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The Butler Herald "KEEPING EVERLASTINGLY AT IT IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS" VOLUME 85 BUTLER, TAYLOR COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1961. NUMBER 25. Joan Wisham Wins Taylor Co. Spelling Contest Tuesday I Army Joins Probe jOf Blast in Jones County Rock Quarry Garland Byrd’s Drive For Governor Began Unofficially Sunday at Reynolds With Large Group of Political Leaders Two Persons Killed Monday in Car-Bus Wreck Near Roberta Taylor County Road Improvements To Be In 1st Hwy. Project Dept, of Archives Second Place in Co,n, S.-'F%££5Z Won By Lynda Whaw, * ^ Reynolds High School. i ions anfl fires whic h wrecked the IWeston-Broks Co. rock quarry at nearby Ruby. Miss Joan Wisham, daughter of' sheri « Hawkins of Jones county Mr. and Mrs. Solon Wisham off aid a ’ 3rd Army demolition squad Rupert captured the countywide fr , om McPherson in Atlanta spelling championship in the an.! P “ t0 Search !, he J rU £ S ^° ng nual spelling contest March 21st. ! f Wlth GBI agentS and shenffs de P u ' Joan is an 8th grade student in j ie .f‘ , Butler High school I w e haven’t any definite leads The runner-up in the county- if yet l” the S , heriff sa «V‘ We do wide contest was Miss Lynda I kn . ow ff th ‘; ^piosions and fires were Whatley, daughter of Dr and Mrs ' Set ° ff dellberatel y> P™bably by E. C. Whatley, Reynolds pera ° nS ' We kn0W tha a 7th grade student in the Rey-| reaS ° n ° r the am ° Unt ° f damage/ nolds High school. I The largest of five explosions oc- Other grade winners for the curred shortly after daylight Sun- county were: (day when an estimated 8,000 Fourth Grade: [pounds of dynamite stored in 1st Place: Elizabeth Riley Butler i bunker went off with a roar heard School. ’ ! for mi les. 2nd Place: Lucy Jan Mangham, I No casualties were reported.But Reynolds School. [the blast damaged a dozen homes Fifth Grade: jin a four mile radius of the rock 1st Place: Jimmy Whatley, Rey- 'quarry which covers acres of land nolds School. “ " - . 2nd Place: Vickie Mclnvale, Rey nolds School. Sixth Grade: 1st Place: Carolyn Albritton, Butler School. 2nd Place: Martha Clark, Butler School. Seventh Grade: off Ga. Highway 49 at Ruby. The tiny community is seven miles out of Gray in Middle Ga. between Macon and Milledgeville. Explosion of the stored dyna mite leveled an area 250 yards in diameter and dug a hole 60 feet deep. A truck parked near the bunker practically disappeared.The 1st Place: Lynda Whatley, Rey- | largest piece found was a tire. nolds School. The explosions and fires destroy- 2nd Place: Peggy Childree, Rey- ed an office building, formerly a nolds School. Eighth Grade: I seven room dwelling, a large stor- I age building and a smaller ware- lst Place: Joan Wisham, Butler house, and damaged trucks and School. Sara Ann Fountain, Reynolds School. The County Champion, Joan Wisham will represent this county in the District Contest at Georgia Southwestern College April 11th. 5 Georgians Killed in Weekend Traffic Accidents other equipment. The rock quarry plant shut down for the week end as usual Satur day p. m. The area is partially fenced in but no night watchman is employed officials said. GBI agents J. E. Carnes and A. L. Hutchins said their investigation showed the persons resonsible en tered late at night or early Sunday and used two plant trucks to make their prepartions. The agents gave this account: The men used an acetylene torch Four persons lost their lives in ° n tbe truck to cut the lock from a Ga. traffic during the week end bu " k f er containing dynamite caps and a Georgian died in a collision in Florida. C. E. Mullis, 30, of Eastman was killed Sunday when th ecar in and fuses and apparently used the same method to get dynamite from the main magazine. The mgazine was completely destroyed which he was riding went out of and thera ™ as f no t evi ' control and overturned, the State j T , a 0 , e m , e od of Patrol <53if! The me(n then dr0Ve t0 the sh °P Officers said the crash occurred | a / ldcut a lack a swkcb early Sunday on Highway 23 about b °* whl ,£ b controlled the gasoline a mile from Cochran but was not pumps ' The y lald hoses ff om a gas di™o™r a V anTourduetoa ^“! n8 ’“ rM , d . . Ion the gas and set it afire. The of- An 11 vear old Rome girl, Barbara fic f bu r ildi ^ burned to the ground. Edwards died Saturday night when If. tba *’ dynamite blasts were . : . .. J , set off in the storage building and aho ran into Inn naln of 3n nnoom. __ she ran into the path of an oncom ing vehicle^n a Floyd county road the natrol said. Willie J. Adams, 17, of Augusta died Saturday in the headon collis ion of two vehicles, south of Au gusta, officers said. C. L. Pritchell, 26, of Roswell, died Friday after his motor-cycle collided with a car in the Atlanta city limits, police said. jimmy Allen Cross of Swains- boro was one of three persons killed Saturday night when two cars collided head-on on a wind swept causeway at