Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2006
6A
FORUM
From page tA
of the Houston County
Board of Education’s $65
million bond debt if the
BOE’s SPLOST money was
not sufficient to meet the
debt.
An ICU member said that
Walker is running on the
motto that he has not raised
taxes. His motion was sent
to commission lawyer Mike
Long in February 2006, who
said the measure was legal
and it was approved two
months later. As one mem
ber said, “Our elected offi
cials divided and conquered.
The developers lead and we
follow with our SPLOST
dollars.”
Wittenberg said that all
candidates for local state and
county positions were invit
ed. Those who showed up
were encouraged to speak.
Scott Taylor the
Democratic candidate run
ning against incumbent
Larry O’Neal for State House
District 146 spoke first.
He said he was for respon
sible economic development
and said, “It is important
to ask, ‘what is it you plan
to do?”’
He intends to become
involved in community out
reach to get input from, “the
average, everyday citizen.”
He said the current admin
istration’s brags about a bal
anced budget required by
state law were inaccurate.
“We borrow against (state
issued) bonds,” Taylor said.
“The state is sl2 billion in
debt. They’re just playing
lip service to say we have a
balanced budget.”
Ron Bass the Democratic
candidate for State House
District 136 is running
SCHOOLS
From page iA
points over last year and
beat the national average by
15 points, with an average
score of 1039 on the verbal
and mathematics combined
and total score of 1533.
“We are very excited about
this honor,” said Houston
County High Principal
Sheila Beckham. “This has
been a united team effort
of our teachers, counselors,
administrators and parents.
It takes all of us working
together to help our stu
dents excel on the SAT, and
it takes the hard work of the
students.”
Northside High and Perry
High will each receive a cer
tificate recognizing their
three-year average gain
RECORD
From page iA
over last year’s record num
ber of 400,615,” Treptow
said. The Georgia National
Fair’s designation as a Top
50 Fair in North America
holds true.
Several other records were
attained during the Fair.
Several single day atten
dance records - the first
Friday, Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday - and the grosses
for food and midway rides set
new records, too, Treptow
said.
Reithoffer provides the
midway rides for each of the
17 fairs. “They were a com
mitted believer in the fair
from the beginning and are a
committed today,” Treptow
said. Of all the fairs on the
east cost, they have their
highest grosses in Perry,”
she said.
People in Georgia like to
ride,” Treptow said, “and
TAXES
From page iA
the Board of Equalization.
A few, 21, were sites out
of business and/or uncollect
ible. There was one bank
ruptcy. The errors included
21 addresses not in city lim
its, homestead exemptions,
10 changes in value from
Peach County and about
assessment appeals or pro
tests, a couple court settle
ments and several others
were city owned property.
In other business, the
voted to take $39,476 from
the unobligated fund bal
ance and move it to the gen
against Beth Perera.
His platform is the envi
ronment. A mqjor concern
is annexation and develop
ment and the affects they
have on water quality and
the environment.
Bass is opposed to amnesty
for illegal immigrants.
“I see my friends strug
gling to pay bills,” he said.
Maurice Braswell, running
against Jay Walker for coun
ty commissioner also spoke.
According to Wittenberg,
Walker was invited to attend
as were the opponents of
Taylor and Bass.
“I’ve been accused of
being a one issue candidate,”
Braswell said. “It’s time to
move on. I intend to be your
representative. My only job
will be as your representa
tive.”
He talked about the devel
opment board hired by the
county, saying that the direc
tor makes SBO,OOO a year, his
assistant $60,000 and their
secretary $40,000.
Braswell said they gave
$5,000 to the campaign to
get last summer’s SPLOST
passed.
Responding to Walker’s
declaration that he hasn’t
raised taxes, Braswell point
ed to his motion for the ad
valorem tax and also said
that Walker voted to increase
his salary by 100 percent.
Braswell said he wants
to put a freeze on county
property taxes on the value
of property at the time the
freeze goes into affect.
He pointed out that his
freeze proposal would not
affect the state’s millage
rate, only the county’s.
“They don’t want it,”
Braswell said of the current
commissioners, “because it
means they’ll have to count
pennies instead of dollars,
on the SAT of at least 10
points. Perry High’s scores
improved 41 points over last
year, while Northside High
maintained its scores after
its 33-point jump in 2005.
Dr. Robin Hines serves as the
principal of Northside High
and Dr. Darryl Albritton
serves as the Perry High
principal.
Warner Robins High had
the highest scores of the 11
schools in its 3-AAAA region.
Warner Robins High’s SAT
total average score was 1510,
an increase of 20 points over
2005 and 33 points above
the state average. Steve
Monday serves as principal
of Warner Robins High.
The recognition and awards
are part of the Governor’s
Cup challenge, a statewide
competition initiated by
Governor Sonny Perdue in
people come to Perry to ride
the rides.”
The concerts, sellouts in
past years, were not sold out
again this year. “We don’t
know why,” Treptow said.
