Newnan-Coweta Magazine_July/August 2009

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MAGAZINE

A Times-Herald Publication

THE KIDS of SUMMER

July/August 2009 | $3.95

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The kind of personalized care you dream about.

If only you could dream.

Getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is essential to enjoying everything life has to offer. The specialists at Piedmont Newnan Hospital Sleep Center are committed to making that a reality for you. We treat everything from sleep apnea and insomnia to restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy. It’s all about helping you restore, revitalize and rest. It’s

Sleep Center For a consultation, call 770-254-3289 or visit piedmontnewnan.org. ©2009 Piedmont Healthcare

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Cancer Knows Many Faces . . .and Radiation Oncology Services knows patients do not have to travel to major medical centers for excellent cancer care. In fact, we know all about combining compassionate care with state-of-the-art technology in a warm friendly environment. . .close to home.

ROS offers complete radiation oncology services in the metropolitan Atlanta area: I

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Administration 770. 994. 1650 Cobb 770. 948. 6000 Griffin 770. 228. 3737 Newnan 770.254.9600 Riverdale 770. 997. 8424 Saint Joseph’s Hospital 678. 843. 7004 South Fulton Medical Center 404. 466. 6100 www.radonc.com

Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in radiation therapy.

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W AT T S F U R N I T U R E G A L L E R I E S

MAGAZINE Established 1995 A publication of The Times-Herald

President

Publisher

Vice President

William W. Thomasson

Sam Jones

Marianne C. Thomasson

Editor Angela McRae Art Director Deberah Williams Contributing Writers Janet Flanigan, Holly Jones, Meredith Leigh Knight, Katherine McCall, Alex McRae, Tina Neely, Elizabeth Richardson, W. Winston Skinner, Martha A. Woodham Illustrations Katherine McCall Photography Bob Fraley, Jeffrey Leo, Tara Shellabarger Circulation Director Naomi Jackson Sales and Marketing Director

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Colleen D. Mitchell Advertising Manager

ON OUR COVER

Lamar Truitt

Our little bathing beauty Samantha Smith, age 3, is the daughter of Kristen Smith of Newnan and the granddaughter of Ken and Teresa Carter of Newnan.

– Photos by Bob Fraley

Advertising Consultants Doug Cantrell, Mandy Inman, Candy Johnson, Jeanette Kirby, RoseMary Reid, Christine Swentor Advertising Design Debby Dye, Graphics Manager Sandy Hiser, Jonathan Melville, Sonya Studt FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION, call 770.683.6397 or e-mail colleen@newnan.com.

Newnan-Coweta Magazine is published bi-monthly by The Times-Herald, Inc., 16 Jefferson St., Newnan, GA 30263.

Subscriptions: Newnan-Coweta Magazine is distributed in home-delivery copies of The Times-Herald and at businesses and offices throughout Coweta County. Individual mailed subscriptions are also available for $23.75 in Coweta County, $30.00 outside Coweta County. To subscribe, call 770.304.3373.

ON OUR WEBSITE www.newnancowetamagazine.com

Submissions: We welcome submissions. Query letters and published clips may be addressed to the Editor, Newnan-Coweta Magazine at P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, Georgia 30264.

On the Web: www.newnancowetamagazine.com

Special Features Web extras you’ll find only online. Look for the computer icon throughout every issue to lead you to the special content at newnancowetamagazine.com.

Book giveaways Recipe Box Podcasts 4

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Blogs Links of local interest

MAGAZINE

© 2009 by The Newnan Times-Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Member:

MAGS MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION OF THE SOUTHEAST

WINNER OF FIVE 2009 GAMMA AWARDS (for issues published in 2008) Gold Award for Best Series, Silver Award for Best Single Issue, Bronze Award for Best Single Cover, Bronze Award for Best Profile, Bronze for General Excellence

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July/August 2009

contents

Features

54

9 THE KIDS OF SUMMER 10 17 FREE THINGS FOR KIDS

10

Wondering what to do when those cries of “Mom, I’m bored!” kick in? We have 17 great ideas for things you can do in or near Coweta that won’t cost you a dime!

16 COLORING CONTEST Want to see your child’s artwork featured in Newnan-Coweta Magazine? Have them enter our coloring contest. (And hey, it’s another free activity for kids!)

18 COWETA’S YOUNG ARTISTS Over at that funny-shaped building on Hospital Road, some local youth are learning about pointillism, impressionism, and a whole host of artistic pursuits.

24

THE 12-YEAR-OLD CELLIST Justin Welch would rather be playing video games, but the practice he puts in on his musical instruments is paying off in skills children and adults alike admire.

28 TO TEXAS – AND BEYOND Track standout Chalonda Goodman just graduated from Newnan High and is headed to the University of Texas, but her real goal is the 2012 Olympics in London.

32 MOM-TREPRENEURS Moms often struggle with how to balance work and family. Meet four local moms who’ve found some creative ways of combining the business of work and the pleasure of family.

38 A FANTASY PLAYHOUSE “Over the top.” That’s how friends are describing the Neely girls’ new playhouse, a partial replica of their home built by their grandfather.

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54 ARNALL GROCERY TURNS 140 Arnall Grocery Co. was founded when Coweta’s roads were dirt and most of its residents were dirt poor. Times - and customer tastes - have changed a lot since then!

Departments 42 COWETA COOKS Jesse Beatenbough is a young man who doesn’t cook often, but in the local 4-H program he’s learned he can dish up some fine food when he needs to.

46 THE THOUGHTFUL GARDENER The fragrant tea olive is an outdoor garden favorite here in the South.

50 SADDLE UP At Fruition Farm in Palmetto, Lissa Corcoran is working to ensure teens who are troubled find a way out of their problems with the help of her therapeutic horse program.

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60 MEET A READER Meet Danny Beck, a popular local businessman and passionate road cyclist.

62 LOCAL HERITAGE We conclude our year-long series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Newnan Reading Circle with a look at what club members wish for the future.

In every issue 11 EDITOR’S LETTER 61 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

65 THE BOOKSHELF 66 LAST LOOK

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> FROM THE EDITOR

Those Summer Reading Clubs y 10-year-old niece Cari has been addicted to all things “Little House on the Prairie” for some time now. She has “Little House” costumes and aprons and has been watching the old TV episodes repeatedly. For Christmas she got the American Girl doll Kirsten, and they both looked like they stepped out of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s pages. For her birthday in the spring, she asked for the DVD’s.

It’s an addiction I thoroughly understand, because I remember the summer I discovered “Little House” myself. I was participating in my town’s summer reading club and couldn’t read those books fast enough. It was probably my first experience of getting fully absorbed in a story from another time and place, and I loved it. It’s great that my niece is enjoying some of the very same stories I enjoyed as a girl.

When we headed to the A. Mitchell Powell Library to take some photos for this issue, I loved seeing all their colorful decorations promoting the summer reading club. They even have reading club T-shirts and tote bags now, I see, something I would have adored when I was a kid! Here in Coweta County, we have so many local libraries that kids from all over have a library nearby where they can enjoy reading the summer away, and dis-

covering new "friends" from other times and places.

Kids and summer are synonymous in my mind.

We adults continue to go to the workplace each day, but for kids summer is one great big long holiday. I get amused when I check Facebook and see my 13-year-old niece, Madison, saying, for the hundredth time, “I’m bored.” (I’ve observed that any time she’s not playing or attending a ballgame is a call for “I’m bored.")

You won’t get bored reading this issue, though.

To avoid the cries of “I’m bored,” Leigh Knight has come up with a terrific list of free things to do with your kids this summer. We spotlight Coweta kids and youth in this issue, and you’ll probably be surprised at some of their achievements. If you’re not already familiar with recent Newnan High grad Chalonda Goodman, be sure to read the article on page 28. We are going to be hearing this lovely young woman’s name for a long time to come.

And if you have kids 4-12, be sure to check out our summertime Coloring Contest on page 16 .

Winners will have their photos and artwork published in the next issue of the magazine.

Meanwhile, Happy Summer!

Fondly,

Angela McRae, Editor angela@newnan.com

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Samantha Smith, age 3, cools off at a local pool.

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FREE

things to do with your kids

this summer

By Meredith Leigh Knight | Photos by Bob Fraley It’s summertime in Coweta, which means it’s hot, hot, hot, the kids are bored, bored, bored, and with this economy we are all broke, broke, broke. Don’t despair. Some of the best things in life are free and are located in or near Coweta. Here are a few – 17 to be exact – of my favorites.

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Let them play at Kids’ Castle Playground, situated inside the 14-acre Newnan Utilities’ Carl Miller Park at 74 Sewell Rd. Built in 1998 by local volunteers and funded through local donations, the 32,000-squarefoot playground features wooden climbing areas, swings, assorted bridges, tunnels, forts, playhouses, cars, boats, trucks and airplanes for kids to play in, on and around. The park also has two preschool playgrounds with rubberized surfaces in addition to sprinklers to cool kids off in the hot summer months.

Hours are April-Oct., daily, 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Nov.-March, daily, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. For more info, call Newnan Utilities at 770-683-5516.

