Newspaper Page Text
WEEKEND
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1993
Good
morning, Perry
Home Journal
HIGHLIGHTS
In Sympathy
The community's sympathy is
extended to the families of
those who recently died. They
include Paulyne Thomasina
Wilbanks, Warner Robins;
Mary Story Griffin, Macon. For
more information, please see
page 2A
Register to vote!
The Board of Elections will be
holding a voter registration drive
today at two Perry locations
from noon until 3 p.m. For more
information on this and other
items listed in the Calendar of
Events, please see page 2A
Hoop action
Facing off last night in the Perry
gymnasium were the
undefeated Panthers and the
undefeated Dodge County In
dians. Westfield travelled to
Stratford Academy in Macon.
For the highlights, stats and
scores from these games,
please see page SA.
--INDEX
BILL OVERTON SA
CLASSIFIED 8A
DEATHS 2A
EDITORIALS 4A
PERRY SCRAPBOOK 4A
JIM SHIPLEY 4A
BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK 4A
New
hours!
County closes landfill
early on Saturdays
By VETO F. HOLEY
Staff Writer
After Jan. 8, 1994, the Houston
County Landfill will be open half
days on Saturday, instead of full
days. The landfill will open at 8:30
a.m. and close at noon.
Public Works Director Tommy
Stalnaker came before the Houston
County Board of Commissioners
during its regular meeting Dec. 7
requesting the change.
Stalnaker told the commission
ers that the landfill staff was having
trouble filling a six day schedule.
"It’s very expensive to keep em
ployees down there," he said, adding
that the amount of trash brought to
the landfill on Saturday afternoons
did not justify keeping the landfill
open.
However, added Stalnaker, Hous
ton County residents who want to
get rid of trash on Saturday after
noons can still take it by the com-.
pactor sites.
Stalnaker added that compactor
sites at the old landfill, Moss Oaks
and Story Road also were collection
points for old appliances and metals
and yard waste and wood.
Additionally, the compactor sites
at White Road and Kings Chapel
Road are collection points for old
appliances and metals. The com
pactor sites at Carl Vinson and Wa
ter Road are collection points for
yard waste and wood.
The commission also accepted a
the bid of Geosciences, Inc. to build
16 test wells at the landfill for just
over $35,000.
The wells will monitor ground
water, said Stalnaker. He added that
the wells are required by federal reg
ulations.
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(HHJ photo by Brenda Thompson)
Three-year-old Dusty Sanders helps his dad, Jim Sanders of Perry, pick out and cut
a Christmas tree for their home.
Tis the season for trees
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
Just like snow flakes and people,
no two are the same.
There are tall ones, skinny ones,
short ones and fat ones.
There are ones which are perfect
for the tiniest of apartments and
others that are more appropriate for
the, towering ceilings of larger
homes and businesses.
The majority are perfectly
shaped, while a few might be better
defined as showing a lot of, well,
“character”.
What are they?
They’re Christmas trees and
they’re all growing on the local
farms of Perry’s Harold A. Croom.
“All total, we have approxi
mately 20,000 trees growing in
three locations in the county-Piles
Road, Highway 127 and Mt. Zion
Road,” Croom, a retiree of Robins
Air Force Base and a resident of
Perry since 1952, said this week.
‘We have four different varieties in
just about any size you may want.”
The four varieties available for
cutting and purchasing are Virginia
Pines, Red Cedars, Frazier Firs and
Leyland Cypresses; the most popu
lar, according to Croom, being the
Leyland Cypress, a hybrid tree
growing up to 10 feet tall.
Prices range from S2O for the
majority of the trees up to $4 per
foot for some of the taller ones. No
tree, however, is priced over S4O.
In addition to individual cus
tomers that visit the Croom Farms
to choose and cut their own trees,
Croom, who has been in the
Christmas tree farming business
since 1985, says about half of the
4,000 to 5,000 trees sold each year
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1994 Leadership Perry class
The 1994 Leadership Perry class held thler first meeting Wednesday afternoon at the Perry
Welcome Center. Leadership Perry Is sponsored by the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce to
develop community leadership skills. The members of the 1994 class are Hal Brannen Jr., Helen
Burgess, Tira Craine, Harold Deal, Dana Dickson, Lee Duke, Greg Griner, Beth Jones, Debbie
Koenig, Tim Martin, Kyle Mathis, Janet McElmurray, Trey Moody 111, Mike Slater, Ty Sturgeon,
Wanda Sullivan and class chairman Paul Hicks.
PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870-FOR COVERAGE OF YOUR EVENTS. CALL 987-1823
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f The Houston Homeff
Journal
1 SECTION—B PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULAR
Did you know . . .
Georgia Forestry Service shares
Christmas tree trivia
•The idea of the Christmas tree seems to have originated in Germany.
The earliest legend credits the British missionary monk St. Boniface
(born 680) with its Christmas symbolism. Supposedly, Boniface was
preaching a Nativity sermon to a tribe of Gemanic Druids near Geismar,
To convince them their sacred oak was not so powerful, he cut one down
on the spot. The felled tree crushed everything in its path except a lone
fir sapling. Boniface interpreted the fir’s survival as a miracle, claiming it
was the tree of the Christ Child. By the 1700s, the Christbaum or
“Christ tree” was a firmly established German tradition.
