Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 151
Thursday
August 3, 2006
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
INSIDE
■ A late start date for football sea
son, coupled with Friday's start
of school, has taken away the
chance for Georgia High School
Association teams to participate in
their annual camps. That’s espe
cially true in the case of Warner
Robins, which has been going
away for football camp since
around 1960. Also, the Lightning,
a travel baseball team mainly
made up of Houston County play
ers, gained three wins and some
respect at the IBC World Series.
-See 1B
IN BRIEF
Breakfast is not
served
The Saturday GOP breakfast has
been cancelled to make it, according
to a release, “convenient for everyone
to attend the governor’s annual fish
fry." And, speaking of the fish fry, it
is slated for 2 p.m. at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds and Agricenter
in Perry. The cost is $lO and you must
RSVP. To do so, call (770) 220-0210.
Lake Joy school sets
meeting dates
The Lake Joy Elementary School
Council meetings will be on the follow
ing dates: Aug. 16, Oct. 25, Jan. 17,
2007, March 14, 2007 and May 16,
2007. All meetings will be held at 7:30
a.m. in the conference room. Also,
parent elections will be held May 15,
2007 at 5:45 p.m., prior to the PTO
general session.
Perry HS to open its
doors to public
The ribbon cutting/open house for
Perry High School will be Aug. 13 at
2 p.m., school officials announced
this week.
BIRTHDAYS
Aug. 2
■ Gwen Ross
■ Jolandery Raines
Today
■ Teresa Benedict
E-mail your birthdays to:
hhj@evansnewspapers.com or
donm@evansnewspapers.com or
send them to: 1210 Washington
St., Perry 31069; attn: Don
Moncrief. You can also call him at
987-1823, Ext. 231.
DEARLY DEPARTED
■ Jennie Mae Roberts (Knot)
■ Joan M. Eubanks
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
SPORTS. . . .' 1 B
COMICS 6 B
CLASSIFIEDS .... 7 B
PERIODICAL 500
s KJi i IK! Jill 114
Award-Winning
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2004
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Contest
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GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT
Man Library
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ATHENS GA 30&2-00Q2
3-OIGIT 306
July 19, 2006
Serving Houston Col \ty Singe 1870
■ - - --
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
The one that got away?
State’s plan for fishing area has cracks in it
■yPF .
The Flat Creek Public Fishing Area just south of Perry - due to a lack of rain - is currently high and
dry.
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
If you’ve been planning to go fishing
at the new Flat Creek Public Fishing
Area just south of Perry, don’t bait
your hook yet.
A state official is expecting that it
will be at least the summer of 2008
before the 106-acre man-made lake
bed is filled with water.
At this point, $2.9 million has long
been allocated for a state park with a
man-made lake at that site, thanks to
the efforts of former State Rep. Larry
Walker.
The ground was broken last sum
PY Council approves annexations, developments
Mayor breaks tie on billboard vote
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
On Tuesday night, The
Perry City Council approved
the annexation and rezon
ing requests necessary for
the building of a 43.78
acre single family develop
ment on Langston Road
by the Knight Group, Inc.
This will be a Planned Unit
Development with approxi
mately 43 percent of the
land left undeveloped.
Councilman James Moore
voted against the rezoning,
saying it was not “the best
land use” for the area.
Also approved was a pro
posal by Wooden Nickel
Plantation, LLC, for rezon
ing and annexation of land
in the Ga. 41 and Todd
Road area. Exactly 5.76
acres of this land is already
in the City of Perry and
40.30 acres is in Houston
County. A subdivision will
be built on the land.
The Council also held
a public hearing on the
rezoning and annexation
request for the proposed
Walker Farm Subdivision
which would have an entry
from Ga. 341 between I
WWW.HHJNEWS.COM
if we get a
hurricane/
- Georgia Department of Natural Resources fisheries
biologist Steve Schleiger, on what it would take in the
near-term to fill up a man-made lake just south of
Perry designated the Flat Creek Public Fishing Area
mer for a public fishing area. Gov.
