Newspaper Page Text
THE
CHATTER
oihiK -Ma*
Hu <h . ?
Girls and Boys. . .1
say “Men and Women” now s
who were Training Union mt
bers when we had Marshall Ec.
wards, Pete Nunn, Guy Walton,
Emmett Floyd and his brother,
well, seven boys went outas Min
isters from our church. One of
them was from Oxford College
. . .AU are doing fine! lam
sure we told you that MarshaU
wrote us about 3 months ago
he had 600 members In his chu
rch, at Austin, Texas. Now
around 1000 members, and they
were coming in every week. . .
he said; “Mrs. Dennis It is just
fantastic!” Well, all I can say
is that this Office Boys heart
swelled so big with joy that it
all but popped wide open, we were
so proud.
Now, what we are getting
around to Is this. Marshall Ed
wards will be in Covington this
Sunday to preach at our First
Baptist Church. We know all
his old friends, Sunday School
Class, B.T.U. members and sch
ool mates will want to be there.
Tell you what! The least we can
do Is to fill that huge new San
ctuary to overflowing, that we all
might not only welcome him home,
but let him know that we are
justly proud of the work he Is
doing for our Lord and Saviour.
Rev. Callaway announced Mar
shalls visit at Church Sunday, so
please let’s fill that Sanctuary,
and make it a real “Home Com
ing” for Marshall. We were
happy to see his brother, Jack,
and his little wife, at the wed
ding and reception of Carol Geo
rge. We have missed the Ed
wards family in Covington very
much.
Our sister has been sick in
Newton County Hospital, just ab
out as long as we want her to be!
We want to join her In thanking
each of you for all your beautiful
courtesies to her. .the flowers,
gifts, cards and letters have
meant more to her than you can
realize. They brought the very
message you Intended. . .and we
express our deep appreciation,
as well as hers, until she is
able to “speak for herself.”
It seems that we are having
one of the finest Vacation Bible
Schools over at First Baptist
Church. The Nursery with tiny
babies is one “Beauty Spot” to
behold. Reminds us. . that if
you bring your child up in the
House of the Lord he will not
depart from it.
We have built a very large
Sanctuary, at First Baptist. . .
we believe we could almost fill
that vast expanse of empty pews
(built to take care of the future)
If all our Baptists were at Church
every Sunday. We especially
(Continued Page 6)
Rotarians Install Morgan As
President; Carswell Is Speaker
The Covington Rotary Club in
stalled J. W. Morgan as presi
dent for the coming year at the
annual Installation and Ladies
Night Banquet held Thursday
night at the Teen Can Building
in Covington.
Other officers for the coming
year are; Hugh Steele, vice-pres
ident; Ted Stroud, secretary;
Jack Christian, treasurer; Paul
Beyer, sergeant-at-arms; and
Sam Hay, bulletin editor.
Rotary directors for 1968-69
are; Money Pratt, club service;
Bob Faulkner, community ser
vice; Herbert Vining, interna
tional service; and Bill Cook,
vocational service.
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NEW OFFICERS and directors of the Covington Rotary Club are ing officer; Jim Morgan, president; Hugh Steele, past president and
pictured after the installation banquet Thursday night. Left to right new vice- president; Sam Hay, Bulletin editor; and Jack Christian,
are; Herbert Vining, International service director; Ted Stroud, treasurer.
secretary; Paul Beyer, sergeant-at-arms; Porter Carswell, Install-
A Prize-Winning
Newspaper
1967
B*' ■ Newspaper
. ntests
- 103
COUNTY "FREE CHOICE” PLAN APPEALED
Head Start Program Began
Six Week Session Monday
A six week session of inten
sive training and preparation for
children from low income fami
lies began Monday in three New
ton County schools under project
Head start, a part of the Presi
dent’s poverty program.
C. J. Tinsley, director of the
Newton County Head Start pro
ject, said that 190 children were
registered the first week at E. L.
Flcquett, Palmer Stone, and Liv
ingston schools.
“Transportation facilities for
the children, many of whom live
out in the county, kept us from
enrolling our quota of 227 chil
dren the first week,” Mr. Tins
ley said, “but we plan to place
more children in all three cen
ters next week.”
There are 15 teachers, and 15
assistant teachers, all college
students, working in Head Start
this year to help these children
from low income families, many
of whom have never been away
from home and their parents in
their lives, to bridge the gap
from home to starting school
in the first grade.
