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j The Western JXews * Devoted to the Development of Libby, and of Lincoln County Libby, Lincoln County, Montana Thursday, June 16, 1949 VOLUME XLIX Number 5 Libby Leads In West Montana B. Ball League Defeats Kalispeil Nine 5 to 1 Sunday in First Loss of Flathead Team LONE KALISPELL RUN IN EIGHTH INNING KalispelL—Libby took the lead the Western Montana league here Sunday from the Kalispeil nine, de feating it, 5 to 1, its first loss three contests. Dude Baldwin pit ched for the Libby team, striking out 15 men and allowing three hits. Libby got a run in the second in ning when Miller made a single, went on to third on passed balls and came home on a single by Christiansen. Another run came in the third inning when Gehring singled, stole second and came home on a single by Miller. In the fourth, Vignali was safe on an error, went to second on a passed ball and scored on Gehring's single. Libby made no more scores until the eighth when Collins was walked, stole second and scored on a single by Vignali. The last Libby run was in the ninth when Miller hit a double and came home on Dale Thompson's single. The lone Kalispeil run came in the eighth. Jay Redfield hit a single, went to second on a passed ball, Winters was walked, Swennes was walked, Redfield galloped home when the Libby pitcher attempted to catch Winters off base on second: The box score: Libby— Collins, ss . Vignali, 3b F. Spencer, 2b . 4 1 2 Gehring, rf-cf . Miller, lb . Eggert, cf . D. Thompson, If . Christiansen, c . Baldwin, p . Dale Thompson, rf Walsh, If . ab h o 3 1 1 .5 12 I H .11 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 38 12 27 7 ab h 0 a .3 0 0 0 Totals Kalispeil— Steinmetzer, rf .2 0 4 4 13 .4120 2 0 10 34 2 27 6 Marshall, 2b . Neitzling, cf . J. Redfield, Ib-p Winters, p-3b .3 0 0 Swennes, If A. Redfield, 3b ._...! 0 0 4 0 0 4 0 12 2 12 2 0 11 3 0 2 0 James, ss Young, c . Thompson, rf Clark, 2b Noble, lb Totals Runs—Collins, Vignali, Gehring, Miller 2, Redfield. Runs batted in— Vignali, Gehring, Miller, D. Thomp son, Christiansen. Two-base hits— Collins, Miller. Double plays—Mar shall to Noble and Clarke to Noble. Base on balls—Off Winters 1, off Redfield 2, off Baldwin 4. Hit by pitcher—Baldwin and Collins by Winters; Spencer by Redfield. Hits off Winters, 5 in 2 2-3 innings; off Redfield, 7 in 6 1-3 innings; off Baldwin 3. Struck out—by Winters 4, by Redfield 5, by Baldwin 15. Errors—Collins 3, J. Redfield and James. Stolen bases—Gehring, Mil ler, Collins, Swennes and Thomp son. J. Neils Lumber Co. And Locals Sign a Working Agreement Following is a memorial of agree ment entered into by the J. Neils Lumber Company's negotiating com mittee and Lumber & Sawmill Workers local unions No. 2581 and 2662. The agreement was reached Thursday afternoon after the West ern News had entered the mails, and reads as follows; "In view of the fact that the parties are of the opinion that the 1948-'49 collective bargaining agree ment expired on June 1, 1949; and in view of the fact that all of the issues of the current negotiations are not resolved; and in view of the fact that it is the desire of the parties to continue and maintain harmonious labor relations; "Be it agreed by and between the J. Neils Lumber Company, Libby, Montana and Local Unions 2581 and 2662, Lumber and Sawmill Workers (AFofL), as follows: "I. All of the issues pending be tween the parties are hereby re solved excepting: a. Hours of Labor b. Holidays c. Vacations "2. The 1948-1949 contract is here by extended as written. However, the following revisions in that con tract shall take effect immediately, but shall not be written physically into the contract between the parties until these negotiations are con cluded: a. Grammatical corrections in the Seniority Clause. b. The Grain Door Dock shall be declared a separate division and bids to fill vacancies open to all departments. At the termination of the Grain Door season the men shall return to their former jobs in their respective departments (Continued on Page Seven) National Wildlife Officials Visit Fisher River Last week Llovd W. Swift, Chief of the Wildlife Management of the U. S. Forest Service, Washington, D. C., and several other officials visited Lincoln county to inspect the work and progress being made on the county deer study which is being carried on cooperatively by the Montana Fish and Game Depart ment and the Forest Service. The officials looked over the win ter range in the lower Fisher and Wolf Creek areas. Plots set up on Sterling and Wapiti mountains were also inspected. After inspec tion the group decided that the range was severely over