Newspaper Page Text
Assault charge
reduced to
On Tuesday, August 26, a Fort
Valley man who had been charged
with aggravated assault against a
deputy sheriff was convicted of
simple battery and sentenced to 12
months in jail by Superior Court
Judge C. Cloud Morgan.
Jamie Willis, common-law hus¬
band of Ida Mae Marshall Willis, had
been accused of hitting Peach County
Sheriffs Sgt. Jeff Doles when that
officer investigated a domestic
dispute at the Willis residence at
Rolling Hills Trailer Park. A blow to
Doles’ head with a seven-foot board
knocked out the deputy sheriff, who
had to be hospitalized as a result of
the May 4 incident.
In last week’s trial the jury
deliberated about three hours before
returning a guilty verdict of a charge
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PICTURED ARE THE REMAINS OF THE residence of Donald Williams on
Sheron Road after a Sunday night fire gutted the house. Accor
ding to Fort Valley Fire Department Clerk Frank Joyner, the fire
was reported about 11:45 p.m. by Reggie Kocher. Neighbors John
City to provide better hondicopped occess
It will cost the City of Fort Valley
$3,885 to be in compliance with
federal regulations regarding service
to the handicapped. That estimate
was approved by mayor and council
at a called meeting Friday morning to
discuss action the city has to take by
October 17 to meet federal standards
requiring cities to provide access to
the handicapped.
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FRIDAY WAS THE LAST DAY on the job for Peach
County Hospital Administrator Mickey Smith,
but he didn’t plan on it beginning this way. Early
Friday morning, the tractor-trailer that hauls a
mobile CAT-Scan machine that regularly visits
the hospital couldn’t make it through the
driveway. The truck got stuck on what Smith call¬
ed “the Dukes of Hazard launching ramp they
built us for a driveway.’’ The administrator refer¬
red to a hump at the entrance to the Emergency
Room driveway creafec b-' the construction
of simple battery, a misdemeanor. A
twelve-months sentence is the
maximum for a misdemeanor
conviction.
During the trial the judge took
issue with Willis’ wife for her refusal
to testify against her husband.
Morgan also chastised the jury for
settling for a lesser charge than the
original one that was brought against
the defendant.
Defense attorney Tom Garwood
accused Doles of meddling in an
affair that did not concern him when
he answered the domestic distur
bance call.
A family member of Doles said that
he and Sheriff Johnnie V. Becham
were not aware that the assault on a
police officer charge was reduced to
aggravated assault when the trial
began.
and Sandra Jones said that the house was about gone when they
returned home close to midnight from an outing at High Falls,
PHOTO BY PETE NICHOLS
Greg Singleton submitted the
lower of two bids to install grab bars
in the rest rooms and to build a
wheelchair ramp from one of the
front doors of city hall. M & M
submitted the other bid, $4,615, to
build the ramp alone.
Councilman Ernest Anderson
raised a question about the bids
submitted for the work.
on Ga. 49. Both The Department of Transporta¬
tion and the construction company doing the
highway widening denied responsibility for the
truck’s getting stuck. It was eventually freed by a
wrecker and had to enter the hospital grounds
from Avera Drive. For the record, Smith’s actions
with the board under the tire (check the photo
carefully) did little to free the stricken vehicle,
but it’s this type of ingenuity that we’ll m'-.s
when Mickey’s gone
PHOTO BY MIKE LOVVORN
Georgia N«w»P»P«*
Univeruity of Georgia
Athena, Ga. }0602
Heaiier-alribunE
Peach County’s best news and advertising source... since 1888
Vol. 99 - Issue 35
Murder to sue
Willie Gene Nelms, the original
suspect in the New Year’s Day murder
of Denise Allison, intends to sue the
City of Fort Valley for false arrest.
Required by law to give the city 30
days notice of intent to sue, Nelms
plans to ask for $2 million in damages
for being “maliciously incarcerated,
restrained, and deprived of liberty
without probable cause.
4 4 One is ridiculously high; the
other, ridiculously low. He can’t do it
for that,” stated Anderson of
Singleton’s bid.
44 Yes, he can; he can do it,”
replied Councilman Wilbur Spillers,
noting that the contractor does most
of his work, only occasionally
employing one helper.
Although Councilman N. W.
Wednesday, September 3,1986
His attorney, Gregory Homer of
Fort Valley, said that the 30-day
notice is intended to give the city the
opportunity to settle out of court. If
the city does not respond, he said, the
suit will be filed in federal court, as a
violation of Nelms’ civil rights,
Homer would not comment on the
case except to say that his client had
maintained his innocence from the
Drug arrests
Sheriff's Dept, nabs four
A routine stop for speeding
resulted in a drug arrest Saturday
night when Trooper Danny Rumph
stopped four men on 1-75 about 8:30.
Two Albany men and two Miami
men were charged with violation of
the Georgia Controled Substances
Act when seven or eight grams of
cocaine and crack were found in their
car.
Norris Watts,28, of Albany,
Georgia, his cousin, Gary Watts,27,
of Miami, Florida, and a friend,
31-year-old Louis Miller of Miami,
Florida are in jail while the Albany
FVPD two more
Two local men have been charged
with distributing drugs as the result
of a routine traffic stop Monday night
by Officer Leon Smith of the Fort
Valley Police Department. Calhoun
Amos Harris of 313 Vi
Street and Hadley George of an
unknown address were charged and with
possession of marijuana Sched¬
ule II drugs with intent to distribute.
