Newspaper Page Text
I
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At the
* #•
Crossroads
This Week
* Principals named for
two county schools
The Houston County
Board of Education has
named principals for two new
schools. Kim Schoening will
move to Matthew Arthur
Elementary School and David
Carpenter will transfer to
Eagle Springs Elementary
School.
Schoening has been the
principal at Perdue
Elementary since 1993. Prior
to Perdue, she was the princi
pal at Kings Chapel
Elementary School for seven
years.
Carpenter has been the
principal at Bonaire
Elementary School for 13
years. He was the Warner
Robins assistant principal
prior to this appointment.
Matthew Arthur
Elementary School is located
at the corner of Moody Road
and Ga. 127. Eagle Springs is
located along U.S. 41 adjacent
to the Eagle Springs develop
ment. The two schools are
scheduled to open this fall.
Horses coming
Members of the Georgia
Horsemens Council will host a
horse fair at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and
Agricentcr Jan. 20-22.
Other activities at the
Agricenter this week include
the Southeastern Exotic Bird
Show Jan. 23-24 and the
Georgia State Horseshoe
Tournament, Jan. 23-24.
Restaurants checked
During the week of Jan. 11
- 15 the Houston County
Environmental Health
Inspectors made numerous
checks of local food service
providers and found discrep
ancies in some of the following
locations:
Anderson’s Diner 103
Manor Court, Warner Robins,
98, none.
Boardwalk Frozen Custard
1241 Russell Parkway, Warner
Robins, 100, none.
Checkers Drive In 120 N.
Houston Road, Warner
Robins, 92, none.
Church’s Chicken 1801
Watson Blvd., Warner Robins,
84, storage of cleaning prod
ucts / toxic materials.
I. H. O. P. 2718 Watson
Blvd., Warner Robins, 100,
none.
Pizza Hut 1344 Sam Nunn
Blvd., Perry, 94, none.
Schlotzsky’s Deli 2902
Watson Blvd., Warner Robins,
98, none.
Subway 100 N. Houston
Lake Blvd., Suite A,
Centerville, 81, storage of
cleaning products / toxic
materials.
Winn Dixie 2203 Watson
Blvd., Warner Robins, 90,
none.
All major discrepancies are
corrected before the health
inspector leaves the premises.
Talent show is Jan. 21
The annual Kiwanis Club
sponsored Perry area talent
snow will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 21
at the Perry High School
Auditorium. Admission is S 3
for the event.
J=m
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Contact
the Times-
Joumal
Contact the Houston Times-
Journal:
Voice '.222
Fax (912)988-1181
email timesjm@hom.net
Mail P.O. Drawer M,
Perry, 31069
Street 807 Carroll St.,
Perry. 31069
9H Wf I _
39/99
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Houston Times-Journal
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
County, Centerville agree on fire station
County Firefighters express opposition to new station, Kersey seeks help for Henderson fire building
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
TIMES-lOURNAL STAFF
With the state government pushing
intergovernmental cooperation and taxpay
ers hoping for more cost efficiency and less
duplication in local services, consolidation
may well be the wave of the future.
But, if the recent controversy over an
agreement between the Houston County
Commissioners and the City of Centerville
is any example of what to expect, one thing
is clear.
It’s not going to be easy. And at times
it's not even going to be friendly.
Faced with a room full of firefighters
many of whom clearly disagreed with their
decision the Houston County
Commissioners voted at their Jan. 19 meet
ing to approve a “memorandum of under
standing” between the county and the City
of Centerville.
The memorandum, originally called a
“contract”, includes detailed provisions for
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Tim©*- Journal Photo by Rob Mood
IN THE DITCH The 1993 Ford which Martin Heinz drove dur
ing a high speed chase which ended east of Perry, is in the
ditch where Heinz crashed.
Annual Perry Chamber of
Commerce dinner is Jan. 21
By ROB MEAD
Times-lournal Staff
Members of the Perry area
Chamber of Commerce will
gather for their annual dinner in
the Georgia Living Center build
ing at the Georgia National Fair
at 7 p.m. Jan 21.
Dr. William F. Cummings,
Chairman and CEO of
Cummings Consolidated
Corporations, who is well known
as a management consultant and
lecturer will be the keynote
speaker during the event.
