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THURSDAY June 9, 2005 Volume 135, Number 369 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest Inside TODAY _ ' s J%j?' >3 wjr § i jI. ,n Creating art from a block of wood In the art of woodcarv ing, it all begins with a simple and featureless block of wood. Entertainment, page 7A Happy BIRTHDAY! Bettie Caldwell Chrissy Calloway Mark Cummings Johnny Evans Lucy Hicks Andrew Johnson Patrick McCann Stacy Minter Happy ANNIVERSARY; Betsy and Dan McCann (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 Ginger Lynn Allen Shirley A. Collins Annie Sullivan Evans Jack Hardy Harold J. Robinson Obits, page 2A INDEX CLASSIFIED 9A COMICS 6A CROSSWORD ... .6A ENTERTAINMENT .7A OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 4A SPORTS 1B TV LISTINGS 6A WEATHER 2A PERIODICAL 6* Georgia tte*spsper Projea Man Library UNiV OF GEORGIA ATHOLS GA 3-DIQT 306 Junw 9, 2005 Serving Houston County Since 1870 Y f plmtstcm Mmralf C!ite jjmmuu W LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY \ city of Perry ; city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville County budget up about $3.5 million ByRAYUGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer The county budget is going up next year. At the first reading of the fiscal year 2006 general fund budget of $40,524,824, Houston County Board of Commissioners Chairman Ned Holmes building on success Warner Robins auto dealership ranked among nation’s top businesses SSL ».* SFii.i f ?»Skl»LvifCsr/ - *, , *.« _ * n •• . -* ■— " / ' w .... ■~— * : SR***- jr - 1,. Hfc. hb|9 H , M■l ■BI BL . «P||§* ' 1 rrirlu HHJ Toresa D. Southern Terry L. Holmes, dealer principal of Warner Robins Ford Lincoln Mercury was named on Black Enterprise magazine’s 33rd annual B.E. 100 s ranking of black-owned busi nesses. Perry fireworks ban gets first reading Chamber, Downtown Development Authority ask for more money from council By TIM HOSKINS HHJ Staff Writer The Perry City Council moved forward with a fire works ban, and continued to discuss 2006 budget issues at a work session and regu lar council meeting Tuesday night. County sets moratorium on sparklers By RAY LIGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer You can’t buy, sell or use sparklers in Houston County through July 22. The Houston County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to put a moratori um on the sale, purchase and use of sparklers for 45 days, “to stop sales until an ordinance can be enacted,” said Houston County Fire Chief Jimmy Williams. “I’d hate to see anything happen,” Williams said, proposing the moratorium until the ban ordinance is enacted. He said fire chiefs around the state are con cerned about fireworks. “They burn hot and cause fires,” Williams said. “We had a grass fire started by a sparkler on the day the law passed.” www.hhjnews.com Sanders said it is up about 9.6 per cent, from FY2oos’s $36,975,087. The General .Fund is the largest por tion of the county budget, and is funded by property taxes. No mention was made of a tax increase at Tuesday’s hearing, but County Commissioner Larry The council accepted a first reading of an ordinance to ban items classified as sparklers that were recently made legal under state laws. The city’s police and fire chiefs support the ban and it will receive a final vote at its second reading at the next Williams said sparklers burn at 1,500 degrees. “Matches burn at 1,000 degrees,” the fire chief said. “We tell kids not to play with matches, but it’s OK to hand them a sparkler.” Commissioner Larry Thompson said sparklers are more than the small metal sticks people are familiar with. “Some go 13 feet in the air and are in canisters 6 inches in diameter,” Thomson said. “These are the same things that caused that fire at the night club in the Northeast.” The commissioners also approved the first reading of an ordinance banning all fireworks, with the second reading and enactment expected to take place at See SPARKLERS, page 10A Thomson told members of the Houston County Development Authority on June 2 that “a small millage rate increase is expected. Less than a mill.” County Director of Administration Steve Engle said on June 2 the county “is anticipating a council meeting June 21. One widely discussed issue as the council prepares the city’s fiscal year 2006 budget was city funding of the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce and the Perry Downtown Development Authority (DDA), two Ross brings ‘Star Wars’ show to town I m | mKKr I ' jr —Mi, m HIM Mike George Charlie Ross, the “One Man Star Wars Trilogy," jokes with Ellis Anne Sykes of Macon, after his performance Tuesday night at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. Sykes is a student at Midsummer Macon, a program that offers children, teens and teachers a chance to explore the arts through day camps, performances, demonstra tions, and lectures. Story, page 10A By TERESA D. SOUTHERN HHJ Staff Writer By any measure, Terry L. Holmes has done all right for himself. Holmes is dealer principal of Warner Robins Ford Lincoln Mercury in Warner Robins, which has been ranked on Black Enterprise’s annual “B.E. 100 s” lists as one of the nation’s top black-owned businesses. On the list, the auto deal ership is ranked number 51, rising from a position of 66 last year. Holmes said he is proud of the ranking, and the fact this is the fifth year the dealership has made the list, which is featured in the magazine’s June issue. But at the end of the day, he wants to be measured as a good person and dealer regardless of his race, sex or creed - “but. not forgetting I’m an African American,” he said. “It’s not about me, but the organizations which pro mote Perry businesses. Both organizations had their funding cut for the 2005 budget. Although the Chamber of Commerce is set to receive a $1,500 increase over last year’s amount, it is asking an Evans Family Newspaper 500 TWO SECTIONS • 18 PAGES 4 percent growth in the tax digest, but based on that we expect a mill age increase of less than mill.” The commissioners will hold a sec ond hearing on the budget at its next meeting, June 21 at the County Annex in Warner Robins. See BUDGET, page 10A 1 don't see this as a minority business, just as a business.' - Terry L. Holmes, dealer principal of Warner Robins Ford Lincoln Mercury customers and employees that serve the people and community we represent by bringing positive attention to Middle Georgia,” Holmes said. “I don’t see this as a minority business, just as a business.” Holmes’ path to success began on a Unadilla farm. Here the son of Ella Lee Goode, stepson of Cornelious Goode and grandson of Ella Mae Holmes grew up on the self sufficient 300-acre farm that had been in his family since slavery. See HOLMES, page 10A for a restoration of 2004’s allocation of $12,000. “We respectfully request that the full amount be restored,” said Mike Jackson, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, at the council meeting. “We See PERRY, page 10A