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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1977)
> 1 . , t _ i r I I JHk I I JJk ii Jr \ tri f a ill A 1 g H Barfl p 1 .I i H I ffijjj»gßgßfiaßpif MM i g|U Scenes like this will be frequent during June. Drunkenness won't be crime Griffin is willing to try plan City commissioners voted to decriminalize drunkenness for a 12- months trial period, provided the state comes across with $115,000 to finance an accompanying alcoholic treatment program. The vote was 3 to 2 with Commission ers Raymond Head, Louis Goldstein and Dick Mullins in favor and Commissioners Ernest “Tiggy” Jones and R. L. '‘Skeeter’’ Norsworthy opposed. Roger Scott who heads the state financed alcoholic treatment center on South Hill street came to the commiss ioners’ Tuesday morning meeting to discuss the program. City Atty. Bob Smalley and Public Safety Director Leonard Pitts also were present. Under the Uniform Alcoholism and Intoxification Treatment Act passed by the Georgia General Assembly, public drunks who commit no crime can volunteer to accept treatment instead of going to jail. The act does not apply to driving under the influence charges. The law has not yet gone into effect and Griffin will be the first Georgia community to try the program, provided it gets the state money. Under the act, when a police officer spots someone drunk, he can offer to Baccalaureate to be tonight Some 398 Griffin High seniors will don japs and gowns this evening for Mccalaureate at Memorial Stadium at o’clock. The Rev. Thurman Fountain, pastor >f the First Assembly of God Church, rill deliver the sermon. He will speak from the subject, People ...and things Young homemaker, cautiously glancing over shoulder to see if anyone s looking, then counting lemons in bag at supermarket to make sure she is jetting the largest number. Firemen enjoying shade of small tree at city hall, after a long cold winter. Young woman at wheel of compact ar struggling along with trailer much rigger than vehicle. take him for treatment. If the drunk refuses, the officer can offer to take him home. And if he refuses that, the officer can place him under protective custody and put him in jail. He will not be charged with any offense. After being held for up to 12 hours, the officer can again offer him treatment. If he refuses again, he will be released from custody. Scott said he had asked for $115,000 to finance the program for one year, but the DHR indicated he could get only $65,000, an amount which “would give us a fair try," he said. The money would be used to increase the staff and expand the existing program to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When the center on Hill street is not open at night and on weekends, 2 members of the staff would be on duty at the hospital emergency room. According to Scott, about half of the emergency room’s patients have some type of mental problems, many alcohol related. The staff could help with other patients, too, he explained. The city would lose some $15,000 in drunk fines, plus the labor of convicted drunks in the cemetery, according to “What Do I Expect From Me.” Others on the program include the Rev. E. J. O’Neal, pastor of the Springhill Baptist Church who will offer the invocation. The scripture will be read by the Rev. Elvyn J. McDonald, pastor of the Hanleiter United Methodist Church. Following the sermon, the Rev. Edward Sisson, pastor of the Crestview Baptist Church, will offer the prayer. Music will be by the Griffin High symphonic band. In the event of rain the ceremonies will be moved indoors to the Griffin High auditorium. Weather FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN AREA - Fair and little cooler tonight with lows in low 60s. Thursday sunny and warm with highs in mid 80s. , LOCAL WEATHER - Low this morning at Spalding Forestry Unit 68, high Tuesday 90. Other months crowd June If the month of June is to maintain its reputation as the month of brides, it is becoming more and more evident there will have to be a higher number of marriages over those on record for the first five months of 1977. Records in the Spalding County Judge of Probate Court indicate that April has been the month with the most marriage license applications in 1977. There were 43 marriage licenses issued in April. Mrs. Jolene Taylor, probate secretary, feels the June issuances will have to surge to outdo the month of April. DAILY Daily Since 1872 Chief Pitts. Pitts said many of the more than 300 people arrested in the city last year were not “just plain drunk on the street, but were involved in family and domestic problems also." The program is in effect in Florida where it is successful, Scott said. “One out of 2 people treated are helped and I am confident there would be a savings both in police time in dealing with drunks and in costs of the city’s keeping them,” Scott said. Commissioner Goldstein moved the city go along with the program on a 12- months trial basis, provided the state puts in the full amount requested, $115,000. “If they are going to have a pilot program, let the state give it all it has and us do the same,” he said. