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Thefts Increase, Violent Crime Stable in Warner Robins
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Feb 22, 2012 at 6:47 PM EST

The number of violent crimes in Warner Robins held steady from 2010 to 2011, while the number of thefts jumped 23 percent.

That's similar to the trend Macon police reported, when they released their annual crime statistics last month and consistent with national numbers reported from...more police departments to the FBI.

Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans explained how they use the numbers to better protect the community.

Evans says crime numbers don't share the whole story, but provide police and the community with a snapshot of what's happening around them.

He said, "If they pay attention to the crime statistics. They can say, hey, our crime is staying at a good level. So, the money were spending is not going to waste."

From 2010 to 2011, homicides stayed the same with five. So did car thefts.

Rape, robbery and simple assault increased slightly.

Aggravated assault, burglary and arson cases decreased.

The big
Warner Robins

Warner Robins Board Working On Police Center Hurdles
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Feb 17, 2012 at 6:56 PM EST

Construction of the a new Warner Robins Law Enforcement Center is on time, despite a few bumps along the way. That's according to Bill Douglas, chairman of the group in charge of the center's construction.

He says it is set to be complete this fall, after pushing past a few hurdles,...more including a car rental center in the way of construction.

The Redevelopment Agency negotiated Thrifty Car Rental's move to a trailer, while the city builds a new permanent location.

Purchasing Agent Mark Baker said Friday bids for that came back higher than expected, forcing the board to look for places to cut costs.

Douglas said, "We hope to use city labor to help us out with some dirt work."

He said they are also trying to figure out how much money is owed to the police center's architectural firm, JMA. Douglas says multiple designs created over several year's of the city changing LEC locations and RDA board members, created some
Warner Robins

Warner Robins Retreat Focuses on Communication
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Feb 10, 2012 at 10:51 PM EST



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The first day of the Warner Robins City Retreat focused on communication and teamwork.

The mayor, council members and department leaders met at the Warner Robins Hilton Garden Inn to focus on those issues.
Mayor Chuck Shaheen opened up the lines of communication with a prayer, and a question for city leaders. He asked,
Warner Robins

Warner Robins Council Retreat Begins
Feb 10, 2012 at 2:10 PM EST

Warner Robins Mayor Chuck Shaheen opened the first day of a two day council retreat at the Hilton Garden Inn on Willie Lee Parkway.

City department leaders, council members and guest speakers gathered for the meeting.

During his opening speech, Shaheen said, "My feet are not...more set in concrete for anything in the city. The only thing I am sure about is salvation through grace."

Shaheen read a passage from the Bible to start the meeting and asked a city employee to say a prayer. Then, he ran down a list of accomplishments during his administration. He also talked about goals for the future, including building the law enforcement center, using vehicles powered with natural gas, and renaming Front Street to Armed Forces Boulevard.

The agenda says guest speakers will talk about building relationships and dealing with the media this afternoon. The talk includes a speech called,"Would you talk that way in front of your Grandmother?".

City
Warner Robins

Perry Students Win State Floriculture Competition
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Feb 8, 2012 at 7:16 PM EST
Four Perry High School students took home the top prize at a state competition.

These teens area of expertise may surprise you.

The students can identify 90 species of plants. The young floriculturists can also diagnose disease and problem solve to heal sick...more plants.

After winning the Georgia Floriculture competition last weekend at Fort Valley State University, Mitchell Freeman, Tyler Claxton, Samantha Strickland and Jake Parker will move on to nationals in Indiana next fall.

Jake Parker said he started learning about plants in middle school. He said, "It's just learning stuff you can use always later in life, landscape your own houses. You can win a lot of money. That's one incentive for it."

Tyler Claxton says he became interested in floriculture, because his dad is the agriculture teacher at Perry High School.

Claxton said, "People ask you, 'Hey, what's that?' Just trying to get an answer out of you. It's pretty fun to be able
Perry

Cleaning Product Company Builds Solar Grid in Warner Robins
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Feb 8, 2012 at 5:16 PM EST

People in Warner Robins now have a new option for buying green power.
It's solar energy, and it's being produced at the local cleaning chemical factory, located off Russell Parkway.

120 workers bustled about the factory floor of the Clean Control Corporation on Tuesday....more

They were bottling OdoBan. It is an industrial strength cleaning solution, owner Steve Davison first mixed in his bath tub.

