m
&
FOURTEEN '
PAGES
¥
TWO SECTIONS
Section I—Pages 1-10
O
North-Central Nebraska’s BIGGEST Newspaper
Volume 74.—Number 45._O’Neill, Nebr., Thursday, March 10, 1955. Seven Cents
ttx
!
Former Sen. Bowring
to See Summerfield
Stock Cows Valued
at $80 by Assessor
Household List Is
Simplified
The valuations of grain and
livestock to be used in assessing
personal property this year have
been announced by County As
sessor William F. Wefso. The
prices quoted are full value and
will be cut in half for figuring the
taxes. Among the major items are:
Corn, $1.20 per bushel; wheat,
$2; oats, 70c; barley, 90c; rye, 90c;
sorghum, $1.10, and popcorn, $1.20
per bushel; brome grass, 10c per
pound; alfalfa seed, $12 per bush
el; sweet clover seed, $6; red clo
ver seed, $16, and hybrid seed
corn, $5 per bushel.
To be assessed at “local market
value” are Sudan grass, edible
beans and potatoes.
The annual assessing period
begins today (Thursday) —
March 10.
On a per ton rate will be prairie
hay, $10; alfalfa hay, $16; red clo
ver hay, $14; ensilage and fodder,
$5.
Purebred cattle valuations have
been set as follows: Calves under
6-months, $30; 6- to 12-months,
$90; 12- to 18-months, $120; 18- to
30-months, $130; milk cows,
$190; stock cows, $120, and bulls,
$400 and up.
uraae cattle: calves under 6
months, $20; 6- to 12-months, $60;
12- to 18-months, $80; steers, 18
to 30-months, $110; heifers, 18- to
30-months, $80; steers over 30
months, $140; stock cows, $80;
milk cows, $140; bulls, $140 and
up. Cattle on feed 80 days will be
assessed at $18 to $22 per hundred
pounds.
Horses will range from $60 for
saddle horses to $200 and up for
race horses.
Butcher hogs will be valued at
$14 per hundred weight and sows
at $12 per hundred weight.
Sheep will range from $8 per
head for ewes and rams to $18
per hundred pounds for feeder
lambs and sheep on feed.
Turkeys will be assessed at $50
per dozen with chickens, ducks
and geese at $10 per dozen. ’
Dogs will be assessed at $10 and
up; minks at $8; chinchillas at
$10 and rabbits at 50 cents. Bees
will be assessed at $6 per stand.
The itemized list of house
hold goods has been simplified
in this year’s assessment sched
ule. Individual items to be listed
are air conditioners, deep freez
ers, dishwashers, pianos and
musical instruments, refrigerat
ors, radios and record players,
sewing machines, stoves, tele
vision sets, washers, dryers and
ironers.
There will be another line for
“value of all other household
goods.” All household items ex
cept the above listed items will be
grouped in this category and tax
payers are u.'ged to have approx
imate figures ready when going to
the assistant assessor’s starting
March 10.
All military service will^lso be
recorded along with this year’s
assessment work. Under Interrog
atory 5 the following will be ask
ed: “Have you or has any mem
ber of your household served or
are you or any member of your
family now serving in the armed
services of the United States” If
the answer is “yes,“ you must state
such person’s name, address,
branch of service date of enlist
ment or commencement of such
service and date of discharge.
Mr. Wefso also suggests that
this information be checked prior
to appearing before the assistant
assessor so the information will be
correct.
(A list of the assistant assessors
and their office addresses may be
found in an advertisement on page
2.)
Broiler Meal
Served to Clubbers—
The Elkhorn extension club met
Tuesday evening at the home of
Mrs. Ray Lawrence. Following
the business session leader B,
Mrs. Hattie Kindlund, gave the
second half of the lesson on broil
er meals. The food used in the
demonstration was later served as
luncheon.
The club will meet next at the
Neil Clark home.
Little Girl, 6,
Treats Classmates—
Dawnrae Robinson on Thurs
day, March 3, treated all her
httle classmates and her teacher
to ice cream and cake—the event
being her sixth birthday anniver
sary.
After returning home from
school, another party awaited her
at her home.
