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10A
> THURSDAY, JUNE 23 2005
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HHJ/Timothy Graham
State Sen. Ross Tolleson (center) held a fund-raiser Tuesday at Houston
Lake Country Club, and among those present were Nora Reese and Ben
Porter.
TOLLESON
From page 1A
with this fundraiser,” said
Snellgrove. “We appreciate
all of the help that you and
Ross give us, and you are
always welcome in Houston
County.”
“I want you all to talk
about the county and its
growth,” said Tolleson to
the development authority
members. “What issues
loom big to you from an eco
nomic development stand
point.”
“Everything has centered
around Robins Air Force
Base here for years and we
are certainly thankful that
BRAC worked out well again
for us,” said Snellgrove. “We
do realize that we need a
mix of industry, and this
group does a great job of
making that happen. We do
have some infrastructure
COUNTY
From page 1A
the current year. The budget
calls for a 3 percent cost of
living increase for all county
employees. The county will
add 12 new employees,
including four sheriff s
deputies. The capital budget
calls for the purchase of 12
new sheriffs vehicles,
$407,635 in equipment for
the sheriffs department,
and $350,000 for a new six
bay emergency services
building behind the new
juvenile court building.
The county will also con
tinue to renovate the
County Annex building and
renovate the old jail into a
county warehouse.
The commissioners also
passed an ordinance ban
ning the sale and use of fire
works in the county. The
ordinance originally had
language to ban the, posses
sion and storage of fire-
problems and we are work
ing on them.
“Each family that moves
to Houston County brings
with them almost three
cars,” said Snellgrove.
“Highway 96 is a big prob
lem, and we need to focus on
expanding that road.”
“Highway 96 is our east
west connector,” said Tom
McMichael. “We need a
perimeter highway around
Warner Robins, but we real
ize that is a long way off.”
“The Department of
Transportation has a bad
habit of promising more
than they can deliver,” said
Majority Leader Williams.
“You need to get on them
and keep on them. You need
to keep the pressure on
them to follow through on
what they promise.”
“Our problem is that we
works, but Commissioner
Jay Walker objected to that
language.*
“It is a question of fair
ness to me,” said Walker.
“There are a lot of people in
this county who possess fire
works as well as people who
drive through after buying
them in Alabama. What
would be the punishment
for this?”
The penalty for violating
the ban would be 11 months
and 29 days in jail, and a
SI,OOO fine.
“This is a question of pub
lic safety especially with
July 4 coming up,” said
Commission Chair Ned
Sanders.
Sanders also said that the
county would not be going
into people’s homes to see if
they possess fireworks.
The commission unani
mously approved the ordi
nance without the language
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HHJ/Timothy Graham
Appearing with Sen. Ross Tolleson at his Tuesday fund-raiser at Houston Lake Country Club were
four of his fellow state senators. They were Don Balfour, chairman of the Rules Committee; Eric
Johnson, president pro tern of the Senate; Tommie Williams, majority leader; and Jeff Mullis, chair
of the Tourism Committee.
can’t build the roads as fast
as they money comes
through from the SPLOST,”
said McMichael.
The local officials told the
visitors what the county
education system was like,
as well as the source of the
local water supply and other
infrastructure.
The visitors went away
with an appreciation of the
level of cooperation that
exists between Houston
County and the cities inside
it.
“We cannot stress enough
the importance of coming to
the state with a united
front,” said Williams. “We
have little incentive to help
out when the local leaders
cannot agree on what they
want and what they will do
with it. You all appear to
realize that and it will help
you in the long run.”
banning the possession of
fireworks.
The commissioners then
approved the low bid for
widening North Houston
Lake Boulevard from
Watson Boulevard to
Thomson Road - a distance
of 1.37 miles. The road
would be five lanes with a
continuous turn lane, gut
ters, and sidewalk.
“This is the first major
Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
project that the county has
implemented itself,” said
Tommy Stalnaker. “We are
almost one year ahead of
schedule on this.”
Stalnaker praised the
work of staff members
Robbie Dunbar and Dan
Harriman for their work on
the project.
“They are to be commend
ed for what they have done,”
said Stalnaker.
LOCAL
TOWER
From page 1A
Director Capt. Ricky
Harlowe said the lightning
strike occurred during a
recent series of storms.
The tower, located near
the Perry Water Treatment
Plant, ran on a backup gen
erator for a few days until
some repairs were made,
Ealer said.
“The way the 800-mega
hertz system is designed, if
one of the towers is hit, it
transfers the load to other
towers so there is no inter
ruption in service,” Harlowe
explained.
Repairs made Monday
included replacement of the
two light bulbs on the tower,
replacement of the amplifier
at the top of the tower and
replacement of a few circuit
boards at the building.
Harlowe said repairs from
the lightning included a few
circuit boards in the build
ing at the base of the tower
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HHJTimothy Graham
State Sen. Ross Tolleson speaks to members of the Houston County Development
Authority prior to their called meeting Tuesday at the Houston Lake County Club.
The commission awarded
the bid to Georgia Asphalt,
which bid $2,721,188.29 on
the project. The only other
bid was from Specialized
Services for $3,494,533.
Georgia Asphalt has 30
months to complete the
project without paying
penalties. The firm will
receive a bonus if work is
completed within 24
months.
Although this is a
Centerville SPLOST project,
the engineering and design
work is being done by the
county instead of the
Georgia Department of
Transportation.
“Centerville did not have
the engineering capabilities
to do the job, and they asked
us to help and we did,” said
Sanders. “This is just anoth
er example of cooperation
leading to progress in
Houston County.”
The way the 800-megahertz system is designed, it one of the
towers is hit, it transfers the load to other lowers so there
is no interruption in service.
- E-911 Director Capt. Ricky Harlowe
at about $5,000.
As repairs to damage
caused by a lightning strike
were made on Monday,
Lightning Safety Awareness
Week began. It is sponsored
by the National Weather
Service and the Office of
Homeland Security Georgia
Emergency Management
Agency.
Houston County
Emergency Management
Director and Fire Chief
Jimmy Williams was in
meetings with the GEMA on
lighting strikes on Monday
and Tuesday of this week.
Lightning has killed at
least 47 people since 1978,
including five last year
alone.
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
The National Weather
Service advised using the
30-30 rule.
When you see lightning,
count time until you heard
the thunder. If 30 seconds or
less, the thunderstorm is
within six miles and is dan
gerous - seek shelter imme
diately.
NWS also warns that the
threat of lightning contin
ues much longer than people
realize. Wait 30 minutes
after the last clap of thunder
before leaving shelter; don’t
be fooled by sunshine or
blue sky. If it’s cloudy or
objects are obscuring your
vision, get inside immediate
ly. It is always safer to take
precautions than to wait.
Curtis—
Photography
i
478-929-2407