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VOLUME XCIV - NUMBER o
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Mrs. Louise Norton and her daughter
Mrs. Kate Helms (at top, left), shown
here inspecting Christmas handicrafts,
were two of thousands of area residents
who turned out Saturday for the sixth
annual Sum-Nelly in Summerville.
Below, a little miss looks as if she’s
City To Seek More Funds
From County For 2 Depts,
A decision to ask the coun
ty for a bigger subsidy for two
city services that county
residents benefit from and the
appointment of a permanent
chief of police highlighted the
October meeting of the Sum
merville City Council Monday
night.
With little discussion,
Arlen Thomas was appointed
chief of police. He was named
to the post temporarily follow
ing the recent resignation of
Police Chief Bud Gilley last
month, and Monday’s deci
sion officially makes him the
permanent chief.
In other action, at the urg
ing of Mayor Sewell Cash, the
City will ask County Commis
sioner Pete Denson for addi
tional county funds to run the
fire and recreation depart
ments.
The mayor noted that the
council had informally agreed
to try to grant employees a
cost of living raise at the end
of December, but that he
wasn't sure where the money
could come from. He said that
he was against a tax increase
to fund a raise for employees.
“I’ve looked at every
aspect as to where we might
cut back,” he said, indicating
that he could not recommend
any additional cutbacks.
He said that “it isn’t fair
to the City of Summerville"
that the county doesn’t fund
at a higher level the city's
recreation program and fire
department since county par
ticipation is heavy in both
areas.
3 Qualify For City Election
Only three residents have
qualified for the Nov. 3 elec
tion to fill three Summerville
City Council seats.
Incumbent Councilmen
Hubert Palmer and Dennis
Cox have qualified to run for
their current seats on the
council. Palmer is now com
pleting a four-year term and
Cox is filling the unexpired
council term of Sewell Cash.
Earl “Red” Parris, a
former councilmember, has
also qualified to run for a seat
on the city council. Parris is
running for Seat 3, now held
by Boyd Williams, who told
Sum-Nelly A Success
Fl
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ARLEN THOMAS
The council directed the
mayor to meet with Commis
sioner Denson to see if the
county would provide addi
tional funding for the two city
services.
In other action the council:
* Accepted a $5,185 bid
from contractor Gerald D.
Bright to install chain link
fence and gates around 13
natural gas facilities in Chat
tooga and Floyd counties.
* Heard Mayor Cash
estimate that final approval
from the Farmers Home Ad
ministration for the city
waterworks updating plan
should be forthcoming "in a
week or two.” Residents who
would like to have fireplugs in-
The News earlier he will not be
entering the race.
The qualifying period for
the election began Saturday
and will run through noon
Saturday, Oct. 20.
To be eligible for the race a
candidate must be at least 21
years old, a resident of Sum
merville for at least one year,
and be a registered city and
state voter.
The qualifying fee is SSO.
Unregistered city voters
can sign up to vote in the elec
tion during the qualifying
period at City Hall.
®he ^ummenitlk News
about to be swept off her feet by a
hawk—but the bird is only stuffed. The
table, arranged by Shelly Jones of Gore,
effered a workshop for youngsters while
their parents were shopping at Sum-
Nelly.
stalled on the street or road
who live outside the city
limits should contact the city
now, Mayor Cash said, so that
they can be installed while the
system is being overhauled. It
was noted that residents re
questing a fire plug will have
to foot the bill for the hard
ware involved.
* Agreed, upon the recom
mendation of the water
system engineer, that a flush
valve should be installed at
the end of Whitley Drive,
where at least two residents
have complained of having
discolored tap water. The pro
blem was blamed on the fact
that the line involved is a two
inch deadend line where rust
deposits apparently ac
cumulate.
* Agreed to have all the
trucks in the natural gas
department fitted with amber
warning lights so that the
trucks are visible while
employees are away from the
trucks on repair and
maintenance calls.
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The Summerville City Council last
month announced that the city chert pit
(shown above) would be sold at public
auction Saturday, but the auction has
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1979
Chert Pit To Be Sold
Apartments tor The Aged
Work On 5-Story Facility Starts
Ground breaking
ceremonies Monday officially
launched construction of a
five-story apartment complex
for the elderly on Marvin
Street.
Several local leaders, along
with residents who have
played a role in the project,
were on hand for a short
ceremony wherein two
spadesful of dirt were tossed,
symbolizing the beginning of
work on the project.
