1964-10-28; Saline Reporter

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VOLUME 15, NUMBER 7 ~ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1964
10c PER COPY — $3 PER YEAR
IN
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LESLIE CARMAN, SALINE HOMECOMING QUEEN,
poses with her court. Seated at left of the queen is Jill Alber,
runner-up for the crown. High school representatives in the
court, shown standing left to right: Kathy Mader, 8th grade;
Paula Stevens, 9th grade; Barbara Lossing, 11 grade; Janet
Haab, 10th grade; Shirley Finkbeiner, 8th grade.
City Candidates Say:
(All City of Saline candidates for the offices of mayor
and councilmen were offered
space in The Reporter pages to
CItv Has Surplus
Of About $40,000,
Says Bennett
The city has a surplus of "between $35,000 and $40,000",
Mayor Jack Bennett said this
week, and "this means that the
taxpayer paid six *to seven mills
more in taxes than was necessary".
The mayor, a candidate for a
third term on Tuesday's city
ballot, said: "I would like to
express my stand on some of
the issues that have been
brought up this past few weeks
in the matter of budget and finance. I don't feel proud of the
fact that we have between
$35,000 and $40,000 surplus this
past fiscal year. This surplus
means that the taxpayer paid
six to seven mills more in taxes
than was necessary."
"True, we have places to
spend this money, but I do not
condone this type of budgeting'.
I would work for a more realistic budget. I 'am not in favor
of a deficit budget, but you
must admit that it at least
shows that something was accomplished even if there wasn't
money available."
"Another area, in which I
would work hard to improve is
our park. This past summer,
Curtiss Park went unattended
except for routine police patrol.
This is not enough. I will see
that we have full-time protection for our children in the
park. Also, I will push to return
full-time care for Oakwood Cemetery."
"For some time now. we have
been in need of a new Fire Hall
and Citv Hall. Every year for
the past four years, this issue
has come before the Council and
the Question is always raised as
to where the money is coming
from. My answer'was 'bonding'
and the iob would" have been
(Continued on page 2)
CITY CLERK HOSPITALIZED
Saline'City..Clerk, Bill Muir,
is under medical treatment at
Saline Community- Hospital this
week. He entered the hospital
Saturday afternoon.
KIWANIS CLUB PLANS
"FARMERS' NIGHT"
The Kiwanis ChXb of Saline
will observe "Farmers' Night"
at their meeting Monday, November 2, at Walker's Bakery.
The meeting will begin with
dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Robert Tefft is the program
chairman for the evening.
PUBLIC HEARING SET
A public hearing on the re-
zoning of the Meha property
will be held at 8 p.m. Monday,
November 16, at the City Hall.
discuss their qualifications and
any issues they felt to be of importance to the city and, in the
past two issues, some of them
have done so. Other articles prepared by them appear below.
Pictures and "vital statistics"
of ALL city candidates will he
found on page IA.)
George Johnson
Lists Needed
City Projects
Councilman George Johnson,
a candidate for mayor, this
week reviewed previously cited
opinions and listed work he
hopes to see done in the city.
He said:
"Briefly I would like to review some of my views stated
in earlier issues of The Reporter. I feel our city ordinances
need revision, many of our ordinances are outdated, outmoded and conflict with state laws.
The new charter adopted two
years ago provides for periodic
revision and this has not been
done."
"I oppose any tax increase at
this time. Instead, I propose, the
mayor and Council must be
completely sure that the present
tax dollar is being spent wisely."
"Other projects I am very
much interested in are commencing a reforestation program to replace the shade trees
we are losing ea'ch year, continuing to expand the present park
and study the possible need for
(Continued on page 2)
Saline Needs
"Growth Plan",
Strohl Says
Saline needs a long-range
growth program "to maintain a
balanced economic growth along
with the population growth,"
Councilman Robert Strohl said
this week. He stated:    .
"The past few years have set
quite a growth pattern for the
city of Saline, and all indications are that this growth is
going to continue."
