Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1961)
0 IMl J era lyjjli!a to 1TO n p(p MAI Court Upholds Copco in Suit On Forest Fire Salem - (UPI) - The Oregon Supreme Court today uplieid California Oregon Power Co. in an action brought against the firm by the $ate forestry department to recover $40, 682 spent in fighting a forest lire that allegedly started on company right of way. The decision written by In Laos Kingdom1 Vientiane, Laos -(UPII- The pro-Westeni government of Premier Prince Boun Oum was installed in office today by a Buddhist priest. The quiet, simple ceremony was in sharp contrast to the re ports of bitter fighting in pro vincial areas of this Communist-beleaguered kingdom. The priest administered the oath to the prince and his cabinet in a 15-minute cere mony in Sisaket Wat, a weather-beaten 13th Century Bud dhist temple located across the street from King Savang Vathana's Vientiane villa. Unanimous Vote The king came here from the royal capital of Luang Prabang specifically to con voke a three-day session of parliament to formalize Prince Boun's status as pre mier, The National Assembly gave Boun a unanimous 41-0 vote of approval Wednesday. But a left-wing Laotian gov ernment - in - exile headed by the "Red prince of Laos," . Prince Souphanouvong, de nounced Boun's investiture as premier as a fraud perpetrat ed by force of arms. , Would Request Aid In a statement broadcast over the clandestine radio of the Communist Pathet Lao rebel movement, which he heads, Souphanouvong . de clared he never would recog nize Boun's government and warned he would ask for out side military aid if the United States "continued to inter vene" in Laos. Bed Rock at Lake To Prevent Pilings A check of the proposed dock site at Howard Prairie lake recently by officials of the county engineers' office showed that bed rock near the surface will not allow the use of pilings to hold the dock. Robert Carstensen, county engineer, said that future work will be done as soon as the county parks and recrea tion commission decides on the type and size of dock wanted at the lake. He said that once this is decided the type of underwater construc tion to anchor the dock to may be determined. The county engineer said that bed rock was located at the proposed site near the boat landing 18 inches under ground. He added that there are several other highly sat isfactory types of anchors for floating docks. CONGOLESE RIOT Leopoldville, The Congo -H'PII - A mob of 100 Congolese rioted today outside United Nations headquarters where U. N. Secretary - General Dag Hammarskjold was conferring with Congolese officials. Building Activity in Medford Sets Record Building activity in the city of Medford apparently sot a new record for the month, trf December, with.buildiii par mits valued at nearly 1 Mil lion beinc issued. A total ft 92 permit, valil at $983,910, were issued dur inDccember. A building de parlmiS?. official called the figure "l r 1 y remarkable, since building activity nor mally falls offQduririg De cember." Last month's total was an increase of more than S250.000 over the December, 1959, total q of $702,203.(1131 month was also considered lo be an excep tionally good building month. L?-.l month's figure was snbj'nntiiill.v higher than the Dwir.'-Pf, 1958 total when $2J.,'V worth of prr:v;'a wrt ;ssued, und the Decern- Justice Kenneth O'Connell af firmed Tircuit Judge Orval J. Millard. The fire broke out when a tree was blown across a power line during a strong wind storm. The downed line touch ed off brush on the company's right of way. The blaze burned for sev eral days over about 4,200 acres of forest land in the Sykes creek area in Jackson county in September, 1955. Owner Has Liability Oregon law provides that an owner or possessor of land is required to use every effort to control and put out fires and liability for failure to do so rests with such owner or person. But the high court said Copco's interest was "merely that of an easement" and that such interest is non-possessory. The decision said the company was not a person in possession within meaning of the law nor was the company an operator. It could not be classed as the owner either, the court added. O'Connell wrole that the legislature intended to impose the liabilities on those en gaged in removal of timber as a forest crop. The court said there was "no foundation" for the state's action against the company Bus Line Favored The Gray Line company was favored in a personal injury decision written by Justice Alfred T. Goodwin. A bus was involved in an accident near Umatilla caused by a tire blowout. A passen ger, Manda Simpson, sued for alleged personal injuries. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Eugene K. Op penheimer's court ruled for the company and the Simp son woman's appeal argued that the judge instructed the jury incorrectly. The high court ruled other wise, affirming Oppenheimer. Construction of Tunnel Starts Cave Junclion-Grafe-palla-han Construction company, Los Angeles, was expected to start work today on the Ore gon Mountain tunnel on High way 199, just south of the Oregon state line. Grafe-Callahan submitted a low bid of S3.431.743 for the tunnel, which will be 1,835 feet long with a 26-foot two lane roadway and two-foot sidewalks. R. E. Rcplogle, superintend ent engineer, said the com pany expects to have the nec essary equipment on location by Jan. 15, when construction is expected to be in full swing. Grading is now being done on the north approach to the tunnel, and bids for grading and paving the . south ap proach, for which $2,955,000 has been budgeted by the California division of high ways, will be opened Feb. 1 in Sacramento. Enrollment Reaches 1,108 at College Ashland - Enrollment for the winter term at Southern Oregon college reached 1,108 students at the end of the third day of registration yes terday. On a comparable date last year, 1,088 students had en rolled. Registration for the winter term will continue through Monday, Jan. 16. Total enrollment last year was 1,213, a record number for a winter term. b&r, 1957 total when uwly 990, 765 werth of permits worn Pacing last mo-th's tatal was row building construe- tKn. The new buildings for which permits were taken out luring December include the S5S3.000 J. JPNewbcrrv de- partmc9t store; a $57,990 state office building addition; the $22,000 Nye and Naumos com pany warehouse, and a $52,000 Cfdar Lodge motel restaurant u Starts were made on 14 new residences during the month, having re combined value of $148, bin. Permits to remodel or repair cxistag buildings totaled $84,153.. A building department offi cial said today that the total building activity for the 1960 year should also be substan tial. A year-end report will be issued within a few days. Regional Edition Medford 36 Pages OffF- , , - 1 t Kk i 4S5 EVACUEES ARRIVE Passengers on the City of New Or leans ferry coming from Havana, Cuba, line the rail as the ship docks at West Palm Beach, Fla., today. The vessel 'i-A-i ! if : ?, - ft i CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN The Senate Republicans have unanimously renamed Sen. Barry Goldwatcr (Ariz.) as their campaign chairman after an "air-cleaning" exchango be tween Goldwater and Sen. Jacob K. Javils (N.Y.). Javits, left, and Goldwater are shown as they left the GOP con ference in Washington today. (UPI Telephoto) Limousine On Agenda for City Councilmen Tonight The Medford city council will attempt to solve the city's limousine problems once and for all when it meets tonight in the city hall amid charges of "smear" and "bad faith" being hurled at each other by the city's two limousine com panies. One of the companies, the M e d ford Airport Limousine service, is attempting to have the council revoke the limou sine license of the other com pany, the Yellow Cab Limou sine service. Yellow Cab com pany calls the attempt part of a "vicious smear campaign." The problem was further compounded this morning when it was revealed that por tions of a report, prepared on a recent hearing of the charges, were substantially in error and the errors were pub lished in the Mail Tribune as fact. Hearing Held The report WfCs prepared by Alan B. Holmes, then munici pal judge acting a hearing examiner, and now district at torney. The report camo a the result of a hearing called by the council to coraidor Charges and counter-charges that were made by the :om peting companies. The report is scheduled lo be considered by the council toniRht, and it wig probtOly be the basis of any penalizing action that it might lake to ward one or both of the com panies. The council could re voke both of their licenses if it so desired. Confirmed This Morning In his report, Holmes states: "There is no question what ever bu that Yellow Cab limousimy is in violation of the rate schedule as this ex aminer terprets it, being S1.50 perperjon regardless of MEDFORD, OREGON, rroDiems the number of persons carried by limousine." It was confirmed this morn ing, however, that the rate per person for a limousine is $1, meaning that Yellow Cab is not in violation of the rates in this particular instance at all. The rate per person for a taxi cab to the airport is $1.50. Holmes said today that he apparently had the word "limousine" placed in the re port instead of "taxi-cab," which should have been there. He said he had not yet deter mined just how much affect the error would have on the report as a whole. The error was repeated in several dif ferent instances in the report. The charge of "smear" was made by Carl Kellenbergcr, owner of Yellow Cab, follow ing a statement by Ben Day, attorney for the Medford Air port Limousine service, in which he accused Kellonbcrg cr of violating tho city code and airport regulations in the operation at M limousine Vin bod faith." Original Ch'ar-g Medford Limousiiw b-roughl the original charge against Yellow, Cab which made the hearing necessary. Yellow Cab then brought