Newspaper Page Text
MIDWEEK
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
| WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1991“
Man dies after shooting self at Courthouse
Victim faced prison sentence
after intent-to-kidnap conviction
By TERESSA ULIN
Staff Writer
A 27-year-old Clayton County
man shot himself in the parking
lot of the Houston County
Courthouse after being sentenced
to 7 years in prison Tuesday
afternoon.
According to police reports,
James Walling taken to Perry
Hospital with a head wound. He
was pronounced dead shortly
after arrival.
Walling was in court for a
post sentence hearing following
his conviction of aggravated
assault with the intent to kidnap
his ex-wife from her Centerville
home last September.
“Around 4 p.m. (Tuesday)
Judge Nunn was conducting a
sentencing hearing in the
Courthouse,” said Perry Police
Chief Frank Simons.
“Following the hearing, the
subject ran from the
Courthouse, exited to the south
parking lot and was pursued by a
Deaths
Ida Estes Smith Carter, Warner
Robins; Willie Gray, Macon;
Leware Carnes Butler, Warner
Robins; JimMcGehee Culler,
Perry; Randy Allan Wright,
Centerville; Clara Reynolds
Mustin, Norfolk, Va.; Gracie
Mae Smith, Unadilla; and
Phyllis E. Horsting McDowell,
Hoboken,N.J.. Detailsonpage
3A.
INDEX
MICHELLE BALLARD 2B^
CALENDAR 5A
CLASSIFIED 6B
DEATH NOTICES 3A
EDITORIALS 4A
ENTERTAINMENT 12A
JIM KERCE 4A
LEGAL NOTICES 3B
TIM LEWIS IB^
LIFESTYLE __ 1B
JIM MOODY BA^
POLICE REPORT 2A
REMEMBER WHEN 4A
SPORTS 8A
EMERY WARNOCK 4A
Perry boy
earns Eagle
Scout honor
By TODD YOCUM
Staff Writer
The crowning achievement of
any member of the Boy Scouts of
America is to rise to the rank of
Eagle Scout.
Monday night, Perry’s Troop 96
recognized Johnny Dukes as the
newest member of the Eagle Scout
rank. It was the culmination of
many years of hard work and dedica
tion for Dukes.
Dukes is the son of Eugene and
Bessie Dukes of Perry and has been
a member of Troop 96 since 1985.
Dukes said he was very happy
and relieved to finally achieve the
rank.
It takes 21 merit badges to be
come an Eagle Scout, 11 of which
Please see EAGLE, pagel2A
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Houston County Sheriff’s
deputy.
“He made it to his car where
we believe he obtained a large
caliber gun, and fired one shot,”
Simons said.
“We believe the wound was
self inflicted.”
Law enforcement officers
roped off the area to keep out the
large crowd that gathered while
emergency medical technicians
pulled Walling from his car and
attempted to resuscitate him.
Distraught family members
s'tood outside the Courthouse as
paramedics worked to treat
Walling.
Teresa Walling, the victim’s
sister, confronted enforcement
officers as they came back into
the courthouse.
“She did this,” Ms. Walling
screamed. “You should arrest her
for murder. He’s dead because of
her.”
Rec. commissioners refute W.R. charges
By TODD YOCUM
Staff Writer
Members of the Perry Recre
ation Commission aired their con
cerns about the on-going battle over
recreation between the cities of
Perry and Warner Robins at the
Perry City Council’s regular meet
ing Tuesday.
Bob Malone, member of the
recreation commission, refuted
newspaper reports that the city of
Perry waited too long to address the
issue of scheduling fall sports with
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Pat Law interacts with her first grade class at Perry Elementary as she teaches themthfbScs
In reading and writing.
Elementary reading program
promotes creativity in learning
By TERESSA ULIN
Staff Writer
Learning to read and write can be
a difficult experience for children,
particularly if they are not progress
ing a quickly as their peers.
For Houston County elementary
students in the first through fifth
grades, learning basic language arts
skills has become easier this year
with the introduction of Houghton
Mifflin Reading: The Literature
Experience.
For those who remember going
to school and having a teacher drill
them on precision spelling of vo
cabulary lists as they sat quietly in
their seats, the concept of their
2 SECTIONS—IB PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS"'
Walling had been charged with
kidnapping his ex-wife by knife
point and taking her out of the
county in the trunk of his car.
He pled to the lesser charge of
aggravate assault with the intent
to kidnap.
He was to stand trial in Upson
County for charges of aggravated
assault, simple battery and
sodomy.
Walling had been free on
$15,000 bond and had been
allowed to enter the courtroom
Tuesday without being checked
for weapons
Chief Assistant District
Attorney Shelley Howard,
prosecutor for the case, said she
is concerned about the lack of
courtroom security.
“There was no way of
knowing whether or not he had a
weapon,” Howard said. “There’s
no telling what could be brought
in.
“We need to have better court
room security.”
Warner Robins.
