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BLACK
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VOLUME.80. NUMBER 46
l lll 1 NIYERSITY OF (.FOKt.l \. \THE\S. GEORGIA 306(12
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 27. 1973
II
i
r
Capsule News
Christmas parade today
The annual Athens Christmas parade begins at 7 p m tonight, and features more
than 63 entries from local groups competing for a battery of trophies
Forming near the Holiday Inn on Hull, the parade will move down Broad through
the downtown area.
After reaching Thomas, the marching units, bands and floats will move north to
Clayton. The parade will then take a left on Clayton, go to Lumpkin, and turn
around to march down Washington to the Clarke County Courthouse
Murdoch wins Hearst award
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation awarded first place in its national
writing competition to Joyce Murdoch of Macon, a sophomore in the University
School of Journalism and news editor of The Red and Black.
Murdoch received a $900 prize for an article on an interview she conducted with
Dean Rusk, professor of international law at the University and former U S.
secretary of state, on the recent Arab Israeli war The journalism school received
a matching grant from the foundation Murdoch’s story appeared in The Red and
Black on Oct. 16. 1973.
Murdoch is a former assistant news editor and student government association
reporter for The Red and Black. Also, she is a member of Z Club and Alpha
lambda Delta freshmen women’s honor society and was named Outstanding
Freshman Woman in Journalism in 1973 by the University chapter of Women in
Communications.
Fall Impression available soon
The Impression, campus literary magazine, will be available on Wednesday. The
fall 1973 issue will be distributed free at the P-J plaza, in front of Memorial, the
Main Library. Grad Studies and the Bookstore. Additional copies will be available
for a limited time at the Information Booth in Memorial.
FOR EEO OFFICER
Committee asks
Heated campaigns on new
airport end at polls today
By MIKE WEBB
Clarke County voters cast their ballots
today in a $2 million bond referendum
designed to finance the relocation of the
Athens Municipal Airport
The controversial issue has generated
much heated debate from both propo
nents and opponents of the measure, and
intensive yea and nay campaigns have
been waged down to the last minute by
both sides
Opposition began mounting last Wed
nesday night when the Winterville Mayor
and Council in a called meeting adopted
a resolution against "the relocation of the
Clarke County airport within the bounds
of Clarke County.’’
The bond referendum, if passed, would
provide that the airport be relocated to a
1,000 acre tract six miles northeast of
Athens and near Winterville.
THE RESOLUTION followed a Winter
ville town meeting Tuesday with support
ers of the new airport, during which
Mayor West Whitehead pointed out that
the residents wished to avoid the expan
sion of industry toward Winterville. The
resolution further urged "that citizens of
this district go to the polls and vote no on
the 27th.”
Winterville City Clerk Helen Williams
said the cour.cilmen took the action after
lengthy discussion. "We felt that 1,000
acres was too much of Clarke County
land to be used for the new airport,” she
said.
On Friday, nine managers of major
industries in Clarke County issued a joint
statement strongly opposing the airport’s
relocation.
"We, as citizens, consider it advisable
to vote against the bond issue on
Tuesday. Nov 27. because we believe the
growth' justification for the airport as
presented is erroneous, and because we
believe the government agencies should
present a total long-range plan before
any more bond issues are authorized."
the managers said in the statement.
Other strong points stressed in the
statement are: "In supporting the air
port. the Airport Advisory Committee,
the Chamber of Commerce and others
have repeatedly implied and emphasized
that a new airport is essential to
continued industrial growth. This is not
true.
"The fact is that local Athens Airport
facilities have virtually no influence on
an industry’s decision to locate here.
Overwhelming factors are: The quality
and availability of employees; schools;
highways, railroads; water and sewer
age; housing, recreation; tax structure,
etc. In the case of the most recent
industry. Certain-Teed, local airport fa
cilities were not a factor at all because
of the easy access to Atlanta."
Clarke County Commission Chairman
Jim Holland reacted negatively to the
managers' statement and issued a state
ment of his own.
IIIOII POINTS OF Holland's statement
are as follows: "The Board of Commis
sioners of Clarke County has had the
foresight to employ a well-qualified
consultant in airport planning, to prepare
a comprehensive report on the aviation
needs of the area for the next 20 years
This report indicates that within the
foreseeable future there will be a need
for improvements to satisfy the needs of
aviation in Clarke County
" The decision to support the new
airport site was made on three main
points: (1.) Safety of all citizens of
Clarke County as well as air travelers;
(2.) Total cost to taxpayers of Clarke
County as compared to benefits received
(3.» Flexibility for the future that the new
site would provide that does not exist on
the present site and will never exist at
the present site.
"Promotion of industrial growth was
never of prime importance in the
decision to support the new location plan
"Although these managers were very
careful to state that they were speaking
for themselves and not for their respec
tive industries, the fact that their
statement was made as a joint statement
will lead our citizens to believe that they
are speaking for their industries, and this
is not good for our community," Holland
said.
