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Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 1

Location:
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Issue Date:
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1
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

LOCAL WEATHER loudy to partly cloudy today, ecoming generally fair Tues-ay. Rather cold. Highest to lay in 50s. Lowest tonight in 40s highest Tuesday 54-64. Hattie AME3R, VOL.

LXXVI-No. 45 10c HATT1ESBURG, MISSISSIPPI, MONDAY, FEB. 22, 1971 Associated Press News and Wirephoto ICAN wJi IUJ 9 J- jCrfsa tuafas rip 18 -si-- 1 Hundreds hurt; damage heavy If l' Sunday. These Civil Defense workers are checking through the wreckage this morning for anyone who might have been trapped and not found during the night. (AP Wirephoto) THIS WAS A TRAILER PARK An or-, dinary trailer park near the University of Mississippi campus was turned into a mass of mangled steel and wood, after a tornado went through it about 6:45 p.m.

section at Inverness Monday after tornadoes almost leveled the town. (AP GUARD ON DUTY AT INVERNESS A Mississippi National Guardsman keeps watch amid debris at a downtown inter IKIeavy enemy attacks stall South Viet drive Local eiibibi one die sMe accidents ion's 450 men had been killed or wounded in a three-day siege. The survivors carried 108 wounded with them but left behind 130 dead comrades and 60 other wounded to fend for themselves. Another ranger base a mile By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Dozens of tornadoes tore across the flat lands of Mississippi River Delta Sunday night. Officials reported 70 persons killed in Mississippi and five in Louisiana.

Hundreds were injured. Property damage was extensive. The death toll climbed sharply after daybreak as volunteer workmen uncovered bodies in Mississippi's LeFlore County and Inverness. "It looked like a thousand hells!" exclaimed Willie Young, a railroad employe who survived one of the first tornadoes that spun out of a oold front at Delhi, La. Weathermen said there prob ably were 40 Or 50 tornadoes in the 100-mile line of violent weather that raced across Mis sissippi after spawning two twisters in northeast Louisiana.

Mississippi officials reported nine killed rural LeFlore Counth, 13 at Inverness, 18 in Sharkey County, five in rural Humphreys County, three at Little Yazoo, two at Rome, two at Bovina, and 16 at Pugh City. Included in the Sharkey County deaths were seven at Delta City and eight at Cary. A deputy sheriff said only seven of the 50 houses were left standing at Pugh City, a small town at the LeFlore Humph reys county line. Other tornadoes struck in Tennessee and storm warnings were posted for most of the southeast from Alabama to South Carolina. Violent weather also hit the Midwest and Southwest, where five persons died in snow storms in Kansas, Western Mis souri, and Oklahoma.

Civil defense officials in Mis sissippi reported difficulty cumulating figures on the storm's toll because of blocked communications lines. Most of the dead remained unidentified. Early reports showed, in ad dition to the nine dead in LeFlore County, 78 treated at hospitals and 27 hospitalized. I Sharkey County, along the river at the southern tip of the Delta, more than 220 were reported injured in addition to the 18 dead. The Mississippi Highway Patrol sealed off Inverness to cu riosity-seekers.

Vice Mayor Hunter Pratt said 90 per cent of the community's businesses were destroyed and one school was flattened. He said prisoners from the penitentiary at Parchman were cutting trees to help clear the streets. The twister in LeFlore County, in the heart of the cotton-producing area, struck Pugh City first, then continued A Hattiesburg. man jitas killed and another hurt about 9:10 p.m. Saturday when the car in which they were riding crashed through the railing of a bridge over Gordon Creek and Unetta St.

Police said Archie Jackson, 33, of 123 East Ninth apparently drowned in the overturned vehicle. Charles Towns, 30, of 1200 Scott got free of the car. He was taken to Methodist Hos Arabs, Israelis bicker over Jarring proposals At the community of Money, a row of 10 shacks was swept away. At Itta Bena, a sheriff's deputy said he saw five funnels at one time. In Louisiana, near Delhi, six persons died when a tornado lifted a frame house from its foundation and splintered it over a wide area.

Some of the bodies were found 200 yards from the foundation of the house. (Continued on Page 14) 125 blacks leave campus at Blair High About 140 black students met for an hour and 45 minutes this morning with D. I. Patrick, principal of Blair High School, and with counselors and assis tant principals in an attempt to resolve a controversy that arose because of an editorial publish ed in the Feb. 19 edition of Blair's student newspaper, Hi-Flashes.

At the conclusion of the meet ing, about 125 black students, or about half of the total number of blacks enrolled at Blair, left the campus in an orderly fash ion. The paper ran an editorial entitled "Blair Students Face Problems," which was was an attempt to state feelings and facts gathered from both blacks and whites, school officials said. The officials said some blacks apparently misinterpreted the editorial, which incidentally, ran next to an editorial on the city school board that was taken in bad taste by some of Blair's white students. Patrick said he spent four hours Friday afternoon hearing individual grievences from black students who were upset by the editorial. Since the problem was not resolved by the time school opened today, a group meeting of about 140 blacks was held in the auditorium.

