Newspaper Page Text
Jackson Vtuqzttss-g.tgus
J. D. Jones Publisher
J9<>B 1935)
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
Tax Relief in the City ...
The word broke like a
thunderclap last Wednesday morn
ing when Jackson residents picked
up a copy of their local paper to
find they would owe no City taxes
for calendar year 1977.
By failing to invoke an ad
valorem tax for 1977, City fathers
lived up to the letter of the local
option law which enables the
levying of a local sales tax,
provided that property taxes are
reduced in an amount equal to the
revenue thus generated.
In the case of Jackson,
however, the Mayor and Council
went a step further by abolishing
the property tax for 1977, although
the City’s share of the sales tax
revenue did not compensate for the
income derived from the ad
valorem tax and other sources.
The move for the abolitian of
City ad valorem taxes, even for one
year, was hailed with glee by
property owners who have seen
their properties escalate in taxable
value in direct proportion to the
rate of inflation.
That the City can forego
property tax . income, and still
And County , Too
While residents of incorporated
areas in the County were rejoicing
at their 1977 property tax rates, or
absence of any as in the City of
Jackson, there was welcome news
for those living in unincorporated
areas as well.
The local option sales tax law
provides there shall be tax relief in
the amount the tax generates for
all citizens, for those living both
within and without the limits of a
city.
Residents of Butts County who
live in unincorporated areas will
have a reduction of 3.86 mills from
the tax levied for the maintenance
and operation of the County, which
means their total 1977 levy will be
23.32 mills, as compared to 27.18
mills for those living in Jackson,
Flovilla or Jenkinsburg.
City residents do not get a
reduction in both their city and
county taxes. The law provides that
every taxpayer will get relief from
either his city or county taxes, but
not both.
Jackson’s income from the
local one-cent sales tax was almost
Hail to the Red Devils
The Jackson High Red Devils
opened their 1977 gridiron cam
paign Friday night in Gray against
Jones County.
Head Coach Tommy Carmi
chael feels the Red Devils will be
potent on offense, with the defense
somewhat suspect at least until
some of the new players get some
game experience.
A Prize-Winning
Newspaper
f®§ 1977
letter Newspaper
Contests
Advance Subscription Rates, Tax Included:
TELEPHONE 775-3107
ne ear > Out-of-State $7.28
M° n Uis. Out-of-State $4.16
maintain essential City services at
a high degree of efficiency, is a
tribute to the managerial compe
tence of the Mayor and members of
the City Council.
Jackson is indeed fortunate to
have at its helm in these troublous
times men who are dedicated to the
proposition that every tax dollar
the City receives should be spent
wisely, and conservatively, to
ensure that the taxpayer gets SI.OO
worth of service for his tax
expenditure.
A City with its utilities and all
vital services in good condition and
that is able to operate without
levying a property tax, should be in
an advantageous position to attract
industry. It is the belief here that
both the City and County
Development Authorities can capi
talize on this added inducement,
which is literally frosting on the
cake, as industry is as interested in
its tax bill as the rest of us.
We salute the City fathers on
this achievement for the current
year and hope that it will be
repeated in 1978 and for many
years to come.
enough to equal anticipated
revenue from the property tax and
other sources and the City officials
are not levying a property tax this
year. Flovilla and Jenkinsburg
officials have not yet spelled out
the form their tax relief will take.
Revenue from the local sales
tax, which went into effect in April,
1976, is divided four ways, with the
County receiving 57.8 per cent,
Jackson 35.7 per cent, Flovilla 2.7
per cent and Jenkinsburg 3.6 per
cent.
Butts County’s tax take from
this source was estimated at
$177,266.80 for the first year’s
operation of the tax and relief in
this amount will be granted by the
County government to those
residents who live in unincorpo
rated areas.
So both City and County
residents will get a measure of tax
relief this year. That was the
general intent of the local sales tax
law when it was enacted and we are
delighted to see that the letter of
the law is being carried out by local
officials.
It shapes up as an interesting
season and one that will burst into
full bloom on Friday, September
9th, when the Red Devils face
Manchester in the home opener.
We wish JHS victory in its first
home game and a season crowned
with the success that a great bunch
of fellows deserve.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT IONES
Georgia’s no-fault insur
ance plan for motorists,
passed in 1975 and hailed as a
fail safe method of reducing
auto insurance premiums, is
failing through no fault of
anyone other than the
framers of the legislation.
The law places too heavy a
burden for enforcement on
the State Patrol which is
already understaffed and
overworked.
