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VOLUME XCIV - NUMBER
Summi S ville Council Passes Fluoridation Resolution
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By TOM K 2 »
The Summerville City Counci g-* day night unanimously
passed a resolution Thursday I 5 teking state funds for
fluoridation equipment for the city s waterworks.
The action came after news that the Environmental Protection
Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has
funds available for the fluoridation of communities’ water
systems in the state and Georgia municipalities are required to
fluoridate unless local voters turn down fluoridation in a special
referendum.
According to officials, enforcement of the 1973 laws requiring
cities to fluoridate their water systems has been lax. But compli
ance for City of Summerville is necessary because the City has
been told that without it the state’s Environmental Protection
Division won’t give its approval to the city’s proposed $2 million
165 Earn Diplomas At
Chattooga High School
By TOM KIRWAN
It was an evening of laugh
ter, of tears and in many cases
of farewells.
It was, as Chattooga High
School Principal Jack Herring
said, a night to “honor these
young men and women for
their achievements and to say
‘thanks’ to parents, guardians, ,
and teachers for the patience
and dedication required to do a
responsible job in guiding these
young minds to this point in
time.”
Chattooga High School
graduation night drew a
standing-room-only crowd to
the school gym Tuesday eve
ning to witness the graduation
of 165 seniors.
The crowd rose to its feet as
the processional, played by
Eugene McGinnis, began, and
the soon-to-be graduates filed
onto the gym floor. The Rev.
Charles Bennett, pastor of
Summerville First United
Methodist Church, gave the
keynote address of the evening
following the invocation given
by the Rev. Jack Colwell - and a
welcome from class president
Susan Head.
Punctuating his remarks
with humorous anecdotes, the
Rev. Bennett’s message offered
the seniors three bits of advice:
“Do something worthwhile,”
he advised. “Don’t be afraid to
try something new, to step out
even if you’re out of line.”
And finally, “Use what’s
‘Pot Farm’
Uncovered
Sheriff’s deputies uprooted
over 60 pounds of marijuana
plants in rural Chattooga
County Saturday after a make
shift marijuana farm was
spotted from the air by Sheriff
L. D. Ragland.
The 301 plants, ranging in
size from 10 inches to 216 feet,
were found in the Holland-
Chattoogaville area and had
been well-cared for, according
to a sheriff’s department
spokesman. After spotting the
marijuana patch, Sheriff Rag
land radioed the department
and directed deputies to the
field from the air.
The marijuana weighed
approximately 63 pounds.
Deputies estimated the street
value of the marijuana at
$15,000.
Saturday afternoon Sheriff
Ragland and Deputy J. R.
Johnson carried the marijuana
in three large garbage bags to
the boiler room at Riegel
Textile in Trion. They threw
the marijuana into a 450-
degree furnace and burned it.
No one was arrested in con
nection with the large quantity
of marijuana seized.
Other deputies participating
in the seizure were: Gene Nix,
Robbie Barkley and Wilburn
Ragland.
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within you—develop that talent
that’s uniquely yours.”
Senior Jon Wyatt gave the
salutatory address. Wyatt, this
year’s STAR student who was
honored throughout the eve
ning for such achievements as
12 years of perfect attendance
and who received four senior
medals, told his classmates and
the audience of the importance
of change.
“At this moment,” he said,
“we are going through the
biggest transition in our lives
thusfar . . . the completion of
12 years of school and home
life into the world that we
must make for ourselves.
Although this is a monumental
task and should not be taken
lightly, the class of 1979 has a
definite advantage that should
help us to deal more adeptly
with this transition. We are
part of a generation that has
witnessed, survived, and bene
fited from more changes in our
18 years than has any other.”
Wyatt touched on many
events that the country has
experienced in the past two
decades-the nuclear arms race,
the Vietnam War, racial prob
lems, assassinations, and other
national problems.
“Not only did we witness
these events, but we also saw
the changes they brought
about,” he said, noting that
through change the problems
had been resolved for the
betterment of all Americans.
Pot Found
Deputies Gene Nix (L) and J. R. Johnson (top photo)
examine the 301 marijuana plants confiscated
Saturday afternoon in the Holland-Chattoogaville
area. Riegel employee Steve Blackmon (L) opens the
door to a 450-degree furnace as Sheriff L. D. Ragland
throws the marijuana in to be destroyed. Deputy
Johnson, holding one of three bags of pot seized,
awaits his turn.
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1979
water project. That approval is needed before work can begin.
