Charged In Swindles In LaGrange By Myrna May LaGrange Bureau LAGRANGE, Ga. A Florida couple accused of swindling a West Point church congregation out of $160 now has been charged with bilking two LaGrange churches and the LaGrange Personal Aid Association. Homer Willis 40, and Louise Willis, 36, both of Lakeland, have been charged with four counts of theft by deception. They are being held on $2,000 bond each. Maj.
David Hamil of the Troup County Sheriff's Department said the Willises went to Northside Baptist Church in West Point Sunday and pretended to be stranded without money or lodging. They told church members they had been living out of their car for the past "several months." The congregation collected $160 during the evening service and presented it to the couple. One suspicious church member summoned the sheriff's department. Following a tip, Investigator Terry Hunt found the husband and wife in the West Point Motel. He arrested the two and returned the money to the church.
Monday's investigations revealed the couple had used the same method to get $100 from Teaver Road Baptist Church, $30 from Second Baptist Church and $35 from the LaGrange Personal Aid Associaton since early December, Hunt said. Personal Aid Association Director Pat Robinson is urging area ministers to contact her office, the police or sheriff's department before providing cash donations to anyone. The association serves as a clearinghouse for local churches which want to provide for the Myrna May Man's Fatal Shooting as Accident CUTHBERT, Ga. The fatal shooting Monday of service station owner Ed Thompson was apparently an accident, according to Randolph County Sheriff Gary Wilson. Thompson, 62, died shortly after he fell while holding a pistol, which fired a bullet into his chest just below his heart, Wilson said.
No one saw what happened, said Wilson, but service station employee Frankie Lee Simpson told investigators he heard the gun fire after Thompson had carried it toward his parked car at about 2 p.m. "He told us he heard the gun go off and looked up and saw Mr. Thompson grab his chest," said Wilson. The sheriff said Thompson had a bad knee that had caused him to fall at other times recently. He said he apparently fell between his car and a nearby post in such a way as to trigger the gun.
John Dagley Meriwether Deputy In Fair Condition GREENVILLE, Ga. A Meriwether County deputy sheriff remained in fair condition at Upson County Hospital Monday with injuries received in the Friday collision of a logging truck and his patrol car. Deputy Ray Peek was injured at 6:20 p.m., about 4.2 miles east of Greenville on Meriwether County 18 when truck driver Dan Herren of Tallassee, rounded a curve and applied his brakes to avoid a car driven by Rebecca Okie of Warner Robins, according to a spokesman for the Manchester Post, Georgia State Patrol. The tractor-trailer truck then jack-knifed, causing Herren to lose control and cross the center line, striking the Peek vehicle head-on, according to the accident report filed by Trooper John R. Earles.
Melvyn Neill GENEVE LAce Ice on River Bridge Tells Weather Siberian Cold European LONDON (AP) A Siberian cold front that turned water from firefighters' hoses to ice and shut down airports and schools settled in across Europe today after shattering decades-old low temperature records. A belt of snow moved south over Britain this morning, bringing reported overnight temperatures to their lowest point in nearly 20 years in eastern England. It was 14 degrees at 7 a.m. at the London Weather Center. The center of the cathedral city of Gloucester in western England was closed to traffic after a fire broke out in a row of shops and the water from firemen's hoses turned to ice as soon as it touched the ground Monday.
The icy Siberian air mass arrived Monday, spreading a rare blanket of snow over Rome and the palm trees of the French Riviera. The small Lapland village of Salla had the coldest day in Finland in this century Monday. The temperature was 45.7 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, a little better than the all-time low of minus 46.2 set in 1862. Other record lows were posted in West Germany, Czechoslovakia and Italy. The Robert Welch, John Birch Society Founder, Dies at 85 conservative John Birch Society, has died at age 85.
Welch, a candy company executive who led the organization for nearly 25 years after its founding in 1958, died Sunday at a Winchester nursing home. He had suffered a stroke in December 1983. Welch ran the society from a red brick building near his home in Belmont. His book-lined study contained a large world map with countries shaded in hues of pink and red to denote the degree of communist control. The United States was deep pink.
