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Volume 102 Number 7
Grand Jury Calls For New Bookkeeping System
The Butts County Grand
Jury ended its February
term on Friday, February 6.
Among the usual recommen
dations which generally issue
forth from a grand jury is a
rather controversial recom
mendation calling for the
County Commissioners to
install an adequate book
keeping system throughout
the county offices.
The recommendation
came as the result of the last
audit of the county offices by
the firm of Walker, Meadors,
Garrett and Laney, a firm
employed for the first time to
audit Butts County books.
What developed from the
audit is contained in the
Grand Jury Presentments
below.
GRAND JURY
PRESENTMENTS
BUTTS COUNTY
SUPERIOR COURT
FEBRUARY TERM 1976
Malone New Mclntosh
State Bank Vice-pres.
William (Pete) Ken Ma
lone, Jr. has been named
the new executive vice-presi
dent of the Mclntosh State
Bank of Jackson.
Pete was born in Macon
and lived for 19 years in
nearby Monticello. He is a
graduate of Furman Univer
sity where he received a B.A.
Degree in Economics and
Business Education. He
served in the U.S. Army for
two and one-half years.
Pete’s professional ex
perience in the banking
Butts County Still
Plagued With Fires
Jackson fire fighters
answered five calls to seven
fires on Monday, February 9.
The first call came at 9:37
a m. A house belonging to
Troy Roberts of Baltimore,
Maryland and rented by Dot
Tyson was destroyed by fire.
The house was located on the
upper Flovilla lndian
Springs road. The Jackson
Fire Department assisted the
Flovilla Fire Department in
fighting the blaze.
Cause of the fire was said
to be faulty wiring. No
injuries were sustained from
the fire.
At 1:15 p.m. a grass fire
was reported off the south
bound lane of 1-75. When
Jackson firefighters arrived
at the scene a second fire was
spotted on the shoulder of the
north bound of 1-75. Both
fires were located within
two miles south of the
Georgia Highway 16 and 1-75
intersection.
Both fires burned through
the retaining fences off the
shoulders of 1-75. The Geor
gia Forestry Unit was called
to assist in fighting the fires.
At least one and one-half
acres were destroyed by
each fire.
On the same afternoon at
2:00 p.m., two more fires off
the east-bound lane of
Georgia Highway 16 were
reported. The fires, about
one quarter of a mile apart,
were located just west of the
cattle sales barn on Georgia
Highway 16.
One of the fires came
We, the Grand Jury sworn
and empanelled for the
February Term 1976, Butts
Superior Court, make the
following presentments in
open court.
In organizing, the Grand
Jury elected M. W. Car
michael, Foreman; JamesL.
Robertson, Clerk, Stanley
Maddox, Assistant Clerk and
Carter Moore, Bailiff.
We express our apprecia
tion to the Honorable Sam
Whitmire, District Attorney
Ed McGarity and Assistant
District Attorneys Hal Craig
and Kenneth Waldrep for
their assistance to this Grand
Jury and for the competent
manner in which the courts
are conducted.
The Grand Jury returned
twenty-five (25) True Bills
and two (2) No Bills.
We recommend and re
spectfully request that the
next Grand Jury read the
presentments of this Grand
business includes employ
ment at Memphis Bank and
Trust and the Hamilton First
American Bank in Memphis,
Tennessee. He has also
served as Director of the
American Institute of Bank
ing.
His community service
activities are many: Cam
paign Director for the March
of Dimes - Memphis Chapter,
Junior Achievement Advisor
and Captain in the U.S. Army
Reserve are but a few.
Pete is married to the
within inches of reaching the
house of Lewis O’Hearn
before fire fighters extin
guished the blazes, and
destroyed approximately one
and one-half acres of woods.
The second fire burned about
two acres before the Jack
son, Flovilla and Georgia
Forestry Units could contain
Local Industry Expands With
New Meat Processing Plant
Jackson and Butts County,
in spite of the devastating
national economic picture,
continues to grow in local
industry and business, the
latest addition being Jackson
Meat Processors.
Lewis and Porter Cawthon
have been in the cattle
business for a number of
years. For sometime they
have recognized the need in
this area for a meat
processing plant. As the
situation was, there was no
place for local cattle raisers
to get beef processed without
traveling a number of miles
to Covington, Porterdale or
Thomaston. Now, beef grow
ers as well as beef eaters of
this area have more than
adequate facilities available
for the processing.
The plant, opened for
business last Thursday, is ,
according to state inspectors,
the most modern meat
Jury as their first order of
business after the election of
officers and determine what
action has been taken.