Take in the 4th of July parade in downtown Newnan followed by the fireworks at Drake Stadium.

You can enjoy free activities and music. It’s a family tradition for us.

In fact, I have been going since I was two (and cried the entire time, according to my daddy).

Beat the heat with a free movie at Ashley Park’s Regal Georgian Theater’s Free Family Film Festival.

Select rated G and PG movies start at 10 a.m. each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Moms and dads, don’t worry if you’ve already seen it, you can close your eyes and sneak in a cat nap! Info: 770-502-0866

Hike F.D. Roosevelt State Park,, which is Georgia’s largest state park, located south of Coweta near Callaway Gardens and Warm Springs.

During your hike, you’ll have an opportunity to picnic at Roosevelt’s favorite spot—the scenic Dowdell’s Knob overlooking a magnificent view of the valley below. Info: 1-800-864-7275 or visit www.gastateparks.org.

Walk through “The City of Homes” with the aid of a self-guided tour brochure from City Hall. Kids will marvel at the architecture and history of some of our area’s most historic homes.

Friends Lindsey Spooner and Miranda Hill enjoy a walking tour along Newnan’s LaGrange Street with brochures available at Newnan City Hall.

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A stone’s throw from Coweta, you’ll find Cochran Mill Park on Cochran Mill Road in Fairburn. This scenic park offers a super playground for the children, a covered pavilion with picnic tables and restrooms in addition to hiking, jogging and horse trails. Just across the street is a beautiful waterfall and old iron bridge you don’t want to miss.

Explore nature just over the county line at Line Creek Nature Area, a 70-acre public preserve along Line Creek, stretching from Highway 54 downstream. The Creek offers a mix of slow-moving water through bottomland hardwoods to fast water over rock outcrops. Visitors will enjoy a fishing dock on a small pond, a gazebo, and several miles of nature trails, picnic tables, small bridges, and a rock amphitheater and kiosk. Hours are from dawn to dusk. For a map of the area, visit www.sctlandtrust.org.

Teach your kids about our county’s wealth of Civil War history by taking a selfguided tour of historical markers, including Oak Hill Cemetery and the Battle of Brown’s Mill. Brochures can be downloaded at www.explorecoweta.com.

Pitch a tent and camp out in your own back yard. Sing songs around your campfire or, in our case, the Chimnea. Roast s’mores, catch lightning bugs, and wake up to the sounds of the birds or the trash truck, whichever comes first.

Volunteer at one of Coweta’s charities.

Not only is it free, it feels good and teaches your children an important lesson about helping others.

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Creating opportunities Building Robert Coggin relationships Vice Chairman, Travelport GDS Inspiring success Helping Georgia

See magic shows, jugglers and even SpiderMan at the A. Mitchell Powell, Jr. Public Library on Hospital Road. While you’re there, open up a world of imagination for your child by signing him up for the vacation reading program. For information on summer reading programs throughout the Coweta County Library System, visit www.coweta.ga.us.

Click on the “About Coweta” tab and select “Recreational and Cultural.”

Miranda Hill and Lindsey Spooner check out vacation reading program offerings at the A. Mitchell Powell, Jr. Public Library.

“The Newnan Center of the University of West Georgia is a very valuable asset for the city of Newnan as it provides us with a higher education facility which is critical to the image we portray to the public.

One of the big advantages the Newnan campus offers is it is accessible to a large segment of our population. Its presence creates opportunities for all of our citizens and communicates to anyone who is considering moving to Newnan or relocating their business here that we are a forward-looking city with a first-class educational institution which can serve them, their children or Your success is our story their work force.”

NEWNAN CENTER 770-254-7280 s www.nc.westga.edu

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Help your kids set up a lemonade stand. Not only is it free (well, minus the cost of cups, sugar and Kool-Aid), you might even make a little money and get to know your neighbors in the process.

Relax at historic and scenic McIntosh Reserve, a 527-acre reserve two miles west of Whitesburg on land that once belonged to Chief William McIntosh. The park features picnic shelters, hiking trails, horse trails, fishing and a Splash and Play playground for the little ones to cool off. Info: 770-830-5879 or visit http://carrollcountyga.com.

Save your newspapers to make papier-mâché piggy banks. Don’t be frightened, it’s easy and fun—just do it outside. (For directions, see our link at www.newnancowetamagazine.com.)

Take a hike at the Coweta County Fairgrounds Complex, 275 Pine Rd., Newnan. The fairgrounds offers three distinct hiking trails, each approximately one mile long, some of which are lined with concrete, making them handicap accessible. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 1:30-7 p.m. Info or large groups: 770-254-2685

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ENTER OUR SUMMER FUN COLORING CONTEST! Coweta residents 12 and under will be judged in categories for ages 4 and under, 5-8, and 9-12, with a prize given to the winner in each age group. Kids may color this page or download a page at newnancowetamagazine.com. Use crayons, colored pencils, or markers only. Adults may assist children only in filling out the entry form but not in coloring the drawing. One entry per child. Decisions of the judges will be final. Immediate family members of The Times-Herald employees are not eligible.

Pictures of the children and their winning entries will appear in the September/October issue of the magazine.

Mail entry to Newnan-Coweta Magazine, c/o The Times-Herald, P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, GA 30264, or deliver to our offices at 16 Jefferson St., Newnan. Entries must be postmarked and/or received by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24, 2009.

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COLORING CONTEST

NAME______________________________________ AGE _______ PHONE NUMBER ____________________________ ADDRESS ____________________________________________________________ E-MAIL _________________________ JULY/AUGUST

2009

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Coweta’s Young Artists

A certain kind of magic is happening here – magic in the form of line, form, color and feeling.

By Janet Flanigan | Photos by Bob Fraley Shannon Harris

Taylor Stegall

little girl about 5 years old rushes from her mother’s car, the weekday afternoon still stretching out ahead of her, excited as she hurries to the octagonal building on Hospital Road. The fabric bag containing her supplies falls to the ground. Her older sister slides out of 18

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the van after her, calls her back, and gently places the bag over the younger sibling’s shoulder. The two skip hand in hand into the building.

It is a scene replayed over and over again, parents dropping off children age 4 to early teens, all eager to enter the “happy place” beyond the door.

So what’s taking place in that funnyshaped building?

A certain kind of magic is what is happening – magic in the form of line, form, color and feeling. Inside this building, the Young Artists of Newnan and Coweta County learn how to become young artists and are

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filled with confidence that virtually pours out of these young Rembrandts.

At an after-school class held just before the end of the school year, the young artists were focused on pointillism and the work of artist George Seurat. They interpreted their version of pointillism by painting flowers on CD’s using the entire surface of the disc. First, they prepared a line drawing of their sketch on paper and had it checked

by Miss Bette or Miss Teri (teachers Bette Hickman and Teri Lewis) for suggestions. The final work was completed on the CD’s with paint pens.

Creating preliminary sketches is a technique professional artists use to gauge the effectiveness of their sketch before they commit the paint or other medium to canvas, paper or other surface.

Jake Quick has been coming to the classes and art camps for about three years, and his innate ability is apparent.

“I love coming to art, it’s my favorite thing,” Jake says, showing his portfolio. The studies of his dog Allie seem very advanced for a 10-year-old boy. His teachers say he has a strong grasp of architectural drawing, as he illustrated in the line drawing class where students select a photo of a doorframe or house front and recreate it in watercolor. Jake says he can’t wait for Summer Art Camp.

Jake’s buddy Asa Cowel also loves coming to art class and has been a regular for about two years. Asa’s painting of his dog Boy is definitely “frameworthy” and one that captures a young boy’s love for his best friend.

Every student in this class is amazing – there are cartoon and Japanese-style anime specialists, modernists and classicists and

Jake Quick

Asa Cowel

Gabby White Heinz Gardner

everything in between.

Hickman’s philosophy is that she can teach anyone the basic skills, and she says they try not to do a lot of crafty projects.

“When I first came as a Mom’s helper, I couldn’t even draw stick figures,” laughs assistant Teri Lewis.

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AdVYh d[ ?dn eco-friendly – economical – ecological

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Better for baby Better for the environment Better for your wallet no chemicals! cheaper than disposables! less diaper rash! easier to potty train!

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Beck James

“Now look at me!” Many kids in Coweta County have participated in the art classes and camps, and since they range in age from 4 to teenagers, the teachers are sensitive to age differences.

“If teens are serious about art 20

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and want to attend our class or camp, we can have places where they can work separately from the younger students so it is comfortable for all of the kids,” says Hickman.

During the school year art instruction is offered on certain days

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after school, but in summer the students really let their creativity loose at a number of Summer Camp offerings. These include: • Splash-N-Splatter Art, an introduction to the famous abstract artist Jackson Pollack.

Students will experiment with his famous style of splattering paint.

• PopArt to EcoArt, which will explore the theme “From Andy Warhol to Recycling.”

Students will create treasures pleasing to the eyes that are inspired by the famous pop artist. “We may do a project like paint oldfashioned plastic lunch trays with colorful lunch food,” said Lewis.

• Picnic in Paris, which introduces the children to several impressionistic painters. Lesson plans call for students to learn color and brush stroke techniques.

