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ROTARIANS HEAR NEWSPAPER EDITOR JIM MINTER (R)
Greeted By Rotary Club Member J. P. Smith
Barnes Next Governor?
from front page
Nunn told him that Carter
would be a one-term president
unless he got away from the
left wing of the Democratic
Party, Minter added.
Nunn probably wanted to
run for president but didn’t
want to run the gauntlet of
“‘Eastern Establishment
liberals, gays, lesbians™ and |
other similar groups, the
newspaper editor said.
However, because of the
possibility of a brokered con
vention, Minter said he thinks
Nunn is still in the picture and
could end up with the
nomination.
If Nunn is nominated by
the Democrats, I feel he'll be
elected,” Minter continued.
POTSHOTS
He also took potshots at a
former presidential candidate,
saying that when Sen. Joseph
Biden removed himself from
the race, it ended references to
“the seven dwarfs,” meaning
the-then seven candidates seek
ing the presidential nomina
tion. Biden's decision left six in
the race. ol
If Biden had remained in
the race and Rep. Patricia
Schroeder of Colorado had
tossed her hat in the ring, pun
dits could have referred to the
candidates as **Snow Ugly and
the Seven Dwarfs,” he said.
BORK
The hearings over the
nomination of Judge Robert
Bork to the U.S. Supreme
Court have become **a real cir
cus,”’ Minter said.
The editor said he didn’t see
any problem with Bork but
addes that the Washington,
D. C., news media and liberal
?oliticians have combined to
ight the nomination.
Some members of the
Senate Judiciary Committee
don't have mucfi of a leg to
stand on in their criticism, he
said.
He described Chairman
Biden as the person most like
ly “‘to lie, cheat and plagiarie.”
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Biden withdrew from the
Senate race after it was reveal- |
ed that he had exaggerated his ‘
academic accomplishments
and plagiarized the speeches of \
a British politician. |
Sen. Howard Metzenbaum
had to return $250,000 after an
investigation began into possi
ble bribery while Sen. Patrick
Leahy has been involved in
leaking intelligence informa
tion. Minter a%so referred to
Sen. Ted Kennedy as ‘‘the hero
of Chappaquiddick.”
Minter said he hopes Bork
will be approved by the Senate.
In Georgia, Nunn could pro
bably vote either way on Bork
and not be harmed politically,
but it will be “‘a tough, tough
vote” for Sen. Wyche Fowler,
Minter said. If he votes against
Bork, it will anger Fowler’s
conservative South Georgia
constituents who are still
suspicious of the senator’s
ideology, but if he votes for
Bork, it will anger Fowler's ur
ban constituents, Minter
indicated.
NAMATH
In the sports arena, the
newspaper columnist said he
remembered being told that
Joe Namath would be the
greatest college quarterback in
history, before he played his
first game. The comment came
from a University of Maryland
coach, who had recruited
Namath. However, Maryland's
academic standards were too
tough for Namath, who ran in
to much the same problem at
the University of Georgia.
| But when Namath was be
ing recruited by Maryland, he
was taken out to eat and the
coach thought he would order
a big glass of milk or a similar
beverage, Minter said. But
when the waitress came by
Namath's table, he ordered a
“‘double Scotch on the rocks,”
the coach told Minter.
AtBEAR’!
Minter also covered the
return of Paul *‘Bear’” Bryant
to the University of Alabama.
I 14T YT
Bryant picked Minter out of all ‘
the sports writers covering the
event and asked him to come
up to his room for a talk, the
egitor recalled. Enroute to the
room, Minter recalls thinking
that he had ‘‘really aced out”
the other sports writers and
would get an exclusive inter
view with the ‘‘Bear.”
However, Bryant poured
himself a drink — but not one
for Minter — and told him to
carry a message to Georgia
Tech coach Bobby Dodd, the
Rotary speaker said. That
message was short and sweet,
Minter recalled. It was for
Dodd to stay out of Alabama
in his recruiting efforts. Bryant
then opened his hotel room
door and excused Minter, who
didn’t get his “‘exclusive.”
Minter also touched on
welfare, saying that while it’s
necessary, it is degrading to
people. He described an early
childhood experience when his
father turned down free food
from a neighbor during the
Depression.
SYMPATHY
While he has ‘‘a world of
sympathy’ for farmers who are
being forced off their farms,
Minter said no one should ob
tain a loan unless it can be
repaid. His father lost
everything during the Depres
sion but was able to start over
again.
“It's always somebody
else’s fault,” is the ‘“‘wrong
lesson” being taught in the
United States, Minter said.
| Fayette County, Minter’s
residence, used to be a rural
area but it has now become
part of metropolitan Atlanta.
The county is ‘moving up” the
speaker said with a grin,
because it already has BMW
and Mercedes dealerships and
there was a report of "‘a Volvo
sighting” the other day.
