Newspaper Page Text
Blaze: Ruled Arson, Results
In He' vy Damage At School
Two deer hunters who
sgotted smoke gouring from
the roof of Summerville
Junior High School early Sun- |
day morning quickly alerbed‘
the fire department, action
which ma{y have prevented the |
building from beiniFutted. I
Firemen were able to con
tain the blaze in the library
and an adjoining hallway of
the old structure. However,
the fire caused some $5,000 in
structural damage and
destroyed an untold number
of boo Ks.
The smell of gasoh’ne in the
air left no doubt that arson
was involved, according to a
local police department
spokesman.
He said Monday that there
is a suspect in connection with
the case, but no arrests have
been made. The suspect’s
identity was not revealeg. The
suspect is not a student or
associated with the school, he
said.
It was the second fire at
the school within a month.
Unlike the first fire which oc
curred in a classroom in the
same building in the early
morning hours of Oct. 24, Sun
da{'s fire was labeled a
definite case of arson. The
first fire was officially called
‘‘suspicious.”’ However, it too
had many of the telltale signs
of arson.
Sunday’'s fire was
discovered around 7:15 a.m.
by two local residents, Bill
Blackwell and Dr. C. C. Black,
who were on their way to go
deer huntinf.
“Doc Black and I were
leaving the Huddle House to
go deer hunting when we
noticed smoke boiling out the
eaves of the main building at
the junior high school,”" said
Blackwell, describing the
discovery of the fire. “We
fiFured a boiler might have ex
ploded. We slowe§ down and
saw smoke coming out the
gable. We pulled in at the
school and saw smoke inside
the building. It was gray
smoke, almost white. Then we
notified the fire department.
We didn'’t see anybody around
the building.
““Any other time we would
have been gone (deer hunting)
by that time (7:15 a.m.),”’ con
tinued Blackwell. ‘‘Normally
we'd been hunting by 6:30
a.m. Sunday it was raining
and we'd l};ft late because
we were waiting till
dayliiht.”
When firemen arrived on
the scene they found the back
left corner of the library
engulfed in flames, according
to David Jones, principal of
Radio Plea Sparks ‘Jaws Of Life’ Drive
By DIANNE BARRETT
““Unbelievable, just
unbelievable.”
That was how Chattooga
County Rescue Squad
member Bobby Gillfland
characterized the events of
the last few days when a
massive radio appeal pushed
the squad over its goal of
$3,500 in contributions and
pledges for updated rescue
equipment. ‘
Gilliland, who helped |
organize the fund-raising ac- |
tivit'{. praised Radio Station
WGTA's on-the-air auctions
of homemade cakes, pies and |
other donated items beginn
ing Tuesday morning as giv
ing the drive the momentum
to a(,) over its goal by S2BB (as
of Wednesday morning).
Town Renews Request For
Cable-TV Financial Figures
The Town of Trion, cur
rently under court order to act
by Dec. 13 on a Clear-Vu Inc.
fee increase request, has in re
cent days sent the firm a letter
asking it to reveal an assort
ment of financial figures deal
ing with Clear-Vu’s total cor
porate picture.
The decision to write the
letter came after the regular
monthly meeting of the coun
cil and mayor last Thursday
night, Mayor Jake Woods con
firmed Tuesday. Earlier last
Thursday evening the mayor
declared that meeting as go
i into executive session,
lal:;iing the two reporters and
one private citizen to leave.
Che Summeruille News
the school. The fire eread
through a wall into a hallway,
said reports. Firemen battled
the blaze for over two hours
before they were able to ex
tinguish it. .
Jones said the exact value
of the damage is unknown at
this time. A rough estimate of
structural damage alone, said
Jones, would be $5,000.
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Scene
Te .
At Fire
Firemen battled the blaze at
the Summerville Junior High
School for over two hours. Tf:e
fire damage included the ceil
ing in the library (top photo),
and water damage occurred in
the attic as firemen ex
tin?xished the blaze. A police
spokesman said six separate
fires were started in the
library. Four of the fires (right
photo) were along a bookcase
in the library, causing damage
to the carpet, floor, iookcase
and books (which had been
removed when the photograph
was taken).
“We would like to, some
way, say a special ‘thank-you’
to all the management and
staff of WGTA,' said
Gilliland, ‘““And to Tony
Gilliland (morning show host)
and his wife who came up with
the idea of auctioning the
cakes and who really pushed
this idea.”
