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Houston Parents Can’t Cope Any Longer;
So They Lock 10 Year Old Out Os House
The mother and father
couldn't handle the 10-
year-old boy anymore, so
they wouldn't let him
come in the house.
The boy slept under the
house at night and stole
food and other items to
survive.
On April 1, the boy was
picked up and placed in
the Youth Development
Center pending
placement in a suitable
foster home or with a
compatible group.
This situation didn't
happen in New York, but
right here in Houston
The Houston Home Journal
OUR 108TH YEAR NO. 17
Commissioners Fund $12,000 A Month
Emergency Room To Re-Open
Houston County
commissioners voted 3-2
Tuesday night to pay a
f "
Realtors Still Seek
Oldest, Youngest
Perry Homeowner
The Perry Board of Realtors continues to
seek the youngest and oldest home-owners in
Perry. So far, the board has one 92 year old
homeowner and a 23 year old couple, for the
oldest and youngest.
If you know of a younger or older
homeowner than these, call 987-0763. The
winners will be presented with special
awards from the Perry Board of Realtors.
This is part of the Perry board’s ob
servance of Private Property Week.
s '
Walsh Buys Chevrolet
Dealership In Perry
Union Motor Co.,
Perry's Chevrolet dealer
since 1926, was sold this
week by its owners
Thomas Mason and
Norman Parker to David
Walsh of Macon.
Walsh comes to Perry
from an automobile
family in Macon, Paul
Walsh Datsun-Honda. He
has been in dealership
training in every phase of
the business in Macon
from service to sales.
Mason and Parker said
in a joint announcement,
"We want to wish David
Walsh the very best of
success in the business in
Perry. We had a number
of persons who wanted to
purchase the dealership
but we felt David would
offer the people of Perry
the best of sales and
service and that he would
make a good citizen."
Walsh told The Home
Journal, "We plan to
offer our customers in
Perry and Middle
Georgia a complete line
of Chevrolet Motor
products. We have
County, according to
Joseph Andrews, visiting
teacher and school social
worker.
The title means An
drews is a teacher, and
that he visits almost
everybody in an effort to
keep children 16 years old
and under in school. In
times past, folks would
have referred to Andrews
as a truant officer.
Andrews told the story
about the 10-year-old boy
during a regular meeting
of the Houston County
Board of Education in
Warner Robins Monday
doctor to man the Perry
Hospital emergency
room on weekends.
already expanded our
inventory and we are
expecting a large ship
ment of new vehicles
to arrive in the near
future. We will also be
making a considerable
investment in our service
dept, in new equipment
and factory-trained
mechanics. We strongly
believe in excellent
service after the sale and
that's what we will be
providing here in Perry
T
David Walsh
night.
Also included in the
report by Andrews were
statistics on county
school attendance, school
dropouts and a summary
of cases handled by his
office since school started
in September.
Andrews said the at
tendance record stands at
about 95.5 percent for all
24 county schools. He
termed this as an “ex
cellent attendance
record," and noted that
the attendance record in
many metropolitan areas
was about 70 percent.
Georgia’s Number One Weekly Newspaper
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA. THURSDAY, APRIL 27. 1978
The split vote ended a
month-long struggle by
area citizens to have a
physician available at the
emergency room from 6
p.m. on Fridays until 8
a.m. on Mondays.
Dr. Edward Strickland,
chief of the hospital
medical staff, announced
on March 27 there would
no longer be on-call
physician service
available at the ER after
April 7.
Acting on a request for
funds from Glynn
Greenway, chairman of
the hospital authority,
and a resolution read by
Moody Mulkey,
president-elect of the
Perry Chamber of
Commerce, Com
missioner J. Frank Rozar
made a motion to provide
funds to pay a doctor to
service the emergency
along with the very best
deals on Chevrolet cars
and trucks in the state."
Walsh further said he
plans to re-locate the
Chevrolet dealership into
modern, expanded
facilities in the near
future but for the present
they will be operating at
the same location on
Main St.
