Newspaper Page Text
THE
CHATTER
• ♦.BOX.*.
local>County-St«Btc
By The Office Boy
POSTAGE STAMPS
Calling all people! Calling
ALL people. . .yes, that means
YOU! Every day there comes
to your home, your office. . mt
what have you?. . . .a letter,
several letters, a package! What
we want is every U.S. Stamp
off of that letter or package.
Sure, we want all cancelled
stamps! They have been going
in your waste basket. . .thrown
away! We do not want the ones
made on envelopes Just the ones
you have to stick on. . .and for
WHAT? Well, we will tell you
the story, and you can really
mean something to somebody if
you will save those stamps!
Overseas people collect our
stamps (foreign stamps to them)
just as we collect and buy foreign
stamps here. . .Our Missionary
Circle has taken this as a pro
ject. . .sending all the cancelled
stamps overseas that they might
sell them for real money! And
why the interest you say?
When our boys were overseas
they found orphaned children...
starving. . .there were quickly
thrown up orphanages in the
various countries. . .Major and
Mrs. Venon Ison, of our city
here, were stationed near one
orphanage, when over there. In
this one they found little orphans
huddled within a hut sleeping on
straw. Damp, cold, hungry and
in need of everything. They said
the G.L’s went “all out” for
these children. . .some had never
tasted ice cream. . .they bought
all they could from their meager
allowance for these children.. .
had Easter Parties and Christ
mas Parties for them, with gifts,
such as they could get. One
orphanage was in a muddy, wet
place and they bought boots for
every one of them to keep their
little feet warm.
We have been collecting
(Continued Page 3)
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COVINGTON
TEMPERATURES
Temperatures 1 n Covington
during the past week were:
High Low
Wed. March 17, 76 54
Thurs. March 18, 73 52
Frl. March 19, 68 37
Sat. March 20, 52 31
Sun. March 21, 47 20
Mon. March 22, 60 23
Tues. March 23, 60 43
Rainfall during the week total
ed 1.73 inch, according to Jack
Chapman, weatherman of Coving
ton.
Newton Hospital
Given National
Accrediation
B. B. Snow, Chairman of
Newton County Hospital Aut
hority, Dr. T. L. Crews, Pres
ident of Hospital Medical Staff
and Mrs. Helen Dickinson, Ad
ministrator of Newton County
Hospital, were notified by the
Board of Commissioners of the
joint accreditation of hospitals
that Newton County Hospital had
been approved for a period of
three years for national acc
reditation. This citation was the
result of the evaluation of the
hospital survey conducted on Jan
uary 28, 1965 by Dr. E. P. Brown,
Chicago, Illinois, a field repres
entative of the commission.
The Joint Accreditation is an
organization composed of mem
bers from American College of
Physicians, American College of
Surgeons, American Hospital As
sociation and American Medical
Association.
The following is a paragraph
taken from a letter from joint
accrediation to the Newton County
authoridy:
“The commission wishes to
commend you for maintaining
standards deserving of accred
itation and for your constant
effort to improve the quality of
patient care. Please be assured
of our interest and of our will
ingness to be of all possible
help to you.”
Elkadettes Install New Officer Slate
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ELKADETTE CLUB OFFICERS for 1965-66 were Installed recently. Seated, left to right: Mrs. John
Chesnut, president; Mrs. Jack Digby, first vice president; Mrs. Nat Morgan, second vice president: Mrs.
Sandra McClure, recording secretary; Mrs. Lynda Hunt, treasurer. Standing: Mrs. Sam Hay, installing
officer; Mrs. Bill Vaughn, chaplain; Mrs. Julian Thomas, historian; and Mrs. Jack Allen, parliamen
tarian.
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// COVERAGE OF NEWS, PICTURES, AND FEATURES OF ANY WEEKLY IN GEORGIA
* P r prise, Established 1865 The Covington Star, Established 1874—The Enterprise, Established 1902, and The Citiren-Observer, Established 1953
VOLUM
Tag Deu.
Is April Ist
A log jam awaits those who
delay until the midnight April
1 deadline to buy their 1965
motor vehicle license plates In
Newton County and Georgia.
Approximately 700,000 1965
license tags, less than half the
number expected to be sold by
midnight, April 1, have been
sold in Georgia at this time.
Those who fall to purchase
a tag by the April 1 deadline
are charged a penalty of SI.OO
plus 20% of the price of the
tag.
Murray A. Chappell, Director
of the State Revenue Depart
ment’s Motor Vehicle Unit has
estimated that more than
2,100,000 motor vehicle license
plates will be sold In the State
during the year. Tag sales
during 1964 reached 1,995,573,
an increase of 6 1/4% over
1963 tag sales.
