Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1960)
Three Medford Departments Review Activities off Year Editor's note: This is the iirst in a series of articles describing the purposes, 1959 accomplishments and 1960 plans of Medford's 17 departments, boards and commissions as they were reported at the city's Liv ing Annual Report banquet at the Rogue Valley Coun try club Wednesday night. This article gives' an ac count of the reports of the parks and recreation com mission, library board and water commission. and PARKS, RECREATION The Medford parks recreation commission com pleted its first full year of operation in 1959, and has many worthwhile accomplish ments to show for it, accord ing to Russ Jamison, commis sion chairman. One of the first jobs the commission had wa. the se lection of a competent and qualified parks and recrea tion director, and for this po sition they hired Robert Ha worth, formerly the assistant parks director at Spokane, Wash. Jamison said the commis sion itself grew out of a citi zen's fact-finding committee appointed by the mayor and city council in September, 1958,. to determine what was needed to create an adequate parks and recreation program for Medford. Several Departments The report of that commit tee showed the park and rec reational services being of fered by the city at that time were administered by several departments with no over-all direction and a resulting loss in efficiency. To correct this condition, the mayor and council ap pointed the commission and charged it with making recommendations r e g arding the general supervision and control of all city park and recreational facilities and to establish a parks and recrea tion department to carry out the programs to be developed Haworth assum3 his duties in May last year, and the de partment was organized in time to carry out an expand ed summer recreation pro gram, Jamison pointed out. Becoming Integrated It is now on its way to becoming well integrated with the community and with other city departments and agencies, he said. Some of the commission's accomplishments in 1959 in clude the coordination of citi zen's efforts in establishing a neighborhood park on Union st., the renovafton of the Roxy Ann park picnic area and the establishment of an expanded maintenance program, Jami son said. The commission accepted the donation of the logging locomotive from the Medford Corporation and placed it in Jackson park. It reviewed and approved plans for the development of the Jackson park pool project, which is now under construction, and accepted the Crater Lions club's offer to provide a wad ing pool at the park as a club project. The year 1959 also saw an expanded aquatics program, an extension of the swimming season at Hawthorne park, and the development of both summer and winter recrea tional programs to compli ment the program offered by School District 549C, he point ed out. In addition to these ac complishments, the commis sion cooperated in hosting the Senior Citizen's conference in L Coming . . February 24 25 26 27 Bigger, Better Than Ever Medford last fall, Jamison added. See Active Year In regards to the commis sion's plans for 1960, Jamison said, "It will be an extreme ly active year if we are to close the gap in this import ant field of municipal re sponsibility . . . but with the necessary support we can re cover many years of lost ef fort and bring Medford's parks and recreation facilities up to a respectable level of acceptance." One of 1960's projects will be the completion of a master plan of city parks to facilitate long range city planning and orderly park development. The year will also see the completion of the Jackson park swimming pool and at tendant facilities, he said. Another project will be the participation in the joint ef fort of other cities and Jack son county to clean up Bear creek, he noted, and they will also work toward the creation of a Medford Parks Memorial Fund to more adequately at tract and administer bequests and contributions to city park development. The commission will con tinue and expand the present recreational programs, Jami son added. Besides Jamison, other com mission members are Mrs. Edith Eden, Mrs. Owen Kun kel, Verl Walker, James Zack, Herb Partridge, Eugene Thorndike, Jerry Lausmann and William Singler. LIBRARY BOARD The library board has three main responsibilities: to set broad library policies and em ploy a capable librarian to carry them out, to promote library service, and to secure adequate funds for its opera tion, Board Member Elliott Becken told those attending the banquet. Becken spoke for Mrs. Le- land Mentzer, chairman of the five-member libr&ry board He pointed out that the of ficial name of the library re cently was changed to the Public Library of Medford and Jackson county.. The change in name was made, he said, to give the li