Newspaper Page Text
Is it best for Georgia prisoners?
Distance learning
Opinion on page 4A
Volume 127, No. 1
2 Sections, 14 Pages
Wednesday
Jan. 8, 1997
50 Cents
At the
Crossroads
this week
Team roping champs
visit Perry
The U.S. Team Roping
Championship will be held
this weekend at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and
Agricenter. Events are set
for Jan. 10-12.
Spaghetti on tap
Here are menus for
Houston County public
schools for this week:
Jan. 8 Com dog or
spaghetti with Texas toast,
one hot vegetable, one cold
vegetable, two fruits, cake.
Jan. 9 Nachos with
beef and cheese or barbecue
sandwich, one hot veg
etable, one cold vegetable,
two fruits, cookie.
Jan. 10 Steak nuggets
with roll or manager’s
choice, one hot vegetable,
one cold vegetable, two
fruits, manager’s choice
dessert.
Jan. 13 Chicken
nuggets with roll or hot ham
and cheese sandwich, one
hot vegetable, one cold veg
etable, two fruits.
Jan. 14 Hot dog or
hamburger steak with gravy
and roll, french fries, rice,
one hot vegetable, two
fruits.
Jan. 15 Taco or sliced
turkey with roll or bun, two
hot vegetables, two fruits,
gelatin with whipped top
ping.
Several restaurants get
low inspection scores
Several public kitchens in
Houston County received
low scores during the
inspection period Dec. 30-
Jan. 3, according to Houston
County Environmental
Health Department reports.
At Casa Maria, 1855
Watson Blvd., Warner
Robins, there was a discrep
ancy concerning the temper
ature control of food. The
score was 88.
At Family Mart, 515 N.
Houston Road, Warner
Robins, there were discrep
ancies with temperature
control of food and the stor
age of cleaning supplies.
The score was 64.
At Hampton Inn Mini
Kitchen, 102 Hampton
Court, Perry, there were dis
crepancies with temperature
control of foods and with
equipment. The score was
78.
At hardee’s, U.S. 341 at
North Perimeter Road,
Perry, there was a discrepan
cy with the temperature con
trol of foods. The score was
74.
At the Houston County-
Correctional Institute, 2018
(See FOOD, Page SA)
Tell Us
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Joumal wants to hear from
you. Call (912) 987-1823
during business hours, 8:30
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through Friday. Fax us any
time at (912) 988-1181.
Visit our office at 807
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downtown Perry. Reach us
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Houston Times-Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
A tale of two views of the same problem
Burke Ym not for making criminals out of addicts
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
and RICK JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
“I’m not for making criminals out of
addicts,” Houston County District Attorney
Kelly Burke said in response to a question
about how he envisions dealing with drug
violators.
During a far-ranging interview Jan. 6 at
his office in Perry, the recently installed dis
trict attorney said he is in favor of getting
help for those with addictions but strictly
enforcing the law on sellers.
“Ultimately what I want to create here is
a drug court,” said Burke.
“On a possession you come in and say,
‘Kelly, I want to get some help,’ (then) I
New license
plates go on sale
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
Houston County residents
have begun buying new license
plates for their vehicles this year,
according to Houston County Tax
Commissioner Juanita Mason.
“Every five to seven years we
have new plates. This is the year
for that,” she said Jan. 7.
The new regular plates sport
the Georgia logo “Georgia on my
mind”.
The numberingt-and-tetters of
the new plates have undergone a
switch-around this year.
The old plates have letters
first, then a series of numbers.
The new plates now have identi
fying numbers first, then the let
ters.
This helps travelers in other
states avoid confusion that can
and has occurred, she said, when
law enforcement agencies outside
Georgia run tag information and
find conflicting information on
their files.
“This way the information
comes back as your tag rather
than someone else’s in another
tag cycle,” explained Mason.
Now that the special Olympic
tag has almost ended its display
time on vehicles, a plate promot
ing the preservation of nongame
(See TAGS, Page SA)
Resident urges county to improve Sandbed Road
By RICK JOHNSTONE
For the Times-Journal
For some unpaved roads in Houston
County rain translates into trouble. Such is
the case along Sandbed Road, where prop
erty owner Johnnie Foreman says safety is
compromised under those conditions.
Foreman told Houston County commis
sioners Jan. 7 that either paving or at least
widening the thoroughfare would help make
it “safe and passable.”
“The school bus is not able to get through
there now when it rains,” he said. “When
that bus tries to go around the curve it can’t
see.”
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KRIS McGEE
Plant to Expand
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First baby 0fJ997
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Times-Journal Photo by Eric Zeilars
FIRST BABY FOR '97 The first baby born at Perry
Hospital for 1997 made his appearance'at 4:08 a.m. Jan.
2. Pictured are mom, Bobie Enso, and son, Spencer.
Spencer weighed 10 lbs. 8 oz. at birth.
PPG begins sls million remodeling at Perry plant
Special to the Times-Journal
PPG Industries has begun a sls million
upgrade and melting tank rebuild at its Perry
specialty glass plant to enhance operations and
production yields.
Glass production at the plant, which began
operations in 1990, will be suspended for about
two months while new ceramic refractory
materials are installed lin the melting tank, said
Kris McGee, plant manager.
McGee said the more than 175 employees of
the plant, plus outside specialty contractors, are
performing the work, which also includes
installation of new inspection and packing
equipment. No layoffs during the process are
anticipated.
Enhancements to the annealing lehr to
Serving Houston County since Dec. 17, 1870
99/99/99
GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT
U. GA. MAIN LIBRARY
ATHENS, GA 30682
I Sworn in
Officials installed, page 8A
want to help you,” he added.
“But, as soon as you start pushing it
(drugs) off on someone else, I got a prob
lem,” said Burke.