Walsh plans to move to
Perry in the very near
future with his wife,
Melissa, an artist, and
their two sons, David Jr.,
8, and Brad, 13 months.
Walsh also stated, "I
want to thank Norman
Parker and Thomas
Mason and their em
ployees here at Union for
the cooperation they have
shown us In this tran
sition. Their assistance
has meant very much to
us all. I also want to
thank the people of
Perry I have met so far
for their great
hospitality. We're looking
forward to working and
living in Perry."
He said that persons 16
and older could legally
drop out of school, and
that 298 have dropped out
of Houston County high
schools thus far this year.
Os the 171 cases An
drews has handled since
school started, 159 have
been closed with only 12
remaining open.
Cases handled by
Andrews' department
included student at
tendance, economic
conditions, health,
academic problems,
family difficulties and
personality and behavior
problems.
room on weekends.
Rozar's initial motion
was to fund the
emergency room
operations in Perry and
Warner Robins at the
SEE RELATED STORY PAGE 9-A
rate of $12,000 per month
for two months. When
Greenway reminded
Rozar that the
emergency rooms would
have to be funded tor 12
months in order to draw
up a contract with doc
tors, Rozar amended his
motion to provide funds
for 14 months.
Thus, the amount of
funds voted to operate
both emergency rooms
for 14 months amounts to
$168,000.
Before the vote was
taken, Rozar kept trying
to nail down the exact
figure it would cost to pay
for a physician to be
available at the Perry
emergency room.
Based on the figure of
$140,000 requested by the
hospital authority to
operate both emergency
rooms, authority
member Barry Jones
said $95,000 would be used
to pay physicians to
operate the Warner
Robins emergency room,
and $45,000 would be used
for the same purpose in
Perry.
Greenway's letter to
commissioners reminded
them that they indicated
during a meeting at
Perry courthouse on
April 19 that they would
provide funds for
emergency room
physicians and indigent
care.
"The Houston County
Hospital Authority
request funds for
emergency room
physicians in the amount
of $140,000 and indigent
care in the amount of
$243,000; which totals
$383,000 for the hospital
complex ," Greenway
wrote. "These figures
represent the deficit the
hospital complex must
pay after collections."
The cases involved 56
interviews with pupils, 77
interviews with parents,
seven interviews in
volving the entire family,
159 home visits, 232
conferences with school
personnel, 36 contacts
with the Department of
Family and Children
Services, eight contacts
with probation officers
and three placements in
Happy Hour School.
"I don't want you to get
the idea that I do all the
work," Andrews told The
Home Journal Tuesday.
"Principals and school
counselors do 90 percent
Greenway requested
that the services be billed
to commissioners on a
monthly basis, and ex
plained to commissioners
at the meeting Tuesday
that if monthly
emergency room
revenues amounted to
$4,000, that amount would
be deducted from the
$12,000 monthly
allowance.
In such an event,
Sam Nunn
Breakfast
Set May 9
m planning breakfast
for the Senator Sam Nunn
kick-off ceremony in
Perry on May 27, will be
held on Tuesday, May 9,
at 8 a.m. at the Holiday
Inn of Perry.
Ervin Goodroe, Perry
chairman of the planning
committee, said Senator
Nunn will speak to the
group over a telephone
hook-up at 8:30 a.m.
Senator Nunn's kick-off
is expected to draw
several thousand persons
to the same spot in a
pasture on the Nunn farm
that was used for his kick
off announcement 6 years
ago.
Goodroe said volun
teers are needed to sell
tickets to a luncheon to be
held at the Nunn farm at
12 noon on the kick-off
day May 27. He stressed
that no one will be
required to buy a ticket at
$5 each unless they plan
to stay for lunch after the
official announcement.
Those interested In
working on the com
mittee and helping sell
tickets should call 987-
2472 between the hours of
8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
and 987-1975 after 5:00
p.m.
of the work by contacting
parents and getting the
students back in school."
Twelve suspected cases
of child abuse and neglect
have been reported to
Andrews since school
started, and he has
reported two cases to the
Department of Family
and Children Services.
