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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 PfessJ^w 8 ^ k, g£fe^iMß4vM^|Ek^L*v*i •'■Blߣ?w/■" ®*7 -.l** Jt<Bm £ I'j^A *L'jt xiißKiL. ■■®'■" ■-’• £?’ J- .>• A 1^ k ' Jw^JH^ -j4\ R ' 'WMHkaX -A 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. fc' w 1 1 JSH c. UI Eil rl: ■MM? ■ S i ■ I * J ’ ,M "' 1-~ Tl I r i - * ' ;„h. . , ' :V - '' ■' . 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. ■-mii. iur .om; ^0 ..—t .JB k * / . 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.