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■hi ■ • 1 JMmtst on Jjjuurmu Volume 129 Number 19 Town Crier* -J INSIDE THIS WEEK Perry Library The Friends of the Perry Li brary held their annual old book sale May 4- May 6. The book sale was held in the old Movie Gallery Building at 1309 A Main Street. The pur pose of the yearly event is to raise needed funds for the Perry library. The group works together year round to secure these funds to help ob tain books, audios and other needed items for the city’s library. Page SLA Day of Prayer in Perry A large crowd gathereed at Perry city hall May 4 to be a part of a nationwide Day of Prayer. During the service, local pastor Keith Ivey led those gathered in prayer and in vited attendees to come for ward to participate. Also, PeriyArea Chamber of Commerce Chairman Doug Barnett spoke of the impor tance of prayer... Page 9 A ROTC honors young cadets On April 27 the PHS AFJROTC hosted its annual awards event. Parents and other guests were on hand to witness and congratulate the young cadets who received the prestigious awards. The F-15 “Eagle” Award sponsored by the 39th Eagle Flight, Order of the Daedalians was presented to Cadet Jessica .....Page 11A Westfield Banquet The Westfield Quarterback Boosters Club honored spring sports teams Monday night at an awards banquet held at the school’s cafeteria. Boosters Club president Phil Brannen served as master of ceremo nies, and coaches in the four spring sports recognized then teams Page IB Great American Cleanup Perry had a great cleanup day. In fact it was a great week of cleaning up residential de bris all over town. During that special day of April 29, our crews loaded trucks 14 times and hauled over 31 tons to the landfill. Pictures accompany ing this article show the story that was repeated many times Page 6B Index OPINION PAGE4A CLASSIFIED...PAGE 7C LIFESTYLES....PAGE 6A SPORTS PAGEIB LEGALS PAGE 1C NEWS BRIEFS..PAGE2A Nunsense See Page 5B Legal Organ For Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia County mourns loss of longtime chairman By Emily Johnstone and Charlotte Perkins HHJ Staff Houston County Commission Chairman J. Sherrill Stafford died from an apparent heart at tack he suffered while driving to Perry for a meeting May 9. According to reports, Stafford was traveling south on Houston Lake Road when he apparently began having medical problems and ran off the road near the in tersection of Feagin Mill Road. Houston County Fire Chief Jimmy Williams, who was first on the scene of the accident, said the chairman was unconscious when he was pulled from the vehicle. CPR was initiated, said Williams, with he and Assistant Chief Ronnie Register working until ambulance personnel ar rived on the scene. Personnel from Stations 500 and 200 also responded to the scene. The chairman was transported to Houston Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. “You do this daily and prepare for it, but when you walk on the scene, especially if it was your boss, it’s hard,” commented Wil liams. “He will be missed by members of the fire department,” added the chief. Rep. Larry Walker called Stafford’s death “The biggest loss the county has suffered in many years.” “I have never known a finer public servant for integrity and County lot sizes to be increased by state law By Charlotte Perkins Staff writer Developers may object and homeowners may cheer, but like it or not - a change is coming, and that change will have a direct impact on the future density of housing development in Houston County’s unincorporated areas. According to Jason Smith, Environmenal Health Officer, new state regulations mandate increasing the minimum size for lots with septic tanks in order to prevent groundwater pollution. Smith spoke to the Houston County Board of Health on May 4 and explained the require ments of new policies handed down by the Ga. Dept, of Human Resources, the Ga. Dept, of Natural Resources, and the Ga. K* . x: Houston County Sheriffs Deputy Sean Alexander is ready to patrol for drivers under the influence of drugs. Alexander is one of three deputies with the department that has gone through an intense training course to learn how to detect what drug a person may be using by evaulation of physical reactions. For complete story, see page 3A. Thursday. Ma\ I 1. 2000 attention to the job,” Walker said. “He was what every politician ought to be,” commented Perry Mayor Jim Worrall, a long-time friend of Stafford. “He had a tre mendous vision for the county. We need more men with vision,” added Worrall. Mayor Mary Ann Weigand of Centerville said, “It’s such a loss for Centerville,and for the county and the state.” “ He was our first mayor,” she added. “ He used to say that when he became mayor, city hall was a briefcase and the budget was $15.” Pearlie Tackett a longtime friend of Stafford’s, who worked with him at Robins Air Force Base and later had his ongoing support for her work with the Family Support Alliance for the Mentally ill, attributed the Com mission Chairman’s success as a leader to “his high moral and ethical standards,” and his soft spoken manner. “He was so nice to people,” she said. “I don’t remember ever hearing him raise his voice.” Known statewide for his lead ership abilities, Stafford was re cently elected president of the Georgia Association of County Commissioners and was sworn in at the Association’s confer ence last month. Jerry Griffin, ACCG Execu tive Director, said on Monday that