The Key West Citizen Newspaper, October 12, 1954, Page 1

é et Key West, Florida, has the most equabie climate in the country, with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit Fire Destroys Truman Avenue Apt. House "Pwelvé persons, including weven children, were left jhomeless when fire com- pletely destroyed a two story frame structure at 1011 Tru- man Avenue, shortly after 6 . John J. Fell- three children ranging FeTEhe Be ? as mi to =. to First firemen on the scene ly driven from the build- by heat. of the flames. “Fire Chief Charles Cremata, who ‘attived on the scene only minutes ‘After the first alarm was turned in, " immediately ordered a general al- arm, a move which brought a Navy fire truck to the scene. Fire fighters pumped tons of water through 1,000 feet. of hose than an hour before the faze was brought under control, . Total Loss ‘The building, and its furnishings was listed today as a complete loss. The owner of the building, Mario Mora, 3407 Avenue E, said that all of the apartments were occupied. & Total damage will amount to up- wards of $8,000 chief Cremata said today. Cause of the fire is as yet un- determined although insurance adjusters; and the city’s fire in- 8) r theorize: that it resulted from overloaded wiring or children playing with matches. Chief Cremata was high in his praise today of the cooperation he received from the Navy fire de- partment and other citizens who helped handle the hose lines. Mendoza Wires Appeal For Funds A Key Wester who took his four- year-old son to Cuba in the hope that physicians there could cure a rare blood disease, is destitute there and in need of funds. 3 3 8 & The man, Charles Mendoza, 4-F |; Porter Place, today wired an ur-| gent appeal for funds to The Citi- zen. The telegram: “Timothy admit- ted to hospital. Needs transfusion and treatment. Funds depleted. Please ask Conchs to help. Send to Gran Hotel, Teniente Rey and Sul- ueta, Habana. Tell my mother not to’ worry. Thank You.” Mendoza says his son is suffering from a disease known as Cooley's anemia. NOTICE! NOTICE! Anthony De Note, M.D. Eye Specialist Will Be Here For Consultation On SATURDAY, OCT. 16 for Appointment... CALL DR. J. A. VALDES, TELEPHONE 2-7821 Che Kev THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S.A. KEY WEST, FLORIDA, | ESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1954 For Quick Communication, Use CLASSIFIED Ads! You'll reach buyers and sellers— tenants or workers . . . Just DIAL 2-5661 or 2.5662 Today PRICE FIVE CENTS ounty Gives NAL3 | Days To Pay Or Quit — Airline To Be Foreed Out Commussion Airs Lruman Ave Job ~ _D fighters swarm into second-story of building at 1011 ‘Truman Avenue p photo in effort to quell blaze which completely destroyed building In lower photo, jh pressure stream at adjacent porch. in fire. General alarm was sounded—JKB Photos. ; a aly Details Given ‘Two mén sustained minor in- juries in @ two-car crash yes- terday' on U.S, 1 near Sugar Loaf Shores, the sheriff's office I, 38, of Lit i, was taken to al Hospital with Cornelius jor of Per- was injured Miami for ky’s Lodge, but conti to iedin Was a passenger in a car driven by Robert Mc- Pherson, 16, of Kuy West. Pherson was driv- 's department by Bernard Jen- Lodge, is today were heard j rt by Judge Tho- , the offenses, and | low: , drunk driving | license, $150 or 90) | m, drunk, 30 - day sentence ed providing he leave to Jack Carter, drunk, $15 or 15) | days. : | | Jack drunk, $15 or 15 Friedman, Mi malicious mischief to | ty, was sentenced ‘costs plus 60 days. deferred provided he po damages he did ip—Film actor Doria for a four- | central Bahamas today and tonight | Twelve persons, including seven children, Uncertainty Grows As To Hazel’s Path MIAMI, (® — Hurricane Hazel carried its 115- mile winds into waters just south of the Windward Passage today and spun north- ward toward the populous eastern end of Cuba, site of the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay. But the movement of the tropi- | cal storm was virtually blocked | by a high pressure system to the | north and its movement was very slow. Its forward pace did not ex- ceed eight miles an hour. Hurricane warnings flew over éastern Cuba and Haiti, and the} southeastern Bahamas were under a hurricane alert. ADVISORY MIAMI (#—The Miami Weather Bureau issued this 11 a. m. (EST) advisory on hurricane Hazel: Hurricane Hazel continues on a north-northeast course at about 7 miles per hour and at 11 a. m.| (EST) was centered at latitude 19.0 north, longitude 74.0 west or 110 miles southeast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Highest winds esti-| mated 115 miles per hour over small area near center and gales | extend outward 125 miles in all| quadrants. Gale to hurricane force winds | will continue in the Windward chan- | nel and adjacent land areas and | will increase over the east and | | | as the hurricane progresses north- northeast. | The hurricane will be distorted | by passing through the mountain | area of Haiti and eastern Cuba but will reform as it moves into | the Atlantic. Precautions should be continucd | in Haiti and eastern Cuba and) should be taken in the eastern Bahamas against destructive wind, | heavy rains and abnormally high tides. | Continued slow movement at} about the same speed and in same | direction is expected for the next| 12 to 18 hours. The next advisory will be at 5 |ed last night to arrange for a sur- SSS Time To Mail