Newspaper Page Text
Brantley County
Rescue Unit
462-5007
VOLUME 51 - NUMBER 4
A voice in the wilderness
EGAN’S IDEA continues this
week. He feels that six issues
have overriding importance in
this session. We agree with
many of his ideas. Beyond a
doubt, taxes are foremost in
the minds of our taxpayers.
Readers with firm ideas and
suggestions are encouraged to
call or write any are all four
of our Representatives on the
matter. They would welcome
your thoughts and advise. Ros
coe Dean of the Senate wants
to hear from you also. We
CSC releases
test date
The U.S. Civil Service Co
mmission reminds students pl
anning to take the nationwide
test for Federal summer jobs
in 1973 that only one test date
remains.
The last test will be adminis
tered on March 10, 1973. Can
didates who wish to take this
test must file an application by
January 26. Applications post
marked after January 26 will
L. to R. Chairman Herrin, Rep. Wheeler and Grantham
Wheeler — Grantham met with
Chairman for pay hike
The New Board of Comm,
issioners of Brantley County
applied to State Representati
ves Bobby Wheeler and Simon
Grantham to introduce legis
lation that would triple the
present salary of the Comm-
Issioners and add two thous
and dollars to the Chairman.
According to the two Repres.
entatives, other elected county
officers are named in the pro
posal.
A county referendum was
run in the past Primary el
ection on August 8, allowing
all registered voters to vote
on the issue. By a good mar
gin the issue was defeated.
Part of the Commissioners
was in Atlanta at the time
the proposition was made to the
two legislators.
According to Grantham and
Wheeler, Delma Herrin, Chair
man of the Coin mission pre
sented a resolution that indi
cated “ upon a motion made
and carried unanimously ” by
all the Board members the re
quest for legislation was made.
According to a reliable sour
ce, two meetings were held at
“ Dudes Camp ” on the Sa
tilla river north of Atkinson
on Thursday and Friday nights
prior to the new Commission
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. ... .. , M al> to „ Epb . stonMll3 _ u
know that Roscoe will listen
and speak for us.
WHY WOULD our Board of
Commissioners attempt to get
legislation through for a pay
hike when only six months ago,
the matter was put before the
people and rejected by the peo
ple?
EQUALLY IMPORTANT is why
would the resolution be writ
en "by unanimous vote” when
two members of the governing
body said that it was not voted
on.
not be accepted.
peting can get full informa
tion by obtaining a copy of An
nouncement Number 414,
“ Summer Jobs in Federal A
gencies.” The announcement
is available in high schools,
most college placement offices,
and the Federal Job Informat
ion Center, 451 College Street,
Macon, Georgia 31201.
taking office. The source said
that a “ pay raise was dis
cussed, but those new Comm
issioners couldn’t take any of
ficial action because they were
not in office yet.”
Commissioner Billy Lee and
Commissioner J. F. Jacobs
were contacted by the ENTER
PRISE and ask if the Board of
Commissioners had voted on a
motion to request legislation
to increase salaries of the
elected officials. Lee and Ja
cobs said that the issue had
not been brought up in an of
ficial meeting. Both men said
that they would oppose any
move for a pay raise because
a majority of the people did not
want them to have a pay
raise.
In discussing the matter of
legislation with Wheeler and
Grantham, both said ” no de
cision ” had been made to
introduce the matter but that
they would attend a public me
eting here in Brantley County
at the request of Delma Her
rin. They said the public meet,
ing was set for 4 p.m. Tues
day. Wheeler said that Mr.
Herrin had invited all Interes.
ted citizens to attend the pub.
lie meeting in the county Court,
house.
THE BRANTLEY ENTERPRISE, NAHUNTA, GEORGIA, JANUARY 25, 1973
Stanley Manning
BCHS’s homemaker
of tomorrow
This year’s search for the
Homemakers of Tomorrow, the
first in which senior boys were
The two State Representat
ives arrived promptly at 4
p.m. and together with Chair
man Herrin went upstairs tp
the court room. Approximately
twenty interested citizens at
tended the meeting.
During the course of the
meeting, many comments were
made by the officials, and ques
tions ask by the spectators.
Prevelent questions from most
were centered around; why a
request for a pay raise ? Did
the recent referendum have any
importance to our present re
presentatives ? Did all of the
present County Commissioners
agree to request a pay
increase ? Was the matter of
‘ cost of living ’ voted on
in the referendum ? Why was
the Ordinary and Tax Comm
issioner left out of the request
for pay raises, et cetera.
