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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
RACE
From page 1A
Individual winners are rec
ognized, and an overall
champion is crowned for the
event, based on points accu
mulated in each race.
All those points continue
to accrue throughout the
series, and the grand cham
pion w'ill walk away with the
Georgia Cup in September.
The Perry Omnium con
sists of three races.
The Andersonville Trail
Time Trial, scheduled for 8
a.m. Saturday, April 17, is
an individual event. Racers
will be released at 30-second
intervals along an 8.5-mile
course on Larry Walker
Parkway, with the winner
based on time.
The Carroll Street
Criterium will run on a four
corner course laid out
through downtown Perry.
Several races, of different
classes, will go on through
out the day Saturday, from
beginners at 2 p.m. to the
pros at 7:30 p.m.
That last race promises
quite a few thrills for specta
tors.
“It’s the speed event,”
Arnette said.
With some racers fit
enough to run 115-mile
endurance races, their
speeds will likely reach over
30 miles an hour in this
short course, Arnette said.
On Sunday, April 18, the
Omnium concludes with the
Perry-Roubaix Road Race,
Prosecution poised to finish Blagg case
GRAND JUNCTION,
Colo. (AP) - The prosecution
expected to finish its murder
case against Michael Blagg
with testimony on blood evi
dence and from a county
worker who helped uncover
the body of Blagg's wife in a
landfill.
Mesa County District
Attorney Frank Daniels
planned to wrap up his case
Thursday after having
called 96 witnesses. The
defense planned to open its
portion of the trial.
Daniels has argued that
Blagg killed his wife,
Jennifer, to get out of a trou
bled marriage.
Blagg reported his wife
and daughter missing in
November 2001. His wife,
shot to death, was found
seven months later in the
landfill after a long search.
Blagg was arrested later at
his mother’s house in
U.S. Air Force Academy stamps take flight
Special to the HHJ
COLORADO SPRINGS,
Colo. - During a heartfelt
anniversary celebration, the
U.S. Postal Service dedicat
ed the U.S. Air Force
Academy commemorative
postage stamp today at the
Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs. The new
stamp is available locally
today, and became available
nationwide April 2.
“Through our postage
stamps, we are proud to
honor the people and events
in our history who have
made this nation great,”
said William T. Johnstone,
secretary of the presiden
tially appointed Postal
Service Board of Governors,
who dedicated the stamp.
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which will start at 7:30 a.m.
from the Georgia National
Fairgrounds and Agricenter
and race on- and off-road
through some of Houston
County’s most challenging
terrain. The endurance
course will take cyclists
from Haynesville to
Grovania to Elko to
Henderson and back
through Grove Park along
Elko Road to the
Fairgrounds.
The name, Perry-Roubaix,
is a play on a famous road
race, the Paris-Roubaix,
Arnette said.
That race - which is being
held this weekend - is
known as "The Hell of the
North” for its grueling
cross-country stretches that
push cyclists to their limits,
and Arnette said the goal
was to capture some of that
in this event, creating a sort
of "Hell of the Middle.”
The quest for the Georgia
Cup began with the Cherry
Blossom Festival Road Race
and Criterium in Macon last
month.
About 280 cyclists compet
ed. Arnette said, and he
expects most all of those to
return for the Omnium,
along with new racers.
Along with providing a
thrill for competitors - and
hopefully a tourism boon for
local merchants - Arnette
also hopes to raise apprecia
tion for competitive cycling.
Warner Robins, Ga.
His daughter, Abby, 6, has
never been found and is pre
sumed dead.
Defense lawyers have
tried to prove through
unidentified fingerprints,
hair and blood that an
intruder is responsible.
Mesa County public
defender David Eisner said
Wednesday that he plans to
call 20 defense witnesses
and hopes to finish the testi
mony by April 14.
Eisner said he does not
plan to take advantage of
District Judge David
Bottger's offer of a break in
the trial to prepare extra
testimony about a potential
ly incriminating statement
Jennifer Blagg’s mother
made while on the stand
Tuesday.
Marilyn Conway testified
that Blagg falsely claimed
that some jewelry was stolen
“And make no mistake; the
Air Force has been a leader
for the past 50 years in help
ing to keep this nation
great.”
