Newspaper Page Text
Houston Times-Journal
Volume 124 No. 17
Brady Bill Causes Rush On Handgun Licenses
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
Houston County Probate Judge
Frances Annis reported this week
that since passage of the Brady Bill
her office in the courthouse has
been "swamped" with work.
Under the Brady Bill, if a gun
buyer has a valid firearms license,
no background check is required.
The checks cost gun buyers sls,
the same cost of the Firearms li
cense. According to Judge Annis
gun dealers are encouraging
prospective buyers to obtain a li
cense before purchasing a gun so
1 Sections, 12 Pages
Inside
Today
Comics 10A
Church News 3A
Classifieds 11A
Editorials A 4
Outdoors 8A
Obituaries A 2
Sports 7A
Friends Of Local
Theatre Group Set
Out To Raise Money
BY PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
Friends of Perry Players met at the
Players’ new home at 909 Main
Street at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday
for a guided tour through the build
ing to observe the renovation un
derway.
Dennis Hooper, President of the
Perry Players, explained what has
been accomplished and what is ex
pected to be done before renovation
is completed.
Perry Friends then went to The
New Perry Hotel for a breakfast
meeting at which time working
brochures were distributed and
discussed by Hooper.
He explained the need for additional
funds before the Players’ have to
take advantage of loans from the fi
nancial facilities in Perry that have
agreed to loan funds to help com
plete the renovation.
The Players and Players’ Friends
need to raise $75,000 as quickly as
possible.
Those present at this breakfast
meeting selected names of prospects
to encourage them to make tax
deductible contributions to the Perry
Players. Gifts may be pledged and
paid over a period of time; e.g., if
SIOOO is pledged, it can be paid off
in monthly installments, or as the
contributor desires. If the
contribution is to be paid in
installments, the contributor may
want to give a check now, and pay
the rest as is convenient
The Perry Players would like to
pay as much cash down as possible
to reduce the need for paying interest
on a loan.
Be thinking about what you can
give to this community project
which is destined to make an eco
nomic impact on the area.
When a Perry Players Friend con
tacts you about participating,
whether your gift is large or small,
you will be able to get more details,
if you desire, and know that what
ever you give will be appreciated.
Checks should be made to: Perry
Players, P. O. Box 143, Perry, Ga.
31069.
Friends of Perry Players who have
agreed to make personal contacts
with prospective contributors are:
Gary Bishop, Bob Largent, Charles
Lewis, Pauline Lewis, Wayne
Lowrey, Lewis Meeks, Kopie
O’Neal, Herman Ragin, Leslie
Please see FRIENDS, page 3A
************** I
Page 3A
the check will not be needed and, in
effect, will save the buyer the cost
of the background check.
With the increase of license appli
cations, Judge Annis stated that her
office will be unable to issue per
mits for firearms licenses after 4:30
p.m. The reason for this is the fin
gerprint card required for the license.
This procedure is conducted by the
Houston County Sheriffs Office
(also located in the courthouse), but
cannot be performed after 4:30 p.m.
Another problem with the influx
of business will be the waiting pe
9 A i / ' -M.fi
Amßv iSPBRI*) MSZmW SSfcrM! »*•<■ t -
Cohan Walker of Crossroads Bank purchased the runner-up champion hog from Charles
Lewis at the market. The 246-pound hog sold for $1.55 a pound.
Houston County Market Hog
Show Deemed A Big Success
BY PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
The 1994 Houston County Market
Hog Show was held Saturday,
February 17,1994 at the New South
Arena at the Georgia National
Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry.
Sixty-nine animals and 41 ex
hibitors took part in the hog show.
Winners in the various classes were:
Light Weight (220-228 pounds),
Kyle Padgett, first place and Ashley
Whiddon, second place.
Light Medium (230-236 pounds),
Brad Riley, first place, and Matthew
Denton, second place.
Medium (238-248), Kyle Padgett,
first place, and Brandy Baxley, sec
ond place.
Light Heavy (248-259), Charles
Lewis, first place and Runner-Up
Champion. He sold his 246-pound
hog at $1.55 per pound to Cohen
Walker of Crossroads Bank. Shawn
Padgett won second place.
Heavy Weight (260-270), Judy
Stevens of Warner Robins, won first
place and Grand Champion, and will
take her hog to the State meet.
Brittany Sullivan won second place.
In the Record Book Awards compe
tition:
Samantha Dunn, 9th grader, Perry
High School, won the Senior
Division; DeWayne Heard, 6th grade
student at Perry Middle School won
the Junior Division.
