WGL March-April 2015

West Georgia

Li V ing March/April 2015

Life . Art . Music . People

The Arts!

Music, painting, sculpture, acting - and everything that's creative

Plus ...

Summer blockbusters Great food, great plates Tending roses at Biltmore

... And much more!

$3.95

Vol. 5/Issue 2

ǡ

At Southwire, we believe education is the key to success. Through partnerships with the University of West Georgia (Southwire Sustainable Business Honors Program), West Georgia Technical College (Southwire Center for Manufacturing Excellence), Carroll County Schools (12 for Life) and Carrollton High School (Southwire Engineering Academy), we are helping students build brighter futures.

It’s another way we deliver power...responsibly.

West Georgia

Li V ing Volume 5 . Issue 2 March/April 2015 Publisher Marvin Enderle publisher@times-georgian.com

Editor Ken Denney ken@times-georgian.com

Advertising Melissa Wilson melissa@times-georgian.com

Photographer Ricky Stilley rstilley@times-georgian.com

Design Richard Swihart rswihart@messenger-inquirer.com

Contributors Kitty Barr, Taylor Boltz, Bob Coval, Colleen Donnelly, Rob Duvé, Amy K. Lavender-Buice, Rebecca Leftwich, Megan Moody, Josh Sewell

W

F r om the E d itor

ith this issue, we celebrate the where world class art comes to Haralson incredible creative spirit of County. west Georgia with a look at all the cultural experiences available here. But the arts are not confined to galleries and performance halls. Kitty Barr The arts provide an invaluable resource discusses how art elements can enhance to our region. They enrich our lives as your garden. We visit with Carrollton human beings through the experience native Lucas Jack who tends the roses of music, painting, sculpture, and actat the fabulous Biltmore Estate in Asheing. But far more than that, the arts ville, N.C. Also, Rob Duvé has some tips are vital to our economic development. on how to attractively serve food to your Industries that look to west Georgia as guests, making the dining experience a home for their factories want a commore enjoyable for them. munity that their employees will enjoy.

We heard repeatedly how important is And we continue our look at the great the link between culture and economic churches of west Georgia by paying a prosperity. visit to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Carrollton.

Colleen Donnelly takes us to New Manchester High School near Douglasville, Lastly, this is the final edition for Amy where students enrolled in the drama Lavender-Buice, editor emerita. Amy program of this arts magnet school helped found this magazine and her are preparing for a professional career influence has guided its development in theater. We look at how the Carroll ever since. We wish her the best as she Symphony Orchestra is planning for its begins a new career – and we hope to future by encouraging young people to continue to produce the same quality of take an interest in classical and orchespublication you have all come to expect. tral music. And Megan Moody tells us how the new Visual Arts Building at the Sincerely, University of West Georgia has expanded the horizons of arts students.

Taylor Boltz has an article on how a troupe of actors are entertaining Douglas County. We also pay a visit to Tallapoosa’s Dogwood City Art Gallery,

Ken Denney

To advertise in West Georgia Living, call Melissa Wilson at 770-834-6631.

West Georgia Living is a bi-monthly publication of the Times-Georgian.

Submissions, photography and ideas may be submitted to Ken Denney c/o The Times-Georgian, 901 Hays Mill Rd., Carrollton, GA 30117.

Submissions will not be returned unless requested and accompanied with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

West Georgia Living reserves the right to edit any submission.

Direct mail subscriptions to West Georgia Living are available for $24 a year.

Copyright 2014 by the Times-Georgian

4

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Marvin Enderle is Publisher of West Georgia Living, the Times-Georgian and the Douglas County Sentinel.

Melissa Wilson is the Advertising Director for West Georgia Living, the Times-Georgian and the Douglas County Sentinel.

Ken Denney is editor of the West Georgia Living

Ricky Stilley is the Photographer for West Georgia Living and IT Director for the TimesGeorgian.

WellStar and Mayo Clinic.

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We believe in life well-lived.

C o ntents 16

27

32

36

44

47 Photos and Cover Art by Ricky Stilley.

On the Cover: The world-renowned Sichuan Opera Company from Sichuan Province in China, in performance last year.

Pictured is Ye Changmin as the character "Desire."

F eatures 16 The role that the arts play in attracting

32 It's a unique C.A.S.T. of characters that bring their

27 High school students discover the culinary arts.

36 The Carroll Symphony Orchestra is building an

businesses to a community cannot be overlooked.

talents to the stage in Douglas County. audience for classical music.

D epartments This year's Summer Blockbusters 10

6

Tennessee Williams by John Lahr 59

Dressing your plate for dinner

23

March Sanders Heath

62

Artistry in the garden

42

Your March - April calendar

66

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Come By and Visit Us!

HOW DOES YOUR LAWN AND GARDEN GROW? Let’s make it better, WE CAN HELP…….

Once again Spring is upon us, the days are getting longer and on Sunday March 8th be sure to turn your clocks forward as Daylight Savings time begins, Spring Ahead! Easter is considered by many as the start date for successful planting, and Easter is a full 2 weeks earlier this year, so waiting for the soil to warm up is always a good idea for best results. Whether you are working in the garden, the yard, or on your lawn you should know the PH level of your soil and the requirements of what you are planting. This one step will have the greatest effect on saving you time, money and improving overall results. Lime, fertilizer, compost, weed control and insect prevention are basics to enhancing garden yields and the appearance of your yard and lawn. We have what you need to make the job easier and the results even better, we can help!

When it comes to lawn care, here are 10 basic points to a healthy lawn: 1. Get a soil test or test on your own – the ideal PH for most grasses in Georgia is 6.5.

If the PH is low, add lime. This will enhance root growth and good worms. If PH is high, add sulfur.

2. Top dress with compost; most soils are lacking organic matter needed for cycling nutrients, and helping to hold moisture.

3. Over seed liberally – most lawns never get the chance to go to seed due to frequent mowing, lawns get old, tired and thin providing the perfect opportunity for weeds to take over.

4 er 4. Water responsibly – over watering can cause root rot, most grasses can survive on less water at one time, water more frequently, monitor the amount, ideally 1/2 inch each time, at least 1 inch per week.

5 5. Mow high – depending on your type of grass, set the mower higher than lower. Cutting low causes lots of problems.

6 n 6. Aerate – an annual aeration reduces compaction; increases air, water and nutrient infiltration in to the soil. Aerating, then seeding, then top dressing is the trifecta of having a great lawn.

Don’t forget to water – small amounts frequently.

7. Weeds – take care of weeds early before they germinate. Pre-‐emergent herbicides, weed and feeds or organic-‐corn gluten meal are safe around children and pets.

8 o the 8. Mulch lawn clippings and leaves – mulching has two benefits – adds organic matter back to soil and saves time and money by not bagging or hauling away.

9 9. Seeding – know your soil, know the setting and select what will be best for your region.

10 10. Alternatives – if grass just won’t grow, consider ground cover plants – there are many more options to consider for tough growing areas.

We invite you to come by and visit our ever-‐expanding Lawn & Garden Center. Talk with our knowledgeable staff – Cathy, Lyle, Janet, Carol, and Carl Brack. They are all eager to help you with your lawn and garden ideas and questions. We carry a wide selection of garden seeds and Burpee garden plants. Our indoor and outdoor assortments continue to grow along with our gardening, lawn care and pond care products from names you know and trust including Miracle-‐Gro, High Yield, Fertilome, Espoma, Scotts and many more. In addition, we are now your local Southern States brand dealer carrying a full line of lime, fertilizers, grass seeds, and pest control products and supplies for your home, farm or ranch. Come on by, new plants and products are arriving daily.

If we don’t have what you are looking for, tell us, we will do our best to find it for you!

The newness of Spring is happening here! We hope to see you soon. Your friends at Southern Home & Ranch…………

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I

The Art Lesson remember a school field tnp to the High Museum in Atlanta.

It began on an early morning, but I'm not sure of the season of the year. I clearly remember the line of yellow Blue Bird buses parked in front of Central High School in Carrollton and all of us kids climbing aboard.

We were a pretty rowdy bunch most days, but on this day the prospect of a day away from classroom confinement had freed a spirit not unlike what prisoners must feel when they're released.

Keep in mind that this happened in the Long-Ago time, back before Interstate 20 extended past Douglasville, so part of our trip was over what now would be considered back roads. It was also well before smartphones or Gameboys or anything else, so we kids interacted with one another instead of tiny screens.

During the whole trip, the kids in my bus were chattering away with one another. Maybe some wads of paper were thrown from the boys' side to the girls' side; don't ask me. But I am sure that anything and everything that could be gotten away with under the noses of our very no-nonsense teachers was tried, done, said or whispered.

Then, as now, teachers simply don't make enough money.

Anyway, when we arrived in Atlanta we all poured out of the bus into the concrete canyons of the Big City, then were rounded up like cattle and led into the great High Museum of Art. There, our Southern-bred instincts kicked in and we became quiet, just as if we were in

church. We were led around from one piece of Great Art to another, hearing the names of the artists and other facts which, pretty soon thereafter, drained from our little heads.

But a few memories remain. There were some small statues cast by Auguste Rodin that I remember, including a version of his famous sculpture "The Thinker." And there was a painting by Claude Monet that I particularly recall: a fog-shrouded view of the Houses of Parliament in London. I remember that the teacher, or some museum guide, told us that Monet had intended that the painting, which looked pretty muddy up close, should be seen from some distance.

I've thought about this a lot over the years, and I realize that you can't really get an appreciation for art from seeing a bunch of pictures in a museum, even a nice one like the High. You gain an appreciation by realizing that Art isn't a collection of pretty things; it's the spark of creativity that makes us all unique.

As I've gotten older, I have realized that art is more than a painting on a wall, or a marble statue, or a piece of classical music. It's most anything that has been made by another human being; a creation from one mind, being seen and appreciated by another mind. It's a communication without words.

I tried standing back, and was amazed to find that details that seemed fuzzy from three feet away suddenly popped into clear focus at 10 feet. The more I stared at it, the impressionistic image began to look more and more like an actual photograph.

You want to appreciate art? Listen to Delbert McClinton's harmonica solo on "Hey Baby!"

Eat a piece of cornbread baked by your mother.

Look at that quilt wwyour grandmother made 80 years ago. Art is everywhere and it's done by everybody. It's found in the gardens of neighbor's backyards; it's found in the kitchens How could somebody figure out how to do of restaurants; it's found in the blended voices of something like that?, I wondered. Was that what churchgoers, singing a hymn. made a great artist — being that smart? And I asked myself: Could I ever do anything like Art is human expression made visible, audible that? or somehow touchable. Art is creativity, pure and simple.

The truth is, I did not leam much about art that long-ago day. I know we kids looked at Whenever I get a chance, I like to drop by the hundreds of pictures and statues, but I would not recognize any of them now should I ever see High Museum in Atlanta. It's bigger now than it was all those years ago, and there's a lot them again. more art. They still have that Monet painting of Parliament there, and I visit it every single But maybe remembering that one picture by time.

Monet is enough.

KEN DENNEY

I've been looking at that painting for more than 50 years. And I keep seeing new things. WGL March/April 2015

West Georgia Living

9

CINEMA

TOM HARDY as Max Rockatansky in Warner Brothers Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’“MAD MAX: FURY ROAD"

T

Photo Credit: Jasin Boland

The season’s MOST ANTICIPATED movies

his year is an insanely competitive year for movies. A quick perusal of 2015 release dates on IMDb.com should make any movie fan drool.

Heck, Disney alone is releasing 12 projects; August and September will be the only months the studio won’t have something in theaters.

In the last issue, I talked about some of the films I was looking forward to this year, but let’s narrow the focus to the summer months, when blockbusters and sequels rule the box office. Here are 10 high-profile flicks I can’t wait to see.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (May 1) and “Pitch Perfect 2” (May 15)

I already mentioned these films in last month’s preview, but you can’t leave them out of a list of most anticipated summer

JOSH SEWELL 10

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Marvel Studios

Walt Disney Studios

"TOMORROWLAND"

releases. These sequels couldn’t be more different from each other, but they both have hardcore fan bases who can’t wait to buy tickets. Look for “Age of Ultron” to challenge the all-time moneymaking champs. “Pitch Perfect 2” is set to surprise analysts as well – albeit on a more muted scale.

Warner Brothers Studios

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD"

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (May 15)

Have you seen the trailer for director George Miller’s return to his most famous franchise? Check it out on YouTube. Go ahead, I’ll wait … Welcome back. Now that you’ve scooped your brains off the floor and put them back in your head, how can you not look forward to seeing more of that?

Tom Hardy steps into the title role now that Mel Gibson is too old (and too alienating) to play the post-apocalyptic antihero, and Charlize Theron co-stars.

Walt Disney Studios

“Tomorrowland” (May 22)

Brad Bird, who directed 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (the franchise’s best installment) helms his second live-action feature, a Disney film whose title should sound familiar to anyone who’s visited the Magic Kingdom. Plot details are tightly under wraps (that comes with the territory when “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof has a hand in the screenplay), but we know that George Clooney plays a disillusioned scientist who teams up with a mischievous teenage girl (Britt Robertson) to discover a mysterious realm.

“B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations” (June 5)

We won’t ever see Bill Murray in another “Ghostbusters” movie, but he does lend his voice to this animated comedy about a classified agency dedicated to protecting people from evil hauntings. The agency’s secret weapon? The group is made up of ghosts as well. Other talented actors providing vocal performances include Seth Rogen, Matt Bomer, Melissa McCarthy, Rashida Jones and Octavia Spencer.

"TOMORROWLAND"

March/April 2015

West Georgia Living

11

Walt Disney Studios "INSIDE OUT"

Walt Disney Studios

Lewis Black is – of course – Anger.

Universal Pictures

“Ted 2” (June 26)

Seth MacFarlane struck out commercially and critically with last summer’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (personally, I thought it was pretty good), but he’ll probably rebound with this sequel to the 2012 raunchy teddy bear comedy that grossed almost $550 million worldwide. We don’t know much about the premise, but I can assume that Mark Wahlberg and his stuffed, foul-mouthed buddy will get into a lot of R-rated shenanigans. And it’s got one of the most bizarre casts I’ve seen in a while: Amanda Seyfried, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Dennis Haysbert, none of whom strike me as “hanging out with a dirty teddy bear” kind of folks. Should be interesting.

“Magic Mike XXL” (July 3)

“Inside Out” (June 19)

The first of two Pixar films to hit theaters in 2015 (“The Good Dinosaur” arrives in November), this story is told from the perspective of the various emotions that live inside the mind of a teenage girl.

Pete Docter (“Up”) co-directs, and also wrote the screenplay with Michael Arndt (“Toy Story 3.”) The voice cast seems absolutely perfect: Amy Poehler is Joy, Bill Hader is Fear, Mindy Kaling is Disgust, Phyllis Smith is Sadness and 12

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Not even “Magic Mike,” the male stripper drama that cemented Channing Tatum’s movie star status and contributed to Matthew McConaughey’s legendary comeback, is immune from Hollywood’s current obsession with sequels. Even though “Mr. Alright, Alright, Alright” is sitting this one out and Steven Soderbergh isn’t directing, I’m still optimistic. Mostly because Soderbergh remains on board as cinematographer and editor, and Tatum is once again co-writing the screenplay, which revolves around the returning characters (Tatum, Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer) taking a road trip.

"MINIONS"

“Minions” (July 10)

The “Despicable Me” flicks are cute, but everyone knows the best scenes involve those weird, hilarious little yellow creatures.

So it was only a matter of time before they got their own spinoff. Screenwriter Bryan Lynch, one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, has been hyping the project for

"ANT-MAN"

three years, and the recent trailer suggests he has reason to be excited. The voice cast includes Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm and Michael Keaton, so I’m already on board.

