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VOLUME 87 — NUMBER 29
Editor^
V isits
Lions
A well-known Georgia news
paperman told members of the
Summerville Lions Club Tues
day night that “the time has
come when we must all stand
up and be counted” if we are
to combat the chaotic
conditions which exist in
today’s society.
Elbert Forester, editor of
the Dade County Sentinel at
Trenton, was guest speaker at
the club’s semimonthly
meeting at Chattooga County
Memorial Home.
The speaker was introduced
by J. R. Morgan, who paid
glowing tribute to the accom
plishments of the popular
editor. Morgan pointed out
Forester’s long career in state
government and in journalism
and referred to him as a “close
friend.”
Forester, in turn, paid
tribute to Lionism as the oldest
and largest organization of its
kind in the nation. The editor
himself is a charter member of
the Trenton Lions Club and
has served that club twice as its
president.
He spoke of conditions on a
national, state, and local level.
He deplored the tendency of
public officials during the last
few years to “do things in
secrecy-at our expense.” But
there are too many people who
don’t care, he added.
In reference to the secrecy
in government today. Forester
said that newspapers can-and
will-see that many of these
things don’t happen. Or if they
do, to bring them into the
limelight so that the public
may know what is happening.
“We’re on a one-way
street,” the editor said, “and
unless we change directions, we
ain’t coming back.”
Declaring that gun control is
a major step toward gun con
fiscation, Forester said “the
woods are full of people who
make their way at the expense
of those of you who pay the
bills.”
Forester, who speaks to
(Continued On Page 2)
BLUE KEY
Congressman Davis
To Receive Award
Congressman John Davis
will be honored by the Univer
sity of Georgia Chapter of the
Blue Key National Honor
Fraternity, and will receive the
Blue Key Award given for out
standing service and citizen
ship.
Davis was elected to Con
gress in 1960 and reelected to
all subsequent Congresses. He
presently serves on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, the
House Science and Astro
nautics Committee -where he
is the second ranking Demo
crat, and the Committee of
Objectors.
Davis is the Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Science,
Research and Development of
the Science Astronautics Com-
1,210 IN TWO SCHOOL SYSTEMS
Local Students Get Statewide Testing
Some time before Sept. 28,
parents of some public school
students in the Chattooga
County and Trion school
systems may ask their children
what they did in school that
day, and be puzzled to learn
that they took tests all day.
They may be even more
puzzled when they get the
same answer the next day.
With school in session only
a few weeks, why are the kids
being tested so much?
The students-over a quarter
million of them are participat
ing in the third year of
Georgia’s statewide testing
program, a battery of tests
aimed at evaluating the
strengths and weaknesses m
every state school system, as
well as individual students
command over the areas tested
Taking the tests statewide will
be about 100,000 fourth
Raders, 100,000 eighth graders
and 75.000 eleventh graders.
The tests will be given by local
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Elbert Forester (R), editor of the Dade County
Sentinel at Trenton and columnist for several area
newspapers, including The Summerville News, was
guest speaker Tuesday night at the semimonthly
meeting of the Summerville Lions Club. The popular
51,354 PER CAPITA
County’s Taxable Property
Is Listed at $28.8 Million
(Special to the News)
NEW YORK-What is the
assessed value of property in
Chattooga County? To what
extent has this total, which
serves as the base for local
mittee which has jurisdiction
over the National Science
Foundation and the National
Bureau of Standards. He has
made the SR&D Subcommittee
the focal point in Congress for
legislation concerning the
proper utilization of the
nation’s technical and scientific
resources.
He is a graduate of the Uni
versity of Georgia, with an AB
degree, and the University of
Georgia’s Lumpkin Law
School.
Philip Alston Jr., an Atlanta
attorney, will also receive an
award at the Oct. 12 banquet
in Athens, Ga. Sen. Herman
Talmadge will speak at the
banquet honoring Davis and
Alston.
systems and are funded by the j
Georgia Department of Educa
tion.
