Ledger-Enquirer from Columbus, Georgia • 1

(folumbug Enquirer Tuesday Morning November 29 1977 VALLEY TODAY New Plains Pastor Sees Challenge ab Valley Roundup Lanier Lanett Mayor Surrender to Police Cham bers OKs Emergency unds College Column Speech Dec 10 the Alabama Stanley South Birdman? arm Machinery Thefts Troubling 2 Years Needed or New Church thieves Anderson to Visit Enterprise Berglund Speech Dec 15 DC now though he attended services at both of the Baptist congregations in Plains during his most recent visit home The Plains church now has an open county He had asked the county to repair the interior in order to display ar tifacts and open the building to the public By Virginia Smith Enquirer Correspondent However Charles Markert county engineer submitted a report showing the mill was unsuitable from a safety standpoint without extensive repairs Markert said the county maj' lease the building thereby releasing the county from liability US Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland will speak to farmers in Ashburn Ga Dec 15 the day after a nationwide strike begins Bergland is scheduled to speak 3:30 pm at the Turner County Elementary School Chamber of Commerce officials here have been trying for a year to get Bergland to come to Ashburn purpose is so that he can become aware of the problems facing rural farm said a chamber spokesman The spokesman said it was merely coincidence Bergland is coming in the wake of a farmers' protest in President Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains Bergland is to fly from Washington DC to Albany where he will be met by the Turner County Chamber of Commerce officials and escorted to Ashburn ROANOKE Ala It will take at least two years to rebuild the irst Baptist Church which was totally destroyed by fire Saturday church officials said at a meeting Sunday night ire Chief Vernon Tobin said Policewoman Diane Taylor first sighted the fire as she was reporting to work it is believed the fire started in the boiler and burned all riday night Units from Lafayette LaGrange Wadley Wedowee Rock Mills and Standing Rock joined Roanoke units to battle the blaze but Tobin said the building was too far gone when reported and all that could be done was contain the flames A change in the wind probably saved the town as a previous high wind had blown burning pieces to ad joining areas officials said The flames were visible 10 miles away Other churches have offered use of their buildings and facilities and Sunday night's service in the city auditorium utilized the irst Methodist Church's hymnals and bread baskets for collection plates Lost in the blaze was the brick gothic revival building an original pipe organ pews imported stained glass windows and pulpit furniture a church library and a 50 year collection of artifacts The din ing hall had been recently restored at a cost of $40 000 and all records were lost Virginia Smith Special to The Enquirer ATHENS Ga Stealing and selling farm machinery has become big business in the US according to Wilbur Rykert president of the National Crime Prevention Association Rykert was at the University of Georgia for a recent conference on investigation and prevention of crimes against agriculture machinery is being shipped out of the country and OLSOM Ky (AP) The Rev Don Wilson who starts Sunday as pastor of President former Baptist congregation in Plains Ga said Mon day he does not have answers for all the questions he is asked about his new ministry just take it a day at a said Wilson who was loading his car for the trip to Plains have mixed emotions about leav ing he said Wilson preached his final sermon Sunday for his 250 member congrega tion at the Vine Run Baptist Church at olsom matter what situation we get in to we know we have a number of friends here who are praying for said the 38 year old Wilson had a good ministry here a lot of good he said Monday Wilson said he hoped to arrive in Plains by midweek As for what to expect he said "I really know the answers to all the questions asked only been in Plains a total of two Wilson will be installed at the Plains church Sunday morning succeeding the Rev Bruce Edwards who resigned earlier this year after a dispute over ad mittance of a black minister to the congregation The dispute led to establishment of a there is no effective way to trace it because identification numbers can be removed so he said No figures are available on the amount of farm machinery stolen nationwide "but in Iowa it is es timated that at least $1 million worth of farm machinery is stolen in a year and one manufacturer of farm machinery claims to have about $8 million worth of stolen goods Rykert said Crimes against agriculture range LAAYETTE Ala aced with the possible loss of its public health office Chambers County commissioners Mon day appropriated $5000 in emergency funds to help pull the agency through the final quarter of 1977 They also agreed to ask Sens Ted Lit tle and Higginbotham to seek emergency state funds membership policy Wilson said the Vine Run church also has an open mem bership policy but no black members He said he does not expect problems think worked through that he said course you never know going to happen but we hope we have any People in Plains he said to get things back to normal going to be a going to take a lot of love and a lot of healing just going to let the Lord lead me and go day by he said Wilson a former truck driver and a native of eastern Tennessee was pastor at three Tennessee Baptist churches be fore moving to Kentucky three years ago He was graduated last June from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary He said he is an preacher a middle of the roader just preaching the He has been besieged with phone calls from reporters since his appoint ment to the Plains church and said the attention was a surprise thought there might be just a little bit There usually will be just a little bit when a new preacher comes to town but 1 never expected it to be like he said just try to approach it like the publicity wasn't Job Developer Betsy Duke of Americus has been employed as a job developercoordinator for the Cooperative Education Program at Georgia Southwestern College Co op education allows students to alternate their college studies with prac tical work experience Warrant Officer Candidate Noel Sachkowsky of 63rd Company 6th Battalion at ort Rucker Ala prepares for his flight of the the unflying machine ridden by the last man in each flight to fly solo The traditional course of the solo cycle is between two rows of candidates who douse the rider with buckets of water Candidate Sachkowsky is in the Gold light Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Class 77 47 day sanitary landfill tickets for deposit of solid waste at 50 cents each trip Use of the county landfill starting in December is provided for those who cannot subscribe to county garbage pickup service Tickets will be sold at the courthouse annex and East Alabama Water Authority Houston Kingery Chambers Historical Museum chairman was granted permission