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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Muusfcm jnunml
• Perry Office
1210 Washington St.
P.O. Box 1910
Perry, QA 31069
(478) 987-1823
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www.hhjnews.com
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POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to: P.O. Box 1910, Perry,
GA31069
The Houston Home Journal, A peri
odical, mailed (ISSN 1526-7393)
at Perry, Ga., is published Tuesday
through Saturday for $62 per year
by Evans Newspapers Inc., 1210
Washington St., Perry, GA31069:
(478) 987-1823 Fax (478) 988-1181.
Not published Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
Office Hours:
The office in Perry is open from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
NEWS TIPS:
Call (478) 987-1823 ext. 231
Newsroom Fax: (478) 988-1181
Presentation editor:
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jtidwell@evansnewspapers.com
Corrections:
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accuracy, and will prints correction
or clarification when one is in order.
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lisher shall not be liable for damages
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beyond the amount paid for the
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no liability for non-insertion of any
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This newspaper is a
member of
The Georgia Press Association,
The National Newspaper
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The Associated Press
Sinre Briefs
Police: man running
home repair scam
ATHENS (MNS) - A shady
contractor who spent time
in state prison for a home
improvement scam is at it
again, this time victimizing
at least six Clarke County
homeowners, police said.
Steven George Stratacos
took half his fees up front,
then disappeared after doing
minimal work on projects
for which he was paid about
$52,000, according to police.
Police on Monday obtained
arrest warrants charging
Stratacos with six felony
counts of theft by decep
tion, though authorities did
not know his whereabouts,
police said.
“The victims say he’s a
very smooth talker,” said
Athens-Clarke police Det.
Taylor Bell of the Criminal
Investigations Division’s
financial crimes unit. “A lot
of (contractors) don’t ask for
half their money up front,
but apparently he was able
to get away with it.”
Stratacos, 42, explained to
customers he needed to be
paid in advance so he could
buy supplies, according to
Bell.
Stratacos was released
from the Clarke County
Correctional Institution in
August 2004, after spending
15 months behind bars for
taking $92,000 from a Hall
County family for renova
tions he didn’t complete.
Stratacos has used sev
eral aliases, including Steve
Tyson, and for the alleged
Clarke County scams called
himself Steve George, Bell
said. He named his company
King Craftman of Colbert.
He solicits jobs by plac
ing flyers in mailboxes, Bell
said, and uses false refer
ences posing as satisfied cus
tomers.
Stratacos showed up in
Clarke County in February,
when a Homestead Drive
YOUR WEATHER TEAM!
[TODAY'S
Local 5-Day Forecast
Thu
8/24
/ ' x
92/69
Scattered clouds
with the possibility of
an isolated thunder
storm developin.
Sunrise Sunset
7:05 AM 8:10 PM
Georgia At A Glance
\ 1/
\ Atlanta V
\ 90/69 q -—mi. Augusta
\ ,/ 90/71
\ /
\ Warner Robins \
\A V V
V Savannah
) Perry \ 91/73 ®
) 91/70 &
{ Valdosta
\jJ « 89/73
Area Cities
| City HI Lo Cond. |
Albany 91 72 t-storm
Athens 90 68 pt sunny
Atlanta 90 69 pt sunny
Augusta 90 71 t-storm
Bainbridge 92 74 t-storm
Brunswick • 88 77 t-storm
Cartersville 92 68 pt sunny
Chattanooga,TN 89 67 mst sunny
Columbus 92 72 t-storm
Cordele 92 72 t-storm
National Cities
I City L° Con.d. 1
Atlanta 90 69 pt sunny
Boston 70 59 pt sunny
Chicago 82 67 t-storm
Dallas 99 81 t-storm
Denver 89 61 t-storm
©2005 American Protile Hometown Content Service
property owner hired him to
build a shed for $4,000.
Bell said Stratacos was
paid $3,000 for the job, but
only completed half of the
structure’s frame.
Stratacos then victimized
five other Clarke County
homeowners in similar
scams, the detective said,
and Oconee County arrest
warrants charge him with
three more alleged scams.
Stratacos also stiffed day
laborers and students work
ing summer jobs by not pay
ing their wages, Bell said.
Most recently, a local cou
ple hired Stratacos to com
plete a $27,000 makeover
of their house on St. George
Drive off Timothy Road
in southwestern Clarke
County.
Accordingto Bell, Stratacos
got a 10-page contract to
paint, install new flooring,
lay tiles and do other reno
vations to the house.
Work began July 8, but the
contractor disappeared after
ripping up flooring, accord
ing to Bell.
Stratacos has an arrest
record “going back quite a
while,” Bell said, at least to
1998 when he was charged
with theft for taking money
to repair four tornado-dam
aged houses in DeKalb
County.
