March 11, 1965 (20 pages)

Bs _ S9Ot 7 Gorey" © "95S0N AINOD epeAdN**° STREET FIGHT IMMI NEVADA COUNTY NU dose. Bains commento, of Nevada Cir, Grass Ve Red Dog, You Bet, Town Talk, i Dek, areas Move Pies epetnnd, 42 HambueRolef Hs Wo , Mine Tone, Labor Moedeins Cote: Rudge, Uriah Pardee ks Walloupe, Gouge E: Tine Kila ChiceseP Piel. Chrlctroas Ft Reshines nel Gold Her. Lowell Hil, Bourbon Hil, Scotch Hil, North Columbia, Columbin Hal, Brandy Flas, Sobestepel: Quaker Hi dlew Valley, N Newtown, Indian Fi Volume 39 Number 10 Rumble Rumors Squelched An irate Nevada City mother created a turmoil of confusion in the Twin Cities area Sunday by plastering cars in both cities with a letter alleging all sorts of wild gang activities in the local schools, The letter described a horrible tale of a beating and near murder of a Nevada City school boy in the Nevada Union Junior High School, The letter went on to describe the failure of school, police and local lawyers to offer any aid in the matter, The entire pitch was ended with an appeal for funds to hire an out of town attorney to handle the case, An investigation of the matter had been initiated by law officials. even before the letter appeared on the streets to cause a wave of rumor to sweep the area, The boy in question is wellknown to local law enforcement and probation officials, but when the letter appeared another investigation was initiated, Junior High School Principal Ed Frantz called in District Attorney Harold A. Berliner on the matter. Berliner said although the matter was not exactly in his jurisdiction, he and Grass Valley Police Chief Frank Knuckey made two seperate investigations of the case, The probation office was also called into investigate since the boy in question is.a ward of the court. Berliner said Tuesday that his investigation made with Knuckey “showed that every agency involved did what should be done and did it promptly." — 10 Cents A Copy Published Thursdays, Nevada City Tier, Hi Ser Pa ee on och Fla, “ey March. 11, 196 Coyote Street Residents Consider Court Action Over Zoning Case Nevada City Council this week was threatened with a law suit unless it reversed its action granting a variance permitting erection of a gas station in a residential zone on Coyote Street. Attorney James Norman of Auburn appeared at the Monday night council meeting and made the offer of reversal or legal action. A motion by Councilman Dan O'Neill to rescind the action granting the variance was voted’ down 3-2 withO ‘Neill and Mayor Arch McPherson voting for the NEVADA CITY'S famous sequoia Christmas ce snown above is scheduled to fallto the freeway builders ax today. The view below shows clearing work in full swing on Broad Street along Deer Creek in Nevada City. move. Norman represents a group of'home owners in the neighborhood of the proposed service station on Coyote Street. The group includes Bill Lambert, Bill Cole, Ed Cunningham, Irving Cook and C, E, Zimbelman. Lambert said T uesday night that since the councilhad failed to act to rescind the variance, the group planned to go ahead in three or four days with the filing of a writ of mandamus in the Nevada’ County Superior Court. Norman, who made a lenghtly presentation before thecouncil! cited the properties owned by Jim Harding and Ed Meckfessel on Coyote Street, Harding, whorepresented Standard Oil Co, in the variance action before the planning commission and thecity council, corrected Norman saying he and Meckfessel owned property on Coyote Street, but this was not the land involved in the variance, Norman, confused for a moment, went on to note that the council in granting a variance for a commercial use in a residential zone had taken an action outside the structure of the zoning ordinance and in so doing had denied the rights of the rest of the residents who were still restricted by rules and regulations of an R-1 zone, The lawyer also contended that the only basis for the granting of a variance was that of hardship, Hardship, he said, was some pecular aspect of the land which would make the land unusable for the use specified for the zone, This hardship had never been shown he said, City Manager Suggested For Grass Valley Councilwoman Margarette ? Meggs thinks it is about time Grass Valley hired a city manager. In a written letter to the Council read Tuesday night, Mrs. Meggs declared that it is essen~ tial that a growing community. like Grass Valley havea full time professional to help solve the city's many problems, Mrs, Meggs cited such recent problems as water pollution, inadequate sidewalks, and the Condon Park development as evidence to support her proposal, Mayor John Hodge said he believed a good city manager would — cost the City at least $10,000 a year, and he would not be in favor of the proposal unless he could be shown that a city manager could save the city that much money each year. Mrs, Meggs stated that she believedthat a city manager could do just that simply by consolidating city plans rather than having them handled piece-meal at each council meeting. Councilman Richard Hales agreed, and added that a city manager might be able to. consolidate and coordinate diverse efforts of various