Newspaper Page Text
— Griffin Daily News Monday, September 19,1977
Page 2
Beverly Hills Supper Club
called ‘electrician’s nightmare’
FT. MITCHELL, Ky. (AP) —
The Beverly Hills Supper Club,
where 164 persons died in a fire
last May, was an “electrician’s
nightmare” with numerous
building code violations that
were covered up, a new Ken
tucky state report says.
“A reading of this report
shows a shocking and total dis
regard for human life by the
owners of this club,” said Ken
tucky Gov. Julian Carroll, who
released the long-awaited re
port Sunday night.
At a news briefing, Carroll
said he has suspended with pay
three top state fire investigators
for what he called “ineffective
enforcement, generally, of the
law.”
The report was released as
congressional investigators
gathered in nearby Cincinnati
today to begin hearing testi
mony on the May 28 Beverly
Hills blaze and on national fire
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WILLIAMS, Ata. — Farmer John Gardner feeds his mule,
Pet, cornbread. Mrs. Gardner has to cook for Pet since
she lost her chompers. Pet works on the Gardner’s 60-acre
Weekend accidents
claim 19 victims
By The Associated Press
Nineteen persons died in
weekend accidents in Georgia,
17 in traffic, one in a boating
accident and one in a house fire,
authorities said.
Two Gainesville women —
Lucille Millwood, 48, and Ruth
Rush, 68 — were killed Sunday
when an ambulance and a car
collided near Athens, the State
Patrol said. Five other persons
were injured in that accident.
John Autry, 49, of Plainville,
was killed late Saturday night
when his car and another ve
hicle collided on Georgia High
way 57 about seven miles north
of Rome, the patrol said.
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codes. Carroll was expected to
be among those testifying.
“Not only did they construct
in clear violation of the law, but
they operated in violation of the
law and then failed to use
reasonable care to evacuate the
premises,” Carroll said.
James Osborne, an attorney
for the owners of the Southgate,
Ky. nightclub, said Sunday
night he had not read the report
and would have no immediate
comment.
“Everyone but the victim pa
trons knew about these viola
tions,” said Ovid Lewis, a
Northern Kentucky University
professor who helped in the in
vestigation.
The report cited numerous
electrical violations, including
installation of improper wiring
without approval or proper in
spections.
In addition, state investiga
tors also said the building did
Lost chompers
An Atlanta woman, Mary
McCrory, 21, died Sunday after
noon when the car in which she
was a passenger collided head
on with another vehicle on
Georgia 22 about 3.4 miles south
of Talbotton in Talbot County,
the state patrol said.
Kelly G. Waters, 23, of Bow
don, was lulled Sunday in a
head-on collision about four
miles east of Carrollton, the pa
trol said.
A 5-year-old Bowdon boy, Ca
sey Wessinger, was killed Sun
day afternoon when the car in
which he was a passenger hit a
culvert and overturned on a
country road three miles south
of his hometown.
Mrs. Eileen Roberts, 31, of
Riverdale, drowned Sunday in
Lake Lanier when the small
boat in which she was standing
overturned, Forsyth County of
ficials said.
Police said Derrick Crane, 3,
of Atlanta, died Saturday in a
fire which destroyed his home.
His parents and three brothers
and sisters escaped injury.
Authorities also reported
these fatal accidents:
-Michael D. Cash, 13, of La-
Grange, died Sunday afternoon
when he drove his motorcycle
into the path of a tractor-trailer
truck on Georgia 109 about six
not have an approved sprinkler
system, as required by the code.
The investigative team esti
mated that at least 1,300 per
sons were in the Cabaret Room
at the time of the fire, while
calcuations by the fire marshal
indicated that the capacity
should have been 536.
The number of exits at the
club were sufficient to accom
modate 1,511 persons, the report
said. “This many people may
have been present in the
Cabaret Room alone,” it said.
The report said aisles and
ramps of the Cabaret Room
were jammed with tables and
chairs.
The governor announced sus
pension of the state’s highest
fire official, Warren South
worth, and two of his subordi
nates, Stanley Boyd, head of the
division for new construction,
and John Bramlage, a northern
Kentucky field representative.
farm at Williams, Ala. However, Gardner fears she may
have plowed her last row of corn. (AP)
miles east of LaGrange.
