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J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908-1955
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
Published fevery Thursday at 129 South Mulberry Street, Jackson,
Georgia 30233 by The Progress-Argus Printing Cos., Inc. Second Class
Postage paid at Jackson, Georgia 30233.
Address notice of undeliverable copies and other correspondence
to The Jackson Progress-Argus, P.O. Box 249, Jackson, Georgia 30233.
SiL NEWSPAPER
Hutu ms’
NNA SUSTAINING
MEMBER-1975
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Editorials
Hail to the Victors , and
Hurrah for the Losers
The worst thing about politics
of the local variety is that, although
the concept of the best man, or
woman, winning is still paramount,
some mighty fine men, and women,
will also lose.
Considering the sacrifices they
have made, the dust they have
eaten and the mud they have
sloshed through, one is very likely
to become emotionally involved in
the candidacies of their favorites.
Oftentimes, such allegiance
leads to family tensions, to
arguments with friends that
become unfriendly, to intemperate
words or actions that are not
worthy of the candidate whose
cause is being espoused.
Let us all support our
candidates with vigor and enthusi
asm. But let us also be fair and
truthful in our allegations and not
seek to win support for our
favorites by demeaning the
character or motives of their
opponents. ~
The best support to be
Flushing Out the Cheaters
One of the most heartening
recent news notes came from the
Georgia Department of Human
Resources where it was reported
that welfare cheaters are volun
tarily dropping from the program,
rather than face prosecution.
In DeKalb County, for every
one person convicted of welfare
fraud, 15 welfare recipients asked
that their welfare status be
voluntarily closed. After 17 were
convicted, 250 asked for voluntary
case closures.
Making deductions from such a
small sample may be subject to
error, but it would appear there are
two substantative questions grow
ing out of such an experience.
Are legitimate welfare recip
ients frightened into closing their
claims, after hearing of friends, or
neighbors, who have been convict
ed of fraud?
Or, is there an unrealistic, and
inexcusable, high ratio between the
legitimate welfare claimant and
the cheaters, who make fraudulent
Oh, For An Honest Man
One of the startling, and
frightening, developments of re
cent U.S. Senate hearings on the
tax reform bill, is that some 10or 12
senators introduced amendments
that would benefit only one
particular company.
Any Senator, or Congressman,
who would introduce an amend
ment to a tax bill before the U.S.
Congress that would benefit--not
the public-but just one company is
hardly worthy of a seat in what
used to be an august body and
ought to be returned forthwith to
TELEPHONE 775-3107
OFFICIAL ORGAN
BUTTS COUNTY AND
CITY OF JACKSON
rendered any candidate is not lip
service but at the polls. With nearly
5,800 registered and eligible to cast
votes in the August primary, any
vote total less than 70 percent, or
4,100, would show an amazing lack
of concern of the methods by which
our County is governed.
Choosing from a list of
qualified candidates is often
difficult. There are many, many
races in this primary in which the
people of Butts County cannot
possibly lose, as all of the
candidates are qualified to fill the
position sought.
Motivated only by the desire to
serve us, 29 candidates have
braved the stifling mid-summer
heat to seek our vote. Surely, in
return for their sacrifice and
devotion, our vote is very little to
offer in appreciation. And give it
we should, freely, gladly and
thankfully, in record numbers.
To those 29 who have chosen to
serve, we say, well done, with a
loud to those who will win and a
great hurrah to them all, everyone.
claims to get easy money?
Perhaps we choose the wrong
criteria for measuring progress in
our local, state and national
programs to aid the unfortunate. It
seems here the goal should be not
how many new welfare cases can
be added, but how many can be
subtracted, from the rolls each
year.
The mania for bigness, and the
free (?) money to be dispensed in
ever multiplying amounts, can
often dilute the goal which should
be one of assistance until
self-sufficiency can be attained,
and awarded then only upon
careful examination.
Americans want to care for the
aged, the infirm, the blind, the
lame, but they have no use for
cheaters and leeches who lie to
obtain public funds.
We are proud to see the
Department of Human Resources
move vigorously ahead in weeding
out, and prosecuting, those who
have filed fraudulent claims to
obtain welfare assistance.
his district or state and to his
people whose pocketbooks he was
trying to bilk.
