Vote Tuesday In Dist. School Tax Referendum
WEATHER
(Week of April 22-29)
High: 89
(April 23)
Low: 60
(April 22)
Rainfall: 1.71 in.
(April 22-28)
®he Clinton Chronicle
Vol. 71 — No. 18
Clinton. S. C., April 30, 1970
INDEX
Three Sections, 20 Pages
Plus Supplement
Classified 6-A
Deaths 8-A
Editorials 2-C
Hospital News 8-A
Society 2-A
Sports 7-A
Vote Books
Here Until
Saturday
Voter registration books will
be in Clinton today, Friday and
Saturday.
The books will be available
for voter registration from 9
a.m. until 5 p.m. on these three
days in the old HamiltonJewel-
ers building, next door toJohn-
son’s Men’s Shop on the down
town square.
Persons in the Clinton area
who are not registered but wish
to vote in the June 9 Laurens
County Democratic primary and
the November General Election
may do so Thursday, Friday
and Saturday. Books also are
open Monday through Saturday
noon each week in the Regis
trar’s Office in the Laurens
County Courthouse.
The deadline for voter regis
tration for the June 9 primary
is May 9.
10-Mill School Levy Increase
Will Be Decided On Tuesday
Series
Of Thefts
Reported
Clinton Police are investiga
ting a series of break-ins and
thefts during the past week in
which three homes, two cars,
an office and a store were rob
bed.
Houses robbed included:
The William Mead home at
1003 Sloan Street where a col
lection of old coins valued at
about $150 was taken. The house
was broken into between April
24-27.
The home of Ivey T. Hulion
of 407 Francis Street was en
tered on Saturday afternoon and
a gallon can used as a bank was
pried open and robbed of an un
determined amount of money.
The home of Carroll Barker
at 201 Florence Street was en
tered Sunday afternoon and $30
was stolen.
Auto robberies include:
A number of tapes were taken
from a car Saturday night at the
M.D. Smitherman home at 503
Ferguson Street.
A pistol was stolen from a car
owned by Mrs. Ella Lowery of
Joanna. The car was parked
in the business district when it
was robbed Friday evening.
The store theft occurred Fri
day afternoon at Adairfc Men
Shop when someone reportedly
put on a suit of clothes during
business hours and walked out
without paying, according to po
lice reports. It was a size 38
suit.
IN CUNTON PAGEANT—Three of the beauty
queens who will be featured in thi» year’s Miss
Clinton Pageant on May 23 are shown above.
They are, left to right: the reigning Miss Clinton,
Virginia Rogers; Brantley Price of Newberry, the
reigning Miss South Carolina; and Pat Davis, last
year’s Miss Clinton. Mrs. Peggy White Nickson
of Laurens, former Miss South Carolina, will be
MC for the pageant.
Laurens County School dis
trict 56 voters go to the polls
Tuesday to cast their ballots in
a referendum on a proposed 10-
mill tax levy increase.
School officials have termed
the increase proposal “vital”
in general operation of the
schools and balancing the dis
trict’s budget.
At a recent Clinton Chamber
of Commerce Board of Direc
tors meeting, School Board
Chairman James Von Hollen
said, "If we’re going to con
tinue to operate our schools,
we must have this increase. We
can’t continue to borrow against
next year’s levy. It may be
startling to think that there is
even a possibility that schools
might have to be closed but that
Is not beyond the realm of
possibilities. It has actually
happened in some communities
in our nation.”
He pointed out that the dis
trict operated at a $50,(DO de
ficit last year and a deficit of
$40,000 to $50,000 is anticipat
ed in the 1970-71 budget. Von
Hollen said, “That means we
will have a total deficit of be
tween $90,000 and $100,000. We
think that we can cut maybe
$10,00'' to $15,000 out of the pro
posed budget but that’s about it.
We desperately need this levy
increase.”
School District 56 residents
now pay a 48-mill levy for the
general operation of schools.
That is equal to $48 on every
$1,000 of property tax valuation.
The proposed levy would raise
that to $58 per $1,000, the
amount which is now being paid
in the neighboring School Dis
trict 55 in the Laurens area.
Von Hollen said School Dis
trict 56’s deficits have been
caused by general cost-of-
living increases.
