Newspaper Page Text
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Kackamt Jlrogreas-Argas
Volume 102 Number 35
W. G. Preston,
Educator,
Buried Monda]
Mr. William Gordon Pres
ton, 89, of Jenkinsburg
former Butts County schoo
superintendent and widely
known retired Georgia edu
cator for over 43 years, diec
early Saturday morning al
the Griffin-Spalding Hospital
following a short illness buts
longer period of declining
health.
Mr. Preston was born ii
Flovilla on June 4, 1886, th<
son of the late Mr. Jacl
Preston and Mrs. Sara Kell;
Preston. He was a graduati
of Locust Grove Institute and
the University of Georgia
> being perhaps the oldes
graduate of the universit;
from Butts County. He was s
member of the Class of 1914
t Mr. Preston taught schoo
in Butts County as well at
other systems over the state
for over 43 years, serving as
superintendent of the Butts
County schools. He was a
member of the Sandy Creek
Primitive Baptist Church.
Funeral services for Mr.
Preston were held Monday
morning at 11 o’clock from
the chapel of Haisten
Funeral Home with Elder
Paul Mann and Rev. Arthur
L. Price, pastor of the Second
Baptist Church, officiating.
Interment was in Sandy
Creek Cemetery with Hais
ten Funeral Home in charge
of arrangements.
Mr. Preston is survived by
his wife, Mrs. Florence
Adams Preston of Jenkins
burg; a sister, Mrs. Lizzie
Gannam of Savannah;
several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers were Edwin C.
Lynch, Raymond Smith,
Clay Saunders, C. W. Haley,
Wallace Harkins and Ed
Tate.
IS Academy
To Open
Aug. 28th
Sam Freeman, Headmas
ter of Indian Springs Acade
my, announced that classes
for the 1975-76 school year
will begin on Thursday,
August 28th. Parents who are
interested in enrolling their
children should do so by
Tuesday, September 2nd,
since many classes are
nearing capacity.
Porter Cawthon, Chairman
of the Board, stated, “We are
expecting our best year to
date. We have a sizeable
increase in enrollment over
last year. Our new gym is
nearing completion and will
be ready very soon. We are
excited about the coming
year’s sports activities.”
Faculty members are:
Mrs. Linda McClelland, first
grade; Mrs. Marilyn Raynor,
second and third grades;
Mrs. Ronnie Johnson, fourth
grade; Mrs. Nora Bankston,
fifth and sixth grades; Mrs.
Judy Washington, seventh
grade; Mrs. Katie Kilby,
English and Business Educa
tion; Mrs. Gussie Cawthon,
Math and Science; and Sam
Freeman, Headmaster and
Social Studies.
ANTIQUE SHOW SET
FOR MILLEDGEVILLE
The Eleventh Annual Old
Capitol Antique Show and
Sale, Milledgeville, will be
held September 3rd and 4th,
from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. respectively.
Sponsored by The Quota
Club of Milledgeville, the
show will be held at Carl
Vinson National Guard
Armory on West Hancock
Street, Macon Highway, Rt.
49. Admission charge will be
$1.50.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS CHAMPION Robert James
Taylor, while representing the Butts County Day Care and
Training Center at the 1975 Special Olympics International
Games in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, won a gold medal in the
50 yard dash and a bronze medal in the softball throw.
Taylor Places First
In Special Olympics
Robert James Taylor
brought home the bacon this
month from the 1975 Special
Olympics International
Games where he captured
.first place and a gold medal
in the 50 yard dash for 30
year olds and over and third
place and a bronze medal in
the softball throw.
Taylor was the first and
only entrant to ever repre
sent the Butts County Day
Care and Training Center.
Robert (or “Cat” as he is
called at the training center)
of Route 4, Jenkinsburg, is
the legal son of Joyce
My rick.
The games took place
August 7-11 on the Central
Michigan University campus
in Mount Pleasant, Michi
gan. The competition in
cluded basketball, vollyeball,
ice skating, bowling, swim
ming, track and field,
gymnastics and floor hockey.
The floor hockey event was
exceptional and will be
presented for viewing on
CBS’s “Sports Spectacular”,
September 13. In the floor
Recreation Dept. Sets
Football Registration
New director, Hollis
Griggs, announced this week
that registration for the
upcoming football season
will be held Aug. 28 - Sept. 6
at the Recreation Dept, on
Main St. from 9 a.m. until 6
p.m. (includes all day on
Saturday).