The J E. Greiner Co of Tampa. Fla
— the airport consulting firm that was
employed to report on the relocation
question — said that the existing airport
is "adequate" to carry on its present
activity, but "based on aviation demand
projects for the next 20 years, the
existing airport facilities would be over
taxed and expansion required ”
THE QUESTION of expansion further
complicates the issue The Airport Advi
sory Committee proposes total relocation,
opponents of the committee are in favor
of expanding the runway of the present
airport to 6.two feet and there are those
who are against any action whatsoever
taken to alter the existing facilities
The Greiner Co estimated the project
ed cost of a brand new 6.000 foot runway
to be $7.1 million, expansion of the
present runway, they maintain, would be
3.8 million However, proponents of
the new airport say that expansion of the
existing airport is unfeasible due to high m
construction costs and the encroachment
of high obstructing towers and residential
and commercial development around the
airport
Polling places are open until 7 p m
They are as follows Number One Fire
Station on Thomas (First Ward). Number
Three Fire Station on Lumpkin (Second
Ward*. Clarke Middle School on Baxter
'Third Ward). Chase Street Elementary
School 'Fourth Ward) and the VFW on
Sunset 'Fifth Ward).
Polling places outside the city are
Barnett Shoals School (217th and 218th
Districts). Fowler Drive School (219th
District). Winterville Community Center
'22()th District). Vincent’s store. Atlanta
Highway (241st District), Whitehead
Road School '1347th District). Hamilton's
Store. Macon Highway (1467th District)
and the Gaines Community Center *
(1899th District).
POSSIBLY A CENTURY OLD
for search group
Students discover ferry boat
By FELECIA BOW ENS
The Affirmative Action committee
passed a motion yesterday recommend
ing that President Davison set up a
search committee to find a replacement
for William L Cook, present Equal
Employment Oppotunities officer for the
University of Georgia.
Cook will be leaving the University in
January, and the person who fills the
EEO position will be responsible for
monitoring and implementing the Affirm
ative Action for the University.
The committee also recommended to
the President that at least one half of the
search committee Ik* composed of women
and minorities.
In other action, the Affirmative Action
Committee called on the President to
strengthen his policy statement appear
ing at the beginning of the Affirmative
Action plan's rough draft which the
committee considered in its meeting
yesterday. A majority of the members
felt that the statement fell far short of
Affirmative Action goals.
Ted Hammock, chairman of the sub
committee on salary, back pay. and
fringe benefits said that the statement in
the draft about salary analysis was not
strong enough and that it was not in
keeping with that subcommittee's report
to the Affirmative Action steering com
mittee Hammock also said that the d r aft
seemed to excuse discriminatory tenden
cies cited in the subcommittee report
SUGGESTIONS FROM the floor were
made to the subcommittee on hiring,
promotions, and recruitment calling for
inclusion in the draft of the provision in
the subcommittee report for an internal
availability study and for an availability
study of faculty positions not requiring
doctorates The draft only included an
availability study made of minorities and
women with doctorate degrees
An objection to exclusion of a provision
for 10 hours fret* tuition for employees
was made by Reita Rivers, a member of
the subcommittee on hiring, promotions,
and recruitment The steering committee
indicated that the proposal for tuition
waiver for employees for the first ten
hours was excluded because it was a
violation of the state constitution
A major provision of the rough draft
was that of a Grievance Hearing Panel ol
20 members to be appointed by the
President from throughout the Univer
sity. Some members recommended that
persons selected for this committee have
special expertise in the field of grievance
proceedings
Another suggestion made was that the
proposal in the draft that the President
select three members from the Greivance
Hearing Panel to sit on a Grievance
Committee be changed to put responsible
ity for selection of the three members in
the hands of the EEO officer
A meeting to review the revised draft
will be held Wednesday. Dec. 5. 1973. at 2
p.m in the Lower Level Auditorium at
the Georgia Center. Anyone wishing to
attend this meeting is welcome according
to Cook.
Hiring,firing
investigated
by SGA
The Student Government Association
has launched an investigation into the
alleged "inflexible" application of hiring,
firing and piomolion guidelines as a
result of the case of Katrina Cheek
Douglas, whose* teaching contract was
terminated because she had received her
highest degree from the University
Douglas, an instructor in the Speech
Department who received both a B A.
and an M A degree from the University,
was hired as a temporary instructor on
the basis of "exceptional merit."
