Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME XCVI — NUMBER X
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A Chattooga County school bus was in
volved in a three-vehicle accident Friday
afternoon. The bus, driven by Cheryl
Cooper, struck the rear of a Torino,
driven by Walter Raymond Clark, which
Bus Rams Automobiles;
Two Teens Recovering
Two high school students
will be out of school for the re
mainder of the week with in
juries they received in a three
vehicle accident that involved
a county school bus, on Friday
afternoon on the Lyerly
Highway.
Rebecca Lynn McDonald,
15, of 203 Jones St., Summer
ville; and Walter Raymond
Clark, 18, of Route 1 Box 331,
Summerville, have been ab
sent from school all week.
They were treated at Chat
tooga County Hospital follow
inf the accident and later
released. They are
recuperating at their homes.
Miss McDonald said
Wednesday morning that she
was ‘‘doing alright,” but it
would be two to three weeks
before she could return to
school. She received neck,
back and jaw injuries in the
accident, she said. Clark, ac
Fish Count Discovers
29 Species In River
The Department of
Natural Resources’ fish count
that followed the Chattooga
River fish kill r?orted three
weeks ago turned up at least
29 different kinds of species
that were affected by chemical
pollution, a DNR biologist
said in Trion yesterday.
Ken Primmer, a super
visor with the Game and lgish
Division, commented, ‘1 was
Some New Zip Codes
Introduced In Area
Area post office box
holders were recently in
troduced to a nine-digit zip
code through notices from the
U. S. Postal Service.
The notices were
distributed to all post office
boxes, advising the renter of
the new Zip PFus 4 code. The
Zip Plus 4 code is voluntary,
but postal officials urge
customers notified to begin
usiniit as soon as possible.
The new code includes the
old zip code of each city or
town followed by a dash, a
zero and the box number.
For example, the new Zip
Indians, Bulldogs To Open Seasons
The 1981 versions of the
Chattooga Indians and Trion
Bulldogs get their season
under way gu's Friday night in
what should prove to be in
teresting years for both
squads.
Both Trion and Chattooga
are coming off very successgxl
1980 seasons. Chattooga's 9-2
and Trion's 8-1-2 records
should be hard to match by
this year’'s young squads at
both schools.
Trion will o%en at
LaFayette against the AAA
Ramblers, game time is 8
o'clock while Chattooga will
Bus Involved In Accident
cording to Miss McDonald,
returns to his doctor on Fri
day to find out when he can go
back to school. Clark received
neck, back and leg injuries in
the accident, said Miss
McDonald. .
According to a report at
the Summerville Police
Department, all three vehicles
were traveling north on the
Lyerly Highway around 3:05
p.m. when the accident occur
red. The first vehicle — a 1976
Ford LTD, driven by Jerry
Lee Mostiller, 17, of Route 4
Box 339, Summerville - stop
ped to turn left onto Mon
tgomery Street. The second
vehicle — a 1971 Ford Torino,
driven by Clark — stopped
behind the Mostiller car.
Cheryl Lee Cooper, 22, of
Route 3 Box 242 A, Summer
ville, driver of the third vehi
cle — a 1976 Ford school bus
— “didn't see the Mastiller
very surprised with the large
number of species
represented, given its (the
Chattooga’s) past history” of
pollution ?roblems. A full
range of fish — including
three species of bass, six
species of bream and five or
six catfish — turned up in the
count of dead fish, he noted.
In all, he said, ‘‘better than
see FISH, page 2-A
Plus 4 code for The News is
30747-0310. The 30747 is the
original zip code of Summer
ville. There is a dash and a
zero added, followed by The
News post office box number
310.
The postal service con
tends that the new nine-digit
zip code will have both direct
and indirect benefits for those
who use it. The benefits in
clude: more efficient and con
sistent mail service, greater
accuracy in handling and
delivery, reduced postal ser
vice costs, and more stable
see SOME NEW, page 2-A
travel to Villa Rica to do bat
tle with the AA Wildcats.
TRION ;
Trion lost some outstan- |
ding starters from last year’s
squad but has capable boys to |
come in to replace them.
Trion’s strong points will
be the running and kicking of
Fitz Christopher returning
after a great year last year.
Also returning is Jerrell
Farmer who will run at
halfback. Also strong points
will be a fifiOd line ancfiored bly ,
Steve Willingham, Doug Holt |
and Roger Wood.
