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6A
♦ WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2007
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From page iA
if not we’ll go get him.”
Normally Burke said he
would not extradite from
Washington State, but
because of the history with
Kelley he has authorized it.
“We’re all for taking him
in,” Burke said.
Kelley reportedly defraud
ed dozens of homeowners,
including military families,
as well also local subcon
tractors in Middle Georgia
by taking their down pay
ments and not doing the
work or not paying the sub
contractors for it, accord
ing to Kristina M. Pike of
Pike’s Peak Performance in
Perry, one of the contractors
who lost money doing busi
ness with Kelley’s Mid-State
Custom Exteriors.
Pike said the homeowner
whose home they worked
on lost about $30,000, while
others were approximately
$12,000, $2,000, $5,000 and
so on.
Pike said. “Our loss was
$7,000 for work we did on
his customer’s home.”
“My company got over
extended with payroll and
several under-bidded jobs,”
Kelley explained in his e
mail, “and not this flagrant
disregard for all the clients
I had.”
He said he “was using a
payroll service that deducted
taxes and pay right out of
my account.
By the time I was done
with one job that took way
more time than anticipated.
I was overdrawn in my
account $16,000 and then
could not make payroll. So
everybody quit working and
all (the) jobs just sat there.”
Kelley said he “made a
desperate attempt to main
tain but did not have the
BOE hosting new teacher orientation
Special to the Journal
The Houston County
School System will hold
its annual New Teacher
Orientation Wednesday
through Friday at Perry
Middle School. Around 300
newly hired teachers will
attend.
The orientation will begin
Wednesday. Topics covered
the first day, according to
a release, include the Code
of Ethics, personnel issues,
professional responsibilities,
BURGLARY
From page iA
“The thefts were made
from the drop box. We don’t
have serial numbers It’s
going be difficult.”
Andrews added the dona
tion site was not secure. “All
the suspect had to do was lift
a piece of plywood and take
what they wanted,” he said.
In the meantime, Goodwill
is asking for the community’s
help to replenish the dona
tions stolen. Community
donations are the pri
mary fund-raising arm for
Goodwill’s mission to offer
job training and placement
ARRESTS
From page iA
Anthony Ladon Coates, 37,
reportedly had a suspended
license and an open warrant
and was arrested.
The passenger, accord
ing to the police report, was
asked to get out the car and
complied. A canine officer
and the dog then conducted
a free-air sniff around the
vehicle and the dog alerted
on the car, a 2007 Saturn
lon.
Deputies searched the
car and reportedly found
$23,000 in U.S. currency
wrapped in SI,OOO bundles.
The driver was also report
edly found to have a small
clear plastic baggie in his
right front pocket with a
white powdery residue in it,
which field-tested positive
for cocaine.
Coates was charged with
felony cocaine possession
and driving on a suspended
license.
Both subjects were taken
to the Sheriff’s Office but the
credit or property to see my
way through a really tough
time.”
He said he left town, not
to get away from creditors
but because he “was evicted
out of my home. My work
trucks (were) repossessed
and (I) moved to Atlanta
where I did not get any mail
forwarded to me.”
Kelley said he has been
in touch with some of the
clients that he said got hurt
in his business failure and
most of them will be happy
with some of there money
back, he said.
He said he “did not want
to claim bankruptcy” and
“I will be back to answer to
these charges in October.”
The e-mail came
from his local business,
midstatega@yahoo.com, but
he signed it from his lat
est venture in Washington,
Repair4Free.com, with the
Washington state phone
numbers in the 253 area
code.
Sgt. Ronnie Harlowe
of the Houston County
Sheriffs Office Criminal
Investigations Division filed
the local warrants against
Kelley and has been in
contact with authorities in
Washington.
“We’re trying some coordi
nating with them,” Harlowe
said.
