Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME 136, NUMBER 139
Tuesday
July 18, 2006
The Home Journal's
FRONT
PORCH
Gate update
■ Construction on Gate
1, also Known as the Green
Street gate on Robins Air
Force Base, is scheduled to
be completed Aug. 1.
The original date of July
14 has been pushed back to
due to reasons such as the
excessive thickness of the
existing asphalt pavement
that had to be demolished
and modifications that were
made to the structure,
according to the 778th Civil
Engineer Squadron.
The money to complete the
project arrived this week and
installation is scheduled to
start this week.
To accommodate the alter
nate traffic routes, Gate 15
(the Air National Guard main
gate) will be open during nor
mal duty hours. Only people
traveling northbound on GA
-247 will be able to enter the
base through Gate 15.
Gates 5 and 14 will con
tinue normal operation with
additional manning from Gate
1. When Gate 1 is “substan
tially completed,” the contrac
tor will begin construction
on Gate 14. The canopies,
which are about 118 feet
long and 60 feet wide, will
cover inbound and outbound
traffic lanes aid will nouse
air curtain heaters which will
blow warm air on [he guards
during the winter and cool air
during the summer.
Just a reminder
■ Go to the polls and vote
regardless of party affiliation
today.
DEATHS
■ Barbara Franks
■ Clyde Shankle
■ James Robert ‘J.R.’
■ Lowell Benson ‘Benny’
Beasley Jr.
INDEX
LOCAL 2 A
WEATHER 3 A
OPINION 4 A
SPORTS 1 B
COMICS 4 B
CLASSIFIEDS .... 5 B
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July 18, 2006
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LpGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Unemployment down for June
ByRAYUGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Unemployment claims
are down again in Houston
County.
In the Warner Robins
Metro Service Area, initial
unemployment insurance
claims were down 59, or 15.9
percent, from 371 in May to
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Campers
show off
skills
learned in
robotics
class
By KRISTY WARREN
Journal Staff Writer
Friday, stu
dents of the
Beginners
Flight Camp
and the
Robotics II
class cele
brated their
last day of camp by showing
off their new skills.
The Robotics II class held
a competition in which
the students - in pairs
of two - participated in a
timed, scored competition
with robots built and pro
grammed by the teams.
The week’s theme was
“Ocean Odyssey” with the
participants learning how
to research and test robots
for ocean application.
Friday’s final competition,
Ocean Odyssey Obstacle,
consisted of nine missions
held in the Century Flight
Hangar in the Fabulous
Flight Science Center.
Andrew Dennis, a class
instructor explained the
curriculum of the class.
“We tried to show how
robotics relate to real world
situations and impact soci-
WWW.HHJNEWS.COM
312. Initial claims were also
down 10.1 percent or 35 from
the 347 in June 2005.
The Warner Robins Metro
Service Area includes all of
Houston County.
In Macon, claims were also
down, 133, or 11.1 percent,
from 1,200 in May to 1,067.
Initial claims were also down
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ENI/Gary Harmon
TOP: Luke saunders and Nicholas Szakil watch and are hopeful they have pro
grammed their Lego Mindstorm Robot correctly at the Robotics II competition at the
Museum of Aviation Friday. ABOVE: Connor Wainwright and Brandon Reid watch as
their robot goes through the course.
ety,” he said, “The program
connects science, math,
technology, problem solv
ing, and how all this can
be fun.”
“We did really good, we
were really surprised.”
6.1 percent or 69, from 1,136
in June 2005. The Macon
Metro Service area includes
Bibb, Crawford, Monroe,
Jones and Twiggs counties.
Statewide there were
34,275 laid-off workers filing
first-time claims for unem
ployment ihsurance benefits
in June, down 3.2 percent
Luke Saunders, a 12-year
old student of the Westfield
Schools, said.
Saunders and his friend
Nicholas Szakal signed up
for the class together and
were partners for the week.
from May. Initial claims were
also down from 34,450 filed
in June 2005 for an over-the
year decrease of one-half of
one percent.
Metro Atlanta accounted
for almost half of the initial
claims in June with 15,297.
Hinesville had the fewest
with 202. Only Hinesville
“We learned how to make
sensors, gears and to make
(the robots) faster,” said
Szakal, also 12 and also a
student at the Westfield
See ROBOTS, page 5A
TWO SECTIONS • 12 PAQES
and Brunswick (284) were
below Warner Robins in ini
tial claims for June.
According to Department of -
Labor officials, initial claims
are considered to be a leading
economic indicator, because
they measure newly laid-off
workers, and the claims were
See DOWN, page 6 A
Students
ace state
CRCT
Complete CRTC
Spring 2006 results
chart, page 5 A
Special to the Journal
Criterion-Referenced
Competency Test system
scores have been released by
the Georgia Department of
Education for the state test
given at the end of April.
Houston County students
scored higher than the state
average in every subject for
every grade.
Students in grades 18
were tested in the areas of
reading, mathematics and
English/language arts; stu
dents in grades 3 8 were also
tested in social studies and
science.
The CRCT measures what
knowledge and skills stu
dents are expected to have
mastered by the end of the
school year. Based on stan
dards set by Georgia, stu
dent scores are categorized
as either: does not meet
standard, meets standard,
or exceeds standard. This is
the seventh year this test
has been administered.
CRCT scores are used to
give Georgia schools a report
card and as gates for cer
tain grades.
This year for the first
time, eighth-graders were
required to pass the reading
and math portions of the
test for promotion to the
ninth grade.
A third grade reading gate
went into effect in 2004, and
a fifth grade reading and
math gate became effective
in 2005.
Of the 37 different
CRCT tests given, 19 were
aligned to the new Georgia
Performance Standards: the
reading test in grades 1-8;
the English/language arts
exams in grades 1-8; science
exams in grades 6 and 7 and
the math exam in grade 6.
Since this year s tests were
based on the new curricu
lum, these 2006 scores are
not comparable to previous
years.
The new GPS curriculum
is more rigorous and focuses
on mastering the material.
The new tests require stu
dents to demonstrate higher
thinking skills and deeper
subject knowledge.
In addition, students were
required to answer more
questions correctly to pass
the test.
Mike Mattingly, Assistant
Supt of Teaching and
Learning, commented, It is
apparent that our work this
past year has paid off when
reviewing the CRCT results.
In many areas, students
were taught with the newly
revamped curriculum called
the Georgia Performance
Standards. These standards
demand more from our chil
dren and in the end will
See CRTC, page 5A
Inside