Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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0 10 THE CHRONICLE, CHnton, S. C^ November 21, 1968 Planning Commission Could Give County Unity, Foresight Speaking at a Clinton Rotary Club meeting recently, architect Nilea Jack- son said, “Laurens County desperately needs a Planning Commission.” Jackson is a native of Laurens County who has been the architect for both county courthouse proposals which were defeated. He recognizes the need for a group which can set priorities on county projects, plan for the future, and mus ter unified county support for needed county projects. Thad Johnson of Clinton, a private citizen who has given the matter con siderable thought, believes that local civics clubs could serve as a spring board to launch a countywide drive for a County Planning Commission. Johnson said, “After the recent courthouse referendum proved to be inconclusive, I’ve given the matter a lot of thought. I think a lot of people in this section voted against the courthouse proposal because they didn’t think enough planning went in to it. I believe many of them felt the proposed 7*^-acre lot would not be big enough for the future. Also, I think we needed a definite proposal on what is to be done with the current court house property. There were just too many loose ends and I think a Plan ning Compnission could have tied up these loose ends and presented a more complete package. “I hate to see the various sections of the county pulling against each oth er. I believe a Planning Commission could help in unifying us. And we're going to have to be unified if we are to enjoy the progress which this coun ty deserves.” Johnson is a state employee who stands to gain nothing personally ex cept the fact that he wants to see his home county unified and moving to ward an orderly, well-planned future. He is a private citizen who is concern ed about his county and who is willing to give time and thought to its prob lems. We believe local civic clubs could do this county a service by forming a nucleus organization to promote the formation of a County Planning Com mission. The legislative delegation and the county commissioners are tied down with the day-to-day operation of the county. They have neither the time nor the facilities to make long-range studies and to promote projects need ed in the county. In a d d i ti o n to the courthouse needs, the county also should do some thing about a countywide water sys tem. A proposal has been made about a countywide water system but an or ganization is needed to pull all of the affected areas together into a unified system. Countywide rural fire protection is Under Justice's Yolk Five teenage lads in Bedford, In diana, are giving their all in the cause of justice these days, but they aren’t too happy about it. The band of youths thought it quite a prank to hoist 80 dozen eggs from a local supermarket. The eggs weren’t stolen for personal monetary gain. The boys merely used them as missiles to be thrown at pass ing vehicles. They admitted to shell ing some 41 cars and 3 school buses. Judge Donald A. Ardman could have sentenced the crew to a few days or nights in the pokey, or merely fined them. But he felt that he would not bring about any lasting impression that way. His alternative was, in our opinion, truly a triumph for justice. The judge ordered: “1. The washing (within the next 30 days) of 41 cars and three buses admittedly “egged" by the five youths Wednesday night. 2. Work in the City Street Depart ment for the next five Saturdays in a row raking leaves and painting. 3. An 8 p.m. curfew calling for the five to be off the streets and home by 8:00 each night for the next 30 consecutive days, unless in the company of their parents. 4. Payment (restitution) to Pay-N-Pakit Supermarket tor the 30 dozen eggs taken the night of the egg ing." The judge seems to have had the right idea in dealing with these young pranksters. None of the damage they did is lasting, and to lock them in jail would not really be in the best inter ests of their future well-being. The punishment he doled out will make them more aware of the hardship that their actions created. a desperate need. A proposal has been made but nothing has been heard from it for months. Is it, too, going to die on the vine from lack of action? It’s a disgrace to continue losing rural homes to fire when protection could be provided. There are many other county needs and they are too important to be han dled on a crisis basis. They need thought and planning. A Laurens County Planning Com- mision could provide this. A Planning Commission could be of great assist ance to the legislative delegation, the county commissioners and the future of Laurens County. The county now has a group known as the Planning and Development Commission. This group currently is in the process of being reactivated and reorganized. However, in the past, that group has concerned itself primarily with attracting industry to the county. That, of course, is very important. Equally as important, if not more so, is planning for the future and get ting some things done to improve the county. Whether a new commission is needed or whether the planning can be carried out within the framework of the reorganized commission is something to be determined by the legislative delegation. Regardless of how it’s done, pfen ning holds the key to Laurens Gout** ty's future. Nixon's Hardest Decision We will leave it to the pundits to pontificate on why the election went as it did. But President-elect Nixon did make one basic decision in the final days of the campaign which de serves comment and applause. President Johnson’s last - minute bombing-pause announcement in the final week of the campaign created a crisis-decision for the Republican nom inee. It was the kind of masterful po litical ploy which John F. Kennedy found it possible to employ in 1960. Candidate Kennedy had been briefed on the already initiated plans for in vasion of Cuba, to which undertaking