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VOLUME CI — NUMBEF | 211
Chattooga School Board Requests
Resignation Of Supt. Don Hayes
By KAY ABBOTT
Staff Writer
The Chattooga County |
Board of Education voted
unanimously Monday night to
ask School Supt. Don Hayes |
for his resignation after presen- 1
ting allegations that the |
superintendent had lied to the |
panel about school business. |
Hayes also received a |
unanimous vote of ‘‘no con- |
fidence" from the board on the |
issues of his truthfulness in
making school and budget in
formation known to the board
and in his ability to act as |
superintendent. According to
board chairman Joel Cook and |
other sources, six of the coun- |
ty's seven school principals |
met with Hayes last Sept. 5 |
and gave him, essentiali)y, a|
vote of no confidence. i
LOW-KEY
The apparently emotional
16 Sought In
Local Raid
Local and state law enforce
ment officials began a roundup
of alleged cocaine and mari
juana pushers in Chattooga
County late Wednesday after
noon following a six-month
undercover investigation.
Warrants were obtained for
16 individuals on charges of
violating the Georgia Controll
ed Substances Act (GCSA). At
least one pregnant woman was
among those arrested as the
raids got under way.
Chattooga County Sheriff
Gary McConnell said under
cover officers bought mari
juana on 13 occasions and co
caine on 10 occasions during
the investigation.
All but one of the 16 in
dividuals sought in the roun
dup have had criminal charges
lorfged against them earlier,
the sheriff said: " . =
The roundup involved the
sheriff's office, the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation,
Georgia State Patrol, Trion
Police Chief David Starkey and
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SUSPECTS FINGERPRINTED, BOOKED AT COUNTY JAIL
Follownig Drug Raids Wednesday Afternoon
Overtime Refused
--See Page 20-A4
The Summerville News
but controlled discussion of the
superintendent Monday night
occurred following a low-key,
businesslike session involving
six routine agenda items.
Hayes ang board members
retained their composure dur
ing the discussion, but voices
were strained and Cook’s
hands shook as he read letters
written by Hayes and state
officials.
MISREPRESENTATION
In calling for the resigna
tion Monday, board member
Leroy Massey, Menlo, said in
Kart, “In most instances, we
ave to depend on the
superintendent for our infor
mation. When we receive
misrepresentation of the facts
or when we have information
withheld from us, it becomes
very difficult for us to perform
in an effective matter.”
In one instance, Hayes was
called to task for saying in a
board meeting last Sept. 8 that
he had no knowledge of who
Summerville Police Chief Arlen
Thomas.
The youthful-looking under
cover agents were furnished by
the state, McConnell said.
They were involved in prepar
ing the warrants andp other
paperwork Wednesday before
the roundup began about 4
p.m.
“The cases made today are
scheduled to be presented to
the February, 1987 term of the
(Chattooga County) Grand
Jury,”” McConnell said
Weci’nesday. “With the arrests
made today, the total drug
related arrests in Chattooga
County totals 46 for 1986."
Some of those sought
Wednesday attempted to run
and elude arresting officers,
authorities said. !
The suspected pushers
would be lodged in jail in lieu
of bonds ranging from
SIOO,OOO each upward, McCon
nell said before t?le raids began.
The suspects resided in
see 16 SOUGHT, page 12-A
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA — THURSDAY. DECEMBER 11, 1986
authorized a $1,200 lighting
'grogect at the high school foot
all field. In a letter written by
Hayes to state auditor James
R. Guay, on Sept. 16, Hayes
said, ‘I informed the head
coach that the lighting was ap
proved in the budget and con
sequently he called in a crane
operator and I ordered the
lamps for this project.”
'Fhe board had said the pur
chase was not approved in the
school budget for this year.
Hayes contended that the
items were in the budget.
NOT LIED
Hayes told the board that
he had not lied to them and in
dicated that he would *‘hire a
lawyer to discuss the issue”
with the board.
Although Hayes attempted
to contact school boardp at
torney Bobby Lee (Buzz) Cook
Jr., Monday night, he has
reportedly sought the counsel
of attorney Bobby Lee Cook
Sr. and other lawyers.
When contacted by The
News Tuesday, Chairman Cook
and school board attorney
Buzz Cook indicated that no
further action had been taken,
but a possible board meeting
with Buzz Cook was tentative
ly planned for this week.
HAYES BEGAN
Hayes began the discussion
about the controversy Monday
night by saying, “‘One item I
want to discuss with you: I
have here in my hand an
envelope which contains
$551.04. It appears through
whatever means and whatever
comments you want to make,
in looking at my job descrip
tion, I assumed something I
probably should not have
assumed: That I was in my
rights as long as the item was
in the budget to do something
and I didn’t, according to you
folks. I was wrong, and I ac
cept that responsi%ility.
