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♦ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2006 6A **>'/ f/Mi. ;,*LIK 1 1 £<%l . * ' j *t jflj IBH H' : . H ; .! } W>- ' J * +> ’" ,N i jL. ? 4 «§#4 - > *2BB ■' m ml JL *. £ % ,/^;clBW f | .s' j M : K|, «, ■ jLj ’ i y ■.<>•• m 2 fi*L,y»i. fr t' - . -i „ ?v. jilf, 1 , ~m ' 4\ i « ' JUi ■• v .?i 1 ;j a , /IM * JhJL Zi #* 4 *£J ?# 5 < * r £«&./ . ■ Danny Evans President Evans Newspapers, Inc. Firefighters battle a blaze at the building at 110 Kellwood St. Tuesday. FIRE From page iA we have so we had two engines, a ladder truck and 11 firefighters plus me.” LETTER From page 4A In all fairness, it is my belief and also according to the opinion of President Ulysses S Grant who foresaw the danger on the horizon, the religious groups to which the governor wants to give taxpayer money should be paying taxes to the state. Grant said, “I would like to call your attention to: an evil that, if allowed to continue, will probably lead to great trouble. Gray said it took about 45 minutes to get the fire under control. He said the brick building was not a total loss. “They’ll have to take a majority of the roof off, and have some It is the accumula tion of vast amounts of untaxed church property.” Even Rev. Billy Graham had something to say about the separation of church and state. His words are: “I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fun damentalists and the polit ical right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.” Since the governor did not check his religious bag gage at the door when tak clean up.” The property is owned by Free Realty, Gray said. “I’m not sure if they had a tenent or were getting it ready to market. They were pretty close to being done.” ing office, the quote by Graham can be a two way street. Is the religious right influencing the politics of the governor? Is this pay back time for their votes? With the governor’s past history of shady deals, one must wonder what is in it for him. Walter Huckeba, Perry Aged Hand-cut Steaks F 75 136 • W 7-8077 41047 LOCAL GRANT From page tA a seventh fire station, which the city is planning for in the future. The 100- man department is cur rently down four positions and is advertising to fill those through January. Singletary said to accept the grant the city will have to hire those four and 10 more by February. As part of the Department of Homeland Security “Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response” pro gram, the department was awarded the $1,035,000 grant. The grant is for 10 positions. “It will give us the opportunity to run an extra engine company if we want,” Singletary said. Singletary said the city could run the additional station with present staff ing, but with a reduction of personnel per engine com pany. There are currently four men per engine, we could do it with three, he said. To man the new $850,000 ladder truck the city just REZONING From page iA the issues. On Tuesday night the Perry City Council approved a rezoning request from J.A. Davis IV and Jerry A Davis 111 to rezone 70.25 acres at the southwest cor ner of the intersection of Houston Lake Road and Langston Road. 33.57 of the acres would be rezoned for GANG From page lA a safe school. Potter said that middle school is typically the start ing point for those who may later become gang mem bers. He was backed up in the presentation by Lt. James Buck and Officer Craig Fowler of the Perry Police Department and Juvenile Division Officer Quinn Lumpkin of the Houston County Sheriff s Office. Rob Tuggle, Perry attor ney, spoke as well, telling the council that his sister in-law was killed by a gang in Douglas. Tuggle said that the gang had been turned away from a recreational facility run by his sister-in law and her husband, and apparently returned to van dalize the area and commit ted the murder. Following some discus sion, members of council told Potter that he could establish the new position immediately, filling one of the currently vacant posts on the police force. Best Cooks In Perry! mmUsitr We would tike to thank each of you for your _ (ave and support this past year. We wish each ** of you a very Merry Christmas and hope you nave a great Qdew Yearl Much Love, •Diane & Whitney Culpepper ( P.S. This is your Christmas Card!!! purchased, three of the six companies will have to be reduced to three per truck. The new truck would remain in the north end, where most of the calls are, he explained. One of the two new fire stations, the Lake Joy Road station is now on line, staffed by those from the Myrtle Street station. The Pleasant Hill Road station is ready and firefighters will be moving from the headquarters station on Green Street by January. The grant pays up to 90 percent of salaries and ben efits the first year, then 80 percent the second, 50 percent the third, 30 per cent the fourth and the city takes over the full cost of salaries and benefits in the fifth year, Singletary said. The grant does not include the outfitting of the new hires. Singletary estimates bunker gear and uniforms are about $2,500 each. Singletary noted the grant puts us at 110 paid personnel. “It is not in place for the city to save money," he said, “we have to hire 14 firefighters.” Both Walker and commercial use, and 36.68 would be rezoned for a Planned Unit Development subdivision. While a request for annexation of the land into the city was on the agenda, it will not be voted on until the mediation with Houston County is completed. The County Commissioners have objected in writing to both the PUD zoning and the commercial zoning, argu- Subsequently the matter was voted on in the regular council meeting. Potter said after the meeting that he had not yet Earn 5.00% APY from your checking account! Wall Street Checking Enjoy big benefits like a 5.00% APY interest rate for your balances of $2,500 or more, tower balances earn .25% APY. You never pay a per-check fee and there’s no monthly service charge with only a SI,OOO balance. Plus, you get 6 FREE ATM withdrawals every month from arry ATM anywhere. I)! THE BANK OF PERRY r PERRY,GEORGIA 1006 Main Street • Perry 24-hour ATM at 908 Washington St. Convenient Saturday hours 9 a.m. to noon. Call us at 478-987-2554 www.bankofperry.com HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Singletary noted recent incidents the emphasize the need for expanded fire service. In both, homes in unincorporated burned down before the county could arrive. Walker said one on Feagin Mill Road, the city was dis patched but was called back after it was determined the home was not within city limits. County fire arrived on scene in 20 minutes, Walker said. In another, Singletary said firefighters at the Lake Joy station stood outside and watched a fire in the coun ty, “a stone’s throw from the station,” Singletary said, “our guvs watched it burn. The county got there in 20 minutes.” Singletary noted the last time the city increased staffing levels was when the sixth station was opened. Walker said he was confident the city can fund a new fire station in six years. Walker said, “if we do this the county will have to create fire districts. Centerville will be a player in this too. The county will have to pay us for struc tures in the district.” ing that the development would be too dense for this part of the county and would put too much traffic on Langston Road, The land is now mostly wooded, with some pecan groves. The development, to be known as Davis Village, would have single family dwellings clustered onto small lots with greens pace around them. The com mercially zoned area would face the intersection. determined who would fill the post, and that he would arrange for the new gang investigator to have special ized training. Open your own Wall Street Checking account today. • Get a FREE Gift! • Welt pay you $lO for unused checks from your account at your old bank. fimxf Rwwttaje (AFr? gfrcw 12/W8&. Rates <«c*y ihcxsrje StpJlM*** ***? fctfflxYjS A* tbrdt'taK 14106? 42060