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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 1960)
i-"- - : : : n Regional Edition 55th Year Price 10 Cents EDFORD United Press International Full Leased Wlr 14 Pages F ft" TP V M United Press Internationa Full Leased Wtr MEDFORD, OREGON, FRiSAY, DECEMBER 30, 1960 No. 244 Ex-Pentagon Man Held for Taking Papers Redstone Arsenal Worker Arrested With Photographs Detroit -TOPli- Police picked up a civilian employee of the Redstone Arsenal for jaywalk ing today and found he was carrying two photographs of the missile site at Huntsville, Ala. Michael Naumcheff, 32, was released after surrendering the pictures and being ques tioned by police. Donald Hostetter, FBI agent in ' charge here, said that "based on what we know now, It is doubtful that there was any federal violation. 'We are continuing to make inquiries." Naumcheff, a 1957 graduate of Wayne State University here, is employed at the Red stone base as a mathemati cian. He said he drove here from Huntsville Thursday to visit relatives and had brought the pictures with him to show his brother. He said "I'm willing to bet every cent I've got that they are unclassified" pictures. One of the pictures was an aerial view of the Redstone Arsenal and the other showed a rocket launching at Hunts ville. ' Naumcheff, who expressed concern that the incident would cost him his job, said that unclassified photographs taken at the Redstone site often were posted on bulletin boards at the base and that "some of the3 fellows even take them home to their kids." Police said they had deter mined that the picture of the rocket launching was not clas sified, but they said they still were uncertain about the aerial view photo. Police Impound Pinball Machines Medford city police, with the assistance of state police, confiscated four pinball ma chines in raids last night on three Medford taverns and a pool hall. The machines were im pounded after state police men, dressed in plain clothes, had received payoffs after winning on the machines in each of the establishments. One machine each was con fiscated from the Spot tavern, 17 South Riverside ave.; Otto's tavern, 39 South Front St.; Foss' Billiards, 415 East Main St.; and the Hi-Way tavern, 12 North Riverside ave. Police said charges will be brought against the em ployees who made the pay offs at each of the establish ments. The raids were made between 9 and 10 p.m. yester day. The employees at each of the establishments who made the payoffs, police said, are Ruby Dell Crandall, 678 Mae st., at the Spot tavern; Melvin Thomas Rotan, 840 North Riverside ave., at Otto's tav ern; Robert Otis Greb, Eagle Point, at Foss' Billiards; and Larry Clinton Smith, 204 Van couver ave., at the Hi-Way tavern. District Attorney Thomas Reeder said this morning that charges were to be filed in district court this afternoon. First Blood Spilled in Riots Against Belgium Government Brussels, Belgium-tUPD-Gun ' fire broke out for the first . time in the 12-day-old anti - government strike today, kill 1 ing one man and wounding i another while a mob of 2,000 ' persons rioted in downtown : Brussels. Thre Seriously Hurl Trie first death in a week of i violence came shortly after mounted police with slashing ' sabers' charged into the mob, " seriously injuring at least i three demonstrators. One woman was carried away un Columbia, S.C.-UPli-An air of almost genial mystery sur rounded the arrest of a for mer Pentagon employee ac cused of stealing about 200 secret defense documents to day. For one thing, Arthur Rog ers Roddey, 38, said at his arraignment Thursday he planned to turn the secret papers over to the National Security Council of the De fense Department. For anoth er, the FBI did not charge him with espionage. Roddey's wife, at the home of her mother here, said "We weren't surprised when the FBI came to get him, but it was still a shock." Held Under Bond Roddey, held in the county jail under $15,000 bond await ing return to Alexandria, a., refused to talk .about the charges "except to say that I think what I was doing was right, even though illegal." No one else would say very much about the case, either, and no one appeared to be in any particular hurry to get Roddey back to Washington for trial. U.S. Commissioner Henry W. Kirkland, before whom Roddey was arraigned, said the "usual procedure" was to wait until officers col lected "three or four prison ers going in the same general direction" before removing anyone out of the county jail. Roddey, a native of Rock Hill, S.C., went to work in 1958 for the Institute of De fense Analysis in the Defense Department but left last Aug. 31 under what the FBI called