Cubs Take Hike,
Buy Treats—
The cub scouts of den 2 met
Wednesday after school. We gave
the law of pack and scout pro
mise. We discussed the theme,
“Knights of Yore”. We are to
make shields and swords. We
took a short hike and bought
treats at the Outlaw store.
FIRM SOLD
CLEARWATER—Raymond Fil
singer has purchased the imple
ment business of Emmett and
Reed Mummert. He took posses- j
sion this week.
BAND IS HEARD
The St. Mary’s band performed
before an appreciative audience
Tuesday evening.
The Frontier for printing!
Former U.S. Sen. Eve Bo wring
of Merriman, who served in the
senate in 1954 to fill the unex
pired term of the late Sen. Dwight
Griswold, is in Washington, D.C.,
this week and is devoting con
siderable time to assisting the
Save-the-Trains association.
Mrs. Bowring is scheduled to
confer today (Thursday) with
Fostmaster General Summerfield
in behalf of the last two remain
ing passenger-mail-express trains,
13 and 14, which ply between Om
aha and Chadron on the Chicago
& North Western.
The former senator, who owns
and operates the Bar-99 ranch
near Merriman, passed through
O’Neill by train Friday night
enroute to Washington. While
in the nation's capital she is
serving as a member of the na
tional mental health council.
Meanwhile, V. A. Klein, gen
eral superintendent of the mail
transportation service, has for
warded to Washington a report of
the February 25 conference in
which Mr. Klein and his staff and
a committee of the Save-the
Trains association participated.
Klein reported to George Seidle,
assistant postmaster general in
charge of mail transportation, the
following comment:
“It will be noted that several
of the changes proposed by the
Save-the-Trains committee are
shaped (and so acknowledged by
the committee) toward a single
objective, namely, increasing train
revenue w'hich is vital to the com
mittee’s cause and under the cir
cumstances any consideration of
increased cost to the postoffice de
partment or of less desirable ser
vice to the local communities
automatically become secondary
features which should not obstruct
the prime objective.”
Mr. Klein then said:
“This office has no desire to i
suggest subsidizing the Chicago &
North Western Railway company,
nor to disregard the sound prin
ciple of good mail service.
“However, these people . . . are
faced with a very serious loss if
these trains are to be discontinu
ed. A large and important section
of the state of Nebraska is in
volved in this case and it is our
thinking that every reasonable
avenue of assistance in keeping
these trains should be fully ex
plored.”
Mrs. Bowring on Tuesday
morning had breakfast on capi
tal hill w'ith the Nebraska con
gressional delegation. She dis
cussed the Save-the-Trains as
sociation’s recommend a t i o n s
with them.
Sens. Roman Hruska and Carl
T. Curtis and Rep. A. L. Miller
already have shown active interest
in the move to restore consider
able mail haul to the C&NW.
Also, today Mrs. Bowring will
be conferring with the South Da
kota congressional delegation, be
cause Black Hills area mail and
“west river country” mail are in
the overall plans to “firm up” the
C&NW’s last two remaining pas
senger-mail-express trains.
Last October the C&NW indi
cated it was considering taking
the necessary steps to discontinue
these two trains because of
mounting operational losses.
Recreation Is Topic—
STUART—Parent-Teacher as
sociation members Monday night
discussed recreation facilities and
landscaping of the school grounds.
A movie, “Some One Pays the Pi
per,” was shown.
MOVE TO KANSAS
EWING— Mr. and Mrs. Her
bert Kirschmier and family have
moved to Wichita, Kans., where
Mr. Kirschmier has employment.
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Bergstrom have
rented the property vacated by
the Kirschmiers.
Improvements for
Camp Are Planned
2 Cleveland Youth
Sessions Scheduled
STUART—The needs ofCleve
landBible camp for the 1955 sea
son are gaining first consideration
in the prayers, thoughts and dis
cussions of its board of directors.
The board met March 4 at Rev. F.
F. Payas’s home in Atkinson.
Charles Mulford, representing
the Cleveland church congrega
tion, is the crairman of the group.
Stanley Cobb of the Stuart Com
munity church is the secretary;
Mr. Robert Deming of the Cleve
land laymen’s council is treasurer.
Other members of the board are:
Clarence Focken, member; Rev.
