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Volume 129 Number 18
Towi Crier*
INSIDE THIS WEEK
Serious
accidents
Sergeant Mike Stokes
speaks a language that is not
understood by many.
When the member of the
Houston County Sheriff’s De
partment Accident Recon
struction Team arrives on the
scene, with one glance he be
gins dialogue between what
he sees and his powers of ob
servation and
deduction Page 10A
Perry Primary
has new
principal
Perry Primary School will
have a new driver at the reins
come July of this year.
Harold Sapp, current assis
tant principal at Pearl
Stephens Elementary School,
will be taking over the job pre
viously held by Dave Crockett
and Van Rodgers as principal
of Perry’s only primary
school Page 11A
Golfers
capture
region
it was a chilly, windy day
but the Westfield Hornets golf
team tamed the elements by
firing a team score of 315 over
the hilly, winding Oakview
Golf Club course April 25 to
capture the region lAAA golf
championship by nosing out
the Stratford Eagles by eight
shots. The Hornets’Jon David
Kennedy playing in the first
group, posted a low round of
77, then watched as teammate
R.G. Lamar came home with
the same score four groups
later. Page IB
Nurses
answer the
call to help
The movement to recognize
the special needs of sexual as
sault victims began in our
country in the early 1970’5.
Concerned citizens began vol
unteering their time to staff
rape crisis centers * safe
places for women to go for sup
port, education, and referrals
for medical care and counsel
ing. Over the years, the impor
tance of providing these vic
tims with this level of care
became increasingly accepted
to the point that most rape
crisis centers now staff paid
employees as well as dedi
cated volunteers... Page 5B
Index
OPINION PAGE 4A
CLASSIFIED....PAGE 6C
LIFESTYLES....PAGE 6A
SPORTS PAGEIB
LEGALS PAGE 1C
NEWS BRIEFS..PAGE 2A
Noah
See Page 8A
Legal Organ For Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia
Post office:
One more try
By Emily Johnstone
News Editor
The United States Postal Ser
vice is apparently going for one
more try to have the new Perry
post office constructed on the site
at the intersection of Macon
Road and North Avenue.
According to Jerry Adkins, real
estate specialist for U.S.P.S.,
plans are to purchase the site
from Postal LLC Services, a
Colorado-based contractor. LLC
Services purchased the property
within the past couple of years
and planned to construct the
post office on the site.
However, U.S.P.S. decided the
contractor was not working in a
timely matter and took the mat
ter back into their own hands
recently.
Proposed purchase price on
the property is $421,000, said
Adkins.
Adkins said he hopes to be able
to place the project up for bids
again in June, with plans tenta
The battle of Bear Branch - chapter 4
By Charlotte Perkins
Staff writer
't'he battle of Bear Branch
goes on..and on.
On Tuesday morning, faced
with a determined crowd of
homeowners on the one hand
and an equally determined de
velopment company on the other,
the Houston County Commis
sioners decided not to decide
anything...yet.
Instead of voting on the issue
they have already bounced back
to the county Planning Commis-
Relay for Life raises over $40,000
By Charlotte Perkins
Staff Writer
The American Cancer Society
Relay for Life, held for the first
time this year at Rozar Park,
raised over $40,000 for the battle
against cancer.
As night fell, over 400 luminar
ies glowed around the pond at
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Survivor - Megan Bowen, left, has had plenty of rough times in her three years, but she’s still
smiling. Diagnosed with myelodysplasia, a form of leukemia, when she was nine months old, she
has been hospitalized frequently, has had chemotherapy and a successful bone marrow transplant.
Shown here with her arm around her brother, Joshua, at the Relay for Life on Friday night, she is
the daughter of Heather and Bryan Bowen. Her father gave a moving talk at the Relay, and the
family headed up the Survivors walk.
2 >:
Thursday. May 4, 2000
tively set for the first of Septem
ber as a start date for construc
tion.
“We’re ready to have it com
pleted,” he commented.