“Ant-Man” (July 17)

Edgar Wright is one of my favorite filmmakers, so of course I would’ve loved to see his version of this latest entry in the Marvel canon. But he famously bailed on the project because of creative differences, replaced at the last second by director Peyton Reed. He’s no slouch either, as his past work (including the underrated cheerleading comedy “Bring It On”) proves, so

I’m curious to see how he handles the material.

Plus, it’s tough to go wrong with Paul Rudd as a roguish superhero. I’ll be honest, though – I’m mainly writing about it because I flat-out love the teaser poster. Seriously, find it online and look at it … just awesome.

“Straight Outta Compton” (August 14)

This one’s on my list because I’m dying to see what the finished product looks like. A biopic about N.W.A, one of the most influential hip hop groups in history, is a no-brainer. They popularized the gangsta rap genre, and members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre parlayed their

Marvel Studios success into even more prosperous careers in the fields of acting (Cube has a hilarious role in the “Jump Street” flicks) and business (Dre sold his Beats headphone company to Apple last year for $3 billon). But Cube and Dre are also serving as executive producers, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Cube’s son) is portraying his own father. Will this be a realistic, warts-and-all portrayal of the group, or do the former rappers feel the need to rewrite history a bit to protect their business interests? I can’t wait to find out. WGL E-mail: joshsewell81@gmail.com Twitter: @IAmJoshSewell Facebook: facebook.com/josh8199

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West Georgia Living

13

C

hurches OF West Georgia

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY Our Lady of Perpetual Help was established as a Mission Church in 1952. For many years, it was located on White Street in Carrollton. In 1962, however, Eaton Chalkley and his wife, Oscar-winning actress Susan Hayward, decided to donate 13 acres of their property on Center Point Road in Carroll County for the purposes of building a church. The old building was donated to what was then called West Georgia College, and on March 25th, 1962 the present Church building was dedicated. In 1965, it was elevated to the status of Parish, and is currently under the leadership of the Rev. Rafael Carballo. When Chalkley passed away suddenly in 1966, he was laid to rest near the entrance. Before Hayward died in 1975, she chose the quiet, contemplative location over Hollywood as her own final resting place.

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West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

November/December March/April 2014 2015

West Georgia Living

15

ARTS

and the

What businesses REALLY want

S

o, your city wants to entice a big - music, art, theater - can often mean the company to move in. difference between a company choosing one city over another. A community that builds Why not? All the cool cities museums, concert halls and other cultural have shiny, large factories with venues has invested as much in the spirit of well-paid workers buying goods at local its people as in the town’s infrastructure. shops. Why shouldn’t your city be one of And that, many companies feel, is a town its those cities? employees will enjoy.

But what does a city have to do to get one of those factories to come to town? Sure, a city may have a nice road system, good schools, great infrastructure, but is that enough?

Maybe nobody's town rocks tax incentives like your town, but is all that bling going to seal the deal?

There is one asset that cities and counties often overlook when wooing potential industry and investment. It’s the arts.

Companies that are looking for a long-term relationship with a community want more than just highways, railways and water pipes.

They want things for their employees to enjoy; things that will enhance the quality of their lives.

The kinds of cultural attractions a city offers 16

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

They may be right. In 2009, the Knight Foundation conducted a three-year survey of 26 communities across the United States to find out why people want to live where they do. Along with the usual factors of safety, services and leadership, respondents to the “Soul of the Community” study reported “social offerings” as one of the main things that tie people to a community.

Using arts to create a sense of place is a process city planners call “creative placemaking.” The concept involves more than just providing one venue for the arts, but incorporating all aspects of cultural

STORY BY KEN DENNEY PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

City

The award-winning, four-person singing group Manhattan Transfer performed in Carrollton on January 30 at the University of West Georgia's Townsend Center. Such cultural events across west Georgia enhance local life.

They are, from left, Janis Seigel, Trist Curless, who replaced the late Tim Hauser, Cheryl Bentyne and Alan Paul.

Companies are attracted to those communities that build museums, concert halls and other cultural venues

The Carrollton Cultural Arts Center on Alabama Street will soon be joined by a hotel and convention center.

expression to help communities form a unique sense of character.

One of the towns surveyed by the “Soul of the Community” report was Macon, Ga., a city most people in west Georgia might feel has it going on when it comes to economic development. Yet the survey found that people within the Macon metro area have become less attached to their community over the years. Folks still like the shopping and restaurants - even the small town atmosphere - but in terms of aesthetics, Maconites feel the town could do more.

West Georgia is unique among Georgia towns and cities, because planners here are making a concerted effort to use arts and culture to lure new business and industry. Carrollton in particular is unique, because while cultural institutions in other towns rely on internal fundraising, the city's arts are strongly supported by the city’s government.

Penny Lewis, director of the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, says this support is a key asset.

“There is going to be an arts community in almost every community, but they (live) by the skin of their teeth. Just to have money to pay salaries to what few employees they have is the first thing they have to do on their fundraising. We don’t fight those battles. The City of Carrollton pays staff salaries here and pays the overhead costs for (our) beautiful facility.”

The Cultural Arts Center of which she speaks is located just off Carrollton’s town square, between a large parking garage and a soonto-open hotel and convention complex. It is proving to be one of the city’s major tools for not only bringing new industry to town, but in helping those companies already here to grow.

“There are are many businesses, when they’re looking to hire top-level management people, and this includes Tanner Hospital, when they’re bringing first class doctors in to interview them, have often brought them here to the Cultural Arts Center for a tour."

Similar tours, she said, occur three or four times a week “and a lot of times it’s businessrelated.”

Douglas County also is seeking to leverage its vibrant arts community into a draw for both tourists and new industry.

Building on the “creative placemaking” concept, Douglasville in particular is working to showcase its many venues for arts exhibition, music and other performance art.

provides both an opportunity to work with others in building a stronger community, and is an invaluable benefit when attracting new talent.

"There are many businesses, when they're looking to hire top-level management ... (they) have often brought them here to the Cultural Arts Center for a tour.”

- Penny Lewis, Director, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center

“By giving back, we share our time and ideas, as well as financial support, to help enhance the lives of our friend and neighbors,” said Gary Leftwich, who manages the company’s outreach efforts. “The arts – whether they be staged productions, live music or the visual arts - help define a culture as they entertain.

Those are two key elements in any community. They also are invaluable for businesses seeking creative and engaged employees. People want to live in towns or cities where there are things to do that are entertaining and intellectually stimulating. A healthy arts community provides that.”

He said Southwire works with a number of local programs - such as the Carroll County Symphony, Carrollton’s Summer Concert Series, and the University of West Georgia’s College of Arts and Humanities.

Davina Grace Hill, executive director of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County, does all she can to promote these locations, which range from the Museum of History and Art (located inside the architechturally significant old courthouse) to various stores where local artists have their works for sale.

The industries that exist in west Georgia clearly recognize a link between the area’s cultural life and the happiness of their employees.

Southwire, one of the area’s largest employers, finds that supporting the arts

And the company’s involvement goes beyond dollars and cents. Employees serve on the boards of various organizations and help with brainstorming and planning activities that promote the arts locally. Southwire also has helped bring national and international programs to Carroll County.

Carrollton in particular has made an important friend with the Republic of China, or Taiwan, said Lewis.

In 2011, for example, the Taiwanese government brought its International Watercolor Exhibition to only two places in the United States - an important gallery in March/April 2015

West Georgia Living

17

"Mary Poppins," a production of the Carroll County Community Chorus and the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, opens on March 19. It stars Erin Poulson at Mary Poppins, and Matthew Dixon as Bert.

Philadelphia - and Carrollton, Ga. “Because they (the Taiwanese) really like working with us,” Lewis said. The prestigious event drew busloads of Asian lovers of fine watercolors to Carrollton. Many of metro Atlanta’s Asian restaurants helped to cater the affair, but Lewis said that the visitors were far more interested in the Southern barbecue that the local folks had brought in.

Carrollton’s support of the arts is the envy of other communities.

“It’s really funny,” Lewis said. “I’ve sat on some panels in the past for the Georgia Council for the Arts - huge discussion panels about the problems and woes that the arts community faces everywhere - and somebody will always say, ‘well except for Carrollton.’ And I love hearing that.

“We’ve had tours of chambers of commerce from other communties that have visited our building, and theylook at the square and the ampitheater and the (Bradley Street) train depot and all these wonderful businesses that surround us. You dont even have to discuss the economic impact of the arts if you just stand in our front yard and look at what’s happened to our community since the Art Center’s been built. It speaks for itself.” WGL 18

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

The Manhattan Transfer was founded in 1974, and has garnered 10 Grammy Awards.

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Dress Rehearsal At New Manchester, the school plays are rehearsals for a career in theater

J

ust a mile off the Chattahoochee River, and 10 minutes from Sweetwater Creek State Park, New Manchester High School is on the quiet, naturerich fringes of Douglasville. The campus is surrounded by clusters of tall pines, within walking distance of local parks.

Inside the school is a wide, well-lit theater.

Robert Connor is there, directing his class in rehearsals for “The Wiz,” a 1974 Broadway musical adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz.” But don’t be fooled. This isn’t just the kind of fun, softly graded, playing-pretend-on-stage that some may expect of a high school drama.

These kids are really learning - and learning tough skills. In short, Connor is teaching these students to be actors - actors who may someday find a career in theater.

years. This is his first year at New Manchester, and he speaks highly of his experience at the school and the learning opportunities this supportive and disciplined atmosphere affords teens.

“It’s a great school. The students are great kids.

It’s clean and sleek, an excellent family environment, and very conducive to teaching and learning,” Connor says.

Connor received his B.A. in Film and Television and Morehouse College, then went on to complete an master of fine arts degree in theater from the University of Georgia. But his talent goes beyond pedagogy; he has performed and directed various on-stage productions. He found himself drawn to teaching purely by chance.

“I stumbled into it, just basically on an opening, and fell in love with working with “My favorite show is always the one I’m young people and developing their skill sets to currently working on, so my current favorite show is 'The Wiz.' No matter how many times I prepare them for college and professional do a show, and no matter how many shows I’ve opportunity. It’s been very rewarding over these past 15 years working with and training worked on, there’s always the process of discovering the new talent each time,” Connor young students in the area of musical theater.” says.

Magnet schools like New Manchester offer an New Manchester’s fine arts magnet program in-depth and comprehensive education in art, opened in 2012 for high-school students with an indispensable experience that many public exceptional potential in one of several high schools simply don’t offer. concentrations the school offers: instrumental “With all of the cuts that people are making in music, chorus, theater, drama, dance, or visual art.

Connor, director of drama and musical theater, has been teaching in magnet schools for 15 20

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Robert Connor, director of drama and music theater at New Manchester High, directs a read-through of "The Wiz."

STORY BY COLLEEN DONNELLY PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

Whether a student is going into drama for a career or for a hobby, the craft helps develop a passion the student can apply to anything they love.

“I am an old school teacher. I push the kids. I challenge them, because they are not going to be great in a very comfortable situation. So I have a very high standard in regards to performance levels and preparation and work ethic, and many kids go above and beyond the occasion.”

At New Manchester, The competitive application process examines a student’s academic record along with potential to cultivate talent. Middle and high school students all over Douglas County choose New Manchester to gain thorough training in their area of interest.

Some may see fine arts as a whole as frivolous and unnecessary, a comfortable hobby rather than a field that requires precision, labor, and critical thought. But Connor explains that “there’s a difference between art and entertainment. Fine arts has a rigor to it; it requires a lot of training. Entertainment doesn’t necessarily need the same skill set.”

“When I get an email, a text or a note that says ‘thank you for pushing me,’ or ‘I’ve accomplished this,’ or 'I just got my first movie role,’ that’s the best part about teaching. That’s when everything that I tried to teach them was worth it, there was a payoff. I get rewards like that all the time.”

Logan Bolden, left, who portrays Addaperle, and Melissa Rodriguez, portraying a Munchkin, read their lines. schools, and that the state is making with the arts, one thing that a magnet school, or a magnet program, does is bring a high quality fine arts education to the school,” Connor says.

In many ways, magnet schools operate like most public schools, managed by the same school board and directors of the region. Yet magnet programs free students from the constraints of school zones that assign kids an education based on their location. These schools function outside school zones and frequently offer a single focus of curricula, specializing in particular subjects such as science, technology, career-track courses, or the arts.

or for a hobby, drama helps develop several important aspects of public speaking skills, confidence, articulation, and diction. They develop a certain level of confidence, a passion that they can apply to anything that they grow to love.”

And Connor emphasizes the importance of a rigorous and extensive curriculum.

One New Manchester graduate recently messaged Connor to let him know that he made the cover of University of Michigan’s drama brochure. The student is only a freshman, yet is now featured as an actor in one of the top theater programs in the country.

“It just made my heart warm to know that this kid was able to achieve something that he could have never imagined. WGL

Connor stresses that “magnet schools are very important, and fine arts programs are incredibly important, both to our students and to our community. They act as training programs for new and up and coming talent.”

Neglect and underfunding of high school arts programs causes kids to lose out on indispensable and potentially lifechanging educational experiences. Connor explains how he believes his students develop important lessons from drama classes, not just for potential performers, but also for burgeoning adults who handle life and career issues with creativity and competency.

“Whether a student is going into it for a career

Venice Alston, right, as Dorothy, reads her lines as Sharita Stewart looks on.

March/April 2015

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21

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BEAUTIFUL

PLATES ( It's all in the presentation )

March/April 2015

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23

Plating creates visual artistry W

PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

e've all seen plenty of movies in which prisoners - or an endless line of school children - mournfully line up to a chow line in dread anticipation of a ladleful of gloppy, grey mystery food that their slovenly server unceremoniously plops into their dinner tray.

There's no question that a person's enjoyment of a meal is directly tied to how the food looks when served. The presentation of a meal is more than the method of serving, or the dishware, or even that sprig of parsley that no one ever eats. Presentation is a combination of many elements that enhance how your dish looks to a dinner guest and determines how much positive response you will recieve for all your hard work.

By no means do I consider myself an expert on plating. I do not claim to have the definitive guide on the subject, and the reason is simple: Everyone has their own idea of how a meal should appear on the plate.

Over my many years' experience, I have learned that people who strive to cook and present the best dishes are truly artists in every sense of the word. Not only do they try to create a lasting memory of flavor and techniques, they want to imprint a picture of a dish on each guests' mind so they may remember its appearance as much as the meal itself.

Here are a few things to keep in mind: Whatever sauce you might use, use it as a paint and consider your plate a bare canvas.

Use bright or contrasting colors as well, but try to make sure that the flavors also work with the meal you’re serving. You can give symmetry to unsymmetrical food by cutting the central focus of the dish and re-arrang24

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Shrimp-stuffed pork loin roulade with plum wine sauce

ing it, or even by creating a symmetrical pattern between the meat, side, and sauce.

The pork roulade in this issue's recipes has a nice appearance, but the colors may not jump out at you immediately. For this dish, try using a few drops of fresh pomegranate juice on the plate to add color. Not only will the juice contrast with the food, but will be a strong color on the plate while adding a sharp acidity to compliment the sweet and savory elements.

“Stacking” is another way to make the ordinary stand out. Think about a really good burger from a great steakhouse. It’s probably going to be a stock eight or ten ounce burger on a beautifully toasted bun, but it's usually the carefully constructed pile of tomato, lettuce, and onion straws that make it seem impossible to get your mouth around. The same idea applies to pasta.

Rob Duvé

The applications of food to plate are limited only by ones own creativity. I have told many people that its not only fun to cook but they can make it even more fun by playing with their food. Take the time to think about how you want to plate ... but not so long that your hard work gets cold.

Pick up long pasta in the middle and set it ends first into the center of your plate, twisting the whole mass as you lower it onto the plate or bowl. The end result is a large pile of pasta that stands inches above the plate, giving it a grand appearance - and the limited surface area will also keep the pasta hotAs always, ter for a longer time than if it is just thrown on a flat surface.

