Bob House will probably

remember Isaac Newton for quite some time.

The famous scientist was

House's final answer to the $1 million question posed by

Regis Philbin during Monday night's taping of ABC-TV's

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" (the show aired

Tuesday). And boy, did it pay off.

Just two weeks after

completing his second year as a teacher at Starr's Mill

High School, House became the fourth contestant on the

phenomenally successful game show to go the distance.

With two lifelines

remaining for the last question - Which of the

following men does not have a chemical element named

after him? - House used his 50-50 lifeline to

eliminate Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi. That left Newton

and Albert Einstein.

Speaking with The Citizen

Wednesday morning by phone from New York, House said he

was pretty sure the answer was Newton, but just to make

certain he phoned Donna Cates, a science teacher at

Starr's Mill. She confirmed it for him immediately, and

he was home free.

With his wife Sheila, a

science teacher at Sandy Creek High School, at his side,

House made the obligatory rounds of celebrity interviews

Wednesday, starting early with an appearance on

"Good Morning America." That was followed by a

spot on (of course) "Live with Regis and Kathie

Lee" and a taped interview with "Access

Hollywood."

Bob and Sheila moved to

Meriwether County in February with their two children,

nine-year-old Logan (a student at Peeples Elementary) and

four-year-old Shelby. Before that, they lived in

Peachtree City.

While Sheila plans to stay

at Sandy Creek for the coming year, Bob will be moving to

Pike County High School in Zebulun. He teaches history.

Each

"Millionaire" contestant submits five names of

potential "Phone a Friend" lifelines. All five

of House's names were of Starr's Mill teachers, in a

variety of subjects: Cates; Laura Voyles (English);

Carsten Reichel (social studies); Charlotte Robinson

(U.S. history); and Becky Ryckeley (European history,

chairman of school's history department).

Ironically, all but Cates

were at the same house waiting for the chance to be

called. All were told to stay by the phone from 4-7 p.m.

in case they were needed.

House won $200 in a

previous episode, then had to return to finish his run.

The first show, seen Sunday night, was actually taped two

weeks earlier, and Bob and Sheila were flown back to New

York for the second taping.

At her Newnan home Monday

night with some friends, Cates got the customary call

from the show's producers letting her know the taping was

about to start. When the phone rang again at about 4:35,

she assumed it was to tell her he was finished, since it

had taken so much time for them to get back to her.

That changed when she heard

the voice on the line. "It was Regis," she

said. "I got nervous in a hurry."

One of her fears before the

show was that she would be one of the many phone friends

who ramble for the entire 30 seconds or must confess on

national TV that they do not know the answer. She did

nothing of the sort, saying later that she and House were

most fortunate to get the question they got. "Any

ninth-grader just finishing a physical science class

should have gotten that," she said.

As expected, everyone Cates

has talked to since House's big win has asked her what

her cut will be. She says she doesn't expect anything,

although dinner would be nice.

"I don't think he

needed me," she said. "I think it was just a

comfort."

As for House, he has said

that he plans to pay off some debts and get his wife a

new car with part of the winnings. In answering another

often-asked question, he called Regis "a very nice

guy."

He plans to keep in touch

with his former Starr's Mill students, mainly by watching

sporting events. He coached volleyball, basketball and

soccer at the school.

Starr's Mill Principal Sam

Sweat was among those in front of their sets Tuesday

night. "I thought it was fantastic," he said.

"I'm very happy for Bob House and his family."

Acknowledging that this is

a "big" boost for the school, Sweat added,

"I think our students and faculty are on top of the

world."

House is the second

"Millionaire" contestant with a Peachtree City

connection. Planterra Ridge resident John Bernard

appeared several months ago but was unable to get into

the hot seat.

"I want to say `Hi' to

all my students and thank them for their support,"

he said in concluding this interview, making that

statement his - what else? - final answer.