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The Summeruille News
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County
WINSTON E. ESPY DAVID T. ESPY, JR. WILLIAM T. ESPY
PUBLISHER GENERAL MANAGER ADVERTISING MANAGER
TOMMY TOLES
EDITOR SUBSCRIPTION RATES
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PN 7 . Published Every Thursday By
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s oc.‘ O 4 At Summerville, Ga. 30747
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Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. 0. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
‘The Sunshine Law’
Published elsewhere in The News this
week is a reproduction of Georgia's open
records and open meetings law, popularly
known as the *‘sunshine law." It is suppos
ed to guarantee that meetings of public
boards and agencies will be open to the
public and the press except under very
rigid, specified conditions.
In the last two weeks, incidents have
occurred in Summerville and Trion that
appeared to violate the letter and spirit of
the sunshine law. Violations don't harm
the news media so much as they do the
right of citizens to know about delibera
tions of public boards and agencies in the
county. After all, newspapers and radio
stations have no more right of access to
meetings than do individual citizens.
Pragmatically, though, the only way most
people find out what discussions and ac
tions on public issues is through the news
media.
In some cases, public officials appear
unaware of the sunshine law’s provisions,
seeming to think that the law was design
ed to give them a legal excuse to have
Working Together
A storm raced into Summerville Sun
day afternoon and after it had dissipated,
many residents found themselves without
electrical power, cable television (if they
had power) or telephone service. Some
streets were blocked by fallen trees and
downed power lines.
Thankfully, no one was reported in
jured in the storm, which may have been
a small twister or a violent downburst of
wind from the thunderstorm.
The storm had not ended before law en
forcement officials and workmen were on
the streets attempting to make repairs and
clean up the streets.
City of Summerville crews got busy
with chain saws and equipment and began
clearing streets of trees and limbs. Clear-
Vu Cable Co., Georgia Power Co. and
General Telephone employees left their
homes and began repairing damage to
Highway Progress
Chattooga County got some good news
— sort of — at last week’s hearing in
Cedartown on Georgia's developmental
road system.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
officials indicated that construction may
begin on widening U. S. Highway 27 from
Highway 156 in Floyd County to Summer
ville sometime in late 1988 or early 1989.
Before then, the DOT expects to widen
Highway 27 from its present five-lane end
near Richard B. Russell Airport to
Highway 156.
When that happens, Chattooga Coun
ty will have better access to I-75 and
thereby be more attractive to industry,
especially if the East Rome bypass is
completed.
While three miles of passing lanes are
being built in Bartow County on Highway
140 —the stretch most often used by
Chattooga Countians traveling to I-75 —
the DOT doesn’t have any plans to widen
From OurEarlyFile:
»
39 YEARS AGO
HOLINESS OF HISTORY — There is a ‘‘holiness of history” in the story
of the organization of the South Summerville Baptist Church. News accounts
tell that the initial sessions were held in Pepper’s Livery Stable, keeping in
mind, perhaps, ‘‘that it was a stable in which the Lord was born and not a
beautiful cathedral.” The Sunday school classes met in the stable feed rooms,
which were along the sides of the open shelter in the middle of the building
where the hacks were kept. When it was time for church, the hacks were rolled
away and the former parking place was used for an auditorium.
secret meetings to discuss such things as
“personnel.”” But the term, ‘‘personnel,”
is not in the sunshine law.
Most of the abuses of the sunshine law
in Chattooga County and throughout the
state appear to center around the section
which says public meetings may be clos
ed when:
“Any agency is discussing the appoint
ment, employment, disciplinary action, or
dismissal of a public officer or employee;
or any agency is hearing complaints or
charges brought against a public officer or
employee unless he requests a public
meeting ... "
Seemingly, only a U. S. Supreme Court
justice or a lawyer could misunderstand or
misinterpret the very clear and specific
meaning of those few words.
So in the interest of having well
informed local public officials, The News
is publishing the entire sunshine law in a
handy clip-out format. The newspaper also
will continue to firmly encourage local
public officials to abide by its provisions.
their lines. The Summerville Police and
Fire Departments were active all over the
city during some very hazardous weather,
as was the Chattooga County Sheriff's
Office.
It was not possible for them to be
everywhere at one time and some residents
reportedly became irritated that repairs
were not made to “‘their’”’ lines or that
“their’” streets were not the first to be
cleared. Such complaints will always exist.
It is evident from eyewitness accounts
that all the departments and companies
previously listed and their employees did
an excellent job on short notice and per
formed their duties in an efficient and com
mendable manner.
