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**#***##x******mxtD CITY 30601
f GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT 110* 1
U. GA. MAIN LIBRARY L
j ATHENS, GA 30602 I
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Houston Times-Journal
Volume 124 —No. 31
1 Section, 10 Pages
Inside I
Today |
Calendar 5A
Church News 5A
Classifieds 9A
Death Notices 2A
Editorials 4A
Outdoors 7A
Sports 6A
Kellwood
Outlet will
close in April
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
A corporate spokeswoman con
firmed Friday afternoon that the
Kellwood Outlet Store in Perry will
be permanendy closing its doors at
the end of this month.
According to Donna Weaver,
manager of Kellwood’s corporate
communications, the outlet store
will cease operations at 4 p.m. Fri
day, April 29.
The store, which opened six
years ago as an outlet center for the
local Kellwood plant, is located on
Kellwood Drive just across from
the Kellwood manufacturing plant.
“Company and plant officials
have discovered that it is simply
more profitable to run periodic
warehouse clearance sales than to
operated the outlet store year
round,” Weaver said from her St.
Louis, Mo. office. “They can gen
erate more income in two days with
a warehouse sale than they can by
keeping the outlet store open for
three months.”
Weaver also said that she is not
sure of the impact the outlet store’s
closing will have on Kellwood's
employment outlook. However,
sources have indicated that at least
one person-the employee who op
erates the store-will soon be look
ing for another job.
The outlet store’s closing comes
on the heels of a shut-down of the
Please see KELLWOOD, page 3A
/
Baskin-Robbins
store to open in
Perry this June
Davis Company, Inc. (DCI) of
Perry, is pleased to announce that
its first Baskin-Robbins 31-flavor
ice cream store will be open about
June 15th. To be built next to its
Perry Chevron Food Plus facility
on Sam Nunn Blvd. and 1-75, the
new store will add a significant new
line-up of desserts and treats for the
appetites of local and area residents.
Heading this new DCI business
division will be Jimmy Jones.
Jones, of Macon, comes to the
company with eleven years
advertising and marketing
experience in the Middle Georgia
area. He brings a variety of
communication, public relations
and personnel skills to DCl's new
franchise operation. According to
DCl's CEO, Davis Cosey,
Please see STORE, page 3A
A special thanks to those who made Perry Hospital possible
Over 25 years ago Perry was an
up and coming community with
local business, industry potential
and a growing population. It had
everything, except a hospital. This
prompted a group of community
leaders to set the wheels in motion
to build a new hospital in Perry.
"We had a dream that one day
Perry would have its own hospital
that could meet the growing needs
City will protest EPD ruling on landfill
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
Hoping that "reason will prevail",
Perry City Manager Marion Hay
told members of Perry City
Council this week that he is plan
ning to protest restrictions placed
on the city's Toomer Road landfill
by the state Environmental
Protection Division.
City officials received news during
an inspection last week that the
city's dry trash landfill was in viola
tion of EPD requirements by ac
cepting selective household trash.
"During the EPD visit we were
told we could no longer operate the
landfill as it is presently being op
erated as of 5 p.m. Friday (April
8)," Hay said during a work session
Ipter- -
IH ■ w* a Bf
Members of the Agricultural Exposition Authority and their spouses were among more than 100
guests present for Thursday's dedication of the Agricenter’s newest facility, the Roquemore
Conference Center. Here, authority members and their wives pose with William A. Roquemore
(back row, third from right), the former authority member for which the building was named.
Unveiling of new Roquemore
Conference Center held Wed.
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
As the name of the Georgia Na
tional Fairgrounds and Agricenter’s
new conference center was unveiled
Wednesday afternoon, William A.
Roquemore’s face lit up with a look
of both surprise and humble grati
tude.
“And, I thought they just wanted
me here to give a little Agricenter
history,” the 70-year-old Lakeland,
Georgia resident said, smiling
broadly at the more than 100 people
gathered at a special ceremony offi
cially dedicating and naming the
Agricenter’s newest facility in his
honor.
Appointed by then Georgia Gov
ernor Joe Frank Harris, Roquemore
was an original member of the
Georgia Agricultural Exposition
Authority, the Agricenter’s
governing body, and served in that
capacity until his retirement last
year.
While on the Authority, he
served as chairman of the building
committee and is credited by many,
including the Exposition
Authority's current chairman, James
Eugene Sutherland, as being the
of the community," said Houser
Gilbert, a Hospital Authority
member for 21 years, who was
instrumental in the several years of
planning involved in the evolution
of Perry Hospital.
"It took longer than I thought it
should,” said Dr. H.E. Weems
when asked about the completion of
Perry Hospital 25 years ago. To
those that have known him for a
Sports I
I Page 6A I
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
City must obtain permit to keep water plant operating
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Editor
Under a mandate from the state
Environmental Protection Division
the City of Perry is currently apply
ing for a national pollutant dis
charge permit to dump backwash
into Big Indian Creek from the city
water plant at Courtney Hodges
Blvd. and Main Street.
Tuesday, April 12. Since last
Friday, all dry household trash has
been taken to the county landfill.
Although the city has been re
stricted from holding dry household
man with the vision that helped
create the Agricenter’s facilities,
including the new conference center,
as they appear today.
A 7,500 square foot building
with seven meeting rooms, the now
open Roquemore Conference Center
also includes three breakout rooms
outfitted with walls that can be
moved to create one large area and
is said to offer the Agricenter addi
tional flexibility in attracting and
booking new and larger events and
conferences which require a lot of
enclosed space.
“The demand for additional met
ing space and breakout rooms has
been very strong,” Agricenter
Executive Director Michael A.
Froehlich said. “This facility will
keep us competitive and offers us
unparalleled flexibility in attracting
many new events.”