The project, which has now
spanned several years, has suf
fered several setbacks.
“We have problems from time
to time but this one has been
particularly taxing,” added
Adkins.
State Rep. Larry Walker, D-
Perry, said he is hopeful the
project will be brought to fruition
soon.
He also applauded the efforts
of U.S. Sen. Max Cleland and
staff for their assistance in the
matter. “They have done a good
job,” said Walker. “I know at
times it has been frustrating.”
Once construction has begun,
completion could come as soon as
nine to 12 months, said Adkins.
The new building will be ap
proximately 15,000 square feet
in size.
w-
Les Ager
the park, in memory of cancer
victims and in honor of cancer
survivors.
After months of organizing,
Relay chair Carol Hayes was
only able to attend the event for
a short time due to illness. Her
duties were handled by Co-chair
Holly Sargent.
Teaming up - The Bandana Bandits, were among the 20 teams
that worked together to raise over $40,000 for the fight against
cancer at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on Friday
and Saturday.
Rodeo
See Page 9A
IP*""- 1
Photo* by Emily Johnstone
Bryan Ramos watches as fire engulfs a structure during a
practice session held over the weekend for Perry firefighters.
Right, Ephraim Wheeler, Robby Rowell, Mark Barron, Kelvin
Ross and Kevin Notes get ready to battle the “Monster ”
sion once, the commissioners
decided to take the option of
waiting until their first meeting
in June to vote on the matter.
This will give them time to re
view information provided by
speakers from both camps.
At stake is whether a 30-acre
site on Bear Branch Road, al
ready owned by Dutch Manage
ment , will be rezoned from Resi
dential-Agricultural to Rl so
that a 19-lot subdivision can be
built there.
Over 50 landowners in the
This years’ top fundraising
group was Perry United Method
ist Church, which brought in
over $7,000. Runners up were
The Bank of Perry and Northrop-
Grumman, both of whom have
been top fund raisers in the past.
For more on the Relay, see
Page 48.
Photos by Charlotte Perkins
—I HI I
' y y
area have signed a petition ask
ing that the rezoning be denied
to protect their rural lifestyle.
Commissioner Jay Walker was
the lone advocate of taking a vote
at Tuesday morning’s meeting.
During the meeting, Tonya
Dukes, who was representing
Dutch Management, had asked
that Walker be disqualified from
voting because he lives a little
over a mile from the site in ques
tion. County attorney Mike Long
said that Walker was qualified
to vote, however.
Races are on for
District Attorney,
other positions
By Charlotte Perkins
Staff Writer
While most of Houston
County’s incumbent office hold
ers could breathe a sigh of relief
after Friday’s qualifying dead
line passed, a few will face com
petition in the months ahead.
Local races not announced ear
lier are as follows:
Austin J. “Jack” Kemp, a
Warner Robins lawyer will chal
lenge incumbent District Attor
ney Kelly Burke on the General
Election ballot in November.
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Perry Country Club held its annual Couples Championship Golf
Tournament on April 29. Jackie Beeland and her son, Jimmy shot
a score of 75 gross and 64 net to take fir** place. Denny Dicks
and his wife, Teri, shot a 76 for second pla e.
Trike Ride
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After speakers on both sides
presented their arguments for
over an hour and a half, and
other commissioners began dis
cussing the option of delaying
the vote, Walker made a motion
to deny the rezoning request.
There was no second.
Following the meeting, Jaydee
Ager, one of the Bear Branch
homeowners contingent, said, ‘Tm
disappointed that they didn’t go on
and vote. They shouldjust be brave
and vote against it. They can look
out there and count the voters.”
Kemp is a Democrat, Burke a
Republican.
County Commissioner Jay
Walker, a Democrat, will face
competition from Karen
Mertens, a Republican home
maker and businesswoman from
Kathleen.
Marianna Slappy is challeng
ing incumbent Juanita Mason
for the position of Tax Commis
sioner. Slappy, who works in the
Tax Commissioners’ office has
Continued On page 5A
500