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Looking back intime
50 YEARS AGO
Sept. 2, 1976
County commissioners were set to hold a hearing Sept. 13 on the ‘76 county budget which anticipated total expenditures of $1.77 million. According to the front-page article, the budget exceeded the previous year by $27,564, and most spending was paying increases for elected officials and employees and dipped heavily into the county’s surplus funds to maintain county services.
A Colorado County grand jury was set to convene the following Tuesday, and one of the cases involved discrepancies in police department funds at Eagle Lake Police Department, which led to the forced resignation of Roy Chisurn as chief of police. Chisurn denied any wrongdoing and said as chief of police he was taking the blame, and that the errors were the result of “typographical errors in the bookkeeping.”
Columbus Cardinal quarterback Billy Bankston was pictured on the front page during a CHS practice. The Cards were preparing to open their 1976 season against the Rice Raiders.
The enrollment in Columbus schools totaled 1,257 on opening day of the ‘76-’77 school year. The total was down 2.5% from the previous year.
Women had been entering the county workforce in growing numbers, and according to government figures, 2,250 over age 16 were working in Colorado County.
