Newspaper Page Text
EARLY COUNTY, GA.
Garden Spot Os
GOD’S COUNTRY
VOLUME NO. Ill—NO. 23
GAS EXPLOSION SHOCKS BLAKELY
KILLS TWO LOCAL CITIZENS INSTANTLY
GRAND JURY PRESENTMENTS
FOR JANUARY, 1970 TERM,
EARLY COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
TO THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
SAID COUNTY AND THE HON
ORABLE W. L GEER, JUDGE OF
SAID COURT:
We, the Grand Jury drawn,
sworn and serving at the Regu
lar January, 1970 Term of the
Superior Court of said county,
respectfully make to the Court
the following recommendations
and presentments, to wit;
(1)
We investigated, as is requir
ed by law, all criminal matters
presented to us returning 16
true bills and passed 15 war
rants to the next term of said
Court.
(2)
Hereto attached, made a part
hereof, and to be published here
with, please find the recommen
dations of the Committee appoint
ed to investigate the following
County Matters, to wit:
(1) Roads and Bridges
(2) Department of Family
and Children Services
(3) Public Records in Office
of Clerk of Superior Court, Or
dinary, Sheriff and Tax Commis
sioner.
(4) The Public Buildings,
namely, the Courthouse, Jail,
County Office Building and School
Bus Shop Building.
(5) Office of County School
Superintendent and Public
Schools.
(6) Public Works Camp
Said recommendations having
been read and adopted by this
Grand Jury.
(3)
We respectfully recommend to
the Court the appointment of
Honorable Rex Reeves to serve
as Notary Public, Ex-Officio J. P.
for the 866th District, G.M.,
Early County, Georgia, his term
of office to be for four (4) years.
(4)
We respectfully recommend to
the Court the appointment of Hon
orable Cecil Cobb to serve as
Notary Public, Ex-Offlclo J.P.
for the 1535th Militia District,
G.M., his term of office to be
for four (4) years.
(5)
We, this Grand Jury, recom
mend that the ballots of the last
election under seal In the Office
of Clerk of Superior Court be
destroyed upon the adjournment
of this Grand Jury, as provided
by law.
(6)
We, this Grand Jury elect the
Honorable Carlton Houston to
succeed Carlton Houston on the
Early County Board of Educa
tion, his term of office to begin
May 1, 1970 and end April 30,
1975.
Bobcats’ Record 17-1
Bobkittens’ Record 15-2
Blakely continued its winning
ways by edging Cairo 58-49 here
Friday night.
Rex Howell topped the Blakely
scoring attack with 28 points.
Howell was followed by Marvin
Earnest’s 18 markers.
Scoring in double figures for
Cairo were Rom Taylor with
24 and Lemon Ready 10.
The Blakely girls suffered
their first defeat of the year as
the Cairo girls won an exciting
72-68 decision Ln overtime.
The score was all tied up
at 68-68 at the end of the regu
lation time, but Cairo got four
points in the overtime period
to take the win.
Top scorers for Cairo were
Sally White 26, Rita Ponder 20,
Kate Thrower 14 and Mary Rl-
Carlg Catmig
(7)
We, this Grand Jury, being of
the considered opinion, that the
children in Early County are the
responsibility of their own
parents and that their parents
should have the perogative and
responsibility to educate their
said children as they deem best,
we, therefore, respectfully
recommend to our State Repre
sentative and Senator that they
vote for repeal of the State School
Compulsory Attendance Law.
(8)
We, this Grand Jury, recom
mend, as the previous Grand
Jury did, that a county refer
endum be held in said county,
submitting to the voters of said
county, the question as to whether
said county should remain dry
as to liquor or whether said
county should become wet as
to liquor.
(9)
We, this Grand Jury, wish to
thank Judge W. L Geer for his
able advice and instructions, and
for his efficient supervision of
our Court.
(10)
We also thank our able Dis
trict Attorney, Joe M. Ray, for
his excellent and valuable ad
vice and assistance in all of our
deliberations.
(H)
We thank our Sheriff, and the
Officers helping him, for their
promptness in furnishing us wit
nesses needed In our Investiga
tions, and for all other services
rendered.
(12)
We thank our Court Reporter,
Mrs. Patricia Manning, for
writing up these presentments
and recommendations for us.
(13)
We recommend and pray that
these presentments and recom
mendations be accepted, adopted
and approved by the Court, in so
far as the Court has jurisdic
tion and ordered filed and pub
lished pursuant to law.
Respectfully submitted,
A. J. Singletary, Foreman
ATTEST:
John J. Am rich, Clerk
GEORGIA, EARLY COUNTY
The within and foregoing pre
sentments and recommendations
are hereby accepted, adopted and
approved by the Court, In so far
as the Court has jurisdiction,
and ordered filed and published
pursuant to law.
This the 21st day of January,
1970.
W. L Geer
J. SI C. P. C.
We, the Committee appointed
by the Grand Jury to investl
(Continued Inside)
neer 12.
