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VOLUME XCIV - NUMBER XXV
Survey Fir H ; Local Businessmen
Say They’i I Complying With
New Federal Thermostat Controls
All but one of a half dozen
businessmen polled by The
News recently agreed with
President Carter's signing of a
mandatory building
temperature restrictions pro
gram last month.
The regulations, limiting
cooling to 78 degrees
Fahrenheit and heating to 65
degrees, was one of four
energy-conservation proposals
submitted to Capitol Hill last
spring. It was the least con
versial and the only one that
Congress approved. It went
into effect July 16 under an
order signed by President
Carter July 10.
A local insurance agent
said, "We will be law abiding
and will comply with the Presi
dent’s request, even if we’re
uncomfortable. It is just
something we’ll have to get
use to. We usually keep our
building at 75 degrees so there
won’t be a lot of difference. 1
think we can live through it.”
Two local clothing mer
chants said they believe the
new temperature regulations
will have little effect on their
businesses.
“It’ll be pretty hot, but
we’ll get along,” explained one
store owner. “I can remember
when it was 100 in here (his
store) and we didn’t have air
conditioners. We got along
then—everybody smelled like
Oak Tree Falls, Damages
Electric, Cable-TV Lines
A large, rotted oak tree crash
ed to the ground last Wednesday
around 12:30 a.m., downing a
power line that left much of Sum
merville in the dark.
The tree, located in the dense
forest next to a utility line right
of-way about half-way up the
eastern side of Taylor’s Ridge,
was located by Georgia Power
workers using a trouble shooter
light. The tree, three feet in
diameter and some 50 to 60 feet
tall, had uprooted from the soggy
ground at its base.
According to Mike Smith,
district superintendent of
Georgia Power, the tree was
located some 15 to 20 feet off of
the right-of-way. The tree "just
Trion Council: Clear-Vu
Must Pay Back Taxes Or
Franchise Will Be Axed
The Town of Trion Council
voted Thursday to give Clear-Vu
Cable 10 days to pay its back ad
valorem taxes or have its fran
chise dropped in Trion.
The council discussed the back
taxes owed by Clear-Vu for
1975-78. Clear-Vu made a pay
ment of $695 to Trion earlier for
their taxes but the council refus
ed it, saying Clear-Vu owed $822,
including slll interest. The
check was returned to the cable
company.
Clear-Vu holds that Trion is
taxing the firm ad valorem tax on
equipment located on Taylor’s
Ridge. Since the Taylor's Ridge
receiving station is not in Trion,
the Town has no justification to
charge the company tax on the
equipment, Clear-Vu said. The
council says it is taxing, as it
must under the law, based on the
county tax digest.
Thursday the council re
quested Mayor Jake Woods to
write a letter to Clear-Vu advising
them they have 10 days to pay
their property taxes or have their
franchise terminated in Trion.
It was unclear when the
10-day period would start and
conclude. Contacted Wednesday
morning. Mayor Woods declined
to tell The News whether the
period started effective the date
of the meeting, the date of the let
ter, or the date of receipt of the
letter. It was also unclear
whether the deadline period of 10
days referred to work days or in
cluded weekends.
Contacted by The News Tues-
(The ^ummeruiUe New
a billy goat —but then
everybody smelled that way
so you didn’t seem to notice.
We’ve become pampered. The
air conditioner is nice but we’ll
get along with it turned up.
Another clothing store
owner said, "It’ll be pretty
warm. However, ours is on 78
now and it’s not too bad, it’s
comfortable enough. It’s time
we started doing something.
We're going to have to make
some sacrifices. It's a little
AMERICANS HAVE FACED
ADVERSITY WRE-WLL W ^1
ADJUST TO 78 DECREES\
iwP I*
died”, Smith said, and the wind
caused it to fall on three wires,
causing the blackout.
"We started checking for the
problem as soon as we were
notified around 12:30," Smith ex
plained. “We found the problem
around 3 or 3:30 a.m. We closed
some wires and were able to
restore some power to the
Wayside Community and to The
Summerville News around 4 a.m.
“It was around 8:30 or 9 a.m.
before we were able to restore the
rest of the power,” continued
Smith. “This included some 25 to
30 residents that were without
power during the night. Clear-Vu
Cable was also out, as was several
other repeaters that are located
day morning, Clear-Vu Cable
President Boyce Dooley said he
had not received a letter from the
council and declined to comment
further until he had received it.
In other actions the council:
* Approved repair work on
Simmons Street for $770 and
repair work on the curbs at Town
Hall for $265. The council approv
ed for Headrick Construction
Company of Summerville to do
the repair work.
