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Dry Valley Days Held Despite Rain
Hundreds. of visitors endured rain
showers and muddy pathways to attend
the annual Dr Va{ley Days celebration
at Jarrett Laie on Labor Day. Rainy
weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm
IN CHATTOOGA COUNTY
Income Rises Slowly
Chattooga County
residents experienced a real
growth in per capita personal
income of only one-tenth of one
?ercent in the five-year period
rom 1979 to 1984, accordin,
to a study by the Researcfi
Division, College of Business
Administration, University of
Georgia.
However, per capita income
increased by 2.3 percent from
1983 to 1984, the study said.
Per capita income in 1979
was $5,604, the study in
dicated, increasing to $7,543 in
1983 and $8,046 in 1984 in ac
tual dollars. The nominal rate
of growth from 1979 to 1984
Federal Jury Hands Down
Verdict For Local Couple
A U. S. District Court jury
in Rome last week found in
favor of a Chattooga County
couple and ordered State Farm
Fire and Casualty Co. to pay
$39,231.56 in damages.
Marshall S. Kirby and Jim
mie Sue Kirby had filed a civil
suit in September, 1985,
against State Farm saying a
fire had destroyed the Kirby
residence on Dec. 7, 1984, but
that the insurance company
had failed to pay the Kirby
claim.
The residence was valued at
$72,540, the suit said. It had
asked that the company pay
the full value of the residence,
plus $5,000 in living expenses,
$19,375 in penalties and
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Following is the first section of a
12-part fictional series on murder and football called, “A
Season To Remember.’’ It was written under the pen name
of Paul Treadaway, a Northwest Georgia resident. It will
be featured weekly in The News).
By PAUL TREADAWAY
Copyright 1986
This is the story of a high school football team.
And murder.
And love.
And the shadowy figure known as The Copperhead.
The football team was called the Humber Hounds, and
it was the most unusual football team you have ever seen,
for reasons you will discover further along.
There were five murders in all; the first one on the night
of the opening game for the Hounds.
There were several kinds of love, and nearly everybody
was involved in one kind or another, including the best and
rarest kind in the scene on the darkened field after that last
game. You'll never forget that.
Some of the kids at the new consolidated high school
called The Copperhead an avenger. He came to be called
The Copperhead because everywhere he appeared would
always Ee found a snake-skin, the skin of a big copperhead,
beginning with the first time at the Little Zipper — conve
nience store, also on the night of the opening game.
The CoYperhead is the only mystery that remains.
First, all the murders were finally solved.
All five.
Second, everyone, except old lady Jollie Pearl Henbrew,
finally got straight about all the trouble and mystery with
the brand new football team from the brand new Humber
County Consolidated High School and its brand new coach.
But the business about this — avenger, is something
else. Everyone knows what he did, but no one knows who
he was.
Except one person.
Maybe.
This person swore to me that if I wrote the whole thing
was 7.5 percent and it was 6.7
percent from 1983 to 1984.
However, those percentages do
not take inflation into con
sideration, said Suzanne Lind
szay. data specialist fßr
““Georgia Business and
Economic Conditions,” which
published the information.
She told The News that
when inflation was taken into
account in the 1979 to 1983
five-year period, the actual or
real growth rate in per capita
income was only .1 percent.
That compares to a
statewide average per capita
income in 1979 of $7,377,
$10,419 in 1983 and $11,548 in
$25,000 in attorney fees for a
total of $125,915.
The insurance company
claimed in its response to the
suit that the Kirgys had “in
tentionally burned’ the
residence or ‘‘caused them to
be burned.”
The company said it had
paid $33,008.44 to First
Federal Savings and Loan
Association, Summerville, as
mortgagee on the Kirby pro
perty.
In addition to the judge
ment against State Farm, the
jury ordered the company to
pay the money with interest
and plus costs of the legal
action.
Copperhead Strikes, Hounds Blank Bears
of young participants in the fishing rodeo.
Above, Caine Railey, 8; and his brother,
Doug, 13, wait for the fish to bite. More
Dry %’alley pictures inside. (Staff Photo
by Kay Abbott).
1984. The nominal increase
statewide in 1979-84 was 9.4
percent and it was 10.8 percent
in 1983-84. However, the real
rate of per capita income in the
five-year period, when inflation
is taken into account, was on
ly 1.8 gercent statewide. And
it was 6.3 percent from 1983-84
in real terms, Ms. Lindsay said.
