Newspaper Page Text
I . _________^ —
The Houston Horn Journal
MEMBER
Bobby Branch, President-Editor-Publisher tkMAMBNJkL
New§pPKper
Official Organ City Os Perry And Houston County, Georgia
MAXINE THOMPSON PHIL BYRD JOE HIE IT
Spor.i Editor
JIMMY CHAPMAN JEANiE JOHNSON JANICE COLWELL
Production Mgr. Clast Adv. Mgr. Bookkeeper eoir©
EMILY MONTGOMERY DOR IS RAFFIELD
Society Editor Computer Opr
MCWSP*«P^V/
"An Award Winning Georgia Weekly Newspaper
PAGE 4-A
PERRY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, AUG. 17, 1972
Houston’s New Sheriff
Former County Commissioner Cullen Talton is a strong willed
Cullen Talton waged a strong and fellow. One observer told us the other
firm campaign against incumbent night, ia 1 ton looks like a sheriff .
sheriff Albert Hudson and beat the We believe he is going to be a good
sheriff handily in last Tuesday’s and capable sheriff for Houston
primary. County. We look forward with an-
Sheriff-electTalton evidently plans ticipation to Sheriff-elect Talton’s
a considerable amount of reform and plans for the future of law en
reorganization in the sheriff’s dept. It forcement in Houston County. We
appears to us that he plans to be a wish him well in what certainly will
firm administrator in the department be a most challenging and difficult in
and one who will not put up with one the months and years ahead,
little bit of “hanky panky.”
Important County Runoff
Houston County voters should take
care not to look upon the August 29
run-off elections here too casually.
There are two most important local
elections up for grabs that mean a
great deal to every citizen in the
County.
The District Attorney’s office, one
of the most vitally important posts in
the County, will be decided in a run
off between Joneal Lee and James
Harmon. In last Tuesday’s election,
Lee polled a total of 4,521 votes while
Harmon came in second with 3,551
votes. Third man in the race was long
time Warner Robins attorney Joel
Willis with 2,882 votes.
Lee, a native of Perry, has
previously served as assistant district
attorney in the Macon Judicial Circuit
sor 3 Houston County before Houston
was granted a circuit in 1971. He has a
great deal of experience in
prosecution law and is a dedicated
attorney.
Harmon, who has devoted most of
his Centerville practice to criminal
law, has practiced full law in Houston
County since 1d63.
We strongly urge Houston County
voters to take a long look at this race
and bear in mind that the District
Attorney has the responsibility of
prosecuting all felony cases and
PERRY’ SAM NUNN cornered an
impressive vote in last Tuesday’s
primaries, giving him enough to place
he and Senator David Gambrell in a
run-off election on August 29, to
decide the Democratic candidate that
will face Republican Fletcher
Thompson in November for the U.S.
Senate post.
By all odds, Nunn has everything in
his favor to win the run-off election.
But the race will be close. We have
heard that many of the State’s
Republicans are planning to vote for
Gambrell in the run-off, that is those
who did not vote Republican in the
past primary. Their reasoning is that
Gambrell would be an easier op
ponent for their man Fletcher
Thompson than Nunn.
But Nunn has the support of former
Governors Marvin Griffin, Carl
Drivers Are Survivors
“Those of us who drive today are
survivors. Every day, thousands of
other drivers who take to our high
ways aren’t so lucky. They wind up
victims of the motor car, which in its
brief life, has already claimed more
lives than all the wars in our
history.”
The statement is not a con
demnation of the automobile, but the
first paragraph of a commentary on
the problem of drinking drivers. It is
contained in the 1971 compilation of
highway accident data published by
The Travelers Insurance Companies.
In 1971, according to the 24 page
booklet, “Death by Ounces”, 54,000
men, women and children met death
in motor vehicle crashes. Another 4.7
million were injured, many per
Nunn On To Victory
many other cases in the County.
Remember that the District Attorney
is the “people’s lawyer.” It is his duty
to be the watch dog of the people.
Another run-off race will be bet
ween incumbent County Com
missioner Frank Rozar of Perry and
political newcomer Quinton Moody of
Warner Robins. This is the spot for
the post 4 seat on the Commission.
Commissioner Rozar, a long time
Houston County farmer and
businessman, is seeking his third four
year term to the Commission. While
being from the southern end of the
County, Commissioner Rozar has
tried, in our opinion, to serve all the
people of the County.
Quinton Moody is retired from civil
service and has served a stint as
deputy sheriff in Houston County. A
political newcomer, Moody has
waged a vigorous campaign. This will
no doubt be a close race.
