Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 200
Below the Fold: State to double GBI meth force agents; its impact on Houston County? « Schools mark school bus safety week
Tuesday
October 17,2006
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN SPORTS
■ Brittney Stewart - per her
norm - ran away from the field in
the Coach's Cup Also, a handful
of locals will be in contention
when the 21st Annual Georgia
Women’s Championship tees
off.
- See 1B
IN BRIEF
Ceremony to be held
for stadium dedication
In a ceremony preceding the Perry
High-Peach County game Friday,
Perry High School, will dedicate its
football stadium as the Herb St. John
Stadium.
St. John was Perry High's first
and most successful football coach.
During his football career at the
University of Georgia, he was an
All-American in 1946 and the first of
only two players ever to be selected
to the All-Southeastern Conference
team four times. In 2004 St. John
was inducted into UGA’s Circle of
Honor for student athletes. Following
his college career, he played pro
fessional football for two seasons
for the Chicago Hornets and the
Brooklyn Dodgers clubs.
After leaving the NFL, he began
his career in education. He start
ed the football program at Perry
High in 1954. His teams won two
regional championships. St. John
also coached the track team to nine
regional championships. He Was
named coach of the year six times.
In addition to teaching and coach
ing, he served as assistant principal
at Perry from 1961-1969. St. John
moved into administration full-time in
1969 as director of transportation and
maintenance for the Houston County
School System until his retirement in
1987. He resides in Perry.
Scholarship pageant
to be held
The Miss Georgia Agriculture
Scholarship Pageant will be held
Nov. 11 at the Georgia Baptist
Convention Center in Norman Park.
It is open to all ages, however, Teen
and Miss contestants must live, work
or attend school in Georgia.
Contact Renee Ruby at 229-
386-1556 or Pam Forehand at
229-776-6664 or visit the website
PageantsGalore.com for more infor
mation.
BIRTHDAYS
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
■ Stephen 0. Sapp, 48
PERIODICAL 500
Mill
8 "55108 00001" 4
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
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GEORGIA WENPROJECT
Man Library
UN IV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
3-DIGIT 306
October 17, 2006
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legal organ for Houston County,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Westfield wins state championship
The hard way - five games, 38 innings
and nearly 10 hours of fast-pitch softball
By MA TTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
The Westfield Schools
community took a near 10-
hour ride on the “comeback
wagon” Saturday at the
Southern Pines complex in
Dublin.
The last stop was the
winner’s circle with a GISA
Class AAA softball cham
pionship trophy laying in
waiting.
“That went on forever,”
said sophomore pitcher
Kelsey Gilliam, who threw
every pitch for the Hornets
in five games - not 35 regu
lation innings either, but 38
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Schools mark
safety week
Special to the Journal
“Be Aware - Cross with
Care” is the 2006 theme for
National School Bus Safety
Week, which began Sunday
and will run through
Saturday.
The Houston County
School System also
observed School Bus Driver
Appreciation Day Monday.
“Bus drivers have a
tremendous responsibil
ity,” said Danny Carpenter,
superintendent of schools.
“Their priority is safe trans
portation as they maneuver
their buses through traf
fic in all kinds of road and
See SAFETY, page fA
www.hhjnews.com
thanks to two overtime con
tests against Tattnall Square
Academy.
But after everyone else fol
lowing the Class AA and A
tournaments had long left the
facility, Westfield and First
Presbyterian were still bat
tling tooth and nail to deter
mine the final order in the
state’s highest classification.
The Hornets had their backs
against the wall - much like
a tennis player facing numer
ous match points - time and
again, but wouldn’t let the
day end until the last pos
sible at-bat.
See STATE,page >A
B i" P S sLmb 'hm.
ENI/Gary Harmon
Perry Middle School students Jatavis Owens, Ansley Gentry, Olivia Albritton and
Adrianna Pitter board the bus Monday.
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Big time
Big & Rich, alias Big Kenny and John Rich, whose first
album went platinum, were on hand to entertain fairgo
ers Saturday.
ENI Gary Harmon
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Two sect/ons • 12 pages
Court upholds
HC murder
conviction
By RA Y LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
The Georgia Supreme
Court unanimously
affirmed a Houston
County murder convic
tion Monday.
In Durham versus The
State, the Court ruled
that the evidence relied
on by the jury supported
its verdict and that no
reversible error occurred
at trial.
The jury in Houston
County convicted Maisha
Mahalia Durham of mur
der and other crimes in
connection with the shoot
ing death of her boyfriend,
Derrick Mathis, Sept. 3,
1999, on Sunstede Road
in Warner Robins.
“She was mad because
he hadn’t cdme home the
previous night,” according
to Chief Assistant District
Attorney Katherine
Lumsden.
Durham was indicted
on eight counts includ
ing murder (times two),
aggravated battery, aggra
vated assault and posses
sion of a firearm or knife
during a crime (times
four) Sept. 21, 1999.
Lumsden said
See MURDER, page §A
State to
double GBI
meth agents
By RA Y LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Even before it starts
the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation Meth Force,
thanks to a moved signed
into law by Gov. Sonny
Perdue last week, will be
doubled from 15 to 30
agents. Perdue created the
force earlier this year with
an initial 15 agents.
Those agents will com
plete their training in the
next month and will begin
working with local and
federal law enforcement
by the end of the year.
While none are coming
to the Perry GBI office,
the Macon Drug Office is
getting a couple, explained
J.T. Richardson, supervisor
at the Macon GBI office.
He said once the
See AGENTS, page fA
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Senior
Kaitlyn
Chasteen
passes on
the GISA
AAA softball
champion
ship tro
phy to her
Westfield
Hornet
teammates,
ending a
long day of
five games
in a row
Saturday at
Southern
Pines
Complex in
Dublin.
Journal /Matthew
Brown