When notified of the division by the
College of Arts and Sciences to terminate
her contract. Douglass appealed to the
personnel committee The committee
unanimously requested that Douglass'
contract lie renewed in a recommenda
tion to Dean Stephens ol the college ot
Arts and Sciences
According to Dr. Dwight Fleshlev of
the speech department, the recommenda
tion was presented to Dean Stephens on
Nov 13. A decision has not \et been
made
Citing the "exceptional merit ” clause in
the policy on "inbreeding." or hiring of
University graduates. Fleshlev said. "We
had demonstrated that she had excep
tional merit when we hired her and she
continued to demonstrate her exceptional
merit through student evaluations "
Douglass said. The most important
concept is that I'm not asking to be
rehired just for myself, but for all
University graduates. Douglass said
"It's unfair for a contract not to be
renewed because of where the degree
was earned rather than performance
In addition to being hired under special
conditions. Douglass was hired as a
temporary instructor in 1972. another
reason for her termination She claims
that this classification was not made
clear to her at the time of hiring
B\ MICHELLE GREEN
FEATURE EDITOR
University Civil War huffs David
Evans and Doug Thrasher have accom
plished what most history aficionados
can only dream about They recently
discovered the remains of a ferryboat
which was probably sunk over a century
ago inlhe Chatthooehee River
EV \\S \\|> IIIKXMII.K FOUND XB XNDONF.D FERRY IN CllATTAIUMK IIEE
Effort* being made «•» save relic before reservoir flood* area
The University students lound the
nearly-submerged ferryboat on Oct. 22.
while paddling around Philpot Ferry near
LaGrange Evans said that he believes
the boat found last month is the one used
in 1864 by Confederate General Joe
Wheeler’s troops when they were being
pursued by Yankee soldiers
Wheelers men crossed the Chattahoo
chee at Philpot Ferry in an effort to
outrun Union General E. M McCook's
forces after the Battle of Atlanta The
slaves who ran Philpot s ferry sunk the
craft when they heard 'as Margaret
Mitchell's Prissy would say) that the
Yankees were coming Thus, the Confed
erate troops were able to escape the
Yankees since there was no way for them
to follow their prey across the Chattahoo
chee without the ferry
E\ \NS \ND THRASHER came upon
the sunken ferryboat almost by accident
Evans, a journalism major minoring in
history, has undertaken the monumental
task ol retracing the lines of battle where
McCook’s forces encountered Wheeler s
soldiers "We were floating down the
Chattahoochee measuring its width and
depth 'to determine how far the Yankees
would have had to swim if they tried to
cross after the terry was sunk» when we
found the boat." said Evans The water
was low that day so we could see part of
the wreckage sticking out above the
river
We almost paddled past it." remem-
bered Evans "1 knew it was near there
but 1 expected it to Ik* farther upstream
We were really just looking for the ferry
landing that day ’’
The ferryboat rests deep in the mud on
the east side of the river According to
Evans. "It measures about 2<>x3i> <feet)
or about as big as a house He noted.
We measured one plank still in the
water, it was 12 feet long, but it had been
Pi...!.. ».\ n.\\ ID BRESI \l l R
\K III U Is T \KEN I RDM 1(1 (I MIA DIM D\ FRED UONFEDER \TE I FI(K\ BOAT
Nail* and iron bunding jm more than a hundred year* old
broken oft The ferry is a large, flat,
wooden structure — it's really sort of like
a barge "
The University students were able to
salvage only a few rusted nails and some
metal stripping from the structure, and
such scanty evidence isn’t enough to
prove conclusively that the boat is the
one sunk during the Civil War. "The onl>
way to tell if this is the ferry sunk by
Philpot s slaves is to get someone to help
us raise it out of the river." Evans said
BI T. RAISING THE wreckage won't
be as easy as it may seem Even now
there are bulldozers on the banks of the
Chattahoochee in Troup and Heard coun
ties The landscape is being planed ill k
preparation for the new West Point
Reservoir, which will soon inundate the
area
All of the land surrounding the site
will Ik* flooded by March." said Evans
"The bulldozers have already plowed
over the ferryboat bell and the tripod
that supported the ferry cables "
Evans has gotten in touch with every
agency from the LaGrange Historical
Society and the Georgia Department ot
Natural Resources to Governor Carter s
office in an effort to have the boat raised
from the muddy waters of the Chattahoo
chee "1 had hoped that the Army Corp<
of Engineers would do it,” said Evans
They raised a gunboat from the Chatta
hoochee near Columbus not long ago and
they’re doing the bulldozing for the West
Point Reservoir However, a represen
tative from the Savannah office of the
Corps told Evans last week that the
Army engineers couldn’t remove the
ferryboat from the river "unless we bent
the rules <>r unless it 'the boat' wss m
menage to navigation.” And. as Evans
pointed out. "it's definitely not a hazard
to navigation, since it’s a little-used part
of the river "
THE TIME IS growing short for the
salvaging of the historic ferryboat, since
flooding will begin in December Evans is
trying to enlist the aid of Georgia
Senators Herman Talmadge and Sam
Nunn, and Representative Ben Black
burn, but his efforts have been slowed by •
governmental red tape The two Georgia
Senators have asked for written inforina
t ion about the w reckage at Philpot Ferry
and Evans is still waiting to hear trom
them about possible salvage operation^
Ha has also solicited the help <•!
members of the LaGrange Historical
Society, the Sons of Confederate Veterans
and the LaGrange Chamber of Com
merce Despite his efforts, thus far
Evans has seen no concrete action taken
toward salvaging the rusty ferryboat
And if the West Point Reservoir is
allowed to flood the site before the boat
can be raised. Evans will never be
certain if the wreck is really what
remains of the Confederate ferryboat
sunk by Philpot s slaves