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j ) The Houston Home Journal
1 1 u Serving The People In Georgia’s Heartland Since 1871
VOL. 108 NO. 34 ""
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New Jury
Commissioners
Sworn In
I
i Lovett Takes Houston
Houston County voted
for Billy Lovett in a big
way in Tuesday's
primary runoff, but so did
the rest of the state.
On a statewide basis
incumbent Public Service
Commission Chairman
Ben T. Wiggins, 57, lost
his post to Lovett, 32, a
Laurens County Com
missioner, by a wide
margin.
Parking Lot To Be Paved
Warden Allen Stone
told The Home Journal
Tuesday night that the
parking lot where the old
county jail was torn
down, which is now ad
jacent to the village
Shopps, will be paved
sometime within the next
In Perry Mayoral Race
New Candidates Surface?
Mayor James McKinley is doing just what
successful politicians always do ... And that
is run “hard” even though there is no an
nounced opposition.
McKinley officially announced 3 weeks ago
that he would seek re-election and since that
time he has been methodically, quitely
campaigning for the city’s top elected office.
The election will be held on the first
Tuesday in December, at which time
Councilmen A1 Baggarly, Draper Watson and
Ralph Gentry will also be up for re-election.
While McKinley has no announced op
position, there are strong rumblings in the
community about two possible candidates.
Mayor protem Barbara Calhoun and former
city councilman Dr. Jerome Bloodworth
have both been mentioned as candidates in
the mayoral race.
Mrs. Calhoun was out of town this week but
she has recently told The Home Journal she
was “thinking seriously’’ about challenging
McKinley for the mayor’s job.
“I have received a lot of encouragement to
run,” Mrs. Calhoun said, “but at the present
Four new members of the Houston County Jury Com
mission were sworn into office at ceremonies in the cour
thouse last Friday morning. At right, Probate Judge Clinton
K. Watson Jr. swears in the new commissioners, from left,
Mrs. Ann Pritchett, Mrs. Ida Lee Durrah, John D. Lovejoy
and Charles Ross. Mrs. Pritchett and Mr Ross are from
Perry and Mrs. Durrah and Mr. Lovejoy are from Warner
Robins. Other commissioners still in office are Richard
Goodroe of Perry and Mrs. Eleanor Panarese of Warner
Robins. The jury commission is charged with selecting
qualified persons to serve on the juries in the Houston
Judicial System.
I
With reports in from
1,699 of the state's 2,235
precincts, Lovett had
210,846 or 64.1 percent to
117,844 for Wiggins or 33.8
percent.
Wiggins, a member of
the commission for the
past 21 years, was the
only incumbent to fall in
the summer elections. He
was the only opposed
incumbent who failed to
two weeks.
"If the weather holds
up, we expect the con
tractor to finish that job
after he finishes paving
the parking lots at
Warner Robins High
School and Northside
High School, " Stone said.
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA., 31069, THURSDAY AUG. 31, 1978
clear the Aug. 8 primary
without a runoff.
According to news
reports, Wiggins blamed
his defeat on news ac
counts of Lovett's charge
Sunday that Wiggins was
attempting to conceal
news of an increase in
Georgia Power Co. light
bills after the election.
Wiggins was quoted as
saying everything is fair
in politics and war, but
that his opponent con
ducted one of the dirtiest
campaigns that ever has
been waged for the public
service commission.
Lovett has promised to
vote against all Georgia
Power Co. rate increases
during his six-year term.
He also reportedly told
supporters that his first
efforts as a member of
time I have not made up my mind. I certainly
feel I could contribute much to the city as the
mayor but at this time I will just have to say I
am thinking about it and keeping the door
Barbara Calhoun
the panel will be to stop
secret meetings of the
commission.
In other state races,
Virginia Shapard won the
primary runoff race
against State Sen. Peter
Banks for the Democratic
nomination as
representative for the 6th
Congressional District.
With all precincts
reporting but 10, Mrs.
Shapard led by 17,000
votes with 53.2 percent of
the votes cast.
In the runoff for
Georgia's 7th District,
less than 40 votes
separated Rep. Larry
McDonald and
Challenger Smith Foster.
The vote, with 130 ot 189
precincts counted, in
dicated McDonald had
28,183 or 50.1 percent
9a * * K
qfe • 11
Dr. Bloodworth
In Commission Race
Perry Voters Give
Carter Close Win
A jubilant Charles
Carter rejoiced Tuesday
night after learning that
Perry voters had given
him a 474 margin to
enable him to be
reelected to county
commission Post 1 by 230
votes.
Carter narrowly
defeated challenger
Homer J. Walker, a
Warner Robins city
councilman, by gar
nering 3,898 votes to
Walker's 3,668. Carter
ran almost neck-and
neck with Walker in the
Warner Robins precincts,
but Perry went for Carter
833 to 395 for Walker.
"I think it's fairly
obvious that the Perry
vote pulled me through,”
Carter told The Home
Journal after the vote
was counted. "I want to
sincerely thank all of the
citizens of Perry who
supported me, and I want
to thank citizens
throughout the county
who demonstrated their
confidence in me.”