According to Tab Gable, |
The Summeruille News
struck the rear of a LTD, driven by J errK
Lee Mostiller. A passenger in the Clar
car, Rebecca Lynn McDonald, was
treated at the local hospital and released.
and Clark cars stop,” said the
report. The school bus, the
report said, struck the Clark
car in the rear &ushing it into
the rear of the Mostiller car.
Miss McDonald was a
passenger in the Clark vehicle.
School Superintendent Bill
King said Monday that he had
not geen notified of any school
students on the bus being in
jured in the mishap. ‘l'm glad
no one was seriously injured,”
he said.
The bus driver, according
to Superintendent King,
returned to her bus route on
Monday. The accident came
on her second day on-the-job.
Following t,l?n,e acci(fent.
Mrs. Cooper was charged with
failure to keep vehicfe under
control. Officer Glenn Starkey
of the police department is
still investigating the acci
dent.
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MENLO POSTMASTER
Charles F. Parker of Summer
ville became the new
Postmaster at the Menlo Post
Office on Saturday, Aug. 22.
Parker had been employed as
a part-time carrier with the
Summerville Post Office
before being appointed
Postmaster. %le fias been
employed with the postal ser
vice since July 1977. Parker
replaces Harrell Toles, who
retired, as Postmaster.
head coach of the Bulldogs,
the team'’s glaring weakness is
inexperience at key positions
like quarterback and the
backups for the returning
starters. Kenny Gilreath an
Lonnie Hatcher are fighting it
out for the. starting nods at
quarterback. Neither has any
experience in a varsity game.
The Bulldogs face three
non-region foes in the first
three games before they face
Bremen in their first region
tilt. Bremen is picked by
len?\ny to be the class of Region
Also new in the region is
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1981
Case To Be Retried
Assault Hearing Ends In Mistrial
Suierior Ceurt Judge
Joseph E. "“Bo’’ Loggins
declared a mistrial Monday
during a hearing in the case of
James M. ‘‘Buddy’’ Bentley,
charged with two felonies and
a misdemeanor after he
allegedly shot a social worker
here May 18, severely woun
ding him in the arm.
Assistant District At
torney Bill Slack, the pro
secutor in the case, said the
case will be retried. Bentley is
charged with aggravated
assault, aggravated battery
and a misdemeanor marijuana
possession count.
The mistrial came during
the testimony of the victim,
35-year-old Jim Smith, an
employee with the Depart
ment of Family and Chifiiren
Services (DFCg). In answer to
a question from court
ap%ointed defense attorney
Bobby Lee ‘“‘Buzz’ Cook Jr.,
Smith testified that at some
time prior to the shootin
Bentley had been in jail. Coofi
immediately asked that the
jury be retired, and when the
Lury was out of the courtroom
e motioned for a mistrial,
saying that the remark would
be impossible to strike from
the minds of the jurors.
The motion was granted.
The ruling turned on the
legal principfia that it is im
proper for a state witness or
counsel to impugn the defen
dant’s character, unless the
defengde attempts to show that
the defendant's good
character was inconsistent
with the crime he is charged
Injunction Follows Order In Jail Case
Federal Judge Harold
Murphy last week handed
down a preliminary injunction
ordering county officials to en
sure reasonable jail visitation
procedures for attorneys. The
order came 22 days after Mur
phy issued a similar tem
porary restraining order that
was made verbally at the close
of a hearing on July 28.
At that hearing, the in
junction noted, the court ruled
jail regulations requirin%l an
inmate’s civil attorney to have
‘. ..a written request from
an inmate and permission of
the inmate’s criminal counsel
to be unconstitutional . . . "
Sheriff Gary McConnell
and County Commissioner
Wayne ‘‘Pete’’ Denson are
named defendants in the case,
which was brought against
them by jail inmate Joe
Moore. Moore is represented
by Georgia Legal Services,
Inc., which provides indigents
in much of northwest Georgia
with free legal aid in civil
suits.
The suit was filed after
leFal aid attorney Wendy
Glasbrenner was denied ac
cess to visit Moore because
County Schools Undergo
Few Program Changes
Academic programs and
procedures at the %igh school
and junior high school have
changed only slightly since
the last school year, while the
other five county schools have
basically the same programs
as they did during the 1980-81
school year, school officials
report. gounty schools opened
last Thursday.
