Newspaper Page Text
i i
INS
Volume 125, No. 15
Wednesday
April 12,1995
50 Cents
At the
Crossroads
this week
Shriners plan
April 15 testing
Members of the Al Sihah
Shrine Temple in Macon
(including Perry Shriners)
will host an off-premises
screening April 15 from 9
a.m.-2 p.m. The testing is to
locate any children in need of
Shriner burn institute or crip
ple children’s hospital ser
vices.
For information call (912)
743-6386 or contact a mem
ber of the Perry Shrine Club.
Kitchens
checked
Officials from the Houston
County Health Department
inspected 18 temporary facil
ities at the Perry Dogwood
Festival in addition to several
permanent kitchens in the
county.
Of the 11 public facilities
inspected, all passed the
inspection. Locations and
scores include:
Snellgrove Seafood, 632
N. Houston Lake Blvd.,
Centerville, 100.
Sub Zero South, 1041
Russell Parkway, Warner
Robins, 100.
Summer Snow, 1850
Watson Blvd., Warner
Robins, 100.
Chen’s Wok/Gaiieria,
2922 Watson Blvd.,
Centerville, 89.
Chick-fil-A, Galleria Mall,
Centerville, 93.
Domino’s Pizza, 1431
Watson Blvd., Warner
Robins, 89.
Hardee’s, 421 N. Davis
Drive. Warner Robins, 97.
Ice Cream Chum, Galleria
Mall, Centerville, 98.
Papa John’s Pizza, 810
Russell Parkway, Warner
Robins, 100.
Shipwreck, 100 A Ga. 247
South, Warner Robins, 97.
Swiss Ice, 100 LN.
Houston Lake Blvd.,
Centerville, 99.
Last day to buy a
ham for Easter
This is the final day to
order a ham for Saturday
delivery by the Perry Rotary
Club.
The USDA grade A
Boston butts, which are being
sold for sls each, will be
ready for pickup from 9 a.m.-
3 p.m. April 15 at the Perry
Shrine Club pit along
Courtney Hodges Boulevard.
Tickets for the hams are
sls each for a 5-7 pound
ham. Tickets will be available
at the Times-Joumal office
through 5:30 p.m. Today.
Money raised by the pro
ject will be used for club
activities in the community
and for scholarships.
Tell Us
The Houston Times-
Joumal wants to hear from
you. Call (912)987-1823 dur
ing business hours, 8:30 a.m.-
5:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday. Fax us anytime at
(912) 988-1181. Visit our
office at 807 Carroll Street in
historic downtown Perry.
icial visitors
Indonesians
Visit Rotarians Page 9A
Houston Times -Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
New panel studies community coordination, building vacancies
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
The lack of an executive director for the Perry
Are? c and Visitors Bureau was dis
cussed during the first meeting of the Downtown
Development study committee Monday.
The group was formed a month ago to
review the major problems facing the down
town area of Perry. Eleven of the 15 members
gathered at the community room of CB&T
Bank and were divided into two groups. One
discussed downtown building vacancies and
the other debated the coordination of the cham
BOE to discuss
rezoning later
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
Tne Houston County Board of
Education lit the fires under two
issues Thursday that may not flare
up until September.
.The hot issue of middle school
redistricting will come up in
September when the board holds
three public hearings to decide
where the district lines will be drawn
for the two new middle schools due
to open for the 1996-97 school year.
The second issue is likely to
draw some reaction from football,
baseball, track and soccer fans who
smoke. Supt. Tony Hinnant sug
gested the board adopt a “No
Smoking” policy for all stadiums at
Houston County schools.
The school redistricting question
drew a large crowd of interested
parents when a rumor that redis
tricting would be discussed circu
lated before a board work session at
Bonaire school recently.
At that time, several of the parents
asked the board to prepare a list of
guidelines it will follow in redrawing
the district lines and many were
unhappy with rumored middle school
districts, especially those which
would place students in high schools
different from where the students
now go after finishing middle school.