Everett Lunsford, ex
ecutive director of the Sum
merville Housing Authority,
told the group of over 20 per
sons who gathered at the site
Monday that it has taken
three years and nine months
to reach the construction
phase. He praised those pre
sent and many others for help
ing to make the project a reali
ty-
John Bankson, chairman
of the Summerville Housing
Authority was among several
who praised Lunsford for his
perseverance regarding the
project, which has seen
numerous delays because of
government approval and
financial problems, all of
which have been overcome.
“Although there were
delays, upheavals and pro
blems,’’ Bankson said,
“Everett never did give
up ... until it (the high rise)
became a reality.” He also
praised the late Harry McGin
nis, former chairman of the
housing authority, for his es-
Blaze Destroys Home;
Injuries Are Reported
A residence was destroyed
and three people injured last
Wednesday night by a fire on
the Menlo Highway.
The eight-room brick home
of Charles W. Black was
engulfed in flames when
firemen arrived shortly after 8
p.m.
According to reports, the
Blacks had left for church
around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday.
Sometime around 8 p.m
Malcolm Thomas and Boyce
Dooley, returning from a trip
to Lake Weiss, passed the
Black residence and noticed
the fire. They stopped the
next door and asked that the
fire department be contacted.
Thomas and Dooley
returned to the Black
residence where they found
several other motorists had
also stopped. Several people in
the group began moving lawn
furniture from a back porch in
an attempt to save it.
Thomas said he and a
young man (name unknown)
were removing a lawn settee
from the porch when there
was an explosion in the house
and a nearby wall blew out,
causing the roof of the porch
to fall on top of them. Luckily,
Thomas said, the settee kept
the roof off of him and the
teen-ager. They were able to
crawl out from under the
debris to safety.
The teen-ager was not
seriously injured, according to
reports. Thomas, however,
badly bruised his left leg and
had to be transported to the
hospital by the ambulance ser
vice. He was admitted for
treatment and was released
from the hospital Sunday.
been postponed, a city spokesman said.
The pit is located on the Menlo
Highway.
forts in connection with the
project.
The building, once finish
ed, will have 58 one-bedroom
apartments and two two
bedroom apartments. The
two-bedroom apartments will
be used to house individuals
requiring a fulltime nurse or
person to live with them.
Some 5 to 10 percent of the
units will be built to accom
modate the handicapped.
The one-bedroom apart
ments will have a kitchen
dinette, living room,
bathroom and bedroom,
Lunsford said.
Qualifications for residents
in the housing project will be
those “62 years of age or older
in the low to medium income
bracket and of good
character,” he noted.
Residents will pay about
25 percent of their gross in
come for rent, he said,
although very low income
residents will be required to
pay little, if any, rent.
The Department of Hous
ing and Urban Development
will subsidize the difference
between what the renters pay
and the payment the local
housing authority must make
to finance the project,
Lunsford explained.
The 2.85-acre lot on which
the complex is being built is
bordered on the east by Scog
gins Avenue and on the West
by Ramey Avenue.
It is estimated the project
will take a year-and-a-nalf to
Thomas remained at home
luesuay, his secretary said,
still unable to walk, but feel
ing better.
Firemen from Summer
ville, Menlo and Lyerly battl
ed the blaze for some four
hours before they were able to
extinguish it. During this
time another teen-ager (name
unknown) was slightly in
jured, said reports. He was
treated at the scene and
released. The fire, along with
smoke and water damage, gut
ted the three bedroom home,
reports said.
The cause of the fire and
explosion was not reported.
The incident has been turned
over to State Fire Marshal
Ray Meritt for further in
vestigation. No foul play is
suspected, said a fire depart
ment spokesman.
That’s All For
‘Warts & AU’
Chattooga native Ben
Fulton, who pens this
newspaper’s weekly
satirical column “Warts
& All,” ends his column
writing duties today.
“I must drop my col
umn as I’m accepting an
offer to handle public rela
tions for a regional com
mission,” the Washing
ton-based columnist ex
plained in announcing his
decision. “To continue the
column will be a conflict
of interest.”
i complete.
Tommy Toles of Rome is
the architect while Buddy
Busbin is the general contrac-
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A ceremony marking the beginning of
construction of the high rise for the
elderly was held Monday. At right, in
forefront, are (L-R) Summerville Hous
ing Authority Vice Chairman Robert
Baker Spells Out
^Game Plan’ For
County Chamber
By TOM KIRWAN
Developing a good pro
business climate—which in
cludes keeping unionized
businesses out of the county,
buying land for industrial
development, and relentlessly
searching for prospects—is
essential if Chattooga County
is to lure new industry here.
That, in a nutshell, was
what a guest speaker told the
quarterly booster breakfast of
the Chattooga County
Chamber of Commerce Tues
day.
