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THE COVINGTON NEWS
118—122 PACE STREET, COVINGTON, GA. — 30209
I BELMONT DENNIS
Editor and Publisher
LEO S. MALLARD
Assistant to Publisher
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF
NEWTON COUNTY
AND THE
CITY OF COVINGTON
Editorially We Endorse
j (1) The election by the people of members the Newton County Board of Education, and that
5 such elected members appoint a County School Superintendent.
J: (2) The raising of funds and building of a new Newton County High School and the conversion
S of the present facility to a Newton County Junior High School.
:• (3) The placing of all elected officials of Newton County on a specified salary rather than a
: fee system. x
( (4) A multiple county commission form of government for Newton County rather than a single
:• county commissioner.
:• (5) The installation of a public address system in the Newton County Superior Courtroom.
Too Much Centralized Government Already
Publicly we take issue with the Newton County
Grand Jury for the recommendation that a studv
be made to determine the feasibility of de
emphasizing all incorporated municipal govern
ments located in Newton County and the establish
ment of one central governing body for all of
Newton County.
We feel that the towns of Mansfield, Newborn.
Porterdale, and Oxford are more capable of disolv
ing their own local problems with their own locally
elected officials than would be an overall govern
ing body of officials elected from throughout the
county.
If each community were to lose its identity in
Newton County under a centralized government our
county would suffer. We are not yet developed
enough in this county, nor are the problems of
each small town similar enough, to submit to de
cisions from a central governing body where the
town of Covington would hold a majority vote of
power.
As we believe in states rights opposed to federal
domination, we also believe in town government
within Newton County rather than a central power
with headquarters in Covington.
Ten years from now the feasibility of such a
proposal may noia water irom an economic stand
point The time may come, as it has in DeKalb
County, when t.>e economic survival of the small
towns can only be guaranteed by a central govern-
What would you, what would our State, our
Nation term the “Greatest power on Earth?”
Would it be money, military power, politicians
who can “put something over”; Force, or what?
We have been thinking on the Ten Command
ments for the past few months in our Churches.
My very favorite one has always been: “Love
thy neighbor as thy self.” Friends, when that
one commandment is fulfilled there will be no
more wars and rumors of wars.
Ralph McGill's column from Viet Nam pulls
at one’s very heartstrings! There he is, a man
to be classified as hard boiled, yes to the point of
being cruel in his comments. We have known him
for years, and know better. Down underneath
all that toughness, it takes to make the place
he has, in Journalistic fields, is a beauty of soul
and a warmth that the general public seldom sees.
“The beach may not be identified. Nor the
unit that was drawn up there at attention. The
tide was far out. The sun reflected iridescently
on the long reddish sand flats that stretched far
out to the sea. The sun also made iridescent
sheens on the small puddles caught in the de
pressions of the beach. .The company of men
(our men) standing at attention somehow did not
look out of place there. They were not of the
sea. They wore old green fatigues, much faded
from many washings.” He describes so vividly,
this scene, that you are there with him. “They
were fully equipped. They had grenades at their
belts. Rifles were clean and ready, but they
showed use. “So did the men.” Yes, his love
for these boys here today, caught up in the muddy
marshes, sometimes left blown to bits there,
with their red blood mingling with the glistening
waters to stain all nations, for ever letting greed,
hate, ambitious desires etc., bring us to physical
Never before have so many Georgia children
been in school as this year--more than one mil
lion of them. Never before have this state’s
schools had in prospect so many new teaching
programs.
Never before--and this development is equally
pertinent to the new ferment in public education—
has the Georgia PTA undertaken so ambitious a
schedule for its local parent-teacher associations
as the action program on which it is now embarked.
“Critical Issues in Our Democracy” provide
the basis for projects the Georgia PTA is asking
its local units to tackle. The issues range from
the broad question of up grading the quality of
public education to such posers for parents as
sex education, from questions of civic apathy to
In the minds of many, medicare has solely to do
with the medical needs of persons over 65 years of
age. However, as time goes on, more will be heard
of a provision in the medicare law called Title 19.
