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PERRY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, APRIL t. 1f72
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Legendary Church Bell To
Be Replaced By Methodists
The Perry United
Methodist Church will soon
have a new bell installed to
take the place of the old one
that is cracked and no longer
works It was unloaded last
week and rests on the side
lawn of the church grounds
until it can be installed
The Perry Methodist
Church used to have a bell
County Tax Digest
To Jump SBO Million
Jimmy Rosenburg.
chairman of the Houston
County board of tax
assessors, told com
missioners Tuesday that the
aggregate county tax digest
will grow by S7O to SBO
million in 1973 due to a
revaluation program and
new construction to be
completed in 1972.
Rosenburg said the board
has revalued 5.527 parcels in
the county, and the
valuations of these pieces of
property amounted to sl6
million more than that o i
1972 This is a 26 percent
increase expected in 1973
over 1972
He said the assessors
estimate that sl6 million will
be added to the tax digest by
new construction reported in
1972. There are 22.000 par
cels of property in the
county
The aggregate tax digest
(before homestead exemp
tions) will increase by ap
proximately 75 percent over
the current tax digest total of
$lO9 million, according to
Rosenburg s report
He told the commissioners
that the state revenue
department had advised
Houston County that
valuations in this county are
25 percent too low. and that if
the county did not revalue
toe property the state would
step in and raise the value of
each piece of property by 25
percent However, he said
the county is not allowed to
just add 25 percent to each
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City employees and Coancilmen presented outgoing Mayor
Malcolm Reese with a gas grill at a barbecue la his honor last
Thursday sight at Uie Perry Fire Dept. From left, City Supt.
Edward Warren, Councilman Henry Casey. Fire Chief Sir ah
that rang out loud and clear,
calling worshippers to
church. Engraved on the bell
was “Cast for M.E. Church,
Perry, Ga., A. D. 1866 by
Meneelys. West Troy, N Y.
Meneelys Rotating Yoke,
patented I 860.” M. E. was
the abbreviation for
Methodist Episcopal
Believed to be the first bell
of the local church, it
parcel but must revaluate
each parcel separately .
The county tax assessors
said the revaluation of
property showed increases
running from zero to 50
percent They also expect to
review all inventory of
businesses in the county
because the total of in
ventories has declined while
the number of businesses is
increasing, showing an
obvious discrepancy.
Commission Chairman
Robert Byrd said the board
will study the tax digest
when the revaluation is
completed.
Gardner ffatson
Improving At
Medical Center
Gardner Watson, partner
in Watson- Hunt Funeral
Home of Perry , is improving
at the Medical Center in
Macon, where he was taken
last Wednesday after suf
fering a gunshot wound at his
home here.
According to his son.
Draper Watson, he will
probably be removed from
the intensive care section at
the medical center soon He
has remained in intensive
care since he was
hospitalized
Watson, a long time
prominent Perryan. is ex
pected to remain in
the medical center for the
next several weeks.
cracked in the 1930 s and
didn't nng again during the
past 35 or 40 years
Several legends, none of
them verified, have been
widely circulated about the
old bell According to one
story , the bell was shipped to
Columbus, Georgia, to be
melted and used for
cannon balls by the Con
federate Army
.Another legend is that the
bell was taken down and
buried so Northern soldiers
could not confiscate it.
A third legend concerns
the origin of the bell. Ac
cording to this one. Queen
Victoria gave the bell to an
English nobleman who
brought it to South Carolina
The W M Davis family of
South Carolina brought the
bell to Perry and gave it to
the Methodist Church
AU of these are romantic
legends, and the old bell will
be restored and preserved on
the church property by a
committee headed by Mrs
Yates Green. It had to be
rung by pulling a rope, and
besides calling people to
church it was used as a fire
alarm in the early 1900 s.
The new bell is powered by
an electric motor and can be
timed to ring automaticaUy.
It weighs 400 pounds;
shipping weight, with motor
and crate, as 850 pounds
The new bell is a duplicate of
the old one, and was bought
from 1, T. Verdin. Cin
cinnati, Ohio, who had the
bell cast by Petit and
Fritxen, Aarle-Rixlel
Holland
It was financed by
donations outside the church
budget, and will be installed
soon by Milton Beckham
Although many others
wanted a new beU for the
church, everyone contacted
gave credit for getting the
new bell primarily to
Francis Nunn. He is
Chairman of the new bell
committee, and his fellow
church members expressed
gratitude to Nunn for his
tireless efforts to give Pern
the clear, sweet sound of
church bells again to give the
call to worship.
Lawhorn , Police Chief B. E. Dennard, Mayor Malcolm
Reese, Mayor-elect John Barton, Councilman Dot Roughton,
Mayor pro tem Dan Britton, Councilman Alton Hardy and
Councilman Frank Leonard.
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G. Francis Nunn, left and Dr. Leonard Cochran, pastor of
the Perry United Methodist Church, examine the church's
new bell soon after it w as uncrated last week. The inscription
reads, “A. D. 1971. Cast For The First Methodist Church,
Assault Warrant Issued
Controversy Develops
In Perry Juvenile Case
Tension is mounting in
Perry evolving from an
incident two weeks ago
between Kevin Sumner of
Kenwood Drive and 5
juvenile boys.
