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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1961)
55th Year Price 10 Cents' Rogue Valley Edition Subscribers Recommended Bedford TRIBUNE To report improper or non delivery of the Mail Tribune in Med ford phone 1 SP 2-6141. in Ashland M U 2-1 02 1 and in Yreka, VI 2-2807. beiore 6:45 pjn. daily and 10:30 a m Sunday If regular delivery arrive! shortly after you call please notify of (Ice thus eliminating tpocial messenger service The Talent project wllhin the Rogue Kiver Habtn project it now 94 per cent completed. An article on Page 10A in 'oday's Mail Tribune tells what the power, agriculture, and recrea tion potential of this protect will be when completed this year. United Press International Full Leased Wire United Pres International Full Leased Wlr 42 PAGES Section A MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, JANUARY 1, 1961 No. 245 Wendt Says Skiing Resort at Ashland Possible by 1962 Road Conditions Slow Development The Ml. Ashland ski resorl could be completed by 1962 County Commissioner Chester Wendt said Friday. No paving work on the road to the pro posed ski resort could be done until spring. Engineers from the U.S. Forest service, stale highway department and county plan to make a final inspection of the road this week to see what work needs to be done, the county commissioner said. Wendt said that the coun ty's portion of the overall 14 mile road will be included in the new county two-year road development plan now being formulated. Jackson county's portion covers three miles. Paving Needed Obtaining paving of the road and a plan for snow re moval apparently is all that stands in the way of early de velopment of the ski resort 15 miles from the center of Ash land. Thomas J. Parker and Associates, Ashland contrac tors, have indicated they arc ready to install facilities in cluding lifts and a ski lodge as soon as the road is paved. They propose to construct a resort costing $165,000 with provisions for future expan sion as the need develops. Compared to Festival ' Backers of the project fig ure it will support 40,000 skiers or equivalent to the number of persons who rode ski lifts last season in the Bend ski area. One official compared this total with the drawing attraction of the Shakespearean Fcslival which drew 41,000 persons last year. Money for developing the road into the area would come from contravertcd O and C lands or O and C timber lands which have been placed under the jurisdiction of the forest service. The pay out is based on the O and C formula. Taylor Requests Jury Hearing John R. Taylor, 27, Salem, who shot a state policeman near Ashland, will appear in Jackson county circuit court Jan. 16 to enter a plea to two counts of grand larceny. Taylor appeared before Cir cuit Judge James M. Main Friday afternoon, and waived right to a grand jury hearing on the grand larceny charges. His attorney, Edward Branch field, requested more time in which to enter a plea to the charges. Taylor requested a grand jury hearing on the charge of assault with intent to kill. District Attorney Thomas J. Rcerier did not say when a grand jury will be called. ; 4. v, I rBMlk '1 l p: , (. V , , - i ,A :A t''-; t .t, CONSTRUCTION AREA The Crater Lake highway over is using the crock bed as a route to another construction Bt.ir creek, above, is soon to be removed and replaced construction site instead of crossing the highway. Corn wall an elevated structure that will form part of the oxer- plclion date for the Seven Oaks-Jackson St. section is crowing on the new freeway. Currently under construction tentatively set for May 1, 1902. according to A. A. An is a detour and temporary bridge that will take, traffic off rier.