Adair County High School - Chieftain Yearbook (Columbia, KY)

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Economic distress plagues nation As we look Behind the Scenes of this school year we now want to focus on the events that made 1983 unlike any other. These events changed and shaped our lives. It was a year of deepening economic distress, and the jobless rate rose to an all time high since World War II. Presi- dent Ronald Reagan struggled to come up with tax bills to help put people back to work. His efforts seemed in vain as the nation’s jobless turned into the nation’s poor. President Reagan also had trouble in his cabinet as Secretary of State Alexander Haig resigned around the middle of his term in office. Although the stock market had many ups and downs, it reached its all time high in 1983. And at a time when it seemed we would never have any relief from inflation, interest rates dropped. In a mysterious murder seven people died when they took Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. The manu- facturer recalled all Extra-strength Tylenol capsules while the unknown killer re- mained free. On the movie scene “Tootsie,” “Polter- geist,” “The Toy,” and “An Officer and a Gentleman” were among the hits of the year. But by far the most popular and the top money making film was Steven Spielburg’s “E.T. the Extra-terrestrial.” In the sports world the St. Louis Cardi- nals won the baseball World Series while the Washington Redskins became the NFL Super Bowl champs. At one time it looked like the Super Bowl might not be played this year when NFL players went on strike. But after weeks of negotiation the football players returned to the field to finish the season. Head football coach of Alabama’s Crimson Tide. Paul “Bear” Bryant retired after setting a record of 315 wins in a career. While baseball players mourned the death of one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard hung up his gloves after an eye injury that threatened the loss of his sight. In 1983 we said goodbye to many fam- ous people who had made their mark on the world. Actor Henry Fonda died after a period of illness. Actress Grace Kelly, who had given up her career to become Princess Grace of Monaco, died in a tragic car accident. Swedish actress, In- grid Bergman died of cancer at the age of 67. And “Saturday Night Live” star, John Belushi, died in Hollywood of an overdose of cocaine and heroin. The music scene gained and lost fabu- lous groups that made us dance and sing. The Who gave their farewell concert The space shuttle Columbia takes off on its fifth mission. while Alabama was fast becoming the hottest group in the nation. Popular rock groups, the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers, split up so members could pur- sue other careers. Willie Nelson’s “Al- ways on my Mind” became the number one song this year. We also heard new efforts from Eddie Money and Bob Seger who had been out of the music picture for a while. In foreign affairs, the death of Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev brought on the appointment of one time KGB head Yuri Andropov. Solidarity leader Lech Walesa was re- leased from prison and the grip of martial law in Poland was loosened. The war between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel proved to be the bloodiest of this year’s confron- tations. In the end the beaten PLO with- drew from Lebanon to find a new home. War ravaged the Faukland Islands as Great Britain fought to retake the islands. After 74 days of conflict the Argentines surrendered and the Britons regained control. Great Britain also celebrated the birth of a royal baby William was born to Prince Charles and Princess Diana and made his first appearance one month later to have his picture made. On the local scene, Adair County schools dealt with the outbreak of lice by checking students at school and by distrib- uting information on the subject to parents. However, Meade County schools had to close for a week because of a hepatitis epidemic. Heavy flooding caused schools to close early on September 1. Many buses had to take new routes to get students home. Fortunately, the flood waters receded quickly and school opened on time the next day. Two of the new businesses that opened in Columbia this year are Nostalgia Nook and Columbia Typewriter. The Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Com- merce also opened their new office on Jamestown Street. New school board members were elected and took office this year along with the new superintendent, Kermit Grider. 26 current events

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Sherri McLean, a newly inducted member, is ac- tive in band. Shannon Goodin, president of the Adair County High chapter of the National Honor Society, is also Miss Beta nhs 25

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Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev died earlier this year. He was replaced by one time KGB head Yuri Andropov. Alabama football coach Paul Bear Bryant passed away soon after retiring. Dustin Hoffman starred in Tootsie, one of this year's hottest films. Here, Hoffman is shown as Dorothy Matthews, the character he portrayed. current events 27