Fourth and eighth graders |
will be administered the lowa |
Test of Basic Skills, composed |
of five subtests, one each in |
vocabulary, reading, work
study skills, language and
mathematics. Eleventh graders
are to take the Tests of
Academic Progress, comprising
one test each in compre
hension, reading and math. )
Systems administer the tests .
over at least two days and may |
arrange a longer schedule.
In the Chattooga County
school system, some 945
students are being given the
tests-345 fourth graders; 340
eighth graders; and 260 in the
11th grade.
At Trion, 91 fourth graders
are being tested; 110 eighth :
graders; and 64 in the 11th
grade, for a total of 265.
After the three-week testing
period, which allows for
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1973
WELL-KNOWN EDITOR IS LIONS SPEAKER
taxes, changed in the last few
j years?
With people all over the
country concerned over their
steadily mounting property
taxes, a look at the local assess
ment situation is in order.
Such a look has just been
taken by the Census Bureau as
part of a nationwide survey of
state and local government
operations that it makes every
j five years. The findings, just
i released, are contained in its
“1972 Census of Govern
j ments.”
They show that, in Chat
tooga County, where the
property tax is the principal
source of revenue for local
government needs, the assessed
value of property subject to
such tax amounted to
$28,032,000. This compares
with the total reported five
yearsago, $19,160,000.
It was an increase of 46
percent. Elsewhere in the
United States assessments went
up 43 percent, on average, and
in the Southern States, 53
percent.
Assessed valuations are not
j to be taken as true market
values, it is noted, since prop
erty is assessed in most com
' munities for tax purposes at
j something less than actual
। value.
The tax rate that is applied
make-ups for students absent
on test day, the answer sheets
will be sent to the Educational
Testing Service in Princeton,
N.J. for scoring. Within 30
days, the tests should be scored
and the individual student’s
results available in his coun
selor’s office. It will take
another six months, however,
before statewide results are
published, comparing achieve-
Sheriff’s Office Lists 61 Cases
The Sheriff’s Department
reports 61 arrests during the
past week. Total arrests of the
year are 2,654.
Cases are listed as follows:
Driving under the influence,
10; expired MVI sticker, 3im
proper tag, 2; without license,
5; without headlights, 1; speed
ing, 3; failure to yield right-of
way, 2; running stop sign, 1;
improper passing. 1; improper
speaker intersperses his remarks with enough humor
and Biblical quotations to keep his audiences at strict
attention. Forester was introduced by J. T. Morgan
(C), program chairman for the club. At left is Martin
Palmer, Lions president.
to the assessed value is the
other factor in determining
how big the tax bills are.
In terms of population, the
tax base in Chattooga County
was equivalent last year to
$1,354 in taxable property per
local resident.
Five years ago, when a
similar survey was made, it was
S9OO per resident.
Property assessments, as
well as tax rates, have been
.increased in most parts of the
country in the last few years as
Medic Group Buys Site
Officers of The Medic Cor
poration of Atlanta were in
Summerville Wednesday to
complete the land purchase of
a 30-acre tract bordered by
Back Penn Road and Memorial
Drive.
The corporation is
scheduled to begin con
struction of a $3-million hos
pital on the site later this
year—possibly some time in
October.
Officers of the company
here this week to complete the
land purchase were David
Schoenfeld, corporation pres
ident; William A. Barrett, vice
president; and W. Barnaby Hill,
secretary and treasurer. Meet
ing with the group later at site
ment levels across the state.
The published results, ac
cording to Dr. Titus Singletary
Jr., associate state superin
tendent of schools with the
Georgia Department of Educa
tion, use statistical methods
which hold constant those vari
ables which greatly affect
achievement scores. Held
constant are the ability level of
students, the size of each
license, 2; revoked license, 1;
drunkenness, 6; running away,
2; kidnapping, 1; simple
battery, 2; peace warrant, 3;
littering highway, 1; criminal
damage to property, 4; reckless
conduct, 1; theft by taking, 2;
terroristic threats, 1; simple as
sault, 1; carrying a concealed
weapon, 1; contempt order, 1;
murder, 1; theft of motor ve
hicle, 1; and forgery, 2.
local communities, confronted
with bigger operating costs,
were forced to seek additional
revenue.