Instructor Bette Hickman helps young artist Jazmere Murrary with her CD project.

Come in today for a complimentary lunch and tour!

The Best Time To Talk With Your Parents About Their Future Is Today.

4alk with your parents about their plans for the future while they’re still healthy and able to make their own decisions. By starting early, you and your parents will have more options.

Consider Wesley Woods, a wellness-based community for older adults. Our philosophy of nurturing the mind, body and spirit helps contribute to a more vital and fulfilling lifestyle, while the reassurance of continuing care offers you and your parents greater peace of mind. Help your parents decide on a plan that’s best for them. Call us at 770-683-6833.

Wesley Woods of Newnan-Peachtree is owned and operated by Wesley Woods Senior Living, Inc. – a not-for-profit corporation serving Georgia seniors. Wesley Woods was founded in 1954 by leaders of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and Emory University.

2280 North Highway 29, Newnan, GA 30265 s www.WesleyWoodsNewnan.com

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Bette Hickman instructs a class of young artists at the Coweta County Recreation Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art House.

There are also camps for Where the Earth and Sky Meet (background, foreground, horizon painting techniques); Fashion Passion (designing fashion accessories); Art Detective (an

introduction to the Old Masters); Go Fish (pointillism); Grandma Loved to Paint (Grandma Moses); Old MacDonald Had a Farm (basic drawing); Oodles of Doodles (basic concepts); Cartooning and Comics

and more.

For information on the summer art camps, including program requirements, contact the Coweta County Recreation Department at 770-254-3750.

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The Young Artists of Newnan and Coweta County program encourages children to learn about different types of art and to attend exhibit openings and theater performances in the community. One such opportunity is this summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance of the Hangzhou Zhongee Wenlan

Chinese Orchestra, which will be giving two matinee performances, on July 25 at 3 p.m. at Georgia State University (www.rialtocenter.org) and on July 26 at 3 p.m. at the Coweta County Center for the Performing and Visual Arts (www.cowetaschools.net). NCM

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The hockey-loving, Grand-Theft-Auto-playing

CELLIST

By Janet Flanigan | Photos by Bob Fraley

A

ll people are unique, but some are blessed with many talents.

Twelve-year-old Justin Welch of Palmetto is a multi-faceted rising seventh grader. He is an accomplished cellist, taught himself to play the guitar, is good at Grand Theft Auto video games, played baritone in middle school band, plays violin, composes music, tickles the ivories, likes watching football on TV, has many friends, and enjoys neighborhood hockey and lacrosse.

“My mom tells me that I began to play music when I was about five, but I don’t really remember that far back,” he says.

Justin is a quiet young man who lets his music speak for him, at least to adults.

His first instrument was the violin. His mother, Kelly Gallman, is a music education teacher in Fayette County and has degrees in music from Columbus College (now Columbus State) and Stetson University.

“She taught

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me the Suzuki method, and now I know how to teach myself instruments but she is still my teacher too,” he says. He’s been playing the cello for four years. Some of his friends were playing cello and “I wanted to try it,” he says. Now Justin is so good he is often asked to accompany his mother while she plays violin for church services, receptions and special occasions.

The family moved to Coweta County from Brevard County in Florida about two years ago. Justin says he likes Georgia better than Florida but he did enjoy having the opportunity to play cello in the Youth Orchestra in Florida. “I had to try out to be in the Youth Orchestra. I memorized scales, sight read a piece and played a solo from the Suzuki book.”

Justin wanted to try out for the Atlanta Youth Orchestra but members have to be 13 and they don’t make age exceptions. He thinks there may be a new MYSO (Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra) forming and he’d like to give that a shot this year.

This past school year, Justin placed his bow away and put his lips to the test and tried the baritone in the school band. “I tried band, but I think I’ll go back to orchestra next year. I think I’m more comfortable there,” he says.

The family lives in Coweta but Justin

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Palmettoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Justin Welch is an accomplished young musician who has been playing the cello for four years.

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Justin Welch of Palmetto has been playing musical instruments since he was a 5-year-old. He already plays cello, guitar, violin and piano, and he hopes to add â&#x20AC;&#x153;drumsâ&#x20AC;? to that list as well.

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attends school in the Fayette system because his mother teaches there. He says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a â&#x20AC;&#x153;pretty good student,â&#x20AC;? and English and science are his favorite subjects.

He may be comfortable in orchestra but he hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t given up learning new instruments. He said he hopes a drum kit may be the next new challenge on his horizon.

Maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good thing one-manbands went out of fashion several decades ago!

Lest you think Justin eats, drinks and breathes music, think again. He is just like any other 12year-old who takes music lessons.

He hates to practice and has to be reminded by his parents or grandmother that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to get to work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I usually do it right before dinner to get it out of the way,â&#x20AC;? he says with a smile. He enjoys rap and rock music and prefers video games and TV to practice any day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a typical kid if you ever met one, but one with atypical talents.

Justinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gifts are real, and right now heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just enjoying them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to write music. The notes just come into my head, and sometimes I write them down, sometimes I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.â&#x20AC;? When he was eight years old, Justin composed a piece so good his mom asked her school orchestra to play it.

But for all the emphasis on music in his life, Justin says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all just for fun. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be a professional musician,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a nice thing to know how to do it and a fun hobby, but I want to do something else when I grow up, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure what.â&#x20AC;?

Any 12-year-old who has already accomplished so much will surely have an exciting future just waiting for him to grab it. NCM

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Newnan High track standout heading

TO TEXAS – AND BEYOND

By Janet Flanigan | Photos by Bob Fraley

I

f you live in Coweta County but haven’t yet heard of Chalonda Goodman, get ready because soon you will. The recent honor graduate of Newnan High School is known as the nation’s fastest female high school sprinter. Around Newnan High, she’s also known as a 4.0 graduate, a fantastic artist, a smiling, popular girl, good friend and all-around fantastic person who will be greatly missed by classmates and teachers alike.

Chalonda has been running since age five when she saw Michael Johnson in the 1996 Olympics and told her dad “I want to do that!” She’s been a dual member of Atlanta’s New Horizon Track Club and the Newnan Cougars during her career. Coach Harold Goodman, who is also Chalonda’s father, says New Horizon provided her with the extra competition to push her to new levels. Early in her racing days, when she was by far the youngest in her age group, she still finished second or third in all of her races so he knew she had potential.

Did she ever. This year, her 100m (11.30 seconds) was the top time in the state and her 200m (23.32) was the best time in the nation. As a high school runner, Chalonda is a three-time defending state champion and ran the 100m, 200m, 400m and relay and was a standout in all of her events.

Now she’s set her sights on the 2012 Olympics in London, but first she’ll head off to the University of Texas in August to begin her Chalonda freshman year of college, Goodman competing at the collegiate level.

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The nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest female high school sprinter, recent Newnan High graduate Chalonda Goodman, has a huge fan in her father and coach, Harold Goodman.

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“Of course we’re excited to see her go to school in Texas,” says Coach Goodman, “but I do dread it a little bit too. I’m going to miss her.

We (wife Patricia and I) both will.

But she’s fulfilling one of her dreams going to Texas. They will be able to help her improve and fine tune her performance so she can meet her other goal.”

Coach doesn’t say the goal out loud but Chalonda is willing to speak the words: “I want to go the Olympics.” She says this confidently, but without a hint of arrogance.

At Texas, Chalonda plans to study Finance and Economics for her undergraduate degree and would like to go to law school for a degree in business law. This is a young woman with major goals, and she says she really enjoyed her time at Newnan High School. Her mentors? “Well, I

loved so many,” Chalonda says, “but two who come to mind right away are Mrs. (Elizabeth) Finger and Mrs. (Kelli) Sowerbrower.” Of course, her father was her first mentor and he serves as a counselor to many young men as the Newnan High men’s basketball coach and physical education instructor. The same training principles he gives to Chalonda and her brother Demiko are taught to his students, albeit tailored to the sport. He is a popular yet well-respected teacher on campus.

Coach Goodman says Chalonda and Demiko – a former track, basketball and football standout at the University of Georgia who is currently trying out for wide receiver with the Pittsburgh Steelers – both always worked extra hard when others would quit. “Of course they had talent,” the coach says, “but no

matter how hot, cold, rainy, or whatever, they would practice, no complaining. Working with them has been a joy to me.”

“I still love running as much as ever,” Chalonda says with a grin.

“We all have lazy days but I think of my goals and it gets me going and I don’t quit.” She really watches her diet and eats very healthfully. She eats absolutely no red meat, but fish and chicken are staples. Coach Goodman jokes that his family is well-known at Chick-fil-A because she eats so much chicken. She does enjoy some carbs, but Chalonda also eats lots of fruits and vegetables.

They recently discovered the Jamaican track team eats a lot of mangoes so they have added these to the regimen as well.

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priority, Chalonda must take utmost care of her feet and legs. She goes for sports therapy massage in Atlanta and sees a sports chiropractor who treats Olympians.

She’s getting ready for the Junior Nationals in Eugene, Oregon and working on those flashfire starts, and her dad says he’s concentrating on her arms. If Chalonda can get her arms to work a little bit faster, her dad says, her legs will move faster.

