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Che Summeruville News
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County
WINSTON E. ESPY DAVID T. ESPY, JR. WILLIAM T. ESPY
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TOMMY TOLES
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Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. 0. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
Annexation Hearing
Residents of areas within one mile of
the present Summerville city limits would
do well to show up at next Monday night's
meeting of the Mayor and Council. That's
when a public hearing will be held on a pro
posal to annex that territory into the city
limits next year.
The hearing will begin at 7 p.m., the
same time of the Council's monthly
meeting at the Recreation Center.
If the annexation proposal were to be
enacted, Summerville would become one of
the larger cities in Northwest Georgia, ex
cluding Rome, of course.
City fathers are contemplating the
possibility of enacting various fees for ci
ty services, including recreation, if Chat
tooga County’s government cuts off funds
for such things as recreation and fire pro-
Higher Taxes
Congress, in its infinite wisdom, has
blessed us ordinary mortals and business
people with the most massive tax
“reform” bill in history.
With all the hoopla emanating from
Disneyland East — Washington, D. C. —
one would have thought that the legisla
tion was just below the Ten Command
ments in importance.
What it all boils down to is that in
dividuals may get a few pennies more in
their pay checks next year and thereafter.
But they will still be paying more taxes to
the federal government — in the form of
higher prices for goods and services.
Politicians like to demagogue. They
claim that business will be paying “‘its fair
share’’ and that individuals will be let off
the tax hook a little. The reality is that cor-
Pregnancy Center Works
The North Georgia Crisis Pregnancy
Center located in Summerville has ac
complished a lot in a relatively short
period of time.
It has served between 150 and 200
women, most of them un-wed teen-agers,
and offered an alternative to abortion. It
also has begun counseling services for girls
and women who have undergone abortions
and are now suffering from emotional pro
blems and guilt feelings.
All of this is being done on a budget of
around $14,000 a year and in its earlier
months, on much, much less. It is only lit
tle more than a year and one-half old.
One of the Center’'s main ac-
From QurEarlyFil
%
39 YEARS AGO
The following are excerpts from the Oct. 9, 1947 edition of THE SUMMER
VILLE NEWS.
* * *
MERCHANTS PROTEST METER INSTALLATION — In a meeting
before the City Council Friday night approximately 25 local citizens and mer
chants urged the council to pass a one-hour parking ordinance instead of hav
ing parking meters installed as had been previously planned by the Council.
The meeting followed an injunction filed by a group of 25 citizens protesting
the parking meter installation, which had been scheduled to begin in the near
future.
* * *
HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS SCHEDULED FOR COUNTY — The
newly-organized Summerville-Alabama Line Highway, via Menlo and
Cloudland, which is expected to be completed within the next few days, will
be the first of a series of road improvements scheduled by the State Highway
Department for Chattooga County. Groundwork for the paving was begun on
April 9, 1946, and officials said the main trouble during construction was dirt
slides. Two men were killed during the year and a half construction.
tection. One possibility that would have
significant consequences would be to end
all fire protection for areas outside the ci
ty limits.
There are a lot of arguments for and
against annexation. If few speak against
the measure, or if a lot of people support
the proposal, Chattooga Rep. Johnny
Crawford may be asked to pass local
legislation annexing property within one
mile of the present city limits. If a majori
ty seems to oppose the proposal, he pro
bably won't introduce such a bill.
Next Mcnday aight is expected to be
the first of several meetings to give
citizens a chance to comment on the pro
posal. If you have views, it will be an ex
cellent opportunity to let them become
known to the Mayor and Council.
porations don’t pay taxes — taxes are just
another cost of doing business. And those
costs are always passed on to consumers.
That is, if the business wants to exist and
make a profit.
So instead of the IRS collecting those
higher taxes, businesses will be collecting
them indirectly from you and passing
them on to Washington.
Seventh District Congressman George
Darden voted correctly when he cast his
ballot against the tax bill. It was the only
logical stand to take.
Nevertheless, the bill was passed and
will have far-reaching consequences on in
dividuals, businesses and our overall
economy in future years. Most will not be
good.
complishments has been to gain credibili
ty with normally suspicious public service
agencies and departments, with a number
of religious organizations, and with
business people in the area.
You won't find folks at the Center mar
ching or walking picket lines — you'll find
them on the ““front lines” offering help to
youngsters and adults, but mostly
younger women and girls, who are preg
nant and don't know where to turn.
The Center is performing a valuable
service while in the process of
demonstrating that highest of all Chris
tian virtues. .. love.
