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Tribune
MEDFORD
United Presi International Full Leased Wire
United Press InternaUiwal Full Leased Wire
16 Pages
MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1961
No. 277
Regional Edition
t rr
MESSAGES SCHEDULED President Ken
nedy told his congressional leaders today
that he would send 10 special messages to
Congress in the next few weeks, including
Mayor Signs New
Trailer Ordinance;
Purpose Explained
Mayor John W. Snider
signed the city of Medford's
new trailer ordinance Mon
day which prohibits house
trailers from being located on
Individual lots in the city. The
ordinance became effective
upon his signing it.
The ordinance had received
the unanimous approval of
the city council at its meet
ing last week. It also received
the unanimous recommenda
tion of the city's planning
commission.
Under the new ordinance,
trailers already on individual
lots in the city will be allowed
to remain as long as their
. owners- have previously ob
tained a city, permit.
Owners of trailers who
have failed to obtain city per
mits will have six months in
Court Declines
Stadium Money
The Jackson county court
this afternoon declined alloca
tion of $5,000 for a prelim
inary study of the stadium
proposal and approval of the
stadium committee.
"The court is still of the
same opinion that this is not
a matter for the county court
to decide but a matter for the
registered voters of this coun
ty," County Commissioner
Chester Wendt said.
Last Thursday the stadium
committee requested that
$5,000 be allocated from coun
ty funds for engineering, arch
itect's drawings and to obtain
more accurate data.
"We also don't feel it is any
function of ours to either ap
prove or disapprove the ap
pointment of this stadium
committee," Wendt added.
A committee of John Weis
brod, chairman, Harry Chip
man, secretary-treasurer, Lee
Ragsdale, Dr. Alexander Peter
sen, and William Askwith met
with Wendt Thursday. He told
them that the matter would
have to be considered later by
the entire county court.
Wendt said a letter is being
mailed to the committee this
afternoon to tell the court's
decision and reasoning.
edford Inventor Says Emigrant' Dam Insecure
E. M. Tucker, owner and
Inventor of the Tucker Sno
Cat, contended at Monday's
Chamber of Commerce round
table luncheon that the newly
rebuilt Emigrant dam is inse
cure. Another speaker, how
ever, disputed Tucker's rea
soning. Tucker said that such oc
currences as an earthquake,
tornado or windstorm could
cause water to spill over the
top of the dam. If this hap
pened, he said, the entire
dam would give away, and "a
wall of water, 20 feet deep
. . . could rush over the valley
without warning."
Walter Jones, an appraiser.
Who said he has been connect
ed with the Talent project
since its start, said the bureau
of reclamation engineers look
every safety precaution when
they designed the dam.
No Water Over Top
Jones also stated that it is
designed so "there will never
be any water running over
the top of the dam."
Emigrant dam, now nearly
one Thursday on medical care for the aged.
Here the President poses in his office with
Vice President Lyndon Johnson, left, and
Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn.
which to either move out of
the city or move to a trailer
court.
Permanent Residences
The ordinance applies only
to those trailers being used as
permanent residences.
City Manager Robert A.
Duff told the Mail Tribune
this morning that the new
ordinance is necessary in
order to protect residential
property in the city. The main
objection to trailer houses,
he said, is that they decrease
property values.
City Planning Consultant
Ned Langford said there are
75 trailers now in the city
which are located on individ
ual lots. Of these, an esti
mated 30 are there without
permits.
The need for a new ordi
nance at this time was necessi
tated by the considerable trail
er population increase in the
city in recent years, accord
ing to city officials. Langford
pointed out that during the
past two years alone the num
ber of trailers on individual
lots in the city has increased
by 30.
Decrease Property Values
Duff explained that trailer
houses decrease property
values for two main reasons.
One is because of their ap
pearance, and the second is
because of a "prejudice" of
home owners against living
near trailers.
The large majority of resi
dents would dislike living
next to a trailer, he said. So,
when a trailer does locate on
a lot it automatically de
creases the value of property
around it.
Duff said that, "by allow
ing trailers on individual lots
you are granting a privilege
to a minority at the expense
of the majority." There are an
estimated 11.100 dwelling
units in the Medford urban
area, of which only 220 are
trailer houses.
