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The Summeruille News
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County
WINSTON E. ESPY
PUBLISHER
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Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. O. Box 310, Summerville, (Ga. 30747
Editorials
‘Don’t Know And Don’t Care’
Chattooga County is ranking at the top
or near the top in too many distasteful
categories.
The county school system leads the
state's 186 systems in dropouts and it's
near the top of the list in the severity of
child abuse incidents, as indicated in a
special report by The News last week.
Although it wasn't the only factor, one
major contributor to the abuse problem in
volved the county’s dropout rate. The big
gest category of child abuse is neglect and
most of those cases involve parents at the
lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.
Almost all are dropouts from school who
are unemployed or who have jobs inade
quate for family needs.
School Supt. Don Hayes and other
members of his staff have applied for a
matching $25,000 grant from the Ap
palachian Regional Commission to set up
a program to combat dropouts in the coun
ty system. Hayes is also looking at other
methods which might be effective in keep
ing youngsters in school.
But it appears that the effort will once
again be solely a school-initiated effort.
Hayes and other educators haven't receiv
ed one iota of encouragement, support or
expressions of concern from parents,
businessmen or industrialists in the
county.
That, in itself, is both a tragedy and a
disgrace!
Several years ago, a child abuse task
force existed in Chattooga County. But no
more. The reason it died was because of a
lack of interest.
The children of the county are now pay
ing the price for that neglect and un
concern. Chattooga has one of the highest
abuse rates in Georgia, most of the pro
blem involving neglect.
The local Department of Family and
Band Scores Again
Chattooga High School's Concert Band
gained a superior rating at the Seventh
District Concert Band Festival held in Car
rollton late last month.
It was the ninth consecutive year that
the band had maintained its superior
rating in Level 5. It performed ‘“*Prelude,
Siciliano and Rondo,” ‘‘Die Wacht am
Rheim'’ and *'The Marriage of Figaro," as
well as sight reading two selections.
Woods Honored
Trion Mayor J. C. Woods was honored
recently by the Georgia Municipal
Association for his years of service as
chairman of the organization's Joint
Municipal Employee Benefit System
board of trustees.
He received a plaque plus a new color
Future 0f Gold And Red
Summerville Middle School within a
few years will be one of the prettiest
schools in Northwest Georgia, thanks to
the combined efforts of students at Chat
tooga County High School and the Chat
tooga Garden Club.
The students also have been busy for
years maintaining planters in the
downtown Summerville area.
However, the 30-acre middle school site
was an awesome challenge. For example,
some 4,000 trees will be planted at the
school during the next 18 months. That
doesn’t count sowing of grass and planting
of ornamental bushes and flowers.
The students began by planning the
landscape at Summerville Middle School
and figuring actual costs involved in the
DAVID T. ESPY, JR.
GENERAL MANAGEP
TOMMY TOLES
EDITOR
WILLIAM T. ESPY
ADVERTISING MANAGER
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At Summeruville, Ga. 30747
PUBLICATION NO. SECD 525560
Children Services appears to be doing a
good job in taking appropriate steps to
protect children from abuse once the pro
blem comes to the attention of its
caseworkers. The Sheriff's Office also has
been aggressive in filing criminal charges
when the evidence seems to warrant such
action. Educators and other professionals
seem to be fulfilling their legal mandate to
report abuse whenever it is suspected.
Past educational efforts seem to have
helped children know how and to whom to
report abuse.
But in spite of these efforts, the abuse
rate remains high, although it did drop
dramatically in 1986 from 1985. We hope
it will continue to decline this year.
Moral decay and breakdown of the
family unit were cited as two underlying
factors involved in an increase in the abuse
rate. That doesn't speak well for Chat
tooga County.
Another factor is apathy, as illustrated
by the lack of concern demonstrated by
the public and the county's non
educational leadership toward the school
dropout rate. Apathy is also illustrated by
the gradual death of the county's child
abuse task force.
A joke is told about two fellows
discussing local problems. One said, ‘‘The
real problems can be summed up by two
things, ignorance and apathy.” His friend
replied, ““What do you think ought to be
done?"" The first fellow said, *'l don't know
and I don’'t care.”
Obviously, that's the attitude of too
many Chattooga Countians toward two of
our more significant social and educational
problems. And if it isn't changed rapidly,
our children and grandchildren will pay an
even more terrible price during the decades
to come.
Once again, the Chattooga High Con
cert Band and its director, Ron Becton,
have brought honor and distinction to
themselves and their community. The
recognition was the result of untold hours
of hard work and dedication by the
students and Becton and we're delighted
to add our names to those offering plaudits
to members of the band.
