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VOLUME XCIV NUMBER XXVIX
Renrti ation Underway at
Head! Start School Site
By DARRYL YOUF S
Renovation has begun on a
permanent home for the Chat
tooga County Head Start pro
gram. The site is the former
Bar-B-Q Barn on Stockade
Road, which is being
extensively remodeled. In the
past the Head Start program
here has been limited to a six
week summer session. With the
completion of the new site, the
pre-school program is being
expanded to nine months.
According to Larry Konrad,
executive director of North
west Georgia Equal Oppor
tunity Authority in LaFayette.
the site chosen is “very satis
factory." being centrally
located and close to the hospi
tal and the health department.
Summerville By-Pass Urged
A retired local citizen last
week urged the Chattooga
County Chamber of Commerce
to help him convince the
Georgia Department of
Transportation that a Summer
ville bypass should be con
structed.
Austin Scoggins told the
board of directors at a chamber
meeting Tuesday that the DOT
may soon decide to widen
U.S. Highway 27 from
Summerville to Trion, a project
which he said wouldn't solve
Summerville's traffic con
gestion problems. What is
needed, he said, is the bypass, a
Congressional Medal of
Honor Winner Speaks to
Summerville-Trion Rotary
By TOM KIRWAN
Desmond T. Doss, the first and only
conscientious objector ever to receive the
Congressional Medal of Honor, captivated a
local group last Wednesday detailing Ms
harrowing World War II experiences as a medic.
Doss, who lives near Rising Fawn on
Lookout Mountain, was the guests of the
Summerville-Trion Rotary Club, introduced by
Rotarian Don Chandler.
Now 59, he told the group that at the
outbreak of the war he yearned to serve his
country. After Pearl Harbor, like the other
young men in his hometown of Lynchburg,
Va., he registered for the draft. But Doss was
classified I-A-0 (the “O” denoting him as a
conscientious objector) as a result of his strong
conviction as a Seventh-Day Adventist that
while he could serve in the military, he refused
to carry, or even touch, a weapon. “I didn’t
want to take a life," he explained.
That tag-conscientious objector-was in
appropriate in his opinion. “I like to be called a
conscientious cooperator," he explained,
“because that's what we were ... I felt it was
an honor to serve.”
Official procedure worked out by the church
and the armed services was such that Adventists
would not volunteer for service, but had to wait
their turn in the draft. While waiting for his
“greetings from Uncle Sam," Doss said he
worked in a shipyard. When his draft notice
came, he told the Rotarians, a boss offered to
seek the young man a deferment on the
grounds of his being essential to the shipyard.
But Doss declined, and ironically was soon
assigned to the 77th Infantry Division, despite
his declared intention to serve as a non-comba
tant.
“I had a hard time to start with,” he re
called. “Basic training was rough.”
It’s usually rough for most new soldiers, but
as a non-combatant he suffered a lot of abuse—
both verbal and physical -from fellow recruits
who took him for a slacker. He also drew
criticism because of his refusal to do non
essential work on Saturday (the Adventist
Sabbath), and because he was given passes on
Saturdays to attend services in town. What the
other soldiers didn't often realize was that
while they were granted passes on Sundays and
left the past, Doss was pulling duty.
Officers, too, gave the committed Adventist
a hard time. “I did KP and scrubbed tables
because I wouldn't bare arms,” he explained.
But his quiet, detennined manner, after a
while, earned him the respect of the recruits
and officers alike. “Later,” he recalled, “some
who were critical came and asked me to pray
for them because they knew 1 was behind them
100 percent, and they were behind me.”
Doss was soon transferred from the rifle
company to the medical battalion.. It was as a
medic he would save hundreds of lives, a role
©he ^ummeruilk News
E.O.A. officials say they con
ducted a countywidc search for
a suitable site and, according to
Konrad, “It’s the only one we
could find.”
The funds for the $38,000
renovation arc coming from
the Department of Health Edu
cation and Welfare and are
administered through the
E.O.A.
Frank Price, the owner of
the building, will be receiving
the renovation funds. He has
signed a five-year lease agree
ment with the E.O.A. Konrad
said, and will be doing the
renovation work himself.
Price has had to take out a
performance bond to insure
the completion of the project
in event of an accident or ill-
project which in the last
decade has been much
discussed but has never gone
beyond that stage. One bypass
proposed would have it run
from Taylor's Ridge to the
bridge in Trion.