Both Langford and Duff
pointed out that the house
trailer problem is not unique
to Medford. Langford said
most cities prohibit trailers
on individual iots, and many
of them even prohibit trailer
parks. Medford has nine trail
er parks.
completed, is located south of
Ashland and was started in
the fall of 1958 to provide
additional water for the Tal
ent Irrigation district.
It is an earth-fill dam built
over an older concrete dam.
The concrete dam was 110
feet high, and had a capacity
of 8.000 acre-feet of water.
The earth-fill will raise the
dam's height to 190 feet, pro
viding for a capacity of 40,000
acre feet of water.
Jones pointed out at Mon
day's meeting that dirt and
rock extend for one-quarter
mile on either side of the
old cement structure. Also,
the earth-fill extends beyond
the ends of the dam.
Further Insurance
To further insure the
strength of the dam. Jones I
i said, a water proof material
j has been driven under pres-j
I sure into the rock at either!
end of the dam for a distance ;
of from 150 to 200 feet and'
sealed. He added that there
"can't be a drop of water go-
'jPt ough tha rock" I
(UP1 Telephoto)
Kennedy Asks
Congress To Hike
Minimum Wage
Washington -(UPll- President
Kennedy asked Congress to
day to raise the minimum
wage to $1.25 an hour and
broaden its coverage to pre
vent "the growth of an under
privileged and underpaid
class."
Kennedy's proposal would
boost the minimum from the
present $1 for employees cov
ered by the federal law and
extend coverage to an addi
tional 4.3 million workers.
Schedule Explained
Secretary of Labor Arthur
Goldberg explained that the
administration bill would
raise the hourly minimum for
employees now covered from
$1 to $1.15 the first year,
$1.20 the second year and then
to $1.25.
For the newly covered em
ployees, the minimum would
start at $1 an hour and then
be raised to $1.05 the second
year, $1.15 the third year and
$1.25 thereafter.
Coverage of the minimum
wage law would be extended
to employees of these enter
prises:
Service Establishments
-Any retail or service estab
lishment with an annual vol
ume of sales exceeding $1 mil
lion.
-Laundering, cleaning and
clothing repairing firms with
an annual volume of sales of
more than $1 million.
-Local transit firms.
-Other enterprises not in
cluded in the first three class
es with an annual volume of
sales exceeding $250,000 or
or $350,000 in the case of con
struction firms.
-Gasoline service establish
ments with an annual volume
of sales of at least $250,000.
Sports Bulletin
Pendleton - itl'll - Three
members of SI. Mary's high
school's state class B cham
pionship football team have
been named to the East
Shrine team for the annual
game here Aug. 26. They
are Andy Knutson, center;
Dick Evans, fullback, and
Fred Lucas, tackle.
Gary Sloper, end frcm
Phoenix high school, was
named to the West team.
Tucker's remarks on Emi
grant dam caught most of the
30 persons at the roundtable
by surprise. There were no
bureau of reclamation repre
sentatives at the meeting, and
Jones' comments were made
in the form of an impromptu
rebuttal. I
After Jones spoke, several
others also attested to the I
safety of the dam, and express-1
ed complete confidence in the
engineers who designed the
structure.
'Foremost Authority'
One man said the dam was
designed by the "foremost
dam authority in the country,
if not the world," and added
that, "we have nothing to
fear at all."
Tucker indicated, however,
that he doesn't take much
stock in the safety assurances
of the engineers. He poQtcd
to the 1948 Vanport flood and
a similar flood near Yuba
City, Calif., and said those
people, too. "were told by
the engineers they were safe."
ater
oorer,
Survey
The outlook for 1961 irri
gation water supplies in the
Rogue - Umpqua watersheds
has not improved, and is ac
tually poorer than it was Jan.
1, according to Snow Survey
Chief W. T. Frost, Portland.
Frost heads the cooperative
snow surveys for the U. S.
department of agriculture,
soil conservation service, Ore
gon agricultural experiment
station and the Oregon state
engineer.
"Mountain snow cover is
now poorer than it was at this
date last year," Frost said.
"Stored water supplies are far
below average in three out of
five reservoirs."
Water content of the snow
pack is 76 per cent of last
year, but is only 47 per cent
of the Feb. 1 average, he not
ed. January storms were gen
erally warmer than usual, and
deposited mostly at higher
elevations, leaving lower
slopes barren.
