Newspaper Page Text
Mansion Matin Journal
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 134
TUESDAY
July 11, 2006
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN BRIEF
Perry Players auditions
■ Perry Players Community
Theatre will hold auditions for Ernest
Thompson’s “On Golden Pond" this
Sunday and Monday, July 16 and 17
at 7 p.m. Six roles are being cast. 2
Women: One age 35-40 and one
age 55-70. 3 Men: one age 65+,
two ages 35-45. One boy age 11-
13. Performances begin September
8. For information, call 987-5354 or
visit Perryplayers.org.
Community Health Fair
■ The Warner Robins campus of
Macon State College will be the site
of Community Health Fair 2006 on
Thursday.
The event is free and open to
the public. Screenings, which include
hypertension, diabetes, smoking ces
sation and safety, will be given.
It is slated to run from 3-6 p.m. this
Thursday.
Reed, Cagle fight on GPTV
■ ATLANTA (AP) - Former
Christian Coalition leader Ralph
Reed challenged claims that he
could face criminal charges before
the November elections at a heated
debate Sunday, calling the asser
tion from his GOP opponent a “low
blow.”
‘lt's a low blow to suggest that
somebody’s committed a crime. As
far as I’m concerned, you should
be ashamed of yourself," he said,
admonishing state Sen. Casey
Cagle, his Republican rival in the
lieutenant governor race.
Cagle has questioned publicly
whether Reed will be charged with
a crime for the work his lobbying
firms conducted with disgraced lob
byist Jack Abramoff in a move to lure
disaffected GOP voters to his camp
before the July 18 primary.
“It’s clear that the Abramoff scan
dal is a national scandal and it’s
one that will continue to haunt my
opponent,” Cagle said.
A Senate investigating committee
last month found that two Indian
tribes, which were both Abramoff
clients, sent $5.3 million to Reed to
battle gambling initiatives that would
have hurt their business. Reed has
not been charged with a crime and
said the Senate probe confirms he
has done nothing wrong.
“Clearly, in hindsight, that was
business I should have turned
down,” he said.
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
SPORTS 1 B
COMICS 4 B
CLASSIFIEDS .... 5 B
PERIODICAL 500
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Centerville to take up taxes and alcohol tonight
By KIMBERLY CASSEL
PRITCHETT
HDJ Contributing Writer
Centerville will take up the word
ing on two controversial referen
dums tonight - taxes and Sunday
liquor sales.
Discussion of the wording for a
referendum for the possible repeal
of a property tax law that gives 100
percent exemption to seniors age 70
and older and the possible granting
of the sale of alcohol by the drink on
Sunday in restaurants is expected to
take place at the Centerville Council
meeting tonight.
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HDJ/Charlotte Perkins
The Houston County Honor Band, comprised of students from the four high schools, performed Saturday.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra plays to full house in Perry
From staff reports
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
performed to a full house on Friday
night at the Georgia National
Fairgrounds. The Houston County
Honor Band performed prior to the
symphony, with conductors Wally
Shaw of Houston County High School;
Michael Thomas of Northside High
School; Bruce Fisher of Perry High
School, and Todd Howell of Warner
Robins High School
The event was organized by the
Houston Arts Alliance, which present
ed its annual Sherrill Stafford Search
for Excellence Award to Flint Energies
for its supports of arts programs year
round.
The symphony, conducted by Laura
Jackson played a program that includ
ed both classical music by Strauss,
Dvorak and Liszt and movie themes
by John Williams.
A number of local agencies and
businesses bought tables, which were
decorated for indoor picnics. Through
their sponsorship many seats were
made available at low cost for area
music lovers.
Benefactors of the event were Flint
See ASO, page 2A
‘People first’ as WR-ALC
and union sign latest deal
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
“At the end of the day, the focus
is on people first,” said Major Gen.
Mike Collings.
Collings, the Warner Robins Air
Logistics Center commander said,
“we needed to ensure productive
members of the team are serving
their government, this great nation
and the Air Force.”
