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VOL 108 NO 8
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Detailed Plans Os Amphitheater
Houston Voters
Will Determine
Officers ’ Salaries
Houston County state
legislators will let the
people decide if the
county needs a board of
arbitration to resolve
budget and salary
disputes between county
commissioners and
constitutional officers.
The idea for a
referendum represents a
change of course from a
disclosure on Jan. 31 that
legislators planned to
introduce a bill in the
General Assembly that
would create the ar
bitration board.
A legal notice
published in the Houston
Home Journal on Feb. 2
contained a notice from
legislators stating that a
bill would be introduced
at the regular 1978
session of the General
Assembly to create an
arbitration board for the
purpose of arbitrating
City To Sell ||
Downtown Lot I
City council Tuesday scheduled March 21, at
night approved the sale of 7:30 p.m. Details on the
a 100X77-foot city-owned submission of bids are
lot adjacent to the new contained in the
municipal parking lot at classified pages of this
the corner of Ball and week's edition of The
Commerce Streets. Houston Home Journal
It should be noted.
The lot also includes however, that the
the shell of an old service dimensions of the
station, and will be sold property in the legal ad
through sealed bids to be are not correct. The ad
opened during the city wi " b® corrected in
council meeting subsequent editions.
The Houston Home Journal
and settling disputes in
budgets and salaries
"between the governing
authority of Houston
County and the con
stitutional officer of
Houston County; and for
other purposes."
The notice was signed
by Sen. Ed Barker, Rep.
Ted Waddle, Rep. Roy H.
"Sonny" Watson and
Rep. Larry Walker.
An idea for such a bill
surfaced after County
Commissioners refused
to grant pay raises to
three of the county's
constitutional officers
namely Tax Com
missioner Joyce Griffin,
Superior Court Clerk
Tommy Hunt and
Probate Judge Clint K.
Watson.
The question county
voters will decide when
they vote on the issue in
November will be, "Shall
Georgia’s Number One Weekly Newspaper
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA., THURSDAY, FEB. 23, 1978
the Constitution be
amended so as to provide
for a Board of Arbitration
for Houston County, when
necessary, to arbitrate
certain budget and salary
matters concerning
constitutional or county
officers? Voters will be
expected to check either
the "yes" or "no" boxes
on their ballots.
A copy of the resolution
citizens will be voting on
was released last Friday
by Rep. Larry Walker.
The resolution states, "If
such amendment shall be
ratified as provided In
said Paragraph of the
Constitution, It shall
become a part of the
Constitution of this
State."
Commissioners put off
taking any action on pay
raises for the three
constitutional officers
during a meeting In
Perry on Jan. 24. The
controversial pay raise
question came up during
budget hearings last July
when the three officers
asked commissioners to
Increase their salaries.
Commissioners took no
action at that time and
they were threatened
with a suit by the officers
but the suit was never
filed. Commissioners
presented a study that
showed the officers have
received pay Increases
over the past seven years
averaging from $4,600 to
$6,500.
Current salaries of the
officers now stand at
$20,378 for Mrs. Griffin,
$18,569 for Watson and
$21,103 for Hunt.
Proposed Facility Would Seat 540
Council Eyes Plans
For Amphitheater
Detailed plans and
drawings of a proposed
Perry Ampitheater were
unveiled last Friday
morning at city hall by
graduate students Janet
Ward and Chip Pottinger
of the University of
Georgia's School of
Environmental Design.
Mayor Pro Tern
Barbara Calhoun said the
students deserve "real
high marks" for their
design and presentation
of the proposed am
pitheater to be built east
and adjacent to Perry's
newest water plant off
Highway 341 North.
As proposed by the
students, the ampitheater
would seat 540 persons,
and be built with local
materials such as treated
cedar using local labor. A
study to determine the
cost of the project will be
conducted by city
council.
As outlined in the
project report, the am
pitheater can be used for
choral presentations,
Sunrise Services, rock
concerts, summer
theater, religious
festivals, practice
sessions for local music
groups, speakers and
club functions.
According to the
™ B I SB *’■
New Uniform
Jim Dooley Jr. shows
off the new band
uniforms purchased for
the Perry High School
Panther Marching Band
recently by the Band
Boosters Club. Dooley
and his fellow band
members will be
wearing the spiffy new
uniforms soon thanks to
the hard work of the
band boosters.
report, the functional
requirements were
broken down into use
patterns, approaching
these patterns from the
viewpoint of both the
performer and spectator.
