50 years ago: November 11, 1974

Dublin Courier Herald

Albert Franks and Dr. Joel Radney were elected to Dublin City Council in yesterday’s city election, but Ed B. Martin and Earl Hadden must wait until the November 18 runoff to see which one will win the Post 1 At-Large seat.

Although the votes are now counted, the biggest question in the election still remains: Will the two men elected yesterday and the one elected on November 18 ever take office?

That question arose last Thursday when Federal Judge Alexander A. Lawrence denied a petition to stop the city election but warned that the three aldermen elected at post at-large places are not going to be able to take office in January.

His prediction was sparked by the possibility the suit against the election would be amended to ask that the candidates elected be prohibited.

This morning, both City Manager Jack Crane and City Clerk Lena Øpie said that they had not been notified of any legal action to stop those elected from taking office. Mrs. Opie indicated that she will continue with preparations for the runoff until further notice.

Neither Franks nor Radney seemed to mind suggestions that their victories may be overturned by court action.

Franks said, “I’ve done what I set out to do: win.” He added that he was happy with the victory and would wait out any possible court action.

Radney was also jubilant with his win. The Laurens County native and father of two surprised most election watchers by burying three other candidates and winning without a runoff.

It became apparent early in the night that Dublin voters would buck the national trend and favor the incumbents.

The first race tabulated was for Post 1 where incumbent Ed B. Martin rolled up a big lead over his nearest challenger, Earl Hadden. The West Laurens Junior High School Principal cornered 1,260, or 44.3, per cent of the votes cast in his election but fell 165 shy of the necessary 1,449 to win without a runoff. Hadden received 611 votes.

Marvin Browning ran third with 542 and Loutrell Fambrough trailed with 459.

The big surprise in the election returns was in Post 2 where Radney surged out of a field of four to capture the seat now held by Buddy Adams without a runoff. 

Radney claimed  a 54.3 per cent win as he outdistanced his nearest rival, Emery C Thomas, 1,565 to 900. Clarence Jackson , Jr. had 224 votes, and Kenneth Baker brought up the rear with 194.

Interestingly, had the election been held under the purely at-large method where the three candidates with the highest counts were elected, no black candidates would have been elected if yesterday’s results were applied. The first four candidates in terms of total votes were white -Franks, Radney, Martin, and Warren. Of the city’s 5,488 registered voters, 2,904 turned out to vote yesterday. That is 52.9 per cent and must be considered a good turnout in view of the so-called political apathy spreading across the nation.

It was Dublin’s most talked about – written about – city election in modern times with the opening of the City Hall polls at 7:00. By noon heavy voting indicated a large possibility record turnout for an at-large election despite the threat of an impending suit to invalidate the election results. Less than two and a half hours after the polls opened, 452 voters had filed through the voting booths, and by noon 955 votes had been cast, 55 more than at the same time two years ago in the at-large elections.

Most of the returns in the three races were in by 10: 30 p.m.

There were no real cliffhangers although a crowd of about thirty waited around the last tabulating table to watch votes counted in the Franks-Warren race.

There were ten write-in votes: Courier Herald news editor Doug Hall got five; City Clerk Lena Opie, Richard Sheffield, Wilbur Jones, George Clark and Leon May got one each.

The City Clerk served as the Election Superintendent with Bessye D. Devereaux as chief manager with Jessie Jordan and Margaret Chappell as assistant managers.

The newly elected councilman Dr. Radney is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Radney of Dudley. He has a son, Derek, 15 and a daughter, Shani, 9. He, his wife Sara, and children live on the Irwinton Road, and he practices as a chiropractor.

SINGLE MEMBER 

DISTRICTS ARE 

TARGET

Securing single member districts on the Dublin City Council was the underlying objective behind the suit challenging the city election, and the same goal will be the brunt of any further action concerning the election, the attorney for the petitioners in the suit say.

Steven Granberg, a Georgia Legal Services lawyer who represents two Dublin Negroes who brought the suit, says that no decision has yet been reached regarding an amendment to the original suit, but he stated that he would meet with his clients before making a decision. “Our objective all along has been single member districts.”

Dublin City Council is composed of seven aldermen, four from geographical wards and four from post at-large. The four ward aldermen are elected by all registered voters in the city.