Burke said a drug court would only work
if done in a timely fashion.
He said it would take some time before
that type of court could be established in the
Houston County court system.
Burke defended sentences that have been
handed down in cocaine cases, where some
controversy has surfaced nationwide over
what is perceived as difference in sentenc
ing for crack cocaine as opposed to pow
dered cocaine.
(See BURKE, Page SA)
Foreman said there had been some
wrecks in the past, including one over the
weekend.
Commissioner Jim Carter agreed that
there is a safety hazard on the road.
“We have an obligation to the residents,
even if we can’t pave it right now,” said
Carter.
Commission chairman J. Sherrill
Stafford told Foreman that they would look
into the situation.
In another action involving roads, com
missioners approved lowering the speed
limits along Hatcher Road and Lake Pointe
Plantation. The new speed limit on Hatcher
[tional officers
Everett: A drug court is not a bad idea for the county
From Staff Reports
Houston County Public Defender Terry
Everett thinks a drug court might not be a
bad idea.
“My theory is if we give people a chance
and they botch it up we'can at least say
we’ve given them a chance," she said dur
ing an interview Jan. 6.
Everett said she has seen many of her
clients in jail who have indicated they want
some type of treatment.
She also pointed out that in Florida
where there is a drug court, the recidivism
rate is much lower than in Houston County.
On the subject of drugs, the law enforce
ment may be focusing on the wrong area,
according to the public defender.
will be 35 MPH, while it will be 25 MPH at
Lake Pointe. The changes follow a survey
by the sheriff’s department.
As anotkwi result of that survey, commis
sioners approved placing three stop signs at
intersections around the Pilgrim’s Rest sub
division off Houston Lake Road.
“Maybe we need to look at changing the
ordinance to post speed limits in new subdi
visions,” Carter said. The current ordinance
calls for establishing that speed at 30 MPH
rather than 25, he added.
Commissioners voted to increase the
monthly rent for the three facilities occu
pied by Phoenix Center operations from
increase process consistency and product
yields will enable PPG to expand availability of
its specialty glasses, he added.
“This represents a significant investment by
PPG in the future of the Perry plant,” McGee
said. “Demand for specialty glasses such as
those produced here at Perry is growing 15 to
20 percent annually.
“When the new equipment is in place and
the melting tank rebuilt, we will be able to take
advantage of increased opportunities in the
marketplace, and serve our customers better
with increased product availability and
enhanced quality controls,” McGee said.
The PPG Perry facility involves advanced
proprietary glassmaking technology that allows
more flexibility than a traditional float glass
Index
Classified 5B
Church 6B
Editorials .: A4
Public Notices . . . . 2B
Officials review
nude dancing
ordinance options
All four Houston governments involved in talks
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Journal Staff
WARNER ROBINS
Officials from the City of Perry
joined-with other -local leaders at
the State Court building located
on Carl Vinson Parkway Jan. 6 to
hold a public forum regarding the
impact of adult entertainment
establishments on this area.
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall,
along with members of city coun
cil, sat in and listened as people
spoke about the subject.
Claire Booth, development
specialist with the Middle Georgia
Development Center in Macon,
cited findings of several studies
about how areas fare economical
ly and socially as a result of such
businesses. The studies were con
ducted in several cities throughout
the nation.
Numbers from real estate val
ues and crime statistics show that
areas with adult entertainment
businesses have higher rates of
crime and lower property values,
she said.
jL
Home of the Georgia National
Fair and Agricenter
Major dealers are not the ones being
arrested, she said.
Everett said that it is the smaller dealers
who are also addicts of the drugs they ped
dle who are being arrested.
“There has not been any concerted effort
that I can tell by any law enforcement
offices who go out here and do any more
than street sales,” commented Everett.
“They (street dealers) are not the master
minds,” she added. “We’re sitting here
swatting flies, you might say. instead of
wondering where the flies come from.”
“You cannot tell me that my clients with
the third grade education are the master
(See EVERETT, Page SA)
A poll of 118 people who
reside near one such business
showed they see problems such as
traffic, crime, litter and noise in
their neighborhood, according to
Booth.
And, leaders in a county in
Florida regard such establish
ments as a public health hazard
because of sexually transmitted
diseases, she added.
Executive Director of the
Houston County Development
Authority Tim Martin told the
group he is concerned about the
impact such establishments have
on attracting new industry to
Houston County.
Factors looked at during a
search for industry location are
cost and marketing and quality of
life, according to Martin.
“This is not the most compli
mentary thing people associate
with Houston County,” he said,
referring to adult entertainment
businesses. “They do nothing to
(See NUDE, Page 2A)
$13,333 to $13,843 per month.
In making the motion, Tom McMichael,
who was at his initial meeting as a commis
sioner, said that would help defray the cost
of new vinyl flooring and a wall addition
that have been made.
Longtime farmer Ralph Dorsett had been
leasing some county land off Georgia 96 in
the past.
He had prepared the soil for farming in
the year ahead, but the property has now
been turned over to private soccer and base
ball interests for construction of ball fields.
(See COUNTY, Page SA)
plant to produce smaller quantities of a wide
range of products with special compositions,
according to corporate officials. The plant man
ufactures the broadest product line of any PPG
glass manufacturing plant.
Products produced at Perry include
Starphire ultraclear glass for furniture and com
mercial applications, ultraclear Solarphire glass
for solar panels; aquamarine Azurlite glass,
coated Solarcool Azurlite glass and Optigray
23 gray-tinted glass for construction applica
tions; Solextra, Solarblock and bronze automo
tive solar-control glasses, and GL-20 and GL
-35 glasses for solar control and privacy in vehi
cles.
Obituaries A2
Potpourri B 1
School Menus IA
Sports A6