tra X
MAY 9 - MAY 15, 2018
➤ calendar
TIMES-HERALD
of events inside ➤ page 4A
free
Public safety shares food and fellowship ➤ page 6B
your weekly connection to local news & entertainment
Locals bring peace to Greenville Street Park
PHOTO BY TAYLOR ROBINS
Angela Bennett, a community member and singer, provides musical entertainment for Peace in the Park.
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
taylor@newnan.com A group of Cowetans g a t h e r e d i n t h e p a rk that was the site of last mont h’s NSM ra lly on Sunday. “We have to do some-
t h i n g d i f ferent ,” s a id Susan Kraut, organizer for t he event , about what Newnan needs to cha nge goi ng for wa rd in being a stronger com mu n it y. “ St ick i ng w it h t hese nucleuses ,
stayi ng i n t hat sa me comfort zone is not the remedy. Look a rou nd. Talk to somebody that you wouldn’t find yourself talking to for whatever reason because of whatever bias.”
Kraut suggested that ever yone go aga i n st their day-to-day activit ies a nd at tend meeti n g s a nd e vent s t he y normally wouldn’t attend to form diverse and organic bonds
with others. “ T h at ’s when t he g r ow t h t a k e s pl a c e ,” continued Kraut. “And t h at ’s wh en we t r u ly do start to form those bonds t h at m a ke us a real community.”
K raut had originally scheduled the event for the week prior, but had to c a n c e l b e c a u s e of rain.
PEACE, page 2A
Hands Free law begins July 1
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Four-month-old Wesley Melville smiles while cuddling with his mom, Elizabeth, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Elizabeth just completed a round of tests and will learn next week whether she can donate part of her liver to Wesley.
A Mother’s love BY MELANIE RUBERTI
melanie@newnan.com At just four months old, Wesley Melville has already earned the title “Sir Wesley,” and rightfully so. The baby boy is the king of his castle – on good days. But sadly, those days are becoming more rare
as the little boy fights for his life. Wesley was born with a rare disease called biliary atresia. The disorder causes bile ducts become inf lamed and blocked, meaning the liver cannot properly filter out toxins, according to www.liverfoundation.org.
Wesley was diagnosed with the disease when he was only three weeks old, said his mom, Elizabeth Melville. “He wasn’t responding to light and he was very jaundiced,” she said. “The doctors ra n tests a nd
WESLEY, page 2B
BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com Georgia Gov. Nathan D e a l h a s si g ned t he Hands Free Georgia Act into law. The act, which strongly limits how wireless phones and other electronic devices can be used by Georgia drivers, will go into effect July 1. The law prohibits holding a phone, or supporting it with one’s body, while driving. It also prohibits web browsing, texting, and most other phone use while driving. Drivers can use hand’s free devices or speaker phone to make phone calls, and can use voiceto-text technology, under the act. The law applies whether a vehicle is moving or stopped at traffic light, stop sign, or in traffic. Phone use is allowed while a vehicle is “legally parked." The only exception is to make an emergency phone call. Drivers can continue to use their phones for navigation, but still cannot hold or support them with their bodies while doing so. Making videos or photos, or using other elect ron ic dev ices wh i le driving is also prohibited. Dash cam videos are still allowed. L aw en forcement, public safety workers and utility contractors
are exempt if the use of devices is related to official duties or in response to an emergency.
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according to published reports. He admitted to texting and sending messages before the crash,
...it’s aim is to prevent the types of tragic and avoidable deaths that occured on that stretch of I-16 on that horrible day...
For mer Coweta n Suzanne Minarcine got involved in the push for the hands free legislation. Her young grandson was killed several years when he was struck by a driver who Minarcine said was on a phone call. She participated in hearings and visited the state capitol. “It was an interesting process,” Minarcine said. “I learned a lot about Georgia politics." Deal signed the bill, House Bill 673, in a ceremony Wednesday in Statesboro. The location was chosen to commemorate the 2015 deaths of five Georgia Southern University nursing students who were killed in a car crash on Interstate 16. The commercial truck driver who hit them pleaded guilty to five counts of first degree ve h i c u l a r h o m i c i d e ,
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though he denied using the phone at the time of the crash. The death of the students "reminds us what can happen in an instant,” Deal said during the bill signing ceremony, accord i ng to a press release. "A life, a life full of potential and the joy it brought to their families is suddenly taken away. I am honored to sign this Hands Free legislation here in this community, the home of Georgia Southern. Its aim is to decrease distracted driving by prohibiting the use of wireless telecommunication devices while on any public roads on our state. Even more so, it's aim is to prevent the types of tragic and avoidable deaths that occured on that stretch of I-16 on that horrible day in April of 2015."