Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
August 18,2005
Volume 135, Number 419
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2005
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAY
/VJpr
A grand christening
Northside’s Rocky
Hemmmer gets a high
Five for a home run dur
ing the first game.
Sports, page 1B
4*
r m
—.... m. l—. &—J
See Hank play
Tickets for the concerts
at the Georgia National
Fair go on sale this
Saturday.
Entertainment, page 10A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Marcilla Heath
Brack Maggard
Addison Case Poole
Happy ANNIVERSARY!
Ed and Slynn McMinn
Area DEATH
William P “Bill” Wadick
Obit, page 2A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 9A
CLUB NEWS 7A
COMICS 8A
CROSSWORD ....8A
ENTERTAINMENT 10A
LEGALS 3B
OBITUARY 2A
OPINION 4A
POLICE BEAT ... .6A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .5A
SPORTS 1B
TV LISTINGS 8A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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5
Georgia Newspaper Project
Main Library
UNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
ALL FOR ADC 301
August 18, 2005
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY)
city of Perry) city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Supporters call
for now shelter
Potter: Facility could be built
with grants if city donates land
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
Nearly a dozen volunteers
sat in the first-floor meeting
room of the Perry City
Council Tuesday evening, a
quiet show of support for
the effort to build a new ani
mal shelter for the city.
Davis Cosey, president of
Contractor outlines proposed ball flelds
Details emerge on recreation facility near Huntington Middle School
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
Jay Flesher of Parrish
Construction Company
gave a presentation to the
Warner Robins City Council
on plans for the city’s pro
posed recreation facility
adjacent to the new
Huntington Middle School.
Parrish was the recipient
of a $150,000 contract to
develop plans for the facili
ty-
“ Our goal was to develop
a facility that will support
SPLOST
supporters
meet today
From staff reports
The Houston County
School SPLOST supporters
group “Citizens for
Excellence in Public
Schools” will meet at 7 p.m.
in the auditorium of Middle
Georgia Technical College,
according to Jack Steed, the
group’s chairman.
“We’ll be getting together
to kick off our public cam
paign over the last 30 days
before the Sept. 20 vote,”
Steed said. “Our committees
are in high gear as we
attempt to generate a large
turnout of supporters.”
The group has already
begun its public presenta
tions calling for a yes vote
on the referendum, which
asks voters to impose a 1
percent special purpose
local option sales tax to fund
See SPLOST, page 3A
PHS brings back two more of Its own graduates
k
.
BRUCE FISHER
www.hhjnews.com
the Friends of the Perry
Animal Shelter, wanted to
show council members that
volunteer support was
already in place to staff and
maintain a new and larger
shelter, but council mem
bers are still debating where
to build it, and how to pay
for it.
See SHELTER, page 12A
local needs as well as draw
tournaments to the city,”
said Flesher.
The proposed park will
have seven softball fields, a
football/soccer field and a
practice field.
One important aspect of
the softball fields will be
their adaptability. Although
the fields will have perma
nent 315-foot fences, each
field will also have tempo
rary fencing to decrease the
outfield dimensions in
order to allow different age
The kitty pooIT
iiHi iii a i • it
U*|
HHJ Mike George
It’s hot out here! A stray cat bends to take a drink out of the pool at the New Perry Hotel recently.
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
When Bruce Fisher was a senior at Perry
High School in 1971, Richard Nixon was
president, Janis Joplin had a hit with “Me
and Bobby McGee” and Middle Georgia had
n’t yet gotten over the big rock festival at
Byron.
When Lionel Brown put on his cap and
gown in 1989, Bobby McFerrin was singing
“Don’t Worry Be Happy,” and George H.W.
Bush was in the White House.
So what do the two of them have in com
mon? Panther Pride, a deep respect and
appreciation for the teachers who encour
aged them to become teachers.
Brown is the new assistant principal and
Fisher is the new band director.
“It’s the only job I ever really wanted,”
Fisher says. “It’s a dream that’s been a long
time coming.”
HHJ Mike George
Davis Cosey, president of the Friends of the Perry
Animal Shelter, speaks to the Perry City Council
Tuesday about the need for a new animal shelter for
the city. Discussion centered on building the new shel
ter somewhere in Rozar Park, but the project is still in
its infancy and no formal plans have been made.
and skill groups to use the
fields.
“You can have anyone
from high school baseball to
middle school softball use
these fields,” said Flesher.
The fields will have dirt
infields and temporary
pitching mounds as well.
Parrish said that the site
has a 29-foot slope, which
would force the moving of
more than 200,000 cubic
yards of dirt to make it
level.
“The multiple use was
Fisher’s experience in high school when
Hal Middleton was band director influenced
the course of his life.
“I had a great time,” he says. “I was drum
major.”
He also remembers the encouragement he
got from “Fesser” Eric Staples, from Hubert
Hutcherson, Jeanne McDonald, Tribby
McQuaid and Fran Hartman.
“It’s the same building,” he says, “the
same dedicated and committed school. I
remember the place and what it did for me,
and my job is to give these kids an opportu
nity to experience all kinds of music.
“It’s a real joy to be here.”
He’s directed bands all around Georgia
over the years, and was band director at
Bonaire Middle School for the past eight
years. His wife, Joyce, teaches music at
Tucker Elementary School. They have a
See TEACHERS, page 3A
also a difficult criteria to
plan for, as well as the fact
that there is only one road
providing access to the
site,” said Flesher.
The city is in negotiation
with Robins Air Force Base
to purchase the adjacent
land, which would be used
to provide another access to
the site.
The plan also calls for
using a MOSCO Lighting
System for the fields.
MOSCO has come into fame
See COUNCIL, page 3A
an Evans Family Newspaper
500
mm.
TWO SECTIONS • 22 PAGES
County
buying
two fire
trucks
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
It’s been about 10 years
since Houston County
replaced a fire truck.
On Tuesday, the Houston
County Board of
Commissioners unanimous
ly approved the purchase of
two fire engines (pumpers)
and two sets of equipment
for them, at a total cost of
$366,349.20. The trucks,
which will take about seven
months (210 days, per the
contract) to arrive, are not
additions to the fleet but
replacements.
Houston County Fire
Chief Jimmy Williams said
“we desperately need to
replace two trucks.”
He said the two new
trucks will go to the Lake
Joy and Carl Vinson sta
tions, replacing 1981 and
1985 models, which will
become reserve trucks.
“We’ll get rid of the ’7B
See BOC, page 3A
UONEL BROWN