Newspaper Page Text
DECEMBER 31 2002
PERDUE Continued from Page 1A
my naive ideals to the grave
than become cynical.
The Journal: What are your
thoughts on partisanship at this
point?
Gov. Elect Perdue: Well, the
Senate had become a personal,
punitive, partisan place. I want
to see government driven by
principles being “people and
idea” driven. I think Houston
County is already ahead of that
curve.
The Journal: Many people
in Houston County know you
on a personal basis, and have a
big personal investment in your
being a success as governor.
How can these people back
home help you the most?
Gov. Elect Perdue: We feel
very accountable to them. Folks
here at home need to under
stand that we want and need
their feedback. I don’t want
people here to feel that they’re
shut out of any access. We want
to stay connected because that’s
a good way to stay grounded.
The Journal: What’s the
WORRALL Continued from Page 1A
Carroll Street to a newly-con
structed facility on Macon Road,
Worrall said each citizen in the
community should be proud of
their post office.
• The Wells’ property.
Though purchase of the prop
erty took place the year before,
he noted, the clean-up of the
former Wells’ property bought
by the City of Perry is part of an
ongoing plan to turn that space
into an aesthetic gateway to the
downtown area.
Plans are on the board to
begin work on a garden park at
the Macon Road/Commerce
Street triangular location this
Spring.
• Big Indian Creek project.
Another project that includes
making our outside environ
ment more pleasing to the eye
and available for the public to
enjoy is one that includes a
clean-up along Big Indian
Creek, which winds through the
city limits.
Worrall said the community
involvement in this project has
been “wonderful”, especially
the way citizens of civic clubs,
such as the Rotary Club, have
expressed an interest in this
outdoor jewel.
He also noted that land own
ers who were willing to work
with the city on property acqui
sition help make the project a
success.
• Ditch project on Kings
Chapel Road.
Now that the big ditch has
been covered and a nice new
sidewalk is in place, Worrall
WILLIAMS Continued from Page 1A
fifty cents per hour after that,
said Williams.
At any rate, the monies now
funded to the department, a lit
tle over $1 million, would not be
enough if the volunteers had to
be paid for the actual work
hours and training hours they
put in now, he added.
Presently, the county has
eight full-time employees man
ning each fire station five days a
week, eight hours a day.
Money is one reason talks
about consolidation come to a
screeching halt at tipies, accord
ing to Williams.
A discussion in 1996 between
all the fire chiefs in the county
and its municipalities, along
with state legislators and other
Man shot during robbery
From Staff Reports
A man who resisted being
robbed last week is in a local
hospital in stable condition.
According to Warner Robins
police, officers found the victim
after receiving a call to a resi
dence on Tabor Drive for an
armed robbery.
The victim told authorities he
was a visitor at the residence
when a man entered and
demanded his money.
The victim resisted and a
physical altercation took place,
resulting in a gunshot wound to
the victim’s leg, according to
reports.
The suspect is described as a
black male, 5’10” in height with
a medium build, wearing a light
gray hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information
should contact Detective Art
Cumette of the Warner Robins
best way for local people to com
municate with you?
Gov. Elect Perdue: E-mail is
good. For now, it’s
sperdue@anewgeorgia.com.
And also, many Houston
County people are praying peo
ple and we need their prayers
for wisdom.
The Journal: What are you
going to miss most about
Bonaire? Do you expect to be
home often?
Gov. Elect Perdue: We’ll
miss the almost daily contact
with our family here and
those two perfect little grand
daughters, but we have a
daughter and son-in-law in
Atlanta, and we’ll be close to
them. Family is very important
to us our immediate family,
our extended family, our church
family and even the family of
the larger community we know.
It’s hard to tell right now how
often we’ll be back maybe on
a monthly basis.
The Journal: Have you
decided on a church in the
said he breathes better when he
thinks about that area.
Before the work was complet
ed earlier this year, the ditch
was a hazard to traffic in the
area near Morningside
Elementary School, he said.
• Greenspace program.
Perry has “jumped on board”
the State’s efforts to promote
the greenspace program which
sets a goal of protecting some
areas from development.
Worrall pointed out that the
city now has three parks,
thanks to the program: one on
James Street, one on Oldfield
Lane and one on Justice Street.
Another of these small city
parks is in the works for the
new year, he added.
• New rescue truck.
The new Rescue 25, which
can double as a fire engine, is a
plus for the City, said Worrall.
It is fully equipped with
everything needed to continue
the City’s effort of providing cit
izens with adequate fire protec
tion, he said.
• Sewer upgrades.
Upgrades mean the city is in
full compliance with federal reg
ulations regarding waste dispos
al.
And, Perry now has the capa
bility of adding 6-8,000 house
holds onto its sewer lines, said
Worrall.
Other areas in which he
believes the City has done well
is a co-op program with the hos
pital which allows the educa
tional department of the
Houston Healthcare Complex to
interested people, about consol
idation came up with some
interesting figures, said
Williams.
