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COUNTY
COUNTY
COUNTY BREAKDOWN
Amendment 10 Passed
Throughout the State
BY MARIE MULVENNA
Three hospitals in the archdiocese,
which are under Catholic auspices, are
breathing a heavy sigh of relief
following the overwhelming passage of
Amendment 10 in last month’s general
election. The statewide vote on the
amendment, which involves exempting
hospitals from ad valorem taxation, was
a clear cut “yes” in the voting booth
with 630,919 voting in support of the
amendment and 197,644 voting against
it, a 76.3% victory.
The amendment itself does not
prohibit ad valorem taxation, but does
clearly authorize the state’s General
Assembly to pass the appropriate
legislation making the hospitals exempt.
The exemption from the tax in question
would be based on the fact that the
hospitals are non-profit, have no
stockholders or profit which is
distributed to or for the benefit of any
private person and are subject to the
laws of Georgia regulating charitable
corporations.
The existence of the amendment on
the November ballot was the result of a
rather vague section of the Georgia state
constitution concerning such hospitals,
as well as the feeling that some cities
and counties in search of additional tax
revenue would latch onto the hospitals
as a new source of income. As indicated
in a BULLETIN editorial of October 12,
all other 49 states in the country grant
non-profit hospitals legitimate tax
exemptions. The imposition of taxes on
the three hospitals functioning under
Catholic auspices was viewed as a severe
threat to present hospital rates which
hospital officials made clear would have
no place to go but up.
Reaction from local hospital officials
to the vote was one of elation. Charles
Burge, assistant administrator at St.
Joseph’s Infirmary, said: “We are
delighted with the overwhelming
response and want to thank everyone
who came out to help us. We very much
appreciate the support of the
archdiocese and all those who worked
so hard for the passage of this important
amendment.”
At St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens,
Edward Fechtel, administrator, said
they were “really pleased with the
results,” adding the vote for amendment
10 was four to one in Clarke County.
“We look forward now to the needed
action by the state legislature, acting in
such a manner that it will keep this
exemption equal to the hospitals. We’re
certainly happy about the turnout and
the results. The response from the voter
was excellent and we hope the
legislation will be forthcoming. ”
Arnett Mumford, administrator at
Holy Family Hospital, viewed reaction
there as favorable and indicated this
feeling was shared by other hospital
administrators. Mumford did indicate
some misgivings that the vote on
Amendment 10 was possibly not the
end of the matter, pointing out that
there might conceivably be a legal
matter arising concerning past years’
taxes, which could represent a
substantial amount of money for the
hospitals.
In the future, however, the hospitals
will almost certainly be granted a tax
exemption because of the passage of
Amendment 10.
Here’s how the counties in the Arch
diocese of Atlanta voted:
YES NO
Baldwin
3960
1026
Banks
811
218
Barrow
2278
787
Bartow
2988
977
Butts
1556
383
Carroll
6370
2196
Catoosa
2484
1008
Chattooga
1957
505
Cherokee
3491
1296
Clarke
11897
2819
Clayton
15919
6705
Cobb
32479
10263
Columbia
2429
565
Coweta
4912
1138
Dade
971
310
Dawson
479
167
DeKalb
86483
27152
Douglas
4341
1739
Elbert
2442
560
Fannin
1735
514
Fayette
2150
879
Floyd
10899
4035
Forsyth
1915
730
Franklin
1351
465
Fulton
91537
28468
Gilmer
874
338
Gordon
2990
905
Greene
1415
358
Gwinnett
12521
5696
Hambersham
2973
941
Hall
8416
2816
Hancock
697
94
Haralson
1813
770
Hart
1611
453
Heard
633
225
Henry
3753
1626
YES NO
Jackson
2968
1015
Jasper
858
282
Jones
1515
562
Lamar
1152
341
Lincoln
773
114
Lumpkin
982
389
Madison
1435
651
McDuffie
1592
376
Meriweather
2387
607
Monroe j-
1405
508
Morgan
1537
301
Murray
1257
433
Newton
3444
837
Oconee
1479
402
Oglethorpe
1033
240
Paulding
2206
921
Pickens
1048
281
Pike
765
297
Polk
3283
1006
Putnam
1045
398
Rabun
924
324
Rockdale
2534
837
Spalding
5245
1482
Stephens
2623
807
Taliaferro
392
15
Towns
684
112
Troup
5521
1810
Union
991
329
Upson
3305
962
Walker
4495
1626
Walton
2722
670
Warren
734
139
White
965
373
Whitfield
5446
1711
Wilkes
1622
99
TOTAL
405,897
130,384
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Canto,
Vol. 10 No. 43 Form 3579 to 202 East Sixth Street, Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Thursday, December 7,1972
$5 per year
First Friday Club
Elects New Officers
New officers of the First Friday Club for 1973 were elected at the
club’s last meeting, December 1. They are Brendan J. Fraher, president;
Joseph J. Zwicknagel, vice president, and Donald G. Snider,
secretary-treasurer.
The club meets on the first Friday of each month at the Atlantan
Hotel. The luncheon meeting is preceded by Mass, followed by a guest
speaker.
The new president has issued an invitation to prospective new members.
Any men of the archdiocese are welcome to join. Call Brendan Fraher at
252-3346.
BRENDAN J. FRAHER
St, Joseph’s High School
Boasts Top Scholar-Athlete
BY MARIE MULVENNA
Frank Blaydes, a senior at St.
Joseph’s High School, seems to have
ably mastered both the scholastic field
and the football field. Frank was
recently awarded a trophy from the
Atlanta Quarterback Club as top
scholar-athlete in the Metro Atlanta
area, and was cited for attaining the
highest scholastic average of all football
players nominated by their respective
schools for the coveted award.
