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Homed tie Georgia
National Fair and Agrioenter
Volume 125, No. 6
Seventh Dogwood festival just seven weeks away
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
Although temperatures are dipping into
the 20s, area residents are looking forward
to spring.
In Perry, the Dogwood Festival has
become the traditional official welcome for
warmer weather and all that Mother Nature
provides.
The seventh annual Dogwood Festival
will be held April 1-2, according to Festival
Chairwoman Karen Nikitopoulos, with the
events on April 1 being centered in the
downtown area and Rozar Park taking over
as the focal point for planned events on
April 2.
“Mayor Jim Worrall and members of the
Perry City Council have decided that the
official open house for the new Perry
Community Center will be held April 2 dur
ing the Family and Friends at Rozar Park
Day,” Nikitopoulos said.
Farmers
welcome
needed cold
weather
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
While most residents in southern
Houston County were enjoying the
mild winter, area farmers are glad
to see some sub-freezing tempera
tures.
“We actually need the cold
weather,” Duren Bell, director of
the Houston County Extension
Service, said. “The cold weather
we’ve had and are expecting this
week has helped slow down some
of the crops, like small grains, that
were almost too far along for this
time of year.
“In two or three weeks, we’ll be
looking for a turn-around and hope
things start warming up, but right
now we cold temperatures.”
Bell said the peach growers were
especially concerned about the
warm winter the area has experi
enced.
“By the end of the week, with
the predicted low temperatures due,
the peach growers should be in
pretty good shape.” Bell said.
“TWo or three weeks ago, we
had only about half the required
number of hours of cold tempera
tures the peach trees need. I haven’t
calculated it out today, but I’d guess
we’re somewhere between 75 and
80 percent today (Tuesday morn
ing),” Bell said.
Peach trees need chill hours
(hours at 45 degrees or less) to sat
isfy their rest requirement. The
number of hours required varies by
tree variety.
If peach trees don’t get enough
winter chtiling, they will bloom late
and usually set some fruit, Gerald
Krewer, Extension Service horti
culturist, said. However, the leaves
won’t develop fast enough to sup
port developing fruit and the fruit
will fall from the tree.
Other than the shortage of chill
hours for peaches, about the only
problem area farmers are having is
with wet fields which are prevent
ing nitrogen equipment from get
ting into the fields of small grains.
“While we’re behind for the cur
rent year, all the moisture we had
last year has saturated the ground
and even a small amount of rain
makes the ground too wet to put
heavy equipment on,” Bell said.
Homeowners and gardeners may
not be as happy to see the sub
freezing temperatures expected this
week.
Many azalea bushes and some
other flowering shrubs and trees
have already bloomed or are close
to blooming and them may be dam
aged, Bell said.
“The cold will mean fewer flow
ers than usual this spring, especial
ly among the early-flowering vari
eties that have already started
(See COLD, Page SA)
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Smith passes mark 6A
Houston Tlmes-Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
“We are looking forward to making this a
very big weekend for Perry,” she said. “We
are working hard to finalize plans for the
festival so everyone who comes, from Perry
as well as other areas, will go home looking
forward to next year.”
The festival is sponsored by Coca-Cola,
the Georgia Cotton Commission and the
Perry Area Chamber of Commerce.
April 1 will be highlighted by the Carroll
Street Celebration which begins at the
Houston County Courthouse with a 5-kilo
meter run at 8 a.m.
While the runners are on the course, up to
75 artists and craftsmen will be setting up
their booths along two blocks of Carroll
Street and two blocks on Ball Street. At 10
a.m., the Celebration will begin and last
until 4 p.m.
On hand will be craftsmen featuring
ceramics, wooden toys and furniture, Indian
and gold jewelry, women’s and children’s
/f C I
SHOPPER’S SPACE New downtown regulations will require spaces along Carroll
Street be kept open for shoppers in the retail district.
Following the city rules
City to enforce parking law in business zone
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
Everyone who parks in downtown Perry will be
playing by the same rules at least for a while.
