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rr " !■ \Jml t plmtstot Jmtrmti Volume 129 Number 21 Town Crier 1 INSIDE THIS WEEK Special Graduation Section Inside By Lanorris Fleming Staff Writer May 26 marked the begin ning for 244 graduates from Perry’s two local high schools. In ceremonies that commemo rated their thirteen years of education and wished for con tinued education in both life and academics, the Class of 2000 received their diplomas. Whether honor graduates headed off to Ivy League schools or not these young men and women from Perry High School and Westfield School have achieved a great goal. These graduates have passed the first real test of their lives. Throughout their years in school these students have unlocked many myster ies. How to diagram sen tences, math equations and science experiments are but a few. With a diploma in hand there is no door which should remain locked. With speeches from fellow classmates, prayers from the faculty and envious eyes from underclass men this group, the class of 2000, are on the launch pad to success. As the students say goodbye to long time friends and teach ers who have shaped their lives for the past four years it should not be with sadness but with joy. These people have helped them to grow into the promising individuals that they are now. Tearful hugs to parents and friends ended ceremonies that had only been dreamed of a few years ago. As the super intendent and the head mas ter announced the class of 2000 officially graduated this far away dream became a re ality. For the parents of the graduates they are saying goodbye to their babies and hello to young men and women destined to control the future. The class of 2000 wel comes this challenge as they go off in their different direc tions to pursue academic as pirations or other endeavors. For a listing of future plans, pictures, speeches and an overview of both ceremonies see inside graduation insert. Congratulations to the Class of2ooo M***M***M««*»»M Section D .vX- Yk Index OPINION PAGE4A CLASSIFIED.... PAGE 7C LIFESTYLES.... PAGE 6A SPORTS PAGEIB LEGALS PAGE 1C NEWS BRIEFS..PAGE 2A IN THE SWIM See Page 11A Legal Organ For Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia < * | ~t‘r ' t ■’ . ‘ ' jtk* _ ’ > , < % ,~,' “f , • ’ JS/'i? ' ', f * '% r iggj* ! v ;|y' i'j ■ l ■ < >j ' -*> Photos by Emily Johnstone Perry High School JROTC members Jason Geissinger, Donna Hansen and Curt Fowler participate in the Memorial Day program held at Perry Memorial Gardens May 29. In the background is band student Justin Waters, who played Taps during the ceremony, which was sponsored by the City and local veterans groups. Police investigate motel homicide By Emily Johnstone News Editor The quiet of a spring night was shattered when sleeping motel guests were awakened to the sounds of gunshots just after midnight at the Best Western in Perry May 30. The rest of the night saw a team of Georgia Bureau of Inves tigation personnel processing a homicide scene in a hallway of the motel. According to Perry Police Chief George Potter, 44-year-old Carlton E. Green Sr. of Unadilla, a night auditor at Best Western, died after being shot during a hold-up just after midnight. A coroner’s autopsy report showed that the victim was shot multiple times. Commissioners to take action on Bear Branch rezoning request By Charlotte Perkins Staff writer The three remaining Houston County Commissioners - Jay Walker, Tom McMichael and hl£\ ' wFw'i '■ m.: lP||, ’ , mtg L. k JP1■ H |^HG9k^C&wAChs , v t “ ■ Three-year-old Will Brett sits quietly while Houston County Sheriff’s Office Cpi. Tommy Spires, left, and Perry Police Lt. Bruce Ham, right, checks his car seat during a multi-agency roadcheck held May 27. The youngster’s grandfather received thank-yous from both officers for having Will properly buckled. Agencies participating in this session were Houston County Sheriff’s Office, Perry Police Department and Houston County Probation Office. For more photos and story of the week-long Operation Buckle Up, see pageHA. Pi&llPiilHHsil® I PI i mw Thursday, June I , 2000 Potter said guests called au thorities after hearing gunshots ring out in a motel hallway. Green was apparently at tempting to flee from the perpe trator when he was shot in the face. Members of the Perry Police Department searched the area for suspects through the rest of the night. Dooly County authorities were called to help locate Green’s next-of-kin. A search was conducted of the surrounding neighborhood in an attempt to find clues to where the suspect may have fled fol lowing the shooting. According to Lt. Heath Dykes, an undetermined amount of cash was taken during