Newspaper Page Text
The Houston H ime Jou
VOL. 104 NO. 40
Toney Raffield Chairman
Perry Christmas
Parade Set Nov, 16
M
Santa Claus will arrive in
Perry on Saturday, November
16, at 4 P.M, in the com
munity’s annual Christmas
parade, according to an an
nouncement made this week
by Perry Christmas Parade
chairman Toney Raffield.
Hatfield, who was last
year's parade chairman also,
stated that the parade will be
a joint effort of all the mer
chants in Perry. He said he
expects to have an even bigger
parade this year with more
marching bands, floats and
other units.
Raffield urged local civic
clubs and businesses to build
and enter a float in the parade,
'.lip said cash prizes will be
awarded to the top three
Resigned Authority
Members To Issue
Joint Statement
An informed source Tuesday night told The
Houston Home Journal that a “full and complete
statement” of all charges concerning last week’s
resignation of six Houston County Hospital
Authority members would be given to The Home
Journal within the next two or three days.
The source said that five of the six will meet to
a joint statement soon. The five former
members reportedly are; L.A, McConnell, Louis
Harper, Hugh Beatty, Paul Stalnaker, and
Freeman Colbert, Jr. The Home Journal will
carry the statement verbatim in next week’s
issue.
Sen . Nunn On Panel
Pre-Legislative
Forum Set Here
At Holiday Inn
t
*• U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and
Speaker of the Georgia House
of Representatives Tom
Murphy will appear on the
panel of a pre-legislative
forum to be held in Perry at
the Holiday Inn on Monday,
Qf ***** W*
(/.& Senator Sam Nunn
Perry And Houston County's Independent IMetvspaper With An Independent Voice
“home-made” floats. He also
said that any business, in
dustry or club that wants a
professional float can arrange
to rent one for the parade at a
cost of $125. He said for fur
ther information on floats or
entering a unit in the parade
he can be reached at Crump
ton’s Shoe Store in Grant
Hackworth Resigns Post
Ferry City Councilman H.H.
(Hack) Hackworth resigned
abruptly at the City Council
November 11, at 8 A.M.
Perry has been chosen as
one of 15 Georgia cities for this
year's pre-legislative forum
which is being co-sponsored
by the Georgia Chamber of
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1974
Plaza by calling 987-2194.
The parade will form at
Grant Plaza and take a route
down Highway 341 to Carroll
Street then left to Meeting
Street, right, and left again
down Highway 341 to Easlgate
Shopping Center.
Haffield further stated, “We
City Finance Chairman
meeting Tuesday night as
chairman of the city’s finance
committee.
Mayor James McKinley
immediately accepted his
resignation and in the same
sentence appointed Coun
cilman Gordon Scarborough,
Jr., to lake over as finance
chairman.
Hackworth’s resignation
came after he complained that
the Mayor and other members
of Council had not “informed”
him of some changes that had
been made in the budget in the
water, sewer and gas
departments. Hackworth said
some funds in those depart
ments had been “shifted” and
that he was not aware of it
until he received a print out
and update of the budget.
Mayor McKinley told Hack
worth the changes had been
made in order to comply with
Environmental Protection
Agency’s policies so that the
city could continue to receive
Federal grants for water and
sewage projects in the city.
Commerce and the Perry
Area Chamber of Commerce.
Tickets are $2.50 per person
and are now on sale at the
local chamber office.
The purpose of the forum is
to have legislators on the state
and national level to be guests
of local businessmen and
women prior to the Georgia
legislature’s 1975 session.
Both meet to discuss major
issues affecting Georgia's
commerce, One of the major
topics expected to be aired at
the Perry forum is the
economy and inflation.
Harold Jennings, president
of the Perry Chaniber of
Commerce, said, “We in the
Perry chamber are most
pleased to co-sponsor this
important forum and all of us
businessmen and women in
the Perry area should take
part in these advance
discussions of pending
legislation which effect us all.
By doing this we are able to
express informed opinions to
our lawmakers. I urge area
businessmen and women and
anyone interested to contact
the chamber office as soon as
possible to order your tickets
for the Perry forum."