All motor vehicle tags, ex
cept those for large trucks, are
purchased from the county tag
agent in each country. License
plates for large trucks are sold
by the Motor Vehicle Unit,
State Department of Revenue,
State Office Building, Atlanta.
Newton County Tax Comm
issioner Bonham Johnson urges
those who have not purchased
their 1965 license plates to avoid
the last minute rush by buying
their tags now.
This year all owners of 1963
or newer model automobiles
must have applied for a cert
ificate of title when they apply
for a license tag.
Nixon Retires
From Board
Os Corrections
C. Otis Nixon of Covington has
retired as a member of the State
Board of Corrections after serv
ing on that body for 15 years. He
was chairman of the corrections
group for many years.
Gov. Carl E. Sanders has ap
pointed Stetson F. Bennett, Jr.,
of Wayne County to succeed Mr.
Nixon on the board. This an
nouncement was made from the
Governor’s office this week.
Mr. Nixon was appointed to
the Corrections Board by Gov
ernor Herman Talmadge, now
U. S. Senator Talmadge. He
also served under Governors
Marvin Griffin, Ernest Vandiver
and the present Gov. Carl San
ders.
Dr. Nat Long
Rotary Club
Speaker, Tues.
DR. LONG
Dr. Nat G. Long, District
Superintendent of the Atlanta-
Decatur-Oxford District of the
Northeast Methodist Conference,
was the featured speaker for
Tuesday’s luncheon meeting of
Covington Rotary Club, at the
Teen Building.
Dr. Long was presented by
his son-in-law The Rev. Owen
Kellum Jr., Rotarian and Pastor
of Covington First Methodist
Church. In his message, “The
Wealth of Association With
(Continued Page 4)
Zlw (Cnutngfnn fcs
*
- 7
MANSFIELD BANK CASHIER G. Barron Davis (in checked shirt) tells an FBI agent and a newspaper
reporter how the Mansfield bank was robbed Thursday of about $31,900 by a lone bandit just before the
3 o’clock closing time. This marked the third time in 10 years that the bank had been the object of a
holdup.
- II 1
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THIS IS THE SCENE outside the Bank of Mansfield Thursday afternoon soon after the bank was robbed
of about $31,900. Newton County Sheriff Henry Odum, Jr. (in white hat) is at the door checking FBI
agents, newspaper and radio reporters, while several townspeople look on at the right.
Wheeler Says Legion Has Vanned
Drive in ‘Service To All Humanity
Pete Wheeler, Director of the
Georgia Department of Veterans
Service, was the guest speaker at
the Newton County Post 32 Amer
ican Legion and Auxiliary Unit
Birthday celebration here Tues
day evening at Legion Home.
Mr. Wheeler commended the
Legion’s program of humanitar
ianism as one that “every
citizen-veteran or not—is indebt
ed to the American Legion for
this great program in America
today.
Service to all humanity, not
just “veteran humanity”, was
uppermost in the minds of the
organization’s founders when
they met in March, 1919, Mr.
Wheeler said at a Newton County
Post 32 dinner commemorating
the American Legion’s 46th an
niversary.
The founders envisioned an or
ganization dedicated to “a square
deal for all veterans, particularly
the disabled, their widows and
orphans”, Mr. Wheeler said.
“Remembering the death
they’d seen wrought from poor
training, they took a stand — un
popular then -for universal
military training and for a strong
defense establishment.”
“Then and there, the founders
decided to promote, through the
Legion, 100 per cent American
ism,” he said.
“The Legion’s early work in
child welfare has led to a nation
al consciousness of youth needs
COVINGTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1965
and extensive private and govern
mental action. Early work by
Legionnaires in the mental health
field led to the formation of the
National Association for Mental
Health and a new governmental,
as well as private, attitude to
ward this national problem.”
“The founders’ ideal of a
strong military establishment
didn’t become reality until this
nation had seen the folly of unpre
paredness a second, then a third
time; not until 1951 did Congress
Rotary Club To Honor Top
NCHS Seniors at Ladies Night
Scholastic achievement will be
spotlighted at Covington Rotary
Club’s Ladies Night program,
Tuesday evening at 7:00 p. m.,
at Ficquett Cafetorium, when the
top ten per cent of Newton County
High School’s senior class will
be honor guests.
Other special guests will in
clude parents of the honorees,
NCHS senior class instructors,
and Oxford College Faculty mem
bers and their wives.
Dr. Dallas Tarkenton, Oxford
College Registrar, and John Mor
ford, Personnel Manager of the
Routine Cases
On City Docket
During Week
Almost all the cases on Judge
E. W. Strozier’s City Court doc
ket at Covington City Hall Monday
were of a routine nature, accord
ing to police reports for the
past week in the city.
Ten cases of persons charged
with drunkenness were fined.
Four persons drew fines for
reckless driving, four for dis
orderly conduct, and four for
driving without a license. Driving
under the influence of alcohol
had three cases in which the
subject was found guilty.