“I was kind of surprised and a little
bit thrilled,” Frank says calmly, relating
the recent luncheon held by the
Quarterback Club. “I didn’t know a
thing about it until someone mentioned
the award during lunch.” He’s just as
calm speaking about his achievements
on the gridiron, commenting “I play
offensive tackle. All I did was block.
Nothing fancy.”
Diamond Jubilee
The 75th anniversary of the
present Sacred Heart Church
building will be observed on
Sunday, December 10, not
December 3 as previously
reported. Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan will be principal
celebrant at the 12:10 p.m.
Mass. Assisting will be all of the
priests of Sacred Heart Parish:
Father John Mulroy, pastor,
Father James J. Fennessy,
Father Joseph Cavallo, Father
Raimundo Solano and Father
Thomas J. Roshetko.
Frank maintains a 3.91 average at St.
Joseph’s, a bare shade from an
all-perfect 4 or A average. In addition to
Quarterback Club honor, Frank also
received WSB Radio’s Sports Scroll,
recognizing him as a top scholar-athlete.
Since his forte at St. Joseph’s is math,
Frank plans tentatively to attend
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
this coming fall, with an eye to a career
in either engineering or medicine.
Involvement at St. Joseph’s is not
limited to the football field but finds
Frank active in track, basketball, soccer
and the chess club.
A native of Columbia, S. C., Frank
has lived in Atlanta for the past seven
years. His family was recently
transferred to Cairo, Ga. and left Frank
in Atlanta to complete his senior year at
St. Joseph’s. He is presently staying
with the John Schilling family of East
Point and is a parishioner of Most
Blessed Sacrament Church.
Excellence, be it scholastic or
athletic, is no new thing for Frank
Biaydes, who takes it all in stride.
St. Joseph’s High School’s Top Scholar—Athlete Frank Blaydes.
Local Methodist Bishop
Leaves for Vatican City
BY FATHER JAMES MACIEJEWSKI
Bishop William R. Cannon, head of
the United Methodist Church in
Georgia, will be in Rome on December
10 for a five-day conference with
Vatican officials.
Bishop Cannon heads a three-man
commission from the World Methodist
Council which has been holding annual
conversations with Roman Catholic
leaders for six years in an attempt to
understand and ultimately resolve
doctrinal differences between - the two
churches.
The 56-year-old local prelate already
sees striking similarities between
Methodists and Catholics. For example,
he points out that “Methodists are more
similar to Roman Catholics in church
government than to any other group,
including the Episcopalians.”
In the manner in which bishops
exercise their authority and ministers
are appointed, he sees both
denominations functioning in much the
same way.
Open communion is expected to top
the agenda for the Vatican talks
beginning next week.
Bishop Cannon sees open communion
as necessary “if all churches are to be
united into the one body of Christ. It
seems to me that unless you can take
communion together, any prospect of a
merger is dim because communion is the
central expression of Christian
fellowship.”
Explaining the Methodist view of
communion, the bishop explains: “We
do not believe that it is anything more
than a symbol of Christ’s presence. His
presence depends on the faith of the
recipient.” This contrasts with the
Catholic interpretation of Christ’s
presence in holy communion as real,
objective and substantial.
While he is working hard in the
interest of Christian unification,
Bishop Cannon says, “I don’t expect
that unification in our lifetime.”
In the meantime, he says, “I don’t see
ecumenism in terms of great mergers,
but rather in terms of understanding
and cooperation.”
A long-time leader in local
BISHOP CANNON
ecumenical affairs while he was dean of
Emory University’s Candler School of
Theology, Bishop Cannon recalled his
friendship with the late Archbishop Paul
Hallinan.
“I was very close to Archbishop
Hallinan and spoke at a memorial
service just after his death.”
64
Possibilities” Open Up
BY MICHAEL MOTES
“Possibilities for Prayer,” a mobile
seminar on prayer for today, opened
last week in Jonesboro at St. Philip
Benizi parish. A large crowd of up to
200 persons attended each session of
the five-night program. Many spoke
favorably of the prayerful atmosphere
generated by the seminar.
Each night was devoted to a
particular form of prayer and included a
prayer experience related to that form.
The seminar will be hosted in Holy
Spirit parish from December 11 to
December 15. Holy Spirit serves as the;
center for Saint Jude’s, Our Lady of the
Assumption, Cathedral of Christ the
King and Saint Paul of the Cross
parishes.
Commenting on the aim of the
seminar, Father Jerry Hardy, one of the
speakers, said, “It is an attempt to
deepen the individual’s life of prayer as
a believing person. This is approached
by seeing prayer as a form of ‘presence’
- God’s to us and ours to Him.”
At the Mass which closed the week of
prayer in Jonesboro, Archbishop
Donnellan expressed his gratitude to all
who had attended. He especially
commended Father A1 Dillmann, pastor
of St. Philip Benizi and Thomas
McMahon, parish delegate to the
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, who
were responsible for local arrangements.
The seminars will move around to
five other centers in the archdiocese
after the first of the year. They are
co-sponsored by the Archdiocesan
Pastoral Council and the Office of
Religious Education. The schedule
follows.
Possibilities for Prayer
Holy Spirit Parish Center, Northside Drive and Mount Paran December 11
December 15, 7:30 p.m.
Monday: Personal Prayer - Father Jerry Hardy and Sister Priscilla Klatt.
Tuesday: Prayer in the Midst of It All - Father Peter Fink.
Wednesday: Pentecostal Prayer - Father Pat McCormack
Thursday: Praying the Psalms - Father Bob Kinast.
Friday: Liturgical Prayer - Archbishop Donnellan.