to store articles in the old brick grist mill owned by the LANETT Ala Mayor Woody Colley and Cam Lanier III Interstate Telephone Co officer surrendered to Lanett Police at 2:30 pm Monday after being served with warrants sworn out by Lanett attorney Charles Aaron Colley is charged with receiving fraudulent rebates or concessions on telephone rates in the past 12 months and Lanier with granting the concessions Both men were released under $300 bond Trial is expected at the next term of District Court Aaron spoke at the last Lanett City Council meeting against Interstate announcing rate increases in Alabama when the telephone headquarters are located in Georgia He also charged the company did not appear before the Alabama Public Service Commission only the Georgia agency Virginia Smith best known South has 20 years experience as a research archaeologist in the South and is a member of the editorial review board for Historical Archaeology the journal of the Society for Historical Archaeology He is secretary treasurer of the Society of Professional Archaeologists and has been chair man and treasurer of The Conference on Historic Site Archaeology since 1960 The annual meeting in coopera tion with Department ol anthropology and sociology begins at 9 am with registration in the Union building Warner loyd director Alabama Historical Commission and Carey Oakley University of Alabama will speak at the opening session beginning at 10:30 am in Thach Auditorium Nine "Archaeology in mini papers will be presented by Alabama archaeologists Chairman Doss Leak said the public health officer Dr James Walker said the county was in danger of losing his services and that of a sanitary officer nurse and aide unless the county came up with a $10000 budget increase over the $51000 now budgeted for health services Walker works for Lee as well as Chambers County Commission will place on sale Thurs from stealing a calf or a bag of pecans to multimillion dollar frauds in overseas grain dealing said Rykert adding that vandalism is a major criminal offense on the farm stolen from farms include luxury items from the home machinery valued up to $50000 grain pecans livestock timber and chemicals Rykert said agricultural chemicals like fertilizer and pesticides are especially popular with Embezzlement Trial Dec 6 OPELIKA Ala A trial for the former Macon County Housing Authority accountant charged with 39 counts of embezzling has been scheduled for Dec 6 in US District Court Ezra Echols Jr 33 was indicted earlier this month by a federal grand jury and charged with embezzling $250000 Echols has pleaded innocent Housing Authority Director Lonnie Smith fired Echols July 18 charging the accountant had im properly used money belonging to the authority Echols had been the authority's accountant since 1972 The BI with help from US Office in vestigators and investigators from the Department of Housing and Urban Development investigated Echols Authorities said Echols forged checks deposited authority money in his personal account stole rent payments and used authority money to pay personal debts Echols is free under $5000 bond AUBURN Ala Stanley South one of the archaeologists in the Southeast will address Archaeology Society at a noon banquet Dec 10 at Auburn Univer sity South of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina will discuss pattern recognition in historical archaeology as part of the winter theme rom Beginning to ounder of the Conference on Historic Site Archaeology and editor of 1 1 volumes on Conference on Historic Site Archaeology South is author of more than 100 published articles His book and Theory in Historical Archaeology" was published this year as was Strategies in Historical of which he is editor Blodgett Starts New Job AUBURN Ala ormer Auburn Police Chief Ed Blodgett Monday assumed duties as director and chief of law enforcement of the Atterbury Ind Job Corps Center 30 miles south of Indiahapolis The facility where reserve military forces are trained is the second largest center of its type in the US Blodgett announced he was resigning as Auburn chief effective Sept 30 for personal reasons although he had been under fire for several controversies dur ing the past year including a police sick in in October 1976 during an Auburn University football game which led to additional police problems Auburn City Council is awaiting a ruling from the Alabama attorney general to determine if it should discuss candidates in an open council meeting More than 20 persons have applied for the post Meanwhile Col Tisdale city manager is also acting as police chief until a replacement is named Bud Smith armer Seeks House Seat BLAKELY Ga Ralph Balkcom an Early County farmer has announced his candidacy for the Geprgia House of Representatives seat recently vacated by Mobley Howell Howell recently resigned his District 140 seat representing voters in Early Miller and parts of Seminole and Calhoun counties in order to accept an appointment to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles Balkcom who graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College served in the US Air orce during World War II He was discharged with the rank of staff sergeant A farmer in the Colomokee community Balkcom is president of the Blakely Rotary Club past president of the Blakely Early County Chamber of Commerce and has served as chairman of the Early County Board of Education and as a member of the Early Memorial Hospital Board He is a member of the Cattlemen Association arm Bureau and serves as a lint River Soil andWater Conservation District supervisor Schley Man Wins Medal US Navy Rear Admiral Robert Hilton a Schley County High School graduate has received the Pen Defense Superior Service Medal for helping maintain peace between North and South Korea last December Hilton served as the director of the East Asia and Pacific sector for the Defense Department when North Koreans attacked US personnel from across the border last Christmas ENTERPRISE Ala Jack Anderson most famous investigative reporter" will speak on the Behind the at Enterprise State Junior College at 7 pm Monday Dec 12 Anderson born in Long Beach Calif was raised in Salt Lake City Utah During World War II he served with a band of Chinese guerrillas behind Japanese lines and later worked on the Shanghai edition of Stars and Stripes He joined Drew Pearson's staff in 1947 and took over the UPI syndicated Merry Go column when Pearson died in 1969 The syn dicate is published in more than 965 daily and weekly newspapers face has appeared on the covers of Time and Parade magazines He has been profiled on and on William Buckley's Newspapers front page his exposes and he stars on televised hearings and talk shows The speech part of the Lyceum cultural activities program will be held in the school Jack Anderson gymnasium Rev Don Wilson Receives Goodbye Hug in Kentucky second Southern Baptist congregation in Plains which was joined by most of President relatives The President is a member of the irst Baptist Church in Washington 7 TP I BBMB MM 11 gw jllMlli!.