Two were fined for speeding
and one other person was app
rehended for possession of ill
egal liquor. This marks the
fourth straight week that the
City Police have made arrests
in illegal liquor traffic in the
city.
DANCE SATURDAY
There will be a dance Satur
day night, March 27, at the Cov
ington Elks Club from 9-12 p.m.
Music will be furnished by the
Dixie Swingettes.
pass a universal military training
bill.”
“The Legion founders knew
what they were doing when they
included an Americanism pro
gram. At no time since the
Legion’s founding has its Amer
icanism program been so im
portant as it is today, because
of the Communist threat.”
“The American Legion,” Mr.
Wheeler conclued, “will have to
remain in the forefront, leading
the fight against Communism”.
local Brunswick plant, will be
featured on the program. Rotary
President Dr. Jim Purcell and
County School Superintendent J.
W. Richardson are in charge of
the Ladies’ Night program.
Lighting Plant
Strike Settled
On Tuesday, March 23, mem
bers of Local 613 of the Inter
national Brotherhood of Electri
cal Workers returned to their
jobs at Lithonia Lighting, In
corporated of Conyers, Georgia
ending a 13 day strike that re
sulted from a wage dispute which
arose during negotiation of a new
contract.
The previous five-year con
tract expired March 1, and un
ion representatives were seeking
a new one-year contract. On
March 9, when no agreement
could be reached 650 employees
went on strike.
A new contract, as of today,
has not been signed, but a joint
statement by union and manage
ment will be announced next week.
U.S. Non-Farm
Employment
Up In Year
WASHINGTON, D. C.-Nonfarm
employment continued to show
improvement in February, with
all major industry groups re
porting better than seasonal
trends, the U. S. Department of
Labor reported.
According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, total payroll
employment, after seasonal ad
justment, was up 230,000 over the
month. Relatively little of the
increase--about one-fourth--re-
(Continued Page 5)
Bank Os Mansfield
Robbed Os $31,900
Lone Bandit Escapes After Locking
Cashier, Teller In The Bank Vault
The Bank of Mansfield was robbed of $31,900 Thursdav afternoon
by a lone bandit who entered the institution a few minutes before
closing time at 3 o’clock.
The holdup man, described as
about 45 years of age, parked
his Plymouth automobile across
the street from the bank. He
entered the bank at 2:57, foll
owed by Cashier George Barron
Davis, who had been down the
street at another store for a few
minutes, according to Newton
County Sheriff Henry Odum, Jr.
who along with his deputies were
on the scene minutes after the
man fled the bank. Also GBI
Agents, State Highway Patrolmen
and other law enforcement
officials were combing the area
in search of the bandit and the
getaway car. Neighbors west
of Mansfield said they saw a
green or blue Plymouth pass their
home traveling toward State
Route 36 soon after 3 p. m.
Sheriff Odum said a witness
saw the bandit speed away In a
1962 or 1963 Plymouth with a
tag carrying the county digit
“5,” which is Bibb County. The
three remaining numbers were
not remembered by passerbys,
Sheriff Odum stated.
Mrs. Louise Carson, the bank’s
only teller, said the white man,
about 40 or 50 years of age,
entered the bank at 2:57 p. m.
—three minutes before closing
time. He asked for a loan and
Mrs. Carson referred him to
cashier George Barron Davis,
64.
The cashier said the man, who
had a bruised face and a small
bandage on his chin, asked for
an automobile loan. He said he
had wrecked his car, Davis re
lated.
When Davis asked the man
where he lived, the bandit re
plied, “Jones County.” Davis
tried to pin down the man’s ad
dress and the robber pulled a
pistol described as .25 caliber
automatic, nickel-plated.
Davis and Mrs. Carson were
ordered to lie face down on the
bank’s floor. The robber then
handed Mrs. Carson a large
yellow sack, told her to get up
and clean out the teller’s drawer.
He then ordered the two bank
employes into the open vault,
made Mrs. Carson empty the
unlocked safe and locked them
in the vault before he fled.
Bank President A. E. Hays,
Sr. said that from $28,000 to
$30,000 was taken. However,
Friday, FBI Special Agent Joseph
K. Ponder of Atlanta, said bank
officials informed his office that
a thorough check showed that
$31,900 is missing in the robbery.
The Mansfield Bank was robbed
in 1955 of some $7,000 and at
that time Cashier Barron Davis
and Miss Dorothy Thomas were
present when two men pulled the
stickup and escaped. The two
men were captured about a week
later in a Chattanooga, Tenn,
motel, and some of the money
was recovered.
A lot of unusual things happ
ened in Mansfield earlier Thurs
day before the bandit finally
struck the bank, only three
minutes before it was to have
closed its doors for the day.
