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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 , coryofWfc. JT I st. cory, below'V>^|^<c 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)