The News this summer has
repeatedly asked a DOT
official in Cartersville for infor
mation concerning the possible
widening of the U.S. 27, but
as late as Tuesday he has
declined comment on the pro
posal. It is known, however,
that the segment was recently
surveyed and there has been
talk that the state may widen
i ■
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<l^ V <1
Desmond Doss holds the bent bullet that passed
through his forearm and lodged against the
bone in his upper arm, later to be removed by
army surgeons. He wears the Congressional
Medal of Honor around his neck. 1
that would lead him to become one of only 43
men to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Doss told the Rotarians several stories last
week: tales of desperate efforts to rush the
wounded, as bullets whizzed past, back to
safety; of the frustration and sorrow of losing
Ms best friend in combat; of Ms many brushes
with death under fire.
He participated in major campaigns of the
Pacific-Guam and Leyte (Philippines)-where
he earned a reputation as a lifesaver, according
to Booton Herndon, who wrote a book about
Doss, called “The Unlikeliest Hero.”
But it was at Okinawa that Doss carved a
place for himself in history. His company had
used cargo nets to scale the cliffs of the
MAEDA Escarpment, as it was known, a
Japanese stronghold which Doss told the
Rotarians was a “hollow mountain with lights
in it and wooded ladders in tunnels, lull of
macMne-gun emplacements."
As the American troops gained the summit,
artillery, mortar and machine-gun fire rained
down on them, inflicting several dozen injuries.
According to war records, Private Doss
refused to seek cover and remained in the
fire swept area with the many stricken, carrying
them one by one to the edge of the escarpment
and lowering them down the face of a cliff to
Me MEDAL OF HONOR, page 11
SUMMERVILLE, CH ATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747 THURSDAY, AUGUST 17,1978
ncss. He will receive 50 percent
of total funds at the halfway
completion point, with the
balance to be paid upon com
pletion, following inspections
by the fire marshall, the health
department and E.O.A.
officials.
The completion date is set
for Sept. 1, with a clause
allowing for an extension equal
to the number of days lost
beca use of ba d wea the r.
Konrad explained that the
program will serve 40 children
ages 3 through 5, and their
families, in an 160-day session.
He stressed the fact that Head
Start is a “family awareness
program,” saying “the program
will provide upward mobility
for the entire family.”
the road to four or five lanes.
Chamber President Henry
Watson suggested that a poll be
taken of the chamber’s mem
bership to see where they stand
on the question. But director
Bill Farrar said that it would be
best to get the facts on the
situation before such a poll is
taken. He suggested that the
Chamber invite DOT official
Emory Parish to address the
chamber next month. The
directors agreed to that plan,
and have invited him to speak
at next month’s meeting.
Konrad said the goal of the
program is to “try and help the
child and family by educating
them in health, hygiene and in
economics awareness. This will
assist the family to better
themselves and turn them away
from public support.”
Konrad explained that the
parents arc an integral part of
the program. He said, “at the
center level parents will be in
volved and make recom
mendations of who is best
qualified to teach their chil
dren.”
The renovated building for
the full-year program is to con
tain 2,800 square feet, with
four class rooms and another
475 square feet alloted the
kitchen area. The staff will
consist of one head teacher,
one lead teacher and two aides.
The kitchen personnel includes
a manager and a cook.
The playground will be
enclosed with chain-link fence
and will have a slide, swing set,
tricycles and creative toys.
Applications are being taken
at the E.O.A. office in
Summerville, at 1 Commerce
St., in the rear of the old
Farmers & Merchants Bank.
Enough applications have been
filed for this coming session
and are now being processed,
Konrad said.
Most of the children in the
program come from low
income homes with an annual
income of $6,200 or less after
medical expenses for a family
of four. Ten percent of the
children that are considered for
the program are handicapped
and 10 percent are from fami
lies that have an income above
the $6,200 limit. The racial
ratio of the community must
be the same as that of the
community in general. Konrad
said, “We try to screen the
individuals and find the ones
most in need.”
174 Cases ‘True Billed’; |
| Four Charges Dropped |
The August term of Chat
tooga County Grand Jury
“true billed” 73 cases and “no
billed” four cases last week.
These includeed both felony
and misdemeanor cases.
In cases that are “no
billed,” the charges are
dropped. Cases “true billed’
are bound over to the Superior
Court for a trial.