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Mullins who said he had “strong reservations” but would go along if the full amount was appropriated. Mayor Raymond Head said he favored the program even if the appropriation was $65,000. “Let’s try it for 12 months. It could be a great savings to the city in years to come and if drunks can get help, we should give them a chance,” he said. The Country Parson by Frank Clark “When the world finally to at peace, it won’t be because it to so well prepared for war.” Digby gator military background? That eight-foot alligator captured between Digby and Hollonville last week probably has a military back ground. The Griffin Troop of the Georgia National Guard went to Fort Stewart near Hinesville, Ga., for annual summer training in 1955. When the unit returned home it brought several wild pigs and one pet alligator which was two and a half feet long. The part-time soldiers ate the pigs. The alligator stopped eating, so it was turned loose in the Flint River not far from where the one last week was taken. Here come the brides In 1976, June had to compete with the month of March which posted 43 licenses. June went on to beat that number in 1976 with 52 licenses. Mrs. Taylor has hope for June this year in anticipation of vacation time when schools and colleges will be out for the summer. Marriages could very well be in the works during the off-time. To date there have been 171 marriage licenses issued in Spalding County since January. There were 499 marriage licenses issued in 1976. GRIFFIN Griffin, Ga., 30223, Wednesday Afternoon, June 1,1977 Norsworthy and Jones both opposed the proposal. “I would agree to forfeit the fine if they would take treatment. There is only 1 cure and that’s to quit drinking. If doctors and scientists are so smart, how come alcoholism has increased so much during the past 20 or 30 years,” Norsworthy asked. “I’d like to see the program, but the 3 or 4 percent helped would not justify the costs,” he added. Jones said he was afraid “our police officers would be put in the position of being criticized. Thirty-five to 50 percent of the drunks arrested are weekend drinkers who enjoy it. The program’s not going to help them. Besides, the program is already available to those who want to use it,” he said. Georgia’s lawmakers are well aware of the Florida law and if they did not have strong reservations, they would have made it effective throughout the state, Jones added. Scott said he was optimistic the money would be approved. He set Sept. 1 as a target date to start the program. A staff could be added and trained for the hospital by then, he said. Anita not in sight Hurricane season begins MIAMI (AP) - The 1977 Atlantic hurricane season began today with Anita nowhere in sight. Anita will be the name given to this season’s first tropical storm or hurricane, if and when it appears. There will be ample advance warning before any storm makes its debut. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center, located at the University of Miami, will be watching the eastern Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the open Atlantic for storm formations. “We’ll be looking for a change in cloud structures,” said John Hope, a hurricane forecaster. “Then we will watch for circular banding (bands of rain clouds moving in a circular pat tern).” The first system that could lead to a hurricane would be a tropical depression, Hope explained. That would consist of a closed circulation and a lower-than-normal barometic pressure with surface winds less than 39 miles per hour. “When winds reach 39 m.p.h., it will become a tropical storm and be The 171 figure, even with a good June month, projectively will run less than half the total number of marriage license issued in 1976. This year June will have a nice battle to overcome the month of March in which there were 36 marriage licenses issued. March of 1976 was the first contender with June 1976 for the brides month title with 43 licenses on record. This year June will also have to beat January and May which are running close with 33 issuances each on record. February of 1977 seemingly suffered as a result of the cold weather for there NEWS - LAWRENCE, Kans.—Bruce Silkey (1) and Pam Pool who are third graders at Cordley elementary school hang on to the rope during a tug-of-war. (AP) named,” Hope added. Forecasters say that weather pat terns may change this year and could result in some vicious storms. There were six hurricanes and three tropical storms in 1976, but only one tropical storm and one hurricane en dangered the Americas. The others remained at sea until they dissipated. Griffin s biggest party Griffin Moose Lodge No. 1503 pitched its biggest party ever last night. At one time or another, Manager Roger Bevil estimated, a thousand people were there. He and his staff served an estimated 650 at a Hawaiian luau which was complete with an islands band and entertainers. The affair was limited to paid-up members and their female guests and was free for them. The feast table included a whole roast hog dressed down to one hundred and one pounds. All of it was eaten — except, as several members were only 22 licenses issued. This is in contrast to a very good February in 1976 for which there were 32 issuances. In a comparison of issuances made for other months in first half of 1976, January recorded 40 licenses, April 39 and May a very slow, 27. Probate Judge John Snider will be working through his first June in the office he was elected to during the November elections. He says there won’t be any special measures taken for rush of June licenses but the office will be ready to handle those who come. Eye strain Missing cobra found curled in a cranny ATLANTA (AP) — A cobra missing for a month from its cage in the snake house at Grant Park Zoo was found Tuesday night — in the snake house at Grant Park Zoo. Ted Mastroianni, director of the Atlanta Bureau of Parks and Recreation, said a zookeeper, Kent Bendict, saw the remnants of a cobra skin and called other zookeepers, who found the poisonous Asian Common Cobra “curled up in a cranny.” commented, the whistle. The holiday-spirited guests ate 250 pounds of barbecued pork ribs, 900 fried chicken legs, 200 pounds of potato salad, an assortment of vegetables, salads and island fruits, umpteen dozen rolls, stacks of cookies and other pastries. They drank over 50 gallons of iced tea. In the aftermath of the party today, Lodge Governor James Chappell praised Manager Bevil and his staff for their efficient serving of the crowd. Then he said, “We’ll have to do it again some time.” Vol. 105 No. 129
