Houston times-journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1994-1999, November 02, 1994, Image 1

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NIVERSITY Of 6A LIBRARIES 80* ITN. 808 HENNEBERGER 40* »j THE NS. GA 30602 St Cast your vote Nov. 8 Ini I Perry, Ga. I this week You'll get a call! Subscription drive now under way for Journal Over the next few weeks a team of telephone sales people will be calling your home seek ing subscriptions on behalf of the paper. The calls are in con junction with a subscription drive the Times-Journal is con ducting. During the drive, the paper will be offering new and re newal subscriptions at our regular price, with part of the money going to the local Scout ing effort and to help fund Perry's Senior Citizens' Cen ter. If our operators fail to call, you may take advantage of our offer be calling 987-1823. News - - ■- Presidential Rematch Republican Jim Carter wil meet Democrat Wayne Ragin in the Houston County Board of Com missioners Post 6 race. Take some time and visit with the candidates on Page 3A. Kudos for Perry Police A writer says that he was really impressed with the Perry Po lice Department patroling dumg the Georgia National Fair. Page 4A. BOE Post 6 The Houston County Board of Education is seeking some one to fill Post 6, and three have applied. Meet the candi dates on Page SA. Good Cook Sharon Brown learned to cook from watching her mother. We understand her recipe for callico bean casserole is very good. Check it out, Page 18. Top Members The Kiwanis Club honors top members Ted Rosebrock, Deryle Whipple and Earl Cheek. Page 38. Sports — - --- - - Friday Night's Action Westfield secured second place in G.I.S.A. Region 1 AAA with a 20-0 whipping of Southland. The Hornets also honored their softball team for a successful year. Page 6A. Youth Basketball The Perry Parks and Recre ation Department is taking ap plications for youth basketball starting Oct. 31. Call 988-8131 for details. In Sympathy The community's sympathy is extended to the families of those who recently died. They include: Sylvia Feelus Levy, Katie Lou Davis, Sammie Holmes and Pearl Miller Motley. See details page 2A. Vote on Nov. 8 0 It s your right! wcmuiuates speak on issues—3, 5A Houston Times-Journot m aBBS Red Ribbon Day Celebrated Red Ribbon Day was celebrated at Parry Elementary School on Friday, Oct. 28, ending with a balloon release by sth graders, as D.A.R.E. Officer Bill Hathclck and teachers looked on. D.A.R.E. messages were affixed to the balloons. Perry Rotary Club closes in completion of Habitat to Humanity house in Creekwood By VETO F. ROLEY Newt Editor The Rotary Club is looking for some donations to help with the Habitat for Humanity House they are constructing near Creekwood Park. Bill Mitchell, who heads the project for the club, told members Monday, Oct. 17, that the house was completely enclosed, and was in the last stages of construction. He passed around a list of things that the house needed, asking Rotary Club members to try to get the items donated. The great annual yard sale is the next major project on tap for the Rotary Club. Members are iooking City of Perry keeps current health plan By VETO F. ROLEY News Editor Perry will remain self-insured, the Perry City Council decided dur ing their regular meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 18, renewing their current in surance plan. The renewal includes a slight de crease in rates for families. Family coverage will cost the city and em ployees $455 a month in fiscal year 1995, compared to S4BO a month in fiscal year 1994. Single coverage remains steady at SIBO a month. Perry pays 75 percent of its em ployees health insurance, meaning the city pays $341.25 of the family premium and $135 of the single .premium. The employee covers the $113.75 a month in the family premium and $45 in the single premium. In the work session before the council meeting, Councilman Bobby Glover wondered if the city was losing money by self-insuring. Tve tried to find out how self Official Legal Organ for Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia Dean Maly W'tfleld clobbers Southland Full local sports coverage appears on—6, 7A Frito Lay plans S4B million expansion By VETO F. ROLEY News Editor Just one year after announcing a $25 million dollar expansion at their Kathleen facility, Frito Lay officials were in Perry Thursday, Oct. 27, to announce a new S4B million expansion. The expansion, which will in crease the workforce at the plant by 100 jobs to 650 total jobs, will be funded by bonds issued by the Houston County Development Au thority. Frito Lay will lease back the expansion from the authority as they pay the bonds off, said Mike Long, attorney for the authority. Long added that these were tax able bonds, with the company pay ing property taxes on the expan for unused useable junk to sell. New officers have been named for the Rotary Club for 1995. Billy Jerles will take over as president. Bill Mitchell as vice president, Mike Gray will remain as secretary treasurer and Elwood Waites will again serve as Sergeant at Arms. The Mossy Creek BBQ sale was a success, with gross receipts com ing near the SIO,OOO mark. The booth sold out, reported the Crossroads Rotarian. The club also heard from Larry Walker, who is with Weyerhaeuser, which runs Oaky Woods. Weyerhaeuser recently took over Oaky Woods from Procter and Gamble. Walker said the company insurance can be better," said Glover. "We've lost (money) every year." However, Janice Williams, in terim city manager, said that self insurance gave the city control over costs and benefits that it would not have if it went to an outside insur ance company. "They (insurance companies) don't want our health insurance," said Williams. "They run from it." Williams added that it would take time to get a bid package ready for outside companies, since bid ding health insurance was complex. Williams said that the city had stop-loss insurance to protect the self-insured plan. In other business before the council, the city is looking at se curing a gas line down Dry Branch Road towards Kathleen and hooking on to the Warner Robins supply line. The cost of the line would be around $150,000. Councilman Bobby Gentry told sion. "This sets the stage as we try to push a little harder for industrial growth," said Perry Mayor Jim Worrall, who said the expansion was "enormously important." Worrall