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Kacksmt /rogress-Argus
Volume 104 Number 30
Central Georgia EMC Set 1
Annual Meeting August 3rd
“We’ve grown in many
ways during forty years”, is
this years’ theme for The
Central Georgia Electric
Membership Corporation.
The 40th Annual Members
Meeting will begin at 10:00
a.m. on August 3rd at Indian
Springs State Park with O.
Franklin Rogers as guest
speaker.
The Central Georgia EMC
was chartered on July 11,
1937 just one month after
President Roosevelt created
the REA Act by Executive
Order, and in the two and
one-half months after the
Electric Membership Act
was approved by the General
Assembly of the State of
Georgia. Mr. T. F. Freeman,
president of The Central
Georgia EMC board of
directors, is the only remain
ing charter member present
ly serving on the board.
The first year’s annual
Sen. Banks Addresses B&PW
Club Members Monday Night
State Senator Peter Banks
of Barnesville told the
members of the Jackson
Business and Professional
Women’s Club Monday night
that he’s not sure the Equal
Rights Amendment will ever
be ratified in Georgia.
Speaking at the regular
dinner meeting of the B & PW
Club at the Elder Hotel in
Indian Springs, Banks said
he feels if the people don’t
show what he called “grass
roots support” for the ERA,
“then it may be just as well
that it isn’t ratified.”
Banks was sponsor of the
ERA in the Georgia Senate
during the 1977 legislative
session. The amendment was
never voted on in the
committee because its sup
porters felt it would certainly
be defeated in the committee
vote.
In reaffirming his support
for the amendment, Banks
said its ratification is “a
simple matter of justice,
dignity and individual justice
that women have equal
rights under the law.”
Local Driver
Named Truck
Roadeo Winner
A Jackson driver was a
first place winner in the 1977
Georgia Truck Roadeo for
professional truck drivers
held last week at the Century
Center in Atlanta.
Thomas R. McKinnon, a
driver for Overnite Trans
portation, won first place in
the five-axle van category.
Mr. McKinnon also captured
the pre-trip inspection award
sponsored by “Mechanics
Illustrated” magazine and
accumulated the highest
point score of the roadeo.
The roadeo is sponsored
annually by the Georgia
Motor Trucking Associa
tion’s Council of Safety
Supervisors to promote high
way safety. In order to win, a
driver has not only to
compete in the gruelling road
course, but also to pass an
exacting written examina
tion on safe driving rules,
first aid, firefighting and the
trucking industry in general.
Each of the Georgia
winners will compete in the
national truck roadeo to be
held next month in Kansas
City.
operating report showed 573
members, 261V4 miles of line,
with monthly billing of
$1,610.10. The average
monthly bill per member at
that time was $2.81 and the
average monthly kilowatt
hour consumption was 48.7
per member. The first lines
built were to handle at least
75 kilowatt hours per month
per member.
In May, 1977 the CGEMC
served 13,334 consumers and
the cost of power for the
CGEMC was $289,324.60.
Miles of line now is 2,378 with
monthly billings of $414,
368.42. The average May bill
per member was $31.08 and
the average May kilowatt
hour consumption was 701
hours per month per mem
ber.
Three directors will be
elected to serve a three-year
term, and one director will be
elected to serve a one-year
Commenting on other
legislation affecting women,
Banks said the Senate passed
a law stating that a woman’s
past sexual history could not
be admitted as evidence in a
rape trial and repealed a
provision of a law stating
that a man could not be
convicted of rape on the
unconfirmed testimony of a
woman.
Turning his attention to ad
valorem tax relief, Banks
said there is “no easy
solution” to such relief and
listed three options for
possibly reducing ad valor
em taxes.
The “circuit breaker”
proposal would affect people
primarily on fixed incomes in
that this proposal would “put
a cap on the taxes a person
pays and gear it to his
individual income.”
Banks said another propo
sal which might help to bring
ad valorem taxes down is one
he called the “land use”
proposal under which land
would be taxed according to
its use. Banks said he is
Atlanta Gas Light Cos. Buys
City's Natural Gas Dept.
Pending approval by state
and federal regulatory agen
cies, the City of Jackson has
sold its natural gas distribu
tion system to the Atlanta
Gas Light Company.
In announcing the sale,
Mayor C. B. Brown, Jr. said
the City will realize $375,000
for the system itself, plus an
additional $41,000 for parts,
meters and tools.
Sale terms, which have
been agreed to by both the
buyer and seller, must be
approved by the Georgia
Public Service Commission
4 and the Federal Power
Commission. The Atlanta
Gas Light Company has been
working with both agencies
prior to the actual purchase
and approval from both is
expected to be granted soon,
the Mayor added.