F. F. Payas, pastor of the Atkinson
Presbyterian church; Rev. D. D.
Su, pastor of the community
church and Cleveland church and
Mrs. James Allyn, member of the !
Cleveland church.
Clarence Focken, spiritual di
rector, led the group in prayer
before discussion began.
The board voted unanimously
to unite through the pastors all of
the young people of the surround
ing Niobrara-Elkhorn area to the
Cleveland Bible camp for the
summer sessions.
There will be two sessions, the
first for high school age young
people will be open June 28-July
1, inclusive; the second for the
intermediate young people, will
be July 5-July 10. inclusive.
The annual camp picnic and
consecration service for the pub
lic will be Sunday July 10.
Several material improvements
for the camp were discussed.
The board voted to elect
Reverend Payas and Reverend Su
to be in charge of the camp.
I Municipal
Balloting
to Be Keen
6 Petitions Already
on File While Others
Being Circulated
Petition couriers have been
busy this week gathering signa
tures in order to insure candi
dates’ berths on the Tuesday, Ap
ril 5, municipal election ballot.
City Clerk O. D. French said at
3 p.m., Wednesday the following
petitions already had been tfiled:
For mayor—L. C. Walling, two
year term.
For city council, First ward—
M. J. Golden; Second ward— H.
E. Coyne; Third ward—Dale Fet
row. (All two-year terms.)
Of these, only Golden is an in
cumbent.
Meanwhile, two petitions for the
city schools’ board of education
already have been filed with the
city clerk. They are: H. L. Lind
berg and Mrs. Loretta Hynes.
(Both are incumbents rounding.
out their first three-year terms.)
Other petitions have been in
circulation this week—though
not as yet filed.
These include:
For mayor—A. Marcellus and
Paul Beha.
For city council, First ward—
Earl Rodman and Earl R. Hunt;
Second ward — Marvin Johnson
(incumbent); Third ward — Fred
Heermann.
Sidewalk gossipers say several
other candidates might yet get
into the field via the petition
route. No caucuses were held.
Deadline for filing petitions is
March 15. The competition al
ready points to one of the liveli
est elections in recent years.
Some observers say the Wal
ling-Golden-Coyne-Fetrow group
constitutes a ticket sponsored by
the O’Neill Taxpayer^;’ league,
which has gone on record opposed
to the 60-thousand-dollar street
widening issue.
Members of the council whose
terms expire are: First ward—M.
J. Golden, who has been opposed
to street-widening from the out
set; Second ward—Marvin John
son, who has voted “for” street
widening agreements; Third
ward — Norbert Uhl, who has
voted both “for” and “against.”
Uhl has been a memoer of the
council 18 years.
Mary A. Kelly, 67,
Burial Set Today
Lifelong Resident of
Community
Miss Mary A. Kelly, 67, who
would have observed her 68th
birthday anniversary the follow
ing day, died at 9 am., Tuesday,
March 8, in St. Anthony’s hospit
al. She had been ill several
months.
She was the last remaining
member of the Cornelius J., and
Hanna Kelly family, and leaves
no immediate survivors.
Funeral services will be con
ducted at 10 am., today
(Thursday) from St. Patrick’s
Catholic church. Very Rev.
Timothy O’Sullivan, church
pastor, will officiate and burial
will be in Calvary cemetery.
Pallbearers chosen are P. C.
Donohoe, Ed Hanley, T. M. Har
rington, D. F. Murphy, H. E.
Coyne, Dennis Murphy, M. H.
Horiskey and Norbert Uhl.
The late Miss Mary Agnes
Kelly was born at O’Neill March
9, 1887. She never married and
was a continuous resident of Holt
county.
She was preceded in death by j
her parents and three brothers—
John, Patrick C., and Jerry.
The late Miss Kelly was a
member of St. Patrick’s church,
the Altar Society and the League
of the Sacred Heart.
A rosary was offered Wednes
day evening at Biglin’s funeral
chapel.
St. Mary’s Students
Learn About Careers—
Career week is being observed
at St. Mary’s this week. Monday
was devoted to appropriate skits
and discussions. Tuesday panels
were conducted by Mrs. JohnVitt,
representing mothers of families,
Miss Jeanne Head, the nursing
profession; Mrs. A. Ramold, the
teachers, and Miss Kathleen
Warnke, secretaries.