Enjoy!

Use your own ideas as to how these recipes should be plated and presented to your guests:

Shrimp Stuffed Pork Loin Roulade with Plum Wine Sauce Roulade is, essentially, a flattened meat or pastry that is rolled with some form of filling. This has limitless possibilities, since the filling can consist of nearly anything.

Once you get the basics of roulades down, you should experiment with all types of fillings.

Four, 4-ounce pork loin chops ½ pound, medium Gulf shrimp, shelled and roughly chopped 4 slices of premium bacon 1 small shallot, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely diced 2 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce 1 teaspoon finely diced fresh ginger 2 tablespoons quality olive oil Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce ½ cup plum wine 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim all fat and silver skin from pork loin chops and place between two sheets of plastic wrap or in a large zip top bag.

Using a meat hammer (tenderizer), pound the chops until they are about an eighth of an inch thick, then place in the refrigerator to rest. In a small skillet, sauté shallots, garlic, and ginger over medium high heat until just translucent. Turn off the skillet and use the remaining heat to sauté the shrimp pieces.

Add chilli sauce at the and and mix thoroughly. Let cool for about five minutes.

Place a thin layer of the shallot/shrimp mixture onto the pork, making sure to keep the mixture about a half an inch from all edges and roll tightly. Wrap each roulade with a strip of bacon. Don't wrap too tightly, so that the bacon has room to shrink around the roulades. Place the roulades seam side down in a large, oven safe skillet and bake until the bacon is crispy and the edges of the pork just begin to brown. About 20-25 minutes. Prior to serving, make sure to trim the rough ends to give a neat appearance.

Using the same skillet, deglaze the pan with plum wine, making sure to scrape all brown bits from the bottom. Add rice wine vinegar and reduce the mixture by half. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in butter until a sauce forms. This is a pan sauce, which means it has three primary ingredients: a base flavor, an acid, and butter. The sauce comes

Five spice sweet potato gnocchi

*Quick Tip* Since I never got around to buying a meat hammer for tenderizing and flattening meat, I find myself, more often than not, using an empty wine bottle.

If you don’t have an empty wine bottle around, use a small, heavy bottom skillet.

together when the milk solids in the butter reacts with the acid in the sauce. Trying to whisk this together over heat will make the sauce “break” by overcooking the milk solids, which makes the time in which you remove it from the heat source very important. Serve sauce either over the roulades or as a base layer for plating.

that the plum wine sauce works very well with the Five Spice flavors in the gnocchi.

2 pounds sweet potatoes, baked and separated.

2⁄3 cup ricotta cheese, drained 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice 1 teaspoon fine sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper 1 ½ cups flour, plus extra for the working surface 2 tablespoons unsalted butter In a large mixing bowl, mix sweet potato meat with the ricotta cheese, Five Spice, salt, and pepper, then blend thoroughly with a hand mixer on high. Add a half cup of flour at a time, making sure to mix in completely before moving on to the next addition.

Mix to the consistency of light biscuit dough.

Five Spice Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Dust a large working surface with flour and separate the dough into four balls. Roll out a ball into oneinch thick ropes and cut into sections one inch long.

Roll each gnocchi across the tines of a fork to make small indentations. Place on a baking sheet and cover with either wax paper or cling wrap to keep them from drying out.

Gnocchi are by no means Asian inspired food, but when I started thinking about the roulade recipe I realized that it was an opportunity to combine Southern comfort food - meaning pork and sweet potatoes - with a touch of Asian flair. Chinese Five Spice has some of the same spices you would find in an everyday sweet potato recipe, such as cloves and anise. You’ll also find

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop in about 12 to 18 gnocchi at a time. Boil until tender but still a bit firm to bite into. Place in a warmed bowl and cover befoire moving on to the next batch. Continue until all are cooked. In a large saute pan, heat butter over high heat until the milk solids begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium high and sauté the gnocchi for about two to three minutes. Drain excess butter and serve. WGL March/April 2015

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Homework on a Plate Culinary Arts class isn't just

old school Home Ec

I

n Paula Hannah’s classroom, there are rows of desks piled high with students’ belongings: book bags, textbooks, pens, paper. However, you won’t usually find students at those desks. Most of the classroom action is going on behind them, in the Trojan Notebook Cafe – a fully functional industrial kitchen attached to the Culinary Arts classroom.

As we walk in, students are busily shuffling around individual tables with their partner for

STORY BY AMY K. LAVENDER-BUICE PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

Alexis Clark, left, and Alexis Bennett, present their dish.

March/April 2015

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the day, preparing a dish. Four teams compete against each other, being judged on taste, execution and presentation. Meanwhile, the rest of the class is observing and critiquing their technique.

For others, it has opened up a standard meal to new possibilities.

“I like how we learn about different types of foods,” said Emily Warren. “Like breakfast foods! I thought there was just cereal!”

“You forgot your lettuce!” one student calls out.

Of course, the main goal is to prepare students for real world a bit closer to home. This class specifically prepares them for a career in the food service industry, which goes a lot further than the “home economics” of yesteryear.

“No, move that to the other side,” says another.

“Yeah, I like that better.”

Today, Ms. Hannah’s Level 1 Culinary Arts students at Carrollton High School are making bound salads – better known to you and me as chicken salad, tuna salad, pasta salad, and so on. Students have been asked to volunteer for the exercise, randomly paired with a partner, then asked to draw numbers to see who would be preparing which dish. One group has egg salad, another has pasta, and the two other pairs draw chicken and tuna.

The group recently learned the components of a bound salad, and today they are putting their lesson to the test without using a recipe. They are expected to remember the basic required ingredients and go from there. There is an array of ingredients on a cart in front of them to choose from. They work while the rest of the class observes and offers constructive criticism.

As they put the final touches on their culinary masterpieces, Hannah offers some advice: “When it comes to the garnish, keep it simple.”

Instead of pencils, they put down their utensils as they finish, clean up their stations and wait

“The industry really started to change about 15 years ago,” Hannah says. “There weren’t qualified people to hire into the restaurant industry, so the curriculum started to swing to prepare students to enter the industry. So that’s really the purpose of the class – they get the benefit of learning how to cook, but they’re prepared for the field.”

McKenzie Lee cuts up a chicken in preparation for an upcoming competition patiently behind their tables for inspection.

Hannah comes around and tastes each one, commenting on taste and appearance. Eventually, she announces “This one looks the best.”

Alexis Bennett and her partner, Alexis Clark, beam with pride. “Really?!”

Since the food industry is the second largest employer in America, it makes sense to give students the option of a culinary career. As a result, Carrollton High added an industrial kitchen 14 years ago, and “Home Ec” became “Culinary Arts.” Of course, there were some kinks to work out as the state and the food industry tried to land on common ground when it came to curriculum. Now, things have “leveled out,” Hannah says, thanks to the Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia (HEFG), which has lobbied for a curriculum that will produce qualified workers.

As Level 1 students, this is one of the first dishes the class has made since moving out of the Introductory Class, which only spends about 20 percent of the time in the kitchen. These students can now look forward to spending about half their time out of their desks preparing food. Once they move up to Level 2, they’ll only sit down to occasionally take a test or learn a new technique. Everyone here today is clearly excited to move past measuring and simple, no-cook recipes - and really get to work.

As the class gathers around the tables to sample the work of their culinary classmates, it’s clear what makes this class special and why students enjoy it so much. But students admit that they don’t just like cooking and eating, they like learning how to cook, the methods involved, and the many cuisines around the world in which they get to dabble. For many, it’s opened a up a whole new world for them.

Many students shared Chasmine Farris’ sentiment:

Paula Hannah

28

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March/April 2015

“I enjoyed learning the traditional dishes from different regions and countries, because if you have never been anywhere, you can still get to taste what their food is like,” Farris said.

Joshua Johnson kneads dough to make sapodillas

“I want to go to Johnson and Wales (University),” Warren said. “This class has really helped me because I thought I knew a lot about cooking, but I’ve learned so much in this class.

There are so many rules when you’re cooking in a restaurant. We’re constantly learning more about food, and now I know I can make it myself. And it’s something I can use every day in life, as well as working and looking for a job.”

The HEFG also sponsors students at competitions and helps them find places to do demonstrations so they can gain experience.

Students who plan to become chefs can gain a real advantage over their counterparts because of opportunities like this.

Case in point: Taylor Foreman and Blaine McQurter. Both students will be going to an Atlanta culinary competition in March under the sponsorship of the HEFG. The pair will have one hour to create an appetizer, starch and entree with only two burners – no electricity (a.k.a. microwaves) allowed. However, the team says they’re not too nervous.

“I’m looking forward to it,” McQurter says. “I went last year, so I know what to expect. I have to cut my chicken in 5 minutes, so I’m a little nervous about that, but as long as you work together as a team, it’s a breeze.”

Taylor agreed, saying they practice every Monday from 2:45 to sometimes 6 p.m., getting things just right.

Housing Authority last month,” Hannah said.

“And they had beef bourguignon and paella.

(That’s the advanced class.) And they made it.

I jumped in once to help with the beef bourguignon, but they made the meal. That’s part of the instruction — I want them to do it.”

And the group caters many events, at about half the cost of a regular catering company, since they’re not allowed to make more than a minimal profit to cover costs and to keep the program going.

“The meal we catered at the Housing Authority cost them $14.95 a plate,” Hannah said.

“That would have been $35.95 a person with any other business.”

Students also get to showcase their talent to their other teachers during faculty meetings.

“Faculty meetings have small refreshments, and (students) want to get into the class that makes those refreshments because they want their other teachers to see ‘I made that!’” Hannah said. “So the principal always recognizes who made the food for the meeting, and they get to wear their chef coats and serve the teachers as they come in. They love to have people sample their stuff.”

The students also travel around town and even outside the county to do cooking demonstra-

Hannah’s students also get plenty of hands-on experience on the business end of restaurant entrepreneurship. During semesters in which students apply and receive an internship, those students run the Trojan Notebook Cafe’s take-home program, which allows teachers to order meals to take home with them after school.

“The students make the menu, price it, keep up with the orders, make the food, collect the money,” Hannah says. “They’re responsible for all of it. I’ll have two interns next semester, so we’ll be bringing that back.”

However, Hannah acknowledges that not every student who takes her class wants to work in a restaurant.

“The students love the hands-on part, but they have to learn a lot before they get to cook.

Keeping the people engaged who want to be in the kitchen, and (who) are impatient to get through the book, measuring, and safety can be hard. Out of 30 people, maybe three want to go into this field, and that’s pretty average for every class. So it can be difficult to keep them all interested until they can get into the kitchen.”

But part of keeping them engaged in the classroom has proven easy, because they are opening new windows into a world that several never knew existed.

They hope to bring home a victory on the heels of classmate Mackenzie Lee’s third place win in a poultry competition on Jan. 29, which landed her a medal and a scholarship.

Tamaria Allen was surprised at her own passion for food and cooking — so much so that she changed her career path.

Another aspect of the class that helps these students prepare is the multiple opportunities they have to get elbow deep into a meal and actually serve it.

“We catered a dinner for the Heard County

tions. They were recently at the Cotton Mill Farmers Market in Carrollton on Rome Street.

They have also traveled to Atlanta for various shows and demonstrations.

Ebony Murray

“I chose this class because I just love to eat,” Allen said. “In the beginning of my 9th grade year, I was set on going into the military, so I took ROTC. At the end of my 9th grade year, I March/April 2015

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Hannah Hughes puts on her chef hat. Each student has their own uniform and must wear it in class.

Kyunna Harrison and Brianna Harrison work their dough. signed up to take Introduction to Culinary during my 10th grade year. After that, my decision about my future changed.”

Of course, not all of these students are working their way to the top of a culinary ladder, but they are still learning real skills they can use in the workplace: teamwork; work ethic; applied math - and respect.

Taylor Foreman

“I feel as if this class is preparing me for life because it’s more than just cooking for me,” Allen said. “When I am in this class, I don’t just learn about cooking, I learn about other parts of the world, new vocabulary, ways to be safe, foods that are not safe. I have received work experience from volunteer

opportunities. I have met new people, gaining connections in the food industry. So I feel that the decision to take this class was the right decision to make.”

Allen’s comments highlight some of the less tangible benefits of a non-traditional class, but there is one more. Many of these students are doing something they’ve never done before, in front of an audience. And they are succeeding.

“They feel such a sense of accomplishment when they’ve done it,” Hannah says. “Most of them are scared (to get up in front of the class or do a demonstration), but once they do it, once they go out into the community, it gives them such confidence.” WGL

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March/April 2015

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Sprains and strains, bumps and bruises, fevers and coughs rarely happen at convenient times, so Tanner has made accessing care for these problems easier with its recent expansion of Tanner Urgent Care facilities throughout the region. Walk-in care for minor medical emergencies now is available in Carrollton, Villa Rica and Bremen, as well as in Wedowee, Ala. The new Tanner Urgent Care app — available for Apple and Android smartphones — takes the guesswork out of current wait times, provides tap-to-call connectivity to Tanner Urgent Care and turn-by-turn navigation to get users quickly to the best, most convenient urgent care facility.

While you might have used Tanner Urgent Care in Villa Rica previously, the softball tournament this weekend was in Bremen and you needed to get to the closest facility as quickly as possible. A tap on the app brings up a map, showing your location in proximity to Tanner Urgent Care centers around the region, then navigates you to the nearest facility with turn-by-turn directions. If the illness or injury isn’t as dire, such as coughing or congestion, you can keep up with wait times and choose to go to Tanner Urgent Care when the rush is over, so you can get in and out even faster.

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March/April 2015

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It’s Showtime!

Douglasville’s C.A.S.T. is for anyone who loves the theater

Leslie Goldsmith, who plays Lady Luna Cee, embraces Donald Henderson, as a intimate relationship was revealed in the play "Eclipsed." Henderson portrays both Lord Cress. N. Moon and Baron von Kraterfasse.

Y

ou know how it happens. You and a bunch of your friends are sitting around, trying to think of something to do, when someone - probably with a sparkle in his or her eye - suddenly stands up and says - “Hey! Let’s put on a show!”

OK, maybe nothing like that really happens.

However, that old entertainment cliché is rooted in actual fact: community theater is one of the oldest traditions in America.

People loaded with talent always seem to find an outlet for themselves, even if they have to create it from thin air.

In 1986, some Douglas County folks with a love for all things theater banded together to create the Community Alliance for Stage and Theatre (C.A.S.T.), a satellite group of the Douglas County Cultural Arts Center.

“We just wanted to give people the opportunity to perform theater,” C.A.S.T. President Kevin Kincheloe said. “(Even those) who never had any experience.”

Kincheloe joined the troupe about six years after it began, making him the longestserving member. He said any member of the group could take on whatever job they

Audience member Shana Burgos 32

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March/April 2015

STORY BY TAYLOR BOLTZ PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

Lady Luna Cee slaps Baron Von Kraterfasse

Lady Silver E. Moon, portrayed by Cyndi Crawford choose; whether it be acting, directing, or backstage work, there’s something for everyone.

“When I first joined, I was interested in directing. I had experience as a director, but I got more and more into acting, so I began doing more acting than directing.”

tainment of themselves and their neighbors, but C.A.S.T. also helps area charities.

Those attending last holiday’s “Merry Christmas Mayhem” and “Scrooge Has Left the Building,” were asked to bring canned food or other types of donations as admission cost.

These comedies, according to the website

Lady Luna Cee reacts to the news the Baron was murdered.

The group has anywhere from 15 to 20 active members, but the cast of characters changes over time, since older members decide to leave or new members join.

“At the moment,” Kincheloe said, “we don’t have any dues. (Membership is) just if you want to be a part of the group.”

The group does have a Board of Directors that includes a president, vice president and other positions. “We try to be a democratic group. We don’t dictate to people; we try to get their opinions. We want to do things people feel comfortable doing,” Kincheloe said.