Nationally, the assessed
valuation of locally-taxable
property has jumped from its
1967 figure of $442 billion to
a total of $641 billion.
As a result, property taxes
collected by local communities
in the past year amounted to
$36.7 billion, a 46 percent in
crease over the $25.2 billion
collected five years ago.
was J.C. Woods of Trion, a
director of The Medic Cor
poration. Another local
director, Hugh Henderson,
could not be present.
“Things are going along
pretty well according to
schedule,” Schoenfeld said.
“We have been held up to a
certain extend by material
shortages.” Schoenfeld said.
“We have been held up to a
certain extent by material
Hill said that architectural
and engineering plans have al
ready been approved by the
Department of Human Re
sources.
Medic is completing a sim
ilar project in Cobb County.
school and system and the per
centage of students above
minimum subsistence income.
The result is that only systems
similar to each other are com
pared, to rule out variables
over which the system has no
control and to keep unfair
comparisons from being made.
Singletary says, “For instance,
it would hardly be fair to
compare the achievement of a
large, wealthy system with a
smaller, poorer one. Holding
variables constant avoids these
unfair comparisons. ”
Individual student scores
will be in the form of per
centiles. A student ranking in
the 90th percentile nationally
would be achieving above the
level of 90 percent of students
tested nationwide. Scores are
also reported as standard scores
and grade level equivalents. A
score of 8.1, then, would indi
cate the student is achieving at
the level of a first month
Board Modifies
Stand; Rehires
Food Director
Votes 4-1 Monday
In a reversal of a stand
taken one week earlier, the
Chattooga County Board of
Education voted this week to
rehire the supervisor of lunch
rooms for the county school
system.
The board voted four to one
to rehire Mrs. Hannah
Hammond “for the remainder
of the year.” Board member
W. M. Jackson voted against
the motion. Voting “yes” were
Chairman Joel Cook, members
Sue Spivey, A. D. Pledger, and
Ray Hall.
At the outset of the meeting
Chairman Cook said the meet
ing was called to discuss the
rehiring of a lunchroom super
visor. He indicated that he had
come to the conclusion that
the school system would be
“hurt” if Mrs. Hammond were
not rehired. The chairman
stated that “no pressure” had
been placed upon him to call
the special meeting. “It was
solely my decision,” Cook said.
Ray Hall took exception to
the fact that Mrs. Hammond
had been working since the
board refused to rehire her,
and had terminated her services
as of Sept. 11.
“It is my understanding,”
Hall said, “that she has worked
every day since we fired her.”
He asked Supt. Bill King why
he had seen fit to go against
the board’s wishes and hire the
lunchroom supervisor back on
Sept. 11.
“Is the board going to run
the Chattooga County school
system or is Bill King?” Hal)
asked in a raised voice. “Why
should a majority (of the
board) make a decision if you
are going to do like you want
to he?” he added.
Supt. King replied that he
had to keep the lunchroom
operating and felt that he
could only do it with Mrs.
Hammond working on a
temporary basis. “I have to get
the work done,” King added.
The board at its regular
meeting on Sept. 10 had given
the superintendent the
authority to hire a supervisor
on a temporary basis, until the
board could decide on a
permanent replacement, and
did not exclude Mrs.
Hammond.
In reply to the question of
who is going to run the school
board, King said, “I would like
for both of us (the superin
tendent and the school board)
to run it.” He said Mrs.
Hammond had stayed only to
help him out of this problem.
When Hall asked the super
intendent if he had “checked
to see if you could find
somebody” on a temporary
basis, Supt. King said he had
one person in mind to recom
mend to the board.
Letters from lunchroom
personnel in five of the
county’s seven schools were
circulated among the board
eighth grader.
