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Viewpoints
Our views
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Good news
During a Perry Area Chamber of
Commerce Good Morning Perry meeting Aug.
29, representatives of three area industries
gave glowing reports of the Perry area
operations.
Spokesmen for PPG Industries, Frito-Lay
and HAG Steel Contractors said they were
pleased with their decisions to locate in Perry.
Each bragged on the community, the quality
of workmanship local workers provide and the
support they have received from the
community.
The three industries, distinctly different in
product and production manner, have found
happy homes for their operations here.
The PPG Works 18 plant is the most unique
of all PPG glass manufacturing locations,
specializing in short runs and customer orders.
The Frito-Lay plant is one of the most
rapidly growing of all Frito-Lay plants and is
a leader in quality and production. The plant
will soon become one of Frito-Lay’s largest.
HAG Steel is so pleased with the Perry
location it has recently moved its corporate
offices from Indiana to the Perry Allied
Business Park where the local plant is located.
Each of these industries is welcome in the
community. Each has proven to be a good
employer and a good corporate citizen in the
community.
It is companies like these which encourage
local residents to remain local residents who
have good jobs and good employers. That’s
good news for all of us.
Fitting promotion
David Westmoreland of Perry has joined
that long list of Perryans who have
distinguished themselves at the state level of
leadership.
Westmoreland was recently named the
director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.
He succeeds long-time director John W.
Mixon, who retired.
Westmoreland brings excellent credentials
to the job including 32 years of work with the
Forestry Commission in a variety of local,
regional and state level jobs. He has been
Mixon’s top assistant for 10 years.
The Georgia Forestry Commission has
responsibilities dealing with the forests of the
state. Since the state is more than 60 percent
in forest, this is a large task.
The agency coordinates fire fighting in
forests, helps with rural fire protection
equipment, assists in the development of
forestry improvements in the states and
promotes Georgia forests worldwide.
We watch with interest Westmoreland’s
efforts in this job. We believe that he will, like
other Perryans who have taken state
leadership jobs, distinguish himself and
accolades to his family and his community.
We wish him well in his new duties.
Goodbye, Janice
Yet another valued city employee has left
the work force. Long-time assistant city clerk,
interim city manager and financial director
Janice Williams has left to pursue other
interests.
We wish her well. She has been, as Mayor
Jim Worrall said, the “glue which has held us
together.” She has. She has provided the
necessary information to develop budgets, to
keep on track with other matters, and the
personality to keep a smile on every face at
Perry City Hall.
Janice Williams will be missed. Her
resignation comes at a particularly
inopportune time for the city. Already,
Council was faced with replacing Police
Chief Frank Simons, who had moved to
another job, and Phil Clark, who recently
resigned as city manager.
Council faces a tough task We wish them
well, and we wish Williams well. We’ll miss
her, she has been a friend and a valued source
of correct information.
Houston Ames -Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry, Ga. 31069
(912) 987-1823 • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Bob Tribble President
Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager
Sherri Wengler Advertising Manager
News: Emily Johnstone, Pauline Lewis; Sports: Phil Clark; Advertising
sales: Rick Johnstone; Composition and Classified. Lynn Wright; Circulation
and Photography: Eric Zcllars; Bookkeeping: Sue Sapp.
Page 4A
Military ball is worth the admission fee
Tidbits from all over:
The Military Ball is this weekend at
the Macon City Auditorium. Have you
bought tickets yet?
This is a special evening with the
crowd decked out in their finest. The
goal of the evening is to raise funds for
the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air
Force Base.
A secondary goal is to spend an
enjoyable evening saluting and mixing
with the men and women of the U.S.
Air Force who are in leadership of
Robins Air Force Base.
The goal of having the finest
aviation museum possible is a great
one. Have you bought your tickets
yet?
•••
During the weekend I had a chance
to make my first visit to Kinnetl
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Robins Air Force Base has been awarded the 1995
Commander-In-Chiefs Installation Excellence Award and,
WHEREAS, the Middle Georgia Military Affairs Committee has
designated September 4-9 1995 as a week of special recognition
and appreciation pf an<jj Air Force Base;
WHEREAS,
to recognize those thousands e»f min and wcfitortHu-Naylped
make Robins Ai/Forge B&se tfle b£sjt Ba3e I tj the Air Force —the
much
Georgia.
PROCLAIMED this the 28th day of August, 1995.
J. Sherrill Stafford, Chairman
HOUSTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Ag Expo will come to Perry 1985
5 Years Ago. Sept. 1,1990
The late William Barfield was
remembered as a community leader.
