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WEDNESDAY June 28, 2006 500 ililiii 8 "®5 5108*0 0 0 01"" 4 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 126 OUR FRONT PORCH IN BRIEF Water restrictions eased ■ As of Tuesday, the 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. outdoor watering ban has been lifted. It will remain in place as long as the sys tem can maintain water tank levels, according to County Director of Operations Tommy Stalnaker. The state odd/even restrictions remain in place, Stalnaker said, with outdoor watering banned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all day Friday. Even numbered address es can water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The state water ban will be strictly enforced by Houston County, Stalnaker empha sized. Big-Bang-Boom set for July 1 ■ The Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter will once more celebrate the nation's inde pendence with the largest fire works display m Middle Georgia. This year's Big*Bang*Boom will be on July 1, with gates open ing at 6 p.m.. and the fire works display a 9:30 p.m. There is no admission charge. Music will be presented by Platinum Pony, and conces sion food will be available. Those attending are urged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Picnic food and coolers may be brought. Coolers are subject to search. Pets, glass containers, alcohol are firearms are prohibited. Sponsors are Catering by Cox, Perry Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Telegraph, #1 Country 99 WDEN, 13 WMAZ, Blue Green Resorts, Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter BIRTHDAYS ■ Debbie Borden ANNIVERSARIES ■ Allen and Trish Hawk ■ Margaret and Walter Watson ■ Mike and Tiffany Bailey Having a birthday or anniversa ry? Cal! Charlotte Perkins at 987- 1823, ext. 234, or e-mail her at cperkins@evansnewspapers.com. DEATHS ■ Theodore Leroy “Ted" Hanson, Sr. ■ Ruby C. McWhorter INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A LIFESTYLE 1 B SPORTS 6 A COMICS 5 B CLASSIFIEDS .... 9 B PERIODICAL (^P Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI 0 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 306Q2-OGG2 3-DIGIT 306 June 28, 2006 ISt.K) i\(, Hoi st<>\ COi vn :Sj \t l IS~(I Y i Mcrustcm Marne if Q\x\t LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville County allowing some fireworks Change in state law preempts and voids previous ban By RAY UGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Houston County has changed its fireworks ban “to come in compliance with state law,” explained Commissioner Gail Robinson. “The state said we can’t make it more restrictive than state law,” Robinson said. l- v I B Presbyterian teens make repair mission '%,. Jr '^BBBMBMBHHBI > 'V'-' ■ ’"• ■■ Vii '■ '^9w9i M» i *» ft ik JB^ ■ &• ■,■ ■|HP ■■■Mi . . ,^mHk Patrol promotions announced at Houston Sheriff’s Office By RAY LIGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Capt. Robert West now heads the Patrol Division at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office. “I like the challenges, day to day operations are not the same,” West said. “You learn something new everyday.” West has one son, a daugh ter-in-law and a grandchild. He began with the Sheriff’s Office 18 years ago in Patrol. He was promoted to corpo ral Oct. 10, 1990, and made sergeant Jan. 14, 1994. He was promoted to lieu tenant over the Detention Center Feb. 26, 1999 and transferred back to patrol May 8, 2002. “I had to come According to the new ordi nance, you can have spar klers as long as they don’t fly or explode. Wire and wood sparklers can have up to 100 grams of explosive mixture per item. Other non-aerial or non-explosive sparklers can contain up to 75 grams of chemical compound per tube, Also permitted are snake ill ||r back to patrol,” West said, after a couple of years at the jail. He was promoted to cap tain May 23. West replaces Maj. Ruben McGhee in Patrol as McGhee was promoted to and administrator on the sher iffs command staff replac ing then-Col. Billy Rape, who was in turn promoted to chief deputy, replacing Willie Talton, who retired. A lot of his work is office work, but West said he can “go out to check on person nel as I need to. “The biggest objective is working out problems with people - dealing with com plaints from the public and www.hhjnews.com and glow worms, trick noise makers such as paper streamers, party poppers, string