Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME XCIII NUMBER XLV
Water
Sought I
By Men 0
Q ~
A discussion of 1
efforts to beef up its K g
supply was the high “
topic of the city counci ” S
ing Tuesday night. g
According to Mayor
Ward, a representative of the
Georgia Department of Water
Quality Control recently
visited at the site of a proposed
new well which would feed
into the city. The state official
indicated he liked the proposed
site, the mayor said, but sug
gested that a four-inch test
hole would need to be drilled
before the feasibility of the site
could be determined.
At the meeting, the council
went a step further, voting to
dig a six-inch test boring at a
cost of $8 a foot. But it was
pointed out at the meeting that
the cost could run as high as
S2O a foot and that no con
tractor can guarantee his
drilling operation will produce
water.
In related discussion, Mayor
Ward said he had recently been
told by a Farmers Home
Administration representative
the possibility of obtaining a
federal grant for the project is
slim. Ward explained the city is
in too good of shape
financially to qualify for a
grant. (Such grants are usually
approved for poor com
munities.)
In other action, Bill Kinzy
came to the council seeking to
hook on to city water system.
Ward said the city policy is
that the customer must furnish
his own line if he lives outside
the city limits, as in the case of
Kinzy’s residence. The city
would pay for 100 feet of such
a line, the mayor said, and the
council approved the tie-on if
Kinzy wanted to do so under
that procedure.
In other action:
* The council approved the
repair of several broken water
cut-off valves, apparently
damaged by residents
improperly cutting off then
water with the wrong tools.
* Ward uiged the council to
give their cooperation to
incoming mayor Kathryn
Mac Vane. “I wish Mayor
Pro-Tern Kathryn Mac Vane the
best of luck,” he said. “Help
her all you can. Everyone was
real good about helping me,
but I could have used more
help, you know.”
* The mayor pro-tem
vacated her current council
seat, effective Dec. 31.
* Ward issued this financial
statement as of Dec. 6, 1977:
Anti recession, $420.56;
City, $11,350.64;
Revenue Sharing,
$1,263.11;
Menlo Waterworks,
$4,830.56;
Sinking Fund, $5,146.55;
First Federal, $5,843.23;
Kling Cert., $1,418.49 and
see WATER, page 3
‘Got a Bad DeaF
‘Ballad of Bert’ Backers Visit County
By TOM KIRWAN
The two men responsible
for immortalizing former
budget director Bert Lance in
song this week stopped in Sum
merville promoting the record.
Wright Johnston of Dalton
and Sam Watkins of Calhoun,
the producers of the now
famous "Ballad of Bert,”
visited radio station WGTA and
The Summerville News
Monday. They are continuing
to drum up business for the
single, a 45 RPM record which
was pressed into plastic days
after Lance’s resignation on
Sept. 21.
The two North Georgians,
both in the insurance business,
say the public response to the
record has been heartening, but
there have been some problems
in getting the record distrib
uted nationally.
“It’s been a ‘Catch-22’ situa
tion,” explained Watkins, 31.
“We go into a big radio station
and they tell us they can’t play
it unless it’s on the charts. But
before it can get on the charts,
it’s got to be played.”
And while many Southern
stations have picked up on the
ballad and are playing it regu
larly, its success to date has
been largely limited to the
South. With that in mind they
are appealing to the smaller
stations, hoping it will get the
air time necessary to launch it
to the top of the charts.
To hear Johnston tell it. the
ballad, which he wrote and
recorded, began almost as a
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Smiley Parade Scenes
Cool temperatures failed to put a damper on the
annual Christmas'parade held Friday night (see story,
IB) and big smiles seemed to be everywhere in spite
of the weather. Above, Rhonda Hughes gets her star
adjusted with the help of Elliott ILewis,, who helped
construct Trion Brownie Troop’s third-place float
winner featuring a “singing” Christmas tree made up
of Brownies. Below are youngsters traveling in a
covered wagon sponsored in the parade by Frank
Price’s Barbecue Barn.
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lark. He wrote and recorded it
on a cassette player in a single
night, but hadn’t really
thought of cutting it as a
record. It was Watkins, how
ever, who convinced him the
song was good enough to be
put on the airwaves.
‘‘Lance resigned on a
Wednesday,” Johnston re
called, “and I wrote the song
the next night. Sam heard it
and liked it, and this is how we
came up with the idea of form
ing our own record company.”
By WEN
Down in the state of Georgia.
way down in Dixie Land
Stands a north Georgia town
who groomed themselves a
man
And when he was ashed to
serve in old D C., he gladly
heeded the call, saying "this
country needs me."
. . . Ballad of Bart
The twosome set up a com
pany, Sugar Valley Produc
tions, and went to Nashville to
learn about the recording
trade. “We were both inexpe
rienced in the business,” said
Johnston. “But we learned real
quick during one day in Nash
ville.”
The ballad was eventually
recorded at King Productions
in Atlanta, and was pressed and
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747 - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1977
mass-produced in Nashville.
How did Johnston come up
with the idea of writing the
"Ballad of Bert”?
