Newspaper Page Text
WEEKEND
May 7-9, 2005
Volume 135, Number 346
Award-Winning
Better Newspaper VtfUvlw
Contest
nk fl.'
Mackey puns to
state title
Lana Mackey prefers
squares but don’t expect
to see her hanging around
with nerdy guys with
glasses.
She might, but it’s
more the fact she just
doesn’t care to be placed
within stereotypical cir
cles.
Sports, page 1B
Happy BIRTHDAY!
May 8
Shirley Patel
May 9
Anastasia Hamm
Happy ANNIVERSARY!
May 9
Tony and Winnie Parker
(Surprise your friends! Let us
know when their birthday or
anniversary is, and we'll put their
names in the paper that day. Just
send the name and date at least
a week in advance, and we’ll do
the rest. E-mail to
hhj@evansnewspapers.com, or
mail them to us at the address
inside. No phone calls, please.
Many happy returns!)
Area DEATHS
None were reported for
today’s edition.
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 7B
CELEBRATIONS . .8A
COMICS 7A
CROSSWORD ... .7A
HOMETOWN 4B
LIFESTYLE 9A
OBITUARIES ..NONE
OPINION 4A
SCHOOL NEWS .. 8B
SPORTS 1B
TV LISTINGS 7A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
7*
Georgia Newspaper ProjecJ
Main Library
UNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
3-DIGIT 306
Serving Houston County Since 1870
EDIMGIAFAD
Every Day In Middle Georgia Is Armed Forces Appreciation Day
ClLhe journal
" LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY \
city of Perry ; city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
O'Neal: Expect economy to improve
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS - State Rep.
Larry O’Neal (R-Warner Robins)
gave a report on the just-completed
legislative session to the Warner
Robins Rotary Club recently and, to
nobody’s surprise, his analysis was
almost totally positive.
Wt'f m V \ f IHjl &
’ vpjf * . J
.
HHJ/Mike George
State Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, visits with Darrell Edge, owner of Jack’s Place
Catfish in Dublin, before a party celebrating the senator’s birthday at the Perry-
Houston County Airport Thursday. Tolleson turned 49 on April 26.
Friends, family mark
Tolleson's birthday
Perry state senator hosts fish fry to thank the people
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
PERRY - State Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-
Perry, thought that throwing a birthday
party was the perfect way to give some
thing back to the people who helped him
win his seat in the Georgia Senate.
Nearly 200 people packed the Evans
Newspapers Inc. hanger at the Perry-
Houston County Airport Thursday night to
celebrate Tolleson’s “20th anniversary of
his 29th birthday.”
Tolleson turned 49 on April 26, but could
not schedule the party until Thursday.
“We just wanted people to come out for a
Student suspended after
getting call from Iraq
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS - A high
school junior has been sus
pended for the rest of the
school year for refusing to
end a cell phone call to his
mother who is a soldier in
Iraq.
Kevin Francois, a 17-
year-old at Spencer High
School in Columbus, was
suspended for disorderly
conduct Wednesday after a
confrontation that began
when he was told to give up
his cell phone at lunch dur
ing the call, he said.
His mother, Sgt. Ist Class
Happy birthday, Ross!
Monique Bates, left in
January for a one-year tour
and serves with the 203rd
Forward Support Battalion,
3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry
Division.
“This is our first time
separated like this,” said
Francois. Since her deploy
ment overseas, Francois
has been living with a
guardian in Columbus.
Francois got the call from
his mother at 12:30 p.m.,
which he said was his lunch
break. He said he went out
side the school building to
get a better reception. A
www.hhjnews.com
“We had a complete party change
in Atlanta, so when we got there,
nobody had an office and all of the
committee assignments had
changed,” said O’Neal. “We old
hands knew where the bathrooms
were, but that was about it. It was
an unbelievable undertaking to get
it all organized as well as dealing
non-fundraising event to thank them for
everything they’ve done for us the last few
years,” Tolleson said. “I just wanted to
have a fish fry for people to get together.”