Under the terms of the act,
every motorist is required to
show proof that he owns a
no-fault insurance policy
before he is allowed to
purchase an auto license
plate.
Many drivers play footsie
with this requirement by
going to an insurance agent
and buying only one month’s
protection, then letting the
policy lapse.
Although the law requires
the insurance company to
notify the state when a policy
has lapsed, the matter is then
turned over to the State
Patrol which is supposed to
send one of its members out
to pick up the license plate.
It is a job that the State
Patrol has neither the
stomach nor the manpower
to properly handle. Espe
cially when the highway
death rate in Georgia is up
considerably over last year
and fast approaching the rate
prior to the enactment of the
55-mile speed limit.
The task of taking license
plates from motorists with
out no-fault insurance is one
that can more sensibly be
handled by the sheriff’s
department in each county.
The cheating motorist should
be required to pay a fine
equal to the cost of collection
in each instance.
A State Senate committee
attempting to find the fault in
the no-fault plan has been
told by the comptroller
general’s office that between
600.000 and one million
vehicle owners in Georgia do
not have the basic auto
insurance required by the
law.
Translated into more posi
tive terms, that means that
one of every four drivers on
Georgia’s highways is driv
ing a vehicle without any
insurance.
The thrust of the legislation
when it was enacted was that
it would reduce insurance
premiums on all autos since
every driver would be
required to carry a basic
amount of insurance.
Looking at the record, one
finds that although insurance
rates did dip slightly, about
15 per cent, the first year,
that they have gone up about
40 per cent since, leaving the
motorists of the State at least
25 per cent worse off on their
insurance premiums than
when the legislation was first
enacted.
No-fault insurance is an
other of the good ideas that
failed due to faulty enforce
ment. In addition to the
promise of reduced pre
miums, most motorists felt
relieved to think that all of
the cars owned and driven by
Georgians on Georgia roads
were insured and that, in the
event of an accident, they
were protected from taking a
financial loss.
The concept of the pro
gram is sound. It has worked
in other states. It will work
here when we put some teeth
in the legislation and place
the responsibility for en
forcement at the local level
where it belongs.
It is a rather damning
indictment of our State when
we say that one-fourth of our
auto owners are liars and
cheaters but, faced with the
facts, you can’t really call
them anything else.
Every citizen who believes
in the principle of an auto
driver being financially
responsible for the auto he
drives should be interested in
making no-fault insurance
work by tightening the
loopholes and removing the
temptation to cheat. After
all, there is a 25 per cent
chance that the car involved
in a collision with yours
might be uninsured.
A Stroll Down
Memory Lane
NEWS OF 10 YEARS AGO
Herbert Shapard has been
elected president of the Butts
County Athletic Club; Hugh
Glidewell, vice president,
and Mrs. Mary Parrish,
secretary-treasurer.
Two inmates of the
Jackson City jail, Billy
Williams and James' W.
Tingle, both of Jackson, died
from smoke inhalation when
a smoldering fire burned
part of the jail on Monday
night.
It rained so hard here
Monday that a lady ran right
out of her shoes, leaving a
black patent pump between
the newspaper office and
City Hall.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
Thurston have returned from
an enjoyable, all-expense
paid Nassau vacation, thanks
to Ken’s suggestion for
cost-saving procedures at the
Ford Motor Company’s At
lanta plant.
Mrs. Marie Woods Newton
was honor guest at a
reception given at the
Virginia Avenue Baptist
Church where she has been
minister of music for 25
years.
Through August 23rd, over
36 inches of rain had fallen at
the Lloyd Shoals plant of the
Georgia Power Company,
making it one of the wettest
years to date in the County’s
history.
Deaths during the week:
Mrs. William Mitchell Bond,
83: Mrs. Cecil Hardy
Dußose; Reginald Bunch, 63.
NEWS OF 20 YEARS AGO
The Butts County Indus
trial Development Board,
Inc. has landed a midwestern
luggage company as the first
industrial tenant to be
located on the Hendricks
property, which the Board
recently acquired.
The Butts County Jaycees,
sponsoring their fourth In
dustrial Day celebration,
announce that Senator Her
man Talmadge will be the
speaker for this year’s event
on September 18th.
Ronald P. Lane, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Lane, of
Jackson, was one of only 17
Georgia FFA members re
commended for the Ameri
can Farmer degree.
R. A. Vaughn ginned the
County’s first bale of cotton
on August 26th and B. J.
