Newspaper Page Text
Volume 128, No. 13
3 Sections, 24 P,
Wednesday, ' \ 0
March 31, 1999 \
50 Cents
Home of the
Georgia
National Fair
and Agricenter
At the
Crossroads
This Week
Easter at Second
Memorial Baptist
Second Memorial Baptist
Church, 1845 King’s Chapel
Road, will offer special music
on Easter, April 4, at the 11
a.m. service. The choir will
sing “The Broken Rose" and
“Love was in the Room” with a
solo by Virginia Evans,
“Beyond the Cross” with a solo
by Bob Harris. Other soloists
will be Stephanie Green,
Horace Flournoy and
Elizabeth Ann Stefanko. A
nursery will be provided and
visitors are welcome.
Easter Sunrise Service
A joint Easter Sunrise
Service will be held at
Crossroads United Methodist
Church at 6:30 a.m. on Easter,
April 4.
The speaker will be the Rev.
Dr. Billy Key. Also leading
worship will be The Rev. Dr.
Randy Kennedy, pastor of
Perry First Baptist; the Rev.
Ken Meyers, associate pastor
of Perry United Methodist
Church, and the Rev. Derry
Oliver, pastor of Houston
Lake Baptist Church.
Coffee and doughnuts will
be served in the fellowship hall
following the service.
Revival set
The First Baptist Church
of Kathleen will host a revival,
beginning April 4 at 11 a.m.
The guest speaker will be
Evangelist Fred McCoy.
Services will be held nightly at
7 p.m., April 5-7.
Eggs to hunt
Perry Recreation
Department will have an
Easter Egg Hunt April 3.
Children ages 3-5 years old
will meet at the Picnic area of
Rozar Park at 10 a.m.
Children ages 6-10 years old
will meet at the Large Pavilion
of Rozar Park and begin hunt
ing at 11 a.m. For more infor
mation contact the Perry
Recreation Department at
988-2860.
Easter egg hunt at
Memorial Park
More than 16,000 Easter
eggs and 200 prize eggs will be
hidden for the “Easter in the
Park” event sponsored on
April 3 by Rainbow House,
the Warner Robins Recreation
Department., and Volunteer
Houston County. The hunt
will take place at Memorial
Park at the end of First Street
in Warner Robins. Every child
will receive a welcome bag, and
the Easter Bunny wall make an
appearance. The schedule is as
follows: 10 a.m., Diaper
Derby; 10:30 a.m., toddlers
(under three); 11:30 a.m., ages
three and four; 11 a.m., ages
five and seven; noon, ages
eight and 10. For more infor
mation, call 929-6946.
Good Friday service at
Union Grove Baptist
Union Grove Baptist
Church in Warner Robins will
hold a Death and Resurrection
observance on April 2 at 7
p.m. For more information,
call 922-5514.
Contact
the Times-
Joumal
Contact the Houston Times
[ournal:
Voice (912) 987-1823
Pax (912) 988-1181
:mail
Mail P.O. Draw... I.i,
Perry, 31069
street 807 Carroll St.,
Perry, 31069
Vi* Tht Saving > , '
ygins
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Houston Times-Journal
School Board to take final zoning input April 15
By Stacie M. Vu
Times-lournai Staff
Another session of listening to
parents concerning hew school
attendance zones and a plan to
utilize the old Perry Middle
School are on the agenda for the
Houston County Board of
Education.
Board members will host a
special meeting \pril 15 at Quail
Run F'rmentary at 7 p.m. Public
comment on the proposed zoning
changes will be accepted at that
time.
According to Beth Burris,
spokesperson for the Houston
County Board of Education, zon
11th Dogwood
Festival this
weekend
From Staff Reports
If you’re ready for a weekend
of fun and variety, don’t leave
Perry. The 11th annual Perry
Dogwood Festival is almost here,
and the planners are offering
something for just about every-
body; -starting
with a golf scram
ble on April 2 and
continuing
through April 3
with activities for
all ages and inter
ests.
..-.■■■a- 4-g
There’ll be a pancake break
fast, live music along with arts
and crafts and sidewalk sales in
downtown Perry. There’ll be a car
show for every kind of car from
Model T’s to the latest VW bug.
