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ksxm Trngrcss-^rgus J. D. Jones Publisher Li 908 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 What a Great Place For years this newspaper, the Chamber of Commerce, local civic groups and countless citizens have extolled the virtues of living in Butts County. But today we all have new evidence that we do indeed live in the garden spot of the world and in the midst of the finest people to be found anywhere. Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring out the finer attributes of a community. A natural disaster can weld community spirit into an indivisible force but so can a poignant personal tragedy that strikes at the collective heart of a community and brings forth dramatic evidence of just how much we care for our fellow man. Little Michael Lee Speer, aged four, was born without a left kidney. Not an insurmountable handicap as many people lead normal, useful lives with a single kidney. But when the remaining kidney showed definite indications of malfunction, then the lad was in serious trouble. Medical specialists determined that his only hope for a normal life span was a kidney transplant. Surgeons in this area have not attempted transplants on a child so young, and it was found that only in the Variety Club Heart Hospital, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, could such a transplant be performed. His father, Michael Speer, of Jackson, gladly volunteered to share a kidney with his son. But in addition to the medical dangers involved in such a procedure, the costs of the tests, two operations and recovery were Lanced by His Own Pity poor President Jimmy Carter. For 18 months he campaigned hard against the immorality in Washington, declar ing the city morally bankrupt and pledging an administration that would be simon pure in both word and deed. And now he finds himself lanced on his own Lance. Bert Lance, Calhoun native and former Atlanta bank president, director of the Office of Budget and Management, and the president’s bosom pal, is on his way back to Georgia, barring some miraculous explanation of some prior banking practices that seem to border somewhere between questionable and shady. Even if the ex-banker can satisfactorily explain overdrawn Has the Horse Escaped? Locking the barn door after the nag has escaped was obviously futile even to backwoods Ameri cans. But surely modern-day Washington bureaucrats would not be guilty of such stupidity. Or would they? Tongsun Park is a South A Prize-Winning Newspaper |©| 1977 Better Newspaper Contests Advance Subscription Rates, Tax Included: TELEPHONE 775-3107 Wne Year - Out-of-State $7.28 six Months. Out-of-State $4.16 prohibitive, beyond the financial capability of all save the very wealthiest families. It was at this point that the generosity, concern and love of Butts Countians for a little boy in serious trouble came into evidence and gave each of us anew pride in being a part of such a wonderful community. Don Earnhart, of Radio Station WJGA, first brought the family’s plight to the attention of our people. Newspaper stories chronicled it in even more detail. The C&S National Bank set up a trust fund to help the family survive the great financial trauma it was under going. To date, over $8,500 has been paid into this fund, according to Stanley Maddox who is serving as treasurer, with much more pledged and many more yet to give. It represents perhaps the greatest outpouring of this Coun ty’s concern for a distressed family in its entire 152-year history. It should give each of us new pride in our heritage and anew zeal to prove ourselves worthy of living and walking among a people who care so much for one of their little children. The need for funds is not over, having just begun. Medical bills will be astronomical. If you would like to show your pride by placing your signature on a check, or by making a cash donation, then send it to the Michael Lee Speer Trust Fund, in care of the C&S Bank of Jackson, Jackson, Georgia 30233. Contributions are tax deductible from federal and state income taxes. accounts, the use of the same collateral for duplicate loans or the shifting of bank funds to secure large personal loans, he still finds himself hoisted on the petard dictated by Carter’s campaign for the presidency. President Carter was to bring into the nation’s service new leaders of high ideals and scrupulous moral backgrounds, men and women fit to serve in the cabinet and high government positions with a born-again leader. This failure of Lance to live up to the people’s expectations of moral righteousness as a Carter appointee will eventually prove his