Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
June 29, 2006
VOLUME 136. NUMBER 127
OUR
FRONT
PORCH
INSIDE
Police beat
■ Three women one preg
nant fight it out;
Pot and no
combma- l" ,
tion fIHT y
- Page 2A
I w
It's a stretch
■ The Nationals extended
their lead in the Middle
Georgia Baseball standings
with a win against the Tigers.
-Page 1B
IN BRIEF
Grand re-opening
■ The Georgia Department of
Driver Services will re-open
the driver license facility in
Perry on July 11.
The office is located at 450
Larry Walker Parkway. Their
office hours will be Tuesday-
Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
It will re-open, according to a
release from the organization,
as a full service facility offer
ing renewals, the written test,
passenger vehicle road tests,
motorcycle road test and full
reinstatements.
WRLT to present comedy/drama
■ Warner Robins Little
Theatre will present its
first production of the sea
son, The Contrite Spirit" a
comedy/drama by Denis J.
Harrington, directed by Cathy
Collins. The opening perfor
mance will be held July 7 at 8
p.m. A Green Room reception
will follow the performance.
Additional dates will be July
8. 13-15, 20-22, all at 8 p.m.,
with 3:30 p.m.-matinees on
July 9 and 16.
The play is set in an
old house near Virginia’s
Bull Run battlefield and
believed to be haunted.
Kerry Kirkpatrick, a laid-back
comic-book artist, doesn't
believe in ghosts and the
price is right. He becomes
a believer when the spirit of
a Confederate cavalry offi
cer, Colonel Percival Scott,
appears and informs him sev
eral million dollars worth of
Union Army gold are buried in
the basement.
Reservation may be made
by calling 929-4579, Mon.-
Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. begin
ning July 3.
Tickets are sl2 adults,
seniors $8 (Sundays only),
students SB.
BIRTHDAYS
■ Katherine Weaks
DEATHS
■ Martha Temple DeGuire
■ Mary Meeks Rozier
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
SPORTS 1 B
COMICS 3 B
CLASSIFIEDS .... 4 B
PERIODICAL
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
com o
GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT
Main Library
UNJV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 306G2-0002
3-DIGIT 306
June 29, 2006
Servisg Hoi sros Cm vn Si\( i: 1870
' • - ’• r -■
(/SJt If ( 'Tff idmtstmtJßCcmte |f
(Lije jjmmtm
LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Deft, taxes
,f « mi 1 if| ' ■''' ■ . ■ <
pmmmmmmmmmmm' ■ jp* -mmmmmmmmmmr
KNI Gary Harmon
Centerville officials, including Mayor Harold Edwards listen to the concerns of citizens
during a town hall meeting Tuesday.
Centerville debates
exemption, alcohol
By KIMBERLY CASSEL
PRITCHETT
HHJ Contributing Writer
Approximately 50 people
gathered at Centerville City
Hall Tuesday for the last
of three town hall meetings
about the possible repeal of
a property tax law that gives
100 percent exemption to
seniors age 70 and older and
the possible granting of the
sale of alcohol by the drink
on Sunday in restaurants.
A spread sheet with a
scale of assessed property
ranging from $62,500 to
$400,000 and showing how
much would be owed if the
homestead exemption were
$25,000, $20,000, $15,000
and SIO,OOO was made avail
able to the audience. On
the scale, owners of a house
assessed at $62,500 would
have no taxes to pay.
“We’re trying to right
something that was very,
very wrong,” said Centerville
See DEBATE, page 7A
County adopts SB7 million budget
Millage rate may be lowered by half a mill
from 9.82 to 9.32 mills in September
ByRAYUGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
The Houston County
Board of Commissioners
adopted an SB7 million
budget for fiscal year 2007
budget during their regular
meeting Tuesday.
Of that $87,555,596, the
largest portion is the General
Fund at $45,032,825. The
rest comes from enter
prise and special use funds
as well as special purpose
local option sales tax funds.
www.hhjnews.com
Mayor takes firm control
of town meeting protocol
By KIMBERLY CASSEL
PRITCHETT
HHJ Contributing Writer
The Tuesday Centerville
town hall meeting to dis
cuss the possible repeal of a
property tax law that gives
100 percent exemption to
seniors age 70 and older
and the possible granting
of the sale of alcohol by the
drink on Sunday in restau
rants took a different turn
from the previous meet
ing on June 22 when more
than 100 residents were up
in arms about the possibly
of losing total exemption.
While holding up a copy of
the Houston Home Journal,
Centerville Mayor Harold
M. Edwards Jr. began the
The general fund is paid for
mostly with property taxes,
about $29.5 million.
According to Commission
Chairman Ned Sanders the
general fund budget is actu
ally an 8 percent increase
from the FY 2006 final bud
get of $41,407,547. FY 2007
begins July 1 for the county.