a "reduction in force" and the Defense Department called his failure to measure up to "com petence requirements." Had Secret Clearance He had top secret clearance, but he signed an affidavit say ing he had destroyed all the classified documents in his possession. He and his wife lived in the Washington suburb of Falls Church in a split-level subdivision of $25,000 to $30, 000 homes. Generally, they kept to themselves. The Institute of Defense Analysis for which Roddey worked is a private, non-profit contractor to the Pentagon which specialized in furnish ing "intelligence, good sense . . . and brains" to the govern ment at attractive pay scales. Roddey was charged with stealing government property and execution of false affi davits. He also had a govern ment tape recorder when ar rested. Conviction could bring a maximum penalty of up to 29 years in jail and a fine up to $42,000. Man Arrested on Contributing Charge Ralph Carl Moore, 39, of 15 South Central ave., was arrested by Medford city police Thursday afternoon on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Moore admitted in a signed statement to police that he molested a 5-year-old girl who came into his place of busi ness, Moore's Patio and Toy shop, 816 South Riverside ave., to return a toy yester day morning. Moore was confined in the county jail. STATEMENTS MAILED A total of 5.400 personal property tax statements was mailed this week by the county assessors office. Dead line for payment of the tax is March 15. conscious with a deep saber wound in her head. Two gen darmes were injured. A communique issued by Premier Gaston Eyskens' gov ernment said revolver shots were fired by a bystander who told authorities he was trying to help free a gen darme seized by the rioters and in danger of harm. Placed Under Arrest The communique said the man who fired the shots was arrested and emphasized that ,.f ft R . ri-? l 'j - KWr II vW a- v, ''-.s RiWIWmW( Pi'lirtAl,''-ii,j6. i. Jtte. .MSWMk. ""miiiiin Tl .lw,ai,. .- ,.,'...-., :t iwi TRAIN DERAILED A 16-car Northern Pacific passenger train with 450 persons aboard jumped the track when the center two coaches jack-knifed and spilled into a Puyallup, Wash., street. The train's derail Shopping Center Is Planned in West Medford Plans for a new -shopping center in the Medford area to cost approximately $750, 000 have been announced by Ralph Matlack, one of the owners of Matlack's Super Market, 2300 West Main st. The new center, to be known as Westgate of Med ford, will be located to the rear and west of the present market. The present building will be torn down following the completion of the new building, Matlack said. Articles of incorporation for the new center were filed re cently in Salem signed by Matlack, Mrs. Luclla J. Mat- lack and Clifford Lewis. No Par Value Stock The articles state the firm will deal in foods and food stuffs of all kind. Ten thou sand shares of no par value stock will also be issued, ac cording to the articles. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the structure are sched uled for Tuesday, Jan. 3. The initial contract of $252,000 was awarded the Ray Strand Corporation of Seattle, Wash. Architect for the center is Stanley W. Mar, Seattle. The new food marKet will be a two-story building and front on West Main st. The entire front will be of glass which will slope outward from tlie ground to the roof. Offices will be housed on the second floor. The store will include 25,- 000 square feet of floor space. It will contain a 100-foot meat counter and a walk-in cooler for beverage self-service and a delicatessen. In front of the store will be a 2V4 acre parking area. On the corner of Ross lane and West Main St., where the present market now stands, a service station will be built. Matlack said that a build ing to house two other busi nesses will be built to the cast of the proposed super market. PLATINUM STOLEN Ashton, R.I. lUPIt About $150,000 worth of precious platinum was stolen today from a manufacturing plant. no members of the gendar merie opened fire. The dead man was identi fied as Francois Van Der Trappen, 30, a resident of Ixellcs, a suburb of Brussels. Son of Professor The alleged assailant was identified by police as the son of a Brussels university pro fessor. Officials feared the first death in the rioting might in flame Socialist - led workers striking against a government austerity plan to further violence. Appointments Made Court; Miller on Armory Board The Jackson county court prepared for the new year by making a number of appoint ments to boards and commit tees today. First appointment made was that of County Judge asusng Situation Washington (UPI) The State Department is