Newspaper Page Text
Jackson
J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908 1955)
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
OFFICIAL ORGAN BUTTS COUNTY AND CITY OF JACKSON
Published every 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.
One Year, in Georgia $6.24
Six .Months, in Georgia $3.91
Editorials
Does Butts County Need A
Humane Shelter for Its Pets ?
One of the great tragedies of
this grim winter, although scarcely
as noticeable as the monthly utility
bill, has been the suffering endured
by the County’s wayward animal
population.
Reports have been received of
dogs, left out of doors without
shelter, whimpering piteously
through the stormy nights as sleet
and snow pelted them unmerciful
ly-
Those who have and love pets
and treat them with affection find it
hard to believe that any person who
claimed to own animals could treat
them so inhumanly.
The winter has dealt even more
harshly with those stray cats and
dogs, whose population must
number into the hundreds, who
depend upon their hunting instinct
and an occasional handout from a
pet sympathizer for survival.
Isn’t there a more humane way
to deal with the situation? Of
course there is. It will require some
leadership, some effort in obtain
ing cost figures, operating proce
dures and organizational struc
tures required for the County, or
the City and County jointly, to
operate a facility that will cope
with this problem.
The organization of a Butts
County Humane Society would
Violence on Television Has
About Run Its Course
There are hopeful signs that
the nauseating violence and
explicit sex scenes that have
proliferated the TV shows of late
are on the way out.
In a desire for realism, the
producers have only insulted the
intelligence of the viewers. Most of
those watching are aware that a
gun fired at close range is a deadly
weapon. They have enough
imagination to approximate the
damage done to the body by a
bullet tearing through it, without
spilling the gore on the ground and
showing the body particles glued to
a wall.
Cher’s navel might excite the
likes of a 12-year-old boy, who
would be amazed upon examina
tion to find that it remarkably
compared with his own. The
smutty jokes and off-color humor
that appear after 9 when the
kiddies are supposed to be tucked
into bed are more in keeping with
the dimly-lit atmosphere of a
Culture Can Be Fun
There is genuine joy in the
announcement that the Jackson
Theatre Guild is going, to bring
another opera to Jackson.
Those who were fortunate
enough to see “The Elixir of Ixive''
Advance Subscription Rates, Tax Included:
TELEPHONE 775-3107
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
Msocnmow B im*
'mmi'CT NNA SUSTAINING
■” B MEMBER-1977
One Year. Out of-State ~.57.28
Six Months. Out-of-State $4.16
seem properly to be the first step.
The belief is that pet lovers of the
County would support such an
organization generously and en
thusiastically.
Under one of the many
make-work programs of the
federal government, funds to cover
staffing costs could probably be
obtained. Several of the high school
organizations might be able, and
willing, to provide temporary,
part-time help on a regular basis.
For a County this size, the
physical facilty required would not
have to be elaborate, or costly. For
most of the year, sufficient pens
and out-of-doors exercise areas
would suffice. Perhaps an existing
building could be utilized, or
timbers rescued from one to
re-build the required structure.
Happily enclosed in such a
compound, the animals could be
fed, housed and protected from the
storms of nature or the cruelties of
man. From there, with the proper
alteration to prevent a perpetua
tion of their species, they could be
released to gladden the heart of a
child whose parents, out of
gratitude, might feel constrained to
support such a worthwhile under-,
taking.
If there is a local civic club in
search of a meaningful project, we
can’t think of a better one.
neighborhood bistro than a family
living room.
Evidently distraught by the
number of complaints, some of the
larger domestic companies and
TV-commercial buyers, such as
Kraft, General Foods, General
Mills and others, have allegedly
told the television producers to
clean up the shows they sponsor,
or else.
You can’t expect a “Sound of
Music” or a Walt Disney
masterpiece on the boob tube every
night but a steady diet of today’s
TV menu from age five to fifteen
may leave a child thinking that the
only worthwhile objectives in life
are those that are not so
worthwhile.
Where essential to the story, or
the character being portrayed,
violence and sex can be tastefully
used by insinuation and innuendo.
If junior missed the meaning, then
he was too young to have it
explained anyway.
performed by The Augusta Opera
Company last year will be
delighted to know that the same
company will bring “The Italian
Girl in Algiers”, a comic opera, on
Saturday, March 12th.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
That lazy jet stream that
dropped its guard and let all
of that arctic air pour into the
Southeast has made life
miserable not only for man
but for his furred and
feathered friends as well.
From late fall until
Spring’s promised warmth
has returned, we try to keep
food and water available for
those whose birdsong is
reward enough for the effort.
