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VOL. 91 NO. 45
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HALFBACK PORTER STAPLES HAULED DOWN BY FORSYTH DEFENDER
Man at Right in Dark Jersey Swings onto Uniform; 85 is Goodman
Panthers to Face Lyons Here Friday
In Search for 6-4 Record for Year
The Perry Panthers will wind
up the football season here Fri
day night against Lyons High
School, which was tied for first
place in Region 2-B West for a
brief time last week.
Coach Herb St. John said the
Lyons club is about the same
size as Perry, has an identical
region record (3-2) and has pro
duced about the same number of
points on the scoreboard this
year.
“This one can go either way,”
St. John said yesterday, “but we
want it to go our way so we will
have a 6-4 record rather than a
5-5 record for the season. We
have three or four boys who will
play very little because of in
juries—Gene Hill, David Law
son, Boyce Tucker and Chuck
White.”
Lyons is the same team that
beat Treutlen, which beat Perry,
9-0, and Lyons was in a three
way tie for first place until Haw
kinsville knocked them off last
weekend. Coach St. John said
Lyons has three or four boys
who are good and there’s no way
Perry can concentrate on stop
ping just one or two good men.
A good crowd is expected for
the final game of the season.
REGION 2-B WEST ALL GAMES
Team w. 1. t. pet.
Treutlen 8 10 .888
Hawkinsville 8 2 0 .800
Perry 5 4 0 .555
Lyons 450 .444
Mont. Co. 3 6 0 .333
Vidalia 3 6 1 .363
Wilkinson Co. 0 10 0 .000
Here's Box Score
On Forest Fires
The Houston - Pulaski County
Forestry Unit released the follow
ing report on the number of for
est fires detected and suppressed
during the week ending Novem
ber 7.
Forest Fires 2
Acres Burned 44
Prescribed Burns 20
Fires Since Jan. 1 71
Acres Lost Since Jan. 1, 598.92
Parents who Fail to Send Children
To County Schools Face Prosecution
Solicitor William M. West said
this week that he will call the
Houston county superior court
grand jury into session soon “un
less regular attendance in school
is substantially increased immedi
ately,”
“This unjustified defiance of
our school attendance law is cost
ing Houston County many thou
sands of dollars in State funds
for school operation,” the solici
tor said.
Mr. West’s complete statement
on the Compulsory School At
tendance Law follows:
“Miss Virginia H. Moreland, the
Houston County Visiting Teacher,
and County School Superintendent
David A. Perdue have brought to
my attention that a substantial
number of school children in the
county are not regularly attending
school. The percentage failing to
attend school regularly is much
higher than at this time last year.
“This unjustified defiance of
our school attendance law is cost
ing Houston County many thou
sands of dollars in State funds for
school operation.
Houston
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HOMECOMING ROYALTY RIDE IN CONVERTIBLE
L. or r., Martha Lynn Watson, Queen Jean Vance and Karen Harley
Panthers Pile Up Impressive Yardage
In Defeating Forsyth Here, 42 to 14
The Perry Panthers treated a
Homecoming Night crowd to an
overwhelming victory over Mary
Persons High of Forsyth here Fri
day night, 42-14. It was Perry’s
fifth win aganist 4 losses.
The Panthers piled up a rush
ing total of 461 yards and 21 first
downs, as Forsyth had 192 yards
rushing and seven first downs.
The Bulldogs were in the game
only briefly in the first quarter,
when Fullback Chester Grant ran
70 yards for a score, to tie up the
game at 7-all.
The Panthers took the ball on
the opening kickoff and in 10
plays went 74 yards for their first
score, with Halfback Ronnie Davis
going over for the TD from the
seven-yard line. Quarterback Do
zier Hasty threw to End Bobby
Goodman for the extra point.
“Under our law, the parents of
children are guilty of a separate
misdemeanor for each day that
each child does not attend school
without a justifiable legal ex
cuse.
“My assistance has been asked
by the Houston County school au
thorities to see that this law is
strictly enforced, and I have
pledged my full cooperation in the
prosecution of parents for each
flagrant violation of this law. I
have urged that warrants be is
sued by the visiting teacher for
the parents of all children who
are not regularly attending school.
I will present these cases to the
Grand Jury for Indictments and
vigorously prosecute the cases and
urge that the guilty parents be
appropriately punished by the
Court.
“Unless regular attendance in
school is substantially increased
immediately, I will urge the Court
to call the Grand Jury in session
to act on these cases, so the guilty
parents may be promptly prose
cuted.”
WILLIAM M. WEST
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, NOV. 9, 1961
Goodman kicked off to the For
syth 30-yard line. On the first
play from scrimmage, Grant sud
denly appeared going full speed
through the secondary and went
the distance for the touchdown.
Sanders kicked the extra point.
