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1 Home Journal Opinions PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA., 31069, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31,1970 Perry is high on the list of locations in the state for a proposed new Agriculture-Complex-Coliseum. The proposed Agriculture Center, to be financed by the State, will probably be about a $lO million proiect The Center will be used for livestock shows and programs, agriculture seminars and workshops, state and national agriculture group meetings and a number of officials of the Georgia State Agriculture Dept will move their offices and operations to the new facility. If Perry landed the new mulit million dollar facility, it would mean a giant boost in the entire economy of the area. Not only would the agricultural economy increase, but the tourist business would take a sizeable jump. We are pleased to see the interest in the community that has been brought about by the possibility of Perry getting the Center. The Houston DEAR EDITOR Councilman Roughton Reacts To Home Journal Editorials Dear D. 8., I am writing with regards to your editorials, “We Agree With Chief Dennard” and “Coun cilman McKinley, Ho Hum,” appearing in the Home Journals of September 24th and December 10th respectively. On December Ist 1 won a post on the City Council - thanks to tiie good people of Perry who want fair, honest and con servative government. Although I did not write to you following the first editorial, I disagreed with it as written and as I understood it. I wish to state my position and what I consider to be good business and plain common sense. At the time of the first editorial the city had two police cars that, in my opinion, were in an unservicable condition as police cars. To substantiate this, both you and 1 were present at the December 3rd council meeting in which the councilman in charge of the police department told the council that he wanted to purchase two new police cars and that if the city didn’t, “the police would be on bicycles before long”. I do not find this hard to believe since, in recent months, the city had one police car that I know couldn't even keep up with my Datsun pickup for times like these It is always too soon to quit! What an odd ststemcnt to begin 1969. But is it odd? Let’s think together for a moment Henry Ford’s formula for success was simple: “When you start a thing, finish it” There are many excuses for quitting, and maybe only one reason for continuing. A man may quit because he feels the thing he’s doing is not worth finishing. What he’s doing may not be important, but he is. It’s what quitting will do to him that matters. Perhaps he loses his in spiration. He began in waves of ex citement; then suddenly the in spiration’s gone. The thing doesn’t seem worth the effort Temptation is to quit Maybe it won’t make any difference to anyone else if he quits. But it will make a great deal of difference to himself. He’s learning to be a quitter. It will be easier to quit next time. When a thing goes stale, after the inspiration is gone, that is the time to dig in and finish the job, simply for the sake of finishing,for the sake of self-respect One of the clearest tests of a man’s worthwhile ness is his response to the uninspired moments - how he reacts to duty - what he does with drudgery. The fellow that depends on inspired moments rarely completes anything. He leaves a trail unfinished, half-based jobs behind. Agriculture Center For Perry truck. At the same time, the Police Chief had a new un marked car as his personal one to run errands, go to lunch, keep at his home, on and off duty, etc. There were some business men who stated to me that they agreed with council’s decision to provide the chief with a new personal car. They felt that this added prestige to the city. Perhaps you agree with this also. I do not. I think prestige should come only after the needs are satisfied. In the past the city of Perry has had a good Police and Fire Depart ment. We will continue to have one if we do what we have in the past - that of providing the men with the best equipment, good leadership and sound decisions by the council. Incidently, I feel that if the Chief had the best interest of his men and the citizens at heart, he would have offered the car for use by the force and accepted an older one. (If he needs one.) Since the Police and Fire Departments fall in the area of public safety, it is a must that equipment for these departments be assigned on the basis that the best equipment will always be in use for emergency needs of the Citizens. Good equipment , sound decisions and good leadership produce pride and a One Minute With REV DAN HODGES P«»for, First Baptist Church County Legislative Delegation, The Perry Area Chamber of Commerce and City officials of Perry have all committed themselves to doing what they can to help get the facility in Perry. We think the State Agriculture Dept, would like Perry. They would find the warm hospitality here such a facility deserves and they would find plenty of motel rooms and restaurants for the thousands of people who would be coming into Perry each year to take part in programs at the Center. And surely there is no better location than Perry, The Crossroads of Georgia. The big question, of course, is whether or not the General Assembly will fund the money for the facility. Our Legislators will be hard at work to see what they can do about getting the Center in Perry We think our chances are excellent -8.8. high state of morale. After we have attained these then we could concern ourselves with prestige. You are the publisher of a newspaper and lets assume for a moment that you had more subscriptions, ads, etc., than you could handle because your printing equipment was in a run down condition. Also, lets assume that you had only enough financial resources