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ATHt-NS, brt 30602 Please see Page 8A Houston Times- Journal Carter, Ragin will face off in November By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer Two political newcomers will comprise the list of county commission candidates in November’s general election after both scored impressive wins in Tuesday’s general primary. Wayne Ragin outdistanced Billy Hunter 3,259-2,564 to win the Democratic nomination. Jim Carter defeated Jack Wylam by a 1,410-981 count to take the Republican seat. Elections officials reported only 21 percent (8,456) of the county’s 40,397 voters showed up at the polls to cast their ballots. Ragin carried 14 of the 24 precincts, including three expected poll sites in Perry. Carter held the upper hand in 19 of the 24 precincts. Both candidates held the edge Perry, Ga. this week Volume 124—N0. 63—20 Pages WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10,1994 50 CENTS News GSP in pursuit The GSP, usually in pursuit of autos, has been focusing its attention on buses in the Hous ton County School System in recent days. Page 2A. Troopers receive awards Four Georgia State Patrol of ficers have been recognized for their outstanding duties at Post 15 in Perry. Page SA. Lunchs to be altered? Lunch at Perry schools might become completely different in the next few years if Jeanine Johnson has anything to do with it... Page 6A. Sports PHS, Board concerned Officials at Perry High School and the Houston County Board of Education found the recent Title IX compliance review re port on the Panthers disap pointing. Page 9A. A day at 'The Creek' Stan Ganr. had a good day at Houston Lake Country Club recently. Page 9A. Family Calling all teachers... The Houston County School System, and Westfield Schools, are awaiting the re turn of faculty to start the new school year. Both schools re port a combined 306 teachers in the classroom. Page 18. Couples announce Stacie Ragan and Travis Bennett are united in a beauti ful ceremony at Henderson Baptist Church. Page 28. In Sympathy The community's sympathy is extended to the families of those who recently died. They include: Howard Alvin Deason, Ernest F. Eubanks, Timothy Andrew Nicholson and William Byron Maxwell. Complete obituaries appear on Page 2A. Index to features JIMMY SIMPSON 4A OBITUARIES 2A CLASSIFIED ZB EDITORIALS 4A LEQAL NOTICES 4B LOCAL CALENDAR SB SPORTS 2A SOCIETY IB Official Legal Organ for Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Gerogia in absentee balloting. All results are unofficial until documented by elections officials. The two victors, both employed at Northrop, were more than enthused when the final votes came in. “I’m just elated with the results,” said Carter. “I re ally didn’t know what to expect because I had no expec tations coming in..., I lost a few precincts, but I’m very humbled (with the results).” The Kathleen resident, who admitted on election day that he was “extremely nervous,” said reaction at the polls continues to be more than encouraging. “This is still all very new to me,” Carter said. “All I can say is that I hope by November to have united vari ous folks, both Republicans and Democrats, and have a clean, respectable race.” For Ragin, who opted to stay away from the elections Be ■ r .AM x r * jl - ” Mgs*. ' J&jS, l i " ' *- * JBfl hOL^ Jh ifl - a « D 1 JPL' '. >'• * -sUKSi PK ■-• ■ * |||| Bf' " " Sterlln and Juanita Carr of Hawklnsvllle visited Evergreen Memorial Cemetary last weekend In an effort City takes action on washed out graves By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer City officials say they want to be sympathetic, but unless certain plots in Evergreen Cemetary are soon identified, they will have no choice but to move the caskets without prior approval from family members. The wooden caskets are located on the outer edge of the cemetary, along Big Indian Creek. A gradual landslide stemming from rains along the cemetary’s banks are causing the sites to wash away. Officials first made a plea for help about two weeks ago when city workers noticed the problem. They now are hoping that The Houston Home Journal family during the 19605: At far left are Mr. and Mrs. Byron Maxwell. At center are Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Etheridge. Former Journal owner's death mourned By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer William Byron Maxwell, one of Perry’s most respected citizens, died Friday. He was 84. A native of Mitchell, he was the son of the late Joseph Byron Maxwell and Leta Lennard Maxwell. He was the former owner and editor of the Ocilla Star and a former co-owner of the Houston Home Journal. Mr. Maxwell was an active member of the Perry Presbyterian Church, where he was a deacon. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and the American Association of Retired Persons. Survivors include a wife, Mrs. Louise Bobby's back! Please see Page 10A family members can acknowledge certain graves as being those of family members. City officials stepped up their efforts Aug. 3 when they began legal proceedings to address the problem in Houston County Superior Court. The notice, Civil Action File 94-V --50910-N, would allow workers to remove those graves on the verge of being washed away by heavy rains if caskets are not identified within 60 days. The caskets would then be buried at another location with another marker, most likely a wooden cross such as others that now exist at various sites in the cemetary. The city asks in the legal notice that it “be relieved from any and all liability, now Ingham Maxwell of Perry; a sister, Mrs. Lewis Huggins of Thomasville; and a brother, L.E. Maxwell of Albany. “He was a faithful worker, and interested in anything in this community,” said Aurelia Evans, a longtime friend of more than 30 years. “He would go out of his way to help anybody. And in return, he was most appreciative of anything that anybody did for him or his wife,” she said. The Rev. Jim Shipley, a pastor at the Perry Presbyterian Church who had known Mr. Maxwell for the past 14 years, remembered the kind man that often struck up a