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VOLUME XCIV -
Fabrics. America Mulling
Demolition Os Old Facility
By TOM KIRWAN
Two years after its closing, the old
Fabrics America Corp, plant on the Lyerly
Highway remains idle, the company unable
to find a buyer willing to meet its asking
price of $435,000.
After negotiations which twice would
have led to a sale crumbled, company of
ficials say they are now mulling whether to
demolish the building and clear the site, a
move that could make it attractive for new
development.
"We have tried to find another manufac
turer or someone to reopen the plant," said
Meno Schonebach, chairman of the board of
Fabrics America Group in a telephone inter
view at the company's corporate offices in
Atlanta, “but have been unsuccessful after
trying for two years since our plant closed.
We felt that we’ve got to do something.
We’ve come to no conclusions, and have talk
ed to Mayor (Sewell) Cash about some
possibilities."
Schonebach said no concrete plans have
U.S. 27 Widening Hearing Tonight
A large turnout of local
residents is expected tonight at
the Chattooga County Cour
thouse when representatives of
the Georgia Department of
Transportation explain—and get
public reaction to—its proposed
widening of U. S. Highway 27
between Summerville and Trion.
DOT officials say they will be
on hand at 5:30 p.m. for what has
been dubbed an informal hearing
to discuss the proposal and to
answer questions of individual
property and business owners
along the route. Then, at 7:30, the
formal public hearing will be held
in which DOT engineers will give
a formal presentation on the pro
posal and answer questions in
regard to the project.
The meeting has been widely
publicized. In addition to news
stories appearing in print and on
the local radio station, the DOT
has bought advertisements and
placed at least three road signs on
the highway to inform the public
of the meeting.
The meeting is expected to
draw a sizable crowd based on the
fact that a number of North Com
merce Street merchants are ex
pected to turn out to oppose the
Reward Offered
By 50 Yard Club
The Trion 50-Yard Club is
offering a SIOO reward to the
person who produces infor
mation sufficient to cause
the arrest of the person or
persons responsible for the
break-in at the field house at
the Trion football field.
Shoes, jerseys, socks, locks
and other football gear items
were taken from the field
house. Call Trion Police
Department.
Chattooga, Trion Football Squads Open Season Fri.
The 1979 editions of the Chat
tooga High Indians and the Trion
High Bulldogs football teams will
open their season Friday night
with Chattooga hosting the
Lakeshore Lancers from Atlanta
at the Little Big Horn and the
Bulldogs traveling to LaFayette
to meet the Ramblers.
The teams have been practic
ing for 3 weeks in preparation for
the season and both Coach Tab
Gable of Trion and Ron Williams
of Chattooga report no serious in
juries going into their initial
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been made about the building’s future, that
the process now is one of “throwing out some
ideas” about the future of the plant that
“might be beneficial to the community and of
course our company and its stockholders. We
are recognizant to creating jobs and want to
do everything to help, but so far we’ve not
been successful.”
Schonebach said the building’s basic
structure is sound and that it has been
“heartbreaking” that it has not been able to
be sold for rehabilitation.
"At times we felt like we were at the verge
of selling the property for rehabilitation to
other plants and negotiations would break
down, through no fault of our own, I might
add. Right now we are working with the city
to see what can be worked out.”
One suggestion, he confirmed, that has
been made by Fabrics America is that the ci
ty street that divides the property could be
closed off, allowing the 14 acres of property
to become "one complete lot, which would be
more logical," Schonebach said.
plan. They have privately said
they feel the multi-laning pro
posal would have a disastrous ef
fect on their business by eating
up much-needed parking space.
The proposed project would
begin near the Town Creek bridge
on Commerce Street in Summer
ville and would extend to the
County Schools Begin
Academic Year Today
The question of not knowing
what to do on a hot, lazy summer
day for many youngsters ends to
day as the Chattooga County
School System opens its doors for
the first day of the 1979-80 school
year.
