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Coach Hiram Whitaker conducts PE class.
State planners are preparing case
I to get train route through Atlanta
ATLANTA (AP) — State planners
are preparing their case to get AM
TRAK to reroute its Chicago-to-Miami
* train through Atlanta — and to get a
new station built for it in the state
capital.
The AMTRAK board of directors is
considering dropping the train, known
as the Floridian.
One objection to an Atlanta route is
that the train would have to “back in”
to Brookwood Station, the only rail pas
senger facility in the city which AM
TRAK officials have said is too far from
downtown.
However, a position paper being
I prepared by state Department of
Transportation planners says a new
station can be built on state property
adjacent to the World Congress Center.
The land is an otherwise unusable,
I wedge-shaped piece of property which
i abuts the railroad track, the paper
says.
* The position paper is being prepared
« for presentation to AMTRAK prior to a
i scheduled Oct. 17 hearing in Atlanta on
Recommendations to West Point
Sex education, winning football
and develop a sense of humor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army’s
military academy at West Point should
offer new courses on ethics and sex
education, produce winning football
teams, and develop a sense of humor, a
Pentagon study says.
The 175-year-old Army institution is
suffering from poor morale, a lack of
supervision and planning, over
burdened cadets, resistance to change
and even a pervasive lack of humor,
according to the 200-page report
released today.
These problems must be solved if the
academy is to regain lost excellence
|Rt
“Some folks have something
to say — others simply have to
say something.”
GRIFFIN
daiijy#news
Daily Since 1872 Griffin, Ga., 30223, Tuesday Afternoon, September 27, 1977
the fate of the Floridian.
So far, however, the position paper
has not been endorsed by the Gov.
George Busbee or by Tom Moreland,
commissioner of the transportation
department.
Busbee has said he favors expansion
of railroad transportation in Georgia,
but he refused several weeks ago to
sign a letter that endorsed bringing the
Floridian through Atlanta.
The train now leaves Chicago at 8:30
a.m. and runs though Louisville, Nash
ville, Birmingham and Montgomery to
Florida.
Possible routes being considered are:
—From Birmingham through
Atlanta, Macon and Savannah to
Florida.
—From Nashville through Chat
tanooga, Atlanta and Albany to Florida.
—From Nashville through Chat
tanooga, Atlanta, Macon and Savan
nah.
The state position paper recommends
routes that would run the line through
Atlanta, Macon and Savannah.
and recover from last year’s cadet
cheating scandal, said the report,
drawn up by a study group headed by
three generals.
The study said there was “a
slackening of the pursuit of excellence”
that “appears everywhere in cadet life
but is most troubling in the academic
program.
“Marginal scholastic performances
do not preclude graduation,” the report
said, adding that “even the frequency
of success on the playing fields has
declined. There is a pervasive need to
set and enforce standards in all aspects
of cadet experience.”
The report recommended a sex
education program “that would be
straightforward, mature and ef
ficiently broad to encompass
physiology, reproduction, con
traception, hygiene and respon
sibility.”
It also suggested upgrading in
tercollegiate athletics on a campus that
was once famed for its football teams.
But athletic recruiting should be
limited to top prospects who also can do
the academic and military work, the
report said. It also proposed building an
indoor athletic facility.
In trying to determine what is lacking
They don’t call it recess anymore
Children in the Griffin-Spalding
County school system can be seen
jumping, hopping, playing games and
dancing, but they are not at “recess.”
“Recesses” no longer exist in the
school system.
A program of physical education was
initiated in the local school system in
1966-67 and supervised recreation has
taken the place of the free-time
“recesses.”
Coach Hiram L. Whitaker, who was
head coach of the Fairmont High School
Bears, before consolidation, is coor
dinator of the physical education
program in 12 elementary schools.
The terms “recess" and “physical
education” are not synonymous,
Whitaker said.
The major difference in recess and
physical education is that during the old
recess periods children were allowed
free time and played games of their
own choosing or just sat under a tree
and did nothing. During physical
education classes, the children play
games and participate in supervised
activities.