Cocoa Beach, Fla. Woman Found Guilty in Death Of Donald Scales Elberton, Ga. — A superior court jury has found Mrs.James Leverett guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Donald E. Scales on Jan. 20. Judge Usher of the Ogeechee Cir cuit, presiding because of the ill ness of Judge Carey Skelton, sen tenced Mrs. Leverett to an 18 to 20 year prison term. Dykes Loses Case, Must Pay $39,469 Atlanta, Ga. — A South Georgia sub-contractor, who charged con- j tractor Jimmy Dykes of Cochran ! failed to pay him for grading work on state highway projects, was awarded $39 469 Friday by a Ful ton county Civil Court jury. Dykes, who is a state senator, said the sub contractor, T. R. Odom did not complete the grading as signments and left several jobs incomplete. He said his over-all debt to Oodom was about $1,700. smaller warehouse and under some equipment. Finally the men went back to the main dynamite maga zine several hundred yards from the buildings and set it off. That was the blast heard for miles. J. M. Etheridge, who lives in James, four miles away, said the bricks of his chimney above the roof level were blow away. James Bolton also of James, reported damage to several other homes in the area. Two persons who lived a mile away reported damage to their homes. A. B. Carson said the doors to his house were blown in. D. R. Stevens said several windows in his house were shattered. The 100 year old Pitts Methodist church chapel, half a mile from the quarry also was damaged. Caldwell Weston, a co-owner of the company said he was at a loss to explain the reason for the de struction. He declined to estimate damage pending further investiga tion. Luther Burris, a vice president, drove over from the company’s home office at Columbia, S. C., to assist in the probe. The quarry produced crushed i stone and gravel with much of the gravel being used for concrete. In addition to quarries at Ruby and Columbia, the company also operates quarries at Camack and Sparta. Public Notice Hunting and Fishing licenses, driver’s license and car tags expire March 31st. The State Patrolman will be in Butler at the Court House to renew drivers license only one more time, Wednesday, March 29. Mrs. Bussey Childs, Ordinary Taylor County Byrd Plans Number of Such Meetings With Friends With in Near Future. Atlanta, Ga. — The campaign of Lt. Governor Garland T. Byrd gov ernor has been kicked off although there will be no official announce ment of his candidacy for another year. About 35 or 40 men, whose names ar synonomous with power politics met with Byrd at his home in Reynolds Sunday and the 1962 governor’s race was the subject of their discussion. Usually reliable sources said Chairman Jim Gillis of the High way Board opened the secret ses sion with a declaration that he is supporting Byrd. The lieutenant governor is expected to oppose former Gov. Marvin Griffin. One participant called the meet-, ing moderately successful and predicted most of those who at tended would be in the Byrd camp if the campaign narrows down to one between the lieutenant governor and Griffin. “Where else can we go?” he asked. The guests included House offi cials with whom Byrd feuded at the recent legislative session over an appropriations bill. They were Speaker George Smith, floor lead er Frank Twitty and Chairman Jack Ray of the House Appropria tions Committee. The trio led an uprising against Byrd and Gov. Vandiver over state spending and budget control in the legislature but lost. Byrd is counting on the support of all the gubernatorial derby, a reliable source said. Also on hand was former Speak er Roy Harris of Augusta who was sharply critical of current desegre gation trends and developments in the state. He made no political commitment at the meeting. The conferees included highway board members Willis Harden and Clark Duncan, Revenue Commis sioner Dixon Oxford; Director Ful ton Lovell of the Game and Fish Dept.; and Walter Dyal of McRae, slated to become president next week of the Ga. County Commis sioners Assn. “As I saw it,” said one who was there, “the purpose of the meet ing was to listen to divergent views and see if some of these could be brought together.” Asked Monday about the parley, Byrd said it was the first of a se ries in the next few months. "I am trying to get my organi zation set up and some. of the problems connected with it ironed out,” he said. “I am drafting a program that I want to submit to my friends.” Roberta Court Opened, But No Cases Came Up Roberta, Ga. — Folks in Craw ford county must be getting along pretty well with their neighbors these days. The Crawford county superior court opened Monday with the first week to be devoted to civil cases with Judge A. M. Anderson presiding, Clerk Tom Smith said. But there were no civil cases on the docket. No divorces, no alimony suits no damage suits, no nothing. The grand jury, with John Seag- ler as foreman, began considering cases for next week’s criminal ses sion of the court. Gospel Quartet