The school schedule will be as
follows: for the first six weeks
Summerville Elementary first
graders may leave school at 1:30
p.m., if a parent or guardian picks
them up. After the six weeks the
first graders may leave at 2:30
p.m. Second and third graders
may leave at 2:30 p.m. beginning
today, if a parent or guardian
picks them up, school officials
said. First graders at Menlo
Elementary will leave at 1 p.m.
for the first six weeks, officials
said, and after that they will re
main until 3 p.m.
All other students will attend
school from 8:20 a.m. until 3 p.m.,
said officials.
Lunch prices will be 45 cents
for grades one through six and 50
cents for grades seven through
12.
A look at the faculty and staff
of each school and the subjects or
grades each teacher will be
teaching is as follows:
game.
TRION
The Trion Bulldogs, run
nerups in Region 6-A last year,
return a lot of running back
starters but are faced with filling
some holes in the line due to
graduation.
"Our boys have worked real
hard preparing for this season,
both in fall practice and with our
winter weight program, we are
real pleased with the effort,”
Coach Tab Gable said.
“This team is the first (squad
The 1979 Trion High Bulldogs
©he ^ummerutlle New
Trion turn-off traffic island.
According to the DOT, public
comments will be taken into con
sideration along with the DOT’s
evaluation of the need and
feasibility of the project before a
final decision is made whether to
go ahead with the proposal.
Written statements—as well
SUMMERVILLE ELEMEN
TARY: kindergarten—Mrs.
Angie Baker; first grade—Mrs.
Ollie Cash, Mrs. Martha Mincey,
Mrs. Brenda Harris, Mrs. Doris
White, Mrs. Sandra Turner and
Mrs. Regenia Rounsaville; second
grade—Mrs. Wanda Pollard, Mrs.
Karen Baker, Mrs, Mae Ethel
Mosteller, Mrs. Joan Jarrett,
Mrs. Rosemary McWhorter and
Mrs. Judy Davis; third
grade—Mrs. Lucinda Chamblee,
Mrs. Martha Calhoun, Mrs. Joan
Butler, Mrs. Gail Beck, Mrs. Bet
ty Eilenburg, Mrs. Jeanette Mize
and Mrs. Susan Rowlls; fourth
grade—Mrs. Vera Williams, Mrs.
Peggy Evans, Mrs. Brenda
Lanier, Mrs. Catharan Clarkson,
Mrs. Marilyn Abdou and Mrs.
Diane Hayes; music—Mrs.
Marlyn Meredith; SLD—Mrs.
Nellie Worsham; Title I—Mrs.
Karen Willis, Mrs. Burnetta
Pender and Mrs. Jackie Hum
phrey; CEP—Mrs. Sara Nell Hix;
EMR—Mrs. Beth Mitchell; and
movement education—Mike
Poole.
New teachers at the elemen
tary school include: Mrs. Rhonda
Hurley, kindergarten; Miss Vicki
Bailey, first grade; Miss Renae
that has come up completely
under my system. Since this is
my third year here,” (Trion).
“We’ll see the results this year of
the system,” Gable said.
The Bulldogs, who are highly
touted for this year for region
honors, will be paced on offense
by quarterback Sid Witt, Mike
Chaney and Jerrell Farmer.
According to Coach Tab
Gable, “Our biggest problem will
be to rebuild our offensive line.”
Trion has the smallest squad
fielded in several years, 30 kids to
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1979
The building will probably be torn down
unless “someone comes by and wants to buy
it," he said. “Logically, if someone had a use
for the building it would be a good buy.” He
noted that the building has a mammoth in
terior space—l96,ooo square feet—and that
the cost of building a similar-sized facility
would be enormous. "It would be a very
economical building on the basis of today's
construction costs,” he said.
He revealed that the company will pro
bably make a decision as to what to do with
the building within a "reasonable amount of
time”—some 30 to 60 days. “We’ll have to
see what can be done with the building," he
explained. “If it’s just standing there, we
can’t proceed. We will have to see what our
options are. Our next stop, if nothing
develops, obviously would be to tear it
down.”
