Newspaper Page Text
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See Sports, page 6A
Volume 127,
No 33
2 Sections,
16 Pages
Wednesday,
Aug. 19, 1998
50 Cents
At the
Crossroads
This Week
Perry Library
announces programs
for childreti
The Perry Library is begin
ning a scries of programs for
children.
On Tuesdays and
Wednesdays at 10 a.m.. chil
dren three and older are invit
ed to hear stories, and take part
in finger plays and songs.
On Tuesday and
Wednesdays at 11 a.m.. a2O
minute program is held for
toddlers. 18 months to three
years old. Registration is
required. Each session will last
eight weeks, with the first ses
sion beginning on Sept. 8.
Movies are shown each
Tuesday at 4 p.m.
For more information, call
987-3050.
55 Alive driving
course can lower insur
ance rates
The American Association
of Retired Persons is present
ing a “55 Alive" mature dri
ving course at the Perry
Hospital, under the sponsor
ship of the Houston Health
Care Complex.
Successful completion of
this two-session course means
that senior citizens are eligible
for a premium discount of
their auto insurance. The cost
is $8 per person.
For pre-registration and
class schedule information,
please call Willie Kenrick ,
825-1556, Walt Rembisz. 987-
1908, the Pavilion. 923-9771,
or Frank Skye, 987-3246.
School menus return
This week's elementary
school menus
All meals are served with
milk. Breakfast includes fresh
fruit or fruit juice each day.
Lunches include two hot veg
etables and four to six cold
fruit and vegetable choices
daily.
Aug. 21: Breakfast,
Manager's choice or cereal
and toast; Lunch: Pizza ,
Manager's Choice or PBJ
sandwich, oatmeal cookie.
Aug. 24: Breakfast,
Sausage biscuit or cereal and
toast; Lunch. Hamburger,
manager’s choice or PBJ sand
wich. or baked potato with hot
toppings, peanut butter bar.
Aug. 25: Breakfast. Cheese
croissant or cereal and toast;
Lunch, chicken sandwich,
spaghetti with Texas toast, PBJ
sandwich or sub sandwich,
chocolate cake.
Aug. 26: Breakfast: Lunch,
Comdog. grilled cheese sand
wich with fruit yogurt, or PBJ
sandwich, or baked potato
with hot toppings, pineapple
upside-down cake.
(See FOOD, Page SA)
Houston n
Contact
the Times-
Journal
Contact the Houston Times-
Joum.tl:
Voice (912)987-1823
Fax (912)988-1181
email limesjrnte l horn, net
Mail P.O. Drawer M.
Pern 31069
Street 807 Carroll Si .
Perry. M(H>9
Houston Times -Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
HCHS student hurt in Aug. 12
Perry shooting incident
From Staff Reroirrs
A 16-year-old Houston County
High student was seriously injured
during a shooting incident in Perry
Aug. 12.
According to Perry Police
Chief George Potter, the high
school student was hurt when
someone fired a shotgun at the
truck in which the victim was sit
ting.
That incident happened along
Creekwood Drive about 9:30
p.m., said Potter.
Apparently, a dispute arose
between passengers in the truck
and four other males who were on
foot in the area, he said.
Disagreement
exists about Post
Office work
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Tiwes-Journal Staff
Maybe Perry is one step clos
er to seeing construction start on
anew post office, but then again,
maybe not.
On Aug. 18, the Times-
Journal received word from Rep.
Larry Walker, D- Perry, that he
had learned through U.S. Senator
Max Cleland's office that the
postal facility project was on the
move again after months of
delays.
Walker received a copy of a
memo dated Aug. 17, from
Robert Warden, Government
Relations Representative of the
United States Postal Service,
with the following information,
reprinted here verbatim and in its
entirety:
“An assignment agreement
reached on April 4, 1998 between
the Bison Group, Inc. and
Fauconniere Asset Management,
LLC of Perry, Ga., was ratified
by the Postal Service on Aug. 7.
Pursuant to this Agreement.
Fauconniere Asset Management,
LLC has assumed the contractual
obligation for construction and
lease to the Postal Service of a
new Main Office facility in Perry
as provided in the original Lease
Contract dated Aug. 9, 1996,
between the Bison Group, Inc.
and the Postal Service.
Fauconniere has assumed the
substantive terms and conditions
of the original agreement. The
target date for completion of the
project is June 3, 1999.”
Ronald Fauconniere, however,
has denied that this information
is correct.
Both Warden, the writer of the
memo, and Nancy Ross, a
spokesperson for the regional
Postal Service, are apparently
under the impression that the
deal is settled.
Warden said that “Bison had
some difficulty and has assigned
the contract to Fauconniere,"
adding that “Fauconniere was
given 10 days to provide a con
struction schedule with a com
pletion date no later than June,
1998.”
Ross said, “It looks like the
project has finally taken off. We
have anew developer,
Fauconniere, as of Aug. 7. They
(Fauconniere) are working on the
design and they arc in the process
of acquiring the property.”
The post office construction
project, which is located at 1400
Macon Road, has been stalled for
(See POST OFFICE, Page SA)
gti§ Routes
BUS mfyiwlPp % . •
complete list of Perry area public
school bus routes for 1998-98
Marshall
Frederick of
1018 King
Blvd. was
arrested a
short time
after the
shooting and
charged with
aggravated
assault and
discharging a
firearm within
50 yards of a highway, said the
chief.
The driver of the pick-up,
Herbert Streater, also faces
charges stemming from an earlier
BH 8k
ijf <9P9H§ ; jjj
LAST SHIPMENT This group of
employees of the Perry PPG Plant, Works
18, gathered to watch the last sheets of
Azure Blue glass produced at the facility
THE ENII
Final glass product shipped from PPG Perry plant
By EMILY JOHNSTONE
Times-Jocbsal Staff
“I want to thank the employees who got us this far
Since the announcement about the plant closing there
have been struggling times, emotionally and other
wise.”
