Newspaper Page Text
New liar’s Greetings
WEEKEND
EDITION
250
Perry & Houston County's
official Legal Organ
SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1994
Leaders share predictions for 1994
By BRIG'ETTE LOUDERMILK
Managing Editor
With the end of yet another year,
officials in the city, county and
public service agencies took time
this week to reflect on 1993 and
shared their hopes for the coming
year.
City Council:
"Consolidation may end up being
the most important thing that
comes up in the next year" for the
City of Perry according to Perry
Mayor Jim Worrall. ,
Council is already planning to
study how consolidation of services
will affect Perry.
"We've got to have a positive alti
tude towards consolidation. We need
to gather some facts and find out
what we can do, what we will bene
Looking back at
events in 1993
The Year in Review:
The last six months
July:
•Just one week after the Georgia
Lottery debuted with several
scratch-off games, Sheila Dugger of
Perry claimed one of the first big
prizes-a check for $2,500. She had
purchased the ticket at Suwanee
Swiftee.
•The Houston County Commis
sion voted to okay a 1993-1994 fis
cal year budget of $17.6 million.
The new budget represented an in
crease of 2.23 percent over last
year’s $17.2 budget.
•Although not happy about it,
Perry City Council voted 5-1 to
pay an additional $38,682 as pay
ment to Houston County for local
use of the county-wide 911 system
for the fiscal year which ended June
30. The city had only budgeted
$33,991 for the service as that was
the amount initially requested by
the county. The difference in the
budgeted and actual costs was said
to have come from a mid-year tally
of 911 calls and their areas of ori
gin.
•Preliminary investigations by
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
showed no evidence of foul play in
the July 14 hanging death of a in
mate in the Perry jail. Charles
Davis of Perry, who had been ar
rested on a warrant for drug viola
tions, is said to have hung himself
from the top bunk with his own
trousers within 10 minutes after be
ing placed in the jail cell.
•University College, a division
of Mercer University that offers de
gree programs designed for working
professionals and other non-tradi
lional students, announced that it
would be closing its Perry center at
the end of the summer quarter.
•An accident that occurred on
Highway 341 less than one mile
south of Perry on the morning of
June 20 claimed the life of 21-year
old Stephanie Pearce of
Hawkinsville. Pearce was employed
at Perry Chiropractic Center.
•After receiving the green light
from his medical team at Emory
University Hospital in mid-July,
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall an
nounced that he would seek a third
term in the November city elec
tions.
A cancer patient who has been
through five major surgeries and a
host of other treatments since the
discovery of his illness fast year,
Mayor Worrall indicated that his
doctors had determined that he was
recovering nicely and ready for four
more years in office.
fit from," Councilman Hervia
Ingram said recently.
"It's coming, and we've got to be
prepared," Councilman Ralph
Gentry said.
Worrall urged that "people in the
community need to tell members of
council how they feel about consol
idation and the direction they see
Perry headed in for the future."
Besides continuing the road and
home improvement projects funded
through various grants, other
projects the city will become
involved with during 1994 include:
•The North Perry Bypass should
open in February. The city has al
ready instructed die power company
to turn on the traffic signals.
•Beginning the West Perry
•Timothy Nall of Perry was
lapped to head the troubled Houston
County 911 system. Nall was cho
sen from among 20 candidates who
interviewed for the position vacated
by the June resignation of former
director Lee Stripling.
•GTE announced that in just a
few months the Alltel Corporation
would become the local telephone
servicing agent. The change was to
be brought about by what both
companies termed a swap of cus
tomers. In the deal, Alltel was to
get all of GTE’s Georgia cus
tomers, which includes Perry, and
GTE was to get Alllel’s Indiana,
Illinois and Michigan customers.
August:
•Two adults and a child were
taken to the hospital after a vicious
dog attacked all three at the Perry
Kmart on Sam Nunn Boulevard
Tuesday, August 3. Two of those
attacked were identified as Logan
Nelson, the three-year-old daughter
of Wayne and Pam Nelson of Perry,
and Richard Lewis of Jackson. Both
reportedly underwent surgery for
their injuries. The dog, a part pit
bull belonging to two travelers,
eluded officers after being hit with
one tranquilizer dart and not caught
until Wednesday, August 18.
•Members of the Houston
County Development Authority
began the search for anew execu
tive director following the August 3
resignation of Dick Ulm. Ulm had
headed the authority for five years
prior to his resignation.
•The Houston County Board of
Education tried diligently to solve
growing traffic problems caused by
the opening of two new schools lo
cated on Highway 96. The solution
board members came up with was
to stagger school times for the two
schools.
•The Houston County Board of
Education finally voted 6-1 to sell
their Washington Street offices and
property to the City of Perry for
$900,000, under certain conditions,
and to use that money to refurbish
their new proposed central office lo
cation at the Perry Annex on Main
Street. The vote came after several
months of deliberations between the
city and the board in an effort to
best utilize the Annex. The board’s
initial asking price for their present
facility was $1.2 million.
•Perry City Councilman Buddy
Roper announced that the state had
awarded a $400,000 grant to assist
in the construction of the proposed
Please see 1993 review, page 8A
PERRY, GEORGIA'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1870--FQR COVERAGE OF YOUR EVENTS, CALL 987-1823
f The Houston Home!
Journal
1 SECTION—B PAGES, PLUS SALES CIRCULAR
Bypass.
•Completion road work and traffic
lights on Sam Nunn Boulevard is
scheduled for early summer.
•Complete construction and open
the Rozar Park Community Center.
Fund raising for the project will
also continue through the year and
it estimated the Recreation
Department should be moved into
the facility by Christmas.
•The city will begin renovating
the current Board of Education of
fice on Washington Street as a City
Hall Annex in November.
