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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Robert D. McCullers
Army National Guard
Capt. Robert D. McCullers is
a member of the 48th
Brigade Combat Team
(BCT) who recently partici
pated in one of the most
realistic scenarios offered by
the U.S. Army at the
National Training Center
(NTC), Fort Irwin, Calif.
The Georgia National
Guard soldier is a member
of Headquarters and
FIREWORKS
From page 1A
itself doesn’t really address it,
one way or another,” he said.
But the city’s stand against
fireworks could leave
Covington open to litigation.
“We’re aware that we could
be exposed to a successful
legal challenge,” Crudup said.
“But we went ahead.”
Houston County,
Centerville, Perry and Warner
Robins were among the first
municipalities in Georgia to
counter a recent move by the
state legislature that loosened
restrictions on the sale of
sparklers. All but Centerville
handed down temporary
moratoriums that protect res
idents through the holiday.
The municipalities were
responding to the recommen
dations of Vision 2020, and
the advice of Houston
County’s fire chiefs.
But while moratoriums
moved quickly through the
county’s local governments,
an outright ban - in the form
of municipal ordinances -
may take more time.
The Centerville City
Council tabled an ordinance
banning fireworks outright
last week at the request of
City Attorney Rebecca
Tydings, who said she is
working with Warner Robins
City Attorney Jim Elliott and
Perry City Attorney David
Walker to draft an ordinance
that balances public safety
HCBOE
From page 1A
Elementary, Joanie Rainey;
Warner Robins High, Duke
Wellington; Warner Robins
Middle, Kaneice Bembry;
and Westside Elementary,
Larry Osborne.
Each school has its own
selection process. To select
the system wide winners, an
educator from outside of the
system will evaluate the 34
school-level nominees’ writ
ten applications.
MACKENZIE
From page 1A
year-old Mackenzie Leigh
Persinger of Perry was killed
in an automobile accident.
Mackenzie was known for
her love of animals, especial
ly her horse, Dolly, and was
an active member of the
horse club.
“Horses were her number
one love,” said Mackenzie’s
mother, Kathy Persinger.
Mackenzie had planned to
attend the show, which
began only two weeks after
her death. For her friends in
the horse club, Mackenzie’s
absence was difficult to han
dle. They responded by ded
icating their decoration
theme “In Memory of
Mackenzie Persinger.”
“Our 4-H club really came
together,” said Persinger.
“We felt that with as much
work as she’d done with the
horses and the club, that
this was a fitting thing to
do.”
Each 4-H club is judged on
its stall decorations. The
original theme for the
Middle Georgia stalls was
“Mission: Possible,” a take
off on the TV and movie spy
drama “Mission:
Impossible.” After the acci
dent, Kathy Persinger, who
was in charge of the decora
tions, asked the group to
include something in memo
ry of Mackenzie. The 28 kids
in the group agreed and cre
ated the theme, scrapping
their original plan.
“We thought that this year
HOMETOWN NEWS
Headquarters Company,
Infantry Brigade based in
Macon. The 48th BCT is
composed of 31 units in
Geoigia and six units from
other states with a com
bined total strength of more
than 4,000 soldiers.
The NTC, located in
southern California in the
Mojave Desert, is the pre
mier combat training center
for desert warfare. Its
rugged terrain and environ
ment provide a realistic and
and the rights of businesses.
“We’re not out to keep any
one from doing business that
has a right to,” she said. “But
we have to keep the public
safe.”
The Perry City Council had
planned to consider the final
adoption of its own fireworks
ban during a special meeting
June 13, but dropped the
ordinance from the agenda
after Walker asked for more
time to study the state’s law.
Walker said he plans to
have a final draft ready for a
second reading and adoption
at tonight’s council meeting,
but said he is waiting on
advice from the Georgia
Municipal Association. The
ban could be adopted or
tabled based on the council’s
decision.
Elliott said Friday that the
Warner Robins City Council
planned to consider the ban
during its regular meeting
Monday. With a moratorium
in place, however, he said
there was no real pressure on
the city to pass an outright
ban.
“I have an opinion on the
matter, but I want to see what
they have to say first,” he
said.
Perry Fire Chief Freddy
Howell was among the fire
chiefs who first opposed the
sale of fireworks. In late May,
Howell asked the council to
consider banning the sale of
As a result of this prelimi
nary judging, 10 semi-final
ists will be selected for one
on-one interviews with a
panel of out-of-system
judges consisting of person
nel who have varied experi
ence in the educational field.
