Newspaper Page Text
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County Georgia
WINSTON E. ESPY DAVID T. ESPY, JR. TOMMY TOLES
PUBLISHER GENERAL MANAGER EDITOR
WILLIAM T. ESPY SUBSCRIPTION RATES
PSRRI AwamEn WA Coumty ... ... 0809
V 2 G'Ao 2
QSN’@ ' A Prize-
O (‘Ht\’ a E Winning
, — AY 3 Newspaper
°¢:|A“°
The Espy Publishing Company, Inc., will not be responsible for errors in advertising beyond
cost of the advertisement. Classified advertising rate 9c per word, minimum $1.75. Card of
Thanks, Memoriams, etc., same as classified advertising. Display rates given upon request.
Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. O. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
Beyond The Pale
It's embarrassing to have a county
commissioner who goes off half-cocked and
unfairly blasts state officials who could be
of significant help to the community.
Commissioner Harry Powell wrote a
“hostile” letter to Jim Higdon, commis
sioner of the Georgia Department of Com
munity Affairs (DCA), after Higdon ad
dressed the local Optimist Club.
Higdon's message wasn't directed
specifically at Powell, or to the towns of
Summerville, Trion, Menlo or Lyerly, or to
the Chattooga Chamber of Commerce.
However, the principles he enunciated
about progress and development could be
applieg to each of those. For that matter,
they could be applicable to similar local
governmental units or Chambers
throughout the state.
The state official's primary message
was that times are changing and that local
officials had better keep up or their com
munities will be left behind in the race for
a better quality of life.
The News editorialized after Higdon's
speech that the DCA' commissioner’s
remarks about city-county bickering could
be applied to Powell.
It's an open secret that Powell has
refused to provide one cupful of paving for
the streets of any city, especially Summer
ville. He has refused to negotiate with
Summerville about providing badly need
ed fire protection to areas outside the ci
ty. Powell is also considered to be one ma
jor factor behind the lack of action by the
Chattooga Water District 1 Board on
Summerville’s request to buy up to
250,000 gallons of water per day.
Hospital Crisis
The auditor for Chattooga County
Hospital had distressing news for the
facility’s Authority last week. It can’t con
tinue to operate with increasing costs and
a falling occupancy rate.
Don't think it can’t happen here. Com
munity hospitals are closing all over the
state and nation.
More and more doctors are locating in
large towns, such as Rome and Fort
Oglethorpe. Naturally, they admit their
patients to hospitals near their offices.
Chattooga has already lost two doctors to
Rome. Their places haven’t been filled.
And the hospital's census continues to
plummet.
Too, as Dr. Jack Meacham told the
Authority, some residents are scared of
the Summerville hospital and want to go
to Rome or Fort Oglethorpe hospitals.
The Authority hopes to attract new
doctors to the county, a difficult task
Stick To Dogs, Indians
So National Football League players
are on strike. Oh hum. Has anyone
noticed?
The Atlanta Journal's Furman Bisher
described the players as a “bunch of
overstuffed blokes.” The Atlanta Falcons
may have contributed to his distaste with
their lackadasical hot-and-cold approach to
the honorable game of football.
There's still plenty of football to satisfy
any addict. Start with high school games
— specifically those scheduled by the
Chattooga High Indians and the Trion
High Bulldogs. The players have en
thusiasm. They actually want to win. Even
if they don’t win, they want to play, to be
part of the team, to make a contribution.
They have spirit and pride. And they're
not even paid.
Out-of-County Rates
Available On Request
Published Every Thursday By
ESPY PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Second Class Postage Paid
At Summerville, Ga. 30747
PUBLICATION NO. SECD 525560
Commissioner Powell is also reported
ly furious that Summerville Mayor Sewell
Cash may run for county commissioner —
a natural enough sentiment but one that
shouldn’t be allowed to hurt residents of
the city who are also county taxpayers.
Whether the voters opt for Powell, Cash
or someone else next year is not an issue
today. The bottom line is whether Powell
will allow the politics of the past to govern
the course of county government now and
in future months.
