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WEEKEND June 11, 2005 Volume 135, Number 371 Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest Inside TODAY Sl j Hornets begin summer weight lifting With school no longer in session and summer in full swing, Westfield head football coach Ronnie Jones is already prepar ing his team for the upcoming football season. Sports, page 1B Happy BIRTHDAY! June 11 Chantecia Harris Glenda Johnson Stan Tydings June 12 Mildred Wells June 13 Linda Christie June Harris Hugh D. Lord Greta Loudin Kim McLendon Chad Shelton Christine Walker Tricia Weeks Happy ANNIVERSARY! June 12 Shelby and Thomas Arnold June 13 Nancy and Steve Greene John and Beatrice Montford (Bill and Bea) Area DEATH Macy Michelle Easom Obit, page 2A INDEX CLASSIFIED 6B CLUB NEWS ... .12A COMICS 4B CROSSWORD ... .4B HOMETOWN 5B LIFESTYLE 9A OBITUARY 2A OPINION 4A SCHOOL NEWS .. .8B SPORTS 1B TV LISTINGS 4B WEATHER 2A PERIODICAL 1.111.. .11...11 1.11...11 6 * Georgia Newspaper Project Main Litrarv UNIV OF GEORGIA aiHcNo voA 3-OJGf!" 306 June 11, 2005 Serving Houston County Since 1870 C Y IT aits tot 3Come|f CLlhe LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY , city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville Perry fipewopks ban delayed By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer The Perry City Council had planned to hold the second reading of a proposed ordinance to ban fire works at a special meeting Monday, but Perry City Attorney David Walker has asked for more time to A life among the aisles P 4-' CHUMS' 4l'' V '“ ! ''' fR ••• ...s#, JBkfev HHJ/Mike George Thomas Williamson, the newest manager of the Harveys Supermarket in Perry, smiles in front of the store’s produce section. Williamson has spent most of his life working in and around grocery stores, starting as a bagger at the old Warner Robins Piggly Wiggly in the 19605. MGMAC wins humanitarian award Special to the HHJ ROBINS AIR FORE BASE - The Middle Georgia Military Affairs Committee has won the Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher Distinguished Civilian Humanitarian Award for Air Force Materiel Command, and will now compete at the Air Force level. County talks up SPLOST By RAY UGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer “There’s no problem with SPLOST in Houston County - hopefully the public sees that,” said Ned Sanders, chairman of the Houston County Board of Commissioners, during a recent meeting. Of the bills the county paid this month, $318,174 was the county’s payment to the cities for their portion of the special purpose local See SPLOST, page 6A www.hhjnews.com research the subject. Perry is among several communi ties in the state to respond to the state’s loosening of restrictions on the sale of sparklers. The city hand ed down a 60-day moratorium May 31, and earlier this month drafted an ordinance to ban their sale and The MGMAC is a tireless supporter of Robins Air Force Base and its military and civilian personnel as well as their families. The committee provided critical support which directly improved upon the morale and welfare of the base as cited in the award for the calendar year 2004. wA- j."•. T'' v?**'?* . . .v-w--; •wfe'.ffr©*'' -'' ' ,w ’ v ‘•-wc - "* v *ir HHJ Ray Lightner As of Monday, the intersection of Houston Lake Road and Ga. 127 will be a three-way stop. “As part of the con struction staging process for the widening of the Houston Lake Road, the intersection will be a three-way stop for a few months,” said Dorothy Daniel, Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman. Portable message boards will be set up to give motorists advance notification. Daniel urged motorists “to drive with extreme care until everyone becomes accustomed to the change. They should be particularly careful to observe that oncoming traffic is stopping before pulling out.” use. The city’s quick response came at the request of Perry Fire Chief Freddy Howell, who informed the council late last month that an Alabama-based company, TNT Fireworks, planned to sell the newly legal sparklers in a tent in the park- The MGMAC is made up of 230 members from Macon, Warner Robins, Perry, Fort Valley, Hawkinsville, Cochran, Milledgeville, Dublin and Eastman/Dodge County. Each community has a mili tary affairs chairman and the overall chairmanship rotates annually. Three-way stop starts Monday “Since 1984, the Middle Georgia Military Affairs Committee has been sup portive of the various mis sions of the Air Force but especially those who have been connected to the Robins air logistics center,” said this year’s chairman, Mayor Jim Worrall of Perry. “The group seeks no recog- an Evans Family Newspaper 50* Pill. TWO SECTIONS • 20 PAGES ing lot of the Perry Wal-Mart. The company was working with a youth group from Faith Assembly of God in Warner Robins. Howell has called the proposed ban a clear-cut safety issue for the city, and wants to see all fireworks See FIREWORKS, page 6A New manager right at home in Perry Harveys By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer The newest manager of the Harveys Supermarket in Perry grew up in the grocery business. Thomas Williamson has only managed the local gro cery store on Main Street since January, but his roots in the industry reach back to childhood. Williamson’s father, Thomas “Ed” Williamson Sr., was the manager of a Piggly Wiggly store in Warner Robins on North Davis Drive from 1956 until he retired in 1981. Williamson started working at his father’s store a month after his gradua tion from Warner Robins High School in 1969, bag ging groceries for $1.70 an hour. “I can remember that my father was always willing to work long hours to get the job done,” he said. “He would even go in on Sundays, when we were closed, to catch up on paper work.” Williamson, who now lives in Bonaire, slowly worked his way up the ladder to management, moving from See HARVEYS, page 6A nition for what it does. We feel we have an obligation to support those men and women who provide us with the freedoms we enjoy each and every day.” On being nominated for the Air Force level award Worrall said, “We are extremely proud that our See AWARD, page 6A