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TUESDAY
Tut 51/42
12/10 51,42 *mm
Cloudy with periods of rain. High
51F. Winds NE at lOto 15 mph.
Wed / s
12/11 55/43 A **
Cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s and
lows in the low 40s.
63/42 v4^
12/12 *
More clouds than sun. Highs in the
low 60s and lows in the low 40s.
Santa comes
to Warner Robins
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Santa Claus arrived in
Warner Robins amid the
cheers of a crowd of thou
sands of parade watchers
who helped ring in the holi
day season as the Warner
Robins Christmas Parade
procession made its way
along Watson Boulevard
Saturday morning. Here, he
spotted with little Paul
Hartness in Perry. For more
See Page 8B
Local Hoops
County rivals Perry and
Warner Robins faced off on
Saturday in the International
City, while Westfield hosted
Windsor Friday night ay the
Hornets Nest.
For more on these games, see
B 1
Inside
OPINION PG.4A
CLASSIFIED ...PG.6B
COMICS PG. 5B
BUSINESS PG. 6A
NEWS BRIEFS . .PG. 2A
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RAFB and Board of Education sign agreement
From Staff Reports
A new memorandum of agreement between
the base and the Houston County Board of
Education will help ease the burden of transition
to local high schools for students of military
members.
A signing ceremony to announce the initiative
was held at the officers club, Monday, December
9, at 11:30 a.m.
The memorandum of agreement is designed to
address the transition challenges that are prima
rily high school connected and aims to:
a/Improve the timely transfer of records
V Develop systems to ease student transition
during the first two weeks of enrollment
V Promote practices which foster access to
extracurricular programs
V Establish procedures to lessen the adverse
impact of moves from the end of junior year, as
well as before, and during senior year
V Create and implement professional develop
ment systems
RAFB sponsored
Habitat home dedicated
By Emily Johnstone
News Editor
The Houston County Chapter of
Habitat for Humanity, along with
sponsors from Robins Air Force Base
Chapel, held a dedication ceremony
Sunday afternoon for the 22nd home
built by the group.
The new home is located on
Sherman Street in Warner Robins.
Director of Habitat John Sillers
spoke of the work the group contin
ues to do to help low income families
in this area afford decent housing.
“We now have 22 people who were
living in substandard housing now in
decent houses in a safe neighbor
hood,” said Sillers.
He talked about goals to eliminate
poverty and provide adequate hous
ing for low income families, citing
efforts by a group led by former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter to help
Habitat volunteers meet those goals.
Sillers said the group sells the
homes without interest to those who
meet certain requirements because
that is what the Bible instructs peo
ple to do.
“The Bible says when we sell to
the poor, we should not charge them
interest,” he said.
“There’s not a whole lot you can do
in your ministry than build a home
for someone,” added Chaplain
Dennis Hutson of RAFB.
The base chapel looks forward to
sponsoring another home in the
future, said Chaplain Daniel
Nigolian.
See RAFB on Page 7A
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December 10, 2002
Photos by Danny Evans
Members of the Perry Rotary
Club were joined by commu
nity service workers as they
undertake a massive clean up
project, along with the City of
Perry, along the Big Indian
Creek area.
The ongoing project includes
removing underbrush and
working toward making the
creek area easily accessible to
the public. (Above), Rotarjan
Steve Feitshans cuts through
a litnb with a chainsaw while
Bibin Vaski steadies it. (Left),
Bill Davis gets ready to clear
debris from the creekside.
V Continue strong child-centered partnerships
between Robins and Houston County
V Provide information concerning graduation
requirements and provide specialized services for
transitioning students when applying to and
finding funding for post secondary study
The memorandum of agreement came directly
from the U.S. Army’s Secondary Education
Transition Study findings. A team of school
superintendents, school board members and com
manders that represented the SETS locations
crafted the original document. The agreement,
which is between and among school systems that
support military families worldwide, provides a
common structure for information-sharing and
reciprocal processes.
