Newspaper Page Text
Forecast
Cooler
See page 2
Spalding voting
steady in runoff
A steady stream of voters in
Griffin and Spalding County
went to the polls today to help
nominate a governor, lieutenant
governor and have a voice in
some local races.
Election officials indicated
that the runoff primary voting
was not as heavy in the early
morning hours as it was on the
first day of voting three weeks
ago. But officials said that the
voting was steady indicating the
School board
qualifying
opens here
The books opened today for
candidates to qualify for
election to the Griffin-Spalding
School Board.
Qualifying will end Sept. 27 at
noon.
Those wishing to seek posts on
the board may qualify with
Ordinary George Imes, Jr., in
the Spalding Courthouse.
Registration fee for the races
is S2O each.
It is no longer necessary for a
candidate to live in a certain
district to qualify for a post.
Any person who meets
qualifications to be a candidate
may qualify to seek any post to
be filled in the November
general elections.
Posts six through ten are to be
filled this year.
The Griffin-Spalding
Provisional League of Women
Voters announced it would
submit questions to candidates
for the school board and will
hold a public meeting in mid-
October with the candidates.
Income, households
increase in Spalding
The number of households
’ and the average income in
Spalding County have in
creased, according to a survey
. published in Sales Management
magazine.
The report was based on data
of 1971 and 1973.
• The number of households
increased during that period
from 12,800 to 14,000.
The number of people earning
* $15,000 and over increased from
10.7 percent to 15.9 percent.
Those in the SIO,OOO-114,999
« income level increased from
12 Griffinites brave tricky Flint River in canoes
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Rough water tests skill of Scooters.
community might have a good
turnout.
Traditionally runoff contests
attract fewer voters in Georgia
as well as on the local level. But
spirited debates between
candidates for governor and
lieutenant governor stimulated
interest in the last few weeks.
This may draw out more voters
than might be expected in a
runoff vote.
George Busbee and Lester
Maddox battled each other in
the Democratic primary for the
governor’s nomination . Mary
Hitt and Zell Miller vied for the
lieutenant governor’s
nomination in that party.
Ronnie Thompson and Harold
Dye were matched for the GOP
nomination for governor in a
runoff.
Incumbent Jack Moss and
businessman Reid Childers
were in the runoff for Spalding
County Commissioner as
Democrats.
The winner will face
Republican Ivan Taylor in
November. He was unopposed
in the primary voting.
“I feel sorry for anyone who
doesn’t believe that things will
get better.”
20.1 percent to 21.7 percent.
In the SB,OOO-$9,999 category
the percentage of change
showed a decrease from 13.8 to
13.4 percent. The $5,000-$7,000
group dropped from 21.5 per
cent to 19.9 percent.
In the $3,000-$4,999 group, the
drop was from 14.9 percent to
13.1 percent. In the $2,999 and
under level, the drop was from
19 to 16 percent.
The survey showed the
median income had grown to
$8,166 in 1973 from $7,211 in 1971.
Retail sales zoomed from
GRIFFIN
Vol. 102 No. 209
Virginia Shapard and Kyle
Cobb were matched in the
Democratic primary for the
28th state senate post. The
district includes all or parts of
Spalding, Henry, Fayette,
Clayton, and Coweta Counties.
The winner will meet A. L.
Norris of Griffin in November.
He was unopposed in the
Republican primary.
The Republican primary, less
volatile than the vituperative
Democratic runoff, pitts Macon
Mayor Ronnie Thompson
against Atlanta businessman
Harold Dye, a political neo
phyte.
The size of the turnout, with
voters distracted by Labor Day
weekends or disenchanted by
the tenor of campaign tactics,
is a key factor in deciding
whether Maddox can return to
the Governor’s Mansion he va
cated nearly four years ago.
A light turnout would benefit
Maddox, who polled 35 per cent
of the vote in the first primary
Aug 13. Busbee got 22 per cent,
barely edging Calhoun banker
Bert Lance to get into the sec
ond elimination with Maddox.