We're proud of you.
television set.
Under his leadership, the fund grew
from just a couple of cities to 175 with
assets of more than $146-million.
We are happy to add our congratula
tions to those of the GMA and his friends
and supporters.
massive project.
The driveway entrance will be beautiful
when completed with ghinko and sugar
maple trees. The red and gold colors in the
autumn will provide a gorgeous contrast
to the lavender hues of Taylor's Ridge in
the background behind the school.
The students, aided by their teacher,
David Matteson, are gaining valuable ex
perience as well as making the campus
beautiful for students during the coming
years.
The Chattooga Board of Education,
Chattooga Garden Club and the City of
Summerville also are performing a
valuable service in making the sites
available and financing the costs for the
respective city and school projects.
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Viewpoint
By Tommy Toles, Editor &{
Baseball And Fishin®
IN THE SPRINGTIME a young
man'’s fancy is supposed to turn to. ..
Girls?
Naw. Baseball and fishing.
Admittedly, I'm one of the least
knowledgeable persons in Chattooga
County when it comes to baseball. And as
far as the Atlanta Braves go (which usual
ly isn't very far), about the only time I
even vaguely keep up with what's going
on with the team is when it is within
shouting distance of first place.
* * *
MAYBE ONE reason is that there are
so few Joe Dimaggios or Babe Ruths left
in the game. Or Lou Gehrigs. Or Ty Cobbs.
It goes without saying that I care as much
about a greenback as anyone, but it seems
that the salary demands of many players
have gotten out of hand. And some owners
have gone nuts trying to outbid each other
for players with marginal ability.
Pete Van Wieren, one of the able voices
of the Braves, may have succeeded in get
ting me interested in this year's edition of
our capital city's baseball team during his
recent speech to the Summerville-Trion
Rotary Club. He was impressive by being
so straight-forward and acknowledging
the Braves’ faults and the problems fac
ing professional baseball.
The Braves probably won't win the
pennant this year but they may be more
consistently interesting and may not fade
into the woodwork during the second half
of the season.
On The Funny Side
By Gary Solomon . e
ONE OF MY very first columns dealt
with GLC's (God's Little Creatures) and
how their annoying habits can,.sometimes
get on one's nerves. You know, birds sing
ing too early in the morning, spiders weav
ing webs anywhere they please, housecats
shredding furniture to sharpen their claws,
and so on.
Well, today I want to take a swipe at
one GLC in particular.
Did you ever notice that birds have a
funny way of saying thank you? I mean,
they are not the most gracious of guests,
in my opinion. My wife and [ started
feeding a group of the winged marvels
behind our apartment in November as sort
of our gift to nature. With winter coming
on, we felt sorry for the redbirds and blue
jays as they huddled together in the bare
branches outside. So, we bought some seed
and scattered it on our patio railing for
them to enjoy.
* * *
NOW, HERE'S the rub. I have a dark
blue '76 Chevy Nova which I park in front
of our apartment. It sits there passively
day after day, minding its own business,
not hurting anyone. Then suddenly one
day I began to notice some awful white
blotches splattered all over it. Only on Ol’
Blue, never on the neighbors’ Mercedes
and Lincolns. At first I thought it might
be age spots or the old paint showing
through, but the car doctor said no, it was
bird droppings.
“Bird droppings?’ I cried. “‘But it
couldn’t be! Why, T help keep the little
AS FOR THE second most important
springtime pursuit of young (and old) men,
fishing is a pleasure to be savored slowly
and without too thuch movement.
When a person goes to the trouble to
buy a fancy boat with sonar and every
electronic device known to man, including
computerized printouts, he ain’t fishin’,
he's workin’. :
Just reading about the various fishing
contests makes me tired. Fishin' ain’t sup
posed to be a contest . . . it ought to be en
joyed quietly and without rushing or com
petition. The only *“‘contest” part of fishing
should involve telling outrageous tales
about “the one that ,got away.”
* * *
AN IDEAL FISHING trip involves a
day with only a few scattered clouds,
temperature in the upper 60s or lower 70s
and just the hint of a breeze. Fishing for
crappie is my relaxation.
Stretching out on some of the rip-rap
alongside nearby Weiss Lake with a cane
pole, a cork float and a minnow impaled on
the barb of a hook a few feet below the sur
face is the ideal situation. A straw hat and
an ice-cold soft drink would be icing on the
cake.