Perry Police Chief Frank Simons and City
Manager Phil Clark told a group of downtown busi
ness owners Feb. 2 that the Perry Police Department
would be marking tires and issuing summons for all
overtime parkers, whether the vehicle belonged to a
business operator or their employees or a member of
the shopping public.
“We’ll begin enforcing the two-hour parking
zones sometime this week,” Clark told the Times-
Journal Monday morning.
The fine will remain the same, $6 for violating the
two-hour limit the first time. The city judge has the
authority, to increase the fine for repeat offenders,
Simons told the business operators.
Simons said the city would use current school
crossing guards as parking enforcers once they have
completed their morning school zone duties.
“We’ll have one of the crossing guards come to
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KEEP THESE OPEN The new parking regulations will require businessmen along Ball
Street to keep these spaces open for potential customers, although some of them claim the
offer professional services and do not generate walk-in traffic.
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[Woods and Water time
Make a trip
Hunting, fishing show —lO A
clothing, bird houses, floral arrangements,
face painting, sand art, balloon art for the
children and food vendors. Nikitopoulos is
in charge of the crafts show.
Also on hand will be the traditional ham
burgers, hot dogs, com dogs and curly fries,
plus funnel cakes, hot apple dumplings,
fried pies, pizza, sub sandwiches, ice cream,
rib-eye steak sandwiches with fresh-cut
fries, kiddie cookies, Greek food and soft
drinks.
The Akikta Club will have a children’s
activities corner in the small lot next to
Carlton Turner Interiors on Carroll Street.
“If any food vendors, or other craftsmen,
want to set up booths, they should contact
the Chamber of Commerce,” Nikitopoulos
said.
At noon on April 1, the Dogwood
Festival parade will begin down Carroll
Street. As always, the Grand Marshal will
remain a surprise until the parade begins.
the downtown area and mark tires and issue sum
mons from 9 a.m.-noon,” Simons said. “We’ll bring
on a second crossing guard to patrol the streets from
either noon, or 1 p.m. until about 3 p.m. We should
n’t have much of a parking problem after 3 p.m.,”
Simons said.
Some of the merchants disagreed with the 3 p.m.
cutoff and Simons said he would look at the need to
extend the parking enforcement hours.
“There is a lot of talk about the need to increase
safety,” Simons said. “The crossing guards will be an
extra set of eyes in the downtown area. They’ll have
radios and our average response time is about three
minutes now so we’fl be able to be on the scene of
any trouble very quickly.”
The chief said the crossing guards would also be
checking with the businesses to see if they are hav
ing any problems.
“This is not a 100 percent cure to the downtown
parking problem,” Simons said. “We are trying to
(See PARKING, Page SA)
Times-Journal photos by Eric Zellars
Entertainment and drawings are planned
throughout the day.
Family and Friends in Rozar Park on
April 2 will begin at noon and many events
are aimed especially for children.
Hot air balloon rides up to 50 feet are
planned, Nikitopoulos said. Brown and
Williamson Tobacco Co., is providing a bal
loon for Sunday in the Park.
Tentatively scheduled are a moon walk, a
space ball a trackless train ride, a softball
tournament, a tennis tournament and horse
shoes. Pre-registration is required for the
softball tournament, which will be held on
Saturday at Rozar Park.
For applications or registration forms for
the softball tournament, call Colleen
McClintick at 987-3769.
The tennis tournament is scheduled for
April 1-2 at Rozar Park under the direction
of Ann Yaneris. She can be reached at 987-
1456.
Expanding recreation
programs mean more
department workers
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
Even though it has not yet
been officially opened, the new
Perry Community Center at
Rozar Park is causing problems
for the city.
“We’re having more people than
ever sign up for programs,” City
Manager Phil Clark told the city
council during a work session Jan.
31. “We need someone to help with
the sign-ups and we also need
someone to help keep the place
clean during the day.”