•The old Mark Powell car lot will
become a small shopping area.
•A fringe area study, the progres
sive growth strategy plan for Perry,
should be completed.
IB
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Happy New Year!
(HHJ photo by Brenda Thompson)
Dylan Patel, the soon to be one-year-old son of Rashmi Patel and
Shirley Lord, both of Perry, helps usher In his first New Year.
Dylan will celebrate his Ist birthday on January 25. Background
materials compliments of Daisy Patch Florist & Gift Shop.
Celebrate holiday safely
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
It’s fine to ring in the New Year
with a little bubbly, but to do so
and get behind the wheel is a gam
ble no one should take.
The odds are terrible, say local
law enforcement personnel.
•Interstate 75 will be widened to
three lanes southbound from S.R.
26 to S.R. 7.
County
Commission:
According to Houston County
Commission Chairman Sherrill
Stafford the commission has a full
plate in 1994 with their number
one priority being'the continuing
work with Robins Air Force Base
officials and the Middle Georgia
community to prepare for the
BRAC '95 review.
Other projects include:
•Continue discussions on consoli
dation of governmental services
with near-term goal of combining
planning and zoning and related
“It’s no secret that we find alco
hol involved in many of the acci
dents we work this time of the
year,” Perry Police Chief Frank
Simons said Monday morning.
“This is always one of the highest
periods for drinking and driving vio-
Plaase see Celebrate, page 8A
WMiii Ii- j i,s
sines 1870 I
support functions.
•Continue efforts to resolve issue
of problems relating to jail space.
•Complete security provisions for
county courthouse and complete the
space utilization/condition review
of the courthouse.
•Continue emphasis on 25 percent
reduction of solid waste going into
county landfill by July 1996.
•Install traffic signai at intersec
tion Houston Lake Road and
Highway 96.
•Begin construction of new tech
nical school.
•Construct four lane street con
necting Houston Lake Road and
Highway 96 by way of new techni
cal school site.
•Begin construction of Peachbelt
Chamber gears up
for annual meeting
IY BRENDA THOMPSON
Jtaff Writer
More than 500 invitations to the
Perry Area Chamber of Com
merce’s 38th Annual Membership
Meeting to be held January 25 at
the Georgia National Fairgrounds
and Agricenter will go out the first
week of the new year, Chamber Ex
ecutive Director Peggie Williams
said this week.
The deadline for making reserva
tions has been set for January 18.
Cost will be $17.50 per person.
According to Williams, the
meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and
will include a business agenda, an
awards presentation, a barbecue din
ner and entertainment by the 82nd
Airborne Chorus from Robins Air
Force Base.
Scheduled for the business por
tion of the meeting is a year-end re
port from outgoing chamber presi
dent, Jimmy Faircloth, as well as a
special ceremony officially induct
ing new president, John Sundquist,
human resources manager for
Perry’s Northrop plant
Also scheduled is the presenta
tion of two annual awards-the
Seabie Hickson Community Ser-
Plans for Perry
television station
are still on track
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Plans are continuing for Perry to
have its own television station,
perhaps as early as April 1, 1994.
Lowell Register, president and
general manager of WPGA-TV, said'
that construction should soon begin
on a 900 foot transmitter tower in
Twiggs County near the intersec
tion of Highway 129 and Highway
23. The WPGA tower will be near
similar towers operated by two
other stations.
Register added that the transmit
ter would send a "city grade" signal
back to Perry despite being located
20-25 miles from town. A "city
grade" signal is equal to the
strength of a signal if the tower was
located in town.
The proposed station was first
announced early last year. Register
said the delay in going on the air
was caused by the Federal Aeronau
tics Administration's desire for large
towers to be located in the same
area. He added the FAA had ap
proved the site location for the
WPGA tower.
While the tower site is set, a site
for the studio is still in the works.
Register said that he was reviewing
several options for the studio site,
but he has "not made a final deal on
Please see TV, page 8A
124 TH. YEAR—VOLUME 1
Mental Health building at Highway
96 site to house children and ado
lescence programs.
•Continue efforts to ultimately ex
tend Russell Parkway to Interstate
75.
•Complete construction of the
Golden Isles Parkway through
Houston County.
•Obtain acceleration of plan to
widen Houston Lake Road.
•Finalize the additional county
voting precincts in time for 1994
elections.
Perry Chamber of
Commerce:
"I'm looking forward to being
president in 1994 and am honored
Please see 1994, page 8A
vice Award and the President’s Vol
unteer of the Year Award.
Nominations for the Seabie
Hickson Award, which last year
went posthumously to Bobby Ar
cos, are being solicited from the
general public as well as the cham
ber membership and will be re
viewed and voted on by the local
chamber’s annual meeting commit
tee.
“If you know someone who has
gone above and beyond the call of
duty for our community, we
encourage you to call us with their
nomination,” Williams said.
“Nominations should be in by Jan
uary 10 and can be made by calling
either the chamber office at 987-
1234 or our annual meeting
chairperson, Pat Buice.”
Buice can be reached at 987-
5058.
Good
morning, Perry
Home Journal
HIGHLIGHTS
in Sympathy
The community's sympathy is
extended to the families of
those who recently died. They
include Martha Nottingham
Lake, Atlanta; Glein Askew Sr.,
Perry; Bertha D. Goodrum, Fort
Valley; Olen Monroe Chamlee,
Perry. For more information,
please see page 2A
INDEX
BILL OVERTON 5A
CLASSIFIED 7A
DEATHS 2A
EDITORIALS 4A
PERRY SCRAPBOOK 4A
JIM SHIPLEY 4A
BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK 4A
CHURCH NEWS 2A
WOODS ‘N WATER 6A
NEWS OF RECORD 3A
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