The two Representatives sta
ted their policies of requiring
a referendum in matters of
this type.
One individual in the audi
ence ask Rep Wheeler, " what
is the date of the meeting
that the resolution for pay in.
crease passed.” Mr. Wheeler
said, " it is dated January
10, 1973. Chairman Herrin
eligible to participate ended
in a surprise. This year’s win-
Cont. Page 3
said, ” that was at a special
called meeting.” Another man
in the audience ask Mr. Wheel
er, “ now is that a unanimous
resolution or does it contain
the names of all Commission
ers?” Chairman Herrin re-
plied, “ the Clerk signed it
it is unanimous”. Rep. Wh
eeler responded to the ques
tion by saying, ” It says that
the motion was seconded and
carried by all members voting
in favor - now that’s what
it says”.
” Now it seems to me that
somebody is not satisfied with
the way the people of Brantley
County voted on that salary
referendum”., said a member
of the audience during the cour
se of the meeting.
Rep. Grantham said, “ I
don’t feel like I can go against
the will of the people and if
we do present this to the Gen
eral Assembly, we should at.
tach a referendum.”
Both legislators represent
ing the west section of Brant,
ley County indicated that they
would make a decision on what
to do in the matter before the
General Assembly reconvenes
in three weeks.
How they voted
last week
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Yea N-V Nay Yea N-V Nay Yea N-V Nay Yea N-V Nay
HBI2
HBSI
H 857
H 859
HBBB
HBB9
House Bill 12 was voted on the motion to recommit to
Judiciary committee. This would make types of crimes pun
ishable by death.
House Bill 51 would make floridation of all drinking water
mandatory.
House Bill 57 would create a new special adjustment fund
to be administered by the State Board of Education to give
additional state funds to school systems without sufficient
amount of taxable property. This is designed to equalize
educational opportunities in all Georgia school systems.
House Bill 59 would make it impossible for a Candidate
to qualify for party nomination for public office with more
than one political party.
House Bill 88 would prohibit campaigning by candidates
within 250 feet of polling places.
House Bill 89 would provide for a Presidential Prefer
ence Primary in Georgia to be effective for the 1976 elec
tion.
EGAN’S IDEA
Providing relief
or passing the buck
During the session of the
General Assembly, the news
stories will probably be domi
nated by developments in the
Lester • Jimmy power strug
gle, and to a lesser degree,
by the George L. - Jimmy
power struggle. The concern
ed voter will find that he is
having a difficult time getting
to the substance of the many
issues being considered by the
legislature which should not be
related to the ambitions of
particular individuals or fac
tions.
Basically, there are six
questions of overriding impor
tance which face this session
of the General Assembly. Th
ese are taxes, efforts to cut
the crime rate, use of reven.
ue sharing money, no-fault in
surance and other consumer
protection measures, land use
planning, and Constitutional re
vision.
On theissueof taxes, we must
first recognize that Georgia
generally has a well-balanced
tax system. Taxes collected by
state and local governments
are not too high in compari.
son with taxes collected by
dther states in the Southeast.
However, there are some areas
which drastically need at
tention, and these are in the
property tax field.
Our general level of prop
erty taxes is not too high, but
the burden of these taxes is
falling unfairly on two groups.
One is the homeowner, and the
other is the small-to-middle
-size farmer who would like to
preserve his land for farming
purposes but is finding it al
most impossible to do so and
still make a living because
of the high valuation placed
on his land. This high eval
uation is most often attribute
able to the acquisition of other
properties in his neighborhood
for speculation purposes. We
simply must find some way
to permit the middle or low
income homeowner to remain
in his home and the farmer
stay on his farm. Measures to
do both hopefully will be con
sidered during this session of
the General Assembly. We sh
ould increase the homestead
exemption from S2OOO to SSOOO.
We should also pass a Consti
tutional amendment permitting
true famrs ( not the vast tim
ber tracts owned by very we.
althy national corporations )
to be valued at their farming
worth, provided that the farm
er is willing to commit the
land to that use for a certain
number of years. However, the
effect of both of these changes
would be long delayed by the
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necessity for a Constitutional
amendment which could not be
voted on until 1974. Something
needs to be done now and that
is what the Governor is trying
to do with his property tax
relief proposal.
50 MS
ZANE GRAY, writer of Wes
tern novels and sports fisher
man, became so engrossed in
the Watson story while fishing
in the Ten Thousand Islands se
veral years ago, that he spent
it. Apparently Gray had a
change of mind upon returning
home, because the story never
appeared.
