The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, November 09, 1967, Image 1
V
Growing With
Clinton
The Clinton Chronicle
Clinton, S. C, Thursday, November 9,1967
Vol. 68 — No. 45
Clinton Faces
Woodruff Friday
(Story On Page 7)
Over 16,000 Are Eligible To Vote In Courthouse Referendum
Between 16,000 and 18,000 Laurens County re
sidents will be eligible to vote Tuesday in the ad
visory courthouse referendum.
Voters will be given one proposition on which
to vote:
“I am in favor of construction of a new court
house for Laurens County at the site selected by
the Courthouse Study Committee.” Voter’s will
mark their decision either “Yes” or “No”.
Polls will open at 8 a.m. and close- at 6 p.m.
at the county’s 46 polling places.
Voters registration officials said this week
that both old and new voter registration certifica
tes will be honored at the polls.
The county currently is in the midst of a voter
registration campaign since all certificates expire
April 30, 1968. Early this week there had been
9,520 persons who had either re-registered or re
gistered for the first time.
A registration spokesman said, “If you are
holding a new voter certificate, it will be valid for
Tuesday’s referendum. Also, old certificates also
will be honored in this Referendum.”
Voters will be casting their ballots on whether
to build a $2.9 million Laurens County courthouse
at the intersection of Garlington Street and High
way 76-Bypass in Laurens.
In addition to court facilities, the building,
which would have about 91,000 square feet of floor
space, would house all county agencies, including
the sheriff’s office and county jail.
The estimated $2.9 million cost would include
furnishings, paving and everything else needed in
connection with the project.
It has been estimated that, based on the 1966
assessed value of the county, finanting of this pro
ject would call for a 15-mill tax levy increase.
If the referendum Tuesday is successful, the
county’s legislative delegation will proceed with
setting up a referendum on whether to amend
the constitution to increase the county’s bonded
indebtedness limit from eight per cent to 18 per
cent. That would be necessary so the county could
issue general obligation bonds to finance the pro
ject.
If the vote in that referendum is favorable,
the delegation at the following session would rati
fy that constitutional amendment.
Then a third referendum would be necessary
on whether to move the courthouse seat from its
present location to the proposed location. A peti
tion signed by one-third of the county’s registered
voters would have to be presented to the governor
who could call the referendum. In that referendum,
two-thirds of those who vote in the referendum
must vote in favor of the proposal in order for it
to be finalized.
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Broad St.-Carolma
Widening Is Planned
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Over 5,000 people attended
open house Sunday at Clin
ton Mills’ new $8 million
Bailey Plant on Laurens
Highway.
After ded^crt'"*! ceremon
ies which v e e with
sunny, crt'T early tvonber
weather;* tie visitors loured
the plant wli ch co - c”s 6.4
acres on L o ifrO-; ro site.
They saw a nnt v, ; i pro
duces polycsc • ' '^r ci cot
ton blends (voies, batistes
and broadcloth) and the tour
route took t v,,> n fr'm the
“fiber to the labric” which
was the theme of the tuur.
The tour concluded with a
display of the colorful labric
and its manv use3.
At the dedicat o' ceremon
ies, Robert M. Vance, pres’
dent of Clinton Mills, said,
“This is a proud moment ir
the history of our company
and I hope it is an equally
proud one for our eommun
ity.”
He pointed out that the
plant is named- for four
men “who played . perhaps
the most important ’roles ir
the development of Clintor
Mills and whose vision ex
tended into every area of this
community” — founder M. S.
Bailey, W. J. Bailey, C. M.
Bailey and P. S. Bailey.
Vance said, “The Bailey
Plant represents a new direc
tion for Clinton Mills. After
71 years as an all-cotton man
ufacturer, we have now en
tered the field of cotton-syn-
ithetic blends which this
daily to produce. * It is ' a
measuer of our response t-
demands of the textile mar
ket. It is a measure of the
esteem in which we hold our
quality reputation that we did
no tenter the field until we
were positive we could pro
duce the best blended fabrics
in the industry. Our custom
ers’ commenls have borne us
out.”
