The Jackson progress-argus. (Jackson, Ga.) 1915-current, January 04, 1973, Image 11

The Jackson progress-argus., January 04, 1973, Image 11

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Newspaper Page TextGeorgia Power Has Filed Reconsideration Petition Georgia Power Company announced Tuesday that it has filed a petition with the Georgia Public Service Commission for reconsideration of its order granting a $17.8-million in crease in electric rates. “Our action may not be popular at present,” he said, “but we know it’s wise in the long run to do everything possible to assure our custom ers an adequate supply of electric power for the future, and the future will prove us right.” The amount approved on December 14 was a little more than one-third of the $47.9 million the company says it absolutely must have to assure continued reliable service to its customers. President Edwin I. Hatch said that the $17.8 million is far below the minimum necessary to enable Georgia Power to attract the hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment required to finance construction of urgently needed power facilities. “It puts our already serious financial situation in a critical position,” he said. The company’s low earnings recently caused its bond credit rating to be lowered by two leading investment rating agencies. ‘This means,” Mr. Hatch said, “that it will cost us several millions of dollars more in annual interest on the construction money we must borrow. Those additional costs eventually will have to be borne by the electric power con sumers. “A $l5O-million sale of first mortgage bonds early this month will cost about sll Opera star new role! ' \ f National % Chairman ** i •':••>:■ • £ ... °f the -T Jhl REfiLfSfiNNGS TOP BARGAINS INJ USED CARS^ 1972 Chevrolet V 2 Ton Pick-Up, 6 Cyl., Straight Shift, 11,000 Miles 1972 Luv Pick-Up Truck, 8,000 Miles 1970 Impala Custom Coupe, Runs Real Good 1971 Impala 4 Door Hardtop, Extra Low Mileage, Like New 1965 Caprice 4 Door Sedan 1967 Falcon 2 Door, 6 cylinder, Runs Real Good 1970 Falcon 4 Dr. Sedan, 6 Cyl., Auto., Runs Real Good 1 ABW CHEVROLET C? j /' oTkykolf.t / '— ' EAST THIRD ST. PHONE 7/5-7893 JACKSON, GA million more in total interest than it would have had our credit rating not been down graded,” he said. “If our earnings do not improve, we soon may not be able to obtain construction funds at any cost.” Mr. Hatch pointed out that the company cannot build without borrowing huge sums. He said the company is able to finance only about 20 percent of the annual construction costs from its sales of electricity. Engineers of the company already are trying to determine what changes must be made in the construction program to reduce spending to the amount the company can raise under these circumstances. “Reduc tions in our present building program,” Hatch said, “will lead to a power scarcity in the future.” He hastened to add that there are adequate supplies for the present and the plants now going into service will provide for 1973 requirements. But he emphasized the company must build now for the needs of 1974 and beyond or the power will not be there when it is needed. “Utilities are not free from the ravages of inflation,” Mr. Hatch said, “though many of our present critics seem to think so. “Georgia Power is subject to the same rising costs that have plagued everyone else,” Hatch said. “The company has to buy equipment and supplies in the open marketplace as does the average citizen. It’s incon ceivable anyone could think that electric companies some how are immune to inflation.” the JACKSON PROGRESS-ARCUS, JACKSON. GEORGIA If You Drink, Let Others Do Driving Two drivers dead, one seriously injured. All had been drinking. Typical holiday accidents? Not really. A trio of experienced volun teers had agreed to participate in a highly controlled experi ment to demonstrate the deadly effects of mixing drinking with driving. Each participant downed three of his favorite alcoholic concoctions at a “jolly hour” before climbing behind the wheel of a stationary simulator car. The drivers were confronted by specially filmed traffic situations requiring sound and speedy judgment. The film segments were excerpts of movies used regularly by Aetna Life & Casualty to teach good driving techniques to thousands of high school and college students as well as military personnel