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Irfcftllfi JllllrtrtlyTrtllJK LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, leg *'| city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville VOLUME 136, NUMBER 232 Thursday December 7, 2006 The Home Journal's FRONT PORCH WELCOME BACK More than 60 airmen from the 78th Civil Engineer Group who are deployed to Iraq are sched uled to return to Robins Air Force Base today. The 78th Civil Engineer Group is responsible for all civil engineer ing activities at RAFB including: Real estate management, utility provisioning, facility maintenance and repair, real property installed equipment, fire protection, readi ness, environmental manage ment and Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force (Prime BEEF) 778th Squadron. IN SPORTS Warner Robins hosted Peach County on the basketball court Tuesday and come away with wins. Westfield, on the other hand, wasn't quite as lucky in its encounter against Stratford. Also, the Demons and Panthers went head-to-head on the wres tling mats. -See IB IN BRIEF Democrats to host dinner, meeting The Houston County Democrats’ dinner meeting will be Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at Fuddruckers restaurant, which is located at 133 Margie Dr., in Warner Robins. According to a release, during that time they will introduce their newly elected officers. The dinner is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Call 923-2323 for further information. Perry Middle School band to perform The third annual Perry Middle School Jazz Band spaghetti din ner will be Friday. Dinners will include chicken parmesan, pasta, bread, salad, dessert and tea from My Father's Place in Warner Robins. Meals will be served in the Perry Middle School cafeteria or will be available for pick-up from 4-7 p.m. The Panther Jazz Band and various small ensembles will pro vide entertainment from 5 - 7 p.m. The cost of each ticket is SB. For tickets call the band room at 988- 6100 or e-mail ahursey@hcbe.net or chursey@hcbe.net. BIRTHDAYS Today ■ Kenny Greene E-mail your birthdays to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com or donm@evansnewspapers. com or send them to: 1210 Washington St., Perry 31069. PERIODICAL 500 mm 8 "55108 OOOOl" 4 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI * GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3-DIGIT 306 December 7, 2006 \Servi.\c; Hoisrox Cot \n Si.\n: 1870 BELOW THE FOLD: For toy safety, follow the manufacturer's instructions "Everyone was issued a square of very dark glass. Just a squaie. they weren't goggles We were told not to look at the first blast We didn't but from the deck we watched after the blast as a large shaft of water came up first then over the top. The clouds seemed to boil out of the water shaft Then a second and then a third column rose, all of the columns then boiled and the shock wave from the first explosion hit us John C. Smith of Byron, on Operation c u.au i - : : ■ ■. . ■ ■ '?■ i I - ■ EmWHPTWiTM * ■k p 4 #**:■- % J|g| P fߧ| * SajjrifSi OaS-'Af--■•• v “ <**? ■ |;-y. . .•Hi jgq - v", t (mutmS( SSf ' ISlsSgi * ''.:, V mM| } 4||: sag * JrWRA ' v i. j, I ~„ ’ * _EnBK3Bg& Journal, Nancy Hawk Jo/in C. Sm/tfi shows o/f the certificate he received as part of Operation Castle, a Navy test of a nuclear weapon. One local man’s personal encounter with a nuclear weapon By NANCY HAWK Journal Staff Writer John C. Smith of Bonaire lives a quiet life. His artistic talented wife, Hazel J. Smith, has been gone nearly four years now. There was a time, before he had children, before he was even married, that then-ET 3 Smith has etched in memory. He can relive it now as if he’s still standing on the deck of the seagoing tug - some 52 years later ... Born in Frisco City Ala., in 1932, John C. Smith only attended first grade there. His fam WWW.HHJNEWS.COM ily moved to Evergreen, Ala. By then, he said, he was already tired of school. Sure it was important, but he added he felt it just seemed to drag on. Later on he obtained a GED, but in the meantime, he spent many years falling into the right place and being caught up in the right time. Some years down the road he moved on to Indianapolis, Ind., where his best friend Melvin “Bo” Wilkerson had been working in a tele phone factory. It was two or three weeks before Smith was hired on at the same factory. He worked one whole day, an eight-hour shift. See ENCOUNTER, page 6A Two SECTIONS • 20 PAGES Runoff election Voters pay about $7.54 per lot cast By RAY LIGHTNER Journal Staff Writer Tuesday’s election cost about $7.54 per vote. The county had to pay $12,917 to man the 28 polling places Tuesday for the sole item of a run-off race for Public Service Commission. That money went to pay 140 people or 29 precinct managers, 58 assistant managers, 38 election clerks, 24 janitors, three election night helpers, one supply pickup helper, one technician as well as the 84 touch screen units, 28 pickup/return sup plies and 28 cell phones. About 1,712 voters turned out Tuesday to vote, with 29 of 30 precincts reporting. There are 58,062 registered voters in Houston County, so about 2.95 percent showed up. Those that did turn out ousted the incum bent, as did voters statewide. In Houston County, Republican challenger Chuck Eaton defeated Democrat David Burgess 1,005 to 707 or 58.07 percent to 41.29 percent. Statewide, Eaton defeated Burgess 52.4 percent to 47.6 percent of 111,874 to 101,615 for the District 3 PSC seat. Results are not official until the week of Dec. 11, according to the Secretary of State’s office. See VOTERS, page 6A For toy safety follow maker’s instructions Special to the Journal More than three billion toys and games are sold in the United States every year, and more than half of those are sold during the holiday season alone. Although the majority of toys are safe, they can become danger ous if misused or if they fall into the hands of children who are too young to play with them. Nationwide, approximately 160,000 chil dren ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms each year for toy-related injuries and nearly half of these children are under age five. The biggest category of toy-related injuries - about 40 percent - involves riding toys, such as scooters, inline skates and skateboards. “If you give a riding toy as a gift to a child, please remember the gift is not com plete without a helmet and protective gear,” See SAFETY, page 6A Safe Kids of Houston County’s recommendations for toy selection: / Choose toys suitable to your child's age, abilities and skill level. ✓ Avoid toys with small removable parts. If the piece fits entirely inside the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper, then it is con sidered a choking hazard. / Look for high-quality design and construc tion. Make sure eyes, nose and other possible small parts are tightly secured. ✓ Avoid sharp points or edges on toys for children under the age of 8. ✓ Avoid electrical toys with heating ele ments (batteries, electrical plugs) for children under the age of 8. These toys are a potential burn hazard. / Avoid toys that produce loud noises. Toy guns and high-volume games can perma nently damage a child's hearing. ✓ Avoid toys with strings, straps or cords longer than seven inches, which can wrap around a child's neck and accidentally strangle him or her. ✓ Be sure to read ' the labels on all toys. Be aware of age vi and safety KkJSI use the mation as a wJKT guide. fj lv Evans Family Newspaper'