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Mawsimt Jbttlg Soiwift VOLUME 136, NUMBER 163 Weekend August 19, 2006 The Home Journal’s FRONT PORCH INSIDE ■ In Sports today: Northside explores its QB options, Warner Robins scrimmages Peach County, Perry's softball team improves to 2-0, several golf articles featuring local golfers and Georgia. Georgia Tech and Braves notebooks, along with news from NASCAR. - See 1B IN BRIEF Red Cross blood drive coming to Perry An American Red Cross blood drive will be held at First Baptist Church-Perry located at 1105 Main Street, Room 223, Aug. 23. It is slated to be held from 3:30-7:45 p.m. Feagin Mill Middle sets meeting dates Feagin Mill Middle School has announced its School Council meet ing schedule. In addition to this past Wednesday, they are: Sept. 6, Nov. 8, Jan. 10,2007, March 14,2007 and May 9, 2007. Meetings, according to a release, will be held at 7 a.m. in the Feagin Mill Media Center. Kudos Robins Federal Credit Union helped collect more than 5,000 pounds of school supplies during its Operation Back to School campaign July 17-29. The supplies, according to a release, were then give to underprivileged students in Central Georgia. BIRTHDAYS Today ■ Cory Lones ■ Terry Lones ■ Debbie Bennett ■ Jackie Thames ■ Emily Montgomery 19 ■ Calvin Monroe, 15 Sunday ■ Hulda Cook ■ Ricky Hawk Monday ■ Stephanie Blackmon ■ Tony Mangual ■ Johnnie Mae Ross ■ Jentavious Johnson 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. INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIED 5 B LIFESTYLE 1C PERIODICAL 500 lllllllllivilllli 8 "5 510 8 0 0001*4 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest ittllailatialittlitiiif iiil!>»H»illifiii!iStfa>!l com * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Man Litxarv UNfV OF GEORGIA A If— W l /** A /•* < ijf 3-OIC3T m August 19, 2006 .......... ...... . ' — l — . ....... LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Rape suspect charged with murder By ILiY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer Erik Stephen Mize, already in jail and accused of rape, was charged Thursday with the Aug. 1 murder of Felicia Hardman. Warner Robins Police Department Criminal Investigations Division’s Sgt. Chris Rooks said Thursday investigators felt their sus pect was a person who knew THE LONGEST YARDS Tighter security makes courthouse walk a literal pain for the ailing, but help is on the way HH BN £9 idJftP KrH 1 ML Mp ' ' M ffl * ENI/Gary Harmon The walk to the courthouse entrance, due to tighter security restraints, has become quite the pain for those with medical problems. Their cries - perhaps literally - have been heard by officials, who said they plan to take action to to fix the problem. By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer If you're handicapped and have business at the Houston County court house, you might want to wait about a month before taking the trip. Betty Hancock wasn’t ask ing for much on her recent visit to the Houston County Courthouse. She just wanted to get out of her friend’s car at the front door, instead of pounding the pavement for the full length of the covered walkway from the parking lot to the entrance. She’s 78, recently had knee replacement surgery, and is Gingrich visits Houston By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staffs Writer Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was an artful dodger when asked about his own political plans on Thursday, but his endorse ment of an old colleague, Mac Collins, for the Bth District post in the U.S. House of Representatives, was unequivocal. Regarding Collins, he said that electing conservative Republicans for Congress is “central to the survival of our country,” and said that the race between Collins and incumbent Democrat, Rep. Jim Marshall, is important because Marshall, if elect ed, will vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, for www.hhjnews.com the vic tim. “His name had surfaced,” Rooks said, dur ing inter views with Hardman’s acquain tances. “We MIZE were able to identify him as a suspect. He knew her well.” temporarily using a walker. Although there’s a driveway that would have taken her to a point closer to the door, the road was blocked, and she had to take the walk, which is about 200 feet. “Yes, it hurt,” he said, “and it hurt my shoulder, too, because I have to bend over to use the walker.” Hancock said that on earlier trips to the courthouse, those driving her had been able to enter the circular drive in the area between the courthouse and the jail and to let her out near the front door. The circular drive is likely to remain blocked off, but help is Speaker of the House. Gingrich likened the cur rent world situation to “World War III”, saying that he was worried that a global threat similar to that which rose between 1935 and 1940, was emerging, and “There is an element that wants to hide from it.” He claimed that the approach of Democrats would be “weakness, appeasement and surrender.” In regard to the much-dis cussed possibility of his mak ing a bid for the Republican nomination for the presiden cy, Gingrich said, “We’ll look at in September of ’07,” and spoke instead about the dia betes and obesity program he is currently working See VISITS, page $A "His name had surfaced. We were able to identify him as a suspect. He knew her well." - Warner Robins Police Sgt. Chris Rooks Rooks said that Mize and Hardman “were friends. He was over visiting and at some point they got into a confrontation.” on the way for those who find the long walk difficult. According to County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders, the driveway, which was primarily designed to pro vide fire and emergency access to the jail and courthouse, was recently blocked off due to a tightening of security regula tions, both from Homeland Security and in relation to the tragic shootings at the Fulton County Courthouse last year. Sanders said that one reason benches were placed along the long walkway earlier was to provide resting places for those who found the walk tiring. See LONGEST, page 6A ■ ■ "■■Hr ■' " fnl 9 ENI/Gary Harmon Newt Gingrich, left, endorses candidate Mac Collins for the U.S. House of Representatives during Gingrich’s visit Thursday. Three sections • 20 pages On Aug. 1, at approximate ly 1:43 p.m., officers with the Warner Robins Police Department responded See MURDER, page 6A How one man want from Harley* to hamburger* LIFESTYLE-1C Below the FOLD ■ Newt Gingrich visits Houston County ■ Driver flees Perry police; crashes Molester found, arrested By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer Dexter Torino Owens was convicted of child molesta tion on Dec. 18, 1996, in Houston County. He was listed as an abscond er on the Georgia |»i|3SSgp|pi w'i'j. OWENS Bureau of Investigations sex offender registry. Sgt. Charlene Giles of the Houston County Sheriffs Office took out the war rant for his arrest on July 27 after a failed attempt to verify Owens’ resi dence, as required as part of his probation. Owens was back in jail Thursday on charges of violation of probation from Superior Court on the original charge of child molestation and registration of sex See MOLESTER, page $A Perry police in hot pursuit By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer A 20-minute high speed police chase began in Perry and ended in Cordele with the car going airborne off the north bound ramp and GALVIN landing 50 feet below the over pass. According to Perry Police Capt. Bill Phelps, officer John Kessler observed a Honda Accord in the southbound lane with expired tags See PURSUIT, page fA