Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY
February 2, 2005
Volume 135, Number 278
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Belter Newspaper
Contest
In THE NEWS
Azalea Drive
rezoning denied
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - “I’m not con
vinced this is best for the
area,” said Houston
County Commissioner
Larry Thomson.
Thomson made the
motion, which was unani
mously approved by the
board to deny Jimbo
Farr’s request to rezone
3.02 acres on Azalea
Drive from R-Ag (residen
tial agricultural) to C-2
(general commercial).
The request to put a 100-
unit mini storage ware
house on the site has gone
back and forth between
the Planning and Zoning
Commission and the
County Commission due
to “errors in presenta
tion,” explained Planner
Tim Andrews, and most
recently, “discrepancies
in the vote count.”
Area residents have
been opposed to the
rezoning out of concerns
about their property val
ues, explained Bill
Woodsen, and “commer
cial encroachment into
residential area.”
The rear of the parcel is
adjacent to Bonaire
Estates at one point and
it is down the street from
Bonaire Elementary
School, where residents
claimed students ride
See BOC, page 8A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Ralph Ganus
Tyler Hubbard
Amy Bryant
Area DEATHS
Annie B. Chaney
Frances Catherine Hortman
Sandra Jean Jackson
Wilma Henry Kight
Iduma Shaw Roberson
Kaitlyn Abigail Ross
Victor Thomas (Tommy)
Simerly
Floyd E. Trailer
Michele A. Twigg
Obits, page 5A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 5B
COMICS 4B
CROSSWORD ... .4B
DAVID VOLTZ 8A
LIFESTYLE 6A
OBITUARIES 5A
OPINION 4A
POLICE BEAT ... .2A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .6B
TV LISTINGS 4B
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
7*
Georgia Newspaper Project
Main Library
UN IV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
3-DIGIT 306
Serving Houston County Since 1870
(Lite ty&xxxmxi
* LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Most power restored in Houston
Flint Energies crews working with other EMCs to help members in nearby counties
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - Life is back
to normal for most Middle Georgia
residents affected by the weekend
ice storm, but there are still some
who are bearing the brunt of the
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submitted
A crowd of more than 100,000 people witnessed the second inauguration of President George W. Bush in
Washington, D.C.
Locals attend inauguration
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
Two Houston County
families were among the
many who witnessed the
second inauguration of
President George W. Bush in
Washington recently, and
both groups found it to be a
special occasion.
“It was a good opportuni
ty to see the democratic
process in action and it
made us all very proud,”
said Phil Mitchem, who
attended the ceremony with
his wife Angie and their two
sons Jake, 16, and Tyler, 13.
Mitchem is associated with
the Henry Mitchem
Equipment Co. in Perry.
Also attending the inau
guration was state
See INAUGURATION, page 3A
Perry nurse collecting
pillowcases for good cause
By TERESA D. SOUTHERN
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - Chris Sikes, a
local nurse, wants to make
the transition easier for chil
dren entering care at
Eggleston Children’s
Hospital and other chil
dren’s hospitals in the
future.
Her idea is child-friendly
pillowcases that will be
placed in the admission kits
of newly diagnosed pediatric
oncology patients, or chil
dren diagnosed with cancer.
The admission kits usually
consist of coloring books,
toothbrushes and other
basic items for new patients.
Sikes said she thinks a fun
pillowcase might make a
more comfortable place for
children to rest while they
are hospitalized.
www.hhjnews.com
stormy weather. Flint Energies
reports that fewer than 200 of its
members are without power.
Here is an update:
• There were two outages remain
ing Tuesday morning in Houston
County, where Flint crews were
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Phil and Angie Mitchem and their sons Jake and Tyler of Perry visited Washington,
D.C., to witness the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.
“Since Eggelston admits
nearly 300 newly diagnosed
children annually, they were
all for the idea,” Sikes said.
This project hits home for
Sikes - she was diagnosed at
the age of 15 with a brain
tumor and spent a lot of
time at Eggelston during
treatment. Thirteen years
later and fully recovered,
she wants to do something
for newly diagnosed chil
dren who are cancer
patients admitted to the
hospital.
Sikes recalled how the
white sheets of the hospital
were just unsettling.
Her mother always would
bring a set of sheets from
home that would make her
hospital stay more bearable.
“Not only would they
brighten up the room, but
working.
2.There are 25 member homes in
Houston County where members
have damage to their homes. Local
electricians will complete those
home repairs and Flint will dispatch
to reconnect power.
also they made my stay
more comfortable,” she said.
Sikes spoke of how during
her stays the hospital smells
would really get her after
enduring chemotherapy
treatments.
“Just the smell of some
thing from home would
make things easier,” she
said. “Bless my Mom’s
heart, she would drag those
sheets from Warner Robins
to Atlanta every week.”
Sikes has collected about
30 pillowcases so far and
hopes to raise about 300.
Her goal is to see the effort
expanded for patients at
The Children’s Hospital at
The Medical Center of
Central Georgia.
Sikes said this is an inex
pensive way to help children
being treated.
See PILLOWCASES, page 3A
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HHJ Teresa D. Southern
Chris Sikes is collecting pillowcases to be donated to
newly diagnosed cancer patients at Eggleston Children
Hospital in Atlanta, which sees over 300 new cases of
this sort yearly. Sikes hopes to provide a bright, colorful
pillowcase to each child, providing some color to their
bleak hospital rooms.
an Evans Family Newspaper
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TWO SECTIONS *l4 PAGES
3. are several outages still in
Peach County. Flint crews were on
site Tuesday morning.
4. The line serving 25 members in
northern Talbot County and Harris
County, the largest single outage
See POWER, page 3A
'Suicide
by cop'
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS
Houston County Sheriff
Cullen Talton said Tuesday
in a press release Kevin
Todd Screws “wished to
commit what is commonly
referred to as ‘suicide by
cop.
Screws was shot dead in
Woodlawn Cemetery
Thursday night following a
chase. The sheriff said in
the statement, “Screws exit
ed the vehicle with an object
in his hand and made
threatening movements
toward the officers, at which
time several officers fired at
him.”
An internal investigation
of the deputies’ actions
shows that they were acting
on an apparent threat to
their safety, and they acted
in accordance with their
training and experience,
Talton said.
The three Georgia State
Patrol troopers involved
were placed on five-day paid
administrative leave, per
GSP policy in a shooting,
explained Cpl. Chris Coley
from the GA State Patrol in
Perry.
Deputies from the
Interstate Criminal
Enforcement unit initiated
the traffic stop on 1-75 near
Ga. 26 as the black Lincoln
Navigator was displaying a
stolen tag. Screws displayed
“what appeared to be a small
handgun in their direction,”
Talton said, after refusing to
stop for deputies.
The 15-minute chase
changed direction several
times along 1-75 in Houston
and Peach counties, and the
vehicle eventually exited on
U.S. 341 in Perry and
See COP, page 3A