Coach Goodman will no doubt find it hard to send her off to the Lone Star State, which they may have to rename “The Bright Shining Star State.” Somehow, this father and coach will probably find a way to be at a lot of those meets to cheer on his baby girl. And the hometown crowd will be cheering too, all the way to Texas, on to London and beyond. NCM Newnan’s Chalonda Goodman is headed to the University of Texas this fall and hopes to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.

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MOM-TREPRENEURS Local women find creative ways to balance family, work

By Elizabeth Richardson | Photos by Bob Fraley and Jeffrey Leo

very mom has to find the right balance of career and motherhood that works for her family. Society continues its age-old debate about stay-at-home moms, but in the midst of a sour economy the single-income family is not always an option.

Several local women epitomize the “mom-trepreneurial” spirit that drives women to successfully and creatively juggle the workforce while raising children.

Ashley Roberts may put the “Ashley” in “Ashley Park” – yes, she’s the daughter of Newnan developer Stan Thomas – but these days she and her business partner, Becky Durham, are making their own mark on the business community.

The two have launched a jewelry line of designer teething necklaces that are fashionable for women and safe for babies.

Their company is affectionately named 32

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“Sonny and Reed” after Durham’s first-born, Sonny, 3, and Roberts’ first-born, Reed, 2.

Becky and her husband, Peter, have since added Asher, 1, to their family, and Ashley and her husband, Ryan, have added Parker, 1.

Becky left a career in teaching behind for motherhood, and Ashley left a marketing career. The two met at a dinner party and shortly thereafter, the business idea was born.

“Sonny kept pulling on the necklace I was wearing, and I was worried he would break it and choke or that it wasn’t safe,” said Durham. “I kept wishing there was something fashionable, and safe for children.”

“I wanted something we would wear even if we didn’t have a baby on our hip,” said Roberts.

Before they proceeded, the ground rules were set.

“The kids come first,” said Durham.

The two started working together in February 2007. They’d hoped to launch their products – which are manufactured in Newnan – by that Christmas. Because they went at the pace their children would allow, the products were actually released in February 2009 online and in metro-area maternity boutiques.

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Two friends who were looking for child-safe but stylish teething necklaces ended up starting their own business.

Above left are Becky Durham and bead-testing son Asher, and at right are Ashley Roberts and son Parker. When the whole gang gets together it includes, below from left, Becky Durham with sons Asher and Sonny, and Ashley Roberts with sons Reed and Parker.

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Jennifer Miller started an eco-friendly diaper service as a way to meet a need in her own family. Below, Jennifer folds diapers while Chad, Katrina and Megan are at play.

Their second non-compromising goal was to use FDA-approved materials.

“We want to make sure it’s safe enough for our kids,” said Roberts.

Roberts and Durham don’t conduct typical business meetings.

“We do a lot during naptime,” said Roberts. The ladies – who are

luckily neighbors, too – string the necklaces themselves in the evenings when the kids are in bed.

Jennifer Miller’s business also originated from a personal need.

When Jennifer and Jonathan Miller’s daughter, Katrina – now 1 – was four months old, she started getting third-degree diaper rashes.

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Miller switched her to chlorine-free disposable diapers, but they were very expensive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I decided to bite the bullet and cloth diaper,â&#x20AC;? said Miller. Only, she discovered there werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any cloth diapering services in this area.

Miller educated herself and found what worked for Katrina. Shortly thereafter she lost her job and decided to look into starting her own diaper service.

Her eco-friendly business, Loads of Joy Diaper Service, launched April 1.

Now, as she makes her rounds delivering cloth diapers to customers and picking up the dirty ones, she gets to spend time with her daughter. The rest of the time is spent laundering diapers from home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Katrina stays with me and she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to go to daycare,â&#x20AC;? said Miller.

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Miller also gets to take her son, Chad, 11, to school before work. And, she says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s looking forward to helping her this summer, along with Jonathanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter, Megan, 11.

Dr. Nikki DeGeorge, an audiologist and owner of Coweta Hearing, has also found a way to put her family first. She and her husband, Gary, are proud parents of 1-year-old twin boys, Dominic and Peyton.

DeGeorge has been an audiologist for nine years and has owned her own practice for three. When it came time for kids, she and her husband â&#x20AC;&#x153;had it all planned out.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;It took quite a bit of planning, but we waited until we were in a position where I could bring them to the office with me,â&#x20AC;? she said.

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Dr. Nikki DeGeorge examines patient Tracy Cox while her mother, Jeanie Mason, tends to twins Dominic and Peyton.

kids while DeGeorge sees patients. And if they’re sick or fussy, Mason can take them home, which isn’t far away.

Lunch breaks are spent playing outdoors somewhere, usually at a nearby park, and DeGeorge gets to see her boys between patients and whenever there’s a cancellation.

Dr. Nikki DeGeorge balances a professional career along with caring for twin sons Peyton and Dominic, at right. Above, her mother Jeanie Mason lends a hand.

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“We wanted a family, but I wanted to be able to spend as much time with them as I could,” said DeGeorge. “I wanted a career, but I wanted to find that balance.”

DeGeorge admits that twins hadn’t factored into the plan, but it turns out that they entertain each other. She started bringing them in when they were a couple of months old, and she will continue until “it doesn’t work anymore.”

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Her patients, who are generally older, “look forward to seeing them.” DeGeorge says she’s seen 90-year-olds dance for her sons to get a giggle.

Dominic and Peyton don’t have stranger or separation anxiety, and they seem to wonder over the weekend why they aren’t going to work, said DeGeorge.

DeGeorge’s advice for mothers is to operate a small business or try working from home.

“If you know you need two incomes, try to plan best you can to keep your family first,” she said. “We weren’t sure it would work, and a lot of people said it wouldn’t – but it has.” NCM

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The Best Playhouse Paw-Paw Ever Built

By Tina Neely | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Tina Neely

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Gladys and David Faver enjoy the new playhouse with granddaughters Elizabeth, at left, and Hannah Neely.

ut in the country, just 10 minutes from town, sits the prettiest little playhouse you have ever seen. What started out as a plan for a small post-retirement project for my Dad has turned into the biggest and best playhouse Paw-Paw ever built.

As an only child, I thought I was spoiled and had a great playhouse.Two stories, with a front porch and a balcony, it was great. Friends spent lots of summers and weekends playing for hours with me in my playhouse, but it was nothing compared to the Neely girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new abode. My twins, Hannah and Elizabeth Neely, have to be the luckiest granddaughters ever because their Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw have built them a playhouse like no other.

We started in January, taking down 99 pine trees, clearing the land to make plenty of room for it, and researching playhouse plans and ideas online. Trees were cleared, brush hauled away, and seeds and fertilizer were spread. A smaller replica of the front half of our own house was the plan.

It would have a 7x10-foot kitchen, and a den and upstairs bedroom that was 12x14 feet.

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windows made specifically for sheds and playhouses from an online auction website. The smallest doors we could find were cut down to a custom size to better fit the scale of the house.

A pint-size front porch spans the entire front of the house, complete with the girls’ own black rocking chairs and fern hanging baskets.

The princess-sized red front door is complete with an engraved brass door Hannah and Elizabeth Neely relax for a spell on knocker the porch of their new playhouse. we took foundation and laid the floor system off the door of our first on that. I picked up lumber and house. It is flanked on supplies from our local home each side with pineapple improvement warehouses while Daddy porch lights to welcome worked diligently every day. With pure guests into the prettiest enjoyment he skillfully worked, with place any little girl could the help of my Mom, husband and ask for. myself, and built it from the ground We’re now working up. to finish the inside.

Talk about a do-it-yourself project! Wiring and insulation My Dad has no formal training as a is going in next. And in builder but certainly knows exactly case you’re wondering, what he’s doing. He and my Mom can no, it won’t have a make or build anything you can bathroom. My girls like imagine. Foundation, framing, wiring, to play in the water too plumbing, insulating, sheetrocking much, so we’re going to and even laying tile and hardwoods – keep the mud pies they can do it all. They have taught outside on this one. my husband and me valuable skills Sheetrock will be hung we’ve used to save money with DIY and finished and then projects with our own house, the walls painted in a including the 2,000-square-foot pretty pink, baby blue addition/renovation we did to our 70- and butter yellow. year-old farmhouse three years ago.

Inside will be furniture For the new playhouse, my main that is made just their role was to make it look “pretty” and size. Many are things give Daddy specifics on the sizes and made by my Daddy for measurements. I ordered small me when I was a little 40

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girl, pieces I have saved all these years in hopes my daughters would one day use them: A kitchen set, chairs, tables, baby beds, high chairs, baby swings and even a child size chest to hold lots of dress-up dresses will fill up the inside. And sticking to my standards – as my friends say, “always over the top” – it will be decorated to the hilt with custom window treatments and custom painted and built furniture to match a color scheme so sweet it would make any little boy ill.

I think a lot of this project is for me and my Dad, because my girls would be happy playing in a cardboard box or in the back of my Dad’s truck bed. Don’t get me wrong, they are so excited to spend the night in it they can’t stand it. And I guarantee you, if you call my house this summer and we don’t answer, we’re probably in the playhouse.

