Newspaper Page Text
J H
ouCiai News
Page 1B
Houston Times-Journut
Volume 124 No. 20
2 Sections, 20 Pages
Inside
Today
Legal Ads 3B
Classifieds 7B
Editorials 4A
Society IB
Obituaries 3A
Sports 7A
Around Town
Briefly...
Idaka Club Releases
Dates For Benefit
The Idaka Club is sponsoring a
Benefit Card and Game Party, Tues
day, March 22, 1994, from 7 p.m.
to 10 p.m. at the Perry Area Con
vention and Visitors Bureau.
There will be prizes and refresh
ments. Tickets are $7 per person
and are available at the Perry Li
brary, the Perry Bookstore, the
Travel Center or any member of the
Idaka Club. For more information,
call Gayle Borah at 987-5772.
Dogwood Pageant
Interviews Scheduled
Interviews for Miss Teen
Dogwood and Miss Dogwood will
be held on Saturday, March 19,2-4
p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Jeff George at 2005 Cedar Ridge,
Perry. Participants should call,
using the telephone number on the
handout sheets, regarding practice
times.
D.A.R.E. Cookout To
Be Held Saturday
Perry D.A.R.E. Officer Bill
Hathcock announced this week that
on March 12, beginning at 12
noon, the Perry Police Department
will host a hamburger/hot dog
cookout for the Perry D.A.R.E.
students.
The cookout is sponsored by
Perry Police Chief C.F. Simons.
After lunch the students will be
divided into teams for a softball
game with law enforcement
officers.
Parents are invited to stay and
watch the fun and games.
Car Wash Will Benefit
PMS D.A.R.E. Club
A benefit car wash will be held
Tuesday, March 19 from 10 a.m.
until 2 p.m. at the old Perry Times
parking lot on Courtney Hodges
Boulevard.
All proceeds will go towards the
Perry Middle School D.A.R.E.
Club.
Voter Registration Drive
To Be Held At KMart
The NAACP and Houston Board
of Elections will hold a voter
registration drive at the Perry
KMart on Sam Nunn Boulevard
Saturday, March 12 from noon
until 3 p.m.
Also that day, a voter registration
drive will be held at the Revco in
Eastgate Plaza.
Perryan, Author Harriett Hentz Houser Passes Away
By PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
Harriett Hentz Houser, beloved
Perry an, long-time resident of
Evergreen Street and more recently
the New Perry Nursing Home,
passed away Wednesday, March 2,
1994.
Although she was born in
Atlanta, daughter of the late W.T.
BOE Approves New Voting Districts
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
South Houston County will be
represented by a single member on
the Houston County Board of Edu
cation according to a new district
plan unveiled at the regular meeting
of the school board Tuesday, March
8.
Under the plan, the school board
will be composed of seven mem
bers, rive members elected from dis
tricts and two members elected on
an at-large basis throughout the
county.
District Three will be South
Houston County running roughly
south of Highway 96. The other
four districts will be located north
of Highway 96.
/llflflt ■ mwm £ iiirnnmr -
The pictures above and below ere Just a few of the several portable buildings being used as classrooms at Perry Middle
School. Efforts to secure a new achool elte south of Highway 96 by prominent Perry citizens has grown over the months
and resulted In a meeting Monday night which was attended by over 100 concerned parents and citizens.
Over Crowded!
Concerned citizens meet to discuss
the over crowding at Perry Middle
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
A group of over 100 concerned
parents and citizens met Monday
evening, March 7 to discuss the
overcrowded school conditions at
Perry Middle School and local ele
mentary schools.
This meeting was not the first to
be held on the issue. For months, a
smaller group of community leaders
have been meeting to discuss the
school situation and the local
school board's decision to build two
new middle schools in the north end
of the county.
School board members and
Superintendent Tony Hinnant are
aware of the concerns of the group,
which includes not only parents of
middle school and elementary
school children, but also teachers
and other school employees, real
tors, elected officials and other
community leaders from local busi
nesses and industries.
The group discussed current condi
tions at Perry Middle School.
According to Tom Whitten, who
led the meeting, the original school
building is designed to hold 450-
500 students and there are between
800-900 students attending the
school. To facilitate the overcrowd-
Hentz II and and Sarah L. Owens
Hentz, and lived in Miami and
Marianna, Fla., she married Fred
Marion Houser and had made Perry
her home since 1939.
She called him Fred, but the Perry
homefolks called him Marion. He
was active in real estate, insurance
and Perry Sayings and Loan.
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
Tom Daniel, attorney for the
school board, indicated that the dis
tricts were about even in popula
tion, even though District Three
covered over half the land area of
Houston County.
Daniel also said that the plan had
to be approved by the United States
Justice.
District Three will not be up for
election until the 1996 general elec
tion. Currently, board member Hu
bert Hutcherson, Post 5, represents
the area that will comprise much of
District Three.
The election plan also provides
for non-partisan elections and pri
maries. The plan also sets the pay
of board members at $l5O per
month and SSO for each meeting
Two letters to the
editor, one by a parent
and one from the BOE
Chairman, concerning
the school sites issue
are printed in this
edition on page 4A.
ing, over one dozen temporary
buildings and restrooms have been
placed on campus.
Even with the extra space, a
former Perry Middle School em
ployee said the crowded flow of stu
dents to the lunchroom and library
and between classes is dangerous.
