Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 62, Number 11, Decatur, Adams County, 14 January 1964 — Page 1

VOL LXII. NO. 11.

Public Schools Os City Open

The Decatur public schools, including the high school, again today were the only schools in Adams county to hold classes. All other schools in the county, including Berne, Geneva, Monmouth and Adams Central, ard the Lutheran schools were closed today for the second day in a row, due to the poor road conditions. The local Catholic schools were closed today also, after holding classes Monday mofning and then dismissing for the rest of the day. ..... Attendance at Decatur high school this morning was considerably better today than Monday. The principal’s office recorded 90 absentees this morning, including a number of rural students. No Bus Runs No buses made their runs this morning, which accounted for much of the rural absentees, although some of the rural students drove to school in automobiles. Monday, the high school had some 297 students out of an enrollment of approximately 550 absent from morning classes. Attendance at the Lincoln grade school was also much better this morning, with approximately 35 seventh and eighth grade students absent, and another 34 students in kindergarten through the sixth grade absent. The junior high attendance was INDIANA WEATHER Fair and cold tonight. Wednesday sunny and warmer north portion, cloudy and possible light snow central and south. Low tonight 2to 12 above. High Wednesday 28 to 34. Sunset today 5:44 p.m. Stmrise Wednesday 8:95 ajn. Outlook for Thursday. Partly cloudy and a little warmer. Lows 15 to 20. Highs 35 to 40.

U.S. To Keep Control Over Panama Canal

WASHINGTON (UPD — The —United States said today that it will fulfill its obligation to defend the Panama Canal but hopes to do it on a “good neighbor” basis with the republic of Panama. “The United States ca/not al-l low the security of the Pana- 7 ma Canal to be imperiled,” the I White House said in la state- \ ment issued after a wng-top-level which lasted until nearly 1 a.m. EST. In a later development, Secretary of State Dean Rusk said order is being restored in Panama and expressed optimism over prospects for a settlement of the tense situation. -spusk diso made it clear that <e United date's is determined to k^ep’’control of the canal. But he did not close the door on a possible revision of the 60-year-old treaty with Panama governing the strategic water- . way. Rusk attended the marathon White House meeting at which President Johnson received an exhaustive report from his Latin American trouble shooter, Thomas Mann. Outlines Results Mann spent almost three hours with Johpson, Rusk, Defense Secretary Robert S. Me Namara and others outlining the results of his emergency mission to Panama City last weekend following riots which left more than 20 persons dead. Rusk said today that the " United States and Panama are keeping in close contact, and that regardless of the - “technical” question of whether diplomatic relations are maintained, these contacts will continue. Restoration of order has been described as a prerequiaite for any subsequent discussions of Panama’s grievances. These include equal display of the Panama flag, better job opportunities foj Panamanians in the American-controlled Canal Zone and more equitable pay. Describing the riots. Rusk said elements hostile to -both . Panama and the United gates' moved in promptly. -■ “We have known Castro agents for some time have been in an out of Panama. Undoubtedly elements of this sort came in to "Whip up the situation,” he .

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

affected by the school buses not running. The total absentees of about 70, out of an enrollment of approximately 700 students in kindergarten through the eighth grade, was much less than on Monday. Also Improved The Northwest and Southeast elementary schools also reported attendance today as much improved over Monday. Attendance at the Southeast school was very favorable with only 13 of approximately 200 students in grades one through six absent. Attendance in the kindergarten was not quite as good, but was expected. Some 70 students in the first through sixth grades at the Northwest school were absent this morning, plus several more in the kindergarten. 1116 school has an enrollment of 471 in the six grades and kindergarten. T Louis Hoffman Dies At Home In Texas Louis Hoffman, 66, a native of Adams county, died Monday night at his home in Herford, Tex., following an illness of several months. He was born in Adams county, a son of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Ho.'fman, and was married to Miss Pauline Gallmeier in this county in 1920. He had lived in Texas since 1919. Mr. Hoffman, a retired farmer, was a member of the Lutheran church at Herford. Surviving are his wife; one son; one daughter: five grandchildren; a brother, Charles Hoffman of Preble, and two sisters, Mrs. Clara Koldeway of Idaho, and Mrs. Ella Graft of Ossian. Funeral services and burial will be held in Herford.