Forsyth stopped another Pan
ther drive by intercepting a pass
on the Perry 45-yard line. The visi
tors got the ball down to the Per
ry 24-yard line but the drive bog
ged down there and Perry took
over as the quarter ended.
Fullback Alton Ellis warmed up
with runs of 12 and 24 yards and
with help from Davis and Mike
Jacobs, ran the ball down to the
3-yard line. Ellis drove over for
the score. Jacobs ran for the ex
tra point to make the score 14-7
with 7:50 to go in the half.
Davis Scores Touchdown
Forsyth took the kickoff and
ran it up to their 41-yard line. On
the third play from scrimmage,
misfortune befell Forsyth in the
form of a fumble and Guard
Charles Bridges recovered. In nine
plays, the Panthers grabbed an
other touchdown with Ronnie Da
vis going over from the 10-yard
line. Porter Staples ran for the
extra point; Score 21-7.
As the half ended, Perry was
knocking on the Forsyth door at
the 15-yard line.
After Goodman kicked off to
start the second half, Forsyth
could not move on two plays and
quick-kicked down to Perry’s 32-
yard line. Forsyth recovered a
Perry fumble at the Perry 40-yard
line. Quarterback McGee of For
syth gained on two runs of 2
and 20 yards down to the Perry
18-yard line. McGee got 12 yards
and then lost 3 at the line. Mc-
Gee passed to Morris down to Per
ry’s 5-yard line and then McGee
ran the last five on the next play
for Forsyths second and last
touchdown. Sanders again kicked
the extra point. Score, Perry 21
Forsyth 14.
Ellis Bulls for TD
Davis received the kickoff for
the Panthers and brought the ball
out to the 37-yard line. Jacobs
made 12. Perry was offside and
(Continued on Back Page)
Board Upholds Staples
In Banning ‘Ducktails’
Chamber Planning Drive
For Membership Nov. 28
The General Projects and Pub
lic Relations Committee of the
Perry Chamber of Commerce an
nounced this week that a one-day
membership drive would be held
on November 28, beginning with
a breakfast for the workers at
7:30 a. m.
Meantime, The Houston Home
Journal and Radio Station WPGA
are cooperating by running arti
cles in the paper each week and
with spot announcements on the
radio. The prospects for member
ship will all receive several let
ters during the time between now
and the membership drive urging
them to be a member of the Cham
ber. Three of these letters will
come from local businessmen who
are interested in the Chamber
movement.
Mayor Milton Beckham has
agreed to issue a proclamation ma
king November 28 “Chamber of
Commerce day in Perry.”
Workers will call on their pros
pects after the breakfast and will
return to report at a luncheon as
guests of the Perry Kiwanis Club,
at which time Congressman E. L.
Forrester will be the guest speak
er.
The drive is expected to net at
least 40 new members for the local
chamber. The committees of the
Chamber of Commerce have been
working diligently to perfect their
program for the year. This pro
gram of work will be published
and mailed tgu each member and
prospect, when it is ready for
publication.
In October, the Chamber of
Commerce welcomed the follow
ing newcomers to Perry:
Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Melton,
Country Club Estates.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Senkbeil, 1121
Jewel Drive.
Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow Coleman,
Magnolia Court, Apt. 1.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest E. Coleman,
1118 Ball Street.
Carl Vinson, 803 Elko Road.
Toy Matinee Set
At Muse Theatre
The Perry Jaycees have launch
ed their annual project of gather
ing toys to be repaired and put
under the Christmas trees of those
young people in Perry who might
otherwise not have such a happy
holiday season.
The kickoff event in this pro
ject will be a free movie in ex
change for a usuable used toy or
| a new toy. Children who are in-
I terested in helping those not quite
as fortunate as themselves should
i take their toy to the Muse Theatre
l at 10 o’clock, Saturday morning,
November 11. The toy will be ad
mission to see “Road Runner Re
view,” a cartoon carnival.
Co-Chairmen Freddie Little and
Mason Gammage of this project
have also made arrangements for
anyone who has toys to leave
them at the office of Ray Pest
Control, or to call 429-1352 and
leave word for a Jaycee to pick
them up.
The Jaycees hope to see that no
youngster finds his stocking emp
ty this year. They feel that this
can be done by the generous peo
ple of Perry meeting this chal
' lenge by contributing their toys.
Any toys that are broken or need
painting will be repaired by the
Jaycee organization.
Norman's Father
Dies in Atlanta
Charlie Norman Sr., father of
Charlie J. Norman of Perry, died
of a heart attack Sunday.
Funeral services were held
Tuesday morning at Martha Brown |
Methodist Church in Atlanta, with
Rev. D. B. Shelnutt, Rev. B. W.
Hancock and Rev. N. R. Waldrop
officiating. Burial was in Magno-j
lia Cemetery.
