Newspaper Page Text
B The Houston Home I
Journal
Perry, Georgia's Hometown Newspaper & Houston County's Legal Organ Since 1870-A Park Newspaper
SATURDAY, JULY 8,1989-119th YEAR, NO. 54, 3 SECTIONS, 30 PAGES
County
supports
flag law
By OLIN HUBERT
Staff Writer
Members of the Houston
County Board of Commissioners
Wednesday morning unanimously
passed a resolution in favor of an
amendment to the U.S. Constitu
tion making it illegal to burn the
American flag.
The resolution came as a re
sponse to a ruling last week by the
U.S. Supreme Court that burning
the flag is a form of symbolic
speech protected by the First
Amendment.
"Let it be recorded that the
chairman voted," said commission
Chairman Charles Stewart, who
officially voles only in case of a
tie. "Something has to be sacred."
"There arc some things we just
should not tolerate," said Commis
sioner Gene Harrington.
In other business, the board
chose Commissioner Jay Walker as
Houston County's representative to
the Middle Georgia Regional De
velopment Center.
The center was created by the
Governor's Growth Strategies
legislation, and replaces the Middle
Georgia Area Planning and Devel
opment Commission, on which
Walker also served.
The legislation encourages cities
and counties within a regional area
to plan together, Walker said.
He said the center will be re
sponsible for coordinating plans and
grants, assisting local governments
with things such as zoning maps,
Continued on Back Page
Staff Writer
Head lives through 'rough times' during his 87 years
By J.J. COOPER
Staff Writer
W.W. Head states rather proudly
"I've seen some rough limes in my
life."
Head has seen a little of
everything in his life. The 87 year
old Perry resident has farmed,
worked at a lumber company, rah a,
hotel, worked a an auto shop, and
worked for the city.
Head was born on a farm in
Monroe County near Forsyth. "It
was the roughest farm in the state,"
said Head.
'Camelot'
reunion to
get funds
By OLIN HUBERT
Staff Writer
Members of the Perry-Fort Val
ley Airport Authority, at a called
meeting Thursday evening, autho
rized Treasurer John Houser to
spend up to $5,000 on Operation
Camelot, a planned October reunion
of World War II bomber crews.
Houser requested the money be
made available for investment in
advertising and good will.
"You can't have a business and
expect walk-in business to support
it," Houser said. "You've got to go
out and gel it."
The reunion is planned for
October 19 through 21, in con
junction with the open house at
Robins Air Force Base.
Frank Smisson, chief organizer
of the project, said he is negotiating
with Danny Evans to have 20,000
copies of a special edition of his
Aviation Times printed, for distri
bution at the Experimental Aircraft
Association Annual Fly-in at
Oshkosh, Wise., at the end of this
month.
Smisson said the Air Force had
agreed to make an F-15 fighter
plane available for sialic display at
the reunion.
Continued on Back Page
Strange mailbag
Postman delivers persuasive words. See P-4A
,-V.v/, v ■ ' \ *
Rainy day fun
Jon David Kennedy, the 5-year-old son
of David and Donna Kennedy of Perry,
tries to keep dry in between the scat
tered showers Perry has experienced
During the Depression Head
took up farming again, but a
drought in 1936 ended that career.
"One day, I woke up and got
some clothes out. My wife said
'Where arc you going?' I said
'Honey, when I find myself a job
I'll call you',” said Head.
Head arrived in Perry and started
working for Tolleson Lumber
Company.
When Tolleson opened the Perry
Court, a hotel, Head started
working over there.
.Win*, ■ -
Frito Lay helps the
Frito Lay Plant Manager Bob Blais
presented a SIOOO check from the
manufacturer to the Perry Older Ameri
cans Council Thursday. Here Blais pre
sents the check to OAC Director Betty
OAC's Raines to be services director
By MELISSA CRADDOCK
Staff Writer
Perry's Older Americans Council
will soon be seeing Belly Raines a
little less and in a different way.
She has been promoted to the
Macon office of the OAC, where
she will act as the services director.
"My job is to be in the centers
and know what's going on," Raines
PERRY. GEORGIA S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870-FQR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF YOUR NEWS EVENTS CALL 987-1823
recently. Weather reports haven't pre
dicted an end to the rain, but instead,
are calling for afternoon thundershow
ers through Monday.
[ Perry people
W.W. Head, V.
active retiree
"The Atlanta Journal rated it the
best place to stay from Chicago to
Miami," he said.
Raines and advisory committee mem
bers Ray Whitney, Mark Powell and
Anne Slnyard. The money will go Into
the building fund for a new senior
center.
said of her new position in which
she will be everything but confined
to a desk.
After spending eight years at the
Perry Senior Center, she will be in
charge of that center plus the other
centers in the seven-county area.
