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PAGE 2-A
Buckles Expected To Resign
Mayor James
McKinley said Wed
nesday at press time that
he expected veteran
police officer, Cpl. Arthur
Gene Buckles to resign by
the end of the day.
The mayor’s ob
servation came after a
five and one-half hour
personnel hearing at city
hail last Thursday.
Buckles, a 12-year
veteran of the police
force, was suspended
indefinitely without pay
on March 16, because of
allegations that he had
taken $l2O in marked
money from the Walker-
Rhodes Tractor Co.
Agents for the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation
Further Probe Underway
Buckles Case Holds
Interest Os DA Pace
District Attorney Steve
Face said Monday that
his office is still in
terested in the alleged
burglary case involving
suspended city police
officer Arthur Gene
Buckles.
“Two weeks ago I was
asked to sit in on a
discussion with the
mayor and other city
officials on the Buckles
case,” Pace said. "It was
determined at that
meeting that the district
attorney and the mayor
would ask the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation
to do an in depth in
vestigation on the case.”
The district attorney
said he and McKinley
agreed to ask the GBI not
only to investigate the
alleged burglary, but to
also probe "certain other
matters."
Author Celestine Sibley
Georgia ’s ‘Great Lady’ Visits Here
BY TERRY WOOD
There she sat, in all her
simplistic glory,
surrounded by stacks of
Jlncey, her latest novel,
and a following of
fascinated admirers each
waiting their turn to be
noticed by Georgia's
great lady of the written
word.
Travelling through
Georgia and Florida
promoting her new book,
Celestine Sibley,
celebrated author and
Atlanta Constitution
columnist, stopped in
Perry last Friday af
ternoon for an
autographing party at the
Perry Bookstore.
JH I im ■• I
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Celestine Sil>ley At Perry Bookstore
had left six marked S2O
bills in the cash register
at the tractor company
and observed it from a
hidden position
At the hearing, GBI
Agents Bob Warner and
Frank Ellerbe testified
under oath that Buckles
had denied having the
money when they
questioned him about it
after returning to police
headquarters
Officer Charles Lewis
testified that Buckles was
already headed for his
car when he called
Buckles back to the police
ready room to be
questioned by the agents.
At the hearing con
ducted by Mayor James
After arriving at the
agreement with Mayor
McKinley, Pace said
their request was sub
mitted to the GBI, and
that the agency is
presently conducting the
investigation.
"To my knowledge the
investigation has not
been completed, and I
will not commit the
district attorney’s office
to any course of action
until I receive the BGl’s
until 1 receive the GBl’s
Buckles, a 12-year
police force veteran, was
suspended indefinitely
without pay on March 16,
because of allegations
that he had been involved
in a theft.
Since receiving the
letter of suspension,
however, B uckles
volunteered to take a
polygraph (lie detector)
test and passed it, ac-
As the beloved author
entertained us with
humorous experiences of
her early years, I was
awed by the rhythm and
ease with which words
came together and flowed
from her.
During the course of
our brief conversation
she offered me the advice
that had been given to her
many years ago and
which, to this day, she
attributes her success as
an author and columnist.
“I was once advised to set
aside fifteen minutes
every day for writing
That fifteen minutes
easily turns into thirty
minutes or an hour. I am
forever grateful for that
Front Police Dept. In Case
McKinley, Buckles’ at
torney Tom Daniel
repeatedly objected on
grounds that the
proceedings violated his
client’s rights as outlined
under U S. Constitution
and the Georgia Con
stitution
Daniel also filed an
objection to the fact that
the GBI agents had been
present when four Perry
police officers testified.
Testifying in his own
behalf, Buckles said he
suspected that he was
being “set up” when he
took the money because
another officer had
“wrung his hands” and
told him to be alert.
Buckles said his plan
cording to information
released by Buckles’
attorney, Tom Daniel.
It was because of
differing views held by
Daniel and City Attorney
Larry Walker that The
Home Journal asked the
district attorney to
clarify his position on the
case.