said. Johnson remained at his White House office until 2 a.m. after getting , Mann’s reports. The White House said the President "continues to believe that the first essential is the maintenance of peace.” 'lt said the United States “continues to believe that when order is fully restored it should be possible to have a direct and candid discussion between the two governments.” •« “The United States tries to live by the policy of the good neighbor and expects other to do the same,” the statement added. The White House said the United States welcomed the establishment of the joint cooperation committee set up by the Inter-American Peace Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS move was seen as the initial step toward settling the main issues in the crisis over theU.S.-operated Canal Zone. 4 ■ " — Also meeting with Johnson were Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, Central Intelligence Director John A. McCone, and McGeorge Bundy, the President’s special assistant for national security affairs. Commends U.S. Forces Johnson received a full report on the Panama situation from Mann, who emphasized that U. S. forces had “behaved admirably under extreme provocation by mobs and snipers attacking the Canal Zone,” the White House said. The United States had a first-things-first;. attitude toward Panama’s renewed demand for revision of the treaty permitting U.S. occupation and operation of the Canal Zone. The first matter, officials said, was to assure restoration of law and order. Then, they said, there were “practical problems” on which discussion could be resumed — problems which do not require treaty revision. A cooperation commission was named Monday in Panama to resolve all questions on law and order, but it is not empow. eted to go into the treaty revision question.

James A. Beavers Dies Monday Night James Allen Beavers, 33, died at 7:50 o’clock Monday evening at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred K. Beavers, Homestead 16. An invalid since birth, he had been seriously ill for the past month. He was born in Decatur July 7. 1930, a son of Alfred K. and Catherine Nichols-Beavers. He was a member of the First Methodist church. Surviving in addition to the parents is the paternal grandmother, Mrs. Emma Mae Beavers of Decatur. >**** Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Zwick funeral home, with the Rev. A. C. Underwood officiating. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Friends may call' at the funeral home after 7 p.m. today until time of the services. Meetings In County Canceled By Storm Heavy snows and big drifts canceled most meetings in Adams county Monday, a check of city and county offices showed today. The county commissioners, who usually meet every Monday, did not meet, and Max Kreps, commissioner from the second district, was the only member o f the county planning commission to show up for a scheduled meeting at 9:30 a.m. The county’s planning consultant, Harry Sheridan, was snowed in at Indianapolis, and unable to be present. Sheridan has scheduled several meetings this week with toe attorney for the county group, Lewis L. Smith, and the group will postpone its meeting until next Monday. The retail division of the Chamber of Commerce also canceled a meeting scheduled for Monday evening. City and county snowplows worked all day Monday on an emergency basis, and most of Monday night. Streets in Decatur were passable but dangerous yet today. Mountains of snow were being dumped by the city at the city dump, and also on the city’s unimproved parking lot at the former site of Kocher Lumber company. Decatur industries were slowed down by the snow, and several reported absenteeism as high as 50 per cent. At the Decatur' Daily Democrat, one employe walked in from about miles from town, two were delayed by snow drifts and arrived late, and one was unable to make it into town from about six miles in the country.

William L. Linn To Seek Renomination I I 0.. ; William L. Ljnn William L. Linn, Adams county treasurer, today announced that he will be a candidate for’ nomine ation on the Democratic ticket at the primary May 5 for that office. Linn is a native of Decatur, a graduate of Decatur high school and was for many years in the retail clothing business in Decatur. Mr. and Mrs. Linn are active members of the Decatur E. U. R. church. » A veteran of World War I, he is a member of Adams Post 43, American Legion, and served for many years as finance officer of the post, and is now treasurer of Adams Post building association. He is also a member of the Moose and Masonic lodges. Linn was nominated in the 1960 primary without opposition and defeated a reputable opponent to the general election. If nominated and re-elected, Linn promises the continuation of a courteous, efficient and business administration.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Tues day, January 14, 1964.

