Newspaper Page Text
TUESDAY
January 11, 2005
Volume 135, Number 262
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAY
* j 1: rll jmm
Bears edge
Demons in OT
The Demons and
Houston County’s boys
were counting by “ones”
early on in their matchup
Saturday at Warner
Robins.
The Bears eventually
won the game 69-66 in
overtime but not before
they had battled back and
forth enough times to
confuse even the best
scorekeeper.
Sports, page 1B
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Julie Evans
Leigh Hill
Dylan Weeks
(Surprise your friends! Let us
know when their birthday or
anniversary is, and we'll put their
names in the paper that day. Just
send the name and date at least
a week in advance, and we'll do
the rest. E-mail to
hhj@evansnewspapers.com, or
mail them to us at the address
inside. No phone calls, please.
Many happy returns!)
Area DEATHS
Irene Roberts Brown
Roseanna Leah Dingier
Justin W. Harris
Betty Lord
Ottie Jack Morrison
Rev. I. F. “Rastus” Salter
Johnny B. Spivey
Willie L. “Redbug” Wright
Obits, page 5A
INDEX
BUSINESS 6A
CLASSIFIED 5B
COMICS 4B
CROSSWORD ... .4B
OBITUARIES 5A
OPINION 4A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .6B
SPORTS 1B
TV LISTINGS 4B
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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Georgia Newspaper Project
Main Library
JNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Talton makes Georgia history
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HHJ Kay Lightner
State Rep. Willie Talton, R-Dist. 145, takes his oath of
office as his wife Annie Mae holds the Bible Monday in
Atlanta.
Funds coming for state park
Perdue releases
money held up
by 2004 state
budgeOmes
From staff reports
PERRY - Work can get
under way on a 106-acre
manmade lake, roads and
restrooms for Perry’s
planned state park, now
that money allocated in the
last legislative session has
been released.
Gov. Sonny Perdue
announced Saturday night
that due to increases in
state revenues, the $1.9 mil
lion approved in the last
budget-making process
could be released for use in
developing the park.
The land for the park,
which will be located south
of Perry between U.S. 41
and Interstate 75, has
already been purchased.
Perdud’s announcement
was a highlight of the party
Saturday night at the
Georgia National
See PARK, page 3A
For the love
of Larry
Hundreds laud retiring lawmaker
By JON SUGGS
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - By the program,
it was “An Evening to
Celebrate the
Accomplishments of Rep.
Larry C. Walker Jr.”
At least one guest speaker
had a problem with that.
“That’s silly, folks,” said
Gov. Sonny Perdue. “You
can’t celebrate all the
accomplishments of Larry
Walker in one evening.”
The governor nonetheless
joined the distinguished
panel of friends who made a
run at that celebration
Saturday night at the
Miller-Murphy-Howard
Building.
Perdue said to understand
the character of Walker,
www.hhjnews.com
• - v-Ir y- Srlf
HHJ/Charlotte Perkins
Gov. Sonny Perdue speaks Saturday night at the Larry Walker celebration. In his
remarks, Perdue announced that he would release $1.9 million earmarked in 2004 for
work on a planned state park in south Houston County.
Georgians need look no fur
ther than their state seal
and its motto, “Wisdom,
Justice, Moderation.”
Walker, the governor said,
exemplifies each of those
qualities.
Reminiscing on his days
as a young state senator,
Perdue spoke generously of
how the veteran lawmaker
mentored his fellow
Houston County leader,
teaching him the gold dome
ropes.
“I very much eryoyed you
in the legislature,” he said.
' Perdue reminded the
more than 500 people pres
ent just how much the retir
ing representative did for
his community in 32 years
See WALKER, page 84
Houston lawmakers sworn in, including
first black Republican since Reconstruction
By RAY UGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
ATLANTA - Willie Talton
has taken leave as the coun
ty’s number-two law
enforcement officer and will
spend the next 40 days or
more as one of the lawmak
ers under the gold dome in
Atlanta.
“I’ll be taking my personal
time for the three months,”
said Talton, who is Houston
County’s chief deputy sher
iff. “If it goes beyond that,
I’ll have to eat it.”
Upon being sworn in
Monday morning, Talton
also made history as the
first black Republican to
serve in the Georgia House
of Representatives since
Reconstruction.
Talton ran unopposed for
the new District 145 state
House seat.
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HHJ/Charlotte Perkins
Retiring state Rep. Larry Walker takes a moment to
embrace his wife, Janice, and pose for the camera
Saturday night.
“Right now, I plan to look,
learn and see,” at the
Capitol, he said.
He said he’s been asked to
co-sponsor some legislation.
“I don’t know that we
need more laws,” Talton
said. “We probably need
some housekeeping,
though.”
Talton took his oath of
office at 10 a.m. Monday in
the House chambers, along
with his fellow representa
tives. Cobb County Superior
Court Judge Ken Nix, a for
mer member of the body,
conducted the ceremony.
The Houston legislative
delegation includes Talton,
Larry O’Neal and Robert
Ray in the House and Ross
Tolleson and Cecil Staton in
the Senate. Talton and
O’Neal are two of the 99-
member Republican House
an Evans Family Newspaper
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TWO SECTIONS *l4 PAGES
Related photos, 3A
majority, and were seated
next to each other.
Talton’s well-wishers
included family and friends,
including Sheriff Cullen
Talton. Other guests for the
first day of the session
included former members
who’ll be going to
Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep.-
elect Lynn Westmoreland
and U.S. Sen.-elect Johnny
Issakson.
As Republicans are now in
the majority, Ray will be one
of the Democrats moving
out of their office space in
the Capitol.
Republican Speaker of the
House Glenn Richardson
received 117 votes for speak
er - including 18 from
Democrats.
GOP
takes
over
By DICK PETTYS
AP Political Writer
ATLANTA - Scrappy
Republicans who climbed to
power in Georgia from hum
ble beginnings celebrated
Monday as a new
Legislature opened with
their party in charge, the
first time since 1870.
Hundreds of onlookers,
well-wishers, wives, chil
dren and infants in baby
strollers filled the Capitol to
experience the change of
power, among them former
Republican lawmakers for
whom the change came long
after they made the move to
bigger jobs - U.S. Sen.
Johnny Isakson and Reps.
Lynn Westmoreland, John
Linder and Tom Price.
“I’m here to see a great
event,” said Isakson, just
days after his own swearing
in ceremony in Washington.
“It’s making history,” he
said. Isakson was one of just
19 Republicans in the 180-
member chamber when he
was elected to the
Legislature in 1976.
“I lived for this day,” said
former Republican Rep. Bob
Beckham of Augusta. “This
is something I worked for all
my life. I’m just happy
they’ve been elected and got
control of all three branch
es, and hope now that they
have the intelligence and
fortitude to do the right
thing - get rid of some of the
pork-barrel spending and
keep their eye on the ball.”
As the Capitol corridors
began filling up, old-timers
mixed with the fresh faces of
a new era of Republican
leadership, such as Barry
Loudermilk, 41, of Cassville,
whose wife and three chil
dren accompanied him to
watch his swearing-in cere
mony.
Loudermilk said he felt “a
sense of awe and responsi
bility that’s settling in
today... When I take that
oath, I’m taking the oath for
See GOP, page 3A
