Newspaper Page Text
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
VOLUME 137, NUMBER 62
BELOW THE FOLD: King busy putting in "sweat equity" on Habitat home ■ Fire study yields three options
Today
weather S|i 9 ht ctiance ° f rain
Friday
March 30, 2007
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
WiiWiPPlff
IN BRIEF
Byron hopes for big
hero’s welcome
The City of Byron is preparing
to welcome home one of its heroes
today when Tech Sgt. David Barber
returns from his second tour in
Iraq. His family and friends are
also hoping you will join them to
help make that happen by meeting
them between 1-1:30 p.m.
Barber lives off Hardison Church
Road in Byron. His route will take
him down Hwy. 49 to Hwy. 42 then
on home. Well wishers will gather
at Giant Foods and on the vacant
lot next to it. Per a release: “Wear
red, white and blue, wave a flag,
tie a yellow ribbon to your mailbox
if you're on his route.”
YMCA still offering
camp sign-ups
Time is running out to sign your
child up for holiday spring camp
at the Houston YMCA. Camp
dates are April 2-6, from 7 a.m.-to
4 p.m. with pre-camp starting at 7
a.m. and post-camp continuing to
6 p.m.. at no extra charge.
The maximum enrollment is
40 children, on a first come-first
served basis. Call the YMCA at
922-2566 for more information.
YMCA still offering
camp sign-ups
Northside High School’s Fashion
Club will hold a fashion show fund
raiser for the American Cancer
Society Saturday in Ray Horne
Theatre at the school. The cost
is $5,
BIRTHDAYS
Thursday
■ Pat Dent
E-mail your birthdays to:
h hj (<y evansnewspapers.com
or donm(nevansnewspapers.
com or send them to: 1210
Washington St., Perry 31069
attn: Don Moncrief. You can
also call him at 987-1823, Ext.
231.
PERIODICAL 500
News tip TOthne
397-8811
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UNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
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March 30, 2007
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County: It can’t help
with hospital bonds
By RAY UGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Despite a lack of county aid,
Houston Healthcare is moving on
with plans to issue S6O million
in revenue bonds to fund a large
portion of its planned $75 mil
lion expansion. Houston Medical
Center Administrator Skip Philips
explained the bond calendar with
two draft meetings prior to vis
its from two bonding agencies in
April. “We expect our guaranteed
maximum price mid June,” Philips
said. “Once that is in hand, the
hospital can close on the bonds,
which is expected in mid July.”
Houston Healthcare CEO Dr.
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The sun sets in Houston County Thursday - the view taken from Cohen Walker Drive.
Habitat group makes her 'King' iar a day
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Lifestyle Editor
Teresa King has never owned her own
home before, but she’s seeing that dream
come true now with a little help from some
friends.
Those friends are 10 retired couples from
California, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Alabama and Canada, along with one new
comer to Bonaire, who has just moved here
from Florida.
“I call them my angels,” King said on
Tuesday as she looked around smiling at
the team of volunteers she just met early
this week.
She said that she first signed up, hoping
to get a Habitat Home, almost five years
ago.
“I could have gotten one sooner in
Warner Robins,” she said, “but I didn’t
want to leave Perry.”
The Habitat for Humanity volunteers
working on King’s new home on Walcot
Street, are staying in Houston County an
extra week or two following the Family
Motor Coach Association rally at the
Georgia National Fairgrounds just to work
on the house.
See KING, page jA
www.hhjnews.com
"The commissioners genuinely looked at
the proposal diligently. We looked at every way
possible, but we are unable to fund that avenue."
- Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders
Tony Alford told the Hospital
Authority about $3 million could
be saved in interest and fees if the
county could back the bonds.
But, he read a letter from
Commission Chairman Ned
Sanders, “to get it into the record”
stating that the county supported
the plan but had concerns in par
ticipation in the bonds and enter
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Journal Charlotte Perkins
Teresa King is busy this week putting
“sweat equity” into the new Habitat
home that will be hers.
ing into an intergovernmental
agreement to do so.
In the letter Sanders said the
county millage rate cap “restricts
us from backing the bonds.”
Sanders was also at the meeting
and told the board: “The commis
sioners genuinely looked at the
proposal diligently.
See BONDS, page yA
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Fire study yields 3 options
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Consolidation is just one
of the options coming out of
the fire study.
The other options are
doing nothing and automatic
assistance.
The study done by the
Middle Georgia Regional
Development Commission
was commissioned by Vision
20/20 Wednesday as part of
the policy group’s consider
ation of fire service.
“We’ve been talking
about it for a long time,”
said Warner Robins Mayor
Donald Walker.
The RDC study gives
the county and cities some
guidelines and recommen
dations on how to proceed.
Rusty Haywood of the RDC
said, “the study is just the
first step in the process - not
the end all.”
Ralph Nix of the RDC said,
“this is a springboard to the
One section • 12 pages
Police, families
seek renaways
‘Substantial’ reward offered
By RAY UGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Have you seen or heard from Corbin
Person or Dustin Strickland?
The two
teens, ages
16 and 15
ran away
from home
Monday.
Cap t .
Jerry
Stewart
of the
PERSON STRICKLAND
Houston County Sheriff s Office
Juvenile Division said, “we don’t sus
pect foul play. They just decided to go
on some excursion.”
He said the two left a note and
See R UNA WA YS, page jA
next step. You have to deter
mine what level of service
you want and how you want
to pay for it.” <
That decision will be up to
the elected officials and pos
sibly the taxpayers.
Haywood, who did the
research and prepared the
document, made the pre
sentation to Vision 20/20.
The policy group is a recom
mending body to the cities
and the county and is com
promised of representatives
from each of the city coun
cils, the county commission
and the school board.
The study included fire
services north of Ga. 96
and the fire departments of
Centerville, Warner Robins
and Houston County.
Periy had been in previ
ous discussions for county
wide unified service, which
had Warner Robins covering
the area from Ga. 96 north
and Centerville covering
See OPTIONS, page 6A