Newspaper Page Text
<i, MAT* LIBRARY
■TH* *S. fiA 30602
page 3a
Houston rimes-Journal
1 Section, 10 Pages
Inside
Today
Church News 3A
Outdoors 7A
Classifieds 8A
Editorials 4A
Calendar 10A
Obituaries 2A
Sports 6A
Around Town
Briefly...
Boosters To Sell Hams
For PHS Athletic Dept.
The Perry High School Athletic
Boosters are selling Smoked Boston
Butt Hams to raise funds for Perry
High's Athletic department
All hams will be pre-sold for $9.
The hams will be distributed
Saturday, April 2 at cannery on the
PHS campus next to the football
field.
Tickets can be purchased at
Hildebrand's Office Supply on
Carroll Street or from any booster.
Look-A-Like Contest
To Benefit HODAC
Houston Drug Action Council
(HODAC) will hold a Pet/Owner
Look-A-Like Contest Saturday,
April 23. The fund raiser will be
held at the Houston Mall from 1-3
p.m. Besides Perry Mayor Pro Tem
Charles Lewis, other judges include
J. Sherrill Stafford, Houston
County Commission Chairman;
Centerville Mayor Matt Keene,
Dick Walden, president of the
Warner Robins Chamber of
Commerce; Henrietta Mclntyre, act
ing mayor of Warner Robins; Mike
Maze, weatherman for WMAZ
Channel 13; and Eric and Mark, Q
-106 radio morning team.
All proceeds raise are to benefit
HODAC’s Rape Crisis Program of
Houston county.
Mosquito Season Is
Upon Us Once Again!
Public Works Superintendent re
minded citizens this week that
mosquito season is here and the city
is currently spraying between 6-9
p.m. at least every seven days.
"Although people like to walk
during this time, it's the most effec
tive time to spray for mosquitoes
because it's when they are most ac
tive," Sharp said.
Sharp is also asking residents to
control mosquito breeding by keep
ing yards and roadsides clear of any
container that can hold stagnant wa
ter-such as old tires, cans, buckets,
etc.
A Cooking Class For
Diabetics To Be Held
The Houston County Office of the
University of Georgia Extension
Service will be offering a series of
diabetic codring classes called die
"Right Bite: Extension in the
Kitchen." Classes will meet every
Monday for three weeks beginning
on April 11 at the Houston County
Ag Building on Carroll Street.
Peggy Bledsoe, Houston County
Extension Agent will cover such
topics as how to use artificial
sweeteners and how to make fa
vorite recipes taste great while us
ing less salt and less fat. Class par
ticipants will get to taste recipes
made with less fat, sugar and salt
and learn how to prepare them.
people with diabetes, as well as
their family and friends are encour
aged to attend. Call 987-2028 to
register by April 7. Space is limited
so call now.
'No School!'
Hinnant Tells
Citizen Group
Residents And School Board Officials
Debate Need For New Middle School
South Of Highway 96 Thursday Night
By VETO F. ROLEY
Staff Writer
For over two hours Thursday
night, Perry residents concerned
about conditions at Perry Middle
School met with Houston County
School Superintendent Tony Hin
nant and members of the school
board.
When the often acrimonious
meeting had ended, nothing had
changed. The Houston County
Board of Education is still going to
build two new middle schools north
of Highway 96, while Perry resi
dents were as determined as ever to
have one of the two schools built
south of Highway 96.
The school board has approved
building two new middle schools,
one on Feagin Mill Road and the
other on the Ferguson property off
Highway 96 near Bonaire. The
board owns both pieces of property
considered for the new schools.
The two new schools will cost
the board sl2 million, with $3 mil
lion coming from the state. The
other $9 million will be raised us
ing a lease-purchase agreement with
the county. Board member Tiena
Fletcher told parents Thursday night
the lease-purchase agreement would
not result with an increase in taxes,
with the payments being met by
capital set-asides already in the bud
get and funds released by recent
state grants for technology.
"After two hours of meeting, the
parents left as dumbfounded as they
came in," said Chiquita Jenkins, a
parent at Perry Middle School.
"There was nothing established,
nothing answered, nothing gained.
Mr. Hinnant walked around the is
sue and never answered questions."