Snowpack It Lest
The accumulation of snow
this winter, Frost said, is less
than one-third of the usual
snowpack. In an average win
ter, about two-thirds of the
"snow crop" is deposited by
Feb. 1.
Moisture in the soil mantel,
the top four feet of the water
sheds, is satisfactory, and will
favor snow-melt runoff, Frost
said.
Stored water for the Med
ford and Rogue River Valley
Irrigation districts totals about
6,400 acre feet, and is 80 per
cent of last year, and only 48
per cent of the average. The
Talent Irrigation district has
about 20,000 acre feet in stor
age, wmcn is half again as
much as was available a year
ago. This is largely due, Frost
said,, to new storage facilities
at Howard Prairie and Emi
grant lakes.
Flow of the Rogue river at
Gold Ray dam has averaged
only 53 per cent normal since
Oct. 1, and only 30 per cent
normal last month, according
to preliminary data furnished
by the U.S. geological survey,
Portland.
Stream flow forecasts for
the irrigation season, which
extends from April through !
September, indicate the larger
tributaries of the North Ump
qua and Rogue rivers are ex
pected to discharge from 70 to
77 per cent of their average
amounts. Smaller, but import
ant, Little Butte creek is pre
dicted to discharge 62 per cent
of average.
THORNTON TO SPEAK
Salem - IUPH - Ally. Gen.
Robert Y. Thornton will speak
at a special assembly on crime
prevention Thursday at
Springfield High school.
WEATHER
Forrcast: Increasing cloudiness
tonight. A few showers late to
night and Wednesday morntnR,
becoming partly cloudy Wednes
day afternoon. Low tonight 38.
High tomorrow 52 to 55.
TKMPHRATURE
IfiKhest Yesterday 55
Lowest this Morning 30
PRKCIPITATION
To 10 a.m. today none
Our Skies Tonight
Sunset today 5:33 p.m.
Sunrise tomorrow 7:18 a.m.
Mounrfse tomorrow . 12:40 a.m.
Last Quarter tomorrow 8:50 a.m.
VISIIll.K PLANETS
Mercury, low In west after sun
set. Venus, low In west 9:01 p.m.
.Mars, high tn south .... 8:59 p.m.
Jupiter and Saturn
rise 6:27 a.m.
Tucker also cited the recent
"Texas tower" disaster off the
coast of New York, and said
that was supposed to be safe.
He did not cite any instances
where a dam of the Emigrant
type had given away, how
ever. Tucker spoke first, and
made no attempt to reply to
the comments made by Jones
and the others.
Offers Suggestions
After claiming that the dam
was unsafe, Tucker offered
several suggestions, which, he
said, would make it safer. One
of these would be to pump
concrete into the earthern por
tion of the dam. The other
would be to place a metal
shield between the back of
the dam and the water.
Commenting on Tucker's
suggestion to pump concrete
into the dam, Jones said an
earthern dam is "far more
resistant to earthquakes than
concrete would be." He said
that no amount of concrete
wild ever iOld an earth
Supply
Snow
Shows
Frost said that although the
inflow to Fourmile lake is ex
pected to be about 72 per cent
of average, the flow into
Hyatt lake, which is at a low
er elevation, is expected to be
only 32 per cent of average.
This condition, he said, is
mainly caused by a lack of
snow at lower elevations.
Statewide, Oregon's 1961
water supply outlook has not
improved during the last
month, and now ranges from
only "fair" to "very poor,"
Frost said.
The next report on snow
surveys, and water supply
conditions will be issued
March 8.
Local Employment
Reduced by Bad
Weather in Month
Bad weather, which forced
closure of some logging and
construction operations, caus
ed most of a continued reduc
tion in local employment dur
ing January, according to
John J. Patton, manager of
the Medford office of the state
employment service.
He noted that the employ
ment picture is following a
fairly regular pattern for this
time of year. Employment
in Jackson county usually
reaches a low point in Janu
ary and February, when
weather conditions control
the amount of outside work.
The current level of em
ployment, Patton said, is
above that experienced dur
ing the last two years, but has
remained well below the level
of three- years ago. .
Jackson county' has been
better off than most of Ore
gon's lumber producing areas,
he said, because of the ability
of this area's large mills to
continue operations with lit
tle or no layoff of personnel.
