Houston times-journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1994-1999, May 22, 1996, Image 1
| INSIDE Volume 126, No. 22 2 Sections, 20 Pages Wednesday May 22, 1996 50 Cents At the Crossroads this week Seeking donations Volunteers for the Houston County Fire and Rescue Department will be contacting residents for the next few weeks on behalf of the department. They will be going throughout the district asking for donations to the department and will have a letter and name tags signed by department officials. Persons with questions can contact the Houston County Fire Department at 542-2040 or the Houston County Sheriffs Department at 542-2080. Five of 11 inspected kitchens have safety problems repaired Five of the 11 public kitchens inspected by Houston County Environmental Health Department officials last week ran into trouble with the regulations. All of the reported prob lems were corrected while the inspectors were present. At the Church Home for the Aged, 2470 U.S. 41 North, Perry, inspectors found problems with equip ment which were corrected. The score was 87. At the Dowdy Personal Care Home, 127 S. Sixth St. in Warner Robins, problems were reported with tempera ture control of foods, equip ment and storage of cleaning products. The score was 55. At the Holiday Inn Restaurant, 2024 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins, the inspector found a problem with temperature control of foods. The score was 79. At the Perry Hospital cafeteria, 1120 Momingside Drive, Perry, the inspector found a problem with equi pment. The score was 84. At the Publix Super Market Deli at 215 Russell Parkway, Warner Robins, the inspector found a prob lem with storage of cleaning products. The score was 81. Other scores included: Christian Life School, 620 Wellborn Road, Warner Robins, 90. Hampton Inn mini kitchen, 102 Hampton Court, Perry, 99. Holiday Inn Fizz Lounge, 2024 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins, 99. McDonald’s, 123 Russell Parkway, Warner Robins, 93. New Perry Nursing Home, 500 Stanley St., Perry, 98. Pizza Hut, 1406 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins, 86. Tell Us 1 The Houston Times- Journal 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 or through E mail services at jjedit@hom.net. Macon what? Whoopee returns Hockey team opens, page 8A Houston Times-Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia Pre-dawn blaze destroys 41 Grocery By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff "Right now we are just going to direct all of our attention to cleaning up this mess and getting back to business just as quickly as possible," said businessman John Lamberth, owner of the 41 Grocery located on Courtney Hodges Boulevard after an early morning fire ripped through his store May 19. Man jogs into assault By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff A 24-year-old man has told Perry police he was the victim of a robbery by force and aggravated assault after being beaten by eight to ten males with metal pipes. According to reports, the inci dent allegedly occurred in the Gaines Drive and John Clerkley Drive area around 11:35 p.m. May 20. The report states that the man, who has been staying at a local motel, was robbed of a small amount of cash and that he said he was jogging in the area at the time. Chief George Potter said the case is still under investigation with "very suspicious circum stances" surfacing. "For example we wonder what a jogger is doing jogging on asphalt without jogging shoes and in an area known for drug prob lems. And, so late at night," he commented. Another man was taken to the Perry Hospital and treated for a gunshot wound around the same time that night. According to Detective Leyon Roberts, a domestic situation led to the shooting of a male at 1304 Houston St. The victim was treated and released from Perry Hospital after being shot in the buttocks, Roberts said. Another male was also taken to the hospital with what at first was though to be an injury to the foot caused by a gunshot. Roberts said the injury was determined not to have been caused by a bullet. At press time, reports were coming in of the arrest of two local men, Damien Taylor and Michael Josephs, in that case. And, ACE Hardware has been the target of a rose thief once again. Detective Drew Dodson said approximately 41 rose bushes were reported taken from that business the night of May 20. Several hundred dollars worth of roses had been taken from the store a few weeks ago. Both of those thefts are still under investigation. Howard returns to building department Brings 10 years of experience back to job From Staff Reports Steve Howard has been hired to replace Bill Chambless as building official for the City of Perry. Chambless left that position recently to take a position with the City of Macon. Howard previously served as building official from 1980 until 1990 when he left to become plant manager of Tolleson Lumber Co. He held that job until December 1995. The building official is respon sible for inspecting and enforcing code regulations for the city. D.A.R.E. to be drug-free a w aHi Times-Journal Photo by Eric Zellars REUNION TIME Former Drug Abuse Resistance Education students of the Perry Police Department gathered at the Georgia National Fairgrounds for a reunion May 17. With some of the students returning for the event are Perry Mayor Jim Worrall, D.A.R.E. instructor Bill Hafley and Police Chief George Potter. The group is standing around one of the new Perry police cars which feature a new paint theme of basic white with red and blue trim. Experience big plus for Perry Officer Willie B. Johnson By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff ruising the streets of Perry. Knowing those streets like the back of his hand. i ~ Knowing the town's citizenry like a next door neighbor. Sgt. Willie Johnson has been on the Perry Police force for the past 20 years. He has had three chiefs B.E. Dennard, Frank Simons and now