Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
April 8, 2005
Volume 135, Number 325
Award-Winning
Better Newspaper
Contest Ngaitfy
Inside TODAY
***'■
The BiU Glass
Prison Ministry
comes to Perry
PERRY-The BUI Glass
Prison Ministry’s
“Weekend of Champions”
will meet in Perry, April
14-17. Perry First Baptist
Church will be the host
for the weekend.
Family&Faith, page 6A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
April 8
Ed Beckham
Gail Brown
Judy Brown
Polly Mohr
Elise Rogers
April 9
Ashley Garrett
Jean Hubbard
(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
Lynette Eason Horne
Bernice Y. Knopf
Carolyn Oretha “Carter”
Lunsford
Obits, page 2A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 9A
COMICS 8A
CROSSWORD ....8A
FAMILY&FAITH .. .6A
OBITUARIES 2A
OPINION 4A
POLICE BEAT ... .5A
SPORTS 10A
TV LISTINGS 8A
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
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™ LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Unemployment rising in Houston
By RAY UGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS
Unemployment in Houston County
rose 0.5 percent in February, bring
ing the latest figure to 5 percent,
according to the Georgia
Department of Labor.
The February unemployment rate
of 5 percent marks an increase of 0.8
percent from December’s 4.2 per
cent unemployment rate.
The area unemployment rate still
Grand jury, DA: officers' actions justified
Alabama family plans to sue officers involved in fatal shooting in cemetery
By RAY LICHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - “It’s a closed
case as far as I’m con
cerned,” said Houston
Circuit District Attorney
Kelly Burke.
Burke presented the
Georgia Bureau of
Investigation report and in
car videos from officers
involved the January chase
and fatal shooting of Kevin
Todd Screws to the grand
jury Tuesday.
After hearing evidence for
over an
hour, and
three min
utes of
delibera
tion, Burke
said, the 21 -
members
announced
through the
foreman
that “the
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SCREWS
shooting was justified.”
’’Typically if there is a
shooting I present it to the
grand jury, for information
purposes and to seek direc
tion,” the DA said.
He presented the same in
car video and the GBI inves
tigation to reporters
Wednesday afternoon.
Screws, 34, of Anniston,
Ala., was shot by police Jan.
27 in Woodlawn Cemetery
following a chase involving
the Houston County
Sheriffs Office and the
Georgia State Patrol, with
assistance from the Perry
Police Department and the
Peach County Sheriffs
Office.
Burke said Screws did not
have a gun, but pointed an
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HHJ Julie Evans
This dove has built her nest in a tractor tire at Walker-Rhodes Tractor in Perry, and
is guarding her eggs. She is apparently unable to fly, but shows no fear of human vis
itors.
www.hhjnews.com
remains below the state average of
5.3 percent for February.
Comparing initial unemployment
insurance claims, however, Houston
County had fewer claims in
February (356), than the 394 in
January, and was 22.1 percent below
the 457 claims in February 2004.
The unemployment rate in the
metro Macon area for February rose
to 5.9 percent - 0.4 percent higher
than 5.5 percent in January and 0.7
percent higher than December.
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HHJ/Ray Lightner
Houston Circuit District Attorney Kelly Burke shows reporters how Kevin Todd Screws came over the roof of the
stolen Lincoln Navigator holding a black leather glove and pointing at police.
object at pursuing officers
both during the chase and
when the chase ended at the
cemetery.
A black leather glove,
black-handled screwdrivers
and 40 TV remotes were
found in the stolen SUV
The Middle Georgia Region,
which includes both Macon and
Warner Robins areas as well as
Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Houston,
Jones, Monroe, Pulaski, Peach,
Putnam and Twiggs counties, is also
above the state average at 5.7 per
cent, and was up from the previous
two months. The 5.7 percent for
February is also the highest point in
the past 12 months.
According to the Department of
Labor, the state added 18,800 pay
roll jobs, most in service-related
after the shooting. Burke
said Screws was holding a
black TV remote in his hand
when he found dead inside
the SUV
“Screws fell into the car,”
Burke said. “He was shot
outside. The video shows his
hat fly off his head and fall
into the seat.”
Screws was only hit by the
“one fatal shot to the head,”
Burke said, and by “some
buckshot from the shotgun
shots used to blow out the
windows.”
WR prison
guard indicted
Blackshear accused of ferrying
drugs into Dooly State Prison
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - Eric Woods
Blackshear, 28, 800 Leisure
Lake Drive, Apt. 15-1,
Warner Robins, was indicted
April 5 on charges of taking
money to ferry drugs in to
prisoners at Dooly State
Prison.
The charges include pos
session of marijuana with
intent to distribute, posses
sion of marijuana-more than
one ounce and procuring an
item for an inmate without
the warden’s consent, on
March 2.
Perry Police arrested the
prison guard in a sting oper
ation. Perry Police Capt.
an Evans Family Newspaper
50 c
ONE SECTION • 12 PAGES
industries, during the January to
February period.
“While we had a modest increase
in the number of jobs,' we also had
an increase of nearly 12,000 unem
ployed workers,” said Georgia Labor
Commissioner Michael Thurmond,
“which led to the increase in the
unemployment rate.”
Thurmond said that over the past
year, job growth in Georgia has not
kept pace with growth in the labor
force, causing “continued weakness
in the state’s job market.”
Six officers fired on the
vehicle, some to take out the
windows and others to take
out the tires, so Screws
wouldn’t flee, Burke said.
The officers fired based on
their location to the
See SCREWS, page 3A
William Phelps said Dooly
State Prison Warden Bruce
Chatman
contacted
him and
Det. Drew
Dodson
about the
activity.
“ W e
received
information
that he was
bringing
drugs into the prison for
inmates,” Phelps said.
Perry Police, along with
the Perry Office of the
Georgia Bureau of
Investigation, set up a
See GUARD, page 5A
A
BLACKSHEAR