Malone said that in a May meet
ing at the Agriceneter, he recalls
that Perry Recreation Director Ben
Hamrick aslced the Warner Robins
Recreation Director James Dodson
if scheduling was possible.
A second issue that Malone ad
dressed was the division of assets
that the cities were to receive from
the county for recreation.
A chief concern was the money
paid to former county employees
who are now working in the Warner
children in an interactive, relaxed
atmosphere can be unnerving.
“The program is quite different in
philosophy from what we have had
in the past,” said Carol Boyd,
coordinator of elementary education
and reading for Houston County
Schools.
“It is (The Learning Experience)
based upon the latest research on
how children learn to read and
write.”
In the past, educators believed
children learned best when their
reading activity was strictly con
trolled.
The Literature Experience encour
ages teachers, as active decision
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A loved one consoles the mother of James Waller as EMT’s attempt to resuscitate him. Waller shot
himself in the head Tuesday after receiving a sentence of seven years for aggravated assault.
Robins Recreation Department.
Former county employees ex
pressed concerns in,the past over
taking a pay cut once they joined
the Warner Robins deparunent.
-Malone said that he wanted the
City Council to look into the mat
ter and make sure that money given
by the county to Warner Robins
was not above and beyond what is
in the agreement between the
county and the cities.
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall said
that he would address both issues
makers, to guide their children to
become responsible for their own
learning. The program emphasizes
bringing out the creativity in chil
dren and helping them bring their
own experiences into learning.
Pat Law, a first grade teacher at
Perry Elementary School, said the
key to the program is getting chil
dren to feel comfortable with learn
ing, even if a child’s method is not
the same as his peers’.
“The key word is ‘productivity’,”
Law said. “We like to emphasize
‘be productive, give it a try’.
“We try to teach them to think
and express their thoughts and to
Please see READING, page 3A
PERRY GA
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when he met with all officials in
volved.
Worrall said he is meeting with
officials from the county, Warner
Robins and Centerville on Thurs
day.
“I’m sure recreation will be high
on the agenda,” he said.
In other bussiness, Council
adopted two proclamations concern
ing city high school students.
In other business, Council
agreed on the acceptance of an engi
neering proposal to make drainage
City aquires rights
of way for bypass
By TODD YOCUM
Staff Writer
After over two years of work,
the city of Perry has secured all
rights of way for the proposed
North Perry Bypass and the state
Department of Transportation is
expected to have a contract let out
by the end of the year.
The proposed four lane bypass
will extend from Valley Drive and
circle around Perry and connect with
U.S. Hwy. 341 S.
According to City Manager F.
Marion Hay, the city has completed
the final land acquisition by acquir
ing 28 parcels of land between In
terstate 75 and U.S. Hwy. 341 S.
All parcels of land were acquired
by deed and all but two of the
parcels were given to the city free
of charge.
The Perry City Council agreed
Tuesday to authorize the mayor and
city manager to issue payment for
two parcels of land along the by
pass route.
The city will pay $45,000 to the
Horton family and SIO,OOO to Will
Atkins for their respective rights of
way.
Private interests have agreed to
reimburse the city for $30,000 for
these payments.
County Commission splits
on insurance coverage
By EMERY WARNOCK
Staff Writer
The Houston County
Commission met Tuesday evening
and announced after a 2-2 vote to
continue to study the health care
insurance options for county
employees.
The biggest argument facing the
board is which insurance company
121ST YEAR-VOLUME 75 ]
and street improvements to the
Sandhill area.
The city agreed to pay H.H.N.T.
Inc. $6,240 to complete the project.
Councilman Hervia Ingram mo
tioned that the mayor and city man
ager execute a contract with the
state Department of Transportation
for improvements to Perimeter
Road in Perry.
The city will receive an esti
mated $39,148.70 grant to assist
with the widening, construction of
Please see REFUTE, page 3A
The agreement between the city
and the state stipulated that the state
would take on construction costs if
the city would secure all rights of
way.
The city has been working to
get the deeds for some time and just
last week secured both the Horton
and Atkin’s deeds.
Hay said that the state expects to
have a contract let between October
and December of this year.
He also said that the estimated
cost of construction for the project
will be between S 9 and SlO mil
lion.
Hay gave most of the credit for
the project to state representative
Larry Walker, D-Perry.
“Without Larry we never would
have gotten this road,” he said.
He said that Walker worked
closely with state officials in At
lanta to ensure that the project
would be completed.
Hay said that the bypass will be
one of the best-built highways in
south Georgia and would benefit the
city by moving a lot of truck traffic
around Perry.
The estimated time of construc
tion is expected to be between 18
months and two years.
has the most desirable preferred
provider organization.
Steve Engle, Houston County
personnel director, recommended
that the board accept Continental
National Assurance’s minimum
premium plan. The county is
currently under Blue Cross/Blue
Shield conventional plan.
Please see COUNTY, page3A