Newspaper Page Text
DAILY NEWS
Vol. 103 No. 73
River rescue
Helicopter pulled them from stream
BY DOYLE JONES JR.
JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS
A daring and dramatic rescue by helicopter during the
early morning hours of Wednesday, saved two Monticello
youths from almost certain death in the turgid, swollen
and cold Ocmulgee River at Lamar’s Mill.
Plucked from the icy and muddy river by an Army Huey
helicopter from Fort Benning were Bobby Mattison, 16,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe B. Mattison of 255 Madison street,
Monticello, and Phil Chaffin, 15, son of Mr. and Mrs. Allen
Fielding Chaffin, North East Street, Monticello.
The terror-filled odyssey began innocently enough
Tuesday afternoon when the two boys, each in a one-man
raft, entered the river at the Ocmulgee River bridge on
the Jackson-Monticello highway about 4:30 o’clock. A
third boy, who was reported to have accompanied them,
changed his mind at the last minute. The rafters were
supposed to have disembarked at the bridge on Highway
83, the Forsyth-Monticello highway.
The boat capsized at the second rapids. The boys spent
the remaining hours on an inundated island, clinging to
tree limbs.
About 8:30 Tuesday night when the boys had not
appeared, those waiting at their destination became
apprehensive and called the Jasper County Sheriff’s
Department, reporting the boys missing and overdue.
Fish and wildlife rangers joined Jasper deputies in the
search which began shortly after 8:30.
In a short time a Georgia State Patrol two seater
helicopter was called to the scene and it made several
passes up and down the river for several miles. About
midnight, what was believed to have been a flashlight was
sighted by the helicopter.
A short while later a MAST helicopter from Fort
Benning was asked to help in the search and its five man
crew responded promptly.
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Ready to hunt Easter eggs
Nikki Sims, Kevin Hill, Jennifer Welty, Diane Cannon
(recreation staff) and Chad Jimerson are all set for the
Easter Egg hunts the Recreation Department will have
Twister
LEFORS, Tex. ’(UPI) - A
tornado rumbled out of a
thunderstorm and ripped
through more than 150 homes
and the downtown business
district today, killing at least
one person.
The Red Cross said more
than 40 persons were injured
and predicted more bodies
would be found.
“We know there was a baby
that was killed and they have
from 40 to 50 persons in one
hospital,” said Libby Shotwell
of the Pampa, Tex., Red Cross.
“They think there were three
that were killed but they only
have verification of one.
They’re going to look for more
bodies during the day.”
Police sealed off roads into
the Panhandle farming com
munity to keep sightseers
away.
“There’s no telephones, no
lights, no water, no nothing in
Lefors,” Mrs. Shotwell said.
Pampa police Lt. John
Thomas said Lefors was
“totally demolished.”
“Everything in downtown is
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday Afternoon, March 27, 1975
hits Texas
completely leveled,” he said.
“In the residential area all
around downtown more than 90
avl fr.s At’,* s *
Sue Blanton with damaged auto.
GRIFFIN
Saturday. They’ll be at City Park, Dundee Park and
Patrick Park. The hunts will begin at 10 a.m. and
youngsters of the community are invited.
per cent of the houses are
destroyed or heavily dama
ged.”
About two o’clock Wednesday morning, the Butts
County Civil Defense Rescue Unit was called into action
with John Chiappetta, CD Director, and members James
C. Shaw, Virgil Pace and Buster Duke reporting to the
scene.
Chiappetta said about 5:30 o’clock the Huey copter
sighted the light again. Piloted by Lt. Locke, the large
craft hovered over the two frightened and cold boys who
were clinging to the branch of a tree in the swift and icy
water with the temperature at a chilling 36 degrees.
Chiappetta explained how the large craft under the
expert piloting of Lt. Locke was brought almost directly
above the stranded youths. A harness was lowered and
one boy was brought to the safety and warmth of the
rescue craft. In a short time the other boy was rescued
from his perilous hold on the tree.