-on, engineer for the slate highway constructiO office the present bridge while the work is being dime. Theirac- here, tor (compare its sue with that of the car on the bridge) Merger of Power Companies Seen n Three A. S. Cummins, president of the California Oregon Pow er company, said at a press conference Friday afternoon that the proposed merger be tween Copco and the Pacific Power and Light company may be concluded by March "as far as the stockholders are concerned." Cummins said it would probably take longer to have the merger approved by the federal power commission and state public utilities commis sion. The press conference was called at the Rogue Valley Country club announcing the official announcement of the merger proceedings, to answer questions posed by representa tives of the news media in the Rogue valley. Word of the merger had leaked out Thurs day. Emplyoees Not Affected Cummins emphasized that the merger will not seriously affect local employees of Cop co and added that "there won't be a single family leav ing here unless there's an op portunity elsewhere." Cummins also speculated that many of the company's administrative offices for the region served by the Copco division will reman in Med ford. Others, he said, will probably be moved to Port land to facilitate greater econ omy in administration. Regarding the employees of the company locally, Cum mins said: "Except for the fact that you'll have a change of name they'll never know there was a merger." He did note, however, that many of Copco's present officials will assume siigntiy duterent ad ministrative positions with PP&L. Discourages Rumors Cummins also discouraged rumors that the merger might lower power rates Ideally. (PP&L's rates are lower in the Portland area than are Copco's rates here.) He said he would consider it "very optimistic to anticipate that this merger will hasten any rate decrease in this area." In giving his personal opin ion, he added: "I wouldn't want anybody to think that completion of this merger will see any change in our rates." Cummins said that even with the recent rale increase that was granted Copco, the company still isn't earning enough. He noted loo, that PP&L has different rate schedules for different areas in its system, some higher than in the Rogue valley and some lower. "These areas have lo support themselves," he said. He said the merger will bring increased economy of operation in providing power for this area, but added "I think that the economics we Months make pre going to act rather as insurance against high rates" than to bring lower rates. Increased Economy Before the ncrger can be completed, he said, two thirds of the stockholders, in both the common and preferred stock classifications, will have to approve it. To do this, he pointed out, both slock classi fications will have to benefit by the move. It is already proposed that the common stockholders of Copco will receive 12 shares of PP&L stock for every 10 shares of Copco stock they hold. He speculated that equally good benefits will be offered preferred stockhold ers. Copco now has approxi mately 22,000 stockholders, in cluding 17,000 common stock holders. PP&L has about 35, 000 stockholders. It is hoped, he said, that the boards of directors of the two firms will be able to act upon the merger by mid-January. To date they have reached only general agreement on a basis lor the merger. Asked about an earlier statements that he (Cummins) would personally be opposed to a merger, Cummins replied that he, and also a majority of the board .if directors, would rather have the com pany independent. But, he said, the company belongs to the stockholders .and the board "has a moral responsi bility" to submit any good offer lo them. Cummins said the offer is a good one and has therefore received a favor able recommendation from the board. Under the proposed merger agreement, Cummins pointed out, PP&L's board of directors will be expanded to 23 mem bers. Eight of them will be from the Copco operation. In addition, the board will have an executive committee of 11 members and four of these will be former Copco otficials. Details of the merger agree ment will be worked out by a joint committee. Members of the committee from Copco, Cummins said, will be him self, Glenn Jackson and Greg ory Harrison, Copco's chief legal council. PP&L will have an equal number of repre sentatives on the committee, he said. PROBE SHIP DISASTER Norfolk, Va. - IUPH - A Coast Guard boajd of inquiry inves tigating the break-up at sea of the tanker Pine Ridge will board the shattered stern of the ship Jan. 3. Seven men were lost when the ship broke in half off Cape Hattaras, N.C., last week. Some of the 29 sur vivors filed damage suits charging the ship was unsea-worthy. Four Persons Die In Plane Crash Near Ml. Hood . High School Teacher, Wife Among Victims Molalla, Ore. - IUPII - Two young couples bound for a New Year's eve celebration in Reno were killed Saturday when their one-engine plane plunged into the snowy Mt. Hood National forest 20 miles from