Nation’s Leading Cities Buried Under Paralyzing Snow; Death Toll Near 100

Deadline Is Near For School Plans

INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) — At least two Indiana counties and perhaps more will fail to meet a Wednesday deadline for submitting plans to the Indiana School Reorganization Commission. Idost counties with uncompleted plans have obtained ex tensions from the commission. But in Grant and Dubois Counties, the circuit judges never named county committees to draw up plans as required by state law. Chairman Bryce Bottom today said the commission could legally draw up a plan for local approval in counties which have not filed plans by Jan. 15. He said the commission was so

Seeking Missing Crewmen From Crashing Jes CUMBERLAND, Md. (UPD— Searchers struggled through knee deep snow in a desolate mountainous area of western ■ Maryland today in search of four missing crewmen from a Strategic Air Command (852) jet bomber. The crewmen bailed out of the plane which was carrying two unarmed nuclear bombs shortly before it crashed in a snowstorm about 40 miles west of here early Monday. The pilot, Maj. Thomas W. McCormick, 42, of Yawkey, W.Va.. made his way safely to a farmhouse about 10 miles from the crash ■ site Monday night and reported he was all* right. McCormick said he thought he was the last of the five crewmen to bail out of the bomber before it crashed with a loud roar. He was reported in satisfactory condition at a hospital here where he was being treated for exposure. McCormick, who said he was tired and a bit bruised, had no idea where his comrades were. Still missing are Capt. Parker C. Peeden, 29, Smithfield, N.C.? the co-pilot; Maj. Robert L. Payne, 41, Tulsa, Okla., navigator; Maj. Robert E. Townley, 42, Gadsden, Ala., co-navigator and T.Sgt. Melvin Wooten, 27, Rapid City, S.D., the gunner. Authorities from West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania joined military officials in searching for,;the missing crewmen. Officials feared for the safety of the missing men because of the remoteness of the area and because of near zero temperatures. Two teams of experts on nuclear safety were en route to investigate the crash.' One team of six to vestigaors .•headed by Col. Charles B. Stewart, USAF director of nuclear safety, flew here from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to assist in retrieving the nuclear bombs. The second team, composed of four men and headed by Col. James W. Tisdale Jr., came in from Norton Air Force Base, Calif. The Army sent a 15 man team of bomb. disposal experts from Ft. Meade. Md., and the Air Force sent a rescue team of 35 men from Andrews Air Force, Base, Md., near Washington. The Pentagon emphasied that an ordinary explosion or crash of a plane carrying nuclear weapons would not touch off a nuclear blast The Defense Department said the unarmed nuclear bombs had. been found. A spokesman said there was no radiation danger and the bombs were under guard. # .

busy “it may be months” before action is taken in Grant or Dubois. JDie chairman defended the commission’s action last Friday in rejecting a plan from Noble County. “We didn't like the looks of it,” Bottom said. He said the plan called for “divorcing Washington Twp. from the Western Noble County Meropolian School District and putting it in another district wihtout provision for division of assets.” The commission delayed action on a Madison County plan which calls for addition of Greene, Liberty and Mill Twps. in southern Grand County. Bottom said nothing should be done in Grant County until the state makes a study. Part of the Madison plan created a new district composed of Jefferson and Monroe Twps. Bottom said the County committee had not submitted an overall plan “and we have a policy of not approving meropolitan school districts until the county commission has -expressed its opinion.” * White County asked for authority to submit a plan not meeting minimum standards. This was approved. Ripley County’s similar request was turned down with instructions to develop a new plan meeing standards. The commission approved purchase of five acres for SSOO,- • 000 for the Beveridge School in Gary. Bottom said the purchase was first questioned because of the cost. He said objections were removed when it was., de termined that 37 houses and 2 apartment building foundations were on the property. Among the counties given extensions at its last meeting were Spencer, Jasper, Porter, Rush and Shelby to March 15. Scott and Putnam to Feb. 15, and Kosciusko to July 15. Bottom said the commission will reset dates for hearings it. scheduled las Monday in Petersburg and today to Bloomington and Crawfordsville. The meetings were canceled by weather conditions. All County Roads Open By Evening The Adams county highway department expects to have all county roads open for at least one-lane traffic by this evening, according to a report from department headquarters at 1 o'clock this afternoon. Most of the county roads are now open for at least one lane of traffic, and by this evening it is expected that all will be opened. After all have been opened, the next step will be to begin widening the one lanes to two lanes. Unless more snow falls this evening, or high winds would again stirt to drift the snow, the highway department said schools to the county should be able to conduct clnsses Wednesday None of the schools in the entire county with the exception of the Decatur schools have been open this week due to the heavy snowfall and drifting conditions. , Work At Night The county department had a crew of men working around the clock Monday and through today in opening the roads. Some of the workmen reported snow piles measuring as much as 10 feet to height. . ’ A good portion of Monday was devoted to freeing “hung up” vehicles, including several large trucks which took two or three highway department vehicles to remove from snow banks. The main highways, U. S. 27, 224 and 33 are reported as being open for two-lane traffic now. although they are listed as slick and hazardous due to freezing temperatures.