The boys were brought by helicopter to the Jackson
Police Station where the A&P parking lot was turned into
a temporary airstrip when both copters participating in
the rescue landed. Greatly relieved parents were on hand
to greet their adventurous sons.
The two youths were taken to the Jasper County
Memorial Hospital at Monticello for observation.
The mother of one of the boys said, “They weren’t hurt
— just scared and cold and wet.”
Members of the Butts County Sheriff’s Department
aiding in the rescue were Deputies Gene Pope, Danny
Walton, Tommy Raney, and Larry Polk.
Sheriff V. T. Murphy of Jasper County, through
Chiappetta, asked The Progress-Argus to express
appreciation for him and the boys families to the Georgia
State Patrol, the Butts County Sheriff’s Department, the
Jackson Police Department, the Army for providing the
copter eventually used in the actual rescue, and all others
who helped to write a happy ending to circumstances that
could have easily been earmarked for tragedy.
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
70, low today 40, high yesterday
63, low yesterday 34, high
tomorrow near 70, low tonight
near 50. Sunrise tomorrow 7:37,
sunset tomorrow 7:51.
Griffin girl caught in Atlanta tornado
Sue Blanton, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Albert Blanton of
Mockingbird lane, thinks she’s
* lucky to come out of Monday’s
Atlanta tornado with just a
demolished car and damaged
apartment. She escaped without
a scratch.
Miss Blanton lived in Cross
Creek Apartments in Northwest
Atlanta, right in the tornado’s
path where damage was most
extensive.
She was getting dressed for
work around 7:30 a.m. and
heard a radio report of a funnel
cloud’s being spotted near the
Atlanta airport. She said she did
not think much about the
storm’s coming her way until
minutes later when the
electricity went off at 7:32.
At the same time, she heard a
Daily Since 1872
South Y emen plane
By WILLIAM BRANIGIN
PARIS (UP? - Officials in
South Yemen today waved off a
plane carrying two kidnapers
and an abducted French
diplomat, forcing it to land in
Somalia and effectively cancell
ing plans to exchange the envoy
for two freed guerrilla prison
ers and SIOO,OOO in gold.
Authorities in the South
Yemen capital of Aden told the
pilot of the special DC3 plane it
would be denied permission to
land shortly after it took off
from the Somali capital of
Mogadishu, officials in Paris
said.
The gunmen chose Aden as
the site of the exchange after
capturing ambassador Jean
Gueury, 57, at gunpoint in
Mogadishu Sunday.
' South Yemen rejected the
request Tuesday, but on
Wednesday France said Aden
reversed itself.
There was no immediate
indications the exchange would
be carried out at the small
airfield in northern Somalia
Power hearing continues
ATLANTA (UPI) - A state
Public Service Commission
hearing on a $305 million
annual rate hike for Georgia
Power Co. was scheduled to
resume today.
Opponents to the rate in
crease, including the Georgia
Power Project, the Defense
rumbling noise and ran out into
her first floor apartment en
trance hall where she crouched
down. She said she remembered
something about opening doors
and windows in a tornado, but
she was too scared to move.
As she crouched there, the
roof and all the furniture were
sucked out of the third floor
apartment over her head. Its
occupant had already left for
work. No one was in the apart
ment except a pet dog which
was unharmed.
A woman in another apart
ment in the same building was
taking a bath when the roof and
all of her living room and
bedroom furniture were sucked
away. Miss Blanton thinks the
plumbing pipes probably
strengthened the bathroom
walls and saved the woman.
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Griffin included
Laura Davis (1) of Griffin shows Michael Cartwright of London the Confederate cemetery
here. Cartwright is on a world tour and made Griffin one of his stops. He’s a Civil War buff,
and Miss Davis is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Davis, 1124 Placid road. She and
Michael were young when their parents met in Tokyo. Davis and his wife were there while
he was stationed in the Japanese city with the Armed Forces. They met Cartwright’s
parents at a church the two families attended. Cartwright’s father operates a travel
service. The Cartwright and Davis families have kept in touch by mail all these years. So
when Mr. Cartwright arranged for his son, Michael, to tour the world, he put Griffin, Ga. on
the list of cities.
where it was forced to land.
