Newspaper Page Text
Muffled shot gave answer
ATLANTA (AP) - As his wife sobbed
softly, veteran Atlanta attorney J.
Roger Thompson told how he tried to
talk a hijacker out of committing sui
cide Thursday night.
A, muffled gunshot in the rear of the
dark cabin told him he failed.
“I realized almost as soon as we
began talking that he was con
templating taking his own life,”
Thompson said of his 30 minutes of
talking with Thomas Michael Hannan
aboard the Frontier Airlines jet parked
at Atlanta’s airport.
The FBI gave Thompson, 44, a for
mer federal attorney and U.S.
magistrate, much of the credit for
saving 15 hostages on the jet.
The attorney, talking to the hijacker
by radio, convinced him to release 13
hostages two stewardesses and 11 male
passengers. The captain and co-pilot
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Released stewardesses leave plane with man.
Which classes
are crowded?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth
in a series of questions and answers
about the school bond issue. They were
prepared by Education ’77, a citizens
committee. Questions may be ad
dressed to them at Box 711, Griffin, Ga.
30223. They should be submitted at least
10 days prior to their publication on
Friday of each week in the Griffin Daily
News.
QUESTION: Which classrooms are
overcrowded at the high school?
ANSWER: Mr. Tascar Williams,
principal of Griffin High School,
provided the following information
concerning class size:
Subject Classes with enrollment
over3o
English 43 of 65
Foreign Language 7 of 20
Mathematics 36 of 45
Science 38 of 47
Social Studies 36 of 55
4- Business 11 of 20
+ Art 2 of 5
+ Physical Education 12 of 17
+Chorus 2 of 3
+ ROTC 5 of 5
+ Allowed larger classes than
academic subjects.
QUESTION: Can the millage rate be
increased by the board of education?
Could an increase in millage be used for
new buildings? Renovations?
Expansion of existing buildings?
ANSWER: (1) The board of
education is limited to 20 mills under
present statutes.
(2) From the legal standpoint the
board of education could use main
tenance and operation funds to con
struct new buildings, however with a
legal limit of 20 mills for maintenance
and operation it is highly improbable
that any school system could ac
cumulate enough reserve to do ex
tensive capital outlay and operate the
educational system.
(3) Small renovations have been
funded from the maintenance and
operation budget, however, the only
source of revenue for large capital
outlay items is a bond referendum.
QUESTION: Why is the Cowan Road
loaction considered the best place for a
new elementary school?
ANSWER: The property of the
proposed new elementary is owned by
the board of education and was selected
because of the following factors:
1. Growth has been greatest in the
northern section of the county.
2. Adequate utility and sewage
facilities are available.
QUESTIONS: To what extent will
remained aboard until the hijacker
killed himself.
“He was mainly responsible for
getting those people off that plane,”
said FBI Special Agent James Dunn.
“He did a heck of a job.”
But his best efforts couldn’t save his
client of one month.
Thompson, who was in Washington on
business, was flown to the Atlanta
airport by helicopter to help. He said
his last 30 minutes of pleading with
Hannan centered on “various alter
natives” including hospitalization.
“He said he wasn’t crazy and he
didn’t want people saying he was
crazy,” said a physically drained
Thompson as he slumped back in his
chair, tie loose and grey pinstriped vest
unbuttoned.
He said the cabin was dark, “it was
light up front where I was standing."
energy conservation be considered
when planning construction of new
buildings?
ANSWER: In construction of new
buildings the conservation-of energy
would be a top priority in planning the
new facilities. Two considerations are
minimizing the amount of glass surface
used and insulation of walls and roofs to
maximize efficiency. Another
possibility is the use of solar energy for
heating water at the high school if this
is found to be economically and
practicable feasible. State and Federal
guidelines will mandate conservation of
energy.
QUESTION: Has inflation been
considered by the administration when
only asking for $5,955,000 to build a new
high school, elementary school, and
other construction and renovations?
ANSWER: Yes, inflation is foremost
in the minds of the administration;
however, since approximately
$4,000,000 will come from the State, plus
$5,955,000 in local funds, the total will be
near $10,000,000 which will be adequate
to complete the proposed construction.
However, time is of the essence as each
delay brings price increases and
therefore greater cost.
Local education association
backs bond issue. Page 5.
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Griffin High students whoop it up for Bears this morning during pep rally in
preparation for the homecoming game tonight with R. E. Lee. (Story p. 12)
Hannan would come up to within 10
feet to talk, then retreat to the dark.
“I wanted to keep him talking, and
I’d call him to come to the front and he
would,” Thompson said.
