Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2005
12A
wm
I. jf : 'fr '
iterff jj£ %
HHJ/Mike George
Perry Firefighter Kelvin Ross draws a layout of Gilbert’s Appliance Store on Jemigan
Street in Perry recently. The map will be used to help firefighters if a fire breaks out in
the building.
FIRE
From page 1A
Perry Firefighter Kelvin
Ross. “We can look at our
drawings and decide what
the plan of attack will be.”
The department’s pre
planning program is
designed to help firefighters
know what they are up
against when a fire breaks
out.
“Every business here in
Perry is important to us,”
said Perry Fire Chief Freddy
Howell. “When a fire starts,
we want to know how to
attack it.”
Howell said that the pro
gram is already in place in
other cities in Georgia,
including Warner Robins.
“This is also about fire
fighter safety,” Howell said.
Wild Turkey, not wildfire
ByRAYUGHTNER
HHJ Staff writer
Bradley David McWhorter,
33, 212 Mason Drive,
Centerville, was arrested at
12:44 a.m. Friday after
allegedly setting his girl
friend’s belongings on fire in
the front yard.
According to Centerville
BOARD
From page 1A
For the use of the facili
ties, the charges range from
SIOO for auditoriums and
gyms, SSO for classrooms
and lunchrooms, $25 for
lunchrooms, $250-$350 for
baseball fields, and $450-
S7OO for stadiums.
If the policy is approved
the prices will increase to
the following: S2OO for audi
toriums and gyms, SIOO for
classrooms and lunchrooms,
$250 for lunchrooms, and
SSOO-$ 1,000 for stadium
usage.
“It’s time-consuming and
we should limit the renting
at times, but we want to be a
ARK
From page 1A
senior citizens, Trap Neuter
Return, a program to neuter
and vaccinate feral cats in
order to protect domestic
feline populations, and a pet
adoption service.
The group holds adoptions
at the Petsmart in Warner
Robins on Sundays from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Those wishing to donate
items can call (478) 923-
4926 and anyone who wants
to donate money can mail it
to ARK at EO. Box 7603,
Warner Robins, GA 31095.
“When they go to fight a
fire, they’ll already know
the layout, so they can get
out of the building if they
need to.”
Howell said that the
department has divided the
city into three zones, each
covered by a different shift
of firefighters. Howell said
that the department’s insur
ance requires them to estab
lish plans at large business
es that are target hazards -
identified because a fire
could cause heavy dollar
losses and possibly even
deaths. But Howell said that
the department wants to
protect every business in
Perry.
“The police department
has gone towards communi
Police Officer Jeff Keenom,
McWhorter was living with
the victim and became
angry when she went out
and was not there when he
was home. Keenom said “he
took all of her personal
belongings in the house -
purses, personal effects -
and set them afire in the
front yard.”
good part of the communi
ty,” McMahan said.
Just this month there
were about five requests for
school facility usage for
church services and activi
ties.
He also stated the schools
are competing for low ener
gy usage and are given cash
rewards by Flint Energies if
they do so. He said the extra
use of the facilities disquali
fies schools for this.
He suggested facility use
be limited to only weekends.
He also said the price of
lunchroom kitchens price
was raised more than others
because there has been too
ARK is a non-profit organ
ization and receipts are
available for tax purposes.
SCHNEIDER ,
nwonall
_ Visit
your area!
1-SOO-44-PRJOC
{1 -800-447-74*3)
Mon-fit ?am-9pm
Sot & Sum B»r>-6pm
(Central Tmw>
INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS
EXPERIENCED DRIVERS
OWNER-OPERATORS
• No experience necessary
• Company-paid CDL training for
qualified candidates
• $34,500-s42£oolst year (inexperienced)
• s4B^oo-567,500/year in 4 years |
• low-cost medical & dental inauance;
free vision & life
• Paid vacation & holidays fg|jj
• Solos & teams
SCHNEIDERJOBS.COM
ty-oriented police work,” he
said. “We want the same
thing to happen with our
department.
“We want a proactive fire
department,” he said.
The Fire Department
plans to build a book of lay
outs and building maps.
They also will keep a file on
each business in the area
that lists things like emer
gency contact numbers, type
of construction, the type of
roof on the building, and the
location of smoke detectors.
Howell said that the
department will continue
the program throughout the
rest of the year and begin
again next year, identifying
changes in the building over
time.
“Both were pretty intoxi
cated,” Keenom said, with
McWhorter having had “an
extreme amount of Wild
Turkey.”
McWhorter was charged
with third-degree arson for
the family violence incident
since they were living
together, Keenom said. No
one was injured in the fire.
much of an investment Put
into equipment for it to be
open for use and there are
also safety and health
department concerns to con
sider.