The state’s fluoridation program will pay for the fluoridators
and their installation, the city has been told, as well as mainte
nance and fluoride for a period of six months. After that period,
the city would bear the cost of the program.
Much of the discussion at the special called meeting dwelled
on an exemption in the 1973 fluoridation law which would
excuse the city from the fluoridation requirement if a referendum
turns it down.
Such a referendum, according to City Attorney Ben Ballenger,
must be called if the city council receives petitions, signed by at
least 10 percent of the voters registered in the last city election,
asking for a ballot vote on the matter. If 50 percent plus one of
the votes goes against fluoridation, the city wouldn’t be required
to fluoridate the local water system.
“Seniors,” he said, “we have
watched our world, our nation,
and our community change,
and thank goodness, we have
changed with it. We have gone
from matchbox cars to real,
live motors ... We have
learned that the old way of
doing things is not always
right, but we have also learned
that ‘different’ is not always
right, either.”
“The credit for our
growth,” he said, is “due
partially to the individuality
lying deep within each of us;
but mostly to the support
given to us by you, our loved
ones and educators. In the past
12 years, we have consumed a
wide assortment of your values
and standards and combined
them with our own beliefs and
thoughts. The result is that we
have taken the words of experi
ence and set them to the music
of a different drummer .. . and
thus, experienced a major and
necessary metamorphosis ...”
“Thanks to all of you,” he
concluded, “we are flexible
enough to focus our lives in the
right direction.”
Valedictorian Delona Eller,
who gained that honor by
achieving the highest scholastic
average of the senior class,
similarly told the graduating
class members that they owed
much to their parents,
teachers, and to the com
munity. She urged them to set
(Continued On Page 11-A)
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Seniors No More
Trion High graduates (above)
triumphantly march from commence
ment exercises held Monday evening.
Below, CHS Valedictorian Delona Eller
Decision In Trion Zoning
Case Is Expected Soon
By DARRYL YOUNG
A decision on the zoning dispute between
the Town of Trion and Jerry Westbrook is
expected to be handed down in a “few days,”
Superior Court Judge Robert Scoggins said
Monday at the conclusion of a hearing on the
matter.
After making three pleas to the Town of
Trion to change his property’s zoning desig
nation from residential to commercial, and
having each denied, Westbrook filed a suit with
Superior Court. Westbrook’s law partner and
attorney for the case, Carlton Vines, has said in
the past that they will not pursue the matter
beyond Superior Court if the zoning plea
should be denied there.
The property in dispute is on Old Highway
27 across from Riegel Textile Corp. To the west
of the property is a parking lot used by Riegel
employees and the company’s warehouse, and
the public Trion Mayor Jake Woods testified at
the hearing Monday morning. To the south is
Fourth Street, which is residential and to the
north is where a boarding house burned in the
early 19605, which is now used for a parking
lot, he said. To the east is a house.
The Town of Trion contends that West
brook’s lot is in a residential area and to change
its designation to commercial would destroy
the atmosphere the area now enjoys. Woods
testified that five residents at a public hearing
said that they would not want a business in
their neighborhood. When questioned by Vines
whether a commercial establishment would
affect the safety of the community, Woods
theorized, “I think it would be unsafe; we
would have more of a traffic hazard.”
Westbrook later testified that he didn’t think
a traffic safety hazard would be created by
having a business located on his property. He
added that he could not determine a safety
factor or say for certain because he has not
done a traffic survey, and said that he did not
know how to go about conducting one.
Vines asked the mayor when the shifts
change at Riegel. Woods noted that they change
at 8 a.m., 4 p.m. and at midnight. Vines then
reiterated Westbrook’s testimony that a half
hour before and after the shift change the noise
A' cording to city officials, it would take the signature of some
140 qualified city voters to put the question on a referendum.
Asked up to what point a petition could be submitted seeking
a fluoridation referendum, Ballenger said the law did not specify.
“I suppose (a referendum could be called) any time before public
money begins being spent on it. Nothing in the law says the
petitions must be filed within a certain time.”
Work on the project is scheduled to begin in the fall of this
year.
Mayor Sewell Cash said that if there is strong opposition to
fluoridation, he hopes it surfaces soon so that engineering plans
could be delayed pending the outcome of a referendum, if one is
called. He indicated he hoped that the council would learn
whether a petition drive will be mounted by the next regular
meeting date, Monday.
and Salutatorian Jon Wyatt, with a
tableful of diplomas before them,
address their classmates and audience at
graduation Tuesday night.
of the car doors and conversations of the
people coming and going is above a tolerable
level for a residential area.
