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**#***##x******mxtD CITY 30601 f GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT 110* 1 U. GA. MAIN LIBRARY L j ATHENS, GA 30602 I j_ Page 3A I 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 rn iyi r i SERVICE LOBBY EIFC h . J I I I l i i l l | MEETING ROOM 108 , | (ROOMS 105. 106 & 107) I I ' I ' I I | I MEETING ROOM IOS MEETING ROOM 106 | MEETING ROOM 107 i i i ROQUEMORE CONFERENCE CENTER i i ! J i 1 n f ii i MEETING ROOM 104 I I MEETING ROOM 103 Mfn,r4GROOM, ° 2 _JUI ” 1 n II STOR _r= i—-^j 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