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Unsung heroes in town
Each time something really nice
takes place in this community,
there are a number of unsung
heroes who make those activities happen
For example. Christmas parades don’t
just happen, they require planning and
coordinating. Perry is fortunate to have Fire
Chief Gary Hamlin and members of his
staff available to help direct parades in the
community.
Pancake breakfast meals don't just hap
pen either. Someone has to order food and
prepare the kitchen Others have to get up
and cook the meal for hungry patrons.
Members of the Perry Kiwanis Club have
provided that service to the community for
more years than most of us can recall
Members of the Perry Ministerial
Association also provide a valuable service
to the community each year in organizing
and hosting the Candlelight Worship
Service at the Houston County Courthouse
on the first Sunday evening of each year
The service is brief, well organized, and
enjoyable for the hundreds of persons who
brave the cold to share in a community ser
vice
The association, along with members of
the Perry Historical Society and the Boy
Scouts, who help prepare and light the
luminaries which make town so attractive,
are also unsung heroes who make our com
munity just a little bit better each
December
Each of these organizations has a specific
task. There are also many behind-the-scenes
workers, some city of Perry employees,
others either employees or volunteers with
the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce, who
help make Christmas at the Crossroads
activities more enjoyable. Their hard work
behind the scenes ensures success of these
events.
Community is just that people work
ing together for a common goal. In the case
of Perry, it is a commonly held goal that
quality of life is very important. It is
because of that shared goal that community
crosses so many lines in Perry and makes
living, working and yes. playing in this
community such a joy.
Thanks, volunteers and paid workers, for
joining together in a spirit of togetherness
to make community happen again.
Pleased with progress
Editor:
Christmas is that special time of year when peo
ple try a little harder to say what is in their hearts
to those who have gone above and beyond their
call of duty I just want to tell everyone how much
I appreciate the New Perry Nursing Home Nursing
Staff. Administration and all employees for the
times they have been there for our Mother during
the past year They all listened, helped and cared
for her and at time they brought smiles to her face
when she really didn't feel much like smiling
They are honesl.open and giving people and the
good things in them have a way of bringing good
things out in her I will always treasure their loving
kindness after the holidays are gone And my gift
to all ol them is this "My Daily Prayer". Heavenly
Father, We do not ask to see beyond the future’s
veil, but we ask for courage to face that future, we
do not ask that life bring us pleasure and case, but
we pray for patience and understanding so that,
come what may. our trust and confidence will be in
Thee. Amen
My 82 year old mother. Louise Chamlee. was
critically ill and slowly fading away the doctors
said a year ago. Thanks to these wonderful people
she is no longer on continuous oxygen to breathe,
she is no longer wheelchair bound and uses a walk
er daily, and she no longer takes 40 pills a day. We
thank God she is doing 100 percent better than she
was a year ago It is a blessing some of our family
and friends. i.e.. my brothers and their families; my
daughter, my son-in-law and my "perfect" two
grandsons. Steven and Justin and I are able to visit
her on a daily basis. The smiles my grandsons
bring to faces of many of the residents and
patients, especially those who have no one. leaves
a lasting impression for all to see.
Thank you
Joanne Chamlee-Parker
Madison
Houston Times -Journal
PO Drawer M • 807 Carroll Si • Perry. Ga 31069
email jjedit @hom.net
(912)987-1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Boh Tribble President
ij Johnson Editor and General Manager
Don Baumgart Advertising Director
News Emily Johnstone. Pauline Lewis. Rick Johnstone.
Joan Dorset!. Jason Pike. Spoils Phil Clark, Advertising
Sherri Wengler. Classified Ads Jason Pike. Composition
Chad Lewis. Circulation and Photography Eric Zellarv
Bookkeeping Paula Zimmerman
[MI
National Fairgrounds comes up winners again
Almost everyone around Perry
knows that the Georgia National
Fairgrounds and Agricenter is a winner
That is an opinion that is quickly
becoming the opinion of the world
Again this year, the Georgia National
Fair has been recognized by the
International Association of Fairs and
Expositions (IAFE)
Michelle Treplow, director of public
relations and lady of endless energy,
noted that in the past six years, the Fair
has won 20 IAFF awards.