In addition to conferences,
Froehlich said that the new center is
also perfect for other meetings,
seminars, receptions, banquets,
lectures and hospitality rooms.
Bookings have already proven
steady.
Cost of the facility was
$546,000, all of which was taken
long time, determination would be
a word used frequently to describe
his personality, and it was because
of that trait that the hospital is here
today. He will not take the credit
for accomplishing it, but says that
several other community leaders,
like Mr. Gilbert, believed that the
need for medical facilities existed
and accepted the challenge to build a
hospital. Each man helped behind
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Saturday, April 16, 1994
The city has taken the plant,
which is used mainly as a back-up
plant, out of service this week for
maintenance and will keep the plant
operating once the permit is re
ceived, according to City Manager
Marion Hay.
An EPD inspector said the city
must require the permit since the
water washed out through the
trash at the landfill they received a
95% grade from the EPD inspector.
EPD said a Subtitle D landfill
must be established (as opposed to
a dry trash landfill) if the city kept
out of the Agricenter’s original
bond money as well as some
additional operating surplus. No
new funds were appropriated for the
project, officials said.
The Georgia National Fair
grounds and Agricenter is a state
owned, multipurpose 628-acre
complex which opened in 1990. It
is specially designed for livestock
and horse shows, fairs, concerts,
meetings, rodeos, trade shows,
sporting events and the like.
The grounds and the buildings
are all dedicated to Georgia’s youth
to show, learn and compete; to
those in agriculture and agribusi
ness to exhibit, show and sell; to
the state-sponsored Georgia Na
tional Fair, and to diverse events
and activities which are entertain
ing, cultural and educational in na
ture.
In addition to dozens of Agricen
ter officials and the entire Georgia
Agricultural Exposition Authority
Board, Wednesday’s dedication of
the Roquemore Conference Center
was attended by a host of city,
county and state officials and local
community leaders.
the scenes to complete the detailed
certificate of need studies and
lobbied to give it priority when the
bond issue was put before the
people.
One gentlemen who was vital in
moving Perry Hospital to the top
of state government's list of
consideration for new hospitals was
Hugh Beatty. Beatty, who was a
County Commissioner and also
I Classified L
Page 9A |f
plant's filters contains chlorine.
"I don't see that chlorine could be
as harmful, if it even is harmful, as
the grease and other pollution that
runs off state highways into the
creek," Hay said, adding the plant
has received EPD inspections for
numerous years without any prob
lems concerning discharging back
wash into the creek.
accepting household trash.
"Any waste out of the household
(even dry trash) is required by the
EPD to be taken to a Subtitle D
landfill," Hay said, adding that this
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SERVICE LOBBY EIFC
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| MEETING ROOM 108 ,
| (ROOMS 105. 106 & 107) I
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MEETING ROOM IOS MEETING ROOM 106 | MEETING ROOM 107
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ROQUEMORE CONFERENCE CENTER
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MEETING ROOM 104 I I MEETING ROOM 103
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MEN WOMEN MEETING >v
ROOM 101 jr—l
LOBBY
Adoserlookatthe
Roquemore Conference Center
With 7,500 total square feet of space, the Agricenter's newest fa
cility has many features which makes it ideal for a variety of pur
poses such as meetings, conferences, seminars, receptions, banquets,
lectures and hospitality rooms.
It includes four rooms with permanent walls and a fifth 2,775
square foot room which, with two moveable walls, can be divided
into two or three separate rooms. There is also a lobby area for regis
tration and breaks, rest rooms and a service lobby for load
ing/unloading and catering. The entire facility is climate controlled
and carpeted and has a projection screen, a flip chart, a facsimile
machine, a television monitor, a video cassette recorder and a
overhead projector available fore use.
A more complete, room-by-ioom breakdown is as follows:
•Room 101 is 252 sq. ft. and can accommodate 40 lecture seats,
18 classroom seats or 24 banquet seats and has a floor space of 14’ x
18’.
•Room 102 is 408 sq. ft and can accommodate 60 lecture seats,
26 classroom seats or 32 banquet seats and has a floor space of 17’ x
24’.
•Rooms 103 and 104 both have 198 sq. ft. of space, each with the
capability of accommodating 26 lecture seats, 13 classroom seats or
16 banquet seats and a floor space of 18’ x 11’.
•Rooms 105,106 and 107 are all 925 sq. ft. and can each accom
modate 132 lecture seats, 62 classroom seats or 79-95 banquet seats.
Please see CENTER, page 3A
served on the Hospital Authority,
made personal visits to the
appropriate government agencies
and officials pleading Perry
Hospital's case.
"When we first started, Perry
was 69th on the list to receive a
new hospital, but with a lot of hard
work and determination, we were
able to move to number one,"
explained Beatty, who speaks with
Perry, Georgia - 23 Cents
is first time that the city has re
ceived such a restriction although
EPD has inspected the landfill "on
numerous occasions" since 1988.
Hay contends that the only trash
from households accepted was mate
rials that would not rot such as fur
niture, toys and some appliances.
The city does not accept food waste,
cardboard paper, aluminum, cleaners
or other household garbage.
"We got our landfill to save the
taxpayers money," Hay said. He
added that establishing a Subtitle D
landfill would cost the city too
much money and "if we can’t use
the landfill for dry trash, we can't
stay in business."
After the city landfill on Elko
Please see LANDFILL, page3A
pride about Perry Hospital's
beginnings. Beatty, however, is
quick to point out that it "was not a
one man show."
Another Perry Hospital advocate
was Marion Brown. Brown served
several years on the Hospital
Authority and sites the need to
attract new doctors to Perry as one
of the main reasons he became
Please sea THANKS, page 3A