My Mom and Daddy are two of the smartest, most generous, and most hardworking people I have ever met.

What an amazing gift they have given us and my girls in the fantastic new playhouse, but

Jackson Neely

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Make Her Wedding Day Sparkle.

what is an even bigger gift and tremendous blessing to us all is that they live right in our backyard.

And what about Jackson, the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 10-year-old brother? Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never forgotten. He is reclaiming our threestory tree house and play fort that was Paw-Pawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s previous grand project

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a few years ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Boys only,â&#x20AC;? he says.

No girls allowed anymore.

So check back in with us in another month or so and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll invite you in for all the pretty little details, ruffles and such that will make it all complete. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a great summer and a great time to be a Neely kid. Pack your bags and come on over. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to have you come play with us! NCM JULY/AUGUST

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> COWETA COOKS

4-H’s Jesse Beatenbough

“Making the Best Better”

By Janet Flanigan | Photos by Bob Fraley

Jesse Beatenbough has upped his cooking skills through the local 4-H program.

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ising high school senior Jesse Beatenbough, who is home schooled, has virtually “been raised” on the 4-H program.

He’ll be the first one to tell you he doesn’t cook a whole lot, but through 4-H he has learned to be a man for all seasons, including learning how to create an award-winning recipe for the 4-H Favorite Foods Contest and how to raise livestock to boot!

“I’m really not much to cook, but these recipes are really good and my mom actually makes them a lot now,” he laughed. He says they are so quick and easy anyone can prepare them.

Jesse has followed in the footsteps of his two older brothers as he’s learned the value of the four “H’s” of the club: Head, Heart, Hands and Health. The motto for 4-H is “Making the Best Better” and Jesse explains, “People think 4-H is just about farms and agriculture, but nowadays in 4-H people can learn about anything.” Jesse has participated in about every club the Coweta County 4-H has offered except livestock judging.

While it does offer the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of subjects, 4-H still supports its agrarian roots. Jesse is a third year veteran of poultry judging, and he still keeps some Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rock Bantam chickens at home. A few years back, he kept some goats when the family had a few more acres, and he says his favorite club in 4-H was probably the goat club.

He mastered Land Judging, in which a pit is dug in soil and the 4-H’ers must judge the quality of the soil profile and evaluate its worthiness for different crops such as corn or cotton pasture.

Jesse’s current passion is history and for his district 4-H project in March, his goal is to make Master rank in his category, the highest ranking. His subject matter is World War II. “I am fascinated with that time in history” he said.

The goal for this program is to demonstrate excellence in public speaking and presentations.

“4-H has done a lot for me,” he said. NCM

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GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS 2 (12-ounce) jars chili sauce 1 (32-ounce) jar grape jelly 1 bag frozen meatballs (about 80 to a bag) Pour chili sauce and jelly in a large saucepan. Heat until jelly is melted and sauce is smooth, stirring often. Transfer to a crockpot. Add frozen meatballs. Cook on high until meatballs are thawed, then on low for 3 hours.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE 6 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 cup confectioner’s sugar 12-ounce carton Cool Whip 9-inch chocolate cookie pie crust Chopped peanuts for garnish Chocolate chips for garnish Blend first 4 ingredients and pour into pie crust. Chill 2 hours and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and chocolate chips.

“

People think 4-H is just about farms and agriculture, but nowadays in 4-H people can learn about anything.

”

– Jesse Beatenbough

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ardener

The Th

htfu oug l G

Fragrant Tea Olive Story, photos and artwork by Katherine McCall

I

t takes only one whiff to send me careening back to 1972 and my grandparents’ shady patio on Huntington Road in Atlanta. The fall morning was already sultry at 10 a.m. In addition to our refreshments – sweet tea for me and a Bloody Mary for her – my grandmother had sent Precious out to hose down the mossy bricks, in hopes of “coolin’ us down.” It was one of those southern falls when the summer wanted to linger. That out-of-season heat seemed to crystallize the details of the most inconsequential things ... the wetness of the sweat gathering on our glasses and bodies, our slow

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conversation, the faraway noise of the city and closeness of the tinkling ice, the steam rising from the bricks mixed with the pungent tea olive that hovered over the south end of the garden.

Whether she knew it or not, my grandmother’s gift of the tea olive’s fragrance enabled those memories to stay with me to this day. Louise Beebe Wilder says it so much better

than I in her 1932 volume The Fragrant Garden: “Ancient books teach that the smell of many plants strengthens the memory, but none that I have come across calls attention to the trick that perfume sometimes plays on us of suddenly calling up out of the past a scene, an episode, a state of mind, long buried beneath an accumulation of years of experience. ‘Smell,’ wrote E. F. Benson, ‘is the most memoristic of the senses.’”

Intensely aromatic plants are indebted to the process of pollination for their pungent scent. Pollination is defined as “the process by which

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... the smell of many plants strengthens the memory, but none that I have come across calls attention to the trick that perfume sometimes plays on us of suddenly calling up out of the past a scene, an episode, a state of mind, long buried beneath an accumulation of years of experience.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Louise Beebe Wilder, The Fragrant Garden

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those seven families came to be called Tea Olive, Georgia.”

Most likely Augusta Trobaugh’s tea olive was an Osmanthus americanus, more commonly called Devilwood, because it is the only tea olive native to North America.The Southern Living Garden Book notes six different species of Osmanthus including Devilwood. The others are O. xburkwoodi, O. delavayi, O. xfortunei, O. fragrans and O. heterophyllus. The most loved and planted here in the south is Osmanthus fragrans, also called fragrant tea olive or sweet olive.

plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive organs to the female reproductive organs to form seeds.” And seeds, we all know, are the plant’s means of multiplying.

Many plants utilize large, showy, colorful blooms as their specific “mating call,” attracting a particular insect, bat, bird, butterfly or animal.

But plants with tiny flowers use fragrance as their special way to attract pollinators, just as the early settlers in Augusta Trobaugh’s novel, The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society, were lured by the redolent scent of 48

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the tea olive: “But one day, when the men were hunting, they all noticed a strange, very sweet aroma in the woods. ‘Am I smelling a flower?’ one of them asked. ‘Can’t be!’ another exclaimed. ‘Not in the middle of December.’ But it was certainly a flower, as they soon discovered by following the scent to a large bush with dark leaves and miniscule, white flowers. ... and from then on, whenever they went hunting, they always brought home some of the branches. Later, the settlement of

Although the Europeans had used it mainly as an indoor plant, the tea olive quickly became an outdoor garden favorite in the South.

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teaolive

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1

WEB EXTRA: The Thoughtful Gardener Plant Index

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Go to newnancowetamagazine.com to download your next garden journal page, Osmanthus fragrans.

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Originally, it was cultivated in China and Japan where it was used to flavor tea. In 1771 it was brought to England and then in 1786 the French botanist and naturalist Andre Michaux introduced Charleston, S.C. to the fragrant tea olive.

Although the Europeans had used it mainly as an indoor plant, it quickly became an outdoor garden favorite in the South. The name Osmanthus is taken from the Greek osme meaning fragrance and anthos meaning flowers.

The tea olive is an evergreen shrub with usually white flowers, but there are a few varieties with orange blooms. If left unpruned, it can become a small tree but also flourishes under hard pruning and so can be used as a hedge, screen, foundation planting or in containers. Tea olive also tolerates a wide variety of soils (except wet) and sunny to shady growing conditions.

Bloom time is sporadic throughout the year but occurs mostly in the fall, winter and spring.

I have my own tea olive now, inherited when we purchased our home, a living reminder for me as it creates memories for family and friends – a living essence of our garden. “Nor is the fragrant garden wholly our own. It is, whether we will or no, common property. Over hedge or wall, and often far down the highway it sends a greeting, not alone to us who have toiled for it, but to the passing stranger, the blind beggar, the child skipping to school, the tired woman on her way to work, the rich man, the careless youth. And who shall say that the gentle sweet airs for a moment enveloping them do not send each on his way touched in some manner, cheered, softened, filled with hope or renewed vigor.” (Louise Beebe Wilder, The Fragrant Garden) NCM

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> SADDLE UP

A dream comes to

By Martha A. Woodham | Photos by Bob Fraley orses led Lissa Corcoran from the depths of despair.

Now she has made it her life’s work to help others with the assistance of her four-legged friends.

As a child Corcoran was physically abused by her stepfather, and her family life was wracked by alcoholism, addiction, abuse and divorce. Corcoran even spent time in foster care. Her pain and anger made it impossible to talk to a therapist. The only happiness she knew was at the barn with her horses.

“In all those years of therapy, my time at the barn was really what kept me going and ultimately healed me,” Corcoran says. “Those horses could reach me and motivate me in a way that no therapist’s office could.”

Corcoran took what she learned from those desperate years and is helping others through her equine-assisted psychotherapy at Fruition Farm.

Set on 15 acres, it’s a haven for people, horses and dogs who need a second chance.

