Newspaper Page Text
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The Houston Home Journal
Official Organ City Os Parry And Houston County, Georgia
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER A •i*e-Winnin(t £
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\ —v.*. 7/ '»«*..,=] NNASUSTAINING rJiiMil 1975
BOBBY BRANCH
PRESIDENT-EDITOR PUBLISHER
PHIL BYRD JIMMY CHAPMAN JOE HIETT
Sports Editor Production Manager News Editor
CAROL BIRDSONG JANET LEWSADER JANICE COLWELL
Computer Operator Classified Advertising Bookkeeper
Perry Church Fights Drugs
We commend the Perry United
Methodist Church for their foresight
in forming a committee, under the
direction of Mrs. Peggy Jerles, that
will focus on educating our young
people on the hidden, as well as the
obvious, dangers of drugs.
Too long we have all depended on
the law enforcement agencies and
other professional agencies to carry
the message of drug abuse to our
schools and our young people. While
these groups do a good job of sup
plying drug information, churches,
individuals and civic groups in the
community have a responsibility in
this area.
Statistics show that this Fall about
75 percent of our young people from
the ages of 12 on up will be exposed to
Quiet Political Season
This campaign season in Houston
County has thus far been one of the
most uneventful campaigns in the
county’s history. The only candidates
making any noises at all are those
challenging the incumbents and
most of the incumbents themselves
are barely saying a word in print or
anywhere else.
Another aspect of the rapidly ap
proaching August 10, primaries is the
fact that very few voters have gotten
Good For Israel
The Government of Israel, in our
opinion, took the proper action over
the weekend when they made the
daring rescue of the Israeli hostages
held at the airport in the African State
of Uganda.
The Israeli Army appears to be the
only army in the world that knows
how to deal with bullies, murderers
and hi-jackers. We suspect the next
All those who follow the Perry High
Panthers in their football campaigns
owe a debt of gratitude to the Perry
Panther Booster Club and its
president, Tom Grant. When the
county board of education late last
month decided to buy a 2,400 seat
grandstand for the Perry High grid
stadium, it came as a direct result of
many long hours work by the
Boosters. especially Grant.
His presentations to the school board
undoubtedly wielded much influence
with the decision.
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i - 1
Because thou hast made
the Lord....thy habifation;
there shall no evil befall
thee, neither shall any
plague come nigh thy
dwelling. For he shall give
his angels charge over
thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways.
-Psalms 91:9-11
The Bible is very explicit
about some things, such as
the promise that if we put
our trust In God, He will
bless us and preserve us
from evil. It seems strange
that so many of us live as if
It were not so. We become
like the person in Dag
Hammarskjold's little
poem:
He fell from the rock
ledge
Thanks Booster Club
When, too scared to walk
upright,
He tried to crawl.
But tragically, some
stretch this into a lifetime.
John Ervlne tells in one of
his books about a little
clerk who worked in a
great London office. His
name was Mr. Timms, and
his whole life revolved
around his fear of one day
being unable to work.
"What would become of
me then?" The thought
became a fixation he could
not escape. He would wake
In the night, crying out In
fear, from the nightmare
that he had lost his position
because of some small
offense. The same terror
followed his footsteps
through the day.
PAGE 4-A
some sort of illegal drugs while they
are in school. Those statistics come
from Lt. Ted Pender, director of the
Houston-Peach Drug Squad.
We hope to see more church and
civic groups make an effort to curtail
the spreading problem of drug abuse.
It is our opinion that drug abuse can
be headed off if youngsters are fully
educated of the dangers of drugs
before they are exposed and ex
periment with marijuana or other
illegal drugs.
Perhaps this move by the
Methodists is a strong indication that
we will finally get more community
involvement and concern over the
drug problem in Perry and Houston
County. We hope so.
—B.B.
interested in the political races.
Based on information gathered by our
staff, many voters still do not know
who is running for which office.
We fear that we may have one of the
lightest voter turnouts (percentage)
in our history unless interest in this
political campaign begins im
mediately. Are the voters of Houston
County apathetic enough not to care
who represents them and governs
their county? We hope not.
—B.B.
terrorist group planning to hi-jack a
plane will make sure there are no
citizens of Israel on the plane. We
never have believed in long
negotiating with thugs and criminals;
they should be treated for what they
are and dealt with the way Israel did
in Uganda.
—B.B.
