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About Griffin daily news. (Griffin, Ga.) 1924-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1977)
She makes children smile Hundred of “Pinkies” are given away each year at the Griffin-Spalding Hospital and one Pink Lady is responsible for them all. Mrs. Frances Confehr has made more than 1,700 of the pink puppets since the project was first started by the hospital auxiliary in 1971. Each child patient, up to 10 years of age, is given “Pinkie the Puppet” soon after being admitted to the hospital. His happy smile is enough to cheer up the sickest youngster who can pass away the hours animating “Pinkie”. And no one would guess that he is homemade. The auxiliary purchases a gross of “Pinkie” faces from a local merchant. Also, 200 yards of material (the same pink and white stripe worn by the No false hopes. Norsworthy signs, McGee won’t run R. L. (Skeeter) Norsworthy today qualified to succeed himself on the board of city commissioners. He will be a candidate to keep the Fourth Ward post on the 5-member The Country Parson by Frank Clark SKj •/,» - “Money is what yon have to have some of in order to borrow enough to buy what you want.” Bondsmen: they carry keys to jail in their pockets ATLANTA (AP) — For hundreds of thousands of Georgians it is not the American system of justice, but the bail bondsman, who keeps them out of jail if they are accused of committing a crime. Bondsmen keep the “keys to the jail in their pockets,” said Terry Walsh, chairman of the criminal justice committee of the State Bar’s young lawyer division. The bail bond system is not designed to keep people in jail, it is designed to make sure that they show up for their day in court, said Helen Scholes, who heads Cobb County’s pretrial release program. The system costs the accused, at the least, a chunk of money. At the worst, it costs him bis freedom. Many of those in Georgia jails are DAILY Daily Since 1872 Griffin High School Candy Strippers) is bought, along with the necessary cotton and staples. Mrs. Confehr stores it all in her South Hill street apartment and when she has a few spare minutes, gets out her needle and thread and starts to work. “It’s a lot of monkey business to teach anybody to make one,” she confessed,” as not only must one enjoy sewing, but she must learn the knack of making a ‘Pinkie’. And that’s not too easy at first. “It’s more than just cutting out and sewing up,” she explained. The hood must be stapled to the head, then stuffed with cotton. It’s then sewn to the body and a gathered clown collar is attached around the neck. Mrs. Confehr has mastered the job Gov. Busbee ATLANTA (AP) — Gov. George Busbee says he is giving thought to property tax relief and there is “some” chance he will propose such a plan to next year’s legislature — the last of his present term. But Busbee also cautioned that he has made no decision about the idea, and he added, “I don’t want to build up any false hope that there’s going to be something that will drastically reduce property taxes for all people because it’s not possible.” The governor commented this week during a 30-minute interview devoted chiefly to the question of property taxes, which he himself raised last January during his State of the State board. Ernest (Twiggy) Jones earlier this week qualified for reelection to the First Ward seat. Candidates have until Oct. 24 at noon to qualify for the two posts. Emmitt Cone, a Griffin Sales and Service employee, said he plans to qualify for the firpt ward seat. Don Rainwater of Morrow-Powell also said he is thinking about running for the post.’ Jimmy McGee, Griffin business man and civic leader, said today he did not plan to be a city commission candidate. In the county commission election, there were no new announced can didates. David Elder, Frank Gunnels and Thomas Bearden all announced earlier they would seek the seat which Reid Childers vacated. Jack Moss and Al Norris both have said they are thinking about running. The city commission elections and the county commission election will be held during the Nov. 8 general election. poor and cannot put up property or cash for bonds. They appeal to the bail bondsman, who collects a fee, usually 10 per cent of the first SSOO posted bond and 5 per cent of the rest, to post the bond. If the bondsman refuses to take the accused as a client, he waits in jail until his day in court. Long waits are not unusual. Accor ding to a 1977 survey of county jails made by the state Crime Commission, the average pretrial stay in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties is 30 to 40 days. In Cobb County it is 40 days and in Hall County it is 60 days. So, if the accused is acquitted, he has spent two months in jail without ever having been convicted of committing a crime. If the accused can find a bondsman io Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday Afternoon, September 29,1977 He moves cautiously on seeking property tax relief griffin down to about one hour’s time. She has received a little help periodically throughout the years, but apparently none of the other Pink Ladies wants to devote as much time to the project. She and her late husband, Kimber, moved to Griffin 11 years ago because “we were disgusted with the cold weather in Chicago”. That’s where Mr. Confehr had retired from a position as sales engineer with Westinghouse. They had just returned to the north after a visit in Griffin with the late Dr. and Mrs. J. R. Thomas and finding 17 inches of snow around their Chicago home clinched the decision. Then too, Mrs. Thomas was Mrs. Confehr’s sister. Moving was nothing new to Mrs. Confehr. The daughter of a South address to the legislature. In that speech, Busbee said that, as part of a six-year effort to revise the state Constitution, one of the questions to be addressed should be whether “our system of taxation, particularly our methods and concept of ad valorem taxation, (is) as equitable as any system we can prescribe.” But in the 10 months since that time, Busbee has made few references to the topic, and the taxation article of the Georgia Constitution is not one of the three undergoing revision for presentation to the voters next year. Busbee said in the interview that economist Henry Thomassen, the state’s chief revenue estimator, has E/ -ft *fl Cool, clear post bond for him, he is still out that bond fee — even if acquitted. In Georgia, the county sheriff has sole authority over bail bondsmen, according to a DeKalb County grand jury