Pike also has won a civil
lawsuit against Kelley, and
admitted: ‘We will probably
never see the money we are
owed. But we still feel it is
our duty to do everything we
can to keep other contrac
tors and-homeowners from
being victims as well.”
She filed the first com
plaint against Kelley with
the Better Business Bureau
after her business was
ripped off and within a mat
ter of three months, 888
membership was revoked for
professional learning, and
breakout sessions specific to
Pre-K, elementary, middle,
high, or special needs teach
ers.
The orientation will con
tinue Thursday with train
ing on classroom manage
ment and technology.
At 11:30 a.m., the teach
ers will meet the superin
tendent, board members and
central office administra
tors, followed by lunch with
their principals. After lunch
the teachers will report to
services to people with bar
riers to work, said Jim Stiff,
president and CEO of the
local Goodwill.
“We are confident the
generous community will
respond to our great loss
by donating household items
and clothing at a nearby
donation center as soon as
possible,” Stiff said.
About 85 cents of every
dollar that shoppers spend in
Goodwill stores is reinvested
in Goodwill’s life-changing
mission to help people go
to work, Stiff said. Over the
past five years, your local
Goodwill has placed over
4,400 people into jobs ahd
generated more than $96
passenger was not charged
and was released.
About 12:32 a.m. another
deputy made a traffic stop
for speeding - 85 mph in
a 70 mph zone - near mile
marker 140. While conduct
ing an interview with the
driver, Dennis Wayne Scott,
41, of 600 Martin Luther
King Drive in Perry, the dep
uty reportedly noticed the
odor of alcohol on his breath
and arrested him for DUI
of alcohol. That, according
to the report, was his third
offense for DUI.
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Kelley’s Mid-State Custom
• Exteriors.
While denying most of the
charges Kelley admitted to
the Better Business Bureau
complaints. According to the
888 Web site, the Bureau
processed a total of 13 com
plaints about Mid-State
Custom Exteriors in the last
36 months. Of the total of
13 complaints closed in 36
months, 13 were closed in
the last year.
On Aug. 31, 2006, this
company’s membership in
the 888 was revoked by the
BBB’s Board of Directors
due to failure to honor an
arbitrator’s decision despite
agreeing to do so.
Based on 888 files, this
company has an unsatisfac
tory record with the Bureau
due to one or more unan
swered and two or more
unresolved complaints.
According to the 888,
Mid-State Custom Exteriors
had claims of alleged failure
to honor contract or agree
ment, work performed with
out authorization, invalid
contract, alleging billing
errors, unauthorized charg
es, questionable collection
practices, alleged failure to
honor company policy or ver
bal commitment to provide
refunds, exchanges, or credit
for products or services.
The company also failed
to resolve the complaint
issues; failed to meet the
terms of an arbitrated deci
sion in accordance with their
888 agreement; failed to
resolve the complaint issues
through the 888 voluntary
and self-regulatory process;
and failed to respond to the
complaints.
Anyone with information
on Kelley is asked to con
tact local police or Macon
Regional Crimestoppers
at 742-2330 or 1-877-
68CRIME.
their assigned schools for
the afternoon.
Friday professional devel
opment will cover mathe
matics for elementary teach
ers and the middle school or
high school concept for sec
ondary teachers. Afternoon
breakout sessions cover top
ics such as literacy, curricu
lum and technology in the
classroom.
Perry Middle is located
at 495 Perry Parkway. The
main phone number is 478-
988-6285.
million in new payroll pur
chasing power, said Stiff.
He also added that servic
es would not be interrupted
if donations could quickly
replace the loss. “The people
we serve need a hand-up to
discover the joy and dignity
of a paycheck,” Stiff said.
“People who donate to
Goodwill believe in helping
people help themselves,” he
said. “We are confident that
the community will help the
less fortunate with a speedy
response to our plea for
help.”
For a donation center
near you, see www.goodwill
works.org. All donations to
Goodwill are tax-deductible.
Scott was also charged
with an open container vio
lation, speeding and driving
with a suspended or revoked
license - his second offense.