“I think of it as everything coming to fruition,” she says of the farm’s name. “I had trouble originally and now everything has come back together, how my relationship with my family – we’ve come to fruition as a family – and the farm represents that to me. I had struggles as a kid. Now I am able to help others. ” There are so many life lessons children and 50

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adults can learn from horses: leadership, communication, problemsolving, discipline, confidence.

Corcoran saw the therapeutic value of horses while teaching riding in Athens while at the University of Georgia. After college, she began Flying Change, her program of

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helping people through horses, at a private barn in Vinings in 1996.

“There’s so much you can get from riding that you can apply to life beyond horses,” she says. “When you can be competent and confident with a 2,000-pound horse, you can handle a math test.”

The program grew and Corcoran needed to expand. Two years ago she bought the farm in Palmetto and expanded the original barn to eight stalls. Recently, she added a second 12-stall barn with covered arena.

Visitors immediately get the feeling Fruition Farm is not like other barns. Whimsical signs say, “If heaven doesn’t have horses, I ain’t going” and “Follow your dreams.” Corcoran offers relationship-based riding lessons – “a combination of hunterjumper lessons with natural horsemanship.”

“People want to be able to bond with their horses,” she says, adding that a jumping lesson includes discussion on what the rider does to prepare for the jump and how that compares to life. “It’s not so much that we do different things, but we do things differently.”

One rider was fearful of cantering her horse. The key was to let go, Corcoran told the woman.

Lissa Corcoran operates Palmetto’s Fruition Farm, an equine psychotherapy program for those who need a second chance.

“Horses are a great biofeedback tool,” she says. “You can find out where you are emotionally by how your horse reacts [to you].”

Corcoran and her assistants set up scenarios where individuals and families have to solve problems involving the horses, such as getting a horse to jump a small obstacle without touching it.

“We create activities that reveal the dynamics of a family,” she says.

She recalls one family whose members fell into familiar roles as the father yelled and brandished a whip while the children cringed. “That’s exactly how he is at home,” they told her. With Corcoran’s encouragement, the family eventually figured out how to work together to entice the horse over the jump, a lesson that also would help them in their daily lives.

Horse therapy is especially effective with teens, Corcoran says.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;In talk therapy, it is assumed that you understand everything to tell the therapist, but many teens are too embarrassed. Teens learn more by doing than by talking.â&#x20AC;?

Horse therapy turns the power struggle between teen and parents into a struggle between the teen and a horse.

A teen who had been in and out of drug rehabilitation realized he needed to seek help instead of trying to solve his own problem. As his family and therapist watched, his task was to keep the horse from eating, but there were six buckets of grain. The teenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solution was to put all the feed in one bucket and sit in it, but he eventually tired of shooing the horse away and the horse got the feed. This scenario showed the teen he could turn to his family and his therapist for help with the horse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and when he felt himself slipping back into addictive behavior.

Corcoran splits time between her home in Acworth and the house at Fruition Farm, managing her program in Vinings as well as activities at the farm. She also offers weekend retreats, riding camps and clinics for equineassisted psychotherapy professionals. Her boarding operation helps fund her therapy programs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe that our lives are a series of lessons designed to guide us to the exceptional gift that we each have to give,â&#x20AC;? she says on her Web site. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have been blessed and fulfilled by this work, and I hope if you ever come to the barn and meet our horses, that you will benefit from it as much as I have.â&#x20AC;? NCM

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2009

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Arnall Grocery turns 140

By Alex McRae | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Arnall Grocery Company

Vintage photographs at right and above are from the grand opening of the Krazy Kat, the predecessor of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arnall Grocery Co. in Newnan, celebrating its 140th anniversary this year.

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With decades of experience between them, the folks at Newnan’s Arnall Grocery Co. thought they had heard it all. But not long ago, they were shocked when a customer walked in and asked, “What do you do for a constipated squirrel?”

The woman had been nursing an abandoned baby squirrel with an eyedropper and concluded its digestive system was balky. She wanted relief for the rodent.

Instead of asking why she wanted to restore a potential pest to good health, the staff put their heads together and told the woman to add a few drops of milk of magnesia to the feeding bottle.

The woman left happy, and at Arnall Grocery, that’s the bottom line.

“We’ve had some strange questions over the years, but that’s one we never expected,” says Jimmy Beavers, who, with his wife Pam, owns and operates the business. “No matter what the question is, though, we give them an answer. It may not be right, but we tell ’em something. It’s working pretty good for us.”

Jimmy and Pam Beavers say it’s all about keeping your customers happy and having what they want. At Arnall Grocery, “what they want” encompasses quite a lot.

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The store and connected warehouse are stacked to the rafters with feed, seed, fertilizer, pesticide, canned goods and enough janitorial supplies to keep a small country in paper towels, toilet tissue and cleaning products for years.

The growing number of horse lovers who call Coweta home can always find saddles, bridles, halters, ropes, brushes, buckets, liniment and equine beauty products ranging from horse shampoo to hair conditioner.

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During Santa Season, the vast display of Christmas candy is so popular customers purchase their sweets by the pound. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just try and keep everybody happy,â&#x20AC;? says Jimmy.

Arnall Grocery, which celebrates its 140th birthday this year, opened its doors when most of Cowetaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roads were dirt and most of its residents dirt poor. Since then, times and customer tastes have changed, but one thing hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We get to everybody as fast as we can and stay

Above, Henry Vaughn tends to the plants at Arnall Grocery Co. Charles Hunter, Jimmy Beavers and Henry Vaughn, below, have more than 100 years of combined service to Arnall Grocery.

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770.253.8283 56

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Pam and Jimmy Beavers say thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never a dull day around the 140-year-old Arnall Grocery Co.

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with them until they find what they need,” Jimmy says. “Customers really appreciate it. They tell their friends

!UTO s (OME s ,IFE ®

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Franklin Road

RABIES 3(/43 s $800 Each

e

NEUTER/SPAY CAT DOG

Male ...... $3600 Female... $4600

d

Male/Female $ 5600 - $8600

BOARDING Dog ........ $1200 Cat ..... $1000

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706-882-0054 Sharon Whitley shops for plants.

and that’s what keeps business going.”

Lifelong Newnan resident Norma Haynes has been an Arnall Grocery customer since she was old enough to put a penny on the counter for Christmas candy. She remembers shopping for tomato plants with her father and has counted on Arnall for just about everything else since.

“I’ve begged them to carry milk and eggs and bread,” Haynes says. “If they did, I’d never have to go anywhere else.”

Haynes says convenience and selection aren’t the main reason she shops at Arnall.

“They are the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” she says. “They go out of their way to help you. They are the epitome of the Southern hospitality Newnan is famous for.”

In its early days, Arnall Grocery relied heavily on feed and seed sales to

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Arnall Grocery: A Brief History Arnall Grocery Company was started in 1869 by Henry Arnall Sr. and was originally called H.C. Arnall General Merchandise Company. The store was located at the corner of Greenville and Spring Streets.

Company founder Henry Arnall ran the business with his sons, H.C. Arnall Jr. and Joe Arnall.

In 1889, the business moved to the Court Square and occupied the building that now houses Golden’s on the Square restaurant. Thirty years later, the business moved to the Burdette warehouse at Perry and East Washington Streets, where the Arnall-Mann parking lot now stands.

The business moved to its present location on East Washington Street in 1976, occupying the structure built in 1932 by the H.V. Kell Company.

The owners always kept a close eye on consumer trends and in 1938, at the height of the Great Depression, Joe Arnall sensed a demand for something more modern and convenient. The Arnall brothers opened a self-service grocery store named the Krazy Kat. The concept was so successful it expanded to four stores before the company returned to its wholesale grocery roots.

When Joe Arnall retired, controlling interest in the business was bought by longtime employee B.B. Sprayberry.

In 1961, Dorsey Beavers and C.B. Owen purchased the business from Sprayberry.

When Owen retired in 1972, his interest was purchased by Dorsey Beavers’ sons, Jimmy and Hugh.

When their father retired in 1990, Hugh and Jimmy Beavers became co-owners. Hugh Beavers passed away in 2007, and the next year Jimmy became sole owner.

— Alex McRae

local farmers and even city residents who, upon moving to town, brought along their chickens and often, a cow or hog.

Those agricultural traditions still ran strong in 1972, when Jimmy swapped his part-time chores for a full-time slot at the store. Beavers remembers spending all day unloading boxcars of pig feed. He knew Coweta had changed forever when the huge shipments quit coming to town.

“When all the people started moving in, the pigs were the first thing to go,” Beavers says. “The newcomers didn’t want to have them or live next to them and that was that.”

Arnall Grocery has always served a cross-section of the community, and as local demographics have changed, store owners have modified the marketing plan to fit the customer.

These days, it’s horses, not cows, that consume the majority of livestock feed. And the customers aren’t hauling it off in mule-drawn wagons, either.

“One day I watched a customer put his horse feed in the trunk of his Jaguar,” Pam says. “I remember thinking how much things had changed.”

No one farms for a living any longer in Coweta, but gardens have always been big business and Arnall Grocery sports everything a gardener needs to turn an unused piece of dirt into a small slice of plenty.

“People always like to plant a garden,” Jimmy says, “and with the economy down right now, even more people are doing it.”