The C.A.S.T focuses on three styles of theater: dinner theaters, one-act plays, and mainstage plays.

It’s been a while since the group focused on one-acts and mainstage, but for the new year, C.A.S.T plans a return to those productions.

“The one-acts have been as popular as the dinner theater in the past, but it’s a different audience,” Kincheloe said. “These are basically free (and in) public areas. That offers a wide, more diverse audience. We want to be a group that does all kinds of shows for all kinds of people.”

Certainly, the group performs for the enter-

Many audience members wore masks and costumes, such as this beautifully feathered mask worn by DeAnne Wilson.

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Audience members Lynda Hickman, Sandra Pope and Carolyn Ellis, from left, react to a comedic turn of events. Below center, Henrietta Quarter, played by Carolyn Clark makes some interesting deductions. At bottom, Lady Silver E. Moon finds out the hard way the sugar in the coffee was laced with strychnine. www.castplays.com, benefited the Haralson Community Ministry, which serves local needs.

In the past, mainstage productions included “Streetcar Named Desire,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Steel Magnolias,” according to both Kincheloe and the website. In the coming year C.A.S.T. hopes to produce more of these longer pieces.

The core of the operation of C.A.S.T. lies with the dinner theater, which runs in three different Olive Tree restaurants around the west Georgia area: Douglasville, Villa Rica, and Hiram. The tickets are $36 plus tax; the reciepts are split between the restaurant and the group.

The price covers both the cost of a meal and entrance to the show, which centers on audience participation.

Many of the shows are staged as crime mysteries in which some members of the audience are given minor roles and “help” the cast members find clues.

C.A.S.T.’s most recent production was “Eclipsed.” Kincheloe played a butler in show, which centered on a jewel theft at a charity masquerade ball.

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There will be two more dinner theater shows this year. In the spring, the troupe will present a Southern comedy called “‘Til Beth Do Us Part.” The winter show, “Last Will and Testament,” is a murder mystery about inheritance and audience participation will be pivotal. Check the website for performance dates.

This also goes with the improv troupe, Nuts and Jolts, set up a while back by a member who maintained her own improv studio.

C.A.S.T., brimming with acting talent, wants to not only perform, but also teach.

“We would like to have improv sessions and improv exercises,” Kincheloe noted. “The last time we did anything like that was a couple of years ago at the Taste of Douglasville. The more people we have involved in the improv classes, the better they are.”

“We did acting classes in the past and are working to reinstate those,” Kincheloe said. “Many of (the actors) would be interested in teaching acting classes if people are interested in them.”

Anyone interested in more information about dinner theaters or participating with C.A.S.T, feel free to check out their website, or sending them an email at info@ castplays.com. WGL

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The Carroll Symphony Orchestra is building an audience for classical music

O

ne of west Georgia’s newest cultural institutions has a very large ambition: to build an audience for classical music, one generation at the time.

In a region known for bluegrass, country and rock, the Carroll Symphony Orchestra has set its sights on bringing the music of Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Mozart to the masses. And they are succeeding.

West Georgia has always had amazing musical talent, as reflected in the number of professional musicians who are making a living here in bands or as soloists. And while nothing is as pleasing as a good rock band on a summer evening, it's worth remembering that many of those musicians studied classical music. A well-tuned ear of any music lover can hear echoes of musical masters in many modern songs.

Terry Lowry, Conductor and Music Director of the Carroll Symphony Orchestra

orchestral music live," said Terry Lowry, conductor, musical director – and occasionally composer – for the symphony.

“I want to give them the very best experience that I can give, and so we work very hard to maintain our roster of the very best instrumentalists that we can find.”

The 60 musicians who comprise the Carroll Symphony Orchestra (CSO) are dedicated to raising the listening sophistication of west Georgia residents. These are not talented amateurs; they're pros. Many of them carry impressive musical pedigrees, having studied at such fine arts conservatories as the Julliard School in New York, and the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia.

Not only are they getting adults interested in classical and complex orchestra music, they are getting children interested. In fact, children’s education is one of the main reasons why the CSO exists. And Lowry hopes that by introducing successive

Peter DeWitt, foreground, on harpsichord, and David Trumble, trumpet.

“I have always felt like to ask people to come to our orchestra concert, I know that for many of them it will be their first time to hear a symphony; the first time to hear

STORY BY KEN DENNEY PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY The Carroll Symphony Orchestra performed "The Messiah - A Sing-Along" on December 18 36

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March/April 2015

Holly McCarren, mezzo-soprano generations of west Georgia children to the symphonic sound, he can create an audience for the CSO in the years ahead – an audience that will make as many demands on CSO musicians as the CSO will make on an increasingly discerning audience.

"We want employers to brag about us when it comes time to recruit new talent. We want the Carroll Symphony and our outreach programs to be the reason why people move here."

- Terry Lowry, conductor, musical director

Eric Hanson, double bass

City symphonies are a rare thing in the South, and almost unheard of in smaller cities like Carrollton, the home base of the CSO. That’s because symphonies are expensive: the musicians are highly trained, and there are many more of them than just a three-piece ensemble. Plus, many city symphonies have ambitious programs of music that last throughout the entire year.

Within major cities like Birmingham and Atlanta, symphony orchestras depend on fundraising and audience support, both of which are challenged in tough economic times. Only last year, the Atlanta Symphony was struggling to stay afloat financially.

Lowry and the directors of the CSO face even tougher challenges, building support for classical music within a smaller environment of sponsorship than is available in major cities.

Yet the CSO is now entering its 13th year. It must be doing something right.

It starts, Lowry said, with the mission statement of the Orchestra, as it was outlined in 2002: to enrich

March/April 2015 West Georgia Living

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Larry Frazier, left, bass soloist, and Edward Eanes, CSO Concertmaster, right, on violin.

Jane Redding Marrero, soprano the lives of children. “Everything we do has to pass that criteria,” Lowry said.

Martha Yasuda, left, and Mary McCoy on violin

“We have relationships with schools throughout Carroll County and Haralson County. And we provide all kinds of aid and materials and musician guest programs to all these schools. In addition to that we provide the pre-K music program at Carrollton Elementary School. See, the (state) lottery funds the pre-K program but it does not pay for music instruction. We do the entire music program."

And the CSO also sponsors a totally unique way of promoting interest in musical composition among west Georgia’s youth.

“We have a young composers’ competition that’s statewide for any student, K-12, who lives in Georgia. And in the past 10 years we’ve premiered 90 pieces – that’s 90 compositions by children age of 7 through 18. That’s the only program of its kind that we know of anywhere.”

Instruction in classical music is rare in public schools, especially in an age of funding cuts and austerity. Lowry says he frequently gets phone calls from parents who are moving into the area panicked that their children will no longer have access to such instruction. He works with such parents to ensure their child will find someone to teach the child what they must know.

Of course, the parents with such finely educated children are moving to west Georgia in the first place because at least one of them has been recruited by west Georgia’s major employers.

Such industries are always looking for the best, and that frequently means bringing in highly skilled workers and their equally accomplished families. In that way, then, the CSO becomes a powerful tool for economic development.

“We want employers to brag about us when it comes time to recruit new talent. We want the

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March/April 2015

Carroll Symphony and our outreach programs to be the reason why people move here,” Lowry says.

Currently, the CSO has a fairly modest program of music; the Orchestra’s website lists three major performances for 2015, including the season-ending program of Handel’s “Messiah” during the Christmas holidays. But the CSO is also a touring band, and it’s for hire. Its skilled musicians are frequently asked to perform for churches, universities and other institutions, and they also travel the state, enhancing the reputation of the west Georgia region wherever they go.

“We do fundraising year round. It’s a very large budget. Our Board of Directors works year round on development, to raise funds from new sources of funds. We write grants year round. One concert can cost as much as $40,000 for one night, so it’s a big undertaking.”

Certainly a good bit of the money is paid to the musicians. But the rest goes back into the children’s outreach programs, and Lowry says that he, the CSO board, and the musicians themselves are careful with their donors’ money.

“It’s very important we have a relevance to

the community. How can we serve? Then, once we’ve found relevance, how can we grow in a fiscally responsible way, so that when our donors give us a check and we go and fulfill our mission in a given year, how can we do that responsibly?”

Of course, the goal is to keep the contributor checks coming in. “If we continue to do this and build a relationship of trust with our donors, we hope and we feel we will be able to grow our concert series.

“But the community has treated us well from the beginning. Never once, not one time, have we gone into the red.”

During the year, Lowry says he and the musicians are asked to put on performances for young people, much in the same way Leonard Bernstein, director of the New York Philharmonic, did concerts for young people during the early 1960s. The goal is to encourage an interest in symphonic and classical music that begins at an early age and will carry on as the children mature into even more sophisticated listeners of music.

Who knows but that in 10 years’ time – and maybe sooner – Carroll County and west Georgia will be ranked among the nation’s great cities with major symphony orchestras. WGL

Tommy Trotter, tenor soloist

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39

A Night at the Chinese Opera PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY 40

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March/April 2015

The world-renowned Sichuan Opera Company, from Sichuan Province, China, performed an adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms" in the Sichuan dialect and costumes, on November 1, at the Mabry Arts Center on the campus of Carrollton High School. The event was hosted by the Georgia Commission on Women, in partnership with the US-China People's Friendship Association, The National Association of Chinese Americans and the Carrollton Civic Woman's Club.

July/August2015 2014 March/April

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GARDENING

Art

Garden

A blue Chinese pot enhances the landscaping

in the

G

arden sculptures, fountains, pots, and vases. Aunt Lois’s concrete duck or Harry’s homemade whirligig. They all qualify as yard art.

in ferns spills water from a bamboo trough.

My parents have a pair of 18-inch statutes a woman playing the lyre; a man playing the flute - they have nicknamed them Madeline and Dick after some dear friends.

Art in your garden can be that adorable bunny peeking from under a leaf, or the terra cotta pig smiling in the shade. In a friend’s garden, a large ceramic pot sitting

The best thing about having art in your garden is you can have as many pieces as you want, have whatever you like and put it where you want. And you can find inspiration everywhere.

STORY BY KITTY BARR PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY 42

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March/April 2015

Driving south toward Roopville one Sunday, we saw a side yard simply full of birdhouses, A metal flower makes a great addition to any garden

A terracotta pig windmills and all sorts of creative shapes on tall poles – shimmering in the bright sunlight and swaying in the winter breeze.

Not long ago, at one of the Atlanta Garden Show’s markets, I found a spiral of rusty metal topped by a fleur de lis. I love its graceful illusion of movement.

The antique shops and markets have all sorts of trellises to support flowering vines like jasmine, and arbors to mark garden entrances, or spots to rest and enjoy your surroundings.

A special treasure for me is a large blue vase with Chinese medallion, nestled among my Lenten roses. I want to paint a door or shutters that same lovely hue. Wonder if I’ll ever get to it?

Winter garden art can include plants too. There’s color in

Purple cabbage in a concrete pot

purple cabbages and in yellow, white, salmon and violet pansies. The bright branches of the Red Twig dog wood tree makes a striking sculpture in mid-winter. A cluster of them would be magnificent in winter.

In our climate we enjoy a myriad of camellia colors, in a variety of blooms, from a flat open saucer to a tight rose-like blossom. In late autumn I saw a stunning brick entrance thickly planted with white vinca, surrounding white camellias.

Some potting sheds and small buildings can be charming and useful additions in the garden but why not make them an attractive element in your yard?

Instead of a plain white shed from the big box store, why not paint it a dark gray and use deep red trim with a flower pot at the door? My dream shed is one with shuttered windows, a mid-western quilt pattern painted on the side and topped with a tiny cupola. Storage buildings are so useful for that extra bag of manure or fertilizer, plus the lawn mower and various tools.

Recently, I saw a solid privacy fence which I didn’t see until the owner specifically pointed it out to me. It was painted a dark brown and all I saw was the thriving green shrubbery and flowers in front of it. The paint color successfully camouflaged the structure and the color contrast intensified the green

plant material. Some features are best left unseen! Maybe a really unfortunate looking shed needs a somber shade.

Late winter is a great time to get out and survey your front and back yards. With the trees bare, it’s easier to see where something “arty” might provide interest or fill in a space between shrubs. Rather than a piece of art, or a bench or my above-mentioned adorable shed, a significantly large piece of granite could be just the thing for a focal point at the end of your garden.

Walk down the street and observe how your house and yard look from your neighbors’ viewpoint. You may get inspired to plant a specimen tree, or purchase a trio of Shi Shi camellias to hide that gas meter. WGL Kitty Barr is a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer

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Biltmore’s Rose Garden is home to nearly every class of rose.

Photo courtesy of Biltmore Estate

The Art of the

Rose 44

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West Georgia native Lucas Jack tends to the gardens and history of Asheville’s Biltmore Estate

O

n the grounds of the largest privately owned estate in the United States, there is a garden.

OK, that’s an understatement. Actually, the grounds of the Biltmore Estate outside Asheville, NC, have quite a few gardens. Designed to resemble a French chateau, the huge home built in 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt II has a landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (the man who did Central Park in New York City) which contains many

BY KEN DENNEY

rolling fields of flowers, trees and plants.

But in the midst of all this foliage, there is one particular garden well worth the four-hour ride from west Georgia – it’s a formal rose garden. And the person in charge of keeping it in shape is a man from Carrollton.

Lucas Jack is the official rosarian for the estate, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South. But if you are unfamiliar with the term “rosarian” you’re not alone – Jack says he never heard the word before he took the job.

Jack, a trained horticulturalist who studied at the University of West Georgia, applied for a job at the Estate in 2011. He didn’t get the job he applied for – but he was offered a post anyway: that of head rose gardener.

“That’s all a rosarian is. A horticulturist,” Jack said.

The rose garden at Biltmore Estate covers about an acre and a half of the Estate’s 8,000 acres of carefully groomed landscape. Jack oversees the care of some 1,800 individual rose plants representing 250 varieties of 120 different cultivars.

There are varieties that existed during the Middle Ages bedded alongside roses that represent the cutting edge of crossbreeding.

When we spoke on the phone in early spring, Jack was getting ready for his “busy season,” which begins each February.

“Asheville is so different from the Atlanta area in regards to climate. A lot of times we won’t have leaves on the trees until the first couple of weeks of May. Our spring (starts) pretty slow, so it’s hard to think about plants in January.”

Plantings for the new season are sitting in a cool shed, alongside a number of new, experimental breeds submitted by those competing for the Biltmore International Rose Trials. Jack will oversee the planting and cultivation of these new varieties as the competition enters its fourth year.

Planting a rose garden is actually a form of art, Jack says – but art on a multilayered and multi-sensory level. There is color and symmetry in the garden, of course, but there is also the extra dimension of fragrance. Blending all the features of roses into a harmonic whole is chiefly what a rosarian does.

“I’ve often said that a rose garden is a mixture of art and science. There’s a lot of science involved. Say you are introducing a new variety into the rest of the garden and I have (planted) around it maybe five or six different shades of colors. Why I introduce the rose to that particular bed is important. I don’t want to affect in such a sensory way so that people say, ‘ooh, I don’t like that.’

“Basically what I am doing is combining colors and shapes and fragrances and sizes to create an area that is lovely as far as senses are concerned. And something

Lucas Jack, his wife Brooke, and their daughter, Abigail Photo courtesy of Biltmore Estate

"It’s a way of creating transition. It’s important that each plant does not overwhelm the other, but accent each other in a way that’s pleasing to the eye and creates really a place of calm, and that’s always what a garden should be; it should be a place of calm." that is also very calming. A rose garden can be a very, very beautiful place, but if it’s not maintained correctly it can be a very unbeautiful place.”

Growers of varieties of roses try to classify them in terms of smell, just the way vintners sort different types of wine.

Some roses are said to have a fragrance of myrrh, or currants, or even almonds.