Collings and Tom Scott, presi
dent of the base’s 9,000-member
union, the Association of Federal
and Government Employees, Local
987, signed a fifth memorandum of
agreement on Friday. The agreement
allows physically disqualified employ
ees to return to work if possible, with
modifications to the job duties or
retraining.
www.hhjnews.com
The council has held three town
hall meetings to hear from the pub
lic about the two issues, which could
end up on a referendum later this
year for public vote if the council
votes to place them on a referen
dum.
At the town hall meetings, the
public was given a spreadsheet with
a scale of assessed property rang
ing from $62,500 to $400,000. The
sheet showed how much would be
owed if the homestead exemption
were $25,000, $20,000, $15,000 and
$10,000; owners of a house assessed
at $62,500 would have no taxes to
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Assistant District Attorney Jason Ashford, John Trusssll and County
Commissioner Jay Walker share a laugh during a break in the show.
WR-ALC Personnel Director Mike
O’Hara explained the agreement
puts the emphasis on evaluating
what employees can do instead of
what they can’t, restructuring posi
tions to keep employees as close to
their original area of expertise as
possible.
“When a sheet metal worker is
injured, that is their life, all their
friends are sheet metal workers,”
O’Hara said. “People are not will
ing to be placed out of their career
field.”
Since 2094, in order to keep injured
employees from being sent home and
drawing workers’ compensation,
employees were placed in other posi
tions, as allowed to keep their pay
grades.
See MOA, page 5A
pay. The other option is to leave the
law as it is.
“Four possible scenarios were put
out as examples,” said Centerville
Attorney Rebecca Tydings, adding
that the council needs to decide and
give some instruction as to the pos
sible wording on the referendum.
She said that in the possible repeal
of the tax exemption law for seniors,
the two variables are the amount
to be exempt and the age of exemp
tion.
“It’s going to be on the agenda as
far as I know,” she said, referring to
the discussion of the wording on the
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WR-ALC Commander Major Gen. Mike Collings shakes hands with
AFGE 987 President Tom Scott after signing the memorandum of
agreement creating the physically disqualified placement process.
Standing are U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Macon, who assisted in broker
ing the deal and members of the WR-ALC team.
7WO SECTIONS * 12 PAGES
referendum.
Tydings said she plans to have
a draft ready for the council to
discuss, but may leave the exact
variables out until council gives her
directions on them. “It is my inten
tion to have something drafted and
get specific instructions - however
they decide it should be,” she said.
“We have to send the wording for
the referendum in to the Department
of Justice for pre-clearance,” she
said, adding that the dates of a
special election are statuatory and
this year it provides for the third
See CENTERVILLE, page 5A
WRPD
seeking
suspects in
Saturday
assaults
By RAY LIGHTNER
HDJ Staff Writer
Warner Robins Police are
looking for your help.
Police are seeking infor
mation on two suspects from
two assaults that occurred
after 11 p.m. Saturday
night.
At approximately 11:55
p.m, Warner Robins Police
responded to Galleria Park
Apartments, 100 Robins
West Parkway, in reference
to an assault. Upon arrival
officers learned that Mark
Powers Jr. had been attacked
and had sustained several
injuries, believed to be stab
wounds, to his arms, back,
shoulders and abdomen.
Powers told police that
a young Hispanic male
approached him and his
brothers on the short road
at the entrance to the prop
erty, explained Det. Mark
Wright of the Warner Robins
Police Department Criminal
Investigations Division. The
Hispanic male demanded
money, and a fight ensued.
Sometime during the fight
the Hispanic male produced
a knife, and he cut Powers
several times, Wright said.
Powers Jr. was transport
ed to the Houston Medical
Center, where he is still hos
pitalized, for treatment of
his injuries, which are not
considered to be life threat
ening, according to police.
Powers and his brothers,
who were witnesses to this
incident, told police there
were several black males
and a white male accom
panying the Hispanic male
suspect.
At approximately 11:10
p.m., Warner Robins Police
responded to the 300 block
of Ivelyn Drive, in reference
See ASSAULTS, page 5A