This could have been me thrown all over my living room. Just by the grace of God it's not.
A MACON WOMAN SAYS A DRUNK DRIVER DROVE A CAR INTO HER HOUSE WHILE SHE WAS SLEEPING... AND NOW SHE'S USING THE EXPERIENCE AS A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF DRINKING WHILE DRIVING.
GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US.. I'M LEAH JOHNSON..THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 11.
IT APPEARS BIBB COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT ROMAIN DALLEMAND IS FOOTING THE BILL FOR HIS TRIP TO BELGIUM.
DALLEMAND DROPPED OFF TWO CHECKS WITH CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER RON COLLIER ON THE MONDAY BEFORE LEAVING FOR THAT TRIP. THAT'S ALL ACCORDING TO COLLIER.
ONE OF THE CHECKS REIMBURSED THE DISTRICT FOR HIS 950 DOLLAR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE.
HE ALSO GAVE BACK A 420 DOLLAR CHECK FOR HIS MEALS ON THE TRIP.
DALLEMAND TOLD COLLIER HE PLANS TO PAY FOR THE ENTIRE COST OF THE TRIP... INCLUDING AIRFARE AND LODGING.... BUT DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY.
SUSAN GRIFFIN-ZIEBART... DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND DESIGN WOULD NOT COMMENT ON WHETHER SHE'LL PLAY FOR HER OWN TRIP.
WE COULD NOT REACH THE THIRD SCHOOL OFFICIAL ON THE TRIP....DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING JUDY GODFREY FOR COMMENT.
COLLIER REFERRED ALL OF OUR QUESTIONS ABOUT DALLEMAND'S PAYMENTS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT HIMSELF.
WE ASKED TO SPEAK WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TODAY ABOUT HIS TRIP... BUT SCHOOL SPOKESWOMAN STEPHANIE HARTLEY SAID HE HAD MEETINGS ALL DAY AND WOULD NOT HAVE TIME FOR AN INTERVIEW UNTIL LATER THIS MONTH.
BUT AS WE WAITED OUTSIDE DALLEMAND'S OFFICE....WE SAW A REPORTER FROM ANOTHER T-V STATION BROUGHT INTO HIS OFFICE FOR AN INTERVIEW.
THERE WAS NO EXPLANATION WHY DALLEMAND WOULD NOT SPEAK SPECIFICALLY WITH 13WMAZ
IMAGINE WAKING UP TO THE SOUND OF A CAR CRASHING INTO YOUR HOME.
IT HAPPENED TO ONE WOMAN EARLY THIS MORNING AT HER HOME IN MACON.
SHE SAYS POLICE TOLD HER THAT THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE.
WE CONTACTED MACON POLICE BUT THEY COULD NOT CONFIRM THAT WITH US....
HOWEVER... WE TALKED TO THE WOMAN WHO'S HOME WAS DAMAGED BY THE CAR TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED.
"I'm sitting here in my house, minding my own business and I liked to have got killed in the privacy of my own home."
Peggy Johnson says she still can't believe what happened to her Glendale Avenue home early Friday morning.
"The house was just rumbling like a train was coming through my house."
She says she woke up to a car inside her home.
"When I came through the living room, I saw the lights coming from the bottom of the house where the car was embedded inside my house."
She says she also saw the person who was driving get out and run.
"I ran around and saw him get out the car. He ran across the street. He went through my yard and he came and hit my house twice and he hit my daughter's car and totaled it completely out."
In addition to the huge hole in her house... her daughter's totaled car serves as a reminder of what happened. Fed up... she painted a message on her house for all to see.
"This is what happens when you choose to get behind the wheel of a car and drive drunk.
Not knowing exactly where to begin... Johnson says she's now forced to start over.
"My china cabinet, my tvs, my pictures. You name it, anything that was in here was ruined."
In the end she says although still shaken by what happened...she's thankful.
"I'm blessed, I'm blessed. I'm homeless right now but I am blessed to have my life.
JOHNSON SAYS SHE HAS NO INSURANCE AND IS SURVIVING WITH THE HELP OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
AGAIN.. MACON POLICE COULD NOT CONFIRM WITH US IF THE PERSON WHO DROVE INTO JOHNSON'S HOME WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE.
FOLKS ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA ARE STAYING UP LATE TONIGHT... TO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR CANCER RESEARCH.
THEY'RE TAKING PART IN THE RELAY FOR LIFE.
THIS YEAR'S BIBB COUNTY RELAY IS HAPPENING IN AL SIHAH SHRINE PARK IN SOUTH MACON.
THOUSANDS OF SURVIVORS AND VOLUNTEERS GATHERED TO REMEMBER THOSE LOST TO CANCER... AND HONOR THE SURVIVORS.