Woods acknowledged that traffic noise and
the noise of the changing shifts is high, but said
that he considered the area to be residential,
and said that he would live in a house built on
Westbrook’s lot.
Westbrook, on the stand, said the lot was
unsuitable for a residence. Besides the traffic
and parking lot adjacent to his lot, a railroad
switch yard for Riegel is located about 300 feet
directly across the street from his property, and
Riegel’s main entrance is only 100 some odd
feet away he noted.
Another point brought out while Westbrook
was on the stand was that a beauty shop is just
north of his lot and on the same side of the
street.
“Have you ever been inside the beauty
shop?” Trion’s attorney Ed Surles asked West
brook about how Westbrook knew business was
being conducted at the beauty shop.
A customer parking sign and a beauty shop
sign are on the front of the building, Westbrook
said, saying that from that he concluded that a
business was in fact being operated from that
building.
Mayor Woods testified that the beauty shop
is unaffected by the 1962 zoning law because it
was an established business before the zoning
ordinance was adopted. This makes the beauty
shop a “non-conforming business,” he said,
explaining why the shop was exempt.
To place a value on Westbrook’s property,
Vines called Fred Thomas, who said he had
been in the real estate business for “30 odd
years.” Zoned as it is-residential -it would sell
for SSOO to $750, Thomas testified. If the same
property were to be rezoned commercial, he
said, it would be worth upward to $35,000.
“Why if it were zoned commercial, I would give
you $30,000 right now for it,” the witness said.
Thomas commented that the best use for the
property would be commercial and that a con
venience store would do well in that location.
Surles approached Westbrook on the stand
about whether he had plans for a restaurant as
(Continued On Page 11-A)
John Dickenson, public health dentist for four counties
including Chattooga, told the council that fluoridation would
translate into a 50 to 70 percent reduction in new tooth decay
among children here. “I think 80 to 90 percent of the people in
the area do want it,” he said, noting that several other north
Georgia communities already fluoridate their water supplies.
In other business, the council approved joining with the
county to split the SI,OOO salary of John Turner, who will again
this summer head up a group of CETA workers on beautification
projects. Turner, who is ineligible for CETA funds, headed a
group of students last year who completed over a half dozen wall
murals in Summerville.
All council members were present for the meeting except
Hubert Palmer, who was unable to attend because of a conflicting
family obligation.
71 Graduate At
Trion Ceremony
By DARRYL YOUNG
Monday night marked the
beginning and the end of away
of life for 71 Trion High
School students.
Some will continue with
their education and others will
launch their way into the
world of work. Whatever their
paths, high school is now a
memory for them.
Over 1,000 people attended
the ceremonies held in the
Trion Recreation Center to
watch the largest graduating
class in Trion High School’s
52-year history receive their
diplomas. The Trion Board of
Education and Principal
Clarence Blevins bestowed the
honors and degrees on the stu
dents.
The invocation was given by
the Rev. James Cordell of
Trion First Baptist Church, and
the benediction by Minister J.
Farris Baird of Pleasant Grove
Church of Christ. Chuck
Chamlee, Dee Johnson, Kim
Sprayberry and David West
brooks sang, “You’ll Never
Walk Alone.
j The class of 1979 adopted
the words of Kailura Ekken as
its class motto, “The
remembrance of the past is the
teacher of the future.”
An array of students were
honored for academic achieve
ments and presented with
certificates by Principal
Blevins. Scholarship awards
were also announced during
the graduation ceremony.
Receiving scholarships were:
Ed Head (Georgia Tech), Craig
Holt (Lions Club Scholarship),
Lamar Russell (Trion-Summer
ville Bell Scholarship), Kim
Sprayberry (scholarship to
Andrew College), Beth Ware
(scholarship to Shorter
College) and Theresa Estus
(Riegel Scholarship).
Honor students recognized
at graduation were Cindy
Adams, Theresa Estus, Cindy
Gunn, Mary Hannah, Ed Head,
Craig Holt, Chris Hoover,
Sandy Housch, Rebecca Ingle,
Toni Price, Lisa Roach, Lamar
Russell, Teresa Searels, Kim
Sprayberry, Robin Stover and
Beth Ware.
Senior class officers were
applauded for the job they
performed during the school
Council In Menlo
Sets 2 Meetings
The Menlo City Council
Tuesday night set the dates for
two called meetings—one to
accept bids for the drilling of a
well and the other to hire a
man to replace Water Com
missioner Jackie Humphrey.
