Newspaper Page Text
WEEKEND
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County’s
official Legal Organ
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1993 1 SECTION—IO PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULAR 123RD YEAR—VOLUME 1011
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Gayla Drazny of Perry proudly displays a small section of the
impressive and expansive Christmas Village that takes up a
Mini creation a labor of love for Drszney
BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
It was a cold, snowy night.
Gayla Drazny was shivering by
the fireplace. She had no electricity,
because a major storm had just
dumped nearly two feet of snow on
her family’s mountain home in
Cheyenne, Wyoming.
She was bored. Her kids were
bored. And, facing a week or more
of being stranded, the whole family
was going stir crazy.
She knew she had to find some
thing to pass the time. After all,
this was a common occurrence in
this area of the country and the next
Christmas isn't a merry time for everyone
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
If we make it through December,
Everything's going to be all
right I know.
It's the coldest time of winter,
And I shiver when I see the
falling snow.
For most people, Christmas is a
holiday they look forward to all
year, starting almost from Dec. 26.
It's a time when they get together
with family and friends and enjoy
life.
Yet, for others, like the singer in
Merle Haggard's "If We Make it
Through December," Christmas is
not the happy time of year that
others celebrate. These people have
Locations for
tree recycling
are announced
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
County residents can take their
trees to several area compactors for
disposal after the Christmas season
is over until Jan. 10, said Public
Works Director Tommy Sialnaker.
Christmas trees are being col
lected the following compactor lo
cations: Kings Chapel Road, Latly
Bridge Road, Moss Oaks Road,
Bear Branch Road, Hardin Road,
Lime Rock Road, Loggins Road,
the old landfill and the new landfill.
Stalnaker said the county will col
lect the trees and turn them into
mulch which will be given away to
county residents.
Perry is also collecting trees at
the City Barn and Perry High
School, Jan. 8, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
time might find them stranded even
longer.
“When it stormed, it was a lot
like living in the pioneer days,”
Gayla, a substitute teacher now
living in Perry, said during a spe
cial interview this week. “When all
you have is the light from the fire
place and a couple of kerosene
lanterns, there’s not a whole lot to
do aside from reading. Out of sheer
boredom, I discovered anew
hobby.”
“What you see here is what I’ve
spent 10 years creating,” she con
tinued, pointing proudly toward a
the Christmas blues. For many of
these people, making it through
December with their sanity is their
goal for the season.
"It's (holiday depression) very
common," said Rev. Jim Shipley
of the Perry Presbyterian Church.
"It's one of the top times of the
year for suicide."
Shipley added that, for some, the
celebration of Christmas can be
"excruciating. The pain and the
losses of the past 12 months lie
very close to the surface."
While James Singleton, Adult
Mental Health Services Coordinator
at Peachbelt Mental Health, would
not say that the caseload during
Christmas was heavier than it was
at other times of the year, he did
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Perry magazines have arrived
Chamber board members and other officials were the first to view the new community
magazine all about Perry that arrived this week. Pictured are Peggie Williams, Jim
Sexton, Jimmy Faircloth, Tony Hlnnant, Dennis Hooper and Gloria Ragland.
I The Houston Homef
Journal
(HHJ photo by Brenda Thompson)
whole corner of her living room. The display is made up of
hundreds of pieces, all of which she hand-painted herself.
beautifully decorated Christmas tree
surrounded by a breathtaking
Christmas village of tiny hand
painted homes, shops, people and
animals.
According to Gayla, each piece
started out as a plain white plaster
mold which she has purchased from
various outlets throughout the years
and has hand-painted one by one.
All total, she says she has spent
better than SI,OOO on just the sup
plies and has spent as much as six
hours a day for more than a decade
bringing each piece to life with
acrylic paints and glistening glitters
say that mental health professionals
had to focus on depression during
Christmas more than any other
time of the year.
"It's (Christmas depression) quite
common in that Thanksgiving and
Christmas are family holidays,"
said Singleton. Families, he said,
got together and shared past memo
ries, building family unity.
"Talk about 'my family is going
to do this' plays a major part in
how hone feels when they are basi
cally going to go home and go to
bed," said Singleton.
The joy of the Christmas season
was not just an individual joy, said
Singleton, but a societal joy. He
said that made the depressed person
feel even more out of place. "It's
and combining them all to make a
very impressive display in one
corner of her living room; an ex
pansive display that took almost
three days just to put out.
“It took me quite a while just to
build the snowy hills and valleys to
display the figurines on and for my
husband to wire it for light,” Gayla
said. “But, it’s all worth it. This
morning I got up, made some cof
fee and just sat in here for an hour
or better looking at it. It’s so relax
ing and filled with so many memo
rics--oodles and oodles of memo-
Please see DRAZNEY, page 10A
done collectively," he said.