There’ll be a Grand Prix 5K
race, a softball tournament, and
at the Georgia National
Fairgrounds there’ll be a big
Home and Garden Show, spon
sored by the Beltista Club.
Best of all, there’ll be a parade
at 2 p.m. from Courtney Hodges
Boulevard to Carroll Street.
For all the times, places and
details, check out the Times-
Journal guide to the 11th annual
Dogwood Festival in this issue.
New city warning siren to get test March 31
By Stacie M. Vu
Times-lournal Staff
The City of Perry Fire Department will' test the
new Tornado Siren System March 31 at noon if
weather permits.
The test, according to Fire Chief Gary Hamlin,
will include six different sounds that will last a
minute each. A test will then be heard monthly on
the fourth Wednesday of the month, weather per
mitting.
The siren system was purchased from Whelen
Engineering Co., Inc. The decision to purchase the
Vortex System came about at a Nov. 3,1998 meeting
of Perry City Council. The system arrived on the
Lottery tickets selling briskly
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Times-lournal Staff
What would you do if you won the $lO2 mil
lion Big Game jackpot?
Christy Williamson tucked her five “quick
picks” into her pocketbook Tuesday afternoon
and said with a laugh, “I’d die and go to heaven
immediately.”
Then she added, “I would make my family
really happy.”
Asked why she stopped to buy the tickets
.Williamson said that she wasn’t usually a lottery
player, but that she was driving through Perry
(See LOTTERY, Page SA)
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia
ing changes are taking place at a
time when the number of children
attending public schools and the
opening of new schools is on the
rise.
Matt Arthur Elementary
School and Eagle Springs
Elementary School will open in
the fall, prompting the rezoning
of the school district.
Matt Arthur Elementary is
located at the intersection of
Moody Road and Ga. 127. Eagle
Springs Elementary is located
along U.S. 41 North near
Centerville.
Parents from Tucker
Elementary School in Perry have
Hopk *;■’
Times Journal Photo by Stacie Vu
NEW STEEPLE - Second Memorial Baptist Church, located
along Kings Chapel Road, was crowned with its steeple on
March 26. Part of the steeple arrived weeks earlier, but due to
problems the steeple could not be installed. The spire arrived
on Friday. Pastor Mark Gentry said “I think it adds a lot to the
aesthetics of the Church. The community will now identify us
as a Church."
r Check our 2
®T}*e 1/2 pages of
IliiiiisflHfClassified
LMgsfiffl advertising.
Turn to pages
P- J 6,7, and 8 B of
this issue.
expressed concerns about over
crowding at that school. They
believe the preliminary zoning
maps give the school no relief. The
Board has listened to many parents
at the three meetings held with
parents and concerned citizens.
The Board had previously set a
meeting for March 23 to finalize
the zones, but because of all of the
data given to the Board from par
ents of various schools and neigh
borhoods, they have decided to
reconsider some of the proposed
zones.
A number of neighborhoods
presented the Board with peti
tions stating they want to stay in
afternoon of Feb. 2.
Hamlin said the sirens each weigh 220 pounds
and put out about 1,600 watts of sound. The four
sirens are located at Sam Nunn and Hampton Court,
Tucker Road and Moreland Avenue, Country Club
Road, and Kellwood Drive.
The sirens wilj be tested on March 31 if bad
weather is not present. Hamlin said “We will test
them if it is raining, but we will not test them if
thunder, lightening or high wind is present.”
If the weather is bad on March 31, the Fire
Department will try to test on the following day,
weather permitting.
Computer vim affects some locally
From Staff Reports
An unusual computer virus which affected
computers across the world this past weekend
did cause some problems for computer users in
Houston County.
The Melissa virus travels from computer to
’computer as an attachment or backpacked file
added to an email message. When the person
opens the attached file, the virus attacks the
computer.
According to Dave Murphy, spokesman for
the International Association of IT Trainers
web page, the virus, “replicates pornography
• (See MELISSA, Page SA)
The run annual
-aslßßfc. Perrv Dogwood
U© fjffestival is April
MsEßaWbetalls below and C
section Inside this
newspaper.
1 •
or move to a school zone.
According to Burris, the old
Perry Middle School is under
consideration for a new assign
ment. Board members are study
ing moving Pre-K, kindergarten,
and Ist graders in the old school.