* Approved Marion (Deck)
Brewster, city recorder, to serve
as a building inspector, along
with Billy Henderson.
* Increased the water-sewage
cut-on fees from the current S6O
fee to SIOO, effective Aug. 1.
* Received a letter of resigna
tion from H.N. Florence as a
member of the Chattooga County
Library Board. The council ap-
County Way Below
Blood Drives’ Goal
Lifesaving heroes—blood donors —continue to be needed by the
Red cross to help win the fight for life this summer, according to Billy
Gilbert, local bloodmobile chairman.
"At the end of the year we will of had six blood drives in teh
county,” Gilbert explained. "Our goal for this year is 600 units of
blood, 100 units per drive. However, we have only three more drives
this year, and we are already 100 units behind. We need residents to
come and give blood to keep our blood program in operation."
The next bloodmobile is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 17, at the Trion
(Continued On Page 3)
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1979
warmer in here than we are ac
customed to, but we'll get
along.”
Two restaurant owners
polled viewed the regulations
differently but agreed their
customers wanted to be com
fortable while eating out.
“We usually run our air
conditioners between 75 and
78,” one owner said. “I think
the customers will notice if it’s
left on 78. And, if I don’t have
customers, I might as well
on the mountain.”
Smith explained the reason it
took so long to restore the power
was once they found the problem,
workers had to walk up the moun
tain carrying their equipment.
The rugged problem area, on the
side of the mountain, couldn’t be
reached by vehicle, he said.
The blackout, said Smith was
expensive for Georgia Power.
“With equipment charge, labor
and payroll, the cost was at least
$500,” he said. “This figure does
not include materials used or loss
revenue so you could say it (the
blackout) cost quite a bit of
money plus problems for
residents.”
Due to the blackout The News
proved Grace Simmons to fill the
unexpired term of County
Library Board. The council ap
proved Grace Simmons to fill the
unexpired term of Florence. Ms.
Simmons, Mayor Woods said
Monday, has accepted the posi
tion.
* Adopted the emergency gas
procedure and a new flood in
surance ordinance.
♦ Voted to sell one of the
police cars, a 1977 Ford LTD 11,
with sealed bids being opened
Aug. 10 at 1 p.m. in the Town
Hall Conference Room.
* Employed R.E. Herrington
and Company of Atlanta as a con
sultant for unemployment claims.
* Agreed to discuss with an
engineering company the
feasibility of adding new
customers on to Trion’s sewage
lines.
close my doors.”
The only businessman
against the regulations, a
restaurant owner, explained,
“The temperature restrictions
certainly will hurt. When peo
ple go out and spend their
hard-earned money for a meal,
they want to be comfortable.
If they’re not comfortable,
they’re unhappy. I think peo
ple are just like that.
“If I’ve got the money to
(Continued On Page 3)
was unable to separate the papers
for mailing until Thursday morn
ing, causing many residents to
receive their papers on Friday in
stead of Thursday. The papers
were also late in being delivered
to local stores because of the
power failure.
Clear-Vu President Boyce
Dooley said some 500 feet of
cable-TV wire had to be replaced
as a result of the accident. By
3:30 p.m. Thursday the repairs
were completed and cable-TV ser
vice restored.
The third line hit by the tree is
owned by General Telephone Co.,
however it was not seriously
damaged.
Station Robbed;
2 Are Suspects
A Trion man was arrested
Sunday evening and another
Trion man is being sought in con
nection with the early Sunday
morning armed robbery of a gas
station in Trion in which over
SI,OOO was taken.
Vinson Edward Hughes, 18, of
the Mountain View Community
was arrested and charged with
armed robbery, theft by taking
and possession of marijuana for
resale. He was released from jail
Tuesday on $20,000 bond.
Authorities are looking for Travis
Joe Little, 18, of Central Avenue
on armed robbery and theft by
taking charges.
According to a sheriff's
department spokesman, around 3
a.m. Sunday two males wearing
stockings over their faces held up
the Dixie Oil Service Station on
Central Avenue with a shotgun.
Taken from the station was
$1,757.79 in cash and the atten
dant's 1970 Dodge Dart.
Following an investigation by
sheriff’s deputies, the attendant
tentatively identified one of the
men as Hughes. Based on that in
formation a lookout was placed
for Hughes and his 1971 Buick.
Deputies later searched Hughes'
residence but were unable to
locate Hughes. However, the
spokesman said, 10 marijuana
plants of various sizes were found
at Hughes' residence and con
fiscated.
Later in the day deputies
found the attendant's vehicle
abandoned —undamaged—on
Honeysuckle Drive in Trion.