The polls Tuesday will open
at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
Voting places are as follows:
CLINTON
Clinton attendance area
(voters registered in Clinton
No. 1, Clinton No. 2, Clinton
Mill and Long Branch precincts)
At Festival Of Arts
'Laurens County
Day 7 Slated
Saturday is the big day in the Spring Festival of Arts at Pres
MORNING AND AFTERNOON
byterian College. It will be ‘Laurens County Day” and a full slate
of events has been scheduled, starting at 10 a.m. and concluding at
10:30 - 2
Children’s Painting Pavilion (between Belk and
5 p.m.
10:30 - 5
Tennis Courts)
Alma Barkshadt -- Greenville artist who
All events will be held on the Presbyrerian College campus.
In the event of rain, outdoor activities will be held in the field
house.
10:30 - 5
specializes in silhouettes and charcoal sketches
(on the mall)
“The Village”--experimental and junk art for
Junior and Senior High students (by Jacobs Hall)
The schedule:
“Follow the drum roll to new events during the day.”
AFTERNOON
1:30
Clinton High School Band (on the mall)
2:00 - 3:30
“Alice in Wonderland” by GREENWOOD CHILD
MORNING
REN’S THEATRE (in Belk Auditorium) Price:
Children 25C
2:00 - 3:30
Demonstrations and/or Lectures
10:00
Art exhibits due by this time, to allow time for
hanging. Bring to mall in front of Belk Auditor
ium. Poster contest entries should be brought
there also. Mrs. Frost Walker assisting.
10:30
11:00
11:15
11:30
11:45
12:00
Clinton Elementary School Students-EnglishFes
tival Dance
Clinton Elementary 4th & 5th grades singing the
Tricentennial Songs
Clinton Junior High Chorus (Above under direc
tion of Mrs. Grace Connor)
Pleasant View Elementary 3rd grade--Folk Dance
Ford School students performing under direction
of Mrs. Butler
Sanders Elementary Chorus
'ROUND wTOIVN
DST, Cont'd.
BY DONNY WILDER
Editor, The Chronicle
That brilliant red glow you see over the
downtown area is the reflection from my face.
Boy, I really blew one last week. Daylight
Saving Time. In a two-paragraph article on the
front page, we carefully explained how to change
the clocks for Daylight Saving Time which start
ed Sunday. In the last sentence, we confidently
wrote that if you followed our instructions “maybe
you won’t be late for church Sunday morning.”
If you followed our instructions, you wouldn’t
have been late. You’d have been two hours early.
We said you were supposed to set your clock back
an hour- As everyone (including even me) now
knows, you were supposed to set your clock ahead
an hour.
We learned one thing. Folks read The Chron
icle. Even little two-paragraph articles. We start
ed keeping an account of the number of phone
calls we got about our blunder but we quit count
ing at 45 Friday afternoon when I left town. I
figured last weekend was a fine time to quietly
take the family to Six Flags Over Georgia. Since
then, I’ve learned some phrases which may help
me remember about Daylight Saving Time. One
goes like this, “Spring Ahead, Fall Behind.” In
the spring you set your clock ahead an hour. In
the fall, when we go back to Eastern Standard
Time, you set it back an hour.
The Atlanta newspapers had a little poem,
“Set your clock ahead when you go to bed.”
Where were the poets when I needed ’em?
Thom we 11 Spring
Choral Program
Slated Friday
The Thornwell School Music
Department will present its an
nual Spring Choral Program on
Friday night, May 1, at 8 o’clock
in the school auditorium.
Primary, Elementary and
High School choruses will have
a part on the program. All in
terested persons are invited.
2:00 Mr. William Shields, a master photograph
er from Clinton, will exhibit his photo
graphic art (in Black Magic Theatre, Ja
cobs Hall)
2:30 Mr. John Coles from S. C. ETV will give
a lecture-demonstration on cartoon ani
mation (in Black Magic Theatre, Jacobs
Hall)
3:00 Dr. John Craft, Director of Richland Coun
ty Museum of Art, will show slides of the
work of famous artists (in board room of
Belk)
3:30 Laurens High School Band (on the mall)
4:00 The Kinetic Art Films, No. 1 (in Belk) Adult
$1.50, Student $1.00
8:00 The Kinetic Art Films, No. 3 (in Belk) Adult
$1.50, Student $1.00
ALL AFTERNOON ON THE MALL
2:00 - 5 -Mr. and Mrs. Tom Turner of Columbia will be
showing pottery and handmade jewelry
-Mr. Jon Formo of Columbia will work at his
potter’s wheel
-Mr. Miles Powell of Clinton will demonstrate
commercial paste-up
-Miss Betty Fryga will display a variety of her
work
-Mr. Bill Jacobs will be cartooning
-Presbyterian College Students will be demon
strating different art media
Other artists are invited to demonstrate and display theft work
during this time.
