Newspaper Page Text
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Volume No, 96, No. 37
Crafter throws his
around
Gty Councilman Marvin Crafter
encountered law enforcement per¬
sonnel on rwo separate occasions last
week during his participation in a
picket line at Revco drug store. Crafter
has been a leader in the group called
Operation CURE which has vowed to
boycott Revco until a white pharmacist
they have accused of manhandling a
black woman shopper is fired. The
woman is accused of shoplifting. The
group has been picketing Revco since
July 16.
Crafter was asked by Sheriff Johnnie
Becham to move from in front of the
entrance to Revco last week after
Deputy Oris Bryant asked Crafter to do
so and he objected. According to
Sheriff Bccham, Crafter said he was
looking into the door of Revco because
people had looked at him while they
were walking into the store and he had
the right to look back The Sheriff said
he told Crafter he had the right to look
into Revco but that he would have to do
it away from the door. Although he
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Applying for food
Even with the help of extra volunteers, workers at the Neighborhood Ser¬
vice Center in Fort Valley were inundated Tuesday with applicants hoping
to qualify for free allotments of USDA food supplements. According to
Director Shirley Rouse, 5 00 local residents had applied by Tuesday morning,
but more than 750 were expected by the deadline that afternoon. The sup¬
plements are expected to include cheese and butter, but may also include
allotments of rice, milk, honey, com meal, and eggs. The food will be hand¬
ed out Tuesday, September 20. photo by Carla Hill
Crafter’s warrant against
Poole is dropped by DA
A warrant, which Fort Valley City
Councilman Marvin Crafter swore out
against Peach County Coroner J W
Poole Sr. for simple assault, has been
dropped by the district attorney’s
office for lack of supporting evidence.
According to Willis B Sparks, Third
Macon Judicial Circuit District
Attorney, an investigation by the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GB1)
and the available information ”sug
gests no valid reason for an assault
prosecution of Coroner Poole ’ ’
Crafter took out the warrant July 19,
following a commitment hearing for bis
son, J. W. “Woody'' Poole Jr , and
Aima J. Jefferson for simple battery
and shoplifting, respectively. Crafter
alleged that Poole confronted him in a
threatening manner with a knife
outside the courtroom in the Peach
County Courthouse.
The GBi investigated the incident at
the request of Sheriff Johnnie Becham
Extension district office
to be moved to FVSC
The district office of the Georgia
Cooperative Extension Service will be
relocated from Athens to Fort Valley
State College, if the Board of Regents
approves the move as expected
Wednesday, September 14. The office
is presently on the campus of the
University of Georgia.
According to Representative Robert
Ray, the move has been in the works
for some time and all indications are
the move will be approved.
Fort Valley State College President
Dr. Luther Burse said the move was
proposed several years ago by the
Board of Regents, largely because the
fifth district is the only district without
(ime IEeaiier-®nbune
Horne Owned and Operated for more than 90 Years
Fort Valley, Peach County, Ga., Thursday, September 15, 1983
said he did not agree, Crafter moved
back into the parking lot where the
picketers are allowed to march, after
two other picketers talked with him,
Becham said.
In another related incident, Crafter
confronted Fort Valiev Police Depart¬
ment Detective Lieut. Gary Trawick
and asked him to remove his police
department badge from his belt before
walking into Revco, Police Chief John
Dankel said Monday. According to the
chief, Crafter objected on the grounds
that the wearing of a uniform or a
badge into the store made it appear
that the police department was
supporting Revco in the issue. Dankel
said he explained to Crafter that since
the department is not involved in the
issue, he did not ask anyone in the
department to refrain from wearing a
badge or any other police department
identification before going into the
store.
No charges were filed in either
incident.
They interviewed nine witnesses
including Poole and Crafter. Of seven
people in the hall, five said they saw no
knife and Poole denied having one at
that time. Sparks said that Crafter and
another witness reported seeing a
pocket knife in Poole's hand but
conceded “the blade was never opened
and that the coroner made no gesture
in Crafter's direction ’'
Sparks said that he reviewed the
report from the GBI at the request of
Assistant District Attorney Biff Tillis
and requested that he immediately
dismiss the warrant in question.
Poole said he “greatly appreciated
the close attention given this matter by
the offices of the GBI and Mr Willis
Sparks,"
He also called Crafter's charge “a
malicious and deliberate attempt to
dishonor the father in order to discredit
the son.”
an office. All other districts have local
offices.
The Cooperative Extension District
Office will be responsible for managing
Extension Service personnel who work
directly with the public such as home
economists and county agents. The
fifth district managers are responsible
for the 42 counties in the district.
If the move is approved, the new
office will be housed on the campus of
Fort Valley State. It is expected to be
opened by July 1984. Five positions are
expected to be filled by transferring
present Extension Service personnel,
however several positions are likely to
be filled locally.
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Artist’s conception of how the new center will look on the campus at FVSC
$3.6 million rural life center
be funded for Fort
’The threat of losing an estimated
$200 million in federal higher
education funds has apparently
prompted the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia to move
forward a proposed multi-million dollar
construction project at Fort Valley
State College
The development of the Farm and
Community life Center, a $3.6 million
project, is part of the regents plan to
desegregate the university system as
ordered by federal officials.
