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WEDNESDAY May 10, 2006 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 91 OUR TR TP TP T INSIDE Tees and track meets B Warner Robins’ boys and Northside's girls contended at the state golf meet in Calhoun on Monday while Houston County’s and the Demonettes’ girls competed at the state track and field meet over the weekend. ~ Page 1B No Mickey for BMS B The Bonaire Middle School eighth-grade chorus had its planned trip to Orlando and the Magic Kingdom come to a screeching halt due to trans portation problems. - Page 2A No barrel of monkeys B Columnist Joe Sersey laments the thriving rash of orange traffic barrels in con struction projects around the area. INBRIEF PMS holds spaghetti dinner B The Perry Middle School Jazz Band is hosting its third annual Spaghetti Dinner and Jazz Concert on Friday in the cafeteria. Plates will be available beginning at 4 p.m. Music by the jazz band and percussion ensem ble will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Dinners are $8.50 and include chicken Parmesan, pasta, salad, and tea from My Father's Place. To order tickets or for more inforrmation, please either call the school at 988-6285, or e-mail Christy Parsons, band director, at cparsons@hcbe. net or Andy Hursey, assis tant band director, at ahursey@hcbe.net. CORRECTION Sharpless on paid leave B An editing error incorrectly said suspended Centerville fire chief Larry Sharpless’ pay status is under review. Sharpless is on administra tive leave WITH pay pend ing review of his employment status. BIRTHDAYS B Ann Jones B Nancy Granger DEATHS W Aciano “Ace” Lascano M Vicki J. Stanescu M Thomas Edward Watson INDEX R iR CALENDAR ...... 3A WERIRER ........ 3A OFINION. .. ......4A SNue.. ... 18 O ... .. 88 CLASSIFIEDS .... 5B PERIODICAL N 0 _;)7 / Award-Winning Newspaper , 2004 Better Newspaper Contest l>)‘-)'q)ll = o 9 &3¢ e gateS Qe N pEe®t —_ == 8T g Oo—n'a-: - £ 2558, EEP o 8 6& © B AL By, oCT 3 HET S B w>d QT E E@ZBao®r g S 'og“ Q.q:—-gs e go 3. "4 m._ES'ET\E May 10, 2006 I.fs U 8 RTICY (IO 008 e 2 LY7 The JJoiierisl "~ LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, CITY OF PERRY, CITY OF WARNER ROBINS AND CITY OF CENTERVILLE Happy ending to HHJ proposal By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer After about 11 months overseas, Spc. Andy Adkins is building a new life, with a new family, in Georgia. Adkins, who proposed to his wife, Jane, in a late 2005 edition of The Houston Home Journal last year, was reunited with his new family April 19 when members of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade returned to Fort Stewart. Andy and Jane were mar ried the next day under a gazebo that sits near the Liberty County Courthouse in Hinesville. The couple met online while Adkins was still in Kuwait, waiting for trans port to Iraq. They met face to-face in late July, and knew almost instantly that they would eventually marry. e g R e, v AR AT R BT R e R 2opve ie U RS TR L T B 2 G ; o TO e § J Y I T bt = TN o Lol B s B eTI 00l " iy o b 3 Ir = Bog, eT R ¢ \ "i ¥ Te - b e=g gy - gBl RSO v et g 3 ) it B “W‘ W P vttt P A;y_ 5 eS S ¢ o g i RS M . § RN o e A 5 o S y : sv 3 . o 3 i - 8 I { : e s " P R o ' pasiPy o : bol L Ty e . % \'v T e " g p % 9 oL ;m ! ’ - A 3 7 5 % ¥ R ” Iy y i 43 S i ;if‘ P : - g‘"’ : ¥ ’ ‘L"‘"““'E;:(:".-“ : |dFsi 9 AR . { i g ' - i B'z S Lo e - 1 ]sßti ) j : | F OT3 ¢ ] % ':;,,: i 3u = ; k. . i ‘* F ! 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SR TG L I e e R ss O e e ENT A Gery Harmon It’s not only flowers that come out in spring - but football teams as well. Most high schools around Houston County, including Perry (above), began spring football workouts Monday. GComprehensive plan details spark dehate By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Perry planners have offered their opinions on the development of a joint comprehensive plan for Houston County, designed to become a 20-year road map for future growth. But debate has emerged over how detailed the docu ment will be. Mandated by the state, the plan will offer city and county leaders suggestions on how to shape develop ment. As city limits contin ue to grow, the plan will help local leaders decide what pieces of property should be set aside for specific uses, either commercial, indus trial, or residential. The same standards were in place when the county developed its last plan in 1990, drafted in 1991. But Commissioner Jim Mehserle pushed Monday night for a more-detailed document, not only offering sugges tions for land use, but also zoning density. www.hhjnews.com Both Andy and