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Karfeann progress- Arg.<s
Volume 100 Number 1
Two Butts Youths Charged In
Torture and Beating Death
Two Butts County youths,
Ronnie Phillip Preston, about
19, and Daniel Lamar Thorn,
about 18, both of Flovilla, are
lodged in the Butts County Jail
charged with the December
27th murder of Grady T. Smith,
44, and aggravated assault of
Jason Coleman, 35.
The two warrants charging
murder and aggravated assault
against each of the defendants
was sworn out by Elliott L.
Smith, 615 South Maple Street,
Columbia, S.C., brother of
Grady T. Smith, and Mrs.
Elizabeth James, 148 Edgewood
Avenue, Jackson, sister of Mr.
Coleman. The warrant charges
among other things “beating,
kicking and throwing of melted
plastic,” on the bodies of the
two men.
According to Butts County
Sheriff Hugh C. Polk, who was
succeeded as sheriff on January
Ist by Barney L. Wilder, the
body of Mr. Smith was
discovered about 7:45 o’clock
Wednesday morning, Decem
ber 27th, in a blood spattered
automobile parked in the yard
of the home of Mrs. Dovie
Preston at Flovilla. Sheriff Polk
said that the severely beaten,
burned and bruised body of Mr.
Coleman was also discovered at
the same time.
The body of Mr. Smith was
removed to Sherrell Funeral
Home in Jackson where an
Griffin Hospital Began
Ambulance Service Jan. 1
The Griffin-Spalding County
Hospital began ambulance
service at midnight Sunday,
January Ist, thereby offering
ambulance service to all of
Spalding County after com
munity funeral homes were
forced to discontinue ambu
lance service after new and
strict state laws were enacted
by the Georgia Legislature.
A crew of 12 ambulance
personnel have been employed
by the Griffin-Spalding County
Hospital with the first shift
reporting for work at midnight
Sunday.
The ambulance firm from
which Spalding County pur
chased three vehicles has
promised delivery date about
January 20th but in the interim
has promised to provide
Spalding County vehicles on a
loan basis.
Community funeral homes in
Griffin and Spalding County
with the exception of Miller’s
discontinued all ambulance
service as of January Ist. From
that time on they will handle
only funerals.
Persons needing ambulance
service after midnight Sunday
will have to call the Griffin-
Spalding County Hospital for
the service. This service will not
be available presently across
county lines, Carl Rilley,
administrator of the Griffin
Spalding County Hospital, told
the Progress-Argus in an
interview Thursday afternoon.
YmCI
WEEK
Jan.2l-28
autopsy was performed Wed
nesday afternoon by Dr.
Dawson of the State Crime Lab,
and an assistant who came to
Jackson for that purpose. Butts
County Coroner John A.
Sherrell said the autopsy
showed that death was caused
by “aspiration of stomach
contents” or that death resulted
from choking on vomited food
matter.
Coroner Sherrell stated that
the bodies of both men bore
numerous burn marks, bruises
and contusions allegedly in
duced by a savage and brutal
beating by the two younger
men.
Coroner Sherrell said that Mr.
Coleman was admitted to
Sylvan Grove Hospital where
his condition over the weekend
was listed as “fair” by hospital
authorities.
Sheriff Polk said the
investigation revealed that the
four men were “partying” out
in the woods southeast of
Flovilla where it is believed that
a drinking bout took place.
Sheriff Polk said it is
presumed that an argument
ensued between the four men
with the two younger assailants
allegedly heating sticks in a fire
which the men were using to
keep warm and taking the
heated sticks and inflicting
numerous burns about the head,
face, shoulders, backs and
Gen. Russell
Passes In
Macon Sunday
// i
h
LT. GEN. RUSSELL
Lieutenant General Henry D.
Russell, 83, one of the most
widely known military person
ages in the Southeast and a
former practicing attorney in
Jackson, died Sunday in Macon.
He resided at 936 Curry Street in
Macon.
Gen. Russell was one of the
three General officers named to
investigate the bombing of
Pearl Harbor during World War
11.
A native of Henry County,
Gen. Russell was graduated
from the University of Georgia
with bachelor degrees in the
arts and law. White at Georgia
he was a member of Phi Beta
Kappa and an honor graduate.
In his early practice of law Gen.
