Senoia Alive After Five
All in-person graduations canceled
Drinks, music and shopping set for Senoia Alive After Five
Coweta Schools cancel all inperson graduations
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Residents oppose proposed gravel quarry on Chattahoochee River BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
A
sarah@newnan.com
gravel quarry is being proposed for 360 acres along the Chattahoochee River in Whitesburg, across the river from Coweta and Fulton counties. The land for the quarry is zoned agricultural, and because of the way Carroll County’s zoning ordinances are written, it won’t have to be rezoned for a quarry to be built. Under Carroll’s ordinances, “mineral removal” is allowed in the agricultural zoning. In Coweta County, mining and quarrying is only allowed on properties zoned Industrial. The quarry is proposed for property on Black Dirt Road, and while a portion of the property touches the river, the quarry itself won’t be located quite that close, according to
the Development of Regional Impact study. Residents in the area are organizing in opposition to the quarry being located in their quiet, agricultural and residential area, and signs are popping up along Highway 5, Black Dirt Road and neighboring roads. A Facebook page, Citizens Opposed to Carroll County Rock Quarry, has been created, and a petition against the quarry is being circulated. The opposition organization also has an email address, carrollcountystrong@gmail.com , and a phone number, 770-402-1896. In addition to the noise and vibration from blasting, residents are concerned about the production of silica dust, a known carcinogen, said Alauria “Jenny” Corbin, who lives about two miles from the quarry and has family members who live much
Jenny and Mickey Corbin and Tonya Spinks of Carroll County are among those organizing against a proposed quarry along the Chattahoochee River.
closer. Some who live very close to the quarry have COPD or are organ transplant recipients, she said. There are also concerns about the impact on well water, the river, and threatened and endangered species, she said. Corbin said that when she went to college in Kennesaw, there
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was a quarry about five miles away. “It map produced by Corbin. would rattle our windows,” she said. Public comment period “There were big, loud booms from extended time to time.” Many areas of Coweta The public comment period on County are within the five mile radithe DRI review has been extended us, including Lake Redwine, Sewell Mill Road, a large portion of Roscoe Road, and Dyer Road, according to a QUARRY . 2
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through July 28. The initial public comment period was set to end on June 23. The Three Rivers Regional Commission is reviewing the quarry proposal. All quarries qualify as developments of regional impact and must undergo DRI review.
State, federal permits required
The developer is Green Rock LLC of Alabama. The mine will be for construction aggregate – or in layman’s terms, gravel. According to the DRI notice, the property will be served by a well and private septic system. Buffers, retention ponds and stormwater drainage designs must comply with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state of Georgia requirements for surface mining, according to the notice. Additionally, “it is anticipated that there will be transportation improvements required that have yet to be determined at this time.” A letter to nearby neighbors was sent last week, according to David Grayson, director of mining operations for Green Rock. Once the DRI review is complete, Green Rock will apply for the necessary permits from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The site will need an air permit from the Air Protection Branch, as well as permits from the Surface Mining Unit of EPD, Grayson said. The quarry will use the “newest generation in dust-suppression systems to ensure that we adhere to all EPD air quality guidelines,” he said in the letter. There will be a 750-foot buffer between the quarry and the river, and Grayson said in the letter that there will not be any negative impact on the river. “Green Rock will work proactively to ensure that all best practices are utilized to ensure the quality of both the Chattahoochee and any neighboring streams,” he wrote. The quarry will be smaller than the Vulcan Materials Quarry in Coweta, off Highway 154, Grayson said, and will produce approximately 300,000 tons per year. Grayson said he worked with Vulcan for 24 years, and his last position was as president of the Southeast division. Grayson was asked by email if the fact that no rezoning is necessary to build a quarry on the Carroll County site made it particularly attractive. “Yes, definitely,” he wrote. “Along with access to Highway 5 and the quality of the stone.” Grayson said the company plans to upgrade Black Dirt Road from the quarry entrance to the intersection with Hutcheson Ferry Road. “If we need to help with Hutcheson, we offered that as well,” he said. Grayson was also asked about the blasting
that will be done to break up the stone. The Georgia State Fire Marshal’s office has jurisdiction over blasting and “we will follow very strict regulations,” Grayson said. “The industry has improved dramatically with the use of electronics that make blasting much more efficient and minimize vibrations. We will also set ‘monitors’ around the site to ensure we remain compliant,” he said. Blasting would only take place once or twice a month, Grayson said, and will always be done during the week. He said they choose clear days for blasting to “minimize any air over pressure thereby reducing any felt vibration.” “We will do things the right way and always listen to our neighbors and try to make sure their concerns are being addressed.”