Job placements through
the local office,, while down
somewhat from the last two
years, are holding up much
better than expected," Patton
said.
"This reflects both the con
tinuing activity in the area,
as well as the rather optimis
tic attitude of many local
firms which are expecting a
good business year," he add
ed. The impact of a large
amount of construction
planned during the coming
season will have a consider
able effect on the local econ
omy, Patton said.
Rogue Valley Manor, which
opened recently, created sev
eral jobs new to Jackson coun
ty, he said, and will account
for an important amount of
employment.
Employment can be expect
ed to remain low throughout
February, Patton said. The
seasonal upturn In local em
ployment generally begins in
March when weather condi
tions usually permit the re
sumption of some outside
work in both constuction and
logging.
Price conditions in the
lumber Industry, which have
been a major cause of this
season's cutbacks, may delay
the employment, increase, or
spread it out over a longer pe
riod of time, he added.
quake, and pointed out that
in earthquake construction, it
is better to have a building
that will give a little, than
one that Is solid.
Jones said that a concrete
tunnel and spillway have
been dug into the side of the
mountain approximately one
quarter to one-half mile from
the dam itself.
Designed for Flood Control
The spillway and tunnel arc
designed for flood control and
can carry more water than
could ever flow into the reser
voir at one time, he said, mak
ing it impossible for the water
to rise over the top of the
structure.
Jones also pointed out that
there are built-in pressure
gauges in the back of the dam
which will automatically warn
the dam superintendents if
the pressure should rise. The
dam gates and tunnel could
' then be opened to relieve the
pressure, he said.
I Jones said the dam is "an
I exceptionally good dam."
Senate Committee
Studies Interest
Rate Problems
Reapportionment
Declared 'Must'
Salem - lliro - A Senate com
mittee was considering today
whether Oregon consumers
are being fooled into extrava
gant buying and even bank
ruptcy by "misleading state
ments of interest rates and
credit charges.
Sen. Richard Groencr (D-
Milwaukie) said they are. He
asked the Committee on State
and Federal Affairs to ap
prove a bill that would re
quire loan and credit com
panies to quote interest rates
in simple interest terms - on
a yearly basis.
Monthly Rates Quoted
Groener said many com
panies quote monthly rates,
and borrowers don't know
they have to multiply that by
12 to find out the annual
charge.
He said other agencies
using credit finance describe
discount rales that fail to ex
press what the consumer is
actually paying on installment
buying.
George Brown of the Ore
gon AFL-CIO said the bill, SB
221, would help cut down an
alarming rise in personal in
debtedness. Rep. Stafford Hanscll (R-
Hcrmiston) said the bill would
'see that the price of money
is quoted so everybody can
understand it . . . just the
same as gas, apples or bread."
Would Confuse
Opponents of the bill dis
agreed, and said quoting sim
ple interest rates on an annual
basis would actually "con
fuse" - not simplify - the situ
ation for the customer.
The committee also heard
testimony on a bill by Sen.
Robert Straub (D-Eugene) and
others to appropriate $50,000
tor a summer camp program
for boys up to 18 years. Stale
Forester Dwight Phlpps said
jobs would be "no problem.
A legislator .who proposes
to wipe out his present work
with a constitutional amend
ment in two years said today
that nevertheless reapportion
ment "on the basis of the
existing constitution is a
must" this season.
Tackles Problem
The remarks came from
Rep. George Annala (D-Hood
River), head of the House
Elections and Reapportion
ment Committee which must
decide how to redistribute
legislators to counties on the
basis of new census figures.
The committee held its first
meeting Monday to tackle the
problem of seeing that every
body is fairly represented -
under a constitutional formu
la with much room for various
interpretations.
Annala himself may wen
lose his seat under the formu
la, since legislators are appor
tioned on the basis of popula
tion, and Hood River county
doesn't have enough people.
Trucker Fined
For Park Travel
William Schiller, Maywood,
Calif., was fined a total of $75
Monday for operating a truck
and trailer and for improper
after-dark lights on the truck
in Crater Lake National park.
He appeared before U.S.
Commissioner Frank Van
Dyke, Medford. He was
charged with driving a com
mercial truck through the
park Jan. 12, and had request
ed two continuances before
the commissioner.
