Newspaper Page Text
WEEKEND
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29,1992
Deaths
Ivan Andrew Dußose, North
Charleston, S.C.; Roy L.
Bloodworth, Elko; Stoney Lee
Ezell, Macon; Maude Guyton
Carlisle, Perry. For details,
please see page 3A.
HOME JOURNAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Hornets lose season
opener
The Westfield Hornets took a
33-8 beating from Deerfield in
the school's first football game
of the season. The story is on
page 18.
Welcome Center
workers have a new
friend
Christy Skinnerof the Welcome
Center has been correspond
ing with a student in Ghana.
The story is on page 3A.
PMS students attend
FVSC program
Two PMS eighth grade stu
dents attended a science and
engineering workshop at Fort
Valley State College this sum
mer. The story is on page 6A.
INDEX
AGRICENTER EVENTS 3A
BRIAN LAWSON 4A
CALENDAR 3A
CLASSIFIED 4B
DEATH NOTICES 3A
EDITORIALS 4 A
PERRY SCRAPBOOK 4A
POLICE REPORT 2A
SPORTS 1B
JIM SHIPLEY 4A
STREET TALK 4A
JOHN TRUSSELL 2B
BOBBY TUGGLE 2B
COSBY WOODRUFF 1B
WOODS r N WATER 2B
MISS YOUR PAPER?
We hope not, but if your carrier
should err, please call early.
987-1823
Our circulation department is
open from 8-10 a m. to help.
.TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL:
987-1823, OR 987-5203
READ IT, THEN RECYCLE!
This newspaper is
primed, in part, on re
cycled paper and is re- <&\
cyclable. For locations /'Y
of recycling stations, call
987-1823
Perry man
convicted
of murder
By BRIAN LAWSON
Staff Writer
John William Jones of Perry was
convicted Wednesday of felony
murder, which denotes a mandatory
life sentence, in connection with
the 1991 death of his infant son
Johnathon Jones.
The jury deliberated for two hours
before handing down the guilty ver
dict. Jones was also convicted of
cruelty to children and aggravated
battery. A sentencing hearing date
has yet to be scheduled.
Houston County Juvenile Investi
gator Sergeant Wayne Franklin has
been handling the case since
November 2, 1988 when the inci
dent leading to the infant's death oc
curred.
Please see MAN, page 6A
| PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870-FQR COVERAGE OF YOUR EVENTS, CALL 987-1823
f The Houston Home!
Journal
Thursday fire destroys PCC
By BRIAN LAWSON
Staff Writer
The clubhouse at the Perry Coun
try club was devastated by a fire
early Friday morning. Perry fire
fighters were dispatched to the
scene at 3:54 a.m. and found the
building "totally involved."
"We arrived at the scene at 3:56
a.m. and the entire building was
burning. The ballroom was on the
ground and we knew the rest of the
building was past saving so we
concentrated our efforts on saving
the office and the paperwork . The
winds were a problem and the attic
was open which caused the fire to
funnel and continue to reach back
and burn the same area over and
over. We kept the water flowing
until daylight and had to contend
with hot spots for another hour or
so," Sergeant Doug Straka of the
Perry Fire Department said.
Rick Slavik President of the
Perry Country Club Board said,
"The clubhouse facility including
the pro shop, the locker room area,
the 19th hole cafeteria, the kitchen
and the ballroom were all destroyed
by the fire. We were able to go in
Friday morning and pull out some
of the items in the pro shop that
suffered water damage. The insur
ance adjuster came out Friday morn
ing but has not given us a report
yet. We have not heard any indica
tions as to a cause of the fire.”
The club was started in the early
fifties by a group of roughly 40
people. Marion Brown was one of
the original members.
"We started with a nine hole
course and we all had to do a lot of
work. It was a real struggle to get
the club going. We bought the land
from Mel Davis and we paid him
with stock in the club. 1 think
when we started the dues were $4 a
month. It's a sad day, we went
through a lot of hard times getting
die club started,” Brown said.
According to Slavik the first step
Hi - 'mHK
?! JHIHr ' -Or a Hfcg
"ti ' *5 J| r* Mm
Blossom Ragin, left, Molly McKinnley, Felicia Dalton, Jennifer Harris, Sarah Register
Dexter Bratton and Kelcey Jones along with other students and teachers at Tucker
Elementary have been bringing in much needed supplies for the Hurricane Andrew
victims living in Miami, Fla.
