Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

FRIDAY April 28, 2006 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 83 OUR FRONT PORCH INSIDE Don’t Sweat the small stuff ■ Perry soccer standout Jason Sweat has plenty ot memories on the pitch - a lot of them revolving around scoring. The one that stands out the most, however, is more like a nightmare than a blessing. - Page 1B Sara Lewis, ‘do-overs’ ■ If you could do it all over again, would you? - Page 4A IN BRIEF Christmas in April ■ Rebuilding America along with Christmas In April will be holding their annual work day Saturday. This year’s projects include making repairs to more than 30 houses in the Houston County/Wamer Robins area. According to representatives from the organization, all repairs, wheth er major projects or smaller work requests, are handled at no cost to the homeowner. Materials, as well as laborers, are provided for the proj ects. For more information on how you, your group, your church or your civic organization can help, contact James Williams at 971-3769 or Jerome Stephens at 929-1476. Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival this weekend ■ The semiannual Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is located six miles east of Interstate 75, in deep piney woods off Lake Joy Road between Perry and Warner Robins. The Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival was named one of the Top 20 events in the southeast, and also one of the top 100 events in North America. According to a release from the organization, it features nation ally acclaimed artists, craftsmen and entertainers, with plenty of “great festival foods." This is where you will see “the way things used to be.” Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children. Parking is free. They ask, however: “no pets, please.” • BIRTHDAYS ■ Foster Rhodes Having a birthday or anniversa ry? Call Charlotte Perkins at 987- 1823, ext. 234, or e-mail her at cperkins@evansnewspapers. com. DEATHS ■ Mary Dougherty Shell INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A LIFESTYLE 5 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIEDS .... 5 B PERIODICAL Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest 4 Georgia Newspaper Project Main Librarv UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 ALL FOR ADC 301 April 28, 2006 JS~fr\ i\( ; Hoi wvA Coi \n SiSci: IX7O dim JJmmml LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Perry PD warns pranksters, their parents By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Senior pranks are a simple fact of high school life, but the Perry Police Department is warning parents and teens that they won’t turn a blind eye. Capt. Bill Phelps said the depart ment has seen a recent rash of com plaints stemming from pranks, with five just in the last three days. “I hope parents will sit down with their kids and warn them,” Phelps said. “We all have a soft spot in our No trouble for Tribble V JL ji - if* ENlGary Harmon Houston County’s Buddy Tribble works his way through defenders in the Bears’ AAAAA state tournament opening win over Stephenson Wednesday at Tanner Field in Warner Robins. For more, see page 18. Fishing - check it out By RAY UGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Thanks to a local outdoor group, you can check out a fishing pole, just like a book, from the local libraries. The Georgia Outdoor Network, a group of local citizens concerned about out door-related issues and an offshoot of Georgia Outdoor News Magazine, decided the “Fishing - Check It Out” pro gram would be a quick and easy way for local citizens to access fishing equipment to sample some excellent out door recreation available in Houston County, explained GON banquet coordinator and outdoor writer John Trussed. “The program is simple,” Trussed said. “Anyone with a Houston County Library card can go to the Warner Robins, Centerville or Perry branches, sign a liability waiver slip and check out a Zebco 33 rod and reel, just dke a book.” Patrons must buy their own hooks, corks and sink www.hhjnews. com hearts, but we can’t stand by when they hurt innocent people.” Phelps said the pranks range from shooting pedestrians and homes with paintball guns to throwing eggs at cars and uprooting flowers and shrubs. Phelps said that many of these pranks may seem harmless, but all eventually end up costing the victims money, and some are even more dangerous. “Toilet papering a house is one thing, but when you hit someone with a paintball, it may seem funny, ers, only cost a few dollars, Trussed said, but the main fishing cost, the rod and reel is supplied. Trussed suggests Houston Lake, a free fishing lake, as a good place for beginning anglers. “Some bank fish ing is available,” he said, “but if you have access to a boat there are many acres to explore.” Trussed said “the Outdoor Network hopes that this fishing opportunity will help expose more citizens to the joy of the outdoors, espe cially people and children with limited funds.” Last fad the local GON committee donated 10 deer to the Harvest Share pro gram, which provides free venison to the community outreach center on Duke Avenue in Warner Robins. The center offers housing and meals to the homeless. Trussed said the local GON consists of Jay Walker, Steve Engle, Shay Little, Bob Turner, Arnie Harris, See FISHING, page 6A but you can hurt them,” Phelps said. “When you egg a car, that can eat through the paint. Even when you pull up a flower bed, it takes money to replace it.” Phelps said there is usually no set pattern to the pranks, but said that pranksters could face criminal charges depending on the amount of damage. “A criminal record will follow you for the rest of your life,” he said. “If you’re responsible for SSOO worth of damage, you’re going to face crimi- \ *’ ' *r * * j>< I , s§ll% .... i ENI/Gary Harmon From left, John Trussell, Marsha Christy, Esther Edwards, Judy Golden, Alex Morrow, And Grady Trussell hold fishing rods donated to the library in Warner Robins for the “Fishing - Check it Out” program. A little money, a lot of faith Rebound Center helps get their feet back on the ground By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HHJ Assistant Editor Tim Johnson had done time. A big man with a winning smile and a talent for gos pel music, he’s an ordained minister now, and he’s proud of working hard for the Houston County Public Works Department. But he got where he is today the hard way, learning by his mistakes, accepting criticism, and facing up to responsibility. . “The ironic thing is that I grew up in the church,” he says, “but back then I wanted to be like my older brothers and their friends.” By the time he was 17, he was behind bars and he spent the better part of the next nine years in jails and prisons. Then he wound up in the Houston County Correctional Institute, where he was put to work with the county’s public works department. Laughing as he looks back, he says that his first detail officer was a strict disciplinarian who had some good moods, but mostly bad ones. “All the black guys said he was prejudiced,” Johnson recalls, “But I got to know him. He wasn’t a racist. He didn’t like nobody.” Still, this was a man who taught a young inmate to work hard and well. “One day I’m going to make it my business to find xs-EYA*sFMii.rNnYsnn:fl 50£ IIIIVII s^ssioFooooi" l^ TWO SECTIONS • 12 PAGES nal charges. “You’re probably not going to see time in jail, but you could.” Just Sunday evening, a prank ster called in a bomb threat at the Colonial Garden Apartment Complex on Keith Drive. The complex was not evacuated, but police are search ing for who was responsible. “So many people think this stuff is funny, but it’s not,” he said. Phelps said concerned parents should contact him at the Perry Police Department at 988-2812. him and tell him I owe him a lot,” Johnson says,” because I really do.” Public Works Director Tommy Stalnaker has also been an important person in Johnson’s life, hiring him when his time in the Cl was done, and giving him opportu nities for training and improving his skills. But Johnson puts God first when he talks about the turnaround in his life, because even before he was transferred to Houston County, he had redis covered the faith he grew up with. He says he was sitting in his prison cell listening to a gospel song with the words, “Let not your heart be trou bled.” which touched him deeply. The very next day a See REBOUND, page 64 rf&fv 1 JOHNSON WATKINS Jaffa GASTON L.