The municipalities of Sum
merville and Trion, and Chat
tooga County Commissioner,
Wayne ‘‘Pete”’ Denson, are
also offering help to the
squad. The three units have
agreed to ‘‘each contribute
equal amounts toward a
reserve hydraulic motor to
reglace the squad’s old one
when it becomes exhausted,”
said Gilliland. Money left over
from the drive this week will
The mayor said the councili
wished to meet privately with |
Town Attorney Ed Surles to |
discuss thwudge's six-g‘ageé
order, issued Nov. 13. Tom |
Kirwan, editor of The News,
objected to being ousted from
the meeting, sayinj that the |
conversations dealing with !
Clear-Vu and the looming rate |
decision should be held in an l
ogen meeting as provided by |
the state’s open-meeting law. ‘
Surles, durinfi a brief (fiscus- ;
sion, said the conversation |
could be held privately as it |
was privileged under the |
attorney-client relationship. |
Only a council vote was re- |
quired to be held in open ses- |
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER, 27. 1980
“That's being very conser
vative,” he cautioned.
School Librarian Nancy
Hammons said Monday there
were four main sections of
books destroyed, along with
various other books and
audio-visual items. The entire
literature, archeology and col
lective bioFrarhy sections
were completely destroyed,
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also go toward the motor, he
said.
The need to intensify the
drive — which has been going
for several weeks — came
after the rescue club learned
that a 7 percent price increase
on the equipment would go in
to effect on Dec. 7.
The rescue squad, as this
week began, hag about one
third of the $3,500 goal it set
for itself at the beginning of
the drive. But the auctions
sparked widespread interest
in the county, so much so that
in two days more than $2,361
had been contributed or pledg
ed for the equipment.
“The new equipment will
cut in half the time it would
normally take to free a trap
ped victim,” Gilliland said.
sion, he said. Kirwan renewed
his objection, however, and
the mayor — without a motion
or vote from the council —
suddenly declared the
meeting adjourned.
In that informal meeting,
it was agreed to send Clear-
Vu a 2Y%-page letter seeking,
according to the mayor, to
learn details generally found
in a corporate audit report.
Woods said that information
would help the council
evaluate Clear-Vu's request
for afiproval of a $1.15 per
month increase in customer
fees, to see if that request is
“fair and reasonable’’ as re
see TOWN RENEWS, page 7-A
said Miss Hammons. Most of
the sports section and the in
dividual biograf)hies up to the
“Es" were also destroyed,
Miss Hammons added.
Miss Hammons said an ex
act count of the books and
materials damaged or
destroyed was unavailable
and that it will be several days
before the figure is determin
The equipment, to be pur
chased from Hearse Corpora
tion who also manufacturers
the ‘“Jaws of Life,” will in
clude: (1) valves and 16 feet
lonf hoses which act as
outlets to a hydraulic motor
allowing more life-saving
devices to be used at one time
as well as extending the
‘reach’ from the motor to the
actual scene of the accident;
(2) long and short rams which
are hydraulically operated to
push and pull with a minimum
of 7,000 pounds ‘of force and
(3) an adtfigional air of metal
cutters which w& be able to
cut through solid steel, a feat
that squad’s present cutters
can’t perform.
The squad has assisted in
Chattooga County as well as
Region Champ Trion
To Face Greenville
The Trion Bulldogs,
Region 6-A champions, will
host the 10-1 greenville
Patriots at Trion Friday night
in their quest for the glass A
state chamlrionship.
The Bulldogs, who finished
the year at 8-0-2 have been off
for three weeks preparinwr
the game. Greenville t
Hogansville last Friday for
the right to play Trion. The
winner of this game will play
Buford for the %lorth Georgia
championship.
Greenville runs the old full
house T-formation with two
ta?ht ends and also runs the
inE-T formation. Defensive
ly, they run a 4-3 defense.
Advance tickets for the
ed. However, she said that
close to 2,000 books were
destroyed either by the fire,
smoke or water. 'lyhere were
also kits and film strips
destroyed. Almost every
record album, for example,
was destroyed, noted Nriss
Hammons.
Miss Hammons explained
that the typical hardback
book cost an average of $7.50
with some costing up to $lB.
She said it was not uncommon
to pay $lO to sl2 for a non
fiction book, such as the ones
destroyed. At the average
cost of $7.50, with an
estimated 2,000 books
destroyed, the cost could run
$15,000 or more.
Local authorities, a
spokesman for the Summer
ville Police Department said,
found where six separate fires
were started in S\e library.
The chemical used in the fire
is believed to be gasoline, he
explained. However, a
chemical identification test is
pending at the state crime lab.
