The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, January 11, 1968, Image 1
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