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Page 3A I
Houston Times-Journal
Volume 124 - No. 33
1 Section, 10 Pages I
Inside I
Today |
Calendar 5A
Church News 3A
Classifieds 8A
Death Notices 2A
Editorials 4A
Outdoors 7A
Sports 6A
'Jail birds' raise
money for MDA
By PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
Mary Ann Coskery, District
Director of the Muscular Dystrophy
Association (MDA), announced this
week that over $8,300 is expected
to be raised for MDA from a fund
raising drive held Tuesday, April 19
at Holiday Inn in Perry.
During a lock-up, each"jailed"
person agreed to try to raise SSOO
bail within the time allocated for
the "lock-up’’ by calling their
families, friends, work associates
and anyone else they could find near
a phone.
Money raised will stay will
benefit patients in the local area.
Some of the services it will help
provide are regular medical clinics
at Warm Springs, Ga., wheelchairs,
Please see Lock-up, page 3A
Around town
briefly...
Hospital celebrates
25th anniversary
A Celebration on the Grounds
will be held Saturday, April 23 to
celebrate Perry Hospital's 25th an
niversary.
The fun begins at 1:30 p.m. and
will feature activities for kids, re
freshments, tours, musical enter
tainment and much more.
The public is invited to celebrate
25 years of caring and healing with
the hospital staff and employees.
Perry FOL announces
dates for book sale
The Friends of the Library is
sponsoring an “Old Book Sale”
Thursday through Saturday, May 5-
7.
To be held at the Perry Library,
located at the comer of Washington
and Northside streets, hours of the
event are as follows:
•May 5-From noon until 6
p.m.;
•May 6-From 9 a.m. until 6
p.m.; and
•May 7-From 9 a.m. until
noon.
All proceeds will benefit the
Perry Librarv.
Look-A-Like Contest
will 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.
Shaping
up!
i Hinnant pleased
with progress made
on annex renovation
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
Though they probably won’t be
moving in this November as origi
nally projected, Houston County
School Superintendent Tony Hin-
nant is visibly pleased with the
progress being made in renovation
efforts at the old Perry Annex.
He’s also visibly pleased with
the fact that a recent turn of events
should save the local school board
more than a half a million dollars
in their efforts to turn the landmark
Main Street building into their
school system’s new home offices.
According to Hinnant, the
school board put the job out for
bids in January. But, when the re
sults came in a couple of months
ago, none were found acceptable and
local school officials had to go back
to the drawing board.
“We were anticipating $1.2 mil
lion, but the lowest bid we received
was $1.5 million,” Hinnant said
this week while visiting his
organization’s future offices. “We
just couldn’t do that and started
working on Plan B.”
Plan B, according to Hinnant,
was to first get permission from the
City of Perryr-purchasers of the
present board offices on Washing
ton Street, to allow the school
board to remain in their old offices
longer than they had initially
anticipated.
After getting that permission,
they then contacted State Rep.
Larry Walker to see if the prison
crew which had been charged with
doing the early preparatory work
could stay on a little longer and do
more of the actual renovation
project.
“Turns out, they’re going to be
able to do it all and hopefully we’ll
be moving in next April or before,”
Hinnant said, smiling. “By doing it
this way and utilizing free labor,
we’ll be saving as much as 45 per
cent off of the lowest bid price.
That gives us less money to raise
and less debt to worry about.”
At present, the inmate construc
tion crew assigned to the project is
17 workmen strong. They currently
work four days a week, but will
Exchange Club donates funds to WAVE program
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
With help from the Perry Ex
change Club, Perry Police Chief
Frank Simons came SI,OOO closer
to riding his new WAVE (Weapons
and Violence Education) program
into the classrooms of Houston
County.
Local Exchangites presented the
check to Simons during their regu
lar club meeting Thursday afternoon
in Perry.
The donation was a surprise and
came after the local police chief had
updated the club on the proposed
WAVE program, a program de
signed to reduce the incidents of
firearm and weapon violence among
Houston County youth.
“We are seeing more and more
serious acts of violence being
committed by youthful offenders;
kids as young as 12, 13 and 14-
years-old,” Simons said Thursday.
“Right here in Perry, it’s happen
ing. And, unlike residents in many
larger towns, we aren’t used to it.
As far as I’m concerned, we don’t
want to get used to it. We’re hop
ing the WAVE program will help
stop the violence before it gets any
worse.”
At present, Simons says that the
biggest obstacle to getting the pro
gram off the grounds is, of course,
funding.
I Sports |
Page 6A I
Official Organ For Houston County, City of Perry & State of Georgia
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Houston County School Superintendent Tony Hinnant and
secretary, Sharon Riley, were visibly pleased this week after
checking on the progress of the Perry Annex renovation project.
soon be adding a fifth work day and
seven more workmen.
All those assigned to the crew 1
are skilled construction workers,
electricians, plumbers and roofers
whom are currently serving time in
state prisons.
The crew working in Perry come
here from Reidsville and are being
housed, with the cooperation of the
Houston County Commissioners,
at the local county jail. The
inmates are closely supervised at all
times.