just about con vinced that some form of in ternational action is necessary in Laos to spotlight the in creased intervention of for eign Communists in the civil war tiicre. Officials said today the brazen nature of the stepped up Communist operations in dicates (1) the involvement of Communist North Viet Nam and Red China is deeper than it had been previously and (2) Christmas Tree Lift Set Monday The Medford Moose lodge's annual Christmas tree lift will be held Monday, Jan. 2, starting at 1 p.m. in the Med ford area, Moose officials re minded residents today. Car dealers, who will pro vide pickup trucks, .and the City Sanitary Service com pany, will cooperae with lodge members in the drive. The lift is conducted each year by the Moose lodge to raise funds for some beneficial service. This year, funds do nated during the lift will go to Sacred Heart hospital. Do nations should be scaled in an envelope and attached to the tree. Checks may be made payable to either the Medford Moose lodge or Sacred Heart hospital. Trees collected in the drive will be burned at a site at the end of Ellendale rd., off Bar nett rd., about 7 p.m. Monday. Boy Scouts will assist in the tree lift. Accident Victims Still Critical Mrs. Irene (Robert E.) Welch and her son, Charles, 22, both of 107 Blackstone St., Jacksonville, were both re ported still in serious condi tion today. The couple were injured in an automobile accident Dec. 26 north of Roseburg. Killed in the accident were Robert Welch and a daughter, Edna Marie, 21. Mrs. Welch is in a Cottage Grove hospital. Charles was taken to a Eugene hospital where he underwent facial surgery, local relatives re ported. Funeral services for Mr. Welch and Edna Marie will be held Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Oergon City. Earl Miller to the National Guard armory board. Other appointments made were Earl Day, Central Point, to the county charter study committee; Michael Loftus, re appointed as county constable ws in Laos the intervention has the full support of the Soviet Union. The officials declined to say whether the United States would call for a United Na tions investigation, seek an in quiry by some other impartial commission, or bring the mat ter before the eight - nation Southeast Asia Treaty Organi zation, which has the respon sibility of preventing Commu nist aggression in the area. But, these officials said, the extent of the foreign Commu nist aid to the Red-led rebels fighting the pro-Western gov ernment of Prince Bonn Oum is reaching such proportions that some action appeared likely. U.S. officials had hoped that after Boun Oum forces wrest ed the capital city of Vientiane from the leftist and Commu nist forces, the outside Red in tervention would be confined to relatively small-scale sub version and supply efforts such as the North Viet Namese have carried on for some time. However, the continuing airlift of arms and ammuni tion in Soviet planes and the reports - which American of ficials believe but can't con firm - that North Vict Nam troops are being thrown into the fighting caused Washing ton to take a more serious view of the situation. Decrease in Dogs At Large Noted There is an obvious decrease in the number of dogs run ning at large in Medford, Chief of Police Charles P. Champlin stated this week. The city's dog control ordi nance, which went into effect Dec. 21, requires that owners must keep dogs on their own property, on leash or under the owners control when off the premises or muzzled if al lowed to run at large. Champlin said that the smaller number of dogs run ning at large has probably eliminated some of the com plaints the department re ceives. Since Dec. 21, the police department has receiv ed only two complaints re garding dogs. One animal was impounded. First offense penalty for the ordinance violation is $10, second $25 and any offense thereafter is $25. Salem - CPU - State police were alerted today for a 15-year-old Brookings girl who fled from Hillcrest School for Girls at noon Thursday. ment snapped off several power poles. No one . was killed, but three persons were injured seriously enough to require hospitalization. (UPI Telephoto) by County for a one-year term; Bill Big ham, Eagle Point, reappointed to the county fair board for three years; Dave Lowry, Phoenix, reappointed to the county planning commission, and Andy Hawver, Phoenix, and Dick Courtrlght, Medford lawyer, both appointed to the planning group, all three for three-year terms. No action was taken on dog control board appoint ment due Jan. 8. Andy Bjorn sen was appointed building superintendent. He is present ly county courthouse building maintenance man. Vacated By James Miller fills