“The Head start project can
best be compared with kinder
garten, and it also includes a
thorough physical examination,
both medical and dental, for each
child under the direction of Dr.
Robert Faulkner at the Newton
County Health Department,” Su
perintendent Whitlow Richardson
said.
Money is available for medical
and dental treatment of needy
children under this program for a
Fuse Kickout
Caused Power
Failure Monday
A power failure affecting sec
tions of Covington on Monday at
approximately 1:30 to 2:00 p. m.
has been traced to a Georgia Po
wer Company fuse that kicked out
at the power center.
Mayor Walker Harris of Cov
ington said that the power failure
was not caused by the city elec
trical system and that all cir
cuits were operating normally
in the city after Georgia Power
found and replaced the fuse.
Guest speaker and installing
officer for the banquet was Por
ter Car swell, past district gov
ernor, district 692. Mr. Cars
well challenged the group with
his inspiring talk entitled “Our
Youth, Our Nation, Our God”.
“Juvenile delinquency can be
better understood in our society
when we look around us at the
adult delinquency that prevails,”
Mr. Carswell said as he com
mented on the rising crime rate
in America among our young peo
ple and adults.
He challenged Rotarians and
Rotary Ann’s to rear their chil
dren in the right way according
to God’s laws rather than follow
ing the tide of least resistence
dE S T COVERAGE OF NEWS, PICTURES, AND FEATURES OF ANY WEEKLY IN GEORGIA
gia Enterprise, Established 1865 —The Covington Star, Established 1874—The Enterprise, Established 1902, and The Citizen-Observer, Established 1953
period of 12 months after the in
itial examination.
People throughout the county
who know of children from low
income families who will be en
tering school and who need treat
ment are urged to contact Mr.
Tinsley at the Newton County
Board of Education so that they
can be enrolled in the program.
This year’s budget from the
Office of Economic Opportunity
for Newton County’s Head start
program is $32,942. This money
pays teachers salaries, buys sup
plies, provides two meals a day
for six weeks for all children,
and pays for medical and dental
treatment for those children who
need help.
Mrs. McElreath
Is Victim Os
Freak Accident
Mrs. Louis McElreath knew a
new diminsion of gratitude Sun
day as she was dismissed from
Newton County Hospital following
several days there following a
freak accident with a power lawn
mower at her Collum Road home.
Lade Monday afternoon she was
cutting an area of the back yard
which her husband had cleared of
honeysuckle vines when she felt
a piercing pain in her upper left
chest. She almost blacked out,
but concluded she had been struck
by some object propelled by the
mower.
However, when she began tast
ing blood, she realized her in
jury was not just external. Hos
pital x-rays revealed no object
lodged in the lungs. Upon close
examination of the mower Mr.
McElreath found a long piece
of hay wire caught in the blades
of the machine.
The conclusion was that the
wire had struck Mrs. McElreath
with such force that it punc
tured her lung before being with
drawn by the rotating mower
blades.
“It is hard to believe a thing
like that could happen, ” Mrs. Mc-
Elreath said, “the Lord was
surely with me, for it might
just as easily have been my
(Continued Page 3)
with the rest of our society.
He reminded the group of Hen
ry Clay’s famous words “I’d ra
ther be right than be president.”
Speaking about the ills that
plague our nation today, Mr.
Carswell said: “there is a great
need in our country for some good
old fashion American patriotism
— flag waving, some like to call
it. Today we try to be the po
liceman of the world and indolng
so we are squandering our own
resources. We must stop giving
away everything that we have in
our effort to change the world
and cure all of mankinds suffer-
(Continued Page 4)
utye Cumngtnn Nms
COVINGTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 1968
New Pastors
Assigned To
Local Churches
The North Georgia Annual Con
ference of the United Methodist
Churches was concluded on Fri
day, June 21, in Atlanta. At this
time announcements were made
for pastors of the various chur
ches in the districts. For the
Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District
pastors for local Methodist Chu
rches are as follows:
First Methodist Church, Cov
ington, Rev. E. Owen Kellum, Jr.,
returning for his fifth year; Trin
ity Methodist, James H. Wellman,
new; Mansfield, T. E. Betts, Jr.;
Newborn-Starrsvllle, J. Ralph
Burton; Newton Circuit which In
cludes Lovejoy, Red Oak and Ga
ithers, James E. Luke is return
ing.
