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THE COVINGTON NEWS
BELMONT DENNIS
Editor And Publisher
LEO S. MALLARD
Assistant to Publisher
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF
NEWTON COUNTY
AND THE
CITY OF COVINGTON
Positive Action Is Needed
To Finance City Utilities
Last week we reported the City Coun
cil's action that killed an increase in water
sewage and gas rates. Thir action we feel
was unwise and without foundation in
view of the city audit reports which show
ed that these increases were needed in or
der to operate these departments of the
city on a fim financial and business - like
basis.
The operation of a city government is
the same as the operation of a business.
City government is big business and it
must be operated on sound principles. Cov
ington has a budget of $1,141,546 for this
fiscal year. This is the largest budget ever
approved for our town. More people are
moving here every day and the general
public demands more services.
Services are expensive and they must
be paid for with revenue received from
taxes and on “borrowed money” if each
department is not self supporting. S i n ce
1958 the City of Covington has borrowed
$1,020,000 by means of general obligation
bonds and revenue certificates. Each year
the city is paying $87,500 to retire the prin
cipal and $47,000 interest. Every business
borrows money at times to operate, but
borrowing money to operate has its limit.
In 1959, Wideman & Singleton City En
gineers proposed the water - sewage rate
that the City Council voted down last
Monday night. The gas rate hike that was
defeated was proposed by the City Man
ager after thorough study of gas depart
ment operation.
Covington is serviced with gas by the
Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corpora
tion. Since this service was installed in
1955 there have been no gas rate rises by
the city to the customer. During the period
since 1955 the Federal Power Commission
has allowed the Transcontinental Pipeline
Corporation to raise its rates to the city
three times. This has cost the City of Cov
ington $12,000 per year. This additional
cost was not passed on to the customer by
raising local rates.
The time has come for our citizens and
councilmen to realize that the operation of
our city on “borrowed money” must stop.
City taxes in Covington are from one-half
to one-third lower than taxes paid in other
towns of comparable size in Georgia. We
have a tax millage rate of nine mills. This
is broken down into four mills for bonds
and five mills for citv government oper
ation. Taxes can not be raised unless the
people vote in favor of an increase, or un
less property in the city is revaluated.
This paper feels that City Council ap
proval of the proposed water-sewage and
gas rate increase is a must for operating
these departments of our city government
on a firm financial basis. The increase
would be only 75 cents per month per cus
tomer served with water-sewage and gas
by the city. An increase of 50 cents per
customer would be for water and sewage
sendee, and a 25 cent per customer in
crease would be for gas service.
Raising the water - sewage rate would
bring in an additional $15,000 revenue an
nually, and raising the gas rate would
bring in an additional $6600 each year.
Faced with the fact that the city water -
sewage department has operated for the
past two and one-half years at a loss of
$52,489.67, and that it is costing the city
an additional $12,000 “borrowed monev”
annually to provide gas service for its cus
tomers. we feel that the City Council and
the citizens of Covington have no choice
but to pass this increase if these services
are to be continued.
ST. JOHNS, ARIZ., INDEPENDENT -
NEWS: “We helped Ceylon after it gain
ed its independence, and for that they na
tionalized the oil industry, largely Ameri
can owned. They, according to a treaty
made a few years ago, were to pay for in
dustries so nationalized. Now thev refuse
to do so, ‘We won’t be dictated to,’ they tell
us."
EIVERTON, WYO., RANGER: “At
tempts at news management are nothing
new from government leaders. But the
new refinements may cause the nation
new difficulties. . .The press of the nation
isn’t trying to give away any vital secrets
when it goes after the news. The record of
the press is good in keeping secret news
matters that actually affect the national
security. More dangerous than the press
getting the facts to the people is the peo
ple’s willingness to swallow a government
line that distorts truth. When the govern
ment and the press agree, the republic will
b« gone."
(Our Advertisers Are Assured Os Results)
NATION A L EDITORIAL
30^2^;
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Let's Put Christ in Easter
Do we truly know that man called Jesus?
Is He so closely embedded within our
hearts and lives that He shines through us
touching the lives of all with whom we
come in contact?
If not then we should study our Bibles
more and learn more about what He would
have us do with our lives to make this, and
every Easter a glorious season.
Do our children know the full signifi
cance of the Easter Season, or does it mean
only new clothes, Easter bonnets, bunny
rabbits and Easter eggs?
In this modern world, what about par
ents? Is it a time for festive parties and
get-togethers without the Christ who died
on the Cross that we might be saved from
sin?