the position va cated on the armory board by outgoing County Commission er Ralph James, and Day re places Mrs. Vivian Adams on the homo rule charter commit tee, who resigned. Bigham has served on the fair board for several years and asked for the reappoint ment. He is present board chairman. i Ed Bolt, Gold Hill, and Robert Boyer, Medford law yer, have served out their terms on the planning com mission. Bolt and Lowry were the only original appointments left on the commission when the planning commission was formed four years ago. Loftus has requested that his reappointment be made for only a year of the normal two-year term. In recommending Bjorn scn's appointment as building superintendent, - Wendl said he docs not have Hie lime re quired for the job. Bjornsen has had several years in man aging construction crews, and will do a good job, the county commissioner said. Although Bjornsen assumes more re sponsibility, no pay increase will be given at this time, Wendt explained. No action was taken on the budget committee position va cated by Lyndcl Newbry, Talent, who resigned follow ing his appointment earlier as stale senator by the county court. Unidentified Object Seen in Area Sky An unidentified object In the air was sighted early to day by a stale policeman and a resident in the Knowles id. area, state police reported to day. Mrs. Howard Fowler, route 4. box 315, Medford, told state police she sighted a bright object westbound in the Stage Coach orchard area. It left a trail of smoke, made a big flash and disintegrated. It was not like a falling star, she said. One of the state police officers also reported he had seen it while on patrol about 3:35 o'clock this morn ing. The Medford airport control lower said no reports had (been made lo the airport on (any such object. Detectives Look For Connection In Derailments Puyallup, Wash! 0JPI1 Rail road detectives today tried to determine whether there was any connection between Thursday's derailment o 17-car southbound Northern Pacific passenger train and similar accident in nearly the same spot last Friday, Carrying Football Fans Three persons were injured Wednesday. The train was carrying 500 persons, many of them University of Washing ton football fans en route tu the Rose Bowl game. Last week's derailment in volved a 08-car southbound Great Northern freight. No one was injured. Tho Northern Pacific train had barely passed last week's Great Northern wreckage when it went crashing off the tracks. One detective said a broken rail may have caused the derailment. Cars Teloscoped Two cars near the end of the streamliner telescoped and landed in the front yard of home. Rescuers had to break open the windows of the coaches lo free the pas sengers. Nine coaches, the double- header engine and a diesol unit went of the tracks about 15 blocks from the center of the city. Two power poles were sheared off. BOYCOTT RESUMES Seattle -IUPII- A boycott of Seattle stores selling Wash ington apples was scheduled to resume today, led by a Teamsters Union local in Yakima where employees of apple warehouses have been on strike since October. "Here Goes A Beautiful Relationship" Directors of the California Oregon Power company and the Pacific Power and Light company have reached agree ment on the proposed merger of the two utilities, company officials announced today. Confirmation of the tenta tive agreement was given by A. S. Cummins, president of Copco, and Paul B. McKce, chairman of the board of PP&L, following a news leak yesterday of the proposed merger. A press conlerence was scheduled for today at which time additional details wore to be made known. In a joint prepared state ment officials of the two com panies said: "Directors of the companies have reached the conclusion that it is in the best interest of all concerned to join together the two neigh boring systems and integrate their power resources and de velopment programs." PP&L would be the surviv ing firm. Discussed Some Months The proposed merger has been discussed for several mouths. In anticipation of the merger, Copco stock has risen in recent months to a high this week of $46 per share. This represents an increase of more than $8 since the middle of October. PP&L stock which is now listed at $43.25 share, is normally higher than Copco stock. Subject to stockholder and regulatory commission appro val, the merger would be ef fected by an exchange of stock. The two boards have agreed upon an exchange ra tio of 1.2 shares of PP&L common for each share of Copco common stock. Details of the proposed con solidation, including provi sions for the exchange of pre ferred stocks, arc to be work ed out by a joint committee of the directors for