1959-12-10; Clare Sentinel

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Established 1873
$2,50 Year in Clare, Isabella Counties
THE CLARE SENTINEL, CLASS, MICHIGAN
THURSDAY, DEC. I0f 1959
fon^emi^~Copf
Niw"Siri^"v^r68rNor-ir
Ciare School's New Gym Ready
For Basketball Season Opener
Clare Hi gh's basketball squad,
about 40 strong began working
out in their brand new gymnasium last Thursday afternoon.
They had only six days to 'get
•f acquainted with the new larger'
size floor, the backboards, lighting, acoustics and other new conditions.
They will play the Shepherd
Blue jays in the first game of the
season here tomorrow night in
the new gym.
Five returning lettermen are
the hard corps which Coach
George Perry must assemble a
winning combination.
A psychological incentive to
win in the school's new gym may
♦Drivers Asked
To Steer Clear
Of Bus Area
Traffic congestion on the
streets around the Elementary
School, and particularly on East
Wheaton between the old school
building and the new high school
is discussed in a letter sent
home from school with pupils
this week.
fr " School authorities are asking
parents who drive children tq
and from school to avoid the use
of streets between the two
schools, and load or unlqad their
youngsters on State street in
front of the old school, or in the
parking lots entered from Cedar
street near the high school-
The traffic on East Wheaton
has been the subject of several
complaints from residents on the
street.
Harley Worstell of 304 E.
Wheaton told City Commissioners last Monday evening that the
school-hours congestion of auto
ft. and pedestrian traffic made it
difficult for hirri tq drive freely
in and out of his property.
School authorities, more concerned with safety for students
who are loading and leaving bus-
.es in the vicinity, asked parent
drivers to "please not use these
streets".
In the same letter to parents,
the superintendent, Richard
Wheeler said that the new high
school building is now considered complete except for small details. A dedication and "open
house", showing of the new education plant is planned for the
future as soon as arrangements
can be made.
Mr. Wheeler's letter also asked
parents to consider the next
*» steps in the district's building
i?rogram. Leading a list of four
needs, he placed the Brookwood
Elementary unit which was deleted from the one-time general
school building plan.
The Elementary department
of Clare Public Schools will this
year graduate 95 eighth graders
into the high school building,
and take in 178 kindergartners
as first year beginners.
Following the new elementary
unit in importance, Mr. Wheeler
listed a cafeteria, industrial arts
and music facilities for high
school, and finally a bus garage.
*
prove as valuable as the "quick
break" and,the "shooting eye".
If the players like to perform
in the huge new "Cagers Colosseum", they can be sure that
spectators will appreciate the
larger quarters no less.
Acoustics are good enough in
the new gym so that while the
■exciting game is in progress, and
cheers and band music are at
their loudest, the average watcher will not find the noise bothersome.
Higher ceiling lines with structural facilities for deadening shrill
noises have accomplished . the
quieting condition for spectators
while retainng enough game' and
cheerng section noise to keep the
'-pitch" high as ever. :
New fold-away bleachers provide seating for 750 fans on one
side of the: playing floor. IThus
more people than ever before can
watch the .games in better seating comfort.
The crowd for Friday night's
opener is expected to be ohe of
the largest ^crowds to watch a
basketball game in Clare. And
many will be there to satisfy curiosity over the appearance of the
•school's find new gym.
Fans will >see a young Pioneer
team go against Shepherd's best.
Perry has two sophomores • and
three juniors on his squad of 12.
Returning as letter winners
from last year's team are three
forwards: Jbhn Kegg, Norm Davis and Chick Gum; starting
center Bill Legg, and guard < Deb
Nolan.
Three scoring centers: Leonard
■McJames, Jeff Raymond, and tall
Vern Hart are other scdring
threats along with forward,Larry Kleinhart. '
Three more guards are senior
Roger Wallace and a pair of big
strong sophomores that cage
fans are going to hear lots more
about', —- Tom Kozinicki and; Jim
Perrine.
Coach Perry, not yet abl^e to
form a qualified judgement of
his team with ho games .under
tl^clr belts as yet, said, that he
rates them a little ahead ol last
year's squad for eagerness to
win (competitive' spirit), and
teamwork ability.
Hometown fans will have a
chance to see them on successive Fridays in the new gym and
against two strong opponents
when they meet Chesaning here
on December 18 after this Friday's opener. Both contests are
against Mid-Michigan B foes.
The Pioneers will play no
more basketball games either
home or away until after the
first of the year. And then they
have only one more game at
home until February 5.
Their new playing floor is
more than twice the size of the
old gym.
