The Macon Telegraph from Macon, Georgia • 9

MetroState jMaron aMgrapIj WEDNESDAY MORNING APRIL 27 1983 AIR ORCE OICIALS who began the original investigation last year after receiving an anonymous tip expanded their probe earlier this year to include all 23 counties where base when more than 200 employees who requested time off to vote in the Oct 5 Warner Robins election failed to show up at the polls The 400 employees now facing either a repri mand or temporary suspension are in addition to the 232 workers punished last fall Winkel mann Said The base normally allows employees to take off up to three hours from work on election day to vote with pay for time off having cheated the government At the time Air orce officials admitted their error blaming it on their failure to make a thorough check of the voting lists against base employee rolls To avoid repeating the mistake Air orce Brvant Steele City Editor 744 4330 Steve Brook Night City Editor 744 4331 Philip Kearney Assistant City Editor 744 4339 thev would face During those discussions Win kelmann said several employees challenged the accusations and later produced evidence that they indeed voted Nov 2 Most of the 400 offenders recently named by the Air orce were sent a notice of a proposed reprimand said Winkelmann who again emnlovees live After checking personnel records and voting lists from the 23 counties officials found that many as of the 4482 employees who said they would vote did not vote last Nov 2 in the gubernatorial election Winkelmann said Winkelmann said "a significant of those who failed to vote in the Nov 2 election also never showed up at the polls during the Aug 10 primary and Aug 31 runoff elections though they took time off with pay to go vote all three times Winkelmann refused to cite specific figures about the current investigation saying the investigation is continuing He said the Air officials this time talked with employees before orce was reluctant to discuss details of the officially notifying them of the punishments recently were suspected of falsifying time cards were able to produce evidence showing they did in fact vote WINKELMANN SAID the Air orce want to repeat an embarrassing mistake it made during the October investigation when officials wrongly identified 14 employees as refused to cite specific numbers of people involved in the investigation A few were notified of a proposed suspension he said Two base employees were fired five were suspended and the rest weje reprimanded as a result of the October investigation base offi (See WORKERS Page 5B) Base Workers ace Penalty for Misusing Time Off By Steve Goldberg spread abuse of voting privileges last October employees live investigation because several employees who they would face During those discussions Ttiegropn Bureau ROBINS AIR ORCE BASE Nearly 400 civilian base employees face punishment for taking time off with pay to go to the polls Nov 2 and then failing to vote base officials con firmed Tuesday Air orce officials checked records and found that about one tenth of the 4482 base employees who told their bosses they needed time off to vote in the Nov 2 general election cast ballots The abuse of voting time privileges that day cost the Air orce $4000 in lost salaries said base spokesman Maj Robert Winkelmann Air orce officials initially discovered wide Buffs Saying To Cry: By Don Schanche Jr Telegroph Bureau MILLEDGEVILLE The trains that run between Macon and Camak may not be the stuff of leg end and song but this week a good many railroad buffs are traveling from points far and near for one last ride on the line After riday passenger service on the Macon Camak branch line will be gone for good The Seaboard System Railroad current owner of the line that once belonged to the Georgia Railroad and then to the amily Lines Sys tem is ending passenger service on the Macon Camak branch two other branches and on the main line between Atlanta and Augusta Company officials say there enough customers to keep it going Passenger service will end after riday on the branch lines between Athens and Union Point Washing ton and Barnett and Macon and Camak After May 6 passenger service on the main line from Atlanta to Augusta also will cease THE END PASSENGER service between Macon and Mil ledgeville is just the beginning of a more severe cut the company is proposing to abandon its tracks on that line Sometime between July and Sep tember it will submit to the Inter state Commerce Commission a proposal to abandon the tracks Photo Bv DON SCHANCHE JR JMM I jmii hi iij 1 "Wii On Tuesday Nine Rode Caboose of the Milledgeville to Camak Train Approval of the request could come after 195 days unless interested par ties file objections Railroad buffs say that for years the Georgia Railroad got a break in its ad valorem taxes because it pro vided passenger service even if that service meant only a hard seat in a caboose unpredictable depar ture and arrival times and long rides with frequent stops But as ownership changed in recent years a decision was made to end the passenger service Attempts by rail buffs to have the' Public Service Commission pre serve passenger service between Atlanta and Augusta ended in fail ure last year Seaboard spokesman Owen Pride said there were only 407 passengers between Macon and Camak in 1980 118 in 1981 and 136 in the first 11 months of 1982 fans and children are the only ones that ride said one company employee And in at least one case a rail demand for service from Bar nett to Washington forced the com pany to form a train when there wasn't any freight to haul Carrying one passenger 175 miles cost the firm $100631 Pride said ON TUESDAY THE CABOOSE on the Milledgeville Camak train held two Atlanta couples who came (See TRAIN Page 5B) ederal Agency To Investigate Parts Plant ire By Janet Groat Telegroph Staff Writer The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will con duct a preliminary investigation into a fire that critically injured a worker at a Macon auto parts plant Monday an OSHA spokesman said Tuesday Schools Realtors Hoping To ind 'l have people that come into my office that have been relocated They say have been told by Real tors that I shouldn't enroll my children here I should enroll (them) in private Roger Cowles Bibb Public School Official By Edna Jackson Telegraph Staff writer Members of the Board of Realtors will meet with Bibb school system offi cials Thursday to get an inside view of two schools here About 60 Realtors will take a bus tour with school officials of Alexander II Magnet School and Miller Junior High School said Roger Cowles the school director of public rela tions have an open door policy in the schools We felt that those persons in the community that criticize the public schools have not toured the schools for 10 or 20 years Out of that (segment) some people were Cowles said idea of the program was to reach that segment that have not been corning into the schools" Cowles said his office has been approached by newcomers who have said they were being encouraged not to enroll their children in public schools have people that come into my office that have been relocated They say have been told by Realtors that I enroll my children here I should enroll (them) in private Cowles said have had people say preachers have said the same thing but (more) frequently Realtors have been said to have said not to enroll children in public schools" he said was my goal this year particu larly to reach the Realtors because that was a section of the community that would not (ordinarily) come into the he said BUT JOHN HOOVER president of the Board of Realtors said he didn't know of a specific complaint of any Realtor attempting to steer people to or away from particular schools have not had anybody to call me and I don't know of any particular case where (someone has said) and so has tried to make me buy a he said feel we have been accused Rightfully or wrongfully not the point trying to get a factual evaluation We are encouraging our people to find out going on in the Bibb County school system feel like some of our criticism has been justified Whether we were right or wrong we are trying to get off on the right Hoover said He said Realtors could not tell a person where to send his child to school but that they could have infor mation readily available about the local schools feel like we serve as ambassa dors of newcomers The first thing they want to know is about the schools" Hoover said The federal agency charged with monitoring work place safety will decide whether an on site inspection of Wheelers Manufacturing Co is needed after the initial investigation the spokesman said He did not know what procedures will be followed in the preliminary probe Local officials suspect the Wheelers fire started when a vat of varnish over flowed and was sparked by the pilot light of a nearby oven PRODUCTION worker Willie Hud son was severely burned on 62 percent of his body in the incident a hospital spokeswoman said He was in critical but state condition in the burn unit of Hospital in Augusta Tuesday night Production manager Randy Wheeler burned three fingers in the incident He was treated Monday and released from the Medical Center of Central Georgia The Macon Bibb County ire Department uncovered no new infor mation about the cause of the blaze Tuesday fire investigator Lt Randy Bishop said The department has taken state ments from company employees Wheelers officials and the insurance representatives have done the same he said now pretty satisfied with our theory The only person that could add to the chain of events would be the Bishop said ire Chief JE Hinson said Monday that Hudson had been mixing a varnish solution just before the fire broke out He apparently had left the lid of the vat open with the air pressure valves on the chief said ire investigators suspect air circu lating in the vat caused the varnish to bubble up and overflow OSHA SAETY specialist Jonathon Worrell said that agency's Atlanta office operates under broadly defined guidelines in determining when to investigate work place accidents Companies are required to report accidents that cause more than five (See IRE Page 2B) Lawyer Averts Prosecution Will ile Tax Return By Oby Brown Telegraph Staff Writer A Macon attorney accused of failing to file a 1978 federal income tax return avoided prosecu tion Tuesday by agreeing to submit the delin quent report Robert Higgins 57 was indicted last month for failing to file a 1978 return on a gross income' of more than $64000 He was about to be tried Tuesday in US District Court when conferring with his attor ney Denmark Groover and Judge Wilbur Owens Jr he agreed to submit the overdue tax return Owens gave Higgins 60 days to file the delin quent report Before the conference Groover told Owens that his client in filling out the tax return com pletely might have disclosed information that could be used as evidence against him later Therefore he chose to exercise his constitu tional right against self incrimination until he could get help from the government on how to complete the tax form Groover later declined to discuss what infor mation Higgins had thought he might be prose cuted for PROSECUTOR Miriam Wansley Duke said Higgins returned a