The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, September 24, 1970, Image 1
V 'v
WEATHER
(Week of Sept. 16-23)
High: 93 Low: 63
(Sept 19-20) (Sept. 17)
Rainfall: 1.13 in. (Sept. 19, 20, 21)
Soil Temp. Range: 78-84 degrees
®f)e Clinton Chronicle
VoL 71 — No. 38 Clinton, S. C„ Sept. 24, 1970
INDEX
Three Sections, 22 Pages
Classified 6-A
Deaths 8-A
Hospital News 8-A
Editorials 2-B
Society 2-A, 8-A
Sports 7-A
How Observant Are You?
City Hall
Open For
Business
Mark Thursday, September
24, 1970, down as a red-letter
day in the history of Clinton’s
municipal government. It’s to
the first day of operation in the
new City Hall,
City offices were closedWed-
nesday as employees made the
final move from the old city hall
into the new one.
The final work day in the
old city hall was Tuesday, Sept
ember 22. The move into the new
building completed Wednesday
afternoon and the city clerk’s
office, Police Department and
Fire Department were officially
housed in the new city hall.
A public open house and dedi
cation ceremony is planned with
in the next few weeks.
Construction on the new city
hall began the first week in
June, 1969. Cannon construction
Co. of Newberry was the con
tractor for the project. Can
non’s original low bid was
$557,631 for construction of the
25,300-square-foot, two-story
municipal building.
The building is of colonial
design and in addition to munici
pal administrative offices, also
features a community room, with
kitchen upstairs.
The upstairs also will feature
dormitory space for firemen
when Clinton’s Fire Department
is placed on a fulltime basis.
The department currently oper
ates on a volunteer basis with
three full-time employes.
Another feature of the build
ing is a drive-in window where
residents may pay light and
water bills and handle other
transactions with the city clerk’s
office.
The building where the old
city hall was located is owned
by Mrs. Frank Wyman of Col
umbia. Negotiations currently
are underway for Charles Buice,
manager of Maxwell Brothers
Furniture Co. store liere, to
purchase the building and lease
it to Maxwell Brothers. Mr.
Buice said he intends to com
pletely remodel and modernize
the building and use it to expand
the Maxwell Brothers facility.
Crouch Is Republican
Candidate For House
B. W. Crouch Jr. of Mount-
ville, a retired engineer for
the State Highway Department,
has been nominated by the Re
publican executive committee as
a GOP candidate for the State
House of Representatives.
WHERE’S THIS? — Surely you’ve
seen the overworked pole shown
atxjve. Can you remember where it
is? It’s in downtown Clinton. Think
hard. ’Phis is another in a series of
pictures by Clinton artist-photogrn-
>fcer Betty Fryga. The purpose—
other than showing some unusual
photo subjects—is to test your pow
ers of observation. Give up? The an
swer concerning the location of the
pole is printed upside down below.
•nuauntf l|paJj pui:
Aj|.>A\ac puiqoy p.nMHCI uadMiaq .\'a||v
Harry Dent To Speak Here Tonight
National and South Carolina
politics as viewed from the White
House will be the theme of tun
Clinton addresses this Thurs
day by Harry S. Dent, counsel
to President Richard M. Nixon.
He is scheduled to deliver the
1970 Distinguished Alumni Lec
ture at Presbyterian College that
morning, speaking to the 10 o’
clock student assembly in Belk
Auditorium. Then at 7 p.m., he
will address the Clinton Kiwanis
Club at the Mary Musgrove
Hotel. Wives, Boy Scouts and
M
wmwiom
Weird Weather
That rain and lightning storm at Saturday
night’s P.C.-Furman game in Greenville provided
some unusual experiences and sights for Clinton
folks who attended the game.
Len Ledford of South Adair Street says,
"That’s the first time I ever went to a ball game,
bought a program, sat down and watched a few
plays and then listened to the final quarter on
the radio at home.”
He and his wife were among the many who
left the stadium when the storm hit. About mid
way through the first quarter, rain started fall
ing. Many of the Blue Hose followers might
have braved the rain but that lightning was
something else. It cracked all around the sta
dium in blinding flashes accompanied by earth-
shaking thunder. One bolt hit the scoreboard,
knocking the timekeeper to the ground. The
scoreboard kept working fine — except they
couldn’t turn the clock off and it ran and ran.
about six quarters worth. The official time was
kept on the field by one of the game officials.
Although some folks returned to Clinton
when the storm hit, a few sat in cars at the sta
dium, listened to a couple of quarters of the game
on car radios and then went back to watch the
final quarter.
There were a few hearty souls who sat
through the entire game. They had some com
ments about “fair weather friends” upon return
of some of those who had dashed for the cars
• •••••*
Clothing Needed
Tom and Chicola Robertson lost their cloth
ing and household items in a fire at their apart
ment at 618 North Broad Street Sunday after
noon.
Anyone wishing to donate clothing may
leave it at the United FNind Office at 200 West
Pitts Street or call 888-2716. Sixe of the clothing
needed: woman’s dress size 10 and shoe size 8U:
man’s pants size 84 waist and shirt size 16.
special guests will join the Ki-
wanians for this program.