The intent of Title 19 is to provide public assistance
in financing medical care for those individuals who
cannot meet the cost from their own resources.
Wide latitude is left to the individual states in the
interpretation of this provision of medicare. In
actual practice, patterns could beestablished
Which would subvert the intent of federal Title
19, even making those not in the near-needy cate
gory eligible for complete care.
At its recent annual convention, the American
Medical Association undertook to help state medical
societies in their efforts to see that Title 19
programs adhere to congressional intent. The
Council on Medical Service of the American
Medical Association defined “Medical Indigency”
as basically the inability to pay for medical
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ment. But for now and the next five years at least
we are not next door neighbors with common
problems.
We agree that such central government later
might possibly be an economic advantage. But
for many years to come we do not see where
such a government can possibly be a satisfactory
arrangement.
Our smal towns in Newton County don’t want a
centralized county government and we don’t blame
them. If progress means that smaller areas of
our county must lose their independence under a
form of government where their representatives
may be outvoted, then we can do with a little
less progress.
On the other hand we feel that the City of Cov
ington can move forward at a faster pace and de
velop more efficiently under its own municipal
government than it could under a centralized
county government.
Under such a centralized government we don’t
feel that our people would be as happy as they
are now. Happy, cooperative people throughout
Newton County have developed their own com
munities to the point where this area is one of the
most desirable places to live in Georgia. Our
people don’t have the feeling of helplessness
before their town governments and God willing
we will help them to preserve this freedom of
individuality.
or any other kind of combat.
Later, McGill told of the combat. Some killed,
some captured on both sides. “I do not mind
saying,” he reminisced, “I had to turn away to
hide my own weakness of tears. And I cursed
deeply and eloquently the group at home who
made more difficult that job by their seminars
and acts that keep saying we must have peace.”
There was more. “No one in America wants
this war to go on. The generals here do not.
The U. S. is eager to have an honorable peace
table that can be arranged. Pacifism and a wish
for peace and policy of dissent are all a “right”.
But what is NOT right is the beatnik and so
called interlectual cult that seeks to make it
appear that everyone wants peace but the United
States.”
We add that The greatest, and most dynamic
Power on earth is “LOVE.” The kind of love
our Lord and Saviour dispensed. “Love thy
neighbor as thy self”. When that commandment
is fulfilled, there will be no more wars and rumors
of wars. Now Republicans and Democrats are
“at it”, yes war among themselves. Does there
always have to be a North and South? Does there
always have to be hatred, colors and creeds?
Not with “LOVE” within our hearts! Until the
time comes Jesus, our Saviour is touching the
hearts of so-called hardened newspaper men, as
Ralph McGill, who can shed tears when he SEES
that war. We are far away and forget there is a
war sometimes. He said: “lam the way, the truth
and the life,” so let us grasp His hand, which is
outstretched to us at all times, and remember
that He died on the cross that we might love and
serve His Father in Heaven, that our days might
be long upon the land which the Lord, OUR GOD,
gave to us.
the individual’s role in making a peaceful world
for coming generations.
These are challenges for which PTA’s are
seeking help--in the form of membership--from
every adult Georgian who cares about children.
An invitation to membership in the PTA is
not only directed to parents and teachers: PTA
membership is open, all through the school year,
to anyone willing to uphold the objects of this
organization—and daring enough to accept the
challenge of effecting real change toward the wel
fare of children.
Never before has the opportunity been so great
for productive action in a PTA, or the need for
active members and dedicated support so urgent.
It’s a meaningful invitation to every Georgia citizen-.
Join the PTA.
care. Such indigency falls into two classifications.
One type is simply a result of low income, where
the individual or family needs financial assistance
to purchase the day-to-day necessities of life and
will become medically indigent when faced with
almost any medical expense. The other type is
the ordinarily self-sufficient, middle-income in
dividual or family, which can meet most medical
expenses, but can still, on occasion, be faced with
high-cost, uninsured intensive care procedures.