Other roses are known for their fruity

scent, or for a spicy aroma. Just as he plants according to size, color and textures of the plant, Jack also arranges roses according to how a visitor walking through the garden might experience the aromas.

“It’s a way of creating transition. It’s important that each plant does not overwhelm the other, but accent each other in a way that’s pleasing to the eye and creates really a place of calm, and that’s always what a garden should be; it should be a place of calm.”

The job is, therefore, more complex than it might appear to an outsider, and even more so when one considers Jack is also responsible for certain “roses of antiquity” – ancient varieties with noble lineages but which, like all plants, need to be carefully tended against genetic variance.

A visitor to Biltmore Estate can expect to see two such ancient roses: the rosa alba maxima, and the rosa gallica officilis.

These roses, known since medieval times, were associated with the royal houses of Lancaster and Tudor and were the symbol of those warring factions in the storied “War of the Roses.”

Jack and his family moved to Carrollton in 1986 from Grand Rapids, Mich., and his father worked as an architect.

“I graduated from Carrollton High School in 2001, and was a member of the March/April 2015

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Biltmore’s historic Rose Garden has received the 2014 Great Rosarians of the World (GROW) Rose Garden Hall of Fame Award.

Photo courtesy of Biltmore Estate

marching band there in Carrollton and my brother was as well.”

While attending the University of West Georgia, Jack took landscaping jobs to make money. His wife, Brooke, is also from Carrollton. The couple have two children: Abigail, aged 4 and Daniel, who is 2. The family lives outside Asheville in a rural part of Buncombe County that he describes as being similar to the country west of Bowdon.

A Great Place to Live, Learn, Work and Play...

The family travels to Carrollton four or five times a year to visit family who still lives in the area. Jack says he is determined that his children know the people from whom they are descended.

The Biltmore Estate, of course, carries a certain level of prestige and Jack says it is “an absolute honor” to work for the Cecil family, who are the direct descendants of Vanderbilt.

“You’re really a steward here,” he said.

“You’re the steward of this incredible garden, or this small part of a much larger garden. You can take the corporation element out of it and really ask yourself how can I best serve the (Cecil) family and still maintain this very historic piece of the South. Because that’s exactly what it is; a piece of the South.” WGL 46

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

315 Bradley Street • Carrollton, Georgia 30117 770-830-2000 • (fax) 770-830-2026 www.carrollton-ga.gov

University of West Georgia

Visual Arts Building I t wasn’t that long ago that art students at the University of West Georgia were literally getting in each others’ way.

The previous spaces for sculpture, ceramics and print making were in two separate buildings: sculpture and ceramics used to be housed together in the 8,000-square-foot Art Annex; printmaking was crammed into the 10x20-foot basement of Cobb Hall. Ventilation wasn’t the best, and student projects littered the walkways to create tripping hazards. A student working with wood had to watch out for sparks from a student using a welder, and often the two just couldn’t work at the same time because there was no room to work elsewhere.

But two years ago, the University opened an expansive, 25,000 square-foot Visual Arts Building. Not only are those three art disciplines now in one place, students and faculty have plenty of room to maneuver.

Clint Samples, Assistant Chair for UWG’s Art Department, says it’s “a beautiful building and a great new facility. There is a great energy at the VAB, with the students working together. It’s exciting!”

The faculty worked closely with the architects in the design process to ensure that the building would have everything their students needed, from separate rooms dedicated to making clay and glazes to immense lockers and gallery spaces for students to store their projects.

STORY BY MEGAN MOODY PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

McKinley Shunn works on her sculpture, "The Perspective of My Device."

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What’s more, faculty from other departments on campus decided to donate parts of their budgets towards a new building.

“We are thankful to the other departments,” said Art Department Chair Kevin Shunn.

“This is a little of everyone’s building, and we want it to be open and inclusive. That we have a shared project like this is unique – UWG is unique. Someday soon, I hope everyone gets that type of environment.”

As newcomers enter the lobby, various intricate sculptures and pieces greet them - all work by students - along with a beautiful, glazed brick wall that shines in the light let in by the floor-to-ceiling windows. Each of the bricks were glazed by ceramics students.

“A lot of the kids who are new don’t understand how great they’ve got it,” said Andy Nicole, a fifth-year art senior majoring in photography. “When you’ve had class in the old Art Annex, this is something you can appreciate on a whole other level.”

Chad Mozley poses with his sculpture, "Self Evaluation."

“I can actually move!” said Jolee Sanders, a fifth-year art senior. “There’s room to work and move and spread out, instead of being confined to a tiny little space. We can produce more work since there’s more room to store things. We can also keep more tools and supplies on hand.”

The bronze wolf that sits outside the Coliseum is an example of the scale of projects that art students can now accomplish. The bronze for the wolf was heated in one of the building’s new furnaces that can hold up to 300 pounds of molten bronze. The old furnaces could only heat around 100 pounds.

Students can also build much larger pieces now, as demonstrated by many of the new sculptures in and around the building. There is a system of hoists and a crane that can carry projects up to 2 tons to and from the outside through vast garage doors. Before, students were limited to projects they could pick up and carry through a normal, person-sized door.

“We couldn’t have made that at the old Art Annex,” Samples said. “When you’ve got great facilities, it opens doors to doing new things.”

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The building’s space also allows for plenty of new equipment and enough work space that students no longer have to fight over

Janay Charles works on her sculpture, "Path to Self."

tools or wait hours to use what they need for their projects. The Art Annex only had four welders, meaning less than a fourth of the students in their metal classes could weld.

Now there are 10 welders, so half the class can weld at a time.

The resources in the new building prepare students for their future careers by giving them access to equipment they may need to develop their style, or which puts them at an advantage over other artists who never get to use such specialized equipment.

“We have the ability to make things,” Nicole said. “We can experiment with new practices.

Jesse Duke, left, and Morgan Akins work on their projects in the Print Making 1 class

We actually have a facility that looks like something we’d work in later instead of a teeny tiny building. The faculty really pushes us in the direction of becoming working artists. They make us try everything. All the new equipment, we have to learn to use it so we have that skill later.”

“There’s more room for people to work and be in here,” Sanders said. “There’s more room for models, there’s galleries in here now and room for exhibitions. It allows more people into classes.”

Classes used to be held in the same spaces students used to work, so students had to wait for a class to finish before they could continue. Now, classes and work can happen

in entirely different rooms, meaning students can work whenever they wish, especially with 24/7 access with their ID cards.

“When the semester is in, if you’re in photography or painting, it’s your second home,” Nicole said. “If you’re in sculpture, ceramics or printmaking, it is your home. Apartments are for sleeping and sometimes for storage; the VAB is where you actually live.”

The 24/7 swipe access allows these students to get in whenever they need without having to wait on a faculty member to come let them in. They can work on projects in the morning, the evening, the middle of the night – whenever they want.

Darius Emerson

One of the building’s new features is its anagama kiln. The Art Annex also had such a kiln, but the old one was only a fraction of the size of this new one, and was built by a visiting Japanese artist. The ceramics students worked together to build this new one, giving it a personal touch. It sits in its own outdoor pavilion next to the VAB. Anagama kilns are unique because they use a wood fire to bake clay. They must be fed constantly and require a lot of maintenance, but direct access to the heat and ash from the fire creates an intricate and beautiful natural glaze on the finished pieces. When the kiln is lit, students practically live at the site, feeding the fire 24 hours a day for four to five days.

The Art Department welcomes anyone from the community who would like to use their exhibition spaces in the VAB for critique, workshops or any other educational purpose.

People from the community are welcome to visit the building and check out the student works in and around it.

A building like this is important not just to students, then, but also to the community around them. Giving people a large, safe space for creating beautiful things allows them to feel like part of something great. You can’t deny that looking at the bronze wolf outside the stadium inspires a connection with every other resident in the city who was seen that same sight.

“Art is one of the things that brings people to campus,” Samples explained, “whether it’s an art exhibition, music, theater performance.

It’s kind of like athletics in a way. It brings in folks from the community, pulls people together. They see all the good things going on, and they want to participate.” WGL March/April 2015

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49

Dave Collins, left, instructor in Beginning Ceramics, talks with Ashton Herndon, Soyn Kang and Donovan DeFrance about their projects.

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Patricia Fox looks at artwork by Gaylen Rankin, whose show opened on January 10

for the

many local artists as they can find. Marquit estimated that half the artists in the Peacock Perch (an arts and crafts store in Tallapoosa) started at the Dogwood Gallery.

“T

here’s an algebraic formula for hanging art,” Shaunna Chamlee said as she sipped on a latte.

She explained that 60 inches is the height of a human’s eye, so there is math involved to get the center of a gallery painting at eye level. Chamlee is a senior at the University of West Georgia, where she is studying art with a concentration with painting. She was the second of many interns to work at the Tallapoosa’s Dogwood City Art Gallery since its conception in 2012.

“The Dogwood,” she said, “gave me confidence to push myself. The staff treats you as an employee and artist.”

The Dogwood Gallery features 3,500 square feet of display space and combines modern light with natural light. But it took the owners two months of renovation to arrive at that point.

“In the beginning, we were just looking for a place for Larry (Marquit) to make jewelry and for me to sell my old art,” Dogwood co-owner Merci Howe said. “My husband is thirdgeneration Tallapoosa and my heart is here.”

Howe and Marquit, owners of the Dogwood, have been friends for at least 16 years and wanted to offer a place for the community to come and appreciate fine art.

“We have so many local artists,” Howe said.

“We’ve gone through almost all of them.”

Howe spent her early days at the Dogwood searching out artists to exhibit by talking to the local artists and by scouring Facebook.

However, now that the Gallery has picked up speed, “(the artists) come to us,” Howe said.

“We are always booked a year in advance.”

The Dogwood City Art Gallery brings world class artists to Tallapoosa

“When we got here,” Marquit said, “there were one or two antique shops. If someone wanted to buy fine art there wasn’t anywhere (close) in the Atlanta-Birmingham-Chattanooga triangle.

Pretty soon we became known as an art gallery.”

Even though many of their artists come from the metro area, Howe and Marquit feature as

STORY BY TAYLOR BOLTZ PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

The Dogwood has also been attracting numerous artists from out of state.

Coming from places like Arkansas, Kentucky, and even Haiti, these artists allow the Gallery to become a “destination gallery, an international gallery – something we really want to be,” Marquit said.

Howe has even been in contact with artists from Brazil and Egypt, figuring out the logistics for potentially exhibiting them.

She said that most of the artists are awardwinning artists or “recognized for something or another,” offering a chance for the community to “appreciate the art, open (their) minds and eyes to what’s out there so that we’re not closed off in a bubble to what the world has to offer.”

In order to help expand the gallery as an international destination, Howe brought in a resident and International Grand Master Artist, Alex Castro, who holds over 40 years of experience in multiple mediums.

“Merci persuaded (Castro) to move from Pennsylvania to upstairs. He’s recognized around the world for selling and showing art at different parts of the world,” Marquit said.

Castro’s website, www.alexcastro.com, mentions that he has been painting miniatures for international collectors and has authored a book March/April 2015

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titled “The Art of Painting Miniatures: Faces and Figures,” while also being showcased on the covers of four major miniature magazines around the world for developing a new way of painting miniatures that combines multiple tools and airbrush effects.

the importance of art, that we need to keep doing it. He seemed very wise,” she said.

Without the Dogwood, McCullough may have never met Watson, or have a show outside of campus.

“It gives my portfolio a more professional feel.

The transportation is harder with a longer distance, but I learned a lot in the gallery system about packaging and show card making,” she also said.

Castro, who studied at the Brooklyn Museum’s Art School and worked with the artist Sidney Dickerson at the Arts Students League in New Patrons at the opening of Gaylen York, paints what his Rankin's show on January 10 website describes as When McCullough first reflections “of spiritual heard about the and esoteric themes county. We like to think that we’ve had internship with the Dogwood, the gallery had using a combination of realism and new age something to do with the development of the just opened, and she had been a gallery symbolism that harmonize the body, mind and appreciation of fine art.” assistant for a while at the University of West spirit.”

Georgia Gallery. The internship teaches the Just recently the Dogwood held an exhibition students everything one needs to know in the After moving to Tallapoosa, Castro established featuring all their past and present interns – gallery business. and now directs The Tallapoosa Academy of art students ranging from painting to sculpture Fine Art, which is in coordination with the to ceramics. Their first intern, Erica Dogwood Gallery. He teaches the majority of Alex Castro poses with "Dragomila" McCullough, a senior Art student at the the art classes, while also mentoring artists University of West Georgia with a who desire help with their craft. concentration in ceramics, also doubled this exhibition as her senior The Dogwood holds roughly one to two exhibition. exhibitions a month, and even though some of the art might run on the more expensive side, “We had a really good turnout,” the Gallery focuses on picking and choosing McCullough said. “We did artist talks, artists who will bring something to west which are very beneficial because they Georgia’s continuing appreciation towards fine help the viewers understand art. everything.”

“Most of the people who come to buy art come from out of town. We place rack cards at each of the visitor’s centers throughout the state and the people who pass through and find the cards are more likely to come and buy,” the owners said. “Our first sale was from Greenville. We shipped the piece to him.”

They’ve also experienced buyers flying in from Boston for an exhibition, purchasing a piece, and flying out the next day. Collectors and investors come to find pieces to beautify their homes or offices.

Marquit also mentioned that the Gallery was chosen to be one of nine galleries to show the State of Georgia’s Archive of Art exhibit. “(The archive) is outside of Athens and nobody goes in there; but the governor wanted to do an exhibit. People from the state (government) were here,” he said, adding that “Tallapoosa is becoming known as the ‘arts city’ of the 52

West Georgia Living March/April 2015

The importance of an artist talk, which the Dogwood offers as a part of the exhibition, is to show the process of creating artwork. McCullough mentioned Basil Watson, an artist who exhibited at the Dogwood and impacted her in a way she never expected.

“He talked about art in a meaningful way. How to keep going with it even after I graduate. He demonstrated

“The most useful thing I learned was how to arrange the artwork in an aesthetic flow from start to finish,” she said.

McCullough and Chamlee were only interns for a semester, but have been asked back to help with shows when the Dogwood finds itself in between interns.

The interns participate in the grunt work of gallery life: preparing shows, working on mailing lists, creating rack cards and postcards, arranging art, repairing the walls post-show and packaging art for transport.

Running the Dogwood Gallery is “a lot of work,” Howe said. “It was inevitable that we take interns.”

Being an intern, dealing with the ins and outs of gallery work at the Dogwood, allowed Chamlee to understand what curators mean when they ask an artist to bring work to show.

“It’s better to bring too much work than not enough,” Chamlee said. “If they tell you five pieces, bring 10. My last show they told me to bring five pieces and I brought six. All six were chosen.”

Larry Marquit and Merci Howe are co-owners of the Dogwood Art Gallery

“I’ve had more than 10 shows at the Dogwood,” McCullough said. “And I’ve seen about 20 artists, but many were group shows.”

Chamlee remains the youngest of the interns, having scored her internship as a sophomore.

She says that the most valuable thing she took away from the internship was the ability to prep.

“Knowing how to hang a show makes you very

valuable,” she stated. As does knowing how to make a guest-book, address-book, or mailing list for every show. When asked how many artists she’s seen, she starts to count on her fingers and then stops.

“I’ve met at least 15 artists. And we have to know everything,” she said. “We have to know everything there is to know about the artists.

But when you help write their biographies, it’s not that hard.”

She went on to explain that at the Dogwood, the artist’s work is picked for the aesthetic flow of the pieces or how they move throughout the gallery for the show, so it’s better to bring art with a singular concept.

“It all depends on what you have,” she said.

Sue Boutilier looks at paintings by Gaylen Rankin March/April 2015

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Alex Castro works on a painting entitled "Druid Dreams" Having this experience made Chamlee a more attractive commodity for other venues, including the gallery at the University of West Georgia.

