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VENIN vy
By Quimby Melton
December, the 12th month of
the year, is with us.
But December has not always
been the 12th month. Many
years ago when the Roman
Empire was at its heighth of
power December was the 10th
month on their calendar. For
the Latin word from which
December is derived means
tea Words like decimal and
decade are two other words
beginning with dec that mean
tea The Roman year in those
days was just 10 months long.
And though December is a
favorite month with many, even
though at times December is
one of the prettiest months —
have you ever noticed how the
trees with their snow and ice
and early morning dew sparkle
like millions of diamonds when
the sun shines on them? Have
you ever noticed on a cold, clear
night how the stars seem to
shine brighter than ever?
And even though December is
one of the happiest months of
the year — Have you ever
listened to the laughter of child
ren and seen their smiles and
sparkling eyes, bright with
expectation?
There have been those who
have found December a month
to criticise.
Shakespeare describes
December as “Old December
with bitterness everywhere.”
Many songs have been
written about December. Back
in the “Whoopee” days of the
“Roaring Twenties” there was
a song “Will You Love Me in
December as You do in May?”
that was most popular.
It was written by a Broadway
song and dance man, Jimmy
Walker, who became New
York’s “Whoopee Days”
mayor. Those were the days
when dances like the Charles
ton the Susie Q. and Balling
The Jack were popular. Those
were the days when bootlegging
was a recognized profession,
and bathtub gin competed with
“genuine” liquor smuggled into
the country, while authorities
stood idly by.
Those were the days that saw
the collapse of the “whoopee”
prosperity. And it is interesting
to trace back and see what
happened to Jimmy Walker and
his theme song “Will You Love
me in December as you do in
May.”
Once Mayor Walker, popu
lar with the New York people
because he kept the subway and
trolley fares at a nickle, went to
Mexico on a little holiday. While
he was away the city council
raised the fare to a dime.
Jimmy Walker rushed back to
New York “breathing fire” and
said “look what those so-and
sos did while I was out of town.”
The people did not love Jimmy
Walker as well then as they had.
Mayor Walker began to get an
answer to his song “Will You
Love Me in December as You do
In May”.
Just about this time there
were two other New Yorkers
who began to loom bright on the
political scene. They were
Franklin Deleno Roosevelt,
governor of New York, and
Thomas E. Dewey, young New
York attorney. Dewey began
investigating the city’s govern
ment. He made reports to
Governor Roosevelt.
One day Governor Roosevelt
summoned Mayor Jimmy
Walker to Albany the state capi
tal. The showdown meeting
started out with Mayor Walker
being defiant. But once he
realized Governor Roosevelt
could not be “handled”, as he
had “handled” others, includ
ing some judges, Walker left,
returned to New York hurriedly
gathered what he could from
the wreckage that was evident
and sailed for Ireland. His girl
friend — “Susie-Q” — went with
him. The love of the people
which had been great in the
sunny days of May faded when
the cold winds of tough times
came in December.
Pill cache seized here;
Tennessee man, wife held
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Maj. Irvin, Agent Darsey check part of pill cache.
Health board won’t
back down on Venable
ATLANTA (UPI)-The State
Health Board says it will stick
by its decision to fire veteran
Health Department Director
John Venable despite a plea
from Gov. Jimmy Carter.
Dr. Beverly Forrester, chair
man of the health board, con
firmed the board, in a private
session, had voted to dismiss
Venable with 11 for the proposal
and two members abstaining.
In a handwritten note, Carter
urged Forrester to take no ac
tion against Venable because
Georgians might think the dis
missal was connected with
Carter’s governmental reor
ganization plan.
School remains closed
WAYCROSS, Ga. (UPI) -
Ware County High School re
mained closed today after a
walkout by about 350 students
protesting dismissal of five
coaches prompted a suspension
of classes.
Shortly before classes were
suspended Tuesday, a headon
traffic collision near the school
DAI LA
Daily Since 1872
“The vote still stands,” For
rester said.
The vote means nothing with
out Carter’s agreement, but in
dicated the deep division be
tween the health board and the
governor over reorganization.
Under the plan, the department
would be split into two agencies
under the proposed Department
of Human Resources.
Forester said Carter had re
quested a meeting and he hoped
it could be arranged this week.
He said the board intended to
put out a statement explaining
its position, possibly this week.
Earlier, Rep. James “Sloppy”
Floyd of Trion, diairman of the
killed three persons, including
one student, and injured six
other students. The victims
were Diane Carter, 17, a stu
dent and driver of one of the
cars, and Doris Taft, 41, and
his son, Jimmy, 20, who were
in the other car.