available to put your equipment needs in a good state of operation. I ask you, would you remodel your building, buy new desks, typewriters, and a new car with Houston Home Journal painted on the side, - all this for prestige, or would you replace yoqr printing equipment for more volume and better work, which inevitably would increase your business? To bring my point even closer to home, lets assume that your wife or daughter needed im mediate police protection, perhaps from molestation, rape, or murder, and a call was made to the police department - a police unit was dispatched immediately in answer to your call, but never reached your home because their police car broke down on the way. What would be your feelings then, knowing that a “new car” was parked at the Police Depart ment or at Chief Dennard’s home? H They stand as mute evidence of failure. What a pity to be dogged by unfinished business! Men who count are those who refuse to quit, men who never hear the bell, men who never throw in the towel. They’re always needed, always in demand. Nobody wants and nobody needs a quitter. So many times a golf tournament is won on the last hole, the last putt. Football games have been won in the last thirty seconds by a team that was losing but refused to quit fighting. Business, industry move with the men who know how to see a thing through after the quitters have dropped out. Look long and hard at three of the last words Jesus Christ spoke from the cross: “It is finished!” Without that finish, there would be no hope for the world. In that finish there is hope for every failure, every sin, every need of man. In that finish is God’s complete forgiveness; eternal life for every man who will receive it Something hanging over your head now? Something started with big ideas, great plans and now it’s faded? Enthusiasm drained off? Tempted to quit? Got a new idea? New in spiration? You’ll lose that too - if you quit now. “Men ought always to pray and never give up” (Luke 18:1). Sincerely, D. K. (Dot) Roughton j j Ring Out The Old Ring In The New || mi i ii. ■Yn.tfi’r iiiMriiTil'iMii'iiiii jy\ axLnz *ZJ(zomj UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL It sounded like somebody was trying to beat the front door down. I opened my eyes and saw that it wasn’t quite daylight outside, only about seven o’clock on Christmas Eve morning. Sick as a dog with the flu, I managed to get a housecoat around me and almost collided in the hall with Lydia, who was also on the way to the door, “I’m coming,” I hollered weakly to stop the pounding. I unlocked and threw open the door, and just stood there stunned a moment before I could holler again, “Wayne!” I just couldn’t believe my eyes. He was due in on Dec. 28, but Jerry Huff and his wife were driving down during the night of the 23rd and asked Wayne to come with them, and his officer was nice enough to give him the four extra days. It simply made Christmas for Lydia and me, as well as for Wayne. In all the years of my life (never mind how many) I’ve never before been sick at Christmas, and I hope I never repeat the experience. After the fever, aches and pains left, so did my appetite - completely. No Christmas goodies could I eat, and this week I’m still forcing myself to eat a bite at a time or swallow enough milk and orange juice to keep going. And they taste poisonous. So if you see a hollow-eyed reporter around town don’t breathe too hard in her direction or she might keel over. I don't usually make New Year Resolutions, but when you spend a lot of time unable to do anything much but think at this time of year your shortcomings have away of rearing their ugly heads in front of your eyes. Maybe even sickness can have a good purpose in life, too. With God’s help this year I want to HAPPENED WAY BACK WHEN...” 5 YEARS AGO ■ The First Baptist Church will begin two worship ser vices on Sunday mornings. The second worship service is being in stituted to relieve the overcrowding at the 11 a.m. service, it was an nounced by the pastor, the Rev. Dan M. Hodges...an 18 year old Michigan boy killed in an automobile accident lay in death here six days while of ficers searched for his parents vacationing in Florida... Houston County Commissioners are launching a countywide program of marking all roads by placing reflective signs at intersections. 10 YEARS AGO • John L. Hodges, who will retire voluntarily on Jan. 1, 1961 as Judge of the Court of Ordinary after nearly 30 years, has served Houston County from the depths of the depression in 1931 through the period of unprecedented growth and progress of recent years... Perry ■mm. give more of myself to others - caring about their needs is one thing, but putting feet to those cares is something else again. And just giving money to causes is sometimes a cop out, when going to see someone who is lonely is more trouble but infinitely more rewarding to both parties. You see, I am no stranger to loneliness. Therefore I think I can feel more strongly for the lonely than can someone who has never been there. A person-to-person caring is the only thing that can assuage the terrible pangs of loneliness. I’m afraid there were many lonely people during this supposedly happy holiday season. Only a merciful God could have sent my son home early when I felt at the bottom of the barrel of loneliness and despair. Now I want to tell others to remember that God never forgets, even if we do. Our living room has taken on quite a domestic air lately as Lydia and I have taken up embroidery. Not only is it fun to do and very satisfying when you finish something like a pair of pillowcases, but it is something that can be done while watching television, when there’s anything interesting on. We’ve taken down the big Christ mas tree, but our Dennis tree still awaits his arrival on a little table. It’s the first Christmas he ever spent away from home, and I’m sure he could write a book about loneliness. Wayne’s first Christmas in service was spent at Treasure Island, San Francisco and he hasn’t forgotten that, either. So many thousands of our other servicemen were away from home, and I pray that their next Christmas will be spent at home with their loved ones. Kiwanians honored W. E. Beckham as “Man of the Year” for community service... Perry Jaycees played Santa to 68 children during Christmas and the project this year was reported one hundred per cent successful. The people of Perry responded wholeheartedly to the appeal by the Jaycees for used toys which could be repaired, and brought in new toys and cash to buy others. 