Bright paint and super-strong
Mercury-vapor lights make the
immense room as light as the
sunny outdoors. Air conditioning
and the fine acoustics make
spectator conditions better than
local fans have ever experienced.
The Clare High Band will put
on a special inaugural show to
honor the first use of the gym.
Prices for admission are the
same as formerly charged, and
the main entrance is served by
ample parking on the school lot.
Fans enter at the building's
southeast corner.
Clare High basketeers will open their season tomorrow
night in ihe new, most modern gym in Clare's new high
school. From the glass-smooth floor made of thousands
of on-end blocks, to ihe brilliant lights hanging high
above and the trussed ceiling, the new athletic facility
will be a wonder and delight io players and spectators.
Music Group At Baptist Church
Outstanding in the December
activities at the First Baptist
Church is the appearing of
Ralph VanderWerf of Grand
Rapids and   his musical   group
Child Health
Conferences
The child health conference for
December will be held in Clare
on, Tuesday, December 15 from
1 to 3 o'clock in the city hall's
second floor.
Elsewhere in the county the
conferences will be held in Far-
well December 15 from 9 to 11
a.m, in the Methodist church,
and in Harrison Friday, December 18 from 9 to 11 a.m. jln the
courthouse  basement.
next Sunday    evening   at   7:0U
o'clock.
The personnel are Misses Barbara Parr, Mildred Stockwell,
Sharon Messer and Connie Myers, also Tom Coe and direptor,
Ralph VanderWerf. This sextet
contributes many hours filling
request appearances in churches
in western and southern parts of
the state. They present solo, duet, girls' trio and mixed trio and
quartet numbers, together with
a brief gospel message. Visitors
are always welcome.
The annual Christmas program will be presented at the
First Baptist Church Sunday
evening, December 20,th. The
youth and teenagers will depict
the play "Jesus, the Saviour of
the World", which has a missionary accent.
Ruih Herron
Home Bums
?Fire'.that struck twice in the
same family's lives in eight
month-*; destroyed the residence
of Mrs. R-uth Herron arid her
iftothes,, Mrs. Eola McDonel at
4:30 a,{nv Tuesday. Smoking
ijuinst; was, aU that remained of
their'home on Tuesday,
-Their home was a total loss
l&st '.Aprir after another destroying blaze completely gutted the
inside df the building.
;. This we'ek the .family and
friends feit concern for ,Mrs-
McDqriel V/ho has been ill an-S
suffers from a heart ailment.
$he was taken to the home of
another daughter, Mrs. Ernest
Cleveland Where she is being
cared.for by Mrs. Cleveland and
Mrs. Herron.
*• Firemen fought the blaze for
more than three hours in the
■gold night darkness. There was
hq guessing as to how the fire
smarted. *
: The Herron hom& had been rebuilt after last spring's destruction, and a heater in the old
residence had be^n replaced by a
gas furnace.
t. Driven from their beds by the
flight disaster, the two occupants
I)ad no time to save clothes, be
longings or household goods.
" A collection sponsored by the
Church of The Nazarene, Gold
Star Mothers, and American Legion Auxilliary is seeking to refurnish part of the home, and
give the two women clothiag
and bedding to stkrt them once
again. Contributions may be
taken to the kitchen of the Clare
city hall.
Pilgrim Carols
The Congregational Womens
Fellowship met Monday evening
at the church. Mrs. Charles Day,
president, conducted the business meeting.
In keeping with 'Christmas, a
program of "Christmas Carols"
was presented by the Pilgrim
Choif of* the- church, directed* by
Mrs\. Joe Johnston,, with Mrs.
Truman Glenn at the piano.
At .the business meeting,' reports of the bazaar were given
which were very satisfactory,
and other officers and committee
reports were accepted.
Rev. Vait" Barker spoke on the
proposed constitution for the
new United Church of Christ.
Mrs. Harold Fleming of Circle
IV introduced Mrs. Louisa Bowler who gave a beautiful and unusual reading "Tale of a Little
Mute Boy".
Devotions were given by Mrs.
Helen Anderson of Circle III,
opening with group singing
"Silent Night".    She    read    the
§ Many Clare stores will
jf begin staying open eve-
| nings tomorrow for Christie mas shoppers' convenience.
§ Clare's two large hard-
M ware's, Clare Furniture,
j| Household Appliances are
a among those that will be
f open evenings until 9 con-
j| tinviously (except Sundays)
^ all next week and the week
before Christmas. All
stores will close at 6 p.m.
Christmas Eve.
KIWANIANS
G'DFELLOW
NEWS SALE
The Clare Kiwanis club's annual Christmas Goodfellow News
Sale is scheduled for this Saturday on Clare streets and corners.
