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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1961)
l(f Police Forte Modernized To Handle City's Needs I, The Klamath Falls Police De parunent has more than doubled jii in itva mail u years aue to the increasing complexity o( ., providing 24-hour police protec tion for 20,000 people. The cop leisurely strolling alongl J' his beat has vanished with zoot suits and hula hoops. Since 1958, ,' Klamath Falis policemen have covered their beats in patrol cars This method lias proven much more efficient. The first records kept by city police were begun in 1914. A rec- ord of arrests and horse sales was maintained by the police de partment. With the laws less for malized man they are today, a variety of charges appeared in the early records. One Chinese . gentleman was charged with op erating an opium den and another citizen for "using profane lan guage in front of a lady." Chief Charles A. Howard joined :, the department as a recruit in 1943. He was promoted to ser fs' geant in 1948 and named chief 10 " years later in a department reor- .... ganization. He replaced Orville Hamilton. Patrolman Fred Olin has been on the force longer than anyone 27 years. Klamath Falls was once rcgard ' ed as a "wide open" city but that situation has changed in re " cent years. The police department - has been expanded and appoint- :" merits are made on the basis of mental and physical ability. A new building was constructed in r 1952 to serve as a combination " office headquarters and city jail. The local department is as mod era and up-to-date as any in the i state. It is linked to other city and stale police offices by means of a statewide teletype network. , City police attend several schools each year to improve their skills. r. It costs almost $160,000 a year " , to operate the Klamath Falls Po- , lice Department, but the cost to the law abiding taxpayer is small ;r Almost half of this amount comes from parking meter revenue Fines and bail forfeitures are also applied by the city to the police department budget. t The orgjnization of the police department is similar to a mili tary chain of command. Two lieu : tenants, R. N. iBudi Adkins and the force is divided into three platoons, each headed by a ser geant. The platoon sergeants are Jim Broun. Odell Olson and John There are three detective Kennard. The platoons rotate on geants, three policewomen and the three different shifts of the four meter maids. Sgt. Oscar Ger-j day: 12 midnight to 8, a.m., Sieve is the identification officer a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 12 while sergeants Dennis Lilly and midnight. iWalter Conrady handle bad checks The heart of the platoon patrol and other types of investigation Club Boosts Gun Handling Today's Klamath Falls Rifle and Pistol Club, its accommodat ing indoor range and the interest shown in target shooting by nu merous Klamath Falls youngsters, all had beginnings locally in an organization known as the Peli can Rifle Club, says Maurice Athey, one of the most promin ent marksmen in the area. Athey is currently busying him self in work with future sharp shooters as are Bud Adkins and George Mallcy. Athey recalls vividly the prog ress of the sport in Klamath Falls. In his recollection the Pelican Ri fle group used nothing but large bore (30 caliber) on an outdoor range, the indoor or "gallery" shooting not becoming popular un til 19.15 or 1936. When the "gallery" shoot moved in, the Pelicans switched to the indoor shooting using re duced loads in cast bullets and printed their own targets to simu late outdoor firing conditions. Shortly, the club's charter was changed to the American Legion Rifle Club and the group utilized the old Long Bell commissary which was located on the present site of Radio KLAD. When this location hceame in convenient in 1939, the club moved its operation to the old armory on Main Street, and changed the size of ammunition used from the 30 caliber to 22. The scarcity of ammunition and other problems made it hard to keep the club operative during the World War II years, however a nucleus of real "hugs" con tinued its interest and reactivat ed the activity as soon as the war was over. Thus was born, in 1946, t h e Klamath Falls Rifle and Pistol Club. When the Naval Air Base at Kingsley Field was decommis sioned the club was offered the use of one of the barracks provided the building would be moved to make way for the airport termin al. The membership bent its backs to this project under severe weather conditions in the early part of 1950 and for the next five years the club saw its most ac tive participation. They competed against Malin. Langell Valley. Dorris, Chiloquin, among other clubs, as well as vy ing in the Cal-Ore Pistol League made up of clubs from Coos Bay. Mcdford. Roseburg. Ashland, Ma lin. Dorris. Langell Valley, and even one from so far away as Anchorage. Alaska. In 1956 the group organized a junior program to be directed by Athey, Jess Freitas and Axel Jacobson. Soon the club felt strong enough financially to consider building its own indoor range and began nrk on an extremely modern range at 508 Adams Street, its present home. Archie Huff, work directly under to the scene of a crime or anlclerical duties and deal with wom-lforce as vacancies occur. Potcn- Chief Howard. The remainder of accident within minutes. en prisoners. tial policemen are subjected to a Specialists are commonplace In The meter maids are a relative- battery of civil service examina modern police work and the lo- lv new innovation. By working ex- tions and a rigorous physical test cal department is no exception. ;clusively on parking violations. There are goner.