Newspaper Page Text
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The Houston Home Journal
Official Organ City Os Perry And Houston County, Georgia
BOBBY BRANCH ySTV A pr '“ w,nn,n *
JWM Newipiptr
PRESIDENT-EDITOR PUBLISHER fc°(W|)d 1974
_ . SWB»tWr New«p»p»r
Joe Hiett Jimmy Chapman Phil Byrd Contest* I
News Advertising Production Mgr, Sports Editor
/V ' «’«*•.
Jeanie Pace Janice Colwell Vennie Moss
Class Ad Mgr Bookkeeper Typesetter
Mildred E. Warren Emily Montgomery
food Editor Society Editor
U A Mf N A L
"An Award Winning Georgia Weekly Newspaper" IWf UWpMpe*
L HOI STON HOME JOURNAL Till RS., MAYJ^JPTSJ
Perry Youth Council
We wholeheartedly endorse Perry
Mayor James 0. McKinley’s action
this week to establish a youth ad
visory group here. The group of ten
Pe/ry teenagers, made up a cross
action of community young people,
fill meet on a regular basis with the
tnayor and City Council to discuss and
(Ixchange ideas on problems and
Suggestions of how to make this a
better community.
Mayor McKinley’s action, in our
opinion, is a step in the right direc
tion. This advisory group can serve
the purpose of creating a better un
The “NOW” Festival, held in Perry
last weekend, was an inspiring and
enjoyable experience to the more
than 600 teenagers who attended and
took part in the activities. Never
before in Perry have so many young
people come together in a Christian
activity and enjoyed themselves
more. It was truly, in our opinion, a
great weekend and a positive step
forward for the youth of our com
munity and many other communities
from around the state.
We want to commend all those
hard-working volunteers of the
“NOW” organization (No Other Way)
for sponsoring this special event in
our community and especially to Jim
t 4
How About The Housewives
■
|)car Bobby,
• 1 am a housewife. I feel 1
have the right to express my
feelings, For one thing, I’m
tired of us housewives being
looked over, as if we’re not
important We re part of this
town and we deserve to Ik*
looked upon as an equal
citizen But who is going to
listen to us" Nobody.
We can’t speak for ourselves
because nobody will listen
■Where does that leave us" In
the kitchen, doing the same
Nostalgia
I'ear Sir
In tune with the current
nostalgia craze, and with a
desire to see more of a com
rtiunily spirit in our town of
■Perry. 1 would like to make a
suggestion to the mayor, the
City council, and the residents
of the city lad’s start, this
year, an annual Fourth of July
Picnic and Festival, complete
>ilh Country and Bluegrass
music during the afternoon,
along with competition in the
culinary arts, athletics, and
various games for all ages,
find highlighted by the
crowning of a beauty queen--
Miss Independence 197«
valthough not restricted to
liberated woment~at a rock
dance for the young people
This would be THE event of
flic year (for the obvious
reason that there are not any
other community events'
Where, you ask. could
Soihething like this be held"
One possible location would be
Perry High School, or possibly
one of our churches, or
probably the most logical
place, the courthouse square,
downtown Perry, with the
streets roped off Let’s have
some serious discussion and
request our city councilmen
bring this before a meeting. 1
thihk this is an excellent way
to celebrate the day of our
yoUntry’s independence,
develop community spirit, and
start a fine tradition. All,
truly, in order to make Perry
a better place to live.
Sincerely,
Mark Mitchell
NOW Was Success
old dishes, mopping the same
old floor, washing the same
old clothes.
All those glamour
magazines bringing all those
fancy ideas of good times and
far away, exciting places to
our attention. Where are they?
We would like to see them
before we’re old and gray and
in a nursing home, you know.
No one planned anything for
us, so it wasn’t even cancelled
No wonder so many
housewives turn to alcohol tor
the day time programs) Our
children and husbands keep us
in the kitchen or laundry, what
else are we supposed to do?
How about somebody solving
this one for a change? Wake
up husbands! Wake up
children! This may very well
be your lust chance for fried
chicken or a clean shirt
Frustrations come in all age
groups. There are many
things to do that are wor
thwhile, no matter what our
age Our greatest joys come in
the giving of ourselves
Any Scout leader would
welcome the help of a young
man or woman in the re
Thanks For NOW
Dear Bobby,
With the printing of this
letter in the Home Journal I
want to say “thank you" to all
those who helped make the
NOW Festival such a success
In spite of rain, wind, light
ning, and storm, the Festival
went on and many young
people received a real
blessing The spirit was
wonderful, and by Saturday
night many youth of Perry
who had not previously at
tended came in lime to join the
celebration.
I especially want to thank
the City of Perry, our Mayor
and Council members, for
their endorsement and
cooperation. The Police
Department gave very
courteous, invaluable help.
The youth of Perry should be
encouraged by such positive
support for an activity (hat
was planned for their benefit
PAGE 4-A
derstanding between the youth of the
community and the people who
govern all of us. We look forward to
some helpful ideas coming from “rap
sessions" between the youth group
and Mayor McKinley and other
members of City Council.