The two new middle schools,
Bonaire and Feagan Mill, will draw
students from areas now served by
existing middle schools, mostly
north of Georgia 96. Many parents
moved to those areas so their chil
dren could attend the new Houston
County High School.
The board may use the meetings
to discuss rezoning the high
schools.
The meeting dates are set for
Sept. !9, Sept. 26 and Oct. 3. They
will be held at Warner Robins High,
Northside High and Houston
County High. Which school will be
tbA»*ite on which date has not been
announced.
The suggestion to ban smoking,
which was not on the agenda or
included in a list of additions to the
agenda approved at the start of the
meeting, was slipped in after the
board returned from an executive
session.
The smoking ban will include
the' 12,500 seating capacity
McConnell-Talbert Stadium in
Warner Robins and the 3,500 seat
ing capacity stadium at Perry High
School. Also covered will be any
stadium with bleachers and a com
mon area, Hinnant said.
Georgia among worst in child abuse cases
By Jj JOHNSON
Times-Journal Editor
Child abuse, in any of its forms, is more
prevalent in society than most Americans
think, Kathy Garnett, executive director of
Rainbow House in Warner Robins, believes.
“At least four of every 10 Americans has
experienced some form of child abuse,”
Garnett said Monday during a Child Abuse
Awareness Month speech to the Perry Rotary
Club.
Garnett said while they might not be aware
of it, every person in the room probably knew
someone who had experienced abuse as a
child.
A« head of Rainbow House in Warner
Robins, a facility for helping abused children
deal with their problems, Garnett is among a
Celebrating 125 years of Service to the citizens of Houston County
ber of commerce, the CVB, the Agricenter and
the Downtown Development Authority.
Peggy Williams, president of the chamber,
led the meeting.
“We can spend a lot of time talking about
the problems, but that won’t solve them,”
Williams said. “We’ve got to have a starting
point and I hope these committees are it.”
The group discussing the coordination of
efforts looked at the possibility of hiring
someone to coordinate the efforts concerning
downtown development.
“We need to hire someone to work with the
1 ■' . i .. ... ...I i .... i i
* % f s ’ .
' * * 4 ..» i miffvs 'ny,
* so’ . «Jailiifpfß MWk iSffol jdf' jj
3" jELfI jfIMST
n mV ' wfjf 'V^ i|:
jp gy'f.-y »
Times-Joumal Photo by Eric Zellars
HUNTING AN EGG Yetavya Kelly helps Sydney Adams search for an Easter egg during the
annual egg hunt sponsored by members of Eve Chapter 735. The hunt took place at Creekwood
park April 7. Following the hunt, the youths were provided refreshments by the Eve Chapter
members. Likely the hunt served as a good tuneup for this weekend when Easter will be
observed.
Teen charged in rape of 12-year-old
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Special to the T-J
A Houston County teen-ager has been charged with
statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl.
Authorities say Derrick Leon Johnson, age 17, of
Warner Robins, will be tried as an adult in the case.
Johnson had been released a few days earlier while
awaiting an opening in a boot camp as part of his first
offender sentence stemming from a burglary and arson
that occurred Feb. 5.
Houston County Investigator Gerald Dees said
select group of individuals. There are only 125
child abuse centers in the United States and
just 10 in Georgia, despite the fact the state
ranks seventh in the country in the number of
reported incidents of child abuse.
Garnett said Rainbow House has come
back from the brink of financial disaster a few
years ago to provide new and very useful ser
vices to youths who have suffered abuse. Two
programs focus on special needs. One of the
programs works with those youths who have
been physically abused while the other helps
victims of sexual abuse.
“We have added a part time therapist who
works with children and their parents to
understand the abuse problem and effectively
deal with it,” Garnett said.
Responding to questions concerning abuse
Holy Week
Easter events
Church plans page B 7
merchants and property owners on how best to
get the buildings occupied; someone to help
develop a downtown theme and promote it,”
Rusty Wood said.
The CVB’s lack of a director was also cited
as part of the problem.
“We need to expand our group to include a
representative of the Agricenter and the CVB,”
Kim Mullins said. “But until the CVB hires an
executive director, there doesn’t seem to be
anyone at the Visitors Center who can help.”