Carcinogenic dust worries neighbors
Silica dust, created from the crushing of the rock, is of particular concern, according to Corbin. “It’s more serious than what people think,” said Tonya Spinks. In addition to the silica in the air, it will be all over the dump trucks that take the rock from the quarry. The gravel is rinsed but the sludge “gets into the deep grooves of the dump trucks, and whenever they go on the roads, it falls out,” said Corbin. “Then it dries and your car drives through it and puts the dust through the air, and my car drives through it and puts the dust in the air, and it ends up spreading a lot further than they think it does.” Comments on the DRI can be mailed, emailed or faxed to Kimberly Dutton with the Three Rivers Regional Commission at Three Rivers Regional Commission, P.O. Box 1600, Franklin, GA 30217, 706-675-0448 or ksdutton@threeriversrc.com .For more information, contact Dutton by email or at 770-854-6026.
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Drinks, music and shopping set for Senoia Alive After Five BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com
S Serenity Richardson speaks to Senoia Mayor Dub Pearman about the monthly Alive after Five event.
PUBLIC PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE
Newnan City Governing Authority does hereby announce thatwillthe 2020 willatbe set atCity a meeting to be The The Newnan City Governing Authority does hereby announce that the 2019 millage rate be set at a millage meeting torate be held Newnan Hall on August 13,held 2019 at at Newnan City Hall to onthe August 11, 2020 at 2:30 PM,does andhereby pursuant the requirements 48-5-32, does publish 2:30 PM, and pursuant requirements of O.C.G.A. 48-5-32, publishtothe following presentmentofof O.C.G.A. the current year's tax digest andhereby levy, along with the history of the presentment tax digest and levy thecurrent past five years. the following offorthe year’s tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
City Cityof of Newnan Newnan CURRENT 2019DIGEST TAX DIGESTAND AND 5-YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY OF LEVY CURRENT 2020 TAX 5-YEAR HISTORY
City Real and Personal Motor Vehicles Mobile Homes Timber - 100% Heavy Duty Equipment Gross Digest Less M & O Exemptions Net M & O Digest State of Georgia Forest Land Assistance Grant Value Adjusted Net M & O Digest Gross M & O Millage Less Rollback Net M & O Millage Net Taxes Levied Net Tax $ Increase/(Decrease) Net Tax % Increase/(Decrease)
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019*
$1,081,798,682 56,791,200 0 0 0 $1,138,589,882 0 $1,138,589,882
$1,175,236,951 39,862,510 0 0 0 $1,215,099,461 0 $1,215,099,461
$1,204,536,961 28,360,230 0 0 0 $1,232,897,191 0 $1,232,897,191
$1,322,596,403 20,606,520 0 0 0 $1,343,202,923 0 $1,343,202,923
$1,419,667,563 15,045,190 0 0 0 $1,434,712,753 0 $1,434,712,753
$1,475,094,477 11,991,020 0 0 0 $1,487,085,497 0 $1,487,085,497
$0 $1,138,589,882
$0 $1,215,099,461
$0 $1,232,897,191
$0 $1,343,202,923
$0 $1,434,712,753
$0 $1,487,085,497
8.805 4.655 4.150
8.988 4.938 4.050
9.241 5.191 4.050
8.709 4.839 3.870
8.707 4.707 4.000
8.905 4.916 3.989
$4,725,148
$4,921,153
$4,993,234
$5,198,195
$5,738,851
$5,931,984
$328,854
$196,005
$72,081
$204,962
$540,656
$193,133
7.48%
4.15%
1.46%
4.10%
* Proposed Millage Rate. Actual Millage Rate will be determined by Council at the August 13, 2019 meeting.
