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Coal mining
in Georgia
CLOUDLAND, Ga. (UPI) - Coal mining, tried with
little success in this northeast Georgia area for many
years, has been started up again.
This time, contractors are employing the strip-mining
process to uncover the relatively thin veins of coal rather
than tunneling, and the state Department of Natural
Resources is keeping an ecological eye on the process.
Sanford Darby, head of the Lands Reclamation Section
of the state Division of Environmental Protection, said the
mining companies are filling in behind them as they
complete each week’s operations.
He said one major reason for the resumption of mining
was a slowdown in highway construction which left
contractors with idle earth-moving machinery.
The biggest operation is being run by Gregisco Corp,
which owns or leases some 3,000 to 3,500 acres between
here and Menlo.
In adjoining Walker County, there are five small
companies mining coal, operating on about three to five
acres each. Darby said another firm is planning to lease
about 6,000 to 8,000 acres in Walker.
Darby said the coal is high quality with very low sulfur
and ash content, and it was being shipped to processing
plants in Alabama to be combined with lower-quality coal.
Ticket fixing
American
and illegal
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) - To
many Philadelphians, ticket
fixing was just another aspect
of the political system. It was a
way of life for hundreds of
committeemen —at least until
Walter Phillips Jr. came along.
Now he’s trying to prosecute
ticket fixers —and the screams
of outrage have begun.
Phillips, state special
prosecutor, was assigned by
Gov. Milton Shapp to ferret out
municipal corruption. He went
after contractors doing business
with the city, and then he went
after some politicians.
But when Phillips went after
traffic court, thousands of
motorists and hundreds of
politicians screamed. Even
state officials were surprised.
Phillips charged there was
“wholesale ticket fixing” in the
city to the tune of $1 million a
year. He said he planned to
prosecute not only judges but
motorists who paid to have
traffic tickets fixed.
“If we have to track them
down, they won’t be given ...
lenient treatment,” Phillips
said. “If you pay a public
official to influence the way the
public official discharges his
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
84, low today 63, high yesterday
82, low yesterday 68, high
tomorrow in low 80s, low tonight
in mid 60s. Total rainfall .19 of
an inch.
Other U.S. justices
worried about Douglas
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -
Other Supreme Court justices
are worried that Justice Wil
liam O. Douglas, who suffered
a stroke more than five months
ago, can no longer perform his
duties properly, the Los An
geles Times reported today.
There are questions about
Douglas’ mental condition and
he “may eventually be forced
to resign” by the other justices,
the Times said.
“One justice told the Times
that some members of the
court were growing uneasy
about Douglas voting in cases
he had never heard argued,”
the newspaper said in a report
from Washington.
Pet deer died of stress when rangers came and took her away
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (UPI) -
The law was supposed to
protect wildlife. What it did
was cost farmer Jack LaFal
ce’s pet deer its life and land
LaFalce himself in court.
Today, LaFalce is irate. At
least one state senator is
indignant. Conservation offi
cials are embarrassed.
It started last July, when
LaFalce accidentally hit the
fawn with his mower and broke
duties, it’s bribery. And that’s
punishable with up to seven
years in prison.”
President Judge Louis Vig
nola of traffic court has denied
the fixing charges.
Peter Duhamel, an assistant
state attorney general, said in
an affidavit an informant told
him, “Philadelphia traffic tick
ets are currently being fixed
through ward leaders and other
politicians who are paid by
their constituents.”
Duhamel explained the me
thod:
“If it is a moving violation,
which involves the assessment
of points, the whole amount of
the fine is paid to the politician.
If the ticket represents a
parking violation ... a lesser
amount is generally accepted
by the politician. These monies,
according to the employe, are
funnelled into the campaign
funds of their respective
parties.”
Phillips and his staff of seven
assistants and attorneys lost a
bid to gain possession of the
traffic court files, so Phillips
has posted a round-the-clock
guard to make sure the records
are not stolen or altered.
“Traffic court has opposed all
of our attempts to remove the
tickets,” Phillips said. He
added traffic court officials
have cooperated with his staff
in their efforts to copy the
records.
“Fixing tickets is against the
law,” Phillips said.
“It’s bribery.”
“They suspect that he may
not have either the time or the
stamina to read all the
petitions, briefs and opinions
presented to him and is instead
delegating many of his respon
sibilities” to clerks and aides,
violating a Supreme Court
principle, the Times said.
Douglas, 76 —who has been
on the Supreme Court longer
than any justice in U.S. history
—suffered a stroke Dec. 31 that
immobilized the left side of his
body. His secretaries and
clerks fly to New York two or
three times a week to bring
him court documents to read in
the Institute for Rehabilitation
Medicine of New York Univer-
its leg. He took the five-pound
animal home and set its limb.