undoing, possibly even more so than any questionable banking practices he might have engaged in during his career as a banker. Korean, a rice dealer, a wheeler dealer and an alleged briber of U. S. Congressmen. He has been charged by Atty Gen. Griffin Bell with 36 counts of conspiracy and corruption. But he is in South Korea now. And this country has no extradition THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER IS, 1977 The Last Straw BY VINCENT IONES Slowly and quietly, like a giant sea turtle lumbering across a vacant beach to her nest, fall has crept upon the horizon. And although the calendar says its official arrival is still a week away, in subtle but convincing ways the season’s heralds have foretold its coming. The leaves of the black gums along the draw behind the house, once shining green with a wax-like texture, have begun to fade and many, like Hawthorne’s shady lady, have blushed a scarlet red at the promise of autumn. From the middle garden, the gaunt tomato stakes still hold the seared stalks of once-fruitful plants and their brown leaves speak eloquent ly of the death of another harvest season. In the lower garden, where a few tomatoes and butter peas struggle valiantly against the seasonal tides, the spot reserved for beauty, where zinnias, marigolds and salvia made gardening beau tiful, is answering the summons to death and their lingering beauty is fast fading. Their growth pattern ac celerated by recent rains, the pecan trees are laden with nuts, their size having increased two-fold in the last six weeks. Fully matured now, they await only the changing of the seasonal guard to shed their hulls and spill upon the ground in profusion. The limbs of the huge oaks at the back of the lot are weighted down with acorns and the jaybirds and star lings peck at them constant ly, losing far more to the forest floor than they successfully recover for themselves. Goldenrod, which we once associated with the opening ot school, seems late In blooming this year and the dry weather may reduce the profusion in which it grew last autumn. The raucous caw of the crow 1 , silent for the most part during mid-summer, dis turbs the early morning peace of the cooler days as some instinct suggests that he leave his roost for the lighter air of the new season fast approaching. Soon, the air conditioners will come out of the windows and the storm doors and windows will go up and, after five months of trying to stay cool, the next five months will be devoted to trying to stay warm. Invariably, the weather prognosticators will sound off with their fearful fore casts. They remind me of an old black friend, who annually predicts a terrible winter and, therefore, is right about one year out of ten. The old signs will be flashed and more than likely fail, just as all signs of rain fail during a drought. There is a heavy crop of acorns this year, but there usually is; the tail of the squirrels are heavy and bushy but they are every year; the caterpillars wan der aimlessly about seeking something, but maybe they are looking for food rather than the way South. There was fog in August, which could mean snow in January, but maybe it meant nothing other than there were some fogs in August. After the terrible winter of agreement with South Korea. Which means simply that Tongsun may stay in South Korea and eat his rice in peace. Until about a year ago, Tongsun was in Washington, wining, dining and plying his trade, whatever that was. The last year he has been in London in residence. A week ago he moved his residence to Seoul, South Korea. The United States has an extradition agreement with Great Britain. Why was this high-flying steed let out of that country when he could easily have been summoned from there to testify in iliiiiSf | A Stroll Down | | Memory Lane | NEWS OF 10 YEARS AGO In an effort to eradicate the threat of rabies in Butts County, the local Jaycee chapter is setting up clinics to vaccinate all dogs in the County on September 14th through 16th. Master Dondi Wells cele brated his fifth birthday on Saturday, September 2nd, with a gala party in the annex at Midway Methodist Church, in Griffin. Lightning struck three times in the yard of H. J. Lawhon, of Route 4, Jackson, about six o’clock Saturday morning and followed a wire into the house where only slight damage was done. The Van Deventer Founda tion’s newest endeavor is a Camera Club, with Wendell McCoy, Jr. as instructor. Henry L. Asbury, program chairman, presented a color film on the Falcons to members of the Jackson Kiwanis Club on Tuesday night. Mrs. Jane B. Powell, director of the Butts County FACS Department, has nom inated Mrs. Dorothy West