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Mrotshm ©aily 3|mm wl VOLUME 136 , NUMBER 187 Below the Fold: WR-ALC commander focuses on partnership between base, community ■ Perry Police Department welcomes new officer Tuesday September 26,2006 The Home Journal’s FRONT PORCH IN SPORTS ■ In softball, Warner Robins and Houston County both took turns routing Valdosta Saturday. Also, the Lady Bears volleyball team finished third at the Raider Rally. Professionally, look for Braves and Georgia Tech news. - See 1B IN BRIEF Church to offer blessings for animals Pets will be blessed at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, which is located at 1209 Macon Road in Perry, Oct. 3, starting at 6:30 p.m. The annual Blessing of the Animals is in observance of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Fr. William Anderson says that all ani mals are welcome at this service. Sacred Heart readies for Fall Festival Sacred Heart's Fall Festival will be Oct. 21 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 250 South Davis Drive, Warner Robins. The festival will include live Radio Disney broadcast and prizes for children, entertainment including country music star T. Graham Brown, hot air balloon rides, Bingo, Granny’s Attic flea market, paint ball, 50 and more arts and crafts vendors, silent auc tion, premium raffle to win money, vacations and other major pack ages, carnival games, sports chal lenges, lots of food from lots of vendors and much, much more. Marching band invite to be held at stadium The Heart of Georgia Marching Band Invitational will be held Oct. 7 from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. in McConnell- Talbert Stadium. The cost is $5 per adult, $3 per child. The event will be hosted by the Warner Robins High School Band Boosters, Inc., and will feature bands from all over the south eastern part of the United States competing against one another. BIRTHDAYS Sept. 24 ■ Marvin Powell Sept. 25 ■ Garlinda Thom 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 ■ Dorothy Jean Newman Dotson, 64 ■ Alice E. Harrell, 93 ■ Evelyn Dasher Bracewell, 88 PERIODICAL 500 lllilllllllllll 8"55108 00003?" 4 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3-DIGIT 306 September 26, 2006 IServim; Holst()\ Col M Y Sixn: IS7O Suspect shoots former girlfriend Presumably turns gun on himself later By RAYLIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer The suspect in a Sunday shooting was found dead less than nine hours later of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect, Douglas Deshaun Price had been in the county jail and bonded out last week. Alzheipier awareness takes off a ♦ • • • w •/ . .•* 0 ENI/Gary Harmon Attendees of the Memory Walk release balloons to lift off the event held Friday at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. The premise was to honor Alzheimer victims as well as bring attention for the need to find a cure for the disease. According to one attendee, more than 200 people turned out. For more pictures of the event, see 2A. WR-ALC commander speaks regarding partnership between base, community By JOE SERSEY Journal Correspondent Maj. Gen. Tom Owen was the guest speaker at the 21st Century Partnership fall meeting. The commander of Warner Robins- Air Logistic Center focused his remarks on the importance of part nership within the military and in the community, comparing the recent talks between General Motors and Ford. “People work together towards com mon goals,” Owen said. “(It’s) not a new thing here.” He extolled the efforts of the com munity to make the military welcome, citing the efforts of local businesses to help and support servicemen. “Nowhere do you have the kind of support you have here,” Owen told his audience. “These people are our most important asset ... the alliances we have are absolutely key.” Owen also discussed the importance of community togetherness to the mil itary’s war on terror. He pointed to the academic side of the area. “We have the most innovative work force right here in Robins,” Owen said. “We’re developing and training a work force that’s really our future.” Owen said he was seeking co-op pro grams to work with the seven techni cal schools and 13 colleges in the area, saying that these schools can provide the base with trained people. “Initiatives I’ll be working on ... a tighter alliance rather than isolated universities,” he said. “It’s no acci dent we’ve earned a reputation for outstanding war fighter support.” Owen intends to accelerate the partnership between the surrounding LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville www.hhjnews.com He was arrested on warrants taken out by Warner Robins Police Sept. 19 and bonded out of jail