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FRIDAY July 15, 2005 Volume 135, Number 395 Award-Winning Better Newspaper u|K/ Contest Inside TODAY “ fj| Pastor's vision becomes reality A year and a half later, Billy Thomas, lead pastor of The Refuge, is follow ing through on his vision. The Refuge, a church of the Assemblies of God denomination, is located on the corner of Todd Road and U.S. 41 north of Perry. Since its first meeting in January 2004, it has grown from eight mem bers to over 75, with even more attending every Sunday. To Thomas, it a prom ise fulfilled. Family&Faith, page 64 Happy BIRTHDAY! Jeanette Arrington Brittani Hawk Denny Horton Carl L. Shaw Jean Vance (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 None were reported for today’s edition. INDEX CLASSIFIED 5B COMICS 4B CROSSWORD ... .4B LIFESTYLE 6A OBITUARIES ..NONE OPINION 4A SCHOOL NEWS .. .6B SPORTS 1B TV LISTINGS 4B WEATHER 2A PERIODICAL iltillllflllillltlMMllllHllllilltilfftlvillltllll 5 Georgia Newspaper Project Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 306G2-GGG2 ALL FOR ADC 301 july 15, 2005 Serving Houston County Since 1870 (T!p( \ | Hint stern Moms if dim " LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry ; cm of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Hotel may be coming to agricenter Hilton Garden Inn under consideration; local hoteliers say it will hurt business By TERESA D. SOUTHERN HHJ Staff Writer The Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter may soon add lodging to its facilities that host a variety of professional and agricultural events. At its monthly meeting, the f-en Lm/t €& UfiUtoL % •* WR businessman renames restaurant, * a year after daughter s death By TIMOTHY GRAHAM HHJ Staff Writer Mike’s Hot Dogs and Hamburgers on Russell Parkway is changing its name, but not its great food. Owner Mike Wellons has decided to rename his restaurant in honor of his daughter Natalie, who died in a traffic accident a year ago. “The corporate name will still be Mike’s because that would be too expensive to change, but all of the menus, T-shirts, and the sign will be changed to Natalie’s,” Wellons said. Natalie was a 16-year-old freshman at Perry High School. She had just started living with Mike and his wife Rita three months ear lier when she accepted an offer from cook Matt Sapp to give her a ride home from the restaurant. Rita had just gotten Natalie a car a few days before, but the head lights did not work. Matt lost control of his car in a curve and hit an oncoming vehicle. Both he and Natalie died in the wreck. It was April 19, 2004. Now, more than a year later, Wellons thinks it is See NATALIE'S, page 8A MGTC earns accreditation Four-year process ends in success for local technical college Special to the HHJ Middle Georgia Technical College (MGTC) was granted accreditation to award associate degrees, by the Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) on June 23. The date EDENFIELD : l&B ' '*• , ’ I .' ' ' ■ •v^pr^'" ■ jjytef;BEg|jy Vggßgl gv!««EU '. ' HHJ/Mike Georg© Gov. Sonny Perdue helps Jim Perdue, chairman and CEO of Perdue Farms, open a gift at the Perdue Farms Food Plant outside Perry Thursday. Perdue Farms, the nation’s third largest poultry company, is planning a $155 million expansion of its Georgia pro cessing operations in Houston and Monroe counties, and its Perry plant is slated to become the company’s main distribution center in the southeast. www.hhjnews.com Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority heard information from Construction Management Services about the possibility of a Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center on the grounds of the agricenter. Almost two years ago, this was an issue of disagreement with local hoteliers who felt a competitor at gfc.. JIM &L ; 7 |? : 'M .. W jivN ' ” W S v> ':Wi'' *”■' f p nfe ■ - 1 mfe Jfek " WF pr j®" " HEsfe, izmimm ~--4 »' Jr j \ i , ass ■« in P f BE B B® \ HllplPlill, S m .- - - ’ . " ... -t•• Jr i * v ’ • ■' ./ .'i.T'V-' 7 ' .f . -'»• ’ ' V-!’- 7 Mike Wellons and his wife Rita pose with a picture of his daughter Natalie, who died in a traffic accident just a little more than a year ago. Wellons is renaming his business, Mike’s Hot Dogs and Hamburgers, in Natalie’s memory. of accreditation is retroactive to Jan. 1. MGTC first applied for membership with SACS/COC in January 2001, under the leadership of then- President Billy G. Edenfield. The commission granted candidacy status the GNFA would take business away from them. Today the opinion is the pretty much the same. Ron Evans, general manager of the Perry Quality Inn, said he feels the agricenter is a wonderful facility, but that it was brought to bring business to the local community and Perdue Farms makes it official Plant to be main distribution center By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Jim Perdue, chairman and CEO of Perdue Farms, one of the nation’s largest poul try companies, formally announced Thursday that his company is planning a $155 million expansion that will make the Perry process ing plant the company’s main distribution center for the Southeast. The expansion is slated to bring close to 1,000 new jobs to Houston County. The company estimates that it will spend $146 See PERDUE, page SA feels only the agricenter will prosper if it continues in this endeavor. “We would be against it,” he said. “(GNFA Executive Director Michael) Froehlich does a wonderful job out there and in bringing busi ness to Perry, but this would hurt our community. See HOTEL, page 54 to MGTC in 2003. MGTC conducted an extensive self study during 2003 and 2004 and host ed a visiting accreditation committee this past January. During the self study process and subsequent See MGTC, page 8A an Evans Family Newspaper 50c nninn TWO SECTIONS *l4 PAGES JIM PERDUE HHJ Timothy Graham [i PETERS