Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2-A
Local Issues In 1980
the sales tax, but that
only prescription drugs
will have a chance for
exemption.
He explained that
exemption for
prescription drugs would
mean a loss in revenue of
about $7 million, but that
exemption of groceries
from the sales tax in
crease would amount to
$125 to $l5O million.
"It would be an ad
ministrative nightmare
to exempt groceries
because alot of things
purchased in grocery
stores today are not food
items,” Walker said.
Walker said it has been
estimated that a
statewide one percent
increase in sales taxes
would mean $250 million
in addition revenue. In
the event groceries were
exempted from the tax -
with revenues of from
$125 to $l5O million - it
would wipe out a large
portion of the additional
Top Stories Os 1979
Harris took $5,220 from
the agency through
overpayment of salary in
the form of extra
paychecks.
Mrs. Carter has been
charged with three
counts of theft by con
version because she
allegedly withdrew $7,625
in salary overpayments.
Miss Harris said she did
not know Mrs. Carter had
drawn salary over
payments until she was
told on May 31.
On April 3, Perry city
council voted to solicit
bids for containers and
equipment to conduct a
pilot program for curb
side garbage pickup at
300 local homes, and
ultimately for every
home in the city. Council
acted on the measure
after Councilman Ralph
Gentry outlined the
merits of utilizing trucks
with special lifting device
for picking up uniform
containers that can be
rolled to curbs on wheels.
Gentry said he believed
the curbside pickup
program would be the
most economical and
efficient garbage
collection system for the
city's 2,586 sanitation
customers. Mayor
McKinley estimated the
new program would cost
about $107,500 when fully
implemented, and Gentry
added that his review of
the matter indicates the
curbside system will pay
for itself in two years.
At year's end, the
curbside garbage system
appeared to be working
efficiently. Councilman
Draper Watson sub
sequently replaced
Gentry as chairman of
the sanitation depart
ment in June, and worked
on the project when the
new containers were
distributed throughout
the city. Watson was also
instrumental in obtaining
a $50,000 state grant that
will be used to pay a
portion of the cost for the
new curbside garbage
pickup program.
Following is a sum
mary of other news
events that took place in
Perry and Houston
County during 1979:
+ Perry consumer
advocate Joe Poole called
for an independent
management audit of the
Georgia Public Service
Commission and the
Georgia Power Company
on Jan. 7.
+ County com
missioners approved a
motion to compile
preliminary plans for
expanding Perry
Courthouse on Jan. 16.
+ Tommy Kersey, a
Houston County man who
believes American
farmers are getting a raw
deal from the federal
government, disclosed on
Continued From Page 1-A
$250 million in revenue.
Gun Control
The local represen
tative said he expects a
number of gun control
laws to be introduced in
the General Assembly
this year, largely because
of the high rate of crime
in Atlanta. He said he
expects the proposed
laws will span a large
spectrum of controls such
as waiting periods and
other restrictions on gun
ownership.
"But I don’t think we’ll
have any major changes
in gun control,” Walker
said. "I think this is some
kind of knee jerk reaction
to problems in Atlanta.”
Sentencing
Walker said he expects
to hear more about
mandatory sentencing at
the General Assembly
this year.
"WeTl probably see
more mandatory sen
tencing, but I feel the
judge ought to have some
Continued From Page I-A
Jan. 18 that he will lead a
multitude of followers
and 10,000 tractors from
more than 30 states to
Washington this month to
demand immediate
reforms in American
agriculture.
+ Building Inspector
Lanny Coffman disclosed
on Feb. 1 that con
struction cost climbed
from $2.3 million in 1977
to $3.5 million in 1978, an
increase of 50 percent.
+ Total expenses of the
Hotel-Motel Tax Ad
visory Commission
during the final six
months of 1978 were
$15,640, according to a
financial report released
on Feb. 8. Total income
from hotel-motel room
taxes during the July-
Dee. 1978 period was
listed as $30,197. The
cumulative total income
since the program was
initiated was listed as
$105,870.
+ Mayor McKinley
heaped high praise on the
Perry Police Department
and others on Feb. 19 for
their outstanding service
in responding to the needs
of local citizens and about
200 motorists stranded
here after three inches of
sleet blanketed the area
on Feb. 18.
-(-Guidelines for being
admitted to a hospital
under the medicare
program were released
on March 8 by Max Poole,
administrator of the
Perry Houston County
Hospital.
+ Joe Poole submitted
a letter to Mayor
McKinley and city
council on March 19
requesting that a
feasibility study be made
for building a dam across
Big Indian Creek to
generate the city’s
electricity.
+ Cpl. Arthur Gene
Buckles, a veteran of 12
years with the Perry
Police Department was
suspended indefinitely
without pay. according to
an announcement on
March 19 by Mayor
McKinley. In responding
to a query by The Home
Journal, McKinley
confirmed that Buckles
was suspended because
of allegations that the
officer had been im
plicated in a theft.
+ Jerry Glower,
America’s number one
country comedian, was in
Perry on March 19.
Glower was interviewed
by Home Journal
Publisher Bobby Branch.
+ In one of the shortest
sessions in the city’s
history, council voted on
April 16 to fire police Cpl.
Arthur Gene Buckles.
Councilman Draper
Watson, chairman of the
city Police Committee,
made the six part motion
to fire Buckles during the
meeting that convened at
discretion in sentencing,”
Walker said.
Drinking
Rep. Walker said there
is a lot of support for bills
raising the age for young
adults to buy alcoholic
beverages. He said he
will not support a bill
raising the age to 21, but
that he would consider a
bill to raise the age from
18 to 19 for persons to
purchase whiskey.