Coming to Mt. Olive Church April 1st i The Favorite Melody Quartet I will appear at Mt. Olive Church | (Potterville) Saturday night, April 11st, 8 o’clock. | The public is extended a special invitation to come out and enjoy this splendid service in Gospel songs. Three members of this quartet are objects of pity, being con fined by affliction to wheel chairs. The only charge will be a free will offering on their behalf. Sponsors of the event express the sincere belief that all- who at tend will enjoy hearing these talented people. GARLAND T. BYRD Open Schools Are Backed By Youths of State Atlanta, Ga. — Young Georgians attending the annual Youth As sembly went on record Saturday as favoring open schools and fed eral aid to education. During the closing session of the mock legislature at the state cap- itolthey adopted a resolution com mending Gov. Vandiver and the Ga. General Assembly for the open schools legislation approved dur ing the 1961 meeting of the legisla ture. The young people also adopted a resolution commending the Ga. House for favoring congressional approval of federal aid to educa tion provided no restrictions are placed on the use of funds. In another action, Youth Assem bly Governor Johnny Bargeron of Wrens signed into law a bill abol ishing capital punishment. The pro posa] passed both houses after more than six hours of debate. Chip Bell, a junior at Telfair Hi School in McRae, was elected youth governor for the 1962 assembly. George Boswell, associate editor of the Atlanta Constitution, pre sented awards to the authors of the best bills in the assembly. Winners were Cherrijee Alpha Tri- Hi-Y n Canton; Senior Alpha Tri- Hi-Y in Griffin; Thomasville Y Clubs; McRae Y Clubs; and Syl van Hills Coed Hi-Y. Kidd to Seek Second Place In 1962 Vote DUBLIN, Ga.—Rep. Culver Kidd of Baldwin County Tuesday an nounced he is a candidate for the 1962 lieutenant governors race. He joined Rep. John E. Sheffield Jr., of Brooks County, who tossed his •hat into the race earlier. Others considered unofficial can didates to replace Lt. Gov. Garland Byrd include Peter Zach Geer, exe cutive secretary to Gov. Vandiver, and Senate President Pro Tern Carl Sanders of Augusta. Kidd made his announcement at a luncheon and said events of the recent legislature had caused Geor gians to start “asking why they can’t get a financial statement showing where the money is.” Villa Rica Ordered To Pay $65,000 The city of Villa Rica has been ordered to pay off more than $65,- 000 in two gas explosion damage suits, but the mayor said Monday the city doesn’t have “any surplus funds.” An attorney for one of the win ning claimants said he’ll go to court, if necessary and ask that Villa Rica be forced to institute a special tax levy to pay off the judgment. Officials of the U.S. District Court said final judgments have been ordered in favor of Mrs.Eva Broom two Villa Rica women with rela tives killed in the Dec. 5, 1957, gas explosion which took a total of 12 lives at Villa Rica. | Roberta, Ga. — A 54 year old man and his wife were killed in stantly near here Monday when their car apparently had a blowout and swerved into the path of anon- coming Trailways bus. Killed were Georgie Nixon and Mary Nixon, about 50, of Rt. 1, Ro berta. Six persons on the bus were in jured, none seriously, according to State Trooper Martin of the Thom- aston Patrol Headquarters. Martin listed the injured as Dorothy Williams, 18, Hollings.Ala; Josie Dalton, 74, Lumpkin; W. E. McClain, 41, Ft. Bragg, N. C.; J. T. Green, 40, Augusta; Mrs. Flossie Johnson, 45, Milledgeville; and Ed [Gardner, 18, of Cochran Field. I The driver of the bus was John Barnes of Columbus, Martin said. 'The bus was en route to Macon from Columbus. j Crawford Sheriff O’Neal who also j investigated the accident said Nix- ;on and his wife were driving to I Reynolds when they apparently had a blow out five miles from Ro berta on Ga. Highway 128. The car swerved off the slick pavement, then cut back and skid ded across in front of the bus. Sheriff said Nixon and his wife were killed instantly and their car was demolished in the collision. The bus was damaged around the front. State Hospital Is First Step To Good Health J Atlanta, Ga. — For many of the i state's mentally ill, admission to 'Milledgeville State Hospital is the I beginning of the line to health. Six of 10 of the patients admit ted to the hospital’s intensive treatment division are returned to their homes within 90 days. • Many of the 2,200 patients dis charged from the hospital during 12 months ending July 1, I960 were treated in the division, Said Dr. MacKinnon, superintendent. The figure also includes patients who were treated for alcoholism and drug addiction on other wards. The period’s number of dis charged patients is 400 greater than the number discharged in the preceding 12 months. I Of the total number discharged, 33 per cent return for further j treatment. I April 13th is Date jFor Fort Valley J Placement Show j The Annual Flower Show of