The story of your life
SUNDAY, March 29, 2015
Vol. 150, No. 13
$1
INSIDE: SEE THE 2015 FACES OF NEWTON COUNTY
150 YEARS OF SERVING NEWTON COUNTY
loganville christian academy
THE COVINGTON
www.lcalions.com
NEWS
C N
digital exclusive
Celebrating His Story from one generation to another
Newton and Alcovy remember soccer player Carlvon Betts
Students, friends and family pay tribute to fallen friend — covnewsdigital.com (free with registration)
Darrell Everidge / The Covington News
CLEANING UP NEWTON Great American Cleanup kicks off in Newton County
u See full story
and photos, 4A
Newton Co. home found with guns, stolen cars BRYAN FAZIO bfazio@covnews.com
A residence at 505 Idlewood Drive was discovered to have multiple guns, multiple stolen cars and enough drugs to cause the Newton County Sheriff ’s Office to charge its owners with intent to distribute Saturday. A NCSO deputy was patrolling the area of Hwy. 36 near Hwy. 212 at around 3:30 p.m. when they spotted a male operating his motorcycle with a break light not functioning. According to reports, after pulling the driver over in the parking lot of the Potts
Store the deputy not only determined that the driver did not have a motorcycle license but also that he had methamphetamine in a pill container in his jacket. After a warrant was obtained the deputy then searched the home of the driver, identified as 47-year old Steven Foster. “They found multiple guns, located stolen property, multiple stolen vehicles and multiple pieces of lawn equipment,” said NCSO Sgt. Cortney Morrison. Steven’s wife, Vicki Foster, 52, was at the home at
u See CRIME, 4A
Newton’s Baxter, now renamed Baxalta
Eastside gets new coach
LOCAL, 2A
board of commissioners
Panel to review form of gov’t charter
legislature
Deal gives cannabis oil green light u See full story, 8A
Each of Newton County’s commissioners and chairman have chosen a citizen to sit on a panel to review the county charter, which dictates the local form of government. The panel will have until August 1 to submit any recommended changes to the charter, which would have to be approved by the General Assembly. The board recently voted to restore powers that had been stripped from the chair, but the changes will not be effective until January, 2017. The intention of the citizens’ committee is to update the language of the charter and clarify any vague points in it. The panel is as follows: Ronnie Cowan representing the Chairman; Wesley Dowdy representing District One; Marcello Banes representing District Two; Gladstone Nicholson representing District Three; Junior Hilliard representing District Four; and Buddy Morgan representing District Five.
County notebook: Community landfill meetings — An Easter sunrise prayer service will be held that Sunday, April 5, at the county landfill on Lower River Road. “If approved by the Newton County Commissioners, trash from all over the state of Georgia will be coming to our town of Newton County/ Covington, Georgia,” said a statement issued by the organizers. “We have met and talked and voiced our opinions but now it’s time to PRAY. It is time to come together on one accord as concerned citizens, elected officials, and members of the BODY of Christ.” Interested parties are urged to call 404-693-4914. — The Newton Conservative Liberty Alliance will also host an open meeting Monday to discuss the county landfill and ways that a solution might be reached to solve the county’s solid waste problems. The event will feature Tonya Bechtler of the Yellow River Water Trail and Brenda Mullins of the Springhill community, as well as an open comment portion and discussion. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Washington Street Center.
Spring is blooming daffodils
Time to get prepared for Easter!
The Troy Hoff era begins at Eastside
GPC celebrates annual Daffodil festival March 31
From Easter Egg Hunts to recipes, we’ve got it all
SPORTS, 1B
LIVING, 1C
RELIGION, 4C
the UP-TO-DATE most up to dateNEWS newsIN in NEWTON Newton County, visit CovNews.com. FOR THE For MOST COUNTY, VISIT COVNEWS.COM
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