It is surprising, and
comforting, to find that on
the most bitterly cold
morning, when the thermom
eter seems stuck on zero,
that there is a faint chirp of a
greeting from the feeding
area.
Without a doubt, the
changing weather pattern
has resulted in an updating of
migratory routes, as some of
the more common visitors of
the past few years have
by-passed us altogether this
year.
The evening grosbeak, for
instance, that annual visitor
from the northern climes
that usually visits in flocks of
20 or more for a few weeks
each winter, has sent only
two of its members for a brief
two-day stop over. A colorful
yellow, black and white
feathered bird with an ivory
beak, the grosbeak is a very
aggressive feeder, and other
birds do not challenge them
for feeding rights.
A flock of robins dis
covered the burfordi holly
berries and made short shift
of them, despite the fact
there must have been a
million. Helping out, and
finishing the clean-up job,
was a flock of cedar
waxwings that can clean a
holly tree of berries with the
thoroughness of a vacuum
cleaner.
The purple finch were late
discovering the feeders this
year, but now have estab
lished first rights. The
female is closely kin to the
sparrow in appearance,
while the male is very
colorful and has the appear
ance, of a sparrow with
cranberry juice having been
spilled on his head and
breast.
Avoiding the backyard
feeding lines, the slate
colored junco prefers the
front lawn, where he is
appreciated just as much.
The junco travels in flocks of
20 or more and is slate
colored to mid-breast, and
white underneath, the line of
color demarcation being as
clear as if made with a
scalpel.
The tufted titmouse is a
year-round visitor and gets
his share of bread crumbs all
year long, even when the
feeders are empty during the
warmer months. He is a cute
little gray bird, with a
constantly darting, nervous
flight pattern and an appetite
for sunflower seeds that is
not surpassed in- the bird
kingdom.
The real darling of the
small birds is the black
capped chickadee, with his
black head and throat that
gives the appearance of a
man dressed in his black tie
for a formal affair.
Almost constant visitors
are the red bird, blue jay,
joree, blackbird, wood
pecker and sparrow of all
types, song, swamp and
house, or English sparrow.
A jealous mockingbird has
established a 50-square foot
kingdom across the bridge in
the back yard and challenges
anything that flies within his
province. The wonder is he
doesn’t starve to death trying
to keep his territory invio
late.
Occasionally the pileated
woodpecker, that crow-sized
woodpecker with the long,
gray body and the distinctive
red head and the overall
appearance of a water bird,
will rest in one of the pines or
pecans and excite all the
neighborhood and amateur
Dress will be informal and there
will probably be a few sweaters in
the crowd, ala President Carter.
But the main thing is to make
WAW.W.O.O M OfM.i.OTtriIOXOrOIiXOroXOIMIO.O.i.V.W.V.VAV V*.
i .erCk
...^sxas-S
\o|rTl
iraSMBpBB
A Stroll Down
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
The Butts County Jaycees
at their “Superlative Night”
recognized Leon Cook as
STAR student; Mrs. Roy
Prosser, STAR teacher; Rev.
Don Harp, Young Man of the
Year; Leon Smith, Outstand
ing Farmer, and Don
Montgomery, Jaycee of the
Year.
Willie Avery Cook has
scored the first hole-in-one at
Deer Trail Golf Club and on
the number three, 156-yard
hole.
Rufus Adams has been
elected president of the
Abraham Baldwin College
Alumni Association.
Cleveland Furniture Cos., of
Jenkinsburg, lost five tele
vision sets to burglars Friday
night.
Danny Rivers has been
named winner in the Jackson
High Future Farmer Corn
Production contest, with a
yield of 118.36 bushels of ear
corn per acre.
Miss Kathey Mackey has
been chosen as the 1966-67
FFA Sweetheart of the
Jackson High FFA Chapter.
;
I v
News of 20 Years Ago
A Butts County jury has
sentenced Jimmy Lee Tyson
to a life sentence for the
murder of his wife.
J.M.L. Comer, Jackson
High Vocational agriculture
teacher for 12 years, has
been named Teacher of the
Year in Butts County.
Miss Lola Caldwell was
adjudged winner of the
annual Beta Club Sweetheart
of Jackson High beauty
contest on Thursday.
David Ridgeway has been
elected president and Clyde
Herbert, vice president, of
the Butts County Jaycees.
Peggy McElheney, star
Jackson High forward, has
scored 453 points in 17 games
during the current season,
for an average of 26.5 points
per game.
Mrs. E. M. McCord,
chairman of the Butts County
chapter of the American
Cancer Society, announces
that a cancer education
program is now underway.