He was acquitted after a
jury trial.
Professor is louitd
guilty of homicide
AUGUSTA (MNS) - A
jury deliberated less than an
hour on Tuesday before con
victing a medical school pro
. fessor on charges of second
degree vehicular homicide,
a misdemeanor, and driving
the wrong way on a divided
highway.
The Richmond County
Superior Court jury acquit
ted Dr. Mohammad A.
Behzadian of a vehicular
homicide charge that could
Sat
8/26
90/70 '
Partly cloudy,
chance of a thunder
storm.
Sunrise Sunset
7:06 AM 8:08 PM
Fri
8/25
93/70
Partly cloudy,
chance of a thunder
storm.
Sunrise Sunset
7:06 AM 8:09 PM
TRENT WILLMON
a little more livin’
ava:i.abi.b •■WEnrtßn Mrsic is soi.r:
|6ky WLo Cond. |
Dalton 93 69 pt sunny
Dillard 87 62 pt sunny
Dublin 93 69 t-storm
Duluth 89 67 pt sunny
Gainesville 90 70 pt sunny
Helen 89 65 pt sunny
Lagrange 91 68 pt sunny
Macon 92 70 t-storm
Marietta 90 67 pt sunny
Milledgeviile 91 71 t-storm
I city
Houston 93 75 t-storm
Los Angeles 82 65 sunny
Miami 87 79 t-storm
Minneapolis 76 67 t-storm
New York 74 66 t-storm
have sent him to prison for
three to 15 years.
Just after 10 p.m. Feb. 28,
2003, Behzadian crashed
his vehicle head-on into a
Toyota driven by 18-year
old Brandon Layton. The
Lakeside High School senior
died of massive internal
injuries.
“We’re grateful the jury
recognized this tragic event
for was it was,” said defense
attorney Michael C. Garrett.
“It was a mistake. It was
a man who made a wrong
turn at a dark and danger
ous intersection.”
Behzadian, 60, turned
onto River Watch Parkway
from Stevens Creek Road.
He intended to go west,
toward his Evans home.
But, he admitted in testimo
ny Tuesday, he turned into
the eastbound lane of the
divided highway.
Behzadian had one glass
of wine with dinner, an
amount corroborated by
the blood alcohol test result
of no more than .015, his
attorney noted in his clos
ing argument. Neither he
nor Behzadian explained the
metabolites of stimulant and
pain control medicines in the
doctor’s urine.
But, Garrett argued, the
drugs were no longer in the
bloodstream -- no longer
able to impair his driving
that night.
Layton’s blood tested neg
ative for alcohol and drugs.
Suspected copper
thieves arrested
COVINGTON (AP) -
Police arrested two people
suspected of stealing copper
wiring from Bell South Corp.
after a third suspect left a
Best Cooks
In Perry!
STATE AND REGION
Meteorologist
Jerry Mathewson
"Where Middie Georgia
Turns *sr News*
•
Sun
8/27
93/70
Isolated thunder
storms. Highs in the
low 90s and lows in
the low 70s.
Sunrise Sunset
7:07 AM 8:06 PM
Moon Phases
New
Aug 23
Full
Sep 7
UV Index
Thu 8/24 H Very High
Fri 8/25 I Very High
Sat 8/26 ■ Very High
Sun 8/27 H Very High
Mon 8/28 |g Very High
The UV Index is measured on a 0-11
number scale, with a higher UV Index
showing the need for greater skin pro
tection. 0 11
% U\ Lo Cond.
Peachtree City 89 66 pt sunny
Perry 91 70 t-storm
Rome 93 69 pt sunny
Savannah 91 73 t-storm
St. Simons Islandßß 77 t-storm
Statesboro 94 75 t-storm
Thomasville 91 73 t-storm
Valdosta 89 73 t-storm
Warner Robins 91 71 t-storm
Waycross 91 72 t-storm
Phoenix 103 85 pt sunny
San Francisco 71 54 mst sunny
Seattle 74 56 pt sunny
St. Louis 93 70 sunny
Washington, DC 88 69 t-storm
wallet at the scene.
Covington Police said
they had stepped up patrols
because of several recent
copper wire thefts at the
Bell South complex.
At about 4 a.m. Monday,
they noticed a black Ford
Ranger parked near where
the copper had been sto
len. Officers found 15 rolls
of copper wire in nearby
woods, and a trail leading
from Bell South toward the
truck, Officer Paul Madsen
said.
In the truck they found a
wallet containing informa
tion that led them to a home
in Douglasville. There, they
found 36-year-old Archie
Ray Underwood Jr. hiding in
a storage building. Although
he was not the owner of the
wallet, he admitted involve
ment in the thefts, police
said. He is charged with fel
ony theft and criminal tres
pass, they said.
