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TUESDAY June 20, 2006 VOLUME 136, NUMBER 120 OUR FRONT PORCH INSIDE High school honor rolls ■ Houston County announces list of honor rolls and honorable men tions. - Page 2A IN BRIEF Public invited to forums ■ The Houston County Comprehensive Planning Committee and it Chairman, Rick Lowe, are holding two public forums in June. Residents and business rep resentatives from Houston County, Centerville, Perry and Warner Robins are encour aged to attend the meetings to discuss the joint Houston County Comprehensive Plan Forums are planned as fol lows: ■ Thursday, 6 p.m., Houston County Board of Education auditorium, 1100, Main Street, in Perry. ■ June 29, 6 p.m., Centerville City Hall, 300 E. Church Street. For more informa tion contact Rick Lowe, Chairman, Houston County Comprehensive Planning Committee, 926-9040 or 335-2594; or broderick. lowe@robins.af.mil. Red Cross seeks space ■ The Houston-Middle Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross, in cooperation with the Houston County Emergency Management Agency, will conduct an emergency shel tering briefing on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. The briefing will be at the Middle Georgia Technical College auditorium. According to Charles Seymour of the local Red Cross office, the American Red Cross is focusing on four different kinds of shelters: the Red Cross, Red Cross/part ner, Red Cross supported and independently managed. For information, call Seymour at 923-6332, e-mail cseymour© redcrosshmga. org, or attend the meeting. BIRTHDAYS Saturday ■ Barbara Jean Cumbess ■ Scott McSwain ■ LaWanna Welch ■ Peggy King ANNIVERSARIES Sunday ■ Lisa and Chad Wicker DEATHS ■ Louise McKinnley Crockett ■ Paul B. Munt Jr. INDEX LOCAL 2 A WEATHER 3 A OPINION 4 A SPORTS 1 B COMICS 4 B CLASSIFIEDS .... 5 B PERIODICAL Award-Winning Newspaper 2004 Better Newspaper Contest COOI 0 GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT Main Library UN (V OF GEORGIA A I HfcNS GA 30602-0002 -LL FOR ADC 301 Uni s in\ (<>i \ n Si Hi ItiffjT (rfl f TTY Ministmt \ Gme smxvxml LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville 1J§ \ Cathy comes to ‘Sonny Country’ A education, jobs, a?chamotte alternative energy HHJ Staff Writer . 4. * vernor S° nn - V Pefdue’s turf I - Sk V: : JKBtm ers for her bid for the Democratic .4- SeUsf 1 ' 'Jk / nomination for the state’s top post -'■j \ y ( 4f " / About 150 people attended the SSO - !>• r jT a-plate barbecue fund-raiser for Cox t / in the Miller-Murphy Howard Builder at Jp?; W ? f t \ the Georgia National Fairgrounds. Among * ' j f I j <***■**'" As I those in attendance were Rep. Robert Ray, j .jJI'TMB'. jf j t D- Ft. Valley and his family; Rep. Lynmore , A \ James, D-Montezuma, and former Rep. / m \ jL \ Cox, who served in the Georgia House of a Bl Jf 1 S Representatives with Ray, James and Hudson, KAy | \ 5* is currently Georgia’s Secretary of State, and will face Lt. I j Governor Mark Taylor in the July 17 Democratic Primary. - No Houston County elected officials were present. | The winner will challenge Perdue in the General Election in Hi Cox in her campaign ads and speeches is already running // \\ - , *\ against both men, and has just released a commercial in which Ay \\ 4 she begins bv explaining that she is not “the big guy,” in a refer /yL ence to Taylor. SbR jfc “We’ve had enough of big guys scratching the backs of other big guys at the capital,” she told her supporters on Saturday, I See CATHY, page 6 A Perry nearing budget vote From staff reports The Perry City Council continues to deliberate over its 2006 operating budget and could vote on the pro posed $7.86 budget as early as tonight. The mayor and council will meet for a work session at 4:30 today, with a regular public meeting following at 6 p.m. in council chambers. Both meetings are open to the public. The budget, as proposed includes increased funding for anticipated increases in health insurance claims and energy costs. Vehicle fuel is expected to be 50 percent higher in the year ahead, and electricity is expected to be 8.85 percent higher. City administrator Lee Gilmour said that the mayor and council are still consid ering the budget and dis cussing it, and while a vote See VOTE, page 6 A lIHJ/Charlotte Perkins RIGHT: Cathy Cox greets Bob Ray of Perry, while his children Callie, left, and Rob, watch on. Ray, who has worked with Cox as Assistant Secretary of State, was one of a crowd of about 150 attending Cox’s political fund-raiser at the Georgia National Fairgrounds. Cox is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. ABOVE: Cox tells the crowd in the Miller-Murphy-Howard building, “/ am the only candidate who can beat Sonny Perdue.” Unemployment, jobs up By RAY LIGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer The unemployment rate rose in Warner Robins, from April to May, but so did the number of jobs. Warner Robins added 300 jobs from April to May, an increase of six-tenths percent, from 54,100 jobs in April to 54,400 jobs in May. In Macon, jobs were up 100, or one-tenth per cent, from 101,700 in April Warner Robins MSA Employment (InThouMndf) AprtffpMpy ♦ Jf I ****** §u *** MJ S!m mm Sm may Am JtM /mg Map om M a* Dm Jam PaP Mar Apr Mar www.hhjnews.com M flEnHmn/ .jS* 3k B3HjH IbR - - ■-* to 101,800 in May. Warner Robins had 67 more, or 22 percent more initial unemployment insurance claims from April’s 304 to May’s 371. The number of claims is also up 23.7 percent from May 2005 when there were 300 initial claims for unemployment insurance. Macon was also up 180, or 18 percent, from 1,020 initial claims in April to 1,200 in May and up 7.1 percent from 80 initial claims in May 2005. The Warner Robins Metro Service Area includes all of Houston County. The Macon Metro Service Area includes Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe and Twiggs counties The state’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent in May, up four-tenths of one See RATE, page 6A r I 't'O// / '• //‘TV. 1 / /g 50£ lint 8 *5 5108*0 0001"® 4 TWO SECTIONS • 12 PAGES Arrest made in Saturday beating ByRAYUGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Giovanni Demetrice Smith was arrested Saturday on charges stemming from the assault of an acquaintance with “some sort of stick,” according to Det. Scott McSwain of the Warner Robins police department Criminal Investi gations Division. O n Saturday, about 11:20 a.m., Warner Robins Police responded to a Vickie Lynn Drive residence in refer ence to an assault. Upon the officers’ arrival they found Charlie Jones Jr. suffering from a wound to his head and torso. See ARREST, page SA SMITH