counter-charges. Holmes found both companies in violation of the code in Several iitances, although more violations were listed for Yellow Cab. 0 Mrs. Clarence Jones, part owner of the Medford Airport Limousine service, said this morning that "I don't think its even worth answering" Kcllcnberger's charges of smear. "After all," sic said, "what can one car di.Uo a cab company." Tonight's council meeting will start at 7:30 p.m., In the city hall council chambers. Tribune THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, JD Pan; carried several members of the U.S. Embassy staff from Havana, closed when the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with the Castro government Wednesday. (UPI Telephoto) Scannell Removed; Bengtson Trial in Grants Pass Starts Grants Pass-Gerald JScan- nell Jr. was removed by the court as one of the prosecut ing attorneys in the O. H. Bengtson trial which was scheduled to get under way in Josephine county circuit court this morning. ' Paul Haviland, who was ap pointed prosecuting attorney for the case by the court along Icy Highways Cause Accidents in Area Icy highways early today kept Oregon state police of ficers busy checking a num ber of minor collisions and vehicles in ditches. No injuries were reported In the accidents. One state police car was damaged about 3 a.m. at the Seven Oaks curve on High way 99 when it skidded on ice and went into the ditch. State Police Private Dennis A. Daley, driver, was not in jured in the accident. The police car was en route to Rogue River where a Mitchell Brothers Truck lines truck was reported to have skidded on the icy highway, and lost its load. No Action Expected On Cuban Charges United Nations, N.Y.-IUPII- Diplomats predicted today that the Security Council would decline to take any ac lion on Soviet-backed Cuban charges that the United States planned an imminent invasion of Cuba. The council was ta resume debate on tho Cuban com plaint this afternoon. A mild resolution waa before the 11- nation body, but it was doubt fill that it would even coma Ve a vote. Tho debate, reqiwstnd tey Cuban Foreign Minister Raul Roe, began Wednesday wiVh Roa arW U.S. Ambass&itor Jamas J. Wadsworth exchang ing charges on the floor while hecklers shouted e p. t h e t s from the public gallery. rorUXANT; Vaiy rltM' ' nichi and Friday wii IMtir mlttmt rain. Warner tiKft with low 32. )R f-rhf y 45. Temp. ItUhrit Vfttrrrfay 40 Lowest This Morning 2.S I'rec. to 10 a.m. Today 01 Our Skies Tonight Sfunitet today 4:5J p.m. Vinrik tomorrow .... 7:41 a.m. Monnrt'ifvtonlght 8:44 p.m. l.aM qi.lvtrr Jan. 9 PROM IN KNT STARS llrtriRMHr, low In eaM 5:39 p.m. IIp culm, nar 'he Moon. VIMIH.F. I'l.ANMS Vrnui, sfU .... ., :J1 p.m. Man, hUn In south ll:3fi p.m. 55th Year Price 10 Cents 2& 1961 No. with Scannell, will continue as the only plaintiff's attor ney. ' The decision was made in the chambers of Judge Orval Millard during arguments on a, motion filed by the defense to. require' the-plaintiff s at torneys to prove their authori ty in the case. 1 -. The. trial on the second in dictment charging Bengtson with larceny by embezzle ment from the Medford Es crow company was scheduled to have started at 9:30 o clock. The actual selection of a jury started at 10:12 a.m. and seven prospective jurors had been examined by noon. Scannell and Haviland were appointed by the court as prosecuting attorneys last month after the then District Attorney-elect Alan B. Holmes disqualified himself from try ing the case since his law partner, Robert Boyer, was one of the defense attorneys. Earlier last month a change of venue had been granted by the court for the trial. - Bengtson was found guilty on a similar charge last fall by a jury In Medford and sentenced to three years in tho Oregon Correctional In stitution. There are currently eight other indictments out standing against him. Bengt son is free on a total of $13, 000 bail. In the motion, the defense charged that the appointment of more than one prosecuting attorney was "In excess of the power of the court under the statute. The statute slates that the appointment must be of. regularly licensed and prae- ucing attorney. Also in court a-ction today, duoig-e Miliars refused a re quest of tho defense attorneys for copies of live transcript of grand jury witness los-tirnony. Defense attorneys B-ro Loe Litve-nso-B and Rlckac-d Cariiwy, boh Piwttond. 131 Mm The two sccrclarics in the district attoftiey's office have been hired by District Attor ney Alan B. Holmes to con tinue in that capacity. Mrs. Robert (Murial) Mc Neil was first Ured as a sec retary in theW)ffico in the spring of 19S5 when Walter Nunlcy wasGfcislrict attorney. During that lmcs Holmes was a deputy district attor ney She has been in the of fice' continuously since lflflS. The other secretary is Mrs. lola D. Russel who was hired in January. 