Newspaper Page Text
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Volume 112, No. 2
CART irt ELECTED PRESIDENT
Varner elected commission chairman
By Greg Jones
N ews editor
Newton County voters turned out
in droves Tuesday to give a
resounding endorsement to Georgia
native son Jimmy Carter and to
choose Roy Varner over Bill
Johnson for county commission
chairman by a nearly five to one
margin.
Voting was extremely heavy at
polling places around the county x
throughout the day Tuesday, with
many voters waiting for more than
an hour to cast their ballot. Long
voting lines were still in evidence as
polls prepared to close at 7 p.m.
Those in line at the time were
allowed to vote and, consequently,
Voters stood in line up to two hours all during the day Tuesday to
cast their ballot for the presidential candidate of their "choice, a
Congressman, state, and local officials. This picture was taken
about 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon in the Newton County Office
Building (old Kroger building) when the vote was around the
Commissioners accept factor;
continue to seek removal
After much discussion of the
county tax digest Tuesday morning
the Newton County Board of Com
missioners voted to accept the 12
percent factor added to the digest
by the Georgia Department of
Revenue.
Commission Chairman Jack
Morgan broke the tied vote in
favor of accepting the factor as
Nelson Allen and Billy Strickland
voted "for” Allen's motion, and A.
D. Walker and Oliver Capes voted
“no”.
The commissioners noted that the
factor will not cost the taxpayers
additional tax since the tax millage
will be reduced to bring in the
same total taxes as before the addi
tion of the factor.
A statement will be sent to tax
payers, along with tax notices,
advising them that allowing the
state to impose the factor does not
increase the tax, and that the board
feels the factor does increase the
inequity of tax assessments. Each
taxpayer will be advised to review
his tax appraisals and assessments
and make adjustments they deem
proper when making their tax
return in 1977.
Commissioner Capes stated that
in his opinion the factor is unfair,
and that the Board of Tax
Equalizers was completely wrong in
lowering some assessments substan
tially. He said the factor raises
these assessments by 12 percent,
and also raises the assessments on
inventories by 12 percent when
they have already been assessed at
100 percent.
Chairman Morgan asked Tax
Assessors Claude Jordan and
William Ballenger to the meeting
it was between 9 and 10 o'clock or
later before voting was concluded
at several of the larger polling
places.
In all, 8,366 voters cast ballots in
the presidential race — the race
that drew the most voter par
ticipation. That compares with a
turnout of between six and seven
thousand in the general primary
and runoff elections held in the
county earlier this year. Based on a
Newton County registration figure
of approximately 14,000 voters,
supplied by the Newton County
Registrar's Office, the election
totals show a local voter turnout of
better than 59 percent.
Carter won in every precinct in
Long voting line Tuesday
and they agreed that the assessors,
Chairman Morgan and other board
members would take some addi
tional tax information to the
Georgia Department of Revenue
after the meeting and attempt to
get the factor removed.
In other action the board agreed
to give the Civil Defense Depart
ment ambulance unit three, which
is out of operation with a blown
engine. The unit will be repaired
and used as a rescue vehicle.
Board members went to the office
of the Small Claims Court to in
spect office furniture purchased
from the Georgia Surplus Property
Polling Place /^^a/ ///// /^^/ // /^/ /a
Post-Candidates
For President:
Jimmy Carter |H3 113 151 N 3 51 A|3 AMS G4| up Ml 525 A24 3G2 57/ /3l 4.25 g
Gerald Ford /34 m? ^3 39 75 37 g 49 95 44 33 Si gn 10$
Chairman Board of Commissioners •
Roy L. Varner ^5/ 133 |gs 453 /gg 47/ 535 5915
BiB Johnson ,40 A34 HG iz 18 G 0 15 75 g 27 IW 4? 75 5l |||47
.4 Prise-Winning Veics/M/wr, Serving Newton County For 110 Yearn
Covington, Georgia — Thursday, November 4,1976
Newton County, including the
absentee ballots. In most precincts
the vote was very lopsided in favor
of the former Georgia governor, but
the race was close at the Brick
Store where complete but unofficial
figures showed Carter polling 289
votes to 243 for President Ford.
