Newspaper Page Text
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Volume 125-No. 80
« 18 Pages
WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER 7,1994
50 CENTS
Perry, Ga.
this week
In Sympathy
The community's sympathy
is extended to the families of
those who recently died. They
include:Robert Lee “Bobby-
Cannon, Eatonton; Gertrude
Baggett Greer, Perry; Exie P.
Rozar, Oregon, III.; Odie Mae
Stanley, Perry; Woodrow W.
Cannady, Macon; Goldie G.
Thomas, Waycross; Mary K.
Stone, Perry. See details page
2A.
Don't forget!
Perry Players are "holding au
ditions for “The Sound of Mu
sic" on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 10
a.m. for youth and children, on
Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. and
Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. for
adults. The auditions will be
held at 909 Main Street. The
show dates are Feb. 22 through
march 5. For more information
call 987-5354 or 987-5097.
Mobile home owners
warned: display decal
or be cited by court
All mobile home owners in Hous
ton County are being warned that
citations will be given for not dis
playing a required decal.
On Nov. 29, the Warner Robins
Magistrate court held a hearing on
citations given to mobile home
owners who had failed to display
the decal required by Georgia code
48 5-492.
Sixteen owners who were cited
and had been previously notified to
display the decal were fined $25
plus SBO for court costs. Fines can
reach up to S2OO, but the owners,
after being cited, obtained the de
ch!*.
All mobile homes in the county
will be inspected for a decal by the
Tax Assessor's office. It is esti
mated that over 400 mobile home
owners still do not currently have a
decal to display. Furthermore, some
owners may have to purchase a de
cal for two prior years in addition to
the current year decai if the owner
has failed to purchase one for each
of those years.
Owners who receive a citation
from the Magistrate court and then
purchase the decal but do not dis
pose of the citation in Lire court, an
arrest warnuit could be issued by the
court for failing to respond to the
court's instruction.
For additional information contact
the Houston County Tax Assessor
office in the courthouse (987-3060).
Candlelight service
cancelled due to rain;
'no re-scheduling 1
A downpour of rain and lightning
Sunday afternoon caused the Rev. A.
C. Truluck, president of the Perry
Area Ministerial Association, to
cancel the Candlelight Service on the
Courthouse Square, scheduled for 7
p.m. that night.
At a meeting of the Ministerial
Association Tuesday morning, the
decision was reached, regretfully, the
Rev. Glenn Clower, program
chairman, said, that there didn't seem
to be a time or date when the service
could be re-scheduled. So, there will
be no Candlelight Service this year -
1994.
Sunday afternoon, the city workers
brought the truckload of sand,
Please see SERVICE, page9A
from the
parade-5A
Houston Times-Journal
Houston Lake will have public access areas
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
Newt Editor
It's offlcial-Houston Lake will
become a public lake, with parking
and public access made available to
all county residents.
Houston County Commissioners
unanimously agreed during their
regular meeting Tuesday, Dec. 6, to
apply for federal and state funding
to repair damage to the dam, take
over maintenance of public areas,
and approve all rules, fees and regu
lations set up by the owners of the
hike and add the dam to its General
Navy veteran, Perryan W.C. Little, remembers story of orphan
(Editor's note: This story
has received much attention
from the media over the
years, but was brought to
light again recently when
Daniel Edward Keenan met
the men who, literally,
saved his life.)
By BRIGETTE LOUDERMILK
News Editor
It's a story that bears repeating,
especially during the holidays.
It's a story of tragedy turned into a
happy ending, thanks to miracles
and human compassion.
It's a story about war, abandon
ment and neglect. , .and it's a story
about love, luck and life.
Perryan Walter "W.C.” Little re
members the story well, because he
was there. It is a story that has
changed his life iq ways he can't
begin to describe iff WrifOS ’ ~
And just like the Christmas story
of another little child bom unno
ticed, who, to this day, is loved by
many, Little, who is now 62, tells
this story to his children and grand
children around this time of year.
The story began in Korea, July
1953. An abandoned American
child, unheard of in Korea, was
found by an American soldier and
taken to an orphanage.