1957, when Thomas J. Recdcr assumed the district attorney jjpsition. HO cs Ca Legislators Pnepare forc 51st Session By EVELYN OUSTERHOUT Mail Tribune Staff Writer Jackson county's three state legislators will be in Salem this week end. One is filled with thoughts on organizing the house of r c p r e sentatives, one with hopes to put a "philosophy of government" in action, and one "with a completely open mind" as a freshman senator. Oregon's 51st legislative session convenes Monday. Jackson county will be repre sented by Democrat Robert B. Duncan, who is speaker of the house for a second term; Re publican John R. Dcllcnback, elected to the house in Novem ber; and Republican Lyndel Newbry, Talent, who was ap pointed by the county court to fill the position of state sen ator after Dr. Edwin Durno was elected to the United States house of representa tives. Duncan, a Medford attor ney, said as he made arrange ments to leave this week, that his primary problems at pres ent concern makeup of com mittees and the administra- ion of the house. To Romain in Medford His wife, Marijane, and four of the couple's five children will make their home in Sa lem at 740 Wildwind st. Sixteen-year-old Nancy will re main in Medford for her junior year in high school. and 14-year-old Angus will stay behind until February so both he and his sister can compete in the Llnficld col lege speech tournament. The Duncans' sixth child is ex pected in March. (One other member of the family, a horse named Goldie, also will spend this spring In Salem.) ' Cnaalren Tlttl-irnn VU Vl ft ( quick speech and wit became well ' known through three successful legislative cam palgns. announced that his plans for reorganization of legislative procedure will con tinue this session. They include combining operations with the senate and a simplified printing and bill handling process. The in novations "will save the tax payers some money," he quip ped. More Responsibility Unlike Duncan, both in temperament and politics, Representative Dellen back has spoken often of his "gov ernmental philosophy," one which calls for less govern ment and more individual citizen responsibility. The Del enbacks. including three children aged 10, 8 and 5, chose a Salem home "closer to school than to the capitoi. Mrs. Dcllcnback (Mary Jane) will serve as her husband's secretary, taking advantage of training she had before ner marriage. Declaring that he has no axes to grind, Dcllcnback ex plained that "the political bat tle (with Duncan) ended with the election as far as I am concerned, and we are both going to work hard, and just as closely as my commitments and political philosophies per mit." Sen. Lyndel Newbry, or- chardist and son of former Uruguay Leftists Burn American Flag Montevideo, Uruguay-lUPI) Leftist street mobs burned an American flag in front of Gov eminent House early today, climaxing riotous pro-Castro demonstrations. TIGHTER- S'ECHR'ITY Salom - IUPD - Tile Ofogon Board of Control toe steps today M tighten security of crlmi-n-aJ eoM-rt-eowwittcd pa- tlonts wt t-!e st-ate's mental h5,4(,-.Vl. I iole PiQTO'i Pwpi$WhtsWmi9 Creek Eagle Point - The Eagle Point Grange went on record thtf week urging development of small lakcPon Whetstone creek into a large recreation area. This area, commonly called Agate Slough, extends from the jrdon Kershaw place north and west toward the Rogue river and through the HooverQ-ropcrlics. "By making a scries of damt and small reservoirs on this waterway a wonderful fishing, hunting and recrea tional area could be develop ed," according to the letter Secretary of State Earl T. Newbry, said his open mind edncss toward coming legisla tive problems "is not un healthy." Part of his indecision, New bry admitted, is due to a lack of experience in state matters, which he said other county representatives have gained through past offices or in political campaigns. Mrs. Newbry and their 11-ycar-old son, Ronald, will live in Salem's Liberty district, (Continued on page Dl) Duncan Ponders House Caucus Sunday Night Salem (UPD House Speaker Robert Duncan (D - Medford) said Wednesday night he might not call a House caucus prior lo convening of the 1961 Oregon Legislature at 10 a.m. Monday. The Oregon Senate will caucus Sunday night to elect a new president. Duncan, assured of reelec tion as speaker, was in Salem today to make final prepara tions for the session. Job Recommendations "If there are some prob lems that need to be worked out, then there will be a House caucus Sunday night. Otherwise there will be no caucus," he said. Duncan announced these recommendations for other officers of the 1DB1 house: Dr. Frank Roberts, Port land, chief clerk; Elaine Steele, Portland, assistant chief clerk; Barbara HanneV man. Salem,- calendar clerk I Frances Robertson, journal 1 clerk; Richard Kennedy, Eu- clerk; and KVUVt induing former Rep. Harry Wells (D La Grande) sergeam-at-arms, Five Burn fo Death In California Fire Richmond, Calif. IUPD A mother and four children were killed early today when an unexplained explosion set off a fire which swept through the home of a Rich mond restaurateur. The