The main issue is the money it
will take to renovate the school to
meet the needs of the children,
Burris said.
Charles Holloway,
Superintendent for the Houston
County School system, said,
“This concept will help eliminate
the need for portables." It would
also help alleviate overcrowding at
the Perry area elementary schools.
Temporary city disbands,
FMCA members head out
Large group may return in three years
By Stacie M. Vu
Times-lournal Staff
The Family Motor Coach
Association left town after their
24th annual winter international
convention, but they may possibly
come back in 2002 for another
d~oSe hospitality.
According to Mike Froehlich,
Executive Director of the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and
Agricenter, “We have laid the
groundwork for their return in
2002.”
According to Robbin Gould,
Editor of Family Motor
Coaching magazine, said the it is
not official yet, but it is a possibil
ity that the FMCA will come
back home. “Sites must be
approved by the FMCA
Governing Board. The Board will
vote either this summer or next
summer on whether or not to
come back to Perry.”
According to Gould, members
enjoyed their rally that was held at
the Georgia National Fairgrounds
and Agricenter March 23, 24 and
25. A total of 6,482 coaches regis
tered for the rally with 69 chil
dren participating. In 1996 a total
of 6,632 coaches registered for the
rally that was held in Perry.
BY CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Times-Iqurnal Staff
Daylight Saving Time official
ly begins at 2 a.m. on April 4.,
and those who forget to change
their clocks on Saturday night
may wind up late for church on
Easter Sunday.
Following the old rule “spring
forward fall back”, clocks
should be moved ahead one hour.
That means “losing an hour” and
rising earlier in the morning, but
it also brings the blessing of more
daylight at the end of the day for
enjoying the outdoors, gardening
or making good use of the char
coal grill.
For experts on the matter,
however, the main reason for
Daylight Saving Time (DST)
isn’t really recreational. It’s all
about conserving energy. DST
saves electrical power use and
other forms of energy by chang
ing “the time the sun sets” and
thus saves resources and money.
Some experts also argue that
DST saves lives by allowing more
All of the Perry area elemen
tary schools will be affected, with
Tucker Elementary taking a
decrease of approximately 160
students. The enrollment at
Tucker now is 579 students.
Parents and teachers should
know by the first part of May
whether or not the Board
approves the renovations and
moving of the children into the
old school, said Holloway.
The Board has also set a meet
ing on April 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the
Board office in Perry to discuss
preliminary FY 2000 budget mat
ters, retention of architectural ser
vices, and other lawful matters.
Everything went smoothly for
the FMCA members, said Gould.
“Members were happy with the
grounds, weather, facilities and
the hospitality of the town. They
really noticed the Welcome
FMCA’ signs. Perry has proven to
be a wonderful venture for
FMCA" she added.
The Convention and Visitors
Bureau of Perry handed out the
“Welcome FMCA” signs to
restaurants, stores and hotels in
Perry. They also handed out about
2,000 buttons that said “Welcome
to Perry." The buttons and signs
could be seen throughout town.
According to Jenny Andrews,
Executive Director for the CVB,
said that “CVB could not ask for
a better City to work with during
the FMCA rally. Our City work
ers were outstanding. The police
done an outstanding job of con
trolling traffic.”
Andrews also said
“Everything went smooth as silk.
The weather was great.” She also
said that she had heard several
comments on the downtown area
and on the flowers.
According to Froehlich, “The
best comment I heard was from
Charles Atkinson, the National
Time takes jump this
weekend; change began
to conserve electricity
people to travel home from work
in the daylight, and that it reduces
crime by reducing the number of
hours people arc likely to be out
side in the dark.
How did it get started?
According to Bob Aldrich, a
spokesman for the California
Energy Commission, DST has
been around for most of the 20th
century, but it hasn’t always been
popular.
The U.S. Congress, in an effort
to conserve resources during
World War I, placed the whole
country on Daylight Saving
Time, but after seven months
gave in to the public’s objections
and repealed the time change.
During World War 11, time
was advanced one hour again, for
the same reason, and remained
that way until September, 1945.
After that, Aldrich notes,
states and cities went their own
ways, observing the change or
not, as they chose. This led to
(See TIME, Page SA)