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VOLUME XCIV - NUMBER
* 3
FmHA K o Increase Loans
For Homes In Chattooga
By TOM KIRWAN
A spokesman for the Farmers
Home Administration told a local
group last week the FmHA is
stepping up its housing loan pro
gram here after a three-year lull.
Jerry W. Braden, district
director of the FmHA, told the
Summerville-Trion Rotary Club
that his agency has been trying to
“clean up’’ problems related to
FmHA home loan foreclosurers
and that the local office is now
ready to begin making loans at a
much-increased level.
"We think it’s time for some
housing to be built in Chattooga
County,” said Braden, a guest of
Rotarian Gary Colbert.
The problems he cited typical
ly involved residents who had
received a FmHA home loan but
for one reason or another couldn’t
keep up with the payments,
resulting in the FmHA foreclos
ing on the home.
“We've found one basic flaw
with the 100 percent loan (offered
through the FmHA)," said
Braden. "Down the road five
years, problems begin developing
with homes and the family
doesn't have the resources to fix
it up. This has been a real problem
in this county. Once property
goes downhill, they lose pride and
skip payments. Also, vandal
destruction has been a problem."
Braden also noted that there
hadn't been enough FmHA loans
given for brick homes in the coun
ty-part of an effort to give the
homeowner a more affordable
home. But he said this procedure
is "false economy " because brick
homes tend to demand fewer
repairs than wooden frame
homes.
To offset the problems,
Braden indicated, the FmHA
pulled back from offering as
many horne loans in Chattooga
County as it had in the past. The
inventory of empty FmHA homes
grew at one time to 35, he said,
but that number has been reduc-
Oak View Seeks Expansion
Two Proposals For Construction
Os New Nursing Homes Are
Given Thumbs Down From Panel
Oak View Nursing Home in
Summerville has unveiled plans
to build a new wing to house an
additional 50-55 nursing home
Traffic Light Gets
Nod From Council
On N. Commerce
The long-discussed proposal
to put a stoplight on North Com
merce near Piggly Wiggly at
Sixth and Kelly streets climaxed
Monday with the Summerville Ci
ty Council narrowly voting to go
ahead with the installation.
. First proposed in November of
• 1975,.the stoplight issue has sur
faced time and again since then
but the council until Monday
never gave its final approval for
its installation for a variety of
reasons.
In recent months the council
had balked at installing the light
because it wanted to see if the
Georgia Department of Transpor
tation was going to go ahead with
the proposed widening of U.S.
Highway 27 between Summer
ville and Trion. The City was told
by the DOT that if the traffic
light was installed now and the
project was later approved, the
City would have to pay the costs
of taking the light down before
construction and replacing it
after the road was widened.
On Monday, however, Coun
cilman Ira Pollard Jr. brought the
matter to a vote, saying the coun
cil needed to go ahead with the
light’s installation after years of
talking about it. Councilmen
Boyd Williams, and James
Crouch approved Pollard’s mo
tion. Councilmen Dennis Cox and
Hubert Palmer voted against the
move, saying that while they
favored the installation of the
light eventually they could not
vote for it until it was clear what
©lye Sutntneruilk News
ed to six currently.
In the past year, he said, 125
loans were awarded each in Polk
and Bartow counties, and “close
to” 100 in Gordon County. By
comparison, according to infor
mation from the local FmHA of
fice, only about 125 loans have
been given to Chattoogans in the
past three years.
"I really don't think the pro
blem is that serious (in Chattooga
County),” he said, noting that
new loans will be given here with
more of an eye to "providing
housing that fits a family's need."
Braden noted that while the
local housing loan program has
been slack in recent years, the
6 Guilty Pleas Entered
During Week Os Court
Several guilty pleas were entered during the last week of the
August term of criminal court in Chattooga County, according to court
records.
Those pleading guilty and the sentences they received were:
♦ Robert Dean Burleson, 58, of Route 1, Jamestown, Ala., charged
with passing a worthless check. He was sentenced to serve 90 days in
jail, ordered to pay sllO restitution and was put on 12 months proba
tion.
•John Q. Adams, 45, of 111 Hill Avenue, Summerville, charged
with two counts of burglary. He was fined $250 and put on 12 months
probation.