Daniel maintained at
the Buckles’ hearing
conducted at city hall last
Thursday that the district
attorney no longer had
any interest in the case -
at least not in allegations
of burglary.
In summing up his
client’s position after the
hearing. Daniel said
there were no criminal
charges pending against
Buckles and it was not
fair to keep him out of a
job and keep him
suspended,
advice, and it is the best 1
have to pass on to young
writers.”
Jlncey was many years
in the making, she
revealed When the first
version was completed
nearly ten years ago, Ms.
Sibley was told by her
editor that it was un
publishable literature. “I
carried it with me
through the years,” she
said, “and have changed
the viewpoint of the story
from the mother's to the
child’s This seemed to
make it publishable.”
In Jlncey, the Atlanta
Constitution columnist
has woven a warm an'
compassionate tale of a
young southern girl’s
coming of age during the
ft.... m
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS., APRIL 12 T 1970
was to give the money to
Officer Hubert Evans, a
radio operator, when he
returned to headquar
ters. After delivering the
money to Evans, Buckles
said the plan was for him
and Evans to sign the
envelope, and return the
money to Cohen Walker,
co-owner of the tractor
company.
Buckles said when the
agents questioned him
about the money they told
him they wanted to see
the money in his billfold
He said he produced his
billfold which contained
SB7.
When they asked about
the W a Iker-R hodes
money, Buckles said that
Walker replied at the
hearing that the district
attorney said “he didn’t
know” if he was going to
take the case to the grand
jury.
Buckles was implicated
in an alleged theft from
Walker-Rhodes Tractor
Co., where an un
determined amount of
money was missing.
It was later reported
that GBI agents left six
marked S2O bills in a cash
register at the tractor
company and staked the
area out by observing the
cash register through a
partially opened door.
At the hearing con
ducted last Thursday,
two GBI agents testified
that when they met
Buckles later at the
police station he denied
having the money in his
possession, but later
turned it over to them.
years of the Depression.
Jincey spends her
childhood in poverty torn
between the world of
Howie, her ‘.‘white trash”
father, and hardworking
mother, Della, who longs
and searches for a more
respectable life.
Jincey will provoke
your laughter and tears,
anger and compassion. It
is the story of poverty and
wealth and an un
forgettable young
southern heroine.
When asked if the
heartwarming story of
Jincey’s life was a
reflection of her own, she
eplied, ‘‘Yes, in some
ways. Os course many of
the events did not happen
to me. but 1 believe that
every writer puts some of
himself and his past into
his work.”
Though a native of
Holly, Florida, Ms. Sibley
grew up in Mobile
County, Alabama where
she began working at the
tender age of fifteen on
the Mobile Press-
Register.
Through the years she
has won numerous
journalistic awards and
has twice served as a
juror for Pulitzer Prize
newspaper awards, the
most distinguished in
Journalism.
She is the mother of
three, the grandmother of
five and the author of ten
books Among those
previously published are;
The Malignant Heart,
Peachtree Street, U.S.A.,
Christmas in Georgia, A
Place Called Sweet
Apple, Sweet Apple
Gardening Book.
Especially at Christmas,
Mothers Are A1 ways
Special, Dear Store, Day
By Day, and Small
Blessings.
he stated, "I’ve got it
right here.” He said the
marked money was in his
right front pocket.
Buckles said the agents
then explained his rights
and questioned him in
Detective Giles Webb’s
office. He said they asked
him about a lie detector
test, and he told them he
Good Fri. Services Set
Speakers for Good
Friday Service at St.
Christopher’s using
meditations on the Seven
Last Words for the
Preaching of the Passion
of Jesus Christ:
Tom Arledge, St.
Christopher’s Church;
Dan Ariail, First Baptist
Church; Quinland
Gordon, St. Luke’s
To Save His City
Robins Mayor
Appeals To County
Warner Robins Mayor
Foy Evans appealed to
county commissioners
Tuesday night to work
with city officials in the
area of planning and
zoning to prevent Robins
from becoming “an old
city at the age of 40.”
Evans told com
missioners his city is 36
now and could become an
old city at 40 because it is
being encircled by the
county’s water system.
