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Annette Rothbauer, tax assessors elerk, ehecks damage.
Thieves hit
courthouse
Five offices at the Spalding
courthouse were burglarized
last night. Apparently the only
thing taken was around $125
from Building Inspector Sam
Cobb’s office.
Speculation was that the
culprits, probably juveniles,
entered the building while a
public meeting on city-county
merger was being held in the
courtroom and hid somewhere
in the courthouse until every
, body had left and the building
was locked for the night.
Glass in office doors from the
third floor on down to the base
• ment was broken.
Heaviest damage was in Tax
Commissioner Ruby Hill’s
office, where in addition to
' broken glass, the ceiling was
damaged. Apparently the
burglars attempted to get into
. the safe there. The tax
assessor’s office on the second
floor also was entered.
The county commissioners’
office, also on the main floor.
Painters
’ pull flam
in Griffin
$
Police warned citizens to
beware of a slim-slam operation
that took place in the city
yesterday.
Jesse Thrower of 716 Ham
mock street reported that two
■ men came to his home and
offered to paint the house for
S3O. He said they got his ladder
and painted a small section,
using about a quart of paint.
The men told Mr. Thrower
they had used 20 gallons and
demanded to be paid. When Mr.
Thrower refused to give them
money, they grabbed his wallet,
which contained approximately
S7O, and left.
The men were thought to be
driving a red pickup truck with
painting equipment on the back
and an Alabama tag.
Police asked residents to
notify them if they are con
tacted by anyone with a similar
plan.
Objections puzzle Henry water man
S. H. Gardner, chairman of
the Henry County Water
Authority, doesn’t understand
why some Spalding County
residents are objecting to Henry
County’s putting a reservoir in
northeast Spalding County.
In the first place, he said,
most of the proposed site is
swamp land and already is
under water with numerous
beaver dams.
Secondly the reservoir would
not stop home development in
Spalding.
High density home develop
ments could not be built in the
area anyway, even if the
reservoir were not constructed,
was entered. The glass in their
meeting room door had been
broken.
Glass in Judge Andrew
Whalen’s third floor office door
was broken but entry was not
made because the door was
fastened with a deadlock bolt.
The burglars climbed over a
wall and tore away a suspended
ceiling to enter the building
inspector’s basement office
next to the old rural-urban
center.
It was thought the burglars
left the building through the
rural-urban entrance by simply
opening the latch and walking
out. There were no signs of
forcible entry into the building.
The break-ins were dis
covered about 7:40 this morning
by Probation Officer Lamar
Conner who noticed Mrs. Hill’s
office door ajar and called
police.
Inmates,
deputies
injured
JONESBORO, Ga. (UPI) -
Three Clayton County deputies
and two inmates suffered minor
injuries early today during an
escape attempt at the county
jail, police said.
Deputies Harold Starnes, C.
M. Hall 111 and Floyd Silvey
were treated and released from
Clayton County General Hospi
tal along with inmates David
Gillespie and Jerome Carpen
ter, police said. Police did not
have available the ages or
addresses of Gillespie and
Carpenter.
Police said Gillespie and
Carpenter, along with another
prisoner, Michael Evans, at
tempted the escape shortly
after midnight.
Gillespie and Carpenter at
tacked Starnes after calling the
officer to their cell claiming
that Evans was sick, police
said. Police said Gillespie, who
reportedly is a karate expert,
kicked Starnes in the face and
chest.
because there would be no place
to dispose of the sewerage, he
said.
He explained that Butts
County gets its water supplies
downstream from Henry’s
intake site on the Towaliga
River and, therefore, no
sewerage could be dumped into
the stream, even if the reservoir
were not built.
Thirdly, the initial phase of
Henry’s County’s water plant
already is at Steele Mill on the
Henry-Spalding line. It covers
about 10 acres. Henry County
purchased the land and is
building a water treatment
plant and water intake on the
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
Lamar Conner examines door of Judge Whalen’s office.
City petition asks Henry
to hold up reservoir plan
The Board of Griffin City
Commissioners in a called
meeting yesterday morning
agreed to a petition which will
be circulated among residents
asking that Henry County
withhold purchasing or
acquiring lands in Spalding
County for construction of a
water reservoir.
The action was taken on a
request from the Spalding
County Commissioners.
The petition asks that land
purchases be delayed until an
economic and environmental
impact assessment can be
made on how the reservoir
Henry County side near Lower
Griffin road, which runs bet-
ween Locust Grove and Ga. 16.
The existing dam at the mill is
being used and is sufficient for
now, Mr. Gardner said. The
second phase or reservoir would
not be constructed until the
need arises for expansion. It
may be five years from now, he
said.
And last, even when the
reservoir is completed, no more
than 290 acres would be needed
in both Henry and Spalding
Counties.
The land around the reservoir
could still be developed for
home sites, provided the lots
GRIFFIN
Vol. 103 No. 233
Opposition flares
at merger meeting
Most of the people attending a
public meeting last night on
city-county merger don’t want
the Griffin and Spalding County
governments merged. They
don’t want partial merging of
services and they don’t think
the Chamber of Commerce
should continue its study on the
matter.