Dent, a 1951 PC graduate who
has been President Nixon’s top
political adviser for more than
a year, is flying down from
Washington especially for his
two Clinton appearances.
Roberts
Heads Gas
Authority
At the regular monthly meet
ing of the Clinton-Newberry Na
tural Gas Authority on Thursday
evening, September 17, Mr. Joe
M. Roberts, of Newberry, was
elected chairman, and Mr. J.C.
Thomas, Mayor of Clinton, was
elected vice chairman.
Mr. L. D. Gardner, Jr., of
Newberry, will continue to serve
as secretary.
Other board members are Ma
yor Clarence A. Shealy of
Newberry, retiring chairman,
Cecil Klnard of Newberry and
Boyd W. Holtzclaw and George
W. Bagwell of Clinton.
Wymair M. Shealy is general
manager and Mrs. Mary Tiller
recording secretary.
Crouch was nominated Mon
day night to fill a vacancy ere#
ed when Hugh Jacobs of Clinton
withdrew. Mr. Jacobs was a
nominee for one of the two Hodsn
seats alloted to Laurens County.
Hance Finley, also of Mount-
ville, and Crouch are the Re
publican candidates who will de
pose Democratic nominees Da
vid S. Taylor and Eugene Stod
dard in the November election.
Rep. Taylor is the only incum
bent candidate.
Mr. Crouch attended Wofford
College and worked in area mills
while playing semi-professional
baseball during the early 1930s.
While at Wofford, he was a mem
ber of SAE social fraternity.
He was associated with the
South Carolina Highway Depart
ment for 20 years, retiring as
associate resident construction
engineer. He also is a retired
Clinton Voter
Registration Set
The Laurens County Registration Board will
open a voter registration office in Clinton Sept.
28-29-30.
Voters may register in Clinton next Mopday,
Tuesday and Wednesday for the November elec
tion.
The voter registration office will be located
in the old Hamilton Jewelry Store, beside John
son’s Men’s Shop on the square in downtown Clin
ton.
'Hie November election voter registration
deadline is Oct. 3. Laurens County citizens may
also register at the Laurens County Registration
office between now and Oct. 8.
The Clinton registration office will be open
from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.
Sept 28 and 29, and from 9 a.m. until noon on
Wednesday. Sept. 30.
LIGHTING THE TORCH — Boy
Scouts Lucius Fuller, left, (Troop
178) and Wayne Gandy, right, (Troop
177) light the Greater Clinton United
Fund Torch following Monday’s kick
off drive meeting at the Musgrove
Inn. John Fox, Executive Director
of the S.C. Association of United
Funds addressed those attending, em
phasizing the importance of “Fair
Sharing Giving.” UF President Bud
dy Oakley presided, followed by
Chairman Alvin Hueble, who intro
duced Mr. Fox.
City Manager Mentioned
Mayor Discusses Housing,
By-Pass, And Annexation
B. W. CROUCH
cattle farmer. He is a former
Master oftheMountville Grange.
Mr. Crouch was District Man
ager of the U. S. Census in 1970,
being in charge of the census in
Greenville, Spartanburg and
Laurens Counties.
He is married to thefcrmer
Margaret Taylor of Clinton and
they have a daughter, DollyNor-
ton, who teaches in the Green
ville city school system; and
Ben Crouch, who works for Duke
Power Company in Spartanburg.
He is a former deacon at
the Presbyterian Church in
Mountville.
Low-rent housing, a by-pass,
annexation and a city manager
system were discussed by Clin
ton Mayor J. C. Thomas Tues
day at a luncheon meeting of the
Clinton Rotary Club.
In his first address before a
civic club since his election as
mayor, Mr. Thomas indicated
that all four of those projects
deserve serious consideration.
said, “Traffic qgpflMtiGB
downtown will continde^until a
by-pass is constructed. It is
usual for some people to be in
convenienced by new road con
struction and we are working
to secure a route of maximum
convenience to the whole town
with a minimum of inconvenience
to the few who will be adversely
affected. We are also consult
ing with the S. C. Highway De
partment about an extension of
West Main Street so as to avoid
crossing of Railroad Tracks.
This will be a great help to
workers in the plants of Bailey,
Torrington, Standard Plywood,
Skylark Mobile Homes, and for
other workers and residents of
the area.”
Concerning low-rent housing,
he said, “A number of citizens
have told me that they consider
low-rent housing Clinton’s most
urgent need. Federal funds are
now more difficult to secure but
we are making an effort in this
matter and have been told that
we have a fair chance to secure
financing for 200 units.”