Allen Memorial Methodist in
Oxford, Rev. John B. Tate re
turning; Julia A. Porter at Por
terdale, Harold W. Lyda, re
turning; Salem, Phillip P. De
more, new; North Covington Me
thodist Church, Sydney white
man; Alcovy and Mount Plea
sant, V. Y. C. Eady; Mount Ta
bor, Carlton Knight; Oak Hill,
Prospect and Snapping Shoals,
James Ollvent; Sewells, W. H.
Lunsford.
Morford To
Show Film
At C-C Meet
The Covington-Newton County
Chamber of Commerce will hold
its regular luncheon meeting on
July 1, at the Teen Can Building
at 12:30 P.M.
John Morford of the local Br
unswick plant will show a film on
the U. S. Open 1967, a highlight
of the four days of play at Bal
tusrol featuring Jack Nlcklaus
and many other golfing greats.
Plans are being formulated for
a Covington-Newton County Com
munity Night at the Atlanta Stad
ium on August sth, 1968. Tickets
for this game will be available
at this meeting.
All Chamber members are
urged to attend this meeting.
Lions To Install
Officers Tonight
Covington Lions Club officers
for the coming year will be in
stalled at the Annual Ladies Night
Banquet, Thursday night, June 27,
at the Old Mill Restaurant.
Special guests at the banquet
will include the presidents of sev
eral Covington Civic Clubs which
will Include Rotary, Kiwanls,
Service Guild, Jaycees, Pilot
Club, Elkadettes, and Clvltan.
Bill Hoffman of radio station
WGFS and Leo S. Mallard of The
Covington News ■ will also be
guests of the club.
Four new members will be in
ducted into the club at the ban
quet. They are: Robert Dean, ser
vice manager of Covington Furn
iture Company; Bill Henderson,
technical supervisor with Her
cules, Inc; the Rev. Jim Luke,
who serves the Newton Methodist
Circuit; and Ted Evans, project
engineer at Hercules, Inc.
Perfect attendance awards and
two Key Member awards will also
be presented.
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I
Mrs. Mallard Wins First
In War Cry Competition
Mary Sessions Mallard, as
sociate editor of The Covington
News, was the first place winner
in the War Cry Religious Edi
torial Competition sponsored by
the Salvation Army in the 1968
Georgia Better Newspaper Con
test of the Georgia Press As
sociation.
The winners were announced
by Kirk sutlive, a past president
of the GPA, of Savannah, at the
annual awards night banquet on
June 21 at Callaway Gardens.
Mrs. Mallard’s editorial, en
titled “Christian Home Week-
Mother’s Day”, was first prize
winner in the weekly division
and carried with it a check for
SSO.
3 Newton Men Plead
Guilty To Woods Arson
Three Newton Countlans have
pled guilty in Baldwin County
Superior Court to woods arson.
Robert M. Potts, 30, Jack W.
Stuart, 34 and Larry S. Ivey,
26, all of Route One, Covington,
were fined $250 each and placed
on twelve months probation by
Ocmulgee Circuit Court Judge
George S. Carpenter.
They were charged under the
Felony provision, which states
that anyone wilfully, maliciously
or without cause setting on fire
the lands of another is guilty,
upon conviction, of a felony.
The three men were picked up
on March 29th by Jasper County
Deputy Sheriff V. T. Murphy and
Georgia Forestry Commission
Chief Investigator Milton Rose
after setting a series of woods
fires in Jasper County.
Investigator Rose praised the
Albert D. Barnett Receives
20 Year SCS Service Award
Albert D. Barnett, Newton
County Soil Conservation Service
Technician, was presented with a
20 Year Service Award at the
area meeting of the SCS em
ployees held Wednesday, June
18, in Conyers.
The presentation was made by
G. R. Peeples, Area Conserva
tionist, of Decatur.
Mr. Barnett has 20 years ser
vice with SCS and six years prior
service with other federal agen
cies. His soil conservation work
has been in Newton and Gwinnett
counties.
During this time of service
Mr. Barnett has received two
previous citations. In 1949 he
received an Excellent Efficiency
Rating and in 1945 an Outstanding
(Continued Page 3)
H. M. Pulliam
Escapes Injury
As Tire Blows
H. M. Pulliam, retired Newton
County school principal-teacher
and unopposed candidate for the
Board of Education, Post 6, in
the September election, narrowly
escaped injury Thursday after
noon when the left front tire on
the pick-up truck he was driving
blew out, causing the truck to
overturn on Jackson Highway.