There was mention that all the groups
involved needed to share information and
Johnson had vandalized, burglarized and attempted to
burn a Centerville residence in that incident.
Bond had originally been set at $25,000 for each
count but was later lowered to $750 for each count.
There was a condition that Johnson not go back around
the home or its occupant.
Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton said there
have been a few cases recently that he didn’t agree with
releasing the suspect on bond.
(See RAPE, page SA)
and discipline, Garnett drew the line between
the two as “in control.”
She said parents who are in control, who
are attempting to help their children rarely
abuse them. Garnett believes stress plays an
important part in discipline becoming abuse.
“What we encourage parents to do is to dis
cipline the activity which was wrong, not the
child. Take a deep breath and maintain control
of the situation,” Garnett said.
Rainbow House uses large numbers of vol
unteers to become advocates for abuse vic
tims. These advocates look out for the best
interests of the child as the case works through
service agencies and the court system.
“We need more volunteers to help with this
program,” Garnett said.
The agency can also use more teddy bears.
Index
Classified 7B
Church 7B
Editorials A 4
Legals 3B
Home of the Georgia National
Fair and Agricenter
work together rather than each one going off
on its own.
The city and downtown property owners
should also be involved, one committee mem
oer said.
“We must have the cooperation of the city
and property owners or it doesn’t matter if
we’ve got the best coordinator in the world,”
Williams said.
The group looking into the downtown
vacancies and how best to fill them will con
(See PANEL, page SA)
Council upset
with CVB effort
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
The lack of action by the Perry
Area Convention and Visitors
Bureau Authority toward hiring an
executive director may hit the CVB
in the pocketbook.
The Perry City Council is getting
ready to study next year’s budget
and if Councilman James Moore has
his way, the CVB board will have to
come up with some straight answers
about the way it has handled the
search for a director before the
council considers its budget request.
“Have any of you had any
request for input on the CVB exec
utive director’s job from anyone on
their board?” Moore asked his fel
low council members at the end of
the April 4 meeting.
“I was told they had about 35
applicants for the job and several
have asked to have their applica
tions withdrawn either because of
they were not notified that their
applications were received or
because of the apparent lack of any
action being taken toward filling the
job,” Moore said. “It was my under
standing that the CVB board would
ask us for our input on filling the
job and I haven’t had any contact.
“With our budget planning ses
sions coming up soon, maybe we
ought to take a hard look at the
CVB request,” he said.
No councilman recalled any
contact with the CVB on the matter.
Councilman Buddy Roper said
it was his understanding that one
applicant had the inside track.
“I’ve heard it has pretty much
been decided who will get the job,”
Roper said. “I know who it is and
Hervia (Councilman Ingram) has
been told, but I’m not going to say.”
Ingram said it was his belief that a
few of the CVB board members had
decided who they wanted for the job.
“I’ve been told two or three on
the CVB board are putting pressure
on the others to hire the person they
want,” Ingram said.
The council was told of one per- <
son who recently moved to Perry
with her company executive husband
had to leave a convention bureau
executive director’s job to make the
move and had inquired about the
Perry position. After checking into
the status of the CVB search, she was
reluctant to apply because she under
stood a decision had been reached.
Mayor Jim Worrall suggested
the council call the CVB board to a
joint meeting to discuss the situa
tes CITY, page SA)
Stuffed animals are furnished to law enforce
ment officers to give to children who are
found in a stressful situation such as an auto
mobile accident.
She said education programs focus on
understanding abuse and identifying it.
Students are taught about good and bad touch
es and to not participate in any activity they
don’t feel comfortable about.
Garnett admitted it is difficult to determine
how much good the Rainbow House programs
are doing because it takes a long time for
abuse victims to resolve the incidents and
move forward.
“Eliminating abuse will take a long time,
it is not an overnight thing. It will take a gen
eration or more to solve the problem,” she
said.
Obituaries A 2
Potpourri B 1
Sports A 8
Woods and Water... A 8
-jit