report. He may decide who can and cannot operate such businesses in his county — and there are cases on record where those who donated to the sheriff’s election campaign got the bail bond business. If the accused does not show up for trial, the bail bondsman is supposed to forfeit the bond — but a check of records shows that seldom happens. In Hall County, an investigation showed that almost no bond forfeitures had been collected in recent years. A DeKalb County grand jury found that about $400,000 was missing during the term of one sheriff. NEWS Dakota Presbyterian missionary and minister, she was used to that. She and Mr. Confehr had lived in other cities, including Milwaukee and Indianapolis. “You name it. That’s where we lived. I missed my friends at first, but I have a lot of nice friends here and I’m so glad to be in a smaller town where it’s quiet and there’s not much hustling and bustling,” she said. In addition to “Pinkie”, she keeps busy with other hand work and belongs to a weekly sewing club made up of friends in her apartment complex. She does a lot of embroidery and has even made dresses for her neighbors’ grandchildren. She has no children of her own. She also spends about two days a month on other Pink Lady. been at work since last October preparing a study on the effect of “circuit breaker” tax relief programs in other states and their possible effect in Georgia. Under the circuit breaker concept, persons who pay more than a certain percentage of their income in property taxes get a rebate or a credit on their state income tax. Thomassen’s final report on the question is due in November, Busbee said. And it will be sometime after that before he makes a decision, he added. “Very frankly, in a lot of the studies we’ve seen from other states, there’s been a lot of rhetoric as to what the circuit breaker has meant,” said Bus- LOVELAND, Colo. — Kyle Rehme, 2, and his dog “Snicker” enjoy a short drink from a sprinkler in their backyard. Parts of Colorado have been under water restrictions for most of the summer but here is an example of good water use planning. Drink of man and beast along with watering the lawn. (AP) The money not forfeited on bonds is “probably the largest single slush fund that’s unaccounted for in the state of Georgia,” said Harry Geisenger of DeKalb County, a former state legislator. Bondsmen, however, say they fill an essential place in government. They help people out of jail — and they have more powers than the sheriffs’ de partments to put others back in jail. Federal law gives bondsmen the power to cross state lines to apprehend accused persons, even without seeking permission from authorities in the other state, said Doug King of King Bonding Co., Atlanta. “If we go after a man we got a bond on, they cannot stop us from getting him and bringing him back,” King said. A police agency would have to go Vol. 105 No. 231 iW AW I Mrs. Cunfehr: A lot of monkey business . bee, “but I haven’t seen the property tax relief going to those people that would anticipate they might be helped. “And then when it’s not reflected in a reduced bill for property taxes, I think there’s some frustration and dis appointment in a lot of the states that have adopted certain circuit breakers,” he continued. But he said that, if Thomassen’s report is favorable “and if we can come up with something that we feel would be equitable, then I would be in favor of this (1978) session promoting a Con stitutional amendment (for tax relief). “I would say there would be some chance (of that happening),” Busbee said. “But I don’t want to say there through red tape and an extradition hearing to do the same thing. Atlanta bondswoman Celene Parham said sheriffs may not have the time, money or incentive to seek out defen dants on the run. “If I don’t chase ’em, I’m going to lose money,” she said. There are alternatives to the bail bondsman. In some states, an individual is allowed to post a cash bond equal to 10 per cent of the bond set. If he shows up for trial, he gets 80 per cent of his money back. The county keeps the rest. “On bonds written in the first seven months of 1973, this would have netted DeKalb more than $54,000 and saved defendants more than $182,000,” a county grand jury said that year. Another system is a pretrial release program — one of which is in operation Weather FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN AREA - Mostly cloudy tonight with chance of showers Friday. Low tonight near 60; high Friday around 80. LOCAL WEATHER - Low this morning at the Spalding Forestry Unit 57, high Wednesday 84. would be a great chance. Unless I have some type circuit breaker or other type legislation in mind that would necessitate a change, I wouldn’t just propose to amend the Constitution.” Busbee stressed repeatedly during the interview that he did not want to raise false hopes of dramatic relief for taxpayers. The last such effort came in 1973 when the legislature appropriated SSO million in rebates to taxpayers. As it turned out, the average individual rebate amounted to SSO or less, while millions of dollars went to corporate landowners. The plan was vetoed in 1974 by then (Continued on page 3.) People ...and things Sign posts at intersection on Highway 16 East covered with yellow ribbons. City resident overjoyed that Ellis road “is finally being paved after all these years.” Mother of Griffin High football player telling friends how much her son eats and that the coach wants him to gain even more. Cliff Roberts dead AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Clifford Roberts, cofounder of the Masters Golf Tournament, was found dead this morning at the Augusta National Golf Club, club officials said. Phil Wall, manager of the club, said a statement would be issued later regarding Roberts’ death. in Cobb County. Prior to that program, 19 per cent of the defendants failed to appear in court after posting bond, said Mrs. Scholes, the program operator. But under the program, only 2.5 per cent have failed to appear. Atlanta has a similar program for misdemeanor offenders, and only 5 per cent of those defendants have not shown up in court. A candidate for pretrial release is checked out by program officials, and they call him regularly to be sure he knows his court date. A person with a job and family is a good candidate for such a program, Mrs. Scholes said. There is sure to be legislation before the next general assembly to provide alternatives to bail bonding, but sup porters say it will be a tough fight to win passage.