The cooperation shown Sunday and
early this week is another example of what
Chattooga Countians can acc?)mplish
when we work together.
it to four or five lanes.
While an east-west route from I-59 in
Alabama through Chattooga or Walker
Counties to I-75 would be most helpful to
this area, that project doesn’t seem too
promising at the present time. Instead, it
seemed at last week's meeting in Cedar
town that momentum was building toward
an 1-59 to I-75 connector through Floyd
County, perhaps along Highway 20 or
U. S. 411 into Cherokee County, Ala.
But Polk County Sen. Nathan Dean
had some wise words at the hearing last
week when he warned that every city and
county can't expect everything they want
in the way of four-lane highways. Even if
we don’t receive an east-west connector,
we should be thankful that the DOT seems
to be expediting the Summerville to Rome
widening of U. S. 27, as well as the Sum
merville to Trion widening project on
which bids were opened last week.
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iewpoint %3
By Tommy Toles, Editor é :
Lost And Found
Humility comes quickly when you
make a fool of yourself.
I should know. I've had plenty of
experience.
More than a few years have passed, but
I still get an embarrassing feeling in the
pit of my stomach everytime I think about
getting lost underneath the U. S. Capitol.
Getting lost was bad enough, but it had
to be while President Jimmy Carter was
giving a State of the Union address. And
while the capitol was literally crawling
with police and Secret Service agents.
It happened on a trip to Washington
while working for the late-Congressman
Larry McDonald. The job required travel
to the capital on an occasional basis. Since
I have a very logical fear of flying (if God
had meant for man to fly, he would have
been born with wings) and since my feel
ings about “‘Disneyland East” have been
less than congenial since around 1864, I
headed north as infrequently as possible.
Nevertheless, I found myself working
late at the office while Larry completed
other projects. He insisted he could ‘‘slip”’
me onto the House floor during the State
of the Union address and nothing I could
say would convince him otherwise.
Sure enough, after going down an
elevator, through several corridors, the
connecting tunnel to the capitol, more cor
ridors, another elevator and more cor
ridors, we arrived at the House chamber.
Probably for the first time in my life, I won
an argument with Larry — he found I
Guest Column
Terrorism Here
By ROBERT H. ROWLAND
Recent terrorist attacks in Europe and
the Middle East, and the U. S. air assault
against Libyan military targets has con
vinced most of the public there is a ter
rorist threat in Europe and around the
Mediterranean. But few people give any
thought to the threat of domestic
terrorism.
But in point of fact there is a terrorist
underground, long established inside the
United States. Foremost, of course, is the
Communist Party itself. Its members, and
the millions of ‘‘sleepers’’ and
underground members it has trained over
the years can be expected to use terrorist
tactics when they feel the revolution is
near.
But aside from the CPUSA and other
splinter Marxist parties, there are the rem
nants of the groups which were active in
the 1960 s and 19705. These include the
Black Liberation Army, the Weather
Underground, the Armed Forces of Na
tional Liberation and others.
In fact we really don’t know how
serious the situation in this country is
because we have virtually destroyed our
internal security program, including the
Internal Security Division of the Justice
Department itself.
We have handcuffed and hamstrung
our investigative agencies, destroyed our
intelligence files and made it virtually im
possible to check on the character, integri
ty and loyalty of our citizens, let alone the
aliens in the country. All of this has been
couldn’t go on the floor.
So I told Larry I'd go back to the of
fice, finish up some work and meet him
there later to go home. I didn’t want to ad
mit I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to
get back through the maze of corridors.
The place was covered with Secret Ser
vice agents and capitol police.
Cold sweat popped out on my head as
I imagined being arrested for being in the
wrong place, carried “downtown’ and
questioned by police who refused to
believe that I was just an ignorant Georgia
boy who had lost his way. I could feel the
cell door slam behind me.
Nevertheless, I put on a brave front
and marched down a corridor like I own
ed it, hopped on an elevator and got off at
a likely looking floor. Walking past police
and agents who gave me nary a glance, I
headed down a familiar looking corridor —
and ended up smack in the middle of the
capitol’s garbage dumpsters!
So I turned around, pretended I had ac
complished a mission (inspecting the gar
bage for suspicious packages?) and head
ed purposefully down another corridor. I
went up and down hallways for what seem
ed like hours and finally managed to find
my way back to the office.
I never told Larry. How could I explain
to a Congressman that I couldn’t find my
way out of the capitol?