The felony cases of the
following people, and their
charges were “true billed” as of
Monday, Aug. 14:
Lamar Abernathy, 27, of
Route 1 Box 600, Summer
ville, issuing terroristic threats;
Bobby Hugh Campbell, 30, of
45 Seventh Street, Trion
issuing threats; George
DeWayne Caldwell, 26, of
Route 3 Dogwood Drive,
Summerville, issuing threats;
Willie Patrick White, 21, of 115
Sixth Street, Summerville,
theft by taking and burglary;
Frank Buffington, 38, of
Route 2 Box 25A, Summer
ville, theft by taking; Gordon
Bryson, 58, of 214 Aired
Street, Summerville, theft by
conversion; Gary Campbell, 22
of Box 232, Trion, criminal
damage to property in the
second degree; Robert E.
Carroll, 49, of 7500 Powers
Avenue No. 5, Jacksonville,
Fla., theft by deception;
Benjamin Mack, 53, of 4233 A
West Bell, St. Louis, Mo., theft
by deception; and Tommie
Lee, 38, of 1505 A N
Newstead, St. Louis, Mo., theft
by deception.
Also, Douglas Clay Otwell,
22, of Route 9 Holland Road,
Rome, violation of the Georgia
Controlled Substance Act;
Stan-Arrow Smith, (no age or
address available), criminal
damage in the second degree;
Sammy Wayne Ward, 22, of
Seventh Street, Menlo, (three
counts) burglary and (three)
theft by receiving stolen
property; Timothy W. Jeffress,
29, of 11 Givens Street,
Summerville, selling marijuana;
Bobby Lee Sechrest, (no age or
■ «*' *4^4 <
Laborers work on a new wing of the
former Bar-B-Q Bam restaurant, chosern
as the site of the expanded Chattooga
McDonald-Foster Congressional
Campaigns Warm Up for Runoff
Rep. Larry McDonald and
challenger Smith Foster,
following last week’s primary
race which put them in the
Aug. 29 run-off, both promise
energetic last-minute campaign
ing and swapped barbs
attacking one another in recent
days.
Each charged that the other
had not been honest with the
voters.
McDonald has announced
he is “personally taking
charge” of his run-off election
campaign, predicting he will
achieve a “clear victory on
Aug. 29.”
In a press release, he out
lined his campaign plans:
“First, 1 will show and demon
strate that I have the best and
most effective record in Con
gress in fighting inflation, the
bureaucratic mess in Washing
ton, and high taxes. Second,
address available), forgery and
theft by deception; Robert
Holland Strawn Jr., 22, of
Route 1, Lyerly, armed
robbery, robbery by force and
aggravated assault; James Paul
Williams, 29, of Route 2,
LaFayette, violations of the
Georgia Controlled Substance
Act; Benny Blackmon, 26, of 8
Curran Street, Summerville,
burglary and theft by taking;
Gary Cook, 33, of Route 1
Box 354, Summerville,
burglary; Effie Mae Cox, 48, of
First Street, Summerville,
burglary; and Larry Joe
Dooley, 41, of Route 3,
Summerville, theft by
deception.
Also, Preston Lamar
Howard, 29, of Box 8,
Summerville, habitual violator;
Randall Lee Wilson, 18, of
Route 2 Box 15, Trion,
burglary; Charles Edward
Galloway, 36, of Route 1,
Trion, theft by receiving stolen
property and burglary; Gregory
Reynolds, 21, of Route 1,
Lyerly,’ (six counts) theft by
receiving stolen property;
Truman Wooten, 41, of 328
Melba Drive, Trion, enticing a
child for indecent purposes;
Jody Pendergrass, 23, of 56th
Street, Mira Loma, Calif.,
burglary; Hollis Siffles, 25, of
17 Curran Street, Summerville,
burglary; Bobby Siffles, 27, of
19 Curran Street, Summerville,
burglary; Bruce Kenneth Lea,
19, of Route 1, Lyerly; forgery
in the second degree; Andrew
Ray Ward, 24, of Menlo,
forgery in the second degree;
Tony Alan Duke, 19, of 14
Espy Street, Summerville,
violation Georgia Controlled
Substance Act; and Boyce
Tucker (no age or address
available), forgery.
NO BILLED’
Os the charges “no billed”
only two involved felonies:
Rodney Thompson, 26, of No.
38 McCollum Street, Trion,
theft by taking; and Oscar
Lawrence Jr., 18, of Sixth
Street, Summerville, burglary.
Sept. 1 Target Date Set
my opponent has said he will
vote exactly like me on the
issues. I’ll be pointing out the
differences on my public posi
tions and his public positions,
which proved that he wouldn’t
and couldn’t have the same
excellent voting record which
my district now enjoys.
“Thirdly, I have been busy
in Congress during most of this
campaign. My opponents have
largely had the field to them
selves. But now I am back in
the district and I will spend
every minute I possibly can
traveling to every area
meeting with my constituents
and discussing the issues and
my opponent’s public stands.'