“After three or four trips ... he went
back near the rear of the cabin, sat
down and lit a cigarette,” Thompson
said.
Hannon didn’t respond to his calls.
“Then I heard a muffled sound and I
was not sure it was a gunshot. I called
to him. He didn’t respond,” Thompson
said. “I told the captain and copilot to
leave the plane.”
Thompson said he would not let police
aboard, but got a flashlight from them,
“shined it at the rear of the cabin” and
saw Hannan, “shot one time through
the heart.”
As he described the final minutes,
Betty Thompson sat on a sofa in her
GRIFFIN
dailylTnews
Daily Since 1872
He just sat down
—pulled trigger
ATLANTA (AP) — A softspoken
Nebraska man who commandeered a
jet airplane for a cross-country flight to
spring a friend from jail and grab a $3
million ransom ended his 14-hour quest
Thursday night by firing his shotgun
into his own chest.
Thomas Michael Hannan, 29, had
released his hostages but was still
on the Frontier Airlines Boeing 737
talking with his lawyer when he “just
sat down and pulled the trigger,” said
James Dunn, special agent in charge of
the FBI office in Atlanta.
The sudden gunfire ended a long day
of quiet negotiation in which FBI gents
carefully stalled Hannan over a
ground-to-aircraft radio hookup, and
Hannan, though showing occasional
impatience, returned polite “Yes, sir”
and “No, sir” responses.
Hannan’s friend George David
Stewart — whom police identified as a
fellow homosexual — and attorney J.
Roger Thompson had urged him to
surrender, and Dunn credited both with
helping end the daylong drama with no
other injuries.
There was no scuffle at the end, Dunn
said, and Thompson said he felt Hannan
simply “made a value judgment as
spending several years in prison or
taking his own life.”
Hannan and Stewart had been
arrested in Mobile, Ala., last month and
charged with committing a Sept. 2
Atlanta bank robbery. Stewart was
kept in jail, but Hannon was released on
$25,000 bond and allowed to return to his
home in Nebraska.
Hannan, called “Mike” by his
(Continued on page eight.)
husband’s 10 foot by 15 foot office,
sobbing quietly.
“I guess it was just the long hours of
waiting and the feeling for his (Han
nan’s) parents and his family," she
said. “It just culminated in that.”
Hannan’s parents and the
homosexual lover the hijacker had
tried to free from an Atlanta jail helped
in the negotiations to free the
passengers.
George David Stewart, who was
charged with Hannan in a $7,000
Atlanta bank robbery Sept. 2, “did
everything he could,” to pursuade
Hannan to give up, Thompson said.
“Mr. Stewart was very helpful. He
did everything we asked him to do to try
to convince Mr. Hannan to give it up,”
Thompson said. “But we would not
have allowed Mr. Stewart to go aboard
the plane.
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Friday Afternoon, October 21,1977
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Rock singers among victims of this crash. Story Page 8.
Qualifying ends today
for county commission race
Five candidates were in the race for
Spalding County Commissioner today
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He was mainly responsible for getting people off plane.
with the deadline for qualifying coming
up at 5 p.m. today.
Candidates who had signed with
Probate Judge John Snider so far were
David Elder, Thomas A. Bearden, Bob
Gilreath, Frank Gunnels and Jim
Goolsby.
They all are seeking the unexpired
portion of Reid Childers’ term. He
resigned because of ill health.
The election will be held Nov. 8.
Voter League
to sponsor
‘meet’ night
The League of Women Voters of
Griffin-Spalding County will have a
“Meet the Candidates” night Thursday,
Oct. 27 at the city hall courtroom
beginning at 7:30.
Candidates in the city and county
commission races will be invited to
make statements and answer questions
about their campaigns.
Both groups will have separate time
periods.
Each will have a 2-minute opening
statement then will field written
questions submitted by the audience.
Anyone who may not be able to attend
but who wishes to ask a question may
address it to the League of Women
Voters, Box 491, Griffin, Ga. 30223.
Vol. 105 No. 250
Weather
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN AREA —
Fair through Saturday with low tonight
in the mid 40s and high Saturday in the
low 70s.
LOCAL WEATHER - Low this
morning at the Spalding Forestry Unit
38, high Thursday 71.
People
...and things
Lumber sticking through sun roof of
compact car.
Christmas tree already up in
ballroom of Moose Club.
One police officer attempting to
straighten tie of another before they hit
their patrol beats.
The Country Parson
by Frank Clark
Ur- K»
“It looks like the world’s
supply of energy might last
longer than we can afford.”
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