—Mark Ellis Cline, 17, of
Decatur, died Saturday when he
lost control of his car at high
speed and struck a telephone
pole east of Dalton.
—Larry Gibson, of Augusta,
died Saturday when his car left
the road and hit a culvert 5.6
miles east of Sparta on Georgia
22.
—James Appling, 27, of Fort
Valley, died Saturday in a head
on collision in Perry.
—Gary Carpenter, 27, of Cor
dele, was killed Saturday in a
one-car accident about four
miles west of Milledgeville on a
Baldwin Countv Road.
Atlantan named
‘Miss Wheelchair’
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -
Margie Staton Sloan, 31, of At
lanta is the new Miss Wheel
chair America.
Mrs. Sloan, who represented
Georgia, was chosen from 32
contestants to win a $3,000 col
lege scholarship in the sixth an
nual pageant here Saturday
night.
Mrs. Sloan, a graduate of
Georgia State University, is a
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Kentucky Governor Julian Carroll
—Eugene Lane Willard, 42,
died Saturday in a two-car ac
cident at the intersection of
Georgia 18 and 87 in Monroe
County.
—Robert Robinson, 25, and
J.D. Daniel, 26, both of Atlanta,
and Argie Brown, 84, were
killed Friday night in a two-car
collision about seven miles
north of Cochran on Georgia 84.
—A Powder Springs couple,
Kenneth Newman and his wife,
Teresa, 34, died in a two-car
collision Friday night.
The Associated Press counts
weekend accident fatalities
from 6 p.m. Friday until mid
night Sunday.
regional program specialist
with Georgia Rehabilitation
Services Administration.
First runner-up was Donna
Marie Zima, 25, Miss Wheel
chair Chicago and second run
ner-up was Catherine Bruce, 36,
Miss Wheelchair Florida.
Nancy Serrano Pagan, 20,
Miss Wheelchair Puerto Rico,
was selected Miss Congeniality.
Female
recruit
dies
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - An
18-year-old female Army re
cruit who died Friday following
a physical training test at Fort
Jackson here has been identi
fied by authorities as Jennifer
Story of Atlanta, Ga.
An Army spokesman said
Sunday that Miss Story died of
suspected cardiac arrhythmia.
She collapsed after the test
and was taken to a nearby
medical clinic, but paramedical
personnel were unable to revive
her, the spokesman said.
Her name had been withheld
in earlier reports until relatives
could be notified.
13 nabbed
in liquor
crackdown
HARTWELL, Ga. (AP) - Ar
rests for liquor law violations
will continue in the wake of
raids in which 13 persons were
arrested in northeast Georgia
this weekend and more than 300
gallons of illegal liquor were
seized, state revenue officials
said.
State revenue agent super
visor John Pardue said raids
were made Friday night, Satur
day and Sunday in Jackson,
Hart, Lincoln, Stephens, Elbert
and Oglethorpe counties.
Pardue said the raids came
after undercover agents visited
the clubs.
“This is a clear violation of
state law and these arrests will
continue,” he said.
Eight people were arrested
and about 280 gallons of beer,
eleven gallons of wine and 25
gallons of tax paid liquor were
taken in raids in Commerce
Sunday, he said.
Charged with selling liquor
and beer without a license and
possessing over the legal
amount of tax paid liquor were
Charlie Brown, 42; Nelson Col
lins, 29; J.G. Adams, 50; Jimmy
Pittman, 37; Bootsy Haley, 34;
John Samuel Austin, 40, Sybil
Waters, 32 and Robert Eugene
Richey, 35, all of Commerce,
Pardue said.
Two men were arrested in a
club at Royston and charged
with possessing tax paid liquor
in a dry county. They were
identified as Isaac Childers, 44,
of Royston, and Reuben Kelly,
34, of Bowman.
Elam Smith, 51, of Lincoln
town was arrested and charged
with possessing tax paid liquor
in a dry county in a raid at a
Veterans of Foreign Wars post
in Lincoln County, Pardue said.
More than 40 gallons of tax
paid liquor and seven slot ma
chines were confiscated in a
raid on a VFW post in Toccoa,
Pardue said. William Johns of
Toccoa and another man were
arrested and charged with pos
sessing gambling devices and
tax paid liquor in a dry county,
he said.
Johns’ age and the name of
the other person arrested were
not immediately available.
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