Among other concerns raised by
the parents Tuesday night was the
prospect of bussing students south
Dogwood T-Shirts
Unveiled To Media
At Tues. Breakfast
By PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
The official Dogwood Festival T
shirts were unveiled at a media
breakfast hosted by the Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce Tuesday,
March 22.
Chamber President Peggie
Williams and Dogwood Chairman
Melodie Burras presented the shirts
and discussed the upcoming annual
Spring festival with local media.
The shirts, designed by Brent
Giles, are on sale for $lO and are
available in sizes large and extra
large.
Giles, from Byron, also designed
the logo for the Christmas-at-the-
Crossroads celebration T-shirts.
Burras also displayed the 1994
Official Dogwood Doll, Tiffany,
designed by Muriel Meadows,
whose idea initiated the Dogwood
Festival s'x years ago.
Burras gave an overview of the ac
tivities planned for Dogwood
Festival week
On Sunday, March 27 from 1-5
p.m. is Family Fun Day at Rozar
Park. Kids Run, horseshoe pitch
ing, races, Easter Egg Hunt, horse
back riding, and other planned
games will be featured.
Burras emphasized that the carni
val will be in operation all week
and encouraged the public to patron
ize iL
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
of Highway 96 to one of the two
new schools.
"We like Perry," said parent
Melodie Burrus. "We have chosen
to live in Perry.
"You take them (students) away
(by bussing) from what they know
a core of friends, teachers and
you are going to have upset chil
dren.
"We chose Perry on purpose,"
Burrus said, adding that she did not
want her children bussed to Warner
Robins.
Hinnant conceded that there
would be some children taken from
Perry Middle School to fill the two
new schools. However, he said re
ports of 150 students were too
large.
There were students that were be
ing bussed over 20 miles to
schools, said Hinnant. However, he
said ihose students were from the
south end of Houston County,
coming to Perry schools. He added
that students being bussed to the
new middle schools shouldn’t be
bussed more than three miles to
school.
"The hope is this," said Hinnant,
"to only take (and bus) those stu
dents in the Houston County (High
School) zone." However, he did not
provide figures on exactly how
many students zoned fra 1 Houston
County High School attended Perry
Middle School.
"You people (school board) are
worried about Warner Robins and
not Perry," said Jenkins.
"That is not true," replied Hin
nant.
"Where does Perry end and
Warner Robins begin?" asked board
member Skip Talbert. Several
members of the audience answered
loudly "(Highway) 96."
■lift:
Melodle Burma, Dogwood Festival Chalrparaon, and
Chamber Praaldant Peggie Williams, unvailed the olflelal
Dogwood Festival T-shirts this week.
Saturday, April 2, at noon, the
Parade will proceed through the
streets of Perry, led by the 82nd
Airborne group of military person
nel who will serve as Graud
Marshal.
It will be a day for food, fun and
entertainment, arts, crafts, Masonic
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Sports
Page 6A
Saturday, March 26, 1994
• -v •- • ■ ' V.■ ’ v .\ T ; ;•. ■
m H I : Bn ■
School Suporlntondant, with
at a maatlng hald at Parry
eondltlona at tha achool.
"We are a county," said board
member Shirley Lowery. "We are
not the Perry Board of Education or
the Warner Robins Board of Educa
tion.
"I hear the same things in
Warner Robins," Lowery continued.
"’You give Perry all the stuff.’" As
an example, she gave the construc
tion on the Perry Annex, which
will house all board offices,
including those currently in Warner
Robins.
Hinnant was also questioned
about the location of the two new
schools. "We don't deny Houston
County is growing," he said, not
ing that from June to August of
last year the system added 600 stu
dents in three months. "We are
building facilities as quickly as we
can build them. And we're building
them where people are located."
Tom Whitten and others asked
about Houston County High
School, noting little development
in the area when it was built. Whit
ten also noted the land around the
Ferguson where one of the schools
will be built property was being
fanned by the Purdue family, and
had few people living in the area.
Hinnant responded by saying
that Houston County High School
was built over three years ago, be
fore he took over as superintendent
Hinnant also noted that to the
Open House, Kiwanis Pancake
Breakfast, races, games, pictures
with the Easter Bunny, and much
more.
