Newspaper Page Text
Brantley County
Rescue Unit
462—5007
VOLUME 50 - NUMBER 49
A Voice in the Wilderness
BAD WEATHER has caused
a slight delay in moving of the
ENTERPRISE to Its new home.
Hopefully the move will be ac*
complished this week.
THROUGHOUT THE football
season, Mr. Wiley has attended
the games both at home and
away. He operates the movie
camera in the press box and
later writes a narrative of the
game. His articles are read
by all avid supporters of the
Herons.
WE FEEL Mr. Wiley has been
outstanding in his support of
our team, the school and this
newspaper. We want to thank
him for a job well done. In
particular, we want to thank
Mr. Wiley for his efforts as,
“ the man behind the pen ”
in writing the cover stories
of our wins and losses. We
understand that “ the man be
hind the pen ” is about like
“ the man behind the gun ”
New law changes
emergency lights
After January first, 1973,
flashing lights on an emergen
cy vehicle will no longer be
red, blue, or amber without
regard to the type of vehicle.
Uhder a new law which goes
into effect then, blue lights are
designated for law enforcement
vehicles; red for fire trucks,
ambulances, and those desig
nated by the Department of
Public Safety as emergency
vehicles; and amber for others
such as house movers, wreck,
ers, utility companies, and
carriers of heavy equipment.
Public Safety Commissioner
Col. Ray Pope said all users
of emergency flashing lights
must get a permit from the
Motor Vehicle Inspection Di
vision of the Safety Department
Dean releases
tour dates
State Senator Roscoe Dean,
Jr. announced today the dates
of his annual people to people
tour. Dean said he hoped
that all citizens would take ad
vantage of his visit to their
county. If any person has a
98% Os Georgia Jails Don’t
Meet Fire Safety Standards
ATLANTA (PRN) - Less
than 2% of Georgia’s 370 jails
presently in use hold a
certificate of occupancy from
the State Fire Marshal’s
Office, Comptroller Johnnie
L. Caldwell announced today.
Caldwell, who also serves as
Georgia’s Safety Fire
Commissioner, recently
released the results of a
state-wide inspection that was
carried out by his office. The
inspection revealed that 7 of
Georgia’s jails were qualified
to hold a certificate of
occupancy from his office.
By law, a certificate of
occupancy from the fire
marshal’s office is required by
any jail in operation in the
state. The certificate cannot
be issued unless the jail meets
the requirements for life
safety with respect to the
provisions for prevention of
loss of life by fire.
The major hazardous
conditions noted by the report
are inadequate exits (203
facilities), inadequate
supervision (154 facilities), no
BRANTLEY ENTERPRISE
Brantley County — Land of Forest Products, Naval Stores, Tobacco, Livestock, Honey, Hunting, Fishing — and Progressive People.
THIS WE BELIEVE! IF YOU FIRST SUBMIT, YOU WILL LATER SURRENDER. ”, . . and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore. 3* Epheslans6>l3,l4
while writing about a loss.
SOREHEADS CAUSED by a
political win or loss may lead
a winner or loser to make
comments that are neither true
or appropriate to the occasslon.
In those Instances we feel that
such comments are better left
unsaid or delivered in person.
THE BAND has received
little public attention and sup.
port. Seen at the half time in
football games, we see them,
appreciate them, and then -,
GO HERONS. Members of the
Band and the Band Master pr
actlce as much as the foot
ball team. The Band Master
is as proud of his “ footers ”
as the Coach is his star run
nlng back. Turn out and see
the Band Concert. See those
kids bright faces concentrating
on hitting every note and the
Band Master doing a superb
job in his control.
allowing the use of such lights.
There is no cost for a permit
for law enforcement agencies.
All others must pay a $2.00
yearly fee for each vehicle.
Col. Pope said the 1972 leg
islature passed the safety mea
sure as an attempt to regul
ate the use of the three color,
ed emergency lights giving the
public the opportunity to know
that blue was police; red, fire
or ambulance; and amber, all
others. Col. Pope said by
issuing permits for the lights,
unauthorized use would be pre
vented. A window sticker is
used as proof of permit.
