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jvolume 128, No. 18 2 Sections 20 Pages Wednesday, May 19, 1999 50 Cents Hone of the HW Georgia HM ' National Falb. II » The Crassroa Jy jPy This Week Perry man arrested on assault charges Duraunte M. Jackson of 924 Gardner Drive, was arrested by Perry police May 14, and charged with aggravated assault with a gun. According to Detective Heath Dykes, Jackson reportedly pulled a gun while engaged in an argu ment with Eric McDermitt at McDermitt's home at 1109 Gaines Drive. Mother, daughter charged with arson A 24 year old woman and her mother have been arrested and charged with arson in the first degree in connection with a mobile home fire which took place in February. According to Detective Heath Dykes of the Perry Police Department. Rhonda Hampton, who lives at a Montezuma address, and her mother. Ella Mae Pope of Stockbridge, were arrest ed May 15 after an inves tigation of several months duration, conducted by Detective Leyon Roberts. Dykes said details about how the fire was started could not be released at this time. The blaze partially destroyed the insured mobile home, which was located at 1998 U.S. 341 North. State Farm Insurance offices burglarized Jake Goddard’s State Farm Insurance office at 1214 Washington St., was broken into and burglar ized on May 14, according to Perry police report. An undisclosed amount of money was taken. The crime is currently under investigation. Chamber to study future of downtown The Perry Area Chamber of Commerce leadership has announced plans for a meeting at which mem bers will discuss issues concerning downtown Perry, the new court house and Wal-Mart. Steve Rodgers, chair man of the Chamber, wrote in a letter to mem bers, "We are interested in determining what we can do as a Chamber to expand and improve our Downtown business dis trict. This issue affects all downtown businesses whether it is a retail business, a professional office, a service business or a governmental office.” The meeting will be held June 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fairview Room of the Georgia National Fairgrounds. PHS bandsmen part of honor jazz band Five Perry High Band students were selected to attend the Houston County Honor Jazz Band May 13. Joe Hutcheson, direc tor of Perry High bands, said the students. Allison Alke, Lianne Heller, Brian Bellinger, Jason Skelton and Lee Wright, attend a day long clinic with Scott Turpin of Merger University in Maco*.. Students were selected after auditions in March. " * ion Home Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia Perry industrial district growing A good site about to get better according to local government leaders By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Home Journal Staff Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of the future in unlikely places. Take the red clay road that runs into Valley Drive at the south end of the Perry Industrial District, sometimes known as the Perry Allied Business Park. It doesn’t look like much now, but in due time it will become part of a four-lane divided highway which will connect the industrial park with U.S. 341, and then - with further construction - circle around to cross over 1-75 at the south end of town. In other words, it will become part of the Perry Parkway. And - if Houston County Development Authority Director Tim Martin and Perry' City Manager Skip Nalley see their hopes ful filled - it will bring still more industries to Perry. The Perry Industrial District is a 476-acre site, jointly owned by the Development Authority and the City of Perry. About 80 acres are available for development, in addition to the vacant PPG site and the Trendline buildings. According to Martin, “Prospects that would oth erwise not be looking at Perry are taking a closer look,” because of the exten sion of Perry Parkway, that is under way. This stage of the highway construction project will reduce traffic on Valley Drive, a two-lane road with bad curves, and will mean that trucks and other vehi- Kids’ Journey named to federal partnership By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Houston Home Journal A Houston County agency dedicated to the welfare of the county’s chil dren has just received sig nificant backing from Washington. The National Partnership for Reinventing Government, spearheaded by Vice President A 1 Gore, announced the Houston County Kids’ Journey is one of 13 organizations chosen nationwide for par ticipation in an initiative known as “Boost For Kids.” Kids’ Journey is a coun ty-wide coalition of agen cies, government and church leaders working together for the benefit of Houston County’s children. It is coordinated by Leila H. Anderson. Robertiena Fletcher is the chairman of the Kids' Journey board of trustees. Anderson, who said that this will be “a very exciting venture for Houston County," noted that she received word of the Kids’ Journey selection from Karin Abramson’ of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. “There is not any money attached to this partner ship," Anderson said. Instead Kids’ Journey staff and volunteers will have access to professional help with cutting through gov ernment red tape and seek ing out appropriate grant sources. “We will have two cham pions who represent our community at the federal See JOURNEY. Page 8A The Old Reliable, Serving Houston Connty Since Dec, 17, 1870 cles can travel four-lane divided highways from 1-75 to the park. In addition to the jobs new industries bring, Nalley points out, the City