Come and mingle with your
friends and neighbors in this super
annual Dogwood Festival. Look for
the yellow bows all over town !
mlcrophona, answarad questions of
Middle School Thursday evening to
north of the proposed middle school
location near Bonaire was the Land
ings development project and to the
south was a subdivision being con
structed with approximately 400
units. "The students are there,” he
said.
"If the growth continues to be
here," said Hinnant, "you should
see a middle school down the road.”
"If you build a replacement
school," said Bill Loudermilk, di
rector of facilitia&Swd maintenance,
"and if we come © Perry that is ex
actly what we are going to do, peo
ple at Rumble and Tabor can claim
the same privilege."
However, Whitten indicated the
parents did not want a replacement
middle school, that they wanted to
keep Perry Middle School, adding
one of the school sites should be
moved to the sou© of Highway 96.
Hinnant told the group that
Perry Middle School was scheduled
for a new wing, which will have 14
classrooms. However, parents asked
if the new wing would take care of
crowding in the restrooms, lunch
room and library. Several parents
said the lunchroom serves lunch
from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. to
serve all the students at the school.
Loudermilk told the parents the
new wing would include new re
strooms. He also said the lunch
room was "within tolerance" and
Family Fun Day Will
Kick-Off Dogwood
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
There will be no excuses for
being bored this weekend.
After months of planning and
talking about iL the Sixth Annual
Dogwood Festival is finally here.
The event kicked off Friday
night with the first of two Miss
Dogwood pageants and holds in
store another pageant tonight and a
day of fun and games to the entire
family on Sunday.
And, that’s just this weekend.
Next Saturday will be chock-full of
activities, too-from the Carroll
Street Celebration featuring a full
day of entertainment, arts and crafts
and great food to a 5K Run/Walk,
photos with the Easter Bunny, a
bake off and a parade.
BuL hey, you’ve still got a week
to plan to that, so let’s just con
centrate on the immediate fun and
games going on here in Perry today
and tomorrow.
The following is the scoop. Get
out your planners and get ready to
some fun.
•The Dogwood Festival Pageants
culminate tonight with the crown
ing of the Miss Teen Dogwood and
Miss Dogwood. Many girls from
all over Houston County are ex
pected to take the stage when the
Classified
Page 8A
Perry, Georgia - 25 Cents
the library was 100 square feet
smaller than it needed to be.
Board member Hubert Hutcher
son, a former principal at Perry
High School, said that he remem
bered only one meeting in the past
like the one Thursday night, and
that was when the schools were in
tegrated.
"I haven't seen any of you at
board of education meetings,"
chided Hutcherson. "It is important
at future meetings that you have,
people there. That is the only way
you can influence decisions."
Hutcherson added that the people
at the meeting needed to run for the
at-large positions on the board, not
ing that Perry residents could hold
three of the seven slots on the
board. "This is where your energies
ought to go," he said.
Several parents asked the board
to hold starting the construction
process on the two new middle
schools until they could get infor
mation on the school selection pro
cess.
"Please hold off a little while
longer so that we can review the
facts,” requested Burras. "We are
willing to be patient if you are
willing to slow down."
However, Hinnant said that time
was of the essence for the board to
get the schools built. "For us to
Please see SCHOOL, page 5A
show opens at 7:30 p.m. at the
Perry High School Auditorium.
•Family Fun Day, at which fes
tival chairwoman Melodie Burras
expects a crowd of 3,000 to 4,000,
will be Sunday at Rozar Park and
includes the following:
-1 p.m.: Softball and tennis
tournaments featuring a host of lo
cal teams and players get under
way.
-1-4 p.m.: “99 Ways Oldies”
will broadcast live and give away
many great prizes.
-1:30 p.m.: Easter egg hunt to
be held for three age groups-nine
and 10 years; seven and eight years;
and six and under. Approximately
1,000 eggs will be hidden and five
prizes per age group will be
Awarded. No pre-registration is
required, although children are asked
to bring their own baskets.
-2 p.m.: Kids Run For Fun,
sponsored by the Perry Exchange
Club, will be held for children ages
12 and under. Registration fee is
$6.
-2 p.m.: Horseshoe Fun Pitch
for all ages is scheduled. Prizes and
ribbons to be awarded. Pre-registra
tion required. For more informa
tion, call Davis Cosey at 987-2443.
Please see KICK-OFF, page 5A
local citizens and parents
discuss the over crowded