In other business, the
board will be presented a
salary study conducted by
Bobby Stephens, an inde
pendent consultant. The
study was done on all classi
fied or non-certified employ
ees in the system.
$1.2 million dollars has
been budgeted to allow for
the increase in salaries of 94
positions and the restruc
turing of 40 positions.
More information about ARK
is available at www.hous
tonark.petfinder.com.
NEW PAY PACKAGE
Drive for Schneider National and earn more.
LOCAL
PLANNING
From page 1A
David Feldman, who runs
the Perry Taekwondo Studio
on Wespark Drive, said he
was worried about young
people gathering at the car
wash at night and wondered
how he would protect his
young clients, who leave the
building as late as 9 p.m.
Dr. Scott Westmoreland,
who owns the Westmoreland
Animal Hospital near the
site, asked the commission
to make careful decisions as
they plot out the future of
development on Perry
Parkway.
Hall, part owner of
Permac Properties Inc., said
he did not think the busi
ness would cause problems
for the community.
“I think we run a business
that most people have been
satisfied with,” Hall said.
“We sure don’t want proper
ty values to go down.”
Hall’s partnership also owns
a car wash on Swift Street in
downtown Perry for 16
years. Hall challenged the
group’s claims that a new
car wash would create traf
fic problems and encourage
crime.
“I guess I didn’t realize
that if we closed all the car
washes in America, we
would eliminate crime,”
Hall said.
He said his car wash on
Swift Street sits right next
to a Presbyterian Church
and said no one has ever
filed an official complaint
about his business with the
Perry Police Department.
Hall said he planned to build
a covered car wash with two
entrances to alleviate traffic
problems, but Beeland said
that the building would not
fit in among existing office
buildings that have been
CEMIGREEN
NURSERY, INC.
|k r MM* . TMT r* $ 'wwk^g
|| ;
GRAND OPENING
B uMon/ JM|
•„$r f . TF w
* Landscape Design & Installation i
I* Irrigation & Maintenance 1
• Beautiful Nursery ||
• Watei Features
• Custom Mailboxes
i. I ®
YOUR NEW POND t PERENNIAL HEADQUARTERS
9180 Miami Valley Road. HWY 96
f ort Valley, Georgia 31030
478.825.1374
, [Coming Soon) www.cedorgreen.us
Am
there for several years.
“A car wash is a car wash
is a car wash,” Hall said.
Commissioner Jim
Mehserle said he believed in
the freedom of property
ownership, but sided with
business owners who made
prior investments in the
area. Although Hall’s
request was denied by the
planning commission, he
still has a chance to per
suade the Perry City Council
to grant his exception dur
ing its regular meeting July
5.
In other business:
• The commission recom
mended the annexation of
44 acres of land along
Langston Road, but recom
mended denying the
Cottonwood Land
Corporation’s request to
rezone the property from R
-1 (single family residential)
to R-3 (multi-family residen
tial) property. The rezoning
would have allowed for
smaller lot sizes. Oliver
Bateman, an agent repre
senting the company from
Macon, said the developers
planned to build affordable
housing as an alternative for
empty nesters and young
couples looking to buy a new
home in Perry. The commis
sion was concerned about
the size of the lots on the
property, deciding to keep
the land under R-l zoning.
If the property were
annexed by the city, the
developers would be able to
connect the development to
the city’s sewer system,
avoiding Houston County’s
requirements for septic
tanks. The rezoning will be
considered by the Perry City
Council July 19.
• The commission recom
mended rezoning an 89-acre
Catch all the local news in
CLtJrfe Stnxvtml
Call 1478) 987-1823
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
parcel of property on Bear
Branch Road from an R-AG
(residential-agricultural)
district, to a PUD (planned
unit development).
Developer Charlie
McGlamry, whose company
developed the Eagle Springs
subdivision, plans to build a
subdivision with different
shapes and lot sizes. Last
month, the commission
denied his request because it
did not include open green
spaces. Monday, the com
mission voted to endorse his
request, but will require
him to keep the open spaces
landscaped and build a pri
vacy fence around the prop
erty. McGlamry’s request
will now go to the Perry City
Council. Commissioner Paul
Cosey voted against the
move.
• The commission is also
considering creating a new
zoning district - OC, or
office commercial, which
will be used as a transitional
district between commercial
and residential areas.
Commissioners are still
deciding what businesses
can open in such a district,
but commissioners have
asked for offices, small retail
stores, and banks, among
others. In April, a local
developer asked the commis
sion to rezone a tract of land
along Perry Parkway in
front of the Yorktown subdi
vision into commercial prop
erty. Residents argued that
allowing a commercial
rezoning would leave the
land open for any type of
commercial development,
from truck stops to night
clubs. Commissioners hope
this new designation will
give developers and resi
dents an alternative.