“I’ve learned the business side of art,” she said.

“I’ve learned how to set up a show, which helped me become a studio assistant (for the school) where I prep for shows and get events started. From there I’ve been asked to be a part of the student adviser committee, where I’ve been able to orchestrate events and pull students into volunteering and becoming part of the department.”

She goes on to “demand that art students take this (internship.) It has helped me grow as an artist because I’ve sought to do more things and be more as an artist. You begin to see art in a professional sense, because art is a business.”

Chamlee has also taught a painting class at the Gallery, which also strives to guide, support, and develop artists and their art. Exhibitions and shows are important in bringing art to the community, which is what the Dogwood attempts to accomplish every time they open their doors.

“The Dogwood needs more people to be aware of it. They’re trying to do a good thing here,” McCullough said.

As the gallery grows, the arts community of Tallapoosa grows as well.

“I’ve always been interested in art,” Howe said.

“I would surround myself with art and share the beauty. There’s enough ugliness out there in the world. We hope the community continues to support us in our endeavor.” WGL

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Katherine Duke and Zach Underwood at the Rankin opening

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LIGHT and

ARTIST'S CORNER

Found objects become part of miniature worlds

S

hadow boxes are an interesting artistic method of presenting items in a box, arranged in a particular way. Think of them as kind of a window through which you can glimpse a separate, small world. Dr. Joshua Masters, an English professor at the University of West Georgia, has been making shadow boxes of various themes for over a decade and recently discussed his methods.

Above, Dr. Joshua Masters in his studio. Below left, "Flannery and the Devil." Below right, "Innocence Imagines."

How would you describe shadow boxing?

It’s trying to make two dimensional objects three dimensional. Sometimes there will be a three dimensional object, but mostly it’s two dimensional images that I’m trying to give the appearance of three dimensionality.

It’s taking flat images and raising them up in a certain way so that a flat image actually appears to be a three dimensional image.

When did you start doing these boxes?

I was in graduate school and had just finished my graduate exams and I had a meltdown. I had no idea what I was doing. I was living in this professor’s house that had 56

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STORY BY TAYLOR BOLTZ PHOTOS BY RICKY STILLEY

"The Garden of Earthly Delights Revisited." this great big basement and I just brought X-Acto knives and magazines and images and just started carving stuff for five straight months. I had been playing around with these for years before that, but this was when I discovered the materials: the bamboo skewers and the foam core. So as I was discovering the materials, I was figuring out how I could make the boxes bigger and more layered. I was, 12 hours a day, just whittling away at boxes trying to collect my thoughts.

What are you currently working on?

A Flannery O’Connor box. It’s kind of peacock theme and draws on some of her stories and images and it’s the first time I’ve done one about a specific artist or writer.

How did you pick Flannery O’Connor?

I am doing research on her right now, so I’ve got all these newspaper clippings from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. So I used those clippings on all the things that were happening in the late 50s/early 60s in the AJC, and used those as the background. I kind of did a rough draft on it and now I’m remaking it. This is something I’ve done before, where I’ve made a similar box a couple of different times in a couple of different ways. The current one has this screaming peacock face; it’s a little angry, so I’m going with a little more of a sedate feel for the next one.

How does the process start and how long does it typically take to complete?

Sometimes I have an idea and I find the

images to fit the idea, like the Flannery O’Connor box, where I already had the images. I just went on Google and deliberately searched for images. It used to be that when I first started doing these, I would come across an image in Time magazine and decided to do a box around that image.

he was an agoraphobic shut-in for most his life. He made these amazing, sort of three dimensional collages. He used found objects and images; he was the real deal. He didn’t sell his boxes, but he made them for people and sent them as gifts.

The Flannery O’Connor box took about 10 days, probably 50 or 60 hours of work; I was really into it. I did a box based on Willimantic (Conn.) and I was taking photographs six to eight months before I even began construction on the box. That one took an awful long time to construct.

Anywhere from 80 to 100 hours of work.

I’ve never sold them, but I have done a commission once. Greg Fraser (a colleague) paid me to build a box for Chad Davidson (another colleague) using a bottle of Vitalis (hair tonic) as its theme. It was an inside joke between the two, and it took me about a month to do. But I mostly give them away.

How has your process evolved?

There’s a store in Carrollton that sells objects that crafters upcycle into artwork (SCRAP Bin) and you were recently there. How was that?

I used to just have plain mat-board and in order to build (the boxes) up, I would cut slates of mat-board and glue them together.

It was very primitive. I still have some of these, but I was just playing around with layering images. I didn’t have any tools or process, so I started figuring out how to make them more lightweight and build the boxes up out of the fiber board I use now. As I figured out the process and found more materials, I was able to get more complicated with how they were going to be layered. And then when I discovered that you could mount first on foam core and then on a bamboo skewer to make it stick up, that was just like “Oh my God, what do we have here?”

Where do you look for influences?

I didn’t even know I was actually imitating him, but his name was Joseph Cornell and

Do you sell your work?

A lot of it is for kids. The guy next to me was building Christmas tree things and it was very hands on. The SCRAP Bin invited me to come and bring some boxes for anyone who was interested in what I was doing. I actually started the Flannery O’Connor box while I was there. I was like, “I gotta get something started.” I built the foundation for that box over the four, five hours I was there that day. I hadn’t made a new one in about a year or two. They’re totally cool over there and I talked to about 20 or 30 people that day. I was just explaining the technical stuff of it. not many people were like “What is this about? What are the themes of the box?”

It was mostly, “Those are really weird.” WGL March/April 2015

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West Georgia

Li V ing In the next issue.......

Coming in May 2015

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BOOKS

The Life and Times of an American Playwright Tennessee Williams was a man as complicated as his literary works Lahr, John.

Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh. NY: Norton, 2014

March/April 2015

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Williams began his career as a writer in the 1920’s and continued until his death in 1983, meaning his creative life was interwoven with the great historical and cultural fabric of the last century.

O

n February 25 1983, the body of playwright Tennessee Williams was discovered in a NewYork hotel room, his death the result of a drug overdose.

indulgent lifestyle further - complicated his life. Lahr’s subtitle for his book, “Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh,” reflects the frenetic approach that Williams took to his sensual indulgences.

In a way, it seemed an appropriate end to a life that often reflected Williams’ plays: sometimes a comedy, sometimes a tragedy, and often a melodrama. John Lahr’s unflinching and in-depth biography provides insights into Tennessee Williams’ tumultuous personal life, and into the plays that reflected the playwright’s experiences and the times in which he lived.

Williams led a nomadic existence, traveling through Europe, Mexico, and the United States. His emotional life was equally nomadic. Lahr is honest but not graphic in his analysis of Williams’ relationships with men. Of particular importance were relationships he had with Pancho Rodriguez y Gonzales and Frank Merlo (with whom he had an almost 14-year relationship). Lahr shows the importance of these and other relationships to Williams’ emotional needs, while suggesting their significance in the development of some of the bestknown male characters in Williams’ plays.

Williams (born Thomas Lanier Williams III) grew up in a dysfunctional family that set the psychological tone for his emotionally complicated life.

His parents Edwina and Cornelius Coffin (nicknamed CC) struggled with an unhappy marriage that sent shock waves through the lives of their three children.

Lahr depicts Edwina as repressed and emotionally unavailable to her husband and children. CC Williams, a traveling salesman, was rarely home and had little emotional connection to his family.

Williams’ sister Rose, emotionally fragile and eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic, was institutionalized and lobotomized at the age of 32. She later underwent more than 65 treatments of electroconvulsive shock therapy.

This turbulent family life traumatized the sensitive Williams, a fact revealed in many of Williams’ best-known plays, including The Glass Menagerie (Williams’ first big hit), A Street Car Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Night of the Iguana. Throughout the book, Lahr examines the plays in light of Williams’ family life, providing fresh psychological insights into Williams’ work.

In addition to the stresses resulting from Williams’ family life, Williams’ homosexuality - along with his self-

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Lahr’s analysis provides a personal context for understanding three of Williams’ iconic male characters: Tom Wingfield (“The Glass Menagerie”), Stanley Kowalski (“A Streetcar Named Desire”), and Brick Bishop (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”) Wiliams’ often-promiscuous relationships paralleled his lifelong indulgence in alcohol and drugs, a pattern that eventually dominated and finally destroyed his life. Lahr analyzes the self-destructive “mad pilgrimage of the flesh” as Williams’ quest for release became an even worse prison of addiction.

While the personal elements of Lahr’s biography of Tennessee Williams are fascinating, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the examination of Williams as one of the premier American playwrights of the 2oth Century.

From his first tentative writings as a schoolboy (including a story published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales), to his rise to pre-eminence as a playwright, Williams’ literary life is interwoven with the lives of some of the best writers,

directors, producers, and critics of his time.

Perhaps most important to Williams was the director Elias Kazan, who not only directed some of Williams’ best work on stage and screen, but also shaped Williams’ work through critiques written as the plays were being prepared for performance.

Other literary figures mentioned include Truman Capote, Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, and Gore Vidal, all of whom influenced Williams’ writing. Other literary influences included the theater critics of his time, reflecting the oftenadversarial relationship between artist and critic. The reviews of Brooks Atkinson, the New York Times drama critic, often affected him, particularly when they were less than complimentary.

Readers interested in the world of theater and film will find this aspect of Lahr’s book particularly fascinating; his insights give a new perspective on that world.

Finally and most expansively, Lahr’s biography of Williams places the playwright in the historical and cultural context of 20th Century America.

Williams began his career as a writer in the 1920’s and continued until his death in 1983, meaning his creative life was interwoven with the great historical and cultural fabric of the last century. The Roaring Twenties; The Great Depression; World War II; the Cold War era - as well as the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement - all affected his writing and his personal life.

Lahr shows Williams trying to remain relevant through the decades as he becomes involved in the social and political upheaval of the 1960s, finding himself irrelevant in the sexual revolution that he had, in part, been responsible for starting. Thus, Williams’ plays often distill the attitudes and changing values of the American culture through the decades.

Reviewer biography

This extensive biography of one of the foremost American playwrights is a fascinating read on a number of levels. It is well written and scholarly, without being stuffy or difficult. He includes many pages of notes and sources, as well as a useful index, all of which are valuable to the literary scholar.

But the biography is just as readable for the less serious reader. Williams himself comes across as a complicated character, multi-dimensional and often contradictory, like some of the characters from his own works. Lahr effectively interweaves the personal, the literary, and the historical and cultural elements of Williams’ life into a worthwhile and engaging book.

AUTHOR BIO John Lahr grew up in a theatrical family.

His father, Burt Lahr, is best known today for his role as the Cowardly Lion in the film "The Wizard of Oz." The younger Lahr was the senior drama critic at the New Yorker and has twice won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. He is also the first critic ever to win a Tony Award. WGL

Robert C. Covel is a retired university and high school English teacher, and received his doctorate in English from Georgia State University. He has published one book of poetry and has another coming out this year. He is also writing a novel. When not reading and writing, he enjoys playing trivia. He lives in west Georgia with his wife Deloris, and their dog Monet.

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“Helping Families and Friends Honor Their Loved One” Phone: 770-258-7239 Fax: (770) 258-7230 rainwaterfuneralhome.com March/April 2015

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TAKE 5

Marcy Sanders Heath Sanders & Associates, Tallapoosa I never dreamed I’d....

I never dreamed, as a broker, that my role would so drastically change over 20 years. What used to be a basic process in purchasing medical benefits for yourself, your family or an employee is now a very complex process. I am living the dream in that my career and passion come together, being able to offer solutions to employers with creative healthcare plans.

My best friend is …

A hairy, four legged Yorkie named Cody. He is always happy to see me, follows me everywhere I go, loves to ride in the car, and is the door greeter at the office. He is the best friend a girl can have, you can tell him all of your secrets, and you never have to worry if he is loyal or no ... he couldn’t talk anyway!

If stranded on a desert island …

The first thing that I would want is Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi was not available and I was limited to just one book, the answer is easy: it’s the Bible.

I’d love to share a cup of coffee with …

One person in Congress who has read the Affordable Care Act from start to finish, word for word.

My hero is …

When I think of heroes, I think of the brave men who fought for the freedom that we enjoy today: our veterans. I think of the brave men and women who are still protecting those freedoms, our military. The sacrifices made by these individuals, their love and dedication to defending and protecting the great USA, makes every single one a hero!

Photo by Ricky Stilley

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People probably don’t know that I …

Am pretty good on the basketball court. When me and my son take the court, we play a pretty aggressive game. Kyndal has mastered the midrange jump shot and will box out his opponent for our win almost every time!

When I have 10 minutes alone I like to …

With the changes in the healthcare industry and opening a new business, I have not had free time or 10 minutes to myself. Once I open the doors to my new Agency - Insurance Solutions of the South - I will make it a priority to take time out to de-stress and renew. Solitude often leads to creativity.

My parents taught me …

The “Golden Rule”: to treat others as I would like to be treated. I was instilled with morals, values, standards, and integrity that I have carried throughout life and in my business.

My personal motto is …

It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do. I hope that I will always be characterized as someone who acts with class, integrity and love for others.

My favorite childhood memory is …

I had a wonderful childhood filled with many wonderful memories, to just pick one would be a very hard task. The ones I cherish the most are the times that I spent with my grandparents on both sides. I think about the conversations that we had, the things that we did, and the quality time that we spent together. WGL

“Save the Seven”

Brian Blake of "Real Friends"

Unique ministry that gives kids a safe haven now needs a home of its own A short documentary opens with an unassuming man wearing a cap and a slightly self-conscious grin, speaking in a soft Southern drawl about “cheap bread, cheap cheese, cheap butter” - and the love of Jesus Christ.

To the musicians, young people and volunteers who considered Douglasville’s Seven Venue home for eight years, Tony Hart’s face and words are familiar. In fact, Infinite Creative Group’s sixminute “Save the Seven” video might just send them scrambling for a hot grilled cheese sandwich, a Bible and the latest release from the rock band “The Color Morale."

They may even be compelled to pause and say a prayer for Hart – who founded the unlikely outreach joining hands-on ministry, worship and rock shows – just as he has prayed for and with them over the years.

On Sunday and Wednesday nights, the building was home to Christian worship services.

Secular concerts were typically held Friday and Saturday nights. Hart and his allvolunteer staff kept the building open and the lights on until the last stragglers headed home.

“God gave us a vision to give kids a safe place to tell them about God’s love and not his condemnation,” Hart explained. “Jesus only gave us one command before he left, and that was ‘go out into the whole world to preach the good news and take care of my sheep.’”

But gone are the days when Hart manned the giant griddle in front of the Seven Venue, passing out his famous, free grilled cheese sandwiches while bands – and worshippers – rocked the converted movie theater’s rooms.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY REBECCA LEFTWICH Singer Bertrand Ponce of "Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!"

March/April 2015

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Justin Heiser and Garret Rap of "The Color Morale"

David Stephens of "We Came as Romans"

Gone also are the sagging couches which held scores of lounging youth and exhausted young musicians, all of whom adhered to Hart’s few rules: Act right; no drugs or alcohol on the property; don’t pick on people; don’t cause conflict.

A gravel parking lot marks the shopping center where the Seven Venue once stood.

Forced to close its doors in the winter of 2014, the Seven was lost when the center was demolished to make way for the Highway 92 expansion project.

Before that happened, regulars had filled notebooks with personal testimonies about how the ministry changed their lives and had launched a “Save the Seven” campaign.

Messages of support and appreciation still appear regularly on the Seven’s social media sites.

“When I had nobody and had no idea who I wanted to be, I came to the Seven,” wrote one young woman, who said she “found Jesus” through the venue’s outreach, in October. “I always felt loved and accepted there.”