The controversial incident
took place on Friday night
March 24 when 5 juveniles
were allegedly to have
damaged Sumner's mailbox.
Sumner claims the boys hit
his mailbox with an in
strument denting the lop of
the box and knocking off the
name plate from the top. The
boys and their fathers claim
the incident was an accident.
The juveniles maintain they
hit the mailbox accidentally
with their car. Sumner says
he has proof that it wasn't an
accident
The controversy seems to
center around the alleged
way in which Sumner ap
prehended the boys. Ac
cording to Sumner, be
followed the boys in his car
down the street to a point at
which they had stopped
because they were having
trouble with the tran
smission in their car. He
alledgedly had the boys gel
out of the car at gunpoint and
held them until the police
arrived to investigate the
incident.
Sumner made a complaint
Perry, Georgia.” The bell will be installed soon in the
charming white church in downtown Perry, and can be timed
to ring automatically. Nunn is chairman of the new bell
committee and receiving the bell is the culmination of much
hope and effort. (Photo by Maxine Thompson)
against the juveniles and the
Pern police made a case of
vandalism against them
The case was later turned
over to Houston County
juvenile authorities.
One of the fathers of the
Perry boys look out a
warrent for simple assualt
against Sumner last Friday
afternoon and he was
arrested at his home late
Friday by Deputy’ Jim West
and GBI Agent Jim Hooks
Sumner was taken to the
Houston County Jail here
and was released on SSOO
bond around midnight
Friday. Sumner refused to
waive a committment
hearing and it is expected a
hearing will be held some
time this week in the case.
The case has turned into
one of controversy here as
two sides have entered
corners. Sumner, an in
surance agent, has been
actively involved in local
politics here for the past two
y ears and has worked to gam
a public recreation program
in Pern .
The Home Journal con
tacted the father of one of the
juveniles involved in the
case who swore out the
simple assault warrant on
Sumner. He said his name
appeared on the warrant but
that all a fathers of the boys
are behind the action.
The father said he felt as
though the action was
necessary. He said that in his
opinion Sumner's action
against the boys at gunpoint
was uncalled for and that
such action should be taken
against him.
The father staled. We
strongly feel the entire in
cident was an accident and
even had it been intentional
we cannot see any reason
why he pulled a shotgun on
the boys.”
Sumner strongly main
tains the incident was not an
accident. He said he invited
the fathers to come look at
his mailbox on the night of
the alleged incident but they
declined
“If only they would have
taken time to go and look at
my mailbox," Sumner said,
1 believe they might have
been convinced that it was
not an accident”
Sumner issued the
following statement to The
Heme Journal this week
concerning the incident:
“It is not hard for one
citizen to obtain a warrant
against another citizen. All
you have to do is have a story
to tell and a local justice of
the peace who can fill in the
blanks. Whether or not you
can get the point alleged by
the words in the blanks
carried before twelve
citizens tried and true is
another transaction.”
“I see this by the man who
took out the warrant as an
extension of the first act of
intimidation. The first act
was the deliberate and
calculated destruction of my
property by five juveniles
and the second act was a
series of threats by their
parents which culminated in
one of them being
courageous enough to stick
his neck out and come after
me legally . I welcome his
exposure because I have
seen and know that which he
is unwilling to face The pure
and simple truth.”
“Being I have been a
Christian for twenty years. I
take it as understandable
and a very high compliment
to me personally to have
received that which was
executed and served on Good
Friday just prior to my
departure for a memorial
service in honor of a man
who said. “Blessed Are Ye
When Men Shall Revilie You
And Persecute You .And Say
All Manner Os Evil Against
You Falsely, For My Sake.”
I was incarcerated in the
Houston County Jail for
about six hours on Good
Friday night because, upon
the prior advice of an at
torney. I refused to waive a
commitment hearing and
was thereby refused bail
until they changed their
minds. A commitment
hearing is essential in those
cases where there is serious
doubt about the validity of a
charge made by one citizen
against another. Please dc
not get the impression I
minded being in jail because
1 met seven people whom 1
explained the significance of
Good Friday. The only
difference is that I got up for
Sunrise Service Easter
morning and they were still
in jail.”
“Personally, I love the
people of Perry and the:
children. 1 also realize that
the man 1 have quoted also
said,* Blessed Are The
Merciful" and “Blessed .Are
The Peacemakers
However. I have a very
capable and efficient at
torney, good witnesses, and
a deep yearning for justice 1
trust that the man who toe*
the warrant and those people
who have encouraged him to
prosecute are equally
prepared and adequately
represented. I welcome
them in any legal manna’
they desire to approach me
Up to this point, I am
significantly and totally
unimpressed."
The controversial case
continues and tensions anc
opinions on the case moun. ®
Perry. Kevin Sumner says
he was protecting
property by his actions and
the juveniles and their
fathers say the mailbo
incident” was an acoden-.
Georgia law forbids the
publication of names
juveniles involved in sue- a
case and on the advice of T»
Home Journals attorney
the names of the fathers
of the youths were no.
published.
The Home Journal «*■
tacted Lt Sandy Harris »•
the Houston County Juvenile
office in Warner Robins m
he said the vandalism a*
had been filed m his
hut that no action has >
been taken in the
than that, be said he hac
comment" on the case