Newspaper Page Text
Fall Spectacular, '9W
Volume 126, No. 35
3 Sections, 28 Pages
Wednesday
Aug. 28, 1996
50 Cents
At the
Crossroads
this week
State Horse Show at
Agricenter
Members of the Georgia
Federation of Saddle Clubs
will host their annual cham
pionship event Aug. 31-
Stpc. 2 at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and
Agricenter.
Also on the agenda is a
gun and knife show Aug. 31-
Sept. 1
TwtmgßKSNm J • ■
Clarification
In a photo (reproduced
above) on page one of the
Aug. 21 edition of the
Houston Times-Journal, the
cutline information indicat
ed police officers were
removing the potted plants
from a Howard Street home.
The officers were remov
ing evidence from a home at
642 Howard St. They were
not removing evidence from
the home of Howard Street,
son of Alice Street of Perry.
Labor day to change
some schedules
Labor Day will interrupt
some services and opera
tions in Houston County.
The Houston County
Landfill will be closed Sept.
2. Houston County public
schools and the Westfield
Schools will be closed Sept.
2. Ail major financial insti
tutions, along with city,
county, state and federal
offices will be closed Sept. 2
Jhe Houston Times
Journal will be open for
business from 8 a.m.-noon
Sept. 2. The classified ad
deadline will remain 10 a.m.
Sept. 2.
Building open house,
dedication is Sept. 8
The open house and ded
ication of the renovated
Houston County Board of
Education building at 1100
Main St., Perry, will be held
Sept. 8 from 2-4 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-
Ga., will be keynote speaker
for the afternoon. A collec
tion of memorabilia relating
to Nunn’s career as a U.S.
Senator will be officially
opened that day.
The building, which
opened during 1924 as the
Perry Consolidated School,
has been used by the school
board as offices for about
one year.
Concession stands
receive inspection
Several Cox Concessions
operations at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and
Agricenter were among the
public kitchens inspected by
representatives of the
Houston County
Environmental Health
Department during the week
(See FOOD, Page SA)
Houston Times-Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
Pondering where the courthouse should be
Times-Journal survey of downtown merchants shows they favor present location
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
Thoughts of how a move of the Houston
County courthouse from downtown Perry
would affect that area economically differ
greatly between downtown merchants and
courthouse employees.
That is what the results of a recent
Houston Times-Journal survey shows.
Fourteen downtown business people
responded to the survey.
Of that number, 13 said they fee’, a relo
cation of the courthouse to a place outside
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Times-Journal Photo by Emily Johnstone
NEW SENIOR JUDGE L.A. BUSTER’ MCCONNELL JR.
He is speaking to crowded courtroom Aug. 22
Hundreds pay tribute to retiring
Judge L.A. ‘Buster’ McConnell
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
It was a packed courtroom at
the Houston County Courthouse
Aug. 22 as a crowd gathered to
hear acquaintances pass sentence
on retiring Superior Court Judge
L.A. “Buster” McConnell Jr..
“We are here to pay tribute to a
man who is truly a friend to me,”
said Judge George F. Nunn Jr. “We
will miss him greatly. We know
Ed Lukemire will do a good job.”
Lukemire, current Houston
County District Attorney, will be
taking on the mantle of judgeship
from McConnell Sept. 3.
State Rep. Larry Walker, D-
Perry, commented on
McConnell’s intelligence and ded
ication to his work.
“He is one of the most dedicat
ed people I’ve ever known,” said
Tri-county jail members examine future of project
Mali
Times-Journal photo by Emily Johnstone
A MEETING OF MINDS A number of legislators met with local officials
in Vienna recently to discuss the proposed regional jail facility for Dooly,
Houston and Pulaski counties. They are (left to right) Rep. Johnny Floyd,
Sen. Sonny Perdue, Sen. Rooney Bowen, Rep. Robert Ray, DCA member
Rick Brooks, Rep. Larry Walker, Sen. George Hooks and Sen. Mark Taylor.
Serving Houston 1 far marc them IJ.I v ears
the downtown area would be detrimental to
downtown Perry’s economy.
One responded no, stating a belief that it
would affect the make-up of businesses in
the area and this would have an economic
impact.
As to a question of preference of location
for a new courthouse if it must be moved,
some said it should not be moved from the
downtown area, while others suggested the
Washington Street area as a good location.
Everyone except one said it would be
very important for the courthouse to remain
Walker.
Warner Robins Mayor Donald
Walker presented the retiring
judge with a proclamation declar
ing Aug. 25 “Judge L.A.
McConnell Appreciation Day” in
that city.
“This is a new era...with Judge
Lukemire coming on board,”
McConnell told those gathered.
He said he will miss the com
pany of people he has been con
nected with at work for the past
two decades and reminisced on
the past brought alive by the
numerous faces of those in atten
dance the represent “a collage of
my whole lifetime.”
McConnell was also presented
with an oil portrait of himself
painted by Deanna Griffin and
awarded by the Houston County
Bar Association.
in the city limits of Perry, even if it means
the city limits must be extended northward.
And, one reply was “They’ll do what
they want anyway.”
Meanwhile, seven courthouse employees
said they thought the move would be detri
mental to downtown economy, while 13
said they did not.
Fifteen replied the courthouse should be
located somewhere on the new Perry
Bypass.
One said, “If it would have to be located
in Perry at all then I would like to see the
Commissioners get report on future
of downtown Perry courthouse
By RICK JOHNSTONE
For the Times-Journal
WARNER ROBINS Houston County
Commissioners have started looking into just what to do
when it comes to complying with a recent order from
Houston Superior Court Judge L.A."Buster” McConnell
Jr. on the need for more space at the courthouse.