She will also oversee the Meals on
Wheels programs in Jones and
Peach counties, and will work with
Need a new home?
Check today’s want ad section. See P-7B
Your since 1870,
After the Perry Court closed,
Head went to work for the Union
Motor Company. That only lasted
the food contract for Houston
County's Meals on Wheels pro
gram.
"I’m not really leaving," she said
of her promotion. "I'm just doing
the same job but in a different way.
I'll still be at this center, but I
won't have the client case load
anymore."
WEEKEND EDITION-250
Perry police
file lawsuit
for benefits
By MELISSA CRADDOCK
Staff Writer
Eighteen Perry police officers
have filed a suit against the City of
Perry for past retirement benefits.
Seventeen officers with the de
partment and one former officer
have filed a civil suit for back
benefits they would have received if
under the umbrella of the Joint
Municipal Employee's Retirement
System for their entire terms of
employment.
The city originally went under
the JMERS plan in 1969, but po
lice officers were not included until
1987. The officers are asking for
the benefits they would have re
ceived if they had been included in
the program all along.
Police officers have been under
the Peace Officer's Annuity and
Benefits Plan, which has no vesting
period, and docs not pay back in
full what an officer puts into it if
he retires before 55 years of age.
The city has a five-year vesting pe
riod, according to Lewis. "That
makes a big difference."
"We asked the city to put us un
der the municipal association's re
tirement plan, and it took them
about two years to do it,” said
Charles Lewis, one of the plaintiffs
in the suit. "We asked for it to be
retroactive, but they wouldn't go
back to the point when we were
Continued on Back Page
two years before he moved on to
finish his working career at the
City Water Department where he
was employed for 18 years.
Head and his wife reside in a
house on Pine Ridge Court. They
bought the house from Ed
Thompson.
"We first had a house on Elko
Road which we rented from Mr.
Tolleson for $9 a month."
Mr. Head is the man pictured on
the Maxwell automobile pictured in
the "Perry scrapbook" in the Home
Recreation needs
for city discussed
By MELODY BACAS
Staff Writer
Members of the Perry City
Council and others met with repre
sentatives from the University of
Georgia's Institute of Community
and Area Development Wednesday
to discuss needs for more recreation
in Perry.
ICAD works with the Depart
ment of Natural Resources and with
communities to analyze and resolve
development problems, many of
those problems dealing with recre
ation.
Charles Clegg, associate director
of ICAD, told the community lead
ers the city has enough research on
the problem and no more studies
need to be done on recreation.
However, ICAD can advise on how
the city is to get better recreation
programs and facilities efficiently.
"What we can do is gel groups
together and talk about options,"
Clegg said.
The two major things ICAD is
going to look into is developing a
city recreational program and what
services the county is providing to
Perry residents.
City Councilman Eddie Wilson
said the city does want its own
program. Council recently approved
$30,000 for a full-time recreation
director and a staff person and has
Complete television
Local listings are in TV Week. See P-1C
Local death notices
Lida Davis Dupree, 85—Edna
Hodges Mason, 94 —Frankie
King, 40 —Dillard Jackson At
kinson, 58—Marguerite
Mellette Gilpin, 65—Rosie Lee
Cummings, 70 Death notices
appear on Page 3A
Index
THE BEST OF BOBBY 4A
BUSINESS NEWS 5A
CLASSIFIED ADS 6,78
EDITORIALS 4A
DEATH NOTICES 2A
PERRY WOODS ’N WATER SB
POLICE NEWS 2A
SPORTS IB
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"1 hauled lumber by it (the car)
every day. I could of bought it for
S2O-525 dollars, but we didn't know
what it was worth. Mr. Tolleson
later traded some lumber for it,"
said Head.
A man later came offering to
buy the Maxwell from Mr.
Tolleson but he refused. "The last
time he came he said money was no
object but Mr. Tolleson wouldn't
sell it," said Head.
Continued on Back Page
allocated other money for a van and
for a building, he said.
Wilson and City Councilman
Ralph Gentry said they weren't sure
what services Houston County was
providing for the tax money given
to the county for recreation. Os
particular concern is the consolida
tion between Houston County and
the City of Warner Robins in
recreation, Wilson said.
"There is a general consensus in
Perry that we're not getting our
money's worth," Wilson said.
Other things ICAD will look
into include the Crossroads Com
munity Complex idea proposed this
year by the Leadership Perry group
Continued on Back Page
Jobless rate
here stable
Houston County's unemploy
ment rate was stable in May at 4.1
percent. It was up just l/10th of a
point from April's 4.0 percent.
A year ago, in May 1988, the
county's jobless rate was 5.8 per
cent.
There were 37,995 workers em
ployed and 1,624 unemployed in
May out of the county's labor force
Continued on Back Page