"Do you have some
cases where you just
can't get the students
back in school no matter
what you do?" School
Board Chairman L.A.
McConnell asked during
the meeting.
Greenway explained, the
$4,000 in revenues would
be deducted from the
county's $12,000
emergency room
allowance, and the
county would pay only
SB,OOO.
"I think you can go
ahead and try to get the
physicians and sign the
contracts," Com
missioner Alton Tucker
told Greenway. "I think
its the consensus here
that we're going to fund
the emergency room."
Commission Chairman
Steve Byrd balked at
voting in favor of the
motion. He said approval
of the total request
submitted by the
authority, including
indigent care, would
require a tax increase of
one mill.
In response to a
question by The Home
Journal, Byrd said a fax
increase of one mill
would raise the taxes on a
$40,000 home an ad
ditional sl4.
"What we're talking
about here is a two mill
increase," said Com
missioner Dr. V.W.
McEver. "We're looking
at $500,000 by the time we
provide funds for am
Board Approves $50,463
To Buy Library Books
The Houston County
Board of Education
Monday night approved
School Supt. David
Perdue's request to use a
state library allotment of
$50,463 to buy books and
magazines for use by
school libraries during
the 1978-79 school year.
As outlined by Perdue,
$43,363 is earmarked for
buying library books, and
another $7,100 will be
used for purchasing
magazines.
In a memo to principals
and librarians dated
April 13, Perdue said the
book selection policy
outlined in the
"Reference Handbook for
Houston County
Librarians" must be
adhered to explicitly.
"Yes, but they have
valid excuses such as a
doctor's order," Andrews
replied.
Andrews said when
students run away from
home the first step taken
by the family should be to
notify law enforcement
officials. He said
runaways are truant, but
that schools have no
responsibility to get the
child back in until
the child returns.
Andrews said in all of
his visits to homes and
conferences with parents
not one mother or father
- 15«
bulance service,
emergency rooms and
indigent care."
Byrd said every time
another $225,000 is added
to the county budget, a
one mill tax increase is
required to pay the bill.
Rozar, Tucker and
Commissioner Charles
Carter voted in favor of
the motion, with Byrd
and AAcEver dissenting.
Greenway said the
hospital authority is
currently negotiating for
proposals from
physicians to operate the
Perry emergency room
on weekends. When the
authority receives an
acceptable proposal,
Greenway said, a
physician will be
available at the Perry
hospital to respond to
emergency cases on
weekends.
Present when com
missioners voted to fund
a physician for the local
emergency room were
Perry council members
Barbara Calhoun and
Draper Watson, authority
member W.E. "Billy"
Beckham Jr., and
Chamber of Commerce
past president Riley
Hunt.
“The central office
reserves the right to deny
Contd. Page 2-A
Houston Attorneys
Set Law Day May 1
A special "Law Day"
ceremony will be held in
the courtroom of the
Houston County Cour
thouse next Monday, May
1, at 9 a.m. The
Ceremony, marking
national "Law Day" is
sponsored by the Houston
County Bar Association.
Perry attorney Tom
Daniel is president of the
H.C.B.A.
Houston District At
torney Stephen Pace will
has ever told him they
didn't want their
youngster to attend
school.
The visiting teacher
and school social worker
reported that county 9th
graders led all others in
attendance with 95.89
percent. He reported that
first graders had the
lowest record with 95.32
percent.
Andrews agreed with
Chairman McConnell
that the slightly lower
record of the first grade
could probably be at
tributed to childhood
sickness and disease.
DON’T
FORGET!
SET YOUR
CLOCKS AHEAD
ONE HOUR
WHEN YOU GO
TO BED
SATURDAY
NIGHT.
THAT WAY YOU’LL
BE ON TIME
SUNDAY MORNING.
present the Liberty Bell
award to a local person
who will be cited for his
or her dedication to the
Bill of Rights and a better
understanding and
respect for the laws of the
land.
Remarks will be made
by Pace, Superior Court
Judge Willis Hunt and
State Court Judge Paul
Armitage. The public is
invited to attend the
ceremonies.