10.40%
3.37%
enoia will try adding alcohol to its monthly “Alive After Five” event. Alive After Five is held the third Friday of each month, and is a time that downtown business owners are encouraged to stay open later. Serenity Richardson said Alive After Five started last fall, and one event was held in March before things shut down for COVID-19. The event resumed in June. Richardson said that there has been discussion amongst the small business owners about customers asking why things close so early or why some shops are only open certain days. Alive After Five is “a strategic effort to bring some fun and art to the community” and to bring more foot traffic to local businesses. Senoia has a downtown entertainment district where open containers of alcohol are allowed. Under the city ordinances, alcohol must be in special cups, purchased by downtown restaurants that hold an alcohol pouring license. No BYOB is allowed. Richardson asked for permission to have alcohol for the August event. Based on how August goes, it might be requested for future events. Richardson said they’d like to host a “sip and see” event for downtown shops. Mayor Dub Pearman clarified that only restaurants with alcohol permits are allowed to serve alcohol. There cannot be any free distribution. There will be live music and art demonstrations, and Alive After Five is a socially distanced event, Richardson said. People have been staying spread out, in their family groups, she said after the meeting, and the June event went really well. “Folks came and wanted to support their small businesses,” she said. And the business owners were encouraged to see people come out, she said.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 — Marketplace — 5
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Coweta Schools cancel in-person graduations NTH STAFF REPORTS
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he Coweta County School System has canceled its in-person graduation ceremonies scheduled for late July and early August. In a statement released Monday evening, school officials cited health and safety concerns over the recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Coweta County and the region as the reason for the cancellations. “School system consultation with authorities from the Department of Health, District 4, and other state and local authorities have indicated that the spread rate and case rate of the disease has reached higher lev-
els in Coweta since June and early July, and continues to grow,” the release stated. Coweta Schools planned to move forward with the ceremonies to honor graduates in person after honors nights and graduations were held virtually last spring. “However, current COVID-19 trends have increased concerns about participant safety,” the release stated. “The Coweta County School System and Coweta’s high schools congratulate all of Coweta’s 2020 graduates, and support them as they move forward with their post-graduate plans.”
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Parents concerned about lack of school reopening specifics BY REBECCA LEFTWICH becky@newnan.com
S
ome parents concerned about how to handle their children’s return to Coweta County Schools say they don’t have enough information to make a good decision. However, school officials say they are doing their best to provide options, information, and as much time as possible to help families navigate the “new normal� where school is concerned. Patricia Fulford, an East Coweta High School teacher and mother of three sixth-graders in the Coweta County School System, brought her concerns before the Coweta County Board of Education on Tuesday. She requested an extension of Friday’s registration deadline for the Empower online option until the school system’s final reopening plans are available to parents. “We have to make a decision regarding if we want to choose virtual instruction, and that will last through December,� Fulford said. “That is a hard decision when we don’t know what going back to school will look like.� Fulford said as a teacher, she is uneasy about the reopening guidelines that have been made public. “In order to be (at the school board meeting) tonight, we each had a temperature check, and we
Four Generations
had to socially distance in overflow out in the hallway and wear a mask,� she said. “The current draft for the return to school does not have any of these requirements. Temperature checks were to be random, social distancing is impossible and masks were optional. From a teacher’s viewpoint, the difference between being here and at school implies that your health is more important than those at the school, and that’s concerning to myself and many of my peers.� Paul Gallati, the father of a fifth-grader, said the reopening information he received was “just a few sentences.� “It didn’t really flesh it out,� he said. “We have insufficient information to determine whether or not we’re going to send our daughter back to the classroom. We’re all kind of in the dark.� Board Chair Amy Dees is the mother of an East Coweta High School student, and she said she understands families’ frustration. “I’m also a parent, and we’re struggling to make a decision as well,� she said. Horton said that while registration would end as planned to allow the school system to begin staffing the virtual program, parents likely will have another opportunity to register for Empow-
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er before school starts. “As of (Tuesday) afternoon, we had over 4,000 students signed up, so we need to be able to stop it at the end of this week and get our head and our hands around staffing the program,� he said. “We have discussed opening registration back up as we get closer to the end of July, to try to be able to allow parents that choose to at that point the opportunity to make a more informed decision. “This feedback process is so important, and it’s something that we’ve heard from parents, and we’re going to make that adjustment,� he added. “But we have to be able to staff it first to begin to get the complexities around staffing it solved.� Board member Andrew Copeland asked if the school system was not prepared for the number of students registering for the program. “We’ve been working to prepare, but this is new to all of us,� Horton said. “Again, we’re offering a virtual program for the first time on this scale. We didn’t know until parents began to sign up what it could look like. It is complex to try to staff – it’s not easy. So I wouldn’t put it in terms of we were not prepared. We’re having to make adjustments daily in response to this.�
Patricia Fulford
Board member Linda Menk said school system staff had no way to predict the response. “We’ve never been here before,� she said. “Nobody’s been here before.� And in spite of what Horton called difficult circumstances, school system staff has been “amazing,� he said. “Every day, these people
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have come in and tried to problem-solve,� Horton said. “The complexities of this situation, I can’t describe to you. And when I look at other systems, I can’t find one that isn’t dealing with the same complexities. We’re taking it day by day, doing the best we can. We’re having to answer a bunch of questions in reaction to this.�
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