The pathway we walk here is a prepa
ration for life eternal. Christ came and
brought the WORD. He walked from place
to place teaching God’s word, thinking not
of clothes, food or where He would lay
his head at night. In one sentence he had
five imperatives: Go — Sell — Give —
Come — Follow! Yes, He told the rich
young man to go sell his worldy goods,
give to the poor and come and follow Him.
He told the fishermen to “Come follow me
and I will make you fishers of men.”
These same words were for us. The path
way we travel with Jesus will not be an
easy one, nor was His. There are many
doors which will be closed to us, but that
is an honor. We may be despised and shun
ned because we do not fit in. . . but what
an honor when those doors are closed to
us! Jesus made the supreme sacrifice for
us. He died on the Cross that we might be
saved. What can we do for Him? What
are we doing for Him?
Paul suffered, was beaten with rods but
Paul made his mark among the great. He
wrote thirteen of the twenty - six books
of the New Testament. Remember when
he was imprisoned how the gates were op
ened suddenly and He was free? How this
power of God caused even the jailer and
family to accept Christ.
We may not be beaten or imprisoned,
unless we forget the Christ who died for
us and we let communism take over.
Yes, let’s make this a glorious Easter by
looking into the mirror and seeing oursel
ves as Christ sees us. . . then let us start
down that new pathway of life which leads
to life eternal, and being about our Fa
ther’s business.
The Volunteer and Cancer
During April one of the more than
2,000,000 American Cancer Society volun
teers will call on you. The volunteer will
ask for contributions for the Society's can
cer research, education and service program.
Also, you will be urged to have a health
checkup, if you have not already had one
this year, as your best protection against
death from cancer.
The American Cancer Society has ap
propriately designated 1963 as “The Year
of the Volunteer." Actually, every year is
“The Year of the Volunteer." However, we
are happy to see this special earned honor
paid to them.
A desire to help others motivates the
volunteer. It is an unselfish desire reward
ed only in the knowledge of a job — need
ing to be done — being done well; of help
ing people in distress; of seeing the inroads
of disease being narrowed, and of sight
ing stunning victories ahead.
Volunteers have already won stunning
victories over disease. There would have
been no Salk vaccine against polio without
their hard work and enterprise. It is in
conceivable that without their efforts, we
would be saving one out of three cancer
patients today, instead of the less than
one out of five of 25 years ago. Or that we
would be saving at least 50 percent of all
uterine cancer patients, which was, 25
years ago, the leading cause of death from
cancer among women.
The volunteer is on the threshold of
another stunning victory — saving at least
half of those who develop cancer instead
of the one third now being saved. This
year, volunteers are redoubling their efforts
to persuade all people to have a health
checkup once a year. They have set their
sights — to get people to act in their own
interest. With yo'T help, the volunteers will
win, and anotb<* 88,000 lives will be saved
each year.
By vigot and dedication, the volunteer
has contributed immeasurably to the lives
of all people. They are a great and human
national asset. The country benefits daily
from their dedication and purpose. Our
national life needs them.
MABEL SESSIONS DENNIS
Associate Editor
MARY SESSIONS MALLARD
Associate Editor
Entered at the Post Office
at Covington, Georgia, as
mail matter of the Second
Class.
THE COVINGTON NEWS
11 Wb
। > wn
Sponsored bv Oa. Dept, of Commerce & Oa Press Aaan.
GEORGIA HERITAGE — One of the most interesting early In
dian historical sites in Georgi* is the Etowah Indian Mound
group near Cartersville. The mound village area was occupied
for some seven centuries between about 800 A.D. and 1550 A.D.,
serving as headquarters for political and religious activity in the
Etowah River valley. Protection from marauders was obtained
by the river on one side and adjoining C-shaped wooden stock
ade and moat Possibly several thousand lived in the fortified
town during its height. Village houses were made of clay-plast
ered walls over post-frameworks, with thatch or cane-mat roofs.
The site has been maintained since 195$ by the Georgia His
torical Commission, which supervises excavations and museum
exhibitions there. On display are artifacts found in the mounds,
arranged to show crafts, clothing, religious rites, warfare cus
toms, etc. Os particular interest are two grotesquely carved
white marble male and female figures which still bear portions
of their original paint.
SOUR WEEKLY LESSON FOR
unday School
Christ Is Risen
Bible Material: Mark 15:42 —
16:8.
Devotional Reading: Matt
hew 28:1-10, 16-20.
Intermediate-Senior Topic:
Lord of Life; Memory Select
ion: I am the resurrection and
the life; he who believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live.
And whoever lives and believes
in me shall never die. John 11:
25-26.
