Newspaper Page Text
♦ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006
6A
LS D LESCHC
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Submitted
Warner Robins Middle School recently held its sec
ond annual Miss WRMS Pageant. Seventh-grader Blaire
Bagwell won the title. Alyssa Gisseman, Ashlyn West,
Heather Coy and Maria Lopez were runners-up with
Averi Hess winning Miss Warrior Spirit. The event was a
fund-raiser sponsored by the Drama Club whose school
sponsors include Ms. Bagwell, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Campbell,
Ms. Banks, and Ms. Hart of the Gifted Department and
teachers Mrs. Alman and Mr. Jones.
NEIGHBORS
From page lA
Natural Resources.
Killmaster said that black
bears tend to live along
river corridors where there
are lots of hardwoods, fruit
bearing trees and berries,
and that the area around
the Ocmulgeee in Houston
County is home to numerous
bears.
“They are in the North
Georgia mountains, the
Okefenokee area and in
Central Georgia in the
Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee
areas,” Killmaster explained.
“Central Georgia has the
best bear habitat.”
While there is no official
Count of the bears in the
Oaky Woods WMA, the wild
life management staff in
Fort Valley is working with
experts from the University
of Georgia to collar bears
and track them for an accu
rate count, Killmaster said.
First traps are set and
baited with corn sweetened
with raspberry honey. When
a bear sticks its paw into
the corn, the paw is caught
with a snare something like
a handcuff.
A tranquilizer gun is then
used to immobilize the bear,
which is marked with an ear
tag or lip tattoo and then
fitted with a radio or global
positioning collar, so that its
movements can be tracked.
“So far, we’ve got about 30
bears collared,” Killmaster
said, “and there’s a lot
more out there. Regarding
the possibility of residential
development of the area,”
Killmaster said.
“Obviously the state would
like to continue to supervise
the land as a wildlife man
agement area, but we don’t
own it.”
GRANT
From page 1A
assuring that their commu
nities have adequate protec
tion from fire and fire-relat
ed hazards.
The SAFER grants sup
port two specific activities:
the hiring of firefighters, and
recruitment and retention of
volunteer firefighters.
The AFGP was created to
improve the effectiveness
of firefighting operations,
firefighter health and safety
programs, and to establish
or expand fire prevention
programs.
BAY
From page 4A
details. Jamil’s “burning
Sunnis” story now appears
to be rather dubious smoke.
However, its horrifying head
line has magnified a percep
tion of sectarian terror, one
advantageous to Saddam’s
“former regime elements”
and al-Qaida terrorists.
MNCI could be wrong, but
the distinct possibility exists
He noted that the bears
could respond in two ways
to encroachments on their
habitat by humans.
“Some bears may feel pres
sured and leave,” he said,
“and others may become
nuisance bears, getting into
garbage cans and bird feed
ers.”
Regarding danger to pets
or humans from the bears,
Killmaster said that bears
are “very shy of people,” and
that there have been “very,
very few bear maulings in
the Middle Georgia area.”
“Bears are omnivores,” he
said, “Their primary source
of protein is insects and
grubs, although they will
eat small animals or road
kill. They’re opportunistic
eaters.”
He noted, however, that
they can be dangerous,
especially for those who get
between a mother bear and
her cubs.
Bears can also be endan
gered in the human habitat.
The most well-known black
bear in Houston County was
a creature who ventured too
far into human territory.
The bear who inspired the
Georgia National Fair mas
cot, was spotted frequently
from 1980 to 1993 along 1-75
in the area of the Georgia
National Fairgrounds before
it was struck by a car in
1993. It was taken to a taxi
dermist and now stands in
the lobby of Reaves Arena.
The future is uncertain for
the bears and the deer, quail,
squirrels and wild turkeys
that inhabit Oaky Woods,
because while the proposed
residential community could
irrevocably alter their natu
ral environment, it is by no
means a certainty at this
point that it will ever be
built.
Developer Charlie
To qualify for funding,
applicants must demonstrate
financial need and articulate
the benefits they will get if
awarded the grant.