Powell has already ‘‘run off’’ a DCA
financial expert who was trying to get the
county’s books out of the dark ages, and
who wanted to help the commissioner
develop a legal, rational budget.
The DCA, whether Powell knows it or
not, is a veritable super market of
‘“goodies” for city and county govern
ments. It processes numerous grants that
may be of significant help to local govern
ments. It provides talented personnel to
help counties progress and develop sound
plans for the future.
The government, business and civic
leaders of Chattooga County should con
tact Commissioner Higdon and offer
apologies for the crude indignities heaped
on him and the DCA by Commissioner
Powell.
It’s bad enough that Powell tried to
create employment problems for the
foreman of the Chattooga Grand Jury dur
ing its probe of the commissioner’s office
this summer. But for him to verbally at
tack a top state official without sufficient
reason goes beyond the pale.
under the best of conditions. It can’t do
it alone. The fact is that new doctors usual
ly go to the highest bidder. New offices
and equipment, rent-free periods,
guaranteed salaries for the first year or so
— those are only a few of the ‘“‘perks” that
many new doctors expect. Like it or not.
The hospital can't provide those
benefits without help, a lot of help from
banks, businessmen and civic leaders.
An articulate hospital spokesman
needs to begin seeking speaking
engagements before clubs, school groups
and churches throughout the county.
Immediately.
Chattooga can continue to have a com
munity hospital if we decide we need and
want it badly enough to make a few
sacrifices. In the long run, the decision
won't be up to the Authority. It'll be up
to the individual citizens of the county,
especially its leaders.
And why not try watching more college
football? Some of the players may be a bit
more jaded than those in high school but
you can't beat the effort of the 'Dogs, the
Jackets, the Tide, the Vols or the War
Eagles. Although most have been
recruited and are on scholarships, they
play for fun, to win and, of course, to have
a shot at the pros.
After this fall's NFL debacle, why
would they want to ‘move up’ to the
pros? They can stage a picket line just
about any place for about any reason
without being drafted by the Falcons.
So take a break Sunday — go to
church. But don’t miss the high school
games Friday night or the college games
Saturday. They're closer to what the
game's all about, anyway.
Y/
e %g“m;fi
. ‘\““"_“ —‘...____,.-'
| | A \M‘ \\W 0
iR I A \\\\\\\ '
& N A eA ‘
S g T dry - —
VR il [
N %‘F;&wfix—mbwlxén T _ \a\%};\t\cii w T _AR \t\\\\\\ ’ ,h"\‘t’fl}};fi)}:{"_]l)
& &S\\M§\§§§\\\\N§T ‘, | E:‘ Ir_- ) t“‘“ WI T
‘ SO o (M) [l I\ "-'vuwln\'nu
A ¢ Nsß=l \\ \ll \!!'qtu'a&'xs:\
& N\ NS N
‘ .... = 9 __‘_flj'f\\‘ P { ',‘l.\.:-“.\\\.‘_‘:_r;‘ 6\ \\x is\&!\‘«‘l‘itlll
soY (L) ”’"‘f& \e—o BRI
. \-».'T 7 =~ \ l!\\\ Tx; . \ n\‘
\ (XY BEER D 0N \\\ e4= AN S
'il \\\ =N r @jfi,‘},' oy
'i\g?\ e e o- = e S
>, Do . vg@& ’%\i‘ =
@@’\f\/ “‘\‘“\
“J": ? =
@ s& W
L 68
TN Y
A . .
Ahh, Autumn’s Glory
AUTUMN, with its iridescent golden,
scarlet, orange and sepia hues spattered
over the undulating palette of Chattooga
County'’s ridges, dales and mountains, is
the prettiest season of the year.
The weather has been cooperating with
seasonal temperatures, cool in the morn
ings and nights, and warm with plenty of
sunshine during daytime hours. A few re
cent showers have saved some lawns, trees
and crops and almost guaranteed a
brilliantly colored season.