DON’T MBS THE JUDGED ART EXHIBIT IN DOUGLAS HOUSE!
at the National Guard Armory
on South Broad Street, Clinton.
JOANNA
In the Joanna attendance area
(voters registered in Joanna,
H|fcewell, Renno, and Shady
Grove precincts) at the Joanna
Club House, Joanna.
PTA Backs
School Tax
Proposal
The Clinton Elementary
School PTA Board of Direc
tors has gone on record in sup
port of the proposed 10-mill tax
levy increase for School Dis
trict 56.
The board adopted a resolu
tion expressing its support for
the proposal and urging citizens
to vote in favor of the proposal
in Tuesday’s referendum.
“Teacher Appreciation
Night” will be observed next
Tuesday night at the regular
meeting of the PTA at Clinton
Elementary School.
The meeting is to start at
8 p.m. and also will feature
the installation of new officers.
* * *
Dist. 56
Officials
At Meeting
Laurens County School Dis
trict 56 officials were among
representatives of 39 state
school districts who attended a
meeting in Columbia Tuesday to
discuss threatened legal action
by the U.S. Justice Department.
The Justice Department has
threatened the 39 districts with
legal action unless they quick
ly file acceptable desegrega
tion plans.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Gen.
Jerris Leonard told the group
“Each and every school district
must be in compliance at the
absolute outside by next Sep
tember.”
School District 56 said they
are working on plans for next
September and would an
nounce the results as soon as
their plans are definite and ap
proved.
* * *
House Heavily
Damaged By Fire
A house occupied by Mr. and
Mrs. Lloyd Johnson at Lydia
Mill was heavily damaged by
fire Sunday morning. Most of
the Johnsons’ furnishings and
clothing were destroyed or da
maged by the 11:30 a.m. fire.
Firemen also extinguished a
fire last Friday in the craft
shop at Whitten Village. Re
cords and papers were heavily
damaged.
Housing Needs Termed 'Critical'
Clinton’s housing need is
“critical”, a representative of
Wilbur Smith and Associates
told the Clinton Planning Com
mission Monday night.
Phil Simons, a member of
the Wilbur Smith staff which is
conducting a survey of Clinton,
presented the housing element
phase of the study at the com
mission’s monthly meeting
Monday night
He commented, “Your
housing situation is critical.
Unless something is done, your
out-migration of workers will
continue.”
The report says, "Clinton
shares several problems with
the rest of the nation such as
spiraling interest rates, rising
cost of materials and demands
for higher wages by construc
tion laborers.” It also points
out that availability of land is a
problem in the Clinton area.
The report says, “Although
there is considerable vacant
land in the community and the
planning area, it is not readily
available for housing at all cost
levels. In Clinton, as in most
other areas, higher-priced
homes are being built and new
and recent subdivisions are
being developed. However, pro
perty for low and moderate-in
come homes is not readily ft*
vailable. In discussing this
problem with local builders,
realtors and others, this is a
particular problem in Clinton.
Property controlled by major
corporations and land holders
is not generally for sale. Un-
d$r present cash flow, capital
gains and other tax considera
tions, there is no pressingneed
for some of these land hold
ers to sell, and it is believed
that many consider the selling
of land for development to be a
tax liability.”
The report also says, “Many
of the rental homes, particu
larly those in Negro areas,
are substandard. Many offer no
sewerage service and they can
properly be called shacks which
appear to have been moved in
from outside the city.. .There
are few, if any vacancies even
in these substandards
The survey shows that of
2,329 residential structures,
including mobile homes, al
most 20 per cent of them are
rated “deteriorated” and almost
11 per cent are rated "delapi-
dated”.