Most of the 60 citizens who
attended expressed opposition
to merger.
The session which was
sponsored by the Griffin
Chamber of Commerce, was
conducted by Cliff Hornsby,
chairman of the city-county
merger study committee. It was
held at the Spalding Court
construction would affect the
land values or restrict the use of
land near the proposed site.
Some Spalding Countians
object to the reservoir because
they think it would restrict
dense residential development
and therefore lower land values
in the northeast section of the
county.
The petition suggested it
would be cheaper for Henry
County to contract with the city
of Griffin to supply water than
to purchase land for a reservoir.
The petition also states it is
the city’s engineering firm’s
opinion that Griffin could
supply Henry County with two-
were large enough to accom
modate both wells and septic
tanks, Gardner said. That
would be the case even if the
reservoir were not built, he
said. (Henry County requires
lots of at least one and a fourth
acres.)
The State of Georgia
recommended that Henry
County put its reservoir in
Spalding. The Towaliga River
which begins in Henry County
near Lovejoy has the cleanest
water available. There is
nothing upstream to pollute it.
About two-thirds of the 290
acres tract lies in Spalding. The
land already has been sur-
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Wednesday Afternoon, October 1,1975
house.
NOT COMPLETE
Mr. Hornsby said the study
was not far along enough to
answer any questions on
whether a merger could save
the taxpayers money or other
details. The purpose of the
meeting was to determine if
citizens wanted the study
continued. He stressed the
Chamber was not taking sides
and just wanted information.
Ralph Dougherty, an airlines
pilot, said he was a product of
merger. He said he moved to
Spalding from Atlanta 25 years
ago to escape its results. He
said these included increased
taxes with no increase in ser-
million gallons per day from the
present raw water intake. And
if proper agreement were
made, Griffin could provide
some 12-million gallons daily to
Henry County from its proposed
intake further down on the Flint
River.
Purchasing water from
Griffin would not adversely
affect land density, use or value
in S palding County, the petition
states.
It asked that all govern
mental agencies involved, local,
state and federal, investigate
the adequacy of the engineering
estimates.
veyed. Some of its owners don’t
live in Spalding County.
Mr. Gardner stressed that he
does not want to get into a
controversy with Spalding
citizens. He said some people
are “tickled to death” because
they know no sewerage will be
dumped into the Towaliga
River.
Water from the reservoir
would be distributed all over
Henry County which at its
widest point is around 30 miles
wide. The reservoir would hold
about a month’s supply and
would be used only in dry
moi s, usually in the fall when
the river water level falls below
normal.
vices, deteriorating sections,
lose of influence as property
owners and other dis
advantages.
APPLAUSE
The audience applauded when
he finished by stating that,
“Merger is the worse thing that
could happen. Big government
does not mean good or efficient
government. Two small com
peting governments are better
than one."
Mrs. Adele Thomas also
spoke against it. She said she
lives more than eight miles out
and has no police or fire protec
tion and doesn’t want her taxes
raised to pay for services she
could not get.
Herman Swint of Orchard Hill
suggested that if the two
governments were merged, the
county could be divided into
districts which would pay taxes
according to services received.
He said even though he lives in
the county, his affairs are
determined by what goes on in
the trade area of Griffin.
OPPOSED
Both County Commissioners
P. W. Hamil and Frank Thomas
said they opposed merger. They
said they were speaking as
individuals and not as commiss
ioners.
Both said they served on a
similar committee in 1968 and
spent a lot of time studying the
matter. They thought the best
solution was more cooperation
between the city and county
governments.
Mr. Hamil noted that some
city laws could not be enforced
in the county. He cited the dog
leash law as one.
DOG PROBLEM
“You can’t keep a dog penned
up in the country,” he said.
Some questions could not be
answered.
Buddy Sheppard wanted to
know where money for more
county services would come
from if there would be no tax
increase. Alton Pullin asked
what advantages merger would
offer the county.
Ivan Taylor charged that the
most “outrageous things in the
country are the concentration of
big government. I can assure
you if we merged we’d have
more government, more costs
and less representation. Now
you can call your commiss
ioners any time. Under con
solidation, you would not have
as responsive a government.”
POLICE
He added the city and county
need two police forces to
balance each other. Presently if
the sheriff isn’t doing his job, he
can be recalled, Taylor said.
Al Thrasher said he’d like to
see the study continued for
information only. He said some
day there may be dense
residential areas on farm lands
when merger might be ad
vantageous.
Bart Searcy, a member of the
merger study committee, spoke
out for merging.
SERVICES
He noted the schools and tax
offices already are merged and
“it is a shame county residents
can’t use sewerage lines that go
through their property” to the
sewerage plants which also are
located in the county.”
He said the Chamber was not
promoting the merger. The
committee was made up of
members representing civic
clubs, he explained.
Sara Blanton of Mt. Zion said
she was bitterly opposed. The
study would cost money and
“we have so many things
crammed down our throats by
the city,” she said.
