NOVEMBER INDEX
Nov. 26: The Argus Observes -- State supervision of bridge projects seems inadequate
Nov. 26: Nephi Grigg says processing of frozen fried potatoes means year around payroll
Nov. 21: Class of ‘56 members celebrate Ore-Ida when the company was king
Nov. 21: New street signs confuse long-time residents
Nov. 19: The Argus Observes -- Carving the turkey and pleasing the ‘little woman’
Nov. 15: Bridge collapse kills two Nyssa brothers
Nov. 12: 2007 Argus Observer readers debate impact of area residents living in Idaho, working and shopping in Ontario
Nov. 12: Former mayor, father of Garth Cates, dies at 96
Nov. 12: The Argus Observes --- Near perfect fall weather
Nov. 8: Senior play, Mother is a Freshmen, set for new auditorium
Nov. 8: Two photos of students in 1952
Nov. 5: The Argus Observes -- An election night party with KSRV
Nov. 1: Photo of Oregon Street in Ontario circa 1952
Nov. 1: Narcotics agent reports a big haul in Nyssa bust
A MORNING OUTING ENDS WITH A COLD BATH
The Argus-Observer reported Nov. 24, 1952 that three duck hunters whose boat overturned spent two hours in the Snake River between Nyssa and Ontario before they could paddle the swamped boat to shore.
Drs. Max Gundmundson and Quinton Mack along with attorney Willis Sullivan, all of Boise, were warming themselves in the Idaho side home of Beul Clement when authorities caught up with them.
An observer who saw the men’s struggle alerted Oregon State Police about 7 a.m., and the police sent a power boat to the scene but by then the men were already ashore.
Police told the newspaper that the men suffered nothing more serious than exposure and the loss of seven shotguns and other hunting gear.
Three Ontario football players joined Payette’s Harmon Killebrew as league all-stars:
The Nov. 20 1952 Argus-Observer reported that Snake River Valley league coaches had named Ontario senior tackle Jess Jackson, Junior back Wayne Anderson, and senior end Sam Taylor to the league all-star teams along with Harmon Killebrew, a junior from Payette. Jackson, Anderson and Killebrew were named to first team, Taylor to the second team.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Argus Observes --- State supervision of bridge projects seems inadequate
By Don Lynch
From the Nov. 20, 1952 issue of The Argus-Observer
What happens now in the Owyhee bridge tragedy that caused the death of the Corfield brothers, Chester and Joe?
The coroner’s jury said that lack of engineering supervision was the direct cause of the accident. It censured the state industrial accident commission for failure to inspect the job. But the jury couldn’t find evidence of criminal negligence on the part of any specific person.
State highway engineer R.H. Baldock disagreed with the jury’s verdict. He declared that, “it appears there was ample engineering supervision given to the job,” and further, “one of the men now says that just a few minutes before the crash he noted one of the jacks was out of plumb.”
By implication Baldock blames the accident on the jack being out of plumb.
The jury verdict and the Baldock report constitute official action and I suppose the matter will end, but somehow I can’t forget it. And neither can members of the coroner’s jury.
There are some things that don’t ring true in this case and it seems a shame to just let them go.
The highway department’s official explanation of the accident is in complete disagreement with the sworn testimony that workmen gave to the coroner’s jury.
Workmen who appeared before the coroner’s jury failed to report any jack out of plumb and did so under repeated questioning. They insisted they never noticed anything wrong prior to the accident.
Yet the highway department used a jack out of plumb as its official explanation of the accident.
The coroner’s jurymen were unanimous in a feeling that witnesses were withholding information, that they were not given the full story.
The highway department’s explanation of the accident suggests that the jurymen were right in their feeling that information was being withheld.
If this assumption is true, it raises serious questions. Why would the men refuse to give such vital information? How much more information may have been withheld? Does the implication of information withheld provide a basis for further investigation?
Perhaps these questions can be answered in a reasonable manner. On the other hand they pose some serious implications.
