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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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Pictured are (front row, from left) Shelton Whitley, Luke Fort, Patrick Cossart, Claire
Jacques, and Jonathan loanitescu; (back row, from left) Lori Campbell (coach), Jordan
McDuffie, lan Wheeler, Joseph Jarrett, Amanda McCormack and Mike Martin.
WRMS Academic Team wins Academic Bowl
Special to the HHJ
HOUSTON COUNTY -
The Warner Robins Middle
School Academic Team won
first place at the National
Park Service Academic Bowl
held on Tuesday, Feb. 24,
2004, at the Jimmy Carter
National Historic Site in
Special interests pick up tab for
trips by Georgia lawmakers, aides
By Jeffrey McMurray
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - It’s
a lobbying tactic that often
flies under the radar _ free
trips for lawmakers and
their staffers, perfectly legal
but funded entirely by spe
cial interests, not taxpayers.
Practically every congres
sional office accepts them,
and most in Georgia were no
exception last , year.
Although a review of the
delegation’s third-party
funded travel turned up no
obvious instance where a
lobby was using the perk to
win a congressman’s sup
port for a specific bill, some
public watchdog groups
insist the opportunity for
abuse is there.
“Everybody does it, and
it’s a way to get travel paid
for under the guise of educa
tion purposes,” said Keith
Ashdown, spokesman for
Taxpayers for Common
Sense. “There’s some folks
who will take a trip because
they want to see some proj
ect, won’t know the details,
then get there to find out
they’re in a five-star hotel.”
The Nuclear Energy
Institute spent almost
SIB,OOO, including $2,877 in
meals alone, to send Sen.
Saxby Chambliss and his
wife to Italy for a week dur
ing the August congression
al recess. The purpose was
to visit a nuclear power
plant.
Chambliss’ spokeswoman,
Angie Lundberg, said the
reported amount was accu
rate and defended the value
of the senator’s trip for his
Georgia constituents.
“Because Georgia is home
to two nuclear power facili
ties and it’s an important
energy source, the senator
has had a long-standing
interest in learning about
nuclear energy and recy
cling,” Lundberg said.
Steve Kerekes, spokesman
for the Nuclear Energy
Institute, said Chambliss’
visit to Italy was one of sev
eral annual trips the group
organizes each year involv
ing members of Congress,
giving them “a chance to see
some technology that can
not be seen here in the
states.”
Kerekes said he didn’t
have an itemization of the
costs associated with the
trip.
Besides Italy, Chambliss
reported nine other trips
funded by outside groups.
Among them were two trips
to Florida, courtesy of the
Georgia Bar and U.S. Sugur,
and one to San Diego, cour
tesy of the Dairy Farmers of
America.
Plains.
Six teams from Georgia
competed for three hours
answering questions on
world history, American his
tory and geography. The
team is coached by teacher
Lori Campbell. The Warner
Robins Middle School
His aides reported 21 trips
from special interests,
including overseas visits to
Croatia and Taiwan.
Georgia’s other senator,
Democrat Zell Miller, listed
only two special interest
funded trips for himself in
2003 but 16 for his aides.
The National Rifle
Association paid for Miller’s
trip to Las Vegas in April to
speak at its convention, and
the Center for the Study of
Popular Culture sent him to
West Palm Beach, Fla., in
November to receive an
award.
Most of the trips by
Miller’s staffers were
domestic, including visits to
Tampa, Fla., and Richmond,
Va., courtesy of Capitol One
and Bell South.
A review of Senate travel
records tumeji up only one
overseas visit by a Miller
aide - a trip to Germany to
evaluate the viability of a
high-speed rail system.
Transrapid International
picked up the almost SI,BOO
tab.
Republican Rep. Mac
Collins, who is seeking
Miller’s seat next year,
reported three trips, all of
them domestic. He and his
wife went to Biloxi, Miss., in
June, courtesy of the
Georgia Beer Wholesalers
Association. The Georgia
Employers Association foot
ed most of the bill for their
trip to Sea Island, Ga., and
the Association of American
Railroads paid for a trip to
Washington and back.
Collins’ Republican chal
lenger, Rep. Johnny
Isakson, reported no special
interest-funded trips in
2003 for him or his aides.
Georgia’s five freshman
House members,
Republicans Max Burns and
Phil Gingrey and Democrats
Denise MEyette, Jim
Marshall and David Scott,
were all part of a congres
sional delegation that trav
eled to Israel in August. The
American Israel Education
Jeff Smith Dodge presents
Georgia National
Rodeo
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renruary _ * AgHmurr
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Georgia)
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Academic Team members
are Patrick Cossart, Luke
Fort, Jonathan loanitescu,
Claire Jacques, Joseph
Jarrett, Amanda
McCormack, Jordan
McDuffie, lan Wheeler and
Shelton Whitley.
Foundation spent a total of
nearly $60,000 for the five
lawmakers and their spous
es on airfare, lodging, meals
and security.
An aide for Democratic
Rep. John Lewis, made two
overseas trips last year on
the dime of special interests,
traveling to Chile and
Morocco. Lewis reported no
trips himself, but the Faith
and Politics Pilgrimage paid
for several of his staffers to
tour civil rights landmarks
in the South.
Although Republican Rep.
John Linder listed no trips
for 2003, one he made to
Vienna in November 2002
wasn’t reported until last
May. Ripon Educational
Fund paid more than
SIO,OOO to send him and his
wife on the fact-finding trip.
Republican Rep. Jack
Kingston and an aide trav
eled to St. Michaels, Md., in
January 2003, courtesy of
The Congressional
Institute, the only travel
Kingston’s office reported.
Republican Rep. Nathan
Deal reported none for him
self, but one of his aides
made trips to California and
Florida paid by SBC
Communications and U.S.
Telecom Association.
Both of the trips
Republican Rep. Charlie
Norwood, a dentist, made
last year had to do with the
medical industry. The
American Dental
Association flew Norwood
and his wife to San
Francisco for a speech in
October, and the Rhode
Island Medical Association
brought them to Providence
in November.
“That was no fun for me,”
Norwood said of the Rhode
Island trip. “I went to try to
be helpful to them, and I
would have much rather not
gone. We get invitations like
this daily and I don’t do a lot
of it. The only time I would
think it was wrong is if I
went on a trip somewhere
and felt guilty about it.”
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NEWS
Celebrity readers at Perry Elementary
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HHJ/Jon Suggs
Perry Fire Chief Gary Hamlin reads to Sandra Cornish’s second-grade class during
Perry Elementary School’s Celebrity Read program.
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HHJ'Jon Suggs
Perry Police Chief George Potter reads “The Library Dragon” to Brenda Bullard’s
fourth-grade class during Perry Elementary School’s Celebrity Read program.
Robins Medical Associates
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Accepting New Patients - Most Insurance Accepted
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Goodwill's Donated Vehicle Auction
mm Saturday, February 28,2004
Preview/Registration at 9am
Auction begins at 10am
5171 Eisenhower Pkwy
Across from Macon State College
www.goodwlllworlts.org
Auction conducted by Grant Auction Company, LLC GAL # 1603
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2004
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