The seemingly endless flow of musicians who passed through and performed at the Seven Venue often were profoundly affected

by Hart’s unusual ministry as well. Whether it was Christian rockers like The Chariot – a Douglasville-born hardcore band that both 64

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opened and closed its career at the original Seven location – or decidedly secular deathcore bands like Chelsea Grin, all were equally considered family.

The Seven provided its bands with opportunities to interact with fans, hot meals, a place to sleep, help with repairing equipment or vehicles - and an endless supply of Southern sweet tea. Some bands even had keys to the building.

In return, they were asked only to respect that the Seven was a Christian-operated establishment and that every show was allages.

Dan Lambton is not a believer, but the Real Friends singer never hits an Atlanta stage without mentioning the Seven and mourning its loss.

“Everyone was welcome there and made to feel at home, no matter what they believed,” Lambton said during the band’s November show at The Masquerade. “It’s a shame what happened to (the Seven).”

Hart said that while the Georgia Department of Transportation wasted no time getting started on the Highway 92 roadwork, it has yet to negotiate a compensation settlement that would allow the ministry to relocate.

“We’re determined to get back open,” said

Hart, who is working on plans to convert a former Winnebago dealership into the Seven’s new home. “We’re ready to make them an offer to purchase that building, but nobody (from the GDOT) seems in a hurry to do anything. The venue is still homeless and they still haven’t made efforts to settle with us.”

The prospective site, less than a mile north of the original venue on Fairburn Road, would allow Hart to realize his dream of adding a performing arts institute, entrepreneurial workshops and other offerings to the ministry. And while he says he believes absolutely in God’s timing, the urgency and necessity of reopening a safe haven for young people hit him especially hard last summer, when he learned one of “his kids” from the Seven had taken his own life.

His family held a candlelight vigil for the young man on the spot where the Seven once stood. The significance was not lost on Hart.

“If we’d been open the night he died, he would have had someplace to go, and maybe he’d still be with us,” he said.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow for a man whose primary concern is to help young people understand their value.

“My goal is to teach them love, how much

7 Venue visionary Tony Hart, second from right

Dan Lambton of "Real Friends" they’re worth and how much God loves them,” Hart said. “Because they don’t understand that when the only love they’ve ever seen is what the world has shown them. If a kid’s never been shown love, they can read every book in the world, go to every psychiatrist in the world and still not know what it is until they experience it.

That’s the only way. They have to be shown love.”

These days, Hart frequently runs into Seven

Venue regulars, some of whom he hasn’t seen in a year.

“My greatest honor is when those kids see me, grab me and start crying, start asking me when we’re going to reopen,” he said.

“We’ve got to get back and give these kids a home.”

Faith in God’s timing requires patience, which can be tough for a man who’s itching to get down to the business of God’s work

again. The Seven Venue got its name from the Biblical number of completion, Hart said, but “we’re just getting started.” WGL ••• LINKS: Save the Seven Documentary: vimeo.com/98970739 Home page: the7venue.com Facebook: “Seven Venue”

Real Security is Home Automation from Relyco.

Home Security System Yes, you can have it all. Control over the systems of your home while you’re away.

Remote Door Lock

Control your door locks for security, lights for energy savings, and even keep an eye on family pets. Monitor it all from your smartphone. Talk about peace of mind. Relyco means safe, secure and satis�ed.

Energy Savings

Remote Lighting

Remote Video

relycosecurity.com March/April 2015

West Georgia Living

65

Events

Calendar of Events

March/April

MARCH Tuesday, March 3 Youth Art Exhibit: Opening reception is 4:30-6 p.m. on the third floor of the Douglas County Courthouse, 8700 Hospital Drive in Douglasville. Exhibit is free and open to the public during regular courthouse hours.

Information: Wes Tallon,770-920-7593.

Thursday, March 5

Tuesday, March 10

Saturday, March 14

Government Contracting Seminar: 9 a.m. to noon at the Burson Center, 500 Old Bremen Road in Carrollton. Government Contrac ting S eminar Subcontrac ting with Large Prime Contractors & Proposals. Free.

Advance registration recommended. Information: www.gtpac.org or Jerry Shadinger, 678-890-2342.

An Evening With David Garrard: 7-10 p.m., Sunset Hills Country Club, 1 West Club Drive in Carrollton. Magic show sponsored by Oak Mountain Academy includes dinner and concludes with auction. Cost: Adult, $65; couples, $125. Information: Anneliesa Dobson Finch, 770-834-6651.

Friday, March 13

Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers: 7:30 p.m. at Mill Town Music Hall, 1031 AlaMOMS Club of Villa Rica: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. bama Ave. in Bremen. Tickets are $30-35 in at Fullerville Baptist Church, 423 Old Town advance, $35-40 at the door. Information: Road in Villa Rica. Serving the Bremen, Car- 770-537-6455. rollton, Temple and Villa Rica areas of West Georgia, the MOMS club plans a monthly cal- Cruise-In: 5-9 p.m. at Bojangles, 750 Georendar for moms and their children, including gia Highway 61 in Villa Rica. Cars, trucks and park play days, field trips, tours, crafts, book motorcycles welcome. Information: 770-459club and a monthly moms night out. Infor- 5624. mation: villaricamomsclub@yahoo.com.

66

West Georgia Living

March/April 2015

Beyond the Front Porch SAM Shortline Railroad: Join Beyond the Front Porch of Douglasville – an organization providing field trips to local youth – in air-conditioned, 1949 vintage train cars to explore Jimmy Carter’s boyhood farm and other south Georgia sites. Activity, transportation and lunch are free for students on free/reduced lunch and $25 for all others.

Register online at www.beyondthefrontporch. org . Information: Kascia Lipford, 404-408-6448.

Family Reunion Workshop: 10 a.m. to noon, Douglasville Conference Center, 6700 Church St. in Douglasville. Assistance with organizing, planning and hosting family reunions.

Free. Information: 678-449-3178.

Monday, March 16

Saturday, April 4

Monday, April 20

Chat With the Chairman: 6-7 p.m., Fire Station No. 3, Bill Arp, Kilroy Lane in Douglasville. Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Worthan will hold one-on-one conversations with members of the public on the topics of their choice. Information: Kim Watters at 770-920-7269.

Buchanan Car Cruise: Information: 404550-3475.

Chat With the Chairman: 6-7 p.m., Fire Station Fire Station No. 4, Fairplay, Hwy. 166.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Worthan will hold one-on-one conversations with members of the public on the topics of their choice. Information: Kim Watters, 770920-7269.

Thursday, March 19

Easter Egg Hunt: 11 a.m. to noon, Jessie Davis Park Memorial Park, 775 Malone St. in Douglasville. Information: 770-920-3009.

Friday, April 10

Carroll County Tea Party: 7-9 p.m., Stallings Community Center, 118 S. White Street in Carrollton. Information: 770-668-4942.

Cruise-In: 5-9 p.m. at Bojangles, 750 Georgia Highway 61 in Villa Rica. Cars, trucks and motorcycles welcome. Information: 770-4595624.

Friday, March 27

Saturday, April 11

Live Art: 7 Brides for 7 Brothers: 8 p.m. Live Art presents the stage play based on the hit MGM movie on the main stage at the University of West Georgia’s Townsend Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Maple Street in Carrollton. Information: 678-839-4722.

Bremen Car Cruise: Information: 770-3018782.

Saturday, March 28

Beyond the Front Porch Chattanooga Aquarium Trip: Join Beyond the Front Porch of Douglasville – an organization providing field trips to local youth – on a tour of one of the top-rated aquariums in America. Activity, transportation and lunch are free for students on free or reduced lunch, $25 for all others. Register online at www.beyondthefrontporch.org. Information: Kascia Lipford, 404-408-6448.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and Egg Hunt: 9 a.m., Ike Owens Community Center at Hunter Park, 8830 Gurley Road in Douglasville. Ages 12-under. Cost: $5, with additional fee for photos with the Easter Bunny.

Information: 770-920-3007 Sertoma Series: The Boxcars, 7 p.m., Copeland Hall, 103 Barr Avenue in Bowdon. Bluegrass. Information and tickets: 770-2588980.

A APRIL Thursday, April 2 MOMS Club of Villa Rica: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fullerville Baptist Church, 423 Old Town Road in Villa Rica. Serving the Bremen, Carrollton, Temple and Villa Rica areas of West Georgia, the MOMS club plans a monthly calendar for moms and their children, including park play days, field trips, tours, crafts, book club and a monthly moms night out. Information: villaricamomsclub@yahoo. com.

Well Water Testing: Carroll County Extension Office. Workshop on the importance of testing home wells. Information: 770-8368546.

Dogwood Arts & Crafts Fair: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., downtown Tallapoosa. Information: 770574-2345.

Thursday, April 16 Carroll County Tea Party: 7-9 p.m., Stallings Community Center, 118 S. White Street in Carrollton. Information: 770-668-4942.

Friday, April 17 Restless Heart: With West Georgia SingOff winner Morgan Taylor 7:30 p.m. at Mill Town Music Hall, 1031 Alabama Ave. in Bremen.

Tickets are $30-35 in advance, $35-40 at the door. Information: 770-537-6455.

Friday, April 24 Cruise-In: 5-9 p.m. at Bojangles, 750 Georgia Highway 61 in Villa Rica. Cars, trucks and motorcycles welcome. Information: 770-4595624.

On the Reel Film Festival: All-day; continues through April 25 at the Douglasville Conference Center, 6700 Church Street in Douglasville. Information: 770-947-5920 and www.onthereelfilmfestival.com.

Tuesday, April 28 Financial Strategies for Successful Retirement Seminar: 6-9 p.m. April 28 and April 30. University of West Georgia Continuing Education course with instructor Christian Koch. Cost: $69. Information: http://westga.edu/conted. WGL

West Georgia

LiVing Life . Art . Music . People In the next issue.....

History Coming in May 2015

Saturday, April 18 Sertoma Series: The Fairfield Four, 7 p.m., Copeland Hall, 103 Barr Avenue in Bowdon.

Legendary America A capella gospel group.

Information and tickets: 770-258-8980.

March/April 2015

West Georgia Living

67

Stripling Chapel

Stripling Chapel

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Holiday Overlook

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Ask the Ex ert What every West Georgian should know about...

Selling a House

Honor Codes in School

Britt Duffey/ Duffey Realty ..................... 71 Oak Mountain Academy ..................... 75

Keeping Your Pets Safe

Quitting Tobacco

Carroll County Animal Hospital ........... 72 Tanner Health System ........................... 76

Minimizing Stress... In Life and In Business J. Clay Salon ......................................... 73

Facebook, Friends, & Funerals Ellen Wynn McBrayer/ Jones Wynn Funeral Home ....................................... 74

Trading in Your Current Car Walker Cadillac, Buick, GMC Inc. ........ 77

Getting Your Lawn ready for Sod NG Turf .................................................. 78

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Ask the Ex ert

What every West Georgian should know about...

Selling A House

Q A

Q A Britt Duffey REALTOR ÂŽ Duffey Realty

Britt has been a RealtorÂŽ since 2002. As a life-long resident of Carroll County, he knows the West Georgia market as well as anyone. Britt has been a recipient of The Top Producers Award for the past 10 years.

In addition, he is a recipient of the Phoenix Award from the West Metro Board of Realtors in 2012 in recognition as a Top Producer for 10 consecutive years. Britt is a licensed RealtorÂŽ in Georgia and Alabama.

Q A

Why Should I Use a REALTOR to Sell My House?

Selling your house yourself, without the assistance of a real estate professional may save you the commission fee, yet it can cost you in other ways. Buyers often expect a lower price if the property owner is listing the house, and finding those buyers can be challenging. A REALTOR has the experience to help you price your home in the current market.

Q A

What are the Duties of a REALTOR? The duties of the REALTOR include marketing the property to potential buyers and agents with buyers to get the highest possible price for the listing, and to protect the interest of the client. It is not necessarily the REALTOR’s duty to find a buyer personally.

By belonging to the REALTOR Association and MLS database, the REALTOR is able to network and reach out to hundreds of other agents with buyers looking for properties similar to the property listing.

Q A

What are a REALTOR’S Fees?

While the fees may differ between REALTORS, a common arrangement is one where the REALTOR’s payment comes from a percentage of the sale price. Yet, commissions are negotiable and there is no standard commission fee. Typically, the REALTOR offers a portion of the commission, such as half, to the agent bringing a buyer. This would leave half of the commission, with a portion going to

the REALTOR’s broker to pay for business expenses such as insurance or office expenses, a portion going toward marketing expenses for the listing, a portion going toward the REALTOR’s business operating expense, such as business cards and real estate classes, and the remainder is the REALTOR’s income.

What about Marketing Costs?

If the REALTOR charges just a commission fee on the final sale price, this typically means the seller pays nothing if the property fails to sell before the listing agreement expires. Even if the listing doesn’t sell, the REALTOR pays marketing expenses covered in the listing contract, which might include the MLS listing fees, advertising and open houses.

For the property owner without funds for marketing, listing with a REALTOR can be an affordable way to market the property

How can a REALTOR help with viewing?

Listing your own property can tie you down. If you want to go away for the weekend or are at work, your house is “off the market� during that time.

When you allow the REALTOR to put a lock box on your property, other REALTORS can show the property when you are not home. When listing with a REALTOR, it is the REALTOR’s duty (not yours) to separate qualified buyers from those who can’t afford your home.

LEARN MORE: Britt.duffey@duffeyrealty.com 770.354.0120

Duffey Realty

 �  � � � �  ­

Britt Duffey

Ask the Ex ert

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What every west Georgian should know about...

KEEPING YOUR PET HEALTHY

Q During the cold weather months,

what precautions should I as a pet owner take to ensure my pets are safe?

A Pet owners have a lot on their plates

during this time of year, but keeping their pets safe should be a priority as well. There are 3 basic things pet owners can watch out for during this time of year to help keep their pets safe.

Jason P. Harden, DVM

Veterinarian at Carroll County Animal Hospital

Qualifications Dr. Jason Harden is a native of Carrollton, GA. He graduated from Oak Mountain Academy and continued on to the University of Georgia where he received his degree in Biology and his doctorate in veterinary medicine. His interest in veterinary medicine include surgery, exotic medicine, and ophthalmology.

Dr. Harden is married to Chloe Harden, and they have 2 children, Maggie and Reese. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Animal Hospital Association. He is the chairmen of the Oak Mountain Academy school board, a member of the Carrollton Lions Club, and on the board of directors of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.

1) Make sure your pets do not get into any holiday chocolate candy.

Chocolate., when consumed in high enough quantities, is toxic to pets. We worry most about this in small pets but depending on the type of chocolate any pet can be at risk.

2) Make sure that there is not any rat poison out that your pets can consume. We recommend owners do

not use pelleted rat poison, because each year we see cases where owners did not think their pets could get to it and they do. If its not treated early and aggressively, it’s often times fatal.

We recommend using glue strips or rat traps if you are having a rodent problem. While pets can still get into these, they are usually not fatal.

3) Make sure that no vehicle has any antifreeze leaking from it or if changing it make sure it is completely cleaned up. Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) is extremely toxic to pets and they are attracted to its sweet flavor. As small as a tablespoon amount amount can be fatal to your pets. There is treatment available but it has to be immediate and aggressive.

LEARN MORE www.carrollcountyah.com 770-832-2475

Carroll County

Animal Hospital Because Emergencies can’t be scheduled....

We now offer extended staffed hours!

Regular Office Hours: Mon. - Sun. 8am - 6pm Extended Emergency Medical and Surgical Hours 6pm - MIDNIGHT

(770) 832-2475

#OLUMBIA $R s #ARROLLTON 'A Across from Sony Music

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Q A

Jennifer Clay Jennifer Clay

Qualifications

Jennifer Clay is a licensed Cosmetologist with over 26 years experience in the industry as well as a Salon Owner. Manager and administrator since 1999.