conversation. “One of the things he most enjoyed in office as final results came in, the victory was also somewhat nerveracking. “The last time I was down there (at the elections of fice for July’s primary), I said I wouldn’t stand around and wait (for the votes to come in),” he said. “But we were in touch constantly by phone, so I had some idea of what was going 0n... It wasn’t much better.” On his campaign, Ragin said he felt the professional ism displayed by his camp in particular should be noted. “I think we ran a very professional and clean race,” the Perry resident said. “We had a tremendous group of volunteers and a tremendous amount of supporters in the community and in Houston County.” The biggest edge for Ragin, and perhaps the turning point in the runoff, was at the Georgia National Please see Election, page 12A to locate a family member that may be burled there. (HT J photo by Jimmy Simpson) The man In light-colored coat at far right Is former editor Bobby Branch. They are posing with employees of the paper. or in the future,” as a result of any damage to the graves upon their removal. Interim City Manager Janice Williams said the graves are believed to date back to the early 1920’5. The eroded ground is a result of massive flooding of a lower part of the Main St. cemetary in early July. Williams said council would wait out the legal timetable before moving to remedy the problem. The legal notice will run three more times, including today’s notice in the Houston Times-Journal. It is uncertain, Williams said, just how long or how much money the project would take to complete. life was talking about current events,” Rev. Shipley said. “He kept up with almost everything, and he was always interested as to what was going 0n... “He lived a good, clean life. He was a very gentle man, and a good Christian man. He was quiet, but he loved being around people.” It was in 1952 when Mr. Maxwell joined into a partnership with the late Cooper Etheridge that Carolyn Ethridge First met him. Mr. Etheridge had purchased the Home Journal in 1946 and worked as editor when Mr. Maxwell arrived in Perry six years later from Ocilla, where he served as editor Please see Mr. Maxwell page 3A Favorite recipes Please see Page 1B ¥~' Jim Carter Vacant house spurs questions on safety By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer A local group of residents, fearing for the safety of neighborhood children, are asking for the removal or re pair of a Washington Street home. The dwelling, located at 811 Washington Street, came under recent fire after several children were spotted going in and out of the house. “It’s an eyesore, and someone is going to get hurt playing over there (at the house),” said Virginia Jones, one of 28 persons along Washington and Gilmer Streets who signed a petition presented to City Council just last week. Another resident living just off of Washington, on Gilmer Street, said he agrees that the home is a problem. “I’m often having to close the home’s doors due to mischievous persons,” said Larry Sayre. “The porch is dangerous, and I don’t like walking across it, but I don’t want the house to be an open invitation to kids.” The older house is owned by Jimmy Paul who reside s in Atlanta. Efforts to contact him were unsuccessful. “If someone who likes to remodel were to come in and fix it up, maybe it would make a nice home,” Jones said. But even if that were to heppen, according to Jones, there would be one additional problem facing contractors that would obviously need to bb addressed- bats. “We see them (bats) all the time,” said Chuck Sanders, who lives just across the street. “They don’t come out until around 8:30 or 9 (p.m.) because they only travel at night.” The winged birds, measuring about four inches tall, look more fearful than they actually are, according to Sanders. “They’ve got this great wing span that can really spook you,” he said. “They’re actually very timid to wards adults, but they’re still a problem.” So much of a problem, Sanders said, that he has taken on the job of an amateur part-time exterminator. “I’ve already killed about 40 of them that were com ing down my chimney,” he said. “At first, it was pretty exciting, but now it’s routine.” It’s for that reason alone that Jones said the house is more of a problem than actually meets the eye. “It’s kind of a spook house (because of the bats). Ob viously, the kids think they’ve done something... when they go in it,” Jones said. City Building Official, Bill Chambless, told those in attendance that the city was aware of the problem and will take action towards correcting it. Diners in dark after storm tangles wires By JIMMY SIMPSON Staff Writer Local businesses along Sam Nunn Blvd. were left in the dark last Friday night after a severe power outage cut off electricity for more than an hour and a half. Ths first report of darkness was reported at about 8:10 p.m., according to local Georgia Power manager Neal Rearden, who said power was restored at about 9:45 p.m. The problem stemmed from high winds that con nected two wires and took out a station breaker, accord ing to Rearden. “The reason it took so long to repair the breaker was that our crews had to (search) a stretch of wires before we could locate the problem area,” said Rearden. Once the trouble area was spotted, he said, crews then had to ensure that there were no other problems with the breaker that would affect workers. “There’s a lot of wire out there,” said Rearden. “We had to be positive that we knew exactly what we were working with...” More than 15 businesses, from Quincy’s to the Interstate 75 bridge on one side, and from Taco Bell to that same bridge on the other, were completely shut down while crews worked hecticlly trying to revive the area. Jim Hamlin, a shift manager at Pizza Hut, said that business was “severly handicapped.” “(The outage) cut our business approximately in half,” Hamlin said. “We had to get candles just to let those customers that were already in the restaurant finish eating...” At Quincy’s, manager Greg Wilson said projected in come was also far below the norm for a Friday night I * JWIbI Wayne Ragin