Deaths during the week:
Dr. Henry Tappan Strickland
69.
News of 30 Years Ago
Members of the First
Baptist Church will dedicate
on Sunday an organ given by
Clayton W. Buchanan, of
Macon, in memory of his
father, Charles Walton
Buchanan.
A garden training program
will be held in Jackson
Monday with Elmo Rags
dale, of the State Extension
Service, in charge.
A forest fire burned over
500 acres near Indian Springs
during the weekend, destroy
ing timber growth on the
photographers.
Humor was injected into
the season one late afternoon
of a bitterly cold day when a
red bird, his head tucked
under a wing, forgot he was
sitting in a maple near the
back step within arm’s
reach. Thinking he was sick,
or possibly even frozen, we
caught him, only to startle
him awake with a wild
threshing of red feathers and
ivory beak.
It hasn’t been the best year
for bird watching, but it
hasn't been a bad one either.
your plans now to attend and learn
how thoroughly entertaining and
fun-filled an evening of culture can
be.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1977
lands of Dr. R. A. Franklin,
T. W. Nelson, Higgins and
Plymale.
To date the County has
paid bounty on 166 foxes in
the rabid fox control pro
gram.
Miss Annie Lou McCord,
Mrs. Taylor Patrick, Mrs. R.
L. Smith and Mrs. Edna
Forrer complimented the
teachers of the Jackson
public schools with a delight
ful Valentine party Thursday
at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Pliny Weaver.
Miss Barbara Wilson en
tertained a number of her
friends at a birthday party on
Monday evening. Guests
included Misses Sasa Buc
hanan, Carmine Thrasher,
Marjorie McCarty, Ann
Rich, Marcia Mallet and
Carolyn Fretwell.
News of 40 Years Ago
Bids of $21,000 for con
structing the new Butts
County jail and $3,470 for
equipment have been ap
proved by the County
Commissioners.
Gordon Thompson, of
Jackson, has been named
chairman of the Thomas E.
Watson Rural Free Delivery
Foundation. He is a former
president of the Georgia
Rural Letter Carriers’ Asso
ciation.
County Policemen Wil
liamson and Gifford and
Sheriff Thurston report the
capture of several moonshine
operations in widely scat
tered sections of the County.
Two Jackson High gra
duates have recently been
presented in recitals at their
respective colleges, Miss
Vera Edwards at Brenau
College and Miss Elise
Barnes at Bessie Tift
College.
The MacDowell Junior
Music Club met at the home
of Carolyn Farrar in Jenk
insburg and heard presenta
tions by the following:
Josephine Sasnett, Thomas
Boone and Miss Helen Burch.
Four senior girls took part
in the play, “Wanted-
Money,” at the Jackson
public school’s chapel period.
Members of the Dramatic
Club who appeared were
Martha Maddox, Florence
McCord, Hariette Suffridge
and Sylvia Eiseman.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs. Albert C. Finley, 53;
Mrs. J. D. Burford; William
Thomas Scarbrough, 64.
News of 50 Years Ago
Governor Walker has pro
claimed “Cow-Sow-Hen”
Week in Georgia, a move
ment long advocated by the
Progress-Argus.
The fine, balmy, springlike
weather of the past few days
was in marked contrast to
February, 1895 when a
severe snow storm visited
the section, dropping four-to
five inches, making roads
impassable and causing
adjournment of court.
A youth who has told
conflicting stories in the two
trials of Tpm King has been
charged with perjury.
The Southern Railroad
poultry peddler car stopped
in Jackson Thursday, its
second visit of the season, to
buy friers, hens, turkeys and
geese from local farmers.
The Junior expression
pupils will give a recital
Friday night at the audi
torium in conjunction with
the Jackie Coogan movie,
“Old Clothes.” Appearing on
ftMWiRI
By Mrs. Cindy Brown
Gripes! I guess we all have
a few and my husband made
the comment recently that I
seem to have more than
most. I guess maybe old age
is catching up with me, but it
seems like every time I sit
down to watch TV I see
things which astound me.
There was a movie on TV a
few weeks ago about a man
in Texas (a true story),
which particularly “im
pressed” me. This fellow was
a little wacky - he took it
upon himself to climb a tower
and with long-range rifles,
etc. he managed to stay
there all day, killing folks
here and there. I sat there
watching that show, and
thought “Well, there’re a !
of people out there this will
give ideas to. And I think I’m
right. Enough maniacs
watch TV to derive all sorts
of crazy ideas as to how to
kill whom.