Chattooga High School
Princij)al Jack Herring said
Tuesday that entering
freshmen (ninth graders) must
now take a state compet,encg
test each year. Also, he added,
the graduating class of 1985
must pass the competency
test to graduate. In addition,
said Principal Herring, the
the playoff system just in
stalled this year, where the
top three teams make the
?layoffs. The first round
eatures the second and third
place teams plazing with the
winner facing the first place
team.
Trion also is picked to fare
well in the reEion and IF the
team can gic up experience
quickly should give re;fion
foes more than they can har
dle. Throw in a very good head
coach and you have Trion be
ing right in the thick of things
in Region 6-A.
see INDIANS, page 2-A
with having committed. The
judicial principle aims to
assure that the defendant's
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Defendant Escorted To Court
Chattooga County Sheriff’s De uty Gre¥ Latta (R)
escorted defendant James “Budlchy' Bentley into the
county Courthouse Monday morning, where Bentley
was tried for the shooting of a social worker at the
Department of Family ang Children Services in Sum
merville earlier this year. The case ended in a mistrial.
she declined to meet the two
rules laid down by Sheriff Mc-
Connell. With the judge's ver
bal Q?er three weeks ago, the
sheritt discarded the two
regtlations that 'were con
tested in the action.
“The Court further allowed
the defendants to adopt
reasonable visitation pro
cedures in futherance of this
order,” Judge Murphy noted
in last week's preliminary in
junction. “The parties f‘;ave
submitted this order to the
court to constitule &
preliminary injunction in this
matter without further hear
ing. This order shall remain so
until further order of this
Court.”
It continues:
“It is hereby ordered that
the defendants are restrained
and enjoined from refusing to
allow t{)e inmates of the Cfiat
tooga County Jail access to
the attorneys of their choice.
“It is further ordered that
inmate visitation with at
torneys shall occur...from
nine o'clock a.m. to six o’clock
p.m., with no visitation on
Sunday afternoons except in
emergency situations. The
entering freshmen are re
quired to take physical educa
tion classes to graduate.
This school year, Principal
Herring said, students have
several new classes to choose
from. The classes include per
sonal finance, citizenship and
health and safety. Other than
the few changes, Principal
Herring explained, the
academic program at the high
school is basically the same as
last year.
Eynrollment at the high
school, said Herring, is about
the same as last year — about
950 students. The school also
has approximately the same
number of teachers as last
year, added Herring.
The academic programs at
the Summerville Junior High
School have only one sligit
change this year, according to
Principal David Jones.
The school no longer has a
Title I math program, said
Principal Jones, due to a lack
of funds. However, he added,
the students served in the pro
aam (those who are 2 years
hind the grade level) are
still being helped with the
teacher/student ratio slightly
higher.
Principal Jones explained,
"“With the program our
teacher/student ratio was one
teacher to 20 students, now
it’s one to 32. We lost one
teacher when we lost the pro-
E’ram and our enrollment is up
ly 20 to 25 students. Our
classes are a little larger, but
we're managing.”’
alleged crime — not his
character or past actions — is
focused on by the prosecution,
visitation discussed and
outlined in this order shall ap
ply only to inmate visits with
attorneys; other visitation has
not éet been considered b
this Court."No visitation shafi
occur on the first and third
Mondays of each month dur
ing the meeting of the Chat
tooga Superior court, unless
absolutely necessary, until
after the meeting of the
Court.”
The judge put a time
restriction on visits, however.
“For remaining visits by in
mates with attorneys,” his
order said, ‘‘the visitation
order shall not exceed two
hours per attorney regardless
of the number of inmates the
attorney visits and in the
event an attorney feels that
longer visitation is required,
same shall be requested in ad
vance to allow for the orderly
operation of the facility and
protection of inmates and
citizens."”
He further noted that at
torney visits required advanc
ed notice that t?xey “4Lvnslall
be instituted in such a manner
!,o.lprevent. disruption” of the
jail.
Summerville Elementary
School Principal Tom Hogg
said Tuesday that the on%y
change in his school’s
academic program was that
kindergarten cfisses are now a
full day gro am. Last year,
he said, the Eirnder arten pro
gram was dividedg into two
separate programs with one in
the mornin’F and one in the
afternoon. The school has ap
proximately the same number
of students and teachers as it
did last year, added Principal
Ho¥g.
uyerly Elementary Prin
cipal Charles McLeoc{ and a
representative for North Sum
merville Elementary School
both reported that their
schools’ enrollment was down
this year compared to last
year. The enrollment, down
just slightly, should be pick
ing up, they agreed, as more
students are coming in. The
number of teachers at each of
the schools is roughly the
same as last year, with Lyerly
losing one teacher.