The Atlanta Gas Light
Company is hoping to take
over the City's natural gas
system by September 1,1977.
They anticipate opening an
office in Jackson for both
service and collection of
accounts.
Severe weather conditions
of last winter, in which the
City found itself isolated
term.
A General Electric Micro
wave oven given by Polk Tire
and Service Company, in
cooperation with The Central
Georgia EMC, will be the
grand prize. The first 700
members who register will
have a choice of receiving
light bulbs or a plastic
pitcher with four tumblers.
The Jackson Exchange Club
will be in charge of the
Chickenque lunch that will be
served immediately follow
ing the program. Chickenque
tickets will be on sale for
$2.75 at The Central Georgia
Electric Membership Cor
poration - (404 ) 775-7857 -
Jackson, until Saturday, July
30, 1977.
General Manager R. F.
Armstrong urges everyone to
attend this special 1977
Members Meeting and to
compare the annual report to
that of the first one published
40 years ago.
opposed to this proposal
calling it “unworkable and
inequitable.”
A third option, according to
Banks, would be to raise the
state sales tax one percent
and return the generated
revenue to the counties,
divide the revenue between
the local government and the
school system, or return all
of it to the school systems.
Banks said that while he
favors the “circuit breaker”
proposal, he also thinks ad
valorem taxes could be
reduced by having the state
sales tax increased one cent
and return the money to the
counties by any of the three
methods.
However, he stated he
doesn’t think the sales tax
will be approved any time in
the near future even though
he said he feels most people
would probably support the
sales tax proposal as opposed
to the “circuit breaker” or
“land use” proposals.
Among those present for
the meeting were State
Representative Bill Jones
and County Commission
Chairman Mac Collins.
from major natural gas
supplies, prompted discus
sions of selling the system
and the Mayor said that
surveys among residential,
commerical and industrial
users favored such a move.
The Mayor and Council
have yet to determine how to
invest proceeds from the
sale, although the Mayor said
that the present thought is to
retire some of the City’s
outstanding bonded indebted
ness, so as to reduce
payments of both interest
and principal.
GORDON COLLEGE
STUDENTS
PRE-REGISTER
Gordon Junior College
students will pre-register for
fall quarter on July 25-29.
Students who were enrolled
at Gordon last year but who
are not taking courses during
summer quarter will be
allowed to pre-register next
week. In addition, new
students who plan to enroll
this fall are invited to
register on July 27-28.
ackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, July 28, 1977
; iutts County
Has Openings
For 16 Workers
Butts County has received
two Title VI contracts from
the Georgia Labor Depart
ment for the employment of
16 workers. These workers
must meet the following
qualifications:
They must be economically
disadvantaged.
They must have been
unemployed for at least 15
weeks, or
They must have drawn out
all unemployment benefits
or,
They must be receiving
cash welfare payments, or
They have not worked over
five weeks out of the last 20
weeks.
These workers will be
employed at the Butts County
Road Department.
Applications will be taken
from 8:00 a.m. to4:oop.m. on
Monday through Friday in
the Commissioner’s Office in
the Butts County Courthouse.
Two Businesses
Broken Into
On July 19th
According to Jackson po
liceman Rusty Cook, four
juveniles, all of whom are
from Jackson, were believed
to be responsible for two
burglaries at two city
businesses July 19.
Policeman Bill Nelson
assisted Cook in the investi
gation and reported that
about $50.00 was stolen when
the juveniles allegedly en
tered Cowan’s Grocery on
the Macon Highway through
a rear window in the store.
Nelson said some beer and
cigarettes were also taken
and that four youths were
taken into custody for
questioning after they were
spotted by a city policeman
riding bicycles along College
Avenue with some beer in
their possession.
Big Chic restaurant on
Mulberry Street was also
broken into on the night of
July 19 and according to Cook
only a small amount of
money was taken. Cook said
the burglars entered through
a window in the restaurant.
Cook said a hearing for the
juveniles will be held this
week.
A Correction
In the July 14 edition of the
Progress-Argus. it was re
ported in a story about an
automobile accident on Old
Bethel Road July 10 that
Frank Woodward of Atlanta,
one of the persons involved in
the accident, was the driver
and owner of the vehicle.
That information was
obtained from the Butts
County Sheriff's Depart
ment.
However, information has
since been made available
that Woodward was not the
owner of the vehicle, which
was a pick-up truck, and
according to Butts County
Sheriff Billy Leverette the
owner was Tom Bigham,
Skyland Mobile Home Subdi
vision, Locust Grove.
As stated above, it has not
been determined if Wood
ward was driving the truck
and Leverette said the driver
of the truck has not been
determined because there
are conflicting accounts as'to
who was driving at the time
of the accident.
