the Ashland canal is expected to start next fall, with completion next winter. The bureau of reclamation does engineering for the work which the district ' may do under federal statutes.. Thornton To Address Grants Pass Banquet Salem (UPD Main speaker at the Grants. Pass' Junior Chamber of Commerce dis tinguish e d service awards banquet Feb. 17 will be At torney General Robert Y. Thornton. His subject will be. "citizen responsibilities and commun ity development." 54th SMribune Mrs. Todd Files Objections to Court Costs Bill Mrs. Ann Todd, Eagle Point, today filed objections to the court costs bill presented by the Eagle Point Irrigation dis trict as a result of December's injunction hearing in circuit court. Total costs of $291.76 are sought from Mrs. Todd, her husband, Howard Todd, Paul D. Conrad, Fritz Carlson, and Herman Higday. The costs bill was filed Jan. 26 by Attor ney Gregory Hornecker, of Farrell and Blackhurst, Med ford legal firm, on behalf of the district. Evergreen Files Request With PUC Evergreen Bus Line of Medford has filed an applica tion with the public utility commissioner to raise its fares and charges in the Jackson-ville-Medford-Ashland area. A hearing on the case will be held Feb. 17 at 1 pjn. in Medford city hall. Included are a 5-cent one way fare increase request, establishment of round-trip and commutation fares and a $5 charter trip minimum in crease. Also before the commis sioner is a proposal of Ever green Bus Lines, Inc., Med ford, to acquire by transfer the permit of Henry J. Huber, doing business as Evergreen Bus Line. No hearing date on this has been set. Bridge Approaches Being Constructed Work is being done on ap proaches to a bridge recently completed over Long Branch creek, County Engineer Rob ert J. Carstensen said today. The reinforced concrete bridge on Rogue River dr. was completed last week, he said. Other work being done by the county engineer's road crews include clearing brush along the rightof way of Poor man creek rd. between Grif fin creek rd. and Sterling creek rd., and finishing a base rock application to Hillcrest rd. and Cherry lane. An oil mat coat will be spread over the two county roads this sum mer, the county engineer said. Clearing of the right of way on Reese Creek rd. has been completed and crews are clearing the right of way to the county's granite pit west of Jacksonville, Carstensen said. Carole Tregoff Wins Major Point Los Angelese (UPD Carole Tregoff scored an important legal victory at her murder trial today when Superior Judge Walter Evans ruled that damaging admisions she made previously could not be read to this jury. The ruling makes it impos sible for the prosecution to point out all the conflicts in the story told by Carole at a preliminary hearing or also to allow the jury to compare what she said then with what she may say if she takes the stand during the trial. At the earlier hearing she admitted intimacies with her codefend ant, Dr. R. Bernard Finch. Year Price 10 Cents No. 266 Highway 40, which is the main route from all points to Squaw Valley, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, is closed to westbound traffic and only passenger cars are permit ted use of the eastbound lanes. Extensive damage is expected to result to the newly widened highway. (UPI Telephoto) Circuit Judge James M. Main Dec. 29 ruled against Mrs. Ann Todd and other Eagle Point water users, who sought an injunction against the district to prevent it from discharging 100 cubic feet per second of water through the Neil creek siphon. Included in Costs Included in the court costs were filing fee $6.80; pre vailing party fee $10; reportrj er's fee for 7Vi days $75; wit-j ness fee for John Lucas, Med ford, 8 days, 48 miles travel allowance, $43.84; V. R. Harp er, Eagle Point, 8 days, 192 miles travel allowance, $55.36; W. L. Warren, Old Stage rd., 5 days, .50 miles travel, $29; Philip Humphrey, Medford, 2 days, "16 miles, $11.28; Ted Flury, Eagle Point, 8 days, 256 miles, $60.48. In her objections, Mrs. Todd said the cost bill was not filed 10 days after the Dec. 29 de cree was issued and filed by Circuit Judge James M. Main as prescribed by state law. She also charged that the court had permitted Higday to withdraw from the case, so his costs should not be as sessed. John Lucas was not a mate rial witness and it was not necessary for him to attend the trial each day, Mrs. Todd stated. The same applies to Harper, she said, and the dis trict has paid Harper $41.92. Warren, California Oregon Power company engineer, only testified on the last day and reports to his job only two blocks away from the courthouse so should not re ceive travel expenses, Mrs. Todd said. Except for the amount and the number of days specified, tha same ap plies to Humphrey, she added. Flury was being paid by the district while he was in court, did not testify as a wit ness for the district, and used a district truck for transporta tion, so is not entitled to costs allowance, Mrs. Todd claimed. WEATHER FORECAST: Rain late tonight and early Wednesday. Showers Wednesday afternoon and eve ning. Low tonight 40. High to morrow 50. Temp. Highest Yesterday 55 Lowest this Morning 36 Prec. to 4 a.m. Today 56 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today . 