These words were spoken by Perry PPG plant
Manager Henry Goode to a group of employees a
short time after the last glass to be produced at the
facility was packed and readied for shipment
The plant will now go into its final shutdown
mode, as soon the giant furnace that melted materials
needed for production will be turned off.
A large group of workers gathered to watch the
last few plates boxed and ready for shipment about 7
p.m. the evening of Aug. 12.
Mary Chapman has been with the plant since it
opened nine years ago.
“This is disappointing," said Chapman. “But.
there are times when change comes about." Chapman
said she will be looking for another local job. “I like
Perry. It’s nice."
“I wish it wasn’t closing,” said Keith Dutcher.
who has been employed at the plant for the past three
years. Dutcher said he plans to go back to school
after the shutdown is finalized.
Westfield Schools are set for big year
From Si*rr Retorts
When students return to the
Westfield Schools Aug. 20, they’ll
see a brand new pre-school build
ing, ready for use and anew
school entrance. For the school
term ahead, that's just the begin
ning.
According to Marti Tolleson,
Westfield’s Development
Coordinator, site work will begin
soon for anew administrative
building, and plans are on the table
for anew athletic field house.
Serving Houston County Since Dec. 17, IK7O
That incident hap
pened along Creekwood
Drive about 9:30 p.m.,
said Potter.
incident, said Potter, after he
allegedly showed a gun and made
terrorist threats against an individ
ual at Kroger located along Sam
Nunn Boulevard.
That occurred about 6:30 p.m.
the same evening, he added.
Strealer, of 103 Dowdy Lane.
Kathleen, was charged with ter
roristic threats and acts, said
Potter
Frederick
All these projects arc being
paid for with funds raised last year
in the school’s $1.3 million capital
campaign, Tolleson said.
The schtxrl will also start an
after-school care program for
kindergarten through sixth grade
this fall, with care provided from
the close of classes until 6 p.m.
each school day.
Westfield will welcome anew
music teacher, Deborah Walker,
who already has the chorus lined
up to sing at Carnegie hall in the
Spatial Photo
CIRCLE MARKS THE SPOT This is the point a bullet
entered this late-model Ford pickup truck Aug. 12.
Tim*s-Journal Photo by Emily Johnston*
boxed and readied for shipment Aug. 12.
The plant is scheduled to be completely
shut down in a few weeks.
Another employee. Mike Wynne, said he "hates
the plant is closing."
“They say it hasn't made any money.” said
Wynne.
Wynne said he will not be one ol the workers leav
ing the area for employment elsewhere. “I’m a home
grown tomato! I am not leaving Georgia." he said.
Operator Chris Barnett spent four and one half
years working in a place that has not been cool since
the plant began operation-the furnace.
"It gets pretty hot!" said Barnett. "The material
gets to a temperature of 2.500 to 3.000 degrees."
About the plant closing. Barnett echoed other senti
ments-"! did not want it to close."
“These are some of the best people anywhere"
commented team production manager Stan Davis as
he looked around at the group of employees. "Some
of these people turned down other jobs just so they
could stay here until the last day."
Goode said the plant will probably be doing some
work with a special type glass until about Aug. 31.
September I will be the start of cool down' when the
furnace is turned off.
Goode was plant manager when the plant first
(See GLASS. Page SA)
spring. Additionally there will be
several new faculty members.
The nearly 6(H) students at
Westfield arc from a large geo
graphic area, Tolleson said.
“Many people think we re
mainly a Perry school." she said,
"but only 50 percent of our stu
dents come from Houston County.
The other 50 percent come from
surrounding counties and as lar
away as Fit/gerald.”
Busy volunteer 1
Perry teen-ager racks up 300 vol
unteer hours during summer job
See page 1B
i
Home of the Georgia
National fair and
Agritenter
More than 20,600
expected for school
opening Aug. 21
Bv CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Times-Joubnai. Staff
More than 20,600 students
will he headed back to the class
room Aug. 2! as the Houston
County public schools open their
doors for the ! uQK-qq school
term
That 's just a rough estimate at
this point, though, since adminis
trators never know exactly
who'll be showing up until the
first day of school. The one thing
that’s certain is that there'll be
more students than last year,
when 20.180 student were on the
rolls at the close of the term
Of all those returning for the
new term, the teachers and stu
dents at Perry Middle School
have the most to look forward to
this year —a brand new building
which will probably be ready in
January.
“The parents and kids arc
excited about it." said Tom
Gupton, principal of the school,
“and I’m excited just going out
there.”
Gupton said he expects the
move to be relatively easy
because the new school will have
new furniture and equipment,
and most of the moving will
involve paperwork and fntoks
At Perry High School, sin
dents will see some real sprucing
up. since the school was repaint
ed during the summer and new
carpeting was pul down
Principal Phil Smith says that
he is expecting about I.KM) stu
dents this year, with a larger
senior class than last year.
Students and their parents can
expect a lightening up in the
school’s absentee policy this year
and in the grade reports. Smith
added
“The number of permissible
absences per 18 weeks has been
reduced from 15 to 10 by a deci
sion of the Board of Education."
Smith said. “We found last year
that when we loosened up on
absenteeism, some students just
took advantage of it."
He said this year parents can
expect to see computer generated
progress reports at 6 and 12
weeks, along with report cards
after 18 weeks.
Van Rogers, principal at
Momingside Elementary School,
says she and her stall are "ready
to go" and that parents will be
welcomed at an Open House and
orientation from 3 to 5 on Aug
20.
At King s Chapel Elementary
School Principal Dave Crockett
(See SCHOOLS, Page SA)