“What gave me the idea,” he
explained, “was the sentiment
prevailing during the hearings.
Everywhere I’d travel people
would find out where I was
from and the conversation
would turn to Bert, and how
he got a bad deal.”
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Record Producers Johnston and W right
AMBULANCES PURCHASED
County Gearing up to Launch
Ambulance Service by Jan. 1
The development of a
county-funded ambulance serv
ice is on schedule, according to
County Commissioner Pete
Denson, who said Friday the
services will go into operation
as planned by Jan. 1.
“We’re about on schedule,”
the commissioner said. “We’re
planning on working on the
hiring of a supervisor next
(this) week.”
Denson said the county has
two fully-equipped ambulances
on order, which he expects will
Menlo Woman
Wins in Race
For Mayor
By MARY JO LOGAN
A close race saw a woman
elected mayor of Menlo in Sat
urday’s general election.
Kathryn Mac Vane took the
helm from incumbent mayor
Lonnie Ward in a 72-70 upset.
It was Mrs. Mac Vane’s first
time to run for mayor; how
ever, she had served on the
Menlo City Council for 214
years. A retired school teacher,
she is a tax consultant by pro
fession.
Teresa Canada defeated Bill
Birge for the post of city
recorder. Incumbent Tommy
Luther did not seek reelection.
Robert William King, in
cumbent councilman, ran
without opposition as did
Barry Brown.
A total of 142 persons out
of 200 registered residents
voted, a 71 percent turnout.
Elected officials will gointo
office Jan. 1 and serve a two
year term.
Current Mayor Ward has
served the City of Menlo for
nine years.
In reflecting over the
accomplishments during this
time, Mayor Ward said, “I have
had some good people helping
me.” He said he was proud of
leaving the city in “good finan
cial shape” and cited the fol
lowing improvements made
during his administration: in
stalling a 100,000-gallon water
tank, drilling a new well and
putting pumps in it, paving all
the streets of Menlo, building
sidewalks, getting natural gas
installed and getting two
federal housing projects built.
“It stayed on my mind,”
the 29-year-old continued. “So
I sat down to see what I could
do with it.”
Johnston, who recorded the
ballad under the stage name
Jonathon Wright, said the
profits that may be realized
from the sale of the $1.25
record never occurred to the
two men when they started
their new business.
arrive later this month. The
ambulances, being bought from
Southern Ambulance Builders,
Inc., of LaGrange, will cost a
total of approximately
$39,000, Denson said. But the
lion’s share of that cost is being
picked up by the state, he
noted.
Denson said the county has
received a grant from the Geor
gia Office of Highway Safety
to cover 70 percent of the cost
of the vehicles, which means
the county will be paying in
the neighborhood of $12,000
to purchase the ambulances.
The ambulances, called
MediPacks, are built to federal
specifications, the company’s
literature states.
In July of this year, Lane
Funeral Home and Erwin-Petitt
Funeral Home notified Denson
in a letter they planned to dis
continue their ambulance serv
ices on Sept. 21. Later, the
funeral homes announced they
were extending ambulance
services through the end of this
year. Several weeks after re
ceiving the letter, Denson an
nounced he had met with the
Chattooga County Hospital
Authority and that the ground
work had been laid to set up a
county ambulance service, to
be funded through the commis
sion’s office (along with any
available state and federal
funding), to be under the
control of the hospital.
Denson said Friday current
plans call for the hiring of six
full-time emergency medical
technicians (EMTs), along with
a qualified supervisor.
Two EMTs will be on duty
each shift, he said, with two
others on call and two off
duty.
“The state says this is
id' ' said Denson, referring
to the seven-person staff which
will be hired. “That’s what
we’re shooting for.”
The hospital had, as of
Friday, received 12 EMT appli
cations, along with “one or
two” for part-time positions.
But Denson added that hiring
would not begin until some
time this week when the super
visor is expected to be named.
The supervisor, he added,
would be in charge “of the
Inter-Agency
Council Meets
The Chattooga County
Inter-Agency Council will meet
at 3:30 p.m. today (Thursday)
at the Chattooga County
Library.
All members are urged to
attend.
“That (making a profit)
never entered my mind,” he
said. “That wasn’t it at all. I
saw it as a situation where an
individual had some prob
lems ... I wasn’t in Washing
ton, but from the reports we
got it was a bad press week in
D. C. . . . I do think Mr. Lance
got sort of a bad deal, to put it
mildly. The record tells the
story of a person who helped
whole ball of wax”-overseeing
the ambulance service’s
employees, keeping up with
paperwork and bookkeeping,
and making collections.
Although no fee structure
has been finalized, patients
using the service will be
charged.
Under the plan, Denson
said, the county will be sub-
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Two Ambulances Ordered by County
County Commissioner Pete Denson
says two ambulances, each like the one
above, have been ordered by the
Funeral Service Is Held
For City Chief of Police
Clarence A. Starkey
Some 250 persons attended
funeral services for Summer
ville Police Chief Clarence A.
Starkey Saturday afternoon at
Erwin-Petitt Funeral Home.
