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Volume 128, No. 48 2 Sections 16 Pages Wednesday, Dec. 1. 1999 so Cents P* m National Fak II * At ~ The Crossroad# This J Week / Calendar dominated by Christmas at the Crossroads events Activities relating to the 29th observance of Christ mas at the Crossroads domi nate the calendar in Perry this week. Dec. 1 Dec. 2 Westfield Schools chorus in Christmas concert at the school library. Perry High School football team members will be hon ored at the annual football banquet at 6:30 p.m. at Perry Hiah School cafeteria Dec. 3 Perry Players present “A Star at the Cross roads" at the theater, 909 Main St. Cost is $5 per per son. Performance at 7:30 p.m. Call 987 -5354. Dec. 4 Start the day from 7-10 a.m. at the Perry Kiwanis Club annual Christ mas at the Crossroads pan cake breakfast. At the Coun ty Extension Service build ing, 733 Carroll St., Perry. The cost is $3 per person. More information at 987- 3251. The ATA Taekwondo regional finals will be held at the Georgia National Fair grounds and Agricenter. Call 987-8874 for information. The annual Perry Christ mas Parade will pass through downtown beginning at 2 p.m. For information, call 987-1234. Perry Players present “A Star at the Crossroads” at the theater. 909 Main St. Cost is $5 per person. Per formances at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Call 987-5354 for details. Dec. 5 The second Sunday of Advent. Christmas open houses, sponsored by Perry mer chants, will be 2-5 p.m. Gilbert Photography and the Town Crier will offer free pictures with Santa from 2-5 p.m. with a donation of canned goods or toys for PAL. At 913 Carroll St. The annual Community Candlelight Celebration will be on the Houston County Courthouse lawn at 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Perry Ministerial Associ ation. Call 987-4803 Dec. 6 Perry-Houston County Airport Authority, 7 p.m. Dec. 7 Pearl Harbor Day. Houston County Commis sion at 10 a.m.. Perry City Hall. Perry City Council meet ing, Perry City Hall, 6 p.m. Dec. 8 Dec. 9 Dec. 10 Edward Jones Open House, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 1023 Ball St„ Call 987-0801. Dec. 1 1 “King of Love" at Perry Presbyterian Church, 6:30 p.m., 111 Sec ond St. Call 987-1403. Dec. 12 Third Sunday in Advent. (See EVENTS, Page 2A) Contact: the Home Journal Contact the Houston Home journal: Voice (‘>l2) 987-1823 Fax (91/, 1181 email homejrn^hom.net Mail TO. Drawer M, Perry, 31069 Street 807 Carroll St., Perry, 31069 Pttrode 2 pjn, Saturday; CladleP 7 - ■ Jdoy »IJ V /n\ ci** Christmas at the Crossroads activity list continues to grow Home Journal to sponsor home decorations contest By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HojttjtouwiAL^SWF^ ___ It’s time to hang those wreaths and turn on the holiday lights and for a few home owners, there will be a chance to win a lit tle Christmas shopping cash. The Houston Home Journal will sponsor a home decorating contest for Christmas as part of the Christmas at the Crossroads festivities. Open to all Houston homes located south of Mossy Creek, the contest will be judged on the night of Dec. 16. Prizes will be SSO lor first place, $25 for second place and sls for third place. To be part of the contest, home owners must submit an entry form. Entry forms are available at the Houston Home Journal (or on page 8A of this paper) and must be filled in and submitted by noon Dec. 16. For more information, call 987-1823. “There are always many beautifully dec orated homes in the Perry area and we'd like to show those hard working homeown ers a little appreciation," said Home Jour nal General Manager Jj Johnson. “In addi tion to announcing the winners in our Dec. 22 issue, we plan to print all the addresses submitted so that our readers will have a guide to riding around and enjoying the decorations." Also new on the Christmas at the Cross roads calendar is a special family photo Panel begins developing plans for future county public schools By Torey Jolley Home Journal Staff Problems with narrow T3T enough acreage for operations and enough parking spaces are among the items on a check list for those planning future Houston County schools. The first of several reports concerning future school buildings in the county was submitted to the Houston County Board of Education Nov. 29. Bill Loudermilk, Director of Facilities and Capital Outlay Projects for Houston County public schools, said part of the study is to look at present schools for the feasibility of enlarging these locations. Loudermilk said a team went into each school and viewed it in regards to several items. He said questions asked of each school would include things like “is more classroom space possible or is the current school large enough?" “The intention is to have a study sheet completed for each school in Houston County," said Loudermilk. The study is broken into the three ser vice types of schools in the county, elemen tary, middle and high schools, Loudermilk told Board members. “We want our children to be in the right learning environment, ’ said Loudermilk. To accomplish that goal may require building new schools, enlarging others, and determin ing whether or not it is possible to discontin ue the use of portable classrooms, he said. According to state requirements, an ele mentary school must be located on at least 12 acres. Loudermilk said 20 acres would be optimum. “Twelve acres is tight. Northside Elemen Concerns about Y2K top chamber agenda By Torey Jolley Hour JouKjtAi. Staff Worried about Y2k? Have questions, like will there be banking problems? Will gas, electric, and water be available? What about ser vices such as medical, fire and public safety? Members of the Perry Area Chamber of Com merce took steps to allevi ate their worries during the Good Morning, Perry Breakfast Nov. 24. Presenting sessions on Y2K preparedness were Joe Lima, Y2K Program Manag Houston Home Journal Official Legal Organ for Houston County, the City of Perry and the State of Georgia The Old Reliable, Serving Houston County Since Dec* 17, 1870 opportunity sponsored by The