Hawking a special edition of
The Sentinel, Kiwanians hope to
raise funds for underprivileged
children and many other charitable purposes. It has been an
annual fund-raising activity of
the club for a half-dozen years.
Co-chairmen of the event, Dr.
J. R. Gershon and Richard
Groves have announced that the
Goodfellow Paper will be sold to
business men and professional
men on Thursday and Friday in
a pre-sale campaign to avoid interrupting busy hours on Saturday,
As before, there is no set price
for copies of the paper. Contributors are asked to give as generously as they can when they
purchase copies.
£. Campbell
Elected To
Head Masons
Eugene Campbell will be installed as the Worshipful Master
of. all Clare Masons when John
Q. Look Lodge holds annual ,cere-
monies to confer honors upon
him December 19.
The installation will be open
to the public.
To take office along with
Campbell will be next in line of
authority, Warden Court Bauer.
The Junior Warden is Frank
Poet.
Secretary is Earl Beatty, Treasurer, Burke Collins, Senior Deacon G. B, Wilson^ Junior Deacon,
Jack Green, Chaplain, Ken Roe;
Marshal, Charles Cooper .
Stewards are Larry Wilcox,
Ed Strouse and-Cris Demo with
another to be named, and the
Tyler is Thomas Mickle.
Installing officer is to be Howard M. (Everts, Deputy District
Instructor for Michigan Masons.
Scouts To Aid
Pedestrians
At Crossings
Boy Scouts are going to be
"deputized" by Clare city police
for duty in connection with pedestrian safety.
Police Sergeant Alva Cochran
said that Saturday of this week,
and Friday next week, the uniformed Scouts will be assigned
corners at McEwan and Fifth,
and Fourth where they will hold
ropes to bar pedestrians from
crossing while the traffic lights
are red. Rope barriers will be
dropped while the lights are
green.
Coohran said that Scouts
working under similar police
supervision in Saginaw and other towns both large and small,
had proved to be helpful to police, and a factor in preventing
accidents during Christmas traffic rush hours,
You Have Right To Expect Tax Equality
Clare County Supervisors at
their last regular meeting
passed a resolution to authorize a special committee with
property evaluating powers
throughotit the entire county-
Wide area.
Why? What For?
Our supervisor know full
Well, what is common knowl-
edg-e among: all residents:
That RELATIVE values of
similar properties in separate
townships are not always fair-
'■*"' ly shown on a COUNTY
EQUALIZED basis.
The purpose of the new committee will be to point out
such inequalities, and to try
to level, or bring: system and
order to property evaluations
—anywhere in Clare county.
Since supervisors themselves
have created the new committee, they now Say it Will be up
to themselves and Review
Boards ii» the separate townships to adhere to the system
antt convince people of the'
fairness and Systematic advan-
tages of it.
The folio-wing' article, first in
^ a series by a rural tax expert,
c     explains how ft g*oo<1   govern
ment arrives at fair property
evaluations in relation to values placed on similar properties.
By D. Hale Brake
Most of us kick about our
property taxes, particularly as
they increase from year to year.
Very few of us, however, fully
understand the procedure that
is followed which leads \ip to the
amount that we are to pay in
December or January.
The attempt in this series of
three articles will be to follow
through the steps that must
take place before the township
or city treasurer is given the
tax roll and directed to collect
the taxes, although We will nbt
cover the budget procedure and
allocation by the county allocation board.
Regardless of where the money goes, the fax rate in the
townships is generally /the full
limit bf 15 mills plus anything
that we have voted above that
limitation. In cities, where the
maximum is provided by charter, it is generally higher than
15 mills.
The first, step is taken by the
township supervisor or the city
assessor.  Each  is supposed  to
place a value upon every parcel
of real estate that is taxable, and
all taxable, tangible personal
property within his territory,
and to fix that value as of the
31st of December next preceding.
Rather accurate methods of
determining value have been developed. The' assessors do not
"guess" as much as some of us
suspect.
Additions to the value . . , •
such as the building of a new
house after December *31st ...
are not properly included. Neither is a loss of value . . . for instance from the burning of a
house after, that date ... to be
deducted.
"The board (of review) shall
not add to the roil any property
not .subject to taxation on the
tax day, nor shall it remove
from the roll any property subject to"- taxation on said day regardless of any change in the
taxable status of such property
since such day."    ,
The supervisor must have all
the property listed and valued
before the hoard of review meets
oh the 'Tuesday following the
first" Monday of March.