According to Whitaker, the purpose
of the elementary physical education
program is to “contribute to the
mental, physical, social and emotional
growth of the student through physical
activity.”
The Floridian has been AMTRAK’s
biggest money-loser, and those who
want to keep the train running say the
problem is, in large part, due to poor
planning and scheduling.
The 8:30 a.m. departure time is
before any connecting trains from the
Midwest arrive in Chicago. The
Floridian returns late at night, long
after trains to such cities as Min
neapolis and Milwaukee have departed.
“You just can’t connect on the
Floridian in the Midwest without
buying a hotel room in Chicago,” said
Jack Martin, an Atlantan who serves on
the National Association of Railroad
Passengers board of directors.
Currently, a spur of the New York-to-
Florida route passing through
Savannah is the only AMTRAK
passenger service in Georgia.
Hearings on dropping or rerouting
the Floridian begin Oct. 11 in Miami
and continue Oct. 14 in Thomasville,
Oct. 17 in Atlanta, Oct. 18 in Chat
tanooga and Oct. 27 in Chicago.
at West Point, the study group also said
it “found that a relatively humorless
atmosphere seems to prevail ... A
certain grimness marks many of the
cadets, an outlook which may blind
them to many of life’s humorous
aspects and rob them of much of the
enjoyment of their four-year ex
perience.”
The study also criticized the academy
for a general inability to spot and
correct its own weaknesses.
The study group, which submitted 152
recommendations in its report to Army
Chief of Staff Gen. Bernard W. Rogers,
stressed the need to give cadets more
time to devote to special academic
areas of interest while eliminating
emphasis on class rankings.
The report also urged retention of the
controversial honor system and the
“non-toleration” clause that requires
cadets to report violations of the honor
code. But the study said slight in
fractions should not be punished by
expulsion.
A total of 152 students left the
academy because of the 1976 cheating
scandal, which involved a routine
homework assignment in a computer
course called Electrical Engineering
304.
Planning, organization and good
teaching methods are keys to a suc
cessful program, Whitaker said.
Although the teaching methods may
vary from teacher to teacher, they are
all geared toward the student reaching
“maximum potential as an individual
member of a democratic society," he
said.
The physical development program
helps the student gain coordination,
endurance, better muscular coor
dination, organization and skill in basic
movement in recreation activities, he
said.
The program helps the student by
increasing his ability to think through
problems and find solutions.
Physical education also helps the
student build self reliance and
People
...and things
Man coaching midget football team,
still wearing his necktie.
Poll workers headed for day’s work
at 6 a.m.
Young couple chugging along North
Expressway in auto twice their ages.
Gunnels
plans to run
in county
Frank Gunnels, 43-year-old main
tenance man and former grocery store
operator, said today he plans to be a
candidate for county commissioner.
He is the second person to say
definitely he would run.
Veteran commissioner David Elder
said Monday he definitely would be a
candidate.
Former commissioner Jack Moss
and Al Norris who has offered for
political office several times, both said
they are thinking about running.
Gunnels lives on Bleachery street in
Experiment. He attended Spalding
High and has worked for the State
Agriculture Department at the Far
mer’s Market as well as for the
Spalding County Sheriff’s Department.
Gunnels said he would qualify and
announce his platform then.
Qualifying
dates set
Oct. 4-20
Spalding County Commissioners plan
to issue an official call for a special
election to fill a board vacancy when
they meet next Tuesday morning at the
courthouse.
After that, candidates may qualify to
seek the post Reid Childers vacated
with his resignation last week.
Childers cited health reasons for
leaving the board.
The deadline to qualify for the special
election will be Oct. 21 at 5 p.m.
The election will be held on Nov. 8,
the same date of the general election.
The qualifying fee will be $151.20.
This is figured on the basis of 3 percent
of the annual commission salary which
is $5,040. The chairman’s salary is
$5,760.
Judge John Snider of the Probate
Court will conduct the special election.
Tiggy Jones
signs to run
Ernest (Tiggy) Jones qualified this
morning at the city hall office building
to seek reelection in the Nov. 8
balloting.
