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Mcmsiuu Daily 3jmmtal LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville VOLUME 136, NUMBER 136 THURSDAY July 13, 2006 The Daily Journal’s FRONT PORCH INSIDE Moving forward ■ A former Northside football stand out is ready to take his game to the next collegiate level. - Page 1B IN BRIEF BOE to meet on Tuesday ■ The Houston County Board of Education regular monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 18,2006 beginning at 1 p.m. The work session scheduled for Monday evening, July 17th has been cancelled. Instead a work session will be held on Tuesday morning beginning at 10 a.m. to be held at the Houston County Board of Education offices located at 1100 Main Street in Perry. DHR warns of jury duty scam ■ The Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Aging Services (DAS) is warning the public about a scam involving jury duty. Most citizens take the summonses for jury duty seriously and as a result a new scam has surfaced. These criminals enter your home through the telephone. They call pre tending to be some type of court official such as a clerk at the court, a jury coordinator, or a secretary to a judge. The caller claims a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn’t show up for jury duty and the scammer asks for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the informa tion and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Do not give out any personal informa tion over the phone. If you have given out your personal information in this way in the past, contact the three credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on your account and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission www. ftc.gov and let your local court know that you received this call. “As a resource to families, we want to alert our older adults and vulnerable at-risk adults of this scam so they will be on guard against becoming a victim,” said DAS Director Maria Greene. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their Web sites, warning consumers about the fraud. If someone calls you claim ing you have missed your summons to serve as a juror, you should state that you will follow up with the court directly. INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A LEGALS 3 B SPORTS 1 B COMICS 7 A CLASSIFIEDS 8 A PERIODICAL 500 BHi 1! 101 l 4 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Mam Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3-DIGIT 306 July 13, 2006 Serving Houston County Since 1870 DNA helps send rapist to prison By RAY LIGHTNER HDJ Staff Writer Willie Henry Neal was sentenced Tuesday to life without parole for the 2003 rape of at Warner Robins High School student. Neal, 41, was convicted of rape Tuesday after noon by a Houston County Jury and Superior Judge George Nunn Jr. sentenced the defendant to life with out parole for his crime. Katherine K. Lumsden, Chief Assistant District Attorney represented the State. William Peterson represented the defendant Willie Neal. Members of the Warner Robins Police and the Middle ______________ —————mum— •? - -.j elf ill Mb IIP I '. • ’ • m i jliHßiiiilMTli™ ■■■ Mil The new facility at 450 Larry Walker Parkway offers a wide variety of driver’s services. Driver’s license office returns to Perry with Tuesday opening Special to the HDJ The Georgia Department of Driver Services announced that Perry will once again be home to a driver’s license office The new facility opened its doors on Tuesday and is located at 450 Larry Walker Parkway. The center will be open Tuesday thru Saturday each week from 9 a.m. until Large crowd expected for Christ Sanctified Holy Church gathering ’ - Ri11... mi File photo The entrance to the permanent Houston County home of Christ Sanctified Holy Church. WWW.HHAIEWS.COM Georgia Fugitive Task Force arrested Neal, 510 Peachtree St., Fort Valley, at work at Blue Bird plant on Dec. 21, 2005, for i NEAL the Sept. 4, 2003, sexual assault of a 17-year-old out side Warner Robins High School. The girl had been waiting for a ride following a football game and was assaulted about 11:15 p.m., police said. The suspect was described 5 p.m. and offer a full range of driver’s license services. This new customer ser vice center will make driv er’s license services more accessible and convenient for the citizens of Perry and surrounding communities in Houston County. “We are very excited to be returning to Perry and offering another location to as a black male, about 5’6”, 145 to 200 pounds and about 30 years old was last seen leaving riding a dark col ored bicycle north of Davis Drive. Neal is about 5’ 10”, 183 pounds, with scars on his forearms, accord ing to the Department of