"One of the largest problems
this poses for the city is to
maintain a balanced economic
growth along with the population growth. This means we not
only must attract new industry
but also encourage, new small
businesses to occupy our downtown stores."
"For the City Council, this
means a lot of hard work in
more long-range planning and
policy making. In order to attract business and industry, I
feel we must have more than
a nice community and excellent
schools. We must also have a
place for them to build. We
must have sewage and' water
lines at these locations. We
must have more to offer than
other communities. And we
(Continued on page 2)
Area Election
Boards Brace
For Huge Vote
Local election officials are
braced for an enormous voter
turn-out Tuesday, and the longest vote-counting job in the area's' history.
All of them report record
numbers of absentee ballots ...
39 so far in the City of Saline;
eight in Saline Township; 11 in
Lodi Township; "in the 40's"
in York Township; aiid 80- in
Pittsfield Township, which never cast more than 55 absentee
ballots before.
City Clerk E. J. Muir urged
voters to go to the polls early,
to avoid the expected long waiting lines in the evening hours.
"There is a legal limit of two
minutes in the voting booth,"
he reminded residents, "and
while we have never enforced
this before, if many people are
waiting we may have no choice
but to do so . . . or at least to
hurry people along." Saline now
has 1,481 registered voters.
The more populous York;
Township (which includes part
of Milan) now has 2,470 persons registered and the election
board there finished counting
primary election votes at 6:45
a.m. the following day. They expect another all-night stint.
All of the absentee ballots
must be cast after the polls
■close, before counting begins.
No voter line-up is expected-
in the townships, however;
Pittsfield Township has three
machines in one precinct and
four in the other. York votes
paper precincts. So does Lodi
Township, which can set up nine
voting booths if needed. The City of Saline, however, has only
three machines.
" Absentee ballots may still be
obtained until 2 p.m. Saturday.
Rev. George Laurent
Arrested while Aiding
Negro Vote Registration
SAUNE JAYCEES TACKLE PARK PROJECT.  Last
week face-lifting work started at the Curtiss Park comfort
station. Members of the young men's service club plan to
re-do both the interior and the exterior of the building during the weeks ahead. Mapping the work last Saturday at the
park: George Newton, Bob Hull, repair chairman, John Proctor, Jaycee President Charles Lamberson, Paul Horn, park
project chairman, and Jim Riviera. Hull's two sons, Mike
and Chris, stand down front.
United Fund Drive
Reaches 5% of Goal
The Saline Area United Fund
Drive, in the first week of the
campaign, reached five per cent
of its goal, Buford Soden, drive
chairman, announced today.
Reported returns totalled
about $650, of the $13,095 goal.
The reports so far were almost entirely from businesses,
Soden said. No returns have
been reported from residential
districts, although solicitations
are well under way there.
Anderson Cites
Activities, City
Improvements
Council candidate George Anderson this week listed areas of
public service in which he has
been active, and discussed the
city capital improvements program, the cemetery ordinance,
and the proposed new zoning
ordinance which is still under
study. He said:
"I feel that my background
in civic activities in the community over the past few years
has shown an interest and a
sense of responsibility to the
city of Saline. I feel gratified
to have been given the opportunity to serve the community
in an elected or appointed capacity over these years in the
following activities:"
' "Councilman, city of Saline,
1962. 1963."
"Member of Saline Recreation Commission, 1963."
"On tax Board of Review,
1964."
"Appointed to City Planning
Commission, June, 1964."
"City of Saline Michigan
Week General Chairman, 1964."
/ "On Board of Directors, Saline Area Business Development
Corp."
"While I was serving on the
Council, many items were ini-
-(Continued on page 2)
Intermediate School
Plans Open House
Open house for parents of
children attending the Intermediate School will be held Monday, November 2.
All parents attending will
meet in the gymnasium, where
Principal Dwight Reynolds will
give a short talk and schedules
for the evening will be distributed.
Due to the fullness of the
evening, the program will begin
at 8 pjn. sharp.