In compliance with Code
Sections 59-318, 59-319 and
88-202, Georgia Code An
notated, we the Grand Jury
appoint Mr. James Clifford
Lawson to the Butts County
Board of Health to succeed
Mr. J. T. Beckham.
We, the Grand Jury,
appoint Rev. Grady Head,
Jr., to the Butts County
Board of Education for a full
term.
We, the Grand Jury,
appoint Mr. Lee Roy O’Neal
to the Governing Board of the
Upper Ocmulgee Economic
Opportunity Commission,
Inc. to fill the vacancy
created by the resignation of
Mr. William “Bill” Jones.
We recommend the ap
pointment of William H.
Roberts, Jr., Notary Public,
Ex-Officio, Justice of the
former Lucia Slack of
Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The
Malones have two children,
Bill - seven-years-old and
Susie - five-years-old.
Pete will fill the vacancy at
the bank created by the
resignation of Joe B. Taylor
who resigned the post on
January 11, 1976. Joe is now
employed by the Department
of Banking of the State of
Tennessee in Knoxville,
Tennessee.
Pete Malone will begin his
tenure with Mclntosh State
Bank on February 16, 1976.
the blazes.
At 4 p.m fire on Halls
Bridge Road was reported at
the home of Tommy Lee
Cook. The fire spread over a
ten acre area and burned
grass, a few trees and
bushes. No injuries were
reported. Burning trash
caused the fire.
Still another fire, a tree
fire, was reported at 8:16
p.m., at the residence of
Naome Stodghill on the
processing plant in the state.
Located at the intersection of
Stark Road and Sherrell
Drive, inside the Jackson
city limit, the plant will be
handling up to 25 head of
cattle per day at full
production. The processed
meat is qualified to be
retailed at any store in
Georgia. Carcasses will be
available for sale to stores.
In addition to serving local
cattle raisers and mer
chants, half and whole
carcasses will be available
for home freezers. Jackson
Meat Processors will also do
custom work for their
customers.
All animals arrive at the
processing plant alive where
a certified state health
inspector is on duty at all
times to grade and inspect
animals before and after
slaughter. According to own
er, Porter Cawthon, this is
Jackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, February 12, 1976
Peace, Georgia Militia Dis
trict 614.
We recommend the ap
pointment of John Howard
Moore, Notary Public, Ex-
Officio, Justice of Peace,
Georgia Militia District 612,
to fill the vacancy created by
the resignation of Mrs.
Martha S. Cook.
We recommend that the
sheriff pick up the J.P.
records in the old J.P. office
and store in a safe place. We
request that David Ridge
way, Clerk of Superior Court,
accompany the sheriff as
witness to this action. We
recommend that the District
Attorney, through his office,
take necessary legal action
to obtain all records, if any,
from the former J. P. and
resolve any discrepancies
that may exist.
We recommend that the
County Commissioners take
necessary measures to in
sure the proper maintenance
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NEW MCINTOSH STATE BANK V.P. Pete Malone,
new executive vice-president of Mclntosh State Bank is
greeted by Wayne Barnes, member of the bank’s board of
directors. Pete will begin his tenure at the bank February
16th. The Malones will soon be making their home in Butts
County.
Worthville Road. No injuries
were reported in the fire.
Since January 1, 1976, the
Jackson Fire Department
has answered 21 fire calls in
Butts County. This, obvious
ly, is an extraordinarily high
incidence of fire. Butts
Countians should take warn
ing from this and be
the only plant in middle
Georgia with a fulltime
inspector from the Georgia
Department of Agriculture
Inspector Division.
The plant features the most
modern chilling and aging
cooler of today in which
meat can be aged for any
length of time. Three coolers
are used in the processing:
the first cooler is used to cool
the carcases before they are
moved into the aging cooler.
This step is necessary
because fresh carcasses
average 70 -80 degrees after
slaughtering. Aging beef
must be aged at a tempera
ture of 34 degrees. Warm,
freshly slaughtered beef will
cause mold to grow on aging
beef if it is put into the aging
cooler before it is cooled.
A third freezer, a blast
freezer is used to store meat
and upkeep of the grounds
around the courthouse and
Health Department.
We recommend that the
County Commissioners take
whatever action needed to
recover an advance payment
made to Hancock Audit Firm
for an audit that was never
completed.
We commend the Mayor
and Council of Jackson for
the reinstatement of the
“Tip” Program in their
effort to combat the drug
traffic, and urge all citizens
to assist them in this
program.
We commend and support
Sheriff Barney Wilder in the
“Teen Deputy” program that
has been started within his
office, and request that the
citizens of Butts County help
promote and encourage the
Sheriff’s Department in this
effort.