Meanwhile, Foster labeled
the No. 1 issue of the campaign
“honesty in representation.”
■ HIP-
Photograph shows where the city will
open North Given Street. The road
passes between the trailer in the middle
Council
The opening of North Given
Street and the first reading of a
water and sewer bond
ordinance Mghlighted a mostly
routine meeting of the
Summerville Mayor and
Council Monday night.
At the request of Mayor
Sewell Cash, the council voted
unanimously to open a 325-
foot stretch of road known as
North Given Street. Given
Street currently deadends to
the east at the creek which
runs through the mill village.
But Cash noted that plats show
that the road is supposed to
continue south, following the
stream to Highway 114.
After the meeting Cash told
The News that the decision is
personally welcomed by him
because he owns the trailer
park which adjoins the soon-to
be-opened street. He also said
that if he builds a store on
Highway 114 near the inter
section of North Given on
property he owns that the
decision to open the street
would be an asset. But he
County Head Start program. The build
ing is expected to be ready for occu
pancy around Sept. 1.
“Repeatedly Dr. McDonald
says one thing and votes an
other as in the Coosa-Alabama
River Project,” Foster said.
“His newsletter dated May
1978 states ‘clearly Rome
offers great potential benefit
from the investment in the
Alabama-Coosa navigation
channel.’ However, he voted
against it, even though his
newsletter leads you to believe
he’s going to vote for it.”
McDonald “continually
talks about cutting government
spending.” the challenger said,
“yet his own Congressional
office in Washington is one of
the biggest spenders up there,
outspending everyone in the
Georgia delegation.”
Foster charged that
McDonald had misrepresented
Street Will Meet Highway 114
Opens N. Given St.
noted that the street is on city
plats and that its opening
would help relieve traffic
congestion at the intersection
of Bolling Road, Penn Street,
and Highway 114, near the old
cotton mill.
Cash said the council’s
decision will not include paving
of the street, but would require
grading and some chert being
hauled in to the street.
In other city council action:
* The first reading of a new
water and sewer bond ordi
nance was read, although
blanks were left in several key
portions of the document. The
mayor said the blanks will be
filled before the council
approves the ordinance on
second reading. Among the
blanks were the exact figures
for the new, increased water
and sewer rates, but Cash said
they should not be different
from those already published
in The News in recent weeks.
Outside of the rate increases.
City Clerk Bert Self said, the
new ordinance contains no
2 Cars
Recovered
The Chattooga County
Sheriffs Department reported
the recovery of two auto
mobiles throughout the week.
Both vehicles were undamaged.
On July 11, deputies found
a 1973 Volkswagen on Cherry
Street on Tuesday, Aug. 15,
deputies were advised the
vehicle belonged to John
Adams, owner of Capitol
Motors at 800 Martha Berry
Blvd, in Rome. The vehicle was
not reported missing until July
17.
Adams, according to one
deputy, advised them he did
not discover the vehicle was
missing for sometime as he
owns two car lots in Rome.
The vehicle, valued at
$1,105, was returned to Adams
undamaged.
James R. Teems Jr. of 205
Harrell Street, Trion reported
see 2 CARS, page 11
Foster’s stand on gun control,
saying the incumbent said he
(Foster) favored controls on
guns. “He knows that isn’t
true,” Foster said. “He’s heard
me and the voters have heard
me talk about that at campaign
appearances. He knows and the
voters know I’m against gun
control by local, state or
federal governments,”
“I’m going to base my
campaign on the effective
representation of this district,”
he said. “My office has been
flooded with calls-just last
week we had to add more lines
to handle them all from
enthusiastic people wanting to
offer their assistance in
bringing effective and honest
representation back to the 7th
District.”
of the picture and the telephone poles
out to Highway 1 14, where a van can
be seen in the distance.
significant changes in the sewer
and water department policies
not already in effect.
* The council agreed to hire
a second man at the waste
water treatment plant.
* A small raise was granted
for a garbage truck driver.
Other sanitary workers will be
considered for raises when they
improve their work habits
namely working a full 40 hours
each week-the council
decided.
♦ A beer license was turned
down for Fleet Oil Co.
(formerly the Hood Station on
North Commerce Street), upon
the recommendation of Chief
of Police Bud Gilley.
* It was announced that a
night depository at City Hall
for the payment of water and
gas bills should be installed
within a month.
* The city will pay for
sending two patrolmen to
intoximeter school-at a cost
of SB2 each-the council
decided.
Me COUNCIL, page 11
PRICE 15c