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School bond referendum
is scheduled for May 21
A school bond referendum has
been set for May 21.
The Griffin-Spalding Board of
Education unanimously decided
at their meeting last night to
call for the $6-million bond issue
on Tuesday, May 21.
Chairman C. T. Parker noted
that the board members have
misgivings on the short notice of
the vote but they did not feel
they could wait until next year
as some 30 teachers will not
have classrooms in which to
teach this fall. They did not
want to schedule the election
during the summer months
when people are away on
vacations nor in the fall, when
other elections will be held, he
added.
Last month an appointed
committee, made up of some 23
persons representing all areas
of the community, recom
mended that the local board
implement much of a study
made by the State Department
of Education. It included the
building of a comprehensive
high school to be located near
Griffin Tech so the facilities of
both may be shared, that a new
elementary school be built in
* the western part of the county to
relieve overcrowded conditions
at Beaverbrook, Orrs and
Atkinson schools, that a central
food storage facility be built,
and that all schools in the
system be air conditioned, with
the exception of the Old Griffin
High building on Poplar street
which has been condemned and
probably will be tom down in
the near future.
The total cost would be
around $8,300,000, with
$2,300,000 coming from state
funds and the remainder,
around $6-million, to be
provided through the bond
issue.
The board also voted to give
the building committee
authority to buy options on
property for the new schools.
Parker said the committee
had looked into the possibility of
purchasing Experiment Station
property for the new high school
near Griffin Tech, but even if
the land were available, the
price would be prohibitive. He
noted that at a recent auction,
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
65, low today 41, high yesterday
70, low yesterday 53, high
tomorrow in upper 60’s, low
tonight in mid 30’s. Total
rainfall .08 of an inch. Sunrise
tomorrow 7:19, sunset
tomorrow 7:59.
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This artist’s drawing is of the new Southern Bell building to be located on Memorial drive in
South Griffin.
land purchased for new shop
ping centers sold for from $6,000
to $lO-thousand an acre. The
school board could not afford
that, nor could they afford to
jeopardize the Georgia Ex
periment Station property in
any way as the station needs
their land, he added.
He said there are two parcels,
of around 50 acres, near the
Newnan road and Griffin By-
Pass, which the committee is
looking into for the new high
school. The land there would
sell for around $3,000 per acre.
There are two sites available
in the vicinity of the Mclntosh
road church which would be
suitable for an elementary
school.
The board voted to give the
committee authority to buy
options on any sites they feel
are desirable.
An extensive publicity
campaign is planned.
Board members and school
officials are available to speak
to any civic club or organization
and Parker suggested that any
group who would like a speaker,
call the superintendent’s office.
The board also plans to seek
professional advice on getting
their message across. Parker
stressed the cost of such service
would be borne by voluntary
contributions, not from school
funds or tax money.
He said the board wants to do
its best to see that the people
are informed.
There were about 15 visitors
at last night’s meeting.
Terry Walton, president of
Griffin High’s student council,
said many students who are 18
or will soon reach their 18th
birthday may not have a chance
to register before the early vote
date.
Ivan Taylor of Carver road
asked a number of questions,
including how much additional
interest would be paid on $6-
million over 30 years.
Parker answered that the
present bond indebtedness of
$1.5 million, plus the $6-million
new issue would run close to sls
- including principal and
interest, at the end of 30 years
on 5.8 per cent interest tax
exempt bonds.
Taylor then asked if the
school board made an in
dependent study other than the
one made by the committee.
Parker told him, “No, we think
it fills the bill.”
He was ruled out of order
when he asked how many hours
board members had spent
studying the new building
proposals. Parker told him the
members take their jobs
GRIFFIN
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Daily Since 1872
seriously, they visit schools, eat
in the lunchrooms and have
spent a lot of their time working
with the schools, he explained.
He asked Taylor to save his
other questions for a public
hearing and in the interest of
saving time, to let someone else
ask questions.
Two parents from Beaver
brook school, Mrs. Mabel Lane
and Mrs. Frankie Chapman,
asked the board what they in
tended to do about the over
crowded conditions at Beaver
brook. “We are busting out at
the seams”, one said.
Supt. Christie said next year
the school will be even more
crowded and it will be
necessary to move some of the
students from Beaverbrook to
other elementary schools. He
said he received a letter from
the state department that
Beaverbrook will lose its ac
creditation if the overcrowded
(Continued on page 5)
Diggers
search
for bodies
WINDER, Ga. (UPI) - The
FBI and local police continued
digging along the sandy banks
of the Mulberry River near here
today but federal agents re
mained mum on a report that
eight bodies might be buried in
the area.
Hall County Sheriff Ed Eng
land said after three days of
searching Monday that a tip
from a jail inmate indicated
that the bodies of eight men
might be buried in shallow
graves near here. But he would
give no details.
