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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Perry Office 1210 Washington St. P.O. Box 1910 Parry, GA 31069 (478) 987-1823 See us online at www.hhjnews.com Reader OKP® Classified Advertising: Call (478) 987-1823 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can fax an ad 24 hours a day to (478) 988-9194. Display Advertising: Call Nicole Crofutt at ext. 224. Delivery by mail: Delivery by mail is available for $62 in-county and SB2 elsewhere per year paid in advance. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069 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, GA 31069; (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: Contact James Tidwell at jtidwell @ evansnewspapers.com Corrections: The HDJ strives for fairness and accuracy, and will print a correction or clarification when one is in order. Call ext. 231. Advertising errors and omissions: The advertiser agrees that the pub lisher shall not be liable for damages arising from errors in advertisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by that portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred. There shall be no liability for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such advertisement. This newspaper is a member of The Georgia Press Association, The National Newspaper Association and The Associated Press Shoe Briefs Councilman pulled shotgun, man says AUGUSTA (MNS) - A Midville 19-year-old has accused the city’s mayor pro tem of brandishing a shot gun at him while his sister, brother and three small chil dren looked on. Officer Robert Baynham, the southern Burke County town’s sole police offi cer after Chief Stephen Weddon’s recent resig nation, said he probably would have arrested Scotty Womack were he not a city councilman. But Womack’s being one of his bosses made it an awkward situation,' so Officer Baynham said he’ll let a Magistrate Court judge decide whether to issue war rants for pointing a gun at another and cruelty to chil dren. Womack, 35, said Wednesday evening that he was only defending himself after being threatened, and if warrants are taken out against him, he’ll seek a war rant for terroristic threats. Officer Baynham said Womack flagged him down at about 9 p.m. Monday outside Alan’s Quick Stop on North Jones Street. He accused Fredrick Lewis, 19, of stealing his Motorola camera cell phone out of his pickup. Lewis and his sister had been in the checkout line at the convenience store ahead of Womack, the officer said. A store clerk later said she saw them walk to their own pickup without reach ing into Womack’s vehicle. Jury finds Brantley man not guilty NAHUNTA (MNS) - A Brantley County man was found not guilty of man slaughtercharges Wednesday in a three-fatality crash in which a driver swerved to miss the man and his horse on a dark highway. YOUR WEATHER TEAM! TODAY’S MGT Today's Weather Local 5-Day Forecast Sat 9/2 ±JU 89/67 Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Sunrise Sunset 7:IIAM 7:59 PM Georgia At A Glance \ Atlanta y \ \ 83/66 V Augusta \ -—B9/70 \/ V V Warner Robins i \ \ 89/68 1 V V \ * Savannah '•■■•■r** } | Perry 94/72 l Valdosta \jJ . 93/69 Area Cities \ City M Lo(W | Albany 93 69 pt sunny Athens 84 66 mst sunny Atlanta 83 66 mst sunny Augusta 89 70 pt sunny Bainbridge 94 71 pt sunny Brunswick 94 76 pt sunny Cartersville 84 66 mst sunny Chattanooga.TN 77 63 pt sunny Columbus 90 70 pt sunny Cordele 93 69 pt sunny National Cities I City Lo Cond. 1 Atlanta 83 66 mst sunny Boston 64 62 rain Chicago 71 59 pt sunny Dallas 91 75 pt sunny Denver 68 51 mst sunny ©2005 American Prolile Hometown Content Service The eight-man, four woman jury deliberated just under one hour before finding Donnie Leverett, 60, not guilty of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of Blackshear residents Amanda LaDawn Pierce, 30, and Joey Ira Price, 32, and Jacksonville resident Bonnie Gayle Rast, 51. A third passenger in Pierce’s Nissan, her sister Jessica Sweat of Nahunta, was seriously injured when the Nissan collided head on with a Dodge truck. The driver of the truck, Barry Watts of Orange Park, had swerved into an oncoming lane to miss Leverett as he rode his horse along U.S. 301 in August 2003. Had he been convicted of all three counts of felony involuntary manslaughter, Leverett could have been sentenced to 30 years in prison. No Ernesto damage reports in Georgia TYBEE ISLAND (AP) - Tropical storm Ernesto brought rain showers and winds strong enough to wreck an umbrella Thursday as it edged past Georgia, and it also enabled some Southern surfers to catch a few good waves. There were no reports of storm damage Thursday morning in Georgia coastal communities. But at Tybee Island, amid sporadic showers, a handful of surfers enjoyed choppy seas that raised waves mea suring 3 1/2 feet at the local pier. “Tybee doesn’t get a lot of good Waves. Whenever there’s a storm, all the locals come out,” said lan Howes, a 35-year-old shrimper and restaurant worker. He got the day off from shrimping because of the rough seas. “The worse the weather is, generally, the better the Sun 9/3 91/68 Isolated thunder storms. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the upper 60s. Sunrise Sunset 7:12 AM 7:56 PM 87/67 Isolated thunder storms. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Sunrise Sunset 7:12 AM 7:57 PM TFtEIVT WILLMON a little: moro livin' ava:uanu' \. ■ . ; ■. -■■ ; jdty %Lo Cond. | Dalton 83 66 mst sunny Dillard 79 61 pt sunny Dublin 92 67 pt sunny Duluth 82 65 mst sunny Gainesville 81 67 mst sunny Helen 81 63 mst sunny Lagrange 86 65 mst sunny Macon 68 68 sunny Marietta 82 65 mst sunny Miliedgeville 88 68 sunny | City Hi Lo Cond. J Houston 94 72 pt sunny Los Angeles 88 67 mst sunny Miami 88 78 t-storm Minneapolis 65 56 t-storm New York 71 69 rain waves are,” Howes said. “We were hoping for a hurricane. But I’m glad no one had to die for me to have good waves.” On the beach, a few vaca tioners strolled and scanned the whitecaps. Atlanta resident Jeff Elliott, 33, and his 4-year old daughter Libby dipped their toes in the surf and scooped buckets full of sand. They packed up and head ed indoors when the wind picked up around 9 a.m. “It looks just like a little rainstorm,” Elliott said of Ernesto. “It’s not that bad.” Ernesto - downgraded to a tropical depression over Florida, then upgraded as it moved over the warm waters of the Atlantic - was fore cast to make landfall again late Thursday along South Carolina’s coast, likely near Georgetown. From there, it was to ride into central North Carolina. Forecasters said Ernesto would pick up some mois ture as it moves over the Gulf Stream and residents in the mid-Atlantic states could expect the weakened storm to dump 2-4 inches of rain. Georgia leads in long commutes ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia leads the nation in the num ber of counties listed as hav ing the longest commuting times. Fifteen Georgia counties - all in the metro Atlanta fSvtiw c.,.., ’ Jruming ♦ CMonogmmminy • Oil UhinlinQS • Q\fts (Sualoim ffuuninff 918 Carroll Street • Perry, GA 478-987-4079 STATE AMD REGION Turn* tar News" Mon 9/4 <o* 89/66 Scattered thunder storms. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the mid 60s. Sunrise Sunset 7:13 AM 7:55 PM Moon Phases UV Index Sat 9/2 ■ Very High Sun 9/3 I Very High Mon 9/4 ■ Very High Tue 9/5 I Very High Wed 9/6 | Very High The UV Index is measured on a 0-11 number scale, with a higher UV Index showing the need tor greater skin pro tection. o mmm mmm 11 ■ffr <7A Wed 9/6 Tue 9/5 4^r 90/66 Partly cloudy with a stray thunderstorm. Sunrise Sunset 7:13 AM 7:54 PM 0 First Aug 31 Full Sep 7 4 IP Last Sep 14 New Sep 22 I City HI LoM I Peachtree City 84 64 mst sunny Perry 90 68 pt sunny Rome 84 65 mst sunny Savannah 94 72 pt sunny St. Simons Island 94 76 pt sunny Statesboro 96 73 pt sunny Thomasville 94 70 t-storm Valdosta 93 69 t-storm Warner Robins 89 68 pt sunny Waycross 95 69 pt sunny » Phoenix 104 84 pt sunny San Francisco 82 56 windy Seattle 88 57 sunny St. Louis 74 63 cloudy Washington, DC 75 69 rain area - made the U.S. Census Bureau’s list for the top 100 counties with longcommutes. In addition, Coweta County, southwest of Atlanta, was listed as the county with the nation’s longest commute, clocking in at 51.6 minutes, according to census figures. The 28-county region the federal government consid ers the Atlanta area ranked fifth in the nation for long commute times with an average of 31 minutes. Only metro areas in New York, New Jersey and Washington have longer commute times. A willingness by many to live farther outside Atlanta’s city limits is cited as a rea son for the extra time spent on the road. “We don’t have natu ral boundaries that limit growth,” Atlanta Regional Commission Chairman Sam Olens said. “You can contin ue to have sprawl. And let’s face it, we have too much sprawl.” The average commute time for the 10 core metro Atlanta counties has changed little in five years, despite efforts to build live-work-play com munities and to encourage workers to use mass transit. In 2000, the average com mute was 31.77 minutes; in 2005, it was 31.48 minutes. Georgia will continue to be among national leaders in commute times unless more money goes to mass tran sit and state growth policy changes to discourage road projects that lead to sprawl, Olens said. Obuutoues SHELIA FROST HICKEY ~ WARNER ROBINS - Shelia Frost Hickory, 76, of Suwanee and Warner Robins passed away on August 23, 2006. She was preceded in death by her husband, Zach Hickey. Hickey was a native of Liverpool, England and was a homemaker. She was a member of St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Perry and a member of the Warner Robins Bridge Club. She lived in Warner Robins from 1974 until the pres ent. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, September 2, 2006 at 11 a.m. at-St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Perry. Interment was at Andersonville National Cemetery in Andersonville. Survivors are daughter and son-in-law Carrie and Steve Hartshorne of Suwanee, son and daughter-in-law Alan and Gloria Hickey of Oklahoma City, Ok., grandchildren Kirsty Hickey, Ashley Hickey, Zachariah Hickey, Sergey Hartshorne and Natasha Hartshorne, great grandson Alexander Hickey and brothers and sister-in-law Michael and Azra Frost of England and Douglas Frost of England. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, Gwinnett Unit, 6500 Sugerloaf Highway, Suite 260, Duluth, Ga. 30097 in memory of Shelia M. Hickey. Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory are handling the arrangements. SARAH R NEAL PERRY - Sarah E Neal, 70, died at Serenity Gate on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2006. Graveside Services will be held at 5 p.m. today at Perry Memorial Gardens with Pastor Randy Reese officiating. Neal had lived in Perry for 41 years, attended Georgia Women’s College, and was a Methodist. She was a clerk and had worked for Beckham Brothers. Survivors include her children; Randy Reese (Deanna) of Newborn, Robert Reese (Kelly) of Warner Robins, Debbie Reese of Warner Robins, Cindy Reese of Macon, and Gina Reese of Macon; husband, Marvin Hooks of Perry; 11 grand children and two great granchildren. She was preceded in death by parents, George Powers and Urma Bags. Please sign the online register at watsonhunt.com. “SISSY” MORATH CLAYTON - “Sissy” Morath, 23, formerly of Perry, died unexpectedly on Monday, Aug. 28, 2006. Funeral Services will be held at 2 p.m. today at Watson - Hunt Funeral Home. Morath had resided in Clayton for more than a year. She was a waitress. Survivors include a son, Trey Ussery, 111 of Clayton; par ents, John and Lisa (Langston) Morath of Clayton; brothers, Tripp Morath of Kathleen, and Andrew Morath of Warner Robins; grandparents, Herman Langston, Sr. of Centerville, Ricky and Reba Gilbert of Kathleen, John and Betty Morath of Eatonton a number of aunts and uncles. She was pre ceded in death by a grandmother, Genny Langston. Please sign the online register at watsonhunt.com. Redevelopment work continues on state bases By BEN EVANS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Local development officials near Fort Gillem Army base outside Atlanta are trying to persuade FEMA to recon sider its plans to take nearly one sixth of the site, and sug gesting instead that FEMA look toward Macon, Augusta and elsewhere. Meanwhile, efforts to rede velop three other Georgia military bases slated to close in 2011 under last year’s Base Realignment and Closure are moving forward, officials said. Local officials say the Fort Gillem real estate south of Atlanta in Forest Park will attract strong interest from the private sector and is best suited for a mixed-use devel opment blending residential and commercial uses. But under the BRAC process, federal agencies get first crack at purchas ing closed bases, and the Army has agreed to offer FEMA some 247 acres of the 1,427-acre base for a logis tics center. That deal is on hold, however, as local offi cials negotiate with FEMA We’re Full Of Bright Ideas * Wk I HWIi fH| - I * C r dTfi e X i<] tit in <j 3 tore Jj V* A oiv: imii Hi , t 'i : llvirkyl SuppA S 926 Carroll St. • Perry, GA 31069 478-224-8888 T-F9am-spin SAT l()am-2pm FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2006 ♦ to consider alternatives. , Fred Bryant, execu tive director of the Forest Park/Fort Gillem Local Redevelopment Authority, said economic development officials in Macon, Augusta, Albany and elsewhere have expressed interest in host ing the FEMA facility, which would serve as a base for responding to disasters in the region. If those sites don’t suit FEMA, the local authority * hopes FEMA will consider shifting its facility to another part of Fort Gillem, instead of the center of the base. “It would be difficult for us to have to develop around the FEMA presence in the middle of the property,” said Bryant. He added that a large company already has expressed interest in the site. “The presence that they currently have configured ... is some of the best property for redevelopment,” he said. Bryant said FEMA has been receptive to the author ity’s concerns and sugges tions. FEMA officials could not immediately say how the agency plans to respond. 3A