The building, constructed in the 19205,
was the workplace of over 300 area residents
when it closed in September of 1977.
as oral statements made at the
hearing—are being accepted by
the DOT concerning the proposal.
The DOT said it is proposing
the widening—up to five lanes in
some areas—in order to cut ac
cidents on the heavily-traveled
road and to reduce the jamming
of traffic when vehicles turn.
Ji
Carver, first grade; Miss Kathy
Bradford, first grade; and Miss
Susan Tucker, fourth grade.
Teachers’ aides for the school
include: Ruth Nuckous, Brenda
Ratliff, Lee Owens, Marie Crowe,
Nellie Marks and Becky Ransom.
J. T. Hogg is the principal
with Mrs. Sara Myers serving as
the librarian. Secretaries for the
school are Toni Tutton and
Pauline Ransom.
NORTH SUMMERVILLE
ELEMENTARY: fifth
grade—Guyla Chesnut, math and
social studies; Barbara Clark, ti
tle I reading; Sylvia Cordle,
reading and English; Carol Dyke,
science and English; Beth
Romine, math and science; Ruby
Salley, English and reading; and
Faye Williams, social studies.
Sixth grade teachers are:
Susan Floyd, math and reading;
Ruth Hoskins, social studies; Lin
da Green, English and science;
Johnny Shaw, science; Barbara
Reece, reading and English; and
Betty Thomas, title I math.
Ruth Trembula will be the
special education teacher with
Robert Norton and Terry Evans
teaching physical education. Dan
(Continued On Page 3-A)
work with but the coaches feel
they have 15-18 boys that can
play.
“Defensively our strong
points are our outstanding defen
sive ends, Joey Chaney and Bill
Collins. Also, we have our defen
sive backs returning and are also
a strong point. They are Greg
Blevins, Sid Witt, Tony Bethune,
Randall Pierce, Jeff Willingham
and Mike Chaney,” Gable added.
“Our weak point again, is the
interior line, a real question mark.
We have Bobby Hannah back.
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Summerville Landmark May Be Leveled
Manhunt:
Law enforcement authorities
are continuing their search for a
28-year-old former Summerville
resident in connection with the
shooting death of his father and
stepmother five weeks ago in
Ider, Ala.
Two first-degree murder war
rants for Elbert Joe Whisenant
were issued Saturday, July 21, by
DeKalb County Sheriff’s In
vestigator Tom Price. The war
rants allege that Whisenant shot
his father, John Whisenant, and
his stepmother, Meredith Whise
nant. The younger Whisenant
was reportedly seen leaving the
dead couple's residence shortly
after the shooting.
“We’re still continuing to
work on the case,” DeKalb (Ala.)
County Chief Deputy Cecil Reed
said Friday afternoon. “We’re
following all leads we get. We’ve
■ ve” had some of our men work
ing outside of the state on the
case. We’re hoping we can ap
prehend Whisenant soon, but
right now we don’t know where he
is.”
The Whisenant couple’s
bodies were found at 5:30 a.m.
Friday, July 20.Whisenant, 47,
was found in the driveway of his
Congressman Spends Day Here
Rep. Larry McDonald spent
most of Monday in Chattooga
County, attending a noontime
luncheon in Summerville, visiting
the county’s largest industry, and
finally fielding answers from
questions at a “town hall
meeting that evening at the cour
thouse.
McDonald, at a luncheon
given at the Farmers & Mer
chants Bank of Summerville with
20 persons in attendance, said he
senses a general feeling among
his constituents that the federal
government is not under control.
but at the other tackle spot we
are looking at Todd Stoner, Jeff
Keen, Scott Tucker and Andy
Kitchens,” Gable said.
The LaFayette Ramblers who
the Bulldogs face will field 94 ball
players and are considered one of
2 teams to beat in Region 6-AAA.
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JOE WHISENANT
next door neighbor. Gerald Chap
man, who made the discovery
while taking out the garbage.
