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• 'jfPk *lf •|f Houston limy jjonrnal VOLUME 136 , NUMBER 137 — FRIDAY July 14, 2006 The Home Journal’s FRONT PORCH IN BRIEF Judge David Pierce dies ■ David M. Pierce, well-known Perryan and Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate Court of Houston County, died Wednesday at the Perry Hospital. The family will receive visitors at Watson Hunt Funeral Home from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Perry United Methodist Church. For a complete story see Saturday’s Houston Daily Journal. Betting it straight ■ln the July 12 edition of the Houston Daily Journal, the number of homes being proposed for subdivisions along Langston Road was given incorrectly. The correct combined total number of homes which Jack Smith, developer, is proposing to build is 460 homes on two separate sites totaling 203 acres. This is fewer homes than the pro posed rezoning would allow. Operation Back to School starts Monday ■ Monday through July 29, Robins Federal Credit Union along with 13 WMAZ-Television, and Wal-Mart are sponsoring Operation Back to School, a campaign to collect school sup plies for underprivileged students in Central Georgia. If you would like to help provide school supplies to those children who could otherwise not afford them, the collection sites for school supplies are at all Central Georgia Robins Federal Credit Union and Wal-Mart locations. The donated school supplies will help hundreds of Central Georgia students who are in need. Last year, Robins Federal Credit Union assisted with the collection of more than 5,000 pounds of school supplies to help the campaign. For more information or to find a Robins Federal Credit Union donation location near you, please visit www. robinsfcu.org. DEATHS ■ Carl Buckles ■ David Pierce ■ Doris H. Stokes INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A RELIGION 6 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIEDS .... 5 B PERIODICAL 500 mwm 8 ~ Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3-DIGIT 306 July 14, 2006 V a'wn>, Uni sro\ Coi \T) Sim i IS7O LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Collings upholds death sentence ByRAYUGHTNER HDJ Staff Writer Major Gen. Mike Collings signed off Tuesday on the death penalty of Senior Airman Andrew Paul Witt. Collings, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, signed papers Tuesday approving a mili tary panel’s findings of guilty and sentencing of Witt to the death penalty. Since the trial resulted in a convic tion, Collings as the con vening authority, carefully reviewed all trial documents and request for clemency. Witt was found guilty of two specifications of pre meditated murder and one specification of attempted premeditated murder for the July 5, 2004 murders of Senior Airman Andy WRPD chase down man ByRAYUGHTNER HDJ Staff Writer Kelcey Tremaine Clarington reportedly took the money and ran, Wednesday. Clarington, 28, is charged with robbery by sudden snatching, obstruction of an officer and escape for report edly taking the deposit bag from the Murphy Oil station at the new Wal-Mart on Booth Road. At 12:49 p.m., offi cers with the Warner Robins Police Department responded in reference to a robbery by sudden snatching. The sus pect did not threaten the clerk or display a weapon and H- . shBS Hi CLARINGTON no one was injured. “He came in the store n the middle of a shift change,” explained Det. Karen Stokes the Warner Robins Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. “They were swapping the drawers out and left the deposit bag on the counter. He grabbed the bag and ran out,” Stokes said. “We had him on videotape, but didn’t know who it was.” Stokes said the canine unit tracked the suspect to Smith Court. “The dog went almost to the dead end,” Stokes said. “Neighbors told us where he was hid ing - 116 Smith Court. The Claringtons, who own the home, said we could search their home and let us in.” “When we went in he went out a window and ran,” Stokes said, “which led to a short chase.” He was apprehended by Warner Robins Police Officers and Cpl. Angel Nunez with the Houston County Sheriff Department. After being transported to the police station, he report edly tried to escape when they opened to door to take him out. “, “He tried to snatch away and run, while in handcuffs and leg irons,” Stokes said. See MAN, page 2B 1 ■ 1 ■" 1 111 www.hhjnews.com Schliepsiek and his wife Jamie and the attempted murder of Senior Airman Jason King. He was sentenced to death following a 19-day court martial hearing in October of 2005. Following the trial, the record was authenticated the judge, Col. Thomas Cumbie, and sent to Collings the Robins Air Force Base commander, as the conven ing authority for the court martial, for “the final act,” in the court martial, the approval of the sentence. Collings could have reduced the sentence to life without parole before sign ing off on the case, Robins Judge Advocate Col. Jeff Robb explained in October. Collings was also permitted ■ —— hm : i uuggA, JP M SB— k\ v £skx-~ „ rsH* k * 'iai-- BE ' ~ --f '4A XMI .