Corrections. Det. Brad Mules of the Warner Robins Police Department Criminal Investigations Division said in December the depart ment received the results from the GBI Crime Lab that reportedly matched Neal’s DNA with DNA from the rape kit. ‘They had a hit on CODIS (Combined DNA Index Service) from serve Houston County resi dents,” said Greg Dozier, DDS Commissioner in a press release. The Perry location is approximate ly 2,000 square feet and includes four service coun ters, six computerized test ing stations, seating for 50 customers, parking for approximately 30 cars, and a vehicle and motorcycle By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HDJ Lifestyle Editor Floyd Hagan first came to Houston County for camp meeting when he was six. Back then, in 1939, the Christ Sanctified Holy Church members stayed in tents at their newly-pur chased 535-acre Houston County site. Today, the Rev. Hagan is a well-known leader of the church. The Houston County campsite along U.S. 41, a few miles north of Perry, is a fully devel oped community in its own right. There is a 51-bed nursing home (Church Home for the Aged) and, in addition DNA collected from Neal as he was released from his previous time in prison,” Mules said. “Pursuant to state law his DNA was entered into CODIS during his incar ceration providing the nec essary evidence for convic tion,” said Lumsden. “The information can only be used as an investiga tive tool,” Mules explained. “The suspect was brought in and was identified by the victim in a police line-up,” Mules said. The victim did not know her attacker and police were unable to identify him in spite of exhaustive efforts. “This young lady has lived HDJ/ Kristy Warren testing pad. The center has been remodeled to incorpo rate a new design layout and process flow which has proven to maximize effi ciency. “I am happy to be back in Perry,” says Chief Phyllis Tedders, who has commut ed to Macon and Dublin since the Perry office closed See OPEN, page 6A to cabins built for visits, there are many year-round homes. Many members of the church spend their retire ment years here, and many are buried here. The church members, who are mostly from the southeastern states, still get together each year for their camp meeting, with worship services, fellow ship, and a Bible school for children. This year’s gathering, the 67th in a row, will start on Saturday night with a homecoming service and end the following Sunday. Hagan, who is from See CROWD, page 6A WBEMmW'MMW Newspaper TWO SECTIONS • 20 PAGES in fear for more than two years,” Lumsden said. Neal is no stranger to law enforcement and the prison system. He was released Aug. 12, 2003, from Smith State Prison after serving 10 years for a 1993 bur glary in Webster County. According to the Department of Corrections, he has been in and out of prison since 1977 for con victions of burglary (1977 Houston County and 1993 Webster County), simple battery (1981 Peach’ County), theft by receiving stolen property (1982 Early County and 1984 Houston County), See DNA, page 6 A HHC moving forward By RAY LIGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Dr. Tony Alford was going to Texas. “I had even bought a house,” said Alford, now the chief executive officer for Houston Healthcare. Alford, new chief execu tive officer and the former executive director of medi cal affairs for Houston Healthcare has signed a contract was to report at the end of this month to Christus Health System in Beaumont Texas to be regional chief medical offi cer and vice president for the south east Texas region over a 750-bed, 40-hospital system He was interviewed for the CEO position, June 29 in an unannounced, called and closed meeting of the Hospital Authority. “I had to get cleared of Texas,” Alford said, before being named CEO the following day in another special called meet ing. Authority Vice Chairman Dr. Robert Carter said the unannounced, called and closed meeting on June 29 See HHC, page 6A Alcohol, taxes in voters hands By KIMBERLY CASSEL PRITCHETT HDJ Contributing Writer Centerville will give the residents a chance to vote on Sunday liquor by the drink and taxing seniors. In the Tuesday council meeting, the City Council voted on the wording of the drafted referendum on whether or not to allow the sale of alcohol by the drink in restaurants on Sunday and whether or not to amend an ordinance that allows total exemption on property tax for seniors age 70 and older. The wording still has to be approved by the state attorney general, according to Centerville Mayor Bubba Edwards. If approved, it could be on the ballot a the next ellection City Attorney Rebecca Tydings had already draft ed the referendums for the See VOTERS, page 6 A