The French government flew
two imprisoned African nation
alists from jails in France to
Aden Wednesday to exchange
for the 57-year-old ambassador
to Somalia.
The ambassador’s wife, Fran
coise, said by telephone the
group left Mogadishu under
tight security. The road from
the villa to the airfield was
cleared of all people and
vehicles. The group was
escorted by troops.
“Even 1 was not allowed to
go to the airport,” she said.
A French Embassy official in
Mogadishu said over the
telephone, “We don’t know
what is going to happen now.
There is an impasse and we are
trying to make a new attempt
at organizing the exchange.”
France capitulated to the
demands Tuesday night as a 36-
hour deadline neared its expira
tion, then sent a camouflaged
military plane Wednesday to
pick up the prisoners, Omar
Elmi Kaireh and Omar Osman
Department, some Georgia
industrialists and others, were
scheduled to present their
testimony.
The big utility had sought the
increase on grounds that
declining revenues had da
maged its financial stability to
the point it can no longer
Luckily, a closet filled with her
clothes also was saved.
It all happened so quickly,
Miss Blanton continued, that
she did not realize what was
happening. The door frame of
her apartment was blown away
and dirt and debris had landed
on top of her and in her apart
ment.
Her building has around 18
apartments. It was the most
heavily damaged in the 900
apartment complex. Although
about 75 percent of the apart
ments were damaged in some
way, there were no serious
injuries.
To prevent looting, guards at
the gatehouse will not let
anyone but residents enter the
area.
Miss Blanton’s building has
been condemned qnd will have
Rabeh.
The two were serving life
sentences at separate prisons
for attempted political assassi
nations in the French-run
territory of the Afars and Issas,
which borders Somalia on
Africa’s northeastern shoulder.
The exchange seemed headed
for a stalemate Tuesday when
the South Yemeni government
said it would refuse to
accommodate the kidnapers.
But the Yemenis changed
their minds at France’s urging
Wednesday and agreed to
provide at least temporary
asylum for the three gunmen.
The kidnapers said they were
members of the Front for the
Liberation of the Somali Coast,
which has been fighting for
independence of the Afars and
Issas, once known as French
Somaliland.
“Somali authorities have as
sured me that South Yemen is
now prepared to receive the
gunmen and they will probably
fly to Aden Thursday,” the
ambassador’s wife, Francoise,
interest buyers in Georgia
Power bonds to finance future
construction.
The PSC granted the power
company a $25 million emer
gency rate hike and the right to
collect $35 million more in
unrecovered fuel costs by May
1.
to be torn down. There is no way
it can be repaired, she said.
She had all of her belongings
brought to Griffin.
Miss Blanton said other cars
at the apartments were
damaged heavier than hers,
which was close to being
demolished. Although drive
able, the windshield was
crushed and all other windows
were shattered. Its body and
vinyl top has hundreds of small
dents and scratches from flying
debris. Roofing, glass and dirt
covered the inside.
Miss Blanton, who is a
graduate of Presbyterian
College in Clinton, S.C., is
employed in the credit depart
ment at Davison’s. She plans to
stay with a friend until she can
find another apartment, she
said.
said in a telephone interview.
She said she spoke by
telephone to her husband. “We
are both immensely relieved
that everything is nearly over,”
she said. “I hope we will be
reunited very soon.”
The ambassador’s son, Frede
ric, said late Wednesday his
father felt he had “wasted
enough time” in the kidnapers’
hands and wanted to get back
to work.
'MI J
Country
Parson
“The finest folks I’ve known
are those who aren’t trying to be
like somebody else.”