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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1963)
6 A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER IT, (063 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON Congressman Discusses IVide Range of Subjects During Brief 'Office Hours'; By GEORGE H, BELL Mall Tribune Staff Writer When a U.S. Congressman re turns to his home district to hold "office hours," he never knows what problems will walk in his door. But he must be open and ready to hear his constituents on any subject they want to present. And he must got to the heart of the matter since time is at a premium as quickly as possible. He must be friendly and tact ful: everyone who comes to see mm is a voter, wnen ne is noi able to offer relief or agree ment, he has to be able to pre sent his counter argument or point of view clearly and rea sonably, yet with a certain toughness so that he won't ap pear to "weasel." When Rep. Robert Duncan came "home" last week and set up shop in the library of his former law firm in the Franklin Building, he had am ple opportunity to demonstrate his ability in this area of hu man relations. For nearly two and a half hours without a break Duncan talked with a wide variety of Medford area residents about a kaleidoscope of problems, proj ects and dilemmas. Some of the matters, of course, the congressman was "on top of" and completely fa miliar with, but others, natur ally, he heard about for the first time when the constituent presented his case. Talk About Status At 2 o'clock, Medford Lawyer Frank J. Van Dyke and a group of three other men came in to talk about the current status of the request for funds for Agate Dam. Duncan told them that the Rogue Basin project was "in a better position" than some oth er projects in the country "be cause they've already spent funds on it." But he cautioned nol as absolutely certain. "Y., only assurance Is that if it's in the President's budget, it's reason ably safe from cutting." He said he had heard com ment that having President Kennedy fly over the Rogue Basin project area a few weeks ago was a grandstand stunt and a waste of time. "Well, It wasn't," he said, "because now when I mention it at the White House, they all Know wnat rm talking about, (The House Appropriations Committee Friday approved Bureau of Reclamation request tor $3U0,uuu tor advance plan- ning for the Agate dam project of the Rogue River Basin.) Duncan told the group that he was considering, at the re quest or the House Agriculture committee, going to a meeting in nome tnis weeK. "I'm stili trying to get Ore gon pears into Western Eu rope," he said. With a round of thanks and handshakes, the group left about 2:15 o'clock, and a secretary showed ui a young military man. For the only time during the afternoon, Duncan indicated that the interview should be kept confidential. The young man was in some trouble at his military base and after a series of brief, incisive questions, Duncan said he would see wnat ne could do. At 2:25 o'clock, a valley or- chardist came in for a short chat about the Bracero bill Duncan explained his vote on the measure, how he had wres tled with his conscience on the matter, and received assurances from the orchardist that he was "doing a wonderful job." Three men who were interest ed in the South Talent Sanitary District came in next. They were concerned with what fed eral assistance they might be qualified to receive for the pur chase and installation of a pump system and underground pipes. Duncan told them they couldn't qualify for accelerated public works funds since, in the first place, Talent was not a "distressed area," and anyway there weren't any funds left. "Water and air pollution are PET TALK ByM.I.L CATS It is no easy task to win the friendship of a cat. He is a philosopher, sedate and tran quil. A creature of habit, a lover of decency and order, he does not bestow his regard light ly and though he may consent to be your companion, he will never be your slave. The tiny kitten can be abused at Hvill. Few dogs will attempt to defend themselves against a brutal human being. But the cat with an uncanny instinct for recognizing a potential tormen tor will if possible, avoid him. But once cornered he will fight back regardless of overwhelm ing odds. He can not be con quered, though he can be killed but he will die fighting. The cat-hater demands an adversary who will grovel be fore his ability to render abuse. But the cat, gentle and affec tionate under loving care, will defend itself with claw and fang when tormented. Having survived almost fa natical persecution through the centuries, the cat is not going to succumb now. His pride and royal bearing earned him por trayal, always at the feet of the Roman Goddess of Liberty, as an everlasting freedom sym- bol. His very presence at the hearthside ' bespeaks tranquility In the home. The cat has con founded his enemies to score a triumph of spirit and he re mains a loving and happy cap tive in the lives of those who cherish him. national problems," Duncan said. "Businessmen write to me and say, 'Leave it alone, it'. a local problem.' What they reany mean is tney Mink they can handle the state, but they aren't so sure of the federal government." Would Contact Attorney After about a 15 minute con versation, during which he studied a map the delegation brought and discussed the pro posed boundaries of the dis trict, Duncan promised to con tact the district's attorney about procedures to follow in apply ing for a 30 per cent federal assistance grant. When they left, a secretary came with a handful of pink telephone message slips. But there wasn't time to make anv of the calls, and during the aft ernoon, the stack got bigger and bigger. He frowned about it and wondered out loud when he was going to find time to return the calls. Next, the congressman had a short chat with a couple about their daughter's future in the Women's Army Corps. The 19- year-old girl was getting along line, out Duncan agreed with them that she should aDDlv for omcers candidate scnool. Discusses Payoff Period At 2:57 o clock,, a property owner in the Talent Irrigation District came in to discuss the payoff period on assessments. He favored doubling the period from its present 60 years to 120 years. "Nobody's gone that far yet," Duncan told him, though he noted that in some instances the Corps of Engineers had doubled the period from 50 to 100 years. The two failed to reach agree ment on the subject, but the dis cussion remained amiable from start to finish. Next to come in were Med ford City Manager Robert Duff and City