Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
May 13, 2005
Volume 135, Number 250
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAjf
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A garden for St.
Christopher's
When Jerry Addison
needed a service project
to complete the require
ments for becoming an
Eagle Scout, he chose cre
ating a garden for medita
tion and prayer. That gar
den was dedicated last
Sunday morning at
Christopher’s Episcopal
Church in Perry.
The project took a great
deal of hard work as he
created a garden spot
with a trellis and swing in
an area that had been
overgrown and wooded
and there was shrubbery
to be dug up and relocat
ed.
Family&Faith, page 9A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
May 13
Dan Hart
(Surprise your friends! Let us
know when their birthday or
anniversary is, and we’it 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 12A
CLUB NEWS ....13A
COMICS 11A
CROSSWORD ...11A
FAMILY&FAITH .. ,9A
HOSPITAL PAGE . .7A
OPINION 4A
SPORTS 14A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .8A
TV LISTINGS ... .11A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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I IN(V OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
3-DIGrT 306
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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Every Day In Middle Georgia Is Armed Forces Appreciation Day
CTft Y JHrancy
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W LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry , city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
BRAC announcement today
Defense secretary slated to release his recommendations for base closures, realignments
From staff, wire reports
WASHINGTON - Secretary of
Defense Donald S. Rumsfeld is
expected to release his recommenda
tions for the 2005 Base Realignment
and Closure (BRAC) process today.
As of Thursday, Robins Air Force
Jessica's story
Perry teen one of three survivors to be honored at Houston County Relay For Life
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Cancer survivor Jessica Whitney, 17, holds a T-shirt her father, Jerry, designed to help her get through chemother
apy treatments in 2004 at her home on Ga. 127 in Perry. Whitney was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma
in January 2004, but now is in remission.
Ga. 247 a temporary runway
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
WARNER ROBINS -
Marvin Bessinger was wait
ing for an old friend
Thursday morning.
Bessinger stood patiently
at the Museum Of Aviation
for his newly refurbished
friend to arrive.
When the F-106A Convair
fighter jet finally crested
the horizon on the back of a
flatbed truck Bessinger had
a big smile and just the hint
of a tear in his eye.
Bessinger and the F-106
go back to 1961, when he
joined the maintenance
team for the new jet at
Selfridge Air Force Base in
Michigan. Bessinger
worked on maintaining the
fire control system of the
jet. In short, he made sure
their missiles flew straight
and true. Through his 20-
year career with the Air
Force Bessinger followed
the F-106 to Castle AFB in
California, Oxnard AFB in
California, Klamath Falls
AFB in Oregon, and finally
Grand Forks AFB in North
Dakota.
In 1973 Bessinger retired
to Warner Robins, but the
www.hhjnews.com
Base was planning to conduct a brief
news conference at 12:05 p.m. today
in front of the base headquarters
building. Base officials will address
the impact the Department of
Defense recommendations may have
at Robins.
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HHJ/Timothy Graham
A restored F-106 is moved to its new site at the Museum of Aviation on Thursday
morning. Some personnel had to push the gate open a little wider in order to get the
plane onto the site.
F-106 was in his blood. He
traveled to Castle AFB in
2002 for a reunion of his old
456th Fighter Interceptor
Squadron (FIS) and saw a
refurbished plane there.
When he heard the old F
-106 at the Museum of
Aviation was going to be
restored and put on display,
The 21st Century Partnership has
planned a press conference of its
own, tentatively set for 1 p.m. today
in the lobby of the Century of Flight
building at the Museum of Aviation.
Partnership officials will provide
their own analysis of the DoD rec-
he had this day marked on
his calendar.
“I have a lot of memories
in that plane, both good and
bad,” said Bessinger.
“When it came out it was
state-of-the-art, and it was
my job to keep it that way.
This was one of the best
planes ever built. They
tried to retire it many times
but the airframe was built
so well they kept upgrading
it. When they finally retired
it in 1989, they still used
some of the remaining
planes as robot-piloted
drones for target practice.”
Bessinger is just happy
See F-106, page 3A
\ v Evans Family Newspaper
500
ONE SECTION • 18 PAGES
ommendations, and their implica
tions for Robins Air Force Base.
The Partnership has established a
web site, www.bracnews.org, which
will be used to post the latest news
and information on BRAC.
See BRAC, page 3A
Story and photos
by Mike George
PERRY - Seventeen-year
old Jessica Whitney is like
most girls getting ready for
their high school gradua
tion. Full of energy and
excitement, Jessica is
already talking about col
lege and a career. But little
more than a year ago,
Jessica’s future wasn’t so
bright.
In January 2004, Whitney
was diagnosed with anaplas
tic large cell lymphoma, a
cancer that attacks the
lymph nodes and can spread
throughout the body’s lym
phatic system.
After two months of pain,
chemotherapy and long
nights, doctors found no
traces of the cancer in
Jessica’s body. Still in remis
sion, Jessica will be honored
this weekend as one of three
honorary chairs of the 2005
Houston County Relay for
Life, a charity event that is
expected to raise thousands
of dollars for the American
Cancer Society.
See JESSICA, page 3A
Special pull-out
section inside
Locals
planning
barbecue
for Reed
From staff reports
KATHLEEN - A bar
beque fund-raiser will be
held on behalf of Ralph
Reed, a Republican candi
date for Lieutenant
Governor, from 5-7 p.m.
Friday, May 20, at the home
of Charles and Gloria Alday,
123 Kevin Drive, Kathleen.
Tickets are SIOO per per
son.
Please R.S.VP to Gloria
Alday at (478) 987-4335 or
glo3s@cox.net
Contributions are not tax
deductible for income tax
purposes. State law requires
us to report the name,
address, occupation and
employer of every person
who contributes more than
SIOO per election cycle. This
event is paid for and author
ized by Reed for Lt.
Governor Inc.
Chairs of the event are
See REED, page 3A