The board of review goes over
his figures with full -power to
raise the values, lower them, or
leave them as they are. The
board meets again on the second Monday and Tuesday following in March and every taxpayer who does not do so has
generally lost any recourse that
he might otherwise have in the
future,    'a
The law does not require the
supervisor or the ' board of review to notify the taxpayer of
the amount of his assessment or
of any change made in it. Some
supervisors do give notice of a
change, as a service to the taxpayer, not required by law.
One who has appeared be- {
fore the board of review and
complained about his assessment . . . and obtained no
satisfactory relief from that
action . . , may have an. appeal
to the state tax commission,
which commission may make
such change in the assessment
as the members thereof deem
proper, or they also may leave
it as the board of review had
' determined.
The sum of these valfres, when
approved ,by the, board of review
or the state tax commission in
case of an appeal, constitutes the
assessed valuation of the township or. city. The list is the assessment roll.
Now, what is important about
this procedure?
It is not vital, as we shall see
later, that the assessment be
high or that it be. low, •
Although the law says that
every piece of property that is
taxable shall be assessed at its-,
true value, taxes are not levied
on the basis of the assessed
value, and the thing that is
really vital in this step bf the
procedure is that every parcel or-
part of the taxable property in
the township or city involved be
assessed on the same basis.
If a supervisor assesses one
farm at what he thinks is 50
per cent of its cash value,' then
every other farm, every other
lot, i every stock of merchandise,
every other bit of persohal property in that township should be
assessed at 50 per cent of its
cash value. If some of the propf
erty is assessed at 50 per cent,
some at 25 per cent, and perhaps some other af 75 per cent,
and no appeal is taken to the
state tax commission, there will
be no- cure for that injustice
later on, because when the supervisor and the board of review
get through with their work they
have taken the last step so far
as the relative value of the various items in that township or
city is concerned.
Getting the relative value of
each parcel or part of the property in the township on the same
.basis is the "really important
thing for the supervisor and his
board of review to do, and if the
other two steps (which we will
discuss, next week and the week
thereafter)', are' taken properly it
iviil make no7differenee Jn the
amount of taxes each of *s Will
have to pay whether the supervisor assesses- us all at 40 per
cent, 50 per cent, or at some
other percentage of our cash value. It will cause irreparable injustice if he has some of Us
high and others of Us low.
Next week we shall see what
cotaty equalization has to do
with the problem, and the Week
thereafter we will deal With the
final step," namely, state equalization.
Latest Water Well Is
Another Disappointment
Another major setback in.
Clare's efforts to tap a permanent water supply" for the city
was announced Monday evening
at the City Commission meeting
when City Manager Clarence
Gum told the mayor and commissioners that the newest Well
can deliver no more than half
the volume expected.
The well which Layne-Northern drilling company had
thought would .put 750 gallons
per minute into the water system on the northeast side, tests
less than 350 gallons and is a defeat to the expectations of both
the company and the Commission.
Scientific exploration and ' extensive tests had shown the
spot in Clare's Foell Addition to
be the" best location for drilling.
But like two attempts earlier
in other locations, the, actual
production failed to live up to
rosy  expectations.
Prospects for hew sources -• of,
water for Clare are pluhged back
to the gloomy conditions like,
those following the Michigan
'Department of Health's condemnation of the big well in the
city park under the city's towering tank.
The drilling firm on December
21, wili give commissioners a
detailed report to explain -the
failure of the new project to deliver water. Gum, said this week
that he doesn't think the.*picture
can be called hopeless. Layne-
Nprthern, while holding out no
optimism for the newest ' Well,
nevertheless will offer some
choices by which the city might
salvage partial benefits vof the
project.
Of. special interest immediately are terms of the city's contract with the drilling firm by
which it was provided that
Layne-Northern complete a well
delivering a specified amount of
water, or the city does not accept the transaction as final.
At least two city commissioners are seriously interested in
the new. possibility of "Using/purified Tobacco river water for a
city supply and do away entirely with well water for -city Use.
A report of estimated costs, of
such a scheme may be introduced at an early Commission
meeting with a motion that the
idea be presented to voters as a
ballot proposal.
If support for a river water
purification system can be mustered, it will depend on convincing the public that Clare is des*
tined for continued growth, and
must sooner or later find "a
water source better than wells. -
Geologists say that -a glacial
drainage channel is the real
"water vein" that drillers are
seeking. It lies under a, part of
Clare, and extends a little east
of due north. Geological soundings have proved the channel is
there, but it has defied drillers'
attempts to pinpoint it with a
bit.
Some members of the^. Commissi on are now looking at continued ,probing for well water as
expensive and likely to yield
less than the necessary amounts
needed.