Smith bought it for 40 cents a
pound.
A total of 283 children have
completed the County’s first
learn-to-swim course. Eu
gene Prosser was in charge
of instruction.
Mrs. R. L. Hammond
reports an excellent crop of
Chinese chestnuts from trees
planted in the rear of her
Third Street home.
Deaths during the week:
Arnold Graham Brown, 69;
George Wilmer (Shug)
Townsend, 55; J. Lawrence
McCord; Wiley Samuel Hen
derson, 69.
NEWS OF 30 YEARS AGO
Senator Richard B. Russell
has accepted an invitation to
speak in Jackson on Armis
tice Day.
The August term grand
jury has recommended that
the Board of County Commis
sioners not issue any more
beer licenses, pointing out
“that most of the cases
brought before us are for
drunkenness.”
Rufus Adams, as program
chairman, announces that
Harry Brown, vice chancel
lor of the University System,
will speak to the Exchange
Club of Jackson on Thursday
night.
THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 1, 1977
In cooperation with the
State Board of Health, City of
Jackson officials are con
ducting a rat eradication
campaign here.
Fire caused by lightning
burned the attractive Jack
son Lake cottage of Mr. and
Mrs. Ralph Carr late
Tuesday afternoon.
Harvey Thompson reports
he had three mules stuck in a
mud hole without food or
water for eight days and,
when discovered, that they
were little the worse for the
experience.
NEW S OF 40 YEARS AGO
Named as delegates to the
Kiwanis District convention
in Augusta were President P.
H. Weaver, E. L. Daniel and
W. M. Towles, with N. F.
Land and J. S. Robison as
alternates.
A. P. Squires, manager of
the A&P Food Store here, has
been transferred to Fort
Valley. Roy Herrington, of
Macon, will succeed Mr.
Squires.
Heavy rains are damaging
crops locally, with cotton
beginning to sprout in the
bolls and pimiento peppers
bursting open from excess
moisture.
Mrs. J. E. Lane has
resigned as president and P.
H. Weaver as vice-president
of the Butts County Histori
cal and Archaeological Soci
ety.
The Dixie Theatre is
having a daily matinee at
2:30, shows nightly at 6:30
and 8:30 and continuous
Saturday showings from 11
a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sidewalk paving on Co
vington Street, which has
been in process for several
weeks, is now nearing
completion.
Deaths during the week:
W. F. Crim, 63.
NEWS OF 50 YEARS AGO
The Macon Telegraph
reports that the Ocmulgee
River has reached an
all-time low there, with the
latest reading showing a
level of 2.3 feet.
Mr. S. H. Thornton has just
added a combined ambu
lance and hearse to his
undertaking equipment. The
ambulance is the Meteor
type and is finished in
monastery gray. All of his
equipment is now motor
driven and is most complete.
A freak in the form of twin
eggs was shown here this
week by Mr. J. A. Lane. The
eggs, laid by an Ancona hen,
are joined in the middle and
are rather small in size.
Fire of undetermined ori
gin wiped out two out-build
ings and destroyed large
quantities of feedstuffs and
equipment on the farm of Mr.
G. Ridgeway last Wednes
day.
The management of Ethe
ridge-Smith Cos. announced
this week that Miss Bettie
Carmichael will be in charge
of their dry goods depart
ment and that Mr. H. S.
Downs will be in charge of
their shoe department.
Among those from Butts
County who will enter the
Georgia State College for
Women at Milledgeville are
Misses Jane Etheridge, Su
sannah Foster, Sara Carter,
Mary Ellie, Glennis Thorn
ton, Rosa Ellen Carter, Ruth
Smith, Mildred Smith, Mary
Julia Sasnett, Ethel' Smith,
Bertha McMichael, Mary
Evans, and Ruth McMichael.
Advertising
If advertising can be ac
cused of making people live
beyond their means, so can
matrimony. 4
- %-*W -T-M.M . ■
mom
T By Mrs. Csidy Brown
Let’s talk about women’s
magazines today. I do not
like most women’s maga
zines—they make me feel
inept. As I turn the pages, I
see rooms perfectly coor
dinated in color and style: I
would feel better if a pair of
dirty sneakers suddenly
appeared right in the middle
of the floor! At least the room
would look more like home
like then. Truthfully speak
ing, there have been occa
sions when my house looked
like it belonged in a
magazine. I can well remem
ber those times because they
occurred so seldom! One
instance was the first day we
bought our home and to the
best of my memory, the only
other instance was when I
was not working and spent 20
weeks arranging things!