* * *
SCIENTISTS have a logical explana
tion for the chemical metamorphosis in
leaves that changes them from emerald to
almost every color in the rainbow. They're
right, of course, but I prefer to remember
the Origin of those colors and the process
of colorization.
It's as though God had taken a huge
paintbrush filled with a plethora of sparkl
ing colored paints and touched it to every
tree, shrub and brush in our county, and
in hundreds of counties across our great
republic.
* * *
NEEDLESS to say, autumn is my
favorite season with its ever-changing
landscape of beauty. Sum-Nelly and the
On The Funny Side
By Gary Solomon
Stop B&W Commercials
I OWN a 10-year-old color television
set. I bought it in 1977 after breaking up
with a girl I was crazy about (which tells
you who broke up with whom). It was my
subtle way of letting her know I wasn’t
just sitting around, pining away the hours
waiting for her to call. No sir, I was hav
ing fun watching color TV.
Some men in my predicament might
have pulled out their little black books or
hit the singles’ bar scene with a vengeance.
I bought a Montgomery Ward television
set. Mr. Cool, that's me.
BUT THIS isn't about breaking up.
It’s about television.
While shopping the home entertain
ment department of Monkey Wards 10
years ago, I could have chosen a black-and
white (hereafter known as B&W) TV if I
had wanted one, but experience told me
that color provided more enjoyable
viewing.
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the
Laurel and Hardy of movie critics, can
complain about the travesty of coloriza
tion until the cows come home, but in my
opinion color makes most films more at
tractive and interesting. And unlike Gene
and Roger, I am intrigued by what color
Jimmy Cagney's suit might have been as
he tripped the light fantastic in ‘‘Yankee
Doodle Dandy.”
THIS ISN'T about colorizing movies
either, though. It's about television. I
bought a color TV because I thought col
or would make viewing more enjoyable,
and for 10 years I've found that to be true.
Viewpoint
By Tommy Toles, Editor
many other community fall festivals are a
reminder of simpler times when more than
a few craftsmen took everyday objects and
turned them into works of art, or
something useful, or good to eat.
The seasons seem to be a parallel of life.
We spend the springtime of our own ex
istence growing, learning and developing
strength. Then comes summer and a
relentless sun and hard work building
toward the autumn of our lives, when we
hope to relax a little and enjoy the beauty
of our waning years. Finally, of course,
comes the cold winter of death. And a
crossing into another life. .. or a death
that never ends.
* * *
IN THE COOLER days ahead, the cool
nip in the air will become a bit more than
invigorating and the days won't be so
warm. Soon, crystals of frost will form on
the turnip green patch. And the brilliant
hues will slowly fade into ocher, dun and
jet colors of winter.
But today, all the beauty and enjoy
ment of autumn are ahead of us.
* * *
TAKE A DEEP breath of clear, cool air
and open your eyes. There's grandeur to
behold and to be thankful for.
I could watch programs on the small B&W
TV my wife brought to our marriage, but
I nearly always gravitate to the color set.
Lately, however, an irritating trend has
developed on TV. More and more commer
cials are now being filmed in black and
white. These aren’t merely ads on WTBS
by chiropractors and ambulance chasers
who couldn't afford anything better,
either. They're by major sponsors like
Nike and AT&T, and they run on the na
tional networks during prime time, no less.
THREE OR four times a night, in fact,
I find myself jumping up to adjust the col
or on the set, only to realize there’s no col
or to adjust. Unfortunately, I only realize
this after the program I was watching
returns from commercial and everyone’s
skin tone is a putrid shade of avocado
green. Only then do I know I fixed
something that wasn’t broken.
As a side-note, some of these ads are
also being shot like home movies — you
know, one camera shifting nervously back
and forth between characters, focusing in
and out, and so jittery you'd think the
cameraman had a terminal case of hiccups.
AT&T TELEPHONE systems and
computers are heavy into this approach.
