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VOLUME XCIII NUMB 11
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Looks Over Demolished Car
Gore resident Mark Gordon looks over on Taylor’s Ridge when his steering
what is left of his 1976 Monte Carlo, mechanism failed,
the car he bailed out of Thursday night
Mark Gordon:
"A Very Lucky Boy 9
When 18-year-old Mark
Gordon of Gore left his home
Thursday evening to go to
Summerville to buy groceries
for his mother, he could have
never foreseen the errand would
have a nightmare ending.
Traveling north on U.S. 27,
he aimed his 1976 light blue
Monte Carlo up the steep
incline of Taylor’s Ridge. But as
he peaked the mountain, he
realized he had little control
over the car as the steering
mechanism had failed.
“It got really hard to steer,"
recalled Gordon, who works
with his brother, Gary, at City
Pest Control in Rome. “The
car was sliding and 1 hit a
barrel. I knew I couldn’t get
stopped, so 1 just piled out. 1
didn’t know if I’d make it or
not.”
Chattoogans Begin Receiving Federal Tax Forms
Hundreds of Chattooga
residents are expected to
receive some of the 1,820,000
Internal Revenue Service tax
packages being sent this week
to Georgia residents.
Taxpayers will notice some
changes in the tax forms.
“One change that should be
quite noticeable,” said John
Henderson, Georgia’s District
Director of Internal Revenue,
“is the restyling of f orms 1040
and lO4OA, especially lO4OA
©he ^umtncruillc New
Gordon threw the door of
the car open and jumped out
into the night, landing on his
back some two or three feet
from the drop-off. He didn’t
see his car go over the cliff, but
he heard it clearly as it rolled
out of sight, down the steep
embankment, and finally
turned over.
Gordon skinned his back
side on the gravel, and hurt a
hand. But he declined to be
taken to the hospital,
explaining later, “They wanted
to carry me to the hospital, but
I don’t like to go.”
Dazed, and no doubt a bit
in shock, he was taken home
shortly by a man who was
driving behind his car. Gordon
recalls the man was traveling to
Milwaukee- “I was so messed up
I didn't even say thank-you,’
which is now a full-size sheet
printed on one side. Both
forms should be more legible
and provide more space for the
taxpayer.”
As a result of new tax tables
which some 96 percent of
taxpayers can use, the IRS said
it has been possible to elimi
nate several lines on both the
1040 and 1040A, making these
forms easier to prepare because
of fewer entries required. This
year’s tax tables incorporate
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA C OUNTY. GEORGIA 30747 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1977
Highlight News Stories of 1977
Here’s a roundup of the important news stories of 1977:
JANUARY
* Old Man Winter planted an icy kiss on Chattooga County
which forced schools to close, traffic to snarl and many Chat
toogans to develop red noses. Despite the weather, local officials
reported no serious accidents on Chattooga’s ice-slick roadways.
* A chapter in the political history book of Chattooga County
came to an end as long-time commissioner Harry Powell stepped
down from his office of 12 years. Wayne “Pete” Denson became
the new county commissioner.
* Newly-elected Sheriff L. D. Ragland and 10 deputies went
into office with little fanfare at the stroke of midnight Jan. 1.
The deputies were: Gene Nix, Alfred Henderson, Johnny Bass,
Richard Dye, Randy Bailey, Roger Powell, J. R. Johnson, Mike
Grissom, Roger Avans and Ron Bagley.
* After some 23 years of service as a bookkeeper and secretary
for the Chattooga County Schools, Miss Annie Ruth Housch
retired on Jan. 1.
* Chattooga County Hospital Administrator Steve Snapp said
there was nothing improper or illegal in former Commissioner
Harry Powell’s decision to write the hospital a check from county
funds for $14,000 during Powell’s last day in office, Dec. 31.
* The Summerville News learned that thousands of legal
documents—including investigative reports, mug shots, and arrest
records were taken from the sheriff’s office by former Sheriff
Gary McConnell as he left office. McConnell later issued a
clarification.
“The only records that I have taken from the sheriff’s office
upon leaving were records in which I am personally responsible
for testifying on.”
* The Summerville City Council agreed to back down from the
final adoption of an ordinance which would increase the cost of
business licenses.
* It was agreed by the Summerville City Council to take
immediate measures to correct a number of problems at the city’s
waste water treatment plant in the wake of a strongly-worded
letter from a state official who threatened legal action if the city
continued to violate its plant permit standards.