John R. Gallagher discussed
the work of lawyers, Ben Gilli
gan, the work of businessmen,
Robert Shoemaker, the farmer,
and Dr. Robert Langdon, medical
profession.
Todav (Thursday) Rev. Hoes
in<? of Clearwater will speak to
the bovs r>r the life of the minis
try and Sister Benedicta OSB of
Atkinson will speak to the girls
on the life of a nun.
Youth, 19, Suffers
Spinal Disease
Duane (“Sonny”) Boyle, 19,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Garrett
Boyle of O’Neill, is in “poor” con
dition at St. Anthony’s hospital,
suffering from an incurable spin
al disease. He is in a semi-con
scious condition and relatives say
no hope is held for his recovery.
The young man entered the
hospital Friday after having been
bedfast at home for about a
month.
He was hurt last year on a con
struction project in Omaha and
has submitted to surgery at Uni
versity hospital, Omaha.
The young man is partially par
alyzed as a result of the spinal
disease and the paralysis is of the
progressive type, relatives told
The Frontier.
Carl E. Mitchell
Expires in Hospital
_ «
Resident of Chambers
Since 1934
CHAMBERS—Funeral services
will be held Saturday, March 12,
for Carl E. Mitchell, 65, resident
of the Chambers community since
1934. Mr. Mitchell died at 5 a.m.,
Wednesday, March 9, in St. An
thony’s hospital in O’Neill after
an illness dating back to Thanks
giving, 1954.
The rites will be held in Me
morial Baptist church and burial
will be in the Chambers cemetery
near the grave of his wife, Edna,
who died 11 years ago. i
Pallbearers will be Eric Dank- i
ert, William Ritterbush, Clarence ;
Young, Ernest Young, Wilbur
Osborn and Warren Gribble.
The late Mr. Mitchell was
born April 30, 1890, at Burr
Oak, Kans. On Christmas day, !
1912, he married Edna Jessie
Short of Burr Oak. The wed
ding took place at the home of
the bride’s parents.
Mr. Mitchell was a farmer and
rancher for many years, mov
ing to the Chambers community
from Kansas in 1934. Following 1
the death of his wife he quit the
ranch and had been employed for 1
several years by Dankert’s Ser- -
vice. ]
Since Thanksgiving Mr. Mitch- '
ell spent a total of about two i
months in the hospital. He reen- 1
tered the hospital in O’Neill only ’
three days before his death. <
Biglin’s are in charge of funeral
arrangements. 1
Survivors include: Sons—Carl <
E. Mitchell, jr., Wallace Mitchell 1
and Lyle Mitchell, all of Wichita, 1
Kans.; Lee Mitchell of Boise, Ida.; 1
daughters—Miss Lorraine Mitch- ’
ell of Nampa, Ida., and Mrs. Frank
(Evelyn) Tracy of Chambers; 22 ]
grandchildren.
Mr. and Mrs. John Gray of Page ... he was reared in a
“ritzy” soddy.
Grays Wed 59 Years
By MRS. N. D. ICKES, SR.,
Frontier Feature Writer
PAGE— Mr. and Mrs. John
Jray today will celebrate their
>9th wedding anniversary quietly
it the home of their son, Robert,
ind family. The Grays marked
heir golden wedding in 1946.
John Gray and Essie Ward
vere married at the home of
rohn’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ro
bert Gray, March 10, 1896. Rev.
3artley (“Grandpa”) Blain, with
vhom Essie made her home, per
ormed the ceremony in the pres
ence of immediate relatives.
John was born at Genoa, Wise.,
December 18, 1872, and came to
^olk county by prairie schooner
vhen he was three-years-old
A new territory of land having
>een opened up for settlement,
rohn’s father came here in 1881.
lis timber claim had already
)een staked out, papers filed and
i well of the open variety had
ieen dug, possibly by the Wagers,
vho were the well-diggers of the
iarly days.