poppers, snappers and drop snaps, as long as they contain less than .25 grains or less of explosive mixture. Cap guns, toy guns, toy cannons, toy canes and paper caps with an explosive mixture less those .25 grains By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HHJ Lifestyle Editor When Rosa Hill signed up at Perry Volunteer Outreach, hoping to get some help with repairs for a rotting roof, she never expected her yard would be filled with laughter and chatter, as a group of teens from three states took on the task of making her mod est single-wide safer and more livable. “I think the Lord sent them,” she said of the “Soul to-Soul” mission group, deputies.” He oversees 44 deputies including eight in Traffic divisions. There are nine deputies on patrol per shift, and four shifts of 12 hours each. There are another four deputies from Traffic on each 12-hour shift. The eight Traffic deputies work two shifts. Deputies are assigned for one of four or five zones and rotate around, West said. Lt. Tommy Jackson was promoted from sergeant to replace West as Patrol lieutenant on June 6., but Monday was his first day on the job. He was deployed for two weeks in Hawaii with See PATROL, page 5 A per cap are permitted. Model rockets and their engines, as well as ammunition con sumed by weapons used for sporting and hunting are not considered fireworks and are not banned under this ordinance, but blank cartridges are. Still banned are such things as firecrackers, tor pedoes, skyrockets, Roman Candles, bombs and explo sives of like constructions including aerial and explod- Left, young people in the mission pro gram hosted by Perry Presbyterian Church last week came from church es in Mississippi and North Carolina. Here, a group works on the roof of Rosa Hill’s home. Below, Rosa Hill, who lives in a single-wide just off Gaines Road in Perry, was happy to have the repairs done. She said, “The Lord sent them. ” HHJ Charlotte Perkins made up of young people from three Presbyterian churches. In the meantime, despite the scorching heat,, some were scrambling on the roof, putting down new shingles, while others worked on building a new front porch. She hadn’t asked for that, but once they arrived, they saw the need and went to work on it. “Soul-to-Soul” brings 70 or more young people together each sum mer from Sandhill Church in Southern Pines, N.C., See TEENS, page 5A '■ 1 > r ■ ■ HHJ Hay Lightner Capt. Robert West and Lt. Tommy Jackson lead the Patrol Division at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office. ax Eva\s Famha Newspaper True Colors Want a spectacular finale for your Fourth of July cookout? Try this red, white and blue trifle. Get the recipe HUB and direc- V tions on Page 18. TWO SECTIONS • 18 PAGES ing sparklers. You also can’t buy them here or bring them in from anywhere else, like those places along the highways in Alabama and Florida. It’s unlawful for anyone or any firm to sell, offer for sale, or use, explode, caused to be exploded, manufac ture or transport any fire works within the county, except for those recognized by the state who are in the See COUNTY, page 5A Cox Cable arriving in Perry By CHARLOTTE PERKINS HHJ staff writer Com South, watch out! Cox Cable is coming from the north. Lynn C. Murphey, who directs government and community relations for Cox Communications, told the Perry City Council last week the company has learned that a number of new mid-county housing developments they hope to serve have either recently been annexed by Perry or are under consideration for annexation. The company is asking for a franchise agreement similar to the one the city already has with Com South, but Murphey emphasized the city does not plan to “completely overbuild” Com South, to compete to serve the new areas being developed and annexed into Perry. Murphey made her pitch to the council during the informal work session pre ceding the regular meeting, and initially ran into some miscommunications when she referred to the annexed areas as being in “south” Houston. She pointed out that the general area Cox wants to provide service for is “south of 96 and west of 247.” She also reminded the council that Cox already has agreements to provide some cable within the Perry city limits. Cox provides cable for the Houston County Board of Education, which has offices and schools in Perry, as well as to the Houston Health Care facilities in Perry, which include the See CABLE, page 5A