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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL fVuly .lnuriuii PebßYQffiqe 1210 Washington St. P.O. Box 1910 Perry, GA 31069 (478) 987-1823 See us online at www. hhjnews. com Reader 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, 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: 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 State Briefs Ga. to crack down on fake documents ATLANTA (MNS) - The GBI and the state agency that issues driver’s licenses will launch an effort to crack down on fake documents used to get state-issued photo IDs, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday. The governor said the ini tiative would help prevent illegal immigrants from vot ing or getting public assis tance at the same time immigration reform remains stymied in Congress. “We owe this to the people of Georgia who foot the bill for public services,” Perdue said. Perdue’s plan includes a proposal to add 10 new inves tigators to the Department of Driver Services, to be placed at the 10 facilities the state believes are most likely to be used for obtain ing the IDs. Perdue declined to name those facilities. Three agents will also be added to the GBI as part of the plan. The General Assembly will have to approve about $1 million to pay for the extra investiga tors and agents, Perdue said. But Jerry Gonzalez, execu tive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said Perdue’s pro posal couldn’t make up for Congress’ failure to pass broad immigration reform. “The governor’s propos ing a band-aid on a gushing wound,” he said. Police arrest 20 gang members SAVANNAH (MNS) - Forty extra law enforce ment officers hit the streets Saturday night to track down members of 20 known gangs operating in Savannah. The additional patrols resulted in 20 arrests, accord ing to Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police spokes man Anthony Fulton. It was unclear why the the arrests YOUR WEATHER TEAM! TODAY’S £%t Today's Weather Local 3-Day Forecast Thu 88/67 Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers later in the day. High 88F. Sunrise Sunset 7:15 AM 7:53 PM . : - t Georgia At A Glance \ Atlanta y \ \ 83/65 N> X Au 9 usta \ / 84/69 \ f \ \ Warner Robins \ \ 87/67 A V So*. \ Savannah / ! * ro| V 87/69 -S I ~- y ( / Valdosta <n • 90/67 /~ v —S' Area Cities l Cit v Hi Lo Cond- | Albany 90 68 t-storm Athens 84 66 rain Atlanta 83 65 rain Augusta 84 69 rain Bainbridge 91 69 t-storm Brunswick 86 73 t-storm Cartersville 85 64 pt sunny Chattanooga,TN 82 61 mst sunny Columbus 88 70 rain Cordele 89 68 rain National Cities Atlanta 83 65 rain Boston 76 63 mst sunny Chicago 80 61 mst sunny Dallas 89 70 sunny Denver 75 53 t-storm 02005 American Profile Hometown Content Service were not reported until three days after the operation. The officers were part of “Operation C-Port,” named after a gang documentary circulating on Savannah’s streets. The 45-minute locally produced DVD, released this summer, shows gang members following SCMPD officers in Cuyler- Brownville, Hitch Village and the area near 34th and Montgomery streets, accord ing to Maj. James Barnwell, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division. “They took on the name to tag it as such and let the gangs know we are aware of that video and other activ ity,” Fulton said. The documentary inter views numerous teenag ers about life on Savannah streets, gang activity, drugs and other crime. Detectives have been searching for the people in the DVD since its debut, Barnwell said. The Saturday operation also resulted in some intelli gence-gathering about the local gangs, but the police did not find any of the teens portrayed in the documen tary, Fulton said. During the operation, officers served a search warrant at a suspect ed gang house, then seized three guns and 9 grams of cocaine, Fulton said. He declined to identify the loca tion of the home, saying the premises are still under investigation. The operation led to five felony arrests that did not involve gang-related charges. Fulton said he did not know the identities of the suspects. He also said he did not know the specific charges but said most stem from possession of drugs and weapons. “We’re investigating to see if any arrests are gang members. It’s a possibility,” Fulton said. Although the arrest num bers are modest, police con sider the operation success ful because of the informa tion they gathered, Fulton said. All of the information Fri ■V\VxS\\\TT 88/66 Cloudy with showers and thunder storms.. Sunrise Sunset 7:16 AM 7:52 PM We Celebrate Hometown Life Stones tor and about hometowns fust kite yours. Look for us each week m this paper. | City HI Lo Cond. 1 Dalton 86 64 pt sunny Dillard 78 59 rain Dublin 88 66 rain Duluth 82 63 rain Gainesville 81 66 rain Helen 80 62 rain Lagrange 86 64 rain Macon 87 66 rain Marietta 83 63 pt sunny Milledgeville 87 67 rain Houston 91 67 sunny Los Angeles 82 62 mst sunny Miami 88 79 t-storm Minneapolis 82 62 sunny New York 81 65 mst surjny will be added to a computer database on gangs, includ ing names, identities, colors, locations and criminal activ ity. “We got gang intelligence, graffiti, known gang areas of where they are congregating and some new areas where gangs have infiltrated,” Fulton said. Fire destroys home, kills