Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
July 22, 2005
Volume 135, Number 400
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Award-Winning
Newspaper
2005
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAY
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He almost had a halo
around Idm...'
This is for Perry folks,
for everybody involved
with Perry Volunteer
Outreach, for the people
who meet at Rozar Park
to play Bingo, for the peo
ple at First Baptist who
lost their Sunday School
Teacher.
Family&Faith, page 11A
4s®*
On the lamb
Sports, page 8A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Charles R. Holt Sr.
Rev. Johnny Sammons
Larry Stevens
(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
Arthur L. Jones
Hamilton W. Lord Jr.
Obits, page 2A
[INDEX
CLASSIFIED 14A
COMICS 13A
CROSSWORD ...13A
FAMILY&FAITH .. .11A
OBITUARIES 2A
OPINION 4A
POLICE BEAT ... .5A
SPORTS 8A
TV LISTINGS 13A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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Georgia Newspaper Project
Main Library
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July 22, 2005
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
County Fire struck with greater demand
Chief: Volunteer retention down; training, equipment, personnel needs constantly on rise
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(Part two of two)
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Houston County has eight fire
stations and only 11 full-time
firefighters.
Each fire station has one
Class A pumper, according to
Houston County Fire Chief
Jimmy Williams, with rescue or
brush trucks and water tankers
WILLIAMS
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An F-100C makes its way down Ga. 247 as it is moved to the Museum of Aviation to be displayed.
F-100 on 247
Museum of Aviation takes delivery of new fighter aircraft for display
By TERESA D. SOUTHERN
HHJ Staff Writer
Traffic halted Wednesday
on Ga. 247 as an F-100C
taxis down the makeshift
runaway complete with
police escorts.
The “Super Sabre”
breezed at a speed of about
five to 10 miles an hour,
though it was known as the
world’s first production air
craft capable of flying faster
than the speed of sound in
level flight which is 760
miles per hour in flight.
The aircraft is being taken
Board hears Elaine Drive traffic, speed counts
Will consider closure request only after reviewing all the information
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HHJ Ray Lightner
Michael Vicknair goes over the traffic study done near his
home with county commissioners Tuesday night.
www.hhjnews.com
to its final destination of the
Museum of Aviation.
“After months of detailed
corrosion work, a fresh
paint job and new markings,
the F-100 is coming back
home to the museum,” said
Paul Hibbitts, director of
the museum.
The move didn’t quite go
off without a hitch.
Upon arriving at Gate 14
on the west end of the
Museum of Aviation, the air
craft just couldn’t make it
in, despite several tries.
The solution - uproot the
in stations in the south end of
the county.
“The front-line trucks are
generally in good shape,”
Williams said in a recent inter
view, “but the newest truck is 10
years old and the oldest 24 years
old.”
The department has re-bid
out for a new fire engine, and
when it arrives, the one it
replaces will be used as a backup
fence.
Once inside the museum’s
gates, the plane was taken
to a temporary location for
public viewing.
“It’s not an easy job,” said
Tony Faircloth with the
museum’s aircraft restora
tion team.
Faircloth said this job was
easy compared to others,
where electric poles had to
be moved to clear the path
for incoming aircraft to the
museum.
The 116th Air Control
Wing and the 653rd Combat
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Closing a road is a very
serious matter, but so is the
safety of the 30 children on
Elaine Drive.
Elaine Drive resident
Michael Vicknair wants his
street closed off again at
Elaine Court, so it is not a
cut-through for the resi
dents of the nearby Red Fox
Run trailer park. He is con
cerned about the unlicensed
and uninsured drivers and
possible illegal immigrants
that he believes reside
there.
Police safety checkpoints
set up on Russell Parkway
near the entrance to the
mobile home park regularly
result in dozen of citations
for Red Fox Run residents
for no license, no insurance
and other violations, accord
ing to arrest reports.
In Tuesday’s meeting,
Vicknair overwhelmed coun
when other trucks are in for
service, Williams said.
The chief said each station is
staffed by one full-time fire
fighter from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday. Three
stations - 1 (Carl Vinson
Parkway), 2 (Bonaire) and 5
(Lake Joy) - have a second full
time firefighter from 3 p.m. to
midnight Monday through
Friday.
Logistics Support Squadron
have been a major part of
many museum restoration
projects.
“The F-100 will wear the
markings of the Air
National Guard and com
pletes another phase in
telling the story of preserv
ing the history of our part
ners who perform such a
vital mission for the Air
Logistics Center and the Air
Force,” Hibbitts said.
Dennis Oliver, chief of
restoration at the Museum
See F-100, page 3A
ty commissioners with sta
tistics from a July 13-14
Elaine Drive traffic study
conducted by the Houston
County Sheriffs Office,
which he said counted 879
northbound trips - with 550
of them at speed between 35
and 69 miles per hour. Only
74 of those 879 were obeying
the posed 25-mph speed
limit, Vicknair said.
He had disputed a previ
ous study conducted closer
to the Russell Parkway
intersection, but said the
most recent one “was reflec
tive of me sitting out there
with a pen a paper.”
When asked by
Commission Chairman Ned
Sanders what he wanted,
Vicknair said, “Bottom line,
I request Elaine Drive be
returned to a dead-end
street as was promised 20
years ago, for the safety of
the at least 30 children on
See ELAINE, page 15A
ONE SECTION *l6 PAGES
Williams, an assistant chief
and an investigator make up the
rest of the full-time department,
which is supplemented by about
100 volunteers.
“Volunteers are an excellent
way of doing fire service,”
Williams said, “since Benjamin
Franklin created the first volun
teer fire department 200 years
ago.”
See FIRE, page 3A
Council
offers
couple
credit
Perryans paid for
sewer service
they didn’t
receive
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
The Perry City Council
made an overture to a
Perry couple this week
who paid city sewer fees
for 17 years before discov
ering that they’re home
was connected to a septic
tank.
Dell and Joyce
Emerson, who live on
Cedar Ridge Drive in
Perry, estimated that they
have erroneously paid the
city close to $3,800 since
they moved into their
home in 1987. The issue
was first raised during a
meeting of the council’s
public works oversight
committee in late June.
The council refused to
give the couple a full
refund during its regular
meeting July 5, arguing
that the four-year statute
of limitations set by the
state had passed and that
they would break state
law if they did, setting a
See CREDIT, page 15A
Perry
council,
planners
come
together
Groups discuss
PUD restrictions,
proposed zoning
changes
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
The Perry City Council
sat down with the city’s
planning commission this
week in a brainstorming
session designed to help a
growing community plan
for the future.
Perry officials face con
tinued growth from major
residential subdivisions,
and have concerns over
future commercial devel
opment along the Perry
See COUNCIL, page 6A
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