He will complete his first term on the
board this year and announced for
reelection.
R. L. (Skeeter) Norsworthy also will
complete his term this year and has
indicated he will seek reelection.
Vol. 105 No. 229
emotional maturity, develop desirable
character traits, skills of leadership
and group cooperation, attain enjoy
ment from future and present par
ticipation, build a desire to be good
sports, and an understanding for each
person’s individual contribution, the
coach said.
Each student in kindergarten through
6th grade is required to have 30 minutes
of physical education each day, Mon
day through Friday. The requirement
is necessary for schools to meet ac
creditation standards.
The program is divided with ac
tivities planned for children in grades 1
through 3 and for grades 4 through 6.
Children are given a physical
education test at the beginning of the
year to determine their physical
Peach Council suggests
elderly handle DBCP
WASHINGTON (AP) - Older people
and those who don’t intend to have
children could be recruited to handle
DBCP, a pesticide suspected of causing
sterility, says a national agricultural
organization.
The National Peach Council made the
proposal to the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration as an alterna
tive to government restrictions “which
have had effect of halting production”
of the pesticide.
The idea was offered to the govern
ment by Robert K. Phillips, executive
secretary of the peach council, an
agricultural organization representing
the interests of peach growers.
In a Sept. 12 letter to Dr. Eula
Bingham, administrator of OSHA,
Phillips accused the government of
overreacting to evidence of sterility in a
dozen male workers at Dow Chemical
Co.’s DBCP plant at Magnolia, Ark.
In a telephone interview today,
Phillips said the suggestion was made
in good faith and sincerity. He
acknowledged, however, that there has
been no response from Dr. Bingham.
“They may think I’m doing it tongue
in-cheek, but I’m not,” said Phillips,
whose organization is based in Mar
tinsburg, W. Va. “All these government
agencies over-do everything. I know
they carry things to extremes. They
should at least consider alternatives to
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Tears gave way to smiles
NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — Gina De France, 3, cried as she participated in the
clown contest at a North Miami park. But her tears gave way to smiles when it
was announced she had won first ptace for the 6 and under girts. (AP)
Weather
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN AREA —
Good chance of showers early this
evening. Clearing tonight with low in
mid 60s. Wednesday sunny with high in
the mid 80s.
LOCAL WEATHER - Low this
morning at Spalding Forestry Unit 62,
high Monday 80.
capabilities. A test is given at the latter
part of the year to determine if those
capabilities have improved.
The tests also reveal the students’
mental attitude toward physical
education and other traits that should
be developed through the program.
Whitaker says one of the best
methods of teaching physical education
is to explain, demonstrate and par
ticipate.
“We have developed a program for
every child in the school system,"
Whitaker said.
As an example, he said some children
who are handicapped or cannot par
ticipate in physical activity are score
keepers, umpire or referees.
“Everyone is a part of the action,”
Whitaker said.
banning this material.”
OSHA and the Environmental
Protection Agency, responding to
pressure from union and consumer
groups, imposed emergency restric
tions on the handling of DCBP after
learning of the sterility problem at the
Arkansas plant last month.
Since the restrictions were imposed,
the pesticide has been recalled by two
manufacturers, Dow Chemical Co. and
Shell Oil Co.
Shell reported on Aug. 26 that 16 of 21
employes tested after exposure to the
pesticide in Mobile, Ala., and Denver
have abnormally low sperm counts.
OSHA is considering an emergency
standard for DBCP in response to pleas
by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic
Workers Union.
DBCP, also known as dibro
mochloropropane, is sprayed on citrus
fruits, cotton and soybeans to control
worm-like nematodes and other pests
that attack these crops.
In addition to being linked to sterility,
a study by the National Cancer Institute
said DBCP causes cancer in rats and
mice. But Phillips said this was the
case only in rats fed large doses of the
chemical.
In his letter to OSHA, Phillips noted
that there are many people now paying
doctors to sterilize them to assure that
they will not be parents.