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Newspaper
Baytown Sun
Location
Baytown, Texas, United States of America
Date
Dec 30, 1954
Page
1
Paris reports that on Thursday UP France approved the West European Union plan, setting in motion 500,000 West German troops will be put under arms, signaling a major rearmament move in the alliance.
Baytown former police chief H E McKee seeks 23 days of accumulated sick leave pay but City Attorney George Chandler rules the city is not obligated under the Civil Service Act to grant the payment. The council is expected to follow Chandler's ruling and deny the claim, despite McKee's hint at potential legal action. Page Two.
Raytown residents woke to the coldest night of the year with a 28 degree low and frost blackening plants. Unprotected cars bore ice while a bright sun broke through and forecasters predicted cloudier skies and rising temperatures with a low near 45 by Thursday night and 57 daytime Wednesday.
An attempted burglary at St Mark's Methodist church failed Wednesday night as a screen was loosened but the window stayed shut. The Quack Shack hosts three open nights this week with dances at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, chaperoned by Mrs Beverly Rochhold. Rufus Honeycutt’s 1954 assignment notes for Baytown knot-tyers as he hunts for a hangman’s noose expert in the Brunson lobby to publicize the film Three Hours to Kill. Eighteen Baytown Fair livestock winners return Thursday from a Monterrey-Saltillo tour with chaperones.
A collage of local vignettes features Morris Littlefield heading back to Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado, Barbara Sheffield’s record player gift and voice loss, Marion Allen’s inventory grind, and Martha Kaye Frazer’s vacation stint as society reporter. A note offers Cotton Bowl tickets via a 3-1142 line after 6 pm. Local quirks include Officer Few’s joke escort and Joe Speck’s rail system quip.
Police Chief Roy Montgomery recounts questioning Romani residents about 1 pm on Wednesday. Officers warned of vagrancy charges but the group left town within minutes, leaving officials puzzled about their sudden disappearance.
Sun News reports Harris County Fresh Water District No 2 could be divided into two districts on Jones Road. Rep-Elect Cris Cole expected to introduce the bill, with support from McNair and white residents. The plan hinges on legislative approval and voter ballots for two boards of supervisors and two districts after passage.
In Cleveland attorney William J. Corrigan urged that Dr Samuel H Sheppard's second degree murder conviction be set aside due to 41 alleged errors during his 10 week trial. He asked Judge Edward Blythin to grant a new trial or free Sheppard on bail while appeals proceed.
Four Round Rock Baptist home children spend Christmas and New Year in private hosts homes for the first time, entertaining the Strait couple at 3308 Minnesota. Two other children visit Baytown over the holidays. Jimmy Tracy stays with the Daniels at 1503 Alabama, Mary King with the Sands and with Mrs. Lew. The group plans a schedule of parties and outings, returning to Round Rock Saturday.
Berkeley report quotes Laurent Hitchcock of the Southern California Air Pollution Foundation blaming science’s new gadgets and by products for the smog crisis. He calls for science and engineering to take rapid comprehensive action to prevent further atmospheric damage.
Washington reports the proposed military pay raise would affect about 27 percent of Army enlisted men with higher incentives for longer service. Officers with less than two years’ service would see smaller gains, while those with longer tenure could reach 28 to 36 percent. Naval and Air Force personnel total around 138,000 and 700,000 respectively, with the plan totaling roughly 750 million dollars annually, offset partly by a cut in the 88,608-1,000 ceiling. Public workers’ classified civil service pay tied to same broad raise is expected for portal work.
Jim Douglas, longtime Houston district highway engineer and Baytown project supervisor, resigns after 26 years to join the Portland Cement association. His tenure included overseeing the $10 million Baytown tunnel completed in 1943, the department’s largest single contract. Wiley Be Care Michi will replace him as district construction engineer in Houston.
Five persons die as cold and snow push Texas toll to 315 for the long holiday period starting Dec 23 at 12 01 am. Sixty seven deaths were traffic related. Among the fatalities were two exposure deaths and three who died in a Marfa house trailer. Other deaths included 39 miscellaneous, 18 homicides or suicides. DPS predicts 203 violent deaths before the period ends. Names include Doyle Smith Clayton Murchison and John Daniel Mason. Annette Carlin and Jorette Carlin perished near Alta Loma when struck by a Santa Fe freight train. Louis Franklin and Clara Franklin died in Lenorah from a butane gas explosion.
Baytown moves to redraw districts this week with only districts 1 and 2 exempt. A City Council boundary committee added annexed property to districts to equalize by population, changing many areas and improving voting locations. About 276 new residences are now in the districts, with districts 3 4 and 5 receiving the largest shifts. The changes affect east of Highway 149 and areas around Bob Smith and Cedar Bayou roads as well as the Fair Park addition. Committee members noted the shifts, and officials outlined new voting box arrangements for several sections.
London December 30 The Nuffield foundation gave 2100 pounds for eighteen months to study why readers write to advice columns in newspapers. Dr Cyril Greenland and Allan C Tatt of Chrichton Royal hospital Scotland and statistician Conrad Leser of Glasgow University will analyze thousands of letters seeking personal guidance.
Baytonians prepare to close stores and banks on Saturday while churches plan watchnight services. Many will celebrate at private parties and some will drive to Houston night spots, risking higher hazard on New Year’s Eve. Police expect a busy night handling traffic incidents and accidents.
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