Newspaper Page Text
MIDWEEK
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
offical Legal Organ
| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1991
Home Journal
Highlights
Deaths
Timothy Miller, Melba Cross
Robertson, Paul Douglas
Bozeman Sr., William
Meltow Gibson, Fay G.
Moore, Albert Thomas Sr.
For a complete listing,
please see page 3A.
SSG. William Tharin
Brown we hope you have a
good day. Our prayers are
with you. We're hoping that
you come home real soon.
For a letter from your loved
ones, please see page BA.
INDEX
MARK BLUMEN ~18
CALENDAR 7A
CLASSIFIED 4B
DEATH NOTICES 3A
EDITORIALS 4A
FOOD FEATURE 1D
MIKE PRINCIPATO 4A
ENTERTAINMENT 4B
LEGAL NOTICES 5C
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987-1823
Apprehension,
hope feelings
of area farmers
By MIKE PRINCIPATO
Staff Writer
Hope and apprehension are the
bywords for area fanners.
"Environmentally we're setting
pretty well," said County Extension
Agent Duren Bell.
"Economically, there is a ques
tion of agricultural loans for many
farmers."
According to Bell, Houston
County's relatively warm winter
shouldn't have too much of an ef
fect on Spring crops.
"It's hard to tell," said Bell.
"We have had a mild winter. But
agriculturally it’s been better than
last year. We achieved our minimal
chill hours needed for wheat and
peaches."
Bell feels the county should fair
better this year in handling pests
which have plagued area growers in
the past.
"What little cold we did get
should be enough to keep much of
Please see FARMERS page 7A
City to observe
womens history
By ALAN WILLIS
Staff Writer
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall pro
claimed March "National Women's
History Month," to be observed in
the City.
Worrall, a history teacher, said "it
is long overdue."
Women's history month began in
California in 1977 and was made a
national event by President Jimmy
Carter. However, it has only re
cently gotten much publicity.
The observation of the month is
sponsored by the American Associ
ation of Retired Persons, and sev
eral local members joined Worrall
at the proclamation.
Jo Ziegler noted that the month
is "set aside to recognized the
achievements and contributions of
American women."
PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870-FQR COVERAGE OF YOUR EVENTS, CALL 987-1823
■The Houston Home
Journal
W
Brenda Vance holds her husband's busy practice together while he serves in the Middle East
Brenda is busy keeping the faith
(Editor’s note: This article
recently appeared in the Los
Angeles Times. We thought
the citizens of Perry would
enjoy reading it, so we de
cided to print the article in
its entireity)
By Lee May
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Twelve years ago, Dr. Luther
Vance Jr. and his wife Brenda
started a family medicine practice in
a trailer home, parked on a hospital
lot.
They worked hard, she managing
the office, then becoming a nurse,
he taking on a variety of cases-pe
diatric, geriatric, jailhouse, even
house calls-until they became well
known and well liked in Perry, a
little town of 9,200 and the birth
place on Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.).
A spacious office building with
state-of-the-art equipment replaced
the trailer. And the number of pa
tients, drawn from miles around,
rose to some 13,000, Brenda Vance
said recently. Life was good.
I
Marcella Cullington, Melba Mathies, Jo Ziegler and Louise Sturgis join Mayor Worrall in proclaiming
National Women's History Month.
3 SECTIONS—26 PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS
Then came the Persian Gulf War.
Dr. Vance's Army National Guard
medical unit was activated in
November and later sent to Saudi
Arabia. With that, life back home
turned upside down.
In a town with fewer than 10
doctors, Vance is one of just two or
three general practitioners and
maintains a rare open door policy.
People around Perry say he cared for
a lot of patients other doctors did
not want, like those in a nursing
home.
Now nurse Vance is working
mightily to hold the practice to
gether. She is getting help from a
friend of the family, Dr. Charlie
Dean, who drives over from
Columbus, about 80 miles away,
three times a week. But as the war
wears on, it takes its toll here too.