This news should make Perryans
swell with pride
I can remember when the Agncenicr
was a newborn that had been dubbed by
some in our state capitol and jealous sis
ter cities as the "White Elephant "
Well, they arc eating crow, now
And. that will probably be a pan of
their diet for years to come as the facili
ty grows in size and popularity
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Remember to say thanks to veterans
Our nation is graced w ith many trea
sures. though none so precious as the
peace we enjoy in our prosperous
country As we celebrate this holiday
season, we must remember to thank
our veterans for providing and safe
guarding that peace
I ask that each of you take a moment
and reflect on the many gifts we have
been given because of our uniformed
men and women around the world
past and present Fortunately, our soci
ety has been blessed with many leaders
who learned the values ol leadership
responsibility, accountability and
loyalty while wearing the uniform
of the United States of America
We must continue to honor our ser
vice members who made the supreme
sacrifice. Recognition of our veterans
from periods of peace is also important
for they accepted the torch to safeguard
the liberty our combat veterans died to
maintain
Often, recognition for our nation's
nearly 25 million veterans is not
enough. America also has a duty live
up to its commitments made to the men
and women who bravely served during
her lime of need. I'm pleased to report
the first session of the 105th Congress
approved legislation on a number of
measures to improve veterans’ health
and benefits services
Notable among the provisions are
initiatives aimed at improving health
care for Persian Gulf veterans,
improved homeless veterans provi
sions. major medical construction
funding, and an employment discrimi
nation complaint resolution system for
Department of Veterans Affairs
employees.
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page
under the label Our Views reflect the position of the Houston
Times-Journal Signed columns and letters on this page (and
elsewhere in this new spaper > reflect the opinions of the writ
ers and not necessarily those of this newspaper
Signed letters to the editor are welcomed Please limit let
ters to 300 words and include addresses and a telephone
number for verification purposes letters are not published
without verification Letters should be sent to PO Drawer
M Perry. Ga . 31069 or brought to the newspaper office at
807 Carroll St . Pcrrs
Our liability loi an error will not exceed the cost ol space
Page 4A
Wed.. Dec. 10. IW7
Emily
Johnstone
Staff Writer
Congratulations to the staff and oth
ers who have poured their hearts and
souls into making the facility a place that
is so family-friendly
That family-friendly atmosphere does
not end when you leave the Agnccnter
grounds
This past weekend brought out a
number ol families to the downtown
area to watch the Christmas parade on
Saturday and participate m the
Community Candlelight Service Sunday
evening
Community is certainly an appropri
Saxby
Chambliss
u.s. House. R-tia.
I supported the Veterans' Benefits
Act of 1997. which aims to improve
services to Persian (iult War veterans
by directing the VA facilities would
establish demonstration programs
involving new treatment models for
providing care to Persian Gulf veterans
with undiagnosed or difficult to diag
nose conditions.
The bill would also expand Persian
Gulf veterans eligibility for cure to
clarify that such veterans may get VA
care for any condition that may be
associated with service in the Gulf,
whether or not there is any association
with exposure to a toxic substance or
environmental hazards
Other health care provisions in the
legislation extend and revise authori
ties for VA to administer programs for
homeless veterans, and make perma
nent a VA program to provide noninsti
tutional alternatives to nursing home
care.
The bill also authorizes major med
ical facility projects and leases. The
bill permits major medical facility leas
es totaling $15.7 million for outpatient
clinics and appropriates over S3O mil
lion for new facility construction.
Another major provision establishes
a VA employ ment discrimination com
plaint resolution system to encourage
timely and fair resolution of concerns
and complaints The VA is directed to
occupied by the error
We cannot be responsible tor the return ol pictures or sub
mitted materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is
included
Our Goal
The Houston Times-Journal is published proudly lor the
citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Houston
Publications Inc . Perry. Ga Out goal is to produce quality,
profitable, community-oriented newspapers that you. our
readers, arc proud of. We will reach this goal through hard
work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong dedication toward
printing the truth
Memhci ol Georgia Press Association and National
ate word to describe the tceling one gets
when Perryans decide to come together
for a common cause, whether it is enter
tainment such as was found watching
the parade, or sharing spiritual commit
ments such as was lound at the
Candlelight Service
I recently heard someone comment
on the number ol fine young people that
live in Perry Growing up in a place
where a collective emphasis is put on
extending hands and hearts, is it any
wonder ’
•••
I suppose most Americans are famil
iar with the term El Nino, especially
since our weather has been less than
desirable lately.