Baldock’s statement pointed out that an engineer visited the job October 29, more than a week before the accident and this date agrees with the testimony at the inquest.
The state highway engineer evidently considers this adequate supervision, but the coroner’s jury disagreed. They thought such a dangerous job should have been closely supervised and the death of the two men indicates that the coroner’s jury was right in its opinion.
The state of Oregon is extremely careful in maintaining safety standards in private industry and on private construction work through its industrial accident commission. But the commission had never even inspected this dangerous job.
Every citizen of Oregon has a right to be concerned with this situation. If the state departments are careless of human life on state jobs, it is a matter of genuine concern, and it should be remedied to avoid needless and shameful waste of life.
From the Nov. 20, 1952 issue of The Argus-Observer
What happens now in the Owyhee bridge tragedy that caused the death of the Corfield brothers, Chester and Joe?
The coroner’s jury said that lack of engineering supervision was the direct cause of the accident. It censured the state industrial accident commission for failure to inspect the job. But the jury couldn’t find evidence of criminal negligence on the part of any specific person.
State highway engineer R.H. Baldock disagreed with the jury’s verdict. He declared that, “it appears there was ample engineering supervision given to the job,” and further, “one of the men now says that just a few minutes before the crash he noted one of the jacks was out of plumb.”
By implication Baldock blames the accident on the jack being out of plumb.
The jury verdict and the Baldock report constitute official action and I suppose the matter will end, but somehow I can’t forget it. And neither can members of the coroner’s jury.
There are some things that don’t ring true in this case and it seems a shame to just let them go.
The highway department’s official explanation of the accident is in complete disagreement with the sworn testimony that workmen gave to the coroner’s jury.
Workmen who appeared before the coroner’s jury failed to report any jack out of plumb and did so under repeated questioning. They insisted they never noticed anything wrong prior to the accident.
Yet the highway department used a jack out of plumb as its official explanation of the accident.
The coroner’s jurymen were unanimous in a feeling that witnesses were withholding information, that they were not given the full story.
The highway department’s explanation of the accident suggests that the jurymen were right in their feeling that information was being withheld.
If this assumption is true, it raises serious questions. Why would the men refuse to give such vital information? How much more information may have been withheld? Does the implication of information withheld provide a basis for further investigation?
Perhaps these questions can be answered in a reasonable manner. On the other hand they pose some serious implications.
Baldock’s statement pointed out that an engineer visited the job October 29, more than a week before the accident and this date agrees with the testimony at the inquest.
The state highway engineer evidently considers this adequate supervision, but the coroner’s jury disagreed. They thought such a dangerous job should have been closely supervised and the death of the two men indicates that the coroner’s jury was right in its opinion.
The state of Oregon is extremely careful in maintaining safety standards in private industry and on private construction work through its industrial accident commission. But the commission had never even inspected this dangerous job.
Every citizen of Oregon has a right to be concerned with this situation. If the state departments are careless of human life on state jobs, it is a matter of genuine concern, and it should be remedied to avoid needless and shameful waste of life.
Nephi Grigg says processing frozen fried potatoes will mean year-round payroll
On Nov. 10, 1952, the Argus-Observer led with a story quoting Nephi Grigg, general manager of Oregon Frozen Foods in Ontario, announcing that beginning in January the plant would process potatoes year around.
“Potatoes will be French Fried and frozen ready for the market,” the story noted. Grigg said he expected to employ at least one hundred persons 12 months of the year in the new processing operation. The new process would provide a market for the entire area potato crop, the general manager added.
At the time of the announcement, Grigg said the plant mainly produced a frozen vegetable mix of corn, string beans, lima beans and peas for a Safeway stores label.
“Potatoes will be French Fried and frozen ready for the market,” the story noted. Grigg said he expected to employ at least one hundred persons 12 months of the year in the new processing operation. The new process would provide a market for the entire area potato crop, the general manager added.
At the time of the announcement, Grigg said the plant mainly produced a frozen vegetable mix of corn, string beans, lima beans and peas for a Safeway stores label.
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