It would have cost at least
$3.2 million to initially consoli
date fire services in the county,
he said.
And, that was almost seven
years ago...the figures for today
could only be higher, he said.
Meanwhile, the 20-year veter
an who started as a volunteer
himself for the Elberta station
at the age of 18, said a number
of changes have come about in
the fire service.
When he first became inter
ested through a friend, Bub
Bowen, Williams said he signed
up during a training session one
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Atlanta area?
Gov. Elect Perdue: Not yet.
We’ll be visiting around. We
don’t want a fuss made over us.
We want to go to worship. Mary
and I have talked about some
thing we’d like to do. Here at
home at our church (Second
Baptist in Warner Robins)
we’ve taught a couple’s Sunday
School Class called “Family
Foundations”, about marriage
based on Biblical principals.
We’d love to teach a series of
classes.
The Journal: How do the
two of you plan to deal with the
busy schedule and all the
celebrity?
Mary Perdue: I’ve found
that just being together eat
ing together, spending time
together is the most impor
tant thing. Just being together
is important.
The Journal: It seems that
you’ve just gotten a full time job
being First Lady. How do you
feel about that change in your
life? Will you be able to improve
utilize city-owned facilities such
as Rozar Park to host a variety
of classes on health-related
issues.
Also, the mayor says the City
has improved its relationship
with the local cable company, as
evidenced by the company’s
recent agreement to keep
Channel 2 (WSB) news on the
air for subscribers by using the
local public access channel 10.
Looking ahead
During the coming year,
Worrall said he expects to see a
significant increase in the num
ber of residents for the City of
Perry.
This is just the beginning of a
population increase for the city
that he sees causing tremen
dous growth in the area.
With two new subdivisions,
one off the Perry Parkway and
one ofifU.S. 41N, that opened in
the year 2002, Worrall thinks
this is only the beginning of see
ing new subdivisions being
located within the city limits.
“The year 2003 appears to be
the most challenging year the
City has ever faced,” said
Worrall.
An increase in housing and
population will mean that Perry
will have to continue its vigi
lance toward orderly growth, he
said.
“We have to be sure to have in
place proper building codes and
such,” he said. “Our planning
and zoning board has done a
real good job of getting ready for
the growth.”
Thursday night and was issued
turnout gear and pager. He then
started responding to calls.
In those days, firefighters
responded mostly to just that -
fires, and wreck calls, but not
many medical related calls.
Today, medical emergencies
make up the bulk of calls the
department runs, and training,
not only for fighting fires but
taking care of the sick and
injured while an ambulance is
on the way, has become exten
sive and time-consuming for
volunteers.
“Training aspects are totally
different today,” he said.
The last rookie recruit class,
which graduated just a couple of
weeks ago, went through more
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things for the state’s children
and especially the children in
foster care?
Mary Perdue: I’ve seen that
I can have some influence and I
don’t want to waste it while
we’re there. I want to use it to
make a difference. There are no
simple answers to the problems
we’re facing in foster child care,
but I hope now that the issue
will be moved from the back
burned to the front burner.
The Journal: How do you
like your new home in Atlanta?
How big is it?
Mary Perdue: It’s beautiful.
We won’t have to move much,
since it’s completely furnished.
The private quarters have eight
or nine rooms.
The Journal: So you’ll be
having maids and cooks now.
Do you think you’ll still be
doing some cooking?
Governor Perdue: (with a
vigorous nod) Please note that I
said that she will still be doing
some cooking.
“We are going to have to deal
with growth in the near future
and keep it organized,” he
added.
Putting adequate police and
fire protection into place will be
necessary, he said.
Another item on his to-do list
for 2003 is a a request to the
Georgia Department of
Transportation to do something
about the timing of the traffic
lights in Peny.
Worrall said he receives com
plaints daily from citizens about
the lights.
“We are going to ask DOT to
come in and reset all the traffic
lights in town,” said Worrall.
Also, the city is looking at
placing a traffic light at the
intersection of Perimeter Road
and Macon Road in the near
future, he said.
The Courtney Hodges
Boulevard project will see some
upgrades begin within the next
year, added Worrall.
Other items include:
• Continue Perry Parkway
planning.
• Jernigan/Ball Street expan
sion.
• Improvements on storm
water drainage on side streets.
• Continued recreation pro
gram improvements.
• More Christmas lights.
• Additional downtown park
ing.
• More small businesses
downtown.
• Seeking new restaurants -
especially a steak house.
than 296 hours of intensive
training, Williams said.
If you want to be a firefighter
in today’s world, here’s just a
small bit of what you will be
exposed to .... hydraulics, fire
suppression, building construc
tion, pump operation...the list
goes on.
“It runs the entire gamut of
fire safety and prevention,” said
Williams.
Still, there are always those,
young and old, who decide to
give it a try.
Most say they do it just
because it makes them feel good
to know they have helped a fel
low human being in trouble.
And, along the way, it has
helped the county provide a
needed service to citizens with a
savings of about $lO million big
ones, noted Williams.
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