Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
May 18, 2006
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 97
FRONT
PORCH
INSIDE
Lancers hire new coach
B Central Fellowship taps
Brad Bristol from Pensacola,
Fla., as its new football
coach, where he'll have to
not only take over a strug
gling team but adjust to 11-
man football.
- Page 1B
All-county honors
B The Houston Home Journal
names its top girls and boys
tennis players for the 2006
season.
Page 1B
¢Hablamos espafiol?
B Columnist Foy Evans
points out that with the
number of immigrants from
Mexico, Spanish is now a
dual language for Americans.
- Page 4A
IN BRIEF
Gunn Road to close Friday
M On Friday, Warner Robins
Police will have Gunn Road
closed for several hours Friday.
Gunn Road will be blocked
just west of U.S. 41 between
9 a.m. and 2 p.m. as utility
crews will be installing new
storm drain lines in the area
of U.S. 41 and Gunn Road
The road closure will affect
westbound traffic on Gunn
Road west of U.S. 41.
Vehicle traffic will have
access to Gunn Road from
the west end at Ga. 247
Connector. Eastbound traf
fic will have access to all
residences and businesses
on Gunn Road on Gunn Way
and Vining Way entrance to
the Vineyards.
All drivers are requested to
exercise caution and patience
while driving in the area.
Anyone with questions con
cerning the road closure may
contact Maj. Harry Dennard,
Warner Robins Police
Department at 929-6924
BIRTHDAYS
B Buddy Achord
B Marvin Gilbert
B Chris Chaloult
Having a birthday or anniver
sary? Call Charlotte Perkins at
987-1823, ext. 234, or e-mail her at
cperkins@evansnewspapers.com.
DEATHS
W Albaugh “Al" Lee Lewis
CORRECTION
B In a chart for a page 1A
story May 17, the Houston
County high school gradu
ation test scores for 2005
and 2006 were inadvertently
switched.
INDEX
B R
BERIMER . ... .... . 34
SN | ... .. ... . %A
LR ~18
... o 18
DS ... 4B
CLASSIFIEDS ...... 5B
PERIODICAL
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
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May 18, 2006
!5‘1;1" VING HOUSTON CoUNTY SINCE 1870
The JJaiierl
~ LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
CITY OF PERRY, CITY OF WARNER ROBINS AND CITY OF CENTERVILLE
There's a new chief in town
Rape second in command
at Houston Sheriff’s Office
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
His father was chief of
police in Warner Robins.
Now the son, Billy Rape, is
chief deputy for the Houston
County Sheriff’s Office.
Rape has been with the
sheriff’s office since 1973
and served the last 21 years
as chief administrator/inves
tigator. When former Chief
Willie Talton was in the
Legislature, Rape served as
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TOP: Bruce Ham stands next to the charred remains of a refrigerator in his Bluebird Lane home Wednesday.
BOTTOM: The melted shell of a motorcyice helmet sits on a shelf.
Perry police officer deals with
remains from a house fire
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
t. Bruce Ham is finding
I it harder to turn onto
Bluebird Lane these
days.
Nearly a month has passed
since an electrical fire gutted
his home there April 24, but
the smell of smoke still fills
the house today, a smell that
sits on his clothes for hours.
Ham, a patrol supervi
sor with the Perry Police
Department, is trying to sal
vage what little he can, but
most of the family’s keep
sakes are gone.
“My wife and I lived in
there for 20 years,” Ham
New driver license branch announced for Houston
By BRIAN SHREVE
HHJ Intern
There’s good news for anyone
seeking a drivers’ license or renewal
in south Houston County.
The Georgia Department of
Driver Services announced plans of
opening a new office in the Georgia
State Patrol office on Larry Walker
Parkway in Perry this summer
DDS Director Waymond Henry,
who delivered the decision during
Tuesday’s county commissioners
meeting, said having an additional
facility will help alleviate the bur
den of delays in drivers services
customers currently face.
Henry had previously lobbied to
(A T R oo
interim chief.
“When he decided to
retire,” Rape said, “the sher
iff offered it to me as a pro
motion. It became official
May 3.”