Leonard Mitchell, a student at'
Georgia Southwestern College in
Americus, spent the homecoming
weekend with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Orman L. Mitchell.
Basketball Teams
To Open Tuesday
Against Unadilla
After winding up the football
season Friday night, Perry High
School will move right into the
basketball season with boys and
girls games against Unadilla here
next Tuesday night, beginning at
7:30 o’clock.
The basketballing boy Panthers
will be seeking to make an even
better record than they did last
year, when they had 18 wins and
only 5 losses during the season.
The reason for the optimism is
that the entire team is back from
last year and all are seniors with
the necessary ingredient—experi
ence.
The starting lineup probably
will be Dennis Fike and Dwayne
Powell, forwards, George Nunn,
center, Lee Martin and Ronnie
Griffin, guards.
Others on the squad include
Butch Skinner, Ronnie Sanders,
Wayne Riner, Paul Bozeman, Jim
my Dorsett and Melton Cloud.
Coming in for practice at the end
of football wlil be Alton Ellis,
Bobby Goodman, Rodney Hunt,
Porter Staples and others. This
list does not include all the boys
who are out for basketball; some
of these will play B team ball
and joined by others who are out
for basketball.
The Panthers again have a
tough schedule, according to Coach
Eric Staples, including some teams
which they have not played in sev
eral years.
Here is the schedule for the
season:
PERRY HIGH SCHOOL 1961-62
BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Date Team Place
Nov. 14 —Unadilla Perry
Nov. 17—E. Laurens there
Nov. 21—Cochran there
Nov. 22—E. Laurens Perry
Nov. 28—Crawford Co Perry
Dec. I—Telfair Co there
Dec. s—Willingham Perry
Dec. B—Hawkinsville Perry
Dec. 9~Unadilla there
Dec. 12—Montezuma there
Dec. 15—Vienna Perry
Dec. 20—Lanier Perry
Dec. 28 Perry
Christmas Tourney
Jan. 2—Cochran Perry
Jan. s—Dublin there
Jan. 9—Willingham Macon
Jan. 12—Telfair Co Perry
Jan. 16 —W. Robins Perry
Jan. 19—Roberta there
Jan. 20—Butler Perry
Jan. 24—Lanier Macon
Jan. 26—Vienna there
Jan. 30 —Montezuma Perry
Feb. 2—Hawkinsville there
Feb. 6—W. Robins there
Feb. 9—Dublin Perry
Slappey's Brother
Killed in Strange
Motorcycle Wreck
William Fred Slappey, 22, of
Sylvester, brother of Andrew J.
Slappey of Perry, was killed in a
freak motorcycle accident in the
Sylvester area Saturday afternoon.
It was reported here that Mr.
Slappey was killed instantly in
the accident.
Charlotte Whiddon 17, sister
of Dewey N. Whiddon of Perry,
was seriously injured and is re
covering in a Columbus hospital.
A tenant house near the road
and a nearby power pole had
burned, leaving a guide wire dang
ling across the road. Mr. Slappey
and Miss Whiddon ran into the
. wire before they could see it and
J the motorcycle was thrown out of
control.
Funeral services for Mr. Slap
, pey were held at Red Oak Church
in Worth County Sunday after
noon.
He was serving in the Air Force
| and was at home on leave when
j the accident occurred. Mr. Slap
pey and Miss Whiddon are cousins.
j
Wesley Tabor joined a group of
friends on a deer hunt in Putnam
| County Sunday and Monday.
County Board Votes 5-0 to Uphold
Suspension; Appeal to State Likely
The Houston County Board of
Education voted unanimously
Tuesday to uphold Perry Princi
pal E. P. Staples’ suspension of a
senior boy for refusing to have a
“conventional haircut.”
Stanley Sorrells, 17-year-old son
of Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Sor
rells, Lake Joy Road, a senior at
Perry High School, was suspend
ed Oct. 24. He has what is com
monly known as a “duck-tail”
haircut.
Obviously angered after the
board’s ruling, Mr. Sorrells said:
“The Board has gone on record
today for upholding the suspen
sion of a boy for a silly, idiotic,
ridiculous reason. It is undemo
cratic and infringes on his Ameri
can freedom.”
The father has filed a petition
in Houston superior court for an
injunction to force the school au
thorities to re-admit his son. He
has contended in a new petition
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MRS. SORRELLS AND SON
Listen Intently at Hearing
to the school board that Stanley
told Mr. Staples that he would
cut his hair any way that would
suit Mr. Staples and still has not
been allowed to re-enter school.
Mr. Staples branded this state
ment as “false.”
Called in 15 Boys
Board Chairman Cohen Walker
called on Mr. Staples to open the
hearing with a statement. Mr.
