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The Clinton Chronicle Index Clinton, S. C., Thursday, January 11, 1968 Vol. 69 — No. 2 ('liuwified 6 Death* 3 Sports Editorials Society 7 Estimated 1968 City Income Estimated 1968 City Expenses > '‘€t % ^ O, I'Mi' v ^ m ti- 'W' Wi UCtKSO '>S 5:^' sT. O ^ c /o ~ s o °% 6 City Budget Is Adopted By Council I im im & Dries s^tts S 786,000 74.3% S£«fvic t s ft»f Wh-T 2 8% Clinton City Council adopt- City Clerk Brooks Owens for Gt !: '**, ? • ••■:* , v 81^ V* CD um.ur ofpt i>636 162 76 60 3 % 9h) : / t / \ > V B II t 0 ,s^b° tJmm '■■■-■ ■' . L*f DsV'V .0*0 >*>, •• ■ V';':' .}• i ••• < : u .ftp 'll t % feMi!- 09 sfH WHEKE IT COMES FROM AND WHERE IT GOES — The charts above show a break-down of where the City of Clinton gets its income and how it spends its money. The chart at left shows the city’s estimated income for 1968: Utility Sales, $786,000 or 74.3 per cent of the total income figure; Property Taxes, $140,000 or 13.4 per cent; S. C. Tax Commission (Liquor. Wine, Bank taxes.) $40,000 or 3.8 per cent; Motor Transport Fund, $7,500 or 0.7 per cent; Parking Meters, $9,000 or 0.8 per cent; Police Fines, $27,500 or 2.6 per cent; Cemetery, Meters and Tap Fees, Deposits and Misc., $16,500 or 1.6 per cent; Business Licenses, $:j ).0(>0 or 2.8 per cent. The total income is estimated at $1,056,500. Expenses ;m* Administrative Department, $40,- 746 or 3.9 j>er cent of the total expenses; Fire Dept., $29,744.21 or 2.8 per cent; Police Dept., $106,508 or 10 per cent; Street Dept., $125,087.86 or 11.8 per cent; Utility Dept., $636,162.76 or 60.3 per cent; General Expenses (Re tirement Fund, Social Security, Insunncel, $68,875.01 or 6.5 per cent; Con tingent Fund (New and replacing equipment), $49,376.03 or 4.7 per cent. (Charts Drawn by Dan Mann) Monthly Delegation Meeting Set The Laurens County legis lative delegation will hold public meetings the second Monday of each month in the courtroom 0! the Laurens County courthouse., in Laur ens, The meetings will start at 7:80 p. m. The meetings were held last year on the first Monday of each month but have been changed so as not to conflict with Laurens and Clinton city council meetings. Purpose of the meetings is to. give the legislators an op- Oops! Langston Baptist Church Is Older 1. jgtV jrtut portunity to discuss legisla tive: matters with v their «on- Stitutents. J By DONNY WILDER Chronicle Editor One of the. first rules of journalism is to avoid super latives. Anytime one writes that something is first, last, old est, youngest, biggest, small est, etc., he’s taking a chapce: It seems there’s al ways one of whatever he was writing* about which is older, bigger, sooner, etc. Last week, the Chronicle carried a .story which stated Beaverdam Baptist Church at Moiintville was the oldest Baptist Church in Laurens County. It is 161 years old this year. Langston Baptist Church was organized in either 1773 or ITH, whiph would make it older than Beaver-1 built. Soloman Langston was pros ic red and its member- dam. The church history says the father of Dicey Langston, ship me reused to 302 in 1803, it was organized in 1777. a heroine of the Revolution- Pain or said that the Lord However, state Baptist rec- ary War Langston was a called him to go to Indiana, ords shows that it was organ-1 mustering point during both !!; extended an invitation to ized in 1775 It was firnt named Upper Duncans Creek Church but later was named for Solomon Langston’s family which liv ed nearby and donated the the Revolutionary War and lux congregation to follow Civil War. ihun and apparently several The Rev. Joshua Palmer j families accepted the invita- became pastor of the church tion The membership total in 1790, soon after he arrived in this country from England. land on which the church was From 1790 to 1803 the church wj dropped to 215 when he left to establish a church in In diana. A it ;:vt" W« is.. * Governor Encourages County Re-Evaluation 0 - in his “State of the State* message At the ipen- ing of the General Assembly Tuesday, Gov. Robert E. McNair encouraged counties to consider a pro gram of property re-evluation. He said, “I . . . urge that each county gvie serious consideration to a program of property re- evaluation to provide equitable souses of revenue to carry on its functions. We are 1 encouraged by a recent Tax Commission report which shows that 32 counties have expressed an interest in con ducting programs of reassessment. Of these, 26 have already re-assessed or are in the process of beginning, 17 with assistance from the State Tax Commission. Let rate urge all of you to avail your selves of this service by the Tax Commission which stands ready to act upon a request from any . legislative delegation.;^ y*: A-.