Jasper Dorsey, president of
Southern Bell and of the
Georgia Chamber of Com
merce, will also take part in
the forum along with other
officials ol the state chamber.
want to make this the biggest
and best Christmas Parade in
Perry’s history and through
the joint efforts of all of our
Perry merchants we are
looking forward to a great
parade this year."
More details on the parade
will be announced in next
week's Home Journal.
Mayor McKinley said, “We
simply made some
bookkeeping changes by
putting the utility accounts on
lour ledger cards instead of
two; we didn’t “juggle” or
change the budget amounts at
all and 1 resent the accusation
that we did. I felt the utility
committee was more qualified
to look into ihis than anyone
else on Council and we did this
on the recommendation of our
city engineer Elmo Richard
son."
Hackworth said if he could
not function as finance
chairman he would quit and he
did and the Mayor accepted
his resignation.
City
Defines
Workers
On a motion by Councilman
D.K. (Dot) Houghton at
Tuesday night’s City Council
meeting, Council voted to set
up a new policy of “hiring and
firing” employees.
Roughton proposed that all
white collar workers in the
city (anyone on a straight
salary) be “hired and fired”
by the Mayor and Council and
that all blue collar workers
(anyone working for the city
on an hourly wage basis) be
“hired and fired” by depart
ment heads in the city.
Councilmen Roughton,
Cant. Page 3 A
Perry Telephone
Authority To Meet
On the heels of a vote by
Perry City Council Tuesday
night to fight a proposed
telephone rate increase here
by General Telephone Co.,
Mayor James McKinley said
he would get in touch with
Perry's Telephone Authority
to look into the rate increase
application.
The Council directed city
attorney Larry Walker to
prepare a case and appear
before the Public Service
Commission when General
Telephone's application
comes up for public hearing,
probably in about two months
The Perry Telephone
Authority was formed by an
act of the Georgia General
Assembly in 1971, after the
City Council had voted to set
up an Authority. Malcolm
Reese was Mayor at the time
and the city was embroiled
with a controversy with
•, ■ Y 'M
New Kiwanis Officers
New officers of the Perry Kiwanis Club were
installed Tuesday at The New Perry Hotel. From
left, Ed Willis, president-elect; George Nunn, new
City To Challenge
Phone Rate Hikes
Ferry City Council voted
unanimously Tuesday night to
have city attorney Larry
Walker prepare a brief and
.tppear on the city’s behalf
before the Public Service
Commission in Atlanta, to
protest the telephone rate
increases proposed by
General Telephone Co. here
last week.
General Telephone filed a
rate increase last week with
the Georgia Public Service
Commission that would create
an additional $4.9 if approved.
The rate application in
cluded a request for per
mission to increase the charge
for a coin telephone call to 20
cents, and to charge
customers for directory
assistance service when the
number they request is listed
in the current telephone
directory.
In announcing the rate in
crease application, E.B.
Blanton, General’s Georgia
vice president and general
manager, said the higher
rates are essential if the
company is to continue
meeting the growing demand
for new and expanded com
munications service in its
Georgia operating areas.
Council’s action to fight the
increases came Tuesday night
on a motion by Councilman
H.H. Hackworth asking that
Walker “hand carry” Perry’s
General Telephone over
service, the fee for a city
franchise and a proposed rate
increase at that time.
General’s franchise in Perry
ran out in 1970 and the City
Council set up the Telephone
Authority paving the way for
the city to get into the
telephone business.
The three member
Authority is expected to meet
this week on the rate increase
proposal and make a report to
the City Council. The
Telephone Authority is made
up of Malcolm Reese,
president of Security Federal
Savings and Loan Association
of Middle Georgia; Francis
Nunn, owner of George C.
Nunn and Son Farm Equip
ment Co.; Dan Nelson, part
ner in the Nelson-Turk Garage
in Perry and the Nelson-Turk
Used Car Dealers.
case before the Public Service
Commission when the Perry
application comes before
public hearing probably
sometime in December or
around the first of 1975.
Mayor James McKinley
stated, “I think it is the
responsibility of the City to
investigate these proposed
rate increases and I am in full
agreement with Council’s
action to send our attorney to
Atlanta to present our case. I
believe we already have the
City Snags Sewer
Rats With Poison
the homes through connector
lines leading from the main
sewers to toilets in the homes.