Davison said, "That's why they call me a bath tub chemist."

His science experiment grew into a 140,000 square foot facility. They now sell the product at Wal-Mart and on Home Depot shelves.

Davison says the business is thriving. They're also hiring in a down economy.

He had the capital to help build a solar energy grid on his factory's property.

It is capable of powering 24 homes for a year, Davison said. "You or anybody can buy, you pay a premium for it, but you can buy green power."

Unlike OdoBan, the idea for the
Warner Robins

Warner Robins Council Retreat This Weekend
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Feb 6, 2012 at 9:52 PM EST

Warner Robins city leaders will clock a few extra hours together this week.

A city retreat starts Friday afternoon and runs through Saturday.

Mayor Chuck Shaheen and members of city council will meet at the Museum of Aviation.

Shaheen says they decided to keep it...more local to spend money in Warner Robins and cut travel expenses.

Two years ago, the mayor, council members and city department leaders went to Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee for a retreat.

Shaheen says the goal is to familiarize new council members with the goals of each city department and to build team work.

He said, "Were going to go over our charter. Were going to go over a talk called, "Would you act this way in front of your grandmother?" Our department heads are going to come in and talk about their vision for the year 2012. Some team building things and really get this new council on page with the vision of the city."

Shaheen says the leaders of
Warner Robins

Houston Sheriff Says Separate Unit Needed for Mentally Ill Inmates
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Feb 3, 2012 at 10:13 PM EST

Houston County's Sheriff says a growing population of mentally ill inmates is causing problems at the jail. He is asking for $5 million in the upcoming SPLOST to separate the mentally ill from the general population.

Talton says state budget cuts to mental health services for inmates...more put the burden on the county.

He said for many years the state came to pick-up mentally ill inmates."We would ship them off to Central State or somewhere like that. Now, we have to hold them."

Talton described the issue as being " one of the biggest problems with all the sheriffs in the state of Georgia". He said, "We don't have anywhere to put these mental patients."

Jail administrator Charles Holt says the state cut funding to local resources for treating the mentally ill and drug addicted. Now, he says that cost often falls on the county, too.

Holt said, "Were providing the service they once received on the street, and when they re-offend, it's just an
Perry

Two Men Plead Not Guilty in Alleged Murder-For-Hire
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Jan 25, 2012 at 7:52 PM EST

Two men accused in a Warner Robins murder-for-hire case pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

James "Eddy" Clements and Robert Sybert are accused of killing Joni Clements last year. Police say she was found dead in her Warner Robins home, from multiple gunshot wounds.

After spending...more nearly a year in the Houston County Jail, James Clements came into the courtroom in an orange jump suit and handcuffs.

He entered a not guilty plea to all fourteen counts against him, including murdering his wife.

The couple's daughter, Jorden Anne Clements, showed her support for her father by sitting with family members on the defenses' side of the courtroom. Last year, she asked the court for her father to be let out of jail on bond. That motion was denied by a judge.

Clements' attorney Laura Hogue says she and her clients look forward to trial. Hogue said, "You can only imagine what they are going through, but they are happy that the state is not seeking the
Warner Robins

Stalnaker: SPLOST Extension Could Lower Property Taxes
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Jan 24, 2012 at 5:39 PM EST

Houston County's Commission Chairman says if voters extend a penny sales tax in March, there's a "good chance" property taxes will be lower in the future.

Tommy Stalnaker said that at a meeting of the Warner Robins Rotary Club Tuesday.

As the guest speaker, Stalnaker told...more the group that the estimated $155 million sales tax collection could pay for some of the projects currently paid for with property taxes.

He said voters shouldn't expect to see taxes go down immediately. After a few years of collections, Stalnaker said he will do everything in his power to lower the property tax rate.

He said, "I think that's important. I think people would like to see government tighten it's belt. Were asking people for a continuation of a tax. Were not asking people for a new tax. Their saying you want this continued. You need to do everything you can to maintain the level of service at the costs you currently have. Therefore, we in Houston County feel
Perry, Warner Robins

How Houston 2012 SPLOST Money Would Be Spent
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Jan 19, 2012 at 1:48 PM EST
Houston County voters go the polls in about a month and half to vote on a penny sales tax.

