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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