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WEDNESDAY January 4, 2006 Volume 136, Number 1 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Sewspaptr Contest Inside TODAY A Pears, plain and fancy Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” The pear that’s just right for eating today is likely to be overripe tomorrow, and many times, the best option in the produce section is a pear that isn’t ripe yet. Just let it ripen at home. Hearth&Home, page 7A Happy BIRTHDAY! inf.,,, b-h » n«fc«ntii irnany usubsipv rawny nNMk (Surprise your friends! Let us know when their birthday or anni versary 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 hhjeevansnewspapers.com, or mail them to us at the address inside. No phone calls, please. Many happy returns!) Area DEATHS Cleveland S. Bethune Jr. L.A. Bullock Gertrud “Trudy” Crocker Grier W. “G.W.” Hicks Betty Rose Hill Sky Owen Olson Jerrett E. Singleton Mary K. Smith Madelyn Betty Snyder Obits, page 5A INDEX CLASSIFIED 9A CLUB NEWS 2A COMICS 8A CROSSWORD.... 8A LIFESTYLE 7A OBITUARIES 5A OPINION 4A PHARMACY Q&A . 6A SPORTS 10A TV LISTINGS 8A WEATHER 2A a PERIODICAL liilliiiiMilliilliiiiilillliiilliii 4 Georgia Ne-wspaper Project Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 ALL FOR ADC 301 January 4, 2006 Serving Houston County Since 1870 \ i ptcmstot plume \4 (LLhe A)xmvixm " LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Board endorses veto power for annexations Commissioners reject norv contiguous request from WR By TIMOTHY GRAHAM HHJ Staff Writer Although the Houston County Board of Commissioners had a short agenda for its Tuesday morn ing meeting and got through it in short order, it was clear that they had something on their minds. And that something was annexation. After the new business was complete and the floor open to public comments, three county residents got before the microphone to complain Sign up now for Fire Academy Perry FD expects more participants in this year’s 1 Rweek course By MIKE QEOROE HHJ Staff Writer The Perry Fire Department is bringing back the Citizens’ Fire Academy this February, offering another chance to see what life is really like for local firefighters. “I think there’s this mind set out there that once we get back to the station, all we do is sit around and play check Noler promoted at Perry PD • .J jj 1, | | H X «■» jmeMMi: SSllilli - H JUm !■; 'V. 'SB HHJ Mike Georgr The Perry Police Department’s newest detective, Nate No/er, right, beams alongside Perry Police Chief George Potter, at his promotion ceremony Tuesday morning. No/er, 25, was hired by the department in 2003 after an internship with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in 2002 No/er has associate’s and bachelor’s degrees from Macon State College, and is married. No/er said Tuesday he has always dreamed of a long career in law enforcement, and is noted around the department for his drive and determination. He will step into a spot left by outgoing Detective Leyon Roberts, who is moving into a position as an assistant shift supervisor with the patrol division. www.hhjnews.com about -in their opinion - out-of-control annexation. And they found a ready and sympathetic audience from the commission. Commissioners Tom McMichael and Jay Walker revealed that they had recently attended a meeting of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia where the question of annex ation was discussed and a bill was drafted to address the issue. McMichael said the bill - which would give See COMMISSION, page 3A ers,” said Perry Firefighter Kirk Crumpton. “But there’s so much that goes into this that people don’t see, and that’s what this fire acad emy is all about.” Only a handful signed up for the academy last year, but Crumpton expects enrollment in the academy to increase this year. “I’d like to see at least 10 See ACADEMY, page 3A A great year in local sports JBbfr- Pi' ■i- ; "‘ k ’ ;• •’ . % ' ,• \» >!? v,- r 4P' i Jm HHJ Clary Harmon It was a year that began with the announcement Andy Scott would be Perry High School’s new athletic director and head football coach and ended with Peach County stealing the Bear Brawl basketball tournament. In between there were region championships and a hundred other memories, including the heartbreak for Northside of losing the AAAA football finals. Read about the past year in local sports beginning on page 10A. HOPE rules change could discourage honors classes The Associated Press ATLANTA - A change in how grades are weighed for the HOPE scholarship could end up discouraging Georgia students from taking honors classes. Beginning in the spring of 2007, extra points that had been added to grades made in honors classes will not be counted when deciding who gets a HOPE scholarship. For some college-bound students, that means taking the harder horrors classes could bring their grade point average below the 3.0 average the scholarship requires. The legislature agreed to stop using the extra point for merit-based scholarships in 2004, citing concerns over uneven quality of honors classes around the state. But Tom Bowen, chair man of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, said he is worried the change will cause students to play it safe and take easier classes. “Isn’t the state trying to push standards up?” Bowen asked. “We, being the state, should really consider this again. Do we really want to tell that student who’s right at 3.0, who wants to take a challenging course, ‘Don’t take it, because you may put an Evans Family Newspaper 50c iiiiniiii a*ssloß*oooor ,11 4 ONE SECTION *l2 PAGES your HOPE scholarship at risk’?” In making the change, leg islators cited lack of con sistency. Unlike Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes, which follow a set curriculum, hon ors courses are developed by local schools. In a Nov. 30 letter to state Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, the Finance Commission said it would give students a half-let ter weight for grades in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes but that it could not do the same for honors class es. The commission asked Cox and the state Education Board to re-examine honors classes. But a spokesman said the Education Department has no immediate plans to look into setting standards for honors classes. A few state board mem bers said they expect to con sider the rigors of honors classes at some point this year. The board needs to consider whether removing extra points for those class es will discourage students, said board member Linda Zechmann, who represents southeast Georgia. See HOPE, page 34