BUSINESSES... SCHOOLS AND OTHER GROUPS FORMED RELAY TEAMS.
ONCOLOGY NURSE MELANIE WILKINSON SAYS SHE CAME TO SHOW HER SUPPORT... BECAUSE HER PATIENTS ARE LIKE FAMILY.
Melanie Wilkinson, Oncology Nurse: "My favorite favorite time is the survivor lap. There is just not another feeling like seeing those survivors on the track and knowing that they survived cancer is just awesome
Liz Jackson, Cancer Survivor: "The sooner they find a cure, people will not have to go through with what I've been through and what many of us out here have gone through with cancer.
CRAWFORD COUNTY... COCHRAN... HAWKINSVILLE AND EASTMAN ARE ALSO HOLDING RELAY FOR LIFE EVENTS TONIGHT.
FOR PHOTOS OF TONIGHT'S BIBB COUNTY RELAY... VISIT 13WMAZ DOT COM AND LOOK FOR OUR SLIDESHOW SECTION ON THE HOMEPAGE.
THE RED CROSS HONORED NEARLY A DOZEN CENTRAL GEORGIA HEROES THIS MORNING AT A VERY SPECIAL BREAKFAST.
OUR VERY OWN LORRA-LYNCH JONES EMCEED THE 3RD ANNUAL HOMETOWN HEROES BREAKFAST.
ONE LOCAL HERO WAS SEATED AT EACH TABLE.
BEFORE THEY WERE PRESENTED WITH THEIR AWARDS... A VIDEO PRESENTATION TOLD THE STORY OF EACH HONOREE'S HEROIC EFFORTS.
WE CAUGHT UP WITH A GOOD SAMARITAN .. WHO RESCUED A WOMAN FROM A BURNING CAR... HE SAYS HE WASN'T LOOKING FOR RECOGNITION.. JUST TO HELP SOMEONE IN NEED.
Jared Nelson, Fort Valley: This is just a very proud moment for me cause I'm proud of myself for stopping and being there and just being able to help her.
OTHER HONOREES TODAY INCLUDE...
ANIMAL ADVOCATE......DOCTOR LORI (uga-lick) UGOLIK.
JIM AND JAMI GAUDET...WHO RAN MACON'S FREE BASEBALL CLINIC FOR A QUARTER CENTURY.
911 DISPATCHER DANIELLE MOORE TRUELOVE... AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE HERO.
MARINE CORPORAL BO GUINN FOR SAVING THE LIVES OF FELLOW SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN.
NANCY LITTLE FIELD OF WARNER ROBINS.... A SCHOOL PARA PRO FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN.
BIBB COUNTY DEPUTY BRANNON JULES GRACE... WHO RISKED HIS LIFE TO PRVENT A SUICIDE ATTEMPT ON AN I-75 OVERPASS.
AND PAVING THE WAY FOR YOUTH HEROES.... HUNTER O'NEAL OF MONROE COUNTY... ADAHY PRICHETT OF JONES COUNTY AND GREYSON BARGERON OF BIBB COUNTY.
AND FINALLY KODY LUCAS... WHO BATTLED A BRAIN TUMOR FOR NEARLY FIVE YEARS WAS HONORED POSTHUMOUSLY AS A RED CROSS HERO.
THE MUSIC WORLD IS MOURNING AGAIN.
ADAM (YOWK) YAUCH... KNOWN AS BEASTIE BOYS RAPPER M-C-A... HAS DIED.
THE 47-YEAR-OLD HAD BEEN RECEIVING TREATMENT FOR SALIVARY GLAND CANCER SINCE 2009.
LAST MONTH... THE RAPPER WAS SO SICK HE COULDN'T MAKE IT TO THE BEASTIE BOYS' INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME.
THE BEASTIE BOYS FIRST GAINED FAME IN THE LATE '80'S WITH THEIR DEBUT ALBUM... LICENSED TO ILL.
YAUCH ALSO EARNED ATTENTION FOR HIS EFFORTS WITH THE FREE TIBET MOVEMENT... AND FOR DIRECTING MANY OF THE BAND'S VIDEOS.
HE LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE... A DAUGHTER AND HIS PARENTS.
THE CITY OF WARNER ROBINS IS IN FOR A HISTORICAL TREAT TOMORROW... AS THEY KICK OFF A HERITAGE PROJECT BUILT BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
AMY AUBERT HAS THAT STORY
nat sound "The Alberta Depot is going to become a museum for the city of Warner Robins... really tracing the history of the railroad.
PICTURES AND OLD NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS COVER THE TABLE AT THE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. MARSHA BUH-ZELL COLLECTS THEM FOR A NEW HERITAGE TOURISM PROJECT...AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE CITY.