Mayor McKinley told The
Home Journal this week, “We
have had city crews working
hard since this problem came
up and we have located a
number of possible entrances
for the rats and these holes
have been repaired. We
placed poison in the form of
“rat cakes” in several
manholes last week and we
have evidence the rats have
now taken this poison. We plan
to continue a poisoning
program for as long as it lakes
to eradicate the rats from the
sewers.’’
The Mayor further said
concerning the rat problem,
“This is not a unique situation
to Perry. Just about any town
has sewer rats from time to
time and I think any person
can understand that at times
when a home or building is
destroyed or torn down the
sewer lines leading to the
city's main sewers does not
always get properly closed.
There are also cases when a
sewer line from a person’s
home to the street is cleaned
out or repaired that it is not
closed properly, leaving an
entrance for a rat. But in the
future the city will be more
aware of this problem and we
will be keeping our eyes open
for possible entrances for the
rats."
There have been no further
complaints of rats entering
homes but Mayor McKinley
urged anyone with any in
formation on a case about a
rat entering a home via city
sewer lines to contact officials
at City Mall right away.
president; Moody Mulkey, outgoing president and
Lt. Gov. of Kiwanis; Milo Medlock, secretary;
Hugh Lawson, Jr., deputy vice president; Edgar
Barfield, treasurer.
highest telephone rates in this
area and certainly this most
recent request needs thorough
examination by our attorney.”
McKinley further said,
“Perhaps General Telephone
deserves some sort of increase
in rates but this proposal is
just 100 high and I am also
aware that General received
a rate increase last year that
they had applied for about two
years ago.”
"We in city government are
making every effort to hold
In the past month, four
cases of “wharf" rats entering
homes in the Davis Sub
division area were reported to
the city. The rats reportedly
entered the main sewer lines
through holes or openings in
the sewers and then entered
Young Perry Businessman
Last R ites Held
For Fred Lewis, Jr.
Graveside services were
held Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2
PM, at Perry Memorial
Gardens for Earl Frederick
(Freddy) Lewis, Jr., 29, of
Farm Estates near Perry.
Mr. Lewis died at the
Medical Center of Middle
Georgia in Macon, after he
apparently lost control of the
pick-up truck he was driving
and hit the median bridge
piling of Georgia Road 26
while he was traveling north
on Interstate 75. The accident
occurred about 5:20 last
Friday afternoon. The high
way was slick from an almost
all day rain Friday and
driving conditions were
considered hazardous.
Lewis, a popular, young
Perry businessman, was
associated with his father,
Earl Lewis, Sr., in the Lewis
Truck and Tractor Co. of
Perry.
He was a native of Dodge
County but had lived in Perry
most of his life. Rev. J.B.
Smith and Rev. Elick
3 SECTIONS 46 PAGES
the line on our expenses,”
Mayor McKinley said, "and
we feel if industry, business
and the utilities would do the
same we could have some
force in reducing the rate of
inflation we are presently
experiencing.”
The Mayor also said, con
cerning the rate increase
proposal, “I want the people of
Perry to rest assured officials
of Perry will make every
effort to get some relief from
this situation.”
There is evidence that rats
that have entered several
sewers in Ferry recently have
taken poison bait that was
placed in the sewer lines last
week by city workers, ac
cording to Mayor James
McKinley.
Builington of the Perry United
Methodist Church officiated at
the graveside services.
Pallbearers were Andy
Talton, Jimmy Paul, Mike
Kinnas, Howard Kuehn,
Harold Clay, John Ginn,
George Nunn, and Richard
Greer.
He was a graduate of Ferry
High School and attended
Georgia Southern College at
Statesboro, Ga. He was a
member of the Perry United
Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife,
Mrs. Beth Gilmore Lewis of
Perry (formerly of Macon);
two daughters, Miss Lane
Lewis and Miss Betsy Lewis of
Perry; his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Earl R. Lewis of Perry;
a brother, Stanley Lewis of
Fort Valley; grandmothers,
Mrs. L.M. Wiggins of Leary
and Mrs. L.W. Lewis of
Havana, Florida.
Watson-Hunt Funeral Home
of Perry had charge of
arrangements.