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•4 Jr. ‘ ; jwjWß-- Wc\t plmtstet Jlomc Journal Legal Organ For Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia 50< Volume 12M Xuiiilmm 2. T TCw*i Crier' INSIDE THIS WEEK Phil Lambert You wonder how many times he peered out the win dow or stood on the front porch hoping to catch a glimpse of that familiar fig ure. His youngest son had been gone for several months now, leaving the comforts of home for what he thought was the greener grass the grew on the other side. The son was sure his share of the inherit ance would afford him the pleasures of life that he couldn’t find at home Page 8A American dream realized by Perryan The American dream is be ing realized by people in the Middle Georgia area thanks to the National Partners in Home Ownership founded by President Clinton and led by HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo.The fourth annual Home ownership Week which was sponsored by this effort was observed from June 3 through June 10 this year. The purpose of this Partner ship is to increase the nation’s home ownership rate to an all time high of 67.5 percent by the end of he year 2000. in 1998, the national home own ership rate reached the high est point in history. At the end of 1999, the US Bureau of the Census reported that a record 66.8 percent of ail American household owned their own home • »Ml*»**«*«*«4*lHl*t .Page UA Remember When It was the hub of the De pression and jobs were scarce. Life was hard, but this his torical time of economic hard ship gave Sarah Stokes a chance to do what she had al ways dreamed of doing. Born the daughter of W. A. Stokes Sr., a building supply owner, and Sarah Eralphia Graham Stokes, a school teacher, Stokes was an avid reader and driven toward education,. Page 4B The Big Bang Boom BIG BANG BOOM one of the most spectacular and popular events of the year will be held at the Georgia Na tional Fairgrounds and Agricenter July 1. This event has become a tradition for our community much like the an nual Georgia National Fair. BIG BANG BOOM is the larg est single day fireworks dis play at the Agricenter and one of the largest fireworks dis plays in the Southeast.... Pageloß Index OPINION PAGE4A CLASSIFIED.... PAGE 5C LIFESTYLES... .PAGE 6A SPORTS PAGEIB LEGALS PAGE 1C NEWS BRIEFS..PAGE 3A VBS See Page 8A Northrop sells to Carlyle By Charlotte Perkins Staff Writer After months of rumor, the sale of Perry’s Northrop Grumman plant is official. The local plant, along with other Northrop Grumman commercial aerostructures facilities located in Milledgeville, Tfexas, California and Florida, is being sold to the Carlyle Group, a private invest ment firm based in Washington. Mayor Jim Worrall of Perry said that while he was “a little disap pointed” to lose Northrop- Grumman, he was encouraged by what he had learned so far about the new owners. “I’m pleased with what I’m hear ing, “ Worrall said. “Apparently they have the resources to move things ahead , and we’re looking forward to meeting our new neigh bors.” Jay Walker, acting chairman of the Houston County Board of Commissioners, said he is “sorry to see Northrop Grumman go,” but added, ‘Tm pleased that there will be no major changes in operations or employment. We welcome Vought to Houston County and look forward to working with them.” The $1.2 billion transaction will be final in thirty days, according to Jim Taft, Northrop-Grumman BOE considers $127 million budget for FY 2001 By Lanorris Fleming Staff Writer Board of Education members gathered at the Perry office for a work session followed by a spe cial called meeting June 12. The called meeting was for tentative approval of the Fiscal Year 2001 budget, which is proposed to be about $127 million. That would include the hiring of more than 60 teachers, accord ing to reports. “This has not been an easy budget to work with due to the A Plus Education Reform Act,” said George Eubanks, assistant superintendent for business and operations. According to Eubanks the budget will include an across the-board 3 percent salary in |t > I ddkffißKk I • • t I : JSPSp fH %mKdm. ,Kf Wm M IMt Wm> W ” B'MiiK ii> . ! i- ■ % I istmm . ■ - • iff W L I M i f Mt- •*** I &k. •;«' M v,*| J . i 3* Photo by Emily Johnston* Presenting Rep. Larry Walker with a plaque of appreciation are, left to right: Mike Froehlich, Airport Authority member; Jay Walker, Houston County Commission; David Morgan, Airport Authority; Rep. Walker, Skeet Hulbert, attorney; John Houser, airport manager, Charles Lewis, City of Perry; and Wayne Yancey, Airport Authority. The presentation took place June 10 at the Perry- Houston County Airport during an Appreciation Day for Walker. For more, see page 9A <fl ' i Thursday . Juik* 15. 