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VOLUME 137, NUMBER 144 BELOW THE FOLD: Goodwill seeks help following burglaries 9 County students excel at CRCT 9 Traffic stops lead to arrests^ ' ... -Ato» Wednesday July 25, 2007 The Home Journal’s FRONT PORCH IN BRIEF Georgia Chamber plans for luncheon The Georgia Chamber of Commerce will hold the 2007 Congressional Luncheon Aug. 21 at the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building, Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter. According to a release, Sen. Saxby Chambliss will be the keynote speaker. The reception will begin at 11 a.m. and lunch will begin at noon. Tickets are $45 per person, and tables of eight are available for $360. Register online, at www.gachamber. com. For more information call 1- 800-2411-2286. HCHS parking permits currently on sale Houston County High School stu dent parking permits, according to a release from the school, are now on sale. Permits are being sold, according to the release, on a first-come first serve basis in the attendance office. Permit sale hours through Thursday, and then again Aug. 1-2, are 8 a.m.-noon. Additional purchases will be offered beginning Aug. 6 before and after school each day. According to the release, the fol lowing documents are required to purchase a parking permit: Current vehicle registration card, proof of automobile insurance, current driver’s license of student driv ing the vehicle and $35 cash, or check/money order made payable to Houston County High School. To purchase a parking permit, the student may not have any unpaid fines. First UMC to hold Red Cross blood drive An American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held Friday from 1:30- 6:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Centerville, which is locat ed at 600 North Houston Lake Blvd. Call Sara Colbert at 953-5387 or the church office at 953-3090 for an appointment. Or, according to a release, you may just come on in during the hours of the drive. BIRTHDAYS Today ■ Kristy Nicole Parrish PERIODICAL 500 8 mm Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest iiiiiiiiiMiiiiiil.iitilitiiiiiiiiuiliiiitiiiiiiill CQOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA * "Tt ls“» A * I rrc:r*o um .xcuz-tAiuz 3-OtGiT 306 Ju/y 25, 2007 WinCim ttmmm Cmmtr smw Today Weather pM thunderstorms High: 89 Low: 68 hhjnews.com Wgh Jail cuisine has Ga. sheriff in hot water Man addresses charges, vows return By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer After seeing the story about him- "W KELLEY V ■ " - jf. ; ' V •v.-A : .s. Jfg|P|B| ? ' I ’ J§||S| i{o| * C‘ Vv'' 11 » £.\ f **‘ 11 *PJ* ~' warn . Students excel on CRCT Special to the Journal Criterion-Referenced Competency Test sys tem scores have been released by the Georgia Department of Education for the state test given at the end of April. Houston County students, according to a release, scored higher than the state average in every subject for every grade. Students in grades one through eight were tested in the areas of reading, mathematics and English/language arts; students in grades three through eight were also tested in social studies and science. The CRCT, according to the release, measures what knowledge and skills students are expected to have mastered by the end of the school year. Based on standards set by Georgia, student scores are categorized as either: does not meet standard, meets stan dard, or exceeds standard. This is the eighth year this test has been administered. CRCT scores, according to the release, are used to give Georgia schools a report card and as “gates” for certain grades, meaning students must pass certain portions of the test to be promoted to the next grade. An eighth grade gate went into effect in 2006. Students were required to pass the reading and math portions of the test for promotion to the ninth grade. A third grade reading gate went into effect in 2004, and a fifth grade reading and math gate became effective in 2005. Of the 36 tests given, 25 were aligned to the new Georgia Performance Standards. The new GPS curriculum, according to the release, is more rigorous and focuses on mastering * See CRCT, page 6A LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville self, his business dealings and out standing charg es against him, Christopher Kelley said he would be returning to town in October. In an e-mail addressed to District Attorney SPORTS: Joes beat Music. Also, Mid Ga MABL, Fears leads at golf IB tourney More, #' ft "My company got over extended with payroll and several under-bMded jobs, and not this flagrant disregard for all the clients I had." - Christopher Kelley Kelly Burke (a courtesy copy sent here to the paper), Kelley denied committing the crimes, explaining he “just had a business that failed.” Kelley, 34, is wanted for theft by 2007 CRCT. percentage of meets or exceeds standards Grade Subject Standard Georgia met Houston County or exceeded met or exceeded ! Lg. Arts New GPS 82 88 Math New GPS 82 88 2 | Reading New GPS j9l 94 Lg. Arts New GPS 84 87 Math New GPS 81 86 3 i Reading j New GPS 85 88 Lg. Arts New GPS 86 88 I Math QCC : 90 -93 Science New GPS 70 76 | Social St QCC 89 I 93 4 ; Reading New GPS 85 90 | Lg. Arts New GPS ; 84 89 | Math I QCC 78 87 I Science New GPS 72 77 ! Social St QCC | 88 93 5 | Reading New GPS 86 .90 ! Lg. Arts New GPS 88 92 ; Math QCC 88 | 93 Science New GPS 67 :75 Social St QCC ;88 j. 93 6 Reading New GPS 89 |9O ; Lg. Arts New GPS 86 :88 j Math New GPS ; 65 75 Science New GPS ; 60 j 69 i Social St QCC ; 83 i 88 7 Reading New GPS 85 89 Lg. Arts New GPS i 89 - 93 Math New GPS | 74 ; 85 : Science New GPS 70 81 Social St QCC 86 j 92 8 Reading New GPS 88 j 93 Lg. Arts New GPS 88 !92 Math QCC 81 ; 92 Science QCC 74 ! 86 Social St QCC 85 ; 92 www.hhjnews.com conversion (two counts) and two bench warrants from Superior Court by the Houston County Sheriffs Office and is listed on Macon Regional Crimestoppers. Burke said One section • 12 pages FOOD: NASCAR drivers share their favorite recipes. Also, peach season O A is here. More. ON Kelley is wanted for a bad check charge and the thefts by conversion, which are felonies since each is more than SSOO. Kelley may face similar allegations in Peach and Bibb counties, Burke said. And “based on prior dealings with him,” Burke said (prior to Kelley’s e-mail), “we have started bond forfeiture proceedings.” “I don’t want to spend «the tax payers’ money,” said Burke. “We’ll get the bondsmen to do it first, but See RETURN, page 6A Goodwill seeks help following burglary By RATLIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer On July 16, two Goodwill locations were burglarized and the donations were stolen. One of the two locations was the Centerville Galleria Mall dona tion center. The other was on Poplar Street in Macon. Capt. Sid Andrews of the Centerville Police Departyment said there are cur rently no suspects and there was no surveillance video. “We are currently monitoring pawn shops,” Andrews said. See GOODWILL, page 6A Stops lead to arrests By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer According to police reports, three men are in jail following two traffic stops late Friday night on Interstate 75 southbound. Two Moultrie men were detained about 11:15 p.m. Friday follow ing a traffic stop for changing lanes without using a turn signal near mile maker 134. The driver, See ARRESTS, page 6.4 I unit uati .Em nun jr‘^ mscwjffi, Time to reflect Bikers and bikes are reflected in Walt Alexander’s sunglasses during the Fifth Annual Poker Run, sponsored by Crickett’s Bar and Grill in Warner Robins and held this past weekend. For more, see page SA. ENI Gary Harmon