Editor Quimby
Melton, Sr. Is
Buried Sunday
Funeral services for Mr.
Quimby Melton, Sr., 86, long
time publisher of the Griffin
Daily News, were held
Sunday afternoon at the First
United Methodist Church at 4
p.m.
The Rev. Lamar Cherry,
pastor, officiated and inter
ment was in the Oak Hill
cemetery under the direction
of Haisten Funeral Home.
Mr. Melton, in declining
health for years and a patient
at The Living Center of
Griffin, died Thursday eve
ning at the Griffin-Spalding
Hospital where he had been
taken a day earlier.
He purchased the Griffin
Daily News in 1925 and was
its editor and publisher for
many years. His son, Quimby
Melton, Jr., returning from
duty in the South Pacific
during World War 11, joined
his father after the war as
editor.
Born in Chepultepee, Ala.,
he was the son of Dr. and
Mrs. Wrightman Fletcher
Melton. Dr. Melton was a
journalist, author, lecturer
and at the time of his death in
1944, was Poet Laureate of
Georgia.
A graduate of Emory
University, Mr. Melton had a
varied career before coming
to Griffin.
He was office boy in the
sports department of the
Baltimore newspaper, a cub
reporter for the Birming
ham, Ala. Ledger, and a
teacher and football coach at
Allen Academy, of Bryan,
Texas, where he won the
state championship.
He was a former editor of
the Americus Times-Record
er, city editor of the Atlanta
Constitution, publisher of the
Birmingham. Ala. Ledger
and of the Florida Metro
polis. which later became the
Jacksonville Journal.
During World War I, he
served in France as a major
and battalion commander in
the First Division and was
awarded the Silver Star.
He was a member of the
Griffin Exchange Club and
its first Man-of-the-Year
honoree, a long time member
and teacher of the Men's
Bible Class at the First
United Methodist Church,
and a Senior Vice Command
er of the national American
Legion.
Mr. Melton and his late
wife, the former Mary Ellen
Davenport of Americus, had
two sons, Lt. Fred Melton
who was killed in Germany
during World War II at the
age of 21 and Quimby Melton.
Jr., present editor-publisher
of the Griffin Daily News.
Four grandchildren sur
vive, Quimby Melton 111, of
Fayetteville; Mrs. Mary
Forhand, Lawrenceville;
Miss Laura Melton. Athens,
and Miss Leila Melton,
Griffin.
Pallbearers were Cary
Reeves. Bill Knight. Ed
Eschman, R. O. Linch. Bill
Cody, Dr. Lamar King, Dr.
H. L. Cochran, Otis Weaver.
Sr., Frank Thomas. Bill
Thomas. Lewis Thomas and
Russell Smith. Honorary
pallbearers were W..H. (Bill)
Beck. Nathaniel Bailey and
Leo Blackwell.
The Men’s Bible Class of
the First United Methodist
Church. Barnett-Harris Post
15 of American Legion, and
the Exchange Club served as
honorary escorts
ROCK ARTISTS TO
APPEAR AT MACON
COLISEUM AUG. 5
The Graham Central Sta
tion. featuring Larry Gra
ham. and The Brothers
Johnson, will appear at the
Macon Coliseum on Friday,
August sth. at 8:00 p.m.
Progress-Argus Is Named Best
Weekly in Community Service
Ip *
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W V
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IN RECOGNITION—Mrs. Martha G. Jones, publisher
of the Jackson Progress-Argus. is showm receiving a plaque
from Bobby Branch, president of the Georgia Press
Association, upon the local paper being named first place
winner in the Community Service division of the Georgia
Better Newspaper Contest. The award was made Friday
evening at Jekyll Island during the 91st annual convention
of the Georgia Press Association.
Red Devils Start Practice; To
Open Season Aug. 26 at Gray
Appropriately enough the
cooler temperatures early in
the week signaled the
beginning Monday evening of
football practice for the
Jackson High Red Devils.
Jackson High Athletic
Director and Head Football
Coach Tommy Carmichael
also announced an attractive
10-game slate for the Red
Devils in ‘77, including five
home games against such
arch rivals as Hogansville,
Monticello. Henry County.
Manchester and Pike Coun
ty.
The Red Devils will kick off
their season with a game
against Jones County on
Friday. August 26th. in Gray.