Single member districts would mean that ward aldermen are elected only by the constituency in their ward. At-large aldermen would continue to be elected by the city as a whole.

It is believed that single member districts will enhance the chances of Negro candidates at the polls.

Granberg stresses that he wanted to work out the election matter as simply as possible, without causing a great deal of turmoil. He was receptive to the idea of resolving the differences out of court.

Parties on both sides of the issue acknowledged that some steps must be taken to bring Dublin’s election ordinance in line with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which requires that Dublin’s election changes be approved by the Justice Department.

Richard Sheffield , one of the petitioners, said this morning, “If we could solve this without going to court, it would be all better.” He added,  “I would like to meet with them (the Mayor and Council) and see if we can work this thing out.”

Granberg also suggested that such a meeting could help iron out some of the complaints.

Sheffield said that if the original suit is amended to ask that councilmen elected be prohibited from taking office, it will not be his decision alone.

Dublin Mayor Robert E. Cochran said this morning that the Council will have to meet to discuss the steps it will take in dealing with the suit. Those steps will likely include an open Council meeting to discuss the matter with persons involved in the suit.

SPECIAL ELECTION FOR EAST DUBLIN

East Dublin voters will elect three at-large councilmen on Wednesday in a special election called to comply with Justice Department orders preventing candidates from designating at-large posts. The situation closely resembles the election woes in East Dublin’s sister city  in recent days.

Before last year’s city election a change was made in East Dublin’s election procedure for at-large aldermen from the former method in which the top three candidates in terms of votes were elected to a method used last year in which candidates were selected.

The new plan was presented to the Justice Department and rejected after an election had been held under the new method.

Since then the Justice Department has ordered a return to the previous method. This time around, all candidates will run for the three posts without designating a particular post, and the thee candidates who attract the most votes will be elected.

Terms for those elected on Wednesday will be for one year. Next year the Mayor and all five Councilmen will be elected for two-year terms.

Seven candidates will seek the three posts now held by Herman, Luecke, Ira Warnock, and Ralph Edge.Two incumbents, Luecke and Edge, are seeking re-election, but Warnock decided to stay out of politics this year.

Luecke and Edge are both self employed in the heating-air conditioning business in East Dublin. Luecke is seeking his third term on the council, and Edge is going after his second straight term.

A former alderman, Jimmy Robinson, is attempting to return to the Council. He lost to Luecke in last year’s vote.

Robinson works in the parts department of Claxton-Lawrence Ford in Dublin.

Other candidates are Jimmy Davis, manager of the Shrimp Boat in Dublin; Willie E. Clements, an employee of Laurens Park Mill; Jack G. Tanner, self-employed contractor; and Jack Barwick, barber. This will be the first venture into politics for each of them.

Polls will open for the city’s 970 registered voters at 7:00 on Wednesday morning and remain open until 7:00 p.m.

Alton Floyd was appointed election superintendent by the Mayor and Council. His wife, Daisy, was named chief manager. She will be assisted by Mrs. Marilyn Screws and Mrs. Marie Garnto.

DUBLIN MAN DIES IN TRUCK FIRE

A Dublin man, Thomas Edward Vann, 29, of 515 Burch Drive,was killed instantly yesterday afternoon when the gas truck he was driving was overturned and caught fire in an attempt to miss hitting another vehicle on U.S. 441 five miles north of Dublin.

A truck, which supposedly made an illegal left turn into Vann’s path causing the action, apparently did not stop, persons at the scene said.

According to a Dublin fireman who related an eye witness account of the accident, Vann was headed north with a load of about 1800 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel when the unidentified truck pulled in his path.

The dead man apparently tugged on the emergency brake in an effort to avoid hitting the smaller truck. When the emergency brake was applied, the gas truck flipped over five times, throwing Vann from the cab of the truck. After rolling over several times, the large truck came to rest on top of Vann. Spilled gas instantly burst into flames.

The fireman guessed that Vann was killed by the impact of the truck, but his body was badly burned also.

The eye witness, Milton Baxley, was traveling behind Vann in a Dublin Gas Department truck. He saw the accident happen and radioed for help.

Units of the Dublin, East Dublin, and Dudley fire departments answered the call.