George Potter. He has seen Perry grow from a very small Georgia town to a bustling tourist stopover with a nearby interstate which funnels some 60,000 vehicles a day by the city’s three exits. Johnson talked about his career and family recent ly during a tour of duty on the graveyard shift. "I started in June of 1976 as a K-9 officer," he remembered as he wheeled the patrol vehicle along Sam Nunn Boulevard. "I was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 1982 and have held that rank ever since." While he has always been interested in law enforcement, his first love was aircraft. "I really wanted to be an airplane pilot," Johnson said. "But rheumatic heart fever prevented me from doing that. Law enforcement was also one of my childhood dreams." After graduating from high school and attending Fort Valley State College, he went into construction ' ... .. y' . it; " ■ ‘ ’ -,. « / , ' V, • _ , 'wK. m MnJSL JB ■ fIHHrJ Times-Joumal Photo by Emily Johnstone KEEPING AN EYE ON PERRY-Sgt. Willie Johnson keeps an eye on what is going on at area businesses during his shift. Johnson has been patrolling the streets of Perry for 20 years. Serving Houston County for more than 125 years Fire Ants, Part II Perry Fire Chief Gary Hamlin said when his department arrived on the scene the building was about one-third involved. "There was so much heat in that building it was supercharged," said Hamlin. Perry firefighters were helped by Houston County Fire Station 800, added Chief Jimmy Williams. The county Air and Light Truck was brought in to refill air bot tles and provide extra light at the scene. Get rid of 'em Extension plans, page 4A Lamberth has been in the grocery busi ness at that location since 1963 when he first began operating from a smaller adja cent store to the one that burned May 19. "I'm really proud of all of our cus tomers," he said May 20 as he surveyed the damage. "We have been here a long time and been successful." A small table with a pad and pen were placed in front of the burned building for work. It wasn't long, though, before he was pursuing a career in law enforcement. And, right by his side was his wife, Bonnie, who stood by his decision. "I think it took awhile but she understands it is not one of these jobs you can work eight until five," said the Perry native. His wife keeps him and their three children "in line", according to Johnson. Two of his three are teen-agers, so he knows the trials and tribulations other parents face raising kids. "They are good kids," he said with a smile on his face. His advice to other parents is to "spend as much time as you can with them. Give them everything they need, but not necessarily everything they want. Just give as much of timers you can and, a child needs discipline^" During the ride, Johnson thought he saw someone run under the bridge near the water works plant on Courtney Hodges Boulevard. At the same time a van puiled out of a nearby cemetery. He drove the car onto a dirt road and began to wind around toward the underside of the bridge. His lights picked up the form of a child sitting there with (See OFFICER, Page SA) Classified 108 Church 8B Editorials A 4 Legal Ads 5B Home of the Georgia National Fair and Agricenter friends and customers who wished to leave a message for the Lamberths. "If our customers will bear with us about .two months we hope to be back," Lamberth said. Hamlin said the store suffered a total loss in merchandise. The cause of the fire is believed to have come from an electrical short in a junction box in the rear of the building, he said. Perry Olympic torch shirts to go on sale By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff Downtown merchants are teaming up with the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce to put a shirt on your back commemorat ing the Olympic torch coming to town July 12 during the relay to Atlanta. Chamber members agreed to help fund part of the cost toward the purchase of Olympic Torch T shirts during their regular meet ing May 23. The shirts should be available for purchase sometime in mid-June. The shirts will have not only the Olympic logo but also the date of the torch stop in Perry and the town name imprinted on them. Chamber president Hayley Godbee said the shirts will sell for sls a piece. She noted that while downtown merchants will be able to sell the shirts before and after the torch passes through Perry, they will not be able to sell them the day of the torch arrival in town. "Only the exclusive merchan diser will be able to sell them that day," she said. "However, those shirts will not be personalized." The chamber head hopes to pre-sell most of the 12 dozen shirts that will be ordered. Some SSOO from the chamber will go toward the purchase of the shirts. Another SI,OOO will be coming from the Downtown Merchants Association. The Downtown Merchants wiTl use the sa'le ot the shifts as a fund-raiser for their organiza tion. They will reimburse the chamber for their portion of the proceeds. For more information, call Elizabeth Flowers, president of the Downtown Merchants Association at 987-2255. Youths get new playground By EMILY JOHNSTONE Times-Journal Staff Young adults now have a new place to go for fun. The JC Zone has opened at Andrew United Methodist Church located along Ga. 127 in Kathleen. The brainchild of Hank Lowry, the church youth minister, the JC Zone offers kids a few hours a week of games and refreshments with adult supervision. "I know from my own profes sion how much young people need something like this to do to stay out of trouble," said Lowry. The youth minister works as an investigator with the Houston County Sheriffs Department Lowry said many kids either sit at home on Saturday nights or are "dumped off at bowling alleys or movie theaters. He said at least three adults supervise the activities at the JC Zone and kids are not allowed to leave with anyone other than their (See ZONE, Page SA) Obituaries A 2 Potpourri B 1 Scores A 6 Sports. A 6 -JL