The Columbus Ledger from Columbus, Georgia • 13

SlwjsunJlaij Ttilgtr nguirtr Sunday October 23 1977 neuusopinion Section Page 1 PC MayChange BusinessLicense ees jack swift The TV Man John Amos television man This is insurance guru man who took a national worry over cancer and turned it into a pile of gold American amily Life In 1972 the company earned a nice little profit of $74 million our years later it had zoomed to $192 million This year he expects $24 million And nowhere are there signs of flattening He hobnobs with the glitter people of business and with Jimmy Carter Hubert Humphrey and at the time Onassis Yet in Columbus been notoriously outside the social culture of the monied biggies who have for so long pulleti the strings He sas he was too busy making money to bother with them The cash is there now so much of it coming in every dav it dazzles even the grin ning accountants It would be a shame to let all that green just sit there gather ing money moths So Amos began thinking investment and came up with television He tried to buy the national Mutual broadcasting Company and stopped bidding just short of $20 million He checked into WRBL TV (Channel 3) which is administered by the irst National Bank Amos and company settled on WYEA TV (Channel 38) the feisty little station which is now most known for hews veteran Al leming and the growling editorials of Edward Wilson Amos tried his hand with the media business in a 1973 local newspaper venture The peppj' staff wrote friendly pieces the new editor barked at Ben ning and the man who ran the editorial show fumed and blustered at the Ledger Enquirer and its then publisher Maynard Ashworth A Rare and Painful Amos ailure But the newspaper sputtered fizzled and folded Amos said at the time the newsprint paucity had something to do with it along with the economic uncertainties of the mini recession The ex editoralist immediately began blasting Amos for his interference with the newspaper and even wrote a nasty poem about the insurance sheik which he read to at least one civic club Now that editorialist is doing his number with WYEA TV His name is Edward Wilson When American amily Corp announced plans to acquire Channel 38 the first person Amos called at the station was Wilson according to both men Amos said the hatchet was buried and there were no hard feelings Wilson says he plans to stay on Amos says glad: "I have no feud with Edward Edward had one with me I don't have time to carry grudges When I close the book on something closed I would say this Edward knows a hell of a lot more about radio and television than he docs about newspapers and a hell of a lot more about radio and television than I do And I would say that Edward was one of the happiest at WYEA when he heard we were going to buy He should be American amily as noted has money Lots of it And although the station has been sur ging forward under general manager Walt McCroba it's still No 3 out of three behind WRBL and WTVM (Half the $3 million price tag for the station includes assump tion ot debts) It's Them Liberal Easterners Also John Arnos doesn't like television That is he like American network programmed television What will a string pulling conservative Democrat a businessman do with a TV station? Nothing Except make money Amos says: certainly intend to write any editorials not going to exert any influence at all as long as it per forms a service to this community which we feel it is doing and makes money "Where I will exert my influence is when they have a meeting of NBC affiliates Now that's when they're go ing to hear from What will hear is how John Amos feels about network programs being jammed down the throats of nice plain folk by producers who get their standards from New York and California Amos chiefly dislikes the bawdy sexy stuff He rants against the rated fare of Office the only product Time Life put its name on Even so he insists he won't try to tell anybody at Channel 38 how to run the station simply a com mercial property with a sound future and a foreseen high return on the investment Other insurance com panies have bought into television Gulf Life Jeffer son Standard Pilot National Life and Accident and have done well To that an executive of another Columbus TV station says "I think that any media somebody owms they're going to meddle with them It's just something gonna But McCroba says of Amos think he recognizes that he's not a broadcaster a very astute that business acumen and the money which WYEA needs now It stands a far off third in the market WRBL is first it has no weekend news shows no late new's no mid day news like the other stations It has only five full time staffers on the news side leming and sportscaster Jim Koger are part timers WSA Television the only VH station in Montgomery just build a 2000 foot tower in Grady Ala near Union Springs It will put a signal well into WYEA's coverage area and will directly compete in network programming WYEA management has been planning to expand its See SWIT 7 By Robin omoff Ledger Staff Writer Phenix City businesses may soon be asked to share a larger portion of the financial burdens with a proposed revision of business license fees In addition to an increase in prices for licenses themselves the proposal contains substantially in creased emphasis on the application of a gross receipts tax Mayor George Chard said the hike in license fees alone could mean a 20 per cent increase in the $500000 realized from license sales last fiscal year And the es timated $100000 that would immediately be realized with the revision does not include revenue expected from gross receipts taxes Council is expected to take a closer look at the proposal this week in informal work sessions Should it be approved the move would represent the first revi about "J2hard said just gone through a long in flationary period during which businessmen slipped by without any tax While details of the proposal have not been revealed its author Revenue Agent Bubba Sharpe said it is complete of the present code it were applied Sharpe said sure some increases not sure how substantial be" Sharpe said the proposal would simplify application of gross