bury as the September "Celebrity of the Month” in the Bellringer, monthly pub lication of the Westbury Home, Inc. Deaths during the week: Clarence Marcus Coggins, 62. NEWS OF 20 YEARS AGO Supt. D. V. Spencer reports attendance at record levels in both the white and Negro schools in the County, with 1.061 white and 1,080 black students enrolled for the fall term. J. C. Holcomb has been elected president of the Jackson Kiwanis Club for 1958. Other officers and directors are: Levi Ball and Dick Pope, vice presidents; Mike Allen, secretary-trea surer; directors Levi Ball, Tom Collins, H. W. Croy, Julian Fletcher, Grady Jack son, Vincent Jones, Lou Moelchert, J. W. O’Neal, Lamar Watkins and Andy Holston. Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Webb entertained on Sunday, Sep tember Bth, at a birthday dinner in honor of her father, Mr. W. H. Merritt, whose our discontent and discom fort of last year, however, perhaps it is not too early to begin thinking about tiddying up the place and snugging it down for a winter that may be anything from terrible to benign, or somewhere in between. But there were these two huge caterpillars, at least four inches long, on the back screen door last week. Were they looking for food, attracted by the aromas from the kitchen, or were they trying to get their bearings and set their compasses for the long, slow, three-months cross country walk to Florida? the Washington hearings? President Carter is going to ask the president of South Korea to return Tongsun Park to this country for prosecution. If Tongsun wields as much influence among the rice paddies as he did among some of the Congressional misfits, the president’s request is likely to go unheeded. Meanwhile, the search goes on to find who the bad Congressmen were, or are. The public is watching with interest, ready to roll—or tar and feather—anybody who thinks he can roll with the punches in this matter. 85th birthday it was. Larry Washington has been elected president of the Jackson FFA Chapter for the ensuing school year. Other officers include Harold Mc- Michael, vice president; Johnny Heath, secretary; Howard Lee Jones, trea surer; Herbert Cochran, reporter, and Gerald Stewart sentinel. The Rev. Don Welch, Mrs. R. F. Oliver and Mrs. Ralph Goodwin have filled vacanies in the Jackson High and elementary school faculties just prior to opening for the fall quarter. Mrs. Jennie Coody, one of the oldest of Butts County’s citizens, celebrated her 99th birthday on September 4th at a party given by her son and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Coody. NEWS OF 30 YEARS AGO The 1947 tax levy for the City of Jackson has been set at 13 mills. McKibben and Wilmer White had the County’s first bale of cotton for 1947 ginned on September sth and sold it to B. J. Smith for 40 cents a pound. County agent B. B. Campbell is asking farmers to save prize exhibits of corn, cotton, lespedeza hay, peas and other products for the Butts County Fair on October 7-11th. Mr. J. S. Gregory, Butts County’s oldest resident who will be 98 on September 19th, and is one of only six living Confederate veterans in Georgia, was the subject of an article in Sunday’s Atlanta Constitution. Rev. J. B. Stodghill has just concluded his 21st revival at the Worthville Baptist Church where he has been pastor for the last 25 years and where he was recently extended an inde finite call. During his ministry, the Church, which was organized in 1887, has grown from 36 to 180 members. Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Weaver will have open house Sunday afternoon from 4:30 until 6 o’clock in their new home on West Third Street. NEWS OF 40 YEARS AGO The Jackson Milling Com pany, V. W. Cole, manager, has just completed the installation of anew and modern corn mill in the Saunders building on Second Street. . Tax levies have been set for both the City and County for 1937, the City rate will be 16 mills and the County’s 15 mills. The Pomona Products Company, which operates a pimiento canning plant in Jackson, has' bought the vacant lot fronting on Benton and Lyons Streets from Mrs. R. W. Mays and the City of Jackson. The Georgia Chapter, Future Farmers of America, 3L . j-u fotofri I crept into your room last night, as I have done before, and I watched you sleeping, little son. What were you dreaming about, you with a smile playing on your lips and fat dimples dancing in your baby cheeks all rosy. Perhaps you were sleep - thinking about the business of the. day just past, a day in which I know you had to have covered at least a hundred miles. Your very energy astounds me. How your three-year-old feet manage to carry you so far, so