The Ox-Woman , who arriv
ed at Chokoloskee several mon
ths after the shooting, did not
stay in the area very long. She
wanted to farm, and finding no
suitable land, set out with her
oxen for Immokalee, 35 miles
to the north. Near there she
found a large Indian mound
alongside a dense cypress sw
amp.
The big woman built herself
a palmetto shack on the mound,
which covered about 10 acres,
and farmed here for three or
four years. She became a great
curiosity to the pioneers of Im
mokalee. The swamp is today
known as " Sadie Cypress,”
which the pioneers named after
" Sadie ” McLain.
About 1915, Mrs. McLain, a
wanderlust person settled on a
farm near Fort Denaud on the
Caloosahatchee River. Miss
Flossie Daniels of Fort Denaud,
a young woman when Mrs. Mc-
Lain died in 1919, spoke of
the female giant with a vivid
memory.
" I remember thinking that
she was almost as big as the
mare she used to ride,” said
Miss Daniels. ” She used to
spend the night at our house.”
After supper she would tell
stories and sing. She sort of
told stories with her songs.”
The Ox. Worn an had a stroke.
Miss Daniels recalled that her
sister, Lydia, came down from
Georgia. She rode a red mule.
" She wanted Aunt Sarah to
go back to Georgia with her,”
OFFICIAL ORGAN BRANTLEY COUNTY AND CITY OF NAHUNTA
® 3
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EORMER PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON
The nation’s 36th President
passed away on Monday of a
heart attack. Lyndon Baines
Johnson received the nation’s
final tribute in the Capitol Ro
tunda. Funeral services were
said Miss Daniels. ” But she
refused. She planned to goback
to her farm.”
Reuben Deese, keeper of the
Fort Denaud Cemetery, can
show you where the Ox-Worn an
is buried. A depression in the
earth’s surface is the only
indication of a grave. But
Deese, 60, remembered seeing
the Ox-Woman, when he was a
child.
” Everybody here knows
where she was buried,” said
Deese.
IN GEORGIA, all the long
time residents of Racepond re
member the sisters Lydia and
Nancy, and they had heard of
the Ox-Woman and Big Six, al
though they had never seem
them.
” Miss Liddie,” as she was
known, signed her name with an
X, but she made a small for
tune from turpentine, selling
crossties and cordwood, and
from trading in land and cattle.
She was first married toaGor
don Stone. After his death she
married again, when she was
63 and her bridegroom 23.
Racepond residents remem
ber when Miss Liddle used to
sit in a rocker on the porch of
her home, which is stillstand,
ing, and , holding her husband
in her arms, rock and sing
” Barbara Allen ” and other
love songs. She died in 1938.
Her funeral drew one of the
biggest crowds that old timers
can remember.
D.J. Faircloth, of 670 NE
59th St., Miami, and a former
resident of South Georgia, re
members when Miss Liddle de
manded and got her money
from a Waycross, Ga., bank
which had failed during the de
pression days of the 19305.
She gained entry by banging
on the door, threatening to
break the glass.
MEMBER
Association - Founded 1885
LB J passes
held in Washington Thursday
after which the body will be
returned for burial in the fam
ily cemetery on the L B J
Ranch.
" She took her money in her *•
apron down the street to ano
ther bank.”
” The people around Way
cross still refer to it as the
‘ March of Lydia Crews.”
( Her second husband was
named Crews.)
The fourth big sister, Nancy,
could outwork most men, ac
cording to Racepond residents
she cut crossties and chopped
wood in the edge of the Oke
fenokee Swamp and did turpen
tining. Big Nancy and Big Six
were believed to have had at
least average intelligence and
more courage than most men.
NONE OF THE big sisters
had any children, but they had
three normal sized sisters who,
did. According to legend, Pappy
Smith, their daddy, was ” the
biggest man in South Georgia.”
The memory of the Ox.
Woman has not been neglect,
ed in Dade County. Threepoets
have written verse honoring
her eccentricity and courage.
Lilly Lawrence Bow wrote:
” She drove her oxen
Across the glade
Urged by the sound of the
Panther’s wail
Where no man had walked
she blazed the trail.”
Annie May Fitzpatrick wrote
that the Ox-Worn an:
” crossed the glades with her
little ox team,
Not for glory or gain but
to sustain
Her faith in her wanderlust
dream.”
And Jean R. Miller wrote
of the Ox. Worn an that:
” The frontier town she left
behind,
A puzzled gaping crowd,
For never had a woman
passed.”
What other pioneer charac
ter of South Florida has in
spired three poets to pick up
their quills?