•In other parts of the world, various people began preaching against
festive Christmas customs such as the decorated tree, but by the 19th
century the great influx of German and Irish immigrants into New
England lightened the stern attitudes. Later, Queen Victoria’s German
consort, Prince Albert, is said to have brought the decorated Christmas
- tree tradition to the English court when they married in 1840. By the late
1800s the Christmas tree had gained popularity in England and America.
•President Theodore Roosevelt forbade the use of Christmas trees at
the White House because he was concerned about cutting the majestic
evergreens as decorations. When his friend and advisor Gifford Pinchot,
father of the U.S. Forest Service, assured him that proper harvesting of
the trees was good for the forest, Roosevelt reversed his decision on the
White House Christmas tree.
•The most common Christmas bees grown in Georgia is the Virginia
pine and the red cedar. Fact is, there are 238 Georgia tree farms registered
with the Georgia Department of Agriculture in 106 counties selling 18
different species of Christmas trees.
are purchased by wholesalers or
marketed at the Farmers’ Market in
Macon. The busiest weekends are
typically the first and second week
ends of December.
When asked why he chose
Christmas tree farming as his post
retirement business, Croom is
quick to answer.
“I have always loved plants and
working with nature,” Croom said,
his face lighting up like the lights
on his own seven foot Leyland Cy
press. “These trees are a thing of
beauty and I enjoy being the one to
make sure they are properly
groomed and cultured.”
And, properly groom and culture
them he does-year round.
“I have one full time employee
and six part timers and we all stay
busy trimming, topping, sheering
and spraying the trees what seems
like eight days a week,” Croom
said, adding proudly that his farm
Please see TREES, page 8A
PERRY, GA.
A Park Community Newspaper—©l993
Airport status
encouraging
to city, county
Stafford, Worrall ready to
utilize potential of facility
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Even though the Perry-Fort Val
ley Airport Authority is losing Fort
Valley and Peach County as mem
bers, local officials believe that
good things are in store for the air
port.
"We can really reach out and
make it the kind of airport it ought
to be," said Perry Mayor Jim Wor
rall. "The problem now is to Find
funding to take up the slack (left by
Fort Valley and Peach County).
"As quickly as Houston County
and Perry can get together, you will
see the airport take off.
"I think its vital to the growth
of Perry," said Worrall.
Sherrill Stafford, Houston
County Commission chairman,
said that Fort Valley's move to re
move itself from the authority will
help the airport in the long run.
"We've been in the mode a long
time of waiting for something to
happen," said Stafford. "Now we are
in the mode to make something
happen."
The airport authority was origi
nally formed with Perry, Fort Val
ley, Houston County and Peach
County as members and financial
contributors.
Peach County indicated earlier
this year that It wanted out of the
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Robbie Dunbar, left, receives congratulations from
retired county engineer Milton Beckham on Dunbar's
promotion to county engineer.
Dunbar takes the reins
as new county engineer
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Robbie Dunbar became the sec
ond county engineer in Houston
County history when he replaced
Milton Beckham on Dec. 1, 1993.
Beckham was first appointed
county engineer March 15, 1983,
after the position was created to fill
a vacancy left by Allen Stone who
retired after 16 years as the county's
prison warden and county roads and
bridges superintendent
Dunbar was promoted from the
position of projects engineer, which
is being eliminated by the county.
"I consider it a great opportunity
to follow in Mr. Beckham's shoes,"
said Dunbar. "I appreciated Tommy
Stalnaker (Houston County public
works director) and the board of
commissioners giving me this op
portunity.”
Dunbar is a life-long resident of
Houston County, living with his
wife Dawn on his family’s 100 year
old farm near Warner Robins.
Dunbar is a 1991 graduate of
Southern Tech in Marietta, where
authority. Fort Valley has indicated
through inaction on a letter sent by
the authority demanding a response
that it no longer wished to remain a
member of the authority.
While Peach County and Fort
Valley have indicated their desire to
be removed from the airport author
ity, the Georgia Legislature must
pass legislation removing them
from the authority.
"It's obvious that we've got to
increase funding," said Worrall,
who noted that the airport had pre
viously been funded by four gov
ernments instead of two.
Stafford said he was working on
arranging a meeting between the
Perry City Council and the Hous
ton County Board of Commission
ers to find the short term funding
the airport requires. He said the
meeting should take place within
the next "couple of weeks," possi
bly within the next 10 days.
”1 feel sure that together the city
and county can come up with the
right decision," said Stafford.
Worrall added that many compa
nies are looking at a city's proxim
ity to the airport before they decide
to locate in that city. "Almost any
new industry has aircraft involved,"
he said.
Please see AIRPORT, page 8A
he received a bachelors degree in
civil engineering. He started work
ing for Houston County in July,
1991, shortly after graduating.
"Tommy Stalnaker has been a
lot of help," said Dunbar. "He hired
me pretty soon after college and
gave me a shot. Many guys don't
get that shot.”
Dunbar said that he would like
to work on three problem areas in
the county: developing specs for
developers, solving drainage prob
lems, and paving Houston County's
85-90 miles of dirt roads.
Of his three priorities, Dunbar
said developing specs for county
developers was the most important.
He said that many developers com
plained about a lack of uniform
specs for projects. He added that
specs would help prevent future
drainage problems for the county.
"I would like to stay here for 20-
25 years," said Dunbar, "and work
to retirement. I'm looking forward
to learning and gaining more expe
rience."