In addition to the head
JACKSON HIGH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 1977
Friday, August 26 Jones County, There
Friday, September 2 Open Date
Friday, September 9 Hogansville, Here
Friday, September 14 Monticello, Here
Friday, September 23 Henry County, Here
Friday, September 30 Morgan County. There
Friday, October 7 Manchester, Here
Friday, October 14 Lamar County, There
Friday, October 21 Harris County, There
Friday, October 28 ..... Pike County, Here
Friday, November 4 Open Date
Friday, November 11 Mary Persons, There
JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL
B-TEAM FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 1977
Friday, September 2 Heritage, Here
Thursday, September 8 Lamar County, There
Thursday, September 15 Morgan County, Here
Saturday, September 24 .... Manchester, There
Thursday, Sepember 29 Lamar County, Here
Thursday, October 6 Heritage, There
Thursday, October 13 Monticello, There
Saturday, October 22 Manchester, Here
Thursday. October 27 Pike County, There
GORDON S SUMMER
QUARTER IS RECORD
Gordon Junior College
again broke its previous
enrollment record when 523
students enrolled for sum
mer quarter. The previous
record was 520 last summer.
Spalding County has 179
Gordon students this sum
mer; Upson, 130; Lamar. 87;
Monroe. 36; Butts, 35; and
Pike. 32. The remaining
students come from several
central Georgia counties.
Mclntosh trail
DIRECTORS MEET
The next regular meeting
of the Board of Directors af
the Mclntosh Trail Area
Planning and Development
Commission will be held on
Thursday, July 28th. at 2:30
p.m in the offices of the
Commission, located in the
Childress Building in Griffin
coach, other members of the
coaching staff are Bo Wolfe,
of Georgia State: Bill Nelson,
of Georgia Southern: James
Stancil. of Albany State and
the newest addition to the
coaching ranks, Jerry Sel
lers. of Georgia Southern.
Coaches Nelson and Stancil
will be in charge of the
B-Team. which has sche
duled nine games for 1977.
including four at home.
Coach Carmichael views
the current season as a
rebuilding one for the Red
Devils, whose bid for fame
last season was lost amid a
series of crippling injuries.
The complete schedules of
both the varsity and B-Team
are as follows:
One-cent Tax
Revenue Drops
Slightly
Revenue from the one-cent
local option sales tax
dropped slightly in June to
$16,422.93 according to Coun
ty Treasurer Billy Sutton.
The one-cent tax brought in
just over $17,000 for the
county in May.
The amount of money
collected from the tax on
beer and wine increased last
month to $6,832.61 from a
little more than $5,000.00 in
May. Sutton said anew
application for a beer and
wine license was approved
for J & J Grocery in
Jenkinshurg The fee for the
application was SSOO 00.
15c Per Copy
The Jackson Progress-Ar
gus won one of the most
coveted awards in Georgia
weekly journalism at last
week’s annual Georgia Press
Association meeting, win
ning first place in the
Community Service competi
tion for its circulation class.
In announcing the award,
the judges complimented the
paper on “good presentation
of material—excellent sup
port of community project.
Shows real enterprise over
long period of time.”
Mrs. Martha G. Jones,
publisher. accepted the
award for the paper at the
Jekyll Island convention. It
was the first award the
Progress-Argus had ever
won in the Georgia Better
Newspaper Contests on its
very first entry.
Weekly and daily newspa
pers annually submit entries
in a number of categories,
community service, typogra
phy. sports coverage, etc.,
which are submitted by the
Georgia Press .Association to
an out-of-state panel for
review and critique.
The paper's entry in the
1977 Community Service
division of the Better
Newspaper Contest centered
around the pictorial and
editorial support given the
Butts County Association for
Beautification Through Con
servation Committee, which
culminated in BCABC's
winning first place in the
state. The coverage extended
from February through No
vember of 1976.
In the fall of 1976. the
Progress-Argus was named a
National Blue Ribbon News
paper by the National
Editorial Foundation, an
other signal honor which the
paper won for the first time
last year.
One of the older weekly
papers in the state, the
Progress-Argus can trace its
origin back 104 years to 1873
when the Indian Springs
Echo was first published in
Indian Springs. The Echo
later moved to Jackson and
became the Jackson Argus.
The Butts County Progress
was founded in 1907.
In 1913. the late J. Doyle
Jones, Sr. purchased the
Butts County Progress, after
coming to Jackson in 1908 to
edit it. and in 1915 he
purchased the Jackson Ar
gus. combining the names
that year into the Jackson
Progress-Argus.
The paper has been owned,
edited and published by a
member of the Jones family
for the last 62 years. The late
J Doyle Jones. Jr. edited the
paper for 30 years prior to his
death in December of 1975.
Mrs Martha G. Jones is
presently publisher, and
Vincent Jones, editor, of the
Progress-Argus. the present
editor assuming his duties in
March of 1976
JOE. THE HOBO. SEZ:
'■* Ji \ W
It appears that New York
City's immorality is no
respecter of class or station
in life. The poor broke into
stores and looted, while the
rich used the darkness to
steal away from SIOO,OOO
owed the Waldorf Astoria in
bar and restaurant tabs.