city agencies, Councilman Jerry Brust and Vic Tamietti stressed the need for further study of the idea, ‘Lamietti suggested the city agencies first need to be established in their new offices in the old N,I.D. building. Also at the meeting, the city defended its method of destroying unwanted dogs, and Police Chief Frank Knuckey answered a recently circulated, unsigned letter attacking the integrity of his department. In answer toa letter from Violet Whitney of Kate.Hayes Street complaining that the decompression method of killing dogs at the city poundwas inhumane, Mayor Hodge claimed that this is the manner recommended bythe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, City Attorney Cassettari read a letter from Charles W. Freidricks, Executive Secretary of the American Humane Society, stating that the decompression method was the preferred one. Brust stated he had witnessed a demonstration of the drug injection technique and the decompression method, and stated that he believed the latter to be more humane. Knuckey showed the Council a mimeographed letter circulated: (Continued on Page 2) Harding said he had heard that a hardship could be claimed if’ there wasa loss in property value through an occurence such as the cutting off of a portion of the land, Both pieces of property in question are being cut through by the free~ way right of way and this was one’ of the reasons given for the variance by the petitioners, Norman countered that any loss: of value by freeway acquisition will be fully paid back, Bill Cole asked the council for a legal ruling on a possibly conflict.of interest on the part of Councilwoman Carole Friedrich who he said was negotiating to sell her land to Standard Oil Co, for.a service station on Zion Street when she voted in favor of the Standard Station variance on Coyote Street. He said he thought her vote on the matter should be thrown out, He received no answer to the question. Later in the.meeting City Attorney William Wetherall presented the council with a resolution which outlined the reasons why the city council had granted the Coyote Street variance, On the motion to approve the resolution the voting was reversed with Councilwoman Carole Friedrich, and Councilman Beryl Robinson and Ben Berry voting for it and O'Neill and the mayor casting the dissenting votes, MARGE MATUSOVIC of Nevada City shows off part of the bonanza of Indian clothing which has been loaned for a display in the proposed Indian museum in the -city. Read the story in The Northern Mines section on page 5. “6 opueUeso BS * 3418S 6484S “FFT EO wot zoss STBOTPOTAed £ISICYT

Bs _ S9Ot 7 Gorey" © "95S0N AINOD epeAdN**° STREET FIGHT IMMI NEVADA COUNTY NU dose. Bains commento, of Nevada Cir, Grass Ve Red Dog, You Bet, Town Talk, i Dek, areas Move Pies epetnnd, 42 HambueRolef Hs Wo , Mine Tone, Labor Moedeins Cote: Rudge, Uriah Pardee ks Walloupe, Gouge E: Tine Kila ChiceseP Piel. Chrlctroas Ft Reshines nel Gold Her. Lowell Hil, Bourbon Hil, Scotch Hil, North Columbia, Columbin Hal, Brandy Flas, Sobestepel: Quaker Hi dlew Valley, N Newtown, Indian Fi Volume 39 Number 10 Rumble Rumors Squelched An irate Nevada City mother created a turmoil of confusion in the Twin Cities area Sunday by plastering cars in both cities with a letter alleging all sorts of wild gang activities in the local schools, The letter described a horrible tale of a beating and near murder of a Nevada City school boy in the Nevada Union Junior High School, The letter went on to describe the failure of school, police and local lawyers to offer any aid in the matter, The entire pitch was ended with an appeal for funds to hire an out of town attorney to handle the case, An investigation of the matter had been initiated by law officials. even before the letter appeared on the streets to cause a wave of rumor to sweep the area, The boy in question is wellknown to local law enforcement and probation officials, but when the letter appeared another investigation was initiated, Junior High School Principal Ed Frantz called in District Attorney Harold A. Berliner on the matter. Berliner said although the matter was not exactly in his jurisdiction, he and Grass Valley Police Chief Frank Knuckey made two seperate investigations of the case, The probation office was also called into investigate since the boy in question is.a ward of the court. Berliner said Tuesday that his investigation made with Knuckey “showed that every agency involved did what should be done and did it promptly." — 10 Cents A Copy Published Thursdays, Nevada City Tier, Hi Ser Pa ee on och Fla, “ey March. 