Stafford “will be missed by all who knew him.” Dept, of Community Affairs, in accordance with the 1989 Geor gia Land Planning Act. Smith said that the deadline for increasing the minimum lot size is Feb. 2, 2002. Houston County’s minimum lot size for lots with septic tanks is set by the Health Department, and is now 15,000 square feet, or approximately a third of an acre. This could be raised to a half acre or even an acre, because of the large amount of land in the county that has already been established as having high sus ceptibility for ground water pol lution from septic tanks. (Lots with water and sewage lines do Continued on Page 3A Photo by Emily Johnstone Smoldering See Page 10A “Not only has Houston County and Middle Georgia lost a great leader,” Griffin said, “but so has all of Georgia. Sherrill was a man who lead with quiet persuasion. We will surely miss his wise counsel as we move forward.” Stafford, age 68, held several other state offices as well. He was a member of the state Mental Health/Mental Retarda tion and Substance Abuse fund ing Advisory committee, the State Welfare Reform Advisory Commitee, the State Environ mental Advisory Council and the Elected Officials’ Policy Council to the Georgia Regional Transporation Authority. He was a member of the Geor gia Future Communities Com mission and co-chair of the Geor gia Water Management Cam paign. A lifelong resident of Centerville and a graduate of Perry High School, Stafford served for two years in the U.S. Army before entering federal ser vice. He worked at Robins Air Force Base, spending over 20 years in management. He earned over 1500 classroom hours in management at the base, and also earned his Associate Degree in Business Administration. Prior to being elected Chair man of the County Commission Continued on Page 3A Perry officer recovering after being struck by vehicle By Emily Johnstone News Editor Perry Police Officer Eddie Tho mas is recovering after being struck by a hit-and-run driver May 7. According to Capt. Bill Phelps, Thomas was making a routine traffic stop on Sam Nunn Boule vard near the intersection of Air port Road when the incident oc curred. Thomas was standing near the stopped vehicle that was parked beside the highway when he was BOE forums conclude By Lanorris Fleming Staff Writer The Houston County Board of Education concluded its last scheduled facilities need forum on May 4 at Perry High School with yet another small audience. The intent of the BOE and other school officials was to ex plain and answer any questions about the proposed funding and planning of new educational fa cilities for the county. They also said they would like to convince the citizens of Houston County of the need. Whether or not this last point was achieved will be decided in June. According to Charles Holloway, Superintendent of schools, the board will look at all of the compiled information and the final decision will be made in the June board meeting. For those citizens who are still worried about the raising of taxes, Holloway promises that the tax levy will change only if the SPLOST extension is not ap proved in 2006. As with the forums prior to May 4 there were individuals on both sides of the issue. According to one resident he doesn’t think that going into $153 million worth of debt over projections that may or may not come to be is very smart. “The schools may not be in perfect shape,” he said, “But, Continued on Page 3A "ipl mf ' I H : M IS HMME u| v ' 9g " jfff j jfjjl j Photos by Charlotte Perkins Flags at the county annex building fly at half-staff in memory of Houston County Commission Chairman J. Sherrill Stafford who died May 9. struck in the left side. Upon im pact, Thomas was spun around and fell to the ground, according to reports. He was later taken to the Perry Hospital emergency room where he was treated and released, said Phelps. “It could have been worse ifhe had been hit with a solid impact,” said the captain. The officer’s cloth ing was tom during the incident, he added. Perry police are working with Fort Valley authorities to find the vehicle si 11 * jMrv WKM %' H Wfc jHL flk WBBSk. vRw.. .<*. k -,'i m iSslliiE am 1 . . *164 Ak “.. . B • •• j ■; Safe. . ./■.>. mmmL MW m HS . j i m WmBBL WHm jHk — The Blackstock family stands in front of a plaque displayed on the front of the new Flint Energies building located on the Perry Parkway. The plaque honors the memory of Vivian Blackstock, a long time Board member. She served as a director for 16 years. A ceremony was held May 10 for the grand opening of the building. A large crowd attended the ceremony and ribbon cutting. State Rep. Larry Walker said electricity has changed lives and lifestyles in the South. He also congratulated the company on their expansion in the Perry area. Trudie Warren of Flint Energies said, “I’ve waited 34 years for this day!" Pictured: Bill Blackstock, Maggie Blackstock, Lauren Blackstock, Will Blacstock and Dozier Blackstock. *exton Ihi <■<* Set lions A 2 Pages that struck the officer, said Plielps. “The vehicle, that was traveling west apparently stopped several hundred feet up the road after strik ing Officer Thomas,” said Phelps. ‘TTien, they took off toward Fort Val ley.” The only description police are pro viding about the vehicle they are searching for is that it was a small, compact car. Anyone with information about the incident is requested to contact Phelps or Lt. Tfer-ry Stinson at 986- 2800. 500 Photo by Emily Johnatonc