The county-wide totals showed
Carter capturing 6,258 votes, or
74.8 percent of the local vote, with
Ford getting 2,108 votes, or 25.2
percent. The large Carter win in
Newton County reflected the trend
throughout the state and the entire
South— the region that formed the
base for Carter’s narrow electoral
vote victory.
The race for county commission
chairman in Newton County saw
1200 mark. Voting on 29 amendments to the Georgia Constitution
was credited with causing the slow voting pace. Voters had to wait
in line longer Tuesday to cast their ballot than anytime in local
history.
Agency by Commissioner Strick
land at prices much lower than
costs of new equipment. Bids re
ceived on equipment for the Small
Claims Court were opened, but
rejected because [.art of the equip
ment had already been bought.
A note was made in the minutes
that Chairman Morgan, on auth
orization by the board, had negot
iated a loan of $50,000 with the
low interest bidder, First National
Bank of Newton County, on Oct.
29, 1976.
Bob Peck, salesman for Caterpil-
(Please turn to page 4A)
Democrat Roy Varner capture an
overwhelming majority of the votes.
Complete but unofficial returns
show Varner winning 5,815 votes
in the county to 1,197 for his
Republican opponent, Bill Johnson.
The presidential race and the race
for county commission chairman
represented the only contested
match-ups on the local ballot. Local
residents also voted on 29
amendments to the Georgia
Constitution — one local and 28
state — but county-wide totals on
the amendments were not available
when the Covington News went to
press. A number of uncontested
races were also listed on the local
ballot.
Inside
31,1 Neiua
eA Prize-Winning
Newspaper
1976
Better Newspapei
Con tests
Editorial . . 2A
Society 1B
Obit 8B
Sports IC
Classified Ads 8C
Legal Ads 10C
County vote
by precincts
3 Sections
James E. Carter
Swine flu vaccination
clinics here Sunday
Several thousand Newton County
residents are expected to participate
in mass swine flu immunization
clinics planned at three Newton
County locations this Sunday. The
clinics will be held at the Jaycee
Youth C< nter on Brown Bridge
Road, Sharp Middle School in
Covington and Palmer Stone
Elementary School in Oxford,
between the hours of 1 and 7 p.m.
The mass vaccination effort is
being held under the guidance of
the West Health District as part of
an overall program to immunize as
many Georgians as possible. The
Newton County Jaycees, the
Covington Lions and the Covington
Optimist Club are helping to
coordinate the program.
Persons who visit one of the
immunization clinics this Sunday
will be given the swine flu vaccine
free of charge. Only those 18 or
older will be vaccinated. Two types
of vaccine will be available — the
monovalent vaccine and the
bivalent vaccine. The bivalent
vaccine contains both a swine flu
serum and the A-Victoria serum to
protect against both strains of flu
virus.
This vaccine is intended for high
risk groups, such as chronic heart
patients, diabetics, persons with
chronic asthma, bronchitis, cystic
fibrosis, tuberculosis, emphysema
Fifteen Cents
and the like. The bivalent vaccine
is also recommended for older
persons, especially those over 65.
The general population will be
given the monovalent vaccine,
which contains only the swine flu
serum.
A medical screener will be on
hand at the clinics to answer
questions of persons who are
unsure about which vaccine to
take. Those who receive the vaccine
will be asked to sign a consent
form prior to being vaccinated.
Once an individual has received
the vaccine, he will be observed for
an immediate reaction to the shot.
Possible reactions include fever and
redness or swelling of the arm
where the shot is given. Health
officials point out, however, that
most people will suffer no ill effects
from the vaccination. Officials add
that the deaths of a number of
elderly persons who were vac
cinated around the country were in
no way related to taking the
vaccine.
The swine flu vaccine is said to be
at least 70 percent effective in
prevention of the flu.
Persons who are sick on the day
of the immunization clinics or are
allergic to eggs (from which the
vaccine is made) should not take
the vaccine but should consult their
family physician.