throughout the U.S. After an hour the drivers’ reaction time had deteriorated sharply and the average driving performance, as measured by Aetna’s Drivotrainer system, had plummeted 50 percent. In fact, if these drivers had met on the road the situations they met in the simulator - two would be dead.. .the other seriously hurt. Their “fatalities” could have been avoided. The American Medical Association says flatly that three drinks in an hour are too much for anyone who intends to soon step behind the wheel; for some people, two are too much. A driver is considered legally drunk in most states when his blood alcohol level (BAL) is .10 percent. But many tests show a driver’s ability becomes im paired when the BAL exceeds .05 percent (the BALs for the three volunteers were .07 percent, .065 percent, and .055 percent). Suppose you have one too many. There’s no quick way to get out from under - just wait. An individual’s blood alcohol level will drop .08 percent each hour. During this holiday season take this good advice from Aetna, one of the country’s largest automobile insurers: If you must drink, drink slowly; Know how much you’re drinking; Set a limit before the first one, and Be honest - if you’ve drunk too much, admit it and ask someone else to drive. Progress-Argus Honor Roll New Sc Renewal Subscription* Of The Past Few Day* Paul Stock hammer, College Park Frances Moss, Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Jack McLees, Jackson Mr.and Mrs. James Johnson, Jackson J. M. Kitchens, Jackson Mrs. H. H. Koch, Atlanta Mrs. A. E. Smithwick, Atlanta Mrs. W. E. Copeland, McDon ough Mrs. T. L Mills, Atlanta Mrs. J. S. Smith, Atlanta Mrs. J. R. Linton, Atlanta Mrs. L. H. Downing, Atlanta Sgt. Charles A. Alexander, Reese, AFB, Texas N. B. Davis, Barstow, Calif. J. W. Browning, Jackson Mrs. H. H. Grant, Milner Mrs. Lindsey Futral, Griffin Mrs. J. A. Padgett, Flovilla J. D. Willard, Jackson James G. Treadwell, Jackson Roy C. Letson, Jackson Mrs. Grady Carlisle, Jackson Mrs. Evelyn E. Archer, Indian Springs D. B. Fretwell, Athens Mrs. W. H. Moncrief, Flovilla Wilbur H. Moncrief, Upper Marlboro, Md. Mrs. Virgil Holman, Macon A. H. Caldwell, Griffin Horace L. Cawthon, Jackson Mrs. Z. L. Burford, Jackson Miss Sarah Bond, Jackson Miss Annie Rosa Bond, East Point Mrs. Donald Blair, Orrick, Mo. Mrs. C. M. Coggins, Atlanta SSgt. (Ret.) Jas. C. Moss, Jr., San Antonio, Texas Miss Fredna Hilley, Flovilla Mrs. Judia F. Frazier, Atlanta Mrs. Evelyn Hurst, Jackson Mrs. Elaine Stallings, Macon SN M.P. Browning, USN, San Diego, Calif. Michael D. Browning, Alex andria, Va. Thomas A. Carmichael, Thomson Charles F. Duke, Gordon Judge S. B. Wallace, Griffin • _ 1 T** ? I They hold the mustard but not the heart. One hot dog doesn’t bring in a lot of profit, but the sale of thousands does. In Rome, Women of the Georgia Power Company serve hot dogs to hungry football spectators. They operate a concession stand to raise money for the Rome Boys’ Club, and have donated nearly $20,000 just to this project. The Gainesville Women of Georgia Power send monthly gifts to patients at Central State Hospital. Other chapters give their time and energy to projects that include day care centers and nursing homes. These women get no pay for their work. They are employes, or the wives of employes, who enjoy helping people. Our job goes beyond supplying electricity. The people who work here, and their families, share that belief. Whether dressing a hot dog or organizing an educational loan fund, the Women of Georgia Power help to prove that “A citizen wherever we serve” is more than a slogan. It’s a reality. Georgia Power Company A citizen wherever we serve ® Jackson Is A Very Small Town Or So Says Randy Hudgins of Southern Bell JACKSON IS A VERY SMALL TOWN but, thanks to the telephone network, it’s plugged in to the rest of the country. Plant foreman Randy Hudgins and other telephone people in Jackson keep it that way. Randy Hudgins is a Plant foreman, and that’s about as specific as you can get with his title. He worked for twelve years in Atlanta, a city of a million and a half people, and during that time it probably would have been easier to make that title more specific. But three years ago, he was transferred down to Jackson, Georgia, a small town about sixty miles south of Atlanta. From here, he and ten other people serve all of Butts County - total