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Volume No. 96, No. 29
Revco becomes target of black boycott
Revco officials and CURE repre¬
sentatives met last Friday but failed to
negotiate a settlement to the month-old
issue centering on the alleged
"manhandling” of a black woman
shopper accused of shoplifting in the
Fort Valley store. As a result, blacks
began picketing the store Saturday
morning. They have vowed to keep the
picket signs up until their demands are
met.
CURE members met in a local
church Friday night to discuss the
meeting with Revco’s Regional
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The Rev. Bobby Brown (left) and the Rev. Morris Hillsman led the demonstrators on Satur¬ Reverend Julius Simmons on Friday night:
day morning. Sheriffs deputies went on duty to insure a peaceful protest. photos by Carla Hill “ We will need every man and woman and boy and girl.
Utilities says a mistake was made
in almost off
A promise made to Mrs Pinkie Ross
by Utility Commission Chairman Frank
Spearman was made good within rwo
days last week Spearman had
promised Mrs Ross that Utilities
Director Fred Sankey would try to find
I out why Mrs Ross' electrical power
was about to be cut off last Monday
despite the fact that she received no
notice and had paid her utility bill
several days earlier
Friday, Mrs Ross said that Sankey
had called her the day before and
apologized “He was very nice He
said that he was real sorry about what
had happened and said that it was just
a mistake,” Mrs Ross related
Sankey said that Mrs Ross had been
Tax Assessors field many questions;
25 for filed
In the minds of Peach Gntnty Tax
Assessors, it was not so much a
question of whether there would be
unhappv property owners as it was a
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Peach County Tax Assessor Grant Venues (left) explains a notice to a pro¬
perty owner last Thursday. One person was overheard telling Venues that
be is the only person who knows just how sorry a particular building is.
because be (the landowner) is the one who built it.
t
jgmm ATLANTA ^
Home Owned and Operated for more than 90 Years
Fort Valley, Peach County, Ga., Thursday, July 21, 1983
Vice-President Lee Pfrogner and
Divisional President Donald Deaton.
Reverend Julius Simmons led the
meeting for CURE President Reverend
Morris Hillsman. Reverend Simmons
told the audience that the two main
issues discussed at the meeting were:
(1) to dismiss the clerk and pharmacist
involved in the incident and (2) to hire
more black managers and pharmacists.
“1 regret to say the executives did
not respond positively to point one or
two. At the adjournment of the
meeting we agreed that we will picket
on the list of cutoffs that were to be
notified Friday. Those who were at
home at that time would have had to
pay their bills at that time or face
cut-off Those who were not home
would have found a notice on their
front door telling them they had three
days to pay their outstanding bill
before the power was going to be cut
off
The problem, as Sankey described it,
was the men who were delivering the
cut-off notices simply quit at 5 o’clock
rather than handing out the remaining
notices. The electrical department
supervisor was out of town and the
assistant “just did not follow the
directives,” Sankey said. “They
question of how many would protest
their individual assessments
J T. Joiner, chief tax assessor, said
that after one week the response has
the Revco Drug Center until our
grievences are addressed. We will
need the support of every man and
woman and boy and girl,” Simmons
said.
He told the audience he came to
direct the meeting “not from the point
of hating our brother, but rather we are
here to correct a situation that cries to
our humanness. If we don't correct it
now, one of us may be next. We are
here tonight announcing that we will
not be treated as others would treat
us.
should have finished the job,” he
added.
The Utility Commission guideline for
cut-offs varies as to whether the
customer is an “A” “B” or “C”
customer. To be a “B” customer, the
user would have to have had two
consecutive cut-off notices. Issuing a
bad check or receiving any three cut-off
notices makes for a “C” customer.
Only “A” customers have the three
day notice alternative. For “B” and
“C” users, the cut-off date is the day
the power will be cut off.
Sankey explained that it was “just a
mistake” in Mrs. Ross’ case. “We all
make ’em and that is just what it was, a
mistake .”
not been all that bad. Many called and
visited the office in the courthouse with
questions and many of those questions
have been answered, he said. As of
Tuesday morning the assessors have
received 25 written requests for an
appeal of the value of property
In addition to the request for
appeals, there have been some other
informal reviews which have resulted
in about 15 changes in the information
on the counts books. Joiner said that
one example of the kinds of changes
was one older mobile home that was
assessed at a value of Jl'.OOO rather
than for the intended figure of $1 ,~00
“That was obviously an error,” he
stated.