Blakely was led by Dana Jane
Brown’s 32 and Nancy Holman’s
30.
Girls Score by Quarters:
Cairo 16 22 13 17 (4)—72
Blakely 16 24 15 13 (0) —6B
Boys’ Score By Quarters:
Blakely 12 14 16 16 —6B
Cairo 14 8 16 11 —49
GIRLS
Early County girls and boys
chalked up another double-head
er Saturday night at Thomas
ville. The Bobkittens topped
the Thomasville girls 40-39 and
the Bobcats’ score over their
opponents was 34-23.
Dana Jane Brown led the scor
ing for the evening with 31 points.
Joy Alllgood of Tbomasvllle with
(Continued Inside)
Success to All Who Pay Their Honest Debts — “Be Sure You Are Right, Then Go Ahead”
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This picture was taken about 10 minutes after the explosion. Through the screen of smoke,
flames can be seen rolling into the sky. The street (in foreground) was completely covered
with debris from the explosion. Glass Service Center can be seen at left of photo.
Bi-Racial Group May
Discuss Court Orders
Early County School officials
have suggested forming a Bi
raclal group which would be made
up mainly of school personnel,
to discuss the problems posed
by the court order which states
that zoning, pairing, a court or
der formula and any other plan
may be used as long as it com
plies with the stipulations to
eliminate the dual school sys
tem.
Tentative plans call for re
presentatives from school ad
ministrations, teachers, PTA’s
and the city and county govern
ments.
To meet the court order that
a plan must be submitted by
March 1, 1970, the Early County
Board of Education continues to
Negroe Leaders Here Voice
School Desegregation Plans
The Superintendent and Mem
bers of the Early County Board
of Education have been contacted
by Concerned Citizens and Par
ents of Washington School about
the Desegregation Court Order.
"We realize that the Superin
tendent and Early County Board
of Education must submit a plan
^or desegregation of the Early
County School System to the State
Department of Education by
March 1, 1970. Consequently,
we have been keenly observing
the developments resulting from
the recent court order relative to
this matter. As a result of our
study of the problem, we firmly
believe that we must be rea
listic and come to grips with the
issue. W'e further believe that
this is a major undertaking of
social change and encompasses
a lot of inherent problems.
Therefore, as parents and con
cerned citizens, we wish to pledge
our united support and coopera
tion with the Superintendent and
Board of Education in working out
an effective plan that will be
fair to both the majority and
minority group and In the best
Interest of all concerned.”
In this connection, we wish to
make the following recommenda
tions for your consideration:
1. Bi-racia) Committee —ln
our opinion, the Early County
Board of Education should im
mediately form a bl-raclal com
mittee for the purpose of study-
BLAKELY, GA., THURSDAY MORNING, JAN. 29.1970
work toward a feasible and ac
ceptable plan that will serve the
3500 students in the three schools
in the county.
Ralph J. Balkcom, Chairman
of the Board of Education in
Early County, Supt. Lonnie
Chester, and Attorney Lowrey
Stone continue to visit educa
tional groups, PTAs and civic
clubs, answering questions, ex
plaining the court order and re
ceiving suggestions from inter
ested persons who are concern
ed with the problems with which
the board of education is now
faced.
The board of education hopes
to have a plan completed by Feb
ruary 15, Chairman Balkcom
said. He will be accompanied
by the superintendent and school
ing all aspects of the problem
and to make recommendations
for same rather then approach
it in isolated or mass settings.
2. Communications — We
believe that much emphasis
should be placed on keeping the
channels of communication open
so that all concerned maybe kept
abreast of pertinent develop
ments.
3. Human Relations — The
success of the plan submitted,
In our opinion, will depend large
ly upon the effectiveness of our
human relations. In other words,
how well we relate to each other.
Therefore, we recommend that
the Superintendent and Board of
Education explore the possibility
of conducting Human Relations
Workshops for this purpose.
4. Washington High School —
We strongly believe that this high
school should be maintained at
nothing lower than the Junior
High Level. This will insure
better utilization of the present
school plant, athletic field, gym
and professional staff. Also,
we urge the completion of the
athletic field at the earliest pos
sible date.
A lot of effort has gone into
getting our high school accredit
ed by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Secondary
Schools and since our students
are in the majority, we con
sider this a reasonable position.
We do not favor a non co-educa-
attorney as they speak to the
Early County Educational Asso
ciation on January 27, to the In
ter Club Council, Feb. 5 and
the American Legion, Feb. 3.
At the Washington Elementary
and High School and Kestler PTA
meeting here recently, two hun
dred or more parents heard Supt.
Chester review the additional
facilities in Early County Schools
since 1964, when he became su
perintendent; (1) The Bessie
Scott Gymnasium was built at
Washington High School in the
1966-67 school year. (2) Six
classrooms were added at the
Washington Elementary School.
(3) A new heating system was
installed at Washington School
in 1968-69.
tlonal plan, whereby the boys
would be on one campus and
the girls on another.