-.llv only one or system is the four beats in the city. One car drives each beat and, by means of a two-way ra dio system, other cars and addi tional officers can be summoned Policewomen on the force are; Bernice Mattson, Ava Becton and Dorothy Kirkpatrick. They handle PAGE 21-C thev leave beat officers free to concentrate on more serious types of crime. Since the advent of the meter maids in the summer of. 1958. revenues fiom parking vi olations have increased drastical ly. The meter maids are Betty Schuldheisz. Jody Kitchen, Peggy Glasscock and Betty Daniels New officers are added to the-problems. two successful our,g men out ot a total of 20 or 25 applicants. Progress brines problems in many areas, among them law en forcement. Chief Howard believes, however, that with continuing pub lic support and respect for the law, that the Klamath Falls Po lice Department can cope with the 1IKRA1.D AND NEWS. Klamath Falls. Ore. Sundav. February 26, lWil r-: . " . ..'! I . . f . l(U THIS SMILING GROUP ii the Klamath Falls Police De partment, charged with maintaining law and order in the city. This picture was taken in front of police head quarters at 425 Walnut Street. Front row, from left, are Bernice Mattson, Betty Schuldheisz, Lt. R. N. (Bud) Adkins, Sgt. Oscar Gerleve, Sqt. Dennis Lilly, Juvenile Officer Ray Howard, Chief Charles A. Howard, City Manager G. S. Vergeer, Jody Kitchen and Peggy Glass cock. Second row, from left, are Carl Jennings, Victor Murdock, Norman Mitchell, Grady Gaylord, Sgt. Jim Brown, Sgt. John Kennard, Sgt. Odell Olson, Phil Chlo pek, Gerald Flocchini and Darrell Hilliker. Top row, from left, Ava Becton, Al Bianconi, Melville Bud I Richardson, Fred Olin, Floyd Pierce, Jim O'Neil, Rex King and Gordon Ramsey. Not pictured are Lt. Archie Huff, Sgt. Walter Conrady, Charles Shipman, Betty Daniels, Vernon Jones and Dorothy Kirkpatrick. mm 1908 to 1961 A Private, Non-Profit Corporation Protecting From Fire Va Million Acres of Timberland That Are The Present And Future Economy of The Klamath Basin! I J 1 - ' V " II' r ' i During the critical fire season 'of each year, (i0 employes, manning 15 forest lookouts, 8 guard stations and operating many pieces of fire equipment will protect 1,250,000 acres of our forests. The annual budget for this big job will run $282,000, with $182,000 of this going into payroll. The equipment includes 22 pickups, 10 pumpers, 2 Cats and their transports, such as the one pictured above, and 2 road graders. Each vehicle, lookout and guard station is linked to KFPA headquarters by radio, from where all work is correlated. Lately, aircraft have been used extensively for patrol, and in the past season, the use of Bor ate dropped from a Liston Aircraft PBY has proven most successful in helping to con trol fires. In the past in years. KFPA has handled approximately "n fires per year. 55 "o of these were caused by lightning and 45 of these vere man-caused fires, but . . . 9.1 of the total area burned was by the man-caused fires. Pictured at left is the lookout tower overlooking Klamath Falls on Hog's Back Ml. This is one of 15 towers now in use that ate manned at least 5 months out of each year. These tower operators are in con stant touch with KFPA headquarters and KFPA equipment as needed. We wish to thank the many private citizens, lumber companies and logging operators who gave their time, effort and money in controlling and reporting fires over the years. Without this cooperation we ould not have been able to save many acres of valuable timbef each year. KEEP OREGON GREEN Klamath Forest Protective Association P.O. Box 272 Weed-Aihlond Junction Ph. TU 4-3282 or TU 4-3217 FDNE FURNI TUR W P Since Tower Furniture was purchased in 1956 by Jerry and Evelyn Bercovitz, it has been, and will always be our policy . . . To sell merchandise of such quality that it will bring a good reputation to our store. To establish a service of helpful cooperation with all our customers. To maintain Tower's quality and service at all times. To encourage and support a spirit of friendliness and good will. To measure success in terms of service rendered our customers. fix i llf ft - W''-'MHWft.,. PiclureH obove (s the home of Tower Furniture at 12th and Main, There is room for more thon 15 cars in our big free parking lot. ' . r ' tf$S-' -aim Tower's well-MockeH main floor. Homeowners will also find outstanding furniture buys on the bolcony ond in the basement. . S&H Green Stamps, Too I In addition to the finest furniture at the lowest prices possible, you get many "extras" when you shop Tower Furniture. By receiving S&H Green Stamps with every purchase, you actually receive free bonus merchandise. Of course Tower offers free delivery anywhere in the Klamath Basin, and there is never any financing problem ... no money down on approved credit. Drop in soon and browse; talk over your furniture needs with our friendly staff. -L1 BfflHi Ant CO' o
