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FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6, 2018
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Chief Whitley ends career on top
Fire chief oversaw tremendous growth in department and community BY CLAY NEELY
clay@newnan.com After 30 years in the pursuit of providing the be st i n publ ic s a fet y, Newnan Fire Chief David Whitley has officially called it a day. His retirement marks t he end of a long a nd storied ca reer that helped usher in a modern f ire department to service the citizens of the city of Newnan. A native of Fairburn, Whitley graduated from Ca mpbell High School i n 19 79 before joi n i ng t he A r my t he fol low i n g ye a r. A f ter ending his ser vice, he came to Newnan as an e m ploye e at t h e n e w Eckerd Drugstore ware-
house i n Shena ndoa h . D u r i ng t h at t i me, t he idea of goi ng to work for the fire department took root. “I worked with a good friend of mine, Captain A la n Bowden , at Eckerd Drugs Corporation that told me about the f ire department, and I t houg ht it wou ld be a good f it w it h my m i lit a r y ex p er ience ,” he recalled. I n 1 9 8 7, W h i t l e y signed up for two lifeti me com m itments – one to h i s w i fe Joa n , and the other as a fullt i m e a s a f i r e f i g h te r fo r t h e Ne w n a n F i r e Department.
CHIEF, page 2
PHOTO BY CLAY NEELY
Fire Chief David Whitley spent his entire career as a firefighter at the Newnan Fire Department. His tenure helped usher in a tremendous period of growth at the department.
40 students honored by Ferguson at academy nomination ceremony
PHOTO BY CLAY NEELY
Author Elizabeth Beers, right, and Carolyn Turner, who helped her put the book together, are proud of “History With Elizabeth.” The book grew from talks on local history that Beers gave at the Carnegie Library beginning almost 10 years ago. SUBMITTED PHOTO
A large number of high school students received nominations for military academies recently. Pictured are the nominees, Congressman Drew Ferguson and board members who helped nominate students.
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
taylor@newnan.com Con g re s sm a n D re w Ferguson hosted the 3rd Congressional District Military Academy nomination ceremony at the University of West Georg ia’s New na n ca mpus recently. “When I think about this great nation and I think about the things that I love in this countr y,” Ferg uson said as he started off the ceremony last Friday. “Without question, the number one thing for me is our freedom. The freedom to be who we want to be. To live our lives the way we want to. To invest in a business, education, whatever we want to do and most import a nt ly ra i se ou r ch i ldren the way we feel is right in the faith that we choose we can do. That is something that is so important.” Forty high school students were recognized a nd received nom i nations to military service academies. “It is sometimes the g reatest sacri f ice a ny of you or a nyone ca n m a ke ,” Ferg uson sa id about joining the military service. "That is giving up yourself for the betterment of this nation. And it is, in my opinion, it is truly humbling to me to be able to stand here in front of you today and
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Congressman Drew Ferguson shakes the hand of an academy nominee last Friday at a ceremony held at the University of West Georgia’s Newnan campus.
say thank you for that willingness to commit to that level of service. It is truly something that we are all very grateful for.” Nom i ne e s aver a ge d a 3.93 GPA, a 1270 SAT s c o r e a n d a 2 9 AC T score. Most also participated in three varsity spor ts a nd f ive clubs, some as officers. Of the 40 nominees, seven are Eagle Scouts; 27 have part-time jobs; 29 are members of church youth groups; 31 participate in at least one com-
mu n it y s er v ice or g an i zat ion on a reg u la r basis; and 15 are JROTC members. Nominees include Wi l lia m Brow n , Rya n Cockes, Ka’Leah Davis, Jakob Dawson, Eric Neal Donevant, Paris Evans, Haley Farmer, Christian Fontanez-Virella, Claire Goins, Nicholas Greiff, Benjamin Griffith, Nichola s Ha nd ley, Sa muel Hick s, Lia m Holliday, Liam Hullstine, Eduard Hurtado, Jarrod Jackson, Chase Evan Jarck, Dar-
ryl Langford, Jonathan Lewis, Keoni Macayan, Shawn Matthews, Jake McMahon, Brianna M o o r e , J a c o b P a r r y, Na t h a n P r i c e , Wy a t t Matthew Redmond, Cameron Rothley, Donald Sener, Julia Sizemore, Eugene Smith, Amanda Stephens, Luke Turner, K at h r y n Wa rd , Ja mes Weldon, Liam West, Isaia h Wilk ins, Ha rrison Wi l l i a m s , Wi l l Wit herow and Eric Woods.
Beers’ history talks become a book BY W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com Almost 10 years ago, Elizabeth Beers began g iv i n g t a l k s on lo c a l history at the Carnegie Library. The f irst talk was about the original R . D. Cole l ig ht poles i n d ow n tow n , w h i c h were then being replicated to replace more modern lighting. “I really enjoyed it,” she recalled. T hus bega n a reg ul a r We d n e s d a y p r e sentation. “I had regulars who came,” Beers said, recalling that she bra nc hed out to g ive programs on families, communities, hospitals and other topics. After Beers gave her last ta l k in December 2 016 , E l len Corker of t he New n a n- Coweta Historical Society suggested Beers turn her talks into a book. Beers was at f irst skept ic a l , but f i n a l ly decided to u nder ta ke t he proje c t . T he f i nished project, “History With Elizabeth,” is now in print. Beers had done 86 progra ms – missing one we ek b e c au s e of s n o w. S h e k n e w s h e would have to choose some of t hem for t he book and omit others. “It wa s ver y ha rd
to d e c id e ,” s h e s a id . “There was such a wealth of information.” B eers joi ned forces with another local historian, Carolyn Turner. “I did t he computer s t u f f , ” Tu r n e r s a i d . Beers gave her the programs, and Turner formatted t hem for pub l ic at ion , re s e a rc h i n g along the way in order to submit a f inal draft of the book. “I never cou ld have done it w it hout her,” Beers said of Turner. “It has been a wonderf ul relat ion sh ip. It cou ld not have happened without her expertise and knowledge." The book is formatted w it h t he t a l k s a s t h e y we re or i g i n a l ly presented. T he date of each of the 41 talks is noted at the beginning of each chapter to give readers a time reference. The R.D. Cole street lamp is a leitmotif that notes t he end of each chapter. B e e r s a n d Tu r n e r k new that a n image of the Carnegie was needed for t he cover of t he book . They experimented w it h severa l photo graphs – but were not
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