Xmas Parcels The Post Office has again de- signated the period from Oc- tober 15 to November 15 as the time for mailing Christmas par-. cels to members of the Armed Forces serving overseas, with a reasonable assurance of their. delivery in time for the holi- day. If you have such a package to mail, see the story on page 12 for complete mailing rules and the deadline for the area to which your package is to go. City Hall Survey Authorized Mon. The city manager was authoriz- vey of the city hall as the first) step in a possible modernization of the 63 year old building. City Commissioner Delio Cobo} moved for the survey saying that | the building should be remodelled | and all city offices moved under} one roof. He said that he has re-| ceived dozens of complaints since | some city offices were moved to! Poinciana. “We can’t afford a new city hall | so I think we should make use of the building we have here,” said| Cobo, “‘we have two city halls now | and neither of them are ade- quate.” NO CHANGE TODAY MEMPHIS, Ten”. (#—Politico E. H. Crump, 80, suffering from severe heart disease, continued today in critical condition at his jome. Cool Reception Given SRD Plan At Meeting Mon. By JIM COBB A plan to widen Truman Avenue to four lanes met with a cool reception last night from the city commis- sion when they met in spec- ial session. After City Manager Vic- tor Lang had outlined the plan, the commission moved to “conduct a further inves- tigation of the possibility of widening Truman Avenue” — a move that veteran po- litical observers hold a- mounts to the commission shelving the proposal. SRD Offer ‘The state road department had offered to contruct a modern four- ane highway, if the city could ob- LQhecy: cessary right-of-way.” cording to City Manager Lang, @ total of 30 additional feet will be needed for construction of the highway. Lang told the commis- sion that he didn’t think the state road department would be interest- ed in building anything less than a four lane road. Lang had pointed out that if 15 feet were bought on each both the north and south sides of Truman Ave., a total of 87 structures there would have to be either moved or altered. Buildings Affected If the needed 30 feet were taken from the south side, it would af- fect 77 buildings now standing, Lang said. He went on to say that if the city negotiates for the purchase of two 15.foot strips @long each side of Truman Ave., only 42 structures would be affected. He recommended that the com- mission take immediate action in passing a zoning ordinance which would call for 30 foot setbacks on Truman Ave. so that in the future, if the widening program is under- taken, there will be no additional problems resulting from buildings being too close to the street. County Problem, Too Lang also suggested that the city offer their full cooperation to the county commission in the project. “This is a county problem as well as one for the city,” said Lang. But after a brief discussion, the four members of the commission present voiced the opinion that ob- taining the right-of-way would be too ambitious a project for the city to undertake. Mayor C, B. Harvey led the op- position to the proposal. “We'd rather build the street and let them obtain the right-of-way,” said the Mayor. “They are asking too much.” “End Parking” The Mayor added that if Truman Ave. is widened to four lanes, it | will be wider than Roosevelt Blvd. “J think we ought to end parking on Truman Ave. and acquire land for off-street parking,” he continu- ed. The other commissioners present, HEAR COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOE ALLEN Give Unprejudiced Facts on the Airport Question Tonight t | p. m. (EST). \ Dr. Delio Cobo, Jack Delaney, and Paul R. Roberts were also cautious in their endorsement of the plan. “I'd like to see Truman Ave. widened, but I am afraid that it would place a tremendous burden on property owners there,” said Dr. Cobo. “I don’t want to see this plan given up — let’s learn more about it,’ Delaney commented. Shallow Lot Question “What about the people on Tru- man Ave. with shallow lots — wouldn’t it ruin them?” asked Roberts. He was assured by City Manag- er Lang that the value of their pro- perty would increase because of the widening of the street, despite the fact that their lots would be smaller. When it came time to’ make a decision on whether or not they would proceed with the program, Mayor Harvey pointed to commis- sioner Roberts and said: “I’ve got an appointment. Mr. Roberts is the mayor now.” Harvey then stalked from the commission chambers. The remaining commissioners then voted to call for further study - In. other action by the commis- sion last night, they grantéd a 67 day extension on the sewer con- tract by the Powell Brothers Con- struction Co., of Ft. Lauderdale and postponed negotiations for the purchase of land at Simonton and Angela Sts. for use as a parking area. E. Ni Powell, of the sewer con- tracting company appeared before the commission asking that the city waive a penalty clause which would have cost his firm nearly $10,000. Powell told the commis- sion that his phase of the project scheduled to be completed July 10 was not finished until Sept. 17 be- cause of delays in obtaining pump- ing equipment, a city ruling that they could not use dynamite in ex- cavation operations and a ruling that they could not work in cer- tain areas during the city’s tourist season. After it was brought out