* Chattooga County’s natural gas shortage crisis deepened as
local schools closed down indefinitely. Hundreds of workers were
sent home from work, and residential customers faced periods
without heat as the mercury dipped at times to temperatures as
low as zero.
* A possible solution to the city’s chronic flood problem came
into focus as representatives of the U. S. Army Corps of Engi
neers, the city council, and the general public huddled at the
courthouse to air views on eight corrective proposals ranging in
local costs from $137,000 to over $6 million.
* As on-the-street survey taken in Chattooga County found
he said.
Tuesday, talking with a
reporter, he and his mother
recalled there could have been
an ending to the story far
sadder than Gordon’s
demolished car, which now sits
in the family’s backyard with a
crushed roof.
Tasha, his young niece, had
begged to go with him to the
store that night. But Gordon’s
mother, Frankie Gordon, was
reluctant to let her grand
daughter go. She distracted the
youngster as Gordon slipped
out. “Ordinarily,” Mrs. Gordon
said with a smile, “I would
have let her go. I’m glad I
didn’t let her go that night.”
Earlier in the conversation,
she seemed to sum the bizarre
ordeal up well as she looked
fondly at her son. “All I can
say is he’s a lucky boy.”
the new zero bracket amount
($2,200 for singles and $3,200
for married couples filing
jointly), personal exemptions,
and the general tax credit The
zero bracket amount replaces
the old standard deduction and
is based on filing status, not
income.
While the forms have been
restyled, Henderson pointed
out that both the 1040 and
1040A provide the taxpayer
with an opportunity to desig-
Former Commissioner Takes Issue
With Den son’s Beer Suit Remarks
(The following statement
was released Tuesday to The
News by former county com
missioner Harry Powell.—
Editor)
To the Editor,
In last week’s news, both by
radio and newspaper, the
whole blame for issueing beer
licenses in Chattooga County
under the judge’s rule was
caused by my writing to the
Revenue Department that I
would not object to the
Memorial Home or Amvet Club
having a license to distribute
beer at these clubs.
Sure, I wrote letters and 1
am ready to take the blame if 1
am the sole cause for this, but,
on record at the courthouse
you will find that when the
Memorial Home was built that
the five-man board wrote
letters to the Revenue Depart
ment, as did the Honorable
John S. Jones when he was
commissioner of Chattooga
County. You will find that
these concurrences were given
because the members of these
clubs trained and fought for
mine and your freedom. It was
a small gesture of the past com
missioners to honor these men
for their gallantry in Service
and now it seems that the
present commissioner is more
than happy to place all the
blame for the judge’s decision
upon the writing of two letters.
If the commissioner so in
formed the county attorney to
fight this case let us check and
find out just how much Earrar
put in to this case before the
judge made his decision.
Let me point out that these
clubs were under strict regu
lations and were not open
saloons as we will now have. I
was not that hard against the
sell of beer in Chattooga
County but was elected three
times with the promise to the
people that I would not sell a
license during those three
terms. 1 kept my promise.
I have never met the man
(Davenport) who was repre
sented by attorney Ben
Ballenger. Denson states that
nate $1 of his or her tax
liability to the Presidential
Election Campaign Fund. The
forms also accommodate use of
the pre-addressed label and
coded envelope that come with
the tax package.
Along with the restyling of
the forms, taxpayers will
notice that the forms reflect
various changes in the law
relating to, for example, the
treatment of capital gains and
losses, sale of a house by a
that many residents felt that the change in the style of the
presidency was needed. They supported President Jimmy Carter’s
informality.
* Chattooga County continued its devastating natural gas
shortage with local officials optimistic enough gas will be
available for residential use as temperatures were expected to
drop to the low teens.
* Representative Jerry Money said he was taking a cautious
approach as he began his first term as a legislator. In a run-off
race, Money beat incumbent Johnny Crawford in November.
* Chattoogans awoke Monday, Jan. 24, to a winter wonder
land of snow and ice, the first sizable snowfall of what will go
down in the local history books as one of the coldest county
winters of the century.
FEBRUARY
* Roughly a dozen of Cloudland’s 70 water customers were
without water as of Tuesday, Feb. 1, Water Commissioner Gene
Willingham reported. He said the continued low temperatures of
recent nights were to blame for the problems of getting water to
customers.
