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Viewpoints
Your Opinion
It will be a challenge for
the city to replace Hay
Dear Editor:
I would be remiss if I did not take the time to express the deep loss our
community has recently experienced with the leaving of our City Manager,
Marion Hay. I do not need to state all the many contributions he has made
to our city, nor do I need to elaborate on his excellent educational
background, experience and expertise in his chosen field of City
Management. His true friends in the community and his true loyal
colleagues can tell you if his devoted seventeen years helping guide our
city to being of the best speaks on its own accord.
On a personal note I would like to state, that Marion has been a long
tune close childhood friend of my husband and someone I had the privilege
of working with for five plus years. The City Manager we will miss is
the person I would see give money out of his pocket to less fortunate city
employees who needed money for food or medicine for their family with
no more than “give me what you can next pay day”. He was someone
who would loan money to keep a family’s utilities from being cut off
during winter months when they would lose their gas heat. I witnessed his
concern of our elderly citizens who physically were unable to place their
trash toters at their curb. Marion made certain that their toter was always
located and emptied each week. As with any people that work closely
together you cannot help but know the personal problems that may occur
in their life. While working with Marion, he suffered the loss of his
mother who lived with his family and was a strong force in not only his
life but his family’s also. During her long period of illness, Marion did
not miss one day from his job until close to her passing away when she
was hospitalized. Although, his moter was in a hospital dying, he still
remembered my daughter’s first birthday. I arrived at my office on a
Monday morning to find a wrapped gift from an Albany hospital gift shop
that he had bought while being there with his mother.
I could say much more, but I think many share my same sentiments
about Marion. I have always prided our community as being a cut above
all others and Marion helped make this possible. Now our community can
only hope all of our elected officials will have this level of education,
knowledge, experience and the hope of acquiring and matching his years of
expertise in City Management The guidance and leadership he unselfishly
gave our city for many years will certainly be a challenge. Good luck
elected officials.
Susan S. Strickland
Reader supports discussion
on consolidating law service
Dear Editor,
With the political climate being what it is now in Perry and Warner
Robins, it would seem that this would be the most opportune time we’ve
ever had to seriously discuss government consolidation in at least some
areas, especially law enforcement
The leaders of the communities within Houston County should
seriously consider this.
Pete Griffin
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To: Editor
Houston Times-Joumal
P.O. Drawer M
Perry, Ga. 31069
Houston Times-Joumal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069
Phone: (912) 987-1823
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Reviewing President Clinton's welfare reform plan
The central theme of President
Bill Clinton’s long awaited plan to
reform welfare is that welfare
should offer only temporary
assistance until an adult can find a
job.
Over 30 years ago when the late
President Lyndon Johnson pushed
his Great Society Program through
Congress it carried with it a very
similar theme. However, that has
not been the case as we now have
third generation recipients on the
ever-growing welfare rolls.
what we have gotten into over
the past 30 years cannot be
corrected overnight, as some
Congressmen are saying, but the
President’s plan is a start and he
should be admired for placing it on
the table.
The Clinton plan will require
young mothers to work, it will
discourage teenagers from having
babies, and it will force absentee
-
Perry Scrapbook
The local police department took time to wish Police Chief B.E. Dennard "farewell" and pose
for a picture In front of City Hall. Dennard retired from the city in 1987.
STREET TALK:
Last week, we asked six local residents what they thought about the much-publi
cized O.J. Simpson case? Since that time, however, much more has happened and
O.J. has been arrested and charged. In light of all the new developments, we de
cided to ask the same basic question again ... do you think O.J. is guilty of what he
is accused and do you think a fair trial is possible?
\ | Jr
ft *
Fay Tripp
“I don’t know that we have
enough hard facts to make
a decision, and, because
of all' the media hype, I
don’t think a fair trial is
possible.”
*f ,V
, ,:'Pr • JMm
Charles Lewis
“According to the news
and what I’ve been able to
hear, I think he’s guilty of
playing some part in the
crime. And, yes, I think he
can get a fair trial; to say
otherwise is to question
the integrity of the Ameri
can people.”
Houston times-Journal
fathers to pay more of the cost of
raising their children. And there is
nothing wrong with either of the
above.
The plan emphasizes education
and job training for young welfare
mothers, and if they fail to find a
job after two years of assistance,
they will have to work at a
community service job.
Around 400,000 community
service jobs would be created at the
state and local levels, and those
who get the jobs could hold them
indefinitely, or until they found
work in the private sector. Those
who failed to show up for work
would not be paid.