“1 discussed this with some
legal individuals and was given
directions to go and I wrote
some letters which were per
sonal. You have them in your
hands — a copy of them now,
asking for guidance for what I
needed to do or was expected
to do. I received those — and
you can see or know —
sometime in October and I
discussed those with an in
dividual in the last two weeks
or so and the comment he made
to me was we need to get this
matter behind us. I should
make you aware of those
things and I did so. In that
envefiope is $551 — is a state
ment that ‘this is our way of
Back Tax Sales
--See Page 3-A
showing our support for both l
you and your maintenance |
man’ and it is signed, ‘Concern- |
| ed Citizens.’ ;
| GIVES TO COOK l
‘ “It is not money that I have
given, it is money that was
given to me two days after this
came to an issue and came to |
a head and I'm giving this to |
Mr. (Joel) Cook and he can give |
| this to Mrs. High. As far as |
| I'm concerned, I was out of
' line. I accept that responsibili
| ty. I wrote the letters for my
own personal information to
1 see exactly what my steps
were. | was under the impres- |
1 sion that when we discussed |
this, that when the auditors |
| came in, that this would be
| resolved as far as the audit was l
| concerned. And I wrote one let- |
! ter to the auditor. ‘
APOLOGIZES |
E *‘Another letter to the at- |
SET FOR JANUARY BILLING
Summerville Gives Nod
To Fire Service Charges
Summerville's City Council
voted Monday night to in
stitute a fee system for fire pro
tection outside the city limits,
beginning next January.
The action came after the
city failed to receive a firm
commitment for a specific
amount of money for tge ser
vice in 1987 from Chattooga
County Commissioner Harry
Powel{
The procedure will become
effective during the city's
January billing cycle for the ci
ty's utility customers who
reside outside the city limits.
Summerville officials said they
would announce later this
month when the city will begin
receiving applications for fire
protection service from county
residents who are not city utili
ty customers.
“DON'T CARE”
“I don't care about the Ci
ty of Summerville,” Powell
responded Tuesday when ask
ed for a reaction to the Coun
cil's action. *‘l'm not worried
about the City of Summer
ville.”” Told that the action
would affect non-city residents,
Powell retorted, ‘“You ain't
even from the county.”
Grady McCalmon, Sum
merville city manager, visited
with Powel{ Monday prior to
the Council’s action that night.
The commissioner said he
would help ‘“‘some’’ with fire
Krotection costs when he knew
ow much money he would
receive in property taxes but
wouldn’t make a firm commit
ment, McCalmon said.
Mayor Sewell Cash said the
city received about the same
response two weeks ago and
three months ago from %owell.
Referring to the possibility of
a firm commitment from the
county, Cash said, ‘‘lt looks
like it's going to be hard to
come by.”
“It's getting to the point
where we've got to do
something,” Mcgalmon said.
He pointed out that the city
had reduced property taxes by
one mill and that the city had
lost federal Revenue Sharing
money as well as the county.
SALES TAX
The one percent local option
sales tax being received by the
cquntf' could be used to in
directly offset some county ex
g}enses, Mayor Cash said. The
ews recently obtained coun-
torney general was written by
the lawyer that I went to see
and I typed it up and put it on
my stationery and sent it in. I
apologize to you folks for com
mitting this error, because it |
was my error, and I accept the |
rel?fonsibility. I'm horigég we |
will get this thing resolved and |
get on to more pressing things, |
and things that we need to do |
beside getting bogged dewn in |
things we don’t need to get |
bogged down in. And that's all |
the comments 1 have, Mr. |
Cook.” }
COOK i
“Well, I have a few at this |
time I want to make,” Cook |
said. “‘ln my hand, I have a |
copy of the f(,atters Mr. Hayes
wrote to the auditors and their
answer, and | have the copy of |
the letter he wrote to the at- 1
torney general and his answer.
And I want to say right now
ty records showing that the
county had more than
$400,000 in cash on hand in the
sales tax account. That was the
amount before the county
received another sales tax
check of around SIOO,OOO in
late November. Commissioner
Powell had said he planned to
substitute the sales tax money
for usual road and bri%fe ex
genditures in the general fund
udget, in an effort to pay off
county indebtedness.
The county raised property
taxes this year to obtain more
revenue, Councilman Phil
Cavin said during the meeting.
The increase is supposed to
bring in $324,000 more this
year than in 1985.
Cash recommended that the
Council adopt the fee system it
outlined at its November
meetin% and if Powell con
tributed funds to the city for
county fire protection services,
the county wouldn’t bill non
city utility customers the next
month.
BORROWED f
The mayor added that the |
city had borrowed $500,000 for |
utility relocation along the
U.'S. Highw?fil 27 widening
pro{)ect but hadn't received any
of the sales tax funds for roads |
provided the county
government. |
“We've got to get firm and |
we've got to get paid by some |
means or stop the service..." |
Cash said. “We've got to be
paid by some means.”