* Rep. Jerry Money said he will introduce a bill in the Georgia
House which, if approved, could give County Commissioner Pete
Denson up to a 24 percent pay increase.
* The Town of Trion Thursday night voted to ask Riegel
Tt tile Corporation to suspend a company policy which has
made what was traditionally a two-way major artery in Trion
one-way. For 4/2 hours each workday Riegel later rejected the
proposal.
* Chattooga and Trion School officials reported a marked
upsurge in school absenteeism this week with colds, viral flu and a
few cases of measles being named as the culprits.
* Fifteen local residents face a total of 35 liquor-related
misdemeanor counts following a massive raid on 11 county
locations in which 129 cases of beer and approximately 13
gallons of hard liquor were seized.
*U. S. Magistrate Clint Morgan Monday morning set a
$50,000 bond for the release of Phillip Wade Bruce, 23, a former
Chattooga County man who surrendered to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation on a bank robbery warrant in connection with the
armed robbery of the Lyerly Branch of the Farmers and
Merchants Bank on Dec. 20.
* James Donald (Donnie) Espy, longtime employee and officer
of Espy Publishing Company, Inc., died at 8:45 p.m. Sunday in
Redmond Park Hospital at Rome. He was 43.
* The resignation Thursday of long-time hospital administrator
Steve Snapp is being followed by a hospital authority investi
gation into Snapp’s handling of hospital funds. Snapp, who has
I been at his present post some six years, resigned after “suspected
I shortages” were found in the hospital’s audit, it was revealed.
the letters were the reason that
he lost the lawsuit, but evi
dently Judge Murphy and
myself have been lifesavers for
him on the beer question. But
what is he going to do about
these people saying that he
promised over a year ago that
he would issue them a license
one way or the other, and
several buildings have already
been renovated and standing
ready to open?
In conclusion, on the beer
question, if 1 was to blame for
all these accusations that you
have made I am certainly big
enough to shoulder my part
without apologies to anyone.
This reminds me of a speech
that Denson made in front of
the Memorial Home, when he
said “I am against the high
taxes in Chattooga County and
will work to lower your taxes.”
Was your taxes lowered the
first year, or were they raised?
He also said the roads in Chat
tooga County are awfully
rough and I will build better
roads and ditch the present
roads. You may ride over the
county and see for yourself the
present condition of the roads
and the type of work that has
been done on these roads this
year. He also made the state
ment that he would stop the
wasteful spending at the Work
Camp. 1 would like for you to
check the salaries of some of
the employees and the type of
work that they perform and
the amount of work per
formed. Also, the material that
has absolutely been thrown
away because of unskilled
labor.
Let’s check and see if the
expense is not greater than we
thought, especially for the type
of road work being performed.
Sure it is nice to say “this is
not costing us anything The
state is paying for it.” But
where does the State get its
money? From you and I, the
tax payers!
1 noticed where there would
be a $63,000 building erected
to house the county’s road
equipment. This equipment is
taxpayer age 65 and older,
moving expense, individual
retirement accounts, alimony
payments and child support.
Henderson urged taxpayers
to carefully read their tax
instructions and to take
advantage of the coupon in the
rear of the tax package for
ordering free IRS publications
and forms. As in previous
years, Henderson said,
taxpayers who file early will
receive their refunds in a
shorter period of time
made of iron and steel and
should be on the roads doing
building and maintenance work
instead of being in a shed.
Also, it is amazing to see the
removal of the beautiful
shrubbery that the Honorable
John S. Jones placed around
the Courthouse in the 1950 s or
early 60s.
When we asked for a grant
to renovate the courthouse we
did not expect to get enough
money to do both inside and
outside, but a new roof was
first and foremost, then work
on the inside would have pro
vided more space in the attic
for office’s and court use plus.
Local and State Taxes Less
(SPECIAL TO THE NEWS)
For Chattooga County resi
dents who wonder whether the
local taxes they are paying are
higher or lower than those
levied in other communities,
recent surveys provide some
answers.
They show that while the
cost of government has been
rising rapidly for local tax
payers, the increase has not
been as rapid as in some areas.