This group is considered medically indigent onlv
temporarily.
In addition to providing guidance to state medical
societies that will be of assistance in working out
state laws and programs implementing Title 19,
the AMA has established an information center to
collect and transmit information concerning medi
cal assistance programs. The medical profession
is dedicated to implementing medicare to the best
of its ability in accordance with the intent of Con
gress.
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.
OCR WEEKLY LESSON FOR
Sunday School
JUDGMENT ON UNGODLY
LIVING(TEMPERANCE)
Devotional Reading: Galatians
5: 16-25.
Intermediate - Senior Topic:
The Danger of Wrong Values.
Memory Selection: Woe to
those who call evil good and good
evil, who put darkness for light
and light for darkness. Isaiah
5:20.
Young People-Adult Topic:
The Danger of Wrong Values.
Isaiah was one of God’s great
spokesmen. Unlike the prophet
Amos, who was a humble shep
herd, Isaiah was a member of
the upper class with distomguish
ed connections both political and
social. Most important, how
ever, was the fact that Isaiah
was a man whose mind and soul
were sensitive to the presence
and working of God’s power in
the world.
Isaiah was a man of unusually
fine background, great ability,
and complete dedication to the
things of God.
Last week we studied Isaiah’s
call. He had heard the voice of
the Lord saying, “Whom shall
I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I; send
me’’ (6:8).
Isaiah was unsparing In his de
nunciation of evil. Compared
with some of their neighbors, the
Hebrews were a good - living
people. Immorality and drunken
ness existed among them and
sometimes rose to flood level,
but on the whole the Hebrews
were obedient to the law of Moses
and the teachings of the prophets.
Among such prophets Isaiah was
one of the first to summon them
to self-control and higher living.
Isaiah was a true spokesman
of God, ever pointing his people
o higher living and deeper re
ligious faith.
“Woe unto them that join house
to house, that lay field to field,
till there be no place, that they
may be placed alone in the midst
cf the earth!”
The person who is greedy for
exciting pleasure and Immoral
Indulgence is usually greedy for
everything else In the world.
He wants more money, not so
that he may use It to do good
but that he may be able to buy
more of the low pleasures of
physical indulgence and to do
minate the lives of those who
would pander to his weaknesses.
Amos had denounced the fact
that in the Northern Kingdom—
which worshiped golden calves
Instead of the one living and true
god—a few selfish, indulgent, and
heavy-handed persons were roll
ing in wealth while the great
mass of the population was
FREEDOM S FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
I &
' i u)) । 1 1 j J
T* A Vr 7 '/ Ilf I
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER WEEK
In this sophisticated era of world-wide commu
nications via satellite, we are sometimes inclined to
take the conventional spreading of news and infor
mation. as a matter of course.
Yet. when a vital issue is being discussed at the
national level, one always hears the remark “let’s
get the thinking at the grass roots” for the national
leaders know that this is truly the voice of inde
pendent America.
To keep “the grass roots” informed is the re
sponsibility of your local newspaper. Not only are
the world’s happenings defined in the light of the
smallest—and most important—common denomi
nator. the American family, but regional, state and
local events are reported. We are the voice of the
community—and oftinies its conscience. In provid
ing the news and information, we tell our readers
what is happening, how it is happening, and why it
is happening.
hile we mirror events for the community to
see. we assume the obligation and responsibility to
inform you accurately so that we may continue
to be a major influence in making this community
a better place to live.
As independent citizens, we welcome the privi
lege of the freedom of the press, and to be a part
of the thousands of weekly newspapers who make
up the news source for the thinking grass-roots
America.
THE COVINGTON NEWS
poverty-stricken. Since men had
no respect for God, they had no
regard for God’s creatures. They
flouted God’s teachings regarding
the living of a good life, and with
equal abandon they scorned God’s
command that they love their
neighbor as themselves (Lev.