The fireman reported that hundreds of gallons of fuel which remained in the truck’s tanks were dangerously close to exploding, but cooling techniques were used to prevent an explosion.

Once the fire was brought under control, the remaining fuel was diluted with water and drained out of the truck into a nearby ditch where it was ignited and burned under controlled conditions. Units of the Dublin, Dudley, and East Dublin fire departments stood by the fire until 7:30 last night when the last of the 1800 gallons was burned off.

Vann was employed by Burch Oil Co. of Dublin.

DUBLIN DOWNS DODGE 

 Only a minute and 43 seconds had been played when Dudley crossed into the Dodge end zone. Pat Hodges kicked true, giving the Irish a 7-0 margin with10:13 to play in the first period, and that was the beginning The game ended with the Irish winning 10-7.

The terrific Dublin defense was anchored by the front four of Stan Couey, Raymond Walker, Davis, and Guy Cochran; linebackers Dudley, who led everybody in individual tackles, Crabb, Tony Prosperi, Dallas Allen, and Trollinger; and secondary backs Don Edawrds, Sims and Steve Edwards.

Bill Larsen played fine at offensive tackle and defensive tackle as did offensive tackle Victor Stuckey; guards Stan Stanley and Bill Pollard; and center James Brantley.

Offensively, the Irish accumulated 107 yards rushing and five passing while Dodge hit for 156 yards. Dodge started 67 offensive plays to only 35 for the Irish and rolled up 15 first downs to four for Dublin.

Dudley rushed for 52 yards on 14 chances, getting 4 of them the first three times he carried the ball, for 35 yards and a touchdown and seven yards twice.

Sims, held to a minus four yards in the first half, got loose on an 180 yard scamper and his 25-yard beauty to finish with 42 yards on 10 calls. Pat Hodges ran five times for 15 yards while Billy Adams ran a sneak for five and Steve Edwards lost seven trying to pass.

Coach Simonton said it was a perfect way to end a great 10 game schedule by a team of boys ” I will long remember.” It was a victory for a 7-3 year and a trip to the 3-AA playoffs.

“These boys deserve every bit of credit they get, for they are smaller than any team they have played and created a successful year on determination and stamina,” the Irish coach said.

Coach Simonton also praised the great fan backing given the team. “They cheered every tackle and every run and gave the players standing ovations,” he said, “and all of us, the coaches and players, are appreciative of such fine support.”

Steve Edwards said it all in the happy dressing room afterwards, “We just out- hassled them.”

As the Dublin fans were leaving the stands at game’s end, there was already talk of organizing a motorcade to Americus next Friday for the 3-AA championship tussle.

Playing forDublin were Davis, S Edwards, Brack, Prosper, Williams, D Adams, B Adams, Dudley, Blash, Sims,Trollinger, Hodges, D Edwards, Cochran, Couey, Brantley, Walker, Pollard, Stanley, Crabb, Larsen, Stuckey, Allen, and Rooks.

The Dublin High Pride of Dublin Marching Band went up against some tough competition in Dodge County’s 

band at Eastman but acquitted themselves well in their short halftime performance.

Under the direction on the field of sophomore drum Major Scott Smith, the band marched, and the majorettes and flag corps performed to “Chicago’s Beginnings.”

Band Director Jim Hall’s green and gold-clad musicians then rendered “You Make Me Feel Brand New” and “Bad , Bad Leroy Brown” before exiting to the sidelines

Majorettes taking part in the festivities included Gloria Hobbs, Debbie Hudson, Kathy Hood, Barbara Williams, Ellen Williams, and Barbara Stevenson. The Flag Corps members are Monique McCall, Marty Shoptaw, Susan Martin, Donna Hall, Kathy Plummer, Lisa Cappelli, and Belinda Brown.

The Drum Corps captain is Tommy Wyatt, and the public address announcer all year has been John Kisalus.

GOLD STAR MOTHERS RECOGNIZED

At the Veterans Day ceremonies at the Dublin Veterans Administration Hospital on November 11, local  Gold Star Mothers received special recognition. They are mothers whose sons were killed in World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War.

They are Mrs. L.B. Word, Mrs. Louise Purvis, Mrs. Joe B. Powell, Mrs. Hattie Finney, Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, and Mrs. White Perry.

The program also included special music by the Dublin High School Band and an address by Lt. Daniel E. Bankey of the U.S. Air Force.

