Newspaper Page Text
MIDWEEK
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County’s
official Legal Organ
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1993
Leaders meet, discuss the future of Perry
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Managing Editor
The future growth of the City of
Perry was discussed by both public
and private leaders in the commu
nity at a meeting Tuesday, Nov.
30.
According to a business expan
sion survey, businesses rate high
way accessibility and quality of
public schools higher than avail
ability of skilled labor, tax exemp
tions or housing availability and
costs.
The group of 50, including real
tors, city officials, banking repre
sentatives, chamber representatives
Perryans
celebrate
Christmas
Parade , other
festival events draw
crowd downtown
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Managing Editor
The bad weather Friday evening
and early Saturday morning did not
stop members of the community
from celebrating "Christmas in
Olde Perry" at the kick-off celebra
tion of the 1993 Christmas at the
Crossroads Festival.
The earliest events even reported
a good turnout with 90 participants
showing, up for the annual 5K
Run/Walk and Perry Kiwanian
Willie Tyson said the club's annual
pancake breakfast was also well at
tended.
Taking first place in the 5K was
Shelly Cranford of Cochran and the
first female to cross the finish line
was Amy Smith of Pinehurst.
Tyson said that although the
first hour or so at the breakfast was
slow, business picked up and
although all the money from the
annual breakfast has not been col
lected, the club has already de
posited S6BB. Tyson also said the
club made S2OO off its hamburger
booth that day.
By 11 a.m., it was standing
room only on Carroll Street as
friends and families gathered to
watch the annual Christmas parade.
Fire Chief Gary Hamlin reported
that the early morning drizzle did
not put a damper on the parade.
Hamlin also announced float win
ners in each of the four categories
judged. They include:
•Schools-First place, Kings
Chapel Elementary; Second place,
Tucker Elementary; Third place,
Momingside Elementary.
•Clubs and associations-First
place, Girl Scout Troop 231; Sec
ond place, Perry Clean Community
Commission; Third place, Georgia
Coalition of Black Women.
•Industry and business-Canine
Cleaners.
•Churches-Perry Church of God
won first and second places.
Beckham retires as co. engineer
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Houston County’s first county
engineer, Milton Beckham, 76, will
step down after serving the county
for more than 10 years.
Beckham took over the job of
county engineer at 66, an age when
most people begin thinking of retir
ing, not taking on new challenges
and new positions.
The position of county engineer
was created when Allen Stone re
tired as the county's prison warden
and county roads superintendent.
Beckham said that the county hired
engineers before Stone; but, they
were short-term employees hired for
specific programs.
"What they got was experience,"
said Beckham of his becoming
county engineer. "I was already
working with various contractors
■ The Houston Home*
Journal
and members of The Houston
County Development Authority,
discussed three areas that are essen
tial to the future growth of Perry.
Industrial Expansion
"One thing that can be done to
enhance industrial growth in Perry
is for people to get involved by
calling our state representatives and
other state officials to get the by
pass completed," Mayor Jim Wor
rall stated, adding the bypass is
"one of the best things to ever hap
pen in our community. We're not
talking road, we're talking jobs.”
Worrall also said community
leaders need to concentrate on re
. iter wKr'"‘ L
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(HHJ photo by Brenda Thompson)
Joseph Scott, 2, son of Tim and Dee Scott, and Samantha Anderson, 3, daughter of Fred and
Denise Anderson, visit with Santa during Saturday’s Christmas at the Crossroads festivities.
After the parade, the crowd lin
gered most of the afternoon to take
advantage of local merchants'
Christmas sales, the first annual
Christmas Bazaar and several pur
chased hamburger plates from the
Kiwanis Club.
Peggie Williams, executive di-
with state jobs. It was easy for me
to move in and follow engineering
requirements on roads and bridges."
Beckham presided over the clos
ing of the first county landfill near
Bonaire and the purchase and open
ing of the present county landfill.
"Two to three years ago," said
Beckham, "we re-built several
bridges and we repaired some real
bad places on dirt roads.” Addition
ally, the county paved several heav
ily used dirt roads during his tenure
as county engineer.
"He's a good negotiator," said
Beckham's wife, Alma Beckham.
"He has always been able to negoti
ate with property owners." She
said that he lived up to his word,
making his negotiating easier.
Beckham's stint as county engi
neer was not'his first time working
2 SECTIONS—I 6 PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULARS
cruiting "small, stable businesses"
to locate in the city's Industrial
Park instead of focusing only on
large businesses.
Present at the meeting was the
new director for the Houston
County Development Authority
Tim Martin. He said one of the first
projects he wants the authority to
undertake is to develop a specific
marketing strategy for promoting
the area.
Infrastructure
According to comments from
City Manager Marion Hay, Perry is
ready for growth. Due to planning
by Perry City Council, utilities,
For more Christmas
photos see page 8A
rector of the Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce, said she was pleased
with the turnout Saturday and heard
good comments from merchants and
with the county. He said that he had
constructed several bridges for
Houston County while working on
a contract basis. He also helped
construct the first county jail on
Kings Chapel Road.