blaze critically burned male visitor in the home. Five other persons escaped as firemen battled the flames. The victims were Mrs. Ma rio Malone, 42, and her three children, La Donna, 13, Dan ny, 6, and Darroll, 4, and a visiting child, DebVa Llnder, 4, of Nice In Lake County, Calif. Thomas C. Mansfield, 36, Pleasant Hill, Calif., was tak en to Brookside hospital In San Pablo In critical condi tion. - - . Gnus Shed Blues; Griffith Park loo Gets a New Gnu Loi Angeles-niPD-There'i a new gnu at Griffin Park Zoo. The Griffith Park Zoo had no male gnu. The Fres no, Calif., too had no fe male gnu. Both were blue because lhey knew that no new gnus Is bad newt for soot. Gnut in twot make new g-nut, good newt and get lid of the bluet. So the Fret no Zoo shipped a male gnu to the Griffith Park Zoo in ex change for the firtt and third new gnut. II the, gnu deal doesn't work, the male will have lo go back to the Fryno Zoo. Goes now being sent by the Grange to various organizations seek i2h,0r help. O'This would require the co operation of several groups In cluding the Rogue River Val ley Irrigation district, the stale fish and game commis sion, Medford parks and rec reation commission and oth ers." the letter read. "This would meet the rec reational needs of many peo ple, especially children of the area. The lakes on tho Hoover properties In this area have proved very satisfactory from a fishing and general recrea tional standpoint." Area Declared 'Military Zone;' Penalty Decreed Improved Relations Hoped Under JFK Havana, Cuba - IUPD - Cuba started installing coastal de fense guns along the famed Malecon Sea Drive today and declared the area a "military zone." The restricted area reaches from the junction of Galiano st. and the Malecon westwaid to the subit ban Vcdado loca tion of the now abandoned U.S. Embassy building. The Malecon overlooks the G'ulf of Mexico along tts 10 mile expanse. Kennedy Regime Eyed Cuba blamed the Eisenhow er administration for its break in relations with the U.S. and implied that things might im prove under President elect John F. Kennedy. The cabinet statement along the propaganda line.laid down by Moscow - that the main trouble with the United States was the Eisenhower adminis tration - expressed hope that relations would be restored at some undisclosed future date. The statement came after a nightlong cabinet session which made mandatory firing squad deaths for anti-Castro "terrorists" within 72 hours of their conviction. First Official Reaction The cabinet statement was the first official reaction to Washington's severance of re lations Tuesday night. Tho statement made no mention ot the Guantanamo Naval Base. The railroad car ferry City of New Orleans arrived in. West Palm Beach, Fla., this morning with 64 U.S. Em bassy staff members from Ha vana and their families, it also. carrled three Americaa citizens not connected with. the embassy, seven Cuban na tionals and two Venezuelans. 11 Remain Bohind U.S. Charge d'Affaires Dan iel J.. Braddock and 10 other embassy officials r e mamed behind here to complete de tails o'f the diplomatic break and place American interests in the hands of the Swiss Em bassy. . . , The Castro cabinet state ment on the break admitted increasing opposition to Cas tro jn buua in ueuieeiiig pen alties ranging up to death for saboteurs and terrorists. Portland Freighter Abandoned at Sea Portland - (UPD.- The 7,350,. ton United States freighter Portland Trader was aban doned in Philippine waters some 400 miles south of Ma nila today and the 38-man crew was rescued, officials of West Coast Steamship com pany here reported. The 16-year-old ship, carry ing a load of grain for India, ran aground early this morn ing on Tubbataha reef. Company officials said that 28 members of the crew were taken aboard the Liberian tanker Marita Marovia, which headed for Singapore. The other 10 members, including Capt. Vernon W. Hansen, Portland, Ore., were taken aboard the SS Nassa, which headed for lloilo in the Phil ipplnes. United States Rejects Charges by Russia Washlngton-niPt-The United States today rejected Soviet charges that a U.S. destroyer made a mock attack on a Rus sian freighter in the Mediter ranean Nov. 4. BANK TO OPEN Rosoburg - (UPD - The new branch building of tho United States National Bank will be officially opened for business here Saturday. CLERK TO RETIRE Salem-(UPD-E. T. Pierce, 70, will retire soon as clerk of the Slate Land Board, Gov, Mark Hatfield said today. on Record in Development Aopolntod to a committee to promote tho project were Steve Wilson, Kenneth Cear ley, Wllford Davies, Robert Bitterllng and C. C. Hoover. More wator from an outside source would be needed to meet spring and summer rec reation needs, according to Harold Sexton, secretary-manager of the Rogue River Val ley Irrigation district. Storm flow keeps the creek and marshy lakes full now, ho said. So far no definite planj for the recreational develop ment have been presented, noted. , O
