VC Li!
"News of oAmerkas Last Frontier’
:> NO 51 KODIAK. ALASKA FEBRUARY 24, 1951 PRICE 10.CENTS
Jury Favors MacDonald
But Verdict Illegal
A Kodiak jury deliberated
six hours over a three year
eld question of whether K. F.
MacDonald owed the City of
Kodiak $78.50 for water or
whether the city owed him for
iamages allegedly done his
cold storage plant when his
water was cut off in 1948, and
found that MacDonald did not
ewe the water bill.
Finding for the defendant,
the jury also decided that the
city owed him nothing for
damages, sought in his answer
to the complaint, but should
pay him $1.00 punitive dam
ages, in the nature of a fine.
District Court Judge An
thony J. Dimond had pre
viously instructed the jury
that no punitive damages
could be awarded if no com
pensatory damages were de
cided upon, and said, when
the verdict was announced,
that he would take it under
consideration and decide
whether a re-trial should be
ordered, or the verdict in
favor of the defendant stand,
in view of the small sum for
punitive damages.
He gave the city, repre
sented by John C. Hughe?,
ten days to file a brief, in view
of the illegality of the verdict,
MacDonald, represented by
Talmage L. Smith, ten days to
answer, and the city five days
after that to reply.
It was brought out at the
trial that the city billed Mac
Donald for water used for a
21 ton refrigeration plant.
His defense was that he did
not use that much equipment
after a freeze up of water
lines and was therefore billed
more than he should have
paid.
He repeatedly stated, 1
own the water once it enters
the pipes on my property.”
He further claimed that he
had only one compressor
working. The city contended
that he was using two.
Attorney Smith experienced
difficulty in having his client
give short answers and on one
occasion asked him to identify
a letter and read only the
signature.
“Tell me,” thundered
Smith, “is this letter signed
by Abraham Lincoln or by
Dick Stockwell!”
Stockwell was the city wa
ter superintendent at the
time MacDonald’s water sup
ply was shut off and Mac
Donald claimed that Stockwell
had written him a letter
clarifying the situation.
In attempting to clarify a
point relating to two city
workmen cutting a pipe that!
led to MacDonald’s cold stor-j
age. Smith’s witness, AlfTor-'
gramsen, didn’t answer thei
way the attorney thought he
should. j
“Well tell me,” he roared,
“were the men herding cattle >
or cutting a water pipe?” i
The spectators in the court,
also roared, but with laughter.
Attorney Hughes called >
Mayor Lee Bettinger to the,
stand for the city. Bettinger
refuted testimony given by
MacDonald concerning a com
pressor, which was introduced
into court as evidence, which j
he claimed was damaged by i
the water shut-off.
MacDonald later took the
stand and refuted the Mayor’s
testimony.
Bettinger also pointed out
that three different city coun
cils had attempted to reach an
agreement with MacDonald
over the water bill. He said,
“One councilman once offered
to pay half of it if MacDonald
would pay the other half.”
Members of the jury were
William Fitzgerald, Katherine
Anderson, Pete Hjelmeir,
George Kappos, Frieda Blinn,
John McLaughlin Margaret
Kimes, Elwood Watson, A1
Sylling, T. C. Robinson, Alf
Anderson and Robert Owen.
Bears Lose To
Nome In Tourney
The Kodiak High School
Bears, basketball team, were
knocked out of the Fur
Rendezvous tournament Wed
nesday evening by a fast-mov
ing Nome team, in a score of
46 to 40,
Nome, traditional rival and
twice the runner-up to the
Kodiak five in previous final
playoffs of the Class B tourna
ment, borrowed a leaf from
the Bears’ manual and outran
the Kodiak boys to win the
tournament this year
Kodiak was defeated twice
by Nome this year. Earlier the
Bears beat the Kodiak Nava!
Station team and Wasilla.
Civil Defense
8/tentmp Trrrr i<f i*
The public is invited to at
tend the meeting of the Civil
Defense committee tomorrow
at the Legion Hall (Com
munity Center) George Sonn
tag, director, said yesterday.
