Newspaper Page Text
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
VOLUME 137, NUMBER 013
BELOW THE FOLD: Radio upgrade, convention center headline commission issues WR urban redevelopment plan unveiled
Friday
January 19,2007
The Home Journal's
FRONT
PORCH
IN BRIEF
Red Cross to hold
blood drive
The American Red Cross will
hold a blood drive from 1:30-
6:30 p.m. today at First United
Methodist Church of Centerville.
The church is located at 600
North Houston Lake Boulevard in
Warner Robins.
Volunteers needed
for home repairs
Can you drive a nail 7 Are you
able to paint a wall or ceiling?
Do you have electrical or roofing
skills? The “Rebuilding Together"
Warner Robins affiliate is asking
you to join their team.
According to the affiliate, there
are a number of homes in the
Warner Robins area in need of
repairs, some large and some
small. The group needs volun
teers, both skilled and unskilled,
to help repair or renovate these
homes. Since the organization's
beginning in 1997, they have
renovated or repaired over four
hundred homes in the immediate
area.
If you are willing to help those
in need of home repairs, join the
team by callina Jerome Stephens
at 929-1476.
Dogwood committee
begins preparations
The Perry Dogwood Festival
Committee and the Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce are cur
rently organizing the 19th Annual
Perry Dogwood Festival, set for
April 14-15 in downtown Perry.
To that end, they are also call
ing all artists to enter the Perry
Dogwood Festival T-Shirt Design
Contest. It is open to all artists,
professional, amateur and stu
dent.
You can also enter as many
times as you like at $lO per entry.
Designs must be 12 by 14 inches
or smaller. You can also use any
medium: from paints, photogra
phy, to colors. The design must be
suitable for silk screening.
All artwork must be original.
Entries must be received by Jan.
30 at 5 p.m. To receive an official
entry form call 478-987-1234 or
email: tammy@perrygachamber.
com.
BIRTHDAYS
Jan.l7
■ Bream Stubbs, 8
Today
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■ Robert Rhoton
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January 19, 2007
Police arrest 9 in robberies
By RAYLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Warner Robins Police have
arrested nine suspects in four
armed robberies in Decerhber and
January.
The Warner Robins Police
Department has been investigat
ing several business robberies in
December of last year and January
of this year, said Sgt. Chris Rooks of
the WRPD Criminal Investigations
Division.
Suspects, he said, were target
ing convenience stores and taking
undisclosed amounts of cash.
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Aircraft at the Perry-Houston County Airport await their next flight.
Airport officials a varied group
By NANCY HAWK
Journal Sta ff Writer
In many ways it is the
gateway to Houston
County.
It is the Perry-Houston
County Airport.
Scott Winks is the cur
rent operator of Fixed Base
Operations, or the terminal
and grounds. He works with
ground maintenance, fuel
ing systems, even assisting
in airplane inspection and
evaluation. William, Scott
Winks’ father is also a part
ner in the operation.
Gas comes from a Phillips
66 fuel station, called the
Perry Brothers, from
Americus. The gas is actu
ally two varieties, AV GAS
and Jet A. Fuel prices over
this last year have fluctuat
ed between $4.10 and $4.60
a gallon. Unlike the regu
lar fuel used in the car, the
tanks for the fuel, the fuel
pump, the fuel truck, etc,
all have to be inspected, for
water, purity and different
types of contamination, con
stantly. Almost every time
the fuel is transferred it has
to be checked.
At the terminal, several
Radio upgrade, convention center headline commission meeting
By NANCY HAWK
Journal staff Writer
The Houston County Commissioners
met Tuesday at the Houston County
Annex. The meeting opened with sev
eral citizens making public comments.
Also, a request came from the
Georgia Highway Patrol, for assistance
in upgrading their communications
within Houston County.
www.hhjnews.com
"A relationship has
been established
between all of them.
They all know one
another."
- Warner Robins Police Department
Sgt. Chris Rooks
The eritire investigation, along
with arrests, Rooks said, led to the
recovery of evidence related to the
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Jim Wells finishes up installing an engine.
services are available. The
airport has hangars to park
private planes, courtesy
vehicles for pilots coming
in on a quick stop. Aircraft
rentals are available, with
Corporal Rich Peck, assistant station
commander at Perry, requested the con
sideration of funds from the Houston
County Commission to pay for a total
of 10 radios. Referring to the fact that
the State Patrol Post headquartered
here covers all of Houston County,
Peach County and Macon County the
argument for this upgrade, he said,
goes back to cross-agency assistance.
Peck gave this example by way of
crimes and the seizure of several
• firearms,
Rooks also said the arrests are
the result of an extensive inves
tigation involving the Criminal
Investigations Division and Patrol
Division. Several uniform officers
and supervisors were temporar
ily reassigned to a crime suppres
sion team to work with detectives
to conclude this crime series, he
said.
Investigators with the Houston
County Sheriffs Office also assist
ed in the investigation.
See ROBBERIES, page 2A
full maintenance. Flight
training is also available and
several instructors are avail
able through the airport’s
FBO.
Besides the amenities that
were mentioned for those
with their own craft there
are mechanics on duty
- qualified to conduct the
annual inspection, and a
See AIRPOR T, page zA
explanation: If Warner Robins PD
needs back-up and there are GSP avail
able, PD currently has to call to dis
patch, who in turn calls GSP dispatch
and sends the info. Then, if there is a
change in the situation, it again has be
relayed twice through the phone line.
The issue, he said, has become a mat
ter of public safety.
Perry Police have upgraded
See MEETING, page fA
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McDonald's bandit caught
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Dondra Leigh Coyle has been
charged in the Sunday robbery of a
McDonald’s drive-through.
Coyle, 37, of 320 Langston Road,
Perry, was arrested for a violation
of parole and subsequently charged
with robbery by intimidation for the
robbery of the 1879 Watson Blvd.,
See BANDIT,page zA
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HC students
uninjured in
bus accident
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
No students were hurt
in a Wednesday morning
school bus accident in
south Houston County.
There were 23 students
on the bus, along with a
bus monitor and driver,
said Beth McLaughlin,
director of Community
and School Affairs for the
Houston County Board of
Education. She said the
students were checked by
EMTs at the scene, before
being placed on another
bus and taken to Perry
Middle School where they
were checked and cleared
again by school nurses
before being sent to their
respective schools.
The students were from
Perry Middle and High
schools and Kings Chapel
and Tucker elementa
ries. “For rural areas the
routes are combined,”
she said, explaining what
students of different ages
and schools were on the
same bus.
McLaughlin said the
bus driver, Wylene Sutton,
was transported to the
hospital to be checked out
and was fine.
The bus monitor went
to the Med Stop on
See BUS, page 1A
Plan brings
out residents
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Warner Robins’ urban
redevelopment plan
brought out residents and
property owners of the
“triangle” area.
The city’s proposed
redevelopment includes
the oldest areas of the city
with an initial focus on the
Ignico/Tabor Drive area.
The target area is defined
as the area north of Vicki
Drive, east of North Davis
Drive, south of Bargain
Road and west of Georgia
Avenue, Walnut Street
and Chris Drive.
The city council has
already approved a mora
torium on permits neces
sary for remodeling in its
target area for redevelop
ment.
The moratorium for 120
days on electrical, plumb
ing, building and other
permits applies only to
the target area.
See PLAN, page lA