During the evening, the gavel
will be passed from outgoing
Chairman Paul Hicks to incom
ing Chairman Steve Rodgers sig
nifying the official transfer of the
Chamber of Commerce
Talks for construction contract
for Perry Post Office continue
By ROB MEAD
Timks-louhnal Staff ___
Construction on the new post
office in the 1400 block of Macon
Road remains at a standstill. Firm
plans apparently depend on nego
tiations between the U.S. Postal
Service and a contracting firm
already on the long-dormant con
struction site.
Postal Services LLC , a private
contracting company , has a con
struction trailer and a tractor at
the construction site. Postal
Services LLC workers were sup-
E)sed to break ground at the site
te last year according to Harvey
Sergeant, then project superin
tendent. Howevef, a U. S. Postal
the two jurisdictions to share the cost of fire
protection in District 1, an area in the
northern part of the county which includes
both the city of Centerville and a large
unincorporated area in which subdivisions
are growing rapidly.
Included in the agreement is a plan to
build a new fire station which will serve
both Centerville and the unincorporated
areas.
Earlier meeting fiery
While the tone of the formal
Commission meeting was civil and mutual
ly respectful, things got a lot hotter at an
earlier and less formal meeting held by the
firefighters on their own turf.
At that meeting, held Jan. 14 at the
Crestview fire station, Commissioner Gail
Robinson, who chairs the Commissioners’
fire protection committee, and
Commissioner Tom McMichael faced a
barrage of questions about county priorities
Chairmanship position.
One of the crowd favorites of
the annual banquet is the presen
tation of the Seebie Hickson
award. This honor goes to the
Citizen of the Year in Perry.
Chamber President Chris
Kinnas said about 250 guests and
members are expected to attend
the banquet celebration.
The dinner will be set up in a
buffet style and will feature
chicken.
The cost to attend the banquet
will be s2l per person.
Chamber member Pat Buice
heads the annual meeting com
mittee of the chamber.
The chamber is celebrating 44
years of service to the community
with this meeting.
Service official has said contract
negotiations are still under way.
Negotiations to restart con
struction on the new post office
project are “looking good” said
Nancy Ross spokesperson for the
regional Postal Service.
“We will have more informa
tion following a meeting next
week but nothing has been final
ized said Ross.
Greg Sergeant, current project
superintendent for Postal Services
LLC said, “We’re just waiting for
some plan changes from Post
Office officials. We had a meeting
with them last week and expect to
(See POST OFFICE, Page 3A)
•'Serving Houston (oun(\ Since Dei. 17, 11*70
and angry objections to the cooperative
plan with Centerville from a dozen or more
speakers.
The first speaker, Hazel Kersey of
Henderson, pointed out that Centerville
citizens do not pay the 2 mill fire tax paid
by residents of the unincorporated area.
Kersey also said firefighters in the
Hendcrson-Elko district had been
(Jtpmised a new fire station since 1992.
“The roof is falling in,” Kersey told the
Commissioners. “When will Henderson be
getting their fair share? Why is Centerville
getting a fire station when they do not pay
a fire tax?”
Others argued Centerville will be get
ting “a free ride on our backs”, called the
proposed contract “garbage,” and said pri
ority should be given to improvements in
the existing county station and to making
sure that there are “bays” to protect all fire
vehicles from the elements.
Deputy Chief Randy Boyst of Station 7
Michigan man shot after chase, standoff
By STACIE M.VU
Times-lournal Staff
A two-county high speed chase ended just east of
Perry Jan. 18, when the fleeing driver crashed into an
embankment.
Martirs D. Heinz, driving a 1993 Ford Crown
Victoria, sped away when Dooly County Sheriff’s
deputies attempted to stop him along 1-75 near
Vienna.
While the deputy pursued Heinz north along I
-75, he radioed for help. Other Dooly officers placed
some stop-sticks on the roadway in an effort to stop
Heinz.
Stop-sticks are long triangular tubes covered in
hollow steel spikes which penetrate and gradually
deflate tires.
Heinz ran over one stop-stick, puncturing the left
rear tire. He dodged the rest of the sticks and con
tinued north into Houston County.
Heinz was being pursued by Dooly County
County schools rank in top third in
most Georgia system comparisons
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is
the first of a two-part series on
the Report Card released this
week by the Georgia
Department of Education. The
first part deals with Houston
County’s overall ranking. The.
second installment will be on
the scores of individual schools
in the Perry area.)