used. A better and more efficient harvest of the deer crop was suggested to aid the situation. Other members of the inspection oartv include: C. R. Gutersmith, V. Pres, of the Wildlife Manage ment Institute, Washington. D. C.; Dr. Daniel L. Leedy, Director of the Cooperative Research Units of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Wash ington, D. C.: and Fred Johnson. Misspula, who is charge, of the Wild life Management for Region 1. Libbv l RICHARDS SHEET METAL WORKS OPENS LIBBY SHOP The Richards Sheet Metal Works j of Kalispeil, have now opened their branch shop in Libby. It will be found at the west end of Fourth Street, where the shop is prepared to handle all kinds of sheet metal work. The shopmen may also be con tacted on the Libby school grounds where the company is engaged with the construction work on the new buildings. The Messrs. Richards feel that there is a need for a shop of this type in Libby, and state they are glad to be located here. 1 CofC Visits Zonolite Mine Forty members of the Chamber of Commerce toured the_ Zonolite company operations last Wednesday evening. Carlton Jou ghin, manager of the Libby opera tions, conducted the tour of the mine and mill. Following a short business meet ing, Mr. Joughin gave the Cham ber a brief history of the vermicu lite industry in Libby. In the early twenties E. N. Alley became in terested in the then strange mineral. Managing to secure backing, he be gan small scale operations. In the late thirties the present company took the property over, developing a milling process and a marketing organization which expanded the business considerably. Development of uses for vermiculite have in creased to include at the present time, insulation, lightweight aggre gates, concrete, plaster, and soil conditioning. There are also many other uses on a smaller scale for the mineral. The Zonolite Company operates mines here in Libby and in South Carolina. The company has several plants and many independently owned licenses throughout the coun try, where shipments of processed oit are made. In addition much ore is exported. Ninety-eight per cent of the vermiculite sold in the United States is mined and pro cessed by the Zonolite company. Approximately 2400 cars of ore are shipped from Libby annually. Weaver Confident Problems Can Be Ironed Out Here If Libby Dam Is Authorized O. L. Gillespie reported on the hearing he attended in Sandpoint regarding the Albeni Falls Dam project, where reference was made to the Libby dam. Mr. Gillespie had a talk with Col. Thomas Wea ver and reports that he is interested in the problems which Libby will have if the proposed dam is auth orized. Weaver said he had studied th'e reports of the Chamber of Commerce and other interested per sons regarding the problems and felt that the requests which had been made were reasonable.. If Congress authorizes construction of the dam, a delegation from Libby would be welcomed to meet with a representative from Col. Weaver's office to discuss these problems and iron out a satisfactory solution. MILDRED A. FLESHER TO MANAGE STATE LIQUOR STORE IN LIBBY Notice was received this week of, the appointment of Mrs. Mildred A. Flesher as manager of the State Liquor Store in Libby. The appoint ment was made following the resig nation of Palmer Pedersen, the present vendor who has held the position for several months. Mrs. Flesher has been employed by the Mountain States Power Co., having been with the company for over three years except for a period when she was obliged to give up the work on account of ill health. She is a veteran of World Wir I, having served in the United States Navy as a Yoemanette, and is very active in veterans' affairs. Jimmie Roberts who has attended the University of Washington at Seattle, and Bobbie Roberts who has been at Gonzaga University, Spokane, returned home Thursday of last week for the summer va cation. Hold Minn. Car Thief for Out Stale Officers The Sheriff's office reports that a 1946 Chevrolet sedan stolen about 2:00 a. m. June 10, at Argyle, Minn., by Windie L. Johnson. 19, of Karl stad, Minn., collided Sunday morn ing with a 1930 Ford car driven by Charles Brown of Leonia at the Idaho-Montana State Line Tavern. The Minnesota sedan traveled only a few feet after the collision with the Browrt car, until it also struck man on foot, Frank Clark of Metaline Falls, Wash., as ho was leaving the tavern to get into his Clark suffered a broken leg and possible internal injuries. An ambulance was summoned from Bonners Ferry, and Walt Stev ens of the Idaho State Police also accompanied the ambulance to the Clark o was taken to the Bonners Ferrv hos pital. Johnson picked up three hitch hikers during h : s dash west through North Dakota, including Max Houle Walhalla, N. D.; Wm. R, Pyford. 