19:18).
People who are truly evil at
heart have precious little con
cern for their neighbor and his
welfare. Most of their thoughts
are taken up with their burning
eagerness to have what they call
a good time. Since it costs
something to have a good time,
they are greedy to acquire wealth.
Good Impulses are bound to
gether by the spirit of the living
God. Evil Impulses are bound
together by the devilish spirit of
selfishness, ingratitude, and
greed. Because Isaiah perceived
this he was a great prophet.
“Woe unto them that rise up
early in the morning, that they
may follow strong drink; that
continue until night, until wine
inflame them!”
Isaiah prophesied between 700
and 800 years before Christ,
about 2700 years ago. Yet the
“night spots” of that day, the
centers of dissipation and vice,
were very little different es
sentially from the places which
today are weakening our national
life.
National Newspaper Week Oct. 9-15
This year, National Newspaper
Week will be observed from Oct
ober 9 through 15, and it is an
appropriate time to draw every
American’s attention to his daily
dependence on the written word
for his knowledge, the protec
tion of his political freedom and
the furtherance of his material
well-being.
The written words, appearing
regularly in some 11,000 news
papers throughout the 50 states,
are the permanent record of
news, information and opinion,
which are primary factors in
BY GOVERNOR
CARL E. SANDERS
Georgia men and women who
have served in the United States
Armed Forces and the widows
and dependents of those who have
(Our Advertisers Are Assured of Best Results)
Io
(he Sditaz
Dear Editor,
I think it would be very nice
for the people of Newton County
to congratulate the boys of the
Country Music Bands for a good
job of entertainment they have
given us at the Porterdale School
Auditorium each Friday night.
This past Friday night, every
body was surprised when, who
you might call the father of the
group, Adell Digby, came for
ward with a song which he had
written, both the words and the
music. He also has several other
songs he has written. He has a
terrific voice, and I think every
body should hear him sing. Good
luck, Adell, and again, congrat
ulations.
Eddie and Thelma
** * *
353 9th St. N. E
Atlanta, Ga.
Dear Editor;
I am writing your newspaper
hoping you can help me out. I
would like information, or your
advise on the best way to locate
in Covington a railway token
Issued by C & O St. Railway
Covington. It was issued in
1888, and was used, it is be
lieved, till 1918.
It was a small horse drawn
car line, 2500 tokens were struck.
I am Interested in locating one
or more. I need one for my
own collection, and have close
friends that also need one.
Thank you.
Edwin Bates
crystallzing majority public
opinion. Under our form of gov
ernment this will continue to
shape national policy and the
kind of country we are to live in.
The pen is mightier than the
sword but only so long as It
retains its freedom. In the Uni
ted States, the free press, com
posed of thousands of independent
newspapers dedicated to accurate
reporting of the news and free
expression of opinion, is the best
guarantee that our free society
has a future.
served to defend our Nation are
eligible for a number of benefits.
None of these benefits, however,
are available automatically. All
must be applied for.
The Georgia Department of
Veterans Service, under the able
direction of Pete Wheller, has
the responsibility of assisting
and advising veterans and their
families in securing the benefits
to which they are entitled and
of informing the veteran popu
lation of all veterans benefits.
Georgia’s responsibility to aid
veterans and their dependents
and the wives of service men con
tinues to increase as the number
of veterans and servicemen in
creases with Georgia’s growth.
Our State has recently felt a
great impact from the Vietnam
war as the First Cavalry Divi
sion from Fort Benning moved
onto the front lines of that con
flict.
Some 100,000 additional Geor
gians who have served in the
Armed Forces since the Korean
Conflict recently became eligible
for education and other benefits
with the passage of the new G.I.
Bill.
Because of the number of bene
fits available to servicemen and
veterans and their dependents
and because of the growing need
for a central source of infor
mation about these benefits, the
Department of Veterans Service,
last January, piloted a program
to bring together under one roof
for a day-long counseling ser
vice, some nineteen State and
Federal agencies concerned with
veterans benefits.