Her personal life experiences along with a desire to truly help others feel good, not just on the outside, but mentally, emotionally and physically have lead her to pursue many Self-help and Self-growth classes, seminars and retreats. Jennifer is also an Instructor with The Chopra Center of Wellbeing and is certified since 2011 to teach Meditation, Ayurvedic Health, Wellness classes and more. She continues to actively run her salon and teach wellness courses for mind, body & spirit!

Q A

Minimizing stress‌. in life and in n business. a day. I make better decisions, remain more calm when things When you are always helping others get hectic and I realize that above all else my health and how do you take care of yourself? wellbeing are important to me and others in my life that need Owning a business can be very stressful, especially when working with the public. First and foremost I LOVE what I do so that helps but even when our job is perfect for us, it still carries many ups & downs. It’s important when you are helping people feel good about themselves that you too feel good about yourself. It’s well-known that hairdressers are often like therapists to their guests. After 15 years owning my business and 27 years in the hair industry I have had many opportunities to help, listen, offer advice, be a shoulder to cry on and more. It’s a beautiful thing to develop such relationships with your guests but I also started to notice that the more I gave out in service the more drained I would become. Those experiences, along with personal life struggles (who doesn’t have those right!?) led me to seek out stress relieving tools for my own life. I found meditation and yoga became my two favorite tools in my tool-belt arsenal of ‘what brings Jennifer peace and bliss’. I now have a meditation practice of my own that has me sitting in peace, stillness and quiet twice a day for 30 min at a time. Once in the morning and once right after work. I’m happier, my time with my kids is relaxed and joyful and my employees LOVE a peaceful boss so, to me, it’s a real life-winning practice.

How can you take an hour out of your day to meditate and still be successful?

SO many people ask me this question! I know it seems impossible and at first, back in 2008, I had to make myself do it just like any exercise routine or other discipline to take care of your body. Now I find that I am MUCH more caring, productive and effective as a mother, boss, teacher and friend. It’s not about the hour I spend in meditation‌.. it’s about the joy within the other 23 hrs in

me, so a healthy mind & body are essential to my life and to my business. It’s like when on an airplane how they say to put the oxygen mask on you before helping others‌.. it’s not selfish, it’s self-care and needed to offer the best you possible to others in your world. My business is doing great too! That in itself is proof that taking a time-in doesn’t mean you miss out!

Q

How would people learn these tools to help themselves in business and in their personal lives?

A

Actually there are many places nowadays that offer wellness classes. I became such a huge advocate for meditation when people saw the positive effects it was having in my life that I did become a certified meditation instructor with The Chopra Center. I’m now certified to teach meditation, Ayurvedic Health classes and I am currently enrolled in the Chopra Center’s yoga program as well. I teach regular meditation workshops within my salon, one-on-one private instruction in salon, and within other businesses for their staff. I teach a very relaxed, userfriendly method of meditation that does not require sitting in some weird position or holding your hands a certain way or anything like that. If you can sit comfortably in a chair with your eyes closed ‌. then you can learn to meditate. The benefits are immediate and I highly recommend it for anyone that experiences any kind of stress during their day‌.. so, everyone basically! I can’t meditate because I just have way too many thoughts‌‌. What do you think about that?

I have ALL kinds of actual meditation tips for you‌.. so check out my website jclaysalon.com and look for the next issue of West Georgia Living to learn more! Wishing you a stressed-less day‌.. and hoping you feel your best, love the way you look and love the life you live! That’s what it’s all about! ‌‌Jennifer Clay

Ask the Ex ert

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What every West Georgian should know about...

Facebook, Funerals, & Friends

Q A

What do we do with our loved one’s Facebook account after the person passes away?

Q A

What if we don’t have facebook? How will we keep up with the current list of the local obits?

Ellen Wynn McBrayer

Jones-Wynn Funeral Home & Crematory and Meadowbrook Memory Gardens As always, we remain “A Family Serving Families®....Since 1950”

Qualifications

Jones-Wynn Funeral Homes & Crematory has served our community for over 64 years. We keep our funeral home synonymous with its name & reputation of serving & caring for families. We are three generations carrying on one tradition.

We offer the highest quality service with the most affordable options.

Q A

Facebook is now a place that has become an extension of our everyday lives. Even in death the social media platform allows people to come together, share, grieve, and remember the deceased, just as they did when Robin Williams died. A page was even created on Facebook to allow everyone a place to grieve and share together.

Many people are still notified of a death of a friend via word of mouth or newspaper obit columns, but have you noticed that the new (and faster) word of mouth has become Facebook (and Twitter)?!?!

Facebook has become a very common go-to place to share something wonderful, to ask advice, to post photos, and now a place to remember our loved ones. We have been allowing the option to share your loved one’s obit on Facebook directly from our website, allowing everyone to instantly know the service arrangements. Our local papers are a wonderful way to stay current; however, in such a fast moving world where the papers don’t run daily, Facebook is a place to “stay in the loop”.

Even with a large (and growing number) of Facebook users, many people don’t like the idea of a Facebook account, and others might have a hard time keeping up with their Facebook News Feed. Our funeral home website offers a feature to sign up for daily obit posts.

Each night we add our current obit list, and each morning we email everyone on our “email obit notification” list.

Has Facebook changed their policy on the access to profi les of loved ones who have passed away?

Yes, Facebook just changed their policy. Their

Memorialization Request states, “After someone has passed away, we’ll memorialize their account if a family member or friend submits a request. Learn about what happens when an account is memorialized. If you’d like a loved one’s account to be memorialized...”

The following is from facebook’s help page about Memorialization account: (https://www.facebook.com/ help/103897939701143/?ref=u2u) Here are some of the key features of memorialized accounts: Facebook does not allow anyone to log into a memorialized account.

Memorialized accounts cannot be modified in any way.

Th is includes adding or removing friends, modifying photos or deleting any pre-existing content posted by the person.

Depending on the privacy settings of the deceased person’s account, friends can share memories on the memorialized Timeline.

Anyone can send private messages to the deceased person.

Content the deceased person shared (ex: photos, posts) remains on Facebook and is visible to the audience it was shared with.

Memorialized Timelines don’t appear in public spaces such as in suggestions for People You May Know, birthday reminders or ads.

Groups solely belonging to a memorialized account will be able to select new admins, while Pages will be removed from Facebook.

Please keep in mind that creating a Timeline in remembrance of an already deceased person is not allowed. We encourage you to create a Page or a group for this purpose instead.

Ask the Ex ert

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

What every west Georgian should know about...

Oak Mountain Academy

Q

Does Oak Mountain Academy have an Honor Code?

A

Oak Mountain Academy does indeed have an Honor Code stating, “On my honor, I will not lie, steal, cheat, or commit a dishonest act.” In addition, the Honor Pledge notes, “I have neither given nor received help on this work,” and is placed on all tests, quizzes, and projects requiring individual rather than team or group efforts. The Honor Code and Pledge are part of the “Warrior Way,” the school’s embracing of the core values of Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility. Violations of the Honor Code are brought before the Honor Council for review with the ultimate decisions for consequences determined by the Head of School.

Q

What role does an Honor Code play in the life of a school and its students?

A

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. professed, “Intelligence plus character – that is the

Paula Gillispie

Head of School Oak Mountain Academy, Carroll County’s only independent, college-preparatory, faith-based, day schoo

Qualifications Earning her graduate degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, Paula is a lifetime educator in her fifth year as Head of School at Oak Mountain Academy. Professionally, she chairs Accreditation Teams for the Southern Association of Independent Schools, is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Council of Teachers of English, the International Reading Association, and Phi Delta Kappa. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Independent School Association. Paula is a member of the Carrollton Dawnbreakers Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, and she serves on the Board of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce.

WARRIORS

OAK MOUNTAIN ACADEMY

true goal of education.” At Oak Mountain Academy, the Honor Code is an integral part of all we do as we strive to build essential character. Each school year begins with an all-school Assembly where students, faculty, and administrators sign the Honor Code as a public display of commitment.

It is an expectation that all will abide by the Honor Code and live the Warrior Way. Students respect each others right to learn and understand that dishonesty, disrespect, and irresponsibility may lead to dismissal from the school. With such expectations, students are able to learn and play in, as well as enjoy, a safe, honorable environment where learning and college preparation are paramount. As a result, students at the Academy are able to dream, strive, and become who they want to be in preparation for life beyond the “Mountain.”

Learn more at: www.oakmountain.us 770-834-6651 paulagillispie@oakmountain.us

W ELCOME W EDNESDAY Come experience us in action!

Please join us each Wednesday.

10:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m.

I am a Warrior!

Can’t make it on Wednesday?

Please call 770-834-6651 to schedule your personal weekday visit!

We can’t wait to see you “on the Mountain.”

Nʝɦ acȪʑpʤʖnɒ ʋʠɿʙicaʤiʝnɡ fʝɠ ʃȱɏ 2015-2016 sɭhoɼɗ Ɇeʋɠ.

Pȵeaȿɏ cɪɸɗ ʝɠ stʝɞ ʍɨ ƵƳA!

Come see what it means to be a Warrior.

. . . . . . . . .

ADMISSIONS OPEN H OUSE EACH W EDNESDAY 1 0 : 0 0 A. M. — 1 2 : 0 0 P. M.

O AK M OUNTAIN A CADEMY

222 Cross Plains Road ~ Carrollton, GA 30116 www.oakmountain.us Oak Mountain Academy admits qualified students without regard to race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, handicapped status, or religion.

Ask the Ex ert

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What every west Georgian should know about...

QUITTING TOBACCO

Q A

Urooj Ather, MD Board-certified in family medicine Villa Rica Family Medicine

Qualifications Dr. Ather is board-certified in family medicine with Villa Rica Family Medicine, part of Tanner Medical Group. She earned her medical degree from the Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, and completed her residency in family medicine at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Conn.

Q A

Why is it so hard to quit tobacco?

Mark Twain is credited with saying that giving up tobacco is the easiest thing in the world; he’d done it hundreds of times. The truth is, quitting tobacco is very difficult, both from a physiological and psychological perspective. Nicotine activates the “reward pathways” in the brain, releasing dopamine and stimulating feelings of pleasure. This causes long-term changes in the brain, driving addiction with the desire to continue those feelings of pleasure.

The loss of this stimulant often results in withdrawal, which is why as many as 85 percent of people who attempt to quit tobacco on their own often relapse into using tobacco. Most of those experience their relapse within a week of quitting.

Why do people start using tobacco again?

Relapse can occur for many reasons — often due to something that “triggers” the desire to use tobacco.

Many may experience the desire for a cigarette while engaging in activities during which they used to smoke, like while driving, socializing or following a meal. Other factors can also induce the desire to smoke, such as stressful situations or feeling sad or depressed.

Managing these triggers is key to successfully quitting tobacco. Try to do something to distract yourself from your desire to smoke. Call a friend or

Q A

loved one, turn up the radio and sing along or even engage in a bit of intense physical activity — whatever you need to do to get past the craving.

Most cravings tend to last only five to 10 minutes, so getting past the craving shouldn’t take long.

If nothing else, keep reminding yourself of why you’re quitting and how much money you’ll save.

What can I do to quit tobacco?

The people who most frequently relapse into using tobacco are those who try to go it alone.

Support is essential to quitting tobacco. Get Healthy, Live Well offers free Fresh Start tobacco cessation classes that can help provide the encouragement to quit for good. Fresh Start is a tobacco cessation counseling program that was designed by the American Cancer Society. The free classes support tobacco users through the first few days when quitting is the hardest and then teach them how to master obstacles that may come later. Participants learn the lifelong benefits of quitting tobacco and how to avoid a relapse. All materials are provided. Classes meet for an hour a week for three weeks. A schedule of upcoming Fresh Start classes and registration is available online at www.GetHealthyLiveWell.org or by calling 770.214.CARE (2273).

Learn more: visit www.VillaRicaFamilyMedicine.org or call 770.812.3790.

Go for 0 cigarettes a day.

There’s no better time than now to quit tobacco and get your healthy on.

Quitting is never easy. With the help of Tanner’s Fresh Start program, you can quit for good. Fresh Start is a tobacco cessation counseling program designed by the American Cancer Society. These free classes support you through the first few days when quitting is the hardest and then teach you how to master obstacles that may come later. You’ll learn the lifelong benefits of quitting tobacco and how to avoid a relapse. We know quitting is hard, but with Fresh Start classes we’ve made it a little easier. Get your healthy on by making your life tobacco-free.

Sign up today at

GetHealthyLiveWell.org or call 770.214.CARE.

Ask the Ex ert

Mark Foster General Manager Walker Cadillac, Buick, GMC Inc.

Qualifications Mark has a Dual BBA in Automotive Marketing/Automotive Management from Northwood University and Certification in Dealership Successorship through the NADA. Mark has 15 years experience in the automotive industry and is a community visionary who has a passion for exceptional customer service.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

What every West Georgian should know about...

Trading in Your Current Car

Q

How is the value of my trade-in calculated?

Q

Does past service history change the value of my trade-in?

A

Sid Lee, our used car manager, will walk around your trade looking for interior and exterior damage, condition of the tires, and will drive it to check for any mechanical issues.

Once we have that data, we compare NADA, BlackBook, and major auction summaries; based on the miles and condition of your vehicle we will make you an offer that aligns with the pricing provided from those sources. In essence, your offer will be based on the true market at that time.

A

It can. A vehicle that has been serviced regularly by a Technician who has been certified by a manufacturer should be worth more than a vehicle with no service records or from a quickie lube facility.

Q A

Does prior damage change the value?

Yes. A vehicle without visible paintwork or damage can be worth more than a vehicle with damage or poorly done repairs. If your vehicle is ever damaged, it is best to use a reputable body repair facility; there are many locally from which to choose.

LEARN MORE www.walkergmauto.com• 770.832.9602

www.walkergmauto.com

770-832-9602

1492 N Park St. • Carrollton

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? ?

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What every west Georgian should know about...

SOD 101 – GETTING YOUR LAWN READY FOR SOD

into the soil.

Q How do I prepare my lawn for turfgrass sod?

A

Helen Albrightson Business Manager Qualifications A native of Wisconsin, Helen joined NG Turf in 2001. Her responsibilities include oversight of internal functions including accounting, sales, marketing and human resources. Helen has been a Certified Turfgrass Professional since 2005.

7. FINISH GRADE the entire site, maintaining the rough grading contours and slopes.

Spring is the perfect time to install warm season turf (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede, St. Augustine).

8. ROLL THE AREA with a lawn roller to firm and settle the soil on the surface. Low spots that are revealed should be filled in.

NG Turf recommends a soil test prior to sod installation. The test can be submitted through your local County Extension Agent. Follow these simple steps for optimum site preparation results:

1. CLEAR THE SITE of any and all debris, including rocks and sticks.

2. ROUGH GRADE the entire area to prevent drainage problems and sloping from buildings.

3. INITIAL TILLING of at least 4-6 inches is recommended. This should be done before adding topsoil and will allow for proper water movement.

4. ADD TOPSOIL if your soil is not very nutritional; up to 4 inches in depth.

5. TEST THE SOIL PH with a chemical soil test.

Acidic soils (pH of 6 and below) can be improved with the addition of powdered lime.

6. APPLY “STARTER FERTILIZER” such as a 1010-10 or 13-13-13 and lime, as necessary and till

9. THE SITE IS NOW READY FOR TURFGRASS SOD. You should begin laying the sod as soon as it is delivered. Remember to water as you lay the sod.

Q A

What are the recommended steps to actually laying the sod?

Visit ngturf.com and download our Installation Step-By-Step Guide under the Resources tab.

LEARN MORE www.NGTurf.com 770-832-8608

www.pcgofwestga.com

Jeff Reid, M.D. Joseph Jellicorse, M.D. Mandi Del Pozo, PA-C Lindsey Roenigk, M.D. Shawna Berg, NP-C Hermogenes Pagsisihan, M.D.

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