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WEEKEND Ai'wrtg, 2006 daw 3 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 73 OUR FRONT PORCH INSIDE Baseball continues ■ Thirty-two teams begin their quest in the HARD ball Tournament, being held at all Houston County high schools during the IN BRIEF Ceramic classes In Warner Robins ■ The Warner Robins Recreation Department is offering ceramics classes for pre-teens, teens and adults. Participants can create art, ceramic animas and step ping-stones in a wide variety of styles from Victorian to “country." Pre-teen classes are on Thursday and Friday after noons. Teen classes are on Tuesday afternoons and adult ses sions are open weekdays and Mondays. Those who sign up may drop by at any time to work on their projects. For a tour and more information, call 929- 1919. School council election at HCBOE ■ 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 center. For more information, please contact Principal Sheila Beckham, either by phone at (478) 988-6334 or by e-mail at sabeckham@hcbe.net. BIRTHDAYS Saturday ■ Shirley Kendrick Sunday ■ Betty Ooodroe Monday ■ Emitty Arbuckle ■ Denny Horton Jr. ■ Mikara StanafieW Having a birthday or anniver sary? Call Charlotte Perkins at 987-1823, ext. 234, or e-mail her at cperktns@evansnewspapers. com. DEATHS ■ Elizabeth Langston Cloud ■ Marvin F. Prevatt INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A LIFESTYLE 5-6 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIEDS .. .6-7 B PERIODICAL Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper (aniesl COOI o GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Mam Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 306C2-00Q2 ALL FOR ADC 301 April 21, 2006 S/iaf\(, /Ifft vmv On vn Si\n IH7O WR man sentenced 60 years for fondling kids From staff reports A Warner Robins man was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison, with another 25 years on proba tion, for molesting three area children and for dis tribution and possession of child pornography. Houston County Superior Court Judge Edward Lukemire sentenced James Turner, 21, of 223 ■H ' . * , & w!Sk. **** .0 "V ** ■» Wm Special to the HHJ “r Hurricane Rita pounds the Gulf Coast last year. Inside: More stories on hurricane season New instructional auditorium named for WR mayor and former state house majority leader By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HHJ Staff Writer The new instructional auditorium at Macon State College has the distinction of being named in honor of two men named Walker: Mayor Donald Walker of Warner Robins and Larry Walker of Perry, attorney, writer and former power broker in the Georgia House of Representatives. Both were honored on Thursday at a dedication for the auditorium, with Macon State President David Bell presiding. While Bell praised each individually, the two men spent more time talk ing about the other’s accom plishments than about his own. LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, cm’ of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Hurricane season upon ns How your family can be ready should a storm head our way, 8A Two leaders, one name www. hhjnews.com rSn Evergreen Street, for inci dents that occurred from June to November 2005. On Nov. 14, 2005, the moth- TURNER er of one of the victims Bell, in making the pre sentations, said that the strong support of the two elected officials had given Macon State College “the confidence to move boldly,” and praised both for making the case for a permanent campus in Warner Robins, and for acquiring funds sev eral years ago to make the massive project happen. He noted that Larry Walker, who was at that time the Majority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives “spent a lot of hard-earned political capital to obtain $5 million for the renovation of the old Thomas school for use as a Macon State, and that Mayor Walker had spear reported to police Turner had fondled her child. According to a press release from Houston County district attor ney Kelly Burke’s office, an investigation revealed Turner had also fondled other victims. According to the release, a search of his home computer uncovered a “very substantial” amount of child pornography. Red Cross takes steps to be better prepared for a disaster, 7 A headed the effort to obtain both funds and land a total of 140 acres for the campus. Mayor Walker called get ting the Macon State College campus in Warner Robins “the greatest thing we’ve done,” and emphasized to the audience that while campus and its education al offerings are an impor tant service to Robins Air Force Base and the people of Houston County, the project is also a part of the city’s upgrading of the area along Watson Blvd. near the city hall and civic center. “This is downtown Warner Robins,” he said. He referred to his See WALKER, page fi A Cop sentenced for sexual assault From staff reports A former Centerville police officer was sentenced Thursday in Houston Superior Court after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting women in police custody. Cpl. Terry Ware, who had served in both the Centerville and Ashiburn police departments, was sentenced to serve three years in prison of a six-year sentence for two counts of sexual assault on a person While focus of storms may shift, 2006 may be active everywhere Special to the HHJ The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center, led by Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi, this past week released its 2006 hurricane season fore cast. An active hurricane season appears immi nent, which could have major repercussions for the U.S. economy and the one in six Americans who live on the Eastern Seaboard or along the western Gulf of Mexico. For the 2006 Hurricane Season - which tra ditionally runs now through Nov. 30 - Bastardi and his team are forecasting that six tropical cyclones will make landfall in the U.S. Five of landiaUing storms are likely to be hur ricanes, witn three being major hurricanes of Category 3 or greater. “The 2006 season will be a creeping threat,” said Bastardi. “Early in the season - June and July - the Texas Gulf Coast faces the highest likelihood of a hurricane strike, possibly put ting Gulf energy production in the line of fire. As early as July, and through much of the rest of the sea- t son, the highest level of ..'tflHK risk shifts to the Carolines. From mid-August into early October, the window is open for hurri- ‘ v cane strikes to spread northward 1 t o t he If dp more densely I wag M... .: ■ populated Northeast % j|v coast.” '.jff.' A look back at the damage tained during the flood of 1994, 7A . & ft ?feli ' ! W ■ m nil s - % HIM Charlotte Prrkina Larry Walker, left, and Donald Walker stand together dur ing a dedication ceremony for Macon State College’s new instructional auditorium In Warner Robins on Thursday. tv h i ivs Fiuti.v Xi- mmw/t 50£ mm S "®5 5108*0 0 0 01* 11 4 TWO SECTIONS • 14 PAGES in custody, stemming from inci dents on June 28 and Dec. 27, 2004. Local authori ties learned of Ware’s conduct last year when the victims were incarcerated in the same jail pod on See COP, page 8A Hurricane season not the only time problems occur, ~ £ .’4 1 Hr i<L d WARE