The council voted at its last
meeting to award Tharpe
Janitorial Service a six-month
contract for the majority of janito
rial work, but noted at that time
that someone would need to be
hired to be available during the
daytime hours.
Most of Tharpe s cleaning
would be done after the center
closed.
The part-time janitorial assis
tant’s position had already been
budgeted, City Budget Director
Janice Williams told council during
the work session.
Clark told the council he would
recommend the city hire a recre
ation assistant who would also han
dle light janitorial duties.
“We will soon have a critical
need for recreation help,” Clark
said. “We may need to hire a recre
ation assistant who would help with
the janitorial work.”
Future of downtown
topic of Feb. 23 meeting
From Staff Reports
Proposals about the future of
downtown Perry and how to
accomplish them will be dis
cussed Feb. 23 when the Perry
Downtown Development
Authority and the City of Perry
host a meeting of downtown busi
ness owners.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at
the Houston County Agricultural
Building, 733 Carroll St.
The meeting will allow property
owners, as well as business opera
tors, to provide input on options in
the revitalization of Perry’s down
town.
Adrian Wood, from the Middle
Georgia Regional. Development
Commission, and Chuck Scragg,
with Georgia Power Co., will be on
hand to facilitate the merchants’
brainstorming session.
“Many small towns the size or
Perry use the Main Street U.S.A.
program to revitalize their down
town areas,” Wood said.
“Those which join Main Street
have a manager who oversees activ
ities such as festivals or other pro-
index
Classified B 7 Obituaries A 2
Church B 3 Potpourri B 1
Editorials A 4 Sports A 8
Legals B 3 Woods and Water . AlO
Wed.. February 8.1995
A children’s Fun Run is also planned.
Nikitopoulos is also planning a Car Show
on April 2 with open classes. Entries are
being accepted for antique cars, street rods,
muscle cars, stock cars and trucks.
“There will be informal judging and two
trophies will be awarded in each class,” she
said. Dash plaques are also being offered.
Goody bags will be presented to each entrant.
Pre-registration forms will be available
soon and must be returned by March 20.
Cars may also be entered from 11 a.m.-12
noon on April 2.
Cars entered in the Car Show may also
take part in the parade. For more informa
tion about the Car Show, contact Bill War Ten
at 988-5460 (days) or 987-9300 (evenings).
For further information about the parade,
contact the Chamber.
For further information about any
Festival-related event, call the Chamber at
987-1234 or Nikitopoulos at 987-5535.
City Manager Phil Clark
told the council he would
recommend the city hire a
recreation assistant who
would also handle light jan
itorial duties.
Clark said the city would wel
come volunteers who would help
with the sign-ups.
“I foresee the Community Center
and recreation program becoming a
tremendous drain on city finances,”
if the public response to the pro
grams continues to grow as rapidly
as it has, Clark said.
Councilman Charles Lewis sug
gested hiring a part-time recreation
aide, but the idea was rejected with
Mayor Jim Worrall casting the
deciding vote.
The matter was put off until after
a new city recreation director was
hired.
The council also heard Williams
give an update on negotiations with
the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. con
cerning concessions at the commu
nity center.
In other matters, the council
agreed to look further into a pro
posed sewer line extension on
U.S. 41 north of the city and
agreed that the naming of a Perry
street for the late Dr. Martin
Luther King would be on the
agenda for the Feb. 7 regular
council meeting.
Wood said the RDC and
Georgia Power work
together and try to provide
basically the same services
as Main Street without the
local business community
or government having to
hire someone.
motions which draw interest to the
downtown areas,” she said.
Wood said the RDC and
Georgia Power work together and
try to provide basically the same
services as Main Street without
the local business community or
government having to hire some
one.
Possible solutions to the down
town parking problem will be
included in the discussion, Wood
said.
“It seems to me that Perry has
plenty of available off-street park
ing places available, if the city or
property owner would develop the
sites,” Wood said.