Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
December 29, 2005
Volume 135, Number 259
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
In BRIEF
FVSU to provide
homebuyers'
education class
Looking to own your
own home? In need of
assistance? Fort Valley
State University is host
ing a variety of home
buyer education classes
in January. Classes will
be held from 6 to 8:30
p.m. in the C.W. Pettigrew
Building on FVSU’s cam
pus on Jan. 17, 19, 24 and
26.
With economists pre
dicting a healthy hous
ing market for 2006, Joy
Moten-Thomas, FVSU
extension housing special
ist says, now’s the time to
cash in.
“Many people do not
realize what a fantastic
opportunity that we are
providing here at the uni
versity,” Moten-Thomas
said. “Individuals who
complete the classes
can qualify to receive
See CLASS, page 3A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Rodney Hair
Jeff Nelson
Michele Powell
Happy ANNIVERSARY!
Cari and Bruce Patton
(Surprise your friends! Let us
know when their birthday or anni
versary is, and we’ll 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
Kenetha Ann “Nena”
Barger
JW “Jake” Bartlett Jr.
Kathryne Bordine
Arthur Buckles (Peter)
Jack Conley Chavis Sr.
Michael “Mike” Mills
Sara Morris
Cynthia “Cindy” Smith
Obits, page 5A
INDEX
BUSINESS 6A
CLASSIFIED 1B
CLUB NEWS 2A
COMICS 7A
CROSSWORD.... 7A
LEGALS 2B
OBITUARIES ..;. . 5A
OPINION 4A
SPORTS 8A
TV LISTINGS 7A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
I>H— II
4
Georgia Newspaper Project
Main Library
UNIV OF GEORGIA
ATHENS GA 30602-0002
ALL FOR ADC 301
December 29, 2005
Serving Houston County Since 1870
(7T(\ <^r i ptome A
dim
™ LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
Libraries win big in SPLOST
Proposed special purpose local option sales tax would fund $5.2 million in renovations
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer
Although the Houston County
Board of Commissioners has focused
on major road projects in the March
sales tax referendum, $5.2 million
has also been set aside for major
expansion at the county’s three
libraries in Centerville, Perry and
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A car carrier bottomed out while trying to turn onto Sam Nunn Boulevard in Perry Tuesday afternoon, blocking a lane of traffic
and the entrance to the Kroger parking lot for several hours. Mike Brennan, part owner of the Ace Hardware along Sam Nunn,
shot this picture shortly before 4 p.m. Capt. Heath Dykes with the Perry Police Department said that the dip in the entrance to
the Kroger parking lot was so steep that the base of the trailer hit the road below.
Perdue Farms honored for health program
Poultry processor with Perry plant receives Koop National Health Award
Special to the HHJ
SALISBURY, Md. - Perdue
Farms Incorporated has
been awarded an Honorable
Mention in the C. Everett
Koop Health Awards for an
innovative employee health
program.
Perdue’s Health
Improvement Program
(HIP) initiative encourages
its associates to participate
in a health screening and
Old isn't what
it used to be
Duke University study finds elderly
more fit, enjoying high quality life
By CATHERINE CLABBY
Raleigh News & Observer
Forget that notion that
old age promises only frailty,
disease and death.
Many elderly people feel
quite well, thank you, a
Duke University study has
found. That includes people
85 years and older.
And evidence suggests
that simple changes - better
glasses, high-quality hearing
aids or a more active social
life - could help even more
feel fit.
“You hear the most about
elderly people who are sick
and disabled. But many
elderly people are living
a high-quality life until a
very old age,” said Dr. Truls
www.hhjnews.com
Warner Robins.
But how that $5.2 million will be
divided has been a bone of conten
tion between county leaders and the
Warner Robins City Council.
Houston County’s special purpose
local option sales tax, or SPLOST,
is expected to generate $l3O million
for capital projects from 2006-2012.
behavior modification pro
gram working through the
company’s on-site health
care professionals.
The C. Everett Koop
Awards are given by the
Health Project, a non-profit,
private-public consortium
chaired by C. Everett Koop,
M.D. The Health Project is
dedicated to the furtherance
of better health and lower
medical costs by reduction
Ostbye, a Duke Community
and Family Medicine profes
sor.
‘Ostbye’s conclusions, pub
lished online Wednesday by
the Journal of the American
Geriatrics Society, come
from the study of close to
3,500 people 65 and older in
Cache County, Utah. That
spot is of interest to scien
tists because it has a high
population of older adults,
giving them a ready group of
people to study. Half of the
study participants were not
college educated, and they
represented various income
levels.
Reliable data on the expe
rience of elderly people in
See OLD, page 5A
More than $92.9 million of the
SPLOST will pay for countywide
improvement projects, some 71.5
percent of the total SPLOST. Of
that figure, around $87.8 million
will pay for major road projects,
including the widening of Ga. 96
from Lake Joy Road to Moody Road
and the extension of Margie Drive
in the need and demand for
medical services. The C.
Everett Koop Health
Awards are given each year
to worksite, community or
provider programs which
have soundly document
ed improved health and
decreased medical costs.
HIP focuses on improving
Perdue associates’ health in
five areas: blood pressure,
cholesterol, tobacco use,
Sadler named Employee of the Year
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submitted
At the December2oos Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meet
ing, Tommy Sadier, general manager at Marble Masters located at 1105 N. Davis Drive, was
named the 2005 Edward Bayer Employee of the Year. Sadier was recognized for his friendly
service with customers and great staff management.
weight control and exer
cise. Participants complete
a Health Risk Appraisal,
have blood drawn and com
plete a consultation with
a HIP specialist. The par
ticipant chooses two identi
fied health areas on which
he or she wants to focus,
and then meets periodically
with the HIP specialist to
chart progress.
See PERDUE, page 3A
an Evans Family Newspaper
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TWO SECTIONS • 18 PAGES
in Centerville from Gunn Road to
Houston Lake Boulevard.
Outside of the countywide proj
ects, the remainder of the SPLOST
will be divided among local cities
and the unincorporated areas of the
county. $15.5 million, or around 12
percent of the total SPLOST, will go
See LIBRARIES, page 3A
Cmsumer
confidence
up strongly
In December
Spending bodes
well for new year
according to
Conference Board
By EILEEN ALT POWELL
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - Consumer
confidence surged in
December as declining gaso
line prices and improving job
opportunities buoyed spirits,
boding well for spending in
the new year.
The Conference Board
said Wednesday that its
Consumer Confidence Index
advanced to 103.6 this
month, after recovering to
98.3 in November. Analysts
had expected a reading of
103.0 for December.
December’s rise put the
index at its highest level
since Hurricane Katrina
struck on Aug. 29, devastat
ing Gulf Coast states and
disrupting fuel and trade
for much of the nation. Last
August, before the storm,
the index registered 105.5.
Lynn Franco, director
of the Conference Board’s
Consumer Research Center,
said in a statement accompa
nying the report that “con
sumer confidence continues
to bounce back” from the
beating it took after the hur
ricane.
“The resiliency of the
economy, recent declines in
prices at the pump, and job
growth have consumers feel
ing more confident at year
end than they felt at the
See CONFIDENCE, page 3A