There’s another thing
about women’s magazines
that gripes me and that is
those four or five pages in
each issue dedicated to a
woman’s better looks and
self-betterment. Honestly, I
have never even heard of
some of the ingredients they
can come up with for a facial
mask. My husband came in
the other night and saw me
lying on the sofa with a
cucumber slice partially
over each eye. He didn’t say
anything, but as the old
saying goes “If looks could
S ‘Whatsoever
Things'
By Donald E. Wildmon
IT’S WHERE YOU ARE
Some time ago I read in the papers an account of a man
in Phoenix, Arizona, who had rented an apartment but
couldn’t move into it because he had lost it! Actually, he
couldn’t find it. It seems that Charles Rowland had sold his
photo-finishing business in Appleton, Wisconsin, and moved
to Phoenix. Upon his arrival in Phoenix Rowland checked
into a hotel. That same day he found an apartment and paid
one month’s rent in advance. However, he drove away
without noting the address.
After 14 hours of driving around the city to locate the
apartment, he notified a local newspaper of his plight. The
fellow who had rented the apartment to Rowland read the
article and called him at the hotel. It seems that the
apartment was just two blocks, a couple of minutes, away
from the hotel!
Then there was the case of Dr. Ellis Shenken, an
ophthalmologist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Shenken
was punched in the eye and as a result he lost one of his
contact lenses. Dr. Shenken, unable to find the lens, got fitted
for another soon thereafter. But the eye in which Dr. Shenken
got punched kept discharging and his new lens kept popping
out. It should have. You see, the lens which Dr. Shenken
searched for but couldn’t find had been pushed into his
eyelid, where it had remained unnoticed!
While a student in school, I worked in a grocery store to
help defray my expenses. As I was stocking the shelf one day
a gentleman kept walking up and down the aisle looking for
some product. Finally, he stopped in the section where the
product should be located. After looking for quite a while for
the product, he asked me if I knew where the product could
be found. Reaching to the spot where he had been looking for
several minutes, I picked up the product and gave it to him.
His comment? “If it had been a snake it would have bitten
me.”
It wasn’t long after that till I began to search early one
morning for my glasses. After searching for several minutes
about the house and failing to find them, I began to accuse
one of the children or my wife of misplacing them. Seeing I
was about to lose what little temper I had, Lynda started
searching with me. She came into the room where I was
searching and started to speak, only to have a wide grin come
across her face. “Go look in a mirror,” she said. I took the
hint and suddenly realized that I was wearing the glasses I
had been desperately hunting!
Isn’t it rather funny sometimes how we can search high
and low for something, and then end up finding it in a place
where it should have been so simple to find? These four
stories could be multiplied by countless individuals who have
searched for something only to find it in a place so close by.
Now there is a truth here that could be applied to
countless realms. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s try just
one. Happiness. It’s right where you are, if you can find it.
(Join Mr. Wildmon on his 11th tour of the Holy Land.
Includes Switzerland, Germany, Belgium. 11 days. Departs
Nov. 8. For info, write Box 1398, Tupelo, Miss. 38801.)
BUMPER STICKERS
Some friends are always around
when they need you.
ki11...” I believe he honestly
thought I had passed out
from exhaustion after can
ning pickles.
Then there are those “How
To Manage Your Money”
articles and “How to Feed a
Family of Ten on Five
Dollars per Week”. If I tried
to feed my family some of the
recipes listed in those
articles, I would be banned
from the kitchen. Who can
live on a week’s worth of tuna
cooked ten different ways?
And who has the time to
spend eight hours a day in the
kitchen anyway just to save a
dollar? Not me! I believe in
tomato sandwiches, snacks,
frozen pizza, and May the
Saints Preserve all those
carry-out chicken places.
Colonel Sanders has my
heart.
I’m sure all of you have
seen those articles on “How
To Entertain your Children”.
Well, I only have this to say:
every time I tried one of
those ideas, such as “An
Easy Way to Fingerpaint”,
my children became stran
gers. My Hat’s also off to
Tonka, Fisher-Price, and
Mattel. May they make more
and more money.
Well, I’m not sure Good
Housekeeping would not put
their rubber stamp of
approval on this article, but I
hope my readers will. Long
live the Readers Digest!
Editor’s Quote Book
Never run after your
own hat. Others will be
delighted to do it. Why
spoil their fun?
Mark Twain