Park Superintendent Otto
Brown said Schiller's empty
truck became stuck during a
heavy snow storm.
Schiller was fined $50 for
operating a truck in the park,
and $25 for improper, after
dark lighting on the Davidson-
Western Plywood company
owned vehicle. A 10-day jail
sentence was suspended on
the trucking charge, and $15
of the $25 fine for improper
lighting was suspended.
Brown noted that "heavy
trucks over 34-ton arc not
compatible on the park's low
speed and mountainous roads,
which are subjected to heavy
sightseeing traffic. The road
ways were not constructed
with sufficient base material
to accommodate this type of
traffic without serious dam
ages being incurred.
"To protect both park visit
ors and the roadways, lor
whose use they were intended
to serve, we will continue to
enforce established roadway
toOnage limitations," Brown
addeg.
SPY ROLE CHARGED
Britain's biggest espionage
case since the 1950 arrest of
atomic spy Klaus Fuchs began
in London today. The prosecu
tion charged that Henry
Houghton, 55, above, civilian
employee at Britain's Port
land submarine base, was re
cruited for spy work by a
Russian posing as a U.S. naval
officer. Houghton and four
others are charged with sell
ing vital defense secrets to a
"foreign power."
(UPI Telephoto)
Courier Service
For Curriculum
Center Approved
The Jackson county rural
school budget committee last
night approved allocations for
a courier service for the coun
ty curriculum materials cen
ter, but further action on the
center's budget was delayed.
On a motion by Sam Harbi
son, Medford lawyer, the com
mittee approved allocation of
$2,184 for a panel truck, $12
for license and title, $150 for
maintenance, $1,000 for gas,
oil and lubrication, and $125
for insurance. Hiring of a
courier at $4,000 was excluded
from the motion.
After considerable discus
sion, the committee directed
James McDonald, curriculum
materials center director, to
re-examine categories of dues,
printing, supplies, and equip
ment and reduce the amounts
requested if possible.
Objections Raised
Objections arose after the
budget committee started an
Item by item examination of
long lists of supplies, printing
and office equipment. William
A. Starzinger. Rogue River,
objected to a requested $37.50
for professional books. Mc
Donald agreed to supply more
information on the item.
Harbison added that the
$5,245 requested allocation for
printing Is "clear out of sight."
The 1960-61 allocation was
$1,504.50.
McDonald explained that
the Public Library of Medford
and Jackson county is consid
ering to do cataloguing for
the center in partial exchange
for the courier service drop
ping off books at branch li
braries.
McDonald said the commit
tee should consider the budget
with the total impact the cen
ter has on county education.
Catalogues have to be in the
hands of each teacher using
materials from the center. Up-to-date
cataloguing is required
for smoother and more rapid
handling of materials. The
districts are demanding these
services, he said.
More Facilities
Planned at Lake
Plans are proceeding for
construction of additional fa
cilities at Howard Prairie
lake, City-County Parks and
Recreation Director Robert
Haworth told the Jackson
county recreation commission
last night.
County Engineer Robert
Carstenscn has been asked to
develop plans for a temporary
850-foot extension of the boat
ramp at Howard Prairie, he
said.
Present pier plans have
been approved, materials
priced and they will be or
dered this week, Haworth
said. The county has also re
tained an architect for con
struction of a service building
at Howard Prairie, Haworth
said.
The parks and recreation
director said work will get
underway possibly next week
on the pier. A column anchor
type of piling will have to
be used, he said.
Extension of the boat ramp
will be 650 feet by 30 feet to
meet the low water level con
ditions expected this summer.
The service headquarters
building will be constructed
if that item Is approved in the
1061-62 budget, Haworth explained.
Documents Said Sent
To Moscow by Radio
London-IUPD-Britain charged at the start of its most sen
sational espionage trial in a decade today that a five-member
spy ring stole key allied naval secrets and sent them to
Moscow by short wave radio.
The disclosure stirred fears that Russia now knows full
details of how the United States and NATO plan to defend
themselves against the Soviet Union's fleet of 500 submarines.
Atty. Gen. Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller never men
tioned Russia specifically during his two-hour opening state
ment in Bow Street Criminal Court. But he said a British
member of the spy ring was recruited for his espionage work
by a Russian posing as a U.S. naval officer, and he left no
doubt that the "foreign power" involved was the Soviet
Union.