Planning Director Ned Langford. During their nearly 30-minute interview, the city of ficials explained their problem with the "Biddle Road strip." Map Shows Strip They brought alone a mao showing the narrow strip of increase in Flu Is Reported in County A noticeable increase in in fluenza in Jackson County is included in the report of Ihe Jackson County Public Health Department for the week end ing Nov. 15. The report lists the cases of communicable diseases. Influ enza led the list witii a total of 87. There were 22 cases report ed in Medford. There were 15 In Phoenix and 10 In Ashland. Central Point had five cases, Rogue River three and Jackson ville, two. Chicken pox cases, number ing seven, were reported from Talent. No other place reported this disease. There were two cases of measles, two of Ger man measles, and one of Infec tious mononucleosis, infectious hepatitis and fifth disease in the county, Dr. A. Erin Mcrkcl, di rector of the department, reported. Suggestions on cat feeding: The secret of nutrious feeding of cats is variety. Cats are es sentially carnivorous and need lot. of high-protein food of which various meats, liver, kid ney, heart, fish and eggs are acceptable sources, however, they do well on diets that also include substantial amounts of carbohydrates. It is unwise to let a cat become attached to any one food exclusively. Some of the well known commercial doe" foods containing a variety of ingredients make good ra tions for cats and may be feed alone or combined with table scraps. Vegetables are enjoyed by some cats but do not appear to be essential. Milk cither canned or from cartons, is ex cellent but does not appeal to all. The amount of food required varies from cat to cat and ac cording to Its temperament and mode of life. Canned baby foods are useful in kitten feed ing and in tempting a cat that Is finicky or ill. Fresh water should be avail able at all times even though a cat may rarely touch it. Many of the commercial cat foods lack essential nutrients and should be fed only spar ingly. At this time of year, a warm bed protected from drafts should be provided for cats as well as dogs. It is important to keep uie Den cienn. land trapped between the Inter state 5 freeway and Biddle Road. The officials told Duncan they wanted the Bureau of Public Roads to buy the strip and give it to the city for a park site and for needed right-of-way for the eventual widening of Biddle Koad. Duff explained the city was willing to buy the land needed for the street widening, but couldn't afford to purchase the wnole strip. Duncan didn't offer them much hope, but asked them to mail the map and other data to nis office in Washington, D.C., so he could look into the situa tion further. Looks Fresh, Alert Throughout the entire after noon, Duncan looked fresh and alert; if the interview tired him, it didn't show, or appear to slow him down. He had two plain briar pipes wun mm, and one of uem was kept lighted most of the time He was dressed in a dated gabardine suit, and wore the familiar plaid tie which has be come his trademark. On the table behind him was a battered raincoat and a light-colored, wide-brimmed felt hat. When Duff and Langford left. the secretary came in with an other handful of telephone mes sages. He added them to the pile in front of him. "It'll take me a full day just to answer these," he observed wryly. Offers Company's Services -The manager of the Medford Western Union office, recently transferred here from elsewhere in the state, dropped in for a few minutes to extend his "good wishes" and offer the services of his company. At 3:40 o'clock, Dick House, an old friend from the other side of the political fence, came in to discuss the Oregon Pub lic Employes Retirement Pro gram, which he felt was inadequate. These state employes spend their whole lives to achieve fi nancial failure," House com plained. He said he felt the re tirement should be based on 90 to 130 per cent of the employe's highest pay during his working years. Duncan discussed his experi ence with the program during his years in the state legisla ture (he was Speaker of the House for two consecutive ses sions), and advised House to communicate "for a start" with Ken Bragg, state fiscal officer. Concerned About Payments Another old friend, Charles Myers, a veteran of World War I, entered the office just before 4 o'clock. He was concerned with disability payments to WWI veterans, which he said were so low they were causing real hardships among many of his acquaintances. Duncan read him a rough draft of a bill which he is cur rently working on for submis sion to the House. "I think I can get this passed," Duncan told him, "and I think Presi dent 'Kennedy will sign it." Myers seemed to like Dun can's proposed bill, and the two promised to keep in touch with each other. At 4:07 o'clock, a Grants Pass couple came in to talk about their 22-year-old ." U, who has an opportunity to participate in the International Farm Youth Exchange Program early next year. Chance to Travel The youth has a chance to travel abroad for nine month's under the auspices of the pro gram, but is facing a call from the draft board. Duncan said he was reluctant to interfere with draft boards, but he would look into it to see if anything could be done. At 4:14 o'clock Duncan's Ore gon administrative assistant, Cliff Oulettc, poked his head in the office to remind the con gressman that he had a tele vision appearance scheduled at 4:30 o'clock, and that other peo ple were waiting in the outer office. 'No More Appointments' Reluctantly, at 4:17 o'clock, Duncan told (he secretary "no more appointment s." He grabbed his hat and coat, jammed a pile of papers into a dispatch case ("There's 14 pounds of homework in there") and dashed out of the office. He stopped in the waiting room to talk brietly (wiiuc Oulette champed at the bit) with three men, apologizing that he wasn't able to give them more time. He and Oulette ran down the stairs to the car with about three minutes in which to make it to the TV station. Duncan had a speech to make that night (Tuesday) at a din ner in his honor at Kims. Wednesday, he hid it to do all over again. He had "office hours" scheduled in Grants Pass. -fc Heater & Furnace Repair if Sales & Service JACK HALL 772-6181 482-3950 Did your child receive a Blue Slip? Was yours one of the youngsters whosv. eyes showed need for help in the recent school examinations? NOW ... ii the ideal time to have your child's eyes examined. Dr. Noles Optometrists have served the families of the Northwest for over 58 years. 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