** XT, -Wa*. <-•. ..y. «.y, G T' V . v’' ■ S A " '■ •>* <<; ^ - cd a $1,056,600 budget 1968 Monday night. It is $116,600 above the 1967 budget of $940,000 but Mayor Noland Suddeth said no tax increase will be neces sary. He said, “We can take care of the increase through the additional income of normal growth and through tighter control over spending." The budget includes a pay increase for city employes on a merit basis. The city’s income comes from these sources: Utilities Sales and Services. $786,000; Property Taxes, $140,000; S. C. Tax Commis sion (Liquor, Wine and Bank Tax), $40,000; Business Li censes, $30,000; Cemetery, Meters, Tap Fees, Deposits and Misc. $16,500; Police Fines, $27,500; Parking Me ters, $9,000; Motor Transport, $7,500. The expenses are: Utility Department, $636,- 162,76; Street Dept. $125,087.- 86; Police Dept., $106,508.13; Contingent Fund and New and Repairing Equipment, $49,376.03; General Expense (Retirement, Social Security and Insurance), $68,875.01; Administrative, $40,746; Fire Department, $29,744.21. The budget carries no pru vision for depreciation on the utility budget. Mayor Sud deth pointed out, "If we didn’t have nur utility set up, we’d have to double tax es to be able to afford to do the things we re doing in this budget.” In other business Monday j night, council: ■;««**.<■*** , ■ * 4 V '5^ Jury Rules On Wreck Near Clinton LAURENS — A 21-year-old Woodruff serviceman died aa a result of an automobile ac cident “due to his own care lessness” a coroner’s jury uled here Tuesday. David Ray Sloan died five days after a Dec. 23 wreck 6n 1 Interstate 26 about foUr, and a half miles north of Clinton. S. C. Highway Patrolman Gerald Dobson said ^ oan was driver of the i960 Oids- nobile Convertible ‘which eft the road and wrecked, Dimes activity in the Clin- .aurens that tax collections are run ning between $12,000 and $15,- 000 ahead of collections this time last year. —Accepted a State High way Department proposal to install double traffic lights at several key intersections in town. —Approved the ordinance setting business license fees. —Re-adopted all ordinances for the new year. —Heard Mayor Suddeth re port that the city has trans ferred $100,000 which it had in a savings and loan institu tion to certificate of deposit in order to realize an extra $500 on the five per cent in terest. —Heard Suddeth report that the city has paid for the lot it purchased for the pro posed new city hall. Suddeth also reported that Taylor Martin has completed the topographical mapping of the lot so that it will be avail able when architects start work on plans for the build ing. —Instructed Mayor Suddeth to see if he can arrange a meeting with insurance rep resentatives concerning bring ing up to date the Fire De partment records on insured buildings immediately outside the city limits. —Instructed City Engineer Ralph Holt to have the State Sanitation Department recon sider its proposal for a sew age lagoon to serve the north east section of town. Th'_‘ department recommended an eight - acre project which would serve 2,400 people. Council felt the proposed la goon would not be large -Received a report from enough to serve future growth. Mrs. Henderson Heads March Of Dimes Drive Mrs. Lykes S. Henderson will head the annual March C ounty Coroner | ton area j) r F re( i Holcombe, larshali Pressley said Sloan i c j 1airman ^ Lauren s i.ed of internal injuries re-; County Chapter of thc Na . eived in the wreck. i tional Foundation, announces Another coroner’s jury rul- , She has been designated ■d Tuesday that the tO-year- chairman (or tl , e Mother . s Id Negro operator of a March, a residential soheita- Fountain Inn skating rink i tion that wiU take place the died as the result of a wound last week in January to aid LANGSTON BAPTIST CHURCH Organized In 1770s from a 20-gauge, sawod-off shotgun “fired by the hand of ohnny Lee McDaniel.’' Walter Lee Arnold was kill ed Dec. 30 in a shooting which occurred alter an ar gument at the skating rink. in the fight against birth de fects which claim 560,000 lives each year in the Unit ed States. Mrs. Henderson is appoint ing area chairmen who in turn will seek neighborhood workers. On Tuesday morn ing, January 16, at 10 o’clock, McDaniel, charged with these workers will assemble murder, was free after post- at the Board of Trustees ing $2,500 bond Saturday. j Room in Belk Auditorium, PC campus, to view the film, "The Only Kid on the Block,” and receive their work kits. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the National Foundation by President Franklin D. Roose velt for the purpose of aid ing the victims of infantile paralysis. After the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vac cines to prevent polio, which was accomplished under the research program of the Foun dation, the organization turn ed its attention ten years ago to the causes and cures of birth defects. This month the 100th Birth Defects Center was opened by the National Foundation with March of Dimes funds. In South^ Carolina, a Birth Defects Center is in opera tion at the Medical College in Charleston. Auditor Supports Mapping, Equalization Differs On Tax Re-Evaluation Issue The difference of opinion in the LaUrens County legisla tive delegation concerning a county tax re-evaluation pro- graa) continues with the etnln , senator on one side and the two House members plus the county auditor on the other side. At 1 public meeting Mon day it the Laurens courthouse, State Sen! Sf. to create a, .