50 years ago: January 14, 1975

Dublin Courier Herald

McLEMORE NAMED ACTING CITY MANAGER

For the time being at least, Ron McLemore is the boss of City Hall, having been made acting City Manager on Tuesday afternoon by Dublin City Council.

McLemore now takes over the chief executive post in city government while the search for a permanent replacement for the position vacated by former City Manager Jack Crane, who resigned to take the same position in Marietta.

The vote for McLemore was not unanimous. Alderman Albert Franks, doubting that an interim manager is necessary, cast the lone dissenting vote. “I think that we have heads of the departments that can run the departments and report to City Clerk Mrs. Lena Opie. “That’s what I’d like to see,” he added.

Alderman John Reed Deamer made the motion to appoint McLemore, and he was seconded by Alderman Roy Banks.  Aldermen Louis Alexander, Glen Harden, Ed Martin, Deamer and Banks voted approval of the new acting city manager. McLemore was delighted by the decision and said, “I would have preferred to have a unanimous council vote, but I admire Alderman Franks for voting his conviction.”

“Aside from giving attention to problems in the sanitation department and pursuing a stricter enforcement of housing codes,  my interim administration will not bring any major changes,” he said. “Basically, I will be spending the majority of my time trying to get to know as many people as I can,” he stated.

The rest of his time will be spent mainly on wrapping up the Community Development Bloc Grant application which he says is about 65 to 70 per cent completed.

For several days McLemore has been driving the city vehicle used by Crane, but he has not made the move to Crane’s former office. That move, he hopes, will come later. 

“Sure. I certainly will,” he responded when asked if he will apply for the permanent job.

BUSSELL CALLS FOR STRICTER HANDGUN LAWS  

        By Doug Hall

A call for stricter handgun control and stiffer penalties for handgun abusers has been made by Laurens County Sheriff W.R. Bussell, who says he hopes the upcoming session of the General Assembly will adopt new legislation to prevent the rising occurrence of crimes committed with “Saturday night specials,” which, he says accounts for 70 per cent of burglaries and homicides in Laurens County. 

According to the Sheriff, “It’s too easy to obtain handguns, and not only too easy to obtain handguns, but also too easy to obtain permits to carry them.” His suggestion is that there be more qualifications to have a “pistol toter’s license.”

Section 26-2903 of the Georgia Code says that a person is guilty when he “carries on or about his person, outside his home, auto, or place of business any pistol or revolver, whether concealed or not, for which he has not obtained a license from the ordinary of the county is which he resides.” The present penalty for such offense is one year imprisonment or $1,000 fine or probation, and the Sheriff proposes that it should be changed to “Anyone in violation of this code section should be punished as for a felony offense and imprisonment set at five years.”

Bussell recognized that there are two avenues of thought surrounding handgun control – “to outlaw all handguns or to allow the law to remain as is, whereby persons can petition the ordinary of their county and upon posting proper bond receive a permit to carry a weapon in open view.”

“To me, the practical approach to the problem would be to provide more rigid requirements in obtaining permits to carry handguns and more severe penalties or punishment for those not having permits…This will allow responsible persons the right to obtain permits to carry handguns and will punish the unworthy offender who flagrantly violates the law.”

Asked what alternative he would take if he were granted a choice between complete abolition of handguns or removing all controls, Bussell said he would advocate complete elimination . “Frankly, complete elimination poses no problem, but it is improbable. A ban on sales would not solve anything because they (criminals) would still procure them (handguns) through black market channels, which is where most guns come from.

“The real secret to the handgun problem is to remove handguns from the criminally insane, the irresponsible, and the youthful glamour-seekers so that they will be prohibited from committing crimes in the heat of passion or upon some similarity to television programs.”  

HEAVY ICE FLOES STOP FERRY

Blackshear’s Ferry was forced to shut down for one day during the recent bitter cold spell due to the fact that ice floes floating down the river made it extremely dangerous to navigate, Rawls Watson, ferry man, revealed today.

Mr. Watson said that the ice floes which almost filled the Oconee River last Sunday morning formed on the side of the ferry, and on the only trip he tried they forced the ferry to stop. So heavy was the ice which piled up above the ferry that the cables and ropes holding the flat bottomed boat were strained almost to the breaking point, he said.