5:25 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow .... 7:25 a.m. Moonset tonight 11:45 p.m. First Quarter Feb. 4 VISIBLE PLANETS Jupiter, rises 4:56 a.m. Venus, rises 5:46 a.m. Saturn, rises 6:13 a.m. Mars, rises 6:29 a.m. Venus will pass to the east of both Saturn and Mars this month. Lower Insurance Rates For Small Cars Planned New 'York-UPD - Two auto mobile underwriters organiza tions today announced plans to give a 10 per cent discount on auto insurance premiums to owners of small and com pact cars in 43 states. Subject to Approval The discount, subject to ap proval of insurance supervis ory authorities in the individ ual states, would be granted beginning March 1 by more than 400 insurance companies affiliated with the National Bureau of Casualty Under writers and the National Au tomobile Underwriters association. Positions Taken On Entire Length Of Truce Line Nasser in Constant Touch With Leader Jerusalem, Israel (UPD Egyptian armed forces in great strength were reported today to have streamed across the Siani Peninsula and taken up positions along the entire length of the Israel-Egypt truce demarcation line. The report from Cairo came hours after machinegun fire crackled across the demilitar ized zone on Israel's northeast ern border with Syria. The Syrian gunfire early today, the latest incident of its kind in the past six days, was not returned by the Israelis. Cease Fire Established The British government in London said it was informed officially that a cease fire was established early today on the border where fighting had been taking place. The For eign Office said it got the in formation from the United Nations. The crisis over farming rights in the disputed demili tarized zone worsened with reports that United Arab Re public had sent troops rushing to points along the border far to the south of the current trouble area. Nasser in Touch U.A.R. President Gamal Ab del Nasser in Cairo kept in constant telephone contact with Abdel Hakim Amer, his vice president and military commander in chief in the northern Syrian region of the United Arab Republic. Egypt is separated from the Syrian region by Jordan. The Cairo newspaper Al Ahram said Egyptian forces had been moving up to Israel's southeastern borders for the past three days. The trouble on the Syrian border combined with the Egyptian troop movements threatened to plunge the Mid dle East into war. Gale Warnings LoweredTn Coasr By United Press International Gale warnings were lower ed off the Oregon coast today after a gusty storm with winds up to 57 miles an hour hit the coast and Willamette Valley. There were several renorta of power outaees and minor damage. The winds reached 57 miles per hour in Eugene Monday evening, Salem re ported gusts to 40 mph and Portland to 41 mph. Eastern Oregon got gusty winds today. At Salem, a hie boathouse was torn from its Willamette river moorage. The 40-by-60-foot boathouse broke free Monday evening and began to drift downstream. Two tug boats caught up with it. Titan Missile in Successful Test Cape Canaveral, Fla. -flJPD-A Titan intercontinental bal listic missile was fired today and apparently achieved its first flight success in nearly nine months. The Air Force said the mis sile achieved its main test ob jective - separation and igni tion of its second stage in flight for the first time. At the same time, the 110 ton war rocket's shot today ended a succession of failures and explosions on the launch ing pad. The Titan had not been fired successfully since last May 4. The Titan is the biggest and potentially most powerful in the U.S. ballistic arsenal. Salem -0JPD- Henry Gerlach, Portland, has been appointed assistant director of the new senior workers division of the Oregon Labor Bureau. The two organizations have asked approval of the action, in the 43 states, which include all states in the Far West. The discount will be grant ed on both domestic and for eign compact cars. Lower Damage Losses "We expect that our com panies experience in insur ing these small and compact cars will show lower bodily injury and property damage liability and collision damage losses because of the lower horsepower, smaller size and weight and related safety fac tors of these vehicles," the organization said. 1 (