Amidst the destruction of war, a
priest from the U.S.S. Point Cruz,
a Navy escort carrier, happened
upon this small wonder-an Ameri
can infant barely surviving in a for
eign land. This was September. The
baby, named George at the orphan
age, had not fared well. He was
covered with a rash, he was mal
nourished and he was not receiving
the proper human companionship
needed to flourish.
Little, at the age of 20, was sta
Winners
announced!
Impressions owner Elizabeth
Flowers, pictured with daughter
Claire, stands in front of her store
window that won first place in the
Storefront Decorating Contest
held in conjunction with Christ
mas at the Crossroads. Other win
ners were Elegant Designs, sec
ond place; and Country Village,
third place. Parade judges hand
ed out the following awards in the
float competition: Schools-Tabor
Middle, first; Kings Chapel-sec
ond; Thomas Proud Child-third.
Industry and Business-Northrop,
first; Canine Cleaners, second;
Forestry Commission, third. Clubs
and organizations-Brownie Troop
231, first; D.A.R.E., second.
the Croattrnaite
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia
* ' • m.
C g%g+* suf i&yiAfTtt
Liability insurance policy.
The owners of the lake will col
lect all fees, retain ownership of the
lake and, therefore, be liable for the
lake.
Commission Chairman J. Sherrill
Stafford said that maintenance costs
will be paid by the fees collected so
no tax dollars will be needed-"only
the taxpayers who use the hike will
be paying for the maintenance," he
added.
Because of std'ety precautions, "the
public access will include boating
and fishing for the general public
tioned on the U.S.S. Point Cruz.
His commander, Capt. J.T. "Chick”
Hayward, and the priest, Lt. Edward
O. Riley, decided the American or
phan should be saved from certain
death. Captain Hayward ordered Fa
ther Riley to bring the child aboard
the ship and they would take him to
America when they returned home
in December.
But, Father Riley had a major task
ahead. Only after Captain Hayward
learned Vice President Nixon was in
Korea and got the word to him was
a visa issued for Baby George.
So, the week of Thanksgiving,
this young baby finally arrived at
his first home, a Navy carrier.
Little said the presence of a baby
on the ship was wonderful.
"George changed our lives. It
lifted the spirits of everyone on the
ship," he said.
The crew was ready for George. A
baby bed had been built. There were
homemade toys for him to play
with. There were diapers made from
Navy sheets. Special formula was
made. And, this tiny child who just
a few months before had no one,
suddenly had 1,000 men to care for
him.
According to Little, the crew was
so in awe of George that, during a
designated time each day, the men
were allowed to forget their uuties
and gather in groups to view the
baby, take pictures of him and play
with him.
An American doctor serving in the
war had also discovered the baby,
and he and his wife decided to adopt
George. When the baby arrived in
America, his mother was waiting
for him.
George is grown up now. His par
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Basketball season begins
Full local sports coverage appears on — 6A
during the daylight hours each day.
Skiing, jet skiing and other similar
activities, shall be prohibited" ac
cording to an agreement to be
signed by the commission and hike
owners.
All private property around the
lake will remain private property. A
survey will be conducted to deter
mine adequate public access and
parking.
Stafford said it would be 18-24
months before the hike will be open
to the public.
In other business, the commission
"George
changed our
lives. It lifted
the spirits of
everyone on
the ship."
-W.C. Little
ents, Dr. and Mrs. Hugh Keenan,
have since passed away. George's
name is Daniel Edward Keenan.
He's a sportswriter living in
Ephrata, Washington with his wife
and two daughters.
W.C. Little, a native of
Hawkinsville, relumed home and
soon went to work at Bluebird Body
Co. in Fort Valley. He met a
young lady named Caroline soon
after, and 38 years later they have
two daughters, are still happily
married, living in Perry and Little
still works at Bluebird.
One daughter, Dianne Everidge,
also lives in Perry. She is married
to Bryan Everidge, and they have
three children. She drives a school
bus for The Westfield Schools.
