Newspaper Page Text
MIDWEEK
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2,1992
Residents urge county to keep road open
By ANISSA CLEMONS
Staff Writer
Despite several residents voicing
opposition to the closing of a dirt
road in Houston County that joins
Grovania and Pyles roads, Houston
County Commission refused to
take any action to open the road at
Tuesday’s 10 a.m. meeting.
Stewart Blood worth told the
commission the road recently closed
is not a private road but a county
road.
Bloodworth said, “I can’t
understand why you would allow
this road to be closed since it’s used
so much.
"I bet there’s hardly a person in
Weyerhaeuser
closes deal on
P&G timber
purchase
Weyerhaeuser Company President
Jack Creighton said today he was
delighted about the now-completed
purchase of Proctor & Gamble's
pulp, sawmill and timbcrlands op
erations.
"The more we learned about the
quality and commitment of the em
ployees and the quality of the facili
ties, the more we knew we were
purchasing a top-notch operation.
Today is a landmark day in the his
tory of our company," Creighton
said.
"The employees are highly
skilled and motivated and the facili
ties are world-class. This purchase
will make us a more profitable and
better company, We welcome our
Please see DEAL, page 12A
"Jk, j|
■fe in
Deaths
Ann Kidd Coley, Perry; Hattie
P. Perry, Macon; Katherine
Duncan Turner, Jonesboro;
Kathryne Aurelia Arrowsmith,
Fort Valley; Eula Mae Cannon,
Byron. For details, please see
page 3A.
HOME JOURNAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Christmas in Olde Perry
featured in tab
It's that time of year again,
Christmas at the Crossroads
begins this week. The 1993
"Christmas in Olde Perry" cel
ebration promises to be the
best festival yet. Be sure to
look in our special tab for a list
of events and stoies covering
several of them.
INDEX
AGRICENTER EVENTS 3A
PEGGY BLEDSOE 1B
CALENDAR SA
CLASSIFIED 11A
JACKIE COOPER 2B
EDITORIALS ___ 4A
BRIGETTE HAMILTON 4A
TIM LEWIS 1B
LEGAL NOTICES 3B
LIFESTYLE ___ _ 1B
GUEST COLUMN 4A
POUCE REPORT 2A
REMEMBER WHEN 4A
SPORTS 8A
BRIAN LAWSON 8A
PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870-FOR COVERAGE OF YOUR EVENTS, CALL 987-1823
f The Houston Home!
Journal
the south end of the county that
hasn’t used that road.”
Commissioner Larry Sncllgrovc
said, “We did not close the road. It
was closed by another party.”
Jerome Bloodworth, brother of
Stewart Bloodworth, has the legal
rights to the land where the road is
according to County Attorney Mike
Long, and he decided to close the
road.
Jerome Bloodworth said, “There
is no violation here. I plan to use
the land as part of my farming land.
The deed shows it’s my land, and
there’s no casement there."
Long told the commission and
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(HHJ Photo by Eric Zellars)
William Kendrick, front left, and Verdell McGhee are among several Perryans
who have begun their Christams shopping. Perry Kmart employee Stefanie
Diamond has been very busy with the crowds this year as more area residents
seem to be shopping locally.
Perry merchants stay busy as
Christmas shopping begins
By ANISSA CLEMONS
Staff Writer
Perry shoppers started their
Christmas shopping last week as
the 1992 Christmas shopping sea
son officially began Friday, the
biggest shopping day of the yeai.
According to Sue Moody, co
owner of Sue Anne’s Dollhouse,
shoppers have gotten an earlier start
this year on their Christmas shop
ping than last year. Elizabeth
Local merchants urged to support
Happy Hour employment program
By ANISSA CLEMONS
Staff Writer
Houston County Happy Hour
Workshop and School needs Perry
business owners to take part in its
supported employment program by
providing jobs, according to Susan
Kraemer, program coordinator.