"I’m coping," Brenda Vance told a
visitor as she escorted a patient to
an examining room.'T'm scared to
death. I'm terrified. But I'm cop
ing."
Part of the terror is, of course,
her fear of harm to her husband. But
she also knows that if war lasts for
many months, her difficult job will
become even more so.
Now open only mornings on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,
the office which displays several
small U.S. flags, accommodates an
average of 25 patients a day, Vance
said, adding that "some days we
could see twice that many" if a
doctor were available all day.
Despite the circumstances, Vance
allows humor to intrude once in
awhile, answering a question about
whether she will be reluctant to re
linquish control of the practice once
her husband returns: "I want a
vacation when he comes back."
And, as only a wife-nurse could,
she speaks lovingly and admiringly
of his ability to stitch an incision.
For now, patients seem willing
to wait for Dr. Vance, believing he
is unique in a time when medical
care seems dominated by imper
sonal specialists.
Please see VANCE, page 8A
■ PERRY, GA.
Past the limK' 7
Iron deposits more than max
By MIKE PRINCIPATO
Staff Writer
Hayneville's city well currently
contains iron deposits amounting to
.46 pans per million, exceeding the
state's acceptable limits of pollu
tants, said Tribble and Richardson
President Elmo Richardson Jr.
Richardson made the announce
ment during a presentation before
County Commissioners and
Hayneville residents, during Tues
day's regular session.
Richardson has advised county
managers for more than a decade on
matters relating to water needs.
According to Richardson, area
ground water is heavy in iron-ore
and slightly acidic. Because of this ,
the water is slightly corrosive.
Over time, iron deposits build
up in the well and pipelines. The
acidic water aids in dislodging built
up sediment, which becomes mixed
with Hayneville's water supply.
"We recommend a new well,' said
Richardson.
"The new well will give us a
chance to shut down the old one and
flush the system out."
According to Richardson, the
county had been treating the prob
lem periodically with phosphates to
keep the iron in a soluble form.
Furthermore the county had been
using chlorine treatments to purify
the water.
"Unfortunately, both treatments
were added to the system at the
same point," said Richardson.
According to Richardson, these
multiple treatments were canceling
each other out.
"We haven’t shut the current well
down and flushed the system be
cause that would leave the city
without water," said Richardson.
However, a new well would en
able us to do so.”
When complete, the new well
would be used as a main water
supply for the area. The current
well would be used as a back up
system.
Richardson advised commission
ers to approve a motion to begin
accepting bids for construction on
the new well as soon as a site is
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121 ST YEAR—VOLUME 17
purchased.
Residents could see an improve
ment in their water supply within
eight weeks, said Richardson.
However, Richardson told resi
dents flushing the system com
pletely may take as long as a year
or more.
Residents questioned the proxim
ity of the new well site to the old
the current site. According to
Richardson, the new site is expected
to be within one-mile of the current
site.
"Our concern is to stay away
from the Big Indian Creek area.
The acidity and iron-deposits in
crease as you move toward that
area," said Richardson.
After lengthy discussion, com
missioners voted to commence,
taking bids as soon as possible.
Board gives
rezoning
response
By ALAN WILLIS
Staff Writer
The Houston County Board of
Education met in special session to
discuss changes to the proposed re
zoning.
The meeting was, according to
Superintendent Harold Chapman, "a
response to concerns expressed at
public hearings." The new zoning
proposal lies on the table until
March 12, when it will be taken up
at the regular Board meeting.
Among the changes to the old
proposal, the zones for Miller,
Watson and Russell will remain as
they are now.
In addition, the boundary between
Bonaire and Kings Chapel was re
drawn. According to Chapman, the
changes, if accepted, "involve 54
students." The original proposal
affected about 200 students.
The new zone for Kings Chapel
also includes 20 students who had
been zoned in tucker under the
Please see REZONING page 7A