Applicants have until January
first to get their permits from
the Motor vehicle Inspection
Division in Atlanta.
problem, suggestion or wishes
to talk to me about anything,
I look forward to seeing them
on my tour. I will be at the
Brantley County Courthouse on
Tuesday, Decembe 12 from
9 to 11 A.M.
emergency lighting (275
facilities), unprotected
stairwells (114 facilities),
hazardous heating equipment
(134 facilities), hazardous
electrical wiring (134
facilities), inadequate number
of fire extinguishers (270
facilities), and poor
housekeeping (115 facilities).
Other hazards or conditions
noted as severe were
flammable liquids improperly
stored or used, unenclosed
kitchens, boiler rooms, etc, no
supervision or restriction of
smoking or smoking materials,
no plan of action for dealing
with emergency fire
conditions, and no fire alarm
systems.
In many facilities the single
supervisor on duty was
expected to release all inmates
under fire or other emergency
conditions with 3 or more
keys. 5 or more keys were not
uncommon. In general, the
keys were for padlocks and
not for regular cell door locks.
The report states that the
potential hazard was
Former resident
to be honored
Mrs. Cheryl Morgan a for
mer Brantley countian now re
siding in Waycross has been
chosen as one of seven Geor
gia Ambassador’s by the Geor
gia Travel Commission.
The Georgia Travel Comm-
Ission sponsors the Georgia
Ambassador Awards Program
to honor and recognize top per
formance among front line pub
lic relations personnel.
Mrs. Morgan will be honor
ed at the opening luncheon of
Examiners
for major
Drivers license examiners
of the Georgia Department of
Pubilc Safety are now under
going an intensive training pro
gram in preparation for ad.
ministering a new system of
drivers licensing beginning in
January.
Public Safety commissioner
Col. Ray Pope said the in-ser
vice training program for 104
examiners at the Georgia
Police Academy is the first
such program in 10 years and
is designed to teach examiners
the new system of classified
drivers licenses and a new
mandatory eye examination
program for drivers beginn
ing January.
Under the new changes in li-
Sangster
The Association of County
Commissioners met last Wed.
nesday in Fitzgerald, Ga. in
their district meeting. Attend.
Ing were Commissioners re
presenting Southeast Georgia.
Representing Brantley County
was current Commission Ch
airman George Stewart.
Guest speaker of the meet,
mg was Tom Sangster, Direc
tor of the Property Tax Div.
ision of the Department of R^
venue.
( Editors note:Mr. Sangsters
speech as presented at the
meeting.)
I am glad to have the oppor
tunity to be here with you to
day to discuss briefly some of
the late development in the
field of property taxation.
compounded by the
facilities over one story in
height with unprotected
stairways and with only one
exit out of the cell area.
A special report on jails was
prepared at the request of The
House and Senate Jail
Standards Committees for
their consideration of possible
state legislative action.
Caldwell expressed the hope
that local governmental
officials would immediately
start correcting fire safety
violations cited for their jails.
“The only way we are going to
improve this situation is for
every city and county
government to take it upon
themselves to upgrade their
facilities so that they meet the
minimum standards for safe
jails”.
“Hopefully a portion of the
revenue sharing program of
the federal government can be
used to assist financially
pressed local authorities to
correct this hazardous
situation,” Caldwell said.
THE BRANTLEY ENTERPRISE, NAHUNTA, GEORGIA, DECEMBER 7, 1972
the Governor’s Conference on
Tourism, Wednesday, Decern
ber 6, at the Holiday Inn, Cal
laway Ballroom Center, Calla
way Gardens, In Pine Mount,
ain, Georgia.
Mrs. Morgan, formerly Miss
Cheryl Purdom, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Moultrie Pur
dom of Nahunta, and is marr
ied to Mr. Alton Morgan son
of Mr. and Mrs. Waldo Mor
gan of Nahunta.
prepare
changes
censing procedure, there will
be five classes of drivers 11.
censes including passenger
cars, trucks, motorcycles, bus
ses, and tractor-trailer com
binations. Additionally, every
driver must pass an eye ex
amination on his license renew
al date after January Ist. All
holders of veterans licenses
will be required to pass an eye
test to renew their licenses
in 1973. There will be no
charge for veterans licenses.