If crappie happen to start biting, well
and good. If they don't, who cares? In fact,
if they get too active, I have been known
to toss the hook back into the water
without bait.
* * *
AFTER ALL, who wants to work while
fishin'?
darlings from starving. They wouldn’t
repay me like this, would they?’ The doc
tor merely shook his head.
“I'm afraid when it comes to this, they
have no sense of loyalty whatsoever,”” he
said.
* * *
TO BE SURE the culprits weren’t
renegades from another feeder, I injected
some seed with red dye and spread it on
the ledge outside. Sad to say, the next day
my car was caked in crimson, like it had
been dive-bombed by a ripe tomato. Tur
naround time from dining to discharge was
less than 12 hours, if that long. It was as
if they couldn’t wait to get to the front of
the building for target practice.
Thinking maybe they just didn’t know
the vehicle was mine, 1 posted signs.
“Feathered Friends!" the notices reaa.
“This car belongs to a buddy. Don’'t dump
on the hand that feeds you!”’ As if to show
they knew exactly whose car it was, their
output doubled overnight. So much for the
power of friendly persuasion.
K e
“YOU WOULD think,” I told my wife
one evening, ‘‘that those things could find
some place else to do their dirty work than
on my parking space. What’s wrong with
nature's restroom out back?”
“Do you like to go in the woods?"’ she
asked pointedly. ‘‘Besides, maybe it's just
their way of keeping it all in the family."”
God forbid we should ever have
children. I don’t think we could afford the
cleaning bills.
Guest Column
By Robert H. Rowland
Reality Of Sanctions
ALMOST DAILY the American public receives
reports of the unrest and turmoil in South Africa. We read
them in our newspapers and watch them on evening televi
sion news broadcasts.
But these accounts are of course presented from the
point of view of the correspondent involved, who is
generally liberal, and we therefore get the news with a
decidedly liberal slant.
To really get an objective understanding of the issues
in South Africa and the problems facing that country, one
might travel to South Africa and observe conditions for
one's self.
* * *
OR ONE MIGHT talk to a person who is experiencing
life in South Africa on a daily basis and try to gain
understanding in this way. A member of the NEP staff
had such an opportunity recently and has provided
background for this commentary.
This comes from Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi who was
in the United States recently in an attempt to provide an
insight for Americans not generally obtainable from nor
mal news media, particularly with respect to economic
sanctions and disinvestment in firms doing business in
South Africa.
* * *
AS IS GENERALLY understood, these sanctions have
been applied by our government in an attempt to force the
government of the Republic of South Africa to end apar
theid, a system of separate development of the races which
has been in place for some 20 years.
Disinvestment in companies doing business in South
Africa has been carried out by state and local govern
ments, foundations and institutions of higher learning hav
ing large endowment funds.
Such sanctions and disinvestment policies have been
encouraged by civil rights activists in this country and by
South African activists Bishop Desmond Tutu and
Reverend Allan Boesak, and by the Communist-controlled
African National Congress. They most emphatically are
not endorsed by Chief Buthelezi, and according to him, are
opposed by the great majority of South African blacks.
* * *
WHERE BISHOP TUTU represents some 20,000
followers, Chief Buthelezi represents some 7 million. In ad
dition to being chief of the Zulu tribe, he is president of
Inkatha and chairman of the South African Black Alliance.
Inkatha is the largest black political organization in
South Africa with 1.3 milion members. It is democratic
and non-violent. While totally opposed to apartheid, it is
moderate in its approach, beliving in the efficacy of black
economic power to bring about change.
sy @
BUTHELIZI and Inkatha are opposed to the escala
tion of economic sanctions and disinvestment, primarily
because black South Africans are being hurt as businesses
close and they lose their jobs. There is no welfare in South
Africa. When a worker loses his job there is no way to feed
his family.
Also, other black countries are being hurt by these
economic warfare tactics. There are tens of thousands of
workers from other countries in South Africa. They send
their earnings home to support their families, just as Mex
ican migrant workers do in this country. When a worker
loses his job due to sanctions or disinvestment a dozen or
more people may suffer in a neighboring country.
(Robert H. Rowland is executive director of the Na
tional Education Program, Oklahoma City, Okla.).
News Clips
Candy and flowers make some wives happy — others
suspicious. — State Illinois Journal
* * *
RESEARCH
Old-timers remember when a person scratched when
he itched, instead of going to an allergist. — Chicago Sun
* * *
NOT BAD
It wouldn'’t be a bad idea at that to put the designers
of the bathing suits in charge of cutting governmental
budgets. — Miami Herald
DIFFERENT