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Volume 128, No. 14 2 Sections, 18 Pages Wednesday, April 7, 1999 50 Cents Home of the Georgia A National Fair and Agricenter I At the Crossroads This Week More campers coming While not as large a dele gation as the Family Motorcoach Association, members of the Georgia Good Sams club will have a Samboree rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds April 8-11. This rally is an annual event in Perry. The Peach Blossom Cluster Dog Show will be April 15-18. It only takes one shot Dave (Super Dave) Semmel, Assistant Golf Pro at the Perry Country Club, made a hole in one while visiting the Doublegate Country Club in Albany Mach 29. Semmel MU Semmel made the 164 yard shot at hole number two using a six iron during a Georgia PGA Central chapter dogfight. Professional Golfer Nancy Lopez was also playing the course that day according to Butch Wilhelm of the Perry Country Club. Meanwhile at the Perry Country Club Meyur Vashi of the Westfield High School golf team shot a 184 yard hole in one. Vashi made the shot while playing hole number nine using a four iron during a high school practice round Mar. 25 according to Butch Wilhelm of the Perry Country' Club. Adult softball registration extended Registration for men’s, women’s and church adult softball leagues with the Perry' Recreation Department has been extended through April 9. The season, which will run April-June will cost S4OO per team with a roster limit of 20 persons aged 18 and older. Each team will be given one dozen softballs for the league. For information, con tact the Recreation Department at 988-2860 or visit the department at 1060 Keith Drive. Restaurants inspected Here is the results of Houston County Environmental Health Department inspections for the week of March 29-April 2. Where discrepancies were found, immediate changes were made. Angelina’s Italian Garden Cafe, 1500 Sam Nunn Blvd., Perry, 96. Angelina’s Lounge, 1500 Sam Nunn Blvd., Perry, 97. Bull and Dee’s Sports Lounge, 120 S. First St., Warner Robins, 88, none. Charlie William’s Pinecrest, Margie Drive, Warner Robins, 81. Problems (See FOOD, Page SA) Houston / Contact the Times- Journal Contact the Houston Times- Joumai: Voice (912' 987-1823 Fax (912) 98b-li«i email timesjm@hom.net Mail .....P.O. Drawer M, Ferry, 31069 Street 807 Carroll St., Perry, 31069 J 9 > NEWSPAPER PROJ MAIN LIBRARY . GA 30E02 Houston Times-Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia Prison space shortage forces jail construction first County spent more than $700,000 in first three months of ’99 housing prisoners out of county By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Times-lournai. Staff With the cost of boarding lawbreakers in other counties skyrocketing , the construc tion of the new county jail is taking priori ty over the construction of the new court hou„,.. According to Houston County Commission Chairman J. Sherrill Stafford, costs for Houston County’s overflow of inmates behind bars in other counties, usu Jr I HU m. W jL M WrO* H wNj f Ij 1 m m *&**•'*** ms' s W.D. SULLIVAN AND CO. FIRST TO OPEN AT NEW CENTER Store Was Last To Close At Old Sports Center Space Weather brings good news to Dogwood By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Times-lournal Staff On April 3, the day of Perry’s 1999 Dogwood Festival, the dog woods (not to mention the wiste ria and azaleas) were at their peak and the weather was more like June than April without a cloud in the sky. In short, it was a good day to be outdoors whether running in the 5K race, setting up an arts and crafts booth, roaming around at the car show or playing softball. That weather paid off with an attendance in excess of 3,500, according to Chamber of Commerce President Chris Kinnas. Kinnas, who was overseeing his second Dogwood Festival, noted that the weather was a big help, but also pointed,out several specific festival successes. Hundreds showed up for the Perry Hospital 5K road race, for example, and many stayed on to Dogwood Festival in ires and stories CT weather brings large See below, and pages 9-10 A ally at a rate of 525-J35 per day, was more than $700,000 for the first three months of 1999. The new jail, which will be built on the same Perry Parkway site as the new court house, will house up to 524 prisoners, Stafford said. It will also be designed to allow room for later expansion, if necessary. Commissioner Tom McMichacl pre sented a scale model of the site at the Commissioners’ April 6 meeting, pointing enjoy the festival. “We had runners from as far away as Vidalia, Waycross and Savannah,” Kinnas said, “and because we moved the time of the race up this year, when they were through with the race, there was something for them to do. The festival food was already being served, for example. I saw one man buy a slice of pizza right after he finished the race.” The softball tournament, which went on all day and into the night, with games at both