children WOODBINE (MNS) - For the second time in less than a week, Camden County firefighters responded to a house fire that ended in death. When rescue workers got to the fire Monday, the two story house in the River Oaks development north of Kingsland was already engulfed in flames. About 45 minutes later, after firefight ers got the blaze under con trol, they found the bodies of Sebastian Skyler Vensel, 4, and his 2-year-old brother, Caleb Brennan Vensel. “It was pretty much burned to the ground,” said Lt. William Terrell, a spokes man for the Camden County Sheriffs Office. The two boys were appar ently sleeping in an upstairs bedroom when a neighbor called to report the fire, Terrell said. The boys’ grand mother, who was not identi fied by authorities, escaped from the burning home with no apparent injuries, Terrell said. “She was out of the house, but I don’t know when she left,” Terrell said. The children’s mother, Leah Vensel, and her boy friend, Jimmy Chestnut, were not home when the fire began. Neither could be reached for comment. Aged Hand-cut Steaks 1-73 I.it • W7-M7? 37609 STATE AMP REGION Meteorologist Jerry Math* wort Tturn* tar Hew#* Sat 89/67 Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 60s. Sunrise Sunset 7:16 AM 7:50 PM Moon Phases e First Aug 31 Last Sep 14 UV Index Thu 9/7 Fri 9/8 Sat 9/9 The UV Index is measured on a 0-11 number scale, with a higher UV Index showing the need pro- Lo Cond. | Peachtree City 84 63 rain Perry 87 66 rain Rome 86 64 pt sunny Savannah 87 69 t-storm St. Simons Islandß6 73 t-storm Statesboro 90 73 t-storm Thomasville 90 69 t-storm Valdosta 90 67 t-storm Warner Robins 87 67 rain Waycross 89 68 t-storm Phoenix 99 79 t-storm San Francisco 70 54 mst sunny Seattle 77 54 sunny St. Louis 85 64 sunny Washington, DC 82 66 pt sunny Ulttiiliif i iiliiiiiliiiii »%? a iiiliiilisiiiiiii . . %# A, ||/|| lit flliMltlUMt* JmslmSF —&& $& i w Come by the dealersm today and Ms { register to wJnfa | V^XjmimMveo pick up a If Hamby Pm Patrol finds you wearing a mn r You will Be Registered to Win The Car! Visit our web snpi| www.hamby.com lor rules and regulations Chevy - Pontiac'- Buick - GMC Kxil H 4 PIT 1-75. Perrv. GA* 478-9K7-2I 22 • I-HOO-892-294 j tar tTM Full Sep 7 • New Sep 22 I Very High Very High Very High THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2006 ♦ Obituaries IJ]ri!J.E V BLANKENSHIP ■ BONAIRE - Lucille Virginia Blankenship, 86, passed away Tuesday. Visitation will be today from 7-9 p.m. at McCullough Funeral Home. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in the chapel of McCullough Funeral Home with interment following in Pulaski-Bleckley Memorial Gardens, Cochran. Blankenship was born August 28, 1920 in Renick, W.V TIMOTHY VERNON WILLIAMS CENTERVILLE - Timothy Vernon Williams, 47, passed away Monday. Williams was born in Mobile, Ala. He was preceded in death by his father Roosevelt Vernon Williams. Survivors include his mother Grace Sprawls Williams of Centerville and siblings: Anita King of Marietta, Dorothy Hampton of Brooksville, Fla., Stephen Williams of Byron, Daniel Williams of Kingsland. Perdue appearing with Bush in Atlanta By SHANNON McCaffrey Associated Press Writer ATLANTA <AP) - About the worst place some elec tion-bound Republicans can find themselves these days is next to President Bush. Saddled with sagging approval ratings and rising displeasure over the war in Iraq, Bush is viewed as toxic company by some nervous GOP colleagues. Yet on Thursday, Gov. Sonny Perdue will make a very public appearance with the president when he delivers a speech in Atlanta during a swing through the Peach State. “Sonny doesn’t pick his friends or abandon his friends based on poll num bers,” Perdue spokesman Derrick Dickey explained on Tuesday. “The governor is honored to stand with a man of prin ciple and resolve and is glad to call him a friend.” While Bush is still a bit more popular in red states like Georgia than he is in some other parts of the country, even in Dixie his approval ratings have taken a tumble. A recent AP-Ipsos poll found that Bush’s approv Stop by one of these r& locations ■r to pick up your pin. % Coldwßli Banker Bobbins Free Peppy Office op W.R. Office 1101 Washington St -1271 S.Houston Lake Rtf Mid State - RV ■ Byron al rating in the South plummeted to 34 percent in August, down from 43 percent the month before. Nationally, Bush’s approval rating was 33 percent in the August poll, matching his low in May. Perdue is facing re-elec tion in November. Political experts say there are risks for Perdue in appearing with Bush, but he is also likely to gain respect for sticking with the president through tough times. “While the president’s pop ularity is down from what it was I still don’t think that he’s going to be an albatross around the governor’s neck,” University of Georgia politi cal science professor Charles Bullock said Tuesday. “This is still Georgia. This is not New York or California.” Perdue is scheduled to appear with Bush at a speech Thursday morning center ing on the fight against ter rorism at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Bush will then move on to Savannah, where he will headline a fundraiser for for mer U.S. Rep. Max Bums, who is seeking a return to Capitol Hill by challenging Democratic incumbent Repi John Barrow. H! it. jHpp 3A