The Perry Annex, the original
home of Perry High School, will
give the Houston County Board of
Education more than 28,000 square
feet under roof, a gain of nearly
10,000 square feet over their present
All total, he says he expects the
program to run approximately
$136,500 and, to date, has received
pledged support from the Perry City
Council, the Houston County
Commission, the Houston County
Board of Education and the Warner
Robins City Council.
Additionally, a grant for $82,430
has been applied for through the
state’s Criminal Justice Coordinat
ing Council. If the necessary
monies are raised, target date for
start-up is this September.
In describing the proposed
program, Simons says WAVE is a
combination of what he see as the
best of various programs already
being utilized throughout the
nation. Although it is a unique
program to Houston County, it’s
premise is very similar to the
“D.A.R.E.” (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) program cur
rently taught in Houston County.
However, while D.A.R.E. is
aimed at fifth graders, the WAVE
program will be aimed at eighth
graders, as it is around the age of
puberty which violence problems
seem to start occurring, according
to .omens.
Ideally, Simons says that the
program will employ trained offi
t er« in :»<> in'o v very eighth grade
cfv.sroorn in <} county to teach
For News And Subscriptions Call 912-987-1823
Saturday, April 23, 1994
Washington Street facilities. This
gain will provide them much-needed
space and will allow them to con
solidate their Perry and Warner
Robins offices here, Hinnant says.
In addition to school board of
fices, other highlights of the reno
vated facility will include a restored,
early 1900 s class room and the Se
nator Sam Nunn Library.
As for the old board of education
offices, when vacated, the City of
Perry will turn that facility into
their new city hall.
At the same time, the present
city hall--also located on
Washington, right next door to the
school board-will be converted into
a public safety complex.
*4 *»cha*op ciot or pf * • -
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Perry Police Chief Frank Simons (left) gratefully accepts a fi,ooo aonauon rrom local Exchange
Club President Dwayne Yoder. The club’s donation Is In support of a new program entitled WAVE -
Weapon and Violence Education. Simons Is hoping to take the program to the classroom this fail.
weapon and violence education dur
ing a 12-week course.
Primary aims of the program
will be to teach children to assume
responsibility for their actions and
ihink about any consequences their
actions may have.
“They need to undcrsfrvd
nothing comes free: they - l0
Classified &
Page 8A 1
Center to reap
profits from the
sale of city land
BY BRENDA THOMPSON
Staff Writer
In an effort to raise some much
needed money, Perry City Council
voted this week to put six parcels
of land on the auction block.
All proceeds will be applied to
ward the costs of the new commu
nity and recreation center being
constructed at Rozar Park, council
members said during their regularly
scheduled meeting at city hall Tues
day night
“Because of our commitment to
the community center, members of
council have determined that we
need the money much more than we
need the property right now,” City
Manager Marion Hay said, explain
ing that more than $140,000 is still
needed to finish paying off the cen
City council appoints
three to airport board
By PAULINE LEWIS
Staff Writer
Determined to move forward with
plans for the local airport, Perry
City Council approved its ap
pointments to the Perry-Houston
County Airport Authority during
its regular meeting Tuesday, April
19.
Serving on behalf of the City of
Perry on the authority will be Dana
Dixon, Ralph Dorsett and John
Houser.
Houston County Commissioners
will are expected to announce two
appointments to the authority dur
ing their regular meeting next
week.
The city and county will rotate the
number of appointments each
makes to the authority with Perry
appointing three members the first
year. Besides the five appointments
by the two groups, one elected offi
cial from the city and one from the
county will serve on the authority.
Also covered on the agenda was
the filing of an application of a
grant to defray personnel costs of
consider wuai u will cost them
should they take a certain action,”
Simons told Exchange Club mem
bers.
Additionally, Simons said, the
WAVE pt-'cnm will attempt to
teach the c hikin '! about aspect, the
value of itatr- ifi fife, no processes
'-*! the in* ■■’•mo ,«:J Tr.jl! eouriS, the
Perry, Georgia -25 Cents
ter’s debt
“Additionally, we will be need
ing funds to furnish the building
and to take care of any necessary
changes or unforeseen problems
which may occur before we get it
open later this year or early next
year.”
Hay added that the local council
had been discussing the sale of cer
tain property for several months and
that all land to be sold is property
that the city has acquired either
through tax sales or direct purchase.
All total, the sale, which will be
conducted in the coming weeks by
the process of silent bid, will in
clude several lots and more than 22
acres which have been valued by the
Please see For sale, pagelOA
the Weapons and Violence
Education (W.A.V.E.), the anti
violence program proposed by Perry
Police Chief Frank Simons that
will be implemented in eighth grade
classrooms across the county.
Council also approved an amend
ment to the Perry Land
Development Ordinance regarding
"Banners" which will allow the
Georgia National Fairgrounds and
Agricenter to display banners wel
coming groups scheduling popular
and repeat events at the state facil
ity.
The approval came after a second
reading of the amendment to the or
dinance and a request from
Convention and Visitors Bureau
Executive Director Fay Tripp the
amendment be approved.
In other business:
•The recommendation relative to
the approval of a Local Project
Agreement with the Georgia
Department of Transportation re
garding the relocation of utilities
Please see COUNCIL, page 2A
finality ot death, comma resolution
and guns and gun safety.
Simons also added that the
program will also involve the
employment of several “resource
officers".
These officers will be true police
officers whose near will be the
Please see WAVE, oage 3A