All the action at Arnall isn’t necessarily businessrelated. Jimmy recalls the time a painter and his helper came in. The painter’s pants were so old a hole had sprouted in the seat. The helper noticed an electric cattle prod lying nearby and tested it on the hole in the painter’s britches.

“I thought he was gonna have a heart attack,” Jimmy says.

The painter recovered in time to chase his helper to the parking lot across the street, where a fist fight ensued.

“You never know what’s gonna happen in here,” Jimmy says. “That was really a mess.”

Arnall Grocery is the direct opposite of the glitzy retail stores along Coweta’s I-85 corridor, but the store’s old-time look and feel is a marketing plus.

“One customer drove by and saw us for the first time and came in and said it smelled just like the place she went with her parents when she was a little girl,” Pam says. “She loved it.”

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Another woman who just moved back to Coweta after being away for years made Arnall’s one of her first stops.

“She shopped here with her grandmother years ago,” Pam says.

“She was glad to see it hadn’t changed.”

Jimmy and Pam – high school sweethearts now married for 36 years – say they rely on their customers for more than just a living. Jimmy’s father died in 1999 and soon after that, Jimmy’s brother Hugh, the store’s coowner, took sick, finally passing away in 2007.

Meanwhile, Jimmy had health problems of his own that by 2005, were so serious he was finally forced to take a few sick days.

While Jimmy recuperated, family members, customers and church friends pitched in to help with personal and business chores. The next year, Pam joined Jimmy at the store full-time and Shane Prophett was brought in as store manager.

“We wouldn’t have made it through all that without our customers,” Pam says. “They love us and we love them and you couldn’t ask for anything better.”

One day, Jimmy and Pam’s oneyear-old grandson, Davis Markham, might take up the family business, but for now the Beavers don’t have any plans to move on, or even slow down.

They’re enjoying life too much and can’t wait to see what new adventure the next day might bring.

Like the time someone walked in looking for an incubator for ferret eggs.

Ready as always with an answer, Jimmy gently explained that ferrets were mammals and didn’t lay eggs.

“I was real nice about it,” he says.

“I think she was fine when she left.

That was a good reminder that it’s never dull around here.” NCM

NEWNAN’S FOURTH OF JULY – With the Fourth of July falling on a Saturday, this year’s celebration brings a full day of excitement to downtown Newnan. The fun begins at 10 a.m. with Market Day on the Square, featuring what Main Street Newnan calls “the best homegrown, handmade or homemade products this side of Atlanta.” The Annual Ice Cream Festival will also be held on the square, from noon until the ice cream runs out, with ice cream lovers choosing their favorite flavor from one of the many local non-profit groups on hand for the competition. There will also be live music on the square.

The Annual Fourth of July Parade and Rotary Celebration will begin at 6 p.m. and travel right through downtown, with fireworks to begin at dusk at Newnan High’s Drake Stadium. A giant Rotary fireworks display will begin at dark.

PUCKETT STATION IN MORELAND – The focus is on handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items at the Puckett Station Arts and Crafts Festival in Moreland.

Each year on July 4, Moreland’s population swells for a few hours as people from all over Coweta County and the surrounding area flock to the hamlet to eat barbecue, examine the wares of artists and craftsmen and visit with friends. The cornerstone of Moreland’s annual celebration is the barbecue, which has been held since the late 1940s.

Volunteers from three churches – Moreland United Methodist Church, First Baptist of Moreland and White Oak Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church – join forces each year to prepare, serve and sell the plates of succulent pork and Brunswick stew.

Plates will be $8 this year. Serving begins at 11 a.m., and folks start lining up around 10 a.m. for plates of pork, stew, bread, pickles and a drink.

HARALSON ON THE FIFTH – Haralson will celebrate Independence Day again this year – with a parade, concert and fireworks celebration on July 5.

Eric Spencer organized last year’s Independence Day festivities in the south Coweta town. He is working with Bo Rosemas to plan the second annual event.

A parade will be held at 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in taking part in the parade should contact Spencer at 770-365-9388.

Last year, the parade was held earlier in the day, but Spencer said this year’s events are planned to flow so that people who take part in the parade can easily stay for the music and fireworks.

“We’ve got a live band playing from 8 to 9 or 9:15,” Spencer said. Bottom Line from Newnan will be the band.

After the concert, a fireworks display will light up the night sky. “It ought to be a good time,” Spencer said.

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Meet a Newnan-Coweta Magazine

READER ...

DANNY BECK Danny Beck wasn’t born in Newnan, but he might as well have been – he knows just about everyone in town. He’s lived here since 1984 and went to O.P. Evans and Central Middle School before graduating from Newnan High School. In his typically humorous fashion, he says he chose Calhoun Junior College because “they didn’t require an SAT score” but he wasn’t much for college and he came back to Newnan where he and his dad, Charles Beck, started Beck Building 60

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Services. Danny has been married to wife Lora for six years and they have two boys, Chase, 3-1/2, and Peyton, 1-1/2. In addition to running his business, Danny volunteers for many civic activities, is a passionate road cyclist and is the past host of the popular Noonan Now local cable television program.

There is talk that he may be back on the air soon.

Above all, he is a husband and father who does it all for the welfare of his family and says they are his greatest joy.

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When you were a little boy, did you have any wild aspirations of fame and fortune?

You know, not really. Like most little boys I had fantasies of being a pro sports athlete but nothing specifically.

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

What’s the most challenging thing you have ever done in your life?

Children … and public speaking. People laugh when I say public speaking because I do it so much. I do get nervous. I’m working on it.

Arnall Grocery Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Artisan Jewelry Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ashley Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Bank of Coweta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 BB&T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Cardiovascular Consultants of Georgia, P.C.. . 31 Center For Allergy & Asthma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Centre For Performing & Visual Arts. . . . 45 Chin Chin Newnan Chinese Restaurant . . . . . 43 Coweta-Fayette EMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Crescent Veterinary Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Discovery Point Child Development Centers. 15 Downtown Church of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Farm Bureau Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 First United Methodist Church of Newnan . . 37 Franklin Road Animal Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Heritage Retirement Homes of Peachtree. . . 30 The Heritage School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Hollberg's Fine Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Kimble’s Events By Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Lee-King and Lee-Goodrum Pharmacies . . . . 23 Linda’s Playhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Loads of Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Main Street Newnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 McManus Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. . . . . 53 Morgan Jewelers/Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Newnan Academy Preschool & Child Care . . 22 Newnan Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 NG Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Phillips Dental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Piedmont Newnan Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Radiation Oncology Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Rock Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Roscoe Jenkins Funeral Home . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Scott’s Bookstore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Southern Crescent Equine Services . . . . . . . . 53 The Southern Federal Credit Union. . . . . . . . . 43 StoneBridge Early Learning Center. . . . . . . . . 35 Towne Club at Peachtree City . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Traditions in Tile & Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Uniglobe McIntosh Travel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 University of West Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Valentine Weight Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Watts Furniture Galleries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Wesley Woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Wedowee Marine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 West Georgia Center for Plastic Surgery. . . . 37

Idea of perfect happiness?

I’ve got it – my family and health. I say it more and more to my family – it can’t get any better. NCM

September/October 2009 Ad Deadlines Published: September 4, 2009; Contract Ads: July 29, 2009; New Ads: August 7, 2009.

Call 770.683.6397 for details and advertising information.

How did your passion for biking come about?

About six years ago, a buddy asked me to ride bikes one day and about mile 9, here I was in these tight biking clothes, pushing that bike and I was ashamed that I was in that biking gear pushing a bike! I decided right then that I would learn to ride properly, and I have. I am very concerned about proper bike safety and want to make sure first and foremost that people wear a helmet. They should also carry a cell phone in case they get in trouble, and let someone know if you are out riding.

Finally, drivers, please share the road with bikers. And we really need some bike lanes and paths here in Coweta County. We have the BRAG come through here and a lot of people like to bike, but it’s not safe to bike in a lot of places.

Are you a Star Trek or Star Wars nut?

Negative What’s your opinion of heavy metal music?

I guess I like some Metallica but I’m an Old Country Man myself (gestures to a picture of himself with Willie Nelson on his office wall). I like George Jones, Willie, people like that.

Has fatherhood changed you?

Three hundred percent. More responsibility - I’m not doing my business for myself but for my family. I didn’t know you could love something so much.

Do you save mementos from the “good old days” or are you one to move on to the next good thing?

I’ve been known to save some T-shirts and some memorabilia. I still have a Sid Bream T-shirt from 1991 and I don’t know why – it’s over there hanging up. I also have some stuff on my shelves in my office. It’s fun to have reminders of good times.

Have you ever dreamed of living anywhere else?

Yeah, I dreamed of living on St. John Island (US Virgin Islands) but it is VERY expensive and I hear you get island fever pretty quick.

Are you a political junkie?

No. I show up and go to work day to day and when I need to vote, I vote. I let them work it out.

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> LOCAL HERITAGE

Beginning a second century

by W. Winston Skinner | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Newnan Reading Circle

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hen Marihope Shirey was a high school student in Coweta County in the mid-1950s, she was invited to participate in a meeting of the Newnan Reading Circle.