Staples said some juvenile crime
cases among the high school boys
had come to his attention in re
cent days. He talked to several
school officials and they decided
to “get rid of the duck-tail hair
cuts and shirt-tails out fad.”
He called in about 15 boys
(those with duck-tails and shirt
tails out) and asked them to co
operate with the new ruling for
the good of the school. The boys
agreed. He said Stanley Sorrells
agreed to cooperate and on the
next day came to school with his
hair combed “straight”.
The following day, Mr. Staples
said, Stanley had returned to the
duck-tail style and Stanley told
him that anything Mr. Staples had
to say about his haircut would
have to be said to Mr. Sorrells.
“If we cannot enforce a rule
like this,” Mr. Staples told the
board, “we feel that our ability to
control the overall character of
our school will be hampered. We
made this rule for the good of the
school, the community and the
boys themselves.”
Students Back Son—Sorrells
Mr. Sorrells said the student
body at Perry High School is
“overwhelmingly with Stanley in
his fight for Democratic princi
ples,” and he said “public opinion
will demand the removal” of Mr.
Staples.
“Duck-tail haircuts are a harm
less, passing fancy of the teen
agers, and since we only pass this
way once, why not smell all the
flowers?” Mr. Sorrells said. He
added that Stanley had worn this
style for three years.
It is silly to deprive the stu
dents of a harmless fad, he said.
Mr. Sorrells read to the board
a prepared statement giving a day-j
by-day record of his activities in
behalf of his son. He said he had
taken Stanley to see County Supt.
David A. Perdue and was advised
by Mr. Perdue that he could not
do anything about the ruling until
the full board acted on it.
He decided at that point, Mr.
Sorrells said, that he must “sur
render my beliefs in the basic
principles of democracv” or take
1870-1961 ]
OUR VIST YEAR
10 (ENTS PER COPY
ESTABLISHED 1870
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SORRELLS AND STAPLES
Principal, left. Father, right
legal action, which he did when
he filed the request for injunction
on Nov. 1.
“Misuse of Authority”
Mr. Staples is guilty of “misuse
of authority” and exercised “dic
tatorial powers,” Mr. Sorrells said.
While his son has been out of
school, he added, Stanley has miss
ed classes, has missed social ac
tivities, has suffered possible loss
of scholastic standings and the
family has suffered mental an
guish.
Mr. Sorrells read a letter from
an out-of-state doctor regarding
his wife’s asthmatic condition and
said they were forced to postpone
treatment for her because of the
haircut episode. He said he had
been away from work at Warner
Robins Air Materiel Area for nine
days because of the controversy.
“As long as Mr. Staples is head
of the school, all of my children
will be subject to discrimination,”
Mr. Sorrells said. “Mr. Staples has
caused you to stake your reputa-
I tion on the way that Stanley
combs his hair.”
Amplifies Charge
Board Member F. M. Greene re
quested Mr. Sorrells to amplify
his statement and say why he
thinks his children will be dis
criminated against. Mr. Sorrells
said that one day after he filed
the injunction for petition, anoth
er of his children was accused of
cheating, along with another girl.
He said his child was accused of
changing answers on an exam pa
per after it was turned in.
He admitted that his child ad
mitted having the exam paper in
her possession after turning it in
but “the teacher should not have
left the paper on the desk to tempt
her,” he added. He said “it is the
teacher’s responsibility to safe
guard the papers.”
Mr. Staples said the incident had
occurred two or three days before
and that he did not take the usual
action of sending the two girls
home, but told them they would
have to take an “F” in that sub
ject for the report card period.
Sorrells Denies “Smear” Threat
Mr. Staples asked Mr. Sorrells
if he did not threaten to “smear
me in the courts, in the newspa
pers, over TV and radio.” Mr.
Sorrells denied saying that.
Board Member Royce Pratt ask
ed Mr. Sorrells if he felt that Mr.
Staples was “picking out your
boy” and is not trying to run the
school as best he could. Mr. Sor
rells did not give a direct answer.
“My approaches may not have
been made with the right atti
tude,” Mr. Sorrells said, “but at
least I tried and that is more than
I can say for you gentlemen.”
Mrs. Sorrells said it would be
all right for Stanley “to have a
permanent if he wanted to” and
the school ought not to have any
thing to say about it. She said
Stanley represented the school at
the Fire Marshall Camp last sum
mer and had a letter of commenda
tion from Zack Cravey, fire com
missioner, “and now he can’t at
tend a school that he represented
last summer.”
Stanley said that at one point
during the many discussions with
Mr. Staples that Mr. Staples said:
“I don’t personally give a damn
whether you get your hair cut or
not.”
“That is a malicious lie,” Mr.
Staples said.
“Yes, you did,” Stanley said,
shaking his finger at the princi
pal.
(Continued on Back Page)