♦ Gary Chamlee, 17, of Route 1, Trion, charged with criminal
damage to property. He was ordered to pay court costs of $77.
* Gary Crump, 28, of 101 Virginia Drive, Summerville, charged with
theft by receiving stolen property. He was fined SSOO and put on three
years probation.
* Bernie Lee Pierce, 20, of 111 First St., Summerville, charged with
criminal damage to property. He was ordered to pay cost of $55 and
make restitution of SSO.
* Darlene Carter Youngblood, 21, of 122 Aired St., Summerville,
charged with three counts of forgery in the first degree. She was fined
$220, ordered to pay SSO restitution and was put on two years proba
tion.
residents, and a preliminary
review panel Thursday recom
mended that certificates of need
not be issued for two proposed
the DOT’s plans for the road are.
The light had been previously
approved by the council, but in
stallation was not approved until
Monday's vote.
In other action the council
reversed a ruling handed down
against a local resident charged
with loitering. Bruce Owings re
quested the special appeals hear
ing after city judge Ralph Brown
found him guilty of loitering.
Owings, testifying before the'
council at the special hearing,
said that he was parked at the
Aamoco station where he works
(and of which he said he is part
owner) on North Commerce
Street when he was cited by two
local officers for loitering. The
young man said he was waiting
for a customer to pick up a fan
belt at the closed station at the
time of his arrest. While waiting
at the station, in his car, he said,
friends driving two automobiles
pulled up on either side of his car
and began talking to him. The
men were charged with loitering
by two city officers. Owings told
the council that since he was a
part owner of the business and
that he was at the station to help
a customer he should not have
been charged.
The council went into ex
ecutive session to deliberate and
returned a not guilty verdict
without comment.
In other action, the council
formally approved the hiring of
Gene Nix, a former county depu
ty, as a city policeman.
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1979
FmHA has been involved locally
in a number of other projects.
Lyerly has been given a
$34,000 grant for its water
system improvements, along with
SBO,OOO loan. Similarly, combina
tions of loans and grants have
been approved for the county.
Cloudland and the City of Sum
merville in recent months for
water-related projects. Summer
ville Gardens was made possible
through a $1.2 million loan from
the FmHA, he noted, and a varie
ty of 50 farmer loans—for seed,
tractors, and other machinery
have been given in the past year.
"Everyone thinks our agency
is (only) helping low income
private pay nursing homes in the
county.
Under a new law which went
into effect July 1, health facilities
and developers are required to ap
ply for a certificate of need, issued
by the state, to indicate that a
proposed capital expenditure or
new service is needed and,
therefore, approved for develop
ment. The law aims to avoid
wasteful duplication of expensive
facilities and equipment, to help
assure the changes in services are
consistent with health needs and
planning, and that they will foster
cost containment or improve
quality of care.
Under the provisions of the
law, the Appalachian Georgia
Health Systems Agency, Inc.
reviews developers' plans for pro
posed new facilities in 23 nor
thwest Georgia counties (in
cluding Chattooga) which in turn
makes recommendations to a
state panel which ultimately
decides whether to issue a cer
tificate of need.
Thursday the Project Review
Committee of the Appalachian
Georgia HSA recommended that
two separate 120-bed nursing
home proposals in Chattooga
County not be granted the re
quired certificates, and, according
to an HSA staffer, a just
submitted Oak View proposal to
expand its facilities has a very
good chance of being granted a
certificate of need.
The committee's recommenda
tion goes to the 75-member ex
ecutive board of the HSA tonight
at a meeting in Rome. The recom
mendation of the committee is ex
pected to be accepted; only one of
over 35 committee recommenda
tions has ever been reversed by
the full board in the past three
years.
According to Bob Thorne
berry, administrator of the Chat
tooga County Hospital, the local
hospital board has already sub
mitted a proposal to build a new
wing for 32 beds, however he add
ed that the proposal will soon be
increased to between 50 and 55
beds.
The wing, if approved, would
be built, {st a right angle with the
farmers," Braden said. “That was
true in the 1938-1950 era, but
we've changed a lot over the
years. The 1972 Rural Develop
ment Act has given us vast ’
authority.”
