Newspaper Page Text
* Caintujitni News
Volume 112, No. 46
Newtor unty schools open Monday
The early comers had a chance to meet and visit
briefly with Dr. Robert H. Schuller, pastor on the
“Hour of Power” television show and keynote
speaker Tuesday morning for the faculty orienta-
Cloer calls for more
modern school plants
Newton County School Superin
tendent Frank G. Cloer praised the
staff and programs of the local
system in a speech at the new
teacher's luncheon sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce Monday at
noon, but called the physical school
plants in the county “good to very,
very bad."
“When the visiting committee from
the Southern Association came last
year, they marvelled at the excellent
programs and the morale of the staff
in some very dismal surroundings. I
personally feel that our children and
our teachers deserve better. The
community quite often judges a
school system by the way the
buildings look as they drive by.
Business and industries make decis
ions on where to locate based on
similar superficial reasons,” Cloer
said.
Attention was called to recommen
dations by the committee from the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools that considerable effort
be devoted to developing community
support for the schools, and that a
complete program of renovation and
modernization of the school plants
and facilities will be an “absolute
necessity” for continuing accredita
tion.
“Good schools are good business.
Good schools produce good citizens.
If the primary function of the
Chamber of Commerce is to improve
business and to improve the quality
of life in the community, then we
need to be in an active and ongoing
partnership. As superintendent of
the Newton County Schools, I pro
mise you our complete cooperation,
and I solicit and expect yours. We
are in this thing together," Cloer
County sets millage
The Newton County Board of
Commissioners Tuesday set a
tentative county operating millage
rate of 0.74 mills, with another .17
mills earmarked for hospital bond
retirement.
The board emphasized that the
figures are tentative because some
tax equalization cases are still
pending and the tax digest has not
been approved.
Tax Commissioner Don Wood was
expected to submit the digest to the
state Thursday.
Last v ear's maintenance and
operation millage rate for the
Newton teachers greet Dr. Schuller
said.
Cloer thanked the chamber for
hosting the luncheon which annually
affords the new staff members the
opportunity to meet and visit with
community leaders; and the
All school bus routes, and the
Advisement Groups for NCCHS,
are carried on the inside pages of
the News today. This year stu
dents are in Advisement Groups
at NCCHS instead of home rooms.
Chamber members the opportunity
to meet their new neighbors, custo
mers, clients, fellow church and civic
organization members, and friends.
"A school system is only as good as
its instructional staff,” Cloer said,
“and of the people assembled here,
seven hold doctor’s degrees, and 80
percent hold degrees at the master's
level or above. All this is not for the
sake of looking good in the statistics,
but to afford the children and the
youth of Newton County the abso
lute best teaching talent available. I
think we’ve done this.”
The new teachers present will join
some 350 other professional staff
members that make up the “best
qualified, most dedicated, hard
working school staff that I have seen
assembled,” Cloer said.
“A qualified, competent and dedi
cated educator needs to function as a
part of a planned, practical and ef
fective school program. We have
made great strides in developing and
implementing such a program in the
Newton County schools.
“There are two primary objectives
in the educational philosophy which
1 have set for this school system and
which I insist upon being the bottom
county, prior to the state's factoring
of the digest, was 9.34, with .20
mills set aside for hospital bonds.
After the factor, the m-and-o
millage was rolled back to 8.40.
The board heard from local lawyers
John Degonia, Lee Payne and
Jimmy Alexander about a pilot
program being initiated by the
Georgia Criminal Justice Council to
provide money on a 50-50 matching
basis for indigent defense purposes.
I he attorneys explained that more
information is needed on the
program and were given approval to
pursue the matter.
30 Page-
tion meeting of Newton County teachers. He
challenged them to use possibility thinking and
positive programming in their work as teachers.
/I Prize-(Pinning Newspaper, Servin# Newton County For 110 Years
Covington, Georgia — Thursday, August 25,1977
line in every educational decision.