Sometime after 6 p.m., the
spokesman said, deputies spotted
Hughes in his car in the Trion
area. Hughes was stopped and ar
rested.
The spokesman said, following
further investigation the depart
ment had sufficient information
to place a lookout for Little as the
second robbery suspect.
As of Wednesday the money
had not been recovered and Little
was still being sought.
Commuter Air Service
Links Northwest Ga.
With Hartsfield Airport
By TOM KIRWAN
Regularly-scheduled flights
connecting northwest Georgia
with Atlanta’s Hartsfield Inter
national Airport became a reality
last week, the first time such a
service has been available in
several years in the area.
Sunbelt Airlines at Russell
Field in Rome last Tuesday laun
ched its commuter service linking
the air travel capital of the
Southwest with the largest city in
this area.
Four flights daily are schedul
ed to Atlanta, as are four Atlanta-
Rome flights. The airlines leaves
Rome each day at 7:50 a.m., 12:10
p.m., 4:10 p.m. and 6:40 p.m.
Times for the Atlanta-Rome
schedule are 10:30 a.m., 11:05
a.m., 5:30 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Duration of each flight, accor
ding to Sunbelt, is approximately
Second Annual Farm
Tour Draws A Crowd
A tour of a lumber company, a
visit to two poultry houses, and
the inspection of a local farm that
is growing a new type of hay for
cattle were the highlights of an
agricultural tour Saturday spon
sored by the Chattooga County
Young Farmers Association.
Close to 100 residents,
members of the two-year-old
organization and their families,
boarded two yellow school buses
at 2 p.m. at the Chattooga Coun
ty Memorial Home to take the
tour, part of the Young Farmers’
educational program. The group
contained both full-time and part
time farmers, and their families.
The group’s first stop on the
tour was a visit to the J.P. Smith
Lumber Company on Georgia
Highway 48 near Menlo.
Smith showed the group
through the lumber
mill—operating with a skeleton
crew to demonstrate how lumber
is processed there. He explained
what happens to the timber once
it leaves the farmer’s land. An
estimated 15 to 20 thousand feet
of hardwood or 25 to 30 thousand
feet of pine can be processed
through the mill daily. Smith
said.
. 'nob
bV ■ 1 IT' ■ ' H B
Saturday’s afternoon-long Young
Farmer’s tour included stops at a local
lumberyard, a poultry farm and a local
cattle operation. Above, Wayne Hurley
talks with local farmers about new type
of hay he has. had success with. BElow
a ’ I
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JBEEB
30 to 40 minutes.
According to Howie Lowden,
Sunbelt’s vice president of
marketing and sales, the schedule
was set up and coordinated to
allow passengers to connect with
the major airlines’ flights in and
out of Atlanta.
The cost of a ticket either to or
from Atlanta on the commuter
airlines is $29, Lowden said.
Sunbelt is not currently discoun
ting round trip or child fares, he
said, however, children under the
age of 2 fly free with an adult.
Sunbelt is seeking approval for
joint fares with the major airlines,
he said, which when received will
allow the price to be reduced
when a passenger connects with
the flight of one of the major
airlines. That approval is ex
pected within 30 days or so, he ad
ded.
Timber management on
farms, was stressed; farmers can
realize profits from their
woodlands as well as the
cropland, he said.
Following the tour of the mill
and a walk through the
lumberyard, the group stopped
by a workshed for refreshments.
The next stop for the group
was the poultry houses of Jim
Parker in Tolliver near Holland.
Parker operates two layer houses
with a total capacity of 31,135
layers.
The group gathered around
the outside of the poultry houses
as Parker explained the operation
and said there were “six workers”
there—“myself, Jane, the kids
and the Lord, because He’s the
one that makes it all work.
Without Him we wouldn’t have
it.”
The Parkers have been in the
egg business about 3*A years.
They pick up approximately
21,000 to 22,000 eggs each day
from the two houses, Parker said,
with the typical day beginning at
5 a.m.
Parker was nominated as one
of six finalists for the first annual
Georgia Egg Producer of the Year
Farm Tour Success
The $29 fare, Lowden said, is
well within the budget of many
air travelers. "It takes an hour
and a half to drive to Atlanta
from Rome and you have to be
there before departure (of another
flight) 30 to 35 minutes before.
You have to part in a remote
parking space, too; and the park
ing fees can add up, especially for
a long trip. What is your time
worth, that’s the main thing you
have to ask yourself.”
Currently the commuter ser
vice is using a Cessna 310, a twin
engine four-passneger aircraft.
