Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY
May 31,2006
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 106
OUR
FRONT
PORCH
INSIDE
9HHF
Grill time
■ We kick off The Home-Journal's
weekly food section with gnlling tips.
- Page 1C
IN BRIEF
HCBOE School Council election
■ Houston County High School
will hold School Council Parent
Elections on June 15 at 5 p.m.
The meeting will be held in the
Houston County High media cen
ter. For more information, please
contact Principal Sheila Beckham,
either by phone at 988-6334 or by
e-mail at sabeckham@hcbe.net.
Dinner raises funds for disabled
■ The Heart of Georgia
Developmental Disabilities
Ministries is in the process of
raising funds to build two homes
for individuals with disabilities.
According to Hulda Cook, a
spokesperson for the effort, 'This
has been a vision of many peo
ple in this community and there is
a definite need for these homes."
The Developmental Disabilities
Ministries is a 501 (c)3 non-profit
corporation.
Members of the community
can take the opportunity to share
in this endeavor by attending the
organization's Celebration Dinner
on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at
Friendship Baptist Church, 1322
Feagin Mill Road at Lake Joy
Road in Warner Robins.
Entertainment will be provided
by Toni Henson Slade, recording
artist, and Felicia Everidge.
Tickets, available for a dona
tion of sls, may be purchased at
the Shirley Hills Baptist Church
office. You may also call Hulda
Cook at 953-2992.
BIRTHDAYS
Wednesday
■ Michelle Lawson
■ Dontavlous Hill
■ Joni Dunagan
Having a birthday or anniver
sary? Call Charlotte Perkins at
987-1823, ext. 234, ore-mail her at
cperkins(3>evansnewspapers. com.
DEATHS
■ George E. Hobbs
■ Margaret Miller
■ Wilton B. Simpson
■ June Fretwell Thompson
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
LIFESTYLE 9 A
SPORTS 1 B
COMICS 4 B
CLASSIFIERS . . . 5 B
FOOD 1C
PERIODICAL
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May 31, 2006
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Murder suspect caught after assault
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Warner Robins Police arrested
Thomas Bernard Radford early
Tuesday for the murder of Ronald
Dean Fordham.
Fordham, 48, was assaulted in his
home Saturday morning, suffering
blunt force trauma to the head,
according to Det. Brad Mules of the
Warner Robins Police Department
Criminal Investigations Division.
Fordham was taken to the Medical
Center of Central Georgia in critical
condition and died Monday morn
ing. An autopsy was scheduled for
Tuesday.
Warner Robins police responded
at 7:09 a m., Saturday, to the assault
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Perry Area Convention & Visitors Bureau director Sheila Jones stands below the "Welcome To Perry Billboard" in front of the welcome center.
Houston County
plays hand in
state’s tourism
Perry drug bust
uncovers marijuana
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
Two Perry men were arrested early Friday
after police allegedly discovered more than
an ounce of marijuana at their Cater Circle
home.
According to Capt. Bill Phelps with the
Perry Police Department, Dakota Glenn
McDaniel, 21, and his step-father, David
Lowell Sweitzer, 47, were both charged
with possession with intent to distribute
marijuana after police arrived at 1212
Cater Circle with a search warrant around
midnight. According to Phelps, McDaniel
was also charged for the sale of marijuana.
Phelps said Det. Drew Dodson launched a
months-long investigation after complaints
emerged that drugs were being sold in the
area and at that location.
Both men were taken to the Houston
County Detention Center. According to
Phelps, they remain there.
www.hhjnews.com
at 102 Bell Drive.
A roommate of
Fordham told police
he found the victim
in his bedroom with
blunt force trauma
injuries to his head.
Mules said the
roommate, who
lives in a separate
part of the house,
was home at the
time of the incident but did not hear
anything suspicious.
Because of the investigation,
Mules could not disclose the weapon
used or if the suspect found it there
or brought it in with him.
Police are also charging Radford
By Brian Shreve
HHJ Intern
Houston County may not
have the beaches of St. Simons
or the nightclubs of Atlanta
but it does boast its own share
of tourist revenues.
As Gov. Sonny Perdue
SWEITZER
with aggravated assault and robbery
by force after he reportedly entered
a home on McArthur Boulevard
and assaulted a 53-year-old female
with intentions of robbing her for
money. The victim suffered blunt
force trauma to the back of the head
and is being treated at the Houston
County Medical Center for injuries
that she received in the assault.
“She’s in fair condition,” Mules
said. “She’ll be alright. She was
having X-rays Tuesday morning,”
Mules said the weapon was a paint
can from the house. It was recov
ered inside. “The suspect picked it
up,” Mules said.
Police responded to the call
Tuesday at 12:38 a.m. Radford was
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Monday fire scorches Elko acreage
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Houston County Fire Department firefighters from stations 3, 4 and 8 and well
as the Department of Natural Resources responded Monday afternoon to a grain
field fire off Ga. 26, adjacent to Walker’s SoHo Farm in Elko. The fire started when
a combine caught fire while cutting grain. County firefighters responded to con
tain the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings.
announced reports of
Georgia’s thriving profits in
tourism last week, some may
have wondered what role
Houston County played in the
success, a $2 billion increase
last year.
Not surprisingly, the Georgia
THREE SECTIONS • 18 PAGES
arrested at 12:55 a.m. in the area
of First Street in Warner Robins.
The arrest warrant on the murder
charge was issued Monday after
noon.
Radford, 34, lives in Warner Robins
and does not have a permanent
address. He was previously known
to police and had been charged and
processed before, Mules said.
He is being held at the Houston
County Detention Center without
bond.
Anyone with information about
the case (or cases) is asked to contact
Mules or Det. Meredith Edwards
at the Warner Robins Police
Department Criminal Investigations
Division at 929-6911.
National Fairgrounds &
Agricenter continues to bring
tourists to the county, pro
viding substantial economic
impact locally.
According to records from
the Perry Area Convention
See VISIT, page 6A
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