Ilews Rriefs...

Portland, Ore.-Coquille Plywood division of Textron, Inc., will be sold or leased at an early date, said George Ulett, general manager, last month. He declined comment on the reason for the closure but added that "the market for plywood is just plain lousy." The company has veneer plants at Bandon and Norway, Ore., the former shut down indefinitely and the latter leased to another plywood plant. r American Cement Corp. will build a multi-million-dollar cement plant at Clarksdale, Ariz., announces President D. S. MacBride. It is expected to be in production before the end of 1959 with annual capacity of 1,500,000 barrels. It will be built and operated by the Riverside-Arizona Cement Co., new division, and located on "the most extensive deposit of high-grade raw materials ever assembled for the exclusive use of a single cement plant." American Cement Co. was formed last Decem- ber through merger of Hercules Cement Corp., Peerless Cement Corp. and Riverside Cement Co.

The safes in two big Oakland lumber firms frustrated a burglar March 10. He chiseled the combination off the safe in the Hogan Lumber Co. but was unable to open the steel door. Then he evidently went around the corner to the Strable Lumber Co., 255 Second St., and the same thing happened. At the Hogan office he jammed a screwdriver into a crack in the safe door and used it to pin a note saying: "I'll bet there isn't even a dime in there." Police Inspector Dineen said the burglar was so right.

Lumberman L. W. Johnson, Smith River, Calif.,'has announced that he will seek the position of sheriff of Del Norte county in the June 3 primary election.

Dan C. Krieger has joined the staff of Dant & Warnock, Inc., Menlo Park, Calif., in charge of plywood sales, including the production. of Oroply Corp., Oroville, Calif., which is expected to manufacture 4 million feet monthly, starting about April 15.

Union to Ask Woge Hike Agcin fhis Yeqr

Portland.-The 80,000-member Lumber & Sawmill Workers Union will seek a 31c hourly wage boost for its labor in the 11 western states this year, according to Earl Hartley, executive secretary of the-Western Council. The demands will reportedly include 15c an hour across the board in wages, 10c for health and welfare benefits, and 6c for paid holidays. The hike, amounting to about 13.3/o, would boost the average wage from $2.33 to 52.64 an hour.

Hartley said that employers have told him the present economy of the lumber industry just doesn't justify any increased expense to employers and that the union intends to take the economics of the lumber industry into consideration in bargaining sessions. but the union feels its demands are fully justified because stumpage costs to the industry are down and all signs point to a definite pickup in demand for lumber and rvood products, Hartley declared.

Plywoll Distribution Ser

Plywall Products Co., Corona, Calif., part of the Feddes-Moore Co. which was recently acquired by Evans Products Co., Oregon manufacturer, is represented in Southern California by Western States Plywood, Sand Door & Plywood, and Plywood T os Angeles, reports Plywall Salesmanager Dick Davis, who has just recently opened the Corona, Calif., facilities for the Fort Wayne, fnd., home ofifrce, which handles the national distribution. Plywall's specialty is prefinished plywood paneling.

Eubqnk & Son Joins SCRTA

L. H. Eubank & Son, Inglewood, Calif., has joined the Southern California Retail Lumber Assn. in the Associate member category. Partners in the wholesale firm are George D. Eubank and E,. Willard Luther.

Forestry Awqrd fo Angeleno

John Frederick Thilenius of Los Angeles, a senior at Oregon State college, has been awarded a $3600 two-year scholarship at the University of Idaho for post-graduate work in forestry.