The meeting was held at the home of Ada Smith, wife of a prominent banker. “I was so impressed with the interest, dignity and hospitality of the ladies of that day,” Marihope Shirey Troutman recalled.

Today Marihope Troutman is one of the members of the Newnan Reading Circle, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Programs

Christmas tea at the Gandy Glover residence, which in earlier times was the home of one of the literary group’s charter members.

for the circle’s 2009 meetings have related to the centennial. Special events have been planned – including a visit from novelist Terry Kay and a

Current Newnan Reading Circle members: 1. Ann Gilbert, 2. Audrey Wright, 3. Melba Barron, 4. Genet Barron, 5. Sally Taylor, 6. Inez Glover, 7. Marianne Thomasson, 8. Mary Ben Christiansen, 9. Carol Harless, 10. Charlotte Harvey, 11. Margaret Tyre, 12. Claudette Sides, 13. Ruth Mealor, 14. Marihope Troutman, 15. Rita Brown, 16. Sue Royal, 17. Faye Davis. (Not pictured are Elizabeth Camp, Diane Fanning and Martha Ann Parks.)

11 12

14 13

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With 2009 more than half gone, current members of the Reading Circle are already looking ahead toward the sisterhood’s second century. Several of them envision specific – and desired – changes. Others hope the basic framework and goals of the group will still be intact in 2109. Here are some of their thoughts on what the next 100 years will hold:

“For the past 27 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed the stimulation, camaraderie, and friendship of the Newnan Reading Circle. I hope that it will survive the difficult period of the coming century, and remain the same strong group dedicated to reading and learning.

The diversity of talents and abilities in the membership is what enhances the quality of the circle. I only wish I could be around to celebrate the 200th birthday of this wonderful group.” – Charlotte Harvey

“I look forward to the Reading Circle moving into challenging topics for the future – global warming, the challenge of Greening, but also continue to study Southern literature, especially of Southern women authors. One of the special benefits of membership in the Reading Circle is the friendship and shared interests of the 19 other members. I feel honored to be a part of this prestigious group of women.” – Mary Ben Christiansen

Melba Barron reflected on what it was like to become a member of the Reading Circle 28 years ago, how changes in society have already affected Newnan and its most exclusive women’s group, and what the future might hold. She shared:

“When I joined the Reading Circle 20 years ago, I was unaware of the history behind my membership. I just knew I liked the group and enjoyed the programs. As the years passed, my appreciation of the Circle moved beyond the monthly meetings to a sincere respect for the current members and for those who came before. Now at this special time of reflection, I cherish the legacy that has spanned a hundred years. The Circle is more than a literary club; it represents a century of women seeking knowledge, sharing what they learn, and having fun in the process. As the Circle enters into its next century, I hope future members will continue to value this history and appreciate that first group of women who shared a need to broaden their world.” – Rita Brown

“When I became a member of the Reading Circle in 1981, most of our research was done at the Carnegie Library downtown. At one time, the reference librarian was notified of the theme as well as individual program topics of the Reading Circle for the year; it was sometimes necessary for the librarian to borrow books from other libraries. Now most research is done via the internet and books purchased by the program presenter.

“Another change through the years has been in ladies’ fashions. In 1981, when I asked Virginia St. John what to wear to the Reading Circle meetings, she answered, ‘Honey, wear yo’ best church dress.’

‘Our best church dress’ now might very well be a pantsuit.

“My hope for the future of the Reading Circle is that its core values and structure will not be influenced greatly by the constant changes of the world and that whatever modifications occur as we move into our second hundred years would be those to accommodate trends such as fashions in dress, literature and technology.”

“I enjoy the friendship of women of this Reading Circle who also share a desire to learn from the past and apply that knowledge to the issues of the present day. It is my hope that future members will continue to cherish the printed word and apply the lessons learned to foster a more positive life for our citizens.” – Marihope Troutman

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Throughout its history, the Newnan Reading Circle has provided an outlet for creative, intelligent women as well as opportunities for fellowship and often the seeds of change that have impacted the greater community. The role of women has changed dramatically since 1909, so the Reading Circle could well be even more influential in its second hundred years than in its first. NCM

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THE BOOKSHELF Up at the College

By Michele Andrea Bowen Grand Central Publishing, $23.99 Reviewed by Holly Jones

The people of Durham County in North Carolina – at least the ones that live and work near Evangeline T. Marshall University – are divided. There are those that love the Lord with all their hearts, minds and souls. They know the power of prayer, and put God first.

Then there is the other group.

This group thinks it is their Godgiven right to have a “player’s card.” They hang out at Rumpshakers strip club – or work there. The men cheat on their wives and have no trouble keeping company with “hoochie.”

Curtis Parker is straddling the fence between both groups.

Curtis, the head basketball coach at Eva T., knows what kind of man he should be. His Gran Gran tells him at least once a week. He’s not married, so he’s not cheating. But he knows he should settle down and shape up – find a good woman and let the Lord lead his life.

After meeting Yvonne Fountain, Curtis thinks he might be ready for the first part. It’s Yvonne who’s not sure about Curtis.

Michele Andrea Bowen’s Up at the College opens with Yvonne packing everything she and her daughters own.

Yvonne’s husband Darrell has kicked out her and their two daughters, telling

Yvonne if she doesn’t leave with the girls, he’ll sue for custody.

So Yvonne has built a new life for herself, with a new home and an adjunct professorship in Interior and Exterior Design at Eva T. She “gave up loving Darrell to Jesus” and she’s not ready for anyone besides Jesus in her heart.

Besides, Yvonne knows what goes on in the Athletic Department of Eva T. Most of the coaching staff and the athletic director are regulars at Rumpshakers. Curtis isn’t a regular, but he’s been. Only her cousin Maurice has never darkened the door.

Which is why Yvonne is somewhat confused when Maurice and his wife Trina invite her over for dinner one night and Curtis is there.

Up at the College is about personal battles. Curtis struggles to decide and become the kind of man and coach he wants to be, and to keep his job at Eva T. when the athletic department tries to sabotage him. Yvonne struggles to overcome her past, and allow her faith in God to give her faith in herself. Together, these two learn about faith and love, and the kind of people God wants them to be.

Behind the Hedges

By Rich Whitt NewSouth Books, $27.95 Reviewed by Holly Jones

If you ask University of Georgia football fans who the most hated man in the

Bulldog Nation is, most would immediately answer Steve Spurrier, former University of Florida and current University of South Carolina football coach. If you ask longtime fans of former UGA football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley who the second most hated man is, the popular answer would be current UGA president Michael Adams.

The reason for Spurrier’s hatred is obvious. During his reign at Florida, the Dawgs rarely beat the Gators. Feelings towards Adams are much more complicated.

In his book Behind the Hedges, late author Rich Whitt details why Adams is so disliked at the school that still employs him. But after reading Hedges, alumni and fans will realize the so-called athletics vs. academics feud is not what they originally thought, and the troubles with Adams run much deeper than his disregard for Dooley.

Whitt details the overspending, the salary supplements, the secret deals, the hirings and firings, the backstabbing and the political posturing that have been going on behind the scenes at UGA. He describes the third-party audit that took place because the UGA Foundation wanted to curtail Adams’ extravagances; and how this same audit ended up causing a separation between the school and its primary money-maker.

Whitt says it best in his conclusion: “It says something when a college president’s detractors are the Griffin Bells and Vince Dooleys while his defenders are the Don Leeberns and the Sonny Perdues.

And it says something when under-thetable contracts are kept secret, when petty financial manipulation and habitual obfuscation become routine, and when loyalty to an individual is demanded above loyalty to the institution. It says something when a university researcher’s work results in a patent that had the potential of bringing in the single biggest financial contribution in the history of the school and, during negotiations, the president orders that the process be kept a secret from the researcher herself.”

“It also says something when at the 2008 Sugar Bowl the presidents of the participating schools … were introduced to the fans and Hawaii’s president was cheered while Georgia’s was booed lustily.”

Hedges says a lot – in both words and numbers. And all of those numbers have dollar signs attached.

Steve Spurrier had better look out.

After alumni and fans read Behind the Hedges, he’ll lose his #1 ranking. NCM JULY/AUGUST

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> LAST LOOK

Riley Williams of Newnan and her grandfather, Jerry Williams, enjoy the beauty of a summer afternoon together. If you’ve got a photo you’d like considered for “Last Look,” send a copy to Newnan-Coweta Magazine, P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, GA 30264 or e-mail it to angela@newnan.com (300 dpi JPEG format). Please send copies or digital images only, as photos will not be returned.

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From Florida to Alabama, from Tennessee to South Carolina, and of course right here in the Peach State, you can benefit from community banking at its finest with any Synovus bank. As a member of the Synovus family of 30 individually chartered banks, Bank of Coweta combines the benefits of hometown banking with folks you know and trust with the capital and security of Synovus Financial Corp., a holding company with over $35 billion in assets based in Columbus, Georgia.

Together we cover the Southeast to provide our friends and neighbors with banking services and products combined with the security and soundness you want and need in your banking relationship.

Bank of Coweta and Synovus.

Strong banking relationships and peace of mind.

Member FDIC

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