Gripe two has to do with
people who are constantly
marching for first one thing
or another. You can hardly
get by one night’s news
watching without seeing one
group striking about this or
another group striking about
that. I wonder what my boss
would do if he drove up to our
office and saw me outside
with a placard saying, “No
work today, it’s only thirty
degrees!" I dare say I’d be
drawing my unemployment
. ‘ ||L
THE USE OF THINGS
In the book of Acts there is a story about a man named
Simon. This particular Simon is generally known as Simon
the Magician to distinguish him from the other men named
Simon mentioned in the Scriptures.
Simon, who lived in Samaria, came into contact with two
apostles in that city--Peter and John. Being a magician,
Simon had always used every new idea he could come across
to his own personal gain. When he saw Peter and John laying
their hands on individuals and those individuals receiving the
gift of the Holy Spirit, Simon was intrigued by the
possibilities of such an act. So he approached Peter and John
and offered them money if they would give him the secret on
how to do the same thing. You see, he had a profit motive
behind the gift of the Holy Spirit. He was actually going to sell
the Holy Spirit for a profit!
There is nothing new about such an idea, this misusing
the wonderful gifts of God-especially for personal profit or
power. We learn to split the atom, and the first use we make
of that knowledge is to create a bomb. We learn to build an
airplane and we use them to bomb and kill. We develop
movies and use them to degrade our morals.
A half century ago we came up with anew idea called
television. Today it is perhaps the single most powerful
influence in shaping our society. But what have we done with
this magnificent medium? We have used it in a large degree
to bring violence and distorted image of sex into our homes,
to help promote a decay of our values and morals, and to
insult our senses with commercials that are offensive both to
good taste and common courtesy.
The emphasis in too much of television programming is
not to uplift, inspire, encourage noble thoughts and
actions-but to make a dollar. And in pursuit of that dollar the
cheap, the sensational and the vulgar has become
commonplace in our homes.
When God gave man a mind, it was His intent that man
use that marvelous creation for his benefit-not his
destruction. We can continue to proceed in the same direction
of low quality programming if we desire--but only at the loss
of values considered necessary for a decent society.
What a beneficial medium television could be! What
potentials and possibilities television has for the benefit of
man. But how badly twisted and distorted those potentials
and possibilities have become.
Efforts by countless people to get those in places of
responsibility to use television for benefit instead of harm
have been ingored. The primary, and one often thinks the
only, motive behind too much television programming is
profits-the dollar. That is the reason we are asking people
who are concerned to join us in observing Turn The
Television Off Week (TTTOW) February 27-March 5.
What we are asking is very simple: to turn the television
oil completely that week, to use February 27 as a national
Day of Prayer for netweork programmers and advertisers,
and to use Monday, February 28, as a day to call the stations
and express our concern with the tasteless quality of so much
ol the programming.
I ask you and your family to join me in attempting to get
the networks to use the medium for constructive purposes.
Join us in observing TTTOW and ask others to do the same.
stage will be Edith Rice,
Janies Cornell, J. N. Wood
ruff, Dorothy Ann Carmi
chael. Geraldine Jinks,
Frances Knox, Johnsie Set
lie, Dorothy Ann O’Neal,
Helen Law, Nettie Lou
Godsoy, Alma Kimbell and
Harold While.
within a week.
Gripe three has to do with
legislative payraises. You
know, there are a good many
state and federal workers in
Jackson. I wonder what they
think about legislative pay
raises. A survey recently
conducted showed that for
Georgia’s state employees to
be on an equivalent payscale
with employees of neighbor
ing states, the Georgia folks
would have to receive
payraises of around ten
percent. Interesting.
Grip four has to do with
Uncle Sam’s self-reliance. I
think it’s just a shame that a
nation such as our own with
its intelligent peoples and
resources is running short of
fuel for basic needs. You
know, with our wheat in
Russia, our fuel across the
ocean, and no coffee to drink
-- we are in sad shape.
I could go on and on; I
could talk about the high
price of groceries; capital
punishment; underpaid
teachers -- I firmly believe
they deserve more money;
older folks on a set imeome
and younger folks too sorry
to work - I guess I’ve griped
enough, though, and I do feel
a little better. Now my
husband won’t have to listen
to me, tonight --1 think when
the news comes on, I’ll take a
nap, read a book, or hide. No
sense in looking for new
sources!
‘Whatsoever
Things'
By Donald E. Wildmon
Hostesses for the February
Woman’s Club meeting were
Mesdames R. N. Etheridge,
C. R Gresham, A. F.
Whitney, H. M. Moore, E. H.
Pace, Nellie B. Hamilton, W.
S. Adams and Mrs. Gordon
Barnes.