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* ‘a-
Sheriff L. D. Ragland and most of his
deputies Thursday afternoon waited on
Lookout Mountain, anticipating the
arrival of a group of striking miners at
the independent Lookout Mountain
Coal Company. Groups of wandering
miners in Alabama have been blamed in
recent days for disrupting mining oper-
* The steep embankment of Taylor’s Ridge took its toll on
another tractor-trailer truck, but injured no one. William Kyle
Smith. 47, bailed out and escaped serious injury as his truck
plunged over the embankment.
* Stephen Ray Johnson, 23, a former resident of Chattooga
County, was arrested in Houston, Tex., on Feb 18 by FBI agents
in connection with the December 1976 robbery of the Lyerly
branch of the Farmers and Merchants Bank. Clifford Wayne
Posey, 24, also a former resident, was arrested along with
Johnson in connection with the robbery.
* Former Chattooga Hospital /Administrator Steve Snapp has
agreed to pay back, by May 10, $ 14,829 he admits to authorizing
himself in pay advances from hospital funds for over a year, it
was disclosed during a meeting of the hospital authority.
* A Rome engineering firm was hired by the city council to
begin drawing up preliminary plans on phase one of a proposed
multi-million dollar water system improvement project which
state officials are demanding.
* In an unexpected move, the Summerville City Council
abandoned its plans to pass a new business license ordinance. The
proposed ordinance, which would have raised the occupational
taxes of most local businesses and firms, had drawn vehement
denouncement by a delegation of Summerville businessmen at the
December council meeting.
MARCH
* A recent warming trend throughout the nation brought good
news for Chattooga County as the natural gas crisis eased up
j dramatically. The most significant news of local importance came
! in recent days as the 1 50 employees who had been working
off-and-on at Best Manufacturing were told they could go back to
work fulltime.
* A 262-acre wooded area in Chattoogaville burned. It was
called the worst fire in the county in almost 27 years The fire
was just one out of the 234 grass and woods fires in Chattooga
County, causing over an estimated $25,000 worth of damage in
I land and buildings, during the month of February.
* County Health Sanitarian Tom Fox said this week that
rabies are on the increase throughout Georgia. He went on to urge
local residents to take steps to prevent a possible rabies outbreak
here.
* A representative of a Tennessee hospital management firm,
Hospital Affiliates International Inc. of Nashville, said his compa
ny is considering making a proposal which, if accepted by the
Chattooga County Hospital Authority, would turn over the
management of the county hospital and adjoining nursing home
to his firm on a contractual basis.
* Newly-elected District Attorney Bill Campbell defended his
office’s track record during the just-completed term of Chattooga
See HIGHLIGHTS, page 3
new air conditioning and heat
ing units plus elevators to carry
those who are unable to use
the stairways and those who
prefer to use elevators.
It seems that all this has
been thrown out and the rustic
and beautiful appearance of
the Chattooga County Court
house will be changed.
Friends, the present com
missioner has made numerous
headlines on different occa
sions during 1977, but have
you read the fine print that the
headlines encompass?
Harry Powell
(Signed)
The facts and figures come
from the Department of Com
merce, the Commerce Clearing
House and others.
Nearly every community
has been put in a squeeze, it
seems, trying to maintain and,
if possible, to expand its serv
ices and meet rising payrolls.
The fastest expansion in
operating costs has been
centered in education, health
and hospitals and public wel-
Squad ('ar Blockade
Holiday Schedule
Basically, the same holi
day closing schedule is
being observed by local
governmental offices,
report officials.
All county offices will
be closed Saturday and
Monday, to re-open Tues
day morning
Offices of the City of
Summerville, the Town of
Trion and the Summerville
Recreation Center will be
closed Monday in observ
ance of New Year's Day.
Garbage normally picked
up on Mondays will be
picked up on Tuesday.
The Trion gas department
will be closed Monday , in
case of emergency, contact
the Trion Police Depart
ment.
The Trion Community
Center will be closed
Sunday and Monday for
New Year’s.
fare. In the past 10 years, ac
cording to the Conference
Board, state and local ex
penditures have more than
tripled, going from slOl
billion to $319 billion.
As a result, the tax load for
these governmental operations
rose throughout the United
States to a record high of $731
per capita in the past fiscal
year This was 304 above
See TAXES, page 5
ations, and in some cases, of violence.
No protesters appeared at the local
mine, however, and the units disbanded
after a little over an hour. However,
Sheriff Ragland said a deputy was
posted at the mine through most of the
holiday period.
PRICE 15c