All boys, ages 8-13, are
urged to pick up a permission
slip at the Recreation Dept,
to be signed by their parents
or guardian and returned to
the Dept, along with a $5
registration fee and birth
certificate. Under the GRPS
regulations, no one may
participate in a team sport
until a birth certificate is
presented.
This year will mark the
first year that Jackson-Butts
County Recreation Dept, will
send a Junior League to
participate in the 4th District
GRPS Football Playoffs.
The Pee Wee League, ages
8-10, will enter a bowl game
near Macon.
Griggs plans to visit the
local school and give more
information about this year’s
football season. He said that
playing schedules will be
posted for the eight teams at
the Recreation Dept, and a
hockey competition a team
from the Georgia delegation
placed third after Canada
and California.
A crowd of 16,000 spec
tators was present to view
the competition with 3,087
participants including ath
letes from all over the
U.S.A., Canada, France,
Brazil, Philippines and San
Salvador. The Georgia dele
gation was made up of 78
participants and 30 staff
members.
Celebrities at the Olympics
included the president and
founder of Special Olympics,
Eunice Kennedy Shriver,
William G. Milliken, Govern
or of Michigan, Rafer
Johnson, former U.S. Olym
pic gold medal winner and
T.V. star Sally Struthers.
“We at the Butts County
Day Care and Training
Center all wished “Cat”
well,” said Juan Lopez,
Training Instructor, “We
never expected him to do so
well. We’re, to say the least,
extremely proud of him.”
player draft will take place
Sept. 8-9. League directors,
coaches, and officials have
been selected.
All participants are re
minded to sign up during the
designated times. No one
may register after the player
draft. Anyone needing ad
ditional information may call
the Recreation Department
at 775-2404.
Gingrich Is
Unannounced
Candidate
Newt Gingrich, West Geor
gia College professor, stated
in Griffin last week he was
not an announced candidate
for Congress but he intended
to run next year.
Gingrich, a Republican,
opposed Democrat Jack
Flynt of Griffin for the Sixth
District post in 1974. Flynt
was re-elected.
Gingrich said he was
running now as much as he is
allowed to under FCC and
other Federal regulations.
But he said he was not an
announced candidate.
Jackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, August 28, 1975
Tax Suit Filed Against County
Assessors and Butts Officials
A civil action suit has been
filed in Butts Superior Court
by plaintiffs E. D. Briscoe,
Lovett Fletcher, Jewellene
Polk, Joe Brown and Howard
Greer as officers of Tax
payers Protective Associa
tion against Butts County,
Georgia: S. A. Washington,
Byron Britt and Roy Staples,
in their capacity as members
of the Butts County Board
of Tax Assessors; Mrs. Mary
Will Hearn, in her official
capacity as Tax Commission
er of Butts County; and
Barney L. Wilder, in his
official capacity as Sheriff of
Butts County; Nick Chivilis
as State Revenue Commis
sioner of the State of
Georgia, Defendants.
The petition alleges there
is an actual controversy
between plaintiffs and de
fendants as to the tax
liability of plaintiffs in Butts
County, and to the State of
Georgia as hereinafter set
out and plaintiffs cannot act
in the premises without
danger of loss and damage
without the benefit of a
declaratory judgement in the
premises.
The petition further alleges
that petitioners have no
complete and adequate
remedy at law, will be
Patty O’Neal
Wins First
In State
The 33rd annual 4-H State
Congress was held last week
at the Marriott Motor Hotel
in Atlanta. This event was
attended by 4-H district
projects winners from all
parts of the state.
Asa result of the week’s
competition, Patty O’Neal of
Jackson was declared a state
winner in the Housing and
Equipment project.
Patty is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. James T.
O’Neal. She has received
many honors in her 4-H work.
Her most outstanding
achievements include Dis
trict Junior Leadership and
Exchange Club Leadership
Awards. She was also
Jackson High School’s salu
tatorian for 1975.
In Patty’s eight years of
4-H, she has carried several
projects including Public
Speaking, Home Furnishings
and Art, and Leadership.
When asked her feelings
regarding the recent trip to
State Congress, Patty said,
“Of course, I’m very excited
about winning first place in
my project. There are many
people who have helped me
with my demonstration, and
I’m deeply grateful to all of
them.”
For Patty’s tremendous
success in her demonstration
on fluorescent lighting, she
will attend the National 4-H
Congress held in Chicago this
fall.
Also participating in state
wide competition were Ricky
Long and Lee Duffey. Ricky
is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Alton P. Long.