18 \ears. Belview, Mich., and Ken neth Neilson, 15, of Minot N. D. Byford was driving at the time of the accident. After investigating the accident. Patrolman Stevens brought Windie Johnson and his* passengers to Troy where he contacted City Marshal Jake Dietz. Together the two of ficers brought the occupants of the Minnesota Chevrolet to Patrolman R. J. Riddle in Libby who turned | them over to Sheriff Uvengood, where Johnson's personal effects were examined. He failed to have a driver's license, a proper car Ji cense or any car paners of anv kind, but did have an "undesirable" discharge from the U. S. Army. Through further checking and telegrams, it was found that the car had been stolen from Argyle, and that the license plates were stolen from a '34 Chevrolet at Ken nedy, Minn. Johnson also had nos sess i° n pf an electric razor which he admitted stealing from another ■ ( •ar. Mene of the wreck. . L ; an _^, xp ?" sl j Ve w ^ tcn which he admitted stealing but would not tell where be obtained it. charged by Patrol man Riddle in Justice of the Peace H. B. Wallace's court with driving without a driver's license and im oroper car license. A sentence of 16 days or less in jail was given him. The parents of the young boys I accompanying Johnson, were noti fied of the whereabouts of their sons but did not wish to come after them, so the boys were admonished to go home and were turned loose, Johnson is being held in jail pend ing the arrival of the sheriff from Warren, *Minn., who is coming af ter him. The insurance company is sending for the Argyle car. The 1947 Buick sedan belonging to R. W. Smithberger was stolen early Tuesday morning. It was parked in the street south of and beside the bank and was locked, No clues as to who stole the car or which direction it was driven had been found by officers yesterday af ternoon. FIREWORKS NOTICE The sale and use of fireworks in accordance with the state laws will be permitted in Libby only on June 30, 31, and July 1-5, inclusive. By order of the Mayor and City Coun 5-3c cil. fnz I* IS R3I 7 24 20 T 3! a 31 31 36 '2 6 LIBBY h 7 v /s It / 7 H A /J. zTT 7J0 ES £4 1 I 4 3 ■ 31 rp 2 a n 3o it n i3 7*9 19 24 . r 2f 29 }i a 4 Map of Proposed Rural Fire Dist. New Petition For Rural Fire Dist. The accompanying mbp shows the present proposal for boundaries of a Libby Rural Fire Control District. Committees from the Libby Farm Women's Club and the Kootenai Valley Grange are sponsoring the circulation of petitions for the es tablishment of such a district. At a public meeting held earlier, in the community room of the court house, certain boundaries were set, the petition for which a great mapy people have already signed. Huw éver, there was some feeling 'hat the district as then proposed, took in property already adequately pro tected as well as some that, due to road conditions, was practically in accessible. For that reason the committee is presenting to the pub lic the new boundaries shown on the map. Persons who have already signed a petition will have to be asked to sign again one with the correct legal descriptions. burning house was on property which was paying in, if all within the boundary were not in the dis trict. This is no different than the paying of school tax whether or not a family has school children, The following facts are pertinent and clarifying; 1. The state law provides that the county commissioners may establish a rural fire control district, and levy taxes for the support of same, if presented with a petition from the people. 2. The petition, to be presented to the commissioners, must carry the signatures of at least 51% of the land owners, and 51% of the acres within the district must be repre sented by those signatures. 3. All private property within the district is subject to taxation for the support of the district whether an owner signs or not. It is obvious that a fire chief could not take time to consult a map to see whether a (Continued on Page Two) < Frances Conn Weds Raymond Ramel Sun. In Church Rites Frances Conn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Conn of Libby and Raymond Ramel of Wascott, Wis., son of Fred Ramel of Solon Springs, Wis., exchanged wedding vows Sun day, June 12, at the Libby Meth odist Church. The Rev. W. C. Stearns read the double ring cere mony. Decorations for the after noon wedding included ferns and baskets of pink and white peonies. The bridal couple stood under an arch of spruce boughs and white roses during the ceremony, The bride, given in marriage by her father, was