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MAY 16 - MAY 22, 2018
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One big idea
LONGTIME COWETAN UNVEILS PLANS FOR CREATING A HOMELESS SHELTER, SERVICE CENTER BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com
A proposal to turn a former textile mill into a service center for homeless Cowetans – providing shelter, food, job training, counseling and other services – was formally presented recently to the Newnan Rotary Club. Rotarian Bill Headley owns the long-shuttered mill in Sargent, and his idea to turn it into a place where the local homeless can get the tools and support they need if they desire to become more successful. Headley said God placed the homeless issue on his heart, so he began thinking about something he could do about it. He’s owned the 150,000 square foot mill, which sits on 16 acres in the Sargent village, for years. It wouldn’t be like a traditional homeless shelter where residents stay for the night and are sent out in the morning, Headley said, and there would be separate areas for individuals and families with children. Headley said he envi-
“There could be woodworking and welding shops, and residents could learn various skills, from construction and plumbing to sewing, child care and cosmetology.” sions motel-style rooms, each with its own bathroom, for residents, who would be able to have their own secure place while they live there. Along with the rooms, Headley wants a large commercial kitchen and dining area, classrooms, job training areas, a food pantry, a thrift store and a garden. “There could be woodwork i n g a nd weld i n g shops, and residents could learn various skills, from construction and plumbing to sewing, child care and cosmetology,” Headley said. “There’s plenty of space for just about anything.” The center would have paid staff as well as volunteers, and there is talk of partnering with vari-
PHOTO BY SARAH CAMPBELL
Bill Headley talks about his Sargent Shelter proposal at a recent meeting of the Newnan Rotary Club.
ous schools a nd other organizations. But to make it work, Headley said, there needs to be unity.
SHELTER, page 5
Father, daughter keep business ‘popping’ around SUBMITTED PHOTO
Nancy Huddleston and Lizabeth Andrew of Meals on Wheels of Coweta, Sandra Thompson of CareSource, and Cynthia Bennett of Meals on Wheels of Coweta stand together with a $10,000 check that CareSource donated to Meals on Wheels last Monday.
Meals on Wheels of Coweta receives $10,000 NTH STAFF REPORTS news@newnan.com PHOTO BY MELANIE RUBERTI
Courtney Wilbanks is the co-owner of Kettleworks, a traveling food stand that specializes in flavored popcorn. The business is based in Newnan, but the family takes their speciality snack food to area festivals and events. Kettleworks even caters weddings and special functions.
BY MELANIE RUBERTI melanie@newnan.com
You can smell Courtney Wilbanks and Bob Horner’s Kettleworks food stand a block away before you even see it. The scent of freshly popped popcorn wafts through the air, mixed w it h a sweet, sa lt y and savory aroma of a va riety of snack food toppings. The father / daughter duo specialize i n p op cor n a nd t a ke their food tent on the r o a d to a v a r i e t y of events such as, Ma i n Street Newnan’s Market Day, the Peachtree City Night Market, the Taste of Newnan, the Coweta County Rodeo,
plus severa l more festivities. T hei r m a i n st aples are kettle corn and caramel popcorn, plus one speciality f lavor each month. “ We g o b a c k a n d forth between a sweet and savory flavor,” said Wilbanks. “Last month (April), we had a cookies and cream f lavored popcorn. This month, during Market Day, we had buffalo blue cheese popcorn.” Sometimes, Wilbanks will post a poll on t he Kettleworks Facebook page and let customers choose the next specialty flavor. But most of the time, the father / daugh-
ter duo come up with their ow n popcorn concoction. “We’ll sit a nd wonder, ‘What would that taste like on popcorn?’ Then we’ll go make it,” Wilba n ks said with a smile. “Sometimes we like what we come up w it h , a nd somet i mes we say to each other, ‘We’re never going to ma ke that again.’ But finding new f lavors is half the fun of it.” W hen the Kettlework s food tent is at a n event , ever y t h i ng is made fresh on site, f rom t he popcor n to the crisp, tart lemonade, Wilbanks added. Kettleworks started in March 2015 and the
concept behind it was simple: both Wilbanks and Horner loved popc o r n a n d w a n t e d to sha re t hei r favor ite s n a c k fo o d w it h t h e community. “My dad and I make a great team, and it was a g reat way to spend t i me to get her, plu s ma ke a little money,” Wilbanks said. While the family has only lived in Newnan f ive yea rs , t hey consider the city their home – and they enjoy bei ng a pa r t of t he community. “I love talking to customers and building a
POPPING, page 2
C a r e S o u rc e , a n on prof it ma naged ca re organization, presented Mea ls on W heels of Coweta with a check for $10,000 as a part of the People’s Choice Gra nt Awards. MOWC C w a s pre sented with the $10,000 check at the organization’s headqua r ters i n Newnan. Ca reSou rce employees are given an opportunity each qua rter to nominate, vote on and awa rd g ra nt s to t hei r favorite nonprof its. Si n c e 2 0 1 0 , $ 4 4 5 , 0 0 0 h a s b e e n a w a r d e d to nonprof it s c ho s en by employees. “Meals on Wheels of Coweta is a vital part of Coweta County,” sa id Bobby Jones, president of t he Georgia ma rket for CareSource. “CareS o u rc e i s h on ore d to present the $10,000 People’s Choice Gra nt
Aw a r d t o h e l p f u n d t he i ndispensable services the organization prov ides to t he community.” MOWOC wa s estab lished in 1981 and is desig nated as t he off icia l Meals on Wheels chapter i n Coweta County. More than 25,000 meals are served to MOWOC cl ient s a n nu a l ly. T he m a j o r i t y o f M OWO C clients live alone with little or no help, and the meal the client receives m ay be t he on ly mea l they eat that day. “CareSource is a ver y generous awa rd,” sa id Li zabet h A nd rew of Meals on Wheels of Cowet a . “ It t r u ly i s a blessing that will prov ide over 1 , 8 50 mea l s for our clients. We t h a n k y o u f o r helping us combat elder hunger in our county and for helping us show those we serve that they have not been forgotten.”