By United Press International The death toll climbed past 90 and some of- the nation's greatest cities were still buriedunder paralyzing snows today in a vicious near blizzard which struck much of the nation's eastern half. The storm, -one of the worst winter blasts in years, roamed off the North Atlantic Coast and still sent heavy snows driving eastward upon New England. Behind the snows, temperatures fell to record lows. The death count from the storm, which rolled out of the Great Plains during the weekend, rose to 98. The storm claimed lives through exhaustion, exposure, cold-sparked fires, and scores of fatal acci dents on snow-packed highways. . Weather deaths included 21 to Ohio, 18 in Pennsylvania, 15 to New York state, 9 each to Indiana and New Jersey, 5 each to Missouri and Illinois, 4 in Colorado, 3 in Alabama, 2 each to Tennessee and Michigan, and 1 each in Kentucky, Connecticut. Virginia, Wisconsin and New Hampshire. Gotham Hit Hard No city suffered .more during the storm than New York and the metropolis was still almost crippled today. The storm relented on New York before dawn after raging for 31 hours and laying down 13 inches of snow which piled up into six-foot drifts beneath the shadows of the skyscrapers. At least a dozen deaths were blamed on the storm to the city. i j Morning rush hour crawled through the city’s snow-laden streets. Subway service was curtailed, at least one derailment was reported, and buses ran 30 minutes late through streets slicked by ice, clogged with snow and blocked by abandoned carsBitter cold settled on the Midlands, pushing the temperature to record lows of 14 below at Columbus, Ohio, 6 below at Pittsburgh, Pa., and 1 below at Louisville, Ky. Hardships and danger continued even though the snow had stopped in most areas. Airliner Skids /Lt Washington, an Eastern Air Lines DC7 bound for Miami with 20 persons aboard skidded during takeoff at National Airport and landed in a snow drift. There were no injuries reportIn the Atlantic, where the storm was still full blown, a Coast Guard cutter escorted a battered British freighter which had been in danger ever since it was pummeled by high seas 840 miles northeast of Bermuda The freighter Middlesex Trader, with 35 men aboard, was scheduled to run into the full fury of the coastal storm and the Coast Guard said its situation would be “more and more perilous” as the day con- ** From the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Searboard, highway crews fought open the drifted roads which had kept thou sands of travelers marooned in small towns and hamlets. In some refuge centers there was a picnic-like atmosphere, particularly in school houses where children had to bed down for the night. The Riverhead, N.Y., school housed 135 students during the night and 160 pupils slept on gymnasium mats at the Council Rock High School near Levittown, PaMore than 1.000 marooned travelers made their way out of the little town of Neoga, Hl., over roads where traffic was often restricted to a single lane. There was a similar exodus from Indiana’s Kentland area, where 3.000 persons were caught by the storm. V Highway, police still discouraged travel dver drifted Midwest roads. Illinois police threw up numerous blockades south of a line from Keokuk, lowa, to Watseka, 111-, and north of a line from Belleville, 111., to Terre Haute, Ind. Motorists were urged to check on conditions before travelling on roads to these areas. Cold In Southland On the storm belt’s western(Continued on Page Eighth