Kraemer said there are mentally
handicapped individuals in the Perry
area who are looking for employ
ment, and it’s tough for them to
find it. She said it’s hard for a
“normal" person to find a job and
more difficult if the person has a
mental handicap.
Kraemer is currently asking
Perry business owners to give her
3 SECTIONS—2B PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS
Stewart Bloodworth said "I feel that the
commissioners have made an error in public
interest. ... This is an example of a weak set of
county commissioners."
citizens he couldn’t recommend the
commission take any action to
open the road because they don’t
have the legal right to do so.
Long said, “We found no deeds
that have conveyed the right of way
to the county.” He said the road
could be a county road, but he could
find no documents to prove it.
He told opposing citizens they’d
Flowers, owner of Impressions
agrees and said her November sales
are higher than last year’s.
This year Perry shoppers have
another choice where to spend their
holiday dollars. Although Perry
Marketplace recently opened its
doors during this Christmas shop
ping season, Perry downtown mer
chants say the new shopping center
hasn’t slowed their business any.
clients a chance and stresses the
positive aspects of doing so. “The
employer will have somebody they
can depend on for a long time. They
are fully capable of doing what
normal people do.”
She said unlike regular employ
ees her clients have an extra support
team behind them to make sure the
clients are doing a good job.
Kraemer said either she or other
project members learn each job task
before the client does so they can
train the client. “We do anything
connected with keeping them em
ployed.
“A lot of employers think it’s
have to take Jerome Stewart to
court and “let 12 jurors decide if it’s
a county road or not.”
Stewart Bloodworth asked the
commission to take the issue to
court, on behalf of him and those
opposing the road being dosed.
Long recommended To the
commissioners not to Like the issue
to court because of a great expense
Moody said, “It hasn’t affected
us because we don’t carry the same
things.”
Flowers said, “I think the people
will check out the new shopping
center initially, but we do have a
good base of customers. I believe in
downtown, and I don’t want to be
responsible for another vacant
shopping center.”
Please see BUSY, page 12A
unsafe to hire one of our clients,
but it’s not. Our clients arc more
cautious because once they learn a
task and rules, there’s not ever a
problem with them getting hurt.”
She said they deal with “higher
functioning clients.” Most of them
have their own apartments and chil
dren.
The five-year-old program is re
sponsible for putting client Charles
Wynn to work. Wynn has worked
at Food World in Warner Robins
for five years. He said, “1 like it.
It’s a good thing because most
people need a job.”
Please see PROGRAM, page 12A
[PERRY, GA.
\ newspaper^^^7o
to the taxpayers. “1 don’t think we
could win if we did take it to
court,” Long said.
Commissioner Charles Stewart
said, “It’s not wise to go against
legal counsel. 1 think we’d get
deeper and deeper in hot water. I
personally have to go along coun
sel.”
Archie Thompson said, “I’m
torn. I have to look at both sides. I
feel like we need to stick to what
the attorney has recommended."
Commissioner Houston Porter
Jr. said he agreed. “It would be fool
hearted to go against what the
county attorney has said or rccom
School system wary of
joint enrollment program
By TERESSA ULIN
Park News Services
To school administrators and
members of the Houston County
Board of Education, having the
lights go out during a meeting
Tuesday night was akin to what
they think might happen if Senate
Bill 417 is enforced locally.
”Wc arc very concerned about the
impact SB 417 will have on our
school system," said Houston
school superintendent Tony
Hinnant.
SB 417, passed in the Georgia
State legislature late last session,
mandates school systems provide
eligible high school students the
opportunity to earn college credit.
School administrators met with
State Reps. Larry Walker and
Sonny Watson to discuss the new
law and its effect on the school sys
tem.
The new law requires that stu
dents who arc at least 16 years old
and are classified as juniors or se
niors be allowed to Like approved
courses at Georgia public institu
tions. It also provides for the pay
ment of fees for the Advanced
Placement Examinations for stu
dents who arc enrolled in AP
courses.