Local community reaches out
to Hurricane Andrew victims
By KELLIE ROWDEN
BRIAN LAWSON
Imagine what it would be like to
find oneself suddenly without food,
clothing or even a house when only
mere moments before, it had all
been standing in clear view. The
devastation and a new anxiety about
what was going to happen next
would take over. For the victims
of Hurricane Andrew’s recent unbri
2 SECTIONS—I 2 PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS
'lujjjSCi j
The remnants of the Perry Country Club clubhouse. Board President Rick Slavick surveys the damage with an unidentified
club member. The club was destroyed by a fire that started in the early Friday morning. Fire crews saved the club office.
is getting the club into operation as
soon as possible.
"We need to get power to the
pumps in order to water the fair
ways and greens. We are working
with the city on a temporary shelter
to house the pro shop and conces
sion area and we are working on
providing information for the insur
ance company. It is premature to
talk about a time frame but our in
tentions are to rebuild," Slavik
said.
The country club is also planning
to hold its annual Member's Cham
died destruction, this is reality.
As a part of a nation-wide relief
fund for these unfortunate people,
businesses, churches, civic groups,
schools and citizens in Houston
County have come together in a
matter of days to collect the many
items that Florida and Louisiana
desperately need.
Perry Hospital was at the center of
the relief effort. Hospital Market
pionship over Labor Day Weekend.
"It is a three day event and we ex
pect to have it," Dale Money Coun
try Board Vice-President and Trea
surer said.
"This facility has been a part of
Perry for many years. There were a
number of members out there with
me this morning who were very
saddened by it. Part of their lives
has gone away with the loss of this
building," Slavik said:
The Perry Fire Department is con
tinuing its investigation into the
origin of the blaze.
ing Director and Dr. Peter Ventura
worked with local residents and
businesses to collect food,
medicine, baby wares, bedding and
other assorted necessities. Ventura
left Perry Friday afternoon for Mi
ami carrying with him a truckload
of relief supplies that will be dis
tributed by a local church in south
west Miami.
Please see REACHES, page 6A
| PERRY, GA.
MH9H
... & AjSWK *c >v
?a - . ■ M’>
o ..
—&&>. .:<^m»::TM. v. . v. ..•.■■■■■....■■ Y ,^.- I .>ft||y ■ ..
-■■• -:■>. - v- •
The Perry Country Club as it looked from the early 1960’s
until Friday morning. The club plans to stay open for golf.
County SAT scores
higher than last year
By KELLIE ROWDEN
Staff Writer
After a year of waiting, the re
sults are in. The 1991-92
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
scores for Houston County have
come in and have been announced
for all to hear.
Perry High School’s average to
tal score was slightly below the
system’s average comparing 815 to
867. Ninety-eight students from
Perry were recorded as having taken
one of the five tests given during
the year.
The SAT is an aptitude exam
given to rising seniors and is taken
into account during the college ap
plication process. It is divided into
the two subject areas of math and
verbal skills. The highest obtain-
The system is forced to
let criminals out of jail
By BRIAN LAWSON
Staff Writer
A cocaine dealer arrested by Perry
Police, prosecuted and convicted by
the Houston County District Attor
ney's Office and sentenced to serve
seven years in prison in March,
1992 was released from jail July
20.
It reads like a typographical error
but the case is not isolated. The
Georgia Board of Pardons and
Paroles, faced with a threatened law
suit in 1989 by prisoners and over
crowded jails is releasing, "non-vi
olent" offenders well short of their
mandated sentencing period.
Perry Police arrested Charles
Cambell and later saw him con
victed of selling cocaine. Cambell
was sentenced to 8 years in prison
in March of 1992. Cambell was re-
122ND YEAR—VOLUME 70
able score in either subject is 300.
The highest total is 1600.
In the verbal section, Perry
scored an average of 393. This is
compared to the system’s average of
411. The average state verbal score
was recorded as 398 compared to the
national average of 424.
In the math section, Perry scored
an average of 422. This is com
pared to the system’s average of
456. The average state math score
was recorded as 444 compared to the
national average of 476.
According to Glenn Hitchcock,
the director of secondary education,
guidance and testing, the higher the
percentage of students taking the
tests, the lower the average scores.
Please see SAT, page 8A
leased from prison August 12.
Talcing a sample of 20 parole
cases in Houston County the men
convicted were sentenced to spend a
total of 129 years in prison. The
actual number of years served before
release for all the criminals in the
survey was 23 years and six months
an average of just over one year per
prisoner.
"We have a problem with a
tremendous amount of repeat of
fenders. We are seeing them again
and again. We're seeing 15 year sen
tences on people who are being let
out in 18 months. We have a case
on a guy who was charged with ha
bitual violation, robbery and selling
cocaine who was sentenced to 15
years, he got out in 11 months and
Please see SYSTEM, page 6A