Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-01-22
DOOLYC CASHIER BETRAYED
BY CHRISTMAS TOYS SENT TO HIS BABY
GROUND BROKEN
ON FIRST COUNTY
PAVING PROJECT
Chairman Ray Sinks
Pick Into Highway
And Work Begins

Ground was broken at 1890 o'clock
this morning on the first of Sumter
county's rural highway paving pro-
jects At that hour Neill A. Ray,
chairman of the board of county COM
missiOners, sunk pick into the cen
ter of the Dixie Highway just be-
yond the residence of the John Coun-
Gil farm, as G. P. McKinstry, photo
grapher, pressed the bulb of his
camera. Surrounding Mr.. Ray were
the other members of the county
board except one, engineers, citizens,
road bosses and convicts. Immedi-
ately afterward the spectators STEP
ped to one side and a dozen husky
convicts, each with pick, started
tearing up the surface of the highway
preparatory to the laying of the first
paving material.
The occasion was without cere-
mony commensurate with its impor-
Cance. The county commissioners
having been advised by Engineer
Ansley that he would break dirt this
morning, were on hand to see the
dream of Sumter county for a year
actually under way. Learning of the
plan, several citizens interested in the
project were also present. The COM
missioners present besides Mr.. Ray
we're Messrs. Oliver, Poole and Stat
ham. Among the citizens were D. r.
Andrews, Prof. j. E. Mathis, Col. J.
G. D. Shipp, Z. ]. Eldridge, R. P.
Stackhouse, Lovelace Eve and W. S.
Kirkpatrick.
Convict Camp Moved.
Yesterday the convict camp had
been moved by Mr. Ansley's direction
from Chambliss' store near the river
n the 28th district to Wheatley's
woods, about midway of the three
mile road project. The arrangement
of the camp was well completed yes
terday and everything prepared for
breaking of dirt at 9 am. Engineer
Sherley Hudson, assistant to Division
Engineer Caye, and Oliver Ray, his
helper, were on the job to see that
the surveyors stakes, set some time
ago, were in place. At the last min
ute it was found that some of them
had been misplaced, and there was a
delay of more than an hour while the
| lines were re-established.
The work was started at the east
end of the project, and will move to-
ward Americus. At the point where
the work started about two inches of
top surface was taken off, a gang fol-
lowing the picks and shoveling the
loosened earth to the sides, where it
will be used for building up the
shoulder of the pavement.
Handle Material Once.
1t is the purpose of Mr.. Ansley to
begin hauling the Stag which is ar
irving by the trainload, at once, plac-
ing it where it will be used. This
will necessitate no extra handling of
the material, as it will be hauled from
the cars directly to the project and
dumped ready for the steam roller,
Four inches of this Stag will be used
as the base of the pavement, to be
topped with crushed rock and hot
liquid asphalt.
A machine, known as a scarifer
which will tear up the present hard
surface of the roads to be paved, has
been bought, and when delivered will
do the work now required to be done
by hand with picks. This will release
for other hand work a considerable
number of men now employed dig
ging up the road in the preparatory
work.