“These are: All the efforts of the
staff, and all resources - both human
and material - must be directed
toward the education of the child.
Schools do not exist for superinten
dents, for principals, for teachers, for
bus drivers, or for custodians. They
exist for the education of children.
Therefore, all the monies spent, all
the programs planned, all the sche
dules set must be done for the sake of
children.
“Secondly, we must realize in edu
cation that we never arrived. There
must be continual and continuous
progress. There is no such thing as
standing still — either we move
forward or we slide backward. I
cannot and will not be a part of edu
cational regression. The day that the
educator feels that he is doing his job
perfectly is the day he needs to
resign.
“When your primary goal is to
prepare individuals to cope success-
(Please turn to page 4A)
The 17 contestants for this year's Newton County
Jr. Miss title were captured last week during one
of their many rehearsals in preparation for the
event. They are (l-r) Beth Dy al, Cindy Webb,
Jacquelyn Hinton, Angela Bailey, Andrea Adam-
Newton County schools will open
Monday for the 1977-78 school year
with an expected enrollment of
7,787 students. On hand to greet
them will be the school system's 430
professional staff members and 121
aides.
Teachers and administrative per
sonnel are looking at the beginning
of school in an optimistic light,
according to Dave Young, director
of curriculum and personnel for the
system.
Teachers will be involved in pre
planning sessions for the remainder
of this week in preparation for
school's opening. There will be 75
new staff members in the Newton
County system this year, and over
half of the teachers in the system
hold masters degrees or higher.
Administrators, number of staff
members and expected enrollment in
each of the county’s 10 schools are as
follows:
East Newton: Lowell T. Biddy,
principal; 15 on staff, 273 students,
plus 50 in kindergarten;
Ficquett: Dan M. Digby, princi
pal ; Louise Adams, assistant princi
pal ; 49 on staff, 1744 students;
Heard Mixon: Chilton N. Hurst,
principal; 13 on staff, 263 students;
Livingston: Vaughn M. McGhee,
principal;; 22 on staff, 414
students;
Mansfield: Perry Haymore,
principal; 9 on staff, 154 students;
Palmer-Stone: Ben M. Williams,
principal; 34 on staff, 690 students,
plus 50 in kindergarten;
Porterdale: T. Lamar Hendrix,
principal; Gwen Hicks, assistant
principal; 39 on staff, 744 students,
plus 50 in kindergarten;
Cousins Middle School: David F.
Robertson, principal; Clarence
Daniels, assistant principal; 54 on
staff, 1087 itudents;
Sharp Middle School: Herbert W.
Garrett, principal; Thomas
Glanton, assistant principal; 47 on
staff, 918 students;
Newton County Comprehensive
High School: W. Jerry Rochelle,
principal; Dr. John W. Davis and
Joe Croom, assistant principals;
Jack Smalley, assistant principal
and secondary athletic coordinator;
Dick Schneider, assistant principal
and vocational coordinator; i 15 on
staff, 2,300 students.
For the remainder of this week,
Inside
® he Neuih
eA Prize-Winning
Newspaper
1977
Better Newspaper
Contests
Editorial 2A
Society IB
Obit 4B
Sports IC
Classified Ads 4C
Legal Ads 6C
Newton Jr. Miss contestants
students who did not pre-register or
who are new to the county may
register at the school they will at
tend. These students can register be
tween the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Parents of first-graders are remind
ed that their children will be
required to remain at school for the
Jr. Miss pageant
is this weekend
The 1978 Newton County Jr. Miss
will be chosen in competition Friday
and Saturday nights, Aug. 26 and
27, at the Porterdale Elementary
School on Brown Bridge Road.
The pageant begins each night at 7
p.m.
Mistress of ceremonies for the two
night affair will be Virginia Gunn,
weekend weather reporter for
WAGA-TV in Atlanta.