In addition to serving as county
engineer, Beckham also served for
two terms as mayor of Perry. He
was first elected to the position in
1960, and re-elected in 1962, serv
ing from 1961-64.
During his term, Interstate 75
was constructed through Perry.
Also, the city constructed the
present municipal offices during his
term.
"There was group of people who
could see a lot of things I could do
if was mayor and could be done
without taking on a whole lot of
Please see BECKHAM, page 9A
transportation routes and the con
tinuous upgrading of sewer and wa
ter facilities has given the commu
nity a solid infrastructure and ac
cording to Hay, "good infrastructure
creates growth."
In 1993-94 alone, an estimated
$1,561,865 will be spent on water
and sewer improvements.
School system
Also needed for growth is a good
school system, which is the core of
any community.
Houston County School Super
intendent Tony Hinnant addressed
the group of nearly 50 on the con
tinuing growth of the county's
crafters participating in the bazaar. .
Area churches are holding special
events during the month to cele
brate the holidays and the commu
nity-wide festival officially ends
Sunday evening with the annual
Community Candlelight Service
which begins at 7 p.m.
M v h3Bf j&AH
Beckham gets plaque
Milton Beckham (right) received a plaque from Houston County Commission Chairman Sherrill
Stafford for his service to the county during Beckham's retirement dinner. Beckham Is retiring
after 10 years as county engineer.
.PERRY, GA.
school system and the Board of Ed
ucation's plans for expansion, in
cluding the construction of new
schools and the expansion of exist
ing educational facilities.
Although the BOE does not plan
on building a school in Perry, Perry
Middle School is on line for anew
wing of seven or more classrooms
in 1996. Hinnant also said that fur
ther ahead in the future is a plan to
renovate'Tucker Elementary'.
Although Perry is not getting a
new school facility in the near fu
ture, Hinnant did say the school
board is planning to sell property
they own behind Northside High
Perry High group presents
award-winning production
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Coming home with a first-place
region win, Perry High Thespians
will present a one night only pro
duction of the musical comedy
"Anyone Can Whistle” Thursday,
Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
The win was Perry High
School's sixth consecutive first
place finish in the region. The
Perry High dramatists' will now
have the opportunity to defend their
state title, which they won last
year, at Northside High School in
Warner Robins, Saturday, Nov. 4.
"It would be a pretty big
achievement if we did (repeat as
state champions)," said Lisa Pryor,
sponsor of the Perry High School
one-act play group. "We would be
fairly pleased."
Good
morning, Perry
Home Journal
HIGHLIGHTS
In Sympathy
The community's sympathy is
extended to the families of
those who recently died. They
include Luther E. Haywood,
Roberta; Dorothy D. Bush,
Vienna; Jesse C. Watts,
Rockland, Me.; Julia G.
Burgess, Atlanta. For more in
formation, please see page 2 A
JOYCE COMPTON 4A
JAN KERCE 2B
DEATH NOTICES 2A
CLASSIFIED 9A
EDITORIALS 4A
LEGAL NOTICES 3B
BILL OVERTON ~ 6A
123RD YEAR—VOLUME 96
School and re-invest those funds in
land in South Houston County.
The key to success
"If Perry has had a secret and has
enjoyed any successes in the past, it
was because of the strong leader
ship, not just of elected officials,
but of those in private industry.
"We've all got our own agendas
(bankers, elected officials, school
board, development authority, real
tors), but the success of our com
munity will depend on leadership
working together," Lewis Meeks
said at the conclusion of the meet
ing.
The Perry group presented the
musical comedy at the regional
competition at Wayne Ciounty
High School in Jessup. Pryor said
that the players received first place
votes from each of the three judges
at the competition. The Perry
players went against plays from
seven schools to win first place.
"To get all three firsts," said
Pryor, "means the judges loved us."
Pryor added that it was not
unusual to get differing opinions
from the three judges. She said that
at one competition in past years,
the Perry group received a first,
second, and an eighth place vote.
In addition to getting first place
overall, Mark Strandburg was
named Best Actor and Lisa Fowelly
was named Best Actress. The Best
Please see PLA Y, page 9A
Merchants report
annual shopping
season in full swing
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
The first weekend after Thanks
giving is the traditional beginning
of the Christmas shopping season,
with customers hitting the malls
and stores buying and looking at
presents.
Perry merchants report that the
Christmas season got off to a good
start.
Peggie Williams, executive vice
president of the Perry Area Cham
ber of Commerce, said that she had
talked to several merchants in the
downtown area. "They felt like the
Christmas season got off to a good
start," she said.
Williams noted that several mer
chants had Christmas sales, con
tributing to heavy traffic in their
stores. She added that the Christ
mas at the Crossroads parade and
5K Run/Walk helped with early
Christmas shopping. "They bring
in a lot of people," she said.
"I think everybody is anticipat
ing a good Christmas season,"
Williams said.
Joey Brock, manager at Moore's
in the Perry Marketplace, said that
business was slow until Friday,
but, "we were busy Friday and Sat-
Please see MERCHANTS, page 9A