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The Houston Home Journal
' "—u Serving The People In Georgia’s Heartland Since 1871
OUR 108TH YEAR • NO. 34
PSC Race Draws Local Attention
Carter, Walker Square
Off In “Tight” Battle
Set Here Next Tuesday
All political eyes are
focused this week on the
runoff election next
Tuesday between in
cumbent County Com
missioner Charles
Carter, and his
■ "--v
■■ v”
Charles Carter
Poole Moves Forward
In Utility Rate Fight
"I want the people to
know I have not given up
the fight for lower utility
rates and that I will not
give up until the Georgia
Public Service Com
mission takes some
action to lower our
rates,'' Perry
businessman and former
chamber of commerce
president Joe Poole told
The Home Journal this
week.
Poole has been
crusading against rising
utility rates for the past
12 months. He began his
crusade with Georgia
Power Company over his
utility bills at his home in
Perry and his grocery
store, Qwik Stop Foods.
The crusade went
nationwide several weeks
By Joel Ferguson
HHJ Feature
Hits The Wire
A feature story on page 2-A by News Editor
Joel Ferguson has been picked up and
published throughout the nation by United
Press International. This marks the second
time this year The Houston Home Journal
has gained national prominence.
The first instance of national recognition
happened last March when publisher Bobby
Branch and general manager Phil Byrd
confirmed to the national wire services that
The Home Journal had obtained and
published a copy of the Florida Functional
Literacy Test before it was released to
Florida school boards. The Home Journal
received mail and phone calls from all over
the country for several weeks after the story
was puslished nationwide.
challenger, Warner
Robins Councilman
Homer J. Walker.
Both candidates have
been campaigning hard
in Perry and throughout
the county. The political
Homer J. Walker
Joe Poole
ago when Poole sent
letters to major
newspapers, television
networks and President
Jimmy Carter. Since then
he has received
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA. 31069, THURSDAY. AUGUST 24,1978
opponents have been
observed passing out
cards, shaking hands and
urging friends and
supporters not to lose any
steam.
in the primary election
on Aug. 8, Carter got the
most votes with 4,730, but
Walker's 4,259 were more
than enough to put him in
the runoff.
Robert Snellgrove, the
third candidate for post 1,
finished with 1,439. So the
big question, of course, is
this: Will the folks who
cast their ballots for
Snellgrove pull the levers
for Carter or Walker?
The other runoff
contest to be decided
Tuesday is between in
cumbent Public Service
Commissione Ben T.
Wiggins and challenger
Billy Lovett, a 32-year
old Laurens County
Commissioner.
numerous letters from
persons supporting his
fight and he has taken his
message to civic clubs
and other groups. This
week, for instance, he
took his message to the
Warner Robins Rotary
Club.
Poole stated, "Lots of
people are still contacting
me about their utility
bills and I am telling
them to send me their
bills from the last 12
months. We need to
document as many of
these as possible so that
we can take our case
back to the PSC and
demand they order
Georgia Power Co. to
lower their rates. Folks
just can't pay them any
longer and folks aren't
going to sit down and take
it any longer."
Poole has already
faced the PSC one time at
a public hearing in Macon
in June. He later invited
the Commission to come
to Perry to hold a public
hearing but they did not
respond. However, PSC
Commissioner Mac
Barber has told Poole he
will hold a hearing in
Perry and tape record
anything Perryans want
to tell the PSC. Barber
said he will then take the
tape back to Atlanta and
play it for the entire
commission.
"No, siree, I'm not
about to give up this fight
and Georgia Power
knows it as well as the
PSC knows it. They'll
both be hearing plenty
from me and a lot of other
people in the weeks
ahead. The only way they
can get me off their backs
is to do what's right ...
lower our rates," Poole
concluded.
In the primary on Aug.
8, Lovett collected 173,475
votes for 29.26 percent of
the vote, as compared to
283,018 votes and 47.74
percent of the vote for
Wiggins.
Other candidates op
posing PSC Chairman
Wiggins were Larry
Morris, who came in
third with 59,518 votes for
10.04 percent; T. Lanier
Smith gained 46,610 votes
for 7.86 percent, and
political newcomer Joe
"Mac” Wiggins ended in
last place with 30,236
votes for 5.10 percent of
the total.
Chairman Wiggins said
he thought any
reasonable person would
agree that Joe Wiggins'
votes were actually
meant for him.
Lovett carried 25
counties in the
Democratic primary,
including Bibb and 15
others in Middle Georgia.