After an intensive and
lengthy review of written
applications and face-to-face
interviews, the judges will
select four finalists and the
system wide Teacher of the
was more for Mackenzie
than to win an award,” said
Brandi Mullins, Peach
County’s 4-H Extension
Agent.
After the first day, the
group put up a sign explain
ing Mackenzie’s story to
those from other counties.
Before that, people had
asked the children to
explain the decorations, a
number guessing that she
had died of cancer.
“It was difficult, I think,
for the kids to have to
answer those questions,”
said Kellie Day, a mother
involved in the horse club.
“Since then, people have
been really good about com
ing up and offering condo
lences.”
In addition to the stall
decorations, one mother
embroidered black arm
bands which all of the
Houston and Peach county
kids wore when showing
their horses. The stalls also
have a personal touch:
“Each one of the kids
made a page of their memo
ries about Mackenzie, and
after the show her mother
will take all of them and put
them into a memory book,”
said Day.
Flowers were arrayed at
the entrance to the stalls,
underneath a rainbow arch.
A mural depicting
Mackenzie in riding clothes
on a horse covered one wall.
The first stall, the one
reserved for Mackenzie, was
grueling test for troops of
the 48th Brigade Combat
Team in preparation for
deployments to Iraq.
Soldiers honed their
warfighting skills through
force-on-force simulated
combat scenarios in the tac
tical environment.
McCullers, a judge advo
cate, has served ten years in
the Army.
He is the son of Gerald K.
and Shelby F. McCullers of
Kathleen.
all fireworks after learning
that an Alabama-based fire
works company, TNT
Fireworks, planned to sell the
newly legal sparklers in a tent
in the parking lot of the Perry
Wal-Mart, working with a
youth group from Faith
Assembly of God in Warner
Robins. Howell said that any
thing less than a complete
ban would make his job and
the jobs of other firefighters
and other public safety work
ers even harder than they
already are. Howell and other
fire chiefs in Houston County
said they are worried that
allowing sparklers will cause
more fires, injuries and even
deaths.
Georgia Insurance and
Safety Fire Commissioner
John Oxendine said in a pre
pared statement last week
that approximately 7,000 peo
ple are treated in hospital
emergency rooms every year
for fireworks-related injuries.
The sale and use of most
types of fireworks, including
firecrackers, skyrockets, and
cherry bombs, are illegal in
Georgia and punishable by a
maximum fine of up to SI,OOO
and up to one year in jail.
Oxendine said sparklers can
bum at temperatures as high
as 1800 degrees.
HHJ Staff Writers Ray
Lightner and Timothy
Graham contributed to this
report.
Year.
The 2004-2005 Houston
County Teacher of the Year
was Sonya Peterman from
Northside High School. The
2004-2005 System wide
finalists (in no particular
order) were: Carol Wyatt,
Bonaire Elementary; April
Pearson, Perry Elementary;
Trelley Williams, Parkwood
Elementary; and Amanda
Brantley, Lindsey
Elementary.
left open. Its interior was
draped in white and covered
with picture of the girl and
her horse. In the center of
the empty stall was a stand
with a bouquet of flowers,
Mackenzie’s riding boots
and her saddle.
The door of each of the
other stalls was covered in
black paper and angels, and
horses featured prominently
- as did the phrase “We miss
you.”
“On Monday, when we put
up the decorations, it was a
mixture of happiness and
tears because everyone put a
lot into what they did for
her. I think it spoke volumes
about what she meant to her
friends,” said Day.
A memorial fund has been
established in Mackenzie’s
name to benefit the Heat
Beats and Hoof Beats thera
peutic riding center in
Macon. Donations can be
made at any area CB&T
bank.
Aged Hand-cut
Steaks
1-75 iilt 136 • 667-6877
Famous Homemade
Cinnamon Rolls
w>nnw jlavShv
1-73 Exit 136 • 967-6877
LOCAL
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—s:
HHJ Tim Hoskins
Workers prepare to right an overturned Ford F-150 involved in a wreck Friday on
Interstate 75. The truck and its trailer flipped, causing all three southbound lanes of
1-75 near the 135 mile marker to be rerouted in to the emergency lane on Friday
afternoon. According to Cpl. Chris Coley with the Georgia State Patrol, the vehicle
driven by Albert McGaillard of Gray was shaken and lost control when it was passed
by a tractor-trailer on the highway - and caused the vehicle and trailer to swerve and
overturn. There were two passengers, wife and child of the driver. All were taken to
Perry Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
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