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JAentAovt Jfcriin JjiiwitMl VOLUME 136, NUMBER 225 BELOW THE FOLD: Unemployment rates steady for Houston County ■ One Perry student refuses to compromise her beliefs Tuesday November 28,2006 The Home Journal’s FRONT PORCH IN SPORTS Northside. Warner Robins and Houston County all had little trou ble winning this past weekend and subsequently securing a quarterfi nal berth in the GHSA state football playoffs. -See 1B IN BRIEF Kiwanis Club to host pancakes with Santa Perry Kiwanis Club will be host ing its annual Pancake Breakfast with Santa Saturday from 7:30- 10:30 a.m. in the cafeteria of the former Perry Elementary School behind the BOE office on Main Street. Tickets are $5. To pur chase tickets in advance, please call Marc Martin at 987-2554. or pay at the door. All proceeds, according to a release from the club, will benefit “the needs of children and other worthy causes in our local area." State’s tag offices to be closed Dec. 9, county vehicle tag offices throughout Georgia will only be able to provide minimum service due to required maintenance being per formed on the computers that house the state's motor vehicle registration and title databases. Beginning Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. and continuing until Dec. 11 at 6 a.m., local tag offices will not be able to contact the central data system to transact any business regarding motor vehicle registration and titling. Internet renewal and registration will also be unavailable from Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. until Monday, Dec. 11 at 6 a.m. It is recommend that individuals planning to conduct business at their local motor vehicle tag office that Saturday contact the office before hand to determine if they can com plete their business. All local offices should be fully operational during their normal business hours Dec. 11. - Special to the Journal BIRTHDAYS Today ■ George Heaberlin E-mail your birthdays to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com or donm@evansnewspapers.com or send them to: 1210 Washington St., Perry 31069; attn: Don Moncrief. You can also call him at 987-1823, Ext. 231. DEARLY DEPARTED ■ Paige Alfonso Watkins. 77 ■ Dale Roebuck, 59 PERIODICAL 500 min 8 55108 00001* 4 Award-Winning Newspaper fO/i BepSvA Better Newspaper wjj r Tjj>/ Contest 'joarfy' liilfilliiiiHiiiif tilth COOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30902-0002 3-DIGIT 306 November 28, 2006 ftt— . ■ ——— ~7. , 7 ~ LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS A r „. -fii? 5 Journal Charlotte Perkins Houston County is getting ready for Christmas with special events and Christmas lights. This home on Ball Street in Perry has a dazzling display of lights and decorations. EVENTS IN HOUSTON COUNTY By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Lifestyle Editor When’s the Christmas parade this year? When will Perry’s community can dlelight service take place? When is the Walk Through Bethlehem and what time does it begin each night? It’s less than a month until Christmas - time to mark your calendar with some important dates for the whole family, so you won’t miss your favorites. To help you make your list and check it twice, we begin our holiday calendar of events today. More events will be added as they are received. Thursday • 7:30p.m.-The Westfield High School Chorus will present a Christmas con cert in the recital hall of the Band stand One Perry student dressed for success By Jennifer Bugay Journal Correspondent In today’s society, peo ple do almost anything to be accepted. Some people change what they wear, how they talk, and even who they are to be what their peers say is right. One girl from Perry does otherwise. Beth Ann Barron has been living in Perry all of her life. Her father is a local firefighter, and her mother is a stay-at-home mother. Barron is a junior at Perry High School and plays the flute in the marching band. The unique thing about her, is her wardrobe. She has worn a skirt every day since she was a little girl. Even as a member of her school marching band, where the uniform is school colored trousers. Barron’s mother made a proper skirt to match the uniform, but her Choice of uniform represents more than Perry’s marching band. It is an expression of faith. “I am a Christian. I attend www.hhjnews.com Arts and Sciences Building. The chorus, with 42 sing ers, will present classical, pop and Christmas music ’under the direction of Donna Hooper, with Kathy Stubbs as accompanist. Saturday • 10 a.m. - Warner Robins’ 49th Annual Christmas parade begins at the