Houston schools-which already
have joint enrollment agreements
with many local post-secondary in
stitutions-could be hard hit in vo
cational education and honors stud
Salvation Army begins
annual Christmas drive
By ANISSA CLEMONS
Staff Writer
The Salvation Army kicked off
its annual Christmas Red Kettle
drive Monday for Houston and
Peach counties in an effort to raise
S6S,(XX).
“We have received 1,400 applica
tions for help this Christmas sea
son. Thai's 400 more than last
year,” Major Milton Wood, Salva
tion Army commanding officer,
said.
Milton said Christmas donations
arc down 28 percent from last year’s
giving at this time.
“It’s directly due to Hurricane
Andrew and the North Georgia tor
nados,” he said.
The Salvation Army will pro
vide food for needy families and two
new toys per child in the family.
Milton said they are working di
rectly with PAL in Perry to prevent
overlapping of giving.
He said 240 of the applications
are from Perry residents. “We were
only expecting 200.”
The organization has imple
mented a new program this year
called Dress A Live Doll. “There
arc a lot of groups giving toys, but
we’re concentrating on clothes loo.”
The program allows donators to
give an outfit to a needy child. Each
donator is given a size to buy for a
specific child.
Another area the Salvation Army
will reach out to is the nursing
homes. “We’re going to the nursing
homes in Perry on the Sunday after
Christmas because that’s the most
depressing lime for them,” Wood
122ND YEAR—VOLUME 97 \
mended.”
The opposing citizens threatened
to take the issue to court them
selves at their own expense.
Stewart Bloodworth said, “I feel
that the commissioners have made
an error in public interest. The pub
lic has used the road for nearly 50
years.
“This is an example of a weak
set of county commissioners.”
He said, “I would never take my
brother to court, but my neighbors
will.”
Jerome Bloodworth said, “1 think
they made the right decision be-
Please see URGE, page 12A
ics if students are allowed to take
related courses at Georgia colleges
and universities.
Hinnant said colleges and techni
cal institutes will actively recruit
vocational and honors students to
gain state funding, money that
would be taken away from the
county school system.
"Our real concern is that we could
stand to lose several hundreds of
thousands of dollars in our vo-tcch
programs," Hinnant said.
Vocational education is "one of the
highest drawing cards for FTE
(Full Time Equivalency) funding
from the state," he said.
If the power outage was tempo
rary-amid jokes about the school
system's failure to pay the electric
ity bill -the ramifications of losing
suite funding may be longer lasting.
"This would severely impact pro
grams that arc already having trou
ble surviving," said board member
Ed Causey. "If we lose students in
AP and in vo-tcch, we will not be
able to support them."
In addition to allowing students
the opportunity to take college
courses, the school systems would
also be responsible for counseling
and record keeping on each of the
students.
School administrators say this re
lieves colleges of the responsibility
of the students while they reap the
financial reward.
said.
Prisoners will also be reached by
the Salvation Army.
"Prisoners can send their child a
gift through us without the child
knowing he or she is imprisoned,"
Wood said.
The organization receives most
of its contributions through the red
kettles placed in various locations
and through mail donations. He said
donations can be sent to Fire Chief
Gary Hamlin at City Hall (987
1911) or Trudie Warren at The
Perry Area Chamber of Commerce
(987-1234).
Ray closes
WR office
Dec. 7
Congressman Richard Ray will
hold his final office hours in his
Warner Robins, office Monday,
Dec. 7, 1992 from 8-11 a.m.
"Everyone is invited to drop by.
The office will be closing on Dec.
15," Congressman Ray said. "I
have enjoyed holding regular office
hours in my federal office located at
200 Carl Vinson Parkway in the
County Annex building for the last
10 years, and believe they did a
great deal of good. I want to en
courage friends and constituents
who we have worked so hard for to
come by for a special farewell."