This was Ricky’s first
opportunity to participate in
State Congress, therefore,
placing third in the Public
Speaking project was a grqat
honor.
Ricky’s speech, which was
entitled “The Sound of
America” highlighted patrio
tism among this country’s
youth.
In his sixth year of 4-H Club
work, Ricky commented
about third place, “Even
though my goal was to place
(continued on page 2)
subjected to irreparable
damage and multiplicity of
actions will be avoided by
this court’s taking jurisdic
tion of this equitable proceed
ing and action.
The suit states the petition
ers are willing to and will pay
when they become due such
amounts of taxes as they are
legally and justly liable for
on the 1975 Butts County ad
valorem tax digest, as
determined by applying the
appropriate millage rate to
the values as returned by the
petitioners on their property,
as the same may be legally
adjusted and equalized by
taxing authorities.
The petition further alleges
that the assessed values of
petitioners show their prop
erty as returned by them has
been arbitrarily changed and
increased by said assessors
as a result of an illegal and
nonuniform scheme, plan
and practice to increase tax
assessments in Butts County.
The changes made upon
the plaintiffs’ returns have
not been proportionate nor
equal to the changes made
upon the returns of other
owners of property of the
same class in Butts County,
and in the State of Georgia,
and such changes have
Westbury Asks Southern For Warning
Lights At Crossing Where Three Died
Three fatalities in two
separate accidents since
May 2nd have prompted S. J.
Westbury, administrator of
the Westbury Medical Care
Home, Inc., Jenkinsburg, to
write the president of
Southern Railway System
requesting warning lights be
installed at this dangerous
crossing which leads directly
from the nursing home to
State Highway 42 about two
tenths of a mile distant.
The latest deaths occurred
Tuesday, August 19th, when
Roy Wise, 78, and his wife,
Mrs. Jessie Lee Wise, 70,
were killed when their car
was struck by a southbound
freight train. The Hampton
couple had been visiting Mrs.
Wise’s mother, Mrs. Haidee
Stewart, at the nursing home
and were enroute home when
the tragedy occurred. Mr.
and Mrs. Wise would have
celebrated 55 years of
marriage on August 29th.
On May 2nd Mrs. W. H.
Crowell of McDonough was
killed when the car in which
she was alone was struck by
a train at the same crossing.
By some strange coincidence
all three victims were from
Griffin-Spalding County To
Make Bid for Solar Institute
Griffin and Spalding
County officials are making a
solid bid to have a Spalding
County site approved for the
proposed Solar Energy Re
search Institute.
The committee was ap
pointed last week to work on
this project which includes
Griffin City Manager Roy
Inman, County Administra
tor Lewis Leonard, and Bill
Snowden, a Georgia Tech
graduate student who is
studying city planning and is
employed by the county
during the summer.
The committee will com
caused an unequal, nonuni
form, inequitable, illegal and
unconstitutional shifting of
the burden of taxation to
plaintiffs, contrary to Article
VII, Section I, Par. 111, of the
Constitution of Georgia of
1945.
The same standards of
valuation have not been used
in assessing plaintiffs’ prop
erty of the same class, and
property of others owning the
same class of property, in
Butts County and in Georgia,
in that the assessed values of
real property have been
arbitrarily established and
raised by defendant assess
ors by methods ill designed
and implemented to establish
fair market value with
results bearing little relation
ship to fair market value;
and values of personal
tangible property have been
established and raised by a
different and unequal
method. All of said kinds of
property are of the same
class under the Constitution
and Laws of Georgia.
The property of plaintiffs’,
real and personal, has been
treated in an unequal,
different, and discriminatory
manner when compared to
the manner and method
applied by taxing authorities
Henry County.
Several years ago Mr.
Westbury’s son, James West
bury, was attempting to
cross when his car was
struck and cut into by a train.
Fortunately. Mr. Westbury
was not seriously injured.
Concerned at the latest
deaths, Mr. W'estbury wrote
the following letter to the
president of Southern Rail
way System;
“Dear Sir:
“We have a 200 bed nursing
home near one of vour
railroad crossings at Jen
kinsburg, Georgia. There is
no warning light at this
crossing.
“Three people have lost
their lives at this crossing in
the past four months.
“According to Mr. Byrd
Garland, it is the responsi
bility of the railroad to install
warning lights.
“How many more people
must be killed before
something is done to correct
this situation?”
Your very truly,
S. J. Westbury
Administrator
pile recommendations about
the community made during
last week’s meeting and
submit an application before
September Ist.