An estimated 2%z to 5 gallons
of what was tentatively iden
tified as gasoline was used,
said the spokesman.
Along with the fire, smoke
and water damage in the
library and Lall, Principal
Jones noted, the sofa, car%et
and two closets in the near y
home economics department’s
living room had been doused
with a flammable chemical,
also believed to be gasoline.
Jones said the method of
entry was undetermined. No
forceable entry was found,
said the police spokesman.
The intercom hook-up tied to
the school and the sheriff's
denartment was not working
’ Sunday morming for some
unknown reason. The inter
com is being checked this
week, explained Jones.
Exit t‘:'om the building was
made through a window in the
kitchen unit of the home
economics department, said
the police spokesman. ‘“The
arsonist jumped through a
window, taking the window
frame, glass and screen with
them. It appears they left the
building in a great hurry,” he
said.
The police department
spokesman added, ‘‘lf it
wasn't for the quick response
of Bill Blackwell an(f Dr.
Black, it would have been very
gossible that the entire
uilding could have been lost
to the fire.”
The fire is still under in
vestifiation by the state fire
marshall as well as the local
authorities.
in surrounding areas, travel
ing to Floyd and Walker coun
ties and even crossing the
Alabama State Line. “V&e will
go anywhere the ambulance
service goes,”’ explained
Gilliland.
Their missions have in
cluded both the dangerous
and the bizarre. For example,
they assisted in the August
1980 cave tragedy where a
Floyd County giver was trap
ped in a smaller cavern and
drowned. ‘“We even rescued a
dog, once,” laughs Gililand.
“Some way we make it. I
don’t know how.”
The squad will welcome ad
ditional donations: contact
Gilliland at 857-2119 or call
857-1066 for more informa
tion.
game will be on sale at
enny’s Tri-Sum Foods,
Triangle Drugs, Trion Drugs
and at the high school office.
Advance ticket prices will be
$2.00 for students and $3.00
for adults. All tickets at the
g:be will be $3.50. There will
no reserved seats for the
game and season tickets are
good only for the regular
season, 80 everyone must pur
chase a ticket K)r the game.
Trion coach Tab Gable in
commenting on the game said,
‘“We feel real good about go
ing into this egame. our boys
have Eractic hard, and we
feel that we can play with
them.”
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Town Increases Budget
For THS Project 14%
The Trion Méyor and
Council Thursday unanimous
ly approved raising the
budget of the Trion High
School renovation and expan
sion project by $80,520, a 14
percent increase.
The action came after
School Superintendent Bill
Kinzy explained that he and
the %:rion School Board had
determined that revisions
were needed in the $479,480
bud%:at, previously approved
by the council and mayor in
late October.
“After we had the first
budget ? roved we identified
some a (fitiom\l needs that
were not in the budget,” Kin-
ZK said Fridag' morning after
the mayor and council had ap
groved the $560,000 new
udget presented them. “‘For
example, we needed some in
sulation, and some ventilation
in the vocational wing. We got
to (luest.ion whether we should
build new floorspace and leave
these things out of the
budget.”” Out of 21 needs the
school board identified as im
portant, he said, the board’s
architect found 14 of them
were not addressed in the
earlier-approved budget.
The revised budget, Kinzy
indicated, more nearly met
those needs.
One of the ‘“‘needs’’ focused
on during much of last Thurs
day’s meeting was the part of
the new budget that calls for
the expansion of the current
“mini-auditorium” or study
hall into a full-sized
auditorium, increasing its
floorspace to 3,800 square feet
from 2,200 square feet.
Under the new plan, that
area would be expanded into
the area which presently
houses the library; tfle library
would be moved into existing
classroom space; and the
classes replaced by the library
would most likely be moved
into two new classrooms to be
built on the end of the west
wing of the original building,
accordinf to Kinzy.
In effect, Kinzy said, the
plan will essentially be restor
ing the auditorium to its
original size, basically like it
was five or six years ago when
the auditorium was reduced
and the school library was
located in its present location.
“I felt like changes five
years ago improved our in
structional program, when we
took space from the
auditorium,” Kinzy said. “‘We
were not in a position to build
two new classrooms then. It
was a matter of space we did
not have — that we were not
utilizing the auditorium as
much as the library or
business education. So
therefore we took some
auditorium space.” (He noted
that the auditorium-library
modifications made a few
years ago was not made at
taxpayers’ expense; funds
from the sale of school desks,
he said, covered the work).