The well was a bored well, 60
eet deep. The water was clear,
•old and healthful. A long bucket,
hree deep with a valve in the
>ottom, was constructed and it
vas raised by windlass. A horse
vas used to bring up the bucket
Hied with water. The water was
x>ured into the water trough for
louse use.
In time the windlass was re
placed with a windmill.
The family came two years la
ter. First sod, for the new house,
was turned with a big and strong
pair of oxen- John’s grandfather,
Ransom Hunter, and his uncle,
George- helped in the construc
tion of the two-room dwelling
that featured plastered walls and
rough flooring. The deeply
recessed windows formed window
seats and the door was a slightly
sheltered doorway.
Tire Gray soddy was “ritzy”,
indeed, for many of the sod va
riety were neither plastered nor
floored, and the house wife swept
her dirt floor and hung her extry
quilts across the rafters. No more
suitable construction materia]
could be found as the soddies
were warm and comfortable in
the winter and cool and comfor
table in the summer.
At that time the country was a
treeless prairie, lonely and desert
ed, offering no confines to live
stock and little to man. The set
ters’ livestock enjoyed free range
and it was the duty of the children
to herd them so that they did not
stray too far.
Herds of antelope were a com
mon sight and there was an abun
dance of game and fish. Plums,
grapes, sand and choke cherries,
elderberries and buffalo berries
(Continued on page 5)
The Carolers in Season*s Finale
Since the formation of The Car
olers in the summer of 1950, this
singing group of five solo voices
has made three sue' *>ssful tours of
the country and i embarking on
a fourth.
They will be heard here on Fri
day evening, March 11, at the O’
Neill high school auditorium, in
one of their unique and versatile
programs, which have delighted
concert audiences all over the
country, on radio and television,
with symphony orchestra and on
MGM records.
Their O’Neill appearance will
mark the fourth—and final—
concert in the O’Neill Commun
ity Concert series. Doors will
open at 7:30 p.m.
The combination of five s<?lo j
voices (soprano, two tenors, bari
tone and bass-baritone) gives the
group unusual flexibility and the
program format benefits accord
ingly. It features quintets for the
entire group, duets for various
combinations of voices, trios, se- j
lections for the male quartet, and
several solos.
The music ranges from a med
ley of the great Scottish songs, to
little-known Schubert ensembles
originally composed for four or
five voices; from operatic excerpts
to a group of spirituals; from con
temporary music of Gershwin and
Menotti to the best songs from to
day’s musical plays.
Last season, The Carolers made
their orchestral debut when they
sang a special concert with the
San Antonio symphony orches
tra. In the winter of 1953, they
charmed two of the nation’s most
metropolitan and musically eru
dite audiences with their special
programs of Christmas music in
New York’s Town Hall and Wash
ington, D.C.’s, National Gallery.
The New York Times hailed
their “pleasant and unusual
program,” and called it an “un
commonly agreeable evening’s
musical fare.”
Soprano Penny Perry comes
from Minneapolis, Minn., w'here
she started out as a staff radio
singer at the age of 16. For two
years she was featured soloist on
t nl years she was featedru .
Chicago Theatre of the Air sing
ing grand opera as well as op
eretta, including such roles as
Micaela and Musetta. Of Greek
parentage, she has received an of
fer to sing at the Athens opera,
an opportunity she hopes one day
to be able to accept.
Baritone Jonathan Wilson be
gan singing as a choir boy in
Mansfield, O. High school leads in
Gilbert and Sullivan and a Cleve
land radio show while attending
Western Reserve university con
tinued his musical interest, and
he began serious vocal study with
Bruce Benjamin at Oberlin con
servatory. (Mr. Benjamin has
since become teacher and coach of
all four male Carolers.)
After four navy years, he re
turned to New York radio and
TV, but feels his greatest musical
accomplishment has been the per
suasion of four successful soloists
to join with him to form The
Carolers.
Tenor Leo Bernache was bom in
Northampton, Mass., and was
graduated from Dartmouth col
lege. As a member of the Amato
Opera theater in New York City,
he was heard in a number of
roles. His navy service included a
tour of duty with the famous navy
show, “Drop the Hook.” He has
been heard most recently in high
ly successful duet recitals with his
wife, soprano Nathalie Bernaehe.
