Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
January 14, 2005
Volume 135, Number 265
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAY
||p %-v ;
BENHAM
Benham to speak
at MLK breakfast
WARNER ROBINS -
Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity Inc. will spon
sor the eighth annual
Martin Luther King
Unity Breakfast at 9 a.m.
Monday in the New
Beginning Center at The
First Baptist Church
Garmon Street.
Family & Faith, page 6A
Perdue proposes
spending increase
For the first time in two
years, Gov. Sonny Perdue
laid out good news to a
Georgia Legislature
weary of budget cuts, out
lining a proposed $1 bil
lion budget increase for
next year that will put
bulldozers to work on
school, road and port con
struction projects across
the state.
State, page 5A
Happy BIRTHDAY?
Jan. 14
Walt Eberhart
Bobby Sheppard
Donna Tabor
Jan. 15
Faye Barry
Kerri Wright
Anni Wykal
Area DEATH
Margaret D. Lawrence
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 5B
COMICS 4B
CROSSWORD ....4B
FAMILY&FAITH .. .6A
OBITUARY 8A
OPINION 4A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .6B
TV LISTINGS 4B
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
7 *
Georgia Newspaper Projeei
Main Library
UNfV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
3-OfGiT 306
Serving Houston County Since 1870
Houston Momelf
(Lite
9 LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Houston school among state's best
Past, current principals credited with success
By TERESA D. SOUTHERN
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - “Honored” was the first word
from Principal Paulette Tompkins upon
learning that her Kings Chapel Elementary
School was one of only 11 schools in the
state that demonstrated the greatest gains
in reading/language arts and math compe
tency.
KCES is a recipient of the 2005 Georgia
Schools of Excellence in Student
Achievement award for improvements made
in the past three years.
Winners were selected from two cate
gories - the top 10 percent in student
achievement in reading/language arts and
MSCtO
offer
new
degree
Regents OK
founyear early
childhood
education
program
By TERESA D. SOUTHERN
HHJ Staff Writer
MACON - Macon State
College has been growing by
leaps and bounds.
In 1997, the school gradu
ated its first four-year bac
calaureate class.
In 2003, the Warner
Robins campus opened.
And in the past decade,
the college has added many
competitive degree pro
grams such as information
technology and business.
The learning institution is
continuing to grow by
adding a bachelor of science
degree in early childhood
education specializing in
early childhood education
and special education to the
seven four-year degrees
offered at MSC.
David Bell, president of
Macon State College, said
the decision was made
Wednesday by the state
Board of Regents, which
governs the University
System of Georgia.
Fifty junior students will
be the first to enter the edu
cation program at Macon
State. Students will be able
to choose their area of spe
cialization or specialize in
both. The program will
increase to 70 students in
the following year and will
continue to increase as it
develops.
Bell said the new degree
should produce more teach
ers for Middle Georgia, and
the college looks forward to
working with local school
superintendents.
“We’ve recognized the
need for more teachers in
our region,” Bell said. “We
also have a history of devel
oping programs such as
information technology,
business, (and) now educa
tion ... all based on filling
the need in Central
Georgia.”
Bell said MSC has already
been hiring staff and is look
ing for an education depart
ment chair.
See MSC, page 8A
www.hhjnews.com
math, and the greatest continuous gains in
student achievement in reading/language
arts and math over the previous three-year
period.
Tompkins was named principal of the
school six months ago, taking over frorp
Darryl Albritton, who is now Perry High
School’s principal.
The school previously received a School of
Excellence award in 1992, but under differ
ent criteria.
Tompkins said from day one she knew
Kings Chapel was an excellent school.
“The Kings Chapel staff, students and
parents have all worked to make Kings
See KCES, page 3A
Meet Capt. Robert Clark
. ji ; ■ j
irifftW 1 *^ a>
' - .. V
* -f,
, 4 ardh&A M
Pm*. MM M I
HHJ Kay Lightner
Houston County Sheriff’s Capt. Robert Clark is in the process of moving into the
captain’s office. His certificates for various training are still on the walls in his old
office adjacent to the new one in the Criminal Investigations Division.