They're apparently trying to capitalize on
the home video craze, pretending to catch
someone in a private moment talking one
to-one about their products, but the ex
cessive camera movement makes me feel
as if I'm aboard ship in the middle of a
typhoon. In the past I've always kept a
see ON THE FUNNY SIDE, page 5-A
i
Lol N
3 J
Guest Column
By Stephen P. Chamberlain
Seek Alaskan oil
ONCE AGALIN, events half a world away from Amer‘ica
raise the possibility of another energy crunch with
skyrocketing prices.
As we read of the strife in the Persian Gulf and watch
the movements of oil tankers on television we should re
main mindful of these facts:
* This nation’s oil imports for the first six months of
this year are up 7.5 percent over the same period of 1986.
*U. S. dependence on foreign oil is running higher now
than on the eve of the Arab oil embargo of 1973. This year
we have imported as much as six million barrels per day
of crude oil for the first time since 1980.
* * *
THESE OMINOUS developments make it imperative
for our nation to find and produce additional safe, secure
domestic oil and natural gas reserves. If we don’t act now
to enable production from domestic resources, we will be
repeating our mistakes and increase the potential for a
return to the supply disruptions of the past.
The 1.5-million acre coastal plain of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge is one of the best places to look for new
reserves. This remote, virtually uninhabited part of nor
theastern Alaska constitutes only 8 percent of the 19
million-acre federal refuge.
* * *
THE U. S. Department of Interior, which recently com
pleted a five-year study of the environmental and
petroleum potential of the area, concluded that the coastal
plain “is the nation's best single opportunity to
significantly increase domestic oil production over the next
40 years.” The department estimates it could contain as
much as 9.2-billion barrels of economically recoverable oil.
Its mean estimate is 3.2-billion barrels. But only drilling
can determine precisely how much oil and natural gas
underlies the coastal plain.
The department’s report to Congress recommends that
the coastal plain be opened to oil and natural gas develop
ment. This analysis represents the combined efforts of
more than 50 scientists — geologists, geophysicists, fish
and wildlife biologists, botanists, petroleum engineers and
economists.
* * *
THE 9.2-BILLION barrels is comparable in size to the
Prudhoe Bay field — America’s largest discovery to date.
Even the mean figure of 3.2-billion barrels would be the
third largest discovery ever made in the United States.
What could these billions of barrels mean to American
consumers in 10 years or so? Under plausible assumptions,
additional domestic oil production of one million barrels
a day —the possible production potential of the coastal
plain — could hold the world price of oil as much as $9
per barrel below the level it would otherwise attain. This,
in turn, would trim America’s cost for imported oil by
S3B-billion a year. (Both figures are in 1984 dollars).
* * *
THESE POTENTIAL benefits would not be gained at
the expense of the environment or wildlife values.
Item: The petroleum industry’s 20 years of experience
on the North Slope of Alaska provides overwhelming
evidence that oil and natural gas development poses no
threat to the arctic ecology or wildlife population. The cen
tral arctic caribou herd, whose habitat includes the
Prudhoe Bay area, has increased in size from about 3,000
in 1970, to 6,000 in 1978, to 9,000 in 1981, to around 15,000
‘in 1985. The petroleum facilities, and the trans-Alaska
pipeline have not harmed the caribou.
* * *
ITEM: BASED on the Alaskan experience, less than
one-tenth of 1 percent of the ANWR surface — about
15,000 acres — would be affected by drilling and produc
tion pads, roads and other oil-related facilities. Even these
activities would be temporary and the land restored to its
natural state when work is completed.
Item: More than 55-million acres of Alaskan land is
designated wilderness — including nearly half of ANWR.
No oil operations can or would be conducted there.
* * *
THE COASTAL plain — this remote, virtually empty
corner of our nation — could well be a valuable key to
future U. S. energy security. But it will be a key to nothing
at all unless Congress acts to open it to oil and gas leasing.
With the nation’s dependence on imported oil ap
proaching critical levels, time is a luxury America just
doesn’t have. Even after leasing takes place, it takes 10
years or more to bring an arctic petroleum discovery into
commercial production.
The time to begin is now.
* * *
Stephen P. Chamberlain is director of exploration af
fairs for the American Petroleum Institute.