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FRIDAY July 22, 2005 Volume 135, Number 400 /dzJSsNA Award-Winning Newspaper 2005 Better Newspaper Contest Inside TODAY I^, 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 itilMimillttlfrtiiililllittllrtrllittirMl'itlf 5 Georgia Newspaper Project Main Library UN IV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 3C6G2-GGG2 ALL FOR ADC 301 July 22, 2005 Serving Houston County Since 1870 Y intrusion dHmnr f (Lite djauma l * LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY \ 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 <r % (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 wJB-. "■ {« • KgffM " ' i; j *'■ -AsPl s '•■pi jtML m ■ w&m .mi wfr fIpnBMHPS.' (W Hit' , n ’lk •' *’’)* J -V-vi HHJTeresa D. Southern 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 y V ■ \ \ ■ I .M 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 an Evans Family Newspaper 500