Even though die school board es
timates 150 students from Perry
Middle School will be bussed to the
new middle school in Bonaire,
Whitten said "they'll (BOE) be tak
ing an hour a day out of my chil
dren's lives" if a parent takes them
to school, and longer if they must
ride a bus.
"What if everything the board
gives us points to Warner Robins
(for the school sites), do we still
want to fight for the value of our
children's education?" was asked by
one parent
Harriett was a quiet, lovable per
son, loyal and true to her church,
her family, neighbors and friends.
Her only living relative in Perry
is Col. (USA Ret) Parks Houser,
her brother-in-law, who spoke of
her as one would of a dear sister.
Mrs. Elizabeth Nunn, a long-time
neighbor, said "She was a wonder
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Legals
Page 3B
Wednesday, March 9, 1994
other than regular school board
meetings up to four meetings a
month, for a maximum of $350 a
month.
In other business before the
board, Zell Blackmon, school board
chairman, responded to criticism
about not locating a new middle
school in Perry. The school board
has agreed to build two new middle
schools, one in Bonaire off High
way 96 and one off Feagin Mill
Road.
At the February board meeting,
several Perry civic leaders, led by
Perry Area Chamber of Commerce
Chairman John Sundquist and Perry
Mayor Jim Worrall, approached the
board requesting the system build a
new middle school in Perry. The re-
* * 111
Even though the school board has Warner Robins,
heard the concerns of area resident 6 The group will deliver a letter to
they voted recently to build one »*>e school board requesting data on
middle school in Bonaire and one in Please see Crowded, page 12A
ful person."
Kathryn Davis, another long-time
neighbor, told of the Author’s Tea
given for Harriett by the Sorosis
Club of which she was a member.
"We were neighbors for over 40
years," Mrs. Davis said.
Margaret Bullington (the Rev.
Elick Bullington's wife) was
Classified
Page 7B
quest to build a new school noted
that Perry Middle School was over
crowded, with several classes being
held in temporary buildings.
Quoting from a letter which he
sent the Timcs-Journal, Blackmon
said that all five middle schools in
Houston County were overcrowded,
having 800-900 students each. He
added that each of the middle
schools in the county housed stu
dents in temporary buildings.
Blackmon said the locations
where the two new schools were to
be built would take pressure off
each of the five middle schools, in
cluding Perry Middle School.
"We put the schools where the
most population growth is taking
place," said Blackmon. "We are not
Harriett's close friend who looked
after Harriett for the past 10 or 12
years.
Aurelia Evans had known Harriett
since the Housers moved to Perry.
She remembered special things
about Harriett: she had a good sense
of humor and enjoyed cooking for
Pleasa » Hou—r, page 12A
Perry, Georgia -25 Cents
in the development business.”
However, Blackmon did say that
Perry Middle School was the "first
school scheduled for addition." He
said the new wing at Perry Middle
School should open before the start
of the 1995-96 school year.
The school board also agreed by
a vote of 6-1 to establish a mini
mum grade of 50 for six weeks
grades and semester grades at the
middle schools.
"If a child gets much below a
50," said Bill Adams. Houston
County curriculum director, "he
doesn't have much chance (of pass
ing) the rest of the year."
Tiena Fletcher, Gary McLure,
Dave Davidson, Blackmon, Hutch-
Register Aviation
Will Continue As
Airport Regulator
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
The Perry-Fort Valley Airport
will be open March 11.
At their regular meeting Mon
day, March 7, the Perry-Fort Valley
Airport Authority agreed in princi
ple to extending Register Aviation's
contract as a fixed based operator for
six months.
As the fixed based operator, Reg
ister Aviation provides services at
the airport, including pumping gas,
pilot training and an airport man
ager. The current contract Register
Aviation has with the authority
ends Thursday, March 10.
Len Register, owner of Register
Aviation, has indicated that the
company does not wish to remain
the fixed based operator at the air
port. However, Register said in
February that he was willing to re
main as the fixed based operator un
til the airport was able to locate an
other fixed based operator to main
tain services at the airport
Register told the authority Mon
day night that he had to have a six
month extension in order to renew
insurance and leases on airplanes.
"It makes it easier for me to re
new," he said of the six month ex
tension.
"It's going to take some time for
the authority to settle in after the
(Georgia) Legislature decides (on
die new make-up of the authority),"
said Register. "It (a six month ex
tension) will give the authority
some time. The most important de
cision the airport (authority) is go
ing to make is who is going to run
the airport"
"I think this authority is com
pelled to have a six month exten
sion," said authority member
Charles Lewis.
"Tonight, we are going to have
to make a decision on how we are
going to operate the airport on
March 11 (the after the contract
with Register Aviation ends)," said
authority chairman Ralph Dorsett.
"I'm in total agreement with a six
month extension. It will give us
time."
In other business before the au
thority, authority treasurer John
Houser told members that the au
thority had received $103,000 from
the Georgia Department of Trans
portation. He added that the money
from the DOT was used for a pay
ment of SIOO,OOO to Wilcox Elec
tric for the localizer at the airport,
bringing the authority to within
SBO,OOO of paying off the localizer
with the final bill due after the Fed
eral Aeronautics Association "flew"
the localizer. Register said the
F.A.A. "flew" the localizer last
week.
However, Houser indicated that
the authority might have some
problem with making the last pay
ment, falling $30,000-$40,000
short.
Dorsett told the authority' that
the airport would receive $25,000
from the state. However, Houser
indicated that the airport would still
Pleas* see Airport, pan* 12A