One thing they know, residents
are far from satisfied with the
quality, taste and color of the
public water supply 'in Clare-
Householders and commercial
users complain frequently that
Clare water is not as good as it
used to'be, and not Of good enough quality to be satisfied With
for the future.
Besides this, the supply is uncertain.
The city's supply is not one
bit improved over what it was
in the early part of 1957 when
the city put down a well southwest of the cemetery.
That Well, too was located on
good information and after advice from former drillers in that
area who had run through
water-bearing strata while they
were looking for oil.
Sand-plugged screens prevented the delivery of any water
from that well, (City Well No.
4).
,Well No. 1 is the one across
the street from city hall, condemned by the State Health Department as being too near sources of pollution. No, 2 is a terrific producer, — but nobody
likes the water!
Located hear the intersection
of West Fourth street and Maple, the well was once estimated
to have more than l.,200 gallons
per minute to capacity. However
the water is rusty" colored and
has an objectionable taste and
odor.
So Well No. 3 remains the
city's5 only  source of water. It
is at .the. west end of John R,
street and delivers only scant
minimum supplies. In an emer» .
gertcy, Well No. 2 is called upon
to raise the pressure in mains
and the supply tank level.
.Meanwhile   more than   eighty • '
cities,    villages    and    organized,
trouble   with   short   supplies  Of
townships * in Michigan are  < in
vital water.
Many , communities, among
them Clare, Alma, Evart, Mt.
Pleasant and others large and
small are improving wells, or
drilling new ones.
But State Health Authorities
and engineers in municipal wat- N
er department are noting hhore
and more samlping of surfa'ce
water in rivers and lakes for
use by communities.
Brookwood
Water Dist.
Enlarged
City Commissioners at their
regular meeting Monday evening
took one step foreward in the
water-main project for the Brookwood subdivision when they directed City Manager Clarence
Gum to.outline a new and larger
area of service for the special assessment district.
Effect of the alteration of the
district boundaries will be to distribute the cost of the proposed
improvement among more property owners. Theory is that more
property will be benefitted than
just that land adjacant to the
streets where the new water
service mains are proposed to be
laid.
The revision of the assessment
district ic now in progress according to Mr. Gum.
: Other business at the Commission meeting was  action on a
p&tftiott tb hums tm road from
old US-10 in to the new Clare
Manufacturing plant, Holley
Street It is in honor of the Ciare
firm's parent organization.
Naming of the street corrected
a situation since the new plant
was built, under which the industry had no address" since the
street was created but not
named.
Commissioners also voted to
furnish labor and water for
flooding of the ice skating rink
hear" Clare' Public school. It* has
been customary for the school to
provide supervision of the recreation.
Mr. Gum said that flooding
would begin as soon as freezing'
weather set in, and the city is
already leveling off the area
where hoses will pour water.
Financial help for the City
Fire Department's Christmas
party for children was voted iti
the amount of $125.00.
Isabella 4-H
Enrollments
Among recent enrollments that
have been received from 4-H
clubs in Isabella county are:
Leaton' 4-H Club under the
leadership of Mr. and Mrs. Paul-
Moeggenberg and Mrs. Hays
have 35 members enrolled in
clothing, electrical, handicraft.
Their officers are Gloria Zawacki,
president; Kenny Cole, vice president; Vicki Moeggenberg, Secretary "and Janet Hart, treasurer.
Rosebush Rose Buds 4-H Club
under the leadership of Mrs,
Hugh Swindlehurst, Mrs. Russell
Robertson, Mrs. ROy Keller and
'Mrs, Carl Seiter have 20 members enrolled in the clothing-project. Their officers are Sandra
Keller, president; Carole Bair-a,
vice president; Lynn Hovey, secretary; Bonnie Miller, treasurer;
and Deanna Keller, reporter.. '
Rosebush Teen-Timers 4-H!
Club under the leadership ' -of
Mrs, Don'Swindlehurst and Mrs.
Earl House haye 10 members enrolled in the' clothing project.
Their officers are Emily Bowerman, president; Jean Watsortj
vice president, Connie Johnson*
secretary and Diann Marshall,
Treasurer,   '
Little Beavers 4-H Club under,
the leadership of Mrs, Edward
Garrett, Mrs. Rudolph Leuclef,
Mrs: Charles Garrett and Mrs
Kenneth Martin have 25 meh>
bers enrolled in child care, cloth*
ing, and jr, leadership. Their
officers are Leannk Garrett,
president; Sue Struble, vice pres*
ident; "Mary Houghton, secretary
and Sharon Haupt, treasurer,