the inci Gail Robinson - will be moving ahead with the county’s busi ness on Tuesday, June 6. “There’ll be a big agenda,” said Walker, who as vice-chairman is GOOD TOSS See Page 11A dent. Potter said the Best Western has been the target of at least three robberies since it opened in 1998. The Perry Police Department is offering a reward for any in formation leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. “We are asking anyone with information to please come for ward,” said the chief. Persons can call Lt. Heath Dykes at PPD at 988-2800. Photo by Lanorri* Fleming Officers from Bibb and Sumter County correctional institutes and Perry Police detectives search for physical evidence in a nearby neighborhood following the Tuesday morning murder of a motel night auditor. now acting chairman, following the death of Commission Chair man Sherrill Stafford. Post 2 has also been vacated, with incumbent Commissioner Larry Thomson leaving the po sition to run for the chairman ship. Proposed E9ll budget set at $2 million By Emily Johnstone News Editor WARNER ROBINS Pro jected figures for the Houston County E9ll system are in for fiscal year 200-2001 with about $2 million anticipated to be uti lized for operation of the system. That amount was given the OK by members of the E9ll Commit tee during a meeting held May 26 at the county annex.. The committee consists of represen tatives of the county and three municipalities. Expenditures include $240,000 for upgrade of the telephone positron system that 911 officials say is outdated and not adequate to handle the current volume of calls. | i i Memorial Day services held at Perry Memorial Gardens By Emily Johnstone News Editor A large group of people, includ ing veterans, their friends and family, attended the annual Me morial Day ceremonies held May 29 at Perry Memorial Gardens. Guest speaker Rachel Coggins, Chaplain with the Army Re serves, spoke of the contribu tions women have made to the armed forces over the years. One of those was an ancestor of hers, Nancy Hart, who has a state park and several other places of note named after her. Hart is known for her capture of Tbries during the Revolution, said Coggins. Women made up about 7 per cent of the force for Desert Storm, she noted, with 16 killed and two captured during that conflict. Coggins talked about the im- |mBBK,' , W .ctSmßHk ' V l * maKmmam w ,: w.~,c s®! * _? MPL ' ' j Walker said that he and the other two commissioners have had more work to do, but that the necessary work is getting done, and the budget-making process is on schedule to be ap proved before the end of June. The commissioners are expect- Eighty-six thousand nine hun dred and seventy dollars is be ing requested to complete imple mentation of a system that al lows for better mapping of the county, according to Houston County E9ll Director Ricky Harlowe. The first phase of the system was installed last year. This sys tem will help eliminate problems that can arise with similarly named streets and roads, said Harlowe. Other projected expenditures include $1,023,621 for salaries, $185,000 for employee insur ance, $125,000 in telephone fees and $52,000 for equipment maintenance. Projected revenues include $1 Four Sections, 38 Pages portance of remembering those who gave their lives for this country. “Memorial Day must be much more than numbers and statis tics,” she said. “We must remem ber those who died so we can enjoy the freedoms we have whether or not we appreciate it.” Also during the ceremony. Perry Mayor Jim Worrall took note of those in attendance who fought in conflicts, including World War 11, the Korean War, Vietnam and Desert Storm. The Star Spangled Banner was sung by Hayley Greene and America The Beautiful was pre sented by Christie Drawdy. Dr. David Carter of Cross roads United Methodist Church gave the opening prayer and Horace Woodruff of First Bap tist Church closed the ceremony with prayer. ing a crowd for Tuesday morning’s meeting at Perry City Hall because of the pending ac tion on the Bear Branch rezon ing request, which has previ ously been bounced back and Continued on Page 2A million from surcharges paid by residents to their telephone com panies and collected by the county for E9ll and $335, 000 paid by users of wireless tele phone services. Each year, all three munici palities and the county place funds into the system. Amounts are figured by population num bers. This year, expected revenues from local governments include $466,506 from Houston County, $16,743 from Centerville, $49,466 from Perry and $228,306 from Warner Robins. The proposed budget will be brought before Houston County commissioners for final ap proval. its 9 500