He also said, “This plant
alsd represents an investment
of faith. Faith in the Clinton
community and its people,
where more than to years of
association have produced
the highest type of relation- Court, Elizabeth Street, is
ships. And faith in the future this week’s winner of The
of the textile industry, which Cli r0 md e » s footbal contest
we feel has the strength and „... .
vitality to grow despite the . won on 1 e basis of the
clouds which seem to gathei he-breaker. He and three oth-
CROWD SHOWN AT BAILEY PLANT OPEN HOUSE
. . . For Dedication Ceremonies Sunday Afternoon
(Yarborough Photo)
ROBERT VANCE GREETS BAILEY PLANT VISITORS
. . . During Tour of $8 Million Industrial Plant
' (Photo By Truman Owens)
Hill Wins
Grid Contest
Billie Hill of King’s Trailer
'Horseshoe's'
A
Last Name?
frequently on its horizons.
“So this is what thisnew
plant means to our company
and particularly to me as its
president. It means we are 71
years young and drawing ,redlcted
steadily on that many years
experience to stay young. 1
thank you for your support in
the past and ask your contin
ued support in what I think
will be an exciting future.”
ers missed only three predic
tions, but Hill correctly pre
dicted the point spread in
he Clinton-Laurens game. He
a 20-point spread
md the score was 27-7. Hill
vins first prize of $25.
Larry Thomas Jacobs of
133 South Livingston Street,
.vins second prize of $10. He
Dr. William Redd Turner, predicted the tie-breaker mar-
pastor emeritus of the First ;i n al jg points.
-Presbyterian Church, gave T Mann of 3^ North
the dedicatory prayer and ^ . ....
Mrs. C. M. Bailey officially 5 loan Street > Predicted a 14-
opened the plant by clipping ?° in t spread (27-13), and Mrs.
a strand of polyester-cotton Robert L. Bennett ol 309 East
roving which was produced 5th Street, Washington, N. C.,
in the Bailey Plant also predicted a 14-point dif-
The plant, which has about ierence (28-14) as they iinish-
235 employes, was construc
ted in one vear. being corn
ed just out of the money 1 .
The final contest of the
season appeared in Iasi
week’s Chronicle and involves
Post Office
pleted Feb. 1 of this year.
The approximate annual pay
roll is $1,400,000 and the games this week-end.
plant represents an approxi
mate capital investment of
$34,000 per employee job. I ^
It includes 36.288 spindles To Be^ Closed
and 525 X-3 draper looms.
rp. „ . . Postmaster W. D. Adair an-
The one-storv building has _ j * *u r. *
, ,nounced that the Post Office
278,000 square iect and the w j|| | )e c ] OSfcf ( on Saturday,
grounds have parking facili- November 11, in observance’
ties for 150 cars. 1 of Veteran’s Day.
Was “Horseshoe’s” last
name Robertson or Robin
son?
His descendants say it was
Robertson. Several local
history buffs say it was
Robinson.
Last week. The 'Chronicle
had a feature article ajxjut
Presbyterian College student
Carol Thompson, the great-
great - great - great - great
granddaughter of “Horse
shoe” who gained fame for
his Revolutionary War ex
ploits near Clinton.
The Chronicle received
several telephone calls about
the spelling of ‘Horseshoe’s’
last name. We spelled it
Robertson, based on infor
mation from his descen
dants.
Much of the local informa
tion about “Horseshoe” has
been handed down through a
book by John Pendleton
Kennedy, entitled “Horse
Shoe Robinson” which was
published in 1835. Kennedy
spelled the name Robinson.
The man who married
“Horseshoe’s great - great-
great granddaughter said
Kennedy was wrong on the
spelling.
In correspondence with
Mrs. P. M. Pitts, secretary of
the Greater Clinton Chamber
of Commerce, Raymond R.
Weems of West Point,
Miss., documented “Horse
shoe’s” background.
Weems wrote, "The great
c uthor. John P. Kennedy,
through some eivor used Lhe
ROBINSON in stead of ROB
ERTSON spelling, unless
j Horseshoe’ himself changed
his name to Robertson for
personal reasons. As was
proved, he was very clever.”