JOSEY ROMPS OVER TRINITY 

Josey Academy really rolled last night at the Condor Gym, downing the Trinity girls , 39-26, and routing the boys , 74-20, in the first game of the new basketball season in Laurens County.

Coach Barney Hester’s squads led at the end of each of the eight periods of basketball  which inaugurated the 1974-75 season here.

Forward Carol Graham led the Lady Warriors with 18 points, followed by Elaine Brown with 12 and Harriett Yates with eight. Tammie Watson scored the other Josey point.

The girls played by boys rules with everyone being able to travel the length of the court. 

For Trinity’s girls, coached by Greg Lindsey, Lydia Wilkes led with nine points; Tara Riley, Teresa Riley. and Cathy Skelton had four each, and Rhonda Wood got one point.

The Warriors scored in the nightcap game as the Josey shooters hit 34 of 69 field goals for49 percent. As a team, Josey came down with 62 rebounds and 22 assists.

Leaders of the Josey scoring were Tim Graham, 16 points; Roy Yates, 11; and Randy Murphy, 10.

Others scoring were Bobby Clark, 8; Allen Williams, 7; Mitchell Childers, 6; Jim Graham, 2; Keith Aaron, 22; David Wilkes, 8, and Jeff Graham.

In the rebound department, Yates led with 10. Aaron had 9, and Williams and Wilkes had 8 each.

Coach Hester pulled his starting lineup from the game six minutes after the opening whistle.

Making points for the Crusaders were Sam Beall and Johnny Chappell with eight points apiece and Bert Evans with  four. The Crusaders are coached by Jim Brown. 

DANIEL WINS 

CHAMPIONSHIP

W.J. Daniel has again won the Green Acres Club championship. 

His latest feat came this weekend as Daniel fired a 74-72 two-day total 146 to earn the title.

Tal Tanner of Dublin had the best handicap score, 146, for the two days.

In the First Flight, West Laurens High School senior Mark Fountain won a sudden death playoff over Bill Rowe to take First Place. Fountain shot 148 for the tourney.

Third place in the flight went to Kennon Smith, 149.

Harry Kendricks’ 150 was good for the top spot in the Second Flight. Five strokes back at 155 was Ed Fountain, who beat Chandler Shepard in sudden death.

Hal Repko, 152, led the Third Flight field by three strokes over Fred Evans who finished second at 154. Chris Holland, 159, was third.

In the Fourth Flight,Tommy Howard shot 150 to win over second place Wendell Bush with a 152 and T.P. Holland, 154.

EXCHANGE CLUB CHRISTMAS PARADE

It was announced yesterday that the Dublin Exchange Club will hold its annual Christmas Parade onSaturday, December 7th, at 4:00 pm.

All indications are that this will be one of the largest and best parades ever to be held in Dublin and Laurens County.

Anyone wishing to participate in this event should contact Robert Brown, parade chairman, at 272-6421 or Al Scarborough, President, at 272-4933.

Mr. Brown requests that all interested parties please contact him or Mr. Scarborough prior to Saturday, November 23rd, so that a space may be reserved in the parade.

RED CROSS BLOODMOBILE’ S FIRST VISIT

     By Doug Hall

For the first time ever, the Dublin area will be visited by the Red Cross Bloodmobile on Monday afternoon from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Activities Building of the First Baptist Church.

The visit here culminates over two months of hard work by a dedicated group of Laurens Countians who sought to enroll the county into the Red Cross blood program. The beginning of the blood drive came when a group of about 20 people met at the V.A. Center to organize and choose persons to spread the drive. At that meeting, Father Ed Sellars of Christ Episcopal Church was made chairman of the drive, and Allen Thomas was selected to head the donor recruitment program.

From those beginnings have come six planned Bloodmobile stops in Dublin and a revitalization of the loosely organized local Red Cross.

The quota set for Laurens County by the American National Red Cross is 1,300 pints of blood during the first year. Both hospitals in Dublin, Laurens Memorial and Claxton, will participate in the Red Cross Blood Bank.The VA already has a federal contract with Red Cross for blood and will not be principally involved in the new setup.

According to persons involved in enrolling the county in the Red Cross blood program, the road to Monday’s first visit was not as smooth as may be thought.