But at least I know where Subligna is
located.
done by court decisions and congressional
legislation. The American people need to
know they are wvulnerable to internal
subversion and terrorism.
During this assault on our internal
security, the FBl's internal security
capabilities were emasculated by Presi
dent Ford’s attorney general, Edward H.
Levi.
Not only have police intelligence files
been ordered destroyed and police depart
ments been ordered out of the field of in
vestigation of subversives, but police
departments have actually been forced to
pay financial settlements to subversives
for keeping tabs on them.
When the terrorist hit squads start
their bombings and assassination at
tempts here, the American people must
remember who and what made them so
vulnerable.
The destruction of our internal securi
ty program takes on considerable
significance in light of these facts:
* A terrorist network exists in this
country. It has contacts with, and is aid
ed by, international terrorist movements.
* The Sandinistas of Nicaragua are a
terrorist government on this continent
which has close liaison with terrorist fac
tions of the Palestine Liberation Organiza
tion and with Libya.
* We are now experiencing a flood of il
legal aliens, over a million each year, enter
ing this country over the Mexican-U. S.
border. How many are well-trained ter
rorists from Nicaragua? With no internal
see GUEST COLUMN, page 10-&
On The (‘ 3
Funny Side @
A Real Dummy
Maybe it's happened to you, too. You're browsing in
a store, checking out the merchandise, when suddenly so
meone stops you.
“Pardon me,"” they say, ‘“‘but where do you stock the
such and such?” For a minute you don't know what they're
talking about, and then it dawns on you: they think you
work there.
I don’t know, perhaps I have the air of a salesman
about me. Aware, in control, informed . . . bored, irritable,
untrained. Take your pick. But I seem to get more than
my share of those questions.
I used to put aside my frustration and help the person
if at all possible. Lately, though, I've been less tolerant.
At the grocery store last week, for instance, a stranger
asked me where ‘“we’’ stock the green beans. I answered,
“Right next to the peanut butter.”” Then while he search
ed the aisles for hours, I headed home to the pantry and
put the green beans where I always do — right next to
the peanut butter.
In the clothing store, a full-figuered woman approach
ed me for directions to the Jane Russell foundations. I was
tempted to reply, “‘I don't know about Jane Russell, but
the concrete trusses are around the corner.”” Only my fine
sense of delicacy, plus a healthy fear of pain, prevented
it. Instead, I sent her off on another wild goose chase.
Thinking perhaps my wardrobe was the problem, I
decided to dress for success. Still no luck, though.
Take the afternoon I visited the ballpark in my new
Bill Blass outfit. Tailored look, every thread in place. Very
together, so to speak. I got seven orders for hot dogs
before I reached my seat. Why couldn’t I own part of the
concessions?
And at the movies, the manager snared me for the
clean-up crew as I started to leave. That's the only time
I've ever reacted violently to this business of mistaken
identity. Ask me to be a guinea pig for nuclear fallout
tests, but don’t ask me to clean up the ick and goo at a
movie theatre.
Of course, it's different at home. Even friends and
relatives don't recognize me there. My wife still asks if I'm
new in town, and the cleaning lady dusted me yesterday
as I sat working at my desk. She said she thought I was
a new lamp the owner ordered.
““I .am the owner!" I screamed. **Get out, out, out!" She
screwed the shade back on to my head and left.
Today in a clothing store a man pointed at me and
snickered, “Boy, look at the dummy," apparently believ
ing I was a mannequin.
““A dummy, sir,” I responded loudly, hoping to startle
him, “is a brainless creature without character or per
sonality.”
“I rest my case,” he said dryly, as he walked away.
Actually, maybe it's not so bad to be mistaken for
another human being after all. Especially when you con
sider the options.
SOBER SMILE
The smile that we appreciate most is
the one that comes out of a sober face. —
Hartley (la.) Sentinel
.8 .
EVERY MORNING
News One thing about the speed of light —
@ it gets here too early in the morning. —
Cllps Chicago Tribune
* * *
WHO?
Why all this talk about getting back to
normal? Who would recognize himself? —
Greenville Piedmont
¥ hel iy
TRUE WORDS
Committees have become so important
that a subcommittee has to be appointed
to do the work.;— Augusta (Kan.) Gazette
£ »
MIDDLE AGE
Middle age is that period in a man’s life
when he'll do anything to feel better ex
cept give up what's hurting him. — Great
Lakes Bulletin
;. * *
A THINKER
Where there is an open mind there will
always be a frontier. — Des Moines
Algona