Commission members also
met with Ronnie Wertz, design
engineer with the S. C. Highway
Department, to discuss the need
for a beltline road between S.
C. Highways 72SouthandNorth.
The commission
that Wertz check on the pro
cedures for obtaining traffic
flow studies m the area. He Is
to report hack to the
sion prior to Its May i
(voters registered in Cross Hill
precinct) at Cross Hill City
Hall.
LYDIA
Lydia attendance area (voters
registered in Lydia Mill pre
cinct) at Lydia Community
Building.
MOUNTVILLE
Mountville attendance area
(voters registered in Mount
ville precinct) at Mountville
Grange Building in Mountville.
CROSS HILL
Cross Hill attendance area
AN EDITORIAL
Vote 'Yes'
For Education
School Board Chairman Jamea Von Hollen
isn’t using: scare tactics when he raises the poa-
sibility that local school might eventually have to
be closed if more local financial help isn’t forthcom
ing. It’s strictly a matter of dollars and cents.
School District 56 operated at a $60,000 deficit
last year and a deficit of $40,000 to $50,000 is an
ticipated in the 1970-71 budget. To cover last
year’s deficit, the school board had to borrow
against this year’s levy. If that trend continues,
it’s easy to see that eventually the system would be
financially insolvent. When that happens, there
would be no recourse other than closing the
schools.
Americans have great faith in their school sys
tem. Sometimes they seem to have too much
faith, thinking that, somehow, the schools will al
ways manage to go about the business of educating
their children, regardless of the financial situation.
Even in this age, that is not always the case. With
in the past couple of years, some public achoola
have closed from lack of support... .
School District 56’s per-pupil expenditure Is
one of the lowest in South Carolina. It’s $71.44
lower, per pupil, than the Laurens District; $82.36
lower than the Newberry District; $103.93 lower
than the Woodruff district; $159.02 lower than
Spartanburg City District.
Despite working under tight financial restric
tions, the officials, faculties and staff of the dis
trict have gained Southern Association of Schools
and Colleges accreditation for the Junior High
School and two elementary schools during the past
couple of years. That shows that the educational
dollar is being well spent. But the district needs
more dollars. The money isn’t needed to expand
the program or add what might be considered edu
cational frills. It’s needed simply to keep what we
have and to balance the budget.
The Clinton Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors has gone on record in support of the tax
levy increase. Civic clubs also have given their
support. But the important support is yours.
You’re the one who casts your ballot. We urge you
to be certain you vote Tuesday on this vital issue
and we hope that you vote “yee” for education.
Housing Tenant
Plan Is Adopted
The Clinton Housing Au
thority last week adopted a te
nant selection and assignment
plan.
In other Housing Authority
business, Sam WUliams was re
appointed by Mayor NolandSud-
deth to a five-year term on
the Authority. Mr. Williams
previously had served a one-
year term.
The Housing Authority’s ten
ant selection and assignment
plan will give protective ten-
nan ts three options in the selec
tion of the unit he would like
to occupy*
Adoption of the tenant se
lection and assignment plan is
another stop toward Clinton ob
taining low-rent housing. The
next step will be for a repre
sentative of the Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) of
fice in Atlanta, Ga., to conduct
a housing need survey of Clin
ton. The Housing Authority al
ready has conducted its own
survey and has requested 400
units, KX) of which are to be
for the elderly. The HUD
presentathre will conduct
ther survey and make his re
commendation as to how many
units the city needs.
The Tenant Selection and as
signment pfeg as foltaws;
"This authority will not, on
account of race, color or Ml-
tonal origin, deny tossy
ly the opportunity
“A central application pool
will be maintained and insofar
as solvency permits, tenants
will be selected therefrom for
appropriate size units in ac
cordance with the preferences
and priorities set forth in Una
dopted regulations governing
admission, according to the
date and time the application
was filed.
‘Applications will be filed
first by UNIT SIZE REQUIRED
and within unit sine by PRE
FERENCES and within pre
ferences by URGENCY OF
NEED and if the need is the
same, the DATE AND TIME OF
APPLICATION will govern.
"Tin applicant at the top cf the
community-wide list win be al
tered a vacant unit at the loca
tion containing the largesti
ber of vacancies. If i
is refused, the applicant wffl
be offered n unit at
tkn
plicant
fers, the MpUcftttan wffl