Friends, family members, area business
leaders, local and state officials - and a
number of legislators - were on hand to
celebrate with Tolleson, including Rep.
Willie Talton, R-Warner Robins; former
Rep. Larry Walker; and Rep. Larry O’Neal,
R-Warner Robins.
“It’s not actually my birthday today,”
Tolleson said. “But it is Larry O’Neal’s, so
it was great to have him here.”
See TOLLESON, page 6A
with all of the egos involved, but we
were finally able to get it done.”
O’Neal ended up being named
chairman of the powerful Ways and
Means Committee, as well as serv
ing as the governor’s floor leader.
“The best part of the entire ses
sion was serving with Willie
Talton,” said O’Neal. “It was a
teacher who saw Francois
on his phone told him to
hang up. He refused.
According to the
Muscogee County School
District Board of
Education’s policy, students
are allowed to have cell
phones in school, but can
not use them during school
hours.
“They’re not supposed to
use them for conversing
back and forth during
school because if they were
allowed to do that, they
could be text messaging
See STUDENT, page 6A
Best practices
Museum hosts third int’l.
Lean business symposium
By TERESA D. SOUTHERN
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS -
LEAN. What does it mean?
It’s not an acronym. It’s a
process that has Robins Air
Force Base one step ahead in
the area of depot mainte
nance, cutting the time it
takes to get aircraft and
equipment to the warfight
er.
Six years ago, Lean busi
ness practices were intro
duced at Robins as a way to
reduce “flow time” in the
maintenance environment.
The result is both a cost and
time savinfe^
The Museum oiAviation
played host to the Third
Annual Georgia
International Lean
Symposium was held at the
Museum of Aviation this
week, and concluded with a
Thursday luncheon keynot
ed by Lt. Gen. Richard
Reynolds, vice commander
of Air Force Material
Command.
Reynolds congratulated
Robins on its progress with
Lean.
“Blending the old with the
new is huge challenge,”
Reynolds said. “The logistics
community can show the
way. Lean will make us bet
ter show the Air Force and
the rest of the world, but the
challenges are huge. It will
have a tremendous role to
play on the other side of
BRAG.”
The Lean business prac-
f fjif 7% - r
7,* TBjiBIIpIBMK mi I
'■%, ' 1 ' ilv
’3*"
■Sf g|j
", |p||| "'*7:
HHJ/Teresa D. Southern
Lt. Gen. Richard Reynolds, vice commander of the Air
Force Material Command, spoke at the third annual Lean
symposium held at the Museum of Aviation. The Lean
symposium was jointly sponsored by the 21st Century
Partnership, the Middle Georgia Military Affairs
Committee and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
an Evans Family Newspaper
50c
TWO SECTIONS • 20 PAGES
Godsend to have him there serving
with me.”
Rep. Talton (R-Warner Robins)
was elected to his first term in the
legislature last year.
O’Neal expects the efforts of the
past legislative session to help the
economy of the state.
See O'NEAL, page 6A
tice began with production
system principles developed
at the Toyota company.
This week’s Lean sympo
sium was jointly sponsored
by the 21st Century
Partnership, the Middle
Georgia Military Affairs
Committee and the Georgia
Chamber of Commerce.
The event was designed to
provide attendees an in
depth look at targeted
aspects of Lean process
improvement.
Ron Carbon, director of
the 21st Century
Partnership, said this is the
third year they’ve had the
opportunity to bring Lean
leaders from around the
world to Robins Air Force
Base.
Carbon gave examples of
how Lean methods reduced
the repair times of many air
craft such as the U-2.
“Lean better utilizes
what’s available so the U.S.
will be at a better readiness
standpoint,” Carbon said.
“Robins has a long way to
go, but has made great
strides.”
Carbon said attendees
were from the Department
of Defense, England,
Canada and locally from the
Middle Georgia area.
The symposium, which
ran through late Thursday,
included speakers repre
senting industry, education
and specialized Lean appli
cations from across the U.S.
and the United Kingdom.