Young People-Adult Topic:
Christ Is Risen; Memory Selec
tion: Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By his great mercy we have
been born anew to a living
hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead.
I Peter 1:3.
Jesus, in his death, had ful
filled his mission.
Why in his death? Because
this tragic event represented
the coming down of God into
the stream of human history
to share man's misery and rest
raint. Furthermore, in away
we do not fully understand, the
shedding of Christ's blood sec
ured for us the forgiveness of
sins.
The saddest day in the his
tory of Christian faith was the
day (Saturday) following the
crucifixion. The despair of
Christ’s followers was comp
lete. This was indeed the end.
Only the penitent thief had dis
cerned Christ’s real significan
ce. Except for the beloved dis
ciple John, who stood with the
women before the cross and
witnessed the crucifixion, ail
the disciples had fled and gone
back to their homes, not only
to weep in sorrow but to pon
der the fact that their great
ideal of national delivery and
the coming of the kingdom had
come to naught.
Then there was a sudden re
versal. Something happened.
That something is what makes
Easter Sunday the outstanding
day of the church year. Places
of worship are crowded. Glad
ness is written on every face.
Something has happened.
“The Lord is risen.”
“And now when the even
was c0me,..." Evening began
at three in the afternoon. The j
new day started at six.
“Joseph of Arimathaea, an
honourable counsellor, which ;
also waited for the kingdom of |
God, came, and went in boldly .
' unto Pilate and craved the I
■ body of Jesus."
It took courage to do this. |
Joseph, however, as a member
I of the Sanhedrin, had already
I shown his courage by refusing
i to consent to the cruifixion oi
I Jesus. If a man of no distinc
! tion had entered Pilate's pre
sence and asked for the body of
Jesus, it might well have meant
I his death. Joseph must have
realized that his request, al
though he was honored because
of his standing, was neverthe
less designed to lower him in
the estimation of the Roman
' governor. This Joseph and
Nicodemus —the man who came
I to Jesus by night—were fri
' ends in the midst of danger,
i There is a firm lesson here
1 about standing up for what we
I believe is right even though
this stand may mean great per
sonal sacrifice.
Joseph and Nicodemus were
friends in need and therefore |
friends indeed.
It was when Joseph of Ari
mathaea saw Jesus on the cross
that his natural aversion to the
injustice of his associates sur
ged up into magnificent cour
age and gallantry. In the dark
ness of those awful hours the
heroism and fidelity of Joseph
and Nicodemus shine forth
with the brightness of the sun.
From every line in this pass
age of scripture the words are
being shouted to us: “Stand by
your friends. Scorn to be num
bered with those who take the
. easy wrong against the hard
> right.”
I The women who had end
-1 tired this awful ordeal, and by
■ some marvelous divine support
had survived it without com
plete despair, were standing
ready to prepare the body of
1 Jesus for final in*?rment. It
1 was necessary for them to re
-1 main completely inactive dur
ing the Sabbath (Saturday).
Very early, however, on the
first day of the week, “they
came unto the sepulchre at the
rising of the sun. And they said
among themselves Who shall
roll us away the stone from the
door of the sepulchre? And
when they looked, they saw
that the stone was rolled away:
for it was very great.”
Joseph of Arimathaea and
Nicodemus had “brought a mix
ture of myrrh and aloes, about
an hundred pound weight”
(John 19:39), and these had
been wound into the linen
clothes. The women, however,
wanted to complete the burial
process. There was no embal
ming among the Jews (nor is
there today) but very elaborate
means were taken to prepare
the body for its final resting
place.
Sub-District MYF
Met at Milstead
Monday night the Newton •
Rockdale Subdistrict MYF met at
Milstead Methodist Church. Susan
। Dean of Conyers presided. Two of
the delegates to the Mode! UN As
sembly, Dana Kemp and Susan
Doan, reported to the Subdistrict
. on the Assembly.
Milstead MYF’s program was a
“shadow drama” on the life and
death of Christ. Their closing wor
ship was entitled “And God
Waits.”
During the recreation, the nom- j
inating committee met to nomin- I
ate officers for the coming Sub- :
district year. Beverly Dempsey ;
and Dana Kemp were asked to
contact those nominated to ask (
if they would accept. This slate
will lie presented at the May meet
ing at Philadelphia Church. Nom
inations may be made from the !
floor and these officers will be
elected at the May meeting.
Each MYF in the New’ton-Rock
dale Subdistrict is urged to keep '
in mind that the nominations of
the committees are not final, but <
that the decisions made at the
next Subdistrict meeting will lie.