Although there has been a mention
of a formal protest movement, none
has surfaced as yet. said Joiner He
said that the number of errors on the
entire re-evaluation project is quite
small considering the number of pieces
of property that were evaluated
People generally are saying that if
they are pay ing their fair share, they
are all right.” said Joiner
An in-county property owner has 21
days in which to ask for an appeal.
Out-of-county property owners have 30
da vs.
Simmons advised the picketers to be
cooperative. “Don’t let your emotions
run away with you and don’t interfere
with consumers choosing to go into the
store,” he said.
The picketing will have a domino
effect, Simmons said. He told the
group, ‘ ‘This will bring positive results
in other businesses in the commun
ity.”
In summing up the situation,
Simmons told his audience of
approximately 50, “Anytime a woman
anywhere is manhandled, it says
A
/
Huff
Huff named FVSC
alumnus of the year
McDonald Huff, a 1962 and 1974
graduate of Fort Valley State College,
was recently selected as Alumnus of
the Year by the FVSC National Alumni
Association at its annual alumni
weekend activities held at the
college. This award is given annually to
an outstanding alumnus who has made
noteworthy contributions to the
association and to the college. Huff,
who holds both a bachelor’s degree in
French education and a master's
degree in guidance and counseling
from the college, also earned a
master's degree in French from
Atlanta University and the doctorate
degree in counseling and admin¬
istration from the University of
Georgia. and college
Highly active in alumni
affairs. Huff is president and founder
of the association's campus alumni
chapter and has received numerous
other citations for his civ.c leadership
abilities and professional contri
butions Some of those honors are:
Alumni Chapter Member of the Year,
12th member of the football team,
FVSC Alumni Life Member Award and
others. In 1980. Huff was selected
Professional of the Year by the Georgia
College Personnel Association, the
generic professional organization for
student services personnel in the state.
He also serves as state director for the
National Association of Minority
Students and Educators He holds the
post of director of counseling services
at the college
Dr Huff is a 1958 graduate of
Spencer High School in Columbus. He
is married to the former Jeanette C.
King of Fort Valley
*
1 Year (local) Subscription $8.84
something about the manhood of that
community.”
Picket signs went up when Revco
opened Saturday. CURE officials say
they will continue the picketing until
their demands are met.
A Revco spokesperson, Marla
Oakley, said she was unaware of the
picketing. “We knew, that was
mentioned a while back, but as far as I
know it was not mentioned at the
meeting Friday. We were told they had
a list of demands but at the meeting
the first thing they mentioned was they
wanted the pharmacist fired im
mediately. Our people told them that
we were not going to do this and we felt
it would be unfair. As soon as they
(Revco officials) said that, they (CURE
officials) said the meeting was over.”
Oakley said Revco is and has been
actively recruiting black employees,
“From what I know, that was not a
Jefferson, bound
over to Superior Court
Tuesday bound over a shoplifting
charge against Alma Jefferson and a
simple battery charge against James
W. “Woody” Poole to the Peach
County Grand Jury. Both cases will
likely go before the next Grand Jury
session on August 8.
The courtroom was crowded with
mostly black spectators. They heard
conflicting testimony from two Revco
employees and rwo women who were
with Jefferson at the time the alleged
shoplifting and manhandling took
place. The two Revco employees
testified that Poole never touched the
woman except to keep her from going
out of the store or when she hit him
with various objects. The women who
were with Jefferson testified that Poole
pulled, shoved, and manhandled Mrs.
Jefferson more roughly than was
necessary.
The purpose of Tuesday’s hearing
was to determine whether there was
enough evidence to support the
charges and to turn them over to the
Grand Jury. The Grand Jury will now
hear testimony in both cases and
decide whether to indict either of the
two or to issue a “no bill”. If Poole or
Jefferson are indicted, they will be
tried in the Peach County Superior
Court.
Testimony at the hearing began with
Revco clerk Robin Hamlin. She told the
judge that she had been watching the
three shoppers through a two-way
mirror because they had been in the
store a long time and had not
purchased anything. She testified that
she saw two of them go to another area
of the store while the third - later
identified as Mrs. Jefferson - stayed at
the perfume counter. “She walked
down the aisle and placed the perfume
inside her pocketbook,” Hamlin said,
“She was facing me. 1 got off the
ladder and went and told Mr. Poole I
saw the lady take the perfume. We
confronted her with it. Mr. Poole asked
her twice, ‘Let’s see what is in that
pocketbook’ and she said she had
nothing in her pocketbook," Hamiin
testified.
According to Hamlin, Mrs. Jpfferson
grabbed her shopping cart and began
walking down an aisle. Hamlin was
behind her and Poole was at the rear.