Col. Pope said the changes
are the most sweeping in the
history of driver licensing in
the State and hopes that with
the Indepth training a minimum
of inconvenience to the public
will be encountered.
guest speaker
at district meeting
I wish I had come here to
tell you that all of the prob
lems in the field of property
taxation have been solved. But
I didn’t, and our problems are
very much with us today.
It is felt by many that the
most constructive step that co
uld be taken to improve the lot
of the average citizen would be
the elimination or at least the
drastic curtailment of the lo
cal property tax. However, as
sumlng that Americans still be
lieve in the value of independ
ent local government, the tax
is Indispensable - to a degree
any way. It pays for virtually
all the essential day to day
services provided by local go
vernments.
I know you, as County Of
ficials, are interested in a
modern, equitable system of
property taxation. You want
a divised system that will re-
move the guesswork and can be
explained to the taxpayer. Jud.
ging from the letters, the tele,
phone calls, and personal vis.
its we have had during the past
two years, the property owners
are becoming interested and
concerned in knowing how the
tax is administered.
It seems that the ad valorem
tax has received more com
ment and publicity during the
past two years than any other
source of revenue in the Sta
te. The constantly develop
ing impatience of property own.
ers with the tax as it has
been administered county by
county and city by city is not
an issue confined to Georgia
alone. It is a national trend
which has been going on for
over two decades. For exam,
pie, Georgia is not the only
state in the southeast that has
experienced statewide litiga
tion in the field of property
tax assessments, lor Ida, Ten.
nessee, Kentucky, Alabama,
and many more have all felt
the long arm of the court wh
ich ordered equalization and
reform.
In much of the current dis.
cusslon there is a vague, un
stated Implication that cutting
property tax bills will some
how reduce the total load on
the typical taxpayer. This is
Band Concert Highlights Christmas Season
One of the featured high •
lights of the Christmas season
will be the performance of the
Brantley County High School
Band, the Nahunta Elementary
and the Hoboken Elementary
Bands as they present there
a highly dubious proposition.
Unless some way is found to
slow down the soaring cost of
government at all levels, the
nation’s over-all tax bill must
continue to rise. This is not
to say that the question of
property tax relief should be
ignored. Some government fun.
ctlons are so clearly a con
cern of the nation as a whole
that their costs should not fall
entirely on local communities.
Welfare is the most dubious.
Our General Assembly has^
completely removed welfare fr
om property tax. Forestry ser.
vices has virtually been tak
en over by the State. The po-
int is that government costs
should be met by a balanced
mix of revenue-raislng devi
ces • of which the local pr
operty tax is sure to remain
an Important and altogether
legitimate example.
I will give you a brief out.
line of what has happened In
the field with special emphas
is on the recent events that are
resulting In far-reaching chan
ges.
Historically, the Georgia tax
system was at one time al
most exclusively a tax upon
property. Before 1852 prac
tically the sole source of re
venue was a specific tax on
real estate without particular
reference to value. Land was
taxed by the acre. There was
some attempt to tax land on
the basis of category, each
one bearing a different tax
rate. Tidewater swamp land
was taxed at 7 mills per acre;
oak and hickory lands were
taxed at 6 mills; and pine land
at 3/4 of a mill.
In 1852, this method of tax.
Ing property was superseded
by the ad valorem principle
under which property of every
description was required to
pay taxes based upon its mar.
ket value. At that time, Hen
ry Cobb was Governor. He
referred to this change as a
commendable move in the di
rection of a “ fair and eqult.
able system of taxation ”, sin-
ce its purpose was to exact
*■ from every citizen a contri
bution toward the public ex.
penses “ according to the ex-
Annual Christmas Concert.
The Concert will be held
December 14, at 8:15 p.m. In
the Cafetorlum at the Brant
ley County High School.
Even tho the Band has only
been organized and perform.
tent of his property.” A one
(1) mill tax was levied upon
all land and personal proper
ty not exempt by law.