Russell resided in Jackson for
several years before moving to
Macon. He also had a sister,
Mrs. Mary Russell Furlow of
Winter Haven, Florida who
stomachs of Messrs. Smith and
Coleman. According to Sheriff
Polk, the men are believed to
have ridden back to the Preston
home in Flovilla in a car driven
by Mr. Preston.
Sheriff Polk said the case
would be brought to the
attention of the February Grand
Jury.
Mr. Smith resided at 219
Oakland Circle, Jackson, with
his mother, Mrs. Lizzie Good
rum Smith. He was born April
24, 1938, the son of the late Mr.
Eddie Lawrence Smith and
Mrs. Lizzie Goodrum Smith.
Funeral services were con
ducted Thursday afternoon,
December 28th, at three o’clock
from Sandy Creek Primitive
Baptist Church between Flo
villa and Cork with the Rev. A.
L. Price, pastor of the Second
Baptist Church, officiating.
Interment was in Sandy Creek
Cemetery with Sherrell Funeral
Home in charge of arrange
ments.
Mr. Smith is survived by his
mother, Mrs. Lizzie Goodrum
Smith of Jackson; three sisters,
Mrs. Frances Kelly of Jackson,
Mrs. Myrtice Darnell of Flovilla
and Mrs. Elaine Stallings of
Macon; one brother, Elliott
Smith of Columbia, S.C.; a
large number of nieces and
nephews.
Pallbearers were Clifford
Darnell, Jimmy Darnell,
taught school in Jackson for a
number of years and like her
brother was widely known here.
Gen. Russell had spoken on
several occasions to the
Jackson Kiwanis Club and other
organizations here.
Lt. Gen. Russell served in the
Army for 33 years, entering the
National Guard in 1916 as a
Captain on the day that Pancho
Villa raided New Mexico. He
fought in World War I for Vh
years and after the war
organized the 121st Infantry.
In 1922 he organized the 59th
Infantry Brigade and was its
commander until 1932 when he
was made Commander of the
30th Division with the rank of
Major General.
During World War II he was a
member of the War Department
Manpower Board. After the war
he organized the 48th division,
which he commanded until he
retired from the service in 1951.
From 1924-25 he served as
Macon City Attorney before
returning to private practice.
He retired from military
service in 1949. In 1961, the new
Macon National Guard Armory
was named for him.
Gen. Russell was a member
of the First Presbyterian
Church of Macon, the Macon,
Georgia and American Bar
Association, the American
Judicial Society, the Bench and
Bar of Georgia, the National
Association of Railroad Trial
Council, the Joseph N. Neal
Post No. 3, American Legion,
the Veterans of World War I.
Funeral services for Gen.
Russell were held at two o’clock
Tuesday afternoon in Riverside
Cemetery, Macon.
Gen. Russell is survived by a
brother, W. E. Russell of
McDonough; and sisters, Miss
Stella Russell of McDonough
and Mrs. Warren Furlow of
Winter Haven, Fla.
Jackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, January 4, 1973
Joe Taylor
To Head
Chamber
Joe B. Taylor, Executive vice
president of Mclntosh State
Bank and active religious lay
leader, was elected president of
the Butts County Chamber of
Commerce, Inc., at a called
meeting Thursday afternoon in
the Civic Room of the C&S Bank
of Jackson.
Dr. Roy Goff, widely known
Jackson pharmacist and drug
store owner, was elected vice
president. Richard W. Watkins,
Jr., Jackson attorney, was
re-elected treasurer and Miss
Elizabeth McMichael, office
manager and bookkeeper, was
re-elected secretary.
The Chamber is presently
composed of Messrs. Taylor
and Goff as officers and
Directors Wayne Barnes, Lewis
Freeman, Bob Armstrong and
Marion Todd. Directors whose
terms expired at the end of the
year include L. W. May, Mr.
Watkins, Jr. and Frank Fore
hand. At the annual Chamber of
Commerce dinner meeting on
December 14th Messrs. Barnes,
Freeman and Goff were elected
directors to succeed the
going threesome.
Charles Kelly, Dennis
McMichael, Luther Jones and
Tom Fears.
Mrs. Ethel Ault Plans Active
Campaign For March of Dimes
Mrs. Ethel Ault, wife of Dr.
Allen L. Ault, Warden of the
Georgia Diagnostic and Classi
fication Center in Butts County,
is serving as chairman of the
March of Dimes campaign and
fund drive in Butts County and
has already made plans for an
active campaign locally.