So Perry High now will have about
4,000 seats available for its football
games at home. Brighter days ahead
loom in the PHS athletic future, with
the added income generated by those
seats being filled at the games.
Speaking for the Perry High fans, we
thank you, Booster Club and Tom
Grant. And we appreciate the final
decision made by the school board to
do what has been asked several
times- furnish Perry High an ac
ceptable seating arrangement at its
field.
—J.H.
Years went by; the
mounting pressure of his
fear defeated one by one
the opportunities of his
life. At times he would feel
faintly the stirring of some
Impulse for adventure,
some urge to prove he was
alive; so the fear of
yielding to those impulses
became an added burden.
He thought of marriage,
even longed to take the
risk, but then he would
imagine himself sick and
unemployed, a burden to
his wife and children; he
would shudder and return
to his lonely room.
Finally, inevitably, he
did lose his position. His
savings dwindled. He fell
ill, and his doctor broke to
him the news that he had
not long to live. The
physician was astonished
at how calmly he took the
news; Mr. Timms'
reaction was: "Thank
God! Death will mean that
I am safe!"
How tragic and sinful to
waste our lives In misery
and fear when a loving
Father has promised us
safety, companionship,
and |oy, both now and
forever.
********* ii, ■'■
"GEORGE!!!”
f 1
fHHJ NEWS EDITOR
! olie fifont ed Qide
BY JOE HIETT
Outside the church building one
Sunday afternoon were four church
stalwarts, and after a few moment’s
idle chatter, one spoke up, “You
fellows know how faithful I am, and
attend every service. But I have one
fault I fear will keep me out of
heaven.”
Captivated, the three waited and
the first fellow continued, “Yes, I’m
afraid I like to gamble!”
Another one spoke up after a few
seconds and said, “Well, as long as
we’re being completely honest, I fear
I may not be called up there either.
You see I love to smoke.”
Third stalwart was silent but finally
burst out, “All right, okay, I’m just
like you guys. I’ll confess I like to take
a drink.”
The fourth guy stood slightly apart,
with a grin on his face. The other
three turned and asked, “Okay, we’ve
bared our secrets. How about you?”
He grinned wider, and said, “Well,
fellows I don’t drink, don’t smoke,
and don’t gamble. But I do have one
fault that will consign me to the hot
spot. You see, I just love to gossip,
and I just can’t wait to go tell
everyone what I just heard!!!”
Are we Perryans becoming too
protective about our city? Too often
I’ve heard things that were slightly
detrimental, or did not praise our
hometown, and the people quickly
added, “You can’t print that. It’ll
make Perry look bad.” Far more
often the thought isn’t voiced, but
nevertheless one gets the idea.
Sometimes I get the impression
that Perry is supposed to be
presented as a Utopia, without
problems of any kind at all. It’s time
we faced facts, in my opinion. Our
Perry High JRAFROTC
The Perry High School Air Force
Junior ROTC unit has, for the second
straight year, been named one of 27
outstanding units in the nation out of a
total of 279 Air Force units. The Perry
High unit is also in the smallest high
school of any of the other 278 ROTC
Air Force units.
The Perry High AFJROTC in
structors, Lt. Col. Ret. Leo Polnaszek
and Sr. Master Sgt. Ret. Robinson,
were also cited this week as two of 39
top instructors in the country out of
Beware of little expenses; a small
leak will sink a great ship.
Benjamin Franklin
city is only slightly better than
anywhere else to live, in many ways.
For instance, a recent conversation
I had with two unmarried girls over 21
led me to review what I do and say,
and think. Both girls, independently,
voiced the same idea. “Perry is a fine
place to raise a family until they
become teenagers. But after that,
there is little or nothing for the
teenagers to do, unless they’re
heavily involved in churches.”
They added, “What can a person
over 13 and under 30 do here to have
fun without going to a bar or lounge?”
They named the alternatives: play
tennis- on crowded courts; play in an
organized league of some kind; go to
restaurants; or go to movies (and
most frankly won’t go to a movie in
Perry).
There are few other outlets of a
completely wholesome nature left for
the teenager and folks in their
twenties (without children). The
public recreation efforts are fine, if
one wants to play on a team. But
everyone isn’t that type.
Both persons felt that Perry needs
two things to keep the youth here and
out of trouble. First of all, a bowling
alley. I told them of the heavy costs
involved but they remained sure of an
alley’s success. The other thing that is
needed in their opinion is a recreation
center that would include pool tables,
ping pong, a jukebox, and a place
where kids do not have to get dressed
up to enter.