5. Elementary School Pro
gram — In our opinion, an ele
mentary program consisting of
grades one through six (1-6)
would be the most feasible plan
of grouping. Under this plan,
grades one through three (1-3)
would be housed on one campus
(Washington or Early County)
and grades four through six (4-6)
would be housed on the other
campus. Also, we believe that
grades 1-3 should be located
on the campus of the Junior
High School and that grades 4-6
should be located on the campus
of the Senior High School. Since
It is not desirable to have ele
mentary and high school students
housed on the same campus, this
plan would provide for a three
grade spread on each campus.
6. Professional Personnel —
We recommend that a concerted
effort be made to assign pro
fessional personnel on a fair
and ethical basis, taking into
consideration such things as sen
iority and the racial composi
tion of the enrollment of the
school to which they are assign
ed.
7. In-Service Education —
As a means of upgrading our
program and providing for as
smooth a transition as possible
(Continued Inside)
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Large steel beams and concrete blocks were blown into the street. In the background the west
wall of Glass Service Center was demolished. (More Photos on Inside Page)
Fatal Blast Takes Lives of
J. Herman Clarke, Edward Deal
An early morning explosion
here in Blakely Tuesday at 7;40
o’clock claimed two Ilves and In
jured six others and did dam
ages to the downtown business
area expected to run Into hun
dreds of thousands of dollars.
Killed instantly were J. Her
man Clarke, 58, and Edward Cfeal,
36. Hospitalized were Jerry
Love, 21 and Greg Rabon, 20.
Love is in Early Memorial Hos
pital, and Rabon was transfer
red to a Dothan hospital after
receiving emergency treatment
at the local hospital. Less ser
iously Injured were Mrs. Jack
Clifton, whose home across the
street from the explosion, was
practically demolished, Greg
Santez, 22, Grady Gilbert, 50,
and Mrs. Nell Chandler, who
was riding by in her car when
the tragedy took place.
The explosion came shortly
before the stores opened and only
a few people were on the street
or the casualty figures might
have been higher, an investigating
officer stated.
Mrs. Nell Chandler had just
let Jerry Love out at the Piggly
Wiggly. Just as she pulled off
the explosion occurred, shatter
ing the windows and badly dam
aging the left side of the car.
Jerry reported that he was
thrown about 20 yards by the
blast. Although he was con
scious he couldn’t move at first
and watched wood, bricks and
debris fall all around him.
Greg Sanetz was walking to
ward the building when the blast
blew him about 20 yards. He
reported that he saw Greg Rabon
run from the building all burned.
Sanetz said that if he had not
stopped for some cigarettes, he
could have very well been killed.
The Davenport Motor Company
& Re-Capping Shop, where the
explosion occurred, was com
pletely demolished and leveled
to the ground. The explosion
and Inferno which followed was
caused by two LP gas trucks
in the motor company for re
pairs. They evidently had been
leaking all night filling the build
ing with the lethal fumes. Some
how these became ignited when
Mr. Clark, Davenport manager,
and Mr. Deal, manager of the
gas company across the street,
started to enter the building.
The noise was heard as far as
twenty or more miles away, and
smoke billowed skyward like an
atom bomb had been touched off
eye witnesses stated. Glass
store fronts were shattered In
nearly every building and stores
in downtown Blakely. The county
courthouse, seated in the city’s
center, and located only a block
The damages in Tuesday’s
explosion may run even higher
than first believed as reports
from all over town to homes
and businesses continue to
come in. Shattered windows,
twisted roofs, foundations up
set may run the losses well
above the million dollar mark
one conservative estimator
said. It was Blakely’s worst
disaster and veterans cf World
War II said It was comparable
to cities torn up by heavy
bombs.
and one-half from the Magnolia
Street disaster, had nearly every
window, door and screen blown
out. All of the downtown area
had the appearance of having been
hit by a bomb. Homes in the Mag
nolia Street area reported broken
ceiling and shattered windows.
The Piggly-Wiggly Supermarket,
The photo shows one of several automobiles which were
destroyed by the blast. As can be seen, only a pile of rubble
remains.
The building was completely demolished leaving only a pile
of rubble and debris strewn all across town.
PULL FOR BLAKELY
— OR —
PULL OUT
$3.09 PER ANNUM
located diagonally across the
street from the Davenport build
ing, and the Glass Service Cen
ter, reported extensive damage,
as well as another station next
door eastward. Dr. Warren C.
Baxley’s offices just two doors
down was reported badly dam
aged. He was forced to set
up offices in another building
located on Oak street, the for
mer home of the late Mr. and
Mrs. L. C. Hobbs.
A large warehouse owned by
Georgia Telephone Company was
completely destroyed by the ex
plosion and ensuing fire.
Local fireman, policemen,
hospital personnel and doctors
were being singled out for praise
for the heroic and brave way
they performed during the catas
trophe. The citizens themselves
reacted the same way, many
(Continued Inside)