Some 35 persons attended
the meeting, including repre
sentatives from the Chamber
of Commerce, Real Estate
Board, Mclntosh Trail Area
Planning and Development
Commission, Griffin Tech,
Griffin-Spalding County-
School System, Griffin Engi
neering, Kenneth Presley
Associates, and the Georgia
Experiment Station.
The main problem con
56.18 Per Year In Advance
to property of the same class
owned by those persons and
corporations who make their
returns to the Revenue
Commissioner of the State of
Georgia.
Defendant assessors have
discriminated against own
ers of real property by
applying “comparable
sales” data to generally
similar property without
regard to the availability of a
market for such generally
similar property; and have
applied assessment methods
to land which unduly empha
sizes speculative value and
potential use of land and does
not give due consideration to
actual present use.
Defendants have based
assessments on records of
transaction without verifying
the transactions with a party
to the transaction.
Defendant assessors have
discriminated against own
ers of real property by the
use of comparable sales data
studies made by the Georgia
Department of Audits of real
estate sales without using
comparable sales data from
sales of personal property,
and an insufficient and
unrepresentative number of
samples has been used.
Plaintiffs further show that
The above letter was dated
August 20, 1975 and copies
were mailed to the Butts
County Commissioners. Byrd
Garland, County Attorney,
and the Jackson Progress-
Argus.
In response to an earlier
letter from Mr. Westbury.
County Attorney Garland
responded thus in a letter
dated May 13. 1975, shortly
after the first fatality.
“Dear Mr. Westbury:
“In response to your
request of May 9. 1975, I, as
County Attorney, was asked
to research the problem and
advise you and the county
commissioners as to what
steps should be taken to place
a warning light at the above
mentioned railroad crossing.
“I find the Georgia Law
places the responsibility of
placing and maintaining
these warning lights upon the
different railroad companies
that use the tracks. In the
case of the above mentioned
railroad, this would be
Southern Railway Company.
I also find some authority
that the Georgia Public
Service Commission is res
ponsible for telling the
cerning the application ap
pears to be finding suitable
sites and ways to finance
them in Spalding County is
chosen. From 100 to 1,000
acres would be needed.
Many states are competing
for the $75-million facility
which would have an area
operating budget of $25-
million.
Some of the best known
scientists in solar engineer
ing and related fields and
other highly educated and
talented persons would work
at the institute.
Each state will "hoo<* its
the following statute require
the “fair market value”
Standard to be the measure
of value to be returned by
each taxpayer in Georgia on
their property tax returns;
and that said statute requires
the defendant assessors to
assess , said property at 40
percent of “Fair market
value”, to wit:
Georgia Laws 1909, p. 72
(Ga. Code Ann. 92-5701)
..“All property shall be
returned for taxation at its
fair market value.”
Georgia Laws 1909, p. 75:
Georgia Laws 1968. P. 358;
“The intent and purpose of
the tax laws of this state are
to have all property and
subjects of taxation returned
at the value which would be
realized therefrom by cash
sale, as such property and
subjects are usually sold, but
not by forced sale thereof,
and the words “Fair market
value”, when used in the tax
laws, shall be held and
deemed to mean what the
property and subjects would
bring at cash sale when sold
in the manner in which such
property and subjects are
usually sold.”
railroads what type warning
sign should be placed at
particular crossings.
“In light of the fact that the
responsibility is solely on the
railroads. I feel that any
action on the part of the
county would be in violation
of the trust placed in the
commissioners by the public
to spend their tax money
wisely. This is especially true
since I have been advised
that a warning light for this
particular crossing would
cost in excess of $25,000.00
“I personally feel that
warning lights should be
installed at every crossing in
Georgia, however. I realize
this is not economically
feasible for the railroad. I
would suggest that you, in
conjunction with the Mayor
of Jenkinsburg and the
county commissioners make
every effort to bring what
ever forces you can muster
upon the southern railway in
an attempt to deleviate this
problem. Thanking you on
behalf of the county for your
concern as a citizen and a
taxpayer, I am.
Yours very truly,
Byrd Garland”
best site and submit one
application.
Final selection will be
made by the U. S. Energy
Research and Development
Administration in late Octo
ber.
According to criteria set by
a site selection committee for
the state, Griffin meets every
requirement.
Several sites throughout
Spalding County with large
acreage were discovered.
Some were not suitable as
sewerage could not be
provided.
It was also brought out that
other communities in the
area also are submitting
applications.
Henry County will show
three 1,000-acre tracts.
Peachtree City and Fayette
County and Clayton County
also are applying.