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Viewpoint
By Tommy Toles, Editor
Prayer In School
When I moved to Douglas County in
mid-1968 to become editor of its weekly
newspaper, it was just beginning the dif
ficult and painful transition from a rural
county to a metropolitan area.
Interstate Highway 20 had just been
built and, at that time, ended at Highway
5 just southwest of Douglasville. People
were beginning to ‘“‘escape’’ Atlanta by
moving to the suburbs. Traffic in and out
of Atlanta on I-20 was fairly light — in
comparison with I-75 north or south and
1-85 north.
Battles were fought constantly over
zoning, subdivision regulations, mobile
home park proposals, water expansions,
classroom space and other symptoms of
growth.
Another battle was fought in the early
1970 s over educational philosophy. A new
local school superintendent was elected
and proceeded to ‘‘modernize’’ the system.
Many of the changes upset parents, in
cluding institution of a John Deweyesque
‘“‘open classroom” program and a proposal
for year-round school. Even the campaign
ing of a popular, winning football coach
failed to save the superintendent or the
school board at the next election.
The schools didn't make much news
outside the county in the late 1960 s or ear
ly 19705. But that all changed recently
when a Douglas County High School band
member went to federal court and convinc
ed a judge that his rights were somehow
being violated by prayer being offered
before football games. The judge banned
prayer.
But the judge didn't know the folks in
Douglas County very well. Even though
the natives have been diluted with an in
fluex of ‘“‘outsiders’ and metro Atlanta
On The Funny Side (-
By Gary Solomon W
School Lunch Mentality
More and more restaurants are practic
ing a school lunch mentality these days,
and that’s bad news indeed.
I first noticed this sad turn of events
when my wife and I dined out with friends
recently. Our waitress, with whom we were
on a first-name basis because she said,
““Hi, I'm Paula and I'll be serving you this
evening,” asked if we'd like to know about
the **Special of the Day"’ being offered at
the establishment. We said we did.
““The special is veal scallopini,” Paula
announced proudly. “It’s medallions of
tender beef marinated in a delightful
Madeira sauce and orchestrated beautiful
ly with a medley of vegetables.”
“Uh, just a second, Paula,” I said
suspiciously. ‘‘Are medallions of beef the
same as chunks of beef?’ She said she
guessed they were probably similar. *“And
a medley of orchestrated vegetables is
nothing more than mixed vegetables on
the side?”’ Again she admitted there
wasn’'t much difference.
Someone once said that the number one
rule when eating out is never to dine at a
place called ““Mom’s.” Well, if that’s true,
rule number two should be: never dine
where they use a school-lunch vocabulary.
With that in mind, I ordered a
cheeseburger.
School lunch folks were the original
reason for truth-in-advertising laws, you
know. Chipped beef on cold toast became
&
sophisticates, they still have strong
beliefs. And no judge is going to tell them
what to do — especially since the First
Amendment doesn’t say anything about
‘‘separation of church and state.”
So at a football game following the
judge’'s ruling, the spectators began
reciting the Lord’'s Prayer, led by one
brave soul on the sidelines. True, a
minister didn’t use the school's public ad
dress system to present a prayer, but
Douglas Countians got their message
across to the judge and the student,
nevertheless.
Three points should be made: (1) It isn't
the primary responsibility of the public
schools to direct prayer; that's up to
parents and the church, but that doesn't
mean God should be banned; (2) It is
deplorable if the dissident student has, in
deed, been physically threatened by
anyone over the issue —that's hardly a
proper attitude; and (3) The federal courts
shouldn't have a role in forcing local
schools to end or initiate prayers —that's
up to local folks, not a black-robed
authoritarian.
Schools in this country were started by
churches. We have always had a strong
Judeo-Christian ethic in our institutions.
Congress is opened with prayer. God is
asked to ‘‘save this honorable court” when
the U. S. Supreme Court goes into session,
and virtually every president has called for
Divine help on occasion.
It was good to learn that the Trion Ci
ty and Chattooga County schools don't in
tend to halt their traditions of prayer prior
to games. And it was heartening to find
out that the spirit of the Douglas Coun
tians I loved has remained strong in spite
of economic progress.
“razor-thin slivers of mouth-watering lean
meat on a bed of cool whole wheat,"” while
“catch of the day’’ was merely something
the fishermen drug up in their nets and
couldn't identify. I still swear I ate part
of a radial tire from the Gulf of Mexico in
the ninth grade.