The accident occurred about
three and one-half miles outside
the Covington city limits as Mr.
Pulliam was heading for his home
on Jackson Highway. No other
cars were involved in the accid
ent.
The truck, loaded with fence
posts, swerved to the right when
the blow-out occurred, then back
to the left and over on its side
on the right side of the road.
•‘lt all happened so fast that I
hardly know what happened,” Mr.
Pulliam said, “but I consider
myself mighty lucky.”
Other prize winners In the
weekly division were; second
place, Dr. Charles Bishop, Bain
bridge Post Searchlight, for the
editorial, “Victory Through
Thankfulness” which won $25;
third place, Ted Oglesby, The
Gainesville Tribune, for the ed
itorial, “Therein Lies the Ans
wer”, which won sls; and fourth
place, Roy F. Chalker, The True
Citizen, Waynesboro, for the ed
torial, “The Awful Loneliness of
Space,” which won $lO.
Other top awards in the 1968
Georgia Better Newspaper Con
test went to "Hie Hartwell Sun,
Hartwell; The Newnan Times -
Herald, Newnan; The Athens Ban
ner-Herald, Athens; and The At
lanta Journal, Atlanta.
cooperation of Deputy Murphy
who provided much of the nec
essary Investigation of these del
iberately set fires.
M. O. McMichael, Jasper-Jo
nes County Forest Ranger also
had high praise for the Deputy
and the concerned citizens of the
two county area who refrained
from doing any outside burning
during last Spring’s critical dry
weather.
Ranger McMichael asks that
anyone planning to burn brush or
fields to call his office before
burning. This Is the law In
Jasper-Jones County which was
adopted by two consecutive Gr
and Juries. The purpose of the
law is not to prevent anyone
from burning but to alert the
Forestry Unit in case the fire
does escape and turn into a wild
fire.
Bl tJr
Albert D. Barnett
Survey Shows Newton Tax
Property Rate $520 Percapita
In Newton County, the value of
real estate available for property
taxes has been on the rise in the
last few years.
According to a government
survey, just completed, the as
sessed value of realty and other
holdings on which local property
taxes are assessed has also cha
nged appreciably in a period of
five years. It has climbed 39.2
percent.
By comparison, such values
rose only 37.3 percent in the
United States.
The survey, which covered ev
ery section of the United States,
was conducted by the Census
Bureau In connection with its
1967 Census of Governments. It
was the first such study since
1962.
As a result, data is now av
ailable on some 75 million pieces
Editorial 2
Obituary 6
Society 9
Sports .17-18
Legal .26-27
Classified .24-26
Defense of the Newton County
Board of Education’s “freedom
of-choice” plan for desegregat
ing county schools has been pre
sented before a hearing exam
iner of the office of Health, Edu
cation, and Welfare in Washing
ton, D. C. by County School Sup
erintendent Whitlow Richardson
and Greeley Ellis, board member
and legal council for the county
board.
About three weeks ago the
local board was notified that fed
eral funds would be deferred
from the local system during
the coming year upon recom
mendation of HEW because the
local desegregation plan was not
acceptable to that federal office.
Superintendent Richardson
was given 20 days to appear be
fore a hearing examiner, appoint
ed by HEW, in Washington to
appeal the action cutting off funds
to the Newton system.
Richardson and Ellis flew to
Washington on Monday, June 17,
attended the hearing on June 18,
and returned home Wednesday.
An answer to the Superinten
dent’s appeal is expected from
the hearing examiner In about
three weeks.
“Two HEW lawyers and an
Atlanta HEW official kept me on
the stand for about four and a
half hours grilling me about every
point of our freedom-of-choice
plan,” Mr. Richardson said.
“Our position was, and still
Is, that we have tried a free
choice plan and that It is work
ing in Newton County to deseg
regate the schools,” he con
tinued.
“We have statistics to prove
that the number of Negro child
ren being entered in Newton Cou
nty’s schools, previously all
white before 1965, has steadily
Increased each year under our
free-choice plan, and the plan is
working In our school system.”
