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Local lines • Perry firefighters earn EMT qualifications • Houston Healthcare staff pass competency tests • Cities look to add Byron to joint gas operation • HC among the most with unclaimed stimulus checks BELOW THE FOLD: Perry to seek refund in gas leak cover-up; Centerville plans for 50th Anniversary Volume 138, Number 67 Danny Evans Editor and Publisher devans@evansnewspapers.com Signs can be very uplifting, other notes I would like to give a “Big Thank You!” to Ed Rodriquez and the Warner Robins Chamber of Commerce for putting The Houston Home Journal on their marquee this week. It has probably been 23 years since anyone has recog nized us (The Evans Family Newspapers) on a marquee or sign in Warner Robins. The last time I remem ber seeing this was on the sign in front of Sun Trust Bank. I thitik. ■ B the International City Banknaclt' then. “Mr. Foster Says”, aka Mr. Ray Bliss, put “Foy and Danny Evans, We Knew You Would Do It!”. That was in response to dad and I starting The Warner Robins Times. That has been a long time ago. There were five gen eral circulation newspapers in Houston County at the time. Now, after a long and hard 23 years, there is only one newspaper published in Houston County, The Houston Home Journal. For those of you that have been in Warner Robins for a few years, I’m sure you remember Mr. Foster. Everyday Mr. Foster had a new message on the marquee in front of the dry clean ers, I can’t remember the name of it, but it was just about in front of the new chamber building (The old 20th Century Cafeteria) on Watson Boulevard. This was a nice addition to Warner Robins, then a small town, and something to chuckle about. See EVANS, page Better Newspaper Contest PERIODICAL 500 IIVIIIII 8 ”5 510 8 0 0001" 4 coo^ , " l '" l, SnSL^r spaperPro)ea University of Georgia 30602 - 0002 August 23,2008 r- -vy y my > LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, CITY OF PERRY, CITY OF WARNER ROBINS AND CITY OF CENTERVILLE Perry PD paids two slopes Arrests 3 for illegal gambling By KRYSTAL RINER Journal Staff Writer On Wednesday about midday the Perry Police Department executed two raids on gas stations in Perry that were the hosts of commercial gam bling. According to Heath Dykes, of the Perry Police Department, they had received several com plaints about gambling in the two stores. The first raid was at the BP Food Mart, which is located at 1429 Sam Nunn Boulevard. The second store was The Marathon located at 105 Marshallville Road. The BP store had seven gambling machines in it. Not only were they hosting commercial gam bling, Dykes said, but they were also in violation i *m, v ~ t mi i 3 ENI/Gary Harmon An MH-53 “Pave Low" special operations helicopter is towed down Georgia Highway 247 Thursday enroute to the Museum of Aviation. The 37-year-old aircraft is a veteran of combat operations in Southeast Asia, Bosnia and Iraq. It was most recently assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., and spent the last eight months deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Peppy to seek pefund in gas leak covep-up By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer The City of Perry will be filing a claim to seek reimbursement from a contractor whose workers struck and broke a four inch gas bne on Houston Lake Road on Aug. 4, and then tried covering it with dirt, and delayed notifying FRONT PORCH "Where neighbor. s meet*" HHJ history 50 years ago: Riley Hunt was the reporter of the Perry FFA, and had an out standing record in Future Farm work. He carried out many sup plementary practices and home improvement projects. m j* 1 WL JBKqHHk r jK !||Jf MB MNP Saturday, August 23, 2008 law enforcement. Capt. Jeff Patterson of the fire department said that the gas could have caused an explosion if anyone had dropped a cigarette from a car in the area. The leak, which was on Houston Lake Road, required diverting See REFUND, page SA 30 years ago: Special Education programs in Houston County received a big boost through an increase allocation for personnel to teach in those areas. 10 years ago: Perry Players’ musical was “Forever Plaid”. It centered around the life and death of The Four Seasons and other groups that were popular in the late 19505. Sources: The Daily Sun, The Sports • Softball - Burroughs fans nine »n Ladv Rea's * ;n Lady Hornets now 9 0 • Golf Perry s Riley edged in p syp« • Volleyball Demons edge Northswde of a city ordinance that states only five of these game machines are to be in one store at one time. Chandubhai Patel, 40, was charged with commercial gam bling, and keeping a gambling place and. Chandanben Patel, 39, was charged with commercial gambling. The Marathon store had two machines. Rameshchandra Patel, 58, was charged Pave-ing its way Houston Home Journal - Compiled by Krystal Riner Anniversary A 118.26 Misty and Josh Bryant Birthdays - Aug. 28 “ Rebecca Williams (Happy Sweet 16!) * Georgia Cagle * •ft Bailey McGhee •• Aug. 24 m " ; •' • fa ■ ■-!TMffi'fjßkay jg&v Centerville addresses employee benefits, upcoming anniversary By KRYSTAL RINER Journal Staff wirter In Tuesday’s Centerville City Council work session the big topic of discussion was about employee benefits. The city employees are currently facing a 20 percent increase in ben efit costs, with their current insur ance provider. City Administrator Courtney Williams Martha Randall rX. ~ Casey Brogen -rX. Aug. 25 X Lauren Mackenzie Williams (Happy 2nd!) ☆ X Sheila Dugger v* * v Keyauna Dalton Aug. 28 Karen Nickitopolis Brent O’Reilly & Betsy Kennedy rffc E-mail birthdays to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com or donm@evansnewspapers.com. www.hhjnews.com with commercial gambling, and keeping a gam bling place. Officers were sent into the stores undercover, Dykes said, and played the machines. When they won they were paid out in cash. This gambling is illegal, Dykes said, because of the fact they are paying out in cash. It is legal to pay with vouchers for merchandise in the store or out of a catalog. These game machines are similar to the slot machines you see in a casino. According to Dykes at the time the machines See RAIDS, page jA Pictured is one of 10 commercial gambling machines the Perry Police Department con fiscated during a raid of two convenience stores Wednesday. Journal/Kryntal Riner Patrick Eidson, and City Clerk Krista Bedingfield shopped around with different companies to compare prices and find the best coverage and the best price for their employees. “We want our employees to have good benefits at a good price, our benefit package is important in keeping them happy,” said Eidson. See BENEFITS, page 6A : ' ' w—-« J I Family Nrn spapfri 4 Mail to: 1210 Washington St., Perry 31069 attn: Don Moncrief. Or, call 987-1823, Ext. 231. The FRONT DOOR "Always open" “But now you must rid your selves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” - Colossians 3:8