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
TIM£LIq»»NAL.STAFF
The. 1997-98 Georgia Public
Education Report Card has
been released, with the
Houston County public school
system ranking in the top third
in almost all categories of stu
dent achievement.
The report card, based on a
wide range of measurements,
includes rankings on both sys
tems and individual schools.
High School rankings
In the high school rankings,
which include 173 city and
county systems, Houston
County ranked as follows.
* High School Graduation
Tests: Houston County fared
very well statewide. 95 percent
of Houston County students
passed the English Language
Arts test on their first try for a
ranking of 49th in the state; 93
percent passed the mathematics
test on their first try for a rank
ing of 28th in the state; 83 per
cent passed the social studies
Perry Area Chamber of A
Commerce Annual Report!
Plans for 1999 and a review of
1998
Section C\
test, for a ranking of 27th in the
state; 82 percent passed the sci
ence test with for a ranking of
21st in the state.
•Hope Scholarship eligibili
ty. 59.3 percent of Houston
County public school graduates
were eligible for Hope
Scholarships, placing the coun
ty’s schools in the 48th position
statewide.
The top system in this cate
gory was Towns County, with
78 percent eligible for Hope
Scholarships. In the middle
Georgia area, Dodge County
ranked higher than Houston,
with 61.7 percent eligible for
the scholarships.
•Scholastic Assessment Test
(S.A.T.): Houston County high
school seniors ranked 35th in
the state, with combined math
and verbal scores of 967. The
highest ranked system was
Whitfield County, where the
average S.A.T. score was 1,082.
• verbal S.A.T. scores :
Houston County public school
seniors ranked 41st in the state,
with an average Verbal S.A.T.
score of 484.
• Math S.A.T. scores:
Houston County public school
seniors came in higher in the
verbal component, ranking 36th
in the state, with an average
score of 483.
Eighth grade rankings
Houston County’s eighth
graders scored in the 57th per
1
said the plan put “a bad taste” in his mouth,
and said the county should split the fire
protection duties between Station 7 (on
Elberta Road near Warner Robins) and
Station 6 (on Water Road, off Smithville
Church Road) and spend the money on the
existing stations.
“Then you won’t embarrass us, put us on
the back burner or make us feel less than
important," Boyst said. “This is the most
morale busting thing I’ve ever known of.
You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
Some explaining
County Commission Chairman J.
Sherrill Stafford pointed out at the Jan. 19
Commission meeting that “Centerville
could do it without us more easily than we
could do it without them.”
Financially, the situation is simple
enough. The City of Centerville, according
(See FIRE, Page 3A)
deputies, Houston County deputies, Georgia State
Patrol, Vienna Police and Pinehurst Police. At some
point during the chase officers noticed Heinz was
waving a gun in the air.
Heinz got off the Interstate at exit 43A, the Perry
Parkway, and took a right on the flat tire. Perry Police
Chief George Potter said “Our men were out there to
assist.” Perry Police had been at all intersections so
that Heinz could not go into town.
Heinz traveled east along the Perry Parkway, past
the Perry Middle School, running several red lights
before crashing into the embankment on U.S. 341 at
the end of the Perry Parkway.
When Heinz crashed into the embankment at
approximately 3 p.m., several police cars surrounded
the 1993 Ford Crown Victoria. Heinz then turned
the gun toward himself which led to a standoff with
police for about an hour.
(See CHASE, Page 2A)
centile on the lowa Test of
Basic Skills (ITBS), with a
ranking of 45th in the state.
This ranking was for the com
posite score.
Broken down into the read
ing comprehension and math
categories, the county’s eighth
graders ranked higher in read
ing math. The students
averaged in the 51st percentile
in reading, for a ranking of 51st
out of 175 systems. In math,
‘ they were in die 56th per
centile, but had a ranking of
62nd.
Fifth grade rankings
Fifth graders in Houston
County ranked 26th in the state
in the state on the ITBS, and
were in the 62nd percentile.
On the reading comprehen
sion section the fifth graders
were 30th in the state and in the
56th percentile.
On the math section, they
ranked 35th, and were in the
62nd percentile.
Third grade rankings
Third graders in Houston
County ranked 38th in the state
on the ITBS, and scored in the
62nd percentile.
On the reading comprehen
sion section, the third graders
were ranked 62nd, and were in
the 53rd percentile.
On the math section, they
ranked 46th and were in the
64th percentile.