Four main programs are being
focused on by the FmHA, he said.
One of the programs—for farmers
emergency loans—has grown
enormously in Georgia with re
cent droughts. Prior to recent
years his agency has never ex
ceeded the $16,000,000 mark in
Georgia for emergency farm
loans, but in the past two years,
with crop-damaging droughts,
that figure has gone over the
$400,000,000 mark, he noted.
“These are large and small
loans,” he said, “but we're still
(primarily) dealing with family
sized loans.”
A second program, the hous
ing program, is “not a giveaway
program” he said. "These are tax
dollars helping people, and the
program must pay its own way."
The third program is the com
munity improvements program,
which allows FmHA to issue 5
percent loans for municipal and
county improvements for up to a
term of 40 years, primarily for
water and sewage projects.
The fourth program, Che
business and industry program,
allows FmHA to guarantee loans
for eligible projects. “No money is
given directly, but the program
can help this and other rural coun
ties bring in money and business
that you never thought
possible,” he said, “We’d like to
get this program going here.
There’s no reason it can’t work
here.”
The government guarantees
repayment of loans to create rural
jobs, he noted, with the loans
most often exceeding $500,000.
“These are some government
programs you can tap into to
make this county a better place to
live,” he said.
current "C” wing of Oak View,
towards Farrar Drive. Such an
addition, he said, “would require
only one more registered nurse,
1 ‘A more licensed practical nurses
and eight more aides."
The local hospital board
recently went on record against
the HSA issuing a certificate of
need to either of the two private
pay proposals. “We felt like any
additional beds ought to be added
to Oak View Nursing Home since
we are already existing. We are
able to add more beds at less cost
than anyone could build a new
facility.”
There are 37 persons on
Oak View's waiting list, he added.
Cost of the wing's addition is
estimated at $478,894. The
hospital authority has
secured a letter from Farmers &
Merchants Bank which states
that it is interested in providing
construction and permanent
financing for the project, accor
ding to an HSA official.
The project, which Throne
berry said could be completed
sometime in 1981, would add
7,617 feet to the existing facility.
David Sweitzer, director of
project review with the HSA, said
there is a definite need for more
nursing home beds in the Chat
tooga County area and he
predicted Oak View would be
granted a certificate of need for
its approval. He said in the
Chattooga-Floyd-Bartow area
there is a need for at least 80 nurs
ing home beds (after other pro
posals are completed). "I would
think Oak View has a good chance
of being approved for the project,
assuming that they have financial
funding for the project and that
they currently have an operating
budget that is adequate and will
continue to be,” he said.
The Project Review Commit
tee did not recommend that cer
tificates of need be issued to the
following two proposals:
* Heritage Inn of Summer
ville, proposed to be developed by
Ryhar Corp, of Hawkinsville.
* Summerville Pines Nursing
Home, whose applicant was Preci
sion Developers, Inc. of Rome.
■■HI
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Vandals Strike At City Cemetery
The Summerville City Cemetery has in recent weeks
been the target of vandals who toppled and smashed
dozens of tombstones—perhaps as many as 100. No
suspects have been arrested in connection with the van
dalism. According to J. D. Hill, president of the Sum
merville Cemetery Corp, which overseas the cemetery,
9
Last Os Jury Decisions Reported
Previously unreported disposi
tions of cases that went before
the August term of Superior
Court in Chattooga County,
which ended last week, according
School Enrollments
Show Little Change
With approximately 16 school
days over, the Chattooga County
School System reports a slight in
crease in enrollment for this
school year as compared to last
year, while Trion City Schools
show roughly the same enroll
ment.
Chattooga County Visiting
Teacher John Hayes said there
was a slight increase in the enroll
ment so far this year in county
schools. “Last year we had ap
proximately 3,374 students
enrolled in the seven schools," ex
plained Hayes. "This year we
have an estimated 3,439 students
in the schools."
Hayes noted that the state
education department uses
average daily attendance for the
first 4'/» months of the school
year in order to determine how
many teacher slots it will allot for
the upcoming school term. As a
result, the absenteeism rate the
first few months of the school
year are especially critical for all
school systems around the state.
"When a child attends school
he helps himself and his school,"
Hayes said, because a good atten
dance record entitles a system the
maximum allowable state
funding for teacher positions.