John Morton, FFA student at Perry
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
riod before an individual actually re
ceives a firearms license. Judge
Annis said an individual generally
receives a license within 30 days
but now the waiting period will
most likely be 90 days.
"The reason for this," Judge Annis
said, "is because in every county
across the state, people are rushing
to get firearms licenses."
A firearms license costs sls and
must be renewed every five years.
Upon the initial request for a li
cense, the cost for the fingerprint
ing costs $24.
High School won the Senior
Division Herdsman Award; Matthew
Denton, 3rd grader at Kings Chapel
Elementary School, won the Junior
Division Herdsman Award.
Houston County F.F.A. partici
pants were:
Margaret Thompson, Mike
Chestnut, Travis Passinault, Brandy
Baxley, Jamie Shipes, Cory
Drennan, Lamar Allen, Jonathan
Edes, Jason Talton, Leighton
Nichols, Jay Pulliam, Jeremy
Thompson, John Morton, Kevin
Taylor, Shawn Padgett, Jamie
Hairrington, Hillary Smith, Brad
Riley, Josh Germundsen, Katherine
Blount, Allison Cowart, Brian
Morton and Judy Stevens.
Houston County 4-H participants
were:
Chris Dunn, Becky Thompson,
Kyle Padgett, Samantha Dunn, Amy
Seagraves, Natalie Johnson,
Georgina Dunn, Brittany Sullivan,
DeWayne Heard, Lisa Dean,
Matthew Denton, Ashley Whiddon,
Bryant Bledsoe, Amy Passinault and
Phillip Gentry.
Foster Rhodes served as Ring
Announcer for the Auction; Richard
Goodroe was Auctioneer.
Tim Lewis and Argene Claxton
said this was the best show yet-the
animals were well-groomed and han
dled and brought good prices. Jason
Talton’s 231-pound hog brought
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Sports
Page 7A
Saturday, February 26, 1994
Judge Annis said that a revoked or
expired firearms license will not
void the background check required
through the Brady Bill.
A handgun owner must possess a
firearms license to carry a concealed
weapon, such as in a shoulder or
ankle holster or in a purse.
The Brady Bill does not require
background checks be performed on
buyers of rifles, shotguns or assault
weapons.
Houston County Sheriff Cullen
Talton called a meeting earlier this
week to review with gun dealers the
$2.25 per pound-the highest bid for
any hog in the show; the lowest bid
was 90 cents per pound - also a good
pice.
Buyers included:
Crossroads Bank, Houston County
Farm Bureau, Tolleson Supply and
Beckham Brothers, Giles & Hodge,
Trico, Planters Warehouse and
Griggs Ginn, Langston Processing,
Padgett Logging, Wholesale Tire,
CB&T, Lawhom Butcher Shop,
Larry Walker, Williams Realty,
Talton Welding Service, Walker-
Rhodes Tractor Co., Northrop,
Houston Fertilizer & Grain,
Carquest, Henry Mitchum & Elwood
Waites, Bledsoe Farms, Steve Gray,
Sullivan Heating & Air
conditioning, South Central Farm
Credit, Stewart Bloodworth, James
Denton, Crossroads Insurance, Bank
of Perry, Bank South, Frank Riley,
Sumter Livestock, Bill Bennett,
Perry Farm Service, Perfect
Equipment, Richardson-Free Realty
and Annette Gentry.
Special thanks were extended to
Cordele Livestock, Charlie Walker,
Georgia National Fair and
Agricenter, Richard Goodroe, Dudley
Heath, Classic Award and Trophy
Shop, Dr. Jerome Bloodworth, Dr.
Scott Westmoreland, Houston
Fertilizer and Grain, and Laurie
Sterner.
procedures for applying for a back
ground check.
The sheriffs department will con
duct checks as they receive state
ments of intent from dealers.
According to Major Billy Rape, if a
dealer does not receive notice within
five days that the transaction cannot
proceed, the sale can be permitted.
According to Deputy Teresa
Mattingly, all background checks
will be performed at the sheriffs of
fice in Warner Robins since they
possess a Georgia Crime
Information Center computer.
Officials Will Discuss
Ways To Alleviate Tax
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall and
Houston County Commission
Chairman Sherrill Stafford are look
ing for ways to alleviate "freeport"
taxes for area businesses.