Rape is a Houston County
native. “I was born and
raised here,” he said, “I was
born in Dr. Kinney’s clinic
in Byron.”
His father WH. “Pip” Rape
served 17-some years with
the Warner Robins Police
said. “For my kids, it was
really the only home they
ever knew.
“Most things you can
replace, but the pictures of
the kids when they were
young, we'll never get those
back.”
Ham and his son, Bruce,
were on their way to Warner
Robins that morning when
the fire began with a short
in the wiring between his
kitchen and laundry room.
“We deal with fires almost
every day, but when you get
a call like that, all you can
think is ‘lt’s not happening
to me,”” Ham said.
See FIRE, page 6A
the commission, explaining that
having one office in Warner Robins
was not enough, and that more
space was needed to accommodate
Houston County’s growing popula
tion. County officials subsequently
informed Henry of the possibility of
utilizing part of the Georgia State
Patrol office in Perry.
“The office in Warner Robins is
.just too small for our current popu
lation,” said Henry. “Our customers
have to stand outside, waiting in
line, and there’s not enough room to
add people to take these customers
in a timely manner.”
Henry said his department was
fortunate to have the larger facility
Department and served as
chief there in the ‘7os.
Rape followed in law
enforcement as a special
agent with the Georgia
Railroad in 1970 after a
four-year stint in the U.S.
Air Force, which included a
year in Southeast Asia.
He was sworn in with the
sheriff’s office in January
1973, and began in inves
tigations. He eventually
headed up that division for
six years and later served
in the interim a couple of
times over other divisions.
He’s been the number three
man at the sheriff’s office
See CHIEF, page 6A
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already available.
“They’re state drivers’ licenses,
but the county must provide these
offices. It’s amazing,” said Henry.
“The commissioners rightfully
reminded us there was a building
over in Perry.”
The commissioner of the State
Patrol spoke with DDS officials and
agreed to turn oves the space.
The department then inspected
the location, finding it “adequate,”
before making the official decision.
“I think it’s a really good idea,”
Commissioner Larry Thomson said,
“because we won't have to spend the
money to buy another building.”
The new driver services office is
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New chief Billy Rape has lots of work on his desk at the
Houston County Sheriff’s Office.
HHJ/Mike George
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THREE SECTIONS * 26 PAGES
Players’
Friday
From staff reports
Perry Players will
present a comedy,
“The Foreigner,” start
ing Friday at 8 p.m.
Additional performances
will be on Saturday at
8 p.m., Sunday at 2:30
p.m. and May 25-27 at 8
p.m. Tickets are $lO for
adults; $5 for students, 16
and under.
Parents are advised that
strong language is used.
For reservations, call
987-5354.
The scene, according the
Anne-Marie Saul of the
Perry Players, is a fish
ing lodge in rural Georgia
often visited by “Froggy”
LeSueur, a British demoli
tion expert who occasion
ally runs training sessions
at a nearby Army base.
“Froggy,” in the script
written by Larry Shue,
has brought along a
friend, a pathologically
shy man named Charlie
who is overcome with fear
at the thought of mak
ing conversation with
strangers. So “Froggy”,
before departing tells
everyone that Charlie
is from an exotic for
eign country and speaks
no English. The comic
confusion begins when
Charlie overhears more
than he should.
The play is direct
ed by Bill Andrews. In
the cast are Gary Baker
as “Froggy” LeSueur;
Tony Zelonis as Charlie
Baker; Gale Weems
Bryant as Betty Meeks;
Fred Monahan as the
Rev. David Marshall
Lee; Jennifer Irwin as
Catherine Simms; Jeff
Lintz as Owen Musser,
and Michael Williams as
Ellard Simms.
currently in a remodeling process,
but Henry said the DDS hopes to
have it open to the public and oper
ating by July or August.
According to Commission Vice
Chairman Tom McMichael, having
two licensing offices will prove ben
eficial to residents from many areas
of the state.
“People from as far away as
Clayton County come here to
have their licenses renewed,” said
McMichael, “It’ll be a tremendous
convenience because all they have
to do is come right down 1-75, and
it’s right off the exit, and now they
can get better service. It's a double
win.”