In Houston County,
however, Wiggins ran
Football
“Fever”
Kicks Off
The Home Journal “Football Edition”
appears this week with complete pre-season
reports and photographs of Coach Bob
Morrow’s Perry High School Panthers and
Coach Marvin Arrington’s Westfield Hor
nets.
We hope you enjoy the 14 page special
section, which appears as the C-section of
this week’s paper. Extra copies of the edition
are available at The Home Journal.
Be sure and watch for the Home Journal
sports pages in the coming weeks for the very
best in local sports coverage in high school,
junior high and county league coverage of all
the teams in this area. The Journal sports
pages are rated among the top in Georgia
community newspapers. Home Journal
sports editor-general manager Phil Byrd will
be covering all the Perry High games for the
ninth consecutive year. Perry photographer
Frank Russo will be taking “in-depth”
photographs at the PHS games. HHJ news
editor Joel Ferguson will be covering the
Westfield High games and along with his
“sparkling” stories on the games, Harvey
Gilbert will be capturing all the action in
photographs.
So, come along with The Home Journal to
what should be an exciting football season.
Read our sports pages each week for the
most complete coverage of all the games.
ahead by 4,353 to 3,673
votes.
Some political ob
servers in Perry,
attributed his success to
receiving public en
dorsements from Mayor
James McKinley and Joei
Poole, an advocate and
spokesman for lower
electric bills.
Although there are
26,655 registered county
voters, many experts on
election habits predict
light turnouts tor the
runoff election.
County Election Board
Chairman Hugh Beatty
said the county's 15
voting precincts will be
open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Beatty again cautioned
candidates and other
citizens not to display
signs or solicit votes
within 250 feet of a voting
place. He said state law
prohibits displaying signs
or commercial sales
within 250 feet of the
polls.
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Houston County Grass
Office Deputy Jane S. Chapman and Lt. James I. Cawthon of the
Sheriff’s Department at Perry courthouse, examine one of three
marijuana plants deputies seized in a raid near a suspect’s home last
week. Cawthon said the two other plants are being retained by the district
attorney’s office as evidence. According to a report submitted to county
commissioners this month by Sheriff Cullen Talton, his department
served warrants for three drug violations in July.
16,000 Students
School Days
Begin Friday
Whiffs of chalkdusf and
sounds of football
practice will prevail
tomorrow as 16,000
students enter the
Houston County School
system.
Some will hum a
romantic stanza from
"School Days," such as
"Was then you
whispered, 'I love you,
Joe, when we were a
couple of kids."'
But for others -- the
administrators charged
with the responsibility tor
spending $19.6 million to
operate the system tor
another year - the day
will mark the beginning
of a herculean task.
Part of the task will be
to maintain 17 elemen
tary schools, five junior
high schools, three high
schools and one
vocational school. All toll,
this adds up to 26 schools.
To respond to student
educational require
ments in these schools
will be 910 teachers and
125 teacher's aides.
Others involved in the
educational process will
be 160 lunchroom
workers serving between
12,000 to 14,000 meals per
day, 63 buses and drivers
and 71 janitors.
"The mission of the
Houston County Public
Schools is to provide
educational programs tor
students according to
identified needs and as
mandated by law and
other public policy,"
School Supt. David
Perdue said. "These
programs shall be
provided for students
regardless of mental,
emotional, or physical
condition, socio-economic
class, sex, rare, color,
creed or national origin.
''By providing
educational programs tor
students, members of the
school system aspire to
enrich the lives of all
citizens in the community
by institutional functions
which will tend to insure
the future of the citizenry
as free persons who are
lifelong learners,"
Gun Show Set Friday
There will be a gun
show in Perry this
Friday, Saturday and
Sunday at the Holiday
Inn. Gun dealers from all
over Georgia will have
guns of every description
on display, according to
Emmette Cater, Perry
gun dealer who is
FAMILY REUNITES
AFTER 36 YEARS!
See Page 2-A
Perdue added.
Under the overall
category of general
education, Perdue said
the substance of the
programs and activities
of the county school
system shall be the
process of learning so as
to provide ooportunity for
the development of the
capacity in each in
dividual to think, to learn
what is not yet known, to
judge, and to perceive
well enough to save the
common environment
and improve the culture
throughout each person's
span of life.
To which dedicated
football coaches might
add, "and to have a 10-0
season."
Supt. Perdue said
Con’t Page 3-A
promoting the show.
The hours for the gun
show are: Friday, 2 p.m.
until 8 p.m.; Sat., 8 a.m.
until 8 p.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.
until 4 p.m. Admission is
$1 for adults and children
under 12 accompanied by
an adult will be admitted
free.