President Eisenhower had assigned the incomparable Whiting Willaeur, the man who had master-minded the overthrow of the Communist regime in Guatemala. Candidate Kennedy proceeded to embarrass Nixon, re peatedly, with charges of inaction against Castro—all the time knowing full well that the most careful inva sion plans were in the making. Candi date Nixon felt constrained to remain silent in the face of the criticism, for security reasons. Kennedy won the “debates" while Nixon maintained a discreet silence. Upon achieveing the White House, Kennedy promptly dis missed Whiting Willhauer, and permit ted the invasion to become a military and diplomatic fiasco. President Johnson’s bombing-pause announcement was interpreted by many of Nixon’s aides and advisors as a cut of the same cloth. They were irate, pointing out that Johnson had no commitment from Hanoi and, in deed, none from Saigon. There was no reason why it could not have been delayed until election day, or the day after, except that the dramatic an nouncement would help the candidacy of Humphrey, and bring Kennedy and McCarthy followers back into the party ranks just in time to vote. Whereupon, Nixon gambled. He had gambled in 1960 by refusing to reveal that Eisenhower had ordered the overthrow of Castro. This time, he gambled that he could win without condemning what his aides believed to be a cheap political trick. Mr. Nixon was not willing to have the enemy, or the Government of South Vietnam, or our SEATO allies, believe that a Presi dent of the United States would play politics with war and peace. He real ized that, as the new President, he would have to deal with that enemy, the Government of South Vietnam, and those SEATO allies. Mr. Nixon gambled, and won—but barely. We reserve the right to become his severest critic. But he has earn ed the plaudits of the nation for his wise gamble. It should make peace possible sooner than would have been the case if he had followed his akfes* dsmands. The Nixon Presidency WELLESLEY HILLS, MASS.- Past performance--especially during the recent campaign--in dicates that President-elect Nixon will be a strong execu tive in the sense that he will reserve to himself the big policy decisions. . .delegating the rou tine, administrative duties of his office. UNITY HIS GOAL Nixon’s pre-election stance was meticulously planned. He foresaw the difficulty of topping the Democratic candidate in the East. . .especially in the popu lous cities. Hence he set out to woo the Southern conservatives, the basically Republican Mid west, and the disenchanted mid- dle-of-the-readers and liberals in the Far West. But this pre- "You Think Dick Nixon Could Get A Better Deal With Th' Next President Of South Vietnam?" election stance should not be in terpreted to mean that the Pre sident-elect is unaware of, or unsympathetic to, the needs of minorities, the plight of the cit ies, or the legitimate aspira tions of the nation’s youth. The Nixon campaign posture of cool ness and poise, of seeming aloof ness from certain of the prob lems facing the country, was in tended to be a vehicle for vic tory. . .nothing more nor less. Even had Mr. Nixon’s margin of the popular vote not been so razor-thin, national unity would still have been his primary goal. The degree he will actually achieve will depend in large mea sure on his approach to the prob lems of our deeply fragmented society. We may expect that ap proach to be reasoned and cal culated. It will also have to be swift if—as he certainly aims to do--he is to take full advantage of the traditional •honeymoon” which Congress accords new Presidents. VIETNAM: CONCILIATION BUT NO SOFTNESS While Mr. Nixon is usually con sidered to be more “hawkish" on Vietnam than either Presi dent Johnson or Vice President Humphrey, he is fully as eager as they to bring the conflict to an honorable conclusion--and one which will preserve the integri ty and right of self-determina tion of South Vietnam. If the war is not soon ended, look for Nixon, as President, to be a hard bar gainer vis-a-vis the North Viet namese and the Viet Cong. Should the Paris talks collapse because of bad faith on Hanoi’s part, Nixon would feel justified in ordering resumption of the bombing of North Vietnam. In such event, however, he would Everyday Counselor BY DR. HERBERT SPAUGH l * Is alcohol a disease? There are diose who say it is and those who say it isn’t. The controversy goes on. My fellow-columnist, Dr. George Crane, in his syndicated column, "The Worry Clinic,"em phatically asserts that "alcohol ism is no more a ‘disease’ than is addiction to coffee or cola beverages, tranquilizers, tobac co and other chemicals by which baman beings prod their bodies or anesthetize their brains.” He affirms further, in which he finds strong support from other aatborities, that alcohol is act ually a retreat from some emo tional or physical problem. The point could be made that alcoholism is a spiritual disifeseT" brought on by man’s spiritual de stitution. Through the Alcoholics Anonymous Clubs I have worked with many alcoholics for more Hmn 25 years. All that I’ve en countered have had emotional problems from which they have retreated into the bottle. Alcoholics Anonymous has been the most effective agency to deal with alcoholics in modern times. Their program as ex pressed in their famous Twelve Steps rests upon a spiritual foun dation. The first three steps are (1) admission of personal power lessness in dealing with alcohol; (2) admission that there is a Higher Power who can bring vic tory; (3) yielding the will andlife to this Higher Power as the pa tient understands him. These three steps are the Christian gospel in a nutshell, tailored to fit the alcoholic. The last step is one of sharing and fellowship. Members of the club go out to bring the message to "others and meet together in re gular meetings to help one ano ther. Some members of Alcoholics Anonymous fail to grasp the sig- accelerate training and equipping of South V ietnam troops to per mit early and increasing with