said the city had experi enced some stagnate economic growth over the last year, and the expansion combined with the ex tension of the Perry Parkway into the Perry Industrial Park should get the city off the hump. "The expansion will also help to continue to diversify industry in the city so that we won’t be totally de pendent on the government and Robins Air Force Base," said Wor rall. "Nobody ought to put their had hoped to be through with con verting the property from Procter and Gamble's management system to their system before the hunting season started, but was unable to because of the rainy weather, adding that the soil type in Oaky Woods forced operations to take place in dry weather. In other news, the Rotary Club is holding perfect attendance month, with current president John Smalley urging members to get those who were absent from club meetings to make those absences up. Rotary will also hold their Christmas Party Dec. 19 at the Perry Country Club. Cost is $lO per person. the council that the line would give the city an back-up supply route if the current supply line is cut. Cur rently, the city is supplied through a gas line that is exposed at several places, making the line vulnerable to cuts. Perry Mayor Jim Worrall told the council that there was one addi tional benefit, cutting Warner Robins off from Kathleen, and giv ing Perry control of gas lines in some developing areas of the county. "We've talked about it a long time," said Worrall. "It is time to put it on the table and get serious." The council also passed a resolu tion calling for an end to unfunded federal mandates. When the council convened the official meeting later, a check for SBOO,OOO from the state for a community block grant was pre sented to the city. eggs in one basket.” Dean Maly, plant manager for Frito Lay, said in the ceremony an nouncing the expansion that in 1988 he predicted that "Frito Lay and Houston County will grow to gether." Maly said the plant employed 190 people with a payroll of $7.5 million when it opened in 1988. He said the expansion would give the plant a 650 person strong work force, with a payroll of $17.5 mil lion. "This is a significant day,” said Houston County Commission Chairman Sherrill Stafford. "I am excited, and believe in what (Frito Lay) is going to do in die future." Frito Lay official Bob Green said Houston Lake Dam may be rebuilt with federal and state funds By VETO F. ROLEY New* Editor The Houston County Board of Commissioners has received word from G.E.M.A. and F.E.M.A. that Houston Lake would be eligible for disaster relief if the county took over the dam and the lake and if the public was provided access to the lake. However, the commission pul off any decision on the dam until at least the next meeting, saying that they needed time to work out the details of taking over the dam and lake. "It (a decision on the dam) may flop over to December," said Sher rill Stafford, chairman of the com mission. "We want to do it right." Among the details to be worked out, said Stafford, were issues such as what the land deeds said about lake ownership. The county also needed to make sure what "public access" to the lake would mean. However, members of the audi ence were not all that enthralled about the county's rebuilding the dam using F.E.M.A. and G.E.M.A. money. Bob Levitt told the commission ers that public access to the lake was a very important consideration before the county took over main tenance of the dam, adding that the lake should be open to the public or "no deal." Joyce Stowers, a resident of Warner Robins, was even more crit ical of the attempt. "I object to any taxpayer funds to be used in fixing die dam," she said. "It is a private dam, and it should remain private." She added that if taxpayer funds were used to fix the dam, then it should be open to the public. But not all of the audience was opposed to the dam's being rebuilt by G.E.M.A. and F.E.M.A. " - 1L m . . pp f| - 9k B HBHBnVB| S B Out on the town Some of the older spooks visited the kids in the Oldfield section of Perry on Halloween night. Underneath their costumes were Fred Ragan, PHS de fensive tackle (left), and Kiwaukee Thomas, quarter back. They planned to wear the costumes to first period classes the next day. "Index to Features Classified 6B Pauline Lewis 1B Deaths 2A Veto Roley 4A Family 1B Sports 6A Legals 4B Social news 2B Letters 4A Bobby Tuggle 7A the one important ingredient to the Kathleen plant getting the expan sion was that the "people of the state and community were commit ted to Frito Lay's growth. Frito Lay and Houston County together are a great team. "We are able to expand die facil ity while investing in die state that invests in Frito Lay,” said Green. "The support and cooperation of the Houston County leadership is the major reason that we have de cided to put the expansion here," said Bill Johnson, an official with Frito Lay's national headquarters. "The work ethic (at the Kathleen facility) is second to none nation ally," said Green. Perry Councilman Buddy Roper noted that "Houston Lake is very important to industrial develop ment.” He added that the city used the lake to woo potential developers and industries. Roper also said the lake was im portant for environmental reasons, serving as the watershed for four counties. Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker also appeared at the meet ing, supporting the rebuilding of Houston Lake. He also asked the county to look into Lake Leisure, saying that the deadline for the county to file for funds was in the next day or two. Election day scheduled Perryans will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to cast their votes for local, state and national offices. Polls will open at 7 a.m., and close at 7 p.m. Voters who registered to vote on or before Oct. 11 are eligible to vote in the election. There are two local races. Jim Carter and Wayne Ragin are vying for Post 2 of the Houston County Commission, while Shirley Low ery, Tom Whitten and Randa Parker are seeking Post 6 on the Houston County Board of Education. The state races are led by the governor's race between Democratic incumbent Zell Miller and Republi can challenger Guy Millner. Also, the Georgia Second and Eighth Congressional districts are also be fore the voters. Voters voting at schools are en couraged to vote at time other than early morning, 7:30-8:30 a.m, and afternoon, 2-3:30 p.m.