According to Houston County's website, it would generate $155 million for projects throughout the county.

The money would be allocated between five geographic areas of the county....more

39-percent of the $155 million pie will go to projects that benefit the entire county. Those projects include buying land at the end of Robins Air Force Base to stop encroachment and a new emergency radio system.

The City of Warner Robins gets the second largest slice or 29-percent.

Mayor Chuck Shaheen says the big ticket items include a new recreation complex, $4.5 to finish the law enforcement center, including furniture, and $4.7 million for city hall and civic center renovations.

Asked about the renovations, Shaheen said, "The air conditioning goes out in the summer. The heater goes out in the winter. We've got leaks that are coming down the walls. We would
Perry, Warner Robins

Houston Schools Rely Less on Textbooks
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Jan 16, 2012 at 8:32 PM EST

Check your child's backpack, and you might see fewer textbooks compared with a few years ago.

You may wonder why that's happening. It's a question that came to 13WMAZ from some Houston County viewers.

We took the question to Houston County's Superintendent of Teaching and...more Learning Eric Payne to find out.

Payne said parents at Houston County schools are seeing and will continue to see fewer books coming home.

He said, "What's happening is that the textbook is more of a resource in the classroom. It's not driving the instruction."

He says they used to base the curriculum on the text, but now the text is just one part of the curriculum.

That's why some teachers don't assign a book to each student, and instead, use a classroom set that stays at school, when the child goes home.

It's a change in philosophy from when science teacher at Perry Middle School Jeff Carroll went to school.

He said, "The textbook, when
Perry

Houston School Superintendent Gets a Pay Raise
Jan 13, 2012 at 3:56 PM EST


The Houston County Board of Education voted this week to give Superintendent Robin Hines a $19,000 pay raise.

Board Chairman Tom Walmer says Hines received $175,00 for his first year and a half on the job. He will now get $194,000 for the remaining year and a half of his three...more year contract.

Hines said he is "honored and humbled" by the board's decision.

Walmer said that they raised his pay to match salaries paid to superintendents in districts of similar size. He explained that when Hines was hired, the board paid him less than the previous superintendent, because of the financial constraints the board was facing at that time.

Walmer said this move brings Hines' pay back up the level that was paid to former superintendent David Carpenter.

He said that the system is looking at restoring teacher pay to the previous levels, including local supplements that were cut during that budget crunch.
Warner Robins

Taxpayer Bill for Bay Gall Creek Tops $90,000
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Jan 11, 2012 at 7:30 AM EST

Problems surrounding the City of Warner Robins dredging of the Bay Gall Creek may soon be over.

They got into trouble with the state Environmental Protection Division last spring, after neighbors complained that the work was damaging their property.

The city is about to start...more repairs, but the issue racked up a hefty bill for tax payers.

Dick and Judy Hamilton live across the street from the Bay Gall Creek near Russell Parkway.

Dick Hamilton said, "It's changed a lot since they've been doing some digging, primarily because there used to be a lot of wildlife over there."

City engineer Walter Gray says crews dredged last spring to help the flow of storm water run-off. He says they did that same work for years without permits, thinking they could, because the city considered the Bay Gall a "ditch."

After neighbors complained, the EPD got involved and said it wasn't a "ditch," but a "creek" that requires permits to protect the
Warner Robins

Warner Robins May Buy Another Golf Course
Jan 10, 2012 at 12:08 AM EST

The City of Warner Robins will entertain a pitch to buy a second golf course.

Mayor Chuck Shaheen said city leaders will meet Wednesday with the owners of the Landings Golf Club to talk about the possibility of buying it.

The course is located off Highway 247 in the Statham's...more Landing neighborhood. It is an up-scale, golfing community in Houston County. It is owned by the Landings Investment Group, LLC.

According to a public notice, it was supposed to go up for public auction Jan. 3rd at the Houston County Courthouse, but the Atlanta attorney for the bank holding the club's loan, Andrew Matteson, said the Landings Investment Group filed bankruptcy before the auction date.

The public notice valued the property at $2.5 million.

Matteson says the LLC filed for bankruptcy before the foreclosure process could take place.

According to Houston County tax records, the group owes more than $104,838.12 in personal property taxes, which
Warner Robins