poisoned the catfish farm himself to collect on the insurance. One black candidate who did not support McCown claimed he received threatening phone calls regarding his children and grandchildren. McCown supporter and Atlanta attorney Al Horn said the media was sent to Sparta with an agenda to, McCown as a crook and that all blacks are incompetent.” “Show Former colleague and friend Sonny Walker echoed the sentiment by stating, [McCown] was “He put in place because he was a black who was a symbol of power and influence and authority and he got too big for his britches.” During the McCown era there was an increase of 673 percent in welfare cases and unemployment of 20 percent, while sales in retail went down 7 percent. 30 The impending audit lead by Walker and the OEO found many discrepancies, but no illegalities. By the fall of 1974, McCown’s annual salary had increased to $50,000, ten times the pay of an average Hancock citizen. Whereas most organizations would undergo a freeze in funding, during the audit, ECCO was approved for a $2 million grant from OEO Washington. In total, it was calculated that McCown brought $8,782,000 into Hancock County. Led by the Ford Foundation and the OEO, of which $2.5 million went toward the HUD housing project where residents were required to pay one-fourth their monthly salary, therefore, those with little or no income, paid next to nothing for rent. Additionally, the housing project was built in a remote corner of the county, opposite of Milledgeville, where jobs were made available. Poor planning and extraordinary spend led to the misuse of U.S. tax dollars. Hancock fell into increased scrutiny by many federal agencies. The FBI established a presence at polling locations for the 1974 elections in an effort to ward off faulty political practices which ran rampant during previous elections. By October of 1975, McCown had reached a low point in this power. When attempting to post bail for two members of his camp, McCown was issued a statement that he possessed a negative net worth. Later that month the Ford Foundation announced they would no
poisoned the catfish farm himself to collect on the insurance. One black candidate who did not support McCown claimed he received threatening phone calls regarding his children and grandchildren. McCown supporter and Atlanta attorney Al Horn said the media was sent to Sparta with an agenda to, “Show McCown as a crook and that all blacks are incompetent.” Former colleague and friend Sonny Walker echoed the sentiment by stating, “He [McCown] was put in place because he was a black who was a symbol of power and influence and authority and he got too big for his britches.” During the McCown era there was an increase of 673 percent in welfare cases and unemployment of 20 percent, while sales in retail went down 7 percent. 30 The impending audit lead by Walker and the OEO found many discrepancies, but no illegalities. By the fall of 1974, McCown’s annual salary had increased to $50,000, ten times the pay of an average Hancock citizen. Whereas most organizations would undergo a freeze in funding, during the audit, ECCO was approved for a $2 million grant from OEO Washington. In total, it was calculated that McCown brought $8,782,000 into Hancock County. Led by the Ford Foundation and the OEO, of which $2.5 million went toward the HUD housing project where residents were required to pay one-fourth their monthly salary, therefore, those with little or no income, paid next to nothing for rent. Additionally, the housing project was built in a remote corner of the county, opposite of Milledgeville, where jobs were made available. Poor planning and extraordinary spend led to the misuse of U.S. tax dollars. Hancock fell into increased scrutiny by many federal agencies. The FBI established a presence at polling locations for the 1974 elections in an effort to ward off faulty political practices which ran rampant during previous elections. By October of 1975, McCown had reached a low point in this power. When attempting to post bail for two members of his camp, McCown was issued a statement that he possessed a negative net worth. Later that month the Ford Foundation announced they would no
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