receipts taxes charging fees for generalized categories instead of the present system of individual taxes against special items Gross receipts taxes have become increasingly pop ular in many' other communities throughout the state as a source of easy additional revenue They can be levied without a referendum and are considered the fairest of many other taxes because they are based on the volume of business merchants experience in the city Although some communities prefer a flat rate for all gross receipts taxes Sharpe said rates in his proposal will vary for different types of businesses Merchants with a higher ratio of profit will be taxed slightly higher than others given them (council) a rough Sharpe said "and of course they can add or take away anything they want to just really in the very first stages right now new like this" he said sure we left somebody out Hopefully all the problems can be work ed out before Chard said part of the consideration of the proposal will include comparisons with communities comparable in population and business activity "See what they' are he said perhaps benefit from their Chard said council v'ould also like to include pro jected revenues from the revision in the budget expected to be adopted within the next six weeks How'ever that would be a of trying to get it all put together at the same time" he said sion of the business license code in 10 years more than past time for a revision to come ft A X'A tv ttw jateg JO a RMr Jb WmrIMbjI1 Illi BmSm MB mEeWBMMI Lss si s'XV Wirephoto Moprefte Pam Lewis Thrilled by Prince's Greeting Upstaged Singer Gets More Attention Than Prince at Georgia Game By Joliene Hutto Ledger Staff Writer Prince Charles was upstaged by soul singer James Brown at the Georgia Kentucky football game in Athens Saturday Since the prince was to be the honored halftime guest the University of Redcoat band prepared a surprise for him and the fans: a song and dance by Brown Although the orince missed part of the show the crowd didn't It responded warmly shouting and even dancing when he sang and rocked to Junkyard a song he wrote which made the Top 40 last year The crowd was still on its feet when the dapper prince arrived in a silver Lincoln Continental But most of them weren't looking for him They were too busy shouting us a which the band was leading It until the cheer was over and the prince and Georgia president Dr red Davidson were walking up field past the band that the crowd really noticed And then he was met with only scattered but polite applauce When Georgia Coach Vince Dooley presented him a team football and Kentucky Coach ran Cure! presented him a team jersey the crowd's response was courtly It wasn't until the prince started his stroll downfield that the crowd warm ed to the British heir A few Georgia students started it chanting good prince" as the prince walked past the band The bachelor egged the crowd on stopping to talk first with a Georgia flag twirler Laura McGee and then to Georgia's solo twirler Pam Lewis The crowd loved it cat calling and hooting when he put his hand on the shoulders just believe it" exclaimed brunette Pam Lewis breathlessly never thought I'd meet him much less I be touched by him never forget this day" Even though the crowd was doing the Georgia cheer when the prince arrived and band members and Dr Davidson were dressed in Georgia colors red and black the prince asked Miss McGee what team she was for told him of said another flag twirler The prince asked Miss Lewis if she was a drum major told him no and explained what I did He said en joyed our performance" said the I bright eyed Savannah woman "I still get over it He talked to me" s' Student Paddling Charge Rejected By Ken Elkins Ledger Staff Writer HAMILTON Ga A Harris County justice of the peace dismissed a simple battery charge Saturday against a 60 year old second grade teacher who paddled one of her students But the parents Mr and Mrs Thomas Brady vowed to pursue the case until the teacher Mrs Jeanelle Hanson is from Justice of the Peace James Jordan freed Mrs Hanson of the charges say ing testimony during the Saturday morning hearing did not support the charges Stale law allows paddling unless a Georgia doctor certifies a whipping would mentally harm the student As Jordan announced the dismissal an audience of 30 or more educators and Harris County School Board members in the courtroom stood and applauded Brady who signed the warrant against Mrs Hanson said he was con vinced the school had the certification from a Harris County physician who promised to write a note prohibiting the spanking of their children The doctor could not be reached for comment "Whipping ranklin (their son paddl ed by Mrs Hanson) could cause him to go into Brady said whipping is not any way to make a child or a grown person do what they are supposed Bredv said ha told Mrs Hanson liot to paddle the Brady youth "because he was Mrs Hanson cannot remember Brady saying that "And I believe 1 woukfhave remembered" Mrs Hanson paddled the Brady boy Wednesday when he supposedly interfered with other students in a three sided barrel like enclosure that Mrs Hanson called a area" and the worst temper tantrum I ve seen in a long when she confronted him ruling supported her conten tion that she followed the state rules lor paddling the youngster During the 15 minute hearing Mrs Hanson pulled the wooden paddle used on the Brady youth from her purse call it Dr Polo in my classroom" she said showing the pad dle to a giggling audience Brady promised to push the way to Washington if necessary" for the dismissal offices higher up that will handle it" an angry Bi ady said after the hearing Brady was also displeased that Jordan would not allow him to question witnesses in the case But Ben Philips who represented Mrs Hanson under an agreement with the Georgia Association of Educators said the only recourse Brady has is seeking an indictment before a county grand jury In the meantime his son will return to school Monday Rmdv said staff Photo by Joe Maher fa fa IR fafa IM df MM fam fa Rmrw nniilv A wnitc Hfinrina on Battery Charge Saturday politics first names only Ji Al i I ImUav 4 JI Hk KI Hk A.