11, 196 Coyote Street Residents Consider Court Action Over Zoning Case Nevada City Council this week was threatened with a law suit unless it reversed its action granting a variance permitting erection of a gas station in a residential zone on Coyote Street. Attorney James Norman of Auburn appeared at the Monday night council meeting and made the offer of reversal or legal action. A motion by Councilman Dan O'Neill to rescind the action granting the variance was voted’ down 3-2 withO ‘Neill and Mayor Arch McPherson voting for the NEVADA CITY'S famous sequoia Christmas ce snown above is scheduled to fallto the freeway builders ax today. The view below shows clearing work in full swing on Broad Street along Deer Creek in Nevada City. move. Norman represents a group of'home owners in the neighborhood of the proposed service station on Coyote Street. The group includes Bill Lambert, Bill Cole, Ed Cunningham, Irving Cook and C, E, Zimbelman. Lambert said T uesday night that since the councilhad failed to act to rescind the variance, the group planned to go ahead in three or four days with the filing of a writ of mandamus in the Nevada’ County Superior Court. Norman, who made a lenghtly presentation before thecouncil! cited the properties owned by Jim Harding and Ed Meckfessel on Coyote Street, Harding, whorepresented Standard Oil Co, in the variance action before the planning commission and thecity council, corrected Norman saying he and Meckfessel owned property on Coyote Street, but this was not the land involved in the variance, Norman, confused for a moment, went on to note that the council in granting a variance for a commercial use in a residential zone had taken an action outside the structure of the zoning ordinance and in so doing had denied the rights of the rest of the residents who were still restricted by rules and regulations of an R-1 zone, The lawyer also contended that the only basis for the granting of a variance was that of hardship,

Hardship, he said, was some pecular aspect of the land which would make the land unusable for the use specified for the zone, This hardship had never been shown he said, City Manager Suggested For Grass Valley Councilwoman Margarette ? Meggs thinks it is about time Grass Valley hired a city manager. In a written letter to the Council read Tuesday night, Mrs. Meggs declared that it is essen~ tial that a growing community. like Grass Valley havea full time professional to help solve the city's many problems, Mrs, Meggs cited such recent problems as water pollution, inadequate sidewalks, and the Condon Park development as evidence to support her proposal, Mayor John Hodge said he believed a good city manager would — cost the City at least $10,000 a year, and he would not be in favor of the proposal unless he could be shown that a city manager could save the city that much money each year. Mrs, Meggs stated that she believedthat a city manager could do just that simply by consolidating city plans rather than having them handled piece-meal at each council meeting. Councilman Richard Hales agreed, and added that a city manager might be able to. consolidate and coordinate diverse efforts of various city agencies, Councilman Jerry Brust and Vic Tamietti stressed the need for further study of the idea, ‘Lamietti suggested the city agencies first need to be established in their new offices in the old N,I.D. building. Also at the meeting, the city defended its method of destroying unwanted dogs, and Police Chief Frank Knuckey answered a recently circulated, unsigned letter attacking the integrity of his department. In answer toa letter from Violet Whitney of Kate.Hayes Street complaining that the decompression method of killing dogs at the city poundwas inhumane, Mayor Hodge claimed that this is the manner recommended bythe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, City Attorney Cassettari read a letter from Charles W. Freidricks, Executive Secretary of the American Humane Society, stating that the decompression method was the preferred one. Brust stated he had witnessed a demonstration of the drug injection technique and the decompression method, and stated that he believed the latter to be more humane. Knuckey showed the Council a mimeographed letter circulated: (Continued on Page 2) Harding said he had heard that a hardship could be claimed if’ there wasa loss in property value through an occurence such as the cutting off of a portion of the land, Both pieces of property in question are being cut through by the free~ way right of way and this was one’ of the reasons given for the variance by the petitioners, Norman countered that any loss: of value by freeway acquisition will be fully paid back, Bill Cole asked the council for a legal ruling on a possibly conflict.of interest on the part of Councilwoman Carole Friedrich who he said was negotiating to sell her land to Standard Oil Co, for.a service station on Zion Street when she voted in favor of the Standard Station variance on Coyote Street. He said he thought her vote on the matter should be thrown out, He received no answer to the question. Later in the.meeting City Attorney William Wetherall presented the council with a resolution which outlined the reasons why the city council had granted the Coyote Street variance, On the motion to approve the resolution the voting was reversed with Councilwoman Carole Friedrich, and Councilman Beryl Robinson and Ben Berry voting for it and O'Neill and the mayor casting the dissenting votes, MARGE MATUSOVIC of Nevada City shows off part of the bonanza of Indian clothing which has been loaned for a display in the proposed Indian museum in the -city. Read the story in The Northern Mines section on page 5. “6 opueUeso BS * 3418S 6484S “FFT EO wot zoss STBOTPOTAed £ISICYT