It’s been the trend in the
area, concerts don’t sell out
and at fairs across the coun
try.”
“Those that came out
enjoyed the concerts,” she
emphasized. “Hopefully
we’ll get information from
surveys as to why the con
certs did not sell out.”
“The Fair has earned a
solid reputation as a clean
and safe event for the entire
family,” said Michael A.
Froehlich, executive direc
tor. “Parents appreciate a
place where their children
are able to experience an
event that offers a special
blend of education and
entertainment.”
“The Georgia National
Fair has passed the genera
tional torch,” said Froehlich.
“Youth who competed at the
eral engineering budget to
pay Integrated Science &
Engineering of Fayetteville
for stormwater management
consulting services.
Walker said the ongoing
expense is an unfunded man
date from the state, requir
ing the city to comply with
newly implemented storm
water management require
ments.
The money will be repaid
to the general fund upon
the creation of a stormwater
utility.
The utility will bill water
and sewer customers for
stormwater management
based on the amount of run
off a property has calculated
and they don’t want to do
that, but they need to.
“The county is shrinking
in size, but the budget is
increasing. They’ve given
themselves raises and hired
12 new people.”
Braswell is for focusing on
needs instead of wants and
used the idea of convention
center that’s being bandied
about as an example.
“I will not vote to put one
dime into a convention cen
ter,” he said. “Let the devel
opers pay for it.”
Braswell wants to stop the
free ride he believes develop
ers and realtors are getting
from county officials.
“I do not see one reason
developers shouldn’t pay
their fair share,” he said.
“Developers are also causing
pollution. Why should tax
payers be asked to foot the
total bill for roads in new
developments?”
He said, “All they under
stand is three things:
money, power and numbers.
We don’t have the money
to fight them, but we have
the power and the numbers
when we go to the ballot
box.”
Although they were not
invited, two candidates for
Houston County Board of
Education came and spoke
to the group. Kathy Brown is
a candidate for Post 2.
Brown began her talk by
discussing the dropout rate
in Houston County. Citing
statistics from the State of
Georgia 2005-2006 K-12
Report Card, she said that
more than 1,000 students
have dropped out of Houston
County public schools in the
last three years.
She also pointed to the
CRCT results from the
Crossroads alternative
school. She said that 30 per
2003 as part of an overall
effort to raise Georgia’s SAT
scores. The challenge is
based on high school athlet
ic regions and classifications
assigned by the Georgia High
School Association. Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc.
sponsors the trophies and
monetary awards for the
Governor’s Cup and also
provides eligible high schools
with a SAT Preparation CD-
Rom.
To be eligible for the
Governor’s Cup, high schools
must be members of GHSA
and must have scores from
at least 20 seniors reflected
in the school’s SAT average
for both the current year
and two previous years.
For more informa
tion on the Governor’s
Cup Challenge visit www.
satrocks.com.
Fair in its early years are
now sharing the Fair expe
rience with their children.
The sense of ownership is
worn proudly by our fairgo
ers.”
The 18th annual, state
sponsored Georgia National
Fair is scheduled for Oct.
4-14, 2007. Since 1990, the
Georgia National Fair has
won 63 awards from the
International Association
of Fairs and Expositions for
its agricultural events, com
petitive exhibits, and com
munications programs. The
Georgia National Fair has
been designated a Southeast
Tourism Society “Top
20 Event for October” 10
times.
The Fair has received one
“Special Events Directory
and Events Business News
Top 200 Event” award. In
2002, the Fair was designat
ed one of Southern Living
magazine’s “Our Best 202
Things About the South
First-Prize Fair.”
from the amount of impervi
ous surface on the property.
The city also received
a reimbursement check
from St. Bernard Parish in
Louisianna.The check for
about $37,400 is reimburse
ment for the time, person
nel and equipment Warner
Robins Fire Department
contributed in hurricane
relief efforts.
Walker, in accepting the
check from Fire Department
Chief Robert Singletary noted
that Warenr Robins fire
fighters and GSAR (Georgia
Search And Rescue) headed
up teams in the recovery
efforts following Hurricane
Katrina, last year.
LOCAL
cent of the eighth grade stu
dents did not pass the CRCT
and that 55 percent of the 49
students who took the math
part of the test failed it.
“We’re pouring a lot of
money in alternative educa
tion, and it is not working,”
she said.
She questioned why the
board had not sold the prop
erty on Elbert used to house
the old alternative school
facility.
She believes the sale of the
property to be better for the
school system than using it
as office space.
Voicing the concerns
of another board candi
date present at the meet
ing, Brown said that the
federal government did an
audit when it noticed that
although crime was down in
the schools, it was up in the
county.
“In Houston County, the
principal makes the determi
nation if an unsafe incident
was to be reported. If the
incidents exceed a certain
number, then students can
leave the school for a safer
environment and the fund
ing follows the students.”