“This can keep us from
expanding and we need a
committment in spirit
that the county will work
with us,” Evans said.
“We are concerned about
areas around the city.
These areas are quite
urbanized and the people
are demanding urban
services that puts a strain
on the county’s budget.”
Evans said that
somewhere down the
road he thought tax
districts and annexation
might be necessary.
Commission Chairman
J. Frank Rozar asked
Evans if he had
progressed far enough to
designate the districts.
Evans replied that he had
not.
Evans said that one of
the drawbacks to the
present system whereby
the city and county
conducts their own
planning and zoning is
that some developers are
‘‘playing both ends
against the middle.”
By that Evans said the
builders are going to the
planning and zoning
offices of the city and
county to determine
which government will
give them the best deal.
“I therefore think it is
very important for the
city and county to work
together, stick together
and plan together,”
Evans said.
Commissioners in
dicated they were willing
to work with the city.
Commissioner Jimmy
Griffin said he did not
want to stop the growth of
Warner Robins, and
indicated he would work
with the city in any way
possible.
Commissioner Alton
Tucker told Evans that
when the city is able to
annex areas of the county
that commissioners
would be prepared to sell
the city part of the county
water system.
Commissioner Charles
Carter mentioned that he
and colleagues had just
returned from a county
commissioners con
vention where working
with cities within a
county was emphasized
by speakers. He said he
favored this concept.
Commissioner Dr.
V.W McEver told Evans
that the county had to
produce one of the best
managed water systems
in the state in order to
wanted to take it right
away. He subsequently
passed the test in Atlanta.
In addition to Lewis,
three other policemen
testified that they
suspected that Buckles
had been burglarizing
local firms while he was
on patrol duty at night.
Lewis said he
Episcopal Church and
Chaplain at Ft. Valley
State; Gene McKinney,
Hayneville Assembly of
God; Hugh Marshall, St.
Patrick’s Roman
Catholic Church, Marvin
Taylor, Hayneville First
Baptist Church, Mike
Frazier, Perry
Presbyterian Church,
and Tom Johnson, Perry
survive. To reinforce this
opinion, McEver stated
that the county added 48
miles of new waterlines
last year.
“We don’t want to
harm Warner Robins,”
McEver said. “We don’t
want to harm Centerville,
and we don’t want to
harm Perry.”
In order to lower taxes
and promote efficiency,
McEver said the county
combined the offices of
all tax assessors into one
office. He stated that it
might further reduce
taxes and promote ef
ficiency if all county tax
offices were combined.
V
Defense Attorney Tom Daniel
Defense attorney Tom Daniel of Perry is shown here with his client.
Perry police officer Arthur Buckles during a hearing on charges against
Bucfeles held last Thursday night.
■
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Officer Buckles Makes Point
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bYrY Calhoun % COU " C '"" a " G *° r * e
suspected Buckles of
being involved in as
many as 30 burglary
cases, which Det. Webb
had not solved. Lewis
testified that he could
predict when a burglary
was going to take place
because of Buckles’ “tone
of voice on the radio.”
One night, after
United Methodist Church.
The hours will be 12:00
noon til 3:00 p.m. A
CcwwtuwUy
Cakudut
The Central Georgia Geneological Society will
meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday April 12 at the 20th
Century Cafeteria on Watson Blvd. The guest
speaker will be Nancy Watson who will speak on
how to use the archive in finding information on
your family tree. The public is invited to attend.
The Perry High AFJROTC Parents Club will
hold the regular monthly meeting Thursday,
April 12 at 7:30 in the school library. The special
guest will be Bruce P. Tuten from the Central
Georgia Council Boy Scouts of America. Mr.
Tuten will speak to the parents on Explorer
Scouting. All parents of cadets are urged to be
present.
listening to Buckles
talking to other
policemen on the radio,
Lewis said he told Officer
Evans there would be a
burglary reported within
one hour. And sure
enough, according to
Lewis, a burglary was
reported by Buckles in
less than an hour.
nursery will be provided.
People may come and go
as they need.