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ifarksott Prngr^ss-Argus
Volume 103 Number 48
Thanksgiving To Be Observed
Locally In Various Ways
Thanksgiving, a holiday as
American as turkey and
dressing, will be observed in
many ways by Butts Coun
tians this week but a spirit of
gratefulness is expected to
pervade most of the celebra
tions.
The holiday will begin on a
religious note on Thanks
giving Eve when the Butts
County Ministerial Associa
tion will hold the annual
Union Thanksgiving Service.
Hosting the service this year
will be the First Baptist
Church of Jackson at 7:30
p.m. on Wednesday, Novem
ber 24th.
Football will play an
important role in Thanks
giving Day festivities, as
usual, both the TV viewers
and those who will journey to
Atlanta to watch the annual
Tech-Georgia freshmen
game, played this year as
always to benefit the Scottish
Rite Hospital for Crippled
Children.
In Athens on Saturday the
varsities of the two schools
will have a go at it, with
Georgia’s Bulldogs, 9-1 on the
season, going bowling in the
Sugar Bowl on New Year’s
Day against No. 1 ranked
Pittsburgh. Coach Pepper
Rodgers’ Yellow Jackets
have not had that great a
year, being 4-5-1 on the
season, but a victory over the
Bulldogs would make the
long season seem shorter.
Commerce and business
will come to a halt here on
Thursday, with the great
majority of all local firms to
be closed. The Christmas
shopping season will begin
officially on Friday, Novem
ber 26th, with local and other
stores featuring mammoth
sales.
The holiday will afford
many an opportunity to visit
relatives and friends or to
entertain company in homes
where tables are laden with
the bounty of the season.
Turkey with all the trim
mings will reign supreme
with diets forgotten and belts
loosened around every
groaning board.
Hunters will take to the
fields, with the local quail,
rabbit and deer population
expected to suffer rapid
depletion over the holidays.
Christmas lights will be
turned on in the Jackson
downtown area on Thanks
giving night, adding to the
festive spirit of the occasion
and signalling the rapid
approach of the Christmas
season.
Traffic throughout the
County, as well as the State,
will reach a feverish pace on
Thanksgiving Eve and the
Sunday following, and the
State Patrol has issued dire
ADDRESS
SANTA LETTERS '
t°
PROGRESS-ARGUS *td
Following a tradition of long standing,
the Progress-Argus will once again
publish letters to Santa Claus from
Butts County children.
Letters should be addressed to Santa
Claus, C-0 The Jackson Progress-
Argus, and either mailed or hand
delivered to the office.
Please keep letters as brief as
possible in order to conserve space.
Every effort will be made to sed that all
letters which are received will be
published.
UNION THANKSGIVING SERVICE
November 24,1976
First Baptist Church
7:30 P.M.
Prelude Organist-Mrs. Polly Garr
Pianist-Mrs. Kathy Marsh
Song Leader-Mr. Joe Bordan
Welcome R ev . Don Folsom
Hymn No. 229 “We Gather Together”
Invocation Rev. David Beville
Solo Mr. Charles Kinney
Responsive Reading No. 626 Rev. William Brown, Jr.
Hymn No. 231 “Count Your Blessings”
Offering Rev. Phil DeMore
Thanksgiving Prayer Rev. Waldrep Jenkins
Anthem First Baptist Church Choir
Scripture Lesson Hebrews 13:15 Rev. Lanny Smith
Sermon SACRIFICE OF PRAISE Rev. Walter C. James
Hymn No. 233 “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”
Benediction Rev. E. Ray Savage
Local United
Appeal Drive
Is Extended
Drive chairman Tom Webb
announced today that the
Butts County United Appeal
drive for this year has been
extended fifteen days with
the new ending date being
November 30.
“A United Appeal volun
teer should have contacted
every Butts Countian by
November 30,” he said, “but
if by chance we miss
someone, they can mail
contributions to Butts County
United Appeal, P. 0. Box 233,
Jackson, GA. 30233.”
Mr. Webb also reported
that the board of trustees met
Monday, November 15, and
approved the 1977 budget
which included these organi
zations:
Butts County Ministerial
Assn, (for transient aid),
Butts County Assn, for
Retarded Citizens, American
Red Cross, Boy Scouts of
America, Girl Scouts of
America, U. S. 0., GA Mental
Health Assn., Y.M.C.A., and
Community Emergency
Fund.
