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ilarksmt progress- Arnus Volume 104 No. 5 County Commissioners Pruje Payroll at Monday Meeting At a called meeting Friday morning, members of the Butts County Board of Commissioners took several actions affecting County employees and approved two 10-acre sites for the location of mobile homes. Nine members of the Butts County Road Maintenance staff resigned as of Friday, January 28th, their resigna tions were accepted and applications are now being aken for the vacant posi tions. The resignations came as a result of a dispute over working conditions. The Commission voted to terminate the C.E.T.A. posi tion at the Jackson Day Care Center as of January 31st and to have the position trans ferred to the road depart ment as soon as the necessary details could be cleared. The Commissioners voted Ambulance Service Begun At Hospital According to Sylvan Grove Hospital Administrator Jim Shaw, the Hospital Authority was expected to be officially licensed as ambulance ope rator for Butts County Tuesday afternoon when a state health department official was scheduled to come to Jackson to inspect the ambulance. Shaw said the delay in getting the license was due to having essential radio equip ment installed in the ambu lance and he added that detail has been taken care of. However, he emphasized that the new ambulance service is temporarily for emergencies only because of the fact that only one ambulance is in operation. Shaw said that until an additional ambulance is received this policy will remain in effect, and anyone needing ambulance service other than emergency should contact ambulance services in Griffin or other surround ing areas such as Henry or Jasper counties. The new ambulance will be manned 24 hours a day by two full-time emergency medical technicians (EMT). There are currently three full-time and seven part-time EMTS working with the ambulance service which may be reached at 775-4500. FIVE-YEAR OLD TWINS FIGHTING HEART DISEASE Governor George Busbee has the help of Marta Davenport (R) and her sister Megan in proclaiming Februarv as Heart Month in Georgia. Marta, who has had surgery to close a hole in her heart, is serving as the Georgia Heart Association’s 1977 HEART FUND Princess. The governor urged all Georgians to learn “how it feels to have a heart attack” and to support the work of the Heart Association in the fight against the number one Killer. to combine the function of the Planning and Zoning Board with that of the County Commissioner’s office and to retain Ellis Roberts as inspector. This action was to become effective January 31st. Two part-time jobs at the County land fill were terminated as of January 29th. The Commission heard a report from Hollis Griggs, director of the Jackson-Butts County Recreation Commis sion, that the basketball program has been canceled due to the fuel crisis and that his department would be in financial difficulty if partici pant and sponsors fees had to be returned. The Commis sion advised him to use this money for payroll purposes. Virgil Pace, co-director of the Jackson-Butts County Rescue Squad advised that United Appeal Group Names Officers, Directors for 1977 The Butts County United Appeal committee met on Monday, January 17, at Mclntosh State Bank for its annual meeting. The pri mary purpose of the meeting was for the election of officers and installation of new directors for 1977. Officers elected were Hugh Glidewell, Jr., president; Charlie Brown, Ist vice president; Harry Lewis, 2nd vice-president; Mrs. Ka thryn Haisten, 3rd vice president; Mrs. Rita Durrett, secretary; Kenny Smith, treasurer. Other directors for 1977 include Dick O’Hara, Mrs. Zella Mae Taylor, Jack Little, Luke Weaver, Edward H. Wise, James Lawson, Jr., Pete Malone, Rev. Ray E. Savage, Bob Betts, Rev. David Beville, Gigi Lever ette, Mrs. Carol Potter, Oscar Watkins, Mrs. Julie Collins, Buster Duke, Perry Ridgeway. As its first order of business the board voted to give special recognition to Miss Georgie Watkins and to Lou Moelchert for their dedicated service to the United Appeal in years past. The Butts County United Appeal is off to an aggressive start this year with many new faces on the board. It is their aim to get the momentum started now in order that they have a very successful fund drive in the Fall. Already the ground work is being laid for the different committees that J jfion, Georgia 30233, Thursday, February 3, 1977 the National Guard Armory, Indian Springs Academy gymnasium and the Hender son Junior High gymnasium would all be available as emergency shelters should the current fuel crisis worsen and natural gas supplies to homes be shut off. The Commissioners voted to approve the recommenda tion of the Butts County Board of Appeals that permanent permits be grant ed to two applicants who requested that 10-acre sites be zoned for mobile homes. The applicants were Mrs. Vikki Phillips on Reeves Road and Neal J. Wells on the Bucksnort Road. After discussing applica tion of the homestead exemption law to leased property, the Commissioners postponed action pending further study of the matter. they might make full use of all citizens in the county, not just the board members, in reaching and exceeding the fund drive goal. The monies collected by the United Appeal serve the county well. The money you give is in turn given back to Butts Countians in the form of donations to such organi zations as: American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, Butts County Association for Re tarded Citizens, Transient Aid Fund, YMCA. Georgia Association of Mental Health, USO, Community