Although the Chattooga
figure looks bad compared to
the state average, Dade Coun
ty showed an actual decrease of
.8 percent in per capita income
during the five-year period and
a 3.6 percent increase from
1983 to 1984. Floyd County
showed«&'realvfl_frowt&rol 1.6
percent from 1979-1984 and 6.4
percent from 1983-84. Walker
County showed a real growth
of .6 percent in the five-year
periof and 4.1 percent in the
one-year period.
The nation, including Chat
tooga County and Georgia, suf
fered from two serious reces
sions during the 1979 to 1984
period, Ms. Lindsay pointed
out in explaining the f‘i’gures.
In aggregate figures, the
study says, Chattooga County
as a whole recorded total Yer
sonal income of $123.4-million
in 1979, $161.5-million in 1983
and $172.6-million in 1984.
Those figures do not include
Social Security payments, Ms.
Lindsay pointeg out, but they
do include all gross personal in
come before taxes, including
estimated fringe benefits.
+ In nominal terms (not ad
justed for inflation), Chattooga
showed a 6.9 percent increase
in the five-year period and the
see INCOME, page 7-B
down just the way it happened, and kept all the parts
together so I cou]({ check El))ack and forth about times and
movements and so forth, then I would know who The Cop
perhead was, too.
And if I can do that, then so can you.
Maybe.
At least one thing is sure. If any of the 2,000 or so souls
who had congregated to witness the opening game between
the Humber Hounds and the Blairsville Bears could have
foreseen the blood and fear and death of that fall, none of
them would have been occupied with the thoughts that
were on their minds that night.
Travis Walker, the new coach of the new Hounds, for
instance, slapped the shoulder pads of a tall, slender player
with a big block 16 on his back.
“This is it, Joe,” he said, ‘‘Blairsville was the region
champ last year.”
The boy grinned, showing even white teeth in a deep
ly tanned face behind the masfi. ‘‘Piece of cake, coach. They
won't know what hit 'em.”
Travis laughed, ran a big bony hand through thick dark
hair and moveg on, slapping shoulder pads, trying to gauge
the mood of his players. Ofidly enough, he suspecteg that
his quarterback, Joe Merlin, might%)e right.
Travis tried not to see the neon blonde dripping beads
and bangles who had been trying to catch his eye for the
20 minutes the team had been on the field. The short bald
man beside her looked uncomfortable.
For the umteenth time, Travis thought of this oddly
assorted gang the Good Lord had giveniim. He grinned
and shook his head in resifination. What a collection! Not
more than two of them looked as though they belonged on
a football field, or even knew what a football was. But, Lord
above, what happened to them when the ball was snapped!
Arthur Ha?fixm, sitting in the tenth row besitfia the
serene ash blonde, adjusted his glasses and picked lint from
the knee of his suit. i‘le glanced sideways at the profile he
had dreamed about since he was 14 years old. I?Iis heart
sank when he saw that she had that far-away look in her
eyes again. Then he braced himself and sighed. The
legalities of the missing-in-action status of servicemen who
had disappeared in Vietnam would soon sort themselves
TRAILED BY BLOODHOUNDS
The third and final escapee
from the Chattooga Countg' |
Jail on Tuesday night, A\\x’g.2 b |
was caggured in Dry Valley |
shortk fore noon last Thurs
day, Aug. 28. |
Arrested in a cornfield near i
a barn north of the Trion- |
Teloga Road near Teloga Creek |
was fiames Keith Goins, 20, of |
a rural Dade County address. |
Bloodhounds from tie Walker |
Couré&y Correctional Institute |
trailed Goins from a barn on |
the old Ledford farm to the |
area just north of that site, said |
Lewis Wilson, jail |
adminstrator. |
Goins didn't offer any ‘
resistance, Wilson said, and |
was still dressed in blue jail |
clothin%, which was dirty and f
wet from the night's|
thunderstorm. !
Two of the escapees were |
arrested on Wednesday after- '
noon, Aug. 27, just off|
Williams Road in Dry Valley. |
They were Arnold Neal Avans, |
Chattanooga, Tenn., and Ray- |
mond Jef?ery McGuire, 20, l
Fayetteville. ‘
Avans and Goins were be- |
ing boarded at the Chattooga |
Jail for Dade County|
authorities while McGuire was |
bein§ boarded for Cobb Coun
ty officials. ?