population: about 12,000. There’s a No. 5 Crossbar office in Jackson, a small plant work center and a business office. Four installer-repairmen, two switchmen, one cable repair man and two service represent atives make up the total work force along with Randy. They provide an awful lot of plain old telephone service. If you were going to use it in a movie, Jackson could easily be your typical small town. Courthouse in the center with four main streets surrounding it. A number of beautiful old houses. An easy pace. But Jackson and the county sur rounding it is growing. Jackson Lake, in the eastern edge of the county, is becoming more and more developed Vacationers have established part-time residence in the county. Retired people have moved there, as have people who commute daily to work in Atlanta. Growth is commonly spoken of in terms of the major cities of the Southeast. But Jackson shares in this growth, probably as a direct result' of those major cities. And its people share with all others the need for good telephone service. “When I came here is ’69”, says Randy, “all we had was an old step-by-step office, which THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1973 really didn’t handle things too well. Fortunately anew No. 5 Crossbar was finished in ’7O and since that time switching has not been a real problem.” “What is a problem”, he goes on, “is outside facilities, the cable pairs from the central office to the customers’ homes. When someone moves in here they may build a house ten miles from Jackson, out there by itself. We’ve got to coordinate with engineers in Griffin, Georgia and a con struction crew from Monticello, Georgia to get that cable pair out to them.” Dedicated plant, a valuable idea in large urban areas, is impractical in Butts County. Because the facilities pro blem is one of the chief headaches right now for Randy, it’s normal practice to have the installers be on the lookout for new construction. “If I find anew house going up”, says Bill Crider, an installer-repairman, “I’ll ask the contractors if I can get in there and prewire it. That may be the difference between one hour’s work and a whole day’s.” He also tells Randy about it, so arrangements can be made early with the engineers. Jobs tend to be a little different, too. Randy’s job, for instance, covers three general areas of Plant operations. “I’ve had plenty of experience in installation and cable repair, but very little in switching. I’m lucky to have guys like Bob Torbett.” Bob is technically a switchman, but handles the frame and any other area of the central office. Roy Henderson, cable repairman, shows the same kind of adaptability: “aerial cable, underground, a little bit of everything.” No one can afford to be too specialized SUSANNES Is Having A SALE Friday and Saturday Only V3 Off on Everything In The Store Pants - Tops - Pant Suits Dresses - Skirts - Shoes Children’s Clothes Everything is Vz Off in Jackson because there just aren’t enough people. And because it’s a small town, everyone knows who the telephone company people are. “People will call me up at home at night when they’ve got a problem,” says Randy. “Some times they don’t think about going through the business office”, added Gery Hoard, an installer - repairman, “When they see us they just tell us and let it go at that.” So everyone’s automatically in public rela tions, too. Sue Blue, one of two service representatives in the business office, says that in many ways customers are no different in Jackson than anywhere: “They seem to want the same things. Although we do more face-to face business here than in a city, the problems and requests we get here are about the same. The telephone network. Use it and talk to someone across the street or across the continent. Call someone in Paris, Ken tucky or Paris, France. It’s hard to talk about telephone network, in fact, without bringing in impressive sta tistics and global concepts. But without the essential operations on the local level, be it a small town or city district, the telephone network is little more than a lot of people and a lot of hardware standing around, waiting for calls that never come. Which is where Randy Hudgins, four installer repairmen, two switchmen, a cable repairman, two service reps and Jackson, Georgia come in. Birth Defects are forever ...unless you help Give to the March of Dimes