23 Jan 1959
Page 1
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Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Jan 23, 1959
Page
1
Ohio faces a worsening flood emergency with 13 deaths and widespread evacuations. Zanesville and McConnelsville endure swollen rivers Licking and Muskingum. Federal aid requests. Red Cross shelters open as bridges wash away and industries idle.
The Ohio River crested above eight feet over flood stage with peak levels around 40.6 feet in Steubenville and 41 feet at the city. damage described as minor. Runaway barges from the Aliquippa steel plant caused temporary bridge closures and traffic halts. Evacuations affected about 60 families in Mingo Junction Empire and New Cumberland areas.
Police have one lead in the West Side baby kidnapping of a 23 day old infant. A handwriting specimen from a note the suspect wrote at the mother’s request lists a false name address and telephone. Police plan to canvass hospital records and medical offices for the expectant mother involved.
Max Bell Blake a retired foreign service diplomat died Thursday after a brief illness in Kansas City Missouri He served in various posts and was known for his decades of diplomatic service and public life.
West Virginia tonight will be fair and cold with low temperatures around 10 degrees above zero, colder in the mountains. Saturday will be fair with slowly rising temperatures. Ohio expect fair conditions this afternoon into tonight and Saturday, with a colder tonight and slightly warmer Saturday. Highs around 20, lows near 0 to 5 below in places. Temperatures generally near 10 degrees below normal, with a gradual moderation through Monday and turning colder again around Tuesday or Wednesday. Precipitation forecast 0.1 to 0.2 inches in snow or sleet Monday. Elsewhere hot spots include Albuquerque cloudy 38, Cleveland 0.65, Denver varying, Worth Worth clear, Louisville clear, Pittsburgh snow, Seattle rain, Salt Lake City cloudy 43, New Orleans clear, Richmond cloudy, and other scattered readings.
In Pittston Pennsylvania rescuers battled rising floodwaters from the Susquehanna River after a hole opened in Knox Coal tunnel at Port Griffith. Twelve miners were trapped or drowned while thirty-three escaped. seven exited via an air shaft and twenty-six navigated waterlogged tunnels for hours before rescue. Mine Superintendent Robert Groves said pumping cannot start until the mine is cleared.
A blaze at the main men’s dormitory of Mississippi State University caused by suspected faulty wiring leveled the 78 year old brick and wood building. About 1,000 residents were housed there with all reportedly escaping. One student sustained burn injuries. Replacement cost estimated at three million dollars.
Gradual improvement was reported today in the condition of Gov William Egan of Alaska. The 44 year old remained on the critical list but doctors said full recovery is likely after emergency surgery for abdominal paralysis and a bowel blockage tied to a prior gall bladder operation in Juneau on January 6.
Albert Mendelson died in Mount Sinai Hospital Cleveland age 82. Admitted to the Ohio Bar sixty years ago he also served in the Ohio Senate from 1909 to 1911.
Senate Democrats invited 14 witnesses including spokesmen from the National Housing Conference AFL-CIO Americans for Democratic Action and the American Institute of Architects to press for broader housing programs than President Eisenhower proposed Senator Sparkman predicted a broader bill would pass before February end. Federal housing administrator Norman P Mason and other aides urged quick action on emergency needs proposing 100 million for urban renewal 200 million for college housing loans and a 6 billion boost in FHA mortgage insurance authority.
Cape Canaveral reports a failure as the Thor Able missile, carrying an ICBM guidance cone, fizzled out soon after liftoff. The 90 foot rocket aimed for 4400 miles with a two stage flight and Titan system miniature guidance for long range accuracy.
The Lad Die and Sirloin Restaurant in North Randall burned early today in a blaze estimated at 100000 dollars. The site, tied to the Leopard Club era, had been shut for flood repair work in the basement.
Flood threats loom as the Messenger reports rising waters in the Pomeroy region with Sunday expected to bring peak levels. County workers are assigned to polio efforts and a fire at Cheshire Home causes substantial losses. Grand Jury returns 32 indictments as Hocking recedes from crest.