U.S. Senators Johnny
Isakson (R-Ga.) and
Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)
announced the award of the
grant earlier this week.
“This grant fills an impor
tant need for first respond
ers in Warner Robins. This
funding will go a long way to
help ensure that Georgia’s
first responders have the
resources necessary to pro
tect families and communi
ties across the state,” said
Isakson.
that the AP has been mis
led by its own stringers or
duped by an enemy propa
ganda operation.
If Jamil is another
“Jimmy,” the AP’s story - as
a weapon in a war of per
ception _ is far more dam
aging than Janet Cooke’s
Washington fiction.
Jamil and his various
stories require investiga
tion and substantiation; an
AP self-investigation will
strike many as inadequate.
Miss WRMS Pageant
WMWcm&iKdm *
MIDDLE SCHOOL ,
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McGlamery came to the
county commission earlier
this year with a request for
sewer service in the area.
He was willing to build the
system and asked the coun
ty to sign off on the deal,
because private companies
by current state law, cannot
create their own sewerage
systems without the backing
of a local governmental body
willing to take it up should
the private enterprise fail.
County officials told
McGlamery it is not in the
sewage business and does
not want to be.
Legislation proposed by
State Senator Cecil Staton
and State Representative
Larry O’Neal last session
would have permitted pri
vate cities under rural devel
opment districts. It would
permit the developer to cre
ate his own tax district and
issue bonds. Because it would
be a private enterprise, the
actions and records of the
private city would not be
open to the public or media.
It was opposed by the local
cities and the county and
died in the House last year.
The lands in question are
designated on the county’s
new land use plans as rural
residential not mixed use.
The county does not have a
mixed-use designation.
There have been no plans
for development or rezon
ing submitted to the coun
ty building office, accord
ing to building official Tim
Andrews.
The bears, of course, know
nothing of these complexi
ties and will soon be finding
sleeping places for their win
ter hibernation as they have
for thousands of years.
“They’re a natural part of
this ecosystem,” Killmaster
said. “They were here before
we were.”
Chambliss said, “I look for
ward to continuing to work
with local fire departments
and emergency responders
across the state to ensure
they have the resources they
need. Local firefighters and
emergency workers provide
our first defense to natural
disasters, accidents and ter
rorist attacks. It is because
these brave men and women
are often the first on the
scene of any incident that
we must continue to ensure
they have the tools and train
ing they need to do their jobs
safely and efficiently.”
Twenty-five years ago, The
New York Times dismissed
the National News Council
as unnecessary. “Jimmy’s
World” proved the Times
wrong. We need to revive
the National News Council
- and have it investigate
“Jamil’s World” muy pronto.
To find out more about
Austin Bay, and read features
by other Creators Syndicate
writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate Web
page at www.creators.com.
LOCAL
ARREST
From page tA
9 p.m., Oct. 16, at the
Wachovia Bank, 1205
Watson Blvd. The victim
told responding officers
she exited her vehicle
and approached the night
deposit box when a black
male stepped out of the
darkness and produced a
handgun.
The suspeqt demanded
the victim to relinquish
her deposit bag, to which
she complied. The suspect
then fled the area. There
were no injuries sustained
during the incident.
Anyone with infor
mation concerning the
aforementioned incident
is encouraged to contact
Curnutte at 918-2977 or
929-1170.
gEIRSf
Wigs.
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Krissmas
lITTN: FIRST CHRISTMAS
Washington Street, Perry, GA 31069
5 MUST BE RECEIVED BY I
06, BY END OF BUSINESS DAY. ,
j wilt be amiableJin pickup at our Perry office after January 2, 2007,
or mdutb a self addressed, stamped enirlopefir photo return.
The Houston Daily Journal is not liable Jar lost or damaged photos/m,nL
TEEN
From page tA
on the marijuana posses
sion.
On Nov. 19, he was
driving southbound on
Old Field Court in a 2003
Nissan Sentra and at
about 12:15 p.m., when
he crossed the centerline,
and struck a small electric
toy car, killing the 7-year
old and injuring another
12-year-old driver.
He received bond later
that day after paying
$3,700.
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