Contestants and their sponsors are
as follows: Andrea Adamson,
Mansfield Civic Group; Debbie
Allen, Mead Container Corp.;
Angela Kay Bailey, Conyers Music
Center; Donna Bruce, Mobil
Chemical Co.; Beth Dyal, Newton
Federal Savings and Loan; Connie
Garner, White's Incorporated;
Jacquelyn Hinton, Covington News
Inc.; and Regina Hollaway, Merle
Norman Studio.
Also, Tracy Hollis, State Farm
Insurance-Grady Hubbard; Jane
Ledbetter, Major Appliance;
Sandra Mayfield, The Bank of
Covington; Cindy Richardson,
Bobby Sigman Stop and Go; Kathy
Roberts, Speir Insurance; Carrie
Vander Molen, First National
Bank; Geni Walker, Fantastic
son, Connie Garner, Debbie Allen, Carrie Vander
Molen, Geni Webb, Sandra Mayfield, Kathy
Roberts, Donna Bruce, Phyllis Wendell, Jana
Ledbetter, Regina Holloway, Tracy Hollis and
Cindy Richardson.
3 Sections
Rabies case here
The first case of rabies in Newton County in more than a year
has been confirmed, county health officials say.
County sanitarian David Ulfik reported a rabid skunk was
killed on the property of Alfred P. Henderson near Mansfield.
According to Olfik, the skunk came into the Henderson yard
and began trying to dig under a dog pen and attack a litter of
beagle puppies.
The animal was shot and turned over to local health authorities
who sent it to the state laboratory where the rabies was con
firmed.
Health officials remind local residents to keep all pets inocula
ted against rabies and to avoid any contact with wild animals that
look or act in a peculiar manner.
Particularly susceptible to the disease are racoons, foxes and
skunks.
Authorities say any suspected rabid animal should be killed and
the health department notified. They say rodents such as rats and
mice have never been known to catch rabies in the natural en
vironment and should therefore not be submitted for laboratory
examination.
Twenty Cents
entire day, beginning the first day of
school.
Parents with questions concerning
the beginning of school are advised
to call the school where their child
will attend or the Newton County
Board of Education.
Sam's Family Haircutters; Cindy
Webb, Walker Harris Chrysler-
Plymouth; and Phyllis Wendell,
Century 21 -Covington Realty.
All contestants will be judged using
the same standards required in state
and national Jr. Miss competition.
They are: scholastic achievement —
15 percent; mental alertness and
judges’ conference — 35 percent;
poise and appearance — 15 percent;
youth fitness — 15 percent; and
creative and performing arts — 20
percent.
Judges for this year's competition
are Darrell Kindsay, minister of
music With the Atlanta Baptist
Tabernacle; Barbara Kitchens,
secretary with Automotive Mer
chandising and Auto-cratic; Sandra
Shaver, executive with the Seven-
Eleven Company; Jerry Stafford,
engineer with ATAT Long Lines;
and Marina Vincent, chairoerson of
Rockdale County’s Jr. Miss com
petition in 1976.
The alternate judge will be Mrs.
Reba Stafford who works with the
Atlanta Falcon Baton Corps.
The Newton County Jaycees and
Jaycettes, who each year sponsor the
pageant, issued a statement
thanking the citizens of the county
and the merchants whose support
made the program possible.
“It is the desire of the Jaycees and
Jaycettes to promote excellence in
the young women of Newton County
and to select the best qualified
representative to send to the state Jr.
Miss competition held in January
and to the national finals next May
in Mobile, Alabama,” and pageant
director Bob McGee.
High school
football
player dies
A member of the Newton County
Comprehensive High School
(NCCHS) varsity football team has
died after collapsing at the close of
football practice Friday afternoon.
Dennis Jennings, 15, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Foster V. Jennings of the
Fieldstone subdivision in Newton
County, died at Grady Memorial
Hospital in Atlanta early Monday
evening.
According to NCCHS Principal
Jerry Rochelle, the youth was
stricken at the school and was taken
by Newton County ambulance to the
I Please turn to page 3A)
