Newspaper Page Text
Sludge again!
Houston county Commission threat
ens legal action against Macon-Bibh
County over lack of payment of tip
ping fee on south Houston fields
See page 2A
Volume 127,
No 8
3 Sections,
24 Pages
Wednesday,
Feb. 25, 1998
50 Cents
At the
Crossroads
This Week
Livestock show at
Agricenter continues
The Georgia National
Livestock Show continues at
the Georgia National
f airgrounds and Agricenter
Fvents will take place through
March I
Also ai the Fairgrounds this
week is the Georgia National
Horseman's Quarter Horse
Association show. Feb 27-
March I
A gun and knite show is
scheduled tor this weekend.
Pizza on school menu
Here are menus for
Houston Countv public
schools lor breakfast and
lunch for the rest of February.
Feb 25 Breakfast:
Breakfast pizza or cereal and
toast, fruit or fruit juice, milk
Lunch Taco or baked potato
with chili and cheese, roll, two
vegetables, two fruits, pudding
with whipped topping
Feb. 26 Breakfast:
Sausage biscuit or cereal and
toast, fruit or fruit juice, milk
Lunch: Submarine sandwich
or southern Chicken with roll,
lettuce, tomato, pickle, two
vegetables, two fruits, manag
er' choice dessert
Feb 27 Breakfast:
Manager's choice or cereal
and toast, fruit or fruit juice,
milk Lunch: Pizza or manag
er's choice, two vegetables,
two fruits, baked dessert
Discrepancies listed on
restaurant inspection
Here are results of Houston
Counts Environmental Health
Department inspections for the
week of Feb. 16-20
At locations where discrep
ancies were reported, man
agers were required to take
immediate actions to ad|ust the
problem areas
Discrepancies were report
ed at these locations
AB's Barbequc. 107
Perimeter Road. Perry. 86.
problems with temperature
control of foods
Baskin Robbins/Perry. 1424
Sam Nunn Blvd Perry. 91.
problems with temperature
control of foods
China Palace Tiki. 112 N
First St.. Warner Robins. 79.
problems with temperature
control of foods
Comfort Inn/Mini Kitchen.
95 S. Ga. 247. Warner Robins.
83. problems with temperature
control of foods
Cox Concession/Hcritagc
Hall. 401 lauTy Walker Parkway.
Perry. 92. problems with storage
of cleaning products
Cox Concession/Ice Cream
Trailer, 401 Larry Walker
Parkway. Perry. 82. problems
with temperature control of
foods
Cox Coneession/Multi-Purpose
(See FOOD. Page SA)
Houston
Contact
the Times-
Journal
Comaci the Houston Times
Journal
Voice i I JI2I 987-1823
Fax (912) 988-lIHI
email j)cditOi>hom net
Mail PO Drawer M,
Perry. 31069
Street KO7 Carroll St.
Perry. '1069
Houston Times-Journal
Stafford: Voters don’t really face choice
Approval of local option sales tax will provide County way to answer court order
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Tisiks-Joi ksai St*iv
In less than a month Houston
County voters will go to the polls
to answer a 544 million question
Should the county add another
penny to its six percent sales tax in
order to raise funds for building a
new courthouse and a new jail ’
According to County
Commission Chairman J Sherrill
Stafford, there's not much choice
about whether or not the projects
Some residents upset with emphasis on vehicle
window tinting law enforcement in Perry
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Jou*NALST*Fr
An eight-year-old window
tint law for vehteles is causing
some unhappiness and confu
sion, apparently because not
all law enforcement depart
ments in Houston County are
using the same meth® to test
for illegal tint.
Several residenU<4£cluding
a window tint businea owner,
appeared before Ptnry City
Council Feb. 17 to tell council
members their thoughts on the
subject.
Council members heard
from one couple, Ray and
Joanne Shipcs. who said their
daughter was ticketed by the
Perry Police Department
because of excessive window
tint.
Joanne Shipcs said they
later took their daughter's car
to the Warner Robins Police
Department and they were told
the windows were not in viola
tion of the law in Warner
Robins.
According to Perry Police
Chief George Potter his
department uses the same type
method as the Georgia State
Patrol to test vehicle windows
for illegal tint a hand held
meter which digitally shows
the officer a number indicating
how much light is allowed to
go through the glass. A number
less than 35 indicates window
tinting is too dark.
This, he said, is a more
accurate method than a light
card, which some departments
still use. The reading of the
(See WINDOWS. Page SA)
Perry now enforcing dog laws after 5 p.m.
Bv EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times- Journal Stait
If you let your dog run •free in the city limits of
Perry after 5 p.m. thinking it is a way to circumvent
the city dog ordinance, you could he in for a surprise,
according to Perry Police Chief George Potter.
After hearing concern expressed by city council
member James Moore regarding the issue. Potter
said Troy Fluellcn. city animal control officer, will be
patrolling during hours that will not be made public
During the Feb 17 meeting of the Perry City
Council. Moore said he has learned that some resi
dents release their dogs to run free after 5 p.m.
because they think the animal control officer is oft
duty.
That will not necessarily be the case in the future,
said Potter
"The animal control officer's schedule has been
modified.'' said the Chief.
And. K will not be made public, he added^
There hjjs been a problem tor some time with dogs
running loose, especially in two areas of Perry, said
Potter.