Tenor Alvin Edmonson is a na
tive of Mnotgomery, Ala., but he
began his singing career in At
lanta, Ga., after completing four
years in the army. He was grad
dated from Emory university in
Atlanta.
He was leading tenor with the
Atlanta Opera company for two
years and the Amato Opera
company in New York for two
years.
Bass-baritone Eric Carlson was
bom in Woodstock, N.Y., and was
graduated from Phillips Exeter
academy. He was one of the “Mo
tet Singers,” and sang in the Am
erican League for Opera. From
1941 to 1945 he was in the army
overseas. After the war he was a
member of the Finian’s Rainbow
company. The Carolers’ most suc
cessful arrangements are a tribute
to his skill.
Miss Green Pleases
Concert-Goers—
(See photo on page 7)
The third in a series of Com
munity Concerts was presented
here Friday evening by the fa
mous soprano, Miss Theresa
Green.
Miss Green warmed her way
into the hearts of the O’Neill
(Continued on page 10)
The Carolers, four male voices and a soprano ... to windup
O'Neill’s 1954-’55 Community Concert series.
Street-Issue
Back in Court
State to Accept
Bids April 1 —
The state highway department
April 1 will open bids for
widening eight blocks of streets
which carry U.S. highways 20
and 281 through O’Neill.
Deputy State Engineer Henry
Schlitt said Saturday two blocks
of Fourth street and six blocks
of Douglas street are to be made
68 feet wide—four 12-foot driv
ing lanes and two 10-foot par
allel parking lanes.
Highway department officials
once considered building a by
pass around O’Neill. City offi
cials agreed to the street-widen
ing and parallel parking, Mr.
Schlitt said
Hospital Visitors
Disregard Rules
Situation of Concern
to Doctors, Nurses
Flagrant disregard for the es
tablished visiting hours at St.
Anthony’s hospital has created
considerable concern to the doc
tors, nurses and Sisters of St.
Francis.
“Sometimes as many as 12 vis
itors are crowded into a single
room for the purpose of ‘cheering’
a patient. This practice is contrary
to all accepted hospital and sick
room standards,” a hospital
spokesman said.
All visitors are asked to ob
serve the following regulations:
1. Visitors’ hours: 2 to 4 o’
clock in the afternoon; 7 to 8:30 in
the evening. There are no morn
ing visiting hours. Sunday morn
ing is no exception to the rule.
2. Limit your visit to 15 min
utes.
3. Only two visitors at one
time for each patient. Wait your
turn in the lobby.
4. Visitors are requested to
withdraw from the room when a
doctor makes his visit to the pa
tient.
5. Children under 12-years-old
are not permitted to visit patients
in the hospital at any time.
6. Patients in adjoining rooms
may be greatly disturbed by loud
conversation. Please visit quietly.
7. When the loud speaker bids
goodbye to all visitors, will you
please leave?
“We shall appreciate your coop
eration in our efforts to hasten the
patients’ recovery, and to make
visiting hours pleasant and not
disturbing,” the spokesman con
cluded.
Mrs. Fred Newton
Dies in Colorado
Mrs. Fred Newton, about 85,
died Monday, March 7, in a Den
ver, Colo., hospital. She had been
ill more than a year and hospital
ized much of that time.
Funeral services are tentative
ly planned today (Thursday) in
Greeley, Colo., and burial will be
made there.
One of her brothers, Jack
Waldron of O’Neill, was unable
to attend the funeral because of
health reasons. A letter written
by his aged sister was received
by Mr. Waldron at the same time
he received a telegram advising
of her death.
The late Mrs. Newton, whose
maiden name was Mary Jane
Waldron, was born in Pitstown,
Pa., the second child of the late
Thomas and Bridget Waldron.
The family came to Holt coun
ty in 1877 and settled on a
homestead seven miles north
west of O’Neill.
She was educated in rural
school district 8. She married Mr.
Newton at Atkinson and they be
came the parents of three children
—Jessie, Charles and Lucille. The
Newtons moved from Holt county
many years ago.
Mrs. Newton was preceded in
ieath by her husband, who died
i number of years ago, her three
children, her parents, one broth
er, James, who died five years
ago at Three Forks, Mont., and
ay two sisters—Annie and Fannie.
