Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME 136, NUMBER 193
Below THE Fold: Mid-county group backs McAfee foundation ■ August unemployment rate for Houston County declines
Wednesday
October 4,2006
The Home Journal’s
FRONT
PORCH
IN SPORTS
■ Perry's Lady Panthers cel
ebrated Senior Night by beat
ing Central 10-0. Also, look for
some Central Georgia Soccer
Associations. WR Rec volleyball
pictures and more.
- See 5A
IN BRIEF
Georgia DOT to hold
bike, trail conference
The Georgia DOT is bringing
together local officials, planners,
engineers, public health profes
sionals and community advocates
in an effort to improve bicycle and
pedestrian facilities in the state's
cities and counties.
The first Georgia Bicycle &
Pedestrian Conference will be held
at the Holiday Inn in Decatur Oct.
24-25. Participants will learn how
to design bicycle and pedestrian
facilities, develop and implement
plans and create effective Safe
Routes to School programs in their
communities. Workshops will also
identify and explain the funding
sources available for these pro
grams.
Those interested in attending the
conference may register at http://
www.dot.state.ga.us/bikeped/bike_
ped_conf/.
Station to speak at
Republican breakfast
The Republican Breakfast
Meeting will be Saturday at 8:30
am. at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ.
which is located at 811 Russell
Parkway in Warner Robins.
The guest speaker will be Sen.
Cecil Staton. A continental break
fast will be available for $3.25. No
reservation is necessary.
Ya done good
Cadet Zachary T. Willey, son
of Keith and Yvonne Willey of
Eugene, Oregon. The Houston
County High School graduate was
recently singled out at West Point
for earning the Superintendent's
Award for Excellence at the U.S.
Miliatary Academy.
The award is presented to the
top 5 percent of cadets who excel
in the academic, military and physi
cal programs.
BIRTHDAYS
Today
■ Elizabeth Newsome, 100!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Today
■ Edward and Jennifer
Rowland
DEARLY DEPARTED
■ Nancy Jo Agee, 50
■ Marian K. Bowers, 89
PERIODICAL 500
8 11001 l 4
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
COOI *
tVBWSG I WPER PWUECT
Man Library
UN IV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA. 30602-0002
3-DIGIT 306
October 4, 2006
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
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Joanna McAfee spent half of her six years in a battle with cancer - and lost.
Family that lost child
works to help others
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Lifestyle Editor
It was Mother’s Day, 2004, when 5-year
old Joanna McAfee made her way to the
top of a hill at the Cancer Survivor’s Park
in Tampa, Fla. It wasn’t easy for her,
because she
was weak
from anoth
er round of
chemother
apy, but she
was deter
mined.
When she
reached the
top, she
turned to
smile at
her parents
and hold
her arms
up trium
phantly. Her
dad caught
the moment
with his
camera.
One way to Help
Orders for this tag with a silhouette of Joanna McAfee
can be placed starting in January 2007. One thousand
must be ordered, however, before the state produces the
tag. Proceeds will go to support research and awareness
of childhood cancer, as well as support for the families of
children with cancer.
The pic
ture became a silhouette that thousands of
people would one day recognize.
Six months or so from now, you should
Group backs Joanna’s foundation
From staff reports
Jeff McAfee was the speak
er the Sept. 5 meeting of
the Bonaire-Kathleen “You
Are the Reason we Relay”
team, a group of mid-county
residents who have held their
own fundraisers for several
years to take part in the bat
tle against cancer.
McAfee explained to the
group how he, his family and
others have launched a foun
dation in memory of his and
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his wife Misty’s 6-year old
daughter, Joanna.
The group learned of the
goals of the new foundation
and that the Georgia legis
lature had passed a bill for a
WWW .HHJ NE W S.COM
start seeing it on Georgia car tags. Below
the tag number, you’ll see a website listed:
SupportCancerKids.org.
Proceeds from the sale of the tag will go
to the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer
Foundation. It was an idea that became
2006 General Assembly session.
Joanna, the daughter of Jeff and
See HELP, page jA
a real
ity because
a state rep
resentative
listened to
a grieving
father he had
never met
before, and
took action.