A quantity of the cocaine derivative
known as “crack" and several
sandwich-sized bags of marijuana
were found in their automobile when
it was stopped on Vineville Street at
“Newt” Jordan noted that the bid
was an estimate only, Spillers
insisted that that was Singleton’s
firm price.
Discussion centered around which
of the front doors would be
designated for the use of handicap
ped persons. Facing the city hall from
West Church Street, the right hand
door will be changed for ramp access
only. The ramp will have a 30-foot
slope and will angle down the
side walk instead of leading out to the
street on the front walk. The door on
the left will remain as it is now. Two
parking spaces will be designated for
handicapped persons to use. questioned
Mayor C. W. Peterson
the practicality of having only one
front door for the great majority of
the that public to use. good planning
44 wasn’t very
of the federal government to restrict
access to one door,” he said.
In other business mayor and
council approved the contract of the
Georgia Department of Transporta
tion to pave Oaklawn Street and
Courdand Avenue between Ga. 49
south of town and Ga. 96 west of
town, a distance of about 1.4 miles.
44 It’ll open that road all the way
through there,” said the mayor,
adding that he hoped the state would
maintain the connector and put curbs
and gutters on Montrose Street.
Residents of Montrose have
appeared at several meetings of the
council, seeking help with drainage
problems. At the regular August
meeting Peterson told a resident that
DOT still was in the process of
conducting a study of the situation
but that Representative Robert Ray
“sounded pessimistic” about the
matter because of the cost of the
project.
FI INSIDE • ••
i Our Third Annual Football Edition
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24 pages in 3 sections
outset and felt he was falsely arrested.
After Mrs. Allison was beaten and
stabbed to death at the Pump House
convenience store January 1,
authorities questioned Nelms in
Miami, Florida, but did not arrest him
at that time. Several months later, he
was arrested and charged with murder
after being implicated by Ronnie
Jerome Smith, who has also been
k
Airport Authority
5
on land
by Frank Smisson
At a called meeting of the
Perry/Fort Valley Airport Authority
we votec j to give an option to
purchase a tract of land to Northrop
Aircraft Corporation. This land lies
on t j, e sout h end of the field and to
t he east of the North-South paved
runway, and now is in use for the
East-West grass landing strip,
The grass strip has been used only
a small percentage of the time, so
se Hj n g this land will not affect the
operation of the airport to any great
degree. During wind conditions
where a cross wind exceeds the
capability of a particular aircraft the
grass strip is a welcome facility. It is
also used for student training for
certain phases of instruction,
It is hoped that with money
received from this sale that some
other land can be purchased for
future expansion. that
Many people are still unaware
the Department of Public Safety is
now in the process of building a
$300,000 facility at our airport. This
will benefit this area in many ways,
First, it will give much faster reaction
time when a helicopter is needed
locally. Instead of having to come all
the way from Fulton County Airport,
they will be on call here. The new
facility will include crew quarters,
and it is expected that a fixed wing
aircraft as well as a helicopter will be
permanently stationed here.
25 cents
charged in the case.
Nelms was held for two weeks, then
released for lack of evidence. Smith is
out on bond awaiting indictment on a
murder charge.
Police Chief Frank Strickland said
Tuesday that it would not be ap¬
propriate for his department to com¬
ment at this time.
man’s brother, Eddie Wattsjr.,34,
has been released on bond in
connection with the incident,
The four were stopped when they
were traveling 79 miles an hour in a
55 mph zone,
Peach County Sheriff Johnnie V.
Becham estimated thgt the drugs
were worth $700 to $800.
In other action during the Labor
Day weekend the sheriff’s depart
ment made seven arrests for driving
under the influence of Alcohol, two
arrests for suspended licenses and
one for driving without insurance.
11:05 p.m. monday.
Smith said that while he was
questioning Harris, Deputy Jackie
Hodge, who had come up to assist
him, saw George try to conceal
something under the seat. The two
suspects were then arrested and the
illegal drugs discovered. been
The substances seized have
sent to the state crime lab for
analysis. George was also charged
with obstruction of an officer.
The case is being investigated by
Det. Jerry Stripling of the Fort
Valley Police Department.
Houston County was awarded the
contract to construct the road leading
to the new facility plus other work to
include the apron in front of the
hangar as well as the taxiway
connecting the apron to the existing
taxiway.
Once the road is completed there
will be access to an area where
corporate hangars'may be built. Two
companies have expressed interest in
building hangars in this area.
This activity should be exciting to
every taxpayer in Houston and Peach
County. This expansion and a more
active airport will mean greater fuel
sales as well as more business into
the area. Our airport may be the one
facility that tips the scale in our favor,
and makes the final difference to
Northrop Aircraft in their decision to
come here. They have stated that this
will mean an additional 700 jobs to
this immediate area.
The next Airport Authority
meeting will be held at the
Perry/Fort Valley Airport at 7:30
p.m. the first Monday of October. It
is an open meeting and you are
invited to attend. However, if you
have anything to present, please
submit it in writing to us at least one
week before the meeting so that we
can get it on the agenda.
We appreciate your support and
know that the Airport will prove to be
one of your better investments over
the years.