Sheriff Odum said that several
people noticed a strange man
and a car parked in front of the
drug store in Mansfield during
the noon hour. However, it was
reasoned that this was not the
same man that robbed the bank
at 3 p. m.
Jimmy Hays, operator of the
drug store (which is next door
to the bank), stated that the
stranger talked to several people
during the noontime. Hays said
that the man ate dinner at the
drug store and left soon after
1 o’clock.
Hays told officers that he
thought something might be wrong
at the bank about the closing
hour and he went in and couldn’t
find either Mrs. Carson or Mr.
Davis. Then he heard bangs
and noises from the bank vault.
Mr. Davis had a wrench in
side the vault and when Mr.
Hays was unable to open the
safe via the combination, he
(Mr. Davis) took some of the
bolts off the door. This app
arently freed the lock and the
big door was opened. The vault
Mansfield ’Cue
Set For April 7
The Mansfield Methodist
Church will hold its Spring Bar
becue at the Mansfield Comm
unity House, Wednesday, April
7 from 5 to 8 p. m. Wilbur
Jones and U. T. Smith will be
in charge of preparing the bar
becue and stew.
Tickets are 51.50 for adults
and 75? for children; all you
can eat.
Editorial 2
Obituary . 6
Society 9
Sports 13
Legal 19
Classified 18 &1 9
was not air-tight and the two
bank employees were inside only
about 5 minutes, Mr. Hays said.
Mr. Hays said the bandit “was
cool, he just walked across the
street, with the money in some
thing that looked like a pair of
old coveralls under his arm.
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■
COUNTY AND GBI OFFICERS were on the Bank of Mansfield
robbery scene a few minutes after 3 p. m. Thursday directing the
early investigation. Shown above is Sheriff Henry Odum, Jr. (center),
while GBI Agent D. C. Ghormley was inside the bank when this
picture was taken.
4 Men Arrested For
Shooting At Homes
Four young men were arrested
Thursday evening by Newton
County Sheriffs department and
charged with “shooting in
occupied house,” and “malicious
mischief (shooting at an auto
mobile).”
Newton County Sheriff Henry
Odum, Jr. identified the four,
all residents of Porterdale, as
Richard Elkins, Charlie Childs,
Jack Childs and Marion Johnson.
GBI Agent D. C. Ghormely said
all were over 20 years of age.
Odum said that the shooting
involved firing of a .22 rifle
into the trailer home of the
Glenn Johnsons, located near the
Yellow River Drag Strip; home
Two-Man Space Flight Was Success
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FIRST TWO-MAN orbital flight was made Tuesday morning by
Astronauts John W, Young (left), a graduate of Georgia Tech;
and Virgil Grissom (right). Lower photo shows the spacecraft
Gemini. The flight was declared a success.
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County Voters PASS
iHealth, Education Bonds I
Newton County voters who bra
ved the rainy weather Wednes
day cast an overwhelming maj
ority vote for the school bonds
and the Newton County Health
Center. In 12 of the 16 poll
ing places in the county the
total vote, although light, was
for the school bonds 820, ag
ainst 189; for the health center
735, against 274.
The Covington precinct voted
534 in the election. For the
school bonds 466 said yes and
54 voted against. In the health
center proposal the count in Cov
ington was 448 for, and 74
NUMBER 12
started his engine and drove off.”
It is believed that he turned
left at the firstcomer and headed
west. Mr. A. E. Hays said that
Mrs. C. H. Oxford and Mrs.
W. E. Scarbrough saw a car
speeding from the direction of
Mansfield about 3:05 p. m.
An FBI description of the bandit
is given as:
“Has dark bushy hair, is about
45 years old, and wore matching
work shirt and trousers. Has
a prominent, distinct bruise on
the right side of his face from
his nose down across his cheek
to the jaw. Also has a lump
on his taw.”
of Ted Neelys at Almon; and
into a car belonging to Kenneth
Adams on McGiboney Road in
the Salem Community.
Sheriff Odum said the shoot
ings occurred on the morning
of March 18. No one was in
jured, however. All the victims
are employees of Lithonia Light
ing, Inc. of Conyers.
Two of the four men have
been released on $7,000 bond
and the other two remain in
jail, Sheriff Odum stated
Tuesday. Elkins was released
on bond on March 19th, and
Jack Childs was released on
March 23, the Sheriffs office
reported.
against.
Among the 12 voting places rep
orting last night, only the Potts
Store precinct voted against the
school bonds—32 to 14. Five
precincts voted against the health
center bonds--Almon, Mansfield,
Potts Store, Rocky Plains, and
Gaithers.
Supt. J. W. Richardson said
that Newton County is now bond
ed to less than 3/4ths of our
bonding capacity. The SIOO,OOO
bonds voted Wednesday will in
sure our eligibility for the extra
money from the State.