Newton County School Board
statistics show that during the
1965-1966 school year 19 Negro
children entered white schools
under the free-choice plan; in
the 1966-67 school year 98 en
texed; in the 1967-1968 school
year 186 entered; and the pro
jected number for 1968-1969,
th
Tommy Persall
Calvary Calls
Rev. Persall As
Youth Minister
Tommy Persall, a native of
Cordele and a student at Murry
State University at Murry, Ken
tucky, has been called as the Min
ister of Youth and Music at Cal
vary Baptist Church, according to
an announcement by the pastor of
the church, Rev. Claud Healan.
Mr. Persall Is a member of
the Murry State University A Ca
pella Choir, Chorus, ROTC Sing
ing Cadets and has received many
honors in music.
He will make his home in Cov
ington this summer and will dir
ect the entire music and youth
program of the church.
of real estate that are listed on
local assessment rolls through
out the country. More than half
of them are non-farm residential
properties and about one-fifth
are acreage and farm plots.
In Newton County, the figures
indicate, the assessed value of
property subject to local taxes
amounted to $12,264,000, as ag
ainst the total on the rolls In
1962, $8,809,000.
This constituted the tax base
upon which local tax rates were
applied. But it was not the true
market value of the local pro
perty. Customarily, property
is assessed for tax purposes at
well below Its actual value.
The Census Bureau states that
assessments average only 20
percent of true value nationally.
They range from less than 10
percent in some states to about
NUMBER 26
Oxford College
To Receive
$ 5,000 Grant
Oxford College of Emory Un
iversity has received approval
of a $5,000 basic grant from the
U. S. Office of Education to be
used for the purchase of library
materials under the Higher Ed
ucation Act of 1965, according to
a telegram to The Covington News
from Congressman Robert G.
Stephens of the 10th Georgia Dis
trict.
Congressman Stephens ex
plained “Basic Grants are limit
ed to $5,000 to each eligible in
stitution. Recipients are required
to match the basic grant with an
equal amountofnon Federal funds
and an amount equal to not less
than 33 and 1/3 per centum of the
amount of the special purpose
grant.”
NEWS To Print
Early Next Week
Due to Independence Day, July
4, coming on Thursday next week,
The Covington News will go to
press a day early so that our sub
scribers can get their paper one
day sooner, rather than one day
late.
NEWS correspondents and ad
vertisers are urged to work with
us by getting in all copy for next
week’s paper as early as pos
sible. Your cooperation will be
greatly appreciated.
according to applications, is 288
Negro children enrolled.
Contrary to reports In the
press and other media concern
ing the Supreme Court’s knock
ing out “freedom of choice plans
for desegregation”, it is fact
that Mr. Justice Brennan’s dec
ision, which was upheld by the
high court unanimously, did not
rule out free choice plans.
His ruling In the case of Char
les C. Green et al v. County
School Board of New Kent Cou
nty, Virginia, et al, stated that:
“The obligation of the district
courts, as it always has been,
is to assess the effectiveness
of a proposed plan in achieving
desegregation. There Is no uni
versal answer to complex pro
blems of desegregation; there is
obviously no one plan that will
do the job In every case. The
matter must be assessed In light
of the circumstances present and
the options available in each
instance. It is Incumbent upon
the district court to weigh that
claim in light of the facts at
hand and in light of any alter
natives which may be shown as
feasible and more promising in
their effectiveness. Where the
court finds the board to be act
ing in good faith and the pro
posed plan to have real prospects
for dismantling the state
imposed dual system‘at the earl
iest possible date,’ then the plan
may be said to provide effective
relief.”
“It was on this paragraph that
we based most of Newton County’s
free-choice plan defense, be
cause we are acting in good faith,
we are showing progress in dis
mantling a segregated school
system at the earliest possible
date, and we feel that our plan
in Newton County is providing
effective relief from the state
imposed dual system,” Mr. Rich
ardson said.
HEW officials and lawyers
were unable to name a compar
able school system in Georgia
that was making more, or as
much progress, toward deseg
regating the county schools than
was the Newton County plan.
(Continued Page 3)
65 percent in others.
The assessment roll in Newton
County was equivalent to $520
in locally taxable property for
every man, woman and child in
its population.
It compares with s4l6percap
ita five years ago.
The survey shows that the
property tax continues to be the
major source of local govern
men financing in the United
States, accounting for more than
87 percent of all revenue at that
level.
In the past year alone, com
munities reported a jump of
nearly 10 percent in receipts
from property taxes.
In large measure, it is be
lieved, this sharp Increase re
flects a widespread surge in
tax rates to meet the mounting
cost of school operations.