Much of Lance’s professional
banking has shifted to Busbee
in the three weeks since the ini
tial primary. Lance was the
choice of outgoing Gov. Jimmy
Carter, who succeeded Maddox
in 1971 and who has said re
peatedly that he considers his
predecessor unqualified to gov
ern.
“I have tried to keep the fo
cus of my campaign on the is-
$69,500,000 in 1971 to $104,393,000
in 1973.
The magazine said food sales
advanced from $15,632,000 in
1971 to $23,395,000 in 1973.
Automobile sales advanced
from $14,981,000 to $24,098,000
during the period. Furniture
and household appliances went
from $3,567,000 to $6,438,000.
General merchandise went
from $10,597,000 to $11,581,000.
Drug sales rose from
$2,148,000 to $2,210,000 during
the period.
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Tuesday Afternoon, September 3,1974
sues, but that is almost impos
sible in a campaign with Lester
Maddox,” Busbee said on elec
tion eve. “He has made dozens
of reckless, irresponsible charg
es, and the closer we get to
election day, the more desper
ate he becomes and his charges
grow even wilder.”
The most widely publicized of
Maddox’s tactics was challeng
ing Busbee to a lie-detector test
when both men called each oth
er liars in a televised debate
over an executive pay raise bill.
Busbee accepted, but the test
never came off.
The Dye-Thompson primary,
mild by comparison, was
marked by a last-minute claim
by Thompson that Dye sought
to “blackmail” him out of the
race. Thompson claimed that
Dye sent state GOP Chairman
Bob Shaw to warn him that a
grand jury investigation of gam
bling in Macon might reach the
mayor’s office, if he did not
drop out of the race.
Dye and Shaw denied any
such pressure, saying they only
wanted to ask Thompson if he
might be involved, and that they
were satisfied that he was not.
Downtown
construction
nearly complete
Underground construction
work which has inched along
downtown Hill street for several
weeks should be completed in
the business section in a week or
two and “certainly before the
end of the month.
That was the word today from
Southern Bell District Manager
Bill Byram.
The project is underway to
place telephone lines beneath
the ground.
Hill street medians and
traffic lanes are clear from
Poplar street north through
Solomon and on to Slaton street.
Workmen are cleaning up the
medians, but the traffic lines
are clear. One exception is at
Hill and Solomon where some
paving remains to be done, but
the intersection itself is clear
and there is only slight traffic
interference.
Work will continue along Hill
street across the railroad
crossing and northward.
The work is being performed
under contract, and the men
wearing Southern Bell hardhats
are employed by the phone
company to check on it.
Twelve Griffinites who were
among the 17 young men
making the annual Labor Day
weekend canoe trip down Flint
river said the stream was at a
height this weekend, making it
very challenging.
The annual trips which began
in early 1960 s have become
something of a tradition in this
section of the state. Explorer
Post One members started the
annual excursions.
Participating this year were
Griffinites Randy Piland,
Tommy Thornhill, Bobby
Woodward, Bill Jones, Bruce
Jones, Ralph Jones, Walter
Jones, Donnie Roberts, Chuck
Joiner, Steve Johnston, Jim
Dunaway and Tim Hobbs.
The high points of the trip are
the white-water canoeing areas.
Expert handling of canoes is
required in these areas to keep
them from tipping over.
The trip includes two nights
on the river. Since the group is
made up of Scouts, a wilderness
campsite usually is chosen
away from the truck campers
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This Geodesic Dome is under construction on the campus
of First Assembly of God’s Griffin Christian School at
Riegel’s Curve. The domed building, when completed, will
house two of the school’s learning centers. The building
was designed by the same firm that engineered the Astro
Auto operation climbs
to 24 cents per mile
DETROIT (UPI) — Inflation
has pushed up the cost of
owning and operating a car to 24
cents a mile for the average guy
or gal who drives a mid-sized
car for three years.
