Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME 137, NUMBER 134
BELOW THE FOLD: Perry Police hunt two masked suspects in robbery ■ WR man to play in World Series of Blackjack
V——Jfc
Wednesday
July 11,2007
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
wSkre^ghH^Seet
IN BRIEF
Cheer Booster Club to
host golf tourney
The Warner Robins High School
Cheer Booster Club will host its Fifth
Annual Golf Scramble Aug. 4.
The event is slated to begin with
a shotgun start at 2 p.m. The cost
is SSO per person, which includes
lunch, green fee, cart, door prize,
raffles and course refreshments.
For details and sign up, call Kelly
Segars at 808-5455.
Linwood cancels
council meeting
The Linwood Elementary School
Council meeting scheduled for July
24 has, according to a release,
been canceled. The new date will
be announced upon scheduling a
replacement meeting, the release
reads. Linwood Elementary is
located at 420 Education Way. For
more information, contact Principal
Lazunia Thomas at lathomas@hcbe.
net or 478-929-6360.
Parkwood ES
announces election
Parkwood Elementary School will
hold a School Council election for
parent members Aug. 16 at 5:30
p.m. in the cafeteria. Meetings for
the 2007-08 school year have also
been scheduled. Parkwood School
Council meetings are held at 6 p.m.
in the media center. The meeting
dates are as follows: Aug. 30, Nov.
1, Feb. 7, 2008 and May 1,2008.
Parkwood Elementary is located
at 503 Parkwood Drive in Warner
Robins. Principal Lisa Casilli may
be contacted either by e-mail at
lcasilli@hcbe.net or by telephone at
478-329-2215.
BIRTHDAYS
Today
■ Delia Brown
■ Evette Grayer
■ Krystal Riner
E-mail your birthdays to:
hhj@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.
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July 11, 2007
E&xiwr; Honshu* County Sm / IS7O
Health problems force Bears’ Johnson to retire - Page 7A
Today
Weather PM thunderstorms
High: 91 Low: 12
hhjnews.com
lAfoh Harry Potter a sc i uare ' n
■■wU the eyes of his peers
Perry paled as 'excellent'
stapling point (op gpowth
Report critical of ‘over-abundance’ of large signs
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
In a still-unofficial report,
a team from the Georgia
Department of Community
Affairs has made some rec
ommendations for Perry’s
future growth. Members
of the Perry Planning
Commission received copies
for review following their
Monday night meeting.
A resource team from
DCA visited Perry earlier
this year, spending several
mSm Wm* q j||| ■
Season 2 champion Ken Einiger, producer Joe Reitman, Rick Fortin, Don Rebentisch and Kristine Johnson prepare
their bets on GSN’s World Series of Blackjack.
WR man in WS of Blackjack
By RAYLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Rick Fortin started play
ing blackjack about 30 years
ago and started playing in
tournaments about eight
years ago.
In January, he qualified
for one of 40 seats in the
fourth annual World Series
of Blackjack, which is being
televised this month and
Police hunt two masked suspects in Flash Foods robbery
By RAY LIGHTNER
'Journal Staff Writer
Two masked robbers, dressed in
black pants and T-shirts and wearing
white gloves, held up the Perry Flash
Foods Saturday morning.
“It was 7-7-7 at 7 a.m.,” said Perry
Police Capt. Heath Dykes. “It would
have been real lucky if we’d caught
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
SPORTS: WRALI 9-10-
year olds District V
champs. Also,
horseshoes, 8 711
Music and more. #ft
"The highway itself is well maintained,
however, the visual and emotional sense
of place lacks continuity and the poor
aesthetic character of the corridor
discourages exploration."
- Georgia Department of Community Affairs report, on the Sam
Nunn Blvd., area
days talking with commu- According to the draft
nity leaders and touring the report, which will be
city. See PERR T, page 6A
FORTIN
next on the
Game Show
Network,
channel
342 on Cox
Cable.
Fortin
began play
ing tourna
ment black
jack while
still chief
engineer for the U 2 spy
them.”
The robbers, two black males dressed
in black with stockings over their faces,
entered the Flash Foods at 1417 Sam
Nunn Blvd., with one brandishing a
small handgun, Dykes said.
“It’s real bizarre,” Dykes said ol the
robbers’ get-ups. “I haven seen any
thing like that.”
The one with the gun appears to be
www.hhjnews.com
.. ■ awi 3 J
plane at Robins Air Force
Base, playing about six to
eight tournaments a year
before retiring in 2002 after
36 years. He now plays in
about 10-14 tournaments a
year.
“I’d play more but for
scheduling and airline costs, ”
Fortin said. “I try to go to
those with the higher prizes
to make it worthwhile.”
Fortin said he also tries to
FOOD: Celebrating
National Ice Cream
Day Also great
casseroles and Q A
more. Oft
Drug dealer
gets 10 years
By RAYLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Shawn Antonio Thomas,
22, of King George Drive,
Warner Robins, was sen
tenced Thursday to 20
years and ordered to serve*
10 years in prison.
Thomas entered a guilty
plea July 5 to Houston
Superior Court Judge
Katherine K. Lumsden to
one count each of posses
sion of cocaine with intent
to distribute, possession of
marijuana less than one
ounce and obstruction of an
officer. “Thomas had three
drug cases pending and
schedule two or three dur
ing a trip. He’s played in
approximately 70 to 80 tour
naments and made the finals
12 times. “You don’t get any
cash unless you make the
final table,” he explained.
2005 was his best year
with a fourth, second and a
first place. He said he aver
ages about two finals a year
over the last three years.
See BLACKJACK, page 6A
wearing a construction hard hat with a
white stocking hat over it, Dykes said.
The other was wearing a grey stocking
cap.
Two clerks were on duty. Dykes said
no one was injured. They went behind
thq counter and took cash from two
tills, leaving on foot with an undeter
mined amount of cash.
See ROBBERY, page 6A
One
has been
sitting in
jail since
February.
I guess he
just want
ed to put
this behind
him,” said
Senior
Assistant
District
~.v IN nW.wn NrmrsmC
»M),y 7 ’—*3
THOMAS
Attorney George H.
Hartwig 111.
“This guy is only 22
years old and he has been
arrested three times for
illegal drugs,” Hartwig
said. “What concerned us
See DEALER, page 6A
Hodac adds
new director
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
“I’ve always said, if I
wanted to do something
after I retired, it. would be
Hodac,” said Kathy Hart.
She officially retired
as the Community
Development Block
Grant Program direc
tor in the Department of
Community Development
for the city of Warner
Robins last week. Monday,
Hodac made it official
announcing Hart as the
new executive director.
“I am very gratified at
having been selected as
Hodac’s new executive
director from a pool of
highly qualified candi
dates,” Hart said. “I look
forward to working with
our Board of Directors,
our talented staff and
especially our commu
nity.”
Hart said, “Hodac has
See HODAC, page 6A
"Hodac has been
very dear to me.
I am elated to
be part of it. I
couldn't look for
a better place to
be in my life "
- New Hodac executive direc
tor Kathy Hart
HART