BROKE FOOT |
Avans apfiarently broke his |
foot when he escaped, said |
Sheriff Garfi' McConnell, but
the trio still made it around
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The first home Lifeline unit was installed
late last week at the home of Mrs. John
Bankson, East Washington Street, Sum
merville. Looking over the equipment are
(from left) Katherine Camp, a member of
the Chattooga County Hospital Authori
ty, which authorized and paid for the
system; Mrs. Bankson; Ralph Vaughn
(seated) and Joe Eleam, both retired
employees of Georgia Power Co. who
MURDER MYSTERY FICTION-PART 1
Lawmen Catch Third Escapee
Chattooga County’s Lifeline Unit Programmed
' Second Front '
| five miles away from the jail on
foot. When Avans was cap
tured, his foot was swollen too
much for a soft cast to be ap
| plied, according to Wilson, and
that aspect of fiis medical care
had to ge postponed until Fri
day when the swelling had
! gone down.
| The trio has been charged
. with burglary, theft by taking,
' escape and interference with
government property, Wilson
said. Avans was being held on
' a probation revocation charge,
- McGuire was being held on a
! bench warrant invo?ving an ag
| Eravated assault charge and
’ oins had heen charged with
theft by .eceiving in Dade
~ Counuy.
The burglary charge in
volves an incident at the home
of Hugh Don Hughes,
Williams Road, last Wednes
day afternoon, Sheriff McCon
nefi' said, while the interference
charge resulted from the
removal of connectors between
chain-link fencing atop the
jail's exercise yarg durini the
escape. Theft by taking
charges were filed involving
the jail clothes worn by the
prisoners.
Avans and Goins will con
tinue to be boarded at the
Chattooga Jail but Cobb Coun
ty last Thursday picked u
McGuire and carrieti) him bacfi
to Marietta.
Around 40 to 50 Northwest
Georgia law enforcement of
ficers were involved in the
volunteered to install the home units free
of charge. All of the units ordered so far,
were expected to be installed by late this
week. Additional subscribers are being
sought at a cost of only sls per month.
The units help keep those living alone, the
elderly or handicapped, from being
isolated and call for help when needed.
(Staff Photo).
out. Abby Merlin's husband, Joe Merlin, senior, *Buzz"
Merlin to all the sports fans in this part of the country,
would be declared legally dead and he, Arthur Hallam,
would have the inside lane to the woman he had waited 20
years for.
While the new coach and Arthur Hallam were thus oc
cupied with their thoughts, others had theirs far afield.
Ansell McWilliams stood at field level close to one end
zone, exchanging small talk with a group of neighbors, his
pipe dangling from the corner of his mouth. He looked relax
ed and at peace with the world. Two things you can depend
on in Humber Hollow, they said. One thing is that Jollie
Pear] Henbrew will get it mixed up, and the other is that
Ansell will do what he says he’ll do.
But there was a shadow in those dark calm eyes that
shifted from the slim player in the dark red jersey and bone
pants with number 23 on his back, to the Humpy figure in
overalls 30 feet away along the rail toward midfield.
Slab Bullock scratched where it itched and spit a thick
stream of tobacco juice that splattered on the rail and left
strings down his chin and the front of his overalls, deeply
stained from thousands of chews. His eyes, also, were on
number 23. “Now I'm goan tell yew gemman a thang er
two,”" he said. loudly to the usual group of rough hangers
on who seemed to stay near him. **Yew mark m'word, now.
Yew see 'at little feller out tair, number 23? Well sir, at tairs
the fastest thang in this part uve the country. I mean yew
give at little feller a step and he’ll flat fuzz yer eyelashes
when he goes by. Yew watch what I tell ye!”
High in the press box, the Blairsville remote man open
ed his mike. “Good evening Bear fans wherever you are!
This is Pete Barker with you once again as another tremen
dous season is just about to get under way for the defen
ding refiional champions Blairsville Bears, coached by the
man who is a legend in high school football, the great
Bulldog Bledsoe.”
Barker covered the mike with his hand and whispered
to his spotter, “Gonna be tough to make this one sound
interesting. It'll be 50 to zip at the half. Did you see these
kids?’’ The spotter nodded. **Boondocksville,”” he yawned.
“Bledsoe wifi run up the score.”
“‘Huh! His merchant buddies back in Blairsville will
manhunt on the afternoon of
Aug. 27 in the Dry Valley area.
An ear(lf' evenin%l storm
hampered the search but of
ficers in unmarked cars patroll
ed the perimeter of the search
area Wednesday night and the
hunt resumed ’lyhursday morn
ing, Aug. 28. A Georgia State
Patrol Eeliccwt.er assisted in
the dragnet Wednesday after
noon, Aug. 27, until the storm
and darkness forced it to
return to Atlanta. By that
time, however, Avans and
McGuire, considered the most
dangerous of the three, had
been captured, leaving only
Goins to find.
LOG HOME
Walker County Correc
tional Institution bloodhounds
and the helicopter were suc
cessful in finding Avans for
ground search oFficers about
2:30 p.m. Aug. 27 behind the
log home of Edwin Hamby on
Williams Road.