Emergency Fund. In the coming months in this newspaper the United Appeal has planned to run articles on the various organizations showing how these funds are raised, showing you where your money is going, and most of all showing the progress that is being made by these groups that receive the donations. The Butts County United Appeal is an all volunteer organization that depends on the people of Butts County to give generously in their behalf through door to door donations or by payroll deductions but they also depend on you during the fund drive to get out and help collect the contributions. If one of the directors should call on you in the coming months to serve as a voluntary worker, please Unemployment Continues To Drop in County The Georgia Department of Labor has reported that the unemployment rate in Butts County dropped to 8.4 in December following a trend which was set through out most of 1976. During November, the rate of unemployment in the county was 8.8 percent. All of the other counties in the Mclntosh Trail Area also showed a decrease in the rate of unemployment, except Spalding where the rate remained unchanged at 5.5 percent. In addition to Butts and Spalding, the Labor Depart ment reported the following rates for the remaining counties in the Trail Area: Fayette--6.8, Henry-8.1, Lamar-4.5, Newton-5.7, Pike-6.3, and Upson-3.6. Asa whole, the Mclntosh Trail Area had an unemploy ment rate of 5.9 for December. give your support and help. Let's all Make Butts County a better place in which to live, and also a place where we all can say ' Thanks to you ... It Works .. tor all of us ... The United Way. Farm Bureau Leads Fight For Mirex The Butts County Farm Bureau, joining forces with other chapters of the national organization throughout the State, has helped wage a winning battle in the fight to obtain additional supplies of Mirex to combat the fire ant menace. Under the leadership of President George N. Martin, Jr., the local Farm Bureau through letters and petitions have sought relief from the State’s Congressional delega tion, the Georgia Commis sioner of Agriculture and others in an effort to get supplies of the chemical into the County. President Martin said Monday the Farm Bureau has been advised that quantities of Mirex will be made available this summer for hand application by landowners and that it is anticipated sufficient quan tities will be available later for an aerial spray program. Distribution of the chem ical will probably be handled through the county agent’s office, but Martin said that definite word on the distribu tion pattern will be given Farm Bureau members as soon as it is received. MRS. PRUITT GETS ASSIST FROM ICE Johnny Smolka reports from Deer Trail that Mrs. Sara Pruitt recently banked a shot off a frozen lake onto the green on the seventh hole at Jackson s popular golf course. Johnny says that Mrs. Pruitt had never attempted to cross the 100-yard lake guarding the No. 7 green for fear of the water but, on her first attempt, drove the ball onto the frozen surface from which point it rolled onto the green. Mrs. Martha Daniel was her playing partner and witnessed the unusual shot. City Hopes For Best, Prepares For Worst In Gas Shortage The City of Jackson’s natural gas crisis has worsened slightly and on Friday Mayor C. B. Brown, Jr. delivered to all busi nesses, schools, churches and offices served by the City gas system a copy of a telegram received last Wed nesday from Southern Natu ral Gas Company, along with a letter from the Mayor requesting even more de cisive action. Suggesting the necessity of developing immediately emergency preparedness plans, the gas official said the “initial stage of such a contingency plan should include the curtailment of shopping centers, business establishments, and other community and public gathering places, including schools in order to preserve pressure in the system and reserve as much gas as possible for absolutely vital Priority (residential) use.” The telegram carried the additional grim warning that the second phase of the plan, “to be used only as a last resort, should anticipate the shutting dowrn the select portions of distributor, cus tomer’s systems as may be necessary to preserve ser vice to remaining portions of such system.” In his letter to businesses, schools, churches and offices served by the Jackson natural gas system. Mayor Brown pointed out that the emergency preparedness plan suggested by Southern Natural Gas has been complied with and that, if the emergency worsens, “you realize that we would not have any choice but to curtail you to no gas in this situation.” The Mayor also advised Light Snow Powders Area On Monday For the third time this season, Old Man W’inter dusted Butts County with a one-inch mantle of white early Monday morning as local residents awoke to a typical Grandma Moses snow scene. Temperatures hovered near the 25-degree mark and by midmorning most of the snow was gone from high ways and sidewalks, and pedestrian and vehicular traffic was not hazardous. The snow came on the heels of a cold snap that dropped temperatures to 10 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday. Weather forecasters predicted the snow wou’d arrive sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning, coming out of a low pressure system developing in the Gulf of Mexico and moving eastward across central and south Georgia. Acting in the capricious manner so characteristic of deep South snow falls, more snow was predicted for central and southern parts of the state than for the northern third. Although below seasonal temperatures were oredicted for