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WEEKEND June 10, 2006 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 114 OUR FRONT PORCH INSIDE Back in action ■ After | a short absence from the driving scene, not that he left the sport gy ■ he was just working behind the scenes Elko native Walt Brannen is poised to make his return as a driver. He has wrapped up a 10-race deal in Busch and is a top candidate for a full time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series. - Page 1B By popular demand ■ The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra makes its way back to Perry and will perform on July 7 in the Miller-Murphy-Howard Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter. - Page 1C IN BRIEF Make a joyful noise ■ The New Hope Baptist New Generation Youth Choir will host their 13 th anniversary on Sunday. The choir is under the direction of Larzarnia Adkison, choir and youth director. Assistant directors are Shetanda Glover and Duchess Hunter, minister of music. In the band are guitarist marvin Hill, bass guitarist Christ Lewis and drummer Kenneth Grace. The Rev. Dennis Harden is pastor of the church, which is at 1014 W.F. Ragin Dr., Perry. BIRTHDAYS Saturday ■ Don Dimsdale ■ Trey Evans Sunday ■ Chantecia Harris ANNIVERSARIES Monday ■ Shelby and Thomas Arnold Having a birthday or anniversa ry? Call Charlotte Perkins at 987- 1823, ext. 234, or e-mail her at cperkins@evansnewspapers. com. DEATHS ■ Duane Stanley Rothe INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIEDS .. .6-7 B LIFESTYLE 1C PERIODICAL Award-Winning Srwspaper 2004 Better Srwspaper Contest COOI 0 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNtV OF GEORGIA ATHEN3 GA 30602 0002 ALL FOR ADC 301 Serving Houston On v/t Since 1870 (Die 3J hti’fi tit l LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, cit\’ of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city t of Centerville Fennell gets nod as interim fire chief By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Perry public safety direc tor George Potter revealed Friday morning the city has hired an interim Fire chief to help find a permanent deputy chief to oversee the department. Frank Fennell, a retired assistant chief with the Warner Robins Fire Department, has been *'t I 1.. T. Inl| m ' 4 iu*. I jj|p ‘ i wtx (/> .Jj 2 .;*» "JK, ''• * ' ‘ i ; : m jnK Hr <*•* K te , m HBMHH&Vi ’.. SAitt ■ ■ JM * ■ • - ■.. ■ \<* 3 \ ! y SS • Mb' ' v v \ - -i ■ ;l < *. w- W&w*~ ;Y- I IJP I •*s(\ \ ■ if l ■' m i . I ? a -| ; Mbp * Jf? 0 Warner Robins mayor Donald Walker, center, hugs Georgia governor Sonny Perdue as Mary Perdue watches Friday at Warner Robins City Hall. He m 4 I ' £ M_ O m MMM Gay Nation, left, stands with Garfield creator Jim Davis while viewing promo tional items for the upcom ing movie, “Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties.” www.hhjnews.com tapped to r temporar- ' ilv lead the depart ment. which '■• m red in recent ;/ months L...8H by the res- FENNELL igna t i o n of former chief Freddy Howell, and a series of internal investi- Mmmm... lasagna Nation brings ties to Garfield to Houston County By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Garfield could be one of the most recogniz able cats in America. The lovable orange tabby, the brainchild of cartoonist Jim Davis, now appears in nearly 2,600 newspapers, with an estimated 263 million readers on a daily basis. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Garfield is the most widely syndicated comic strip in the world. gations. On Friday, acting Capt. Scott Dorman, who was overseeing the depart ment, resigned following an internal investigation. Fennell, who joined the Warner Robins Fire Department in 1975 and was promoted to assistant chief in 1982. After retir ing in 1994, Fennell said he stayed involved with the department. See CHIEF, page 5A But the world-famous feline has a connection in Houston County. Gay Nation, director of sales for Paws, Inc., the licensing and creative stu dio behind Garfield’s world wide marketing empire, was born and raised in Perry. Her parents, Harold and Jean Nation, still live on U.S. 41 South. Her two sisters, Donna Watson and Vickie Graham, still live in Perry, and her brother, See CAT, page 5A « I ' K Bf . m. // Ijk jfT^H Mk. j i . Mil 1 M, k, Interim Perry fire chief Frank Fennell, right, works to pin Lt. Joe Boone’s new badge at the Perry Public Safety Building Friday morning. Trading spaces Governor, mayor sign land swap deal By RAY UGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Governor Sonny Perdue and Mayor Donald Walked inked a deal Friday Finaliz ing a land swap between the city and the state for land adjacent to Robins Air Force Base. “It’s a good day when gov ernment works at all levels for the people,” Perdue said. “People don’t care where the needs are taken care of, just that they are taken care of.” Perdue said, “this is an accomplishment of a lot of effort. It can be very tedious J— — —— — — , 1 \ ■ 1 111 ! 'll"! ■ »' »■ ■■■»»■!.-0.1- ■ ' • S m «p'l j 1 fV : ;'il| 'III ~~ ySI- .MmSsSoR fltihr* **rnwm - HHJ Ray Lightnrr Plats of the pieces of land the state of Georgia and the city of Warner Robins swapped during a ceremony Friday. ■f i . • v JH mkp. ft EN I f;ary Harmon Perry’s second baseman waits on a throw as a Warner Robins runner steals second during a Crossroads Invitational Tournament game Thursday in Perry. The tournament was slated to run through the weekend. For more, see page 18. tv Evavs Fwhy SmsmPER THREE SECTIONS • 22 PAGES when you have to cross three levels of government. Sometimes it is more diffi cult to give something than to buy it. That was the case here.” “The swap is a triple win it helps our community, it helps Robins Air Force Base and the Department of Defense and it helps the state, protecting the Ocmulgee River corridor.” “It’s truly a histori cal moment for Houston County,” said Walker. “It’s really big, there’s a lot of big potential.” See LAND, page 5A Slipsteam 50£ limit B*s 5108*0 0 0 01*’ 4