The passenger, Jeremy
Rashad Lester, 26, of 1300
Whipple St., also in Perry,
was arrested for an out
standing warrant from
Fort Valley While search
ing Lester for weapons, the
deputy reportedly found a
bag of marijuana in his rear
pants pocket and arrested
him for possession of mari
juana, less than one ounce.
929-0624
LOCAL
Westfield students receive awards
Special to the Journal
Each year, according to a
release, the United States
Department of Education
honors student achieve
ment and hard work with
the President’s Education
Awards Program. Since
1983, the program, accord
ing to the release, has pro
vided individual recognition
from the President and the
U.S. Secretary of Education
to those students whose
Seed experiment
-■ n JF jlilf \
Contributed
At f/ie end of the school year, Houston County High School Environmental Science stu
dents prepared seeds to be planted in a seed viability versus age experiment. Shown
from left are: Tabitha Bloodsaw, Vanessa Frianela, Sara Smith, Amanda Kamps,
Henry Greene, Anna Richards and Mia Roberts.
Thomas named Linwood principal
Special to the Journal
At the called board
meeting held June 29, the
Houston County Board
of' Education appointed
Lazunia Thomas as princi
pal of Linwood Elementary
School beginning the 2007-
2008 school year.
“I am excited and
enthusiastic about going
through this journey
with the Linwood par
ents, teachers, and stu
dents toward maintaining
excellence and success,”
Thomas said. “As a native
and graduate of Houston
County, I feel proud to be a
leader in a Houston County
school where student learn
ing is a top priority.”
Thomas graduated from
CRcr
From page iA
the material. Per the
release: “The new tests
require students to demon
strate higher thinking skills
and deeper subject knowl
edge. In addition, students
were required to answer
more questions correctly to
pass the test.” Since the
GPS curriculum is still
being phased in, 11 tests
continue to cover the old
Quality Core Curriculum.
“It is apparent that our
work this past ypar has
paid off when reviewing the
CRCT results,” said Mike
Mattingly, assistant super
intendent for teaching and
learning. “In many areas,
students were taught with
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outstanding efforts have
enabled them to meet chal
lenging standards of excel
lence.
The following students at
The Westfield Schools stu
dents received the
President’s Education
Awards which was given to
students in grades four and
eight:
B Fourth grade: Calli
Blocker, Elizabeth Bourque,
Bobby Allen Brooks, Korah
THOMAS
Northside High School.
Her teaching career began
in 1999 at Northside High
where she taught English
and also served as a cheer-
the newly revamped cur
riculum called the Georgia
Performance Standards.
These standards demand
more from our children
and in the end will result
Contac"oclas > si«eo% l 7ptementatniE ' .
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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Beth Clark, Rebecca Etter,
Abbey Green, Hanna Kate
Jones, Carrie Kinman, Liza
McDaniel, Liston Mehserle,
Lance Parks, Rob Ray, Wade
Walker, Tanner Westbrook,
Chase Williams, Luke
Wojohn, Whitley Young.
B Eighth grade: Morgan
Davis, Hudson Jerles,
Stuart Knight, Jessica
Mcßride, Jared Parnell,
Jessica Smith, Thompson
Way and James Wurster.
leading coach for three
years. In 2002 she transi
tioned from high school to
elementary school when she
became the assistant princi
pal at Lindsey Elementary
School.
Thomas received her
Bachelor of Secondary
Education in English from
Valdosta State University.
She also earned her master’s
and specialist degrees in
Educational Administration
and Supervision from
Georgia College and State
University.
Linwood Elementary is
located at 420 Education
Way in Warner Robins.
Thomas may be con
tacted either by e-mail at
lathomas@hcbe.net or by
telephone at 478-929-6360.
in higher performing stu
dents. I am pleased that we
outpaced the average per
formance across the state
on every test. Our commu
nity should be very proud!”