Newspaper Page Text
MIDWEEK
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1993
HP Good
morning* Perry
HOME JOURNAL
HIGHLIGHTS
Deaths
Shauna Marie Benter, Max
Alvin Ziegler, Rosa M. Francis
please see details on page 2A
Gett'ln together
The Perry High Class of 1936
held their annual reunion here
this past weekend, please see
page 2A
Career end
After 35 years in the Houston
County school system, Frances
Worrall is retiring, please see
page 128
Sharing recipes
Travel agent Janice Walker
shares some of her favorite
recipes gathered overthe years
in Perry, please see page 4B
Break the habit
The secret to saving money
may be in your shopping hab
its. Learn the best ways to shop
in Peggy Bledsoe's column on
page 1B
Coach quits
Westfield basketball coach
Cater Peirce has handed in his
resignation at the school,
please see page 8A
Famous golfers
Two well known Houston
County golfers will have their
names added to the list of fa
mous golfers when they are
inducted into the Houston
County Golf Hall of Fame,
please see page 8A
Don't forget
The Perry Ist Baptist Church
will host noted minister Dr. Jess
Hendley of Atlanta for all ser
vices this Sunday. The public
is invited to hear his inspira
tional message. Also, the Dixie
Rod/Custom Classic car show
is coming up this weekend at
the Agricenter... please see
calendars of events on page
3A
INDEX
PEGGY BLEDSOE 1B
ROBIN BOOKER 4A
JOYCE COMPTON 8B
CLASSIFIED _ 11A
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2A
BRIAN LAWSON ~ 8A
JANICE KERCE 4B
DEATH NOTICES 2A
EDITORIALS 4 A
LEGAL NOTICES 5B
PUBLIC RECORD NOTICES 5A
City will likely
pass along
garbage hikes
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
Both residential and commercial
customers in Perry will most likely
see an increase in their sanitation
collection fees starting with their
July 1 bills.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that, at pre
sent, the garbage collection fee hike
appears to be the only rate increase
the City of Perry is planning in its
proposed $13.1 million budget for
fiscal year 1994.
The budget is currently being re
viewed by the Perry City Council
and will be discussed upon request
during a public hearing at 4:30
p.m. this Friday at city hall.
Following the public hearing
and additional review and revision
Please see Budget, page 12A
■ The Houston Hornet
Journal
>■ Si . pjßPr''
Play ball!.
(HHJ photo by Brenda Thompson)
The Perry Recreation Department kicked off its 1993 summer baseball season Monday
evening with a midget-league game between the Braves and Dodgers at Rozar Park in Perry.
The Dodgers scored four runs in the final inning for a 9-8 victory. Above, Maurice Hawkins, a
10-year-old starting pitcher for the Dodgers, takes a few practice swings while 11-year-old
Joseph McKellar of the Braves catches.
Agricenter Authority boots current concessionaire
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
Citing a need for change in
menu items as well as more sani
tary conditions, members of the
Georgia Agriccnter Authority voted
last Wednesday to end their contract
with the facility’s present conces
sionaire.
According to Agricenter Deputy
Director Johnny Webb, Festive
Foods of Gainesville, Florida has
operated the Agricenter’s full ser
vice restaurant, the Starbuck Cafe,
as well as several satellite conces
sion stands located throughout the
grounds since signing a three-year
contract in 1990. Festive Food’s
contract runs out June 30 and Agri
ill. • * • ■ . ' •
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-fa 1 \ <# HI F_.„
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Perry Sanitation Foreman Willie Thornton, Jr. (left) and helper Danny Bausick take a moment out
of their busy workday to pose at the City of Perry’s dry trash landfill. Because of Thornton’s
dedication and leadership, the Perry landfill Is reportedly the nicest and cleanest around. It’s
even landscaped!
PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870--FQR COVERAGE OF YOUR £ VENTS, CALI 987-1823
2 SECTIONS—2O PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS
center officials arc planning to place
the concessions out for bids a sec
ond time.
Webb said that several com
plaints regarding the food selection
and quality as well as a recent poor
health inspection by the county’s
environmental health specialist
stemmed the Authority’s action last
week.
“Because of the specialized needs
of our various event participants,
food selection variety and product
availability is really the big issue
in our conflict with our present
vendor,” Webb said. “The cleanli
ness issue (an issue keyed on in
recent media reports) is only a
portion of a much bigger picture.”
The Agricenter’s main conces
sion outlet was found to be in
“absolutely terrible” condition dur
ing a health inspection two months
ago. Houston County Environmen
tal Health Specialist Bert Tilton had
conducted the inspection in March
at the request of Agricenter
Executive Director Michael
Froehlich.
In addition to uncovered food
and garbage, Tilton said a majority
of the snack bars were dirty and
obviously had not been adequately
cleaned during or after operations.
There were also severe rodent
infestations, Tilton indicated in his
report.
PERRY, GA.