Over the months it became a
pet. LaFalce’s delighted 6-year
old son named it Bambi, only to
be overruled by his 9-year-old
sister when it was discovered
the deer was female. They
settled on the name Feline.
What LaFalce and his kids
didn’t know was the state fish
and wildlife law which requires
that persons who take in
City studies curb garbage
in effort to hold spending
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Bobby Taylor of Riverdale lifts this 1913 model Pratt-Nasb-Whitney plane
into the air at a private airport in nearby Clayton County. He Is co-owner of
the antique craft with Joe Nix, a fellow Delta Airline employe. They are not
Delta pilots but enjoy flying this plane as a hobby. It’ll be in the air show
State cuts threaten center
Gov. George Busbee’s move
to trim S4O-million from state
spending poses a threat to the
juvenile detention center. It was
approved in the budget bill the
General Assembly passed this
year but it may be cut out.
Three lawmakers in Griffin
who helped get the center into
the budget are keeping a watch
ful eye on what the governor
does.
Rep. John Carlisle said he
also was concerned about some
state money that was supposed
to be used to expand Griffin
Tech.
The center and the Vo-Tech
expansion for Griffin would
bring $1,200,000 in construction
sity, the Times said. Justice
William J. Brennan Jr. goes to
New York to get Douglas”
opinions for relay to the rest of
the court, the report said.
The process has caused
confusion and delay in the
court’s work, the Times said,
and Douglas’ contribution has
been “infrequent and brief.”
In Douglas’ absence, the
court has been afflicted with a
logjam of cases, because no
opinion can be released until it
has been approved by all the
justices who support it. Forty
six cases, about a third of the
workload, remain undecided
with only three weeks remain
ing before the summer recess.
injured wild animals notify the
Environmental Conservation
Department.
After recovery, according to
the law, such animals are
supposed to be released into the
wilds again.
The LeFalces found out last
week. Capt. George Odell, chief
of the law enforcement division
of the En Con office in New
Paltz, told LaFalce there was a
complaint about his pet.
dailyCnews
Vol. 103 No. 140
1 money into Spalding County,
Rep. Carlisle said.
He said he, Rep. John
Mostiler and Sen. Virginia
Shapard worked very hard to
get these items in the budget.
House okays gas-guzzling tax
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The
House has decided on a penalty
against gas-guzzling automobi
les.
Some members praised the
action as a signal to Americans
that Congress is “seriats.”
Others called it a “creamp iff”
designed in Detroit.
It was adopted Thursday as
part of an energy tax bill which
House leaders hoped to finish
today.
President Ford, who met with
congressional leaders of both
parties Wednesday and sche
duled another meeting for
today, asked Congress to enact
a comprehensive bill. Clearly
he thinks the House bill is not.
W A
■5 J i * WHHH
“A happy person Is one who
finds away to enjoy what he
has.”
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Friday Afternoon, June 13,1975
From out of the past
All would be disappointed if
the projects had to be cut
because state income has not
been what planners thought it
would be.
Carlisle said a balanced state
The bill would put quotas on
oil imports, tax certain busi
ness use of fuels, reward
conservation with tax breaks
and penalize car manufacturers
whose fleets fall short of a
miles-per-gallon standard.
The provision approved
Thursday sets 18.5 miles a
gallon as the standard for 1978
models. Cars could miss that
No indictments
in Floyd probe
ROME, Ga. (UPI) - A Floyd
County grand jury reported
Thursday that an investigation
of the sheriff’s department
produced a “lack of sufficient
credible evidence” to warrant
any indictments.
The May term of the grand
jury had been instructed by the
January grand jury to look into
possible law violations in the
office of Sheriff Lynn Garner,
who is in his first term.
In its presentment, the jury
said that 13 allegations of
alleged violations had been
investigated but there was
insufficient evidence for any
indictments. The allegations
were not disclosed.
LaFalce argued. The animal
by this time was tame, he said,
and if En Con put her on
Cranberry Game Management
Farm where hunting is allowed,
she would never survive.
Wednesday, five conservation
officers and two state troopers
showed up for the deer.
LaFalce, his family and friends
protested and drapped them
selves around Feline’s pen.
The officers charged him
GRIFFIN
Sunday at Warm Springs. Flint River Academy will sponsor the show.
Taylor and Nix went to Tulsa and flew the plane home in three days. They
bought it five weeks ago.
with obstructing governmental
administration, cut the chain
into the pen and hauled the
animal off.
When they arrived at the
game preserve 40 miles away,
they found Feline dead. Choked
to death, according to an
autopsy report —apparently
from vomiting induced by
stress.
A distraught LaFalce called
the conservation men “coldb-
budget was important. He said
it was time to figure out what to
cut so it hurts the least.