Suffice it to say that some of
those who attempted this coup,
which failed by the way, will meet
just such a fate.
The American public, taxed to
the hilt now, is in no mood to
tolerate such shenanigans. Any
Congressman, or Senator, who is in
Washington representing just one
company, or one special interest
group, deserves the shame and
disgrace of a resounding defeat at
the polls.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1976
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
With the peak heat of
mid summer hopefully past,
one can begin to take the
longer look past the shorter
days as summer begins its
slow, almost imperceptible,
slide into autumn.
The black gums along the
backyard ditch have begun to
show spots of red amid their
velvety greenness and, al
though one of the last to leaf,
they are unfailingly one of
the first to announce a
change is on the way.
The heavy, torpid,
strength-sapping heat of
summer may linger or recur
occasionally but the calendar
is against its prolonging its
stay much longer.
Perhaps the first to notice
these subtle changes is the
farmer, or the city gardener,
who can sense that the wild,
explosive growth of late June
and mid-July has begun to
take on a slower, more
measured pace.
The rhythm of the seasons
has changed, and the
drummer now is playing to a
slower cadence.
Along the dirt roads, and
upon the hedge rows, the
sassafras is rapidly losing its
green, changing into its more
stylish autumnal red, the
sumac has long since made
the first announcement of a
seasonal change, and the
close observer can sense
thinning where the rabbits
hide at the road’s edge.
Taking a cue from the
ancients, many of the
moderns still look upon Dog
Days as the official measure
of mid-summer. The only
hitch is there has been no
general agreement for gene
rations as to just when Dog
Days begin and end.
The Days derive their’
name from the Dog Star,
Sirius, which for a period of
four-to-six weeks is supposed
to rise with the sun and bring
about the sultry, close
portion of summer.
Early tradition had Dog
Days stretching from the 6th
of July to the sth of
September. Many English
calendars now insist they
begin on July 3rd and end
on August 11th.
Many of the modern
American almanacs have
Dog Days beginning on the
26th of July and ending on the
sth of September.
But whatever the actual
dates of these hottest days,
one can usually feel the
nights begin to turn cooler by
mid-August. In the ancient
days of yore, before air
conditioning, a great deal of
the local populace consoled
themselves with the comfort
ing thought, justified or not,
that the beginning of Camp
Meeting signalled the end of
summer’s worst heat.
From the shrubbery’s
depths, the cricket sings his
night-long song and a million
night things join in the
chorus. Coming from the
ditch pond on the still nights
is the croaking medley of
frogs who seem to be
shouting hellos in their
gutteral voices. At mid-day
the cicadas have the stage to
themselves and they sing
beautiful peans of praise to
hot summer days and
languid summer nights.
But the symphony of the
seasons will soon end. The
threnody of chorus carries
with it the funeral tones of a
dying season.
To a close observer of
nature, watching the seasons
begin and end is much more
interesting than enjoying a
season during its peak days.
Soon, the crazy, hazy, lazy
days of summer will end. But
there will be another season
just as beautiful, just as full
of bright promises and
unfulfilled dreams. And what
a joy it will be to anxiously
await its appearance.
A Stroll Down
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
Jackson High Football
Coach Carl Peaster, return
ing to Jackson after several
years in Montezuma, has set
Monday, August Bth as the
first day of fall practice.
Picture on front page
shows Tommy Webb kite
skiing on Jackson Lake.
Riley Hay, a member of
Indian Springs Lodge 307,
F&AM, will be presented a
50-year pin at the Saturday
night meeting.
Frank Coffee was the top
angler last week in Jackson
Hardware Company’s fishing
contest, catching a 16 oz.
bream. L. A. Murray had a 12
oz. bream from High Falls.
Gov. Carl Sanders an
nounced a S2OO-a-year pay
raise for Georgia’s teachers,
effective September Ist,
bringing to $1,400 the pay
raises given teachers under
his administration.
The Polaroid camera,
given away Saturday night
by the Butts County Jaycees,
went to David Mask, holder
of the lucky ticket.
News of 20 Years Ago
Separate boating accidents
claimed two lives on Jackson
Lake during the weekend.