At the present time there are
approximately 948 students
enrolled in high school compared
to 964 last year; 389 enrolled in
junior high compared to 404 last
to court records, are found below.
Persons found guilty by coun
ty juries included:
* Clyde Montgomery, (no age
available) of Cedar Bluff, Ala.,
year; 362 enrolled in North Sum
merville Elementary compared to
338 last year; and 696 in Summer
ville Elementary and 84 in
kindergarten compared to 726 in
school and 69 in kindergarten last
year, Hayes said.
Menlo Elementary has 307
students and 40 kindergarten
pupils compared to 340 in school
and 21 in kindergarten last year;
Lyerly Elementary has 275
students and 19 kindergarten
pupils compared to 283 in school
and 26 in kindergarten last year;
Pennville Elementary has 290
students and 29 special education
students this year compared to
293 students last year.
Meanwhile, Trion City Schools
show only an increase of seven
students over last year’s enroll
ment.
Trion High School had an at
tendance of 375 students the first
day compared to 377 last year,
Superintendent Bill Kinzy said.
The elementary school, including
kindergarten pupils, had an atten
dance of 659 students compared
to 650 last year.
Superintendent Kinzy said,
"For the last few years we’ve had
about the same attendance.
We’ve had a good start and are
expecting another good year. Our
enrollment is pretty steady; we’re
not gaining a great number of
students or losing a great number
of students.”
the latest rash of vandalism apparently occurred early
Saturday. He said security at the cemetery will be
reviewed at the annual meeting of the corporation to be
held Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the community room of the
Farmers & Merchants Bank in Summerville.
Wife
■ IhP'* *
charged with armed robbery.
Montgomery was found guilty of
robbing Bigham’s Package Store
on the Lyerly Highway at gun
point in July of last year. The
State alleged that he and another
subject made off with an
estimated $1,957 in cash and
checks. He was sentenced to
serve 20 years in a state peniten
tiary.
♦ Henry Lewis Gaston, 35, of
300 Seventh St., Summerville,
charged with the burglary of the
Farmers Supply Store in Sum
merville in February. He received
a sentence of four years in a state
prison.
* Billy Joe Johnson, 33, of 505
State St., Summerville, charged
with selling drugs (marijuana). He
was sentenced to five years in a
state penitentiary.
* Rosie Stewart, 36, of 416
State St., Summerville, charged
with welfare fraud. She was
sentenced to serve two years in a
state penitentiary.
• Roger Dale Galloway, 27, of
Route 1 Box 852, Trion, charged
with two counts of theft by
receiving stolen property. He was
sentenced to serve four years in a
state penitentiary.
Persons found not guilty by
county juries and their charges
included:
• Fred Davis, 38, of 11 Frank
St., Summerville, charged with
burglary. He was alleged to have
broken into the residence of Billy
Joe Johnson on Hawkins Drive in
March. Davis was shot in the leg
by Johnson at the time of the inci
dent. but he was not seriously in
jured.
* Jeanette Shropshire. 25. of
16 E. Fourth St., Summerville,
charged with welfare fraud.
* John David Tapp, 30, of 802
S. Union St., Summerville, charg
ed with theft by taking (a motor
vehicle).
PRICE 20c
♦ Johnny Tapp. 23, of 615 W.
Washington St., Summerville,
charged with theft by taking (a
motor vehicle).
* James Terry Goodgame, 35,
of 30 W. Fourth St., Summerville,
charged with burglary. He
allegedly broke into the residence
of Kate McGuire earlier this year.
The News Sets
New Policy
On Pictures
The management of The
Summerville News an
nounces that effective today
our staff photographers will
no longer photograph
engagement and children's
birthday pictures.
Personal and commercial
photographs of a quality
consistent with this
newspaper's standards will
continue to be accepted.
Black and white
photographs are typically
best for reproduction pur
poses. although occasionally
color photographs are accep
table.
Photographs for publica
tion should be clear and
sharp with good contrast
and lighting.
As in the past, The News
does not sell reprints of pic
tures appearing in this
newspaper. A picture ap
pearing in the newspaper can
be bought at our front office
after the day of publication
for $1.50.