brary a title indicative of the cooperation between the city and county which have joint ly supported the institution for the past 40 years. Under a contract with the countv the library provides services for branch libraries in Jacksonville, Gold Hill, Central Point, Eagle Point, Butte Falls, Phoenix and Talent. All books purchased with library funds are made avail able to the branches through rotating collections and spe cial requests, he pointed out. Becken said that because of this unified library system, more services are possible for all county residents. One of the board's 1959 ac complishments was the ac quisition of Omar Bacon as head librarian, and Becken said under his leadership the library will endeavor to more effectively extend its services to all groups in the commun ity. Some 4,537 new books were added to the library's shelves last year, including many gift books for which the library administration is grateful, Becken said. Forty-seven volumes on Oregon history were added from the fund established by the will of the late Ella J. Smith, he noted. Another of the past year's accomplishments was the ex pansion of the library's serv ices by the acquisition of paperback books which sup ply many titles that could not otherwise be purchased. Circulation . Increase Becken pointed out that in the last six months the circu lation of library books has shown an increase of about 10 per cent. He said that this year, an effort will be made to evalu ate the direction the library should go in building a book collection that will serve the economic, cultural, informa tional and recreational needs of this area. Some of the new services planned by the board for 1960 are the establishment of a public meeting room in the library for use by community groups, the establishment of a drive-up book return at the main library and the encour agement of the borrowing or return of books at any branch library and with a single card. The library, in cooperation with the Ashland library, is seeking, Becken said, some $23,000 in federal and state funds for the purpose of ex panding services to the branches , and working to wards keeping them open for more hours during the week. Besides Becken and Mrs. Mentzer, other board mem bers are Mrs. Eve Hamilton, Gene Thomas and Richard Travis. WATER COMMISSION Chester Hubbard, chairman j of the Medford Water com mission told those attending the banquet the water depart ment is somewhat different from the other departments in that it has more autonomy. Hubbard said the city char ter obligates the commission to provide a pure and whole some water supply for use by the inhabitants of the city and for fire protection, and to carry out this function, the charter gives the commission the authority to maintain, op erate and extend the water system, establish rates and regulations and collect and control water revenue and funds. The charter also includes a provision for the sale of sur plus water to areas outside of the city, Hubbard added. During 1959, he said, the total water consumption in Medford was 3,318,045,000 gallons, a 10 per cent increase over 1958. Maximum Daily Use The maximum daily use was 23,800,000 gallons, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year, Hubbard add ed. He pointed out that the sharp increase in water con sumption was caused in part by the rapid growth of the city and in part by 1959's dry weather. The increase in the number of water customers is indi cative, he said, of the growth of the city. At the end of 1959 there were 10,411 customers served by the Med ford water system, an increase of 456 customers or 4.8 per cent over 1958. To keep up with this in crease, nearly five miles of new water mains varying in size from 4 to 24 inches were placed in service in 1959, giv ing Medford a total of 111 miles of water mains. He add ed that the number of fire hydrants had to be increased from 701 to 735 last year. Construction Projects Two major construction projects were undertaken by the water commission last year, one of these in the south east part of the city where the new 500,000 gallon, rein forced concrete, Barneburg stand pipe and pump station were installed. The second construction project is on Capital Hill where two previously open reservoirs were covered with aluminum roofs at a cost of $98,000. With the covering of the reservoirs, Hubbard said, all city water is now under cover from the time it leaves the subterranean depths at Big Butte Springs until it comes out of the householders faucet. In 1960, the department anticipates the addition of 400 new customers to the MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. Friday, Feb. 12, 1960 A ' water system which will re quire the installation of three to four miles of new water mains, including a new 14 inch trunk main on Crater Lake ave. for service to the Grandview