Weems also points out that
the DAR organization of
West Point, Miss., is known
4s the Horseshoe Robertson
DAR Chapter. Robertson
moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
after the war and his son
James Gailbraith Robertson
Jr. later moved to West
Point. Miss
‘Esther Pitts
Night’ Slated
Tuesday will be “Esther
Pitts Night” at a joint meet
ing of the Clinton .chapter of
the Business and Profession
al Women’s Club and the
Clinton Lions Club.
Mrs. Pitts, executive sec
retary of the Greater Clinton
Chamber of Commerce, has
been named “Woman of the
Year” and wiU be honored at
the dinner meeting at Mary
Wusgrove Hotel. The meeting
8 » to start at 7 p. m.
The Rev'. E. W. Rogers
pastor of Broad Street Meth
odist Church, will be guest
speaker,
Highway
Surprised
Officials
State highway officials on-
y a few years ago thought it
would never be necessary to
four-lane U. S. Highway 76
between Clinton and Laur
ens. *
But last Friday, Chief
Tighway. Commissioner Silas
V. Pearman stood at the in
tersection of 76 and 221 near
Laurens and formally opened
the $969,000 four-lane road.
Addressing about 150 peo
ple at the ceremonies, Pear-
man^said, “We had talked
about this project off and on
for many years. However, af
ter 1-26 wad completed!
through this area, we thought
that 'would take care of the
Laurens-Clinton traffic. We
thought two lanes of U. S. 7 6
would be all that we would
need for many years to
come.
1 “State Sen. Bill Dobbins
slpd others from this area
kept talking to us about this
road and we kept taking traf
fic counts. As this area got
nore industries along this
~oad, the traffic count con
tinued to climb. Finally it
became apparent that we
were going to have to have
'‘our lanes of highway be
tween the two towns.
“Even then. I thought we’d
have a right-of-way problem.
But the Chambers of Com-
Tierce from the two towns
and the county delegation
vent to work and smoothed
;Ut those problems. We could
lever have accomplished this
vithout the full cooperation
of the leaders of the two
’owns.”
Pearman pointed out that
since World War II, the state
ias spent over $25 million on
-oads and highways in Laur
ens County. Over $5 million
went into the Laurens County
oortion of 1-28 with $13 mil-
’ion being spent on the pri
mary system and $7 million
on the secondary road sys
tem.
Sen. Dobbins called the
ceremonies “Pearman Ap-
oreciation Day” to show
“our appreciation for this
gentleman and his depart
ment.”
S, J. Workman of
Woodruff, chairman of the
State Highway Commission,
presided at the ceremony.
Later. highway officials
were honored at a luncheon
sponsored jointly by the
Laurens and Clinton Cham
bers of Commerce at Mary
Musgrove Hotel in Clinton.
Bob Wassung, vice presi-
; dent of the Clinton Chamber
of Commerce, presided and
George Cornelson, chairman
Clinton City Council has
agreed to cooperate with a
state Highway Department
project of widening the
Broad Street Carolina Avenue
ntersection.
At their regular monthly
meeting Monday night, al
dermen agreed that the city
would move the power lines
and fire hydrants along the
route so that another line of
traffic can be added to
Broad Street from Hampton
Avenue to Carolina Avenue.
The intersection itself also
will be widened by rounding
off at the city parking lot on
the corner.
The project would add an
other lane of traffic for
right-turn only. The widening
would taper* off on East Car
olina Avenue in the vicinity
Ramagc Texaco Station.
In another action, council
instructed Mayor Noland
Suddeth and Town Attorney
Cecil White to discuss furthbr
an Orangeburg group’s inter
est in establishing a cablevi-
;ion system in Clinton.
Suddeth told council that
> r hc group has purchased 90
oer cent of the company
which has the Laurens CATV
franchise and hopes to estab-
hsh one antenna to serve
Laurens and Clinton. The
same group has the fran
chise in Newberry.
In other actions, council:
-^-Accepted the October
report of income and expens
es.