Besides supplying informa
tion to students and parents,
the tests are important tools
for decision making by local
and state educators, says
Singletary. “A system might
see by the scores that their
students perform exceptionally
well in math but read poorly.
So they might decide they
need to spend more money and
resources on beefing up the
reading curriculum.”
As part of the follow-up for
this year’s program, the De
partment of Education will be
conducting a series of 10
workshops around the state in
November. The workshops are
to help acquaint local officials
with the use of their test data.
“Interpreting the data is not
easy,” says Singletary, "and we
hope to help them use it most
advantageously.”
members. These letters asked
the board to reconsider its
action in terminating the
services of Mrs. Hammond.
King said he also had a
telephone request from
lunchroom personnel at Lyerly
on the same subject.
Hall indicated at one point
in the discussion that the
superintendent might be
“liable to a law suit” for failing
to carry out the wishes of the
board.
Other members of the board
were mostly silent as Hall and
King carried on their discus
sion.
Parade, Follies,
Dates Scheduled
Tentative dates for two of
Chattooga County’s most
popular events were set this
week as the Chattooga County
Civic Organization and the
Chattooga County Hospital
Auxiliary held separate
meetings.
Directors of the civic group
Tuesday decided to hold the
annual Christmas Parade on
Nov. 30. Using the theme, “An
Old-Fashioned Christmas,” the
parade may be moved up
approximately two hours. For
the past several years the
parade has started at 8 p.m.
Most of the directors feel that
this time is too late for many
of those who view the annua)
event—especially the younger
groups. A tentative time of 6
p.m. has been set.
Prizes will again be awarded
for the three best floats in the
parade. Prizes of SIOO, $75,
and SSO will go to the top
winners. J. B. White will serve
as parade chairman.
Directors present for the
Tuesday meeting were Charles
Can, Sue Spivey, Bob Guffin,
J.T. Morgan, Gene Franklin,
and Woodrow Espy.
At its monthly meeting
Tuesday night, the hospital
auxiliary scheduled the dates
of the annual follies for Nov.
5-6. This year’s presentation
will be called the “Chatt-a
tooga Choo Choo.”
.. ‘
I jr ■
YES, MORE THAN 105 POUNDS
Kyle Harrs seems dwarfed by this 105-pound pump
kin grown on the farm of his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Robert S. Harrs, Route 1, Armuchee, Little Sand
Mountain. The Harrses also grew a 22-pound squash.
The giant pumpkin is now on display at the Coosa
Valley Fair in Rome.
PRICE 15c
Hall asked who circulated
the letters to the various
schools. “It is my understand
ing,” he said, “that it was
brought to Pennville by one of
the lunchroom managers. If she
has time to go to all the
schools and circulate peti
tions,” Hall added, “we don’t
need her” in the school system.
At the conclusion of the
discussion on rehiring the
lunchroom supervisor, Supt.
King calmly said, “If I have
caused the board any embar
rassment, I’m sony.”
On a motion by A. D.
Pledger and seconded by Ray
Hall, it was agreed that lunch
room managers be rehired each
year.
The meeting was adjourned
in a calm atmosphere.
Mary Alice Parker will be
the producer of this year’s
show, with Frances Ellis as
co-producer. Peggy Morehead
will be the director and Pam
Tawzer will have charge of
staging.
In other action, Mrs. Bill
King gave a report on the
landscaping of the nursing
home. The shelter will be
completed as soon as labor can
be made available by the
county.
Anyone interested in being
a participant in the follies are
asked to call Mrs. Morehead at
857-3469, Mrs. Sue Spivey at
857-2634, or Mrs. Eula Amos
at 857-1781.
Arrested Here
The Chattooga County
Sheriff’s Department reported
that 32-year-old William E.
Norton was arrested and
charged with three counts of
burglary and released on
$15,000 bond, pending trial at
the February, 1974, term of
Chattooga Superior Court.
Records in the sheriff’s
office also show that a La-
Fayette man was arrested and
released to Walker County
authorities after being charged
with murder in connection
with the death of his wife at
Lookout Mountain, Ga.