Whiaeauav uad been shot in the
head, arm and back. Authorities
said they
believe the senior was Whisenant
was met and shot twice by his son
at the back of the house as he
went around the corner towards
the Chapman residence. Whise
nant collapsed in the Chapman
“I wouldn't call it hopelessness,
but a general feeling that the
federal government in
Washington may be out of con
trol and that each problem is be
ing answered with more govern
ment, not less.”
He said a “period of emotion”
in 1974 brought on by the
Watergate scandal “created an
atmosphere in which many con
servatives were defeated,
possibly as a result of the media
attitude .. . and they (conser
vatives) simply didn’t vote.”
He said many of his newly-
Coach Gable doubted that the
size of the teams would con
tribute to the outcome of the
game because, “Only 11 can get
out there at a time.” “Our only
problem is if they can two platoon
against us,” he said.
Coach Gable concluded by
The 1979 Chattooga High Indians
Former Resident Sought
For Couple’s Slaying
driveway, authorities said, and
was shot once more at close
range. He had apparently struggl
ed across his yard into
Chapman’s driveway after the
shooting in an effort to get help.
Authorities later discovered
Mrs. Whisenant. 43, dead in her
kitchen, where she had apparent
ly been canning green beans. She
had been shot once in the chest
area with what authorities believe
to have been a .38 or .357
magnum caliber pistol. The
Whisenants' phone in the kitchen
was off the hook, but was not out
of order.
Chapman and his family
reportedly heard six or seven gun
shots Thursday night around
8:30, but they assumed nothing
was wrong and dismissed it as so
meone target practicing.
No motive for the shooting
has been established, but the in
vestigation has revealed seve-al
facts. Chief Deputy Reed said
that the victims’ wallet and
pocketbook have not been found.
The house had not been ransack
ed, Reed said, and was clean,
orderly and well kept.
The Whisenants had reported
ly been living at the residence.
elected colleagues in the 94th
Congress were "heavily enamored
with the idea of government con
trols, and that deficit spending
really does not matter, and so
forth.”
President Ford, he noted,
vetoed much of the legislation
passed by that congress. That
trend is slowly changing,
however, he said.
With the congressional elec
tion of 1976, McDonald said,
“there was something of a rever
sal (of that attitude), but by no
saying, “Our boys go out to play
on Friday nights, they really do
their best.”
CHATTOOGA
Chattooga hosts the
Lakeshore Lancers from Atlanta
and will face a team that is built
around speed. The Lancers only
PRICE 15c
located on Highway 75 three to
four miles north of Ider, since Ju
ly 4. They lived alone in the four
bedroom brick home. Whisenant
owned and operated a garage at
Beaty's Crossroads near Ider.
The elder Whisenant, a former
resident of the Welcome Hill
Community, served as a Summer
ville police officer for a short time,
and also was on the La Fayette
police force. Later he was the
owner and operator of the Chat
tooga Garage in Pennville, until
he sold out and moved to
Alabama.
The younger Whisenant was
also a former resident of the coun
ty. Several years ago he resided
on Hinton Street in Summerville,
until the residence burned. Accor
ding to one law enforcement
agent, there were some suspicions
that the fire had been purposely
set, but no evidence was ever pro
duced to support a criminal
charge. The Whisenant home was
covered by insurance, The News
has learned, and the insurer
covered the claim.
Officials have been following
up on many leads, but the
younger Whisenant is still at
(Continued On Page 3-A)
means a total reversal.” That con
gress, he said, saw a need for less
of a deficit and better national
defense. “It was a long way from
a balance, but it was better,” he
said.
Some 55 local residents turned
out to the Chattooga County
Courthouse to ask questions of
the congressman that evening.
Numerous topics were discussed
on a wide variety of subjects.
Earlier in the day Rep.
McDonald toured Riegel Textile
Corp.
have 25 players and are small but
are extremely quick.
The Indians have an ex
perienced backfield back but like
Trion have question marks to
answer in the line.
Gametime for both games is 8
p.m.