Since each MYF was not repre-|
tented on the committee, it is es
pecially important that all MYF’s
bring all their members to t h e
next meeting to voice their opin
ions.
IT PAYS TO \nVERT’<F
IIN THE COVINGTON NEWS I
(Best Coverage: News, Pictures and Features)
Senator
Pennington
Reports
Last week I reported to you
certain of the more important
bills that were passed by the
1962 session of the General
Assembly. This week I will
complete the listing and from
time to time in the following
months of the year I hope to
take up these bills in detail and
explain to you how they will
affect you, our District, and
our State as a whole.
Here are the remaining more
important bills passed by the
General Assembly:
1. A bill to reduce motor
vehicle license registration fees
that cover only part of the
year.
2. A bill to require the pre
sentment of an affidavit show
ing the payment of all ad va
lorem taxes on vehicles before
obtaining license tags for
such vehicles.
3. A bill to provide for a
board to inquire into abuses
and irregularities in the en
forcement of traffic laws and
ordinances (speed traps).
4. A bill to prohibit hunting
and taking of certain wild song
birds.
5. A bill to authorize the
governor to consolidate or
merge certain departments in
State Government that offer
the same services.
6. A bill to provide for the
annual inspection of all motor
vehicles. This will take the un
safe automobiles and trucks
from the highways.
7. A bill to provide for the
creation of the Governor’s Com
mission for efficiency and im
provement in government.
8. A bill to create the Senate
Committee on Economy, reor
ganization and efficiency in
State Government.
During the session many ag
ricultural bills came before
the Senate Agriculture Com
mittee, which I am chairman.
I consider any agriculture bill
very important. Agriculture is
still the leading industry in
Georg.a. The Senate Agricul
ture Committee considered and
passed the following bills con
cerning agriculture:
1. A bill to set up standards
for persons operating moisture
testing equipment.
2. A bill to exempt seed,
fertilizer and agricultural
chemicals used directly in till
ing the soil from sales tax.
3. A bill to require that
Georgia Forest products be
used in State Construction
when forest products are used.
4. A new Georgia Fertilizer
Act.
5. An act to regulate the
sale of agriculture limestone.
Georgia is the leading agri
cultural state in the South. To
retain its leadership we in the
agricultural counties such as
in the 45th District must apply
and use the latest methods of
agriculture products including
the new fertilizers, chemicals
and the latest equipment.
The Senate Agriculture Com
mittee is very much aware of
this, that is the reasoning be
hind the above mentioned leg
islation.
Brooks Pennington, Jr.
Senator, 45th District
Governor Sanders
Will Address the
Ga. Press Meeting
ATLANTA — Governor Carl
Sanders has accepted an invi
tation to speak at the 77th an
nual Georgia Press Conven
tion, June 13-15 on Jekyll Is
land, GPA President Jack Wil
liams Jr., has announced.
The governor will give the
tradition “State of the State"
address at the final session of
the convention, Williams said.
“We are extremely pleased
that Governor Sanders will be
with us at our convention,”
Williams said. ‘‘He has shown
a keen insight into the prob
lems of publishers and news
papering and we know that
his presence will lend much
to good attendance.”
The complete convention
plans will be announced next
month. The Junior Georgia ;
Press Association will meet in i
conjunction with the conven
tion and a full program is be
ing set up for its members.
LAND FOR COTTON
Cotton should be planted on !
fertile and well drained land,
according to Cooperative Ex- 1
tension Service agronomists, j
If mechanical harvesters are to '
be used, cotton should be plant- !
ed on land that is free of
rocks, stumps, gullies and ob
stacles that will hamper mach
ine operation.
GI insurance is a S4O billion
life insurance business, the ।
Veterans Administration says, i
A Hot Line for
Appeasement?
By LEO S. MALLARD
Headlines across the nation this week carried the news
that the Soviets had agreed to a “Hot Line link ng Moscow
and Washington. Well, we first read about such a link in
a book of fiction called “Fail Safe”. Our only worry should
be whether this line will be used as an easier road to ap-
peasement of the demands of
The “hot line” communicat
ions link probably will be a
teletype line, rather than tele
phone or telegraph. The State
Department has been promot
ing the idea as a means of re
ducing the risk of hostilities
through misunderstanding or
communications failure.
The central terminal in the
United States will of course be
Washington where the Presid
ent can always be reached im
mediately. In Congress and the
administration it was noted that
this was the first step made by
the Soviets at the Geneva Dis
armament Conference in over a
month to be reasonable about
the disarmament talks.