Kinzy said that with the
school’s current facilities, the
entire student body cannot
Christmas Parade
Only A Week Away
Registration for the annual
Summerville Christmas
Parade has been slow with on
ly 25 entries signed up for the
event, which is scheduled to
be held a week from today.
Parade organizers said,
‘“We're encouraging local
clubs and organizations, along
with area churches, to sign u
as soon as possible. This wifl
aide us in planning and
organizing the parade.’
Ken McPeak, Kathy
Bailey and J. B. White make
ui the Chattooga County
Chamber of Commerce's
parade committee.
Billy Puryear, who made
the historical Heritage Day
horseback ride from (gadsden
(Ala.) to Rome on Oct. 11, will
be among the parade par
ticipants, Ri(fing with
Puryear will be local members
of the Georgia High School
Rodeo Association.
Another well-known l{)ar
ticipant in the parade will be
Trion native Rick Camp, serv
ing as parade Grand Marshall.
Camp, a relief pitcher, had an
outstanding season with the
Atlanta Braves this year. He
was named the team’s most
valuable %layer.
Mrs. Bailey, secretary of
the chamber, said Wednesday
that entries to date include:
Georgia Senator E.G. Sum
mers, the Summerville Junior
High School Council, Brownie
Troop 380 of Trion, the Tri-
State Twirlers, Brownie Troop
115 of Summerville, Trion
Heights Baptist Church,
Brownie Troop 112, Disabled
American Veterans Post 49,
the Tennessee Twirlers, and
Brownie Troop 393.
Also, the Armuchee
Ranger District, the Pennville
Elementar{ School, the Chat
tooga } School marchjnfi
band, .. Pepperell Hig
School marching band, and
the Summerville Junior High
School and Chattooga High
School 4-H Clubs.
A grou& of local
youngsters will be skat.ir'fi, in
the parade as clowns. They
are: Steve Childers, James
Lemmings, Matthew Pickard,
Mart{ Reed, Todd
Sprayberry, Casey Wallin,
Diane Clark, Regina Reed,
Christy Reed, Lisha Reed,
Steve Cha’Fpelear. Amy
Farmer and Tina Collette.
Also signed up for the
parade are Tregg and Tricia
PRICE 20c¢
assemble together — either in
the studrv hall-auditorium or
the unchroom. He
acknowledged that such
see TOWN INCREASES, page 11:A
Smith of Rome. Eleven-year
old Tregg, a unicyclist who
rode as a clown in last year's
parade, will return this year as
a unicycling bank rob[‘;er be
ing pursued on skates by his
10-f'ear-old sister Tricia, who
will be carrying a six-shooter
and wearing a sheriff’s badge.
Youngsters will enjoy see
ing Smokey the Bear and
Woody the Owl from the local
Georgia Forestry Commission
unit. Downey guck will also
lS)e on (lgland ft())r the parade.
anta Claus, busy preparing
for Christmas, w{)l’l ?eave the
North Pole briefly Thursday
night to ride in the parade.
The parade is scheduled for
Thursday, Dec. 4, beginning
at 7:30 p.m.
McPeak advised that those
entering floats in the parade
to iat er in the Chattooga
High School parking lot 'i)rv 6
K.m. The float judging will be
eld at 6:15 p.m. Five cash
firizes will be given in the
oat competition: SIOO, $75,
SSO, $25 and sls. This year's
Earade theme is ‘“What Does
hristmas Mean To Me?”’
Judges for the parade will
be Dan Bifigers, director of
the Oak Hill and Martha
Berry Museum; Tom BOfi'lan,
director of News and Publicity
at Berry Colle%e; and Darla
Bates with the e:rartment of
Industry and Trade.
Those with riding units
(horses) should meet at the
“Dick”” Dowdy Park on
Universi?' Street by 7 p.m,,
said McPeak. Those in cars
should gather on the Bolli:g
Road by 7 p.m., he added, a
bands should be in the area of
the Huddle House/Jim'’s
Drive-In also by 7 li).m.
The parade will begin on
U. S. Highway 27 where it in
tersects with Georgia
Highway 114, McPeak ex
plained. The parade will go
through downtown Summer
ville with the units disbanding
at the bridge at Cleshom Spr
ings near Clear-Vu Cable.
There is no registration fee
to enter in the parade. The
parade committee urges those
interested in enteri::gm the
garade to do so immediately
calling Mrs. Bailey at the
cf‘:amber at 857-4033 or retur
ning an entry form (found
here) to the Chattooga Coung'
Chamber of Commerce, P. O.
Box 464, Summerville, Ga.
30747.