This new system produced
93 percent of all taxes col
lected by the government as
well as practically all of the
local government revenues. To
tal taxes were slightly over
$300,000.
Other taxes levied included
a tax on bank stocks; and a
. license tax of $5 on doctors,
. dentists, lawyers, and photo
graphers. Finally a poll tax
of $.25 was levied upon every
male citizen between the ages
of 21 to 60.
By 1900 the general proper,
ty tax yielded 62 percent, and
in 1944 it yielded only 8.9
percent of total revenue. To
day, the State derives less than
1 percent of its revenue from
Cont. Page 4- Col. 6,7,8
50
^,^o
LOCAL NEWS ITEMS OF
GENERAL INTEREST
Mr. J.B. Strickland has been
on the sick list for several
days.
Mr. Conway Rogers called on
Miss Ivory Brooker Sunday.
Mr. B.P. Rogers has been
quite ill but 1s improving at
this writing.
Mrs. Mary Shue and grand
son, Geo. Craig David, took
Sunday dinner with Mrs. P.B.
Rogers.
Mr. and Mrs. F.O. Knox
motored to Brunswick Sat
urday.
OFFICIAL ORGAN BRANTLEY COUNTY AND CITY OF NAHUNTA
ing a relatively short time,
Brantley countlans have every
reason to be proud of their
Band, as they are one of the
most outstanding Bands in this
section of the State.
They have performed In sev-
Caldwell Is Host For
National Convention
ATLANTA (PRN) -
Automobile insurance, and
minimum standards for health
insurance policies are major
topics of discussion at the
regular meeting of the
National Association of
Insurance Commissioners
(NAIC) being held in Atlanta
this week.
Coinciding with the
year-long celebration of
Atlanta’s 125th birthday, the
meeting is being attended by
state insurance commissioners
and members of their staffs,
plus representatives of the
academic community,
consumer groups, and
insurance organizations. Total
registration for the meeting is
over 2,000.
Host Cbmmissioner Johnnie
L. Caldwell, who is Georgia’s
Comptroller General and
Insurance Commissioner,
YEARS
kAYBON NEWS
Mr. Joe Crews was the guest
of Miss Ruth Morgan Sunday
afternoon.
Misses Sallie and Betsy Dy
kes, of Nahunta, were the guests
of Misses Shirley and Nancy
Morgan Saturday night.
Mr. Frank Morgan made 1
business trip to Waycross Sat
urday.
Mr. Jim Louis has been very
ill, but we are glad to report
that he is improving a little.
Mrs. Rob Lynn and little
daughter Louise, are visiting
her parents this week.
MIMBtR
A-ooMen - Founded ISM
eral parades In the surround,
ing counties and the famous
Rose Festival held annually
in Thomasville, Georgia.
Don’t miss the highlight of
the Holiday season. Come see
and hear the Band as they
present Yuletide music.
opened the meeting Sunday,
December 3, with a reception
at the Hyatt-Regency Atlanta,
the headquarters hotel.
Other topics of discussion
by the NAIC are insurance
advertising regulations and
guidelines, accident and health
protection, and the
appointment of a consumer
advisory committee to the
NAIC.
More than 300 consumer
groups were invited to send
representatives to the meeting
in Atlanta through an
organized effort by the NAIC
to encourage greater consumer
participation. Consumer
groups were also in attendance
at the NAIC’s most recent
meeting in Denver last June in
response to the organization’s
consumer participation
sub-committee.
Cont. Page 2
LINDA DOTS
A large crowd attended the
cane grinding at Mr. T. Pres
cott’s Saturday night. Every
body reported a nice time.
Messrs. Henry and Lester
Edgy visited at Mr. Rob Wain
right Sunday afternoon.
Mr. R.J. Wainright made a
business trip to Brunswick Fri
day.
Misses Susie and Gussie
Pierce spent Sunday with Miss
Rosa Wainright.
FOR SALE
One horse wagon, with out
body, otherwise in good shape.
Will sell cheap.
Joseph Voltile
Nahunta, Georgia.