that the city would not teceive a share of | the penalty, the commission agreed to waive the penalty, A change order amounting to $825 was also approved last night. Seaboard Train Hits Machin WOODBINE, Ga. (#—The crack Seaboard Air Line passenger train Silver Meteor knifed through a huge highway earth mover at high speed north of here yesterday but rolled safely to an emergency stop. Camden County Sheriff Willie Smith said only the speed of the train, which he estimated at 177 to 80 miles per hour, and the fact the earth mover was unloaded pre- vented a disaster. The southbound train snapped the earth mover from its tractor so cleanly that the tractor driver, J. L. Davis of Brunswick, escaped with a sprained shoulder and lac- mith whose eyes were struck by glas: splinters, reported the earth mover At Meacham Unless It Pays By DENIS SNEIGR A notice to quit Meacham Field yesterday was hand- ed National Airlines by Harold Wilde, county airport con- sultant. : Wilde, according to Paul Sawyer, county legal ad- viser, gave this notice to George Baker, NAL president, in the line’s Miami office. The notice to quit the field, filed under the delin- quent tenant’s act, says NAL owes Monroe County $5,144 for rent and landing fees from January 1 to August 81. SRD Suit Filed To Recover Highway Lands Eight-Page Bill Of Complaint Says Move Illegal A knock-down, dragout legal battle is shaping up for control of more than 700 acres of choice keys land as the result of a suit filed in civeuit-eourt Monday by the state Foad departnient. In an eight page bill of compiiint, the road department alleges that the action of the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District Commis- sion in turning over their lands to the county commission, when the bonded indebtedness incurred to fi- nance the Overseas Highway was illegal. Ask Ruling They asked the court to rule deeds to the land invalid and to return the land to the state road department. They allege that the lands should be turned over to the SRD under the terms of a 1946 lease - pur- chase agreement. They also claim that a 1947 legislative act giving the lands to the county is invalid. Named as defendants in the suit were Anthony Demeritt, Hilario Ramos, John Joseph Cleare, En- rique Esquinaldo, Sam E. Harris and Vincete Molina, all members of the toll commission; C. G. Hicks, secretary of the panel; County Commissioners Joe Allen, Frank Bentley, Clarence Higgs, Gerald Saunders and Harry Harris and County Clerk Earl Adams. Chance To Clarify * Both the county and the toll com- missioners have indicated that they are glad of the opportunity to clari- fy “once and for all” the true own- ership of the land. “Since this situation came up, it is a good opportunity to clarify the true ownership of the lands,” said Anthony Demeritt, chairman of the toll commission. “We feel that the property is ours and we will fight for it. I'm glad the question is coming up now instead of later,” said County Com- missioner Joe Allen. Commission To Meet Demeritt added that a meeting of the toll commission will be ecall- ed shortly to discuss steps to be taken to fight the suit. The com- mission’s attorney, William V. Al- bury, submitted his resignation Oct. 1, shortly after the final bond was retired. He said at that time that he felt his duties were com- pleted. Commissioner Allen said that the _ suit would. probably be handled “through the county attorney.” The defendants have 2 days in which to file their answer to the bill of complaint. The notice to quit gives NAL three days in which to vacate the field or to pay the bill. _At the end of three days, if the airline has not acted, Sawyer said he will file a petition for an evic tion notice with County Judge Raymond R. Lord, First Legal Step The notice to quit was the first move in law in the squabble be- tween the county and NAL that began January 1. On that day, the county put into effect a new scale of landing fees at Meacham Field. The new fees called fur the com- mercial airlines to pay 50 cents for each passenger landing or off at Meacham. _— NAL refused to collect it from te acca Aerovias ‘Q the fee from passengers and turn- ing the money over to the count~ each month. Fees Pile Up The $5,144 due the county from NAL is based on the 50-cent fee plus $35 per month rent for the ae the line occupies at the eld. The county has plans in the works for an improvement and ex- Pansion program at ry Progr: Meacham The Civil Aeronautics Authority recently granted the county $130,- 000 for the improvements. NAL has offered the county $350 Per month from January 1 to com- pletion of the improvements which im county estimates will be next june. After the improvements are com- pleted, NAL has offered to pay $600 Per month. ‘On the $350-per-month basis, NAL would pay the county $2,800 in- Stead of the $5,144 the ccunty says og for the January-August per- The county commissioners have = to accept the $350 monthly Physical Exams Are Completed Physical examinations of chil- dren entering the first grade this fall have been completed by Dr. C. W. Morrison, county health of ficer, it was announced today, Dr. Morrison examined 179 chil- dren, including first graders from Tavernier and Marathon. As part of the examination, the children were given a tuberculosis Screening patch test, Positive reactions were fou the health department said. ~ Now Is The Time! PROTECT YOUR ROOF with ALUMA-TITE ALUM! ROOF COA Aluma-Tite water