Welch's goal was to change the map to pure white. Welch once described his organization as "a militant form of Americanism as opposed to the WINCHESTER, Mass. (AP) Robert H.W. Welch a farm boy who entered college at age 12 and went on to found the ultra- AP Photo Story in Geneva, Switzerland Front Sinks Temperatures mercury plummeted to minus 22 overnight in Kempton, Bavaria; minus 11.2 in Bratislava, southern Czechoslovakia, and minus 22 in Bormio, in the Italian Alps. In Le Locle, Switzerland, three people died in a weekend apartment blaze when water froze in firemen's hoses.
Geneva's city council abandoned a plan to turn on its famous fountain for the arms talks between U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. In Ceske Budejovice, 50 miles south of Prague, Czechoslovakia, air brakes froze on city buses. Chunks of ice slowed river traffic on the Elbe and Danube. In Belgium, most rail switches were frozen, officials reported.
Forecasters predicted the frigid air mass would hover over the Continent for several days, causing more delays, diversions and cancellation of flights at many airports. Romans experienced their first significant snowfall in 14 years. More than inches covered the Coliseum and Trevi fountain by Monday night. Schools were closed in Venice, Florence and other northern Italian cities. Robert H.
W. Welch Jr. passive form that most Americans display." In the society's Blue Book, Welch wrote: "It is my fervent hope that the John Birch Society will last for hundreds of years and exert an increasing influence for the temporal good and spiritual ennoblement of mankind throughout those Man Sues Over Wife's Death at Train Crossing LAGRANGE, Ga. killed when a train year is suing Seaboard $1.5 million. Mattie Mae Gates, April 27 on a Render Lafayette Parkway.
push her stalled car train approached. Her husband, Charlie his own behalf and dren, Pamela, 6, and Both children were p.m. when the fatal way to a convenience children off the track, The Columbus, Ledger Tuesday, January 8, 1985 B-5 Deaths James E. Chambers James E. Chambers, 61, of 910 Neil Drive, Columbus, died Sunday at The Medical Center.
The funeral will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at Colonial Funeral Home, with burial in Parkhill Cemetery. Mr. Chambers was born Dec. 14, 1923, in Sylvester, a son of Mr.
and Mrs. Hubert Chambers. He had lived in Columbus most of his life and was a mechanic retired from David Barnes Son Garage, 4216 River Road. Survivors include his wife, Louise; a daughter, Carolyn Chambers of Columbus; a son, Wayne B. Chambers of Columbus; five sisters, Eva Mae Golden, Christine Clayton, Louise Ward and Joanne Johnson, all of Columbus, and Betty Jean Weaver of Virginia; three brothers, Will B.
Chambers and Grady Chambers, both of Columbus, and Bob Chambers of Phenix City; a grandchild. Glema H. Daniel HOGANSVILLE, Ga. Glema H. Daniel, 81, of Hogansville, died Monday at Florence Hand Home, LaGrange, Ga.
The funeral will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Claude A. McKibben Funeral Home with burial in Shadowlawn Cemetery, LaGrange. Mrs. Daniel was born Sept.
7, 1903, in Randolph County, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hale. A Hogansville resident most of her life, she was a homemaker, a member of the Church of God and the widow of Johnny Daniel. Survivors include a brother, F.J.
"Bud" Hale of Hogansville; two sisters, Lelia Birdsong of Hogansville, and Johnnie Mae Dickens of Riverdale, nieces and nephews. Samuel M. Brooks Jr. Samuel M. Brooks 85, of 3547 Meadow Drive, Columbus, died Sunday at St.
Francis Hospital. The funeral will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus, with burial in Parkhill Cemetery. Mr. Brooks was born Sept.
3, 1899, in Cottonton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Brooks. He had lived in Columbus since 1947, was a veteran of World War I and a member of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church.
He was a self-employed lumberman and a retired civil service carpenter. Survivors include his wife, Lora; three sons, Rev. John W. Brooks of Jonesboro, George W. Brooks of Birmingham, and S.L.
"Bud" Brooks of Atlanta; two sisters, Mattie Vaughn of Lumpkin, and Katie Mae Smith of Moultrie, five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Donations may go to Valley Rescue Mission in lieu of flowers. Leon R. Barr Leon Rush Barr, 87, of Muscogee Manor nursing home, Columbus, died thereMonday. A graveside service was today in Parkhill Cemetery.
Mr. Barr was born Feb. 24, 1897, in Phenix City, a son of Mr. and Mrs. J.W.