the Federated Garden Clubs of Fort Valley will be held on April 13, 1961. It will be a placement show I with ’Springtime’ as the theme. Co- I chairmen for the show are Mrs. Richard Parks and Mrs. Charles Bartlett. The lovely homes of Mr. and Mrs. Corbin Davis on Westview Drive and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Murray on Church St. will furnish the setting for the show. Interesting contrasts in themeselves, the Davis home is one of the outstanding new homes in Fort Valley, being a perfect blend of traditional and contempo rary design. And the Murray home which has recently been remodeled, is a very old house and still con tains many of its orginal hand blown window panes. In keeping with its style, it’s decorated with antiques. Besides the arrangement classes there will also be a horticultural exhibit. Refreshments will be served in the Murray home. The public is cordially invited between the hours of 2:00 - 6:00 and 7:30 - 9:00. Tickets may be pur chased on the day of the show at the Davis home. Admission is 50c. Mrs. Suggs Named Civil Defense Director For City of Butler j Mrs. Jack Suggs was recently ap pointed Civil Defense Director for jthe City of Butler. Her appoint- : ment was made by Gov. Vandiver. Sheriff Charlie J. Wright is 'Civil Defense Director for Taylor County with Mrs. Suggs as Deputy Director for the County. Mrs. Suggs advises the Herald that a Civil Defense meeting for this city will be called sometime during the month of April. ! Local Improvements Will In- I elude Resurfacing of Hwy. 90 Between Rupert and Ideal. | Taylor County is included in the [highway improvement projects un der the first increment of bonds of the Vandiver administration high way reconstruction program. Clarke W. Duncan, Highway Board Member from the Central Highway District says that 126 pro jects located in 130 counties arc in cluded in the first $30 million dol lar increment covering a total of '2,269 miles. j Work under this increment in [Taylor County will consist of 5.55 'miles of resurfacing on State Route 90, beginning at U. S. 19 and ex tending southeast to the Macon County line. Mr. Duncan explained that bonds have not yet been validated and sold, but that it is hoped that this I will be completed in time to begin Getting contracts by May. He added jthat the projects in the first incre- |ment probably would be split into 'three separate contract lettings, in | May, June and July. I A total of 1,019.3 miles of Pri- jmary, and 1250 miles of Secondary highways will be widened, recon structed, or resurfaced under the first bond increment, Mr. Duncan said. He emphasized lhat this is only the first bond increment of the $100 million dollar program, and that other projects would be forth coming in subsequent bond incre ments. Macon County Farmer Fatally Burned Last Week Ideal, Ga. — A Macon county farmer, Raymon H. Kelley, 48, was burned to death last week when a can of gasoline he was carrying in his truck became ignited, investi gators theorized. There were no witnesses to thie accident. Kelley’s body was fonud about 2 p. m. March 11th. A group of men working in a nearby field reported they saw the smoke in the direc tion of the Kelley farm earlier but thought the farmer was burning trash and did not investigate. Of ficials assumed that Kelley’s death occurred about that time. The ambulance driver who an swered the call reported the truck in which the body was found was completely cool, tho the interior had been burned out. A lifelong resident of the Ideal area, Kelley was a member of the Whitewater Baptist Church, where he taught the Young Men’s Sunday School class and was a deacon and member of the brotherhood. He was also active in the Ga. Farm Bu reau activity. Survivors include his wife, the former Miss Edith Mitchell; one daughter, Patricia Ann, a student at ABC, Tifton; two brothers J. C. Kelley, Ideal; and W. B. Kelley of Savannah; four sisters, Mrs. J. H. iWood and Mrs. C. L. Wood both of Ideal; Mrs. John Bray of Ogle thorpe and Mrs. Claude Felker of Dooling; and a number of nieces and nephews. Joseph T. Peters Died at Montezuma Monday P. M. Mr. Joseph T. Peters, retired far mer, eighty-three years of age, died at the Riverside Hospital in Monte zuma, 5:15 P. M., March 20, after an illness of four weeks. Mr. Peters was born in Macon [County, June 16, 1878, the son of I John L. and Martha Jane Coxwell Peters. He had made his residence in Taylor County for the past tewn- ty-five years. Funeral services was held at God dard Funeral Home Chapel, Wed nesday at 10:30 A. M. with the Rev. T. H. Brown, pastor of the Lebanon Baptist Church, officiating. Inter ment was in the Oglethorpe Ceme tery, Oglethorpe, Ga. Survivors include three sisters: Mrs. Vera Bridges, Oglethorpe; Mrs. A. J. Green, Thomaston and Mrs. Sarah Peters, Rupert; two brothers, Walter A. Peters, Thomaston and Enoch L. Peters, Rupert. Also, a large number of nieces and nep hews. Goddard Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.