We urge voters to vote in the August
29, run-off election. The Home
Journal makes no endorsements in
these races but urges voters to give
their close consideration to the
candidates’ qualifications and
backgrounds. Choose wisely, for the
winners will serve you for the next
four years.
-8.8.
Sanders and Lester Maddox ... A good
trio to have on his side ... and the
Perry Senatorial candidate is ex
pected to pick up other strong state
support before August 29.
Georgians have sensed in Sam
Nunn what we said the very week that
he announced his candidacy here in
Perry and this newspaper was the
first in the state to endorse his can
didacy. He has the youth, in
telligence, patriotism and strong
sense of duty to serve his state and
country as a true statesman, much in
the same way as the late Richard
Russell and in the distinguished
manner in which his uncle former
Congressman Carl Vinson did for so
many years ... We said Sam Nunn was
a bright young man on the horizon ...
It now appears that horizon is
drawing closer and closer,
-8.8.
manently. Os these numbers, half the
drivers in fatal and non-fatal crashes
were under the influence of alcohol, in
one degree or another.
All studies undertaken so far
demonstrate that alcohol taken in any
amount immediately before driving
impairs the operator’s ability to some
degree, The Travelers booklet notes.
This has long been recognized in
many foreign countries and is
reflected in extremely stringent
legislation, notably in the Scan
dinavian Nations.
Laws alone cannot remove a drunk
driver from the road. Strict en
forcement balanced by rehabilitation
programs will benefit society and
keep the problem drinker from
creating havoc on the highways and
byways of America.
*^**<^p|i!sMßßs3^ j tgsSsSM I] •
<cJl\axinz WB ~
The View From Here PB gpHI
When Judge Alton Rainey, Justice
of the Peace in Perry, was a little boy
he used to tag along’ wherever his
daddy went. J. S. (Jim) Rainey was
Perry’s first Water and Power
Superintendent.
For electricity in homes, the city
had a gasoline-operated 35-kilowatt
generator. In late afternoon Mr.
Rainey would go down and turn on the
generator in time for the people here
to have lights when it got dark. He
would keep the generator running
until about midnight, then shut it
down.
“I stayed down there with Daddy
lots of night,” Judge Rainey recalled.
“I really felt big, staying with him,
and we’d walk home together. And
for a small man he could walk faster
than anybody I ever saw!”
If anyone had a party and wanted
the lights left on later, they let Mr.
Rainey know ahead of time and he
kept them on longer.
“I helped wire the first house in
Perry that had electricity,” Judge
Rainey said. “It was the home of B. C.
Holtzclaw, the banker, and it’s the
house on Swift Street where Dr. A.
G. Hendrick has his offices now.
‘‘Mr. Holtzclaw, Ivan Starbuck, my
Dad and I wired it. They let me climb
up in the attic with a brace and bit and
bore holes for the wiring.”
Jim Rainey read the water and
power meters, among other duties.
One day he was in Dr. R. L. Holtz
claw’s drug store (he was B. C.
Holtzclaw’s brother) when Tom
I /> /> I//1 //» H
| I
5 YEARS AGO • Governor Lester
Maddox administered the oath of
office to George B, Culpepper 111 of
Fort Valley Tuesday as a judge of the
superior courts of the Macon Judicial
Circuit ... Plans for the Moody Road
which runs from Route 127 just north
of Houston Lake to a point on Feagin
Mill near Warner Robins have been
submitted to the Rural Roads
Authority ... Enrollment of 15,000 is
expected in Houston County’s schools
this year.
10 YEARS AGO ■ A new industry
comes to Perry, Mullins Homes, a
plant for the complete manufacturing
of “packaged” homes on a four-acre
tract on Sear Road ... Frank R. Darity
has been appointed chairman of the
Houston County Young Georgians for
Sanders committee ... Rev. Jim
Wellons accused him of reading his
meter wrong.
‘‘Well, now, I read it the way I saw
it,” Mr. Rainey said.
‘‘Then you sure didn’t see it right,”
Mr. Wellons replied.
‘‘Are you calling me a liar?”
demanded Mr. Rainey.
‘‘Yes, I am,” Mr. Wellons an
swered.
‘‘My Daddy was a little fellow, but
that made him so mad he hauled off
and slapped Tom Wellons, and they
really tangled up in a fight,” Judge
Rainey said.
Police Chief Barney White came
along and arrested both fighters and
took them to the old county court
house for a speedy trial. The judge
was C. E. Brunson, who was not only
Mayor of Perry but also Clerk of the
Houston county commissioners.
Judge Brunson told the men the fine
for each would be $5 cash, or they
could serve 10 days in jail.