herd and burned. Recovered from the wreck age last night were the bodies of David L. Enger, 28, a fire man and high school teacher from Troutdale; his wife, Sharon, 23; Everett W. Boyd, 26, Portland; and his wife, Di anne Isabel, 22. The federal aviation agency listed Enger as the pilot of the Piper Tri-Pacer, which left the Troutdale airport about 11 a.m. flying on visual flight rules for Reno. Logger Saw Crash The crash in the overcast Wanderers peak area of the Mt. Hood forest was first re ported by a logger, Hardy Jackson, who saw the green and cream plane slam into the trees and burst into flames. "Hardy ran to the crash scene, but the intense fire pre vented him from approaching or aiding the victims inside the plane. He called for help, and res cuers were rushed from near by Molalla to the scene of the wreckage. They were hamper ed in reaching the scene of the crash by snow and the 3,-500-foot elevation. Mangled and Burned The bodies, mangled and burned, were carried out late in the day and taken to Ore gon City. There was no explanation for the crash, but aviation of ficials said Enger had received his pilot's license only two months ago, and had been cau tioned to fly an easterly course to Reno via the Dalles, instead of flying south over the Wanderers peak area of the forest where visibility was poor. The plane was listed as a craft belonging to the Mt. Hood Flying club of Troutdale. Moore Pleads Guilty In District Court Ralph Carl Moore, 39, of 815 South Central ave., plead ed guilty in district court Fri day to charges of committing an indecent, obscene and im moral act. Moore was placed on two years probation and charged S5 court costs. Probation was granted under a number of conditions, one being that he receive medical treatment. Moore was arrested by Mcd ford police Thursday after noon on a charge of contribut ing to the delinquency of a minor, involving a 5-year-old girl. CdHunsts r mi in it .v.' . .J - PERFORMS IN SAN FnANCISCO Members of Medford High school's band are shown lined up on the front lawn of the Shrine hospital for crippled children in San Fran cisco Saturday. The band played, and the majorettes per Kennedy Appoints Negro To Head Housing Agency Palm Beachf Fla.-IUPD-Prcsi-dent-elect John F. Kennedy named a Negro Saturday to head the federal housing ag ency and picked a Harvard professor to steamline the na tional security council. The housing administration appointee, 53-year-old Roberl C. Weaver, board chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a veteran and recog nized housing expert. and cur rently Is a member of the New York City housing and redevelopment board. His of ficial title will be adminis trator of the housing and home finance agency. Kennedy named McGeorge Bunday, dean of the Harvard arts and science faculty, as his special assistant for nation al security matters. Bunday, a Republican, was ordered lo streamline the national secur ity council (NSC) and make it a morj flexible arm of the presidency. Gov. Foster Furcolo of Mas sachuetts objected to the Bun day appointment as "com pletely incredible." He said Bunday was not qualified for a post of "trust and confi dence." Kennedy dismissed the objection by pointing out that Bunday opposed .) Fur colo's election in 1958. Weaver holds three degrees from Harvard, his A. B., his Masters and Doctor of Phil osophy. Bundy was an honors graduate at Yale before join ing the Harvard faculty. Weaver will succeed Norman P. Mison and Bundy will take over the White House staff position now occupied by Gor don Gray. Government Gives Projects to TID The Talent Irrigation dis trict ;f!,l take over operation and maint&ice of irrigation facilities in the -r-aftit division of the Rogue River Bas.'ioj cct, effective Jan. 1. IVsi In terior Department announced in Portland Friday. u The transfer covers storage and delivery facilities serving the Medford Irrigation dis trict, the Rogue River Valley district, ind the Talent dis trict. Bureau of Reclamation Com missioner Floyd L. Dominvi said the transfer was dcsicncLi to "place the responsibility where it can be most effec tively discharged - in local hands." Works to he transferred in clude (he collection canal sys tem. Howard Prairie dam and reservoir. Hyatt Prairie dam and reservoir. Kcene Creek dam and reservoir and Emi grant dam and reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation will retain responsibility lor operation and maintenance of the 16.000 kilowitt capacity! Green SprOrj power plant. ' r i t a ? & Reds Claim Victories In Laotian Vientiane, Laos-IUPI) - Com munist forces Saturday claim erd a series of victories in sharp fighting with pro-American government troops and there was fear Communist North Viet Nam might mount a full-scale invasion of Laos. North Viet Nam denied it had sent troops into Laos, but the Vientiane radio, controlled by Premier Prince Bonn Oum, reported five battalions of Communist North Vietnamese attacking the border town of Nong Het and two other bat- Hemming Meets With Slate Board Portland -IUPII- Secretary of Health, Education and Wel fare Arthur Flemming met Saturday with Hie Oregon Stale Board of Higher Educa tion presumably to discuss the post of President of the Uni versity of. Oregon. The results of the meeting will not be made public until Monday, however, Chancellor John R. liichards said. Flemming, who was once president of Ohio Wesleyan universily, has been mention ed for the vacant president's post. The job has been empty since Dr. Meredith Wilson took a similar post at the Uni versity of Minnesota last sum mer. Visit UniversiQ Flemming and his wife vis ited the university Friday and according lo members of the board made a favorable im pression. He has been attacked by some farm leaders because of the 1959 Thanksgiving cran berry scare, but most farm leaders came to his defense. Henry Cabell, president of the board, said earlier that other names have also been mentioned for the post, but Flemmings is the only one made public and he remained the prime candidate. Judge Grants Motion To Postpone Trial The trial of O. H. Bcngtson. Medford lawyer, on charges of embezzling 51,700 from the Medford Escrow company now will be held at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Grants Pass. Circuit Judge Orval J. Mil lard Friday granted a two-day postponement of the trial formerly scheduled for Tues day. The postponement was granted on motion by Paul W. Haviland, special prosecutor. Friday morning. Haviland told Judge Millard that he was not notilied of his appoint ment as special prosecutor until about Dec. 22. He said he would need additional time in which to familiarize him self with the case and sug gested that the trial start Fri day. 3 rase v i - i V . formed, much to the Snjoyment of the child patients. The band also played prior to the East-West Shrine football game, (UPI Telephoto) Fighting talions attacking the village of Ban Ban. Sketchy reports made it dif ficult to determine whether the attacks were a renewal of periodic border clashes or a major invasion which could turn Laos Into another Korea. Denies Invasion The North Vietnamese news agency in broadcasting from Hanoi insisted there had been no invasion and denied as "sheer fabrication" reports of border incursions. This was the known situa tion in the Southeast Asia kingdom which with North and South Viet Nam and Cam bodia comprise Indo-China: -The Pathet Lao Commu nist Laotian rebels, boasted they had smashed forces of pro - American Gen. Phoumi Nosavan south of Luang Pra bang. the royal capital. -"Heavy losses" were in flicted on the pro -Western forces north of the city in three firefights, the Reds claimed. Claims Advances -A Soviet Tass news agency dispatch quoted leftwing rebel paralroop Capl. Kong Le as saying he w a s advancing against Nosavan's men and charging that "American, Fili pino and Thailand" officers were leading the govcrnnQvt troops. -In Kep, a resort in lieigh boriifCanibodia, exiled neu tralist Premier Souvanna Phouma denounced the United States for its support of Gen. Nosavan, who forced Sou vanna to flee early this month. Souvanna insisted he is still premier, despite Prince Bonn Oum's takeover in Vientiane, but he offered lo resign if Boun Oum received a con stitutional man late. "No Use Making Extra Trips" oil wmk Durno Interviews Stall Candidates In Capitol Office Washington -IUPII- Congress man-elect Edwin R. Durno of Medford moved into tempo rary headquarters on Capitol hill this week end and began interviewing candidates for his congressional staff. The new Fourth district Re- publican representative also indicated he has hopes of win ning a scat on the House In terior and Insular Affairs com mittee. Durno said in addition he was interested in the Inter state and Foreign Commerce