The Council discussed a
number of questions about how
the fee service would work next |
year. The panel was asked how |
the city would handle fire pro- |
tection for non-subscribers in }
the county if Powell paid some |
money for one montfi, but not |
another month. Would the ci- |
ty respond to a fire call to the |
non-subscriber's house the |
month it received county |
money, but not the month it |
didn’t receive county funds? |
“There’s not a simple solu- |
tion,” Cash said. ‘‘The easiest |
thing for the city would be not |
to go outside the city but I \
don’t even want to think about |
that.” l
SCRAPPED
Councilman Guinn Hankins
said he thought that if the ci- |
ty set up the subscriber service )
and Powell later paid the coun- |
ty what it had asked for, then |
Insurance Bids ‘
--See Page 6-B
t Fve been accused in the
ia of holding secret
m s and things like that.
I havekept some things from
the newgmedia concerning Mr.
Hayes, he has made some
ur;;g!le ents and he's
wied to undermine the school
board on se occasions that
I've talked ta’im about, but
every board m r sitting at
this table has“Bgnt over
backwards trying té werk with
Mr. Hayes.
MORE PROBLEMS
“I've been on this school
board for 18 years, and I've
had more problems in the last
two years than I did the
previous 16 years. But it's got
ten to the point where it's hard
to believe anything Mr. Hayes
tells us. About 10 days ago,
Mr. Hayes called me and said,
‘Kay Abbott just called me a
see SCHOOL, page 18-A
the fee system could be
scrapped.
Councilman Ed Bush sug
ested that the city adopt the
?ee system for a full year and
not ask Powell for any more
money. If Powell decides to
pay the city the $50,000 it had
requested next year, the city
can then abolish the fee
system, he indicated.
McCalmon said the city
BY LOCAL RESIDENTS
Rezoning Plan Opposed
Summerville's City Council
voted Monday night to rezone
the old junior higi school pro
perty fronting Rome
Boulevard from R-2 residential
to C-2 commercial but deferred
until January a decision on
whether to rezone the tracts
fronting College Street.
The action came after
residents of the area protested
the rezoning request and
presented petitions containing
84 names to city officials. The
rezoning had been requested
by Fay and Sue Hurley, who
bought most of the old junior
high property from the Chat
tooga County Board of Educa
tion in late September.
PETITION
“We protest the rezoning of
Santa Claus Letters
Only a short time remains before the jolly old elf from
the North Pole will visit the good little boys and girls in
Chattooga County and around the world.
Of course, before Santa can make his rounds, he needs
to know what youngsters in Summerville, Menlo, Trion,
Lyerly and points in between, want for Christmas.
The Summerville News will again this year make its
pages available to local youngsters who want to write Santa
Claus. The old fellow with the red suit and white beard is
a faithful subscriber to The News and will be sure to read
all the letters, . ... .. o ... ; L
28 'Yovuhvé;t:e;s should mail their letters immediately or
drop them off at the newspaper's offices on Rome
Boulevard as soon as possible. [ oA R Uy
~ Letters will be published in the Dec. 18 and Dec. 24 edi
tions (The News will go to press one day early during
Christmas week). \
L W |
;.; . T
=
JOEL COOK
Board Chairman
could start a full month's bill
ing in January, using the city's
existing computer. A program
could be written and a video
terminal installed in the fire
degartment to handle the
subscriber list, McCalmon
indicated.
FEES
For county residents who
are not city utility customers,
the old Summerville middle
school property on Rome
Boulevard from residential to
commercial,” the petition read.
“We believe his will greatly in
crease the traffic flow in an
area in which we live and to
rezone this property would
cause an extraordinary hard
ship upon the members of the
community generally and
would tend to greatly diminish
our property values and the
ability to lead a normal and
tranquil life in a residential
community.”
The Hurleys bought three
tracts last September, in
cluding the olcf) junior high
classroom buildin and
auditorium buildin ?ront.ing
on Rome Boulevarg. and the
PRICE 20c¢
! =
o {
% ‘ ;
T
DON HAYES
Superintendent
the initial cost will be $45 in ad
vance, including a 815 registra
tion fee and $5 for each of the
next six months. The entire fee
would be payable semi
annually, rather than monthly.
For city utility customers who
reside in the county, the city
would bill them an additional
$4 per month on their utility
bills.
see SUMMERVILLE, page 11-A
two-story superintendent’s
building and old lunchroom ad
jacent to College Street.
“We're not trying to do
anything to bring down the
property values,” said Fay
Hurley, who attended Monday
night’s meeting. ‘“We think it
(the planned improvements)
will improve it."”
USES
Hurley said he planned to
use the old Rome Boulevard
classroom building for a possi
ble furniture store and small
stores, such as craft shops, and
the other building for a possi
ble hardware supply facility.
He hoped to restore the
superintendent’s building and
use it for apartments or an of
fice building, Hurley indicated.
There is no intention of us
ing any of the property for a
convenience store or super
market, he said.
First concern of the city
must be the residential firaper
ty owners, Mayor Sewell Cash
said, and the next concern
would be Hurley, who had
spent $191,000 to buy the
tracts.
Cash asked Hurley about
installing a privacy fence along
the boundary of property fron
ting College Street and tE:o
viding an entrance to all three
tracts from Rome Boulevard
rather than College Street.
“I don’t see any problem
with that,” Hurley said.
FACTORY
Residents pointed out to
The News prior to the meeting
see REZONING, page 11-A