New top investigator
Sheriff promotes veteran lawman from within
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - The sheriffs
choice to lead his investigations division
has over 25 years’ experience in the
department.
Robert Clark began part-time with the
Sheriff’s Department Reserves in 1977
after high school.
The Warner Robins High School gradu
ate said he began full-time the following
year in patrol, came to the drug unit in
the late ’Bos and was promoted to lieu
tenant in 1993. At that time he trans
ferred back to patrol for the lieutenant
position and returned to investigations in
1994.
Clark served in investigations under
Capt. Harry Enckler and has headed the
Marshall reports from Pakistan
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall
began his fourth tour of the
Middle East on Wednesday
with a visit to Pakistan.
Marshal arrived in
Islamabad and had what he
termed “a very frank dis
cussion” with Prime
Minister Aziz. He was to fly
to Afghanistan on
Thursday and then on to
Iraq on Saturday.
In a conference call
Wednesday, Marshall said
that he and Aziz “talked
about border issues, opium
traffic, plans to transfer
division on an interim basis since Enckler
went on sick leave in March 2004 and
retired in July.
Clark was promoted to captain and
named lead of investigations earlier this
month.
“The sheriff did interviews Monday and
I was told of the promotion on Tuesday
(Jan. 4),” Clark said.
He said Sheriff Cullen Talton conduct
ed an intra-agency search to find the cap
tain for the Criminal Investigations
Division.
Clark said his job won’t change too
much. Investigations “was run pretty
well to begin with.”
As captain, he supervises six criminal
investigators, two drug investigators, two
See CLARK, page 8A
border security to the
Pakistanis, and control
over religious zealots in
their country. Pakistan has
been able to virtually elimi
nate the growth of opium
poppies in their country
and we discussed whether
or not they would be able to
transfer that effort to
Afghanistan where it is a
major problem.”
Opium poppies are the
source of heroin.
Marshall said that
Pakistan does not promise
the First Amendment
rights that the United
States does, so they have
yr MM V f <Z. '
* m
DARRYL ALBRITTON
cracked down hard on reli
gious zealots.
“Pakistan does not toler
ate extremist religious lead
ers because they are a
threat to their govern
ment,” Marshall said.
He said that the alliance
between Pakistan and the
United States remains a
tight one.
“We give them a lot of
military and financial assis
tance and they continue to
be our ally,” Marshall said.
“They are an extremely
important country in South
Asia. They possess the
See MARSHALL, page 8A
an Evans Family Newspaper
50c
mm.
TWO SECTIONS *l4 PACES
-t IHL
PAULETTE TOMPKINS
Wreck
suspect
turns
self in
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS -
Curtis Leon Hutto, 40, of
Macon, turned himself in on
Tuesday for his involvement
in a Nov. 15, 2004, wreck
that left a Byron man seri
ously injured.
According to police
reports, Hutto had been in
contact with the incident
investigator and was
advised of the results of his
blood alcohol test - 0.079 -
with results pending for the
drug tests, and voluntarily
turned himself in.
According to the accident
investigator, Houston
County Sheriff’s Cpl. Sean
Alexander, Hutto was trav
eling southbound on
Houston Lake Road in a
blue-and-white 1995 Mack
truck owned by W.S.
Bridgeman Trucking of
Macon, and slammed on his
brakes coming around the
curves to avoid stopped traf
fic. One lane was closed for
construction.
The victim, William Owen
Gatliff Jr., 70, of Byron, had
just turned off Tamie Circle
in his green 1976 Ford F-600
and was heading north on
Houston Lake Road. Hutto
allegedly crossed into the
northbound lane and struck
GatlifPs truck in the ditch,
as both were off the road
trying to avoid each other.
Alexander said “Gatliff
was turned around 180
See HUTTO, page 8A
■ $ =_%■>!?,--? v'-,'■ ■ s " '&
JIM MARSHALL