"Freeport" taxes are those taxes
collected on raw materials, goods in
process and certain goods in inven
tory of a company. "Basically," said
Rusty Wood, manager of Tolleson
Lumber Company, "there are no
counties south of Atlanta and on
the interstate that collect this tax.”
Worrall said Perry had an 80 per
cent exemption on "freeport" taxes.
Houston County has a 40 percent
exemption on "freeport" taxes.
Wood said the problem ini
"freeport" taxes was that collecting;
the tax could cause companies to>
locate in counties that did not col-;
lect the tax.
"It (freeport) costs us big
money," said Wood, who said his
company paid $33,000 in "freeport"
taxes last year. "We would rather
put that into expansion or new em
ployees. That’s what other compa
nies 10 miles away are doing."
Wood said Unadilla in Dooly
County and other areas without
"freeport" taxes were "having a field
day" recruiting business using the
fact that they did not collect a
"freeport" tax.
Wood added that companies al
ways asked if an area granted
"freeport" exemptions before they
established in an area. He added,
however, there was no way of
telling how many companies did
not locate in Houston County and
Perry because of the "freeport" tax.
Tim Martin, executive director
of the Houston County Develop
ment Authority, said that while all
Hospital Writes Off Bad Debt
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
The Houston County Hospital
Authority decided to write off
$133,457 of bad debt for the month
of January at Perry Hospital during
their regular meeting Wednesday,
Feb. 23.
Marti Tolleson, director of public
relations for Perry Hospital, said the
authority also approved $1,142 in
indigent care funds. She said that the
Exchange To Sell Strawberries
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Wrltar
Strawberry lovers, take heed.
The Perry Exchange Club has
come up with a fresh new fundrais
ing project that you’ll love sinking
your teeth into.
For the next week or so, mem
bers of the local civic club will be
taking orders for fresh Florida
strawberries. The price will be $lO
per flat with each flat containing 12
pints of berries. Delivery will be in
mid-March and will be within 24
hours from the time the berries are
picked. All proceeds will go to
Classified
Page 11A
-«
Perry, Georgia -25 Cents
Mattingly did say that, as a conve
nience to gun dealers in Perry, the
forms can be submitted to the sher
iffs office in the courthouse.
If a resident from another county
attempts to purchase a handgun
here, Major Rape said the form gun
dealers submit for a background
check must be sent to the prospec
tive buyer's town of residence.
The statement of intent prospec
tive handgun buyer must complete
(which is then sent to the sheriffs
department for the background
Please see RUSH, page 3A
industry would pay "freeport" tax,
the tax especially hurt shipping,
warehouse and distributing indus
tries.
"I'm not as sure that it is as im
portant as some people think it is,"
said Worrall. "Some people think
(freeport taxes) are a deterrent to at
tracting industry. We've never had a
problem about getting industries in
the past."
Worrall said the problem with
eliminating the "freeport" tax was
revenue. He said the city received a
"considerable portion of the budget"
from "freeport" taxes. "How it
would affect us is in dollars and
cents," he said.
"We would obviously have to
find some way to re-coup the
money," said Worrall. "The present
position (of city government) is not
to ever raise taxes."
Even supporters of doing away
with "freeport" taxes recognize that
city and county government have
"tax consequences to work out" if
"freeport" taxes were eliminated,
said Wood. However, he added that
if the county or city could attract an
industry like PPG by eliminating
the "freeport" taxes, they would
more than make up for the loss of
revenue.
While Worrall said the city was
not receptive to a sudden lifting of
the "freeport" tax, "I would be re
ceptive to looking at a plan to
phase out ("freeport" taxes) over a
period of time," he said.
"We are blessed with a very pro
gressive mayor and Sherrill Stafford
is also progressive,” said Wood,
who added that the existing industry
could also go along with a plan to
phase out "freeport" taxes over the
next three-to-five years.
amount approved was small for this
time of year, but that "some of the
paperwork did not get turned in."
Tolleson also reported that the
sidewalk/front lobby renovation at
the hospital should be finished ahead
of schedule. She said the authority
approved moving up the completion
date from March 31 to March 15.
"It's (the construction) has gone
real smoothly," said Tolleson, "and
Please see DEBT, page 3A
local charity.
“We were looking for a new pro
ject that would not only offer
something different to the
community, but would also help us
to raise funds for our club’s
charities,” project chairwoman
Carol Cox said during the club’s
regular meeting Thursday. “The
Exchange Club in Coffee County
has been doing this for several years
and has been very successful with
it.”
To place an order, Cox says that
Please see SELL, page 3A