area, and 30 new fire hydrants. ; Diversion Canal Another project contem plated by the commission this year is construction of a $150, 000 diversion canal from Four Bit creek to the Willow Creek reservoir. The start on this canal hinges, Hubbard said, on whether or not the precipita tion between now and May is above normal. If it's not, he said, then the canal will be built so the city will be able to meet its water obligations to the Eagle Point Irrigation district next summer. In addition to Hubbard, members of the water com mission are George Polski, D w i g h t Houghton, John Pletsch and Darrell Miller. MISSING MAN SOUGHT Two Volunteer horsemen search the area downstream from the point where the auto of missing Adolph Coors III was found near Morrison, Colo. The part of the stream where the horsemen are looking is the place that officers found Coors hat and glasses. The FBI has entered the case but so far has uncovered no new clues. (UPI Telephoto) MacArihur Makes Further Progress New York-UPD-The condi tion of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, hospital ized with a urological ailment improved further Thursday, an Army spokesman said. MacArthur "made further progress in gaining strength slowly," Col. Gordon Barclay, 1st Army information officer said. MacArthur is scheduled to undergo surgery as soon as his condition permits. WHO'S SEEIN' DOUBLE Henley, England - (UPB -Things got a bit confusing in magistrate's court Thursday during a trial in which a man was found guilty of drunken driving. The defense attorney, John Easby, and the prosecu tor, Denis Easby, were identi cal twins. 4,000 Restaurants Prove it Every Day TIMBER PRODUCTS CO. INTRODUCES A SCREENED BARK MULCH Here is a GROWTH-ENCOURAGING, ORGANIC SOIL-CONDITIONER that will give you o HEALTHIER SHRUBS GREENER GRASS o i-INER FLOWERS KEEPS SOIL LIGHT & FRIABLE Three inches of FOREST LOAM mixed well with the soil allows spading with practically no effort. HELPS' TO PREVENT WEEDS An application of about one inch of. FOREST LOAM on top of the soil will help to prevent weeds from growing in vegetable gardens, flower beds, shrub bery, flower boxes, and rose beds. It will also give your flower beds a neat appearance and at the same time protect plant roots from early frosts. CLEAN AND EASY TO APPLY FOREST LOAM, due to its composition, is free of offensive odors and is easy to apply. Being free of dirt it makes your garden a cleaner and more ; enjoyable place in which to work. ' LONG LASTING, ENRICHES SOIL FOREST LOAM not only loosens the soil but it enriches it as well. Its effects as a mulch are known to last years longer than ordinary mulches. This is due to its high percentage of lignin which highly resistant to the decaying action of organisms. CONSERVES WATER Since FOREST LOAM is capable of ab sorbing five times its dry weight in water, you can readily see its value as a mois ture saver, thereby eliminating much un necessary watering. Due to its insulating properties, FOREST LOAM keeps mois ture in the soil which would otherwise evaporate through the action of heat and wind. Make Your Yard the Envy of the Neighborhood Timber Pr&6to Company MIFOR 0RE4OM Sage & McAndrews Road SP 2-8086 DELIVERED PRICES (Local Area) 100 200 CU. FT. TRUCK LOAD $7.00 CU. FT. TRUCK LOAD $12.00 300 CU. FT. TRUCK LOAD $16.00 Also Available for Pick Up At TIMBER PRODUCTS FUEL YARD I luLpLOxnir brings a 6Am Largest Solid Trainload of Hotpoint Appliances Ever Shipped to the Pacific Northwest Our Hotpoint 55th Anniversary Sale and Copco's Bonus for your old range and water heater, makes this the Best Time for you. to Replace Your Old Appliances. TRADE NOW AND SAVE AT JOHNSTON STORES I - Mod.l RB20TJlfcJ( U MILLION i4ihHtpjoirrir Range with AUTOMATIC SUPER-OVEN PUSHBUTTON CONTROLS SUPER STORAGE DRAWER tf nC Model RB202 30" Wido WIDE SUPER-OVEN Prepare a feast for 35 people or hot dish for 2. AUTOMATIC OVEN CONTROL Controls oven from 150 to 550. OVEN CLOCK-Starts, cooks meal; shuts oven off when you choose. CALROD3 UNITS Thinner, flatter they heat more quickly, evenly. . EXTRA-FAST "SUPER 2600" UNIT Can of soup bubbles in 65 seconds. EVEN HEAT Pushbuttons give S measured heats, automatically. FULL-WIDTH STORAGE DRAWER Keeps range utensils handy. FULL PORCELAIN PROTECTION Against rust, inside and out ' Hotpoint Fully Automatic Range 39" Wide O All of the Deluxe T Features of the m t Aoove Kange $9.60 MONTH Plus Extra Storage 4 Work Surface 189 Hotpoint. .. 52-Gal, Electric WATER HEATER QUICK RECOVERY Two 4000 W. Wrap-around Elements 10 YEAR WARRANTY Includes COPCO's Bonus, 79 Without Trad Carload Buying Saves You Real Money. 5 jj I JB53t J HOTPOINT 2 Speed 3 Cycle AUTOMATIC WASHER Big 10-lb. Capacity Full Time Lint Filter ' All Porcelain Throughout 5 Year Warranty on Coaxial Mechanism Save $80 On Sale 2W jqhhsto STORES 3 J 112 South Riverside 1