Currently, more than 100 school systems have
signed the memorandum of agreement and have
committed to developing or improving systems
for transition predictability for military-connect
ed and other highly mobile students.
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Photo by Emily Johnstone
Sonya English, left center, thanks Habitat Director John Sillers and volunteers for mak
ing her dream a reality.
West Nile Virus still
a concern in Houston
Concentration of dead birds found near Robins AFB
By Charlotte Perkins
Staff Writer
West Nile Virus may seem
like yesterday’s news to many,
and even less of a threat with
cold weather putting a stop to
mosquito bites, but for local
health officials, it’s still worri
some, and in one small area of
Houston County, the incidence
of birds dying from the disease
is a source of special concern.
West Nile Virus is a disease of
birds, transmitted by mosquito
bites, and can cause anything
from mild, flu-like symptoms to
life-threatening complications
such as encephalitis.
In 2002 in Georgia, the virus
has led to three confirmed
human deaths, and two more
deaths suspected to be from the
virus, according to Gary
Harmon, environmental health
manager for the Houston
County Health Department.
A patient at Perry Hospital
was also confirmed by the
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) to be suffering from the
disease last summer. That
patient had a prolonged hospi
tal stay, but has recovered.
Harmon says that his depart
ment’s main strategy in pro
tecting the public is an ongoing
program urging citizens to take
precautions against mosquito
Lighted Christmas
parade in Perry
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Staff Writer
Perry’s
Annual
Christmas
Parade, a part
of “Christmas
at the
Crossroads”
celebration,
will be held
on Thursday
night, begin
ning at 7 p.m.
The parade
will line-up
on Kellwood
Drive, turn
right onto
Courtney
Hodges Blvd.
and proceed
towards
downtown
Perry. A jog
P.A.L. asking for food
contributions at parade
Those coming to the Perry
Christmas parade on Thursday night
are urged to bring non-perishable
food items for Project Agape Love
(PAL) which will distribute the items,
along with Christmas gifts, to needy
families. Sandy Talton, speaking for
PAL, said that the organization is
“very short on food” this year, and
hopes that a public appeal at this
point will help ensure that more fam
ilies a happy holiday,
EA.L. will have a truck waiting for
donations at the courthouse square in
downtown Perry on the night of the
parade. Talton says that all items
must be non-perishable (canned or
dry foods), and that toys are also wel
come.
right onto Carroll Street will
take the more than fifty parade
floats and other entries right
through downtown. A right on
site
WIMP
Two Sections • 20 Pages
breeding.
This means emptying any
outdoor containers - even old
tires and bird baths - that con
tain stagnant water and pro
vide a breeding place for mos
quitoes.
The health department also
continues to ask citizens to
report dead birds.
Harmon said that his office
has sent 12 dead birds (crows
and blue jays primarily) to
state labs for testing and that
eight of those 12 were found to
have West Nile Virus .
Moreover, five of the eight
birds positively identified as
having West Nile Virus were
from one area of Warner Robins
near Robins Air Force Base and
roughly bounded by Russell
Parkway, Hwy. 247, and Watson
Blvd.
“The base has a lot of
swampy areas,” Harmon
said,noting that RAFB health
officials are aware of the prob
lem and are cariying on their
own mosquito control program
at this point.
Dr. Michael Womack, a
Macon State College, biologist
specializing in mosquitoes, has
obtained a state grant to trap
and study mosquitoes in middle
See VIRUS On Page 7A
Washington Street and a left on
Main will complete the route
that ends in
the parking
lot in front of
Harvey’s
Grocery Store
at Eastgate
Plaza.
Following
the theme of a
“Southern
Classic
Christmas”,
many of the
parade’s dig
nitaries will
ride in a vari
ety of automo
biles from yes
teryear.
Perry
Volunteer
Outreach’s
Alvalyn Pope
is scheduled as Grand Marshall
for the parade.
Santa will, of course, be riding
at the end of the parade lineup.