Columbus was selected as the
first site for this program, due
to the large number of service
families and veterans in the area.
Some 5,000 men and women re
sponded from the widow of a
Spanish-American War veteran
to many teen-age wives of men
fighting in Southeast Asia.
The success of the Columbus
program led to another similar
program in the Augusta area,
home of Fort Gordon. This pro
gram attracted spectators from
Washington who came to observe
Georgia’s answer to the need
for a central information service.
We have found through these
one-day counseling services and
through conversations with vet
erans from throughout the State
that many are unaware of the
benefits available to them.
Many servicemen do not know
that I have exempted men ser
ving in Vietnam from paying
Georgia income tax and that many
veterans of World War II and
the Korean Conflict are eligible
for free, lifetime driving licen
ses from the State of Georgia.
Through the initiative of Mr.
Wheeler and the Department of
Veterans Service this infor
mation is being made available
to Georgians.
If you are a veteran or the
widow of a veteran and you have
a question about your benefits
contact the State Department of
Veterans Service in Atlanta or
your local Veterans Service Field
Office.
I know that I speak for all of
Georgia’s veterans in commend
ing the Department of Veterans
Service for an outstanding job in
keeping the public informed.
Several months ago the need
for a supplement in pay for New
ton Count)’ teachers was brought
to the attention of the public in
this column. The people became
aroused over the problem and
made themselves heard. County
officials acted and the teachers
received their pay supplement.
There are presently two other
issues that are just as important
to Newton County as was teacher
pay supplements. They are; (1)
a Board of Education elected by
the people, with power to ap
point the school superintendent;
and (2) a multiple county com
mission to govern Newton County
Instead of a single elected county
commissioner.
It was heartening to see Donald
Ballard state during his cam
paign for representative that, if
elected, he would arrange ref
erendums for Newton County so
the people may vote on these
two vital issues.
Mr. Ballard has been elected
and the people of Newton County
will be awaiting their opportunity
to move our county and its schools
forward with their vote on these
two issues.
When talking with Mr. Ballard
Wednesday morning he said that
he was presently organizing a
“Peoples Advisory staff” for
better Newton County govern
ment. Citizens from every area
of our county community life
will be asked to serve on this
staff. There will be represen
tatives from the clergy, from
civic organizations, from the Ne
gro community, from different
areas of city and county govern
ment, and from the county at
large.
This staif will be asked to
study the needs of the people,
cities, and county. They will
make recommendations to Mr.
Ballard for action in the legis
lature.
Mr. Ballard said that he has
hopes of carrying the recom
mendations to the people of the
county at a public forum similar
to the one held by the Newton
County Jaycees during their cru-
By Charles R. Thomas, Jr.
Pastor
Salem Methodist Church
John, who wrote the Book of
Revelation, speaks the following
words to us in verse one of
chapter twenty one: “I saw a
new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away.” At
the time, he was imprisoned
on the Isle of Patmos. He could
look across the narrow stretch
of sea to where his friends and
fellow Christians were. It was
not an easy time to be a Christ
ian. The persecutions of the
Roman Empire were getting un
derway after persecutions by the
Jews had subsided. God spoke
to John while he was in prison
and showed him a vision of a
new heaven and a new earth.
John wrote to encourage Christ
ians to remember that “the suf
ferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared to
the glory which shall be re
vealed.”
It is important to note that
John was shown a vision of a
heavenly city which is the ul
timate home that God has pre
pared for his children. Human
beings are so created that they
must have homes. It is God’s
will for the home to be a haven
and a heaven in this life and for
the soul to be at home with him
in the life to come. There is
no institution more important
than the home. Babies must be
cared for, and the home is God’s
greatest institution. It is more
important than church or school
La)nna film
Says..
God didn’t make man to die.
Death came to man as a result
or consequence of the breaking
of the divine law, not as a sen
tence pronounced as a punish
ment for the law having been
broken.