John B. Robbins, 33, Macon
attorney, was drowned Sat
urday at midnight in the
Jackson Lake Inn sector, and
Hiram Ellis, 23, of Covington,
was drowned Sunday after
noon near Waters Bridge.
Philco is giving a street
dance Tuesday, evening to
honor Ralph Carr for his 30
years of service as a Philco
dealer.
Jack Smith’s White Top
filling station, opening this
week on the Jaekson-Macon
short route, will offer regular
gas at 25'm cents and ethyl at
27'i; cents a gallon.
Mrs. C. B. Guest, Jr., of
Athens, was the honoree at a
watermelon party given by
Mrs. Mike Allen at her
summer home on Jackson
Lake, which was attended by
about 40 guests.
Dr. Roy Goff, of City
Pharmacy, announces the
installation of an automatic
telephone answering service,
the first of its kind in Butts
County.
News of 30 Years Ago
Betty Hammond. Bobby
Hammond and Charles
Samuel Sims won first prizes
at the 4-H District meeting in
Carrollton.
Dr. W. E. Barfield showed
his fellow Kiwanians the
technicolor film, “The Fight
ing Lady”, the story of an
aircraft carrier in the Pacific
theater.
Lieut. Lovett Fletcher,
after serving 42 months, has
received his discharge and is
now at home.
V. P. Mitcham has return
ed to his duty as Farm
Security Administration
supervisor after seeing 32
months of wartime service.
The Jackson plant of
Pomona Products Company
began canning pimiento
pepper this week.
Loy M. Bryant, of Macon,
has assumed charge of the
Rogers Store market.
Master Roy Thrasher
entertained a group of boys
and girls Saturday in
celebration of his sixth
birthday.
Deaths during the week:
Troy Cornelius McClure, 67;
Ben Head, 54.
News of 40 Years Ago
A delegation composed of
M O. McCord, E. H. Pace
and A. F. White was assured
by Gov. Eugene Talmadge
that Route 16 from the
Ocmulgee River to the
Spalding County line would
be paved this year.
Walter P. and B. F. Fuqua
are attending the Citizens
Military Training Camp at
Fort McPherson.
The Butts County court
house is undergoing exten
sive improvements to its
interior.
R. V. Smith, of Cork,
celebrated his 96th birthday
Thursday. He is the oldest
resident of the county,
having been born August 6,
1840.
Mrs. Chester Smith
(Elsma Morgan), Oscar
Weaver, Jr., and Milton
Colwell have been elected to
the Georgia Master 4-H Club.
Miss Mary Newton was
hostess at a delightful
meeting of the Gay Nineties
Bridge Club on Thursday,
Mrs. Julia Kitchens, of
Oklahoma City, was a special
guest.
Deaths during the week:
Miss Lilia Mae Proctor, 45;
Wilson J. Kelly, 59; Ben L.
Kitchens, 50.
News of 50 Years Ago
County Agent Henry G.
Wiley took 12 members of the
Boy’s Agricultural Club in
Butts County to Camp
Wilkins in Athens for a
summer camp. Making the
trip were Don Thompson,
Newton Etheridge, James
Spencer, Otis Weaver, James
Hamlin, Morris Faulkner,
Lawrence Pettigrew, Joe
Carter. Asbury Singley,
Oswell Ingram, Otho Morgan
and Warren McMichael.
Byron Livingston Jay, 45,
prominent realtor of Hender
sonville, N.C., met death
Wednesday afternoon when
the high powered automobile
he was driving ran off the
embankment of the Jackson-
Griffin highway near the
home of A. F. Taylor.
Miss Mary Downs, who
taught the past term in
Yatesville, has been elected
as teacher of the fourth grade
in Jackson, replacing Miss
Bessie Waldrop, recently
named postmaster. Prof. R.
I. Knox is superintendent and
Prof. T. J. Dempsey,
principal and athletic coach.
James Childs, of Jenkins
burg, had as his guests for
the weekend, Messrs. Frank
Taylor and Willie Knox, of
Mercer University.
Settle & Robison had new
Chevrolet touring roadsters
for $5lO and new one-half ton
trucks for $375.