The meeting is scheduled to
begin at 3 pm and the follow
ing persons have been invited
to speak: Captain L. J. Dow,
commandant Kodiak Nay.d
Stat'on, Lieut. Col. W. J. Cag
ney, commanding officer at
Ft. Greely, Clarence Williams
of the Intelligence Depart
ment at the Naval Station and
Mayor Lee C. Bettinger.
Heads of various civil de
fense committees will be
named at the meeting.
Sailor Murders Wife,
Then Commits Suicide
Clarence R. Ghoshon, 20,
boatswain’s mate second class
at Kodiak Naval Station, shot
and killed his wife Minnie
Dabney Ghoshon, 26, and
then committed suicide Sun
day at their home on South
Brooklyn Avenue.
Mrs. Ghoshon had been em
ployed as a cook at the Island
Fountain for the past several
months.
She was shot once in the
face and twice in the chest
with a .22 caliber automatic
by her husband who then shot
himself in the chest, coron
ers’ juries decided. Evidence
at the inquests Monday
showed the gun had been
boucht the previous day.
vjijociiOu ivii a oUiCiue note
telling of his unhappiness and
giving instructions regarding
disposition of his insurance,
notification of relatives of the
two and location of furniture
in storage.
He dated the note Feb. 17,
1951, signing it with his
name and navy serial number.
He asked that his paients in
Jacksonville, Ark., and his
wife’s sister in Washington,
D. 0.. be notified.
Bodies of the two were
found by Deputy Marshal
Clarence Dizney. Police Chief
William Kreiner and T. C.
Andrews, Navy first class
cook, neighbor and friend of
IT TOOK NOME THRfcc YSEARS TO BEAT THEM!
Deft to right, tViA tnorq qV|o,trn hr»'*r»* Alfred And^rsoi, TjPxic F<idfVi^, Di(*^ Simeon*
off, Allen Chornoff, Diek Skinner, Sam Nelson, Gene Sundberji', Coach Charles Penrose,
Jerry Pearson. Kneeling, Laurence Ande^o", Manager Robert Dawson, Richard Hart nr.
the Ghoshons. Andrews had
notified the marshal about
10:30 Monday morning when
he was unable to rouse the
couple.
Mrs. Ghoshon was found
lying partly under a small
breakfast nook table and
Ghoshon was half lying and
half sitting on a bed at the
other end of the room. The
.22 automatic was lying with
in a foot of his hand.
Witnesses at the inquest,
conduct^ bv Coroner A. M.
Vokacek. testified that Gho
shon was extremely jealous of
his wife and that they had
frequently had domestic
difficulties.
Ghoshon was described as a
quiet person who did his worl
well and got along with his
companions at the base.
The coroner's juries did not
arrive at. a definite time of the
shooting. Testimony of
Comdr. D. Schufeldt, navy
doctor, and of Dr. A. Holme*
Johnson indicated the two had
been dead over twelve hour*
w hen found.
Neighbors on both sides and
beh nd th small house did
not hear any shots, it was
reported to the juries. Lt. J.
Eagle, USMC. who investi
gated the case for the navy,
testified that in his opinion
reports from the small cali
ber gun could not have been
heard in the street, approxi
mately 35 feet from the house.
When the shooting occured
all windows were closed and
the door locked, officers dis
closed.
Two coroner s juries weir
necessary because of the two
deaths. Pat Cannon, Joe Ker
rigan, Lee Caddell, Glenn
Martin. Ed Pearson and Wil
lard Hall composed one jury,
and with the exception of
Hall, and the addition of Bill
Rhea, the other was made up
of the same men.
The house in which the
couple lived is owned by Tim
Panamaroff.
Ghoshon’s body is being
shipped to the states by the
navy, and Mrs. Ghoshon’s is
being sent to relatives by' the
Kodiak Mortuary.
Memorial services for the
couple were held at 4 pm
Wednesday at Hillside Chapel.
The couple had lived in Ko
diak for several months. Thej
were married in August, 1049.
I
--
i Ralph Shupp, local contrae
j tor, was a plane passenger for
; Seattle this week, leaving
I Wednesday.