Talking about community problems
may not always be the solution but it
is certainly better than going in two
different directions. The Mayor and
Council and new youth group have our
complete support and we hope the
support of the community.
—B.B.
Mcllrath of the Perry United
Methodist Church, who chaired the
project. It was deeply gratifying for
us to witness the youth of our com
munity “in action” last weekend with
a positive attitude and approach to
today’s world.
We also want the youth of Perry and
Houston County to know The Home
Journal proudly supports them and
salutes them. We strongly believe in
the generation of today and look
forward to their leadership of
tomorrow.
We hope the “NOW” Festival can
be an annual event here in Perry,
growing to an even bigger celebration
next year.
—B.B.
warding work of training Cub
Scouts or Brownie Scouts to
become good citizens. The
churches offer good youth
programs, there is the sum
mer recreation program,
golfing, fishing, boating,
hiking and biking. If all else is
used up, I’m sure parents
would welcome a little help
around the house such as
mowing the yard, weeding the
garden or washing the car.
When you look outward, not
inward, you find things are not
as bad as you thought.
Sincerely,
A Housewife
(name withheld by
request)
Tharpe Column
Dear Bobby,
1 would like to say how much
1 enjoy the Thought for the
Week by Mrs. Ruby Tharpe
It’s one of the first things 1
look for each week Thank
you. Mrs. Tharpe, for the lift it
gives me.
Sincerely,
Annie Andel
As a minister 1 had invited
friends in other churches and
communities to come to Perry
for "NOW'", and I felt a real
pride in the way our city
hosted the Festival. Even
though I am not a member of
the NOW Board. I also want to
thank Mr. Yates Green, who
so generously allowed use of
the land which was the site of
the Festival.
By the way, Bobby, the
NOW Festival was a direct,
positive, constructive answer
to criticisms and counter
criticisms concerning interest
in the youth of our community.
It was a good experience not
just in my opinion but in the
judgement of youth who ac
tively participated.
Thanks,
Elick S. Bullington, Jr.
Pastdr, Perry United
Methodist Church
mmmm i 1
■M ifv 11 *.- ~n
- ,
The Slanted Side
By Joe Hiett
V- J
Get It Together
Last week’s column about my being
in favor of a tax increase, upon
specified conditions being met,
produced several loud choruses of
boos from several people. Most ex
perts seem to feel that if a tax in
crease in the form of a bond
referendum were passed, that south
Houston would not receive its
deserved share of construction.
This is, of course, possible. If voters
do not let their elected officials know
their displeasure over unfair actions,
then those voters are in effect giving a
mandate for more unfair actions.
People manning elective positions are
usually very attuned to the pulse of
their public, knowing they could be
voted out of office if public tide of
favor turns on an unpopular act.
In a recent Home Journal, in our
Looking Backwards feature, the week
of five years ago noted the “Mossy
Creek line” vote whereby only about
2,800 voters of more than 18,000
registered went to the polls. Too
many south Houstonians sit back and
do not vote, saying their vote wouldn’t
count anyway, theorizing the Warner
Robins vote would dilute south county
strength.
To some degree this theory is valid.
But a hard fact remains that if enough
south county voters can muster
themselves together- without stirring
up antagonism sufficient to arouse
north county voters- then the south
can really rise again! If, say, 85
percent of the south voters went to the
polls and about 20 percent of north
countians vote, then, of course, the
Southerners would affect a powerful
arm in disproportion to the number of
residents.
.
Ri’V. Dun iriuil
First Baptist Church
i -
And forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors.
-Matt. 6:12
A naval air squadron was
operating from a carrier in the
Pacific under strict radio
silence. Suddenly the air
waves were broken by a voice
exclaiming “Boy, am I fouled
up."
The senior operations of
ficer grabbed the mike and
angrily demanded: ‘‘Will the
pilot who just broke radio
silence identify himself im
mediately?” A few seconds
passed, and then came the
reply: 'i’m fouled up - but not
I ran across the following poem
somewhere last week and thought it
of sufficient quality to include in this
august column. I have a son near that
age of four- Jeff will be four in
January- and sure enough, he loves to
wear “Daddy’s shoes”. I hope the
steps in which he walks are good ones.
IN DADDY’S STEPS
I watched him playing around my
door,
My neighbor’s little boy of four.
I wondered why a child would choose
To wear his Dad’s old worn out shoes.
I saw him try with all his might
To make the laces snug and tight,
I smiled to see him walk, and then
He’d only step right out again.
I heard him say, his voice so glad,
“I want to be just like my Dad.”
I hope his Dad his steps would choose
Safe for his son to wear his shoes.
And then a shout and cry of joy,
A “Hello Dad” and a “Hi-ya, boy!”
They walked along in measured
stride
Each face aglow with love and pride.
“What have you done today my lad?”
“I tried to wear your old shoes, Dad,
They’re big, but when I am a man
I’ll wear your shoes, I know I can.”
They stopped and stood there hand in
hand
He saw his son’s tracks in the sand,
His words--a prayer--came back to
me,
“Lord, let my steps lead him to
Thee.”
that fouled up!"