God did not create man to die.
He made man self-propagating,
self-sustaining, and self-repair
ing; but warned him, in loving
kindness, that death would insue
if he disobeyed God’s law. So,
when man knowingly and willfully
disobeyed that law, he brought
upon himself the consequence. ..
death. This was true physically
and spiritually. God gave man
his God-like freedom of will and
right of choice. When Adam used
that freedom to defy Him and join
ed Satan in setting up a rebel
kingdom in opposition to the King
dom of God, he incurred the death
of separation from God. God had
the power, and could have de-
Thursday, October 6, 1966
NEEDED:
Interest And Support
By Newton Citizens
By: Leo S. Mallard
sade for the teacher salary sup
plement.
Newton County is experiencing
phenomenal growth and we have
outgrown our schools and our
present form of county govern
ment. In stating this I don’t
mean to cast any reflection on
the job that has been done by
anyone in public office in the
past.
It is fact however, that the
people need more control of our
school system operation. Also
the job of managing our county’s
government has grown too large
to have this power invested in
any one elected official.
The Newton County Grand Jury
in the September 1966 term re
commended that the “Represen
tative-elect introduce and pass
a bill in the 1967 session of
the General Assembly to require
tnai future members of the New
ton County Board of Education
be elected by the citizens of
Newton County and that such
elected members appoint a
County School Superintendent.”
The Grand Jury also recom
mended that “the Citizens of
Newton, County seriously con
sider a Multiple County Com
mission type of government. It
Is believed by this body, after
considering the anticipated grow
th of the County, that too much
authority and responsibility is
placed in one elected official.”
The time to act is now and
the people must do the acting
by letting their Representative
and other officials know their
wishes. We are behind the times
now, considering the progress
that Newton County is making,
and there is not time to allow
the recommendations of the
Grand Jury to be treated in
differently as has been done
many times in the past.
It is my belief that if the
people are Informed they will
act. This column is pledged to
support the people of Newton
County and to speak out on is
sues that are in the best in
terest of the people and eco
nomic, cultural, and social pro
gress of our county.
for the home was the meeting
place of the New Testament Chu
rch, and the home teaches things
which can never be changed by
the school. Home is a place
where we are encouraged when we
have failed and where we are
humbled when we become too
proud of our successes. A
Christian Home is a place where
the love of Christ is lived in the
lives of the members of the
family.
Our earthly homes do not last.
The dwellings vanish, children
marry, and parents die. It is
sad to see an old homeplace
and to imagine the happy as well
as the sad experiences some
family circle has shared there.
No matter how much you love
your earthly dwelling place and
the members of your family cir
cle, you must leave them some
day. The Book of Revelation re
veals to us the heavenly home
which God has prepared for his
children. Those things which
separate us from one another
in this life and which strike fear
in our hearts will be gone.
Describing the New Jerusalem,
John said; “There was no more
sea.” It was the sea which
separated John from those he
loved. The sea was dreaded by
the ancient Jews. They were not
a seafaring people. There are
no good harbors along the shore
of the Holy Land. The sea was
feared by the Hebrews because
they did not understand its vast
ness and its restlessness. Such
a dreaded object as the sea will
not be found in heaven. The
Christian will be at home with
God.
stroyed Adam, Satan, and all of
their works; but, He could not do
so without violating or going back
on the freedom that He had given
man. So, the only God-like thing
He could do was to let man go
on and find out for himself that
he could not rule this world suc
cessfully without God.
Then, to prevent the total loss
of the human race, God allowed
every individual to use his own
Individual right of choice to de
cide which kingdom he would en
ter. But, He invited all men to
come into HIS Kingdom, and sent
His own Son into the world to
open the way and invite all men
to enter.
That invitation is universal,
and the Bible, the Word of God,
closes with that invitation ex
tended to all: "WHOSOEVER
WILL, LET HIM COME.” Have
you accepted the invitation? If
not, why not?