the next day on charges of battery, criminal trespass/entry, stalking and harass ing phone calls, as well as a pre existing theft by taking charge from the county according to the Houston County Sheriffs Office. Warner Robins Police are investi- "Nowhere do you have the kind of support you have here. These people are our most important asset... the alliances we have are absolutely key'' - WR-ALC commander Maj. Gen. Tom Owen communities and the base. “I want us to be good citizens to your community,” Owen said. He encourages Air Force personnel assigned to the base to become active in their communities, to volunteer and take leadership roles. Owen envisions partnerships where WR-ALC works with the Defense Logistic Agency and with other ALCs and private partnerships with com mercial industry to take, “advantage of shared strengths.” He wants the community and the base to share goals, risks, interests, decision making and rewards and list ed five priorities for 2007. First, he wants his military person nel to embrace the Air Force Culture. Second, develop a work force. Third, enhance communication between the Air Force community on Robins Air Force Base, and also with the community outside the gate. Fourth, plan for the future to 2015, 2020 and beyond. And fifth, increase the partner ships. See SPEAKS, page $A gating the death of Price as a suicide, according to Det. Scott McSwain of the Warner Robins Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. Price was found about 9 a.m. Sunday in a wooded area off Calhoun Drive with a single, apparently self-inflict- i —ran MM -gp! IB wjff' * Perry police add officer From staff reports Steve Cox, a Houston County native, is the newest addition to the Perry police force. Cox was sworn in earlier this week after graduat ing from the Police Academy in Macon. He was introduced on Tuesday night to the Perry City Council. A 1997 graduate of Northside High school, he served in the U.S. Navy for five years, and then earned his B.S. in psychology from Georgia Southwestern University. He is now working on his masters in criminal justice through Kaplan University. Jenny Cox, his wife of three years, is a nurse. Serving as a police officer has been a lifelong goal of his. “I’ve always wanted to help the community,” he said. Two sections • 12 pages ed gunshot wound, McSwain said. An autopsy was performed Monday morning - results were not avail able as of presstime - to determine a cause of death. Price, 19, was identified by his former girlfriend - the shooting vic tim - and others at the house as the suspect in the 18-year-old female’s shooting, McSwain said. The incident occurred around midnight Sunday morning. See SHOOTS, page $A an PRICE cox "If Perry McGuire thinks that's a campaign issue, he's right.’’ - Houston County District Attorney Kelly Burke WR murder case taking front stage in campaign Special to the Journal A Warner Robins murder case has or will apparently become the focal point in the political race for attorney general. According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article by Carlos Campos published Monday, a television ad that began running that day will contend Attorney General Thurbert Baker so badly botched the appeal of a 1984 Middle Georgia murder case that it resulted in the rever sal of a confessed killer’s conviction. According to the AJC arti cle, Republican challenger Perry McGuire is using the handling of the appeal in his underdog bid to unseat Baker, who has held the state’s top legal office since 1997. McGuire was able to enlist the aid of the victim’s widower, who appears in the ad, the AJC article stated. Per the AJC article: “Baker says the case was mishan dled at the trial level, not during the appeal handled by his office.” The case itself revolves around Taressa Stanley who was fatally shot during a robbery while working at a convenience store in Warner Robins. Timothy Johnson, 22, at the time, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. From his cell in Reidsville, however, he filed numerous handwritten appeals over the years and acted as his own attorney. Before his conviction on murder charges, he was, according the AJC article, also already a convicted felon who had served prison time for aggravated assault on a peace officer. But, on Feb. 13, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Johnson was not properly informed of three crucial rights before entering his guilty plea: the right to a jury trial, the right to con front one’s accusers, and the right to avoid self-incrimina tion. The Supreme Court, relying on a transcript of Johnson’s plea in court that included an exchange with the judge, overturned his conviction. And that is where the TV See CASE,page