Mrs. Jefferson knocked over a stack of
deodorant and when Hamlin stopped to
pick it up, Poole continued to follow
Mrs. Jefferson. Hamlin said she heard
the woman telling Poole she was going
to leave the store and Poole told her
she wasn’t going to leave. “I went over
» where they were at She had her
hand in the buggy and she said she was
leaving. All three women were
together Then Mrs. Jefferson pushed
Mr. Poole. I was right beside them,
standing to the left. The only time he
touched her was when she was trying
to go out of the store and he held her
arm,” Hamlin said. She then
demonstrated how Poole stood in front
of the woman and her cart to keep her
from going towards the door. “He
wasn't touching her,” Hamlin said.
The clerk said that after the front
door was l° c l ce ^ anf l Poole released
Mrs. Je ffe rson, she “began digging had in
ber pocketbook and said she a
pistol and was going to blow his head
off. She also grabbed a sign and said
she was going to get out somehow.
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demand. Or if it was it was never
mentioned. As soon as we said we
would not fire the pharmacist
immediately, they said that the
.
meeting was dosed.”
Oakley said the picketing does not
change Revco’s refusal to fire the
pharmacist.
According to Simmons, no other civil
rights groups are involved in the
protest. "This is a grass roots, Peach
County, Fort Valley movement. It is
being conducted by CURE.
City Councilman Marvin Crafter
added his comments near the end of
the meeting. “We did not want to
come to this point because this is the
point of no return,
Crafter said blacks in the community
were “being jailed for their color.” He
added that blacks were being
“dehumanized by white merchants but
we are not going to let this happen at
Revco or anyplace else. ”
Jefferson grabbed were metal sign
holders, about two feet high, that are
placed on countertops or shelves.
“At one point when he had her arms
behind her neck, she bit him a couple
of times, 1 think,” Hamlin testified.
Mrs. Jefferson’s attorney, Gregory
Homer, questioned Hamlin as to why
she was watching the three shoppers
and why she was so certain Mrs.
Jefferson took the bottle of perfume.
“Are you telling me that it had
absolutely nothing to do with the fact
that these black women? ’ ’
were
‘ ‘No, sir, ’ ’ Hamlin answered.
The rwo women who were shopping
with Mrs. Jefferson, Yvonne Hughes
and Bernice Burnette, testified that
Poole pushed Jefferson first and that
he grabbed her by the shoulder when
she turned around and walked off while
he was demanding to see what she had
in her purse. Both women testified that
Mrs. Jefferson’s purse spilled but
neither woman saw how, they said.
Both women said Mrs. Jefferson told
Poole not to push her because she was
pregnant, and he responded by saying,
“1 don’t care”.
Hughes admitted under oath thar
she saw Mrs. Jefferson hitting Poole
with a pair of sandals, but she said she
had told Jeffferson, “Why don’t you
hit the outofhim?”
Hughes also admitted that she saw
J efferson bite Poole while he held her
arms behind her head. But she
emphasized that Poole made the first
contact, not Jefferson.
Bernice Burnette testified she saw
J efferson pick up a sign and a pair of
sandals and hit Poole. "It was after he
had her arms pinned behind her. She
got loose somehow, ’' Burnette said.
Assistant District Attorney Wayne
Tillis asked Judge Harris to bind over
both cases. "We’re not resolving a
question of fact nor of guilt or
innocence but we are here to decide the
problem of probable cause. We submit
the evidence makes out statuatory
shoplifting.”
Tillis said Poole had privilege to
restrain those who have shoplifted in
his store, but that he may have
committed simple battery in restrain¬
ing Mrs. Jefferson.
Attorney Homer said, “The only
thing we have as evidence is the word
of one young lady. There should be
some evidence of the item found in
their possession. Even if the item is
found it is rather difficult to prove the
person was trying to deprive the owner
of the item There is no evidence that
Mrs. Jefferson had any intention of
depriving the owner of his property.”
Tommy Hinson, Poole’s lawyer, said
there was enough evidence to point to
shoplifting and that Poole had the right
to try to restrain Mrs. Jefferson once
there was sufficient evidence to
support a shoplifting charge. "It
docsn’t take a wizard to figure out what
this evidence points to,” he said.
Hinson said there was not evidence
to support a charge of simple battery
against his client.
Judge Harris announced his decision
and added, “I’m not clear to the point
as to when you administer reasonable
force and what goes beyond reasonable
force. Once that door was locked,
though, Mr. Poole had no reason to
restrain her. ”
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