Joe Gayle predicted microwave
ovens in cars will be standard
equipment by the year 2000. Gayle
learned about microwave equipped
cars during a National Live Stock and
Meat Board Demand Strategies ‘9O
Conference in Denver, Colo. He was a
member of the meat board.
The Perry High School Class of
1960 held their 30th reunion with an
Open house at the Days Inn Library
Lounge. A dinner and dance were held
in the Perry country Club.
10 Years Ago Aug. 29,1985
Teamwork lands Ag Expo; a 6-2
vote brought a happy ending to the bid
for the new state Ag Center. A big
party allowed many to celebrate the
success. State Rep. Larry Walker
thanked a jubilant crowd for their
support during a victory celebration at
the Holiday Inn.
New principals at Perry schools
were Phil Smith at Perry High School;
Kim Schoening at Kings Chapel
Reed: Is this the best way to run newspaper?
Editor:
What has happened to the ethics of
journalism of some of the newspapers
in the middle Georgia area? I am
referring to the practice of publishing
comments called in by people who can
remain anonymous. Many of these
comments are libelous and erroneous.
I am sure that many of these kind of
hateful and erroneous comments are
made because of ignorance. However,
I also believe that many of these
libelous lies are told knowingly
because the callers think that they will
never be held accountable.
The publishers of these newspapers
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page under the label of
Our Views reflect the position of the Houston Times-Journal. Signed columns
and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this newspaper) reflect the opinions of
the writers and not necessarily those of this newspaper.
Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 300 words and
include addresses and a telephone number for verification purposes. No letters
will be published without verification. Letters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M,
Perry, Ga., 31069, or brought to the newspaper office at 807 Carroll St., Perry.
Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied by the
error.
We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or materials unless a
stamped, return address envelope is included.
Our Goal
The Houston Times-Journal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston
■ Wednesday, Sept. 6,1995
Jj
Johnson
Editor
Stadium, located adjacent to Shaw
High School in Columbus. Stadium
designers from all around could do
well to visit this beautifully
manicured, clean, easily accessed
stadium before putting concrete in the
ground.
This stadium is a tribute to someone
who knew what they were doing.
Access is excellent. Parking and crowd
facilities are great. There are large
concession stands, plenty of restrooms
and room for thousands of fans.
Remember
When
Compiled by
Pauline Lewis
Elementary School; and Paul Hartman
at Tucker Elementary School.
The Rev. Ronnie Register was to
assume new duties at Crossroads
United Methodist Church.
Sept. 5,1985
The Ag Expo’s economic impact
estimated at $lO3 million..
The local hotel-motel tax hiked to
cover expo site cost.
Hospital staff gained access to
health network.
25 Years Ago Sept. 3,1970
City Council members voted to sell
bonds to build a library here. They sold
$150,000 worth of municipal bonds to
the Thornton, Farish and Gaunt Co. of
Macon.
Alton Ellis joined the Houston
seem to think that the Laws of Libel
and the Code of Ethics do not apply to
them in this case. I would think that
the newspaper could be held
accountable if they published a
libelous comment that they knew was
false even if it supposedly came from
a so-called anonymous source.
I wonder who will be the first to
test this attitude in a court of law.
Many people, including me, think that
some of these so-called anonymous
comments come from the people
working for the newspaper such as the
Editors, Publishers, General
Managers,and so forth. This would be
The only bad part of the trip was
the fact the Panthers didn’t bring back
a win. New Head Coach George
Collins took the loss very personally,
and I can’t blame him. I know he
wanted to win his first game as head
coach.
With time, the Panthers will
improve and be more competitive in
their region games.
Meanwhile, the Pride of the
Crossroads Band did an excellent job
under the direction of Joe Hutcheson.
Before long, fans will be looking
forward with greater anticipation than
ever to the halftime shows.
•••
The enthusiasm which Perry
businesses are showing toward the
Wonderland in Lights show at the
Georgia National Fairgrounds and
County Recreation Department to
work in Perry. The Recreation
Department was growing steadily in
Perry and had hundreds of local
youngsters involved.
Perry Country Club opened the new
nine holes on Labor Day, giving the
club a full 18 holes of golf. Wiltz
Bernard, the club’s Golf Pro, said.
50 Years Ago Sept. 6,1945
Nine Houston County farmers were
to receive certificates of award from
the Georgia Bankers Association based
on outstanding work on their farms for
establishing soil conservation practices
designed to control erosion. They were
Floyd H. Tabor, Houser B. Gilbert, E.