*tven-j cooagnftte to study for I Reps^j Paul I said ■ readypave™ and now id^ Taylor Of Laurens Kill “to map our county and to formulate a fair and equit able method of re-evaluation and (tax) equalization.” i Aon. DobhhM said, "There i»ay be ja/few remote cases where some buildings are not in line in taxation but I don't think the ills are so great they can’t be corrected by the current board (of as sessment). Property tax (Bill) Dobbinijjf„)jf9aima said I aaaesament Jr a Jremendous he will introduce legislation undertaking. and ; I Wink we want, a thorough study of the rfiattir made before' we un dertake such a project.” troduce mm Rpnah, public the Clinton and Ay >5, - 4--' aMW*' *' Both Culbertson and Taylor; pointed out that the delega tion has worked harmoniously but that there is a difference of opinion conceroing tax re assessment. Culbertson said, “We don't agree on reassessment. I think there is no question on the need for a reassessment pro gram. It has been a crying need for many,. many years. About 16 or 18 years ago, countywide mapping was rec ommended but hoChing has been done about itA l believe it’s a little late to appoint a committee to tell us some thing we already know. “I believe “ many people are paying more taxes Wan necessary and don’t know it because we have stich a ‘hodge-podge’ f system. The board of assessments has ask ed for countywide mapping and a method of tax re-eval uation. I want us to bring about a fair and impartial tax base.” Taylor said he thinks the county’s major need is re- evaluation. “I don’t approve of appoint ing a committee now,” he said, "We have had cham bers of commerce represen tatives, city councils, various other groups and the board of i assessments ask us to do soAie thing about reassess ment. The necessary legisla tion was created last summer but ,w*e haven’t taken advan tage of it. “I* don’t think reassess ment^ would necessarily raise taxes, it will equalize taxes. Twenty-eight, counties have begun or completed reassess ment programs. We must have a complete mapping program and reassessment." In a report on the financial condition of the county, Sen. Dobbins said, “Our finances are in excellent condition. We have mfleh lower taxes than in many neighboring counties and yet we 1 accomplish a great deal.’ Our tax structure is attractive to industry.” He also said, “We will do all we can to keep our taxes as low as possible.” Looking back over 1|967, he said, "We have had a tre mendous road improvement program. The prime accom plishment, of course, was completion of the four-laning ol the Laurens-CIinton road. Our new airport is almost completed. The new Asco Felt plant is completed and production will starT* around F6b. 1 with an employment of about 200 workers.” Looking ahead to 1968, Dob bins said that a new court house referendum is being planned. In the referendum, voters will be asked (1) Do you favor a new courthouse at a cost not to exceed $1.6 million? or (2) Do you ^ fa vor renovating the present courthouse at a cost to be de termined by architects? Taylor said he will press for county home rule for Laurens County. He said, “If the courts ac cept the reapportionment as it now stands, then home rule will be a must. We will have two senators serving three * counties (Laurens, SNfwberry and Union and we mtist set up a system where by we can govern ourselves in this OOUiltyG f Taylor said he will support proposed "ring road" by- patch and maintain. We need pass. to upgrade our equipment so The delegation also heard we can do some permanent budget requests from various .work." county department heads. The | He said $5,000 is needed to only major increase was re-1 build isolation quarters at the quested by County Supervi- chain gang camp. He said, sor Furman E. Thomason.,"There is no way to isolate who requested an additional $129,000 for his department. The increases include $100,- 000 for road equipment and for permanent road work; $20,000 for roads and bridges; $2,000 for the county home and $7,000 for a bookkeeping machine for his office. In discussing his depart ment’s needs, Thomason said the county has between 490 and 500 miles in blacktop roads which were built in the 1940s and 1960s. He said prisoners who may have com municable disease and there have been times when dis eases swept through the camp because of a lack of isolation facilities.” The county home increase is needed, he said, because of the increased number of persons living there and the attention they /need. , The bookkeeping machine is need ed in his office because of the growth of the county cottjffiiission office these roads "need a lot of at* He said that if ftp can tentlon but with PW present buy ' Clinton in helping t» ap tefcHUmi * W «*. » WlhVwSlij *'• i