Now I’ve discussed this idea with
several people and most acted as if I
had just blasphemed. One told me not
to print anything. But whether the
above is an accurate assessment or
not, it ought to be aired for discussion
anyway. More on the subject of
frankness next week.
700.
We commend Perry High School
and the entire AFJROTC program for
the outstanding work they do in the
school and in the community. This
program is building young men and
women for vital roles of leadership
for tomorrow. We congratulate the
local unit on their latest honors and
wish them continued success in the
future. It is an important program in
our community and it is nice to have
one of the best in the nation.
—B.B.
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Perry Patriotism
Perryans had the patriotic spirit Sunday,
evening as more than 1,000 turned out on the City v
Hall lawn for the city’s Bicentennial communityq
ceremonies and burying of the now famous “Time
Capsule,’’
Mayor James McKinley, Councilmen Draper
Watson and Skeet Hulbert and all the others who
worked so hard on this project are to be com
mended for their efforts. The singing groups from
The First Baptist Church and The Perry United
Methodist Church added much to the ceremony
with their patriotic presentations of stirring music
for the occasion. i
Newsweek Magazine dispatched a reporter here
Sunday to cover the city’s community ceremony,
so watch the future issues for a story about Perry,
probably with photos.
Remember Armco
Remember Armco Steel Company? They arej
the second largest manufacturer of steel in the 0
world. And remember the announcement in thisn
newspaper last year that Armco will locate a
plant in Perry in the industrial park? Well, it is all
still true. From information I have
Armco will break ground in Perry this fall,
probably in October.
The plant will produce Armco’s fabricated steel'
buildings for distribution to their dealers in the
Southeast. The Perry plant will employ about 200
persons and Armco is known world-wide as a
good company to work for.
Armco Steel will be a welcome addition to
Perry’s industrial community. I hope the ground
breaking and construction will begin this Fall as
all signs indicate that is now the plans.
Apologies To Ladies
My apologies go out this week to all the mem
bers of the Perry Business Womens Club for
leaving out their first place float in the Bicemv
tennial parade photo coverage in The Home
Journal. It is difficult for some folks to understand’
how we could have done such a thing, what with
the beautiful float taking the top honors, but we
had 68 pages in last week’s edition and we made a
few errors in the more than 100 photographs
had to develop, print and reproduce for
publication. I am not making excuses but we
make mistakes just like anyone else and
sometimes we make big ones, like leaving out the
P.B.W.C. float photos.
The photos left out are in this week so please
forgive us this time, ladies.
Catfish For Paper
Mrs. John L. (Miss Ruby) Hodges, who was
editor of The Home Journal in the thirties and
forties, was in the office talking the other day
about how she used to take vegetables, chickens,
hams and other farm products in those days in
exchange for subscriptions. She says she really,
didn’t have much choice because in those days of
the Great Depression in the thirties nobody much
had any money anyway.
Mrs. Hodges says she and her husband, the latei
John L. Hodges, who was Judge of the Court of’
Ordinary of Houston County for 30 years, always
had a “kitchen full of food.” |
I have, in the past, swapped out some garden
products for subscriptions and even swapped a
small advertisement one time for a huge mess of,
channel catfish. But, sadly, if you do that these*
days, the Internal Revenue Service will get you as;
well as the U.S. Postal Service, who both say you
have to be paid hard cash for subscriptions. It all |
serves to point out this is a country governed by \
law and many, many regulations and that is the! i
way it must be in order to maintain an orderly' |
society. But it sure would be nice if the postal boys j
would let me swap out a few subscriptions for' j
some of that good Houston County country ham, 1
corn, peas, butterbeans, etc. In the meantime, j
I’ll hide this quart of honey and bushel of corn in [
my office before the postal inspectors confiscate I
them.
I
Communitu' i
C*€*JUe*tdLcut,
The Perry Business Women’s Club will meet I
this Thursday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Ochlahat
chee Club House. The annual picnic will be held.
Philosophy of Christian Womanhood Coffee
will be held at the home of Mrs. Ed Parker, 807 |
Washington St. at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 13. A •
nursery will be provided. All alumni and in- ;
terested persons are cordially invited to attend. J
The Perry chapter 1744 of AARP will meet ;
Tuesday July 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Community \
room of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
Gerald Hunt of the Physical Fitness Institute will '?
be the speaker.
Candidates running in the August Primary are
invited to attend.