Carmichel’s lieorgia
Grocers had Bamby bread
for 8 cents a loaf and boiling
meat at 16 cents a pound.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs Lucy Estelle Car
michael, 86; J. M. Bankston,
66
Only the
Newspaper m
Well-written accounts tell of
the dumping of 342 chests of
tax-bearing tea, in a 1773 edi
tion of the Boston Newsletter
—and nothing much since that
time has gone unnoticed as
newspapers continue to record
the history of our times.
ftaroußßi
By Mrs. Cindy Brown
RESPONSIBILITY
The Democratic Primary
is upon us. I think we need to
discuss something: our right
to vote.
The voter turn-out in latter
years has not been good-not
here, not in the state, and not
in the nation. I believe I know
why we Americans take
our rights „ for granted,
something we should never
do. The privilege to vote was
not won cheaply it cost
lives. In this day and age of
good transportation, good
roads, and good feet, most
people have little or no
excuse for failing to vote.
You know, there are a lot of
people who are begging and
crying for change. These
people should help make
,/ v'
THE SADDEST WORDS
John Greenleaf Whittier was an American author who
lived in the 19th century. He wrote much, and accomplished
much. Two of the most famous lines he penned were the
following:
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘lt might have been!”
Whittier was in touch with life. We can’t question that
because his words ring true. We know them. In fact, most of
us have experienced them. “The saddest are these: ‘lt might
have been! ” Those words could literally be applied to millions
of people and millions of occasions.
I’m thinking now of a father who had three fine sons and
a lovely wife. There was a time in life when it looked like life
was going to be good to him. But somewhere he missed a turn,
got started in the wrong direction, and quit being good to life.
He began to waste his life in pursuit of the almighty
dollar. And in the course he decided that a little booze
wouldn’t hurt anything.
Well, the boys are all grown now and gone from home.
The lovely wife held the family together through many trying
and heart-breaking years. Now she is making a life for herself
apart from him. The time and effort which could have gone to
his children were spent elsewhere and as a consequence his
sons grew up without a father.
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘lt might have been!”
Authur Gordon relates a story about a journal kept by a
schoolteacher in his home town. Her diary is full of critical
references to her husband Jonathan. It relates Jonathan’s
weaknesses, his inadequacies, his shortcomings.
Gordon tells how, when Jonathan died, that entries into
the journal ceased. Then, years later, there was one final
entry. It states that the lady was made superintendent of
schools, and such an accomplishment should make her
happy. But the final line goes on to say that if she knew
Jonathan was out there somewhere beyond the stars, and if
she could, she would go to him.
It was too late for that lady. She had her chance to love
Jonathan. But she didn’t find time to love him because all her
time was spent picking at what she considered his faults. It
could have been a happy marriage. It could have been. But it
wasn’t.
“But of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘lt might have been! ”
Life has numerous joys for us. They are there for us to
take hold of. But too often we ignor them, pass them by, in
pursuit of something akin to fools gold! Probably there are
things in your life which need your immediate attention. You
have had good intentions, but just have been putting off doing
what needs to be done.
I hope you will act on your good impulses now. The
longer you delay, the greater the possibility that they will
never be acted upon. For if you delay too long, the time will
come when you will hang your head and recall these sad, sad
words:
“But of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘lt might have been!’ ”
ruth at random
By Ruth Bryant
MY DOOR
My door will open wide
to let my friends come in,
And it will close with love
until they come again!
My door means every thing
that security can give,
It also means a chance
to let me out and live
In sunshine and fresh air
or in the wind and rain,
And when I’m tired, it calls
to weary steps, “Come in!”
change; they should vita.
During this, our Bicenten
nial Year, we should be more
aware than ever before what
it means to be an American.
That A in America was never
meant to stand for apathy,
but rather alliance, ambition
or answers.
I hope that we folks in
Butts County will participate
in the elections of ‘76. If the
weather is bad, then put on a
raincoat. If your car won’t
start, then call a friend.
Don’t make excuses, make
progress. Remember those
who died so that you could
make a trip to the polls, a trip
usually made at very little
inconvenience to most. The
word “me” is in America.
Put that “me” to good use;
vote.
‘Whatsoever
Things'
By Donald E. Wildmon