The major obstacle was reluctance on the part of Laurens Memorial to join the program, but once persuaded the hospital administration agreed to contract with the Red Cross to supply the hospital’s blood needs.

Those problems have now been resolved, according to hospital administrator M.E. Scarboro. ” There are advantages to it (the blood program) that will outweigh the disadvantages,” Scarboro remarked.

Local hospitals did not use 1300 pints of blood last year, but that quota was set to comply with the Red Cross formula that requires local chapters to supply a pint of blood for every 32 people in the chapter county.

According to Father Sellars, one of the benefits of the Red Cross program is that although the 1,300 pints are not used locally, they are credited nationwide. So, a Laurens County resident who is a patient in a hospital out of the county can have blood credited through the local Red Cross.

Other benefits of the program are higher quality and better purity through Red Cross blood processing, Father Sellars noted. Also, better efficiency of each unit is achieved through the Red Cross program. He further explained that under the former system used in hospitals, whole blood was used almost exclusively, but the Red Cross system breaks down the blood into the components which the patient needs, such as pack cells or clotting factor.

Blood will be supplied to Dublin hospitals each Monday. After 15 days, the blood which has not used will be picked up to be reprocessed and used in parts.

The new blood program will virtually eliminate drawing blood at local hospitals with the exception of unusual cases where rare blood types or large quantities are needed.

There will be no replacement requirements, although hospitals will ask blood users to give at the next Bloodmobile visit.

Hospitals will not charge for the blood itself, but there will be a charge, about $18 per pint, for processing and testing.

The Bloodmobile visit here on Monday will be on a general recruitment basis; that is, everyone in the Laurens County area will be asked to donate. Subsequent visits will be more specialized in that the Bloodmobile will visit specific sites, such as factories and shopping centers.

Committee chairmen in the blood drive are Father Sellars, overall chairman; AllenThomas, recruitment chairman; Martha Larsen, volunteers chairman; Deedy Fitzgerald, nursing chairman; Pam Verillo and Tyrus Gaillard, publicity chairmen.

ENGAGEMENTS

English – Davis

Mrs. Jewel Thomas of Dublin announces the engagement of her daughter, Sharon Regina English, to Sergeant Thomas Davis, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Davis, Sr.

Miss English is a 1974 graduate of Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, where she received a B.S. Degree in Nursing and is presently employed at Laurens Memorial Hospital.The groom-elect is a 1971 graduate of Dublin High School and is presently serving in the U.S. Air Force.

The wedding will be on December 28th at three o’clock at the Howard Chapel United Methodist Church. of Dublin.

Gainey – Nelson

Mr. and Mrs. Tobie L. Gainey, Sr. of Dublin,  Route 4 announce the engagement of their daughter, Mae Ethel Gainey, to Willie B. Nelson ,son of Mr. and Mrs. Add Nelson, Jr. of Dublin.

Miss Gainey is a 1974 graduate of West Laurens High School and is employed at Hardee’s Company of Dublin. The groom-to-be is presently employed by the United Communication Company of Macon.

The wedding will be on December 28 at 3:00 in the afternoon in the Shady Grove Baptist Church. All relatives and friends are invited to the wedding and to the reception afterwards at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Pratus Montgomery, 705 Magnolia Drive, Dublin.

MINTER W.M.S. MEETING

The Minter Baptist Church Woman’s Missionary Meeting recently met with Mrs. Paul Young presiding. Mrs. Quincy Johnson gave the devotional and offered prayer for the missionaries on the Birthday Calendar.

Mrs. Leroy Graham presented an interesting and helpful program, “Learning to Do by Doing.” Ladies taking part on the program were Mrs. Johnson, Mrs.pTalmadge Miller, Mrs. Rod Smith, Mrs. T.L. Young, Mrs. Alver Spivey, Mrs. Leland Donaldson, and Mrs. Leatha Young.

Plans were discussed concerning the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Week of Prayer for Foreign Missions.

After the closing prayer, delicious refreshments were enjoyed.

Other members present were Mrs. Vinson Drew, Mrs. N.B. Graham, Mrs. Wayne Graham, Mrs. Gene Stewart, and Mrs.Tommy Wood. Visitors were Misses Jill Graham and Kay Donaldson.