McGuire was found by the
bloodhounds in a brushy area
around a tree close to the Jerry
Hamby home, located a short
distance from the Edwin Ham
by residence. The site where
McGuire was found was only a
short distance away from the
search command post.
When capture(f Avans had
a rifle, officers said, but did not
resist. And McGuire had a
shotgun, authorities said, but
didn’t attempt to use it when
see LAWMEN, page 7-B
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JAMES GOINS (R) ESCORTED INTO JAIL
By Facility Administrator Lewis Wilson
Candidates Fail
To File Reports
Several local candidates
had not filed state disclosure
reports following the Aug. 12
general election while others
who had not filed the reports
before the primary have since
filed the documents with Chat
tooga County Probate Judge
Jon Payne's office.
School board candidates
Leroy Massey, who had no op
position, am:ly Leon King, who
was reelected to the panel, fil
ed their %re-election reports on
Aug. 19 but had not fif:ad their
10-day following the primary
reports as of that deadline.
School board candidate
Charles Tudor, who was unsuc
cessful, has not filed any
disclosure reports with Payne's
office, as required by state law.
School board chairman Joel
Cook filed his pre-election
reports but no fpost-election
reports were on file.
James Dee Millican, an un
successful school board can
didate, filed his pre-election
and post-election reports after
the primary.
State Rep. Johnny
Crawford filed his pre-election
reports but no post-election
reports were on file by the
deadline.
However, unsuccessful can
didate for state representative,
love that.”” He took his hand away.
“The opponent for this opening %lame for the Bears is
a mystery team. A new consolidated i§h school. Humber
County. The Humber County Consolidated High School
brings together three small hi%h schools. The old Hudson
High up North in the county, Franklin High right here in
the community, and Washington High in the South end
of the county. So hold onto your seats, ladies and gents,
this season is just about to get under way!”
You could see that the Blairsville kicking team was
having some of the same Lhou%hts as the announcer as the
two teams trotted onto the field for the kickoff. They took
one look at the crazy collection of knock knees, big feet,
pigeon toes, skinny legs, builds that ranged from a fire plug
to a bed slat, and almost laughed out loud. The suppress
ed laughter turned to wide grins of anticipated glory as the
ball boomed off the tee and climbed slowly, end over end
into the soft southern sky of early S‘iytember.
On the Hound goal line, Jamie McWilliams danced ner
vously, mouth dry and heart pounding, watching the ball
tumb{e out of the sky at him. Trella Baines stopped her
cheerleader hops on the sideline and pressed long toffee
fingers to her wide mouth.
*Oh, Jamie . "
At the last instant Jamie's tightly strung body relax
ed and he held out dishrag-soft arms.
“Come to Daddy, baby,” he breathed.
The ball settled into his arms like a feather.
He was at full speed in two strides.
The Blairsville banzai team roared down the field. The
Hound blockers drifted back to protect their fragile flyer.
Jamie leaned to the right and picked up Truck Gross'’
big number 66.
One of the Blairsville assistant coaches, seeing Jamie's
gliding gait, muttered, ‘‘Lord a-mercy!"
Truck had drawn a bead on the bi? kicker, number 77,
who was steaming straight down the field. Truck bounced
to the side, seemingly lining up on another banzai runner.
Seeing the hole open and the blade-thin runner come into
range, the bi%l kicker saw himself covered in glory on the
kickoff. At the last moment, T uck shifted, pushed off
see COPPERHEAD, page 4-B
David Hartline, filed his pre
election and post-election
regorts on time, records
indicate.
Hartline, in his last rz:gort
after the election, repo no
cot?trifblfitions of slOl o:'h more.
The following expenditures
were reporte(E Dasz County
Sentinel $55, Georgia
Democratic Committee, S4OO,
Chattooga Press SB3, Herb's
Quick Copy $173.25, Lyerly
Post Office $30.87, The Sum
merville News $256.23, Tren
ton Radio $27, and Trion Facts
$102.60. Those expenditures
totaled $1,127.95. He earlier
reported expenditures of
$1,245.46 for a grand total of
$2,373.41.
Massey reported no con
tributions and exFenditures of
$25 for his qualifying fee and
S2O to The News.
King reported no contribu
tions and expenses of $25 for
his qualifying fee, $100.50 to
WGTA, $88.40 to Fast Prin
ting and $54 to WSAF Radio.
Millican reported no con
tributions an(f total expen
ditures on all rglports as
follows: $366.65 to The News,
$225 to WSAF, $293.20 to
WGTA Radio and $25 for his
qualifying fee.
see CANDIDATES, page 7-8