Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
June 15, 2006
50<
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8"55108*00001 w, 4
VOLUME 136, NUMBER 117
OUR
FRONT
PORCH
INSIDE
In the beginning
■ The International City
Warriors football team gears
up for the start of the season.
- Page 1B
IN BRIEF
Girl delivers baby in dugout
■ A teenage girl delivered
her own baby in the dugout
at Whitaker Field, behind the
Recreation Department and
City Hall in Warner Robins,
on Wednesday around noon.
The girl reportedly did not
know she was pregnant. Both
mother and baby are doing
fine, according to EMS.
- Ray Lightner
Big birthday party
■ A celebration for a new
Christian church in the com
munity is being held at the
Georgia National Fairgrounds
on Sunday. Christ Lutheran
Church of Perry will hold
a celebration service from
2-3 p.m. in the Roquemore
Conference Center. The
service will be followed by
activities for the whole family
from 3-5 p.m. in Heritage Hall.
For more information, call the
church at 213-8937.
Democratic women to meet
■ The Middle Georgia
Democratic Women’s Club
will have its regular meet
ing at 9 a.m. on Saturday at
Chef Audrey's Bistro, Margie
Drive, Warner Robins. Arrive
early for breakfast. $5 cov
ers breakfast and gratuity.
Visitors are welcome. RSVP
to Beth Perera by phone
953-1933 or by e-mail to
beth@chefbeth.com no later
than Thursday.
Homecoming concert
■ The His Witness Youth
Choir will hold a homecom
ing concert at Warner Robins
Central Baptist Church, 1120
Lake Joy Road, at the inter
section with Russell Parkway,
on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. The
choir will present “Amazing
God American Idols.” There
is no admission charge.
Dean's list
■ Kristina Elizabeth Clemons
of Warner Robins was named
to the spring 2006 dean’s list
at Clayton State University
for maintaining a grade point
average of 3.6 or higher for
the semester.
BIRTHDAYS
■ Tina Lowe
■ Bill White
■ Dustin Pearce
DEATHS
■ Larry G. Andrews
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
COMICS 7 A
SPORTS 1 B
LEGALS 4 B
CLASSIFIEDS ... 108
PERIODICAL
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Suspect sought in Family Dollar robbery
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Perry Police are look
ing for the black male that
robbed the Family Dollar on
Tuesday night.
The suspect hid in the
store after closing and herd
ed the two employees into
They call her...
Chillywillie
|| : V:
i
HHJ Charlotte Perkin*
Perry Hospital certified nursing assistant Willa Blige, known affectionately as Chilly Willie to most
everyone in the facility, checks on Geraldine O’Ban non on Wednesday.
£ 4was brought up to do right by people, to be nice.
My parents taught us that honesty and trust will take
you a long way that money can’t.
Perry Hospital CNA keeps patients smiling
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
Most people who’ve
spent some time
at Perry Hospital
already know
Willie Blige, CNA.
She’s the slim and trim one,
usually in pink. She’s the one
with the infectious smile.
They call her “Chillywillie,” or
sometimes just “Chilly.”
That got started years ago by
one of her patients, and now it’s
the name that’s written on the
sign that goes in each room, and
changes with each shift. Perry
Hospital is big on keeping things
personal, and if you’re a patient
www.hhjnews.com
the office and tied them up,
according to Det. Ken Ezell.
“They were in the process
of counting up the days till,”
Ezell said, “when the black
male approached them.”
The suspect left through
the back door with an undis
closed amount of cash.
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Blige likes to BLIGE
keep her patients
happy and her
co-workers laughing, but she’s
got a serious side, too.
Born in Savannah, she got
interested in nursing when she
worked as a Candy Striper at
Memorial Hospital there.
She got her training as a
Ezell said the suspect
threatened to kill the
employees if they did not
cooperate. The employees
were not injured during the
incident.
The suspect is described
as a black male, slim build,
about 5-foot-9 to 6-foot tall,
CNA later, and hopes to go back
to school again and become a
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
technician.
She’s already qualified to take
blood sugar tests and blood pres
sure in addition to managing the
daily care, bathing and dressing,
that keeps her patients comfort
able.
“I like to read to them,” she
says. “I’ll read the paper to them
if they want me to, and with the
older people I’ll turn their televi
sion sets on to Channel 11, the
Christian channel.”
When she’s not working with
patients who are hospitalized, .
See CNA, page 6A
about 150 pounds with short
hair, between 35 and 45
years old.
He was dressed in all
black with a jacket, pants
and boots, Ezell said.
“The employees got loose
and called 911,” Ezell said.
“Police arrived within a
i\ Ew v.v / t \un
Police Beat
See what your
local crimi
nals
TWO SECTIONS • 20 PAGES
minute from the time we got
the call.”
Ezell was processing
evidence from the scene
Wednesday morning. “I
hope we have something to
work on.”
Anyone with information
See THEFT, page 6 A
Houston
Healthcare
opposed to
Peach move
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
While Houston Healthcare has filed its
own certificates of need for expansion
plans, it has also filed objections to the
certificate of need filed by Peach County
to move its hospital.
Peach Regional Hospital in Fort Valley
has plans to move to a site in Byron,
“seven miles west of our hospital on
Watson Boulevard, one mile west of
1-75,” said Houston Healthcare CEO
Frank Aaron.
Houston Healthcare filed its opposi
tion to the Peach Regional request on
Friday, Aaron said. “I don’t want to look
like the bad guy, I just want the state to
look at it.”
Aaron noted there are no big objec
tions in Peach County to the move,
“unlike when we considered the move
out on U.S. 41.”
There are several reasons for the objec
tion, he said.
“First,” Aaron said, “is the population
they serve is basically around Fort Valley
and areas south and west.
“If they move, they are seven miles
from our door and 7.3 miles from their
present location.”
Both hospitals are designated for criti
cal access, but Peach would be
See MOVE, page 6A
School board
tentatively
approves
2007 budget
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
The Houston County Board of
Education tentatively approved their fis
cal year 2007 budget Tuesday, with a
final vote expected June 28.
According to a memorandum filed by
Steve Thublin, the board of education’s
assistant superintendent for finance and
business operations, the school system
expects to generate more than $192.87
million in revenues for their general
fund, some 7 percent more than last
year. But the school system is expected
to spend nearly the same amount in the
general fund, leaving roughly $15.2 mil
lion for contingencies.
Nearly 70 percent of the general fund
is set aside for classroom instruction,
with nearly 69 percent of expenditures
taken up by salaries and another nearly
20 percent for employer-paid benefits.
After recent property tax assessments,
the school board expects property taxes
to fall from the current y tax rate of 13.48
mills this year. According to Thublin’s
report, the drop could be substantial this
year.
The board’s budget anticipates 5 per
cent growth in the tax digest, another
$1.89 million in additional revenues.
The school board is anticipating that
the county’s student population will con
tinue to grow next year, following a typi
cal growth pattern of 600 new students
next year.
The board’s budget includes a 4 per
cent cost-of-living increase for employ
ees, expected to cost more than $4.6
million for certified employees like
teachers and counselors, and more than
$870,000 for classified employees like
See BUDGET, page 6 A