Minter was the guest of
Rotarian J. P. Smith. The pro
gram was arranged by Tommy
Toles.
Powell Wrong On Local
DFCS Fraud, Abuse Cases
Did Commissioner’s Actions Involve Jury Tampering?
By TOMMY TOLES
and KAY ABBOTT
An oblique allegation b
Commissioner Harry Powefi
that David Tidmore of the
Chattoo§a County Department
of Family and Chil(fren Ser
vices (DFCS) was not handling
welfare fraud cases properly
was not based on fact.
That's according to infor
mation obtained bygl‘he News
this week from officials of the
Georgia Department of
Human Resources (DHR),
under which the Chattooga
DFCS office operates. It shows
that the Chattooga DFCS of
fice is one of the best in the
state in ferreting out fraud and
abuse.
FOREMAN
The News revealed last
week that Powell this summer
had apparently tried to get the
DHR to pull Tidmore off a
Chattooga Grand Jury in
vestigation of the commis
sioner by claiming that Tid
more wasn't doing his job as
senior casework supervisor at
the local DFCS office. Tidmore
was foreman of the Jury during
its Brobe of Powell.
avid Lomenick, Chat
tooga district attorney, said
Tuesday he was unaware of
Powell's efforts.
TAMPERING?
Asked whether the effort in
volved possible jury tamper
ing, Lomenick said he would
have to research Georgia law to
determine if that might be the
case. The district attorney said
he would res(i)ond to The fiews’
inquiry Wednesday or today.
A response had not been
received gy late Wednesday.
Douilas Greenwall, direc
tor of the DHR's division of
FCS, confirmed to The News
last week that Powell had said
the:state *“ ‘ought to keep him
(Tidmore) at home to ?()) his
job,””” and that it wasn't
* ‘proper behavior’ " for a
state employee (Tidmore) to
criticize county government.
Powell con%irmed The
News' story last Thursday
after a bid opening in his office.
WHY FORGET?
“ . ..And I can't unders
tand why that The Summer
ville News this morning had it
in there that Mr. Greenwell and
Mr. (Jim) Ledbetter (commis
sioner of the DHR) and all of
them had forgotten what they
said and all of that,” Powell
said. ““I've got the copies of
every bit of it. I've got every
bit of it and I'll write you
(David Daniel of WGTA) a let
ter on it when I have time.”
Greenwell had said he
couldn't remember if Powell
called or wrote him or if the
state initiated the contact. But
Greenwell thought he had call
ed Powell after hearing about
the Jury probe from Jan
Pullen, then director of the
Chattooga DFCS office.
The News said last week
that Powell had reportedly
written a letter to Ledbetter
about Tidmore. However,
Ledbetter said he couldn’t
recall whether he had received
such a letter but would look in
his files. Ledbetter later failed
to return several phone calls by
The News to his office about
the letter.
LEDBETTER
Powell said last Thursday
he had received a letter from
Ledbetter ‘‘who is chief cook
and bottle-washer, and Mr.
Ledbetter states in there that
there are 69 frauds in this
(Chattooga district attorney’s)
office right down here. ..
where the complaints are.”
Continuing Thursday,
Powell added, “‘And I've got it
on paper. And there’s 12 cases
in that courtroom right down
the hall, but they are in
vestigating, there are two
cases that they've already
turned over, so Mr. Ledbetter
states. Now, this is not to
broadcast until you get the full
details of it. TKere's two let
ters, two cases in there that's
already been turned over to
David Lomenick and another
one case that's more serious
that he does not explain
abouti .
Daniel told Powell that Tid
more was not in charge of food
stamp or Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC)
fraud or abuse at the local
DFCS office.
IN CHARGE?
““‘He is every other week,”
Powell replied, “While Ms.
Pullen was out, he was back at
that particular time because
Ms. Pullen was called to Atlan
ta, where she has, I believe,
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CHATTOOGA COMMISSIONER HARRY POWELL
placed now. At that particular
time back during tfie Grand
Ju:iy and so forth, why he car
ried on down there one week
and somebody else the
other .. .
“I don’'t know why Mr.
Ledbetter would have wrote
what he did about 69 fraud
cases in Chattooga County.
That's our tax money that
helps out down there,” the
commissioner said. ‘‘They
don't pay it all, but it helps out
down there . .. 1 felt Mr. Tid
more stepped beyond his
bounds of ?imit and he should
have excused himself as
foreman of the Grand Jury in
the beginning, instead of last
spring in the August term of
Court he said they would take
up the greater things in the
fall, in the next term . . . he did
not explain what the greater
things would be or anything.
“And the only thing that
was taken up was malpractice
in office against Harry
Powell,”” the commissioner
said. *'lf you recall, he excused
himself and went downstairs
and into the DA’s office and
turned it over to Don
Bethune . . .