I am not sure how to respond to con
versations involving the topic of El Nino
since I have been told by some people in
the know, including a well-known meteo
rologist who holds a master s degree in
establish an office that would directly
report to the Secretary or Deputy
Secretary on these matters Further, the
VA Secretary is also required to con
tract with a private entity to assess VA s
discrimination complaint resolution
system.
I believe this bill provides meaning
ful and necessary improvements in
many VA programs that serve
America's veterans I am pleased by
what Congress has done this year to
fulfill its mission to serve our veterans
ft you have specific questions about
VA programs or policies. I encourage
you to contact my district offices toll
free at 800-234-4208.
tSaxbs Chamhhss represents
Houston Counts in the U.S. House of
Representatives.)
About this page
There are a number of different
opinions on this page each week The
newspaper editorials, appearing in
slightly larger type in the column to the
far left of the paper, represent the
newspaper editorial board opinion on
issues of importance to this communi
ty.
Other opinions on this paper repre
sent the thoughts of the v arious persons
who write those columns. Each writer
is identified for the benefit of readers.
Letters to the editor represent the
opinions of the writer, and neither let
ters nor the individual columns on this
page necessarily represent the ideas of
the newspaper editorial board
Letters are always welcome. Mail
them to PO. Drawer M, Perry. Ga..
31069. and include a telephone number
for verification purposes.
I J
■ U
BL jH|
Houston nrns-Jomal
that field of study, that El Nino is a very
natural occurrence and nothing new at all
According to this person, the media
has discovered El Nino is an interesting
subject that can he written about end
lessly. as one subject everyone feels they
have in common is the weather
At any rate, my boss Jj Johnson, and
I consider ourselves amateur meteorolo
gists and enjoy discussing how the
weather pattern we are seeing now
closely resembles one that we saw in the
early 1980 s
According to Jj, during a storm that
winter, he and another person (who was
six foot-three) were stuck in a Toyota
truck with 600 newspapers (also in the
cab) for nine hours They were making a
tnp that normally look them ft) minutes
Our forecast for this winter ’ Tall pe«v
pie should not plan aijy trips in a small
truck with an impatient editor and several
hundred newspapers until spring
Bob
Tribble
President
Pumps are like
communities
Several years ago during a heavy
rain storm, lightning struck my well
pump In tact, during a relatively short
period of time, my well pump was
knocked out twice by lightning before
I realized that it had to be- grounded
properly
Since we have experienced a good
bit of heavy ram and lightning during
the past few weeks, and since we arc
seeing a number of communities in our
state working hard tor their survival. I
wondered it there were some similari
ties which could be made between my
well pump and these communities
There are. so let me share them with
you.
The first similarity between my
pump and some struggling communi
ties is the fact they are both pumps My
pump gushes water. H 2) Communities
which have successful and vibrant
businesses and industries pump many
dollars back into those communities by
way of taxes and jobs.
Now it water is denied to man for a
long period of time, he will die of
thirst So will an entire community die
it it doesn't maintain successful busi
nesses and industry
The second similarity is that outside
forces can stop the pump from pump
ing Lightning caused a power surge in
mv pump and stopped it Irom produc
ing water There are also power surges
within a community which will pre
vent it from pumping School fights,
radical citizens groups, power hungry
selfish politicians each can become
power surges which can prevent com
munities from growing
Power surges causes motors to burn
up. and once the pump burns up. it can
not pump water Sometimes we tall
asleep in our communities and need a
little "electric shock to wake us A
stcadv. even flow of current will allow
motors to run and run without burning
up
After the lightning had done it'
thing to my pump motor, an electrician
came to check it He plugged the motor
into a power source and it began to
buzz. That's all it was doing though,
until he took his hand and began to
turn the shaft in the motor
Suddenly the motor kicked into
high gear and began to run I thought.
"All right, the motor is not burned up
after all!"
Then the electrician looked at me
and said. "The starting coil is burned
up." Hmmm there s another similar
ity between my pump and some com
munities their starting coils have
been burned out by the power surges
If you can ever get them started again,
they will kick into high gear and run
and run and run
The next similarity was discovered
when the new motor was put on the old
pump Apparently the old seals could
n't stand the increased pressure of the
new pump, and water went everywhere
(See TRIBBLE, Page 54)
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