“With about two weeks to
go before the drive ends,” he
added “we have contribu
tions and pledges totaling a
little more than $7,000. We
hope that between now and
November 30, we can meet
the $15,000 goal.”
predictions of a multiplicity
of traffic deaths.
Locally, the Jackson police
and the Butts County
Sheriff’s Department are
bracing for the extremely
heavy highway traffic and
will exert every vigilance to
help keep the traffic toll
down.
.
| j Min tw^ l
AN URGENT APPEAL United Appeal drive
chairman Toni Webb reminds us that fair share giving will
make the thermometer reach the top. With almost two
weeks to go till the drive ends approximately $7,000 has
been collected.
FISHING PROSPECTS
ARE MIXED LOCALLY
Ben Gunn, the fishing
forecaster for the Georgia
Department of Natural Re
sources, reports that fishing
prospects in Butts County
over the Thanksgiving holi
days will rate from slow to
SHALL SHARE . ■ . J JA
Let's be grateful now for small and tpl|
simple blessings that brighten daily |§|
L lives. The smell of coffee. The sound
of laughter. A cloudless autumn sky.
SF Fireplaces and favorite books. Mittens. *fjr
‘Jy Mufflers. Good warm socks. Crunchy It,
apples. Purring cats. Work to do and
Mf time to rest. Things to care about and ®||
share. Loved ones to share them with. j£f|
lIM /Jhantegiving
Jackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, November 25, 1976
Some Taxpayers Get Rebates;
76 Levy Set at 31.75 Mills
Some Butts County tax
payers who over-paid their
1975 County taxes may
receive an early visit from
Santa Claus in the form of a
tax rebate to be applied on
their 1976 taxes.
The action was taken
Friday by the Butts County
Commissioners in a called
meeting, during which the
1976 tax levy was set at 31.75
mills, or 8 mills higher than
the 23.75 mills levied in 1975.
With Friday’s announce
ment, the Commissioners
moved one step closer to
resolving the long-standing
dispute over the County’s
1975 tax digest.
A number of irate tax
good.
Gunn says Jackson Lake,
which will be rising and
clear, will be good for bass
using deep running plugs,
and also good for crappie. At
High Falls, where the water
will be normal and clear,
fishing will be slow for all
species.
payers formed the Butts
County Taxpayer’s Protec
tive Association to contest
the 1975 levies and, through a
series of court and arbitra
tion decisions, were granted
reductions in the 1975
assessments which were
applicable to all members.
These reductions amounted
to approximately 38.4 per
cent of the 1975 assessments.
Friday’s action by the
Commissioners provides
that, in accordance with the
law that requires all tax
payers to be treated uniform
and equal, individual tax
payers who did not share in
this reduction may file an
application for a refund on
Lovejoy Site
0( Political
Gathering
Georgians got a foretaste
of things to come Wednesday
when Senator Herman Tal
madge hosted a meeting at
his Lovejoy farm attended by
president-elect Jimmy Car
ter and the largest assem
blage of political figures in
the State’s history.
Senate Majority Leader
Mike Mansfield, of Montana,
was in attendance, as was
Rep. Thomas P. “Tip”
O'Neal, of Massachusetts,
vviw is slated to be the next
speaker of the U. S. House of
Representatives.
Other U. S. Senators
attending were Hubert Hum
phrey of Minnesota, Robert
Byrd of West Virginia,
Russell Long of Louisiana,
Alan Cransford of California,
Edmond Muskie of Maine,
Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin
and Flovd Haskell of Colora-
taxes paid in 1975. These
applications must be filed
within one year from the date
of 1975 taxes were paid and
will be acted upon on a case
by case basis.
Applications for refund
may be submitted at proces
sing desks located in the
Courthouse halls or they may
be mailed to the County
Commissioner’s office. The
desks will be open on
Tuesday, November 30, from
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on
Monday through Friday,
subject to change as condi
tions warrant. A copy of the
refund applications, which
may be mailed or brought to
the Commissioner’s office, is
SPECIAL
BULLETIN
Word was received
front Albany, Georgia
just before the Prog
ress-Argus went to
press that Butts County
had been declared the
state winner in the 1976
Beautification Through
Conservation Awards
Program.