Mrs. Ault is a third
grade teacher in the Butts
County School System and from
a recent interview with her
plans to campaign with vigor,
innovative ideas and determin
ation to make the Dimes drive a
success in Butts County.
One of her first duties was to
issue a statement to the people
of Butts County. It is carried in
its entirety.
As chairman of the March of
Dimes fund in Jackson, I am
asking for all the Butts County
residents help.
Birth defects are America’s
No. 1 child health problem.
Your investment is urgently
needed in order to:
“1. Assist scientists to find
ways of preventing additional
birth defects that destroy more
lives than cancer and stroke
combined.
“2. Maintain over 100 Birth
Defects Centers located
throughout the United States.
“3. Expand a program of
public health education de
signed to prevent birth defects.
“4. Provide funds for
world-renowned research sci
entists working at the Salk
Institute.”
‘‘Remarkable progress was
made last year in the fight
against Birth Defects with the
use of two new vaccines: a
vaccine against rubella (Ger
man measles) and a vaccine
against RH blood disease.”
There are still many more birth
defects to be fought against.
Sherrell Funeral Home To
Continue Ambulance Service
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E VGLE SCOUT - Nevin Lee Duffey, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs.
Nevin Duffey, Jackson, received the coveted Eagle Scout Award in
recent ceremonies in the Jackson Presbyterian Church. Lee is a
member of Stark United Methodist Church and treasurer of Boy
Scout Troop 80. His scoutmasters are David Black and Billy Crum.
And only through each county’s
help can this be achieved. Butts
County has been one which has
helped a great deal in the past
and I know it will give it’s best
for the present drive.
Progress, towards a strong
fight against birth defects,
comes only through people who
will give their time, energy and
funds. A penny, dime or quarter
is not too much to ask in order to
help see a healthy baby born
and give comfort to already
existing deformed children.
There will hopefully be
collection containers placed in
businesses throughout the main
areas of Butts County.
I will personally call a
number of people to ask to help
in their particular neighbor
hood. These people have put
their energy to work in past
drives and it is hoped that they
will help to make the 1973 drive
a spectacular success.
I have been granted per
mission to hold a road block. It
will be conducted at the corner
of Third Street and Oak Street
between the hours of 12:00 and
6:00 p.m. The date will be
announced later.
January 15th is the kick off
date for the March of Dimes
fund raising campaign through
the nation.
Please, when a mother comes
to your door with the correct
credentials, give what you can.
Every penny is important!
I am looking forward to
working with the people of Butts
County. The residents which I
have met so far have all been
very gracious.
Please with this march make
an enduring gift to humanity.
Thank you,
Mrs. Ethel Ault
P. O. Box 3877
Dan Fears
Is Named
Chairman
The Board of Commissioners
of Butts County met Monday,
January Ist. The first order of
business was the official
election of the chairman to
serve the board for the ensuing
four years. When David W.
Bailey and Robert W. Taylor,
Jr., board members, each
declined to accept the chair
manship, Alfred D. Fears, Sr.
was designated to serve as
chairman upon the unanimous
consent and endorsement of
Messrs. Bailey and Taylor.
The following resolution and
motion under which Mr. Fears
was chosen chairman by action
of the Commission Board at its
January Ist meeting is repro
duced in its entirety.
A resolution by the Board of
Commissioners of Butts Countv,
Georgia, to designate one of its
members Chairman erf said
Board.
Whereas, the Butts County-
Board of Commissioners consist
of three (3) members, to-wit:
David W. Bailey, Alfred D.
Fears, Sr. and Robert W.
Taylor, Jr., and
Whereas, David W. Bailey
and Robert W. Taylor, Jr. have
each declined to accept the
chairmanship of said Board of
Commissioners, and each one is
desirous of having Alfred D.
Fears, Sr. to serve as chairman
of said Board during his term in
office from January 1, 1973 to
December 31, 1976, and
Whereas, said Commission
ers have requested Alfred D.
Fears, Sr. to serve as Chairman
of said Board of Commissioners
$5.00 Per Year In Advance
John A. Sherrell, owner of
Sherrell Funeral Home and
Butts County coroner, an
nounced this week that his
funeral home would continue to
offer ambulance service to
citizens of Butts County as long
as it is “legally and economi
cally possible.”
Ambulance service in many
Georgia communities and coun
ties has been discontinued
effective January 1, 1973
because of more stringent rules
and regulations under which
those providing ambulance
service would have to comply.