Refreshments will be served
in - the school cafeteria at the
close of the evening.
CouncilNeeds
Definite Goals,
Says Beach
The City Council "needs to
set definite goals" rather than
operating on a "day by day,
item by item" basis, Hubert
Beach, Council candidate, said
this week. He stated:
"In the past, our City Council, beset by many problems,
has lost sight of their purpose.
They have tried to run each department on a day by day, item by item basis. This is the
job of the department heads."
"You elect your City Council as a legislative body to make
policy decisions."
"I would urge the Council to
set definite goals to guide themselves, the Planning Commission
and the department heads. 'No
decision' is, in fact, a 'decision
to do nothing' and often worse
than a wrong decision. The real
question before a council is:
'What direction do we want our
city to go and how do we help
it that way?' "
"What I feel are errors and
oversights in the past have impelled me to attempt to do a
better job for Saline."
"If I am elected, I expect I
will make all of the people mad
some of the time and some of
the people mad all of the time.
However, I will do my best, as
I see it, for you and Saline all
the time."
"I ask you to vote for me
November 3."
Jaycees
To Report
On Elections
In an effort to speed up the
reporting of vote results of the
Presidential, governor and U.S.
Senate races at the precinct level in the Tuesday general election in Michigan, the Saline Jaycees will serve as special election precinct reporters for Network Election Service (NES).
The NES news group includes
ihe Associated Press, United
Press. International, and ABC,
NBC, and CBS radio and television networks.
Chuck Lamberson, president
of the Saline Jaycees, said members of his chapter will caE
from their assigned precincts
with results of the three key
races to NES' news gathering
center at the Leland Hotel in
Detroit.
The Rev. George Laurent,
pastor of the First Baptist -
Presbyterian Church here, is in
.jail in Mississippi.
He is one of several ministers arrested Monday and Tuesday in Magnolia, Miss., when
they accompanied Negroes to
the county court house to aid
them in registering to vote.
So far as Mr. Laurent knows,
none of the Negroes was registered, but about 30 — including
the pastors — were jailed. They
are" charged with trespassing
and with refusing to obey an
officer of the law.
George Laurent arrived in
Mississippi on Monday; he is
one of many ministers sent into
the area in a Negro registration
project coordinated by the National Council of Churches and
the United Presbyterian Church.
Several have been sent by the
Synod of Michigan during the
summer, and there were five
Presbyterian ministers on the
plane down, he said.
He had less than 24 hours to
become familiar with the situation there before he was rendered hors de combat — probably for the rest of his stay - by
the arrest. "I expect to stay
here a while," he said Wednesday morning. "Somebody had
forspend the time in jail." The
Council of Federated Organizations can't go on posting $300
bail per person for everybody,
every day, he explained.
'(^riateiv though*unconfirmed,
report said that Mr. Laurent
was released Wednesday noon.)
He expects to be bailed out in
pijf^Tj
Child Study
Club Marks
20th Birthday
The Saline Child Study Club
met last week at the Sauk Trail
Inn, with past members invited
to help celebrate the club's 20th
anniversary.
. Past members invited were
Mrs. H. L. Engel, Mrs. Henry
Karner, Mrs. Gordon Prout,
Mrs. Edward Fischer, Mrs. Robert Smith, Mrs. Hugh Keveling, Mrs. Paul Reed, and Mrs.
Lauren Wild. Another guest was
Mrs. M. J. Hanifi.
Past presidents poured: Mrs.
John Schild, Mrs. Paul Woods,
Mrs. Howard Kuhl, and. Mrs.
Gordon Esch. Hostesses were
Mrs. Lee Robison, Mrs. Jerome
Lamb, and Mrs. Carl O'Brien.
Prefers Results
To "Conversation",
Cogar Says
Harry Cogar, candidate for a
City Council seat in Tuesday's
election, said in a prepared
statement this week that he
feels Salinians "are more interested in results than conversation." Said Cogar:
"I have never been overly impressed with campaign promises before an election; therefore,
I will not burden the voters with
a long list of promises."
