Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
January 9,2004
Volume 135, Number 5
Award-Winning
Better Newspaper
Inside TODAY
II -\
Symphony coming
back lor encore
Lora Arledge of the
Houston Arts Alliance
recently updated Perry’s
Beltista Club on the
HAA’s various upcoming
events, including the
return of the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra.
Ufestyie, page SA
Ep : i d
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The advancing Mob
It will not be “just
another game” when the
Warner _ Robins
Demonettes meet the
Northside Lady Eagles
today at 7 p.m. Bragging
rights, but more impor
tantly a region win, will
be at stake. Northside
will also be looking to
reversing an unfortunate
trend in the overall
series.
Warner Robins coach
Tom Mobley can attest
that this year’s battles
will be significant.
According to him,
Northside’s talent and
athleticism will be a
major factor in their first
matchup.
Sports, page 11A
Area DEATH
TSgt. Warren W. Frotton,
USAF (Ret.)
Obit, page 2A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 14A
CLUB NEWS 6A
COMICS 10A
CROSSWORD ...10A
LIFESTYLE 8A
OBITUARY 2A
OPINION 4A
SCHOOL NEWS . .15A
TV LISTINGS ... .10A
WEATHER .2A
PERIODICAL
9
Photographic Services
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Serving Houston County Since 1870
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LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
800-meg system installation nears
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HHJ/Emily Johnstone
Houston County 911 Director Ricky Harlowe and electrician Dewey
McCormick inspect the spot where a new generator system wii! he
installed today as part of the 800-megahertz project at the Emergency
Communications Center.
Expect posturing
under the dome
Jockeying for political position
could take front-row seat this year
By Doug Gross
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - In a legisla
ture where members are
elected every two years, pol
itics is never far from the
forefront.
But in the first election
year in more than a century
where control of state gov
ernment is divided, the
political stakes may be high
er than ever in the General
Assembly session that starts
Monday.
“Both Democrats and
Republicans see tremendous
symbolism coming up in the
2004 elections,” said
University of Georgia politi
cal scientist Charles
Bullock.
Last year, Sonny Perdue
became the first Republican
to take the Georgia gover
nor’s office in 130 years.
Weeks after his election, he
helped convince four
Democratic state senators to
switch parties, throwing
their chamber into
Improving the
Georgia vote
Georgia Sec’y. of State Cox visits
Middle Georgia, addresses students
By Jon Suggs
HHJ Staff Writer
FORT VALLEY
Stepping to the podium,
Georgia Secretary of State
Cathy Cox was the guest lec
turer in Fort Valley State
University’s Wednesday
night lecture series,
“Georgia on My Mind:
Critical Issues in the Peach
State."
Cox, whose responsibili
ties include overseeing the
state’s elections, warmed
the crowd a bit before focus
ing on her topic - how the
fate of Georgia is
See COX, page 04
www.hhjnews.com
Republican hands.
Despite ( the newly divided
governmeht - and a session
last year marked by partisan
wrangling and gridlock -
some state leaders are hope
ful that members of both
parties will be able to work
together during this year’s
40-day session.
“I expect it to be a session
where Republicans and
Democrats come together,”
Perdue said. “There are a
number of Democrats who
have expressed to me over
the summer they want to
work with me in making
Georgia move forward.”
House Speaker Terry
Coleman, arguably the legis
lature’s top Democrat, has
publicly pledged to work
with Perdue when they
agree and offer constructive
alternatives when they dis
agree.
With so much at stake in
this year’s elections,
observers say it’s almost
impossible to believe
See LEGISLATURE, page 64
'
CATHY COX
Local authorities just returned from trip
to Chicago, where they tested the system
By Emily Johnstone
HHJ Associate Editor
WARNER ROBINS - The count
down is on and Houston County
emergency officials plan to flip the
switch for a new 800-megahertz sys
tem in a few weeks.
Capt. Ricky Harlowe, director of
the Emergency Communications
Center, said the sl2 million system,
being funded with special purpose
local option sales tax revenue, is
about 70 percent complete.
With five towers now in place
around the county and a new build
ing to house new equipment adja
cent to the center on Carl Vinson
Parkway just about finished,
Harlowe and others in the realm of
public safety are getting excited.
Harlowe, along with representa
tives of local public safety agencies,
recently visited the Motorola site in
Chicago to take a look at the system
tailor-made for Houston County.
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HHJ/Heathrr Faaciocco
Pearl Stephens Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year Carleen Webb goes over lan
guage arts skills with student Abby Johnson. The school was recently selected as a
2004 Georgia School of Excellence in Student Achievement
Pearl shines
Stephens Elementary School named 2004 Georgia
School of Excellence in Student Achievement
By Heather Fasciocco
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - Just
minutes after receiving the
news, administrators dis
persed among the hallways
and appeared in each class
room announcing Pearl
Stephens Elementary
School’s state recognition.
The school was selected as
one of 26 Georgia schools -
and the only Houston
County school - named a
2004 Georgia School of
Excellence in Student
Achievement.
This is the first time Pearl
Stephens Elementary has
been named a school of
excellence, said principal Dr.
Marion Ford.
PSES, with a student pop
ulation of 386, was selected,
along with 12 other schools,
for demonstrating the great
est continuous gains in read
ing/language arts and math
over a three-year period.
Ford said many factors
contributed to the school’s
recognition. She said
teacher training sessions
with consultants allowed
education providers to study
various technologies and
programs and be surveyed
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Dr. Marion Ford, principal of Peart Stephens Elementary
School, commended PSES teachers for benchmarking
the school’s standards. PSES Is the only Houston County
school to be selected as a 2004 Georgia School of
Excellence In Student Achievement
by the consultants at a later
date in measuring the appli
cation in classroom settings.
She commended the after
school-tutoring program,
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ONE SECTION • 16 PAGES
They were able to see, touch and
operate the system. While they were
not able to bring the new baby home
with them just yet, they are antici
pating its arrived in the near future.
“It is a heck of a system,” said
Perry Fire Chief Gary Hamlin, one
of those who attended the presenta
tion in Chicago. “It will take emer
gency services in Houston County
well into the future.”
Hamlin said he and the others
were able to use the system via
portable radios and were also given
a preview of how it will work.
Capt. Steve Lynn of the Warner
Robins Police Department was
there, too, and was impressed with
what he saw.
The group performed over 100
functional tests on the system - and
it passed each one, Lynn said.
With the ability to channel radio
traffic into various talk groups and,
from the touch of a button, alert a
See SOO MEG, page 6A
which provides students
with hands-on assistance
outside the normal class
room.
“The teachers have a
See SCHOOt, page 84