We all get fouled up, but we
do not often get forgiveness
from those whom we have
wronged or from those to
whom we are held respon
sible. Our society holds that
the guilty must suffer.
At the same time, there is
within us a longing to wipe the
slate clean and start all over
again. As Dag Hammarskjold
put it so beautifully:
Forgiveness is the answer to
the child's dream of a miracle
by which what is broken is
made whole again, what is
soiled is again made clean.
The dream explains why we
need to be forgiven, and why
we must forgive. In the
presence of God, nothing
stands between Him and us -
we are forgiven. But we
cannot feel His presence if
anything is allowed to stand
between ourselves and others.
That is just about the size of
it: we cannot stand in the
presence of God until we
remove from ourselves that
which stands between our
selves and the other person -
and therefore between our
selves and God. The pilot
knew that he would not be
forgiven for his indiscretion,
and so he would not allow
himself to be brought before
his superior; it was his choice.
But we cannot stand in the
presence of God - we forego all
choice - when we have in our
hearts a grudge against
another human being.
Our society holds that the
guilty must suffer. Jesus held
that the innocent would suffer
so that the guilty might
become free. But either He
will remove our grudges with
our sins - or he will remove
neither.
BOBBY
BRANCH rfl'
OUT ON A
BRANCH ***
■- J
Questions And
Answers On
Tax Credits
In response to several requests from readers for some
detailed questions and answers on the possible tax credits
available when purchasing or selling a new home we are
listing some information obtained from Internal Revenue
Service. Please note that you can contact them direct and toll
free at 1-800-222-1040.
Q Is there a tax credit for a home purchase in 1975?
A. Yes, the new law provides for a credit equal to 5 percent
of the taxpayer’s adjusted basis in the new residence up to a
$2,000 maximum.
Q. I plan to buy a new home. What conditions must be met
before the tax credit is allowed? *
A The chief conditions are that the home must have been *•
built or under construction before March 26, 1975, and
acquired and occupied after March 12, 1976, and before
January 1, 1977, In addition, the taxpayer must be the first
occupant of the house and it must be his principal place of
residence. Also, the taxpayer must attach to his income tax
return a certification by the seller that the purchase price
paid by the buyer is the lowest price at which the new
residence was ever offered for sale,
Q. I am having a house built by a contractor on land 1 own.
Will I receive a tax credit?
A. Yes, but only on that portion of the cost properly
allocable to construction after March 12, 1975. For example,
if the total costs of construction were $40,000 and as of March
12, 1975, $35,000 worth was completed, the credit would be 5
percent of the remaining $5,000,
Q. What constitutes “beginning" of construction of a
house?
A. Construction is considered to commence when
significant physical work has occurred at the building site.
Specifically, digging of the footings, excavation of the
building site or similar work constitute a significant amount * [
of construction.
Q. I have a mobile home which I want to trade in on a new
mobile home. I will use the mobile home as my principal
residence. Can I qualify for tax credit?
A. Yes, so long as a binding contract is entered into before
January 1, 1976, and the new mobile home is occupied by
January, 1977. Also construction of it must have begun before
March 26, 1975.
Q. What constitutes the “beginning” of construction of a
mobile home or a factory-built house?
A. Construction is considered to have begun when con
struction of important parts of the mobile home or factory
built house commenced. Construction or assembly of a minor
portion of the components does not constitute the beginning
of construction.
Q. If I buy a summer home, will I get a tax credit?
A. No, the credit only applies to your principal place of
residence.
Q. I just sold my old home and am moving into a new house
that costs $40,000. Will I get the maximum $2,000 credit?
A. Probably not. The credit applies to the “adjusted basis’u*
of the house. Thus, if you made a $6,000 gain on your old homr
and defer paying the tax on that gain, the adjusted basis of
your new home would be $34,000 and your credit would be
SI7OO.
Q. I’m a builder and understand I have to give a cer
tification for people to claim the credit. What is this all
about?
A. The seller of the house must provide a certification that
the purchase price of the house is the lowest price at which
the residence was ever offered for sale. As an example if you
have an inventory of completed houses which you have been
offering for sale at $35,000 you cannot increase the price to
$36,000 and still give the required certification to the pur
chaser If you do you may be sued by the purchaser and be
liable for damages of three times the excess charged plus
attorney’s fees, and you may be prosecuted on criminal
charges.
Q. I live in an apartment complex which is being converted
to condominiums. If I buy my unit, will I get a credit?
A. No. The credit only applies to a “new principal
residence” . This means a principal residence the original use
of which commences with you and which is occupied by you'll
after March 12, 1975.
Q. There are some townhouses in my neighborhood which
were constructed last fall. Since the owner was unable to sell
them, they have been rented. Do these houses qualify for tax
credit?
A. No, the occupancy precludes the tax credit unless the
buyer is the original occupant who rented with a written
contract containing an option to purchase the townhouse.
Q. Is there some way I can contact IRS with my particular
question about the new home tax credit?
A Yes, you can call IRS toll-free at 1-800-222-1040 each
weekday from 8:30 A M. to 4:30 P M.
'Thanks. Everybody Needed That.”