“I would not be willing for our
local projects to be discontinued
while similar buildings else
where in the state are built. But,
by half a mile per gallon and
still escape the penalty. But
beyond that, a manufacturer
whose fleet average fell short
would be fined $5 for each tenth
of a mile it fell short. The $5
would be multiplied by all the
autos he manufactured.
If his 1978 model average
were 17 miles per gallon, he
would pay a fine of SSO for each
car he made. The fine likely
would be passed on as a higher
price, so the customer would, in
effect, pay it.
Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind.,
who introduced the provision,
said it was a “middle ground”
between various proposals.
“This is one of the strongest
things left in this bill,” Rep.
Robert Krueger, D-Tex., said.
“I think we need to tell the
American people we are serious
Arson suspected
SAVANNAH, Ga. (UPI) -
Arson is suspected in an early
morning blaze that firemen
battled for three hours today, a
spokesman for the Savannah
police department said.
Savannah police discovered
the fire and by the time
firemen arrived the blaze was
out of control. The fire
Daily Since 1872
if it is necessary for the gover
nor to temporarily delay con
struction in this district and
statewide to insure that Georgia
remain financially sound, then I
intend to support him,” Carlisle
said.
about doing something.”
Rep. Bill Frenzel, R-Minn.,
said the idea saves hardly any
energy. He recalled President
Ford had said Congress needed
to “bite the bullet” and enact
far-reaching legislation.
“That bullet you thought you
were biting has turned into a
creampuff,” Frenzel contended.
Without much tougher gas
mileage requirements, Rep.
Joseph Fisher, D-Va., said,
“We do not have an energy bill
worthy of the name.”
Ford had let it be known,
through administration energy
officials and friendly congress
men, that the tax bill was not
palatable without a provision
lifting price controls from oil
and without strong measures to
stimulate domestic production
of fuels.
destroyed the office section of
building and damaged the
warehouse.
Firemen said the “damages
will run in the many thousands
of dollars.” Fire officials say
arson is “definitely suspected”
because the fire spread so
quickly.
looded murderers” and asked
supporters to protest.
State Sen. James Donovan
sarcastically commended En
Con for its “victorious assault
on a family of four and its pet
deer.”
And an embarrassed En Con
Department immediately issued
a statement from the office of
Commissioner Ogden Reid
apologizing for the “tragic
occurrence which should not
City Commissioners have
under study the possibility of
raising garbage fees and going
to a curbside pick-up system.
They may have to cut the
number of city employes 10
percent.
They definitely will have to
make out yet another year on
some obsolete equipment that
long has seen its best days.
These are among the ideas
the commissioners have been
kicking about as they try to
figure out how to stretch $7-
million into paying city bills and
meeting needs for fiscal year
1975-76.
The commissioners have been
going over budget needs for the
past several weeks in an effort
to come up with an outlay as the
new fiscal year begins in July.
The city will finish the present
year in the black. It can’t finish
in the red without violating the
law.
The estimated income right
now will be $7,214,326. What was
needed to skimp through was
$8,494,994.
So to make the ends meet, the
commissioners have been
carving items out of the budget.
The income estimate is based
on a 10 mill tax rate, the same
as it is now.
Also figured in the income is
increasing residential garbage
fees from $3 to $5.
The commissioners hope to
hold residential electric rates
where they are now and get by
with some increases in business
and commercial rates.
Going to the curbside garbage
system would cut 12 employes
and the use of a truck at a
saving of $138,162.
The increase in garbage fees
would bring in SIBO,OOO more.
And a 10 percent cut in em
ployes would be a savings of
$327,960.
The commissioners have been
meeting late at night trying to
meet needs in the face of in
flation without having to resort
to drastic tax raises.
They have another session
scheduled next Monday night.
As the commissioners
chipped away at items such as
water fountains and the like,
City Manager was prompted to
quip:
“We’re looking for a gold
mine but we are hardly sifting
dust.”
The commissioners agreed.
NAACP asks
investigation
of hiring
The Griffin Chapter of the
NAACP announced today that it
had asked the U.S. Justice
Department to investigate the
Griffin police and fire depart
ment’s hiring policies.
The announcement, signed by
Glenn Reid, president, said the
local NAACP also had asked the
director of Health, Education
and Welfare to investigate the
hiring policies of the Griffin-
Spalding County Area Voca
tional Technical School
“because of the number of
blacks now employed by the
school.”
have happened.”
Reid said a full investigation
would be conducted into the
incident.
“State regulations designed to
protect wildlife should not have
the opposite effect,” he said.
The department said LaFalce
would not, after all, be charged
with illegally keeping the deer.
But he still faces that obstruc
tion charge in court.