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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 * whb® xan-v tHffMßaf jh 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 ,I, nr--- ■ 9 | i 8 : I ak ■ W /iirv / 4§pit m lm w *■“-h nr Hr 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