Newspaper Page Text
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, *^3B
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
VOLUME 137, NUMBER 249
BELOW THE FOLD: Houston County OKs one rezoning; sends another back ■ Centerville addresses handful of agenda items
Thursday
January 4,2007
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN SPORTS
Westfield’s girls and boys, after
the holiday layoff, tipped off at
home against Mount de Sales in
basketball.
Northside is preparing to host
its annual Eagle Classic - read
a preview on that, and members
of the National Vintage Racing
Association, as they have done
every year, were busy providing
donations to needy organizations.
- See 1B
IN BRIEF
Two charged with
PHS vandalism
Two arrests have already been
made in connection with the van
dalism at Perry High School on
the weekend.
Capt. Heath Dykes of the Perry
Police Dept, said that charges of
burglary, criminal damage to prop
erty and damage to government
property had been filed against
Charles Adam Newman, 17, of
1625 Marshal Circle. Perry, and
a juvenile whose name cannot
be released. Dykes said that the
investigation included canvassing
the neighborhood and that one of
the suspects, once questioned,
implicated the other.
At press time Newman was in
the Houston County Jail and the
juvenile was being held in a Youth
Detention Center..
Dykes said that the vandalism
included the painting of profanity
on school walls with latex paint,
destruction of locker items and
disruption of classrooms. An exit
sign was also broken. He noted
that a clean up team was sent
in immediately by the Houston
County Board of Education to
have the mess cleaned up before
students return from their winter
vacation.
- Charlotte Perkins
Democratic women’s
club to meet
The Middle Georgia Democratic
Women's Club will meet Jan. 20
at Chef Audrey's. A continental
breakfast will be available for $5.
RSVP is required and must be
done by Jan. 17. Also, the group is
asking attendees to bring canned
soup to donate to Loaves and
Fishes. For additional informa
tion call MGDWC president Betty
Pearsall at 478-328-1201
BIRTHDAYS
Today
■ Cliff Nash
DEARLY DEPARTED
■ James Henry Howard, 65
■ Paul Conley, 74
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UNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 50602-0002
5-DIGIT 306
January 4, 2007
Court denies parole for convicted murderer
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
James Phillip Brooks was denied
parole again.
Brooks, 51, was sentenced to life
in prison for the Dec. 11, 1991, mur
der of his common law wife Harriett
Joyce Hogan.
He was convicted of the murder
Dec. 16, 1991, in Houston Superior
Court.
“This heinous crime left a child
motherless and a family grieving,”
Signup begins for Joanna’ tags
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Jeff McAfee, as wife Misty looks on, places, Tuesday at the tag office in the Houston County
Annex, the poster that promotes the “Joanna” tag. Tags can be ordered starting now.
1,000 orders required before
manufacturing can begin
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Lifestyle Editor
All they need is a thousand
good friends.
Jeff and Misty McAfee of
Warner Robins, with help from
Rep. Willie Talton, R-Warner
Robins, have gotten a special
Georgia tag designed to raise
funds for the childhood cancer
foundation they started a year
ago in memory of their daugh
ter, Joanna.
Joanna was 6 when she died
during the Christmas season
in 2005. She had spent more
than half of her short life
fighting cancer.
Many Houston Countians
learned about Joanna - not
just her illness, but her lively
personality and determination
- through her father’s website
during the long battle with
cancer, and hundreds of vol
unteers who had never met
Joanna worked on a barbecue
www.hhjnews.com
"This heinous crime left a child motherless and
a family grieving. The details of this murder are
deeply disturbing. Parole is denied. Brooks will
serve more time/'
- Parole Hoard Vice Chair Gail Buckner >
said Parole Board Vice Chair Gail
Buckner. “The details of this mur
der are deeply disturbing. Parole
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fund-raiser to help with the
costs.
Now there’s an opportunity
to help again: this time to raise
funds that will help fight can
cer through research grants,
and will also help the families
of childhood cancer victims.
It’s time to order your
“Joanna” tag. The tags cost
$25 and can be ordered at any
Georgia car tag and tax office.
There is also a printable
is denied. Brooks will serve more
time.”
Those details include Brooks stab-
form that can be mailed in
with a check, and that form
is available, along with
information about Joanna
and the foundation at www.
SupportCancerKids.org.
The tag features a silhou
ette of Joanna, based on a
photograph her father took
when she was celebrating
reaching the top of a small hill
after her recovery from one of
See ORDERS, page 6B
Two sections • 12 pages
bing Hogan in the neck and chest,
moving the body from the kitchen
where the stabbing occurred into
the bedroom and sleeping in the
bed with the corpse for two days
before he turned himself into Byron
Police.
He reported those details to police
as well as other details including the
couple’s 2-year-old child being in
the home at the time of the murder,
him spending time with the child in
See DENIES, page 6B
"The prospect of the state EPD
issuing the permit is troubling. I
question the validity of it since the
legislation to allow it has yet to be
addressed."
- Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders
Oaky Woods gets
wastwater permit
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
The state has issued a wastewater permit to the
developers of Oaky Woods.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division
has issued a land application permit to Oaky Woods
Properties LLC.
“It’s troubling to me,” said Commission Chairman
Ned Sanders. “The prospect of the state EPD issu
ing the permit is troubling.”
“I question the validity of it since the legislation
to allow it has yet to be addressed,” Sanders said,
referring to the infrastructure development dis
tricts or private cities legislation that failed to pass
last session.
“It will have to be developed at county stan
dards,” Sanders said. “We’d have to increase county
staff just to meet the demands of the development.
It would be a reason for impact fees.”
David Wittenberg raised the issue, asking the
board about the permit, which Commissioner Larry
Thomson confirmed had been issued. “They are
going ahead with plans. It seems like it’s going to
happen,” Wittenberg said.
Sanders also questioned it on the basis of service
delivery areas. “If something of that size is coming
in it certainly gives a leg to stand on,” he said of
See PERMIT, page 6B
County OKs one rezoning;
sends another one back
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
The Houston County
Commissioners
approved one commer
cial rezoning and sent
a second back to the
Planning Commission
for review.
The approved request
rezoned 2.11 acres at
the northeast corner of
Ga. 96 and Old Perry
Road from R-l (single
family residential) to C
-2 (general commercial).
The vote to approve was
2-0-2 with commission
Centerville covers Issues
By JOE SERSEY
Journal Correspondent
The Centerville City
Council held its first
meeting 0f2007 Tuesday
night.
Its agenda included
an ordinance variance
request, RAB commu
nity room, DDA nomi
nations, the solid waste
management plan,
appointments of Mayor
Pro Tem, municipal
court judge, prosecutor
and administrative law
an Evans Family Newspaper
ers Jay Walker and Gail
Robinson voting for it,
none opposed to it and
commissioners Tom
McMichael and Larry
Thomson abstaining.
McMichael abstained
because he served
on the board of direc
tors and the develop
ment board for Atlantic
Southern Bank, which
is adjacent to the prop
erty. Thomson abstained
because he also serves
on a board for the same
bank.
See COUNTY, page 6B
judge, as well as per
sonnel manual revisions
and approval for trans
mitting the Houston
County Comprehensive
Plan.
HCB Properties
requested a variance
to change side-yard set
back of eight feet to not
less than five feet; and
change current front
yard set back from 25
feet to 20.
Charlie Brown from
See ISSUES, page 6B