“We’ll keep right on looking
until we find them or decide
that the search is useless,” said
England.
The sheriff said the informant
was in jail, but declined to
name him or say what charge
he was being held on.
The search with heavy digging
equipment began last Friday,
with the FBI clamping a tight
security lid on the operation.
Three persons, including two
University of Georgia students,
were arrested Sunday when they
sneaked into the cordoned - off
area to take a peek.
Agents were using backhoes
and inmates from the Hall Coun
ty public work camp to search
the soft, sandy river bank.
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Tuesday, April 9, 1974
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Voter
books
open
People in Griffin and Spalding
County not already registered
to vote may do so by Saturday
and be eligible to vote in the
school bond referendum.
The Spalding Registrars
office will be open daily 9 a.m.
till 5 p.m. through Saturday to
handle registrations.
There are about 16,000 people
registered to vote now.
Tornado kills young mother
By United Press International
Tornadoes dealt death for the
second time in a week in Geor
gia Friday when the mother of
a six-day-old boy was killed in
the crumpled wreckage of her
trailer home near Albany. Her
husband and two little boys
were seriously injured.
Twisters also raked the north
ern part of the state where they
killed 16 persons and did $15.5
million in damages five days
earlier. But no serious injuries
were reported this time.
Mrs. Sandra Sell, 22, died
when the tornado demolished
her trailer in the tiny commun
ity of Baconton in Mitchell
Vol. 102 No. 85
County near Albany. She had
just brought her six - day -old
boy, Dustin, home from the hos
pital Thursday.
The baby was admitted to an
Albany hospital in satisfactory
condition, TCie victim’s husband,
Darrell Sell, was in fair condi
tion with rib fractures and their
three - year -old son was in
critical condition with broken
legs and head injuries.
Another south Georgia tor
nado destroyed the small police
station and tore up a service
station in the town of Alapaha
west of Albany. A house trailer
was destroyed and a bam and
home heavily damaged at
On Memorial drive
Southern Bell to build
district office in Griffin
A new building to house
Southern Bell’s newly formed
Griffin district headquarters
operation is to be built on
Memorial drive near Harlow
avenue, according to Southern
Bell District Manager Bill
Byram. The 23,000-plus square
foot office building in South
Griffin will be located on a 2.9
acre lot formerly occupied by a
motel.
“The two story building,”
Byram said, “will be of French
architecture. It will house
employees in our commercial
business office, engineering,
plant, traffic, marketing and
personnel employment offices.
It will also contain a community
civic room which may be used
for meetings by the public.
There will be 148 parking spaces
for both customer and employee
nearby Enigma.
A series of small twisters
skipped across north Georgia
even as rescue crews were
cleaning up parts of 11 counties
declared federal disaster areas
by President Nixon last week.
Tornadoes touched down in
north Gainesville and near Cum
ming, but only minor injuries
were reported to eight persons.
The Gainesville twister dam-
• eged eight homes and a half
> dozen businesses, according to
i Col. Doug Embryos the State
• Civil Defense Office. He said
I eight persons were treated for
t minor injuries at Hall County
parking. The new facility will be
at a total cost in excess of
$750,000.”
Byram said that construction
will start within 30 days and the
building should be completed in
early 1975. Construction will be
handled by Joe Ellis Construc
tion Co. of Griffin.
Last December, Southern
Bell created a new district
office in Griffin in order to
better serve Griffin and the 14
other towns comprising the new
district. The 15 communities in
the Griffin district have almost
70,000 telephones and they in
clude Barnesville, Concord,
Covington, Eatonton, Forsyth,
Gay, Greensboro, Griffin, Jack
son, Madison, Monticello,
Rutledge, Social Circle, Wood
bury and Zebulon.
During the next ten years,
Inside Tip
Aaron
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Bras
“Sharing sorrows together
will unite folks more solidly
than having fun together.”
Memorial Hospital and re
leased.
A tornado destroyed a mobile
home along Georgia 306, a dozen
miles north of Cumming. A
woman and her two children in
side the trailer suffered minor
injuries.
A tornado also touched down
in Cherokee County, but no in
juries were reported.
Two large chicken houses
were destroyed and trees were
uprooted only five miles from
the Yellow Creek Church section
where four persons died in
a tornado last Wednesday.
Southern Bell predicts the new
Griffin district will double the
number of telephones the
company serves in the 15
communities.
According to Byram,
Southern Bell will be spending
over $23 million on new con
struction in the Griffin district
during the next three years and
of this amount over $8 million
will be spent in Griffin. “This is
part,” he added, “of the $1,033
billion Southern Bell is spending
on construction statewide
during 1974, 1975 and 1976.
“We are delighted to an
nounce the construction of this
new district headquarters
building,” Byram added. “It is
just another indication of our
confidence in the future of this
area.”