Zen News & Musings in Coweta: Teacher of Year, Trolley, HELP Clinic
By John A. Winters, Publisher
The H.E.L.P. Spay/Neuter Clinic in Newnan announced it received a $40,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, to help fuel its local spay and neuter efforts. With the help of this donation, the organization will provide subsidized spay and neuter surgeries for owned animals of under-resourced communities in multiple counties surrounding Newnan. Funds will be used by the organization to provide 1,200 spay and neuter surgeries as well as for surgery costs.
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Coweta County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Edmond Irvin, 26, was killed after being shot by a family member during a fight. Irvin was off duty at the time. Our thoughts and prayers
are with the family.
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Ashley Nelson was named the Coweta County School System’s 2019 Teacher of the Year. Currently, she is a second-grade teacher at Ruth Hill Elementary School. The other two finalists were Elizabeth Deganian, Self-Contained Special Education, Newnan Crossing Elementary School and Lindsey Haralson, 5th Grade Math and Science, Brooks Elementary School.
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The YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Lauren A. Koontz has been named its next President & CEO, to succeed Edward G. Munster, who will be retiring, after more than 42 years of service to the YMCA. Lauren joined the Metro Atlanta YMCA in 2012 as its Chief Development Officer. The two Newnan clubs are part of the Metro Atlanta organization.
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The city of Newnan has added stops for the trolley that runs from downtown Newnan to Ashley Park on the weekends. New fixed route is: Newnan City Hall (on LaGrange Street in Downtown Newnan); Dillard’s (West Entrance); Regal Cinemas; Governor Ellis Arnall Parking Lot (between Madison and Perry Streets). The city trolley operates Friday through Sunday between 1 – 8 p.m. The first pickup is at Newnan City Hall at 1 p.m. and the last full route starts at 7 p.m.
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Qualifying for the special election for Sheriff of Coweta County ended with four candidates: Randolph Collins, Lenn Wood, Doug Jordan and Jimmy Callaway. Tony Grant had declared but decided not to qualify.
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Georgia Bone and Joint is offering scholarships to students in the area that are going into the medical field. Makayla Dorsey of East Coweta High School was recently awarded one.
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Congratulations to Kaitlyn Smith and Jatin Patel for being selected as Coweta-Fayette EMC’s two 2019 Washington Youth Tour delegates! Jatin is a junior at Fayette County High School and Kaitlyn is a junior at Northgate High School. They will join other students from around the country for a week-long leadership experience.
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Georgia’s transportation infrastructure ranks second best in the nation among U.S. states, according to a report published by MSN Money. In the report titled, “States that are falling apart,” Georgia ranks No. 49 overall, from best (No. 50, Florida) to worst (No. 1, Rhode Island) based on upkeep, maintenance and highway expenses per driver.
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Socks have a higher divorce rate than humans.
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The University of West Georgia has – for the sixth year in a row – been named one of the Most Promising Places to Work in Student Affairs, according to the school. UWG received the recognition from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education” magazine. UWG is one of only two universities nationwide to receive this honor all six years it has been presented.
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You can’t stand backwards on stairs.
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Lots of high school news in the Twittersphere:
Newnan High School Cross Country and Track Coach Austin Enriquez was named the West Georgia Region’s Positive Coach of the Year for how he embodies the characteristics of a positive role model.
East Coweta High School Girls Golf Team wins the area 2 Championship!! Congratulations to Coach Tidwell, Coach Vandiver and these student-athletes.
Newnan High School’s Voce Prima was selected as one of six ensembles from across the country to present a Spotlight performance at the 2019 National A Cappella Convention in Memphis.
The Heritage School’s baseball team defeated Notre Dame to become the co-region champions for region 1AAA.
A total of 335 high school students from Newnan, Trinity, Heritage, East Coweta and Northgate high schools were honored for maintaining a GPA of 95 or higher. The Honors Awards are sponsored by the Newnan Kiwanis Club.
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Space is only 62 miles away, which is basically an hour’s drive.
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The State of Georgia will be upgrading the title and tag registration system over the Memorial Day weekend. The Vehicle owners with renewal dates in May or June who normally renew in person are encouraged to do so prior to May 20 to avoid delays. During June, customers may experience longer than normal wait times when visiting the tag office.
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Funny how no one knows what you do until you don’t do it.
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Main Street Newnan has been designated as an accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center. Each year, the organization recognizes those local programs for their commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization. “Downtown Newnan was a busy district in 2018! An estimated 901,912 visitors attended 583 events, leveraging 1,145 volunteer hours. We accounted for 33 new businesses that opened in 2019, creating 81 new jobs, and an estimated $2,703,777 worth of investment into the built environment. Main Street Newnan launched a new pedestrian program in 2018, known as “Share with Care”, and we embraced a Placemaking Master Plan for the district. “We encourage the community to visit mainstreetnewnan.com for information about our events and becoming engaged with our downtown program,” said Courtney Harcourt, Main Street Manager.
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Earth is the only planet not named after a Roman god.
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Piedmont Newnan has unveiled its the First Friday Hero program. It is designed to recognize first responders on a monthly basis who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Their line of work is often a thankless job and Piedmont Newnan wants to make the community aware of our local heroes and all they do to make Coweta County and our surrounding communities a better and safer place. The first recipient was Michael Smith, firefighter and paramedic with Coweta County Fire Station 4.