She said the current
Houston County policy con
travenes state policy.
Another issue on her plat
form was the way Houston
County discourages parent
involvement in state man
dated school councils by
scheduling meetings when
it is difficult for parents to
attend.
“School councils are part
of law, House Bill 1187,”
Brown said. “The school
councils in our county are
not effective councils.”
She gave examples of
school principals schedul
ing meetings early in the
morning while the school
SUSPECTS
From page iA
sustained during the inci
dent.
The suspect is described
as a black male, approxi
mately 20 to 25 years old, 5-
foot-7 to 5-foot-8 in height
with a slender build. He
was last seen wearing a
black baseball cap, black T
shirt, black jacket and black
in color baggy jeans.
On Tuesday at 1:41 a.m.,
officers responded to an
Arnold Boulevard residence
concerning a burglary and
armed robbery. The victims
told police they heard a
knock at their front door
and when one of the vic
tims answered the door,
five masked gunmen forced
their way into the resi
dence.
One of the suspects
■life. ,
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Owner Robert Stamp talks to Virgil Whitehead about his 1969 GTO at the 14th annual
Wings and Wheels Car show held Saturday at the Museum of Aviation in Warner
Robins. For more, see Thursday’s Houston Daily Journal.
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doors are unlocked.
“Essentially, the Houston
County Board of Education
is not parent friendly,” she
said. “If you want parents
involved, make a time when
they can attend.”
At Large candidate for the
school board Bob Scwikert
said he wasn’t angry. He was
passionate. He’s said he is
passionate about a, “Board
of Education that is so arro
gant, it thinks more about
itself than the parents and
children they represent.”
His example was his daugh
ter’s experience at Miller
Elementary. According to
Scwikert, his daughter was
assaulted eight times, but
the current principal refused
to take action.
He attempted to get his
daughter transferred to
Russell Elementary but,
“All six gentlemen disap
proved” his appeal after
Superintendent Danny
Carpenter denied his initial
request.
“The police department
is fed up with the board,”
Scwikert said. “It wasn’t
until I wrote to the U.S.
Department of Education
that I got action. It ruled
that my daughter’s rights to
a safe environment had been
violated.
“The state has a law on its
own books that the student
has to be moved within 10
days,” he said. “If according
to the school board nothing
happened to my daughter
then why were eight chil
dren found guilty in juvenile
court?”
He said that local law
enforcement officials are
tired of the board’s antics.
“I could have walked
away once my daughter got
to Russell,” Scwikert said,
“but I want to make sure we
demanded money from the
victims, to which an undis
closed amount was relin
quished, police said. All five
suspects then departed the
residence in an unknown
direction. There were no
injuries sustained during
the incident.
All suspects were iden
tified as black males and
were wearing black in color
clothing.
Anyone with information
concerning either incident
is asked to contact Det. Art
Curnutte of the Warner
Robins Police Department
Criminal Investigations
Division at 918-2977 or
929-1170. •
On Monday, Warner
Robins Police also made an
arrest in the burglaries at
Westwood Apartments.
The suspect, a resi
dent, has been identified
as Fredrick Faulkner, 31,
Hot wheels
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
remove this disparity in how
children are treated.”
Scwikert points to the
teacher turnover rate at
Miller Elementary saying
that the school loses 75 per
cent of its teachers every
year.
“Disparity doesn’t lie with
teachers or children,” he
said. “We don’t have any
leadership, from top to bot
tom.”
When asked about gang
activity and school safety,
Scwikert said, “If I hear
Fred Wilson say one more
time we have a safe school
system, I’m going to puke.”
ICU members cited gang
activity in the schools from
the elementary schools
through the high schools.
While Scwikert had the
floor, the group talked about
the violence, and Wittenberg
told about his son’s prob
lems with gang harassment
and violence.
Scwikert said he intends
to go visit the schools and
see what’s going on.
“When was the last time
you saw a school board mem
ber at a school function?”
Scwikert asked.
After the meeting,
Wittenberg summed up the
goal of Informed Citizens
United.
“We don’t believe SPLOST
is appropriate because it
affects two groups: fixed
income families and young
families trying to get start
ed.
“The SPLOST taxes utili
ties, cell phones, every gal
lon of gasoline and food.
Even the state doesn’t have
a sales tax on food, but the
county does.
“We think developers
should have to pay their fair
share. We support impact
fees.”
907 Corder Road, Apt. D.
Faulkner was arrested for
violation of probation and
was charged with three of
the six burglaries reported
since July 8.
The investigation is con
tinuing and additional
charges are expected for
the remaining burglaries in
the complex, said Detective
Brad Mules with the Warner
Robins Police Department
Criminal Investigation
Division
Mules said in the six resi
dential burglaries reported
in the complex the suspect
has entered a rear window
on the back of the apart
ments.
Faulkner is currently
being held at the Houston
County Detention Center
without bond.
Anyone with information
is asked to contact Mules at
918-2981.
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