of Perry has other financial gains at stake. Included are the revenues gained by pro viding natural gas, water and wastewater treatment services to those industries and increasing the ad val orem tax base. It’s Nalley’s job to work with industries to see that their needs are met. “We offer a one*-stop shop.” he said. “They can come to city hall for their building permits, licenses and utility connections.” Typically, Nalley is the man Martin calls once an industry has indicated an interest in considering Perry as a new location. “Sometimes just a con sultant will come,” Martin said. “There used to be more time spent on wining and dining, but now some one might just be here for a short time. The closer they are to coming, though, the more people-will be here.” What are today’s indus tries looking for? According to Martin, transportation access is a key factor, which is why the new highway plans around Perry are so important. So. he says, is the Perry - Houston County Airport, the rail lines and the inter state. The proximity to Atlanta's airport is a selling point as well. Education makes a big difference, too, and the quality of the schools iilifc- —— EnHp pH Sr | Jp* #*■■■ . ft** —jjffHHfPf HBHk *** v'-. v j'lt* ''• ■■ '?■ •> ■*»#**% * : v -; ; > Jr mbF** % 1 ' . 1. ISO wOzMsk . .: ''»i I CANCER SURVIVORS TAKE FIRST LAP DURING 1999 RELAY FOR LIFE EVENT MAY 14 More Than 50 Cancer Survivors Took Lap To Recognize Their Survival From The Disease Relay for Life raises $45,000 to fight cancer By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Hogg™* Home Joukiw. It just keeps getting bigger and bet ter. Perry’s 1999 Relay for Life, held May 14-15 at the Perry High School football field, raised more than $45,000 for the fight against cancer, topping all previous years. Volunteer walkers who kept a relay going around the track throughout the night, raised the money both through pledges and. a variety of fund raising projects. Funds were also raised through the selling of luminaries, which were lighted and placed around the track in memory of those lost to cancer and in honor of survivors. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. The Northrop Grumman team raised $8,854.96, taking the top hon ors for the second year. Bank of Perry employees raised $6,813.66, and the Perry United Methodist Church team including Middle Georgia Tech makes a real differ ence to prospects. Moreover. industrial prospects are likely to put a big emphasis on health care. The fact that the Perry Hospital is part of the larg er Houston Healthcare Complex is a strong point for Perry, Martin noted. Even with the low unem ployment rate in Houston County. Martin feels posi tive for more industries. “Most of the people a new' industry wall hire will be v’-"; AT THE SITE Perry City Manager Skip Nalley talks with Keith Dykes at the Perry industrial park. In the background brought in $3,012. David Cyre of Perry United Methodist Church won recognition for being the most successful individual fund raiser, with a total of $1,400. Mitzi Sexton and Sheila Todd, both of the Bank of Perry, came in second and third respectively. Sexton raised $1,353 and Todd raised $1,135. Awards for the best campsite went to the Perry Elementary School “cowboys”, the Northrop Grumman “Cafe’ for Cure”, and the Bank of Perry, which had the theme, “Hunting for a Cure." Winners of the costume competition were Northrop Grumman, first prize; Bank of Perry, second; Perry Elementary School. third; Morningside Elementary School, fourth, and Kings Chapel Elementary School . fifth. The team spirit award went to King’s Chapel Elementary School and Morningside Elementary School in a tie. people who are already working," Martin noted. “They’re looking for under employed people. People with the skills and training to do more. A large unem ployment rate is a red flag that something is wrong with the labor force." Another major plus with prospects, Martin says, is the county’s tax cap. "Elected officials may not like it,” he said, “but industry leaders love it. It means that their tax rate won't go up.” The one improvement Martin would like to see at is the new $6.5 million Diversified Machining Services building which is nearing completion. the Perry park is a ready made facility to offer to industries. “Shell buildings are a tool a community needs to be successful," he says. Even without one, though, Martin is enthusi astic when he discusses Perry’s future. While he does not disclose the names of industries consid ering Perry or Houston County, he’s quick to say there is a lot of interest in the Perry industrial park. “We’re cooking!" he said. “Perry has it all." Home Journal Photo by Charlotte Perkins Home Journal Photo by Jj Johnson In opening remarks. Perry Mayor Jim Worrall recalled his battle with cancer eight years ago. He said he knew money from American Cancer Society events paid for research which enabled him to survive cancer. Worrall said he hoped for additional cures within the next 10 years and perhaps a vaccine to prevent cancer. The first walkers on the track included about 50 survivors of cancer. The group received constant applause from the more than 500 spectators on hand as they circled the track. A second major attraction for spec tators was the luminary service. Hundreds of bags filled with sand and a candle lined the high school track. Luminaries were sold in memory of persons who have died because of cancer. The candles were lighted after sunset. Carol Hayes and Holly Sargent served as co-chairs for the 1999 event.