fast is beyond me. And your mischievousness - how can you, little one, cause such chaos? Imagine my shock at finding you balan cing yourself on the top of Daddy’s ladder, and reco vering from that shock, just in time to run after you as you waddle-ran towards the has begun construction of a camp on Jackson Lake in Newton County and about 20 young men between the ages of 18 to 24 from Butts County will be employed in the construction phase. Street and sidewalk paving in Jackson, financed by the WPA, has been suspended in order that those employed may help with the farm harvest. The Women’s Market in Jackson, located on the Atlanta highway, is now in operation and ready to serve the women of the County. Deaths during the week: John Battle Settle, 74. NEWS OF 50 YEARS AGO Jackson has one of the most active markets for cotton in the Southeast, with E. L. Smith, J. B. Settle, J. B. Childs and T. O. McDonald actively buying the product. Bobolinks, or reedbirds and ricebirds as they are known in the South, may be killed in 1927 only under the penalty of a SSOO fine. Butts Countians will pay 1927 taxes on a 19 mill levy, while City of Jackson Herman Talmadge Anew treaty between the U.S. and Panama over rights to the Panama Canal will very likely come before the Senate for ratification in the upcoming weeks. The new treaty would give, and I stress give, the rights of operation of the Canal to Panama over the next 25 years. I oppose relinquishing U.S. control of the Canal. Under the existing treaty, the U.S. is in full legal control of the Canal, and, in my opinion, rightfully so. We built the Canal, we paid for it, and we have operated it fairly throughout its 75-year history. In excess of 7 billion American dollars have been spent in securing the rights and defense of the Canal Zone. * * * The Panama Canal is essential to our nation in terms ol defense and economy. It is an important military asset, required for the speedy transport of military forces between the Atlantic and Pacific. Economically, the Canal is essential to international commerce, and the United States has a very large stake in its continued, efficient operation. Of the 141 million tons of cargo that traveled the Canal in 1975, a full 45 per cent ongmated from the U.S. and 23 per cent was destined for the U.S. rh e Canal is simply too important to our nation to n ?. nf" I®' 1 ®' . atever we might gain in improving relations with Panama is not, in my judgment, worth the risk. It is difficult to envision how efficient operation of the ana cou and be guaranteed by a small country with a history of political strife such as Panama. The U.S., a major world nnrprt'n' f SUbjeCt t 0 the whim Sand “7 ®° f 3 dlctatorsh 'P or the Canal could even fall ommunist control. The Communist countries of ?"I™ o menca : notab >y Cuba, have been vocal is not nnr^ 0 °ki anama s a ' ms < and in my judgment, it ' "“V, hp as °" able assume that they would like to Americas *" ° Comrnunist influence through the * * * tolls reason and P anam a chooses to raise hands we could only blame’ourselves! in '° Comm '" ,is, Continued American control is the onlv wav to sifelv f.rp™ma ,Lf den !dT ra,bn 0f ,he Can, .Zhe hands ot Panama, there would be no such guarantee. with Panama. 3 I? abroad in neotia,in ® paving the way for similar demands W P ’ 1 Pinimifanai , wiwnas. We rightfully own the Panama (. anal, let s stand up for our rights creek. If I could but wish you one wish today, it would be that you never lose the current love of life you possess. If when your feet are thirty, not three, you can still be so assured and happy, then son, you will be a fulfilled man. Your total innocence is beautiful, and your faith unfailing. Of course, I won’t always be there to save you from falling or running astray. There will be days when you’ll skin your knees on the ladder of life and run headfirst into an overflow of problems. Yet if you can laugh as you did today and start immediately to seek out new adventures, enthusias tically, then I believe, no I KNOW, you’ll conquer every obstacle. Sleep well, little soldier. residents will have their property assessed 18 mills. The Towaliga Consolidated School will open its fall term on Sept. 16th. Prof. W. G. Jones is principal and the faculty includes Mrs. Van Freeman, Miss Nellie Gos sett, Miss Ethel Carter, Miss Georgialu Gibson and Miss Gladys Weaver. Miss O’Delle Moore, of Jenkinsburg, will be in charge of the department of mathematics at Shorter College this fall. A rook party will be the feature of the first fall meeting of the Woman’s Club at the club rooms, Friday afternoon at three o’clock. have a nice weekend... avoid an argument