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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