"It is my feeling that the citizens of Saline are more interested in results than in conversation. They are certainly too
intelligent to be swayed by an
emotionally-loaded tirade of
double talk which spreads a million words indiscriminately and
says nothing."
"At the time my petition was
presented as a candidate for
City Council, mv basic position
was published. My friends have
given me no indication that they
would like to see these principles altered."
"If elected, it is my intention
to work diligently for any and
all measures which will, in my
opinion, be beneficial to the majority of our citizens and fair
to all."
"I feel that I have the background, ability and judgment to
make a worthwhile contribution
to the government of this city.
If you share the opinions I have
stated, I would appreciate your
support on November 3."
C-C MEETS TUESDAY
TO MAP YULE PLANS
Saline Chamber of Commerce
will meet next Tuesday, November 3, at 1 p.m. at Leutheuser's Restaurant. Principal
business of the session, according to President Harry Parsons, will be planning Christ;
mas promotion events for Saline retailers.
Rev. Laurent
time to return to Saline next
Tuesday — election day.
Meanwhile, he is "not particularly" comfortable.. "The accommodations are primitive." The
prisoners sleep on a concrete
floor, are given two meals a
day. Plumbing 'consists of a hole
in the floor "which floods all
over everything".
He has not been mistreated,
he said, though several of the
Negroes were "roughed up".
But local police are far from
courteous. "They curse with every other word. The state police
aren't so bad; thank goodness,
they were there."
He described the Negro people whom he was attempting to
aid: "These people are wonderful. They are responsible people, intelligent, and very articulate. Educated? Well, yes and
no, but certainly very eloquent."
"These kids in COFO are very
courageous. Do you know, they
have two-way radio, and they
keep in contact all the time, because some of them might be
kidnapped or beaten. Down here
you never go anywhere alone
. . . you walk in pairs."
"You get uneasy," he added.
"But it's a job to get many
people to go and try to register. They're scared. People keep
coming and coming to the court
house, and they can't register."
Bombings and church burnings
have occurred almost daily in
the area.
One of tlie women who was
arrested with Mr. Laurent had
had her house bombed. He cited
another case of a house bombing, after which the bombers
were 'caught. They were fined
$500 "because it was a first offense" . . . but the owner of the
home was fined $600 "for operating a garage, because he
had been repairing his car."
Mr. Laurent's arrest occurred
when he and a group of Negroes
went to the court house Tuesday afternoon and were told
that the registrar was in court
and "we'd have to go away and
come back later. Then they told
us we had to leave the court
house parking lot because we
wer'e blocking the way." When
they refused to leave, all were
arrested.
He is not held incommunicado
in the jail; he answered a person-to-person phone call from
The Reporter. Wednesdav. But:
"It's hard to believe this is America."
Funds are still badly needed
to support the project, he said,
and they will be needed so that
work can continue even after
the election. Salinians who wish
to make donations may do so
through Donald Jaeger, treasurer of the church here.
The experience, jail and all, is
"well worth it", Mr. Laurent
said. An active member of
CORE, he has also taken part
in Civil Rights demonstrations
in Ann Arbor.
"These ai'e wonderful people
and they need help," he concluded. "Urge people to be concerned. Urge them to realize
that it matters."
Mrs. Laurent, who is in Saline, said today that she is in
"perfect and complete sympathy" with her husband's Civil
Rights work. "If I could go and
be a witness, I would," she said.
"I feel it is a shame that the
American people can't understand better and faster."
';/  Sy
r^V.  7**
N?
Congressman George Meader and State Representative
Thomas Sharpe met with local farmers Thursday in a visit
to the Fred Braun dairy farm on Bemis Rd. The legislators,
even though both have seen milking parlors before, both. said,
tiiey were "enormously impressed" with the efficiency of
the operation and the amount of capital involved. In the discussion, above, are George Anderson, who accompanied the
legislators; Sharpe, Braun, Andrew Ernst, and Meader.