Rozar and Creekwood parks, also was a big success, with 14 teams, as compared to 11 last year. All of the recreation departments ball fields were in use. The arts and crafts show in downtown Perry was the biggest in recent years, Kinnas said, with 43 booths set up. Also, two new features the “Show and Shine” car show and the downtown live talent show 'x i \ m\; Houston ( ounh Sim cDn I~ 1M“I) out the location of the jail behind the cour thouse. The courthouse, he explained, will face Perry Parkway, but will be entered from the side. The jail will be connected to the cour thouse by an underground tunnel, provid ing maximum security for the transfer of prisoners to the courtrooms for trial. The construction is being funded through a special local option sales tax approved by Houston County voters. n; Cmsmils fata Construction continues as completed spaces begin opening By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Houston Times- lournal While substantial work remains on Perry’s big new Wal-Mart building, scheduled to open this summer, two shops in the strip of buildings con nected to Wal-Mart are already in business, with more soon to come. Friedman’s Jewelers, the newest unit in a 400- store chain, is having its “soft opening” April 7, according to store manag er Beth Erickson, who added that the store’s for mal grand opening will be April 10. Erickson who was hard at work setting up the store’s computer system last week, said she was working on the store’s computer system, and waiting for security to be installed before the inven tory is brought in. Friedman’s, which offers a wide range of jewelry with in-store financing, is fre quently located in Wal- Mart shopping areas or in malls, she said. Next door to Friedman’s, the W.D. Sullivan and Co. store has been open for several weeks. Wanda Sullivan, owner of the store, had an established location in the were definite hits. “Donna Long did a great job with the talent show," Kinnas said, “ and we had great help from the Agriccnter with the sound stage. The crowd was big at the car show, too. They had to ask people to leave at the end of the day. A festival standby, the Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast, attracted more than 600 people, Kinnas said. The Beltista Club Spring Home and Garden Show was another success, with more than 1,400 in attendance. Did it help or hurt to have the festival on Easter weekend? Kinnas acknowledged that many people were out of town, but at the same time, many people had company. “The grandparents brought their grandkids,* he observed. Most important for the success (See FESTIVAL, Page SA) | 9 « t . strip of shops connected to the Sports Center. Those stores have been torn down to make way for a larger parking area. Sullivan’s new store is just a short distance from her old location, but not so visible to shoppeq ttttftis point because (See STORES, Page SA) €E~E / Ini uMLm mk Time* Journal Photos by Charlotte Perkins FINAL TOUCHES - Friedman's manager Beth Erickson and her husband, Jim, put the final touches on the new store which opens April 7. g JHRfI ■ : W 'U: ■'. : fit, i ■ flu W wHil fly mKPA. jflK- gi «|K Mr 'jLflAtf' ‘ J| : - Times-Journal Photo by Jj Johnson SHRINER CLOWN MAKES WAY THROUGH DOWNTOWN Many People Came For The Entertainment, Parade Walking for Christ Minnesota resident walking across the country, sharing story ct Jesus with all she meets see pagelß At the meeting, the Commissioners also voted to hire an Atlanta firm, Turner Construction Co., to serve as construction manager for the firm at a fee of $2,853,315. Two other companies, Parrish Georgia and Haskcll/CRSS had offered higher bids for the service, which will include day-to-day overseeing of the two building projects, and monitoring of both costs and schedule. DFCS is checking abuse charge at Headstart By ROB MEAD Times-lournal Staff Allegations of child abuse have been made against five Georgia State Headstart employ ees who worked at the 601 Hillcrest Ave. location in Perry. Connie Eden, Headstart area director, received numerous com plaints March 29 that children at the center were suffering multipie types of abuse by employees charged with caring for the chil dren. Eden did not describe the types of abuse allegedly involved in the case, but said the investiga tion involves physical abuse. According to Eden it is policy to investigate any complaint of this nature. She registered the complaints with an intake worker from the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services early March 30. Representatives of DFCS went to the Hillcrest Avenue Headstart location and placed five employees on indefinite administrative leave without nay that day, according to Eden. This leave is because of the on-going investigation. Wanda Kea, Houston County Department of Family and Children Services Assistant Director, confirmed that her department is conducting an investigation. Some parents of the 34 chil (See ABUSE, Page SA)