“I got all the letters from
Ledbetter ... 69... food
stamp . . . cases he said they
argdinvestigating .. Powell
said.
DON'T ADD UP?
“They are investigating 12
and then two that he’s already
turned over to David Lomenick
and then I've fiotten several
other things that just don’t
add up on David (Tidmore).
Now David (Tidmore) and I
have always been real close
friends, but we got several
things that just don't add up
besides that.” Powell did not
elaborate.
“ ... 1 think it's a shame
and a disgrace for as small a
county as Chattooga County to
have 69 cases of food stamp
fraud and then the 12 that he’s
investigating . .. "
However, John Hunsucker,
director of the state FCS Office
of Fraud and Abuse (OFA),
told The News that Chattooga
and other Northwest Georgia
counties have the best records
in the state in ferreting out
fraud and abuse in the food
stamp and AFDC programs.
REFERRALS
During the six-month
period between March and
August, 1987, the Chattooga
DFCS office referred 20
suspected fraud or abuse cases
to the state OFA office, Hun
sucker said.
During that same time
frame, the OFA established 43
fraud cases in the county, in
cluding cases that had been
referred prior to the March-
August period, Hunsucker
said. In many cases, one refer
ral from a Iv)FCS office will
result in more than one case, he
added.
Forty-two Chattooga
DFCS clients also signed hear
ing waivers during that six
month period and agreed to
repay tne state for food stamr
benefits they had received il
legally, Hunsucker said.
CONVICTION
| The state also obtained one
conviction for welfare fraud in
one case and 14 clients si%:ned
agreements to repay A DC
benefits they had obtained il
legally, he added.
The county now has 46
referrals awaiting an investiga
tion by the state OFA office,
Hunsucker said. He pointed
out that there are 40,000 such
cases fiending statewide, ad
ding that Chattooga has “‘a
relatively small backlog.”
During the 1987 fiscal year,
which enged last June 30, the
Chattooga DFCS had five suc
cessful court prosecutions in
volving $5,533 in food stamp
and AFDC benefits, the state
official pointed out.
THREE WAYS
There are three ways to
handle a benefits fraud case,
Hunsucker continued. The first
method is prosecution by the
district attorney. Since there is
no administrative process to
handle AFDC fraud, the DA
has to handle all those cases.
The second method is an ad
ministrative hearing for food
stamp fraud. If a client admits
fradulent activities and waives
his or her right to a hearing and
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The Summerville News, Thursday, October 1, 1987
a consent agreement is obtain- |
ed for repayment of the
benefits, the state considers
the agreement a judgment in
its favor.
Hunsucker said he didn’t
know Powell and wouldn’t
comment on his remarks about
Tidmore or the Chattooga
DFCS office.
PRAISE
However, Hunsucker had
hi%h graise for the Chattooga
DFCS and other DFCS offices
in Northwest Georgia. He said
the DFCS offices fiam(“been
very a%gressive and worked ex
tremely well with the
OFA ...we've been able to
target fraud in that area better
than any other place in the
state.”
The fact that a county may
have a high level of fraudy refer
rals to the OFA ‘“can be
misleading,” Hunsucker said.
Fraud and abuse may be as
much of a problem in another
area of the state but the DFCS
offices in those regions may
not take as great an interest in
grosecuting those cases as the
hattooga DFCS and other of
fices in Northwest Georgia, he
explained.
HIGH INTEREST
Ms. Pullen took a personal
interest in ferreting out abuse
cases and referring them to the
OFA in Atlanta, Hunsucker
said. Chattooga caseworkers
who suspect fraud immediate
ly refer tgose cases to the OFA,
he said, and if the OF A doesn’t
get around to investigating
those cases within a time
period considered reasonable
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bg' the caseworkers, theg' call
the OFA again to find out
when a probe will be under
taken, he said with admiration.
Tidmore is senior casework
sul?ervisor with the Chattooga
DFCS.
TIDMORE
He declined comment this
week on Powell's allegations,
but repeated his earlier
remarks that his decision to
disqualify himself when the
Grand Jury was considering
three indictments against
Powell had nothing to tfi) with
Powell's efforts to have the
state lfull him off the case.
Tidmore said his decision
was based solely on advice
from the district attorney's of
fice and from his personal at
torney. He also said that he
had discLualified himself last
spring where the Jury was con
sidering cases involving the
Chattooga DFCS to avoid
possible problems if an indict
ment were to be handed down
by the panel.
Gospel Meeting
A gospel meeting will con
tinue through Friday at the
Highway 27 South church of
Christ, i);cat,ed a quarter-mile
south of LaFayette.
Steve Patton, Birmingham,
Ala., is the visiting evangelist.
The topic tonight will be “Ef
fects of the News Media on
Christians.”
Services will begin at 7:30
- p.m. today and Friday.
‘ The public is invited.
11-A