Barr. A Columbus resident most of his life, he was a Navy veteran of World War and was a retired civil service boiler maker at Fort Benning, with 25 years' service. He was a member of the Jevohah's Witnesses. Survivors include a daughter, Polly Gillham of Franklin, nieces and nephews. James J.
Medlock James Julian Medlock, 63, of 3150 Peabody Apartments, Columbus, died Monday at The Medical Center. The funeral will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Vance Memorial Chapel, Columbus, with burial in Parkhill Cemetery. Mr. Medlock was born March 26, 1921, in Columbus, a son of Mr.
and Mrs. Jessie James Medlock. He was a veteran of World War II, formerly employed at Lummus Industries and a retired metalworker from the Wilson Manufacturing Co. He was a member of Faith Baptist Church. Survivors include his wife, Julia; a twin sister, Juliette Jackson of Columbus; three brothers, Grady Medlock and Wilburn Medlock, both of Columbus, and Charles Medlock of Albany, Ga.
George G. Rogers George G. Rogers, 74, of Fortson, died Monday at Oak Manor nursing home. A graveside service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday in Parkhill Cemetery, according to StrifflerHamby Mortuary, Columbus.
Mr. Rogers was born Oct. 19, 1910, in Fannin County, a son of Mr. and Mrs. George M.
Rogers. He had lived in Columbus for 22 years and was a World War II veteran. He was a retired die punch operator for Pascoe Steel. Survivors include his wife, Mary; three sisters, Alomae Federoff of Phoenix, Louella Dobbins of Marietta, and Maxie Glover of Smyrna, nieces and nephews. Louis Johnson Sr.
Louis Johnson 57, of 2506 Fourth Columbus, died Friday at The Medical Center. The funeral will be 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Peoples Funeral Service, with burial in Green Acres Cemetery. Mr. Johnson was born May 15, 1927, in Columbus, a son of Mr.
and Mrs. Curtis Johnson. He worked as a yardman. Survivors include his stepmother, Dessie Mae Johnson of Columbus; three sons, Robert Johnson of Phenix City, Louis Johnson Jr. and Curtis Johnson, both of Columbus; a daughter, Jacquelyn Johnson of Phenix City; a sister, Lula Mae Johnson of Columbus; four grandchildren.
Clinton W. Vinyard Clinton W. Vinyard, 69, of 1617 Berkley Columbus, died Sunday at The Medical Center. A graveside service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday in Parkhill Cemetery, according to StrifflerHamby Mortuary, Columbus.
Mr. Vinyard was born March 2, 1915, in Cherokee County, Ga. He had lived in Columbus since 1952, and was a retired security guard for Oak Manor and Pine Manor nursing homes. He was a member of Edgewood Church of Christ. Survivors include his wife, Lozzie; two daughters, Pat McGlaun of Rome, and Joyce McBryant of Columbus; three sons, Walter H.
Vinyard, Sam Vinyard and Kenneth Vinyard, all of Columbus; three brothers, Jim Vinyard of Phenix City, Daniel Vinyard of Seale, and Bud Vinyard of Atlanta; 15 grandchildren. George Wadsworth GRANTVILLE, Ga. George Wadsworth, 56, of Grantville, died Monday at Humana Hospital, Newnan, Ga. The funeral and burial will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Star of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Paulding County, according to Claude A.
McKibben Funeral Home. Mr. Wadsworth was born Sept. 30, 1928, in Paulding County, a son of Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Wadsworth. He had lived in Grantville for 25 years and was an employee of Douglas Lomason Co. in Newnan. Survivors include seven sisters, Mrs. Leny Choran and Mrs.
Emmett Sulivan, both of Douglasville, Mrs. Larry Patterson of Franklin, Mrs. Buford Nixon of Whitesburg, Mrs. Shirley Brown and Mrs. Jerry Hosmer, both of Grantville, and Mrs.
James Lee Woodruff of LaGrange, four brothers, Jack Wadsworth of Riverdale, Ralph Wadsworth of Villa Rica, Clyde Wadsworth of Franklin, and Freddie Wadsworth of Grantville. Mary Rome Rome, 85, of Chicago, died Wednesday in Waukegan, Ill. The funeral was today with burial in Green Acres Cemetery. Mrs. Rome was born May 13, 1899, in Muscogee County, a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Phillip Jones. She was a homemaker and a member of Green Hill Baptist Church. Survivors include four sons, Clevel Rome of Oxford, Ohio, Johnnie Rome and Lewis Rome, both of Norfolk, and Willie Rome of Eaton, Ohio; three daughters, Emma Alexander and Lisha Bell, both of Waukegan, and Mrs. Lennie Wallace of Altadena, a sister, Rosa Hardwick of Waukegan; 25 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren.