2000 spokesman. Tbit said the the “bulk” of the Perry plant’s 400-plus employees are expected to stay with die new operation, which will operate un der the name Vought Aircraft Company. Carlyle Group officials con firmed in a statement to the press that “there will be no significant changes in the workforce.” The headquarters for the Vought op eration will be in Dallas. “We are excited about the oppor tunities for this business in the evolving commercial aerospace market,” said Allan Holt, Carlyle’s managing director. “We believe that the people of Northrop Grumman’s aerostructures opera tions are its most important as set, and we at Carlyle look forward to working with them to continue building one of the world’s premier aerostructures companies.” Tim Martin, director of the Houston County Development Authority said, “We’re relieved that there’ll be no significant changes in the workforce. My im pression is that the only signifi cant change will be the name on the front, and that Vaught Aircraft will continue to be a primecontractor to Boeing. We pledge our total support and wel come Vought.” crease for both certified and noncertified employees. Also according to Eubanks, if gas prices continue to rise the budgeted amount may not be enough. “We have made preparations in case gas prices continue to rise,” said Eubanks. He also stated that they are spending about $2 million more than was made last year. Eubanks expects the school year to end with $2.4 million in contingency funds. Final approval by the Board for this FY 2001 budget is ex pected to occur at a June 26 meeting. The next day, a regular BOE meeting brought about some changes for students to adhere Playground See Page 5B U. ■WshShhSsw jScV -S k aKI imßmaamsm »: J V*v - He- - ' The accident occurred at the intersection of Hampton Court and Sam Nunn Boulevard. A Davis Transfer Company Freight line Truck driven by Jamie Lanier Kitchens, 29, of Sandersville. GA struck a black 1990 Nissan Sentra driven by Kinkade while attempting to make a wide right turn. Kinkade, who had to be extricated from the vehicle, was transported to the Perry Hospital Emergency Room by Houston County EMS. No other injuries resulted from the accident. to in the upcoming year. Submit ted by James Kinchen, executive director for secondary opera tions, was a proposal to change advisement for course of study from the end of the 9th grade to the end of the Bth grade and from the end of the 11th to the end of the 10th. According to Kinchen, with the mandated 4 units of math, En glish and another subject, stu dents need to be advised on a course of study earlier than is currently being practiced. “With the current college prep curriculum you must start Alge bra I in the 9th grade or you are out,” said Kinchen. This proposal may be altered Continued on Page 10A Photo* by Lanorrie Fleming Officer Melissa Stuckey watches as emergency workers aid Andrew Daniel Kinkade, 71, of Perry, at the scene of a traffic accident mid morning on June 8. Water use restrictions to begin statewide on Monday By Charlotte Perkins Staff writer Effective Monday, June 19, outdoor water-use restrictions will be in effect statewide. The restrictions have been put in place by the Environmental Protection Division in order to conserve water for the summer months ahead. Restrictions are beginning earlier in the unincorporated areas of Houston County, ac cording to the county’s public works director County Stalnaker, who said that county government restric tions on water use by users of the county’s water system be gin Thursday, June 15. (These City surveys residents about garbage pick-up By Emily Johnstone News Editor The City of Perry wants to know how you feel about gar bage. Pick-up that is. Surveys have been sent to resi dents of Perry asking whether customers would prefer to con tinue twice-a-week pick-up with a fee hike of $4 per month or go to once-per-week with a hike of $1 per week. Perry Mayor Jim Worrall said there are several reasons for the increase, including a state re quirement for solid waste collec tion to be accounted for in its own enterprise fund. That means a separate fund is set aside from the City’s general fund for monies collected and spent for the service. Without an increase, monies would have to be transferred from the general fund to balance the solid waste collection budget, according to officials. About $88,200 will have to be transferred to balance the FY 2000 t udget. This should not be the case for the upcoming FY 2001 budget, according to City Manager Lee Gilmour. No property tax dollars are planned to be transferred for Kick Back 1 (mii Set lions. TO I'ajM-s restrictions are the same as those mandated by the state. See below). For Perry residents: Volun tary water restrictions are encouraged starting immedi ately, with state-mandated restrictions starting Monday. The state-mandated restric tions prohibit outdoor water use for residential and com mercial properties from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Outdoor water use is per mitted at other hours on an odd-even basis. For example: • If your home or business has an even num bered street address, you may Continued on Page 11A FY 2001, he said. Worrall said the contract with Sullivan Environmental Ser vices, the company that provides the service, provides for an esti mated 3 percent Consumer Price Index increase. Other costs such as county tipping fees are also taken into consideration. The mayor said he believes the city is better off for having con tracted with SES a couple of years ago to take over garbage pick-up in Perry. “On a day-in, day-out basis, I think it is better for the taxpay ers,” he said. “I think in the long run it will save taxpayers money.” Meanwhile, Worrall said he is pleased that a number of surveys have been turned in by cus tomers. People who do not have a form may stop in at City Hall located on Washington Street and pick one up from the front reception desk, he said. “We’d like to get as many as we can,” said the mayor. Council is expected to vote on the matter at their June 20 meeting, he added. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. 500