Later that morning,
Georgia Ann Day, 48, con
tacted police and said the
truck was hers. Day was
arrested and charged with
theft and providing false
information. Police said
more arrests are expected.
Copper theft has been on
the rise throughout Georgia
in recent months as copper
prices have surged on global
commodities markets.
Police arrest
fourth in slaying
ATLANTA (AP) - The
WE BUY
GOLD!
Satterfield &
Dempsey Jewelers
100 H. Houston lake Hd • Centerville. C 4
t'v jt
■ .'..<•>% . JHhhh|
Mon
8/28
/
93/71
Partly cloudy,
chance of a thunder
storm.
Sunrise Sunset
7:08 AM 8:05 PM
First
Aug 31
vs
Last
Sep 14
(MHi.V.973
USDA declares state
drought disaster
Crop losses
nearing SIB
By VICKY ECKENRODE
Morris News Service
ATLANTA - Farmers
throughout Georgia can
now apply for emergency
loans because of the with
ering drought affects on
crops this year, state officials
announced Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture has declared 155
of Georgia’s 159 counties as
primary natural disaster
areas.
The four remaining coun
ties - Fannin, Gilmer, Towns
and Union - decided to wait
until harvest time to turn in
damage reports, but farmers
there also are included in
the declaration because they
are located next to the pri
mary disaster counties.
Growers have racked up
more than SBOO million in
damages this year since
March because of the heat
and lack of rain, according
to the University of Georgia
Center for Agribusiness and
Economic Development.
State Agriculture
Commissioner Tommy Irvin
described this year’s drought
as one of the most costly
ones in his 37 years heading
up the department.
“I would predict it runs in
the top two since I’ve been
commissioner,” he said.
Gov. Sonny Perdue, who
applied for the disaster dec
laration earlier this month,
said the drought conditions
have been devastating to
farmers and farming com
munities.
“Georgia farmers have
sustained significant eco
nomic losses due to the dry
conditions in Georgia, and
I’m pleased that financial
relief will now be available
to them,” he said in a state
ment.
Farmers will be eligible for
low-interest loans through
fourth suspect in the killing
of a Morehouse College stu
dent in suburban Clayton
County was arrested Tuesday
in Chicago, authorities said.
Theodore Holliman was
apprehended by investiga
tors with the U.S. Marshals
Great Lakes Regional
Fugitive Task Force on a
warrant charging him with
aggravated assault, kidnap
ping, burglary and murder
in the death of Carlnell
James Walker Jr.
Clayton County police
say Walker, 23, was bound,
gagged, beaten and stabbed
before being shoved into the
trunk of his car on June
20 after Holliman and three
others broke into his home.
The U.S. Marshals Service
said Holliman was observed
exiting a vehicle and enter
ing the home of a girlfriend
in Chicago.
Investigators found
Holliman hiding in the clos
et, and he was arrested with
out incident.
Police already have arrest
ed two former Morehouse
students and one current
student in the attack on
Walker.
They believe the killing
was motivated by a $3,000
insurance settlement that
Walker was expected to
receive.
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Stop by and visit with Karen or give her a call at 954-HOME (4663)
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tU (478)971-2115 331 Margie Drive, Warner Rodins, GA. 31088
Disclaimer: Bonuses based on certain completed homes only Loan program based upon credit and may not apply to all purchasers
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006
At A Glance
CROP DAMAGES
Here are estimates in mil
lions for agriculture losses
of some crops because of
drought and excessive heat
since March:
Crop Losses
Cotton $239.5 M
Peanuts $101.4 M
Com $40.1 M
Tobacco $25.3 M
Hay, forage $107.6 M
Pasture $224.3 M ,
Pecan $49 M
(projected)
Source: University
of Georgia Center for
Agribusiness and Economic
Development
the USDA Farm Service
Agency and will have to show
the extent of their losses and
the ability to repay.
“I think a lot of our farm
ers have no choice but to
take advantage of it,” Irvin
said.
Irvin also said he hopes
federal lawmakers move
on disaster funding when
Congress reconvenes next
month.
A $4 billion drought relief
package is waiting for a vote
in the Senate.
The USDA has made disas
ter declarations similar to
Georgia’s in 23 other states
this year.
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss,
R-Ga., said Georgia has the
second-highest number of
disaster designated counties
off all the states now covered
under declarations.
“Georgia is not alone
in facing disaster condi
tions, and as I have trav
eled the country over the
past month, more and more
producers everywhere are
experiencing drought condi
tions,” Chambliss, chairman
of the Senate Agriculture
Committee, said in a state
ment Tuesday.
“We will continue to close
ly monitor these disaster
conditions.”
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