lovely in a gown of white bridal satin. Net inser tion at the neck and long sleeves pointed at the wrist were features of the gown cut in princess style with a flared skirt and short train, Her veil was of white net edged in lace; and cascaded from a lace halo trimmed with white steph anotis. She carried a bouquet of pink roses and white stephanotis tied in net with white ribbon streamers. The bride's only jewelry was her grandmother's string of pearls, Mrs. Wilber Johnson, a friend of the bride, was matron of honor. Her gown was of yellow sheer fig ured with white flowers. A ruffle of the same material accented the neck. She wore a green net halo around her head and carried a bou quet of pink and tea roses, white 'Continued on Paee 6) Rex H. Flemming Dies Tues. From Heart Attack Rex. H. Flemming passed away at his home in the Silver Butte Fisher country Tuesday morning. The 53 year old ranched had been in ill health for some time. His death was the result of a heart at tack. Funeral services will be held Sat urday at 2.00 o'clock at the Gompf Funeral home. Rev. W. C. Stearns of the Libby Methodist Church will officiate. Interment will be made at the Libby cemetery. Mr. Flemming leaves to mourn him his wife. Ivy J.; four step sons: Fred G., William M., Floyd A. and Ivan Williams; and three step-daughters; Mrs. Rachel Hoover, Mrs. Ethel Shelley, and Mrs. Ruth Hadwin. A more complete obituary will be publis hed next week. _ COMPLETE ARRANGEMENT OF MERCANTILE GROCERY The new arrangement of the gro cery department of the Kootenai Mercantile has bee» completed and will facilitate shopping according to department managers, Don Stan ley and Clyde Lobdell. The new 20 foot gondolas and a 12 foot dry produce rack have been installed. Both the ice cream freez er and frozen food cabinet have been placed in more convenient lo cations. The fruit bins have been removed from the window and a self-service arrangement installed. In addition a new adding cash regis ter has been purchased which will speed up waiting on customers. Will Display Zoning Maps Further details of city zoning will worked out at a meeting of the zoning Committee and the City Council on Monday. June 20. The necessity for protecting pres nt and future property owners from depreciation in value of their property due to unrestricted build ing as to type, size, purpose and various other factors makes it im perative that something be done in the matter. This condition becomes particularly alarming in view of the possibility of the development which may take place here should the pro posed Libby Dam be built. The building of the dam would only ag grevate a condition which is already beginning to be quite noticeable due to the growth taking place in the community. While zoning plans for the future would not eliminate mistakes which have already been made or alleviate conditions which are already ag gravating to numerous people it would provide an insurance for the future. It is impossible to make a zoning law retroactive and there fore building already constructed will not be affected by the ordin ance; Plans at present call for five types of districts: Residence A, Residence B, Business—residence. Main business, and Industrial. Fur ther information concerning re strictions and limitations in these various areas will be given in the near future. To help the public understand what is being planned maps are be ing prepared of the proposed dis tricts, These maps will be dis played in public places and will be available for distribution in limited quantities. From the maps it can be readily seen that plans tend to take into consideration the areas which have more or less gen erally developed. In spite of the vast amount of work which has been done by the Zoning Committee and the con sideration which has been given the plan by the City Council, many de tails are yet to be worked out. As soon as this has been done a public hearing will be held at which time all those interested in the program will have an opportunity to express themselves concerning the plan in general and its specific deta ils. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL AT ST. JOHN LUTHERAN For two weeks, beginning Mon day, June 20. St. John Lutheran Church will again conduct a Vaca tion Bible School from 9:00 o'clock in the morning until noon, Monday through Friday. This school offers a supervised program of education and recreation to all children of the community between the ages of five and fifteen. Included in the daily activities are Bible stories, workbook exer cises, songs, pictures, handicraft and projects of various kinds. Instead of the usual classroom type of atmosphere, the classes are con conducted informally and out-of doors in tents. REV. AYERS RE-ELECTED Rev. Leon H. Ayers, pastor of the local Asesmbly of God Church for the past three and one half years, was re-elected for a new term of three years in the annual business meeting which convened on June 6. Other officers, all re-elected were Clarence Parker as Trustee and Herman Wilkinson as secretary treasurer. Members of the Church Board include August Lentz, Clayton Nel son, Herman Wilkinson, Seely Bache and Clarence Parker. Murders Girl; Then Suicides Thurs. Night Cecil Abel Shoots Betty Marie Van Leishout then Turns Pistol on Self SHOOTING OCCURS IN PRESENCE OF SISTER Betty Marie Van Leishout, 21, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tony Leishout, was killed about mid night, Thursday, June 9. at her room over the Woolin Feed Store in Eur eka. She was shot to death Cecil Abel, 33, according to a state ment from Sheriff Roy Livengood, also county coroner. The slaying was witnessed by Miss Van Leishout's sister, Grace, 16, who that same day had come from the girls' parents' country home 10 miles from Eureka, expect ing to work.at the Davis Cafe where the elder girl was employed. Ano ther girl, Kay Irwin, 15, was abo with the girls at the time of the shooting. According to officials, the three girls had been fixing their hair in a bathroom, across the hallway from a room occupied by Abel on the same floor. The two younger girls had returned to their room. A short time later Betty Marie scream ed and ran from the bathroom pur- , sued by Abel who followed her to the girls' room. Kay Irwin ran from the room and the two Van Leishout girls took refuge behind a bed. While the girls cowered back of the bed Abel fired six shots at Betty, all six hitting her and death being instantaneous Woolin hearing the shots went up stairs to investigate. He saw Abel standing in the doorway of Betty's room and demanded to know. What's going on"? Without answering Abel stepped inside the room, closed the door end fired a single shot, shoot ing himself through his left side under the ribs, using the same .30 catibre Luger with which he had shot Miss Van Leishout. Abel, whose home is near Rex ford. had been employed at the Van Columbus Clark sawmill near Eur eka, and occasionally ate at the Davis Cafe where Miss Van Leish out worked. He was buried the night following the tragedy. Miss Van Leishout's obituary ap pears on the Eureka page in this issue. Union Defeats The Keglers to Hold Softball Lead The Union softball team holds an easy lead over all teams in the league following Friday night's vic tory over B. P. O. K. which they won with a 16-6 score. "They are just a little too strong for us" stated a member of the Kegler team in commenting on the game. In loe ing Friday's game, B. P. O. K. lost their opportunity to tie with Union for the present lead in the league. The big feature of the game Mon day evening between Merchants and Zonolite came in the last half of the seventh inning. The score was 8-0 in favor of Zonolite when the Merchants came in to bat for the last of the game's last inning. Stag ing a big rally, the latter's batters started a merry-go-round, scoring eight runs to tie the game. With the game tied and two men down, an error bv Zonolite's right fielder allowed the winning run This game is Merchants first win of the season, but according to mem bers of the team, it is far from the last win they will check up this summer. The standing of the teams to date is: Team Union B. P O K. Zonolite Merchants B. P. O. K. and Merchants will play Friday night of this week While the dope bucket gives B. P O. K the edge, the Merchants state that dope buckets are easily upset, and that's just what they are plan ning to do that evening. According to Johnnie Baggs. Tuesday evening, June 21 is when all softball fans are expected to be present at Carney Field to help put up the new bleachers. The grounds have been donated by The Zonolite Company, which has also scraped the field and arranged for soaking down the dust The J. Neils Lum ber Company is furnishing the material for the bleachers, and Tom DeShazer will be in charge of con struction, So. says Baggs, we hope all who are interested in the game, will be present to do their share in improving the grounds. Attend ance at the games is growing rapid ly and last Monday saw the largest crowd of the season. Won, Iy>st 4 0 2 2 1 3 : ■ FAIR BOARD MEET TONIGHT (JUNE 16) Dexter Shaurette, secretary of the Labor Day Celebration and Fair Board announces there will be a meeting of the board Thursday evening. June 16 at 8.00 p. m. AI members of the board are urged to attend. n