Meanwhile, cold and hot war
still goes on and the United
States gives a little with each
new onslaught of the Commun
ist block. Cuban exile policy is
a prime example. While lend
ing lip service to the Cuban
peoples evicted from their
homeland by Castro with Sov
iet weapons, the United States
now has clamped down on
Cuban exile raiding parties in
this hemisphere that have been
giving Castro and the Russians
the first taste of their own
medicine.
Kennedy’s new tough line is
aimed at making sure that no
anti-Castro raids are “launch
ed, manned, or equipped” frcm
American soil. Bi-partisan—
but not total —support has been
won in Congress.
Some party leaders on Capi
tol Hill, although they sym
pathize with the refugees, re
cognize the possibility of anti-
Howard Force spent Sunday
with his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
T. W. Force.
* • • *
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Harris spent
the weekend in Roanoke, Alabama
with their son, Mr. and Mrs.
Loyce Harris and family.
• * * *
Mrs. W. R. Nunn had Mr. and
Mrs. Shannon Thomas and daugh
ter Janet, and Mr. and Mrs.
Ralph Dickens and daughter San
dra, all of Watkinsville, as her
guests on Sunday.
• • • •
Mrs. M. L. Kennedy, Sr. and
Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Kennedy, Jr.
and Rusty visited Mr. and Mrs.
Paul Aiken and Carolyn on Sun
day.
*• • •
The M. Y. F. of Red Oak Meth
odist Church and counselors were
the guests of the Rev. and Mrs.
W. D. Strickland and Linda on
Saturday night.
* * • •
Mr. Herbert Polson of St. Pe
tersburg. Fla. visited Mr. and
Mrs. William Savage and other
relatives last week.
• « * •
Accompanying Mrs. Frank M.
Miller and Edward Miller to Cairo
for the funeral of Mr. Frank
M. Miller were: Mr. and Mrs.
Charlie Powell, Moultrie; Mrs. J.
NOTICE!
CITY OF
COVINGTON
TAX BOOKS OPEN APRIL Ist
CLOSE MAY 31st
9:30 o.m. Til 12:00—1:30 p.m. Til 4:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesday Afternoon
Please Make Your Return Promptly!
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
Thursday, April IL 1983
the Communist block.
Castro raids by refugees drag
: ging the United States into
armed conflict with Cuba that
could excalate into war with
the U. S. S. R. Meanwhile,
Russia maintains armed troops
in Cuba, furnishes Castro’s
forces with arms, helps him en
force home rule and indoctrin
ation, and presents a contant
threat to the United States
mainland with its cave-located
submarine bases and under
ground missle installations in
Cuba.
Now, the “hot line” has been
proclaimed as a step forward
in disarmament negotiations in
Geneva. Truly, at the rate
President Kennedy is backing
down and appeasing Khrush
chev it will take even less
time for him and his liberal,
soft policy administration to
undermine the existing bara
cades that this country and the
free world have to hold back
the advance of Communism.
Our government has not yet
learned that Communist agree
ments mean nothing unless
they further the Communist
cause. In Hungary, in the mid
dle of the Communist block, we
could excuse ourselves for not
coming to the aid of the dying
freedom fighters for that was
in the Communist world. But
in our own back yard, in our
own hemisphere which we
have always guarded, we now
permit Cuba to become a
Communist garrison and a
threat to our own existance.
For this there is no excuse!
D. Singer and Mr. William
Singer, Lumpkin; Mr. James Ben
ton, Mansfield; Mr. Mercer Lee,
Rome; and Mr. and Mrs. George
Elliott, Covington.
»* * «
Dr. and Mrs. Richard N.
Godin and daughter Deborah, of
Eatonton were the dinner guests
of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kitchens oa
Sunday.
• * * •
Mrs. Grady Walton has return
ed home after spending a month
with her son, Rev. and Mrs. Guy
Walton of Colquitt.
# * * *
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Floyd Sr.
spent the weekend with rela
tives in Sandersville and Wad
ley.
• * * *
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Harris
were the guests of their child
ren and granddaughters, Mr.
and Mrs. Bob Capes, Barbara
Dru and Stephanie, in Colum
bia, S. C. this past week end.
While there, they visited the
; Edisto Memorial Gardens in
Orangeburg, S. C.
Mrs. N. S. Turner, Chairman
of the National Convention of
Garden Clubs to be held in At
lanta, April 14-18, will leave
Friday for Atlanta, and the
Biltmore Hotel, where the nat
ional group will convene. Mrs.
S. A. Ginn, Convention Prota
col Chairman, will join Mrs.
Turner during the weekend for
final pre-convention meetings.