Sometime next week, Lowden
said Sunbelt will begin using an
eight passenger, twin-engine
Cessna 402 on the route.
Lowden said Sunbelt is aware
that some people have reserva
tions about flying in small air
craft, but that their fears are un-
award, given in 1978.
The group then toured the
poultry houses and watched as
the Parkers’ boys, David and
Derek, showed how fast they pick
up eggs.
The final stop on the tour was
the beef farm of Wayne and Bo
Hurley in Perennial Springs.
The Hurley brothers are cur
rently working with the Universi-
(Continued On Page 3)
News Feature
On Murals
To Air Aug. 27
The Chattooga County
Chamber of Commerce has receiv
ed word that a news feature on
the outdoor mural program is
slated to be televised Monday,
Aug. 27.
Reported Phil Flynn and a
cameraman visited the county
last month to film a story about
the local project. Flynn’s report
will be aired on WAGA-TV 5
(cable channel 10) on the evening
news show, which begins at 6 p.m.
farmers on the tour get a first-hand look
at JP Smith’s Lumber Yard. At right,
Shawn McCary, 20-month-old son of Mr.
and Mrs. Dennis McCary wears a T-shirt
and cowboy hat on tour.
I fl w
PRICE 20c
founded. The pilots that fly for
commuter airlines have to have
their Airline Transport Pilot
license,” he said, “and by law we
have to operate under the exact
same FAA (Federal Aviation Ad
ministration) regulations as Delta
Airlines or any other airlines. Our
pilots have to have the same
licenses, follow the same re
quirements and receive the same
training as the major airlines'
pilots. Pilots are checked out in
the airplane they fly by the FAA
after several hours of training.”
He stressed that the FAA re
quires recurrent training and a
medical examination every six
months of all pilots who hold the
Airline Transport Pilot license.
He explained that to be
granted the Airlines Transport
Pilot license the pilot must have
at least—and often has in excess
of 1,200 hours of flying ex
perience. Sunbelt pilots—two are
aboard each commuter
flight—have between 2,000 and
30,000 hours of in-flight ex
perience.
He also stressed the service
virtually is hassle-free.
Passengers boarding in Rome can
see their baggage routed through
their final destination—no matter
how many changes in aircraft his
or her trip calls for, he said.
The new service is expected to
be an asset to the northwest
Georgia area, one of the benefits
of the much-publicized federal
decontrol of the national airlines.
That move by the federal govern
ment, according to The Chat
tanooga Times, has resulted in a
30 percent reduction in outbound
commercial carriers who in the
past were obligated to serve less
profitable routes in order to re
tain rights tb the more'profitable
routes.
According to Lowdon, as com
mercial airlines reduce the cities
and routes they serve, commuter
airlines are being established to
fill the gap.
For Chattoogans, it is only a
20-minute drive to reach Russell
Airport in Rome from Summer
ville. The airport, considered one
of the best in Georgia because of
its three relatively-long airstrips,
is located six miles of Rome off of
U.S. Highway 27.
Sunbelt is planning to get into
the air cargo business soon,
Lowden said, which he said many
local industries are bound to
utilize. “If, for example, Riegel
Textile Corporation needed to get
a package to New York, they
could route it through Sunbelt
and it could be there the next
day."
The airlines also offers charter
flights and flight instruction.
Rental cars are available at the
airport.
One Seriously
Injured Here
In Accident
A Summerville man remained
in the medical intensive care unit
of Floyd Medical Center in Rome
Wednesday afternoon after he
was thrown from his vehicle that
overturned north of Trion Tues
day.
Harold Eugene Hawkins, 43,
of 203 Wood St., was taken to
Chattooga County Hospital by
the ambulance service following
the accident. He was soon
transferred to Floyd Medical
Center, where he remained
Wednesday awaiting plastic
surgery, according to reports.
A report by the Georgia State
Patrol said, Hawkins, driver of a
1972 Datsun 510, was traveling
south on Old U.S. Highway 27
just north of Riegel's warehouse
around 11:55 a.m. Hawkins, the
report said, attempted to pass
another southbound vehicle in a
slight curve. The Hawkins vehicle
left the roadway on the east
shoulder and traveled 90 feet
before striking a Georgia Power
Co. guide wide. The car then
traveled an additional 42 feet,
struck a dirt embankment and
overturned. The car continued to
slide, another 20 feet before com
ing to rest. During this time
Hawkins, the report said, was
thrown from the vehicle through
the passenger's window.
Following an investigation by
Georgia State Trooper Eddie
Lumsden, Hawkins may be charg
ed with driving under the in
fluence pending the results of a
blood test.