“We chopped with our poles along the side of the ferry, breaking the ice away from the boat so that we could make the journey across the river,”  Mr. Watson said. “Our passenger was plenty worried, and I was a little uneasy myself, but I didn’t show it.”

Mr. Watson said that the ice started floating down the river on Saturday night and did not stop until Monday evening. He said he was able to navigate the stream on Monday because the ice floes were smaller than those on the river on Sunday – some were 30 feet long and 15 feet wide and were between one and one half inches in thickness, he said. 

In 65 years of watching the river, the ferry man said, this was the first time that he had ever seen ice float down the stream.

FALCONETTES  SOAR AS FALCONS FALL

The East Laurens Falconettes used an aggressive defense and a fine offensive performance by Judy Brown to whip Wilcox County 36-33 last night at Rochelle, but the Falcons fell before the Patriots in the boys game, 53-31.

Senior Judy Brown, playing the rover position, slipped through the Wilcox defense for 23 points, one of her best games of the year.

Chipping in with eight points was Gail Waters, a junior, while Brenda Plummer, another junior , added four points.

David Walker was the only Falcon to get into double figures, hitting 11 points.

Line-ups:

Falconettes (36)

Waters, 8; Jones, Brown, 23 Wright,1; Plummer, 4; Williams, Lord  

Falcons (31)

Montford, 2; Lake, White, 8; Wright, 2; Walker,11; Giddens, Moore, Miller, Charleston, 8; Lewis, Smith                                                                                                                                                               

CARL COCHRANS CELEBRATE 50 YEARS   

Mrs. Betty Rose Joiner and her children, Carl, Jan, RoseAnn, and Dorrie,entertained with a reception on Saturday afternoon at the Elks Club honoring Mrs. Joiner’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Cochran, on their Golden Wedding Anniversary.  

Carl Joiner met the guests as they entered the club, and Mrs. Joiner received with her parents.  Jan and RoseAnn presided at the punch bowls while Dorrie kept the guest book.

Mr. and Mrs. Cochran, the latter being the former Miss Doris Arnau, were married on January fifth, 1925, at the home of her late parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Arnau, who were living in Florida at the time.  

CURTAIN’S GOING UP

The formation of the Dublin Civic Theatre has been a dream of many people from this area for a long time and now dream time is over, and the Dublin Civic Theatre is a reality with twenty-four founders and a list of fifty-four members. Membership is open and growing and a special spot has been reserved just for you.

“Curtain’s Going Up” is our way of getting acquainted with you. We want you to know more about the activities and the people who make these activities possible.

Dublin Civic Theatre’s first production is Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

The cast has been selected. The set design is completed. Rehearsals begin on January 13th. There are four performances scheduled. Evening performances will be presented  at 8:00 on February 20th, 21st, and 22nd. The last show will be a 2:30 matinee on February 23rd.

The wheel of production spins around one specific person, the director. A talented director is difficult to find and is a valuable addition to a theatre group. The Dublin Civic Theatre is fortunate to have Mr. Lynn Wooddy as the director of this first production.

Mr. Wooddy, a Virginia native, earned a BS Degree from the University of Tampa, a MED in Mathematics and English and an SED in Mathematics from the University of Georgia.

 Among his many accomplishments since coming to Dublin is the organization of Thespian Troupe 669. Already it has won both state and national honors under his direction.

Mr. Wooddy says that his most rewarding experience in working with high school drama came in the form of a children’s theatre workshop.This was written and directed by the students of Troupe 669 and presented at the state conference at the University of Georgia in the fall of 1968. 

In addition to the above achievements, Mr Wooddy has written an article on the existing laws on royalties and copyrights in dramatic literature. This article will appear in “Dramatics,” the magazine published by the International Thespian Society.

Dublin Civic Theatre is indeed fortunate to have a man of such varied talents as the director of its first production.   

RAIDERS ROLL OVER ROYALS  

West Laurens coupled an aggressive defense with a masterful offense to shatter Cochran’s Royals last night, 81-43, in the first meeting of the season between the two 3-A South members. It took a little more time, but the Cochran Royalettes pretty well bottled up the West Laurens girls, 53 – 35. The win put the Raiders’ season mark at .500, 7-7. The Raideettes dropped two games away from break-even.

