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APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 2018
TIMES-HERALD
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Dozens gather for ‘Stop the Violence’ parade ➤ page 6
Songs from the heart
COURTESY OF S ARAH WANYANA
The African Children’s Choir prepared to perform at churches in Newnan and Sharpsburg.. The choir consists of 18 Ugandan children, all ages 8-10.
BY MELANIE RUBERTI
melanie@newnan.com Eighteen young Ugandan children brought expressions of their culture and songs of praise to two different churches in Coweta
County. T he k ids, a ll ages 8 -10 , a re mem b er s of the African Children’s Choir. T he g roup is currently on tour throughout t he Un ited States
and performed at Trinity Fellowship Assembly in Sharpsburg. “The program is mix of contemporary Christian music, gospel, i n spi rat ion a l worsh ip a nd t r a d it ion a l A f r i-
c a n d r u m m i n g ,” s a id t h e c h o i r ’s m a n a g e r, Ti na Sipps. “T he performance is very energet ic . T hese ch i ld ren a re a ma zi ng perfor mers a nd have a ma zi ng spirits. They bring joy,
hope, smiles a nd a lot of energy. They’re magnet ic a nd t he show is super fun.” For most of the children, a lively spirit and enthusiasm outshine t h ei r pre v io u s , of te n
dest it ute l ives before they joined the choir. Accord i ng to Sipps , a l most a l l t he yout h s are considered orphans
CHOIR page 2
After 25 years, Mantracker remains a strong draw for law
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
Jacob Davis, who grew up in Newnan, works for Hot Rod Magazine as a network editor.
From Newnan to Los Angeles DAVIS TAKES LESS-TRAVELED ROAD TO ‘HOT ROD MAGAZINE’ PHOTO BY BETH NEELY
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
taylor@newnan.com People generally follow a frequently traveled path to success, like going to college. Jacob Davis, a former Newnan resident, choose to take a bumpy road on his way to his dream job. “It’s a weird and crazy story, and I don’t know how to really explain what happened to get me to California,” said Davis. “It’s long and convoluted and there’s a lot of bad ideas involved. The fact that I have this job right now is crazy. It’s such a strange story as to how I got here.” Davis has been the network editor for Hot Rod Magazine for almost a year. The magazine is based in Los Angeles. After graduating from Heritage Christian School
(now known as Central Christian) in 2012, Davis did what many graduating high schoolers doHe started college. He attended the University of West Georgia for two years, studying mechanical engineering. He then transferred to Southern Polytechnic College in Marietta for a year and a half before realizing that college wasn’t a good fit for him. During summer break, Davis went to work for Kenwood Rod Shop. His initial job was to clean the shop, but Davis ended up as the shop’s foreman four months later. Davis did not return to school and worked for the shop a total of two years.
DAVIS page 5
Members from law enforcement practice deploying spike strips during a course designed to help terminate a highspeed pursuit at the Coweta County Fairgrounds on Wednesday.
BY CLAY NEELY
clay@newnan.com Since 1993, thousands of members from law enforcement have m ade a n a n nu a l voyage to Coweta County to t a ke pa r t i n M a nt r a c ker – t he a n nu a l Public Safety Training Conference organized by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement personnel from a multitude of agencies across Georgia a nd A laba ma have ret u r ned to f u rther their training both in the f ield and in the classroom. T he event bega n when the Georgia Department of Corrections tea med up w it h
C owe t a to te a c h K- 9 handling, searches and track ing. T hese tact ic s a re u s e d m a i n ly for escaped conv icts , which is where the term “mantracker” comes from. T he con ference i s free, which makes it an asset for those in law e n forc e m e nt lo ok i n g to f ill annual training requirements. The conference b e g a n Tu e s d a y a n d e n d s to d a y. O f f i c e r s attend sessions at the Cowet a Fa i r g rou nd s , the f iring ra nge on Old Corinth Road, the county sheriff ’s office, the Justice Center and t he New na n Uti lit ie s C a bi n on You n g
Avenue. Ty pic a l ly, t he conference h a s pr i m a ri ly focused on “f ield” training exercises i n c l u d i n g K- 9 h a n dling, hostage rescue, traff ic stops, f irearms sessions and investigations courses. However, Sheri f f M i ke Ye a ger s a id he’s seeing a shift into more classroom oriented training such as ethics and community relationships. A brand new course for 2018 is focusing on how investigators can use social media to help further ongoing criminal investigations. Along with evidence collection
t h rough mobi le a nd tech devices, the social media course also highlights successful criminal investigations involving socia l media a nd showcases how t he i n for m at ion applies to real life calls for service and criminal investigations. Yeager said the classroom sessions are becoming more popula r a nd he’s h appy to t he trend conti nue i n 2018. "Law enforcement is under a microscope, so the focus on de-escalation techniques, comm u n i t y p ol i c i n g a n d
MANTRACKER page 5