Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
September 2, 2005
Volume 135, Number 180
Award-Winning
Better Newspaper
The Houston
County Land till will
be closed on Monday
in observance of
Labor Day.
In BRIEF
PVO helping
Katrina victims
Perry Volunteer
Outreach is establishing a
relief effort to collect
items to send to the Gulf
Coast area devastated by
Hurricane Katrina. PVO
will accept canned goods,
paper products, baby food
and diapers as well as
monetary donations.
Checks should be made
payable to Perry
Volunteer Outreach and
designated for Gulf Coast
relief.
No clothing donations
will be accepted.
Items and checks may
be brought to the PVO
headquarters at 801
Commerce St. in Perry,
Monday through Friday, 9
a.m. until 4 p.m.
“We all know in our
hearts that those affected
by this' terrible storm
would respond in kind if
our area was in need,”
said Riley Hunt of Perry
Volunteer Outreach.
For more information,
call (478) 218-2274.
Happy BIRTHDAY!
George Abernathy
Belinda Bennett
Tina Scott
Cheryl Snay
Happy ANNIVERSARY!;
Sue and Edwin Rodgers
Donald Dunstan
Anzo Darlene Ferguson
Charles Haynes
McMullen, Ph.D
Irene Johnston Watson
Obits, page 2A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 13A
COMICS 12A
CROSSWORD ...12A
FAMILY&FAITH .. .7A
OBITUARIES 2A
OPINION 4A
SPORTS 9A
TV LISTINGS ... .12A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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Sept. 2. 2005
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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BOBOVS FOOD
HHJ/Rez Gam bill
ABOVE: Store owners Dixe and Bobby Patel talk as motorists line up for fuel
at Bobby’s Food Mart in Warner Robins.
RIGHT: Convenience store owner Bobby Patel helps Nancy Duckworth pump
gas Wednesday afternoon at Bobby’s Food Mart in Warner Robins.
Panic in the streets
Fueled by rumors, motorists crowd at gas pumps
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
Like whispers before the wind, the
rumors swept through Houston
County on Wednesday and for a couple
of hours paralyzed the community
with fear.
Motorists listened to the rumors
and became panicked that they would
not be able to get fuel for their cars.
They immediately descended upon
local service station like locusts.
By Thursday, however, the run on
gasoline had died down.
Talking to people waiting in line for
gas We(Ui«uid&6U»afternoon, there
appeared to be two main rumors. The
first was that the gas pumps were
going to be shut down that afternoon
and would not open again until next
week. The second was that prices
would be going up more than a dollar
on Thursday.
The fact that gas prices did rise by
Student scientists
up to Challenge
Three middle schoolers advance to
semifinals in science competition
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
Houston County students
continue to strut their stuff
in competition with other
students.
The most recent successes
have some in the 2005
Discover Channel Young
Scientist Challenge. The
competition gives middle
school students a chance to
test their knowledge in the
world of science.
Discovery
Communications recently
announced 400 semifinalists
in the competition and they
come from 43 states, Puerto
Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
There were 1,966 formal
entries chosen from more
than 75,000 students who
entered science fairs nation
wide. This month, those 400
semifinalists will be nar
rowed down to 40 finalists
who will be invited to
Washington, D.C., in
October, when they will
compete for the title of
America s Top Young
Scientist.
“Discovery is proud to
continue its tradition of sup
porting middle school educa
tion and cultivating the next
generation of American sci
entists,” said Judith A.
McHale, president and CEO,
Discovery Communications.
“These students have the
www.hhjnews.com
30 to 40 cents around noon did lend
credence to the second rumor, and
that encouraged husbands to call their
wives at work - or vice-versa - and tell
them to drop everything and tank up.
The rumors led to long lines at gas
stations, arguments between cus
tomers and attendants, and calls to E
-911 before it all settled down. And
when it was over, there was still plen
ty of gas.
“The supply disruptions which are
causing the price increases are only
temporary,” said Gov. Sonny Perdue.
“I have been in contact with the msyor
gas distributors that serve the
Georgia market and they are working
around the clock to address the supply
problem.”
The rumors led Perdue to issue a
statement that all was well. He
advised Georgia motorists to stay
calm, conserve fuel, and not to rush to
the pumps.
knowledge, enthusiasm, and
imagination to become the
scientific trailblazers of
tomorrow. The breadth of
knowledge demonstrated by
the 400 semifinalists is
inspiring and sets an exam
ple for anyone who wants to
explore the world around
them.”
Georgia had 15 students
earn semifinalist honors,
and three of them are from
Houston County. Those
three are Shireen Dhir of
Feagin Mill Middle School,
and Michael Gregory and
Trey Davis of Bonaire
Middle School.
This is the second year as
a semifinalist for Shireen
Dhir, the daughter of
Sarwan and Seema Dhir of
Kathleen. Sarwin and
Seema are both science pro
fessors at Fort Valley State
University.
Shireen made it to the
finals last year with her
project entitled “Cloning of
Somatic Embryos in Stevia,
a Low Calorie Sweetener.”
Stevia is a plant that pro
duces a substance that is
low calorie and low carbohy
drate, and makes a good
sweetener for diabetics.
Shireen’s project involves
growing the stevia plant in
an artificial environment
with the addition of two hor
mones. She was able to grow
the plant to a fully devel-
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Bonaire Middle School science teacher Janine Davis with Trey Davis and Michael
Gregory.
oped state in 16 weeks. She
used the same project last
year, but this year she tested
a third hormone in an effort
to increase the speed of
growth of the stevia.
Shireen said she came
about her interest in science
at an early age.
“I would go to their lab a
lot in summer when I was
younger and play with the
hot plate and other things,”
said Shireen. “I have always
loved science. I want to fol
low in my parent’s footsteps
because they are doing great
things.”
Shireen is currently a
freshman at Houston
County High School. She
hopes to attend Georgia
Tech and eventually study
biomedical science and find
way to cure diseases by the
use of artificial organs.
Shireen’s science teacher
at Feagin Mill was Cathy
Fowler.
See SCIENCE, page 5A
He also asked citizens to report any
incidents of price gouging - they might
encounter, and issued a warning to
merchants.
“We will not tolerate the exploita
tion of Georgia consumers as we
recover from the effects of Hurricane
Katrina,” said Perdue. “Violators of
Se e GAS, page 3A
Vk
HIM Timothy Graham
Feagin Mill Middle School science teacher Cathy Fowler
with Shireen Dhir.
ONE section • 14 PAGES
Houston
SAT
scores
up....
... but still below
state and
national average
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Staff Writer
Nationwide SAT scores
for the Class of 2005 were
released by the College
Board this week, with
Georgia tying with South
Carolina for last place - and
Houston County lagging
just slightly behind the
Georgia state average.
Still, there are some
bright spots.
First, some numbers.
Nationwide, the average
combined math and verbal
score was up two points, at
1028.
In Georgia, the average
score was 993.
For Houston County’s
four public high schools, the
average score was 987.
On the positive side,
according to Dr. Greg
Gentry, director of testing
for the Houston County
School System, “Overall,
our system SAT scores
improved by 8 points.”
Top 10 percent
Also, on the positive side,
Houston County’s high
achievers surpassed the
See SAT, page 5A
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