Pennville Elementary
Principal Billy Hayes
reported that his school has
about the same number of
students enrolled as it did last
year. He also said they have
about the same number of
teachers as last year.
Menlo Elementary Prin
cipal Ed Thomrson regorted
that his school’s enrollment
had grown to 366 students
from 360 last year. He said
there are rougKly the same
see SCHOOLS, page 2-A
The hearing technically
began shortly after 9 a.m.
with the selection of the jury.
It wasn't until well after 11
a.m., however, that the at
torneys made their opening
remarks to the jury.
Prosecutor Slack in his
opening remarks said the case
was not a complex one and
that the evidence would show
Bentley had been unprovoked
when le drew and fired a
.38-calibre handgun twice at
Smith in the baciuparking lot
of the Department of Family
Services, striking him once in
the upper left arm. Smith, he
said, ‘‘had not menaced
Bentley; he did nothing to br
ing thison..."
“This case is not as simple
as the prosecution contends,”’
Cook countered in rebuttal.
Cook said there was no deny
ing that Bentley had fired the
weapon at Smith, but that
Bentley was the victim of tem
gorary insanity brouqht about
y four years of dealing with
an insensitive state
bureaucracy that refused to
allow him to regain custody of
his children even though he
met their requirements. He
“snapped’’ upon learning a
son was being moved without
the father's knowledge, to the
care of one of Bentley's sisters
from the home 0?, another
sister. ‘“He (Smith) ignored
him as he had done for a year
previous,”” Cook said of the
morning of the shooting. '‘He
iinored him as everyone down
there had done.”
On the stand, Smith told
Jail Suit Not Filed
To H: Cou
O rarass GCounty,
A federal suit aimed at improving conditions in the Chat
tooga County g"ail wasn't filed to harrass the county or strap it
financially as has been claimed in court documents, an answer
filed recent.lé in federal court says.
Wendy Glasbrenner, an attorney with Georgia Legal Ser
vices Inc. who is pressing the case on behalf of inmate Joe
Moore, formally denied the allegations that were spelled out in a
document answering the jail suit. County Sheriff Gary McCon
nell and County Commissioner Wayne ‘‘Pete’’ Denson were
named defendants in the suit, which seeks to close the jail if a
wide variety of improvements aren’t made.
The county rezponded to the suit by alleging it had been fil
ed to harrass and unduly burden the county financially and
aought, that it be dismissed and that the legal aide agency be
made to pay attornely costs.
Not only did the legal services agency deny the harrassment
and relateg charge, it noted that one issue —the right of in
mates to have access to their counsel — had been admitted
through the counti"s consent to the entering of the preliminary
injunction. (See related story nearby). That shows tfiat the suit
was not filed to harrass the sheriff and commissioner, the court
document said.
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Back In The Saddle
A Menlo classroom looks all business as you;xgsters
pore over an assignment during a guiet period. The
school has an enrollment of 366 students, up slightly
from last year.
PRICE 20¢
the courtroom that he was in
the back parking lot
unloading (Bentley's son’s)
toys and clothes from a vehi
cle when Bentley approached
him. Smith said he extended
his hand to shake Bentley's
hand, but that Bentley refus
ed, saying, “'l'm not shaking
your hand, you (expletive
deleted)."”
Smith said that Bentley
u‘ppeared to be under the in
fluence of something and,
simply to make smafi talk,
Smith asked him if Bentley
“still makes $6 an hour.”
Bentley responded that, no, he
was currently earning $8 an
hour, the social worker
testified. Bentley then in
quired about David Tidmore,
another DFCS employee,
Smith said; Smith sairfhe told
Bentley Tidmore was out of
the office.
"Smith testified he then
began pushing a bike away
from the ve%\icle he was
unloading. ‘'He (Bentley) said,
‘l've got something for you,’
the social worker testified. 'l
turned around and he had a
gun in his hand and then he
shot me." "’
The bullet hit his left upper
arm, he testified, and knocked
him to the ground. He describ
ed how he scrambled to his
feet and ran toward the office
building, but not before hear
ing Bentley fire at him again
(the second bullet did not hit
him). Smith said he ran
through the building and ex
ited &ruugh the front door
see ASSAULT, page 2-A