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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 (^p Award- Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest 111 II. II fßiflilt 11.....1.11! •lilillllllllll 1.1 l •II COOI 0 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Ljbr UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 ALL FOR ADC 301 May 31, 2006 Sekyisg Hqvstos Oh m y Sisce 1870 QJije $ mxvxml 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 Ya’ll come back now in m iV-v- ,v V 1610 AM ilk ’ IB HI kill 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 m "" ” ' * V. _. RADFORD Monday fire scorches Elko acreage . ;i -... . IfedMfc M~*f:. 9*s*,".-> & . w-. >. .yt,M.t _ , -■ tfaS^PtSP'’'• V‘ . ._,■ —. r .‘‘.. v 1 •/,' * &s%¥■' - , HHJ/Hay IJghtner 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 ,t v E yams Family Newspaper 500 Mill! I 8 *551 08*00001*" 4