''l appreciate the
confidence the people
have shown in me in the
CO. COMM. POST I f f Tom
.. r r— I" |
2164 328 95 240 71 56 49 37 833 3898
CARTER
HOMER J. WALKER 2770 136 42 138 45 99 13 49 359 3668
PUBLIC SER.
COMM. _______
BEN T. WIGGINS 1284 101 32 82 39 26 4 12 201 1799
(INCUMBENT) 0/ Jy * l/yy
BILLY LOVETT 3464 340 98 284 65 84 46 35 961 5397
open.”
The Home Journal spoke with Dr,
Bloodworth this week about his possible
candidacy and he said that he has been ap
proached by “many” people in the com
munity who want him to run 'or mayor.
Dr. Bloodworth said, “I have had people
come to my office to talk about my running
and many people have called during the past
few weeks to talk seriously about the mayor’s
race. I can’t tell you yes or no on the question
at this time. It is something I must very
seriously consider for a while longer.”
It is doubtful that both Calhoun and
Bloodworth would run against McKinley.
Although, under city election laws, the
outcome of races are based on a plurality and
the winner has only to beat his opponents by
one vote, not a majority.
As September moves in, city politics begin
to pick up steam. What was thought by some
would be a quite, un-eventful mayoral
campaign, may turn into a real old fashioned
Georgia political race. Things surely will
heat up before the first frost falls on Middle
Georgia.
past, and I promise to
serve them another four
years with honor and
integrity," Carter con
tinued. "I'm real proud to
represent all of the people
of Houston County."
Carter described the
runoff as "the toughest
campaign" he ever had.
He said he was very
impressed with Walker's
ability to get votes.
"I won Hayneville in
the primary, but Mr.
Walker won Hayneville In
the runoff," Carter noted.
In the state runoff
election for the Public
Service Commission,
challenger Billy Lovett
overwhelmed incumbent
Chairman Ben T. Wiggins
with 5,397 votes for Lovett
to 1,799 for Wiggins.
As predicted by
Election Board Chairman
Hugh Beatty, all 15
Houston County precincts
had reported their vote
within 45 minutes after
the polls closed at 7 p.m.
Beatty said only about
27 percent of the county's
26,655 registered voters
showed up for the
primary runoff. He said
he estimated slightly
5 c
more than 7,500 voters
participated in the runoff
contest.
Both candidates
campaigned hard in
Perry and throughout the
county right up to elec
tion day, and were ob
served passing out
political cards, shaking
hands and urging friends
and supporters to vote for
them.
ironically, Walker was
defeated in his bid for
reelection to the county
commission in a primary
election held here 20
years ago.
It was on Sept. 10, 1958,
that Walker lost a contest
for commission Post 3 to
Wyatt D. Kersey of
Kathleen. When the final
vote was tallied in that
race, Kersey had 1,533
votes to 1,454 for Walker.
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
in the primary, finished
with 1,439 votes.
Poole Questions
New Ga. Power
Jump In Rates
Joe Poole, a Perry
merchant who crusades
for low light bills, said he
spoke by phone Monday
with Public Service
Commissioner Bobby
Pafford about Georgia
Power Company's an
nounced 40 percent In
crease in the fuel ad
justment cost.
"He told me that a 40
percent increase on fuel
adjustment would
amount to $lB on a light
bill for $700," Poole said.
Poole said he was in
fer rped that the reason
for the increase is
because Georgia Power
has to shut down two of
their main generating
plants, and that the
replacement generating
plants will cost more to
operate.
J The Perry consumer
The other runoff
contest for a seat on the
Georgia Public Service
Commission, pitted
veteran incumbent PSC
Chairman Wiggins
against challenger
Lovett, a 32-year-old
Laurens County Com
missioner.
In the primary on Aug.
8, Lovett collected 173,475
votes for 29.26 percent of
the vote statewide, as
compared to 283,018 votes
and 47.74 percent of the
vote for Wiggins.
Lovett carried 25
counties In the primary,
including Bibb and 15
others in Middle Georgia.
In Houston County,
however, Wiggins ran
ahead of Lovett by 4,353
to 3,673.
Some political ob
servers in Perry at
tributed Lovett's success
In winning the Perry
precinct during the
primary to the fact that
he was publicly endorsed
by Mayor James
McKinley and Joe Poole,
an advocate and
spokesman for lower
electric bills.
advocate for lower
energy prices said he
wanted to remind area
citizens they could send
him their light bills for
review and analysis.
"If they'll just sign
their names to the bills
and send them to me I'll
work on them," Poole
said.
Poole said he is going to
hold Public Service
Commission Chairman
Ben T. Wiggins to his
promise that before rates
are increased or
decreased, he (Poole)
would be permitted "to
have his say" about
proposed rate changes.
"What I can't un
derstand is why they
can't find out about all
that coal being sold three
or four times," Poole
eaid.