the next few days, there were no hints of a return to the bone-chilling cold that has plagued the area so often this winter. Atlanta forecasters were talking of a possible return of the snow on Thursday. The natural gas situation that “we would like to ask you to make arrangements if possible to operate with other fuel besides natural gas or consider the possibility of no heat. Also, please be making preparations to operate on shorter opening hours if necessary.” The Jackson-Butts County Rescue Squad has already made arrangements to have emergency shelters provided should curtailment of gas to private homes, not consider ed likely at this time, actually occur. The full text of the letter from the Southern Natural Gas official and the text of the Mayor’s letter are reproduced below: January 26,1977 A telegram to: All Re-sale customers of Southern Na tural Gas Company Re: Curtailment Emerg ency: Emergency Prepared ness Plan Gentlemen: “As we have informed you on several occasions recent ly. there is a critical gas supply situation on our pipeline system resulting from the unprecedented cold weather in our service area. This company has been requested by the Federal Power Commission to advise all of its customers, the State Public Service Commission in the states we serve, and the officials of the Governors of such states of the necessity of immediately developing emergency preparedness plans. The initial stage of such a contingency plan should include the curtailment of shopping centers, business establishments, and other ** *-• ■ - . WINTER WONDERLAND—Butts Countians were greeted Monday morning with a one-to-two-ineh snowfall that fell in the wee hours of Monday morning, covering cars, roads, and woods with a soft mantle of white. Photo by Carole Lawrence. Three Directors Appointed To CGEMC Board Three new directors were appointed to the Central Georgia Electric Member ship Corporation Board of Directors at the regular remained critical, although improved enough to permit the opening of all public and private schools in the County on Tuesday morning, after a two-day holiday enforced by the extreme weather of Friday and Monday. community and public gathering places, including schools in order to preserve pressure in the system and reserve as much gas as possible for absolutely vital Priority 1 (residential) use. The second phase of the plan, to be used only as a last resort, should anticipate the shutting down the select portions of distributor, cus tomers’s systems as may be necessary to preserve ser vice to remaining portion of such system. It may become necessary to use such emergency preparedness plans to pre serve services or Southerns system in the event of an other extended period of extremely cold weather. In response to the commis sioners request, Southern urgently asks each of you to contact immediately your local Public Service Com mission and Governor, and by copy of this telegram urges your Governor and such Public Commission to take immediate action to develop emergency pre paredness plans whereby portions of your system may be shut down in order to preserve services to the remainder of your system in situations extended periods of extremely cold weather. In this connection, please note system area weather forecast predict severly cold temperatures commencing the latter part of this week. If Southern can provide you with any information, we will be happy to do so.” Yours very truly. Southern Natural William E. Mathews IV Yice-Pres. Operations monthly meeting held on January 26th to serve until the next annual membership meeting. John Charles Maddox, Route 3. Madison, a dairy farmer, was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the late C. F. Tomlin, represent ing Morgan and Putnam counties. The other two are appointed to fill vacancies as directors "at large." They include Joseph Davis, Route 1. Jenkinsburg, who is employed by the Butts County school system as an instructor, and Duvoil Mad dox. Route 2, Monticello, who is engaged in farming. 15c Per Copy January 28,1977 "TO ALL BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES AND OFFICES: Please read the attached from Southern Natural Gas Company. In view of this and the fact that we are an independent gas system we are still in a critical situation and according to expected weather conditions this will make our situation even more critical. We appreciate the coopera tion that we have received so far from most of you and we are not saying that this plan will be put into action at this time, however, we feel that we should advise you that it could go into effect at anytime. Of course, you realize we would not have any choice but to curtail you to no gas in this situation. We would like to ask you to make arrangements if pos sible to operate with other fuel besides natural gas or consider the possiblity of no heat. Also, please be making preparations to operate on shorter opening hours if necessary . Of course all cf this is dependent on the weather and our gas supply. We also are asking you to conserve gas as much as possible. Again w e are just trying to bring to your attention the seriousness of this matter and prepare you for what could happen to all of us. The only exceptions to the above will be Doctor’s Offices and Hospitals. Please listen to your local radio station as we will continue to advise you of our situation as in the past. Thanking you again for your cooperation in this matter, we remain.” city of Jackson Mayor and Council C B Brown. Jr. Mayor JOE. THE HOBO, SEZ: Tpsjp'ii f{ Is it better to be on a farm and dream of success, or achieve success and dream of a farm?