Their other daughter, Sybil Ryan,
is a military wife. Her husband,
Terry, is in the Navy. They have
decided to withdraw the funding
they have provided the cities of
Warner Robins and Perry for recre
ation programs until they can re
negotiate an agreement.
Commissioner Calvin Maye
stated that in an original agreement
made four years ago, the county
promised to provide funuing if the
cities would charge county residents
the same fees as city residents for
recreation programs. Maye also
stated that the county has given the
cities parks, vehicles and equipment
1 1
Little saw "George", Daniel Edward Keenan, last summer at a reunion
the crew of the USS Port Cruz A reunion is planned for next year
and Keenan will attend. Little encourages anyone with the crew to
plan to attend.
two sons and live in Orange Park,
Fla.
Little had not set eyes on "George
Ascom Cruz" (that's what the crew
named him) since December 1953,
until a reunion for the crew of the
Navy ship was held last year in San
Diego, Ca. According to Little, it
is exciting to see your old ship
mates and share stories and remi
nisce. But the 1993 reunion held a
special excitement because
"George" would be there.
Heileman Brewing Co. will
re-open the Perry brewery
By PAULINE LEWIS
Society Editor
G. Heileman Brewing Company,
of La Crosse, Wis., on Nov. 30
announced that it will re-open its
beverage production and packaging
facility in Perry. This action re
flects the growing demand for its
service as a contract producer and
packager of non-beer products.
The facility, which was built in
1970 but has not been in operation
since June 1989, is currently being
refurbished for the production and
packaging, on a contract basis, of
AriZona Brand Beverages, including
AriZona Iced Tep, products of Fer
olita, Vultaggio & Sons, Inc. of
Brooklyn, NY.
The Perry facility is scheduled to
re-open in the Spring of 1995, at
which time it is expected to gener
ate at least 100 new, Perry-based
jobs.
The enthusiastic response to the
news of the re-opening of the
Heileman facility to make and
package iced tea is quite different
from the response to the opening of
the Pabst facility several years ago
to produce and package beer. Jim
Worrall, Mayor of the City of
Pern,’, upon learning of the re-open
ing of Heileman, gave the follow
ing comments:
"The recent announcement lliat the
Index to Features
Classified 7B Police report 3A
Deaths 2A Sports 6A
Phil Clark 6A Tribble 4A
Legals 4B Vets column 4A
Letters 4A Remember when4A
as well as help with paving, land
scaping and other projects. Maye
stated that both Perry and Warner
Robins have requested additional
funding from the county for recre
ation.
Commissioner Larry Snellgrove
said that he feels the "county has
lived up to its end of the deal and
die cities have not." He continued
by saying that county residents
were still charged more dian city
residents for recreation fees, even
though the county has provided
funding.
"This was more special than our
first reunion, I think, because we
met our baby again, 40 years later,"
he said.
Little added that another reunion is
being planned for next year, with
Keenan's help.
Little urges any of the men hav
ing contact with the U.S.S. Point
Cruz to attend the 1995 reunion.
For information on the reunion,
contact Claude Bonner, 3019 40th
Ave. W„ Bradenton. Fla. 34205.
G. Heileman Brewing Company
would be re-opening their Perry-
Houston County facility in the
spring to produce AriZona Iced Tea
is another indication that Houston
County is on the move economi
cally. The number of jobs that will
be available at Heileman will be a
stimulus to continued economic
growth in the entire Perry area. Be
cause some of the former employ
ees of Heileman have never found
permanent employment since the
brewery closed five years ago, we
anticipate that they will be given
consideration when applications for
employment are accepted.
"The City of Perry is looking
forward to working closely with the
management team from AriZona
Tea to ensure a smooth transition
as the facility begins production."
Peggie H. Williams, President of
the Perry Area Chamber of Com
merce, upon hearing die news, said,
"The Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce welcomes AriZona Iced
Tea to our business community.
We look forward to working widi
them to ensure their start-up is as
smooth as possible."
Sherrill Stafford, Chairman of die
Houston County Commissioners,
enthusiastically said, "I am very
pleased. In refurbishing and in-
Please see BREWERY, page 9A