Manningham - Buller said
that Henry Houghton, 55, a
Briton who had served 20
years in the Royal Navy, told
police he got into the espion
age business through a ruse.
The attorney general said
Houghton, a civilian clerk at
the naval research station at
Portland Navy Yard, first
agreed to pass on top secret in
formation at the request of
someone who identified him
self as "Commander Alexan
der Johnson, U. S. Navy."
Radio Set Found
Manningham-Buller said
"Johnson" actually was "Gor
don Lonsdale," one of the
three men and two women
charged with passing lop se
cret information to the "for
eign power."
The attorney general said
an extremely powerful radio
set was found in the house of
two of the defendants, Peter
and Helen Kroger, who pre
tended to be booksellers. He
said they sent their informa
tion to Moscow by radio and
micro-dot code hidden in the
pages of books.
Manningham-Buller said
that while the Krogers pur
ported to carry on business as
booksellers, they actually
were spies. ;
At the start of Britain's big
gest espionage case since the
1050 arrest of atomic spy
Klaus Fuchs, Manningham-
Buller said the information
Houghton and his codefen
dants obtained would give
complete picture of all secret
anti-submarine radar sets and
research and development
into future sets."
Defendants Listed
The other defendants are
Miss Ethel Gee, 45, a cowork
er of Houghton's at Portland
which is Britain's largest sub
marine base; Peter and Helen
Kroger, and a man listed as
Gordon Lonsdale, who car
ries a Canadian passport but
was identified as Russian.
Manningham - Buller also
brought into the case the
names of American defectors
William Martin and Bcrnon
Mitchell, employees of the Na
tional Security Agency in
Washington who turned up in
Moscow last July. He told of
a conversation between "Lons
dale" and Houghton in which
the names of the two Ameri
can defectors were mentioned,
but he did not go into detail.
Log Truck Certificates
Draw Wad of Protests
Salem - (UP1) - The Senate
Highways committee received
wad of protests Monday
over a but to require cer
tificates for log truckers.
The protests came in the
form of petitions circulated
by the Southern Oregon Con
servation and Tree Farm asso
ciation, Medford, bearing
more than 1,000 signatures.
Spokesmen said the certifi
cates were unnecessary and
would restrict logging trucks.
"Men, I Think There'. A Better Way to j
Use Them" j
Duncan Urged To
Tell Candidacy
r
ror uovernor
Salem-WPIl-House Minority
Leader F. F. Montgomery to
day urged House Speaker Rob
ert Duncan of Medford to
declare that he is a candidata
for governor "since obviously
he is."
Monlgomery, Eugene Re
publican, described the public
welfare hearing here tonight
-which Duncan will prcsido
over-as a "Trandstand play."
Speeches Cited
Monlgomery cited the num
ber of speeches Duncan has
made around the state so far
this scssion-with many more
schcduled-and said this "is all
part of the plan."
"This is fine," Montgomery
said, "but in deference to
members of the house, I think
he should declare himself."
Other Republican sources
here said Duncan not only
Is preparing to run for gov
ernor in 1962 by making him
self better known, there are
rumblings of a campaign or
ganization being formed In
Jackson county.
Duncan has not indicated
he is a candidate for governor,
'Obviously Not Candidate'
Duncan said, ."Obviously
I'm not a candidate for eov-
ernor. People who get excited
about future' political ambi
tions lose sight of what they're
trying to accomplish at
present."
He added: "I don't intend
to put myself in that position."
rie also said he was not
aware of any campaign move
ment in Jackson county.
xfension Service
Buildings Planned
Bids for construction of two
buildings for the Jackson
county extension service will
be opened at 2 p.m. Friday,
Feb. 24, according to Archi
tects Edson and Pappas, Med
ford. The buildings, which will
be an auditorium and an ad
ministration building, will ba
constructed adjacent to tha
Jackson county fairgrounds.
The structures will be con
nected by a covered walkway.
The auditorium buildina
will measure about 36 by 84
feet and include a 250-seat au
ditorium and a demonstration
kitchen. The administration
building will measure about
70 by 77 feet and will pro
vide for office space for tha
county agent, 4-H and agri
culture offices and home ex
tension offices.
The buildings will be con
structed off Stewart ave. next
to the fairgrounds.