Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME 137, NUMBER 119
BELOW THE FOLD: Seven from county listed as absconders ■ WRPD seeks suspects in two weekend robberies
Tuesday
June 19, 2007
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN BRIEF
Summerhill to hold
open house
Summerhill Senior Living
Community will hold an open
house today from 6:35-7:35 p.m.
at the community, which is located
at 500 Stanley Street in Perry.
It will be held in the Ivy
Room. Also, during that time Jan
Fonda, R.N., director of nursing,
will present: Fall Management:
Managing Falls In a Long Term
Care Setting.
To reserve a seat, call 987-
3100, Ext. 209.
Lake Joy Primary sets
meeting dates
Lake Joy Primary School has
scheduled its School Council
meetings for the 2007-08 school
year. Meetings will be held at 7:30
a.m. in the media center.
The school also scheduled its
School Council elections for the
08-09 school year for May 13,
2008. at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria.
The meetings are as follows:
Aug. 29, Oct. 31, Jan. 23, 2008,
March 26,2008 and May 14,2008.
Lake Joy Primary is located at 995
Lake Joy Road in Warner Robins.
For more information, con
tact Principal Melanie Loggins at
MLoggins@hcbe.net or 478-953-
0465.
BIRTHDAYS
Today
■ Martin Beeland
■ Morgan Cooper (Sweet 16!)
■ Marc Kushinka (18)
■ Belinda Crowe
■ Josh Price
E-mail your birthdays to:
hhj(p evansnewspapers.com
or donm@evansnewspapers.
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 hotline:
6 a.m.-4 p.m:
987-1823 Ext. 231
4 p.m.-until: 397-8811
RIM
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hhjnews.com
Georgia lottery
helping addicted
Web
Builder pleads
guilty to theft
Receives 5 years in prison, 10 on probation
By RAYLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Charles P Gross, 65, of Valdosta
pleaded guilty on Friday to false
swearing and theft.
Gross pleaded guilty during his
jury trial in Houston Superior
Court before Senior Judge “Buster”
McConnell and was sentenced to five
years in prison followed by 10 years
on probation. The final sentenc
ing hearing will be held later this
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Westfield tennis coach Wendy Bryan instructs campers on the forehand return during the Hornets’ camp held this past week at the school. For
more photos of the camp, see Wednesday’s Houston Daily Journal.
7 from county listed as absconders
By RATLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
James Everett Sweeney and Craig Leggett
are wanted for failure to register as sex offend
ers.
They are the two newest additions from
Houston County to the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation Sex Offender Registry. There are
seven absconders from Houston County listed
on the registry.
Sweeney, 57, most recently
of 108 Maxwell Drive, Warner
Robins, is wanted for fail
ing to report his change of
address within 72 hours. He
is required to do so as a regis
tered sex offender.
A deputy had attempted
to verify his residence on
See ABSCONDERS, page 6A
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
HtestneM Middle
School Honor Roll
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summer, according to the District
Attorney’s Office.
Gross was on trial for falsely
swearing to affidavits used in con
nection with real estate closings in
2004. The affidavits affirmed that
all subcontractors had been paid
for their labor and materials on the
houses built by Gross and his com
pany, Creek Mill Homes.
Subsequent to the loan closings,
See THEFT, page 6A
AULTMAN
SWEENEY
www.hhjnews.com
Imp!®
Return investment
DAWSON
RAMOS
PENA
SPORTS: Demon Diamond
Summer Bash. Cross
country, Music
and more. yj|
County set to vote on
$47.5 million budget
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
The Houston County Board of
Commissioners is scheduled to vote
today on a $47,520,363 budget for
fiscal year 2008.
The budget is up $4.2 million
from the FY2007 amended budget
of $45,616,174.
Commission Chairman Ned
Sanders attributed much of the
increase to the increase in health
care costs.
Sanders said health insurance
costs increased 21 percent from
$4.2 million in FY2007 for $5.1
million for FY2OOB. Employer con
tributions to their pension plan
increased 11.8 percent of payroll in
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2007 to 14.6 percent or $2.3 million
for 2008, he added.
The budget includes no new
positions but does have a 2.5 per
cent cost of living adjustment for
employees. Sanders said that may
be re-evaluated once the tax digest
comes in this fall.
Based on the estimated tax digest,
the county may have to raise the
tax rate to balance the budget. The
current millage rate of 9.32 mills
is expected to go up to 9.50 mills,
still half a mill below the coun
ty’s tax cap of 10.3 mills. Sanders
said the increase will be about $6
for the owner of a SIOO,OOO home
and about sl3 for the owner of
See BUDGET, page 6A
PD seeks suspects in robberies
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Warner Robins Police
are looking for two sus
pects in two armed rob
beries over the weekend.
Both suspects are
described as black males
with handguns. The
clerks in each incident
were both treated for
minor injuries suffered
during the incident.
In the incident on
Friday, at USA Dollar
Store, 1205 Moody Road,
the suspect is described
as a black male wearing
black in color clothing
and armed with a hand
gun. He was reportedly
an Evans Family Newspaper
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startled by customers and
fled without any money.
Officers of the
Warner Robins Police
Department responded
at 7:31 p.m. where the
victim told police the
suspect approached him
from behind and demand
ed money. The suspect
then fled on foot when
he was startled by cus
tomers and left the store
in an unknown direction
of travel. The victim was
treated and released for
minor non-life threaten
ing injuries sustained in
the robbery.
Anyone with
See ROBBERIES, page 6A
ENI/Gary Harmon