9
Hughes Called
By 1st Baptist
Rev. James Hughes, oastor
of the First Bantist Church
of Ellettsville, Ind., has been
called by the First Baptist
Church of Clinton to serve as
associate pastor and minister
of education.
Hughes will have special
responsibilities in promoting
the organizatonal and youth
work of the church.
Hughes is a native of Clin
ton. a graduate of Presbyte
rian College" and the Southern
Baptist Seminary in Louis
ville, Ky. He is married to
the former Martha Horton of
this city. Hughes will assume
his work here December 3.
—Decided that it would not
be able to assist Laurens
School District 56 officials in
running a sewer line from
Trakwood Drive to the new ;
elementary school now under;
construction on me Green
wood rosd. It was pointed out
that Teakwood Drive has not
yet been deeded to the city or
State Highway Department.
—Instructed Mayor Sud
deth to write officials of West
Columbia to get more infor
mation about that town’s or
dinance which helps the town
have some control over use
if house trailers.
—Hoard Suddeth report
»hat a Town Planning Com
mission meeting is scheduled
for 1:30 p. m. Monday at
Mary Musgrove Hotel.
It also was reported at the
meeting that Harwodd Bfeeke
Co., the town’s consulting
engineers have begun w6rk
on looking for a site for an
oxidation pond to replace the
existing sewage treatirfent
plant located in the North
east section of the city, near
Rosemont Cemetery.
Plans on the project are
expected in about 30 days.
The town then is ex
pected to apply for a fed
eral grant to help finance the
project. Once it is completed,
it will eliminate the last of
the sewage treatment plants.
Other areas are now served
by oxidation ponds.
City Audit Report
Received By Council
Clinton City Council Mon-
Icy night received the an
nual auditor’s report. Audi
tors recommended a few
irocedural changes but
itherwise apparently found
the books to be in acceptable
condition.
William P. Harris, CPA,
f the Greenville firm of
Palm, Harris, McMillan and
Longo presented the report.
The accountants’ opinion in
Ihe audit report for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, says:
We are not in a position to
ender an opir ,-n on the
inancial stater nts taken as
1 whole, since our examina-
ion did not include the con
firmation of receivables or
layables, the verification of
nventories and since a work
order system was not in ef
fect for the year.
“In our opinion, shared
tate taxes received and rec-
>rded local revenue received
by the office of the City Clerk
md Treasurer have been
ieposited, bank balances are
correctly stated and bonded
debt is fairly presented. Dis
bursements were supported
by invoices or other evi-
lence.”
Clinton operates under a
tax levy of 53 mills of which
15 mills are for bond retire
ment and 38 mills are for
general operating expenses.
Ad valorem taxes bring in
about $150,000 annually and
net revenue from the city’s
utility system is also * about
$150,000. These are the city’s
major sources of revenue.
The city purchases electric
power from Duke Power Co.
and resells it to municipal
customers. Last year’s budg
et totaled $940,000. A budget
for the current fiscal year
hasn’t been adopted.
The audit report shows that
the city had $164,772 in the
City Hall Building Fund.
However, since the end of
last fiscal year, the city has
)urchased a site for a- new
?ity hall for approximately
$50,700. The city purchased
property which has 169 front
feet on North Broad Street
at a cost of $300 per front
foot.
Harris also gave audit re
ports on the Recreation Com
mission and Firemen’s Fund.
Mayor Noland Suddeth said
the Firemen’s Fund was au
dited purely for the informa
tion of the firemen so they
can know where they stand
and to clarify for them the
purposes for which the mon-
1 ey can be used.’’
’orgt
trie
! of the Clinton Planning Com
mission, made a brief ad
dress prior presenting Pear
man witti gills irom the
! area, f
AT HIGHWAY OPENING—
Chief Highway Commissioner S. N.
Pearman. center, is shown with Clin
ton Mayor Noland Suddeth, left, and
State Sen. Bill Dobbins, right, at cer
emonies marking the official opening
of the four-lane Highway ^6 between
Clinton and Laurens.—(Yarborough
Photo)