In a subcompact, the cost per
mile drops to 19 cents. Owners
of standard-size models pay
nearly 29 cents a mile.
That comes to about $2,400 a
year for the mid-sized car
owner, not including the money
he needed to buy the car. For
the subcompact owner, the
yearly cost is $1,900 and $2,900
for the big car owner.
The figures released Tuesday
by the Hertz Corp.’s Car
leasing Division showed the
tremendous effect inflation is
having on motorists.
Gasoline prices alone have
jumped from an average 35
cents a gallon last summer to
55 cents a gallon now.
Hertz recently inaugurated a
computer analysis service for
and the hundreds of families
who camp on the river during
the Labor Day weekend.
The Scouts said their rule that
a campsite must be cleaner
when they leave than when they
found it was strictly enforced.
The trip started at Flat Shoals
and ran about 50 miles to High
way 19 south of Thomaston.
This is one of the most scenic
sections of Flint. It passes
through the Pine Mountain
range which has miles of un
spoiled timberland rising on
both sides of the river.
The canoes used in the outing
are owned by the Flint River
Council Boy Scouts of America.
They were donated by Newton
Crouch, Griffin businessman,
and the Griffin Rotary Club in
the early 19605.
A trailer also was built by Mr.
Crouch for the fleet. The canoes
are taken on a trip almost every
weekend during the year.
They are avialable to any
registered Scout unit in the
Flint River Council.
Domed learning center
its car fleet customers and said
it does not have comparable
figures for previous years.
However, the American Au
tomobile Association last year
estimated mid-sized cars cost
14.3 cents a mile to operate,
small cars 12.2 cents and
standard models 16.5 cents.
The figures aren’t directly
comparable because AAA did
not take into account about $230
No tax increase expected
Jack Moss, chairman of the
Spalding County Com
missioners, said today he
believes the growth in the tax
digest will be enough to off set
inflation in county government
operations so no tax increase
will be needed this year.
He said the final figures are
not in on the digest so the
commissioners have not been
able to set the rate.
Moss said he and Com-
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Going gets a little rough on Flint
Daily Since 1872
a year, or 2.3 cents a mile at
the 10,000 mile a year level,
which the average car buyer
pays in interest on a car loan.
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
83, low today 66, high yesterday
82, low yesterday 64, high
tomorrow in upper 70s, low
tonight in upper 50s, sunrise
tomorrow 7:06, sunset
tomorrow 8:02.
missioners Sandy Morgan and
P. W. Hamil had checked
preliminary digest figures and
indications are that the natural
growth of the county digest will
be able to offset the inflation of
government.
The commissioners expect to
set the tax rate soon after they
get official digest figures.
The digest figures reflect the
valuation of taxable property in
the county.
Dome and Atlanta Stadium. The building is constructed
on a concrete foundation. The 270 triangular sections were
shipped to Griffin and the building is being erected by the
men of the church. The church plans to erect another
domed building and a gym on its campus.
®A Prize-Winning
Newspaper
1974
Better Newspaper I
Contests
Cash’s son
injured
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn.
(UPl)—The four-year-old son of
Johnny Cash and June Carter
was among seven persons in
jured Monday when a jeep hit
a mudpuddle, swerved and over
turned.
State Trooper Billy Mason
said John Carter Cash appeared
to be the most seriously injured
and was rushed to Vanderbilt
Hospital at nearby Nashville. A
hospital spokeswoman said the
boy was being place in inten
sive care for observation, only
because he had been in an ac
cident.
“He’s crying and that’s a good
sign. He appears to be fine,”
the spokeswoman added.
The boy was listed in fair con
dition Monday night at Vander
bilt Hospital, where his father
had joined him.
Young Cash had been pinned
beneath the jeep and sustained
head injuries.
Mason said the vehicle was
driven by Reba Hancock,
Cash’s sister-in-law.