Charles Pursley said he did
not hear of any benefits and “I
don’t see why we should even
fool with it.”
ADVANTAGES
Mr. Hornsby said even though
he was not taking a stand, some
(Continued on page three)
Griffin native
tells about
Beirut fighting
John Cheatham of Griffin
reported in a matter-of-fact
style on the street fighting in
Beirut, Lebanon just a few days
before he was transferred from
that troubled city.
Cheatham is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. M. Cheatham of
Griffin. His father is president
of Dundee Mills.
John Cheatham was on
assignment in Beirut with First
National City Bank of New York
in its international department.
He has been reassigned to
Abidjan, Ivory Coast of Africa
with the bank.
Sometimes he sends tape
recorded letters to his parents.
A couple of the latest tapes they
received from him described
conditions in Beirut as fighting
in the streets intensified.
Cheatham told how the
“whole bank” literally had been
moved into a Holiday Inn in
Beirut when trouble erupted.
Speaking calmly, he told how
he could look out of his window
on the 20th floor of the Holiday
Inn and see evidence of the
fighting.
At one point, he suggested his
parents might hear some of the
weapons being fired in the
background.
He reported that everyone in
the city seemed to be armed.
Cheatham looked out of his
window and described how he
could see people, wearing ski
like masks, and armed with
submachine guns.
Cheatham said he could see
buildings in Beirut burning
from his Inn room.
He said it was the nearest
thing he had ever seen to
anarchy.
Merchants planning
Harvest of Values
Fifty-six firms in the Griffin
community will participate in
the annual Harvest of Values
Promotion beginning at mid
week and continuing through
the weekend.
The annual event signals that
the fall season is under way in
the Griffin area. It usually
draws thousands of people to
stores in the community.
Merchants have been
stocking their stores with
values for the event. They want
to show once again that Griffin
is the best place to shop in this
section of the state.
Participating in the Harvest
of Values will be:
Buy-Rite, Smith-Roberts Co.,
Morrow-Powell Clothing,
Southern States Printing Co.,
Goode-Nichols Furniture Co.,
Cole’s Drugs, Wilde Roofing
Co., Cronic Chev-olet Co.,
Toyota of Griffin, Tonkin
Casuals.
Cartledge Furniture Co.,
Whitmire Jewelry, Hill’s Tire
Store, Dipper Dan Ice Cream
Shoppe, Jim Pridgen Hard
ware, McDonald’s Ham
burgers, Akins Feed & Seed
Store, Ben Franklin, Jones-
Harrison Furniture, The Coffee
Shop.
Beaty Auto Parts, Cain’s
Piedmont Equipment Co.,
Fashion Shops, Batton-Jackson
Quick Tire, Carpets of Griffin,
Wynne’s Jewelers, Eleanor
Shops, Ralph’s Kentucky Fried
Chicken, Claxton’s Pharmacy.
The Furniture Shop,
O’Kelley’s Furniture, The
Daily Since 1872
Cheatham recalled the
dispute between two taxi
drivers which had led to killings
as being the cause of the latest
fighting between Christians and
Moslems.
He reported the killings that
sparked the real violence
occurred when some unarmed
Moslems were pulled off a bus
and gunned down. Cheatham
said a person’s religion is on his
state identification card. That’s
how the gunmen knew which
people were Moslems,
Cheatham said.
The attack on the people in
the bus was in retaliation for the
taxi driver incident.
Cheatham said he thought it
was a mistake for the govern
ment to put religion on iden
tification cards and thought that
would be changed soon as a
result of the killings at the bus.
Cheatham, in his taped letter,
said some of the most intense
fighting in Lebanon was on the
very same spot where fighting
raged when the French
Crusaders arrived some 800
years or so ago.
Cheatham told his parents
there was one main route to the
airport from which he would
leave to head for his new
assignment.
He said sometimes, without
warning, armed people simply
would block a section of the
route and tie up traffic.
Cheatham was able to get out
of the city and head for his new
assignment with the bank.
As he closed one of his tape
reports, he said the city was
quiet at the moment and the
only noise he could hear was
that of a dog barking.
Gentry Shop, Saul’s, Crouch’s,
Sears, Jerrie & Don’s,
Leonard’s, Griffin Hardware,
Friedman’s Jewelers.
Hensley Office Equipment,
Rhodes Furniture, Maxwell
Home Furnishings, The Bonnie
Shop, Easterwood’s Shoes, K-
Mart, Randall & Blakely.
Griffin Daily News, First
Federal Savings & Loan Assn.,
Griffin Federal Savings & Loan
Assn., WGRI, WHIE, WKEU,
The Bank of Griffin, Com
mercial Bank & Trust Co., First
National Bank of Griffin.
Weather
ESTIMATED HIGH TODAY
75, low today 66, high yesterday
80, low yesterday 58, high
tomorrow near 70, low tonight in
upper 50s.
“The trouble with affluence is
that we get to thinking we
deserve everything folks are
trying to sell us.”