submission to the 61,000 stockholders of the two utilities. Rights Recognized "Rights and benefits of Copcos 938 employees are recognized in the merger plan," McKce and Cummins said, "and it will be the pol icy of the surviving corpora tion to recognize the experi ence, seniority and qualifica tions of all employees on an equal basis, regardless of whether they have been in the employment of Copco or Pa cific. This includes participa tion in retirement plans, med ical and hospital insurance and group insurance pro grams." Tho merger agreement will provide that most of the pres ent directors of Copco will be Suit Filed To Break Up Hollywood Blacklist Washington (UPU Twelve Hollywood writers and actors filed suit in federal court here today against all the major film studios in the first legal step ever taken to break up the so-called industry black list of alleged Communists. WEATHER FORECAST: Vnrinhle hi eh cloud Iiicnn; otherwise fair th rmi nli Haltmtny with patchy valley fog in niornlnn. Low to ll I K lit 25. High SiUurd.iy 1.1. Temp. Highest Yesterday 50 Lowest This Morning , 21 Our Skies Tonight Sunset today 4:48 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow .... 7:41 a.m. Moonset tomorrow .... 6:21 a.m. Full Moon Jan. 1 The planet. Mars, now rises at sunset and sets nt sunrise and Is thus visible ail night. It Is also now brighter than all the slars except Hlrlus. come members of the PP&L board. Cummins, Copco president, and Glenn L. Jackson, now a vice president of the com pany, will become vice chair men of the board of tho merged company. (Continued on Page 2) Americans Start Countdown for New Year's Eve By United Press International Tho nation today begins tho countdown to the new year. A baturday New Year's Eva appeared to make little dif ference to U.S. celebrants, a United Press International sur vey indicated. However New York City's night spots bemoaned eariy Sunday closing hours and said loss of an extra Saturday trada could mean an over-all busi ness loss. For the second time within a week, the nation was on. tho move. A swarm of students heading back to school during the week end added to nor mally heavy holiday travel. 374 Deaths Expected The National Safety Coun cil estimated 374 persons will be killed in New Year's week. end traffic and 14,000 mora will suffer disabling injuries. The record for New Year's traffic deaths, 340, is only a year old. The 78-hour week end be gins officially at 6 p.m. today nd the Council said Ameri cans will use most of their 71 million vehicles to pile up about 5.8 billion highway miles.. Celebrations range from who'op-it-up extravaganzas in hotel ballrooms and cabarets to meditative communion in religious retreats. Party - goers had choices running a gamut from a mini mum $37.50 in the Los -Angeles Ambassador Cocoanut Grove to a 5-cent phosphato at the local community center. Benglson Case , May Be Confinued Chief Deputy District Attor ney Gerald Scanncll and Spe cial Prosecutor Paul Havi land, Medford, were in Grants Pass today arguing a motion for continuing the O. H. Benglson case for possibly one week. Benglson, Medford lawyer, has been indicted' on ono count of embezzling $1,700 from the Medford Escrow company. . The trial was originally scheduled for Dec. 13 in Jack son county circuit court. Later Bcngtson's attorneys, Robert Boycr, Medford, and Richard Carnt,.', Portland, argued for a change of venue shifting tho trial to Grants Pass. Since Scanncll will go out of office Jan. 3, he and Havi land were appointed by Jack son County Circuit Court Judges Edward Kelly and James Main as special prose cutors. District Attorney-elect Alan Holmes, as law partner of Defense Attorney Boyer, is Ineligible by law to try tha Bengtson case. Haviland said earlier In the week he is not famillaf enough with the Bengtson case and will require at least a week's continuance for fur ther study. Ceremony Held for Outgoing Officials Friday morning, as its last official meeting for 1960, tha county court praised tha achievements of outgoing county officials and particu larly outgoing County Com missioner Ralph James. We are losing County Com- mlssioner James who has served Jackson county faith fully for four years," County Judge Earl Miller noted. "It takes a special type of person to take on this responsibility in this type of government. He must have the ability and physical adaptations to stand criticism and smile about it." He presented James a small plaque furnished by the coun ty judge and County Commis sioner Chester Wendt. The court also praised Paul Rynning, retired county engi neer, District Attorney Thorn, as J. Reeder and his deputies, Gerald Scannell and Brian Mullen. 41