.Joining Johnstone at the
ceremony were Lieutenant
For him, cycling brought
out a personal drive to com
pete that he’d never found
elsewhere.
“It was the first time in
my life I was able to give 100
percent,” he said. “It was
the first sport I got involved
in where it was just me, not
a team.”
But it’s something he
might not have gotten into
at all, if not for his future
wife.
The first cycle Arnette
bought was to go on a date
with Leslie Davis.
That turned to be a good
move, for it lead to his two
great loves - Leslie, whom
he married, and cycling, for
which he created the
Georgia Cup.
The former love has gone
well, and Arnette has hopes
nearly as high for the latter.
“Maybe, 10 years from
now, we’ll be able to look
back and say we changed
the face of cycling in
Georgia,” he said.
After leaving Perry, the
series continues with events
in Augusta (the Greater
Augusta Cyclismo, May 22-
23), Dahlonega (the
Dahlonega-Chattahoochee
Challenge, June 12-13),
Madison (The Madison,
Aug. 28-29), LaGrange
(Circuit LaGrange, Sept. 11-
12) and Gainesville (the
Chicken City Barn Burner
(Sept. 18-19).
when he reported his wife
and daughter missing.
Conway said she found loose
sapphires and diamonds in a
plastic bag in the bedroom
where her daughter was
killed. She said she found
them several weeks after the
crime and gave them to
Blagg.
Conway testified she
learned Blagg hud listed
them as stolen when an
insurance investigator testi
fied last week
Eisner complained the
information had been kept
from the defense and called
it a possible violation of
rules that each side must
reveal its evidence.
Bottger ruled Wednesday
morning that it was not a
violation but mildly chas
tised Daniels for not reveal
ing the information after he
learned of it last week
Colonel Lori Salgado, who
served as master of cere
monies, and Lieutenant
General John Rosa,
Superintendent of the
United States Air Force
Academy.
LOCAL
/m ■ m
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I ■ B
IIHJ John Davidson
These two vehicles collided on Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins in front of Kmart
around 3 p.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
HILL
From page 1A
HODAC’s Gateway Cottage,
a shelter for abused women
and children. Hill currently
serves as the social sciences
chair at Georgia Military
College, where he teaches
psychology and social stud
ies.
He’s stayed busy as an
active member of Trinity
United Methodist Church
and spending time with the
three children and three
grandchildren that he
shares with his wife Anna, a
retired teacher.
“I feel like my experience
would allow me to make a
contribution," he said.
Although Hill only formal
ly announced his candidacy
last Saturday, he had consid
ered running for the
Houston County school
board when Pat Summers’
death left a vacancy in 2002,
In This Sunday
American Profile...
A modem day
Corps of Discovery
This year marks the 2(X)th anniversary of the historic
Lewis and Clark expedition. Follow along as one
family retraces this epic journey dubbed the Corps
of Discovery by President Thomas Jefferson. Plus,
Lynch, Neb., and hominy casserole.
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(£^Journal
6.51
When trucks collide
but he later withdrew his
candidacy out of respect for
Charles Summers, who
briefly took his late wife’s
place on the board.
Hill, who has a master’s
degree from Georgia State
and a doctorate from The
University of Georgia, said
he feels t hat the board could
use some representation
from the educational com
munity. Currently, none of
the board members has a
career background in educa
tion.
Having a former educator
on the board would “offer
some balance between the
private and public sector,
and would also help them
appreciate the impact of pol
icy,” Hill said.
This doesn’t mean that
Hill thinks the current
board is doing a bad job.
When asked what policy
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FRIDAY, APRIL 0, 2004
changes he would like to
make if elected, he said,
“I’m more interested in
maintaining the excellence
we’ve established, would
like for us to be well-coordi
nated with other community
agencies and would like to
see us continue to deal with
the county’s growth issues.”
He said he could deal with
the constant scrutiny that
board members are under.
“I’m pretty transparent,”
Hill said. “I just try to be
who I am. I don’t have a hid
den agenda.”
Hill said that he’s going to
spend the next several
months leading up to the
election lightly campaigning
and “canvassing the coun
ty,” letting his potential con
stituents know who he is.
“I hope to have fun with it
(campaigning) this sum
mer,” Hill said.
3A