Survivors include: Brothers —
lack Waldron of O’Neill; Patrick
Waldron of Springfield, Mo.; Mi
kael Waldron of Great Falls,
Wont.; sister—Mrs. Elizabeth Mc
Kenzie of Sacramento, Calif.; also
;everal grandchildren.
AUTO INTO GARDEN
An auto driven by Leo Mat
hews, accompanied by two com
panions, left state highway 108
about 10:30 p.m., Sunday, ending
jp in the A. E. Robinson garden.
<«> __
Petition Omits Regs,
Challenges Council’s
' Assessment Policy
The squabble over O’Neill’s
street-widening issue is back in
court again.
At 2:30 p m., Monday, C. J. Gatz
and Jack Arbuthnot, as plaintiffs,
filed a new petition in Holt coun
ty district court asking for a
temporary injunction to be issued
against Acting Mayor Emmett
Crabb and members of the city
council. Gatz and Arbuthnot are
asking the court to restrain the
council from proceeding with *
street improvement projects which
would result in widening of
Douglas street “to approximately
79 feet.”
Besides Crabb, other members
of the council named defendants
were Joseph Stutz, Marvin John
son, Norbert Uhl, Max Golden
and L. M. Merriman.
The council entered into
agreement with the state high
way department on the premise
the street-widening would keep
U.S. highways 20 and 281 on
present location through the
business district
Gatz and Arbuthnot, through
their, attorneys, Harold Connors
of Greeley and John R. Gallagher
of O’Neill, last month made the
city council members and State
Engineer L. N. Ress defendants in
a similar action. Notices were
served on the city officials and
Ress, but summonses were never
served.
In the initial action, Gatz and
Arbuthnot alleged the city’s
agreement with the state was
‘null and void” because of a series
of technicalities.
At 8 a.m., on Monday, February
14, the council convened and
"ratified and reaffirmed” its ac
tion taken during 1954. At the
hearing before District Judge D.
R. Mounts, two hours later, the
city’s attorneys claimed the court
had no jurisdiction in the matter
because summonses had not been
served. Whereupon the attorneys
for the plaintiffs asked the court
tc dismiss the original petition
“without prejudice.”
The court granted the request
and Connors and Gallagher prom
ised a new petition in behalf of
their clients after “sufficient time
to study the proceedings of the
extraordinary 8 a.m., council
meeting.”
In the new petition filed Mon
day, Gatz, Arbuthnot, and
“others similarly situated,” still
insist the council’s agreement with
the state is “null and void.” They
allege the state, in the contract,
has given “no assurance in any
respect that the state will not by
pass said city.”
The new petition assails the
state highway department’s re
quirements as "unreasonable”
in requiring the city of O'Nelli
to widen to 79 feet when “towns
of greater sise and with heavier
traffic are not required to widen
that much.”
Gatz and Arbuthnot, in their
suit, refer to the November 8,
, 1954, special session of the city
I council at which a resolution was
passed. They allege Councilman
M. J. Golden had no written no
tice of the meeting and further
allege Emmett Crabb, president of
the council, did not have lawful
authority to enter into such an
agreement with the state. (Crabb
has issued a public statement in
sisting he did have the authority.)
The latest petition alleges the
city’s agreement w;th the state is
also null and void because “the
(Continued on page 10)
Visiting Couple
Arrested on Arrival
CHAMBERS — Mr. and Mrs.
Jim Fry of Sweet Home, Ore.,
were arrested Sunday by Holt
County Sheriff Leo Tomjack.
They had reached Chambers the
day before to visit relatives.
An Oregon peace officer came
Monday to return the couple to
Oregon to face charges. Tomjack
said the Frys were wanted in four
states on check charges.
BECOMES CAPTAIN
INMAN—Mr. and Mrs. Ernest
Brunkhorst have received word
that their daughter, Audrey, has
been promoted to the rank of
captain. She is with the army
nurse corps and is stationed in
England.
LEAVING FOR EUROPE
REDBIRD—Pvt. Garry Wilson,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Wilson
of Redbird, called Monday from
Ft. Bliss, Tex., to advise his par
ents he will leave the latter part
of this week for Europe.
Try Frontier want ads!
•