"The smiles and songs of the
season become a very bitter mock
ery," added Rev. Shipley.
Singleton said that people who
"don't have a significant other” are
likely to be depressed at Christmas.
He said these include the mentally
ill, elderly, foster children, recently
divorced or widowed, people who've
had a significant death in the family
and people who can't make it home
to be with their family because of
their job, money or distance.
Families that had significant
conflict could also cause people to
be depressed, said Singleton. Such
conflict, he said, could cause one or
more family members to be es-
Please see BLUES, page 10A
I PERRY, GA.
Martin sees
growth 'on
the horizon'
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Tim Martin, new director of the
Houston County Development Au
thority, sees Houston County on
the verge of great growth and devel
opment.
"I'm excited about the chal
lenge,” said Martin. "There are great
things that are going to happen here
in terms of growth and develop
ment."
Martin follows Dick Ulm as ex
ecutive director of the development
authority. Ulm resigned from the
position on Aug. 3, 1993, setting
off a job search that ended Nov. 4
with the appointment of Martin to
the $55,000 a year position.
Martin previously worked for the
Swainsboro-Emanuel County
Chamber of Commerce. He is a
graduate of the Economic Devel
opment Institute and brings to
Houston County 13 years experi
ence in economic development.
He said his first priority was get
ting county leaders to "work in a
blended effort to promote Houston
County." Martin added that he did
not see the county as two different
counties (North Houston County
and South Houston County) or as a
divided county.
"There is no reason in the world
why South Houston County can't
be a driving force in these areas,"
Martin added.
Martin said he would be working
with political entities, the chambers
of commerce and existing industries
C&VB provides $15,000
to sponsor horse futurity
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Managing Editor
In an effort to keep hold of a
growing horse futurity coming to
the Agricenter for a second year, the
Perry Area Convention and Visitors
Bureau Authority approved a
$15,000 sponsorship of the futurity
from their annual promotions fund.
Discussed by the authority and
Agricenter officials Michael
Froehlich and Dale Redeker, the
Georgia National Futurity and
Classic has scheduled 11 show dates
during the months of December and
January. Last year the event was
held at the Agricenter for a total of
seven days.
This is the authority’s major
promotions event, with the spon
sorship fee consisting of half of the
group's promotions budget for the
year.
According to Executive Director
Fay Tripp and authority President
Walter Lewis, the authority made a
"gentlemen's agreement" with the
futurity officers to support the
event for three years on a declining
basis each year.
After the show's initial three
years at the Agricenter concludes,
classic officials have the option to
hold the event elsewhere.
"But with your (financial) sup-
Troopers plan
holiday patrols
in rural areas
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Don't be too surprised to find the
Georgia State Patrol out in larger
numbers on Georgia rural roads.
Sgt. Ist Class Kenny Hancock,
commander of Post 15 in Perry,
said that while some troopers would
be working the interstate for holi
day traffic through Perry, "our main
concentration will be on rural two
lane roads.”
Hancock said the troopers would
be working the rural areas checking
businesses and residences, trying to
avoid rural crime. "We want to be
more visible," he said.
Please see PATROL, page 10A
flj
Tim Martin
to "accentuate the county's posi
tives while working to eliminate
the negatives." However, he would
not elaborate on specific negative
areas.
He added that the county had
numerous resources. "What we
need to do is harness these resources
and focus special attention of op
portunities and we will have some
success," said Martin.
Martin said that he believed in
spec buildings, such as the one in
Warner Robins. "They are very
powerful tools for communities to
use,” he said. However, he added
that a spec building for Perry was
still in the conversation phase.
The development authority will
Please see MARTIN, page 10A
port and our ability (to provide
quality facilities and attract crowds),
there is no need for them to go
elsewhere," Redeker said.
Last year the authority provided
$20,000 in sponsorship fees for the
classic. Authority members Dot
Roughton and John Slezak said that
with the extra days added to this
year's event and the growth of the
event and its potential for growth,
they felt the authority should com
mit another $20,000 this year in
stead of $15,000.
"In my opinion, it will continue
Please see SPONSORS, page 2A
Good
morning, Perry
Closed for the holidays
Due to the holidays, The
Houston Home Journal office
will be closed Thursday and
Friday, Dec. 23-24 and Friday,
Dec. 31. There will be no
Christmas edition of The
Houston Home Journal
Saturday, Dec. 25.
— INDEX ~
BILL OVERTON 6A
CLASSIFIED 9A
DEATHS 2A
EDITORIALS 4A
PERRY SCRAPBOOK 4A
JIM SHIPLEY 4A
BRENDA THOMPSON 4A
CHURCH NEWS 3A
WOODS *N WATER 7A
NEWS OF RECORD 10A