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VaittMfe 128, Wo. 25 2 Sections 16 Pages Wednesday, June 23, 1999 50 Cents Homs of the m Georgia National Fair I The Eras ■- roads Th Week Stubbs to participate in Wisconsin research program soon Back in 1973, when Bronnie Stubbs first started going back and forth to Atlanta to have dialysis for kidney fail ure, he wished at times for someone to talk with who would understand what he was going through. “I always felt like I was the only one doing it." he says. That’s why he's fixing from Atlanta to Madison, Wisconsin on June 23 because he has an opportunity to share his experiences for the bene fit of others . Stubbs, who has been on dialysis for almost 25 years, has been asked to participate in a research project being conducted in Madison by a coalition of university, industry and medical agencies seeking information on long term dialysis. Stubbs’ health prob lems began in childhood. A victim of Glomeru lonephritis, his kidneys failed when he was a col lege student. He had dialysis a new proce dure until his father donated a healthy kid ney for transplant. Unfortunately Stubb’s body rejected the trans planted kidney, and he was back on dialysis for the long term. Dialysis a medical procedure which does the work of healthy kid neys by lowering salt and potassium levels and draining off fluids from the body is more common now, and Stubbs is able, with the help of his family and his wife, Helma, to have his treatments at home. He worked at Robins Air Force Base for many years, despite his health problems, but is now retired, and enjoys gar dening, reading and tak ing daily walks to stay fit He attributes part of his endurance to his daily vitamin intake, and says that he will share that information with the researchers who will tape interviews with him in Wisconsin. Today. Stubbs is once again on a waiting list for a new kidney, but he is philosophical about it. “1 don’t worry about it," he says. “It’ll be the Lord's will if it happens. I don’t lose any sleep over it." Itastai Contact: Home Journal Contact the Houston Home Journal: Voice (912) 987-1823 Fax (912) 988-1181 email homejrn@hom.net Mail P.O. JL/ia\vcr M, Perry, 31069 Street 807 Carroll St., Perry, 31069 «• * • ** / 39/99/99 f 3EOR6IA NEWSPAPER PROJECT U. Gh. MAIN LIBRARY | ATHENS, GA 30602 ® | Houston Home Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia Com South gains OK for city cable franchise transfer By Torey Jolley Home Journal Statf Acting against the con cerns of their consultant and over the wishes of their attorney, members of Perry City Council have trans ferred the city cable fran chise. Long held by Peachstate Cable, the franchise will roll over to Suntel, the company which is purchasing Peach state soon. Earlier, council delayed action on the franchise matter to study the details. The decision to award the franchise to Suntel came near the end of the June 15 B.R.A.G. cyclists spend night in Perry on way to Savannah Most of group spends evening at Perry High resting and listening to local entertainment By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Home Joiumal Statt "the men, women and children who came pedal ing into Perry on June 22 come from all over the sou theast and their bicycles, in every conceivable design, may cost anything from S2OO to $2,000. Some are highly com petitive about speed, while others are content just to keep up with the crowd, but they all have one thing in common and that’s uncommon endurance. Take Dave Sanderson, who put in close to 70 miles on hot Georgia high ways June 22 as part of this week’s Bicycle Ride Across Georgia. Inter viewed at the B.R.A.G. Perry High School overnight stop, Sanderson admitted he was a little weary by the time he | ■V'um y.._ !&.> ■BHBH WHnpuHg) IHome Journal Photos by Charlotte Perkins WELCOME TO PERRY - Anita Martin (left) a volun eer welcomer for the Perry Convention and Visitors iureau, provides information on Perry for Suzanne Valter of Lilbum. Perry Council studies way to balance budget, lower taxes and give pay raises By Torey Jolley Home Joukhal Staff The Perry City Council had a busy day June 15. The had a work session and a public meeting. They struggled to make a fiscal year 2000 balanced budget, give pay increases to city employees, and lower the millage rate by 0.54 mills Perry Mayor Jim Worrall said, “What would it take to lower taxes by one mill?" Brenda King, finance officer, replied, “One mill is worth (approxi The Old Reliable, Serving Houston County Since Dec. 17, 1870 meeting. Council approved the franchise transfer to CTI which will then transfer the franchise to Suntel. Perry Mayor Jim Worrall did not think the action was too much of a surprise though. “It has been on the back burner too long," said Wor rall. He added that four months is too long for the issue to have been tabled. During a work session before the meeting, council members listened as Bill Mitchell, Peachstate Cable manager. and Suntel’s Chicago attorney, Chris reached Perry, but that’s understandable since the temperature was soaring and Sanderson is 72 years old. After an overnight rest, however, he planned to continue on with the 2,000 or more bikers who are heading for the final destination of Savannah by the end of this week. Overall, the B.R.A.G. riders will cover 440 miles in seven days. For June Seebeck, a Texan in Georgia for the big event, it’s partly a mat ter of keeping up with her husband. She bikes with him part of the way, but spends the rest of her time helping at the rest stops which are set up all along the way, since he likes