M. Beckham, Sam A. Nunn, M. L.
Woodruff, Lewis Tabor, W. E.
Beckham, R. E. Ogletree and S. L.
Norwood.
Perry High School opened with 572
enrolled: first grade, 55; second grade,
57; third grade, 51; fourth grade, 53;
fifth grade, 63; sixth grade, 57;
seventh grade, 55; eighth grade, 57;
ninth grade, 59; 10th grade, 32 and
11th grade, 33.
a way to take a cheap shot without
being held accountable. Think about it.
There are four newspapers in the
middle Georgia area which publish
comments from supposedly anonymous
callers. These are the Macon Telegraph,
the Warner Robins Daily Sun, the Warner
Robins Buyer’s Guide, and The Herald,
Houston County’s newest newspaper.
This anonymous call-in line was
started five years ago by the editor of
the Buyer’s Guide. Unfortunately, the
other three newspapers followed like
sheep.
I think it is a good idea to have a
(See LETTER, Page SA)
Houston Tlnm-Journal
and adjoining counties by Houston Publications Inc., Perry, Ga. Our goal is to
produce quality, profitable, community-oriented newspapers that you, our
readers, are proud of. We will reach this goal through hard work, teamwork,
loyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the truth.
Member of Georgia Press Association and National Newspaper Association.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, oj
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances." Your right to read this newspaper is
protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Houston Times-Journal (USPS 000471) is published weekly for
$18.90 per year by Houston Publications Inc., 807 Carroll Street, Perry, Ga.,
31069. Second Class Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to the Houston Times-Journal, P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga.
31069. ISSN: 1075-1874.
Agricenter continues to amaze me.
Already, almost every downtown
building owner or tenant has agreed to
place some type of lighting on the
exterior of the building. Others are
expected to join in within a few days.
The Times-Journal lights arrived
last weekend. They aren’t too
impressive sitting there in a cardboard
box a long strand of light fixtures, a
box of light bulbs and appropriate
connections. But with the proper
mounting on our building, these lights
will help transform downtown Perry
into a fantasy world for 42 days
beginning Nov. 20.
This is one of the best events to
bring Perryans together. Thanks go to
Michael Froehlich and Mike Jackson
for seeing the benefit for Perry and
helping make it happen.
From
Where I Sit
Bob Tribble
President
Self-serving
politics
dominates
Self-serving politics by some of our
state legislators is right in the middle
of efforts going on in Atlanta to
redraw congressional and state district
lines in accordance with the most
recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The most important thing to these
legislators is to see they remain in a
district where re-election will be
assured.
Democratic leaders want wholesale
changes in the district alignments,
while black ' legislators and
Republicans want as little change as
possible.
Why the reason for these positions?
It’s really simple, Democrats want the
shake-ups so they can regain seats lost
last election to Republicans and some
Republicans and blacks want to keep
the seats they captured under the zig
zag unconstitutional district plans.
These are the self serving people I am
referring to.
A three-judge U.S. Circuit Court
panel has given the state until Oct. 15
to come up with a plan and get U.S.
Justice Department approval or they
will take on the task of redrawing the
district lines themselves.
Very frankly, this could well be a
case where the populace was better
served if the judges did the new
district lines. It very well is the only
way to remove self serving and
partition politics from the issue. The
judges have no axes to grind or jobs to
save.
The judges were right on the money
when they issued a tongue lashing to
the Justice Department recently,
blaming them for forcing the state to
draw unconstitutional districts in the
first place. They also placed the Justice
Department on notice that they face a
large bill for plaintiff’s legal fees.
“The Department of Justice created
this situation by insisting, demanding
and Figuratively bludgeoning the state
of Georgia into passing this
monstrosity,” Judge Dudley Bowen
said.
Normally it takes Justice two
months to rule on redistricting maps,
but the panel of judges has urged the
department to put the state’s case at the
top of their priority list.
“We have an unconstitutional
district. We have unconstitutional
representation. This situation cannot
be permitted to go on,” Judge Avant
Edenfield said.
The three judges threw out the state’s
current congressional map on grounds
that the legislature relied too much on a
race when drawing the majority black
11th District which runs and zig zags
250 miles from Atlanta to Savannah.
The Supreme Court upheld that ruling
in June, prompting the present
redistricting session of the legislature.
Since the Supreme Court ruling, the
(See TRIBBLE, Page SA)