At this meeting, a request was made to let a committee of six black students sit with the principal, editors of the paper and faculty sponsor of the paper to work out a solu-tion agreeable to all parties. Patrick said he gave tentative approval of this request pending the approval of other parties involved. School officials said it was their feeling that at this point the problem should have been resolved. Patrick said he and other officials were not told why the 125 blacks left the campus. of the Hattiesburg Fire Department have filed suit in Chancery Court for a mandatory injunction to require the City of Hattiesburg to comply with state law which requires only that an applicant for employment under Civil Service be a resident or elector of the county in which he resides.

"That the city of Hattiesburg will not permit employees to the Fire and Police Departments to reside outside the corporate limits of the City, but will per mit certain city employees to do so. That the City is now, with knowledge, allowing certain employees in the same class as Morgan to live outside the city limits but denies the same right to other employees. That the double standard of the City of Hattiesburg and the unequal ap- (tonunuea on Fage 14) Senate committee told of illegal deals in PX By GEORGE ESPER Associated Press Writer i( SAIGON (AP) More heavy North attacks stalled the South Vietnamese drive into Laos today for the fifth successive day. Lead elements of Saigon's force were still only miles from the border they crossed two weeks ago. Military sources said the cam.

paign also had not achieved its objective, to cut the flow of er-my supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail. Instead, these sources said, the North Vietnamese had doubled the truck traffic, from 1,000 to about 2,000 "movers' per day, and diverted them to the west to routes beyond the South Vietnamese advance. "The enemy conducted at least 10 indirect fire attacks with rockets and mortar rounds against South Vietnamese fire bases and field positions in the southern panhandle of Laos Sunday, causing light over-all casualties," a South Vietnamese communique said. A spokesman said they were the heaviest enemy attacks since Saigon's troops moved Into Laos Feb. 8.

He would not iisclose specific casualties, but "light over-all casualties" indicated some units may have suffered moderate or heavy losses. The enemy attacks drove remnants of one South Vietnamese ranger battalion from a hilltop patrol base six miles inside Laos after 298 of the battal pital by AAA Ambulance Service. Towns was treated for lace rations and was released Sunday. Officers said that they first thought there was a woman in the car with the two men. Police and members of the fire department searched the creek for the remainder of Saturday night and until about noon Sunday.

Witnesses later confirmed that the two men were the only ones in the ve hicle. Cole arranged for a local Army noncommissioned officers club to buy its assets at retail prices, a $120,000 deal that included a $12,000 kickback to the sergeant in charge of the clubs, Bybee said. Warned the Army's Criminal Investigations Division was about to raid his Saigon headquarters searching for fraudulent military purchase forms and other evidence of wrongdoing, Crum turned for help to Gen, Cowe, then deputy chief of staff for personnel and administration at Long Binh, Bybee said. "Mr. Crum said Gen.

Cole was costing him $1,000 a month (Continued on Page 14) of 1 to ark Funeral Home Is in charge of arrangements for Jackson. Arrangements are in complete. Weekend accidents in Mississippi, according to the Associated Press, killed 17 other persons, including five members of a Yazoo County family whose car rammed a bridge south of Sartaria. The Yazoo County wreck Sunday killed James Aubrey Land-rum, 43; his wife, Maxine, 40; their daughters Joyce Lynn, 13, and Gayle, and son Larry, 10. Three persons were killed and six hurt in a three-car crash south of Oxford early Saturday.

The dead were James E. Rutledge, 23, of Memphis, and Mrs. Zel-ma Hall, 21, and Mrs. Bessie Brown, 50, both of Bruce. Fred Gaddis Jr.

25, of Stark-ville was killed when their small plane went into a spin while he and his brother, Mike, 21, were flying near Starkville. Mike was reported in satisfactory condition at Baptist Hospital in Jackson. They are the sons of Mayor Fred Gaddis Sr. of Forest. Barbara Ann Thomas, 10, drowned Saturday after falling into a pond as she played at her home eight miles south of Vicksburg.

Jane Schleuter, 18, of Minneapolis, was killed early Sunday when her car col-(Continued on Page 14) was taken to Marion County General Hospital in Columbia. The hospital would release no information concerning Wal away, also under siege since Thursday, was still holding out today under rocket and mortar fire. But a U.S. helicopter got to lift out an American helicop' ter crew chief, Dennis Fujii of Hawaii, who was stranded at (Continued on Page 14) nized and agreed boundaries to be established in peace agreements." It proposed that the indirect discussions at the United Nations be continued under Gunnar V. Jarring with "the aim of reaching an agreed peace treaty between the two states." The cabinet said it looked "favorably" on Cairo's peace offer, made in reply to proposals by Jarring.

But it said the Egyptian proposal demonstrated the "concrete differences between Egypt's position and that of Is rael." Cairo Radio said the comma nique was a "flat rejection'' of the Jarring initiative and a "twisted reply" to the Egyptian offer. A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said it "reaffirms Israeli expansio ist policy, which contradicts the Security Council's 1967 resolution and violates the U.N. char ter." The N. Security Council adopted the resolution five months after the six-day war, Its peace formula included IS' raeli withdrawal from occupied Arab territory and Arab recog nition of Israel right to exist within "secure and recognized boundaries." Jarring's discus-(Continued on Page 14) The weather Official weather report: 9 a m. temperature 47 degrees Highest 77 and lowest 42 during preceding 24 hours.