My all-time favorite school lunch was
hamburger meat and gravy on instant
mashed potatoes. I even went back for
seconds on days I didn’t have Physical
Education class the next period. Not un
til my senior year in high school did I learn
I was being treated to “lightly whipped
premium Idaho potatoes smothered in rich
brown gravy and topped with tasty beef
nuggets.”’ I know a lot of authors who'd
give their eyeteeth to be able to write that
kind of fiction.
Dressing up dinner is the going thing
these days, no matter where you look.
Even cats have to choose between
‘“gourmet entrees.”” There's ‘‘sardines in
jellied aspic’” and ‘‘salmon and crab
delight,”” not to mention ‘‘rainbow trout
supreme.”’ Regardless of what they’re call
ed, though, you still have to hold your nose
while opening the cans.
One has to wonder why the need to
make a meal sound so fancy. After all, the
adage, ‘‘A rose by any other name would
smell as sweet,”’ is certainly true of food.
Chunks of beef with a clump of mixed
see ON THE FUNNY SIDE, page 5-A
Guest Column
By Richard H. Fink
Budget Not Cut
One of the great myths being fed to the American peo
ple is the notion that, somehow, the federal budget has
been cut over the last six years. Turn on any nightly news
program and you're likely to hear someone complaining
that ‘‘federal cutbacks" are causing one problem or
another.
This myth of federal “‘cutbacks’ has a secondary clause
that suggests that somehow spending on domestic social
programs has *‘fallen”” while spending on the military has
grown and, together with federal tax cuts, “caused’ the
unprecedented federal deficit.
~ None of these propositions is true.
First of all, federal spending has grown 60 percent since
1980. So clearly, the budget has not been “‘cut.”
Secondly, while military spending has increased over
the last six years, domestic, social and welfare programs
haven't been cut back. Instead, they have had their rate
of increase held to the level of inflation.
In addition it is now obvious that the precious little
tax relief Americans were granted in 1981 has been vir
tually consumed by several recent tax increases and the
automatic tax hikes built into the Social Security ‘‘rescue”
plan passed during Jimmy Carter's administration.
Indeed, there is evidence everywhere that federal spen
ding is out of control, and that even the smallest, least
painful sort of budget cutting hasn’t been done. Some
examples:
* The federal government still maintains a
$21.5-million agency whose sole purpose is to dole out
grants from Washington to the nation's museums, art
galleries, and zoos. The Institute of Museum Services has
been targeted by the Reagan administration for elimina
tion because the president reasons that funding museums
and art galleries can best be handled by private philan
thropy. Yet because of Congress, your tax dollars are still
at work (among other things, paying the Institute’s direc
tor a $68,700 per year salary). If you've not visited a local
gallery or zoo lately, you ought to. You're paying for it.
* The Export-Import Bank, a federal agency offering
subsidized loans to private U. S. companies doing business
overseas, will spend $4-billion this year. Among the
beneficiaries will be the communist government of Angola,
which is getting $96-million in loans and credits to develop
oil reserves with Gulf Oil.
* More money for the Soviets: $52-million of your tax
dollars will go to subsidizing grain sales to the Soviet
Union this year. While we spend billions to defend
ourselves agairst Moscow, does it make any sense to give
the Russians a discount on American farm products?
Political activists like California’s Tom Hayden and the
Rev. Jesse Jackson continue to feed off of federal grant
programs to help finance their activities. Hayden, a radical
member of the SDS in the 1960's and currently the hus
band of actress Jane Fonda, has gotten taxpayer-funded
grants to work on “‘housing™ and “‘energy’’ projects. He
has used the money to promote rent control initiatives in
California cities, as well as to lobby for a federal takeover
of the oil companies.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson's People United To Save
Humanity (PUSH) has received similar grants. One federal
grant from the Department of Education was used to print
10,000 Christmas cards bearing an autographed photo of
Jackson. If you've ever wondered how Jesse Jackson gets
the money to jet around the world and meet with the likes
of Syrian president Hafez Assad and Cuban dictator Fidel
Castro, now you know. You helped pay the tab.
Clearly, there hasn't been nearly enough budget cut
ting in Washington.
(Richard H. Fink is President of Citizens For A Sound
Economy, a 250,000 member Washington-based citizens’
organization).
News Clips
IT IS
The age of discretion is when you learn that nothing
is as important as you once thought it was. — Minneapolis
Star
* * *
WHAT IT WAS?
Gazing into the breakfast bowl of cereal and wonder
ing what the stuff was originally. — Winnipeg Tribune
* * *
OCCASIONALLY
Now and then you find someone who's broadminded
enough to like both extremes of modern music. — Wall
Street Journal