Rep. Willie
Talton of
Warner
Robins made
a special
project of
sponsoring
HB 1053 and
made sure
the bill for
Joanna’s tag
got voted on
during the
special vehicle “Joanna Tag”
in support of the Joanna
McAfee Childhood Cancer
Foundation.
Following the talk, the
Bonaire-Kathleen team voted
unanimously to support the
Joanna McAfee Childhood
Cancer Foundation. A new
name for the team, which
is now the Bonaire-Kathleen
Connection, was picked.
To become a member of
See GROUP, page jA
Is she the big bad ‘Wolf’?
Question on horses,
pigs puzzles council
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Can you have horses
in Warner Robins? How
about a pig?
Brenda Wolf had those
questions for city officials
prior to her family moving
in with their two horses
and a pot-bellied pig.
The answer, according to
the city’s legal council, is
it’s unclear, and won’t be
fully known until - after
some research into the
matter - the next council
meeting, Oct. 15.
Assistant City Attorney
Stan Martin said accord
ing to the Unified Animal
Control Ordinance adopt
ed by the city last year it’s
unlawful to have horses or
livestock unless permitted
by a city ordinance.
Under city zoning ordi
nances horses may be
kept in the R-l and R-2
zonings if there is a mini
mum 20-acre lot for the
first animal and another
half-acre for each addi
tional animal, and as long
as the shelter or area is
50 feet from the property
line.
Councilman Dean
Cowart noted the pot-bel
lied pig is not considered
life stock, but a domestic
animal like a dog or cat.
The land Wolf has under
Submitted
Unemployment
Warner Robins Area Compared to Georgia
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August unemployment
rate for HC declines
By RATLIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
While the unemploy
ment rate is down in
Houston County, the
number of initial unem
ployment claims is up for
the month of August.
The unemployment
rate in the metro Warner
Robins area declined to
4.3 percent in August,
down one-half of one per
cent from 4.8 percent in
July.
The area’s jobless rate
was 4.7 percent in August
of 2005.
The Warner Robins
Metro Service Area
includes all of Houston
County.
There were 327 initial
unemployment claims
in Houston County in
August. That is two more
or .99 percent more than
the 325 in July and 17.2
percent more than the 279
claims in August 2005.
Metro Brunswick was
the only other service
area to have an increase
in claims for August with
339, up from 273 in July.
While metro. Warner
and
potatoes and more
Food - 1B
Two SECTIONS • 14 PAQES
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"These are our
pets. We don't
breed them. It's
just a nice piece
of land we fell in
love with."
- Brenda Wolf
contract is about six acres
in the area of Dunbar
Road, off Northlake Drive.
Only 2.68 acres are in the
city and zoned R-2, which
is enough to permit the
two horses.
The rest of the lot,
3.58 acres is in unincor
porated Houston County
and is zoned Residential-
Agricultural which per
mits livestock.
“Will the horses be kept
in the county or the city?”
asked Councilman Terry
Horton.
Wolf showed a map of
the site and the proposed
location for a barn, on
the other side of the pond
from the city portion of
the land.
“These are our pets,”
Wolf said of the 19 and 20-
year-old horses. “We don’t
breed them.”
See COUNCIL, page jA
Robins had a slight
increase with the 327 ini
tial unemployment claims
in August, only one of
the 13 service areas -
Hinesville - had fewer ini
tial claims in August than
metro Warner Robins.
The unemployment rate
in the metro Macon area
declined to 5.9 percent in
August, down one-half of
one percent from 6.4 per
cent in July.
The area’s jobless
rate was 5.8 percent in
August of 2005. The num
ber of initial claims also
dropped.
Metro Macon, which
includes Bibb, Crawford,
Jones, Monroe and Twiggs
counties, had 111 fewer
claims than the 1,048 in
July. The 937 claims are
4.4 percent lower than the
980 in Aug. 2005.
Meanwhile, the state’s
unemployment rate
declined to 4.6 percent in
August, down one-half of
one percent from 5.1 per
cent in July.
The U.S. rate matched
the Georgia rate at the
4.6 percent unadjusted
See RATE, page jA