In a recent letter to the Butts
County Commissioners three
Jackson funeral homes -
Haisten. Trimier and Howard -
indicated that ambulance ser
vice would be discontinued at
Sunday midnight.
Some communities in an
effort to alleviate the critical
situation of no ambulance
service have sought to have
such service provided by
private ambulance firms or
hospitals providing services
subsidized by funds from city or
county governments or both.
Spalding County has made
provisions to provide ambu
lance service furnished by the
Griffin-Spalding County Hos
pital with personnel provided by
the hospital with the county to
assist in defraying the cost of
the operation.
In a statement to the public,
Mr. Sherrell said that “I trust
the citizens of Butts County will
support and uphold my desire to
continue ambulance service as
nearly as possible on a basis as
previously provided. The hu
mane aspects of the injured and
sick being able to be trans
ported to the hospital promptly
is the overriding consideration
in my mind. I do trust, however,
that the people will keep in mind
that I will only be able to furnish
two or three ambulances where
formerly seven or eight have
been available for emergency
use and that bearing this in
mind ambulances will not be
called where the injured or sick
can be transported to the
hospital by other means.
However, if an ambulance is
during the aforesaid term,
Therefore be it resolved that
Alfred D. Fears, Sr. be
designated by the Butts County-
Board of Commissioners as the
Chairman of said Board for and
during the term of his office
from January 1, 1973 to
December 31, 1976.
The foregoing resolution was
made by David W. Bailey:
And upon motion by Robert
W. Taylor, Jr. was seconded by
David W. Bailey and unani
mously adopted by said Board.
This the Ist day of January,
1973.
Alfred D. Fears, Sr.
Chairman
David W. Bailey
Member
Robert W. Taylor
Member
Attested:
Billy Sutton, Clerk
FLOVILLA WOMAN HURT
IN AUTO ACCIDENT
Josephine Douglas, 23, of
Route 1, Flovilla, was injured
Friday night in an automobile
accident on State Route 87 at the
Cork road intersection.
She was brought to Sylvan
Grove Hospital where she was
treated and transferred to the
Griffin-Spalding County Hos
pital where she was placed
under the care of a bone
specialist for a fractured lower
left leg.
needed I expect to be there as
promptly as possible and offer
24 hour service, day and night.”
In an interview with the
Progress-Argus Mr. Sherrell
made the following statement
which is printed in its entirety:
“The staff and management
of Sherrell Funeral Home takes
this opportunity to inform the
citizens of Jackson and Butts
County that Sherrell Funeral
Home will continue to provide
all types of ambulance service
to all citizens of Butts County as
long as it is legally and
economically possible.
“We have contacted the
Department of Human Re
sources in Atlanta and have
been advised to continue our
service until application forms
are provided by the State of
Georgia as provided by law.
“The additional equipment
which we will be required to
provide and additional man
power which will have to be
added will necessitate prompt
payment of ambulance charges.
Indigent or needy patients will
be cared for as we have always
done in the past. The service
which we are providing is not
subsidized by the state or local
government and will require the
cooperation of everyone in
order to hold down the cost to
the patient and the provider.
“We respectfully request that
everyone take into consider
ation that after the first day of
January 1973 we will be trying
to adjust in Butts County to
adequately handle with two or
three ambulances a job that has
been done for many years with
seven or eight vehicles. During
this adjustment period if your
life or health demands the need
for an ambulance at any time,
night or day, by all means call.
If not please use other means.
“As stated before we will
continue this service as long as
possible or until we can be
assured that this service is
properly provided by the state,
county, or other means. At that
time we will consider the
possibility of discontinuing this
service.”
JOHN A. SHERRELL
Sherrell Funeral Home
Christian
Academy
Is Sold
The parents and the Board of
Directors of the Jackson
Christian Academy voted this
past week to sell the Jackson
Christian Academy to the
Antioch Baptist College and
Seminary located in Marietta,
Ga.
In 1969 men with a vision
began work on a project much
greater than even they realized.
With the formation of Jackson
Christian Academy came the
ever increasing need for
expansion and growth. The field
of education is always on the
move and so is Jackson
Christian Academy.
We feel that this will be a
great step for the academy for it
will open even more doors of
service. We will be able to offer
the people of Butts County a full
tour year accredited college
and seminary here in Jackson.
We look for much growth in
the years to come, and with the
help and prayers of the people
this will become a reality.
Charles A. Davis
Administrator