Commission chairman Sherrill Stafford called in
architect Henry Corsini to meet Aug. 27 with com
missioners.
“We do not know what the outcome of all of this
will be,"said Stafford. “We can either add to the
existing facility, renovate it, tear it down and rebuild
or put some functions in existing buildings.”
Corsini had been brought in by commissioners
back in 1979 to do a study on a crowding problem
that was then perceived at the courthouse.
He told commissioners that the need back then
was lor more space for the superior court. He said it
would have cost around $1.5 million at the time to
add about 10,000 square feet.
When asked at the Aug. 27 meeting to give a ball
park figure for possible costs of doing some additions
and renovations to the current facility, Corsini said
the range depending on things like landscaping, con
tingency fees and more could be up to around $6.7
million.
That particular option would include doing electri
cal rewiring, making the building more handicap
accessible, having a basement and three story building.
“We think the Carroll Sreet side is the place to
Henderson group seeks fire department answers
By RICK JOHNSTONE
For the Times-Journal
WARNER ROBINS About
50 residents from the south end of
the county showed up at the Aug.
20 meeting of the Houston County
Commission seeking answers to
some questions.
Group spokesman Wendell
Kersey asked for an explanation on
a recent incident which saw
Henderson deputy fire chief Jimmy
Kersey removed from that post.
“Could you tell us the way
Henderson and Elko were treated
in fire protection,” Kersey said.
“Why was the situation handled
the way it was?”
Commission chairman Sherrill
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
VIENNA Members of the Central
Georgia Regional Jail Authority met with
state legislators and members of the Lower
Chatahootchee Jail Authority Aug. 21 to dis
cuss ideas that could possibly help breathe
more life into a proposed regional jail.
The jail would serve three counties-
Dooly. Houston and Pulaski.
Plans for the jail hit a snag a few months
ago when Dooly County Sheriff Van Peavy
announced he wanted to drop out of the
Authority because he wanted the jail to be
constructed in his county; a consulting firm
had told the group it would be more feasible
to locate the facility in Houston County.
Chairman Tommy Coleman told the
group that studies show significant savings
can be seen by local governments by using
regional jails.
Sherrill Stafford, chairman of the Houston
County Commission, noted that latest figures
start the expansion,” he said.
The architect said about 25,000 additional square
leet is about the most the existing courthouse could
stand. The current facility has around 30,000 square
feet, he added.
Corsini said it would cost about three times as
much to construct a new facility as it would to do ren
ovations and additions.
“To build a 50,000-55,000 square foot facility,
with other fees involved it would be around sll mil
lion,” he said. “Plus you would need to acquire
around five acres of land.
Another concern involved the need for additional
parking space around the courthouse.
The architect brought up the possibility of closing
an existing street, such as Jernigan, for that.
“They are amenable to doing many things to hold
onto the center of their city,” commented commis
sioner Jim Carter.
Stafford said there are a few options to consider
for financing the project.
Among those, an ad valorem tax or option sales
tax, he said.
“Our best hope right now is for a November
statewide referendum on the special option tax to
pass, then it to be ruled that we can hold one and not
violate the tax cap,”said Stafford.
Corsini said it could take several years to complete
the project. In his order, McConnell said the county
must begin. doing something to correct the situa
tion by 1998.
Stafford said “some unfortunate
things occurred at that time.”
The south end residents repeat
ed calls for the reinstatement of
Jimmy Kersey to his old job.
Stafford said personnel matters
would not be discussed in an open
meeting. He suggested that a small
group of residents get together and
discuss the entire situation.
One volunteer firefighter said
that none of the volunteers were
told about the decision to remove
the fire official at the time.
“That is not right. All I can do is
apologize,” said Stafford.
Wendell Kersey also wanted
the possibility of having commis
sioners elected to represent specif
HBBnHMMVies
cit Perry High and
Wertfield Schools.
Section B
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The Georgia National Fair is
Oct. 4 13, 1996
new courthouse built on or near Kings
Chapel Road close to the jail and correc
tional institute. The bypass would be a good
location because it would be easy access for
everyone.”
The same person replied this way to the
question of how important is it for the cour
thouse to remain in the city limits even if
the city limits are extended north. “I don’t
feel it is important at all. Nobody hardly
knows where Perry is anyway. It would be
(See POLL, Page SA)
ic districts looked into.
“We feel like we have no repre
sentation now,” he said. “Maybe
you could look into having the
commissioner living where he rep
resents.”
There is a iack of water lines
and fire hydrants in the south end,
according to Kersey. “What are
the long range plans for water in
those areas?” he added.
Stafford said there are parts of
the county where water is not pro
vided, He said coming up with
sources of funding the service is
the challenge.
“I don’t have an answer in how
(See SOUTH, Page SA)
S'
for construction of the central Georgia jail
are coming in at around S2O million.
Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton
pointed out that the present shortage of jail
space is causing the county to pay transport
and boarding fees to other counties for
housing prisoners.
“An example is it costs $35 per day to
board a prisoner in Laurens County,” said
Talton.
However, one problem that arises with
proposed regional jails is that the jail can
only be built in one county...that leaves the
other participants unhappy most of the time.
Siting the facility can be a problem,
agreed Coleman. Other states have found
themselves in a situation where no one
wants the jail built in their area, he added.
Some ideas discussed during the meeting
included building up resource monies to
help with construction of regional jails and
providing incentives for counties that would
not be recommended for site location.