The report states that
the needs of each group
At BBQ Here Next Tuesday
Farmers To Rally
In a move for unity
among themselves, the
Houston County arm of
the American
Agriculture movement
will hold a massive
barbecue and rally here
next Tuesday night at the
Perry High School
City, Chamber
Move Toward
Closer Ties
Mayor James
McKinley has cast
himself in the role of a
peacemaker to end
friction between the city
governing body and the
Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce.
The mayor's new role
became apparent during
a regular session of city
council Tuesday night
when he revealed the
contents of a Feb. 6
memorandum he sent to
members of council and
Chamber of Commerce
President Bobby Branch.
Old timers at city hall
recognized the tone of the
mayor's memorandum
as a bid to end the
stalemate that developed
between city council and
the chamber last sum
mer. It was during this
period that proposals
were made by members
of council to seek a
referendum on the
question of whether the
city should provide
financial support for the
chamber.
McKinley said he had
hoped to disclose the
contents of the memo
during the Feb. 7 session
of city council, but he was
unable to attend the
meeting because of an
injury.
In the memo he
released Tuesday,
McKinley said,
"Frequently I receive
inquiries from Chamber
of Commerce officials
about the possibility of
had been anticipated
according to what is
presently understood
about the situation.
From the performer's
standpoint, information
was Included about the
stage, flooring access,
height and distance from
gymnasium beginning at
7:30 p.m.
The farm group was
awaiting word from Lt.
Gov. Zell Miller on
whether or not he will be
able to appear and be one
of the guest speakers.
Stewart Bloodworth, a
the city contracting with
the chamber for the
promotion of Perry and
also the chamber acting
as a publicity arm for the
city."
The mayor went on to
say that he met with the
president of the chamber
and requested that the
chamber submit a
proposal with specifics as
to the services they will
perform and for what
amounts.
"I have requested the
proposal be submitted
prior to May Ist and upon
receipt of it you will be
provided with a copy. I
will ask that you vote on
f
? -T' '** ■ - ; ''
Members of the Perry - Ft. Valley Airport Authority (L-R) Secretary
Cleon Moore, Chairman M.E. “Buddy” Stone and Bob McLendon review
possible site locations for a proposed non directional beacon for in
strument landings at the local airport. McLendon explained during a
regular authority session Monday night that the directional beacon will
cost about $5,500 installed, and that half of the cost would be borne by the
Georgia Department of Transportation.
5 c
seating, set facilities,
accoustlc requirements,
lighting and dressing
rooms.
In considering the
spectator, information
was submitted on
seating, lighting, sun,
winds, visual dlstrac-
Perry farmer and leader
in the national farm
movement, said late
Tuesday that Miller and
other state leaders may
appear at the rally.
Bloodworth said Gov.
George Busbee was
contacted but will not be
the proposal prior to the
fiscal year 1979 budget,
and It will be, if adopted,
included in the budget
with the chamber's
services to begin July
Ist."
McKinley's concluding
paragraph, the so-called
"bottom line", contained
his strongest appeal for
peace and harmony
between city council and
the chamber.
"I feel that we should
put the past controversy
behind us," McKinley
concluded, "and con
centrate on working
together for the bet
terment of Perry as a
whole."
tlons, extra seating,
weather shelter, parking
for 166 cars, restrooms
and comfort facilities.
Professors from the
School of Environmental
Design accompanying
the students were Boyd C.
Steed Jr. and John K.
Hannula Jr.
able to appear in Perry at
the rally, although he
indicated he would like to
have had an opportunity
to speak to Houston
farmers next Tuesday
night.
Bloodworth told The
Home Journal, "We plan
on having some top
speakers on the
movement from around
the nation and some top
state leaders here In
Perry next Tuesday
night."
Bloodworth further
said, "I think many
people are finally
realizing that farmers
are serious about what
we want and what we
need to continue to
function In our business.
We want everyone to
realize our plight and
understand the complex
problems facing farmers
today. We simply cannot
continue at the rate we
are going."
Jimmy Willis, a Cen
terville farmer and
another leader in the
movement, estimated a
large crowd of from 500 to
1,000 persons will attend
the big rally here next
Tuesday night. Willis,
Perry farmer Adam
Andel, and many other
farmers in the County,
are running a half page
adv. in this week's Home
Journal (page 6-A)
spelling out their plans
for 50 percent production
this year and urging all
farmers to join in the
effort.