‘‘Can I go get the money from my
mama?” Tom Wellons asked.
“No, you can sit right there and
wait for somebody to bring it to you,”
the judge said unsympathetically.
“I’ll just take the ten days, I need
the rest anyhow,” Jim Rainey said,
and started toward the jail cells.
Suddenly Tom Wellons jumped up.
“Wait a minute, Judge - if he’s locked
up for ten days what are we going to
do for power?” he asked.
“Oh, oh - I hadn’t thought of that,”
Judge Brunson Said. “Sentence
suspended!”
Claffee, director of Bethel Colony of
Mercy, an institution for helping
alcoholics, will conduct services here
Sunday.
20 YEARS AGO - Verna Lee Lasseter
and Julian Cawthon have started
remodeling the former Colonial Store
on Carroll Street, next to Andrew
Hardware Company, and will open a
new grocery store and market. The
new store will have a glass front and a
new asphalt tile floor ... Fire started
in electrical wiring caused several
thousand dollars damage at Ellison’s
Grocery and Market Sunday ...
Pierce Matthews, of Lawyers Title
Company of Atlanta, who taught
school in Perry in 1912-13 was a visitor
here Tuesday. He was instrduced by
S.A. Nunn, who was a grade-school
pupil of Mr. Matthews.
BOBBY
BRANCH^
OUT ON A
BRANCH 4S&
DOT ROUGHTON, Perry’s shy and soft-spoken
City Councilman, was thoughtful enough to send
me a postcard this week from Pikes Peak,
Colorado. The Councilman is out there on
vacation. The postcard shows a panoramic view
of the peak overlooking a very deep crevass. His
card read as follows;
Mr. D.B. (Dry Branch)
“The Perry Troublemaker”
“I could make you a happy man by jumping off.
Don’t hold your breath.”
D.K.R.
It would not make me happy, Dot, if you jumped
off Pikes Peak. Anyway, it probably would not
hurt you but might cause some damage to the big
rock formations. By the way, Dot, you owe me six
cents. The postcard came to The Home Journal
with six cents postage due on it ... Have a good
vacation and I’ll see you at the next Council
meeting.
8.8. or D.B. or
the Perry troublemaker
DID YOU KNOW that if the size of a dollar bill
had been decreasing commensurate with its value
since 1930, it would be about the size of a calling
card now, and at its present rate of decreasing, by
1980 a buck will be about the size of a postage
stamp.
I LIKE THIS: The editor of the Adair, lowa
News says, “One way to reduce the incudence of
crime is to make it as dangerous to be a criminal
as it is to be a victim.”
COLONIAL STORE closed the doors for good
Saturday night in Perry after many years of
service to this community. The close was sudden
and somewhat unexpected. I knew that Colonial’s
business had dropped off in the past year or so but
I wasn’t aware they were going to shut down
operations.
Colonial had many regular, loyal customers
down through the years and they had certainly
been one of our major advertisers for many, many
years and we at The Home Journal are not over
joyed with, their sudden departure but certainly
we understand that business is business.
Colonial has been a good citizen and has
provided us with some of our finest citizens in the
Perry area. A good example is Curtis Riner, who
managed the store for a number of years and
retired a couple of years ago here in Perry.
WE SPENT LAST weekend in Savannah (my
hometown) and although the City remains one of
the most beautiful and appealing anywhere, the
hand of growth and progress is making a tight
squeeze. I enjoy getting back to Savannah every
now and then to “Geechie” accents, cobblestone
streets and good places to eat. If you have never
visited Savannah, you ought to. It’s well worth the
trip. Write the chamber of commerce down there
for all the information you’ll need for a visit. And
it’s only about a three hour drive.
I thought small towns are the only place elec
tricity goes out but while we were having lunch in
one of those dark, windowless restaurants in
Savannah, the lights went out. It was totally and
completely dark and a sudden hush prevailed over
the crowded dining room. It was weird but we
finished our meal by candlelight and paid our
check with the aid of a flashlight
After leaving the restaurant, a torrential
downpour flooded the streets and complete chaos
took place with all the traffic lights out. It took us
about 2 hours to move only a matter of blocks with
stalled cars and bumper to bumper traffic. Some
of the streets were so flooded from the rain that
water was deep enough to seep into the cars.
Children were swimming in the streets and one
guy brought his canoe out for a ride.
Anyway, it was nice to get back to Perry with
our seven traffic lights ... And we hardly ever
have a flood or a traffic jam here.
~
George Meany Will Not Influence My Vote
Because I Don't Know Who George Meany 15...