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
j jn
p \
Vwfl
must be undertaken In fact, the
Commissioners are hoping that a
positive vote on the sales tax will
put them in a good position to ask
lor an extension on a court order
requiring action to provide ade
quate court and jail facilities be
completed |ust a few months from
now
Speaking at the Perry Rotary
Club Feb 2 V Stafford pointed out
that Superior Court Judge L A
"Buster' McConnell Ir issued a
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CHECK IT OUT A Perry policeman shows
neia iniTrumoni city UilKtfS use to omerFTHn© wnonwr
the tinting on vehicle windows exceeds the limits made
by an eigtit-yoar-old law.
Those two areas of Martin l.uther King Jr Drive
and Northside Road are receiving extra attention
from the animal control officer, he said
Cost for the f irst offense of a dog running loose is
SSO. he said Second offense is $75 and third offense
is a SIOO fine.
Other business discussed during the meeting
included a plan to cut the citv budget for FY9B bv
about $62,000
Councilman Billy Jerles made a request at a pre
vious meeting that City Manager Skip Nallcy and
Finance Officer Brenda King should, along with
department heads, lake a look at some proposed
expenditures and decide what could be postponed,
rescheduled or eliminated
Nallcy had pointed out earlier that the city could
lose about $200,000 in tax revenue due to the
Northrop Grumman sale
Some terms of the sale could put the property in a
tax exempt status, he said
In other business:
(See COUNCIL, Page SAI
Serving Houston (ountv Since Dec. 17, 1870
ew Trophy s
MMi oAO&flp* fl It flllik IMI
. —iers win Kogion
s-aa tourney, head to
state action this week.
see page eA
court order on June 13. 1996.
requiring the Commissioners
solve the problems of inadequate
facilities by June I. 1998
Assuming the referendum
passes. Stafford told the
Rotarians "We’ll have a plan and
we can ask for an extension
The total cost tor the two facil
ities a jail which will possibly
be regional, and shared with
Pulaski County, and a new court
house to be built “somewhere
Teen driving woes
Teen-agers no longer have
automatic passage to the
family car, thanks to new
state license laws.
See page 1B
along the Perry Parkway' has
been estimated by architects at
about $44 million
Stafford said the current court
house. which was built in the
19405. "has problems too numer
ous to mention
He cited termites plumbing
problems and electrical inadequa
cies. as well as problems of handi
capped access
He said also that consideration
had been given to tearing down the
Construction nears
on Habitat project
in New Hope area
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
TlMtvj4H«SAl Sl\M
Beginning in April a now
vacant lot located along W.F
Kagin Drive in the New Hope
area will W filled with building
materials and busy volunteers
This will be the first of another
Habitat for Humanity project for
Perry, said Sara Davis, a grant
coordinator for the City of Perry
As a result of a Community
Block Development Grant.
Habitat is able to build up to mx
homes in the New Hope area an
area at present undergoing exten
sion rehabilitation
However, according to Frank
Wenzel. Habitat coordinator, at
the present, there arc funds for
only three of those homes.
The City of Perry will donated
about SIO,OOO per house, per the
grant agreement, he said
The rest is raised through
Habitat efforts.
Cost for one house is set at
about $30,000. said Wenzel.
Help from the local community
has been great, with sponsorships
from groups like Perry United
Computer hackers invade
local internet service provider
Lawmen study case y arrests pending
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
TIMES-Jot RNAL ST\F»
"...we sec things that you need
not see.''
Like the Men in Black, that is
the sentiment of many computer
users who look for security in
their method of communication
Warner Robins based Homenct
President Steve Berman recently
realized there were some folks
seeing things they should not see
through his Internet service provi
sion.
Berman notified Warner
Robins Police of an intrusion into
the company's system Feb. 21
Within hours, police had
tracked (he location of the alleged
intrusion and obtained a search
warrant, said Warner Robins
Police Detective David Rice
Two complete computer equip
ment systems and accessories
were seized, said Rice.
The detective said that while
he cannot at (his point release the
names of those being interviewed,
he can say it is not teen-agers.
"They arc all considered
adults." said Rice
r~-gr^r
Hr ' H
I U J
JL
Home of the Georgia
National fair ami
Agricenter
old courthouse and building a new
courthouse in the same location,
but that "it didn t make sense from
the money standpoint
“We would have needed high
rise parking facilities, he said
Current plans, if the referen
dum passes . are to do some reno
vation work on the existing court
house and to house some local
agencies there, including the
(See STAFFORD. Page SAI
Methodist Church. said Houston
Habitat for Humanity leader
Raymond Haggard
But, more help is needed to be
able to construct all six homes, he
said
Vkc need to keep trying to do
our part and need help from the
local community and local volun
teers said Haggard "We've got
people ready to go into the hous
cs-we ve got six lamilies who
really want and need this ”
Volunteers don’t have to be
skilled laborers, said Habitat
member John Sillers Just a desire
to help their fellow man is a great
beginning
And, donations of building
materials are always welcome
According to Wen/.el. the first
home will be a two bedroom
dwelling of a si/.e of about 1.1 Of)
square feet.
For more information of how
you or a group can help with the
Habitat tor Humanity project, call
Wenzel at yBX-X5l < '. Sillers at
929-CJS4 or Haggard at 922-
2422.
His department, along with the
(ieorgia Bureau of Investigation,
will be conducting an investiga
tion into what information could
have been compromised
Others could possibly be
involved, said Rice
Indications arc there may be
others. It could be widespread."
he added
Meanwhile. Berman said he
advises his 2.5(X) customers to
change their password about
every six months
"Do not make it a guessablc
password." he counseled
This is the first intrusion into
his system since his business
began in June of 1995. said
Berman
But. things like this arc becom
ing more common every w here, he
said
Berman said he is always
working to make his system sensi
tive to such incidents
"That is one of the reasons we
were able to delect this." said
Berman. “W'c are always on the
watch."