signed form to the Internal Revenue Service but listed no income amounts bn the notice Instead he filled in his name address and Social Security number and wrote Self she said Higgins was prosecuted get compliance with the Duke said what we Groover said Higgins never intended to avoid paying his taxes or to try to set a legal prece dent for others Mr Higgins filed his return in the manner in which he did he had items of concern which he felt required him to exercise his consti tutional Groover said afterward the developments of today he feels he can comply with the full manner of full disclo sure and has had what he felt he needed all along some guidance for his Snow Delays Probe Into 52 Crash By Steve Crabill Telegraph Bureau The on site investigation into the cause of the 52 bomber crash earlier this month in southwestern Utah has been temporarily delayed until the snow which covers the search area melts an Air orce spokes man said Tuesday want to find out what went wrong with the plane but the snow cover is hampering us" said Capt Skip Williams of the Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offutt Air orce Base near Omaha Neb going to disturb the site The area near the summit of Square Top Mountain where the giant bomber crashed April 11 while on a low level training flight is still blanketed with two to three feet of snow said Wash ington County Sheriff Ken Campbell of nearby St George Utah The seven crew men were killed in the crash Although the plane virtually disintegrated upon impact investigators still hope to locate parts of the aircraft which might help them determine the cause of the crash Williams said A skeletal crew of Air orce personnel will remain in a field camp at the base of the 7100 foot 1 mountain until the search is resumed Williams said TEMPERATURES Tuesday in the area were in the low 70s Campbell said and forecasts call for continued warm weather we have weather like the last couple of days the snow should be melted by the end of the Campbell said The remains of several of the seven crew members killed in the crash were removed from the site last week and sent to Nellis Air orce Base in Nevada for identification Williams said Williams would not comment on whether any of the remains have been identified but did add there are still some remains at the crash site Cullinan Wondering Why on 'At some point I must ask myself 'What's the purpose of continuing to fight a losing Life is very short There are things I can do with my life that I'm interested in I don't think I'm producing any results there I think residents are beginning to sense something is wrong with the way planning and zoning operates Zoning Commissioner Neil Cullinan Its! By Larry Wilder Telegraph Staff Writer A Neil Cullinan said Tuesday he is unsure whether he should be a member of the Macon Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission Cullinan came up on the short end of a commission vote Monday to approve construction of about 120 condomin iums and 20 single family detached homes on Rivoli Drive The housing development which was approved 4 1 is to be built by the Amerson Co Cullinan who has found himself voting alone several times when opposing developments near established resi dential neighborhoods said Tuesday he is frustrated by the apparent lack of concern about opposition to developments they think will damage their neighborhoods Monday night commissioners Cathey Smith Hank Wingers Vernon Colbert and Jack Rogers voted to allow the Amerson Co to rezone 38 acres at 5325 Rivoli Drive Cullinan argued that the commission had rejected a similar proposal by the Amerson Co last December for sin gle family attached homes At that time the commission ers said the project was not compatible with exist ing residential neighborhoods Cullinan argued that if attached homes compatible condominiums be either COMMENTS Colbert to reply tersely that Cullinan was serving as an advocate for resi dents rather than acting as an impartial commissioner But Cullinan disputes that statement He said the com attorney Hale Almand has briefed commission ers on Supreme Court cases indicating residents' concerns should be considered when zoners make decisions on devel opment in residential neighborhoods During an interview last November Smith the commis chairman said commissioners were more sensi tive to the concerns of homeowners than ever before an established neighborhood we approve a zon ing change if we think the neighborhood will be damaged" Smith said at the time Wingers vice chairman of the commission said Tuesday night he thinks residents get a fair shake go into meetings with an open Wingers said look at both sides I vote for residents or developers but for good for the city and county wants growth but nobody wants it in their area Nobody wants to change their lifestyles or pat terns that are already there" BUT CULLINAN who joined the commission in 1982 doesn't see it that way really don't think it makes much sense for me to be on it (the zoning commission)" Cullman said Tuesday mean really not sure my presence on the board is accomplishing that much commissioners view this planning and zoning process differently And as things presently stand they have the votes I think resignation would serve any immedi ate purpose I must at some point decide whether I wish to continue devoting more than 10 percent of my time to an activity that produces more frustration than sound public policy discouraged as I sometimes am over these 4 1 votes what disturbs me most is the process the way in which planning and zoning commissioners are selected" (See CULLINAN Page 2B) 8CL ISi.