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Web ■California tires out of control ■Police chief on the job despite Alzheimer’s S 3 . Volume 137, Number 187 Out of the wild blue yonder WWII airplane makes forced landing in farm field Wmm * 3 4^*## i Ik m iSS ~ i: ‘1 9k. #w '«"<!■ ™ . ..*Mr * "" - .;. | v . . ? Jgr Journal/Charlotte Perkins Raymond Bryant, who is a World War II veteran, points out structural damage that was done to a PT-22 aircraft that made an emergency landing in a field in Houston County. "There couldn't be a better school than this." - Bailey Notes, fifth grader at Lake Joy Elementary School Dedication held lip Late Joy ES campus By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer One way to understand how rapidly Houston County is growing is to consider the short history of Lake Joy Elementary School. The first Lake Joy Elementary School was opened in 2003 with 684 stu dents, and as Superintendent of Schools David Carpenter pointed out Sunday after noon, it was built in an area which then had few homes and no retail business. School leaders expected the new school to reduce the overcrowding in other elementary schools, but it attracted development even as it was being built, and in three short years, there were 1,045 students and 16 portable classrooms on the campus. See DEDICATION, page ioA PERIODICAL 500 Pill B™s 510 8 0 0001 1 4 iiiiiiiliiiifliiliiMKvfaliiMiilaißilimififiiiali COOI * Georgia Newspaper Project Main Library University of Georgia ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3- D'G’T 306 Oct. 24-26, 2007 \smvkW Hmrnm €m mx bi.u MW FOOD - IB Soup ‘R’ Spud where the only limit is imagination. Also, versatile pasta can be simple or elegant; chilly weather calls for chili. More. LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, CITY OF PERRY, CITY OF WARNER ROBINS AND CITY OF CENTERVILLE Jp,' A |||l 'Wtm 'Minimnihil BIRTHDAYS Oct. 24 ■ Ashley McClinton ■ Christopher Jackson Oct. 25 ■ Larry Amerson ■ Kamoree Raines ■ Wendy Purvis EtraS WrtMays to: lthi@Bvansnßwspopers.com or donfli@evansnewspapers.coni. Mail to: 1210 Washington St., Perry 31080 attn: Don Moncriet. Or, call 8871823, Ext. 231. -j& 'W iMM ■ / feyjfk ANNIVERSARY Oct. 23 ■ Kaye and Johnny Evans (Happy 31stl) Wednesday-Friday, October 24-26, 2007 This week in HHJ history: 30 years ago: Perry-Fort Valley Airport officials accept a grant for $52,854 from the Federal Aviation Administration. The money will reportedly be used to pay for over-run costs for the airport expansion project. Also, accord ing to a nationwide survey, more Houston County residents can be found in the “higher income” bracket than the “lower income” bracket, and Perry residents are prompt - as compared to the year prior - in pay ing their city tax bills. According to a report, 68.5 percent had paid their taxes prior to the delinquent date (it was 63 percent in 1976). 20 years ago: The Houston County Health Department advertises the availability of flu shots. Surprise! Some things never change. Have you gotten yours yet? And, just like the Panthers of today, Perry stunned then 10th-ranked Peach County. The final was 7-6 with Perry’s touchdown - the Trojans scored on their opening drive - coming from Tony Brown, from the 10-yard line with 44 seconds left. 10 years ago: The book: Houston County, Georgia, Evergreen Cemetery: Tombstone Transcripts 1827-1997 is pub lished. The book, according to a report, includes a brief history of Evergreen Cemetery in Perry, some sketches, a poem and transcripts from every tombstone in the cemetery dating back to its then 170 years. Also, Hayley Godbee-Greene, executive director of the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce announc es she will be leaving to take over as section manager for Flint Electric’s public relations and three from Perry get a court date of Dec. 1 in regard to charges they burned down a church in Houston County. ' - Compiled by Don Moncriet . »fi «fe .w, SffiSr By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer It’s usually quiet along County Line Road in South Houston County, which is why the rumbling sound outside caught Raymond Bryant’s attention. He and his son thought it was a tractor at first, but they went outside and saw a bright yellow airplane with red, white and blue trim cir cling over the field next to the house, and then coming down for a bumpy landing. It wasn’t any ordinary airplane either. It was an Army Air Corps P-22 from the early days of World War 11. Not a replica. The real War games SPORTS - 3B SOFTBALL: Westfield falls short of title bid; NS and HC eliminated but WR earns Elite 8 berth. VOLLEYBALL: HC and WR qualify for state; NS falls. More. thing. Bryant, 82, is a World War II veteran who served as a combat medic across Europe. He is also a welder who worked for a half centu ry on contract with Robins Air Force Base and knows his aircraft. The little yellow, double cockpit airplane sitting in the grassy field brought back plenty of memories, because he recognized the P-22 as the aircraft used for training new pilots by the Army Air Corps in the early days of World War 11. His brother, Walter Lee Bryant, died at 21 with a crew of 10 in a B-24 bomber in an air fight over France, and is buried there. How did this historic air www.hhjnews.com craft wind up in Houston County with parts of its pro peller lost somewhere in a nearby cotton field? The pilot, Joseph Ford, who wasn’t injured in he forced landing, was appar ently flying the P-22 to an air show in Atlanta. According to Bryant, he said that he and another pilot with an antique air plane (who flew straight on to Macon) had left Valdosta in the morning. Ford, who works for Belew Group in Tennessee, left his card with Bryant and caught a ride to Perry. The accident has been reported to the Federal Aviation Commission, but the plane can’t be flown See AIRPLANE, page iaA Know someone or some agency that could use a pat on the back? Send your “Kudos" to hhj@evansnewspapers. com. INDEX OBITUARIES 3A OPINION 4A FOOD 1B SPORTS 4B Award-Winning Newspaper Better Newspaper Contest