to ride a bit faster than she does. Like almost all the other bikers, Seebeck is trim mately) $169,000 to the city. Perry currently has a 14.54 millage rate." Councilman William Jerles sug gested she “transfer SBO,OOO from reserves to lower the millage by half a point or cut out $80,000.” With city employee pay and benefits being 80 percent of budgets, the council discussed upcoming pay increases. They requested King to “fig ure in a 3 percent across-the-board increase." The council is expected to approve the budget by June 23. Next the council tackled the topic of Thomas shines Perry High grad saves all-star game for fellow Georgia team members. We have two reports see page 6A Cinnamon, explained the importance and the ease of the transfer. Cinnamon said it was a simple deal which “would allow Suntel to bring in more modern equipment and services." A Georgia Municipal Association representative, Andy Macke, had twice requested the transfer be postponed. Macke said the GMA had questions about Suntel. Cinnamon said Corn- South a Hawkinsville com pany, and Suntel do not wish to delay any longer. Cinnamon said, “This “The way he rides, he bums 800 calories an hour. It gets your heart rhythm up, and it’s a very good aerobic exer cise. " - June Seebeck and muscular, and she’s a strong advocate of biking for fitness. "My husband lost 35 pounds when he first started biking," she said, “The way he rides, he burns 800 calories an hour. It gets your heart rhythm up, and it’s a very good aerobic exercise." The health dangers are there, too, she says, but that just means taking some precautions against the heat and exertion. “You have to keep your self hydrated," she said, - *- •* , ■ ~. ■ ■ HOST - Houston County farmer Herb Bixler (right) talks with bicyclists Mark Hughes of Atlanta and Bob Cyr of Duluth. Bixler offered his shady pecan orchard along Valley Drive as a rest and refreshment stop for B.R.A.G. transfer has only 10 days left until it is finalized. If you do nothing, it will auto matically go into effect." Worrall said council would meet again before the 10-day deadline occurred. During the public meet ing after the work session, Councilman William Jerles asked the council approve the franchise transfer. However, Perry City Attorney David Walker said, “I have not read the papers on this issue.” Walker stressed he did not feel comfortable without doing so. He mentioned “Drink before you feel thirsty and eat before you feel hungry.” Staying protected against sunburn and heat exhaustion.are also major concerns for the bikers, according to Mark Lewis of Townsend, who is an emergency room doctor when he’s not bicycling across the state. Lewis says that partici pants in long distance treks need to be in condi tion before starting off, and need to protect their skin from the sun, both with sunscreen and cloth ing. For many of the riders, the ultimate biking adven ture will come next year with “Bike 2000", a 37-day tri-state event which will begin in Florida, continu ing into Alabama and Georgia for a total of 2000 miles. new employees for various depart ments. The police department requested three new officers, while the fire department requested two and the sewer department requested one. According to Fire Chief Gary Ham lin, “I've requested two more people for years." He explained the shortage could be dangerous. “We have thrfce on a crew. If a med ical call comes in, it takes two to take the rescue vehicle. That leaves one to See BUDGET, Page BA in the marketplace Bible school participants explore a market much like Jesus saw 2,000 years ago. See page 1B there were “unpaid fran chise fees and such" to be considered. Walker asked Brenda King, financial officer, for a figure on how much Com- South owed the city. King replied she did not have a true figure with her but remembers something about S6OO. ”* Cinnamon offered Walker a set of contract papers from his briefcase. He com mented the papers have “a new amendment” which will provide payment of $1,500 to the City of Perry See CABLE, page 5A County gets state funds to improve juvenile court services By CHARLOTTE PERKINS At their June 15 meet ing, the Houston County Commissioners formally accepted a grant of $74,948 from the Georgia Children and Youth Coor dinating Council for ser vices to at-risk youth through the Houston County Juvenile Court. The county will put $13,400 in matching funds into the project, which will provide addi tional staffing for a com munity-based approach to providing counseling. Other services will be aimed at reducing crimi nal activity. school dropouts, drug use and teen pregnancy. Also at the meeting cit izens who were present to hear the Commissioners' decision on a request to close one end of Roberts Road learned that the request, originally made by Bryan Stewart, had been withdrawn. Stewart, who lives along Roberts Road, had made a written request earlier to have the road closed at the Ga. 127 end due to speeders and litter ers coming off the high way. When a formal hearing was held May 18, it turned out that while area residents some agreed with Stewart, a number of residents did not want the road closed and the Commissioners’ decision was delayed until more information could be obtained. Because Stewart wrote to withdraw his request, however, there will be no further action on the mat ter. In other business, the Commissioners consid ered a road abandonment and closure request for Henderson Springs Road, but took no action after Commissioner Tom McMichael pointed out that while there are no houses * along the* road, there is a cemetery in cur rent use.