intersection of North Houston Road and Watson Blvd., and proceeds east to City Hall. For more infor mation, call the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce, 922-8585. • 7:30 a.m. - Perry’s Christmas at the Crossroads begins with The Mahala Club and the Perry Kiwanis Club hosting a Breakfast with Santa in the old lunch room behind the Houston County Board of Education Building. Pictures with Santa will be taken. Evening Light Mission in Marshallville, Georgia,” she said. “Wearing skirts is the way I was raised. My moth er does the same. The Old Testament says that women IMA i i|M £ JKli j 'Wi m Agf mMmg |jH9 f j Contributed Beth Ann Barron, in skirt, performs during Georgia Tech Band Day in September. 10 a.m. Jingle Bell Jog, one mile and 5K Fun Run sponsored by Houston Healthcare Complex, down town Perry. A Christmas at the Crossroads event. • 2 p.m. - Perry Christmas Parade, sponsored by Houston Springs, begins. This year’s parade will fol low a downtown route from Washington Street to Main Street. The parade will be followed by downtown visits from Santa Claus and cast members of “The Christmas Carol.” A Christmas at the Crossroads event. • 3 p.m. - Live music festival with five bands on Carroll Street. Will contin ue until 9:30 p.m. A 1 fres co dining at The Swanson Restaurant. Reservations required. A Christmas at the Crossroads event. • 5:30 p.m. - Mini- Nutcracker presentation by the International City should not wear male gar ments. Wearing a skirt is modest, yet it shows more respect for me.” The Evening Light Mission believes in Jesus Ballet, Perry High School Auditorium. Tickets are $5 at the door. Sunday • 2:30 p.m. - Old Fashioned Christmas Tea at The Front Porch on Carroll Street. Reservations required. A Christmas at the Crossroads event. • 6:30 p.m. - Christmas at the Crossroads: Carol and Candlelight Community Christmas Program, sponsored by the Perry Ministerial Association, at the old courthouse square in downtown Perry. The service will be followed by the lighting of the 900 block of Carroll Street, one shop at a time. A live nativity scene is planned at Perry United Methodist Church. The children’s choir will sing and hot chocolate and cookies will be served. See EVENTS, page fA Christ as the savior. Granted, not all Christians follow the same path as Barron, but she made her point clear See DRESSED, page fA Two sections • 12 pages GDOT to discuss project Special to the Journal The Georgia Department ofT ransportation announced this past week it will hold ,a Public Information Open House concerning Project STP-155-1 (22) Dec. 5 at Bonaire Middle School. The school is located at 125 Highway 96 East in Bonaire. According to a release, the afore mentioned project is a proposal to widen and recon struct SR 96 from SR 247/US 129 (mile post 7.54) in Houston County to SR 87 (MP 2.94) in Twiggs County. The proj ect will widen the existing SR 96 from a two-lane roadway to a four lane divided urban section with a 20 foot raised median for approximately two miles, from SR 247 to just east of the A&E Golf, Inc. property. At that location the road way will transition to a rural section with a 44-foot depressed median from just east of the A&E Golf, Inc. property to the end of the project at SR 87. The urban section of the project will have a posted speed limit of 45 mph and the rural section of the proj ect will have a posted speed limit of 55 mph. The total length of widen ing and reconstruction of SR 96 contained within project STP-155-1(22) is approxi mately 9.3 miles. This project will also involve the reconstruction See PROJECT, page *4 Unemployment holding steady By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer The unemployment rate in the metro Warner Robins area remains unchanged at 4.3 percent. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the unemployment rate stayed the same from September to October. The number of initial unemployment claims however was up 71.1538 per cent from 208 in September to 356 in October. The 356 claims for October is down 21.8 per cent or 99 claims from the 455 claims in October 2005. The Warner Robins Metro Servipe Area includes all of Houston County. Meanwhile, the unemploy ment rate in metro Macon, at 5.7 percent was up one 10th of one percent from 5.6 percent in September. The Macon Metro Service Area includes Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, Peach See STEADY, page $A At A Glance What: Georgia Department of Transportation Public Information Open House When: Dec. 5, 5 p.m. Where: Bonaire Middle School Agenda: Discuss pro posal to widen and reconstruct SR 96