We've been talking about this project of if these walls could talk... just to interview people... local people and get them to tell their particular story of what it was like to live in Wellston and Warner Robins."
SHE SAYS THE WARNER ROBINS HISTORY RUNS DEEP AND THEY'RE LOOKING TO LEARN ABOUT LIFE... WHEN TIMES WERE SIMPLER.
"The way to do this is to interview people who have been here a long time. It's so important to our cultural conciousness... just so that we know... how did we get to be where we are today."
WHO'S BEEN IN THE CITY LONGER THAN ADA LEE? SHE WAS BORN ON THE MARSHALL PLANTATION....WHAT IS NOW THE AIR FORCE BASE
"I worked in the fields out there. My daddy plowed mules out there and later on he was supervisor for Robins Air Force Base."
LEE BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO WORK FOR CITY HALL...AND later... MS SENIOR WARNER ROBINS.
AS THE HERITAGE SOCIETY'S FIRST INTERVIEW... SHE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THE CITY WAS KNOWN AS WELLSTON.
"Wellston was beginning to bloom because that's when the Majors and what have you came down and looked over the farms and what have you...bought the farms out. My dad and all had to move from over there to different places because that's where the base was and different people were coming here to work."
WITH MORE INTERVIEWS THE HERITAGE SOCIETY HOPES TO REACH ITS MAIN GOAL OF TURNING THE OLD ALBERTA DEPOT INTO A MUSEUM. AMY AUBERT 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.
THE PROJECT KICKS OFF TOMORROW AT 11 A-M AT THE NOLA BRANTLEY LIBRARY.
MAYOR CHUCK SHAHEEN AND OTHER CITY OFFICIALS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND.
EVERY WEEK... THE HEALTH INSPECTOR VISITS DOZENS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA RESTAURANTS... TO MAKE SURE THEIR KITCHENS STAY AS CLEAN AS YOU DESERVE.
WE'RE IN HOUSTON COUNTY FOR THIS WEEK'S RESTAURANT RATINGS... STARTING WITH OUR LOWEST SCORES.
SHANE'S RIB SHACK 6-70 LAKE JOY ROAD IN KATHLEEN... SCORED AN 88... A "B". THAT'S DOWN A LETTER GRADE FROM THE 94 OR "A" THE GOT IN THEIR LAST INSPECTION.
WENDY'S ON SAM NUNN BLVD IN PERRY... SCORED AN 87... A "B"... ON THEIR LAST REPORT THEY BROUGHT IN A PERFECT 100.
AND MCDONALDS AT 793 HIGHWAY 96 IN BONAIRE... GOT AN 87... A "B"... COMING AFTER ANOTHER 100 ON THE LAST INSPECTION.
NOW FOR A LOOK THE TOP SCORES OF THE WEEK.. AND THIS WEEK'S GOLDEN SPATULA NOMINEES
HUDDLE HOUSE ON WATSON BLVD IN WARNER ROBINS BROUGHT IN A 97.. OR AN "A".. THAT'S AFTER A 100 ON THEIR LAST INSPECTION.
2 GUYS AND A PIE PIZZERIA AT 402 HIGHWAY 247 IN BONAIRE RECEIVED A 96.. ALSO AN "A".. COMING AFTER ANOTHER A.. A 95 ON THEIR PREVIOUS REPORT.
AND MRS PEGGIE'S CHICKEN.. SEAFOOD...AND BBQ ON CARROLL STREET IN PERRY RANKED IN A 100.. WHICH COMES AFTER ANOTHER 100 ON THEIR LAST REPORT.
WE AVERAGED OUR NOMINEES' PAST FIVE SCORES... AND THIS WEEK'S GOLDEN SPATULA GOES TO... TWO WINNERS...
HUDDLE HOUSE ON WATSON BLVD AND MRS PEGGIE'S CHICKEN.. SEAFOOD...AND BBQ ON CARROLL STREET IN PERRY ... BOTH WITH A FIVE SCORE AVERAGE OF 97 POINT 4
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE AT HUDDLE HOUSE AND MRS. PEGGIE'S...
FOR ALL YOUR RESTAURANT RATINGS... GO TO OUR WEBSITE 13WMAZ DOT COM.
CLICK ON "RESTAURANT RATINGS" UNDER THE FEATURES TAB ON THE HOMEPAGE.
FROM THERE... YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE AND CHECK OUT INSPECTION SCORES FROM *YOUR* COUNTY.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.... WEEKEND MORNIN' COMES YOUR WAY AT 7 A-M.
THE NEWS IS ALWAYS ON AT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
LETTERMAN'S NEXT... WITH ANDERSON COOPER.
HAVE A SAFE NIGHT EVERYONE.