Jane have been married before, and Jane has two children, Katie and Tyler. “Their love kept me going every day I was in Iraq,” Adkins said. ‘Just hearing from them was enough.” In Iraq, Adkins worked as a systems mechanic on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a modern-day tank. He joined the Georgia Army National Guard after graduating from Hawkinsville High School in 1998, and has served over seas before. In Iraq, Adkins was sta tioned at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad International Airport. He was also attached to the company that rescued Baby Noor, the famous Iraqi infant who was brought to the U.S. for surgery to treat a dangerous birth defect. See MARRIAGE, page 5A Spring football ‘When | first came here, four cars was a traffic jam. But we all know that's a ~ thing of the past.’ -~ Bob Hubbard With concerns about pro tecting the character of the city, Mehserle warned that if city leaders don’t move to shape development, eco nomic forces will. Perry uses three major residential zoning classes. The city’s R-1 zoning allows for 15,000 square foot lots. Perry’s R-2 zoning allows for 12,000 square foot'lots, and R-3 zoning allows for 9,000 square foot lots. Controlling zoning den sity has become a topic of conversation among city leaders hoping to stave off the rising tide of high-den sity zoning. Perry is facing an unprec edented housing boom, spurred by new state envi ronmental standards that P T e T R i) A e T e p “g““’&a\\gij h ‘L’fi W o v L 5 SSR e " oy . 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SRR FiN AR eI R T L AR e e SRR vl e Rb e AR B b S T S i } G e RR e SRR | e e Andy Adkins and his wife, Jane, kiss after they were married April 20 near the Liberty County Courthouse in Hinesville as Jane’s daughter, Katie, left, watches. have pushed developers to turn to annexation in order to build more homes on their property. * According to the city’s planning department, more than 3,000 acres in Perry is in some stage of devel opment in major subdivi sions. City staff are quick to point out that those numbers could change, but the 3,000 acres has already been divided into more than 7,000 separate lots. Although the idea of con trolling zoning density by using a set formula was tossed around at a joint meeting of the commission and the Perry City Council last month, Commission Chairman Martin Beeland has maintained that attempting to control zon ing density based on any formula would probably not survive a court challenge. Beeland has argued that the city can’t deny one devel oper’s request for re-zon ing simply because they’ve already reached a quota for that particular type of zon ing. Houston County last developed a comprehensive plan in the early 19905, but during that process, each community worked out its own plans before coming together to draft a joint plan. In an effort to bring the county and the cities together, and to stop local leaders from doubling their efforts, Perry City Manager Lee Gilmour suggested form ing a committee to work on the project. The comprehen sive planning committee is made up of 13 members rep resenting local governments and groups. Committee members are working with staff members from local See PLAN, page 5A AN/ BTS /s A"}tM;;ixff:.fw:ml 855168'0000]'“4 TWO SECTIONS * 14 PAGES fights against By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HHJ Assistant Editor Fran Peake’s personal battle with cancer started in 2002, and even though she’s feeling good now, she hasn’t forgotten how hard it was. “I was diag nosed with breast cancer W/ in 2002,” she GO explains, “And no, I don’t What The mind your American : s Cancer SAYING what Society's Relay kind of can- o Life cer. My world when: May changed forev- 19, 6:30 pm. er. I was really Where: sick and had (ri:t?c:%‘; to go through Fakarounde & chem.o : and Agricente. radiation, cost The too.” event is free Y 0 u toattend. Ass wouldn’t know donation will to look at this Secure a lumi petite livewire 232;‘:0' the that she’s ever ; been sick a day in her life. She’s bouncing with energy and she’s got a winning smile. She could also probably sell you Brooklyn Bridge if See CANCER, page 5A . o e 4 1‘ = n » o .lw g 8 ) Py - e 4 L ‘ ‘ i 4 W { B N « .‘ | ‘ i e ol i R N G L -y ’ ] Bt ILO PN | T LB TN ‘= g 4 o o ; L 3 e Re, s ‘q v‘k.“‘_‘.:l ] v SRR ic ( = ,\A' : .”- ‘ ; 1 il T . . . T HHJ/ Charlotte Perkins Fran Peake holds a sign with details on this year’s Relay for Life in Perry. Peake is on the move, selling luminaries for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Her long term goal is to raise $15,000 singlehandedly.