Concerning annexation, he
said, “Some home owners liv
ing near our city limits hesi
tate to see the corporate limits
extended to their homes because
they dislike city taxes It is
true that taxes have been a
cause of complaint ever since
governments were first formed
but taxation provides the cheap
est and most efficient means of
public services when efficiently
managed. Only a few little ex
tensions of Clinton corporation
limits have been made In the
past 100 years. Many people do
not realize that homes or bus
inesses as near the town cen
ter as just south of the Clinton
Armory could burn without help
from Clinton fire-fighting equip
ment unless the owners had pre
viously arranged a $200 bond for
equipment services. Unless ar
rangements had previously been
made by the County Sheriffs
Office, a Clinton police officer
could not arrest a burglar break
ing into one of the homes in one
of the many suburban areas just
outside our city limits.
“We really consider the resi
dents of those areas to be Clin-
tonlans and believe that they
wonid he pwtljrbaniaWtudifteey
assumed the responsibilities and
enjoyed the services of our
municipality.”
On the city manager system,
Mr. Thomas commented, “It is
probable that an efficient, full
time manager could save Clin
ton much more than his salary,
but meanwhile we will do our
best to make our present muni
cipal system more efficient..!
do not have the personal ability
and I do not have the time to
study adequately every mimici-
pa problem. Council members
are also part time city admini
strators but each one has been
asked to give special attention
and study to one of the depart
ments of our city’s program.
We seek the counsel and coop-
-eratfen ot mvry dttimt, f Pff—
each of you to consider what
should be done to aid Clinton's
Welfare and to discuss the mat
ter with the alderman represent
ing your ward. He will see that
the matter is placed on the a-
genda of council meetings and
we will carefully consider your
suggestions."
Martha Dendy
Renovation Starts
W. E. Baker and Son, Inc.,
contractors of Newberry, has
begun renovation work at Martha
Dendy Girls Junior High School.
Baker entered the low bid of
$126,335 on the project which
Koon Wins
Grid Contest
will include construction of of
fices and a physical education
dressing room plus asphalting
a parking area and play area.
Baker was one of five com
panies which bid on the project
The bids ranged up to a high of
$137,979. Other firms which bid
on the project are Foster Con
struction Co., E. L. Jones and
Son, Inc., Sherman Construction
Co., and Triangle Construction
Co.
Community Action Program Outlined
Leslie Koon of 207 Hawkins
St., Joanna, is the winner of the
season’s first Chronicle Foot
ball Contest
Koon missed only one of 15
selections. However it took the
tie-breaker to edge Jack Hames
of 404 Francis St, Clinton, who
also missed only one.
Koon predicted Furman would
defeat PC 23-13, a 10-point mar
gin. Haines predicted Furman
would win, 22-13, a ninepoint
margin. Furman defeated PC 19-
7, a 12-point spread.
Koon wins $15 for placing
first and Haines wins $7.50 as
second prize.
The work, which began Tues
day, is to be completed in 120
work days.
The office area at the school
will include principal’s office,
guidance counselor’s office, a
general office, faculty lounge
and a work room.
The physical education dress
ing room will include showers
and other facilities to accomo
date 41 girls at a time. The
play area which will be black-
topped will be located behind the
cafeteria. The parking area wifi
be located between the school and
Martha Dendy Swimming PooL
Approximately 140 people at
tended the Public Meeting held
Monday, September 21, at the
Courthouse in Laurens sponsor
ed by the Laurens County Com
munity Action Agency.
This meeting was held to have
the plans and priorities of the
Community Action Agency for
1971-72 presented to the public
for their approval or dlsappro-
vaL
Passed unanimously by the
group in attendance were the
following plans and priorities:
CHILD DEVELOPMENT PRO
GRAM: L expansion of a
center to the Midway School in
order to serve the Mountville,
Cross Hill and Waterloo areas
of the county; 2. Upgrading of
each center (Le., equipment,
flooring, etc.); 3. More educa
tional work in each center. This
will be furthered by the Educa
tional Director who recently be
gan in the program; 4. trans
portation will be in need of con
stant improvement
NEW CAREERS CENTER: L
Elimination of the secretarial
course; 2. expansion of PREP
to PREP I (8th grada equiva
lency) and PREP n (10th grade
equivalency); this expansion Is
to enable students to be better
prepared for the High School
Equivalency Program; 3. Ad
dition and further development
of the nurse’s aide course.
CREATE: L Use of more
facilities indoor and outdoor;
2. more white participation;
3. staff training ter summer
employees; 4. better publicity
of activities in various com
munities.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZA
TIONS: L continued publica
tion of this new service; 2. an
information and referral ser
vice; 3. working with low-to-
come groups of people; 4. ex
ploring possibilities erf coopera
tive buying; 5. work with the
elderly.
Prior to the plans and priori
ties presentation, a Brief ex
planation of the present pro
grams was made. This approval
by tea people te attendance gives
the necessary sanction for 1m-
pteflMBtetion by the Community
Action of these plans and priorit
ies for the next fiscal year.
Other Memoirs
BY JOE H. SIMPSON
I recall a practice that existed
young lad, that I do not beBeve is
more. Perhaps the law has
insurance companies do
There must have been at
bors or friends in the dty
sleep in their home white I „
cation or out of the dty far a4se
, it seems that the fire ‘
time demanded that
night in order to
not recall
V
. k •jt'