■»?.’ ‘JL 11 &SS9KXj|| , W r ' „ Hi v 1 9 jjS [ 4|fl| - , ? g? ,j I »rv 1 ' v '' j-J S£9j9T ■' -- she ; &ljl . --8 - Hr’ Wr '' ; il 188 rfafe ' WBB&-- ■» ‘ -'- -y ■• “■fggl. -'R ,~>'■"/'&» ;.ai J .ag«L«* JBV'- ■:.?•/ am S a 1 ’ 1 I , ' v ™l‘--- : • f ..._ - ' jsji f V’-' x ' e x H |§&. ■ M ENI/Gary Harmon Storyteller Sherry Norfolk imitates a chicken during one of her tale’s Wednesday at the Perry Public Library. The story was about a hen who befriends a cockroach. Industries considering Houston By BRIAN SHREVE HDJ Intern More companies bringing more jobs are looking to make a home in Houston County. Roughly a dozen compa nies, nine of them manu facturing projects, are con sidering building sites in Houston, it was explained during Wednesday’s meet Commissioners hold alochol permits By BRIAN SHREVE HDJ Intern The Houston County Commissioners began a new fiscal year this week, but with familiar grievances. Issues ranging from home daycare to the alcohol per mits, traffic control and the elimination of residential mining activities marked the agenda and* decisions made during Tuesday’s Houston County Commission meet ing. In what was the first ses sion of the 2007 fiscal year, the first topic up for vote to consider information not presented in trial in his deci sion on the defense request from clemency “The findings and sentence as approved by Gen. Collings will now go to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force and then forwarded to the Air Force Court of Appeals for review,” said Col. Warner Meadows, WR ALC Staff Judge Advocate. “After the Air Force Court of Appeals review, the Air Force Judge Advocate General refers the case to the Court of Criminal Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF).” Meadows added that the Supreme Court of the United States has discretion to review cases under the Uniform Code of Military See DEATH, page 6B Chicken tales, chicken dance ing of the Houston County Development Authority. “Studies have shown, each manufacturing job has approximately four sup porting positions out in the community,” said Executive Director Morgan Law. “So, for every one of these, you’re going to have a ripple effect of additional jobs, so these are the real winners concerned a young woman, Mandaline Atkins, who had made a request to operate a daycare service from her home, a request that was denied last April due to traf fic worries. Atkins returned Tuesday, armed with a petition of 16 signatures and autho rization from the state of Georgia, stating she was qualified to care for up to six children. A new decision, siding in favor of Atkins, was passed unanimously. Two alcohol sales permits were tabled, amid concern fe jUggiy i§v;,: : -t;- \ •- ■■ a Lg^ A BSE ..’ :\ if j. K. j£jHBHHH& ,- M* ■ M * jMßßßpipßreffig 'jflKßaE HDJ/Ray Lightner Senior Airman Andrew Paul Witt was escorted in hand cuffs through the Bibb County Courthouse for his court martial sentencing last October. for us.” Though the identities of the companies were not dis closed, at least a few are said to be telecommunications type projects. Law said it is not uncommon for these companies to be attracted to building in military com munities. According to Law, it is standard practice for pro of proximity. An alcohol license applica tion submitted by Charlie Gooch, proprietor of Gooch’s Tavern, stirred concerns over its closeness to a resi dential trailer park, despite Gooch’s meeting minimum distance requirements to schools and churches, as the state requires. Because Gooch was unavailable Tuesday, the issue was put on hold. A similar decision was handed to Minaxi Patel, owner of the newly estab lished Bob’s Package Store ,\a h v tvs T amii.) Ni:wsr \n R TWO SECTIONS ' 12 PAGES spective companies to keep their names out of the public in order to protect themselves against competi tors, as well as ensure they receive a fair market price on the property. He said those sites sub mitted for by the industries are in close proximity to restaurants and other retail See MORE, page 6B in Bonaire. McMichael suggested it was time for the commis sion to get serious on the subject of alcohol licensing requests and distancing reg ulations. “We need specif ics, not arbitrary numbers,” said McMichael, “something to authenticate informa tion on how far these places (alcohol distributors) are to schools or residences, not just a general idea.” Chief Building Inspector and County Zoning Official Tim Andrews presented See PERMITS, page 6B