"Most of them are out
of high school when
they’re 18,” Walker said.
‘‘That’s why I would
support raising the age
for purchasing alcohol to
19.”
Walker noted that
Georgia prisons are
bulging at the seams. He
said the state has a
higher per capita prison
population than any other
state in the union.
Public Service
Walker said he expects
to hear debate about
whether members of the
9 a.m. and adjourned at
9:02 a.m. The action
came after a st£ hour
personnel hearing at city
hall on April, in which
two GBI agents testified
that Buckles took $l2O in
marked money from
Walker-Rhodes Tractor
Co. on March 16, and
later denied having it in
his possession.
Hugh W. Burgess, 86,
was awarded a Silver
Star Medal at the
National Guard Armory
in Perry on May 25 for
combat exploits in
France during World War
I. As a 25-year-old buck
private, Burgess had
overpowered enemy
positions defended by
more than 50 machine
guns and captured 171
prisoners.
Seabie Hickson, 47,
died Tuesday morning
(June 5) in the Perry-
Houston County Hospital
after suffering heart
failure at his home
earlier in the morning.
+ In a statement that
was a total surprise to the
community, Perry High
athletic director and head
coach Bob Morrow an
nounced his resignation
on June 6.
+ Finishing touches
were being applied on
June 21 to two big 23x48
foot signs being erected
on the north and south
interchanges of 1-75.
Total cost of the signs
advertising Perry is
$51,316, and funds to pay
for the signs came from a
two percent tax added to
local hotel and motel
bills.
+ Jimmy Pennington,
a city volunteer fireman
for the past 16 years, was
commended for valor on
Aug. 13 in Savannah for
rescuing two city workers
from a cave-in on North
Davis Drive on April 24.
+ A grandiose plan to
expand Perry Courthouse
was unveiled by architect
Henry Corsini during a
regular session of county
commissioners on Sept.
11. Corsini estimated his
plan to build the two story
addition to the courthouse
would cost $1 million.
+ An apparent low bid
of $1.7 million to expand
Perry’s sewage treat
ment plant was opened at
city hall on Sept. 13.
+ Don Parkinson,
general chairman of the
Perry Kiwanis Club’s
first annual Farm-City
Festival, stated on Sept.
28 that final plans were
being completed for the
big day on Saturday, Oct.
6.
+ An Army Corps of
Engineers expert has put
a final damper on Joe
Poole’s idea of building a
dam in South Houston
County to generate cheap
electricity. It had been
Poole’s idea for the city to
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1980
public service com
missioners should be
elected or appointed.
“I’m disillusioned
about this,” Walker said.
"I don’t know what the
answer is. I would be
receptive to looking into
some changes in the
Public Service Com
mission. Maybe we
should appropriate more
money for a larger staff.
At any rate, I’m receptive
to hearing about things
that can be done to make
changes that will im
prove the commission.”
Volume
Altogether, Walker
said the General
Assembly will consider
about 2,000 pieces of
legislation during 80
sessions. Os the 2,000
pieces of legislation, he
estimated that 700 bills
will apply to everybody in
the state. He said the
remaining 1,300 bills will
be local legislation which
applies to a particular
county or municipality.
build a dam on Big Indian
Creek, but a letter from
Corps representative
C.C. Brown outlined in a
letter dated Sept. 25 why
it would not be feasible to
build a dam at either of
three sites inspected.
+ U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn,
stood proudly in front of
an overflowing crowd of
“his folks” on the
courthouse square on
Oct. 6 and said, “I doubt
that there is another
official in Washington
who is prouder of his
hometown than I am
today. I take great pride
in the progress my
community has made and
I would take nothing for
having grown up in
Perry, Georgia.” That is
how the Senator opened
his remarks to officially
kick off the Perry
Kiwanis Club’s first
annual Farm-City
Festival.
+ In terms of absolute
numbers, it was an
nounced by Gov. George
Busbee on Oct. 12 that
Houston County is the
fifth fastest growing
county in Georgia.
+ A.H. “Hal” Cotton of
Perry, the highest
ranking civilian at
Robins Air Force base,
announced his retirement
for early 1980 in the Oct.
26 edition of The Home
Journal.
4- The annual Sam
Nunn Award was
presented to Perry
Mayor Pro-Tern Barbara
Calhoun at the 14th an
nual meeting of the
Middle Georgia Area
Planning and Develop
ment Commission in
Macon on Nov. 15.
+ Three incumbents
were returned to their
posts on Perry City
Council on Dec. 4, one
without opposition. The
results indicated that
Councilman Gene Smith
would retain possession
of post one seat with 650
votes. Opposing Smith
were Robin “Rob”
Jackson with 389 votes,
and Charles C. Allen with
146 votes. There was no
battle for post two as
Mrs. Calhoun gained 849
votes with no opponent.
In the race for post three.
Councilman George Nunn
garnered 878 votes to 177
for his opponent, Walter
Rembisz.
+ Construction that
will double the size of
Perry Library will begin
in January, according to
Houston County
Librarian Mrs. Judy
Golden. The information
was disclosed by Mrs.
Golden on Dec. 4 after
bids were opened to
determine who would get
the contract to expand
the facility. The apparent
low bidder, with a bid of
$288,200, was the A.J.
Kellos Construction Co. of
Augusta.
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THE CLASSIFIED COLUMNS
OF THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL!
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Contact the “Recycler of Unwants” the classified I
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