Although they trailed considerably early in the game, the Raiderettes continued to fight back, but were racked by a number of bad breaks and the hot shooting of Royalettes Debbie Brown, Doretha Harris, and Bonnie Sams, who scored 15, 14, and 10 points respectively.

Judy Kemp and Brenda Edmonds provided 14 points apiece for the Raiderettes, but the other teammates came through with only 7 additional points.

On the other hand, Brown and Harris were backed up by 24 points from the rest of the Cochran squad.

The Raiderettes led in rebounds with 31, but Cochran was close by with 30. Patti Coleman got 6, and Judy Kemp and

 Angela Jones grabbed 5 each for West Laurens.

The Raiderettes shot over 50 per cent from the floor in the first half, but were shut off in the closing half. For the night they hit 15 of 42 field goal attempts for 42 per cent. They were 5 of 11 at the line.

A group of girls, twirling batons on top of that, provided the most excitement in the one-sided boys game.

The girls, Katrina Roper, Susan Kemp, Cheryl Hobbs, Pam Howard, Amy Holland,Tracy Allen, and Margaret Nicholson, drew more response from the crowd when they performed a baton routine to “Rock Me, Baby” than both teams did in four quarters.

The Raider defense so completely stifled Cochran in the first quarter that after six minutes all the Royals had to show for their trip to Laurens County was a single point made at the free throw line. The score was 19-3 at the first buzzer. When the Royals got their first basket near the end of the quarter, the West Laurens student body applauded as much out of delight for their defense as anything else.

Every man on the Raider team scored, except Ernest Pryor, the team’s leading scorer. Ten Raiders got three or more rebounds, and the home team found themselves at the free throw line 42 times. They got points half of those times.

The Raiders were paced by WillieSmith with 17, George McDaniel with 15, and MarbleTaylor with 10.

Rebounding was as lopsided as the score, 59 for West Laurens and 29 for Cochran.

Line ups:

Raiderettes (35)

Kemp, 14; Edmund, 14; Coleman, 2; Foreman, 2: Lewis, 3; Jones, 3; Gainey, Stuckey, Pittman, Murkerson,Turner

Raiders (81)

Taylor, 10; Smith, 17; Clayton Jones, 8; McDaniel, 15; Butler, 5; Turner, 4; Clifton Jones, 4; Knight, 4; M Taylor, 6; Pryor, Brown, 8

STATE PATROL  PROMOTIONS

Georgia Public Safety Commissioner Colonel Herman Cofer has announced that Corporal C.D. Ladson of Dublin has been promoted to Sergeant and named Post Commander of the Dublin State Patrol Post. He succeeds Sergeant P.M. Walker, who transferred to the Drivers License Bureau in Macon.

As Commander of the Dublin Post, Sergeant Ladson will be responsible for supervision of State Patrol activities in Laurens, Johnson, Washington, Twiggs, and Wilkinson Counties. Sergeant Ladson joined the State Patrol in 1964 and since 1971 has served as Assistant Post Commander at Dublin.

Cofer also announced the promotion of Corporal Henry Smith of Dublin to rank of Sergeant in the Georgia State Patrol. Sergeant Smith will be assigned to Safety Education, responsible for State Patrol Safety Education and Public Relations with schools and civic groups in the patrol’s Troop D.

Sergeant Smith joined the State Patrol in 1960, and most recently has worked with the Motor Carrier Safety Unit of the Patrol. He is a graduate of Middle Georgia College and Georgia Southern College. He is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Fort Valley College, majoring in guidance and counseling.

Ladson and Smith were promoted on January 1 under the new merit promotional system.

OUR MEN IN SERVICE

Marine Private First Class Richard C. Cicero, son of Mr. and Mrs. D.O.C. Cicero of Dublin, Georgia, was meritoriously promoted to his present rank at the 2d Marine Division, Camp   Lejeune, North Carolina. His wife Susan is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hayden Brooks of Soperton, Georgia.

Marine Sergeant Carrell Carr, son of Mrs. Essie M. Carr of 995 Rutland Drive, Dublin Georgia, was promoted to his present rank while serving with the 2d Marine Division at the Marine Corps BaseCamp, Lejeune, North Carolina.