Ramfall.40 For Sunday the high was 70 and the low 61 with rainfall .51 Riv. cr stage 13.6 feet. Extended outlook: Mississippi Partly cloudy and coia Wednesday with lows in lower 30s north to middle 40s south portion and highs in 50s to lower 60s. Showers and warm er Thursday and Friday. Lows Thursday in middle 30s to low er 40s and highs in lower 50s to middle 60s with lows Friday in lower 40s to lower 50s and highs in lower 60s to lower 70s.

By MARCUS ELIASON Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) Premier Golda Meir's Cabinet has renewed its demand that Egypt negotiate new boundaries with Israel, but the demand was greeted by a hostile response from Cairo. The proposal came from an all-day Cabinet meeting Sunday to discuss Egypt's offer of a peace agreement after Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula, which it has held since the June 1967 war. Egypt also hinged a settlement on a decision on relocating Palestinian refugees. "The government of Israel reiterates its position that it will not withdraw to the armistice line of June 4, 1967," a Cabinet communique declared, referring to its pre-war frontier. But it said Israel is "ready to discuss withdrawal of armed forces toward secure, recog- sip Jesse Brown of Hatties-burg, the first black naval aviator, who was killed in action during the Korean War.

The announcement was made last week by Navy Secretary John H. Chafee. He said the keel for the DE-1089 will be 1 a i April 9 at Avondale Shipyards, Westwego, La. "It is particularly fitting that we honor the memory of this distinguished Navyman during Negro History Week (Feb. 14-20)," Chafee said in making the announcement.

Born in Hattiesburg Oct. 13, 1928, Jesse LeRoy Brown was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Brown. He was 24 years old when he was killed in action Dec.

5, 1950, over Korea. He was posthumously (Continued on Page 14) Fired fireman asks for Civil Service hearing First Negro naval aviator Navy to name new ship for Hattiesburg's Ens. Jesse Brown 4 hurt in collision near Sumrall; others injured over weekend By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) An Army general received $1,000 monthly from Vietnam's most notorious sales promoter, shielded him from military investigators and permitted him to store smuggled goods in Army warehouses, a U.S. Senate panel was told today.

Senators probing alleged corruption in the armed services' $6 billion post exchange, clubs and recreation activities were told former Brig. Gen. Earl F. Cole, 51, used his influence as a well-placed staff officer in Vietnam to protect free-wheeling en-trepeneur William J. Crum.

The Army gave no explanation last July when it removed Cole from command of the European Post Exchange system, reduced him to colonel, and ordered him to retire. In his testimony, Jack Bybee, former general manager for two of Crum's most lucrative Viet nam business enterprises, said Crum sent his military contacts, including Cole, to Hong Kong to pick up kickback money from a local financial institution. Testifying under oath, Bybee said Crum illegally used official and counterfeit military purchase orders to smuggle merchandise into Vietnam duty free and used shredding machines to destroy documents. Bybee said Crum made good use of Cole, a long-time friend, in his booming business enter prises. He said Crum employed Cole once to drive a slot-machine competitor from business through a raid Crum boasted he paid for.

When a gift-shop concession held by Crura was doing poorly, An attorney representing James F. Morgan said today a petition has been filed with the City's Civil Service Commission requesting a hearing into the conditions surrounding Morgan's discharge from the Hattiesburg Fire Dept. Attorney Rex Jones said Morgan was removed from the fire department on Feb. 17 for alleged insubordination. The petition for a hearing into the matter claims that Morgan was removed from the department political reasons and that he has never been guilty of insubordination during the eight years he has been employed by the Hattiesburg Fire The request for a hearinf goes on to state that Morgan would show that he was "fired because he and other members The Navy will name a de-troyer escort in honor of n- ENSIGN JESSE BROWN 1 Four persons were injured about 8 a.m.

today in a two-car accident on a county road northwest of Sumrall. Three of the injured were brought to Forrest General Hospital here by AAA Ambulance Service. Mrs. Edna Earl Rollins, 38, of Rt. 2, Sumrall, was admitted for treatment of chest injuries, possible internal injuries, cuts and abrasions.

She is listed in fair condition. Felicia Jackson, 4, of Sumrall was admitted for treatment of a fractured left ankle and abrasions. Charlie Bias, 4, of Rt. 2, Columbia, was treated for an abrasion of the forehead and released. The fourth person reported injured in the accident.

R. E. Wallace, about 64, of Sumrall, lace's condition. Lamar County officers said they thought Wallace sustained a broken leg and possible other injuries. In other area accidents two Norwood, Ohio, men were injured shortly after 1 p.m.

Sat- urday in a wreck on 1-59 about three miles south of the U. S. 49 junction. Dennis Durham and Victor Scher were treated at Forrest General Hospital and released. Details of the accident were not available.

Mrs. Florence Landry, 64, of 500 Dabbs sustained multiple fractures of the ribs at a- (Continued on Pago 14).

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Pages Available:
910,822
Years Available:
1940-2024