City to construct
new cul-de-sacs
on Perry streets
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
In the interest of public safety,
Perry City Council voted Tuesday
night to construct cul-de-sacs on
four dead-end streets located in the
city.
Cul-de-sacs will be constructed
on Kings Boulevard, Cambridge
Drive, Jewel Drive and Northside
Road at a cost of approximately
$30,000.
According to councilmen, sev
eral dead end streets within the city
limits have for years caused prob
lems for not only public motorists,
but also the city’s garbage trucks
and emergency vehicles.
“Our garbage trucks often have
to back all the way back down
some of these streets after they have
completed their route,” Councilman
Charles Lewis said at recent meet
ing in which the issue was dis
cussed. “It’s simply not safe; these
trucks arc big and often difficult to
handle without an extra burden and
safety hazard such as this.”
Each of the cul-de-sacs, except
for Jewel Drive, will measure 80
feet in diameter and all will include
curbing. The Jewel Drive cul-de-sac
will only be 60 feet in diameter
because of a lack of space. Funds
for the project arc being derived
from existing monies in the public
streets budget.
Councilmcn.addcd that there are
additional streets in Perry that need
similar turn-arounds and that they
will be considered in the coming
budgets.
In other business, the council:
•Voted to hire a Macon firm to
conduct TV/video testing of the
sewer line system in the Tucker
Area. Council agreed that the test
ing is needed to locate leaks and
like problems which are allowing
storm water to infiltrate the sewer
system, an occurrence which takes
up valuable capacity at the city’s
“We have very high standards at
our facility,” Webb said this week.
“It is not uncommon to see our
own executive director, Mr.
Froehlich, walking around the
grounds and picking up paper and
cigarette butts.
We simply expect the same high
standards of cleanliness and quality
out of everyone affiliated with our
operation.”
Webb added that since opening
the Georgia National Fairgrounds
and Agriccnter have hosted 369
events, representing 737 event days
and more than a million and a half
visitors and participants.
“Consequently, concessions are,
Cleanliness, landscaping
put Perry’s landfill at top
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
A landfill doesn’t have to be an
unsightly parcel of trash piles and
awfui stenches.
Just ask Perry Sanitation Fore
man Willie Thornton Jr., the
master-mind behind a creative
landscaping effort at the local city
landfill.
By putting in a little extra effort
and utilizing his God-given green
thumb, Thornton and his crew have
probably created the prettiest land
fill in the southeast, maybe even
the world. Or so says EPD
inspectors and other frequent
visitors
The entrance is lined with new
dogwood trees and the perfectly
manicured lawn of plush green
grass and beautiful roses create a
look more like a park than a land
fill.
123RD YEAR—VOLUME 40
waste water plant.
•Agreed to purchase a video
surveillance system at a cost of ap
proximately SB,OOO for the Perry
Police Department.
Mayor calls meeting
on Annex situation
Editor’s Note: The following is
a statement issued and hand
delivered by Perry Mayor Jim
Worrall late Tuesday. It is
being reprinted in its entirety.
A public meeting to discuss the
future of the old Perry High School
building, also known as the Perry
Annex, has been called for Monday
evening, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. in
the auditorium of the old building.
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall has
stated that if the building is to be
saved from demolition, a show of
strong support will be needed at
this meeting.
The City of Perry and the mem
bers of the Houston County board
of Education have been negotiating
the future of the Annex for the past
several years.
A recent development was the
idea for the city to purchase the
present Board of Education office
and for the school board to use
those funds to remodel and restore
the old high school building and
utilize it for their administrative
offices.
The City of Perry has been
considering the construction of a
new city hall for the past several
months and the option to buy the
board of education building would
give the city the much needed
additional space it is seeking.
The Mayor has also slated on
several occasions that if public
support is not evident at this city
wide meeting, it will be difficult to
justify the expenditure of public
funds to finalize the transaction. He
hopes to see a large crowd at next
Monday’s meeting.
without a doubt, big business,” he
said.
At present, Webb said that Agri
center officials have no specific
companies in mind to replace Fes
tive Foods. They arc presently talk
ing to various vendors who had
shown interest when the contract
first came available three years ago
and will place it out for re-bids
soon.
Webb also indicated that Festive
Foods would be allowed to re-bid
on the contract, though their in
tentions are not yet known.
Officials with Festive Foods
could not be reached for comment at
press time.
Even the trash pits themselves
carry out the park-like theme and
counter what most wquld expect
out of such a facility. In fact, the
one trash pit that has been filled
since the landfill opened in 1989
was long ago covered with rich lop
soil and is now a breeding ground
for an expansive and thick carpet of
grass.
Why put so much effort into a
place designated for the dumping of
trash?
“Why not,” says Thornton. “Just
because it’s a landfill, there is no
reason it has to look like one.”
A former employee of the now
closed Hcilcman-Pabst Brewery in
Perry; Thornton has worked with
the city since 1989. He came on
board just after Hcilcman closed its
doors and just before the new land-
Please see Landfill, page 12A