Councilman Lonnie Ward
announced to the council that
Humphrey had told him that
he will resign as of June 16.
Ward said that Humphrey had
suggested that the council find
a replacement before then to
give him ample time to show
the new man job duties and the
location of valves and meters.
The council decided to take
applications and bids for water
commissioner. Councilman
Tom Ballard said the city could
not afford to pay more than
they did last year for the posi
tion and said the man must be
willing to take a state-required
course and pass a water treat
ment licensing requirement
test.
The council set a date for
June 12, 6:30 p.m., to take
applications under consider
ation and to make a final
decision as to who will be
Humphrey’s successor.
The council set a date for a
called meeting on June 21, 5
p.m., in the City Hall to open
bids for work on a new city
well. Mayor Kathryn Mac Vane
and Councilman Ward will each
have a copy of the specifi
cations on the project and one
will be available for review at
City Hall.
PRICE 15c
year. Class officers included
Beth Ware, president; Cindy
Adams, vice president; Darrell
Croft, secretary; and Chuck
Chamlee, treasurer.
Seniors on the graduating
roll were the following:
Cynthia Dianne Adams, Janies
Harper Blackmon 111, Charles
Barron Brock Jr., Gregory
Hardwick Canada, Charles R.
Chamlee Jr., Anthony James
Chaney, Mary Cathy Colbert,
Marla Faye Cordell, Tina Faye
Cordle, William Vance Cordle,
Jeffery Levoid Crider, Fred
Darrell Croft, Richard Grant
Davison 111, Theresa Lynn
Estus. Cynthia Denise Evans
and Anna Marie Gentry.
Also. Richard Orval Greeson
Jr., Lucinda Michele Gunn,
Charles David Hall, Thomas
Anthony Hall, Horace Randall
Hamilton, Mary Elizabeth
Hannah, Charles Gregory
Harris, Janna Hawkins Helms,
William Edward Head, Shelly
Ann Hegwood, David Carroll
Helms, Patti Sue Dover
Henderson, Marcus Hamby
Hogg, Phaedra Deinira Hollis
and James Craig Holt.
Robert Christopher Hoover,
Sandra Lynn Housch, Tammie
Jane Howell, Carol Ann
Hunter, Rebecca Grace Ingle,
Angela Danette Jackson,
Melody Renae James,
Stephanie Deeanna Johnson,
Mitzi Leigh Jones, Sandra Lee
Lively, Rodney Lee Love, Gary
Phillip Meadows, Jeffery
Leonard Meadows, Gregory
Scott Millican, Timothy Mark
Minter, James Michael Nichol
son, Kenneth David Parker and
Joyce Angelia Powell.
Also, Toni Belinda Price,
Lisa Gail Roach, Anthony Paul
Rogers, Lamar Edgar Russell,
Alan Lee Rutledge, Teresa
Catherine Searels, Danny
Edward Smith, Angela Spray
berry Teems, Kimberly Diane
Sprayberry, Kathy Lynn
Staples, Stephen Louis Staton,
Angela Robin Stover, Gary
Dean Sweatman, Sally Page
Tanner, Joe Frank Teague,
David Tomlin, Doris Elizabeth
Ware, Lisa Carter Watson,
David Glenn Westbrooks,
Jimmy Bradley Wilborn,
Dennis Wayne Wilson and
Anthony Leland Wood.
The proposed well site is on
Norman Tucker’s land about
one mile south of Menlo. The
proposed construction of the
well calls for a 6-in ch casing to
state standards that will pump
a maximum of 200 gallons a
minute. The well construction
bid is only a segment of the
entire project which will be
funded by a grant from the
Department of Natural Re
sources.
The total cost of the
expansion of Menlo’s water is
estimated to run some
$50,000.
Ballard said the librarian
told him that the summer
reading program could be con
ducted this year if the council
would pay her salary of $3.25
per hour for two hours a day,
five days a week, for 10 or 11
weeks. The council decided to
use federal revenue-sharing
funds for the financing of the
program.
The Menlo Council also
renewed the garbage collection
contract with Billy Wright. The
council agreed to grant Wright
a rate increase of 25 cents,
after he presented the council
with a statement of expendi
tures and overhead costs to
justify the increase to $2.35 a
month. He will continue to
collect the city’s trash for $25
a month.
The council also voted to
pay Jim Crowe SIOO for
mowing the roadways in
Menlo.
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