The plan would be implemented
slowly, beginning with recipients
bom in 1972 or later, and by the
year 2,000 about one third of the
more than five million adults on
welfare in that age bracket would be
subject to the two years and out
n
KL>
David Morgan
"The jury will have a hard
enough time deciding his
guilt or innocence based
on the evidence. The pub
lic has no business trying
to decide based on what
they hear in the news.”
Hr a
Anthony Tabor
"Even if he didn’t actually
commit the murders, I
think he had knowledge of
it. Yes, a fair trial is possi
ble; they can find 12 unbi
ased people somewhere.”
Page 4A
Saturday, June 25,1994 “Houston Times-Joumal
provisions of the plan. The
number coming off welfare would
grow as the population ages.
The administration will continue
to try and slow the growth of
welfare by allowing states to refuse
to pay benefits for additional
children conceived by mothers
already on welfare. Six states have
already done this, including
Georgia.
The plan would punish welfare
recipients who drop out of school
or skip job training by taking away
their assistance at escalating levels.
On the other hand, those willing
to work would be rewarded by
having free child care while they
were at work or in job training.
After accepting a job, mothers
would continue to get a year’s free
day care for their children and
continued medical coverage for the
family.
Under the plan absentee fathers
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Judy Hall
"I think the man is guilty,
but he’ll probably get off
because he has so much
money and influence. A
fair trial will be hard to get.
The press has been too
involved and the public
will know too much when
they do go to trial.”
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Wanda Sullivan
"I really don’t know if he’s
innocent or guilty and I do
think a fair trial is possi
ble.”
jA Bob \
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* 1
would have to shoulder more
responsibility for the financial
support of their children. They
could lose their driver’s licenses if
they failed to make child support
payments ordered by a court.
Clinton’s welfare reform plan
certainly is not perfect, but like his
health care plan, it has been put on
the table for debate. Some will
think it doesn’t go far enough,
some will think it goes too far.
Let’s hope the end result after all
the debate and argument will be a
much improved system over what
we have today.
tßrigette L
Loudermilkl
Will we ever
hear the
whole story?
As I walked inside Perry City Hall
Wednesday, everything was hum
ming right along. It was "business
as usual" as one staff member
replied.
The lights were out in Marion
Hay’s office and the walls were
cleared of his personal belongings.
There did seem to be a hub of
activity from Laura Smith’s desk
(the mayor and city manager's
secretary) and as I visited with our
interim city manager, Janice
Williams, she seemed to be
handling everything in stride.
You could tell, though, that each
time she answered her phone, the
first question asked concerned her
new appointment to the leadership
of Perry City Hall.
(I must interject here and state, for
the record, that I have all the
confidence in the world in Janice
Williams. If anyone can do
Marion’s job, she can.)
I don't think the change was a
huge shock to most of us.
Personally, I've received several
calls over the past few weeks con
cerning closed meetings being held
by Perry City Council. Mostly cit
izens wanted to know why Marion
Hay was being fired, why the coun
cil was meeting in "secret" and gen
erally, what was going on.
What I've been told, you've read.
Hay hasn't been fired, only reas
signed as a consultant, per his re
quest. Our city leaders haven't ac
cepted any of the responsibility for
this recent turn of events.
There is one aspect I do think sur
prised many, myself included-the
suddenness of it all.
By Monday, media representa
tives, besides myself, were calling
on our mayor and Hay with a bom
bardment of questions.
According to Worrall, some of the
questions centered around some wild
accusations of wrongdoing on Hay's
part, and he has quickly responded
that the accusations are totally
ridiculous, a "bald faced lie" were
his actual words.
Then it happened. Two citizens
and four members of the press
showed up for the regular city
council meeting to find out if the
rumor that Hay was vacating his
city manager's position was true.
Well, it was. Councilman James
Moore read a brief pre-written mo
tion which was unanimously ac
cepted by the full council, and that
was it. It took all of a minute and a
half.
The appointment of Williams
didn't even take that long.
There's still a nagging question
" Why?"
No one seems to want to discuss
the situation that has led our city
government to this point.
Why, after 17 years, did Hay de
cide it was time to "move on"?
Why did he feel so compelled to
hand over the leadership of several
uncompleted projects he's worked
so hard on, such as the community
center at Rozar Park, the bypass and
others?
Why do our elected city officials
feel that Hay's "reassignment" from
city manager to a consultant is "at
this time...in the best interest of
Please see EDITOR, page 5A