mJ ' ’■■■ I ■*» •*" '- ■ 1 HB ,b >■ MB * Wsr j 5? WWmMHM " itSESHIF' 1 4 . x im -' . "MH • lEf • . •vrZL-l ,■«.* *; ■ ■ ■■> ' s * .Jr- 11 ' ' ' > J r ''-* 4. 1- ‘ V< ° J„. feW|PI"WMI7. < X a -j. '■ HL'*. ’Br j Bfc'j” 4 OLD MAN WINTER COMES TO VlSlT—Actually it’s iiul*old Man Winter, just a snow covered parking meter in the downtown area. — (Photo by Mac Lean)

Skies Clear, Winds Subside In Indiana

By United Press International Skies cleared and winds subsided to Indiana today, and work crews cleared driftclogged highways and streets of the fruits of the worst snowstorm in three years. Temperatures dipped far below zero as the clean-up work continued. Many main roads to the northwestern quarter 1 of the state remained closed this morning but round-the-clock efforts of hundreds of maintenance employes of the state, counties and cities were expected to restore a semblance of normal conditions to travel within a matter of hours. However, many snow-choked roads over which buses roll to their daily pickup of hundreds of thousands of children made it necessary for dozens of schools to stay closed for the second day to a row. • The storm was the worst in Indiana since Feb. 25, 1941, when snow up to a foot deep was blown into impenetrable drifts by winds of velocity even higher than that which created the havoc in the 30-hour storm Sunday and Monday. Low temperatures this morning ranged as low as 13 below zero, an icy reading recorded at Crawfordsville and Terre Haute. Lafayette reported 7 below-, Evansville 5 below, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis 4 below, Louisville 1 below,, and Cincinnati 15 below. South Bend's coldest was a relatively mild 11 above. *v Snow depths at 7 a.m. today included Lafayette and Crawfordsville 9 inches, Indianapolis 8; Fort Wayne, Louisville and Cincinnati... 7; Evansville 4; South Bend 3. x v—Fair weather was expected to continue through Wednesday, with partly cloudy conditions developing Thursday. There was no outlook for precipitation the next three days, and the five-

SEVEN CENTS

day forecast Monday called for little or none this week. - After hitting the sub-zero marks this morning, the mercury was expected to moderate into the 20s today, drop to lows of 8 to 15 above tonight, and hit the low 30s Wednesday. It will be warmer Thursday. Conditions gradually improved in a broad upstate flatlands area where the snow measured nearly a foot deep and drifts piled high. The area included • Kentland, Boswell, Earl Park, Lafayette, Peru, Wabah, Attica and Fowler. — At the height of the crisis Monday morning, up to 3,000 persons were stranded, most of ~~ them motorists whose cars stalled in or were blocked by drifts. Others included bus pasFew by few, the marooned travelers made it out of refuge centers set up in armories, schools, restaurants, bus stations and other buildings. Some left by train, others, through roads cleared after hours of struggle. At least seven deaths were blamed on,, the weather. Barry Lee Scales, 19, Grass Creek, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his snowbound car north of Logansport ‘on Indiana 16 Monday. Authorities said the car stalled as he drove home from a date, and he left the motor running to keep warm. Heart attacks induced by exertion in shoveling snow killed Charles C. Litzenberger, 61, West Lafayette; Donald D. Davis, 49, Lapel, and Sheffie W. Shaffer, 60, Charles V. Bender, 72, both of Fort Wayne. Robert A. Freiburger, 77, Fort Wayne, died after wading through deep drifts to his garage. At Evansville. Kenneth L. Hartig, 58, and Frank B. Gaines, 68, died of heart Mb sures after shoveling snow at their homes.