Now this is fast-tracking: just a week after the Board of Regents approved the proposal for a junior college in Floyd County contingent on the county funding the initial campus development, the Floyd Board of Commissioners announced plans for a November 5th bond issue to approve $3.215 million in bonds for land purchase and facilities construction. That's right at six weeks from first public mention to bond issue! $2 million would go for building construction, $$175,000 for land purchase, $800,000 for site development/preparation, $190,000 for connection to the city sewerage system, and $50,000 for extension of existing water lines. The county estimated that it would take a year from approval to completion.
West Rome faced off against the Cass Colonels on Friday, October 4th. While Cass had three losses and one win for the season, Coach Nick Hyder warned that it would be wrong to assume that the game was going to be an easy win for the Chieftains. "This is the best Cass team in years," Hyder said. "I hope our players don't take this game too lightly." Turned out there wasn't that much to worry about, though: West Rome won 24-7, with Johnny Rimes throwing two touchdown passes and Roger Weaver scoring on a 58-yard punt return. This was one of the few Thursday night games on the 1968 football schedule; every area school had one Thursday night game because of the number of schools trying to share the Barron Stadium facilities.
A Garden Lakes man was arrested after he went on a shooting spree with a shotgun at a Rome textile plant on Wednesday, October 2nd. The man took four hostages at Klopman Mills and held them for several hours before eventually releasing them and turning himself over to the police. The shooter brought his six-year-old son with him for the shooting, giving his son a bag of shotgun shells that he handed to his father as he needed them. (It's nice that the family found something to do together...) Thankfully, there were no injuries--pretty amazing, really!
Dwyatt Dempsey, the Rome real estate businessman who was charged with arson regarding a fire that destroyed the King's Inn restaurant, was acquitted after a two-day trial. It was actually Dempsey's second trial; the first trial in May resulted in a mistrial, but in this case, the jury returned a not guilty verdict after eight hours of deliberations. While the police were able to prove that his pants were wet with a flammable liquid, they were not able to show any sign of the flammable liquid on his shoes. Dempsey's lawyers effectively argued that, if he had splashed flammable liquid around, some of it would have gotten on his shoes as well. Apparently the jury agreed.
Seventh District Representative John Davis unveiled plans for construction of 75 more low-rent housing units in Rome. The plans called for a 36-unit project near the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds; a 64-unit project in North Rome, and a new high-rise apartment complex for the elderly to be constructed in the rear of the existing North Fifth Avenue project. Rome already had 800 residents living in low-rent housing; they estimated that the 75 new units would add another 240 Romans to the low-rent housing roster.
A Roman was quite busy this week in 1968: the same man broke into the Pure Oil Station on Calhoun Avenue, Troy's Barbecue on Calhoun Avenue, a Citgo station Turner McCall Boulevard, and the EZ shop on Shorter Avenue. He primarily stole cigarettes, cigars, candy, gum, and whatever cash was available. He still had most of the stolen items when he was caught at his home.
Big K premiered one of my personal favorites this week in 1968: their 23¢ giant-sized bag of freshly made caramel corn. I used to think that the aroma of their popcorn was hard to resist, but once I walked in and smelled that caramelly-sweet goodness wafting through the store, I had a new favorite. I think I must have bought a bag of the caramel corn almost every time I went to Big K for years afterwards--and in demonstration of my poor judgment, I sometimes ate the entire bag by myself!
Piggly Wiggly had round steak for 79¢ a pound, Sealtest ice milk for 39¢ a half-gallon, and apples for 12¢ a pound. Kroger had Cudahy Bar-S bacon for 49¢ a pound, Maxwell House coffee for 55¢ a pound, and corn for 6¢ an ear. A&P had pork chops for 69¢ a pound, potatoes for a dime a pound, and Nestle's chocolate chips for 49¢ a bag. Big Apple had rib roast for 79¢ a pound, grapes for 19¢ a pound, and Tater Maid frozen french fries for 15¢ a bag. Couch's had ground beef for 45¢ a pound, Poss Brunswick stew for 49¢ a can, and bananas for a dime a pound.
The cinematic week began with Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (starring Doris Day) at the DeSoto Theatre, Gone with the Wind (starring Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh) at the First Avenue, and The Green Berets (starring John Wayne) at the West Rome Drive-In. The midweek switchout brought The Pink Jungle (starring James Garner in a film that I don't remember at all) to the DeSoto, The Bible (starring Stephen Boyd) to the First Avenue, and Von Ryan's Express (starring Frank Sinatra) to the West Rome Drive-In.
The Beatles held on to number one for a third week week "Hey Jude." Other top ten hits included "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley (#2); "Fire" by the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (#3); "Little Green Apples" by OC Smith (#4); "Girl Watcher" by toe O'Kaysions (#5); "Midnight Confessions" by the Grass Roots (#6); "My Special Ange" by the Vogues (#7); "I've Got to Get a Message to You" by the Bee Gees (#8); "Over You" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (#9); and "Slip Away" by Clarence Carter (#10).
Merle Haggard released his seventh album, Mama Tried, this week in 1968.The album's title song would go on to be the best-selling single in Haggard's career. While the album wasn't a theme album as such, many of the songs were prison songs, including "Green Green Grass of Home," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "I Could Have Gone Right."
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