Muscogee County native Mary More Deaths on Page B-6 Former Columbus Pastor Scott Dies Former Columbus pastor, the Rev. Wade Elmo Scott, 88, of Magnolia Manor in Americus, died Monday at Oak Manor nursing home in Columbus where he was recuperating from a broken hip. The funeral will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Moore Chapel, Magnolia Manor, with entombment at 4:30 p.m. in Parkhill Cemetery, Columbus, according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus.
The Rev. Scott was born Sept. 6, 1896, i in Emanuel County, a son of Mr. and Mrs. T.J.
Scott. He had lived in Americus for three years. The minister retired in 1964 with 53 years' service. He served in many Methodist churches in Georgia, including St. Paul and St.
Mark United Methodist Churches in Columbus. He was a past member of South Georgia Annual Conference of United Methodist Churches. Survivors include three daughters, Nell Brumbaugh of Columbus, Bette Wade Moore of Macon, and Virginia Newman of Valdosta; a son, Rev. W. Eugene Scott of Savannah; three sisters, Lucille S.
Kea of Americus, Robbie S. Elkins of Swainsboro, and Ruth S. Temples of Vidalia, two brothers, Aubrey E. Scott of Swainsboro, and Tinley J. Scott of Signal Mountain, eight grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren.
Annie Eva Williams SHILOH, Ga. Annie Eva Williams, 74, of Shiloh, died Monday at Doctors Hospital, Columbus. The funeral was today with burial in Shiloh Cemetery. Mrs. Williams was born Nov.
15, 1910, in Harris County, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis J. Koon. She was a retired storekeeper and homemaker and a member of New Shiloh Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband, C.C. "Jack" of Warm Springs, a daughter, Anne Moultrie of Hamilton, a son, Milton Williams of Hamilton; three grandchildren; a great grandchild. Donations may go to the American Cancer Society in lieu of flowers. Velma Smith BLAKELY, Ga. Velma Smith, 75, of Blakely, died Sun- day at her home.
The funeral was today with burial in Blakely Cemetery, according to Manry-Jordan Funeral Home. Mrs. Smith was born June 27, 1909, in Early County, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bryant Paul.
She was a homemaker and a past matron of Blakely Chapter 282, Order of the Eastern Star. Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Bob Merchant of Albany, a son, Dr. Ted Smith of Edison, two brothers, A.B. Paul and Jack Paul, both of Blakely; a sister, Clara McKinnon of Albany.
Deaths Elsewhere Dalton L. Baugh BOSTON (AP) Dalton L. Baugh, one of the Navy's first black officers, died Jan. 1. He was 72.
A native of Crossett, he entered the Navy in 1942 after graduating in engineering from Arkansas State College and was among the first 13 blacks commissioned as ensigns. He later entered the Naval Reserve, retiring in 1964 as a lieutenant commander. He gained a master's degree in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956 and stayed on for 16 years as a supervisor and instructor in the gas turbine laboratory. He worked for the state Department of Public Works before forming an engineering company, D. Baugh and Associates, in 1973.
By Myrna May The car was struck "suddenly and without warnLaGrange Bureau ing," the husband said in a suit filed Friday in A local man whose wife was Troup County Superior Court by attorney Marc struck her stalled car last Acree. System Railroad for Also named as a defendant in the suit is the Atlanta and West Point Railroad Co. 36, 231 Niles was killed Gates is seeking $1 million for compensatory Street railroad crossing near damages and $500,000 for exemplary damages. Police said Mrs. Gates tried to The suit said the collision was a result of the negoff the track as a westbound ligence of the railroad companies which knew the crossing had no signals and posed a danger to moGates, is suing Seaboard in torists.
that of the couple's two chil- The companies are liable, the suit said, because Deshun, 10. they failed to keep the train under control, stop with their mother at about 9 the train, give proper and adequate warning of the accident occurred on their train's approach, maintain a proper lookout and store. Mrs. Gates pushed the maintain proper devices, such as activated gates Gates said. and bells.
Thomas Hederman JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Thomas M. Hederman former editor and co-owner of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Daily News newspapers, died Sunday. He was 73..