Secretary of State Dulles urged U S allies especially West Germany to produce basic new ideas on German reunification for a possible proposal to the Soviet Union. A plan for a German confederation with a central government would be explored as a constructive fresh approach to negotiations. The issue faces three fronts including a reply to the Soviet peace conference plan and preventing a new Berlin crisis.
Cecil B. De Mille will be buried today in a simple funeral at St Stephen's Episcopal Church. The rites will have no eulogy and little organ music. A large crowd and television cameras are expected outside the church, adding to the De Mille spectacle.
Buddy Thornhill seven who has glaucoma and had one eye removed should see colors again within two months experts say Dr William J Ferguson Jr treated him in San Francisco helped by Natchez Mississippi residents who financed the trip Buddy arrived Jan 14 and turns seven on January 15 and was told there is hope he may not need another operation
Columbus Governor Michael V. DiSalle urged all cabinet members to remain at work this weekend to coordinate flood relief state services. He announced the plan at a special cabinet meeting in his office as flood conditions continued to dominate the state.
The Mahoning River flood forced about 1000 people from their homes in Warren. Officials estimate damage between $500,000 and $1,000,000 as the crest reached 16.72 feet, six feet above flood stage, at about 12:50 a.m. The river then began to fall slowly as waters receded.
The United States faces difficulties securing defense agreements with Pakistan and Iran to bolster protection against external threats. Turkey reportedly accepts the draft, while Iran and Pakistan demand stronger assurances than Washington will offer. Signatures were unlikely at the Baghdad Pact meeting in Karachi, despite Dulles’s pledge to pursue added security within the alliance.
Suzanne Grasley 22 a former Ohio University student and station secretary, was killed when a 671 foot television tower fell during a windstorm in Lexington. The wind toppled a second 375 foot tower and damaged WLEX-TV's lone studio. Grasley and her husband Michael both natives of Zanesville.
Lynn A. Wittenberg 67 longtime Ohio editor and correspondent died at his Portsmouth home from a heart ailment after 53 years in journalism leaving a lasting imprint on the region's newspapers.
The bulletin lists displacement and on duty status for units across Ohio. Mount Vernon reports 125 men on duty while Newark has 50 men and 20 trucks active, and Canton and Warren indicate multiple units on call. Columbus area near Fort Hayes has 40 men and 25 trucks operating, with other towns like Zanesville Bucyrus and Chillicothe deploying crews and equipment to sandbanks and flood relief.
The Scioto River rose to 32.6 feet at Chillicothe three feet above forecast with about one third of the city submerged. An estimated 10,000 residents among 27,000 were affected as the river topped flood stage and a levee failed. Three people were missing. emergency measures include guards on duty and school closures at Ohio University branch until receding.
In Havana the first show case war crimes trial ended with Maj. Jesus Sosa Blanco found guilty on five counts and sentenced to death by a three man tribunal of revolutionary officers after an eight hour trial. A crowd of 17000 filled the Sports Palace while about 400 foreign journalists observed the verdict.
Ohio House failure to perform a double roll call delays the new cabinet members’ pay. Attorney General McElroy ruled salaries cannot start for 99 days as the emergency measure was not enacted by two roll calls. The Democratic legislature passed the bill, but the House did not complete the required second roll call.
An 18-year-old boy who killed his 14 year old brother last November was judged insane in Pasadena California. He described his brother as an inferior person who had to die and has not spoken to him for over a year. He faces a murder trial if he recovers.
A Jordanian airliner with 15 aboard crashed near Amman on Thursday night. The airline reported nine dead including two Americans, while the remaining six aboard were injured.
Des Moines Iowa Republicans claim the GOP will influence 100000 census taker hires with Meade Alcorn pledging party involvement. Chairman Alcorn notes the NCS should back candidates in 1960 while addressing critiques of how federal jobs were distributed. Michigan committeeman John B. Martin Jr. cites Commerce Department plans to hire 106000 for the 1960 census.
Michigan Governor G Mennen Williams said Ohio Governor Michael V. DiSalle will send a representative to a civil rights conference in Detroit on January 30 and 31. Eighteen state governors or their representatives will attend.
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