Navy Boiler Technician Third Class Michael L. Clay, son of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Clay of 305 Poplar Street, East Dublin, Georgia, recently participated in National Week XVII, a training exercise involving units of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. His wife Cecelia is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil N. Clark  of Route 1, Dexter, Georgia. 

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Army Private Emory D. Melton, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Emory B. Melton, 609 North Jefferson Street, Dublin, Georgia, completed a seven-week recovery and evacuation specialist course at the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Private Melton’s wife, Gwen lives at 813 Central Avenue, Dublin, Georgia.

HOOP SHOOT  WINNERS

In the Elks Club Hoop Shoot  contest held recently at the Dublin High Gym, the girls division, 10-11 first place winner was Claire Kisalus and second place, winner was Robyn Baker. In the 12-13 age group, Susan Durant was the winner with Mari Nan Anderson as second.

In the boys division, ages 8 and 9, Scott Tarpley won with Brett Parker at second. The 10-11 age group was won by Al Parker with Kerry Wilder in second place. Mark Tarpley was the 12-13 age winner with Jeff Brown at second

The first place winners will compete in the District Contest in Tifton on February 15; the district winners will then compete in the Region Contest in Atlanta on March 7.

The Elks Club wishes to express their appreciation to Roy Hammond and staff of the Dublin Recreation Department and to Coach Jim Richardson for their help during the competition.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Wabash Street Church of God

The last Sunday in December was a special day at our church. We recognized all of the members who had perfect Sunday School attendance from the last Sunday in December 1973 through the last Sunday in 1974. It was part of the church-wide effort to challenge each person in the congregation to their best efforts to increase Sunday School attendance and to reach more people with the ministry of the gospel. It focused church-wide effort to provide many opportunities for each person to learn and explore more creative ways of relating to students and their families.

Receiving the gold-plated pins for perfect Sunday School attendance were Anthony Foston, Cynthia Holliman, Keith Smith, Jeffery Holliman, Alexander Smith, Vickie Holliman, Anthony Holliman, Tybetha Smith, Ronald Holliman, Melody Smith, Catherine Martin, Catherine Locke, Dorothy Smith, Walter Joiner, Angela Martin, Sandra Bailey, Dollena Joiner, and pastor Joseph Foston.

Seventh Day Adventist Church of Dublin – 806 South Decatur Street

Sabbath School, Ethel Cason, Superintendent – 9:30 A.M.

Missionary Hour -Alva Walker Presiding – 10:30 A.M.

Sermon – Solomon Pittman – 11:00 A.M.

Missionary Expedition – Convalescent Home – 2:00 P.M. – Willie J. Windham, Speaker

Missionary Volunteer Society – Lena Christian

Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting  – 7:30 P.M.

Friday Night Choir Rehearsal – 8:00

To all of these services you are welcome.

Montford Grove Baptist Church

There will be peaching by the Rev. J.K. Smith at 7:00 pm.

Herbert Chapel A.B. Church

Rev. M.H. Dudley, Pastor

Sunday is regular Pastoral Day at the Herbert Chapel Church of which the Rev. M.H. Dudley is pastor. Church school will begin at 11:00 A.M. with the Deacon Thomas Graham, Jr. in charge; devotional service and sermon follow. 

This is our first church service in the New Year ,and we’re asking all members to be present and on time and to invite a friend to come along with them. Everyone  is invited to worship with us.

Sister Lucille Watters,Reporter

St. James  CME Church

This Sunday will be the first worship Sunday in 1975 at Saint James CME Church located near Lovett, Georgia. In SundaySchool the C.Y.F. will present the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. in relation to his birthday, January 15. Sunday School begins a at 10:30 A.M., and Morning Worship at 11:30 A.M. Everyone is invited to attend.

Rev. L.H. Whelchel, Sr., Pastor

Mt. Cilla Spring Baptist Church

Rev. L.C. Conway, Pastor

Sunday is Regular Pastoral Day.Holy Communion will be observed. All parents and friends are urged to bring their children to the dedication service.

The church service for the day will be as follows: SundaySchool, 10:30 A.M.; Prayer Service, 11:00 A.M.

preaching at 12 Noon.

We are inviting all of our members and friends to worship with us in our first Sunday Service of the new year.