Addressing the group was
Alex Baker, executive director
of the Bessemer (Ala.) Area
Chamber of Commerce. Baker,
a native of Trion, told the
breakfast meeting that his
chamber of commerce was
sluggish just a few years ago,
having a budget of $14,000
and largely limited to such ac
tivities as “planning retail
promotions and Easter egg
hunts.”
“I’m very much cognizant
of the fact that many
chambers in the United States
are civic organizations,” he
said. “In Bessemer, we are not
that. We are a non-profit cor
poration ... and are a natural
in industrial development.”
He indicated that the
change of attitude at the
Bessemer Chamber of Com
merce, evolving from being a
civic organization to a strong
advocate of business and in
dustry, has had a tremendous
effect. Today, he said the
chamber has an annual
budget of $425,000 and has in
creased membership to 850
from 102 members in only a
few years.
Raising money to fund the
chamber, ne said, “is probably
the most touchy subject you
face. If a chamber of com
merce is to be a success, it
needs a strong operating
budget.”
A large chamber budget,
he said, is needed to foot the
bill for travel expenses. It is
important that the local
chamber of commerce be
ready and able to send a
representative to meet with
industrial prospects, he said,
rather than merely waiting for
the state board of industry
and trade to route prospects
to the local community.
Baker, who spends “two
weeks of each month on the
road.” credited the Bessemer
chamber’s flexible ability to
meet with prospective in
dustrial clients on short notice
as a major factor in his com
munity's success in industrial
I tor.
j The building is being
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j $1,678,620 in tax exempt
Ground Breaking Ceremony
■ F
* •
ALEX BAKER
development.
Such aggressiveness is
needed, he said, because some
4,000 agencies in the South
are competing for new in
dustries.
Baker also said that a hef
ty budget is needed to employ
a fulltime, professional
chamber staff, as is done in
Bessemer. £
The Bessemer Area
Chamber of Commerce has set
its minimum membership fee
at $l5O annually—for the
smallest businesses in town.
“We do not stop at that,” he
said, “as we nave another
fund we encourage every
business person to contribute
to after that, with a $750
minimum investment. Os our
850 members, 25 percent are
participating in that fund.
Banks in Bessemer pay the
most in membership dues.
The largest bank in town pays
SIB,OOO annually in chamber
dues; the smallest bank pays
SIO,OOO he said.
"Banks reap the greatest
benefit from new industry in
terms of payroll, mortgages
and installment loans, he
said.
Real estate firms also
carry a large burden, he said,
because “they feel the impact
(of industrial development)
directly.”
He credited a “program of
work,” essentially a list of
goals drawn up at the beginn
ing of each year, as important
for a successful chamber of
commerce Those goals are
then assigned to one of six
committees at Bessemer:
business development, com
munity development, a
bonds. The investment bank
ing firm of Benton & Com
pany in Knoxville is handling
the sale of bonds.
Floyd, Authority Chairman John
Bankson, Board Members Dr. E.P.
Hamner and J.R. Burgess and contrac
tor Buddy Busbin.
manufacturers council,
governmental affairs, in
dustrial development, and
membership and public rela
tions.
Chamber members are will
ing to pay such large member
ship fees (which are called “in
vestments”) because
members are “able to find
something to sink their teeth
into,” he said.
Good, strong leadership is
imperative if a chamber is to
be successful, he said. All pro
spective members of the
board of directors at
Bessemer are rigorously inter
viewed, he said, to ensure the
best candidates are chosen.
Board members spend up
to 15 hours monthly in
chamber affairs; officers
spend up to 20 hours monthly,
he said.
The general membership
plays an important role in
developing a strong chamber,
he emphasized. “You need a
membership that is willing to
go all the way to that wall
with the chamber, even on
decisions that are controver
sial in nature,” he said.
As an example, he cited a
chamber board decision in
Bessemer that companies
with union labor would not be
encouraged to locate there.
The general membership
backed that stance, he said.
(Continued On Page 14)
Local Leaders
Tour Hospital
The Chattooga County
Hospital Authority Saturday
began a series of monthly
"consumer briefings" at the
facility, taking Trion Mayor
Jake Woods, Summerville
Mayor Sewell Cash, County
Commissioner Pete Denson
and Chamber President
Henry Watson on a tour of the
facility. Representatives of
the news media were also on
hand.
After a breakfast at the
hospital, the group was shown
around the various depart
ments of the institution.
Charles Williams, chair
man of the authority, said the
tour was scheduled to allow
local leaders an opportunity to
see the hospital first hand and
to answer questions about its
operation.
Williams said that in the
future a cross section of the
community will be invited to
go on similar tours.
PRICE 20c