Originally developed during com¬
mittee planning sessions as far back as
1974-75, the center was born when the
school received a Mott Foundation
planning grant in 1980. It gained new
momentum this week as the Board of
Regents moved the building project to
the number two spot on the 1985 $21
million construction budget. The
building, as designed by the Macon
architectural firm Balian and Asso¬
ciates has been sitting in the wings of
Commissioners to hold to new tax
The Peach County Board of
Commissioners have resolved to
continue with their plan to have a tax
digest based on new property
evaluations. This decision was made
Tuesday afternoon after the com
missioners reviewed a letter from the
State Department of Revenue con-
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The intensity expressed on faces last Thursday night tell a lot about the
current tax controversy. However Vice Chairman Ralph Cannon said later
that the group is not circulating a petition asking for the recall of the county
commissioners. Cannon said that the commissioners have been helpful and
that they have done a good job, even though he disagrees with them on the
tax issue.
university construction plans for
several years.
As the building’s name implies, it
will be used as a facility to house
cultural events of all types for the
college as well as the community. In
addition, many non-credit continuing
education courses, workshops,
seminars and conferences will be held
there. It is hoped that the center will
become a hub for these activities and
will draw many events to the area
which would otherwise not be held
there.
The building features a plush,
300-seat theatre with cushioned,
rocking style seats and an advanced
array of electronic equipment and
sound systems. Presently there is no
such facility in the area served by the
college with programs being held in
gyms and auditoriums instead.
A large exhibit area with vaulted
ceilings and a large open viewing area
cerning a staff study of the procedures
used in Peach County for the property
tax re-evaluation.
“The study we performed indicates
that the Board of Tax Assessors is
doing a very professional job,” said C.
Hart Pearson, director of the Property
Tax Division of the Department of
1 Year (local) Subscription $8.84
is expected to house activities such as
art and agricultural exhibits, science
and education fairs and home economic
displays.
The district office of the Cooperative
Extension Service is expected to be
housed there as well as the local
Extension Service offices. The district
office is expected to be relocated here
from Athens by summer of 1984.
Classes which will be included in the
continuing education programs for the
general public arc microwave cooking
lessons, business management courses,
energy conservation, tax preparation,
and child and family development
classes.
If plans succeed, a weekend
academic program will be instituted at
the center for those who wish to
continue their education but cannot do
so by traditional class schedules.
According to Dr. Clarence Moore,
the acting director of the center and
Revenue in a letter to the county
officers.
Pearson said that on sales/assess¬
ment ratio study, the county’s
assessments were close to the 40 per
cent figure which the state requires.
On large tracts of land, the ratio was
37.63 per cent; on small parcels it was
39.721 per cent; and on residential
buildings it was 38.71 percent.
“That leaves us no place to go but
straight on,” said Commissioner
Donnie Doles. The other commis¬
sioners apparently agreed, for it was
with very little discussion that the five
officials decided to continue with their
plan to use the new tax digest.
Commissioner W. L. Brown noted that
the appeals process is designed to
correct inequities included in the
proposed digest.
County finally decides to go
ahead with jail building project
The Peach County Board of
Commissioners have agreed, as they
put it, to stop procrastinating and get
to work on building a new jail.
“Let’s bite the bullet — or at least
get started gnawing on it,” said
Commission Chairman Hal Pcavy.
What prompted that decision at
Tuesday’s meeting was a request from
Sheriff Johnnie Becham for a trailer to
use at the jail to house the prisoners
who are allowed to work during the day
but who are required to spend nights
and weekends at the jail. Becham said
that these are non-violent people who
could be housed adequately in the
trailer inside the jail’s fenced area.
Becham called these prisoners
"weekend warriors.
Becham has been pressing the
commissioners to do something a bout
the overcrowding at the jail. He said
that with the new state DUI laws, he
sees an increase in the prisoner
population. He has told the
commissioners repeatedly that the
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director of the continuing education
program, the center’s purpose is
largely to enhance college-community
relations. It is hoped that the center
will also attract more white students to
the majority black college. The center
should make the college more attractive
institution overall, he said.
Moore said that during the early
planning days of the center and
through the development of the design
of the building, the late Dr. Cleveland
Pettigrew, the former president of the
college, “pushed it with everything in
his power,’’ because he saw it as a
means to link the college and rhe
community. built
The building will be near
Memorial Drive at the faculty housing
area, facing State College Drive. No
figures on the exact square footage of
the building were available at press
time, but officials say it will be two
stories tall and will be one of the
largest buildings on the campus.
The commissioners asked Tax
Assessor Tom Waidon about the
progress of the Tax Equalization
Board. Waidon said he did not know
any results of the board, but that about
50 per cent of those scheduling
appointments were showing up to meet
with the board.
The commissioners agreed to
communicate directly with Billy
Powell, chairman of the Committee on
Taxation. They further decided that
they would meet with the steering
committee to explain their reasons for
going ahead with the digest.
The Committee on Taxation had
asked the county commissioners to
scrap the digest and to remove the
personnel of the tax assessors from
office.
dormitory in the upstairs of the jail
does not provide safety for the
prisoners. decided
The commissioners that
Becham’s request for a trailer would be
only a ”half measure” and that they
should go ahead and address the larger
question. asked the sheriff
The commissioners
to develop features that he believes
should be included in the new jail.
They also agreed to ask an architect to
begin work drawing up plans.
Still undecided is whether to
incorporate the present jail facility in
the new building plans.
Tax Meeting
with the county
commissioners is
set for 7:30 p.m.,
Thursday, at courthouse