Sonny Perdue came to town for the
celebration.
An earthen dam has been construct
ed. There are winding gravel roads
around the lake bed, and a cement
boat ramp.
There’s just no water.
Well, there was a puddle in the sun
cracked ground Tuesday, about the
size of a dining room table, but given
the heat, it could be evaporated by
this weekend.
What are we waiting for?
Rain. Lots of rain. Tons of rain to be
more specific.
75 and Wayne Morris Ford.
About 54 acres of those are
already in the City of Perry,
and 73.25 acres would be
annexed from the county.
Larry Walker spoke on
behalf of the Walker fam-
‘*9jfek
Tuesday night’s Perry City Council meeting was so packed that many were standing.
Among those in attendance were a large group from New Hope Church, the Perry
Recreation Department’s 11-12-year old boys baseball team, which recently won a
county championship and a number of developers and citizens who had come to see
the outcome of rezoning and annexation votes.
ily, explaining that the land
had been purchased by his
grandfather and father, had
been farmed and was now
planted in mature timber.
He said that he and his
brothers and sister felt that
the Knight Group, which
has plans to build a hous
ing development there, had
According to Steve Schleiger, a
fisheries biologist with the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources,
there are plans to begin stocking the
lake with bream, bluegill, channel
catfish and large mouth bass, as soon
as there’s been sufficient rain to get
it at least 20 to 30 percent full.
Scheiger said that the lake
was expected to be filled by an
unnamed intermittent tributary of
Flat Creek, but the drought has
held things up.
He said that the fish stocking sched
ule could be moved up but only: “if we
get a hurricane.”
the right plan for Perry’s
growth.
Wayne Morris also spoke
in support of the project
saying that it would spur
growth on that side of 1-75.
Mayor Jim Worrall
broke a tie vote which took
place at the last meeting,
See COUNCIL, page 5A
Journal/Charlotte Perkins
TWO SECTIONS • 16 PAGES
ENI/Gary Hannon
Good satins’ for
Elementary students -5-7 A
Below the
fold
■ Perry City Council
approves annexations,
developments
■ Back to school Part II:
International Newcomers
Welcome Center
■ County OKs cell towers;
denies daycare request
Perry Police
oioke 2 large
erack arrests
By RAY UGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Perry Police made two
large crack arrests in the
past two days, taking about
120 grams of crack cocaine
off the street.
In both instances the sus
pects tried to run and were
quickly subdued, police said,
and both were charged with
trafficking.
On Monday at about 3
a.m., Officer James Balli
stopped a 2001 Chevy
Malibu on Perry Parkway
for an equipment violation.
The driver, James Bernard
Carson, 25, of Oglethorpe,
reportedly jumped out and
ran, despite repeatedly being
told to stop, explained Capt.
Heath Dykes.
After repeatedly telling
the suspect to stop, Balli
deployed his Tazer, Dykes
said, and shot Carson. “He
was handcuffed after that,”
See CRACK, page 5 A
Schools home
to international
welcome center
By KRISTY WARREN
Journal Staff Writer
Morningside and Perdue
Elementary are homes to the
International
Newcomers
Welcome cen
ters.
A t
Morningside
Elementary,
B3Ck to
school
- Part 2
there are two specialists
waiting to assist families
that do not share English as
their first language.
Kimberly Breyer, English
to Speakers of Other
Languages Coach for
Houston County, is on hand
to test students to see if they
qualify for ESOL classes.
See SCHOOLS, page 2A
County OKs cell
towers; denies
daycare request
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
“Neighborhood outcry
weighs heavy in these issues, ”
explained Commissioner
Larry Thomson.
He was talking - during
the County Commissioners’
meeting Tuesday - about
special exceptions, be it for a
home daycare or a cell phone
tower. That said, the com
missioners approved three
requests on the table Tuesday.
The one that was denied
- Joan Hurst’s request for
a home occupation daycare
See COUNTY, page 2A