20 YEARS AGO - Sam A. Nunn and Hubert A. Aultman, Perry attorneys, announced their association for the general practice of law under the law firm name of Nunn and Aultman effective Jan. 1, 1951...Mi1k prices in Perry, Fort Valley and Macon milksheds increased to 25 cents a quart Tuesday...At the Muse Theater - Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire; next Wed. and Thurs., Bing Crosby in “Riding High”. Bobby Branch Pardon me if I don’t write anything ear thshaking or controversial in this corner this week. What with Christmas week and now New Year’s upon us, I don’t feel very profound. On top of all that, our number three child, who is supposed to arrive in the world in February, has been giving indications of arriving on the scene a little early. As if I’m not nervous enough about that, the doctor has to tell us that this one will probably arrive in record time when he (or she) decides it is time to face the world. Now that worries me. I was too nervous to even get to the hospital the last two trips... But I made it, anyway I’ve already told my wife and the doctor that it will be impossible for the baby to arrive on either Tuesday night or Wednesday since those are the two busiest days of getting out The Home Journal For some reason, they didn’t take my orders under advisement. They both just looked at me sort of funny. At any rate, I hope the paper will be back on the regular schedule next week and we’ll get back to even more news, photos, features and editorial opinions... In the meantime, have a very happy and safe New Year... You can always watch Guy Lombardo New Year’s Eve on TV...Whoppy. There is a letter to the editor in this week’s paper from Councilman Dot Houghton. I want to clarify one thing about the letter. It begins, “Dear D. B.” in stead of 8.8. I found out that it was done that way because Dot and some other folks have nicknamed me “Dry Branch” thereby derivingthe D.8....0h well, I’ve been called a heck of lot worse than that. Home Journal Book Review PAPILLON By Henri Charriere Reviewed by Maxine Thompson This amazing man who was convicted at the age of 25 of a murder he did not commit and spent the next 13 years of his life in a struggle to escape the infamous French penal colonies is now over 60 years old and living with his wife and grown daughter in Venezuela. It did not occur to him that anyone would be interested in his adventures until he read books written by a woman who had been in prison and involved in several escapes. He wrote his adventures in longhand in a series of spiral notebooks, got someone to type them and sent them to the publisher of the woman’s books. The response was immediate excitement in the publishing world, and his book became a runaway bestseller in France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain and others before the same thing happened in this country. The reader is taken in a direct narrative by the author through the horrors of unjust conviction (although he came from a good family he was a safecracker with underworld connections and when a goat was needed to hang the murder charge on he was handy), through horrible prison dungeons, through years spent in solitary con finement, through escapes that were successful but ended in his return to the prison from other countries. A prisoner was often in more danger from fellow prisoners than from the sadistic guards, and murders were a common affair. He was called Papillon, the French word for butterfly, because of a butterfly tattoo on his chest at the base of his throat, visible when his shirt is unbuttoned at the top. In recent personal ap pearances on television when he was asked to comment on the fact that France rejected his book as pure fiction, he laughed and said that he was an embarrassment to the French government because he revealed the horrors of their former penal system. Papillon was the first man to ever escape alive from Devil’s Island. Henri Charriere’s first wife died in France while he was in prison. He loves Venezuela and its people, who considered a man of such character and perserverence worth giving a chance at life and made him its adopted son. This book is long (434 pages) but it was well worth reading. “Perry’s Hometown, Community Newspaper For The Past 100 Years’’ Hie Houston Horn Journal BOBBY BRANCH President-EditorPublisher Maxine Thompson, Associate Editor; Bob Hollis, Advertising Manager; Phillip Byrd, Sports Editor; Jimmy Chapman, Production Manager. Published Every Thursday By THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, INC. Poet Office Draw*, M. 1010 Carroll St. PERSY, GEORGIA 1100* Official Or yarn, Houston County, Parry, Ga. Telephone 0(7-1*23 Published triry Thursday by Tb* Houston Osec Journal, me. Enters* at lbs Post Offics at Parry. Ga., as SsconS Class mall matter und*r Act of March 3, 1070. Second Class pottay*~>ald at Perry, fla- MEMSER GEORGIA PRESS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION Subscrip tlaa Rates: Houston and Ad|ofnlac Countla* OSAO a ysar; 3 years OS.M: 3 T*«* Sll.M. ETerywbers etas 00.00 a year; 3 years 010.00? 3 years 014.01. Serrleeasen: 03.00 Anywhere; Cell eye otudents 03.00 far 0 mea'b* 0 months subscription anywhere 03A0. 1