Town Crier and Gilbert Photography. Photo sessions will be at Gilbert Photography, 913 Carroll St. in Downtown Perry from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 5. Each family will receive a complimentary 5X7 picture for donating either canned goods or an unwrapped tow to Project Agape Love. For more information, call 987-8620 or 988-1595. A number of merchants in the downtown shopping area are planning Christmas Open Houses Dec. 5. According to Chris Kinnas, president of the Perry Area Cham ber of Commerce, these include Ace Hard ware, Andrew Pierce Travel Agency, Card Carousel Hallmark, Hargrove Interiors, Gilbert Photography, H&K Security, Impressions, Jones Jewelers, Rainbow's End, Sugarplum Tree, Swift Street Inn, the Mitered Corner and the Perry Bookstore. Other events, already announced for this weekend include the Perry Kiwanis Club's benefit pancake breakfast, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Dec. 4; the Christmas parade at 2 p.m., Dec. 4, and the Perry Players’ pro duction of “A Star at the Crossroads", at 3 p.m., Dec. 4, and at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 and 5. (A complete list of Christmas at the Cross roads events is included in the calendar, left column.) tary is on 12 acres," said Loudermilk. State requirements call for middle schools to be on no less than 20 acres. The report noted 30 acres are optimum. Loudermilk said the three new middle schools are fine. Middle schools construct ed during the past five years include Feagin Mill, Bonaire and Perry. “New middle schools have perfect interi or traffic flow, classrooms, lockers, and they have wide halls," said Loudermilk. He said Warner Robins Middle School has 16 portable classrooms in use now because of lack of space for students. High schools are required to have at least 45 acres, Loudermilk said 75 acres would be better since practice fields make up a portion of those schools. “A middle school needs 350 parking spaces, and a high school needs at least 1,000 parking spaces,” said Loudermilk. But parking is not the only problem fac ing the Houston County schools. According to Loudermilk, “All schools face a problem with school lunches. There are three lunch periods. There is not enough space in the school lunchrooms to accommodate all the students, and no school can get two full classes in any of the media centers." Loudermilk said the traffic in the Perry High School halls is heavy now and stressed concern if more students enrolled at Perry High, as is expected in the future. “ the hall traffic would be a disaster." Loudermilk told the Board the Facilities Study Group expects to have its elementary recommendations ready Jan. 1, 2000; sec ondary recommendations ready by Feb. 1. 2000; and the final study completed by March 1, 2000. er for CompuNet Inc.; Lee Gilmour. Perry City Manag er: Hay ley Greene, Public Relations Manager for Flint Energies: Mitchell King. Assistant to Region Manag er for Georgia Power; and Beth Causey of Houston Healthcare Medical Com plex. “Most people are worried about Y2K. Polls say banks aren't ready. That is far from the truth," said Lima. “As of June 30. 1999, banks throughout the South are 99.9 percent Y2K compli ant. That means 10,350 banks have been checked and. of those banks, only seven remain unsatisfacto ry. Rest easy. Not one of those banks is within 1,000 miles of Perry." Lima noted NCUA and FICA covers Y2K problems. “ That ensures all deposits of up to SIOO,OOO are cov ered," said Lima. Lima said it is not Y2K that concerns bankers, but having their customers believing media hysteria does cause con cern. See Y2K, Page 3A m... ml 9 ■ mm H| M HHI PHH IPFHhM'-HB mmL. ill MMMBMMh. M ■ . flfln : • wlp 1 ' Home Journal Photo bv Torey Jolley NEAR THE END Perry High Principal Phil Smith will vacate this chair soon after students leave for the annual Christmas holiday break Dec. 17. PHS Principal Phil Smith retiring He will leave school system Dec. 17 By Torey Jolley ntOMEjmmag-STAFr Tne familiar face of t’hil Smith will no longer be seen at Perry High School. After the final bell rings Dec. 17 for Christmas vaca tion, his quiet presence will be absent. Smith's life is taking a new direction one with out regular school bells and student reports to com plete. He wall become an agent for a schtxil employee retirement fund. “I started in 1968 at Dougherty High in Albany. I came to Houston County in 1975 as an assistant prin cipal at Perry Junior High. I transferred to Shirley Hills Elementary in Warner Robins about a year and a half later," Smith recalled the employment path which led him to Perry High during 1985. “And I have been here since. It is now time to retire," he said recently. Smith is not planning to retire from the world. “I’m too young to go home and sit. I’m too much of a workaholic. My daddy taught me work was fun," said Smith. Rg I||| E* ’ * i jWFP 1 ' h \ A'-?:./:;.- • jp t mm - ISsjt _ Ajgt - \ JHU£ . .JBBK i’ V v v , s 88iX m a, /'oa aE|j w& : K/ : i-u- - : - mk oUfllk it, w%Aa \Or ■ ” ft (■^tvlnKw ■>■■■■ Home Journal Photo by Jj Johnson ONE OF MANY DUTIES Perry High School Prin cipal Phil Smith (right) prepares to crown a new homecoming queen Oct. 22. This is one of many duties Smith has as school principal. “I was raised on a small farm in Albanv Mv mother always had her laying hens and my daddy worked away from home, but he had veg etables growing too,” Smith recalled. He said the farm sup plied the family with addi tional income from the peas and butter beans raised there. “I put myself through college raising hogs," said Smith, After 31 years of working in education, he’s retiring from the school system, but he’s not ready to lounge around yet. His new direction will be working with VALIC. VALIC is a tax shelter annuity company specializing in working with educators. "It is completely away from what I’ve done. How ever, 1 feel I can help people to better help themselves prepare for retirement," said Smith. The decision to retire from the school system and go into a different direction was not an easy decision for Smith and his wife. See SMITH, page 5A