The state patrol said Taft
was attempting to pass another
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Ga„ 30223, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1971
powerful House Appropriations
Committee, charged the board
was trying to make Venable a
“scapegoat.”
“He has to run the depart
ment the way they (the board)
tell him to,” Floyd said. “They
are charged with making the
rules and regulations. If the
health department is in a di
lemma, it’s the fault of the
board and it looks to me the
State Health Board ought to re
sign and let the new board get
this straightened out.”
Venable, department director
for 12 years, will be eligible for
retirement next year. His sal
ary is $36,792 a year.
car when he smashed headon
into Miss Carter’s car.
School Superintendent Dr.
Jerome C. Cox said the Ware
County Board of Education de
cided to close the school “for
the safety of everyone.” He
said students and parents were
(Continued on Page 3)
NEWS
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
52, low today 34, high yesterday
55, low yesterday 35. Sunrise
tomorrow 7:26, sunset
tomorrow 5:27.
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Police Auxiliary float won first place in Christmas parade.
Thousands packed streets of city last night for annual event.
Vol. 99 No. 284
A Tennessee man and his wife
were arrested this morning
about 3 o’clock at the Holiday
Inn in Griffin and charged with
violating Georgia’s Drug Abuse
Control Act.
Lawmen seized some 140,800
pills and a pickup-truck.
The suspects were identified
as Pryor Jordan, 41, and his.
wife, who was listed as 27. Their
address were listed as Route
One, LaFollette, Tenn.
They were taken to Griffin
dty jail and later transferred to
the Spalding County jail.
Coordinating the arrests were
Griffin Police, Spalding
Sheriff’s Department, local GBI
agents, and state and federal
agents.
Bill Darsey of Griffin who
works with the state narcotics
division of the GBI, said Jordan
was believed to be one of the
main suppliers of pills to the
southeastern section of the
United States.
GBI Agent Mike Carothers
along with Maj. Ronnie Irvin of
the Griffin Police Department
were among the officers
coordinating the arrests.
Lawmen said state un
dercover agents had made
purchases of drugs from the
couple in several other Georgia
judicial circuits.
Jordan telephoned one of the
undercover men who had
gained the confidence of the
husband-wife team and told him
he was at Holiday Inn in Griffin.
Agents made arrangements to
make a pill buy here.
Undercover agents Charles
H. McMichen and K. F. Cope
land knocked on the door of the
Jordan quarters at Holiday Inn
early this morning.
After discussion with the
suspects, the agents identified
themselves as lawmen and took
go] |
SHOPPING DAYS
TO CHRISTMAS
the pair into custody.
Agents said they had been
working on the case about two
months.
They said the man and his
wife were not armed and of
fered no resistance when placed
under arrest.
Bonds for the couple had not
been set this morning.
As the undercover agents
Flint river
hearing set
ATLANTA (UPl)—The State Water Quality Control
Board’s court order temporarily halting dredging
operations on a 2.3 mile stretch of the Flint River near
Jonesboro is slated for a hearing Dec. 10 in the Clayton
County Superior Court
The board requested the injunction after finding its own
emergency -order of Nov. 19 to stop dredging was being
violated, a spokesman said.
The order, issued by Judge Harold R. Banks, named the
Upper Flint River Clean Water and Flood Control
Association and theC.W. Booth Construction Company of
Colquitt County.
The board said dredging was threatening the Griffin
water supply and destroying the marshlike makeup of
that area of the river, which has served to help filter out
impurities in the water.
Analysis of the water in the involved area, of which
some 50 per cent had been dredged when the order was
issued, showed “a marked increase in both turbidity and
suspended solids concentrations, allegedly the result of
dredging,” the board said.
Forgets debts
ROME (UPI) - Officialdom
knew when it was licked.
It announced Tuesday it is
ending several years of expen
sive efforts to collect debts
from 99,895 Italians who owe
the government $1.60 or less.
Finance Minister Luigi Preti
said he was introducing a bill
in parliament to wipe such
debts off the books, ending a
test of wills with some
taxpayers dating back to 1941.
The reason, Preti said, was
that it costs too much and takes
up too much time to collect
penny-ante debts which in some
cases total exactly one lira.
Inside Tip
Georgia
See Page 8
talked with the couple before
identifying themselves as law
men, they said Jordan admitted
that things were getting hot for
him in Georgia and he wanted to
get out. He gave the agents a list
of prospective customers and
indicated they could take over
his pill business in the state.
Shortly after that the agents
made the arrests.
■MB AMF
“It appears a fellow’s
intentions had better be good —
because we so seldom are better
than we intended to be.”