We recommend that the
Butts County Hospital Au-
extremely careful during the
coming weeks. “The hard
freezes of early winter have
killed bushes and grass
making them very easy to
burn,” said Jackson Fire
Department Chief Cotton
Vaughn, “The Jackson Fire
Department again asks resi
dents of the county to be fire
concious.”
which is ready for home
freezers, cut to the custo
mers specifications and
wrapped. Boxes of beef cuts
will soon be available at the
plant.
In addition to beef process
ing, in a few weeks pork
processing will be in opera
tion at Jackson Meat
Processors. Within a month
or so, full pork processing
will be available at the plant.
Slaughter days at the plant
are each Tuesday and
Thursday; as business in
creases the number of days
for slaughtering will be
increased. Checking and
processing will be carried on
all during the week. So,
farmers of middle Georgia,
be advised, you now have a
new, modern and more
convenient outlet for your
beef and pork right here in
Butts County!
thority take whatever steps
necessary to make Sylvan
Grove Hospital more effi
cient and to better serve the
needs of the citizens of Butts
County. We urge the Autho
rity to place the present
facility in a proper state of
maintenance in order to be
made more presentable and
effective. We urge the
Authority to look into the
feasibility of obtaining an
office building for doctors
and to try to secure the
services of a surgeon, and
other doctors, for our
community.
We recommend that our
Representatives in the
General Assembly support
the passage of H. B. 286 and
Resolution 82.
By authority of Code
Section 59-315, and other
statutes, the Grand Jury
inspected some of the county
records with reference to the
various offices. We have
Butts Tax Question
Far From Settled
The property tax question
which has plagued Butts
County since property values
in the county were re-assess
ed last Spring, is, it seems, a
long way from being settled.
Two different interpretations
of a ruling from the Georgia
Supreme Court, which came
on January 27. have been
drawn.
According to the Attorney
for Butts County, the basic
ruling of the Supreme Court
is, “ . . . that the tax should
have been dismissed by the
lower court and the natural
effect of this ruling will be to
dissolve the Butts County
Superior Court’s prior ruling
on this matter.”
BEEF PROCESSING Workers at Jackson Meat Processors are shown above In the
slaughter room of the new Jackson establishment. At full productioathe new beef outlet can
handle as many as 25 head of cattle each day. Photo by Jerry McLaufin.
$6.18 Per Year In Advance
inspected the audits made by
the firm of Walker, Meadors,
Garrett and Laney, Certified
Public Accountants of
Macon, Georgia, of the
county records and found
that the bookkeeping system
of the various county offices
to be very inadequate to
properly account for public
funds. In support of our
findings, we attach hereto
and make a part of these
presentments, cover letters
of the General Fund of Butts
County dated December 29,
1975. and cover letters of the
Butts County Tax Commis
sioner’s Office dated Feb
ruary 2, 1976, accompanying
the audit made by the above
mentioned firm to various
offices of the county; said
letters being marked Exhibit
A-l, A-2 and Exhibit B. We
recommend that these exhi
bits be published in detail,
along with the presentments.
We commend the Board of
The County Attorney went
on to say that taxes would be
collected in Butts County
based on the 1975 tax digest
with a grace period for the
plaintiffs in the tax case who
missed the deadline for
paving their taxes.
While on the other hand,
the Butts County Taxpayers
Protective Association main
tains that, "Judge Sosebee’s
ruling, that based on the
complaint, the 1975 tax digest
is not legal has not been
reversed." They maintain
that the Supreme Court only
ruled that the complaint
must go through the Board of
Equalization before Judge
Sosebee can consider it. The
County Commissioners for
taking the necessary steps to
acquire this audit of the
public offices of the county,
and making same available
to this Grand Jury, and any
other interested public citi
zen.
Based on our findings, we
strongly urge and recom
mend that the County
Commissioners install an
adequate bookkeeping sys
tem approved and installed
by the afore-mentioned ac
counting firm throughout the
county offices to protect the
citizens, taxpayers, and
county officials. Due to the
fact that most money comes
in the county through the Tax
Commissioners Office, we
recommend that the book
keeping system in this office
be set up retroactive to
January 1, 1976. We further
(Continued on Page 4)
complaint is now in the
Superior Court on appeal
from the Board of Equaliza
tion.
Members of the TPA have
been advised by their
attorney that the 1975 tax
digest is not uniform, equal
or legal and they plan to
continue to seek relief and to
resist the payment of the
taxes until they are satisfied
that a digest has been
determined to be legal and
proper after a full trial.
A motion for a rehearing in
the Georgia Supreme Court
of the Butts County Tax Case
was filed by the TPA on
February 6, 1976.