Houston times-journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1994-1999, April 03, 1996, Image 1

Houston times-journal., April 03, 1996, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextINSIDE Volume 126, No. 14 2 Sections, 18 Pages Wednesday April 3, 1996 50 Cents At the Crossroads this week Teams sought for ACS Relay for Life May 3-4 The Perry High School football field will be filled with a different kind of activity on Friday and Saturday, May 3-4. Walkers and runners will go around the track in the battle against cancer during the Houston County unit of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. Teams of walking and running enthu siasts from all walks of life will gather at the football for a 24-hour relay against can cer. Sponsors for this year’s Relay for Life are the Houston Health Care Complex and Kroger. A luminary ceremony will be held at 10 p.m. May 3. Those wishing to donate for a luminary in memory of a deceased cancer victim or in tribute to a cancer sur vivor may do so by contact ing a Relay for Life member or one of the chairpersons. Kenny Bryant of Perry has been named Honorary chairman for the 1996 Relay for Life. Bryant has recently undergone surgery and treat ment for cancer and has a testimony of what has hap pened in his life. For information about other details of the 24-hour Relay For Life, contact co chairs Sue Fleming and Peggy Bledsoe. Environmental specialists kept busy Members of the Houston County Environmental Health Department kept busy during the week of March 25-29, making some 27 visits during the week. Many of the inspections were for Cox Concessions at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, businesses open especially for the Family Motor Coach Association rally. Bonaire Elementary School, Elm Street, Bonaire, 96. Centerville Elementary School, Houston Lake Boulevard, Centerville, 100. China Seafood Restaurant, 1365-G Sam Nunn Blvd., perry, 92. El Jalisiense, 1365-E Sam Nunn Blvd., Perry, 91. A problem with temperature control of foods was resolved while the inspector was present. Happy Store 433, 517 N. Perry Parkway, Perry, 74. A problem with equipment was resolved while the inspector was present. Houston County Correctional Institute, 2018 (See FOOD, Page SA) Tell Us The Houston Times- Joumal wants to hear from you. Call (912) 987-1823 during business hours, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Fax us any time at (912) 988-1181. Visit our office at 807 Carroll Street in historic downtown Perry. Reach us on the internet through E mail services at timesjrl @ hom.net One hour earlier Sunday morning? DST arrives Set clocks forward Saturday night Houston Times-Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia Rain puts damper on Dogwood Festival crowds By EMILY JOHNSTONE and PAULINE LEWIS Times-Journal Staff Even though wet weather kept large crowds away from this year’s Dogwood Festival in Perry, some vendors who braved the weather reported “‘a good money day," said festival organizer Karen Nikilopoulos. “Attendance was way down this year, most definitely because of the weather,” she said. “But, people have a positive attitude about the festival because they know what a Seeking a new world record Times-Journal Photo by Eric Zellars SEAL OF AUTHENTICITY Houston County Probate Judge Frances Annis (seated, cen ter) holds up her official seal before placing it on a certificate guaranteeing that the Family Motor Coach Association registered 6,632 coaches during a rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. With her are (seated, from left) Ginny Buaman, director of com mercial services for the FMCA, Dottie Pierce, national president of the FMCA, Perry Mayor Jim Worrall, Fairgrounds Director Michael Froehlich and Martin Pierce, husband of Dottie Pierce. Motor coach rally draws record crowd Organizers submit information to Guinness for next book of records By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff The ever-increasing popularity of the town ot Perry may soon be noted in a publication popular the world over. The official number of 6,632 motor coaches in town for the 21st Annual Family Motor Coach Association Winter Convention last week has broken a record for that group. Dottie Pierce, president of FMCA, said the con Coaches could return to Perry in three years By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff “We’ve penciled in a date for 1999,” said Agricenter head Mike Froehlich about whether or not the Family Motor Coach Association will be coming back to Perry for another of their get-togethers. While the FMCA has not made a formal decision about holding another convention in Perry, Froehlich is optimistic about their return. “I think we should all be proud Coaches draw positive business reaction from Perryans By PAULINE LEWIS Lifestyle Editor Contacts with local businesses to determine their reaction to the Family Motor Coach Association’s visit to Perry last week brought strictly upbeat answers. Tim Coleman, manager of the Holiday Inn. said, “Tremendous! We were full all week and were very happy they were here. It was probably the biggest week we’ve ever had. The hotel was full Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It was a great experience. We would welcome them back.” Danny Patel of Travclodge said “It was really great very enjoyable. A man said, ‘Perry is nice. We really liked it. It was smooth moving in and out ol ' Perry”. There were no complaints.” of the hospitality extended to the FMCA group by the citizens of Perry and the staff of the Agricenter,” he said. “They (FMCA members) said the one thing that stuck out was the hospi tality they received from the peo ple in this area.” Froehlich said it will take some weeks to restore the grounds to their original condition. The com bination of heavy rains and heavy vehicles caused much of the grassy area to become a sea of Serving Houston County for more than 125 years good show it is,” added the organizer. Nikitopoulos said the festival was “very well organized” because after eight years participants are becoming familiar with how the festival is put together. “The thing that sticks out in my mind was how everyone stayed upbeat.” she noted. One area not affected was the Perry Kiwanis Club annual Dogwood Festival Pancake Breakfast. Club members began preparing long before the 7 a.m. serving time. Willie Tyson, chairman on the pancake vention in Perry is the largest gathering of coaches to date. Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agriccnter Executive Director Mike Froehlich is shooting lor having that number recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest gathering of motor coaches at one time, at one place. Froehlich, along with Pierce and other representa (See RECORD, Page SA) Kmart personnel said that one of their coach fam ilies who used the Kmart parking lot, gave them a “thank you” note before they left, thanking Kmart for letting them use the parking lot. George Matras, assistant manager, said that they were excited over the visitors and welcomed them. “They brought lots of business to us. They were real nice. We enjoyed their visit and asked them to come back and they want to do so.” Jim Busby at Kroger said,”We had a ball. We met a lot of nice folks. Had extra business business was definitely up. We had no complaints. Also, we would definitely like to sec them come back. We had no problems at all. We would do it again in a heart (See RESPONSE, Page 5) Rainy days in middle Georg Rain on parade Festival, FMCA in pictures, 4B mud. “We will wait for it to dry out. Once we have filled in the ruts and reseeded the area it will all come back naturally,” said the director. A record-breaking number of 6,632 motor coaches gathered on the grounds for the FMCA winter convention March 25-28. The population of Perry swelled by several thousand and locals could easily spot FMCA (See POPULATION, Page SA) committee, had already conducted ticket sales, gathered equipment and supplies, had recruited Kiwanis member workers, had made arrangements with the Perry Hospital to mix the pancake batter and cook the sausage patties. Tyson also had supplies of apple, orange and grape juice, syrup and butter, coffee and milk, plates, take-out containers, napkins, sets of knives, forks and spoons, oil, vine gar, dish cloths, table cloths, coffee maker, spatulas, gas for the grill, a ticket taker and treasurer, and a multitude of chores County delays subdivision zoning request again By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff A zoning request from Peach County resident Bobby Evridge has been sent back to the Houston County Planning Commission one more time as officials try to reach a decision whether or not to allow a change from zoning Residential Agricultural (R-AG) to R-l which would allow some 50 acres of land near F.lko and Hay Road to be used for a single family subdi vision. Several residents of the area, tttth Georgia National Fairground and Agricenter Executive Director Mike Froehlich voiced their opposition to the request during the regular meeting of the Houston County Commission April 2 in Perry. This issue was back before commissioners for a second time within the past year. Evridge appeared before the group Oct. 3, 1995 asking that the land be rezoned from R-AG to R MH. Planning Commission officials had recommended denial of that request; commissioners also denied the rezoning effort. Evridge told commissioners he wanted to develop the land into a mobile home park with 74 to 80 homes to be developed in phases as required by planning and zon ing, with curbs and gutters. However,, nearby residents opposed the idea. Classified 9B Church 7B Editorials A 4 Legal Ads 8B Hangars could be built at airport By RICK JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff At the top of the list when it comes to immediate concerns for the Perry-Houston County Airport is more space to house planes in. The airport’s fixed base operator, Mark Payne, told members of the Airport Authority at the April 1 meet ing that he has people calling him all the time wanting to know when more T-hangars will be available. The group’s treasurer, John Houser, said some relief is expected soon. “Mark will build 10 open hangars when the pad is laid for the work. The county can help with some of the paving.” said Houser. Much of the meeting dealt with plans to construct some corporate and other hangars on the premises. Danny Evans, named by chairman Dana Dickson to chair the finance committee that will look for ways to raise up to $250,000 for the expansion at the airport, said getting more hangars is very important. “Some people are leaving already,” Evans said. “We need to stop the leaving as soon as possi Obituaries A 2 Potpourri B 1 School Menus. ... 9B Sports. A 6 A Home of the Georgia National Fair and Agricenter Approximately 550 people ate pancakes with the Kiwanis Club March 30 trom 7-11 a.m. A number of the diners were Family Motor Coach Association members who stayed over for the Dogwood Festival. Actually, the serving line was re opened tor some motor coach people who were pleas ant late-comers. Proceeds from the break fast go directly to the Kiwanis sponsored youth activities. Nikitopoulos said that the rain greatly (See DOGWOOD, Page SA) Froehlich told commissioners at the April 2 meeting that he “strongly feels all zoning adjacent to the Agricenler should add to the attractiveness of the facility. This would be a detriment to that. I leel it should remain agricultural resi dential,” said Froehlich. Agricenter property runs along Hay Road near the proposed mobile home park site. Froehlich said he believes there should be long-range planning regarding land use around Agricenter property. Hay Road resident Janet Tyner noted that at one time she consid ered asking for commercial zon ing of her property; however, when she realized her neighbors, including Evridge and the Agricenter opposed that, she changed her mind. "The Agricenter does impact this area.” she said. Evridge’s lawyer, Lawrence Collins, pointed out his client changed his zoning request from the previous R-MH to R-l per P&Z recommendations. R-l requires even higher stan dards than R-MH. he said. And, the Planning Commission denied approval of the change March 18, even though they sug gested it, according to Evridge. Commissioner Jim Carter sug gested the request brought before his group be returned once more to the Planning Commission for “clarification.” ble.” Houser places the expected cost of the construction in the $240,000-$250,000 range. He said the authority hopes to receive a grant that would pro vide 90 percent federal fund ing, Spercent state, and 5 per cent local. A consultant, Bill Belue, is to draw up a proposal to do a survey of the facility and other paper work needed for the project. That proposal is expected to be given to the chairman Friday. After that, a special meeting is to be called. Also at the meeting, Payne reported an increase in fuel sales for the month. Included in that increase, a hike of 59 percent in jet fuel sales, attributed largely to the just concluded Family Motor Coach Association con vention in Perry. Dickson informed the group of a letter he had received from the Department of Transportation. He said it was largely posi tive, but “they did say there are some trees near one of the run ways that need to be removed.” According to the chairman, those trees are probably on Northrop property and should not be a problem to have them trimmed.