Complete details of
the award will be
carried in next week’s
issue of the paper.
do.
U. S. Congressman in
attendance at the Lovejoy
meeting included A1 Ullman
of Oregon. George Mahon of
Texas. James Delaney of
New York, Brock Adams of
Washington. Jack Flvnt and
Andrew Young of Georgia.
$6.24 Per Year In Advance
reproduced elsewhere in this
issue.
The 1976 Butts County tax
digest, which has been
forwarded to the State
Revenue Department for
approval, shows a net total of
$44,868,107. This is broken
down into $38,188,232 for
individuals and $6,679,875 for
public utilities.
For 1975, the County’s tag
digest listed individual asses
sments at $43,153,652, and
utilities at $6,253,056. Not
shown on the 1975 digest,
however, was approximately
$7,000,000 in property owned
by TP A members on assess-
Curfew Ordinance Continues
To Create Controversy
By Dale Whiten
An ordinance which the
City of Jackson passed
around 15 years ago has
recently created consider
able interest both local and
statewide.
This ordinance is one
which places a 12:00
midnight curfew on the
downtown area, and it has
probably been criticized
most loudly and strongly by
younger people, mostly teen
agers. who seem to be
primarily affected by the
law.
However. Jackson Mayor
C. B. Brown contends that
the law was not originally
aimed at youth and that the
actions of them were not
entirely responsible for its
being passed.
'Back w hen this ordinance
was passed, not only youth
but older people would
congregate around the
square to drink beer and so
forth, and we felt that
w hatever a person wanted to
do could be done before
midnight." the Mayor said.
Brown disputed a claim by
a Georgia police officer who.
in a story in the Atlanta
CONSTITUTION, said that
such a law is not a deterrent
to crimes such as burglary.
"In a small town like
Jackson, this kind of law does
cut down on burglaries and
such because if an officer
continually sees the same
person ts) or car hanging
around the square, he can
inquire as to what that
person is doing. .And usually
in a town this small any
suspicious person will clear
out." Brown said.
He added that this type of
law probably would not be
effective in large towns like
Atlanta or Macon, situations
he said the police officer in
the CONSTITUTION story
was probably referring to.
Brown said that this type of
ordinance gives the city
control over situations before
they arise and "since those
who would probably be out
this time of night are now
using pot and pills, in
addition to beer, we feel this
law does aid in reducing the
potential for committing a
crime.”
On the question of the law's
constitutionality. Brown said
he was misquoted in the
25 'tW
ments that were under
contest, which would have
raised the digest to over $56
million.
Reflecting deflated land
values, the 1976 digest would
then show a reduction of
approximately $11,500,000 in
one year.
It is believed that the State
Revenue Department will act
swiftly on the 1976 County
digest and that tax notices
can be mailed out to Butts
County property owners
early in December for their
1976 taxes. Those qualifying
for the 1975 rebate will have
credit given at the time of
payment of their 1976 tax
'bills.
CONSTITUTION story. “I’m
not sure if the law is
constitutional, and we won’t
know until it's tested. A
person cannot say whether
any law is fully constitutional
until it’s tested,” Brown
stated.
However, in response to a
question about whether such
a law does not inherently
violate basic civil liberties,
Brown agreed that it may. an
example given being one in
which a person innocently
riding around town after
twelve midnight might in
deed be stopped for question
ing and that it would be up to
the discretion of the officer to
determine the immediate
action to be taken.
Brown pointed out that the
enforcement of the law has
resulted in few arrests
because usually those who
are downtown after midnight
will leave when asked to.
He also stated that this
ordinance is not to be
confused with another city
law which also imposes a
curfew in the event of a civil
disturbance or some major
development affecting the
public.
Break-in Is
Reported At
Jackson Elem.
A break-in at Jackson
Elementary School last
Thursday night was the
apparent work of vandals
according to the Jackson
Police Department.
Police reported that a
window was broken in the
school principal's office and
that the office had obviously
been entered but that nothing
was missing.
No arrests have been
made.
JOE. THE HOBO. SEZ:
W' -n
Have a Happy Thanks
giving and may your turkey
U- tatter than your pocket
book and sweeter than your
(cam's football victory.