drawal of American personnel. THE DOLLAR AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS As Chief Executive, Nixon will strongly favor measures to strengthen the dollar as a world currency. . .realizing that sound, conservative fiscal policy will do more than continued profligate spending to bind the nation’s wounds. He will also favor some further cutbacks in foreign aid, and will urge uponCongress some protection for industries hard hit by cheap imports. But, as he enters the White House, the fires of inflation will still be burning brightly; a thou- sand-and-one special interests will be clamoring for increased, not decreased, federal spending; and the states, while giving lip service to states' rights, will step up their demands upon Un cle Sam. THE URBAN CRISIS The new occupant of the White House must also come to terms with the gathering urban crisis if he is to achieve the type of national unity that he will need to govern effectively. Racial ten sions, economic deprivation, educational deficiencies, chronic unemployment, disorder, law lessness, and voter apathy--all are part and parcel of this fes tering sore termed “urban cri sis*. Nixon’s prescription for these ills will not be bigger federal programs. He has already indi cated he will take a hard look at federal programs with the idea of making them more efficient and less costly. His big assault will be and all-out effort toward greater involvement of the pri vate sector of the economy in the financing of badly needed big- city development Tax Advantage Of Charitable Annuity nificance of the spiritual basis of the program. They maintain a sort of sobriety through their fellowship one with another. I’ve heard this type of speaker at AA meetings indulge in offensive pro fanity. This is unfortunate as this antagonizes and drives away other seekers for sobriety. I’ve known many who have attended AA meetings, seeking help, only to be driven away by the pro fane language of some of the speakers. The cure for alcoholism is ba sically spiritual as Alcoholics Anonymous puts it The emotianal problem which causes retreat in to alcohol can be corrected only by God Himself. Let it be said that many with emotional problems are not al coholics. But the same remedy is available to all - fully yield ing of the life to God, our F ather. Note - You may write to the Everyday Counselor in care of this newspaper enclosing a long, self-addressed, stamped enve lope and twenty cents for copy of Bulletin #124, "Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.” BY RICHARD GANTT Attorney Presbyterian College We have considered the advant ages of a regular annuity that can be purchased from an in surance company. The charitable annuity offers some unique advantages. It is a legal agreement drawn between you and a charity such as Pres byterian College. Usually these annuities are purchased in amounts of $1,000. For the con sideration of your investment the institution agrees to pay a guaranteed return. The rates of the return will vary from 3% to 8% depending on the person’s age. Payments are figured from the date the agreement is made and continue for life. The pay ments may be scheduled to pay income to the husband during his life and then continue paying his wife during her lifetime. Such an annuity provides a very practical way for a person to re ceive an attractive return and help a worthy institution. F or ex ample a person seventy-two (72) years old would earn 6% on the investment Many people have foods that are invested in low yield investments. This annuity would enable them to earn more. RICHARD GANTT "Ahhh.. .The Sun And Surf And Secret Service.. However, the most attrac tive aspects of this annuity are the tax savings. First, there would be no estate tax on the an nuity in that it would not be taxed inthe person’s estate. Also, for Federal and S. C. income tax purposes the annuity is con sidered as part purchase and part gift The gift part of the annuity can be deducted on your federal income tax return. For example, assume a lady, age seventy-two (72) who purchased a $1,000 annuity would receive 160.00 annually. However, only $13.62 of this $60.00 would be subject to the Federal Income Tax. So, this means she receives $46.41 free of any federal tax. In addition, she will deduct on her Federal Income Tax return, $368.86. South Carolina tax law provides that she will not be taxed on any income of $60.00 until the earned income equals her initial investment This would take sixteen (16) years. The tax advantage may be in creased for the donor who gives securities of other property which has appreciated in value. A large part of capital gains tax would be saved. You do not have to be a weal thy individual to take advantage of this type annuity. Thanks From Jr. High Dear Editor, The students and teachers of ClintoD Jr. High would like tp express to you and to the people of the community our warmest appreciation for cooperating with ' us so very well in our maga zine sale. We went way over our goal with a grand total of $6,013. This magazine sale is an annual project of Clinton Jr. High and we would like to remind you to save your subscriptions or re newals for uS next year. Sincerely, Beverly Teddards President - Student Council Clinton Junior High School CHOOL I. ICH MENU 11 ki This year from the money we earned from our magazine sale, we bought brand new burgandy curtains for our stage, a new motion picture screen, and had our side curtains cleaned. We were able to do this be cause of the good cooperation you showed In buying our maga- District 56 Week of November 25-27 MONDAY - Milk, beef hash on rice, greenbeans with whole po tatoes, carrot sticks, hot bis cuits, butter, chilled peaches. Thank you again for your co operation. TUESDAY - Milk, chiliburger with cheese, cole slaw, potato chips, hamburger bun, butter, apricot cake. WEDNESDAY - Milk, baked turkey with dressing, broccoli with golden sauce, rice with gib- let gravy, cranberry sauce, hot biscuit, butter, chocolate marsh mallow pie.