Sanders said the com
missioners anticipate scal
ing back the millage rate
one half a mill from 9.82 to
9.52 to offset reassessments
meeting by saying he was
not happy with what he
read in the newspaper
about the last meeting. The
story stated that members
from the audience repeat
edly made promises to get
petitions to get them out of
office and put someone else
in their place while similar
comments drew claps and
cheers from the audience.
“If not recognized by the
chair, you do not speak,” he
told the group Tuesday and
added “then you have one
minute to make a positive
comment.”
The mayor took up
the first 15 minutes of
the meeting voicing his
See TAX, page 7A
in the 2006 tax digest. He
explained the decision on
the millage rate would be
made in September when
commissioners get it from
the Tax Assessor’s Office.
“We are interested in roll
ing back the millage as much
as possible,” he said. “It’s
the one thing we have con
trol over. We don’t have con
trol over the assessments.”
Both Commissioner Jay
Walker, who is running for re
election and his Democratic
Perry set for
new growth
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
If all goes as planned, the
city of Perry is about to get
bigger geographically, to
have some new restaurants
and businesses and 406
new homes in the $150,000
- $200,000 range.
The Planning
Commission approved a
request for rezoning and
annexation on Monday
night, which would pave the
way - pending City Council
approval - for the develop
ment of a major commercial
and residential area called
“Walker Farms.”,
The land, accessed from
Sam Nunn Blvd. west of
1-75, just before Wayne
Morris Ford, would be pur
chased from the Walker
family. Part of land,
approximately 126 acres,
would be annexed into the
city. The adjacent part,
approximately 53.69 acres,
is already in Perry. Both
Provision delayed
in sex offender law
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
If the bus stop provi
sion currently being tabled
is upheld, 99 of the 101
registered sex offenders
in Houston County would
have to move.
“We only had two in
compliance,” said District
Attorney Kelly Burke.
"There are 10,000 bus stops
in Houston County (and)
virtually everyone was in
violation.”
On Monday a federal
judge issued an injunc
tion on the school bus por
tion of the new state law
scheduled to go into effect
Saturday that bans regis
tered sex offenders from
living within 1,000 feet of
Two road projects
get OK for county
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Some long-awaited road
projects are moving for
ward.
The county commission
in its meeting last week
approved a contract with
the state to pave Toomer
Road. “It’s a long time
coming,” said Commission
Chairman Ned Sanders.
The contract not to
exceed $133,845.14 is for
grading, drainage, base
and plant mix to resurface
1.04 miles of Terrell Road
between Sewell and Elko
opponent Maurice Braswell,
raised the issue of legislation
for a freeze in assessments,
which has been enacted in
larger metro counties around
Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah
and Columbus.
Walker said there are many
legal issues he’s looking into.
“The property must be at
market value,” said County
Attorney Mike Long.
Sanders said, “you almost
have to evaluate every situa
tion on a cost benefit ratio.”
“What kind of benefit
there is,” Walker added,
“and the legal requirements
on continuing the basics.”
For the owner of a $ 100,000
j V /{n.\s I \MU ) \i \\ sr \ri //]
500
lllllipilll
s^ssioFooooi*^
TWO SECTIONS • 20 PAGES
would be rezoned to accom
modate the building of a
“community” development,
which would have restau
rants and other businesses
facing Sam Nunn Blvd.
with a road leading into a
large residential area.
Neal Koelbl, who is
the developer for the
Jonesboro-based Knight
Group, said in an inter
view on Wednesday, that
plans are to have a “town
hall” central building, and
two swimming pools, one
of “junior Olympic” size,
and a smaller one for young
children. The land has a
pond, which will be incor
porated into landscaping
plans. There will be a 4-
ft. wide sidewalk connect
ing the retail area with the
residential area, and plan
ners anticipate that in the
final stage of development,
the sidewalk will be seven
miles long. Knight plans
See MAJOR, page 8A
m'
Williams
not only schools, parks and
places where children con
gregate, but also churches
and school bus stops.
See LAW, page 7A
roads.
The commission also took
action on Toomer Road,
voting 3-1 to authorize the
county attorney to take
whatever action necessary
to acquire right of way so
Public Works can proceed
with the paving project.
“Up to and including legal
action,” added Sanders.
Commissioner Larry
Thomson was opposed to
the action because “Toomer
Road will take 80 feet of
right of way through the
middle of someone’s
See ROADS, page 8A
home, the roll back to 9.52
mills - not including any
other exemptions like home
stead and seniors, or the
fire tax - would lower the
county portion of a tax bill
about sl2.
Sanders said increasing
personnel, fuel and energy
costs are the reasons for the
budget increases. The bud
get includes 12 new posi
tions and a 3.5 percent cost
of living increase for all
employees.
The 12 new positions
include a personnel office
assistant, custodian,
Superior Court clerk, an
See BUDGET, page 3A