committee, which has jurisdic lion over public health mat ters, or the Public Works com mittee, which handles river and harbor development. Succeeds Porter The Medford physician, who succeeds Liberal Democratic Rep. Charles O. Porter of Eu gene, took over Republican Walter Norblad s office lo in terview applicants for his of- lice stair. Durno said more than 350 applicants have ask ed for jobs in his office. Durno said he had advised House Republican leader Charles A. Halleck, (R-Ind.), that he would be willing lo accept an appointment on cither the Ways and Means or the Appropriations committee. But he admitted assignment on cither committee was un likely for a freslQan legisla tor. POPE JOHN PRAYS Vatican Cily - lUPP - Pope John XXIII ushered In the New Year at midnight by stop ping work on church papers and kneeling to pray for the "creating spirit of God to de scend on a troubled world. vil 4-i Xil ' ! Laos U.S. Warns China, Viet Nam Against Armed Invasion Ike Calls Secret White House Talks Washington - ll'PD - Tha United States, after a secret shrouded White House confer ence Saturday on the turbu lent situation in Laos, warned Communist China and Red North Viet Nam against arm ed intervention in the south east Asian country. The state department issued a statement declaring the Uni ted States "would take Iho most serious view of any inter vention" in the trouble -torn Laotian situation where a Red invasion was reported. The grim American state ment was issued with Hie ap proval of President E i s e n- hower. It came about five hours after the Chief Executive met with his top military, diplo matic and intelligence ad visers. Mindful of Obligations The declaration warned the Chinese Communists and their allies that the United States was "mindful of ils obliga tions under (he SEATO treaty," the eight-nation al liance which pledges the de fense of any southeast Asian country against Com munist aggression. The state department offic ially confirmed that foreign Communists troop had invad ed Laos but declined publicly to identify their nationality or estimate the number. Press Officer Joseph W. Reap said, however, that the Invaders consisted of "certainly much more than a handful." American officials said there undoubtedly would be a very early meeting, probably tomorrow, of the SEATO council, which sits in Bang kok. Consults With Allies Reap said the United States was in consultation with ils treaty allies - Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Tho Philippines, Thai land and Pakistan. The U.S. statement added up, in tlie view ot observers, to an implied threat to invoke the SEATO treaty if Chinese Communists or North Vict Nam forces pushed deeper into Laos. Troops under pro-American Gen. Phoumi Nosavan are try ing to protect the legal gov ernment against the onslaught of the Red-led Pathet Lao rebels. Reap said the reports from Laos "are fragmentary" and "I am not in a position to de scribe the nationality, nor Iho numbers nor the intentions" of the invading forces. Viet Nam Suspected "However," he said, "wo are satisfied that thoyro. non-Laotian forces. Presum ably they arc coming from North Viet Nam." ' Acting Secretary of Stato Livingston T. Merchant and his aides worked late this New Year's Eve conferring on latest reports from the strife- torn southeast Asia kingdom which stands athwart Com munist China's path lo south east Asia. Secretary of State Chris itan A. Hertcr, vacationing at his plantation near Green Pond, S C., was being kept in formed by telephone. He was due to return to Washington today. The Slate Department de clined to say whether Prince Bonn Oum, premier of tho pro-American government in Vientiane, was being encour aged to ask SEATO to help him. Boun Oum, In announc- ng the Communist aJviisinn, had said that it might bo necessary to call upuQ Ilia country's "friends. WEATHER FORKCAST: Partly rlotirtv Sun day and Mnmlay with patch" nf vallev lo riurlnc early nmrn inf hour. Htrh Sunday 10. l.-iw (Sunday night 20. Hlfh .Mon day 3fl. Tfrnji lligheit Velcrdav 4( Lowest Thli Morning 21 Our Skies Tonight sun ft today t:ti P m Sunrlir tomorrow 7:41 .m IVip. Moon Tur 4:0fi p.m. today jyid rlHff hlEh, Full ,Qr.n toriav . 3 :fB pm Ihfre Mill be two frllpri of Mk Moon thl rat, Mir flrtt In Marrh and llir second In Att luil. Both Hill he vhthlf over moat of North America. To S p.m. Yetlerdav . trace I 1 0