Starkey, 51, was pro
nounced dead on arrival at the
Chattooga County Hospital at
8:10 p.m., the apparent victim
of a heart attack.
He was reportedly driving
on a rural road to his home in
the Teloga community when
the attack occurred. He
stopped his car, according to
reports, left it and apparently
collapsed. He was found some
12 feet away from the car.
people in his hometown, and
went to Atlanta to help people,
and finally went to D. C. to
help people. It tries to tell his
complete story.”
Says Johnston: “I watched
the hearings; I heard his
answers and the interrogation.
I think it got to be a point of
pride. You had senators asking
such ill-prepared questions and
it looked like he (Lance) was
embarrassing them with his
answers. But senators won’t
take that. . . Even if he had
won, he would have lost.
Come rally, come rally,
come rally 'round our friend
Bert
Come rally, come rally, let
those Senators throw their dirt.
We've our day In court,
we've our day in court, and
we've seen the sort of talk that
sure can hurt.
Rally 'round our friend Bert
... Ballad of Bart
<♦#♦#♦♦*♦*#♦♦*»****♦**♦****
“I think he was given a bad
deal. Maybe he did break bank
ing regulations, but he didn’t
do anymore than what 90 per
cent of the other bank presi
dents do in this area. In this
area, Lance was right under
God, and if you disagreed, they
let you know. I refused to be
swayed by that, but after read
ing for myself, 1 feel that way.
I believe in the song.”
sidizing the service. A few
months ago he announced the
increase of one mill in the ad
valorem tax levy, earmarked to
be used for the ambulance serv
ice. The funds generated from
that increase, along with
monies collected from patients
for the service and state and
federal grants, are expected to
be sufficient to cover the cost
county from a LaGrange firm. A state
grant will cover 70 percent of the
purchase, the commissioner said.
According to Patrolman
Larry Bennett, Starkey had
been at the police station only
minutes earlier, making last
minute preparations for the
Summerville Christmas parade.
Starkey’s brother, Lt. Roy
Starkey, of the city police
department, has been named to
succeed the chief, a police
spokesman sa<d.
Chief Starkey had been on
the police force since 1971,
serving as chief of police for a
little over one-and-a-half years.
He was born on Dec 7,
1925, the son of the late Tom
Starkey and Lula Potts
Starkey. A Baptist by faith, he
was a veteran of World War 11.
He was preceded in death
by a daughter, Rita Marie
Starkey and a son, Clarence A.
Starkey Jr.
County Nets *6,000
In Tax Auction On
23 Acres of Land
Sheriff L. D. Ragland and
Tax Commissioner Larry
Durham Tuesday sold at
auction on the courthouse
steps some 23 acres of
property with outstanding
taxes owed on them.
Between 15 and 20 persons
were on hand for the bidding,
which began at 10 a.m.
It was the first major tax
sale in two years, according to
County Attorney Arch Farrar
Jr.
Farrar said the county took
in some $6,000 on the
property sold.
“The bidding was real
competitive,” he commented.
“The property went for very
high prices, I would say.”
One tract of 21 acres, all of
it steep acreage on Taylor’s
Ridge, sold at the auction.
Three small lots-located in
Trion, Summerville, and
SnuffyviUe—were also sold.
All of the property,
according to the county
attorney, had seven years of
back taxes owed on them, with
one exception, that being a
parcel with six years of taxes
assessed against it.
If the original owner of a
PRICE 15c
of the new service.
“I feel like it’s going to cost
over SIOO,OOO a year (to oper
ate),” said Denson. “It could
cost $ 150,000.”
Denson also said an ambu
lance telephone line has
already been installed at the
hospital, and that its number
will be announced later this
month.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Dixie L. Starkey of Route 3,
Summerville; one daughter,
Mrs. Vickie J. Culpepper of
Trion; one son, Glenn C.
Starkey of Route 3, Summer
ville; three sisters, Mrs. Ailean
Hili, Mrs. Louise Stinson and
Mrs. Lucille Everett, all of
Trion; three brothers, Roy
Starkey of Summerville, Steve
Starkey of Bryson, Calif., and
Doyle Starkey of Long View,
Tex.; two grandchildren; and
several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held
at 2 p.m. Saturday from the
Chapel of Erwin-Petitt Funeral
Home with the Rev. Jimmy
Wilborn officiating. Interment
was in West Hill Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were
nephews. Honorary pallbearers
were the City of Summerville
Police Department.
piece of property sold at the
auction turns up, he must
settle financially with the new
owner, plus pay him interest,
and get a quick claim on the
property.
If that process isn’t started
within a year of the sale, the
new owner is declared the
rightful owner of the land.
Sheriffs Report
Throughout the week ended
Wednesday, a total of 28
charges was filed in the county,
according to the docket in the
Chattooga County Sheriffs
Department.
Os the charges filed, speed
ing topped the list with 11
arrests. There were four
charges for receiving and pos
sessing stolen property, four
for burglary, two each for
capias, driving without a MVI
sticker and drunk at a private
residence.
Single charges were made
for each of the following:
expired MVI sticker, improper
turn and improper passing.
Twelve persons were lodged
in the county jail on Wednes
day.