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Soldier returns home, surprises daughter at school By Wes Mayer wesley@newnan.com
Kacy Ebinger was not expecting to see her dad in the lunchroom at school. This past year, Kacy’s dad, Technical Sgt. Matt Ebinger, has served with the 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron on the Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. He was able to take leave to visit his family earlier this year, but it has been almost six months since he last saw his wife and two daughters. Initially, Ebinger said he and his wife, Jessica, planned for him to surprise Kacy, a second-grader at Western Elementary School, by picking her up from school. However, their plans grew, and soon the faculty and staff of the school were in on the surprise. Together, they decided to have Matt Ebinger make a surprise appearance during Kacy’s lunch. Kacy had only just sat down with her friends and her mom on the far side of the cafeteria when Assistant Principal Stan McMichael told all the students they were being too loud and that they needed to be quiet for two minutes. This, however, was the cue for the curtains on the stage to be pulled back, revealing Matt Ebinger standing there in his uniform. At first, Kacy seemed a little confused about
why there was someone standing on the stage, but then she realized it was her dad, and she jumped up and waved for him to come over. Ebinger also waved for Kacy to come to him, so Kacy got out of her seat and ran toward the stage, and her dad jumped down and met her with a big hug in the middle of the cafeteria. There were more than a few tears shed by parents, faculty and staff in the cafeteria. Kacy got to leave school early, and she said when they got home, she wanted to play outside with her dad and rake up and jump in some piles of leaves. She also couldn’t wait to go fishing and deer hunting with her dad now that he’s home. Ebinger also surprised his 3-year-old daughter at home that morning, and he said she was very shocked to see him. He has served in the Air Force a total of 12 years, has spent 10 of those working as an aircraft mechanic on fighter planes and, for the last two years, has served as a manager of aircraft mechanics. Before serving in Korea, he was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, and his next deployment will be in Alaska with the 354th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron in mid-December. Ebinger said he’s happy he will get to spend Thanksgiving with his family.
Photo BY Jeffrey Leo
Kacy Ebinger gives her dad, Matt Ebinger, a big hug after he surprises her during lunch.
Blue Angels visit Falcon Field
Photo by Sarah Campbell
Volunteers Diane Hanford and Susan Vaughn with St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church helped Derenda Rowe, right, of the Coweta Community Food Pantry unload boxes.
Annual canned goods collection returns By Sarah Fay Campbell sarah@newnan.com
The 31st Annual Coweta Can-AThon is in full swing, and students at local schools are busy collecting canned goods, along with other nonperishable foods, to donate to the Coweta Community Food Pantry. The public drop-off date, also held as the grand finale of the annual food drive, is traditionally held the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. This year the drop-off and finale date is Dec. 2. The drop-off locations will be at North Court Square in downtown Newnan and in front of the Newnan East Goodwill Center at Thomas Crossroads. The two locations will be staffed by volunteers from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. During the month of November, donations can be given to representatives at any Coweta County school or at Canongate Golf Clubs in Coweta County. The Can-A-Thon is hosted annually by the Newnan Junior Service League and benefits the Coweta Community Food Pantry. “The Newnan Junior Service League is very proud to continue the tradition of helping our community,” said Jr. League Can-A-Thon Chair Ginny Lambert. “Seeing our community come together, year
after year, to help those in need is something we should all be proud of.” The food collected at the Can-AThon will arrive at the Coweta Community Food Pantry’s new location in the Westside Plaza shopping center on Temple Avenue. According to Food Pantry Executive Director Derenda Rowe, volunteers will be available to assist in transferring the food pantry items from the old Playtex facility to the new pantry location this weekend. The food pantry and One Roof Outreach are moving to three units in the shopping center. One, a former Rent-A-Center, will be the food pantry. The largest of the three, the former Bargain Town, will be the home of One Roof’s thrift store, and a third will be offices for One Roof and the food pantry. “We are ready for those cans,” Rowe said Thursday, as she and two volunteers unloaded empty boxes into the new space. Rowe has applied for a grant for a walk-in refrigerator/freezer. If the grant is awarded, the pantry will be able to provide more fresh food for Cowetans. Though things have improved
can-a-thon, page 3
The F-18 flown by Capt. Jeff Kuss and Capt. Corrie Mayes makes its way down Falcon Field runway. The purpose of their visit is to prepare for the 2015 Blue Angels season.
By Clay Neely clay@newnan.com
Fans of the Blue Angels got a sneak peek at next year’s airshow as the United States Navy’s f light demonstration squadron paid a visit to Falcon Airfield in Peachtree City recently. The F-18 jet, flown by Capt. Jeff Kuss and Capt. Corrie Mayes, screeched across the sky before making its landing. Their visit was to begin the process of preparing for next year’s exhibition at Falcon Field. The Blue Angels will make their first appearance in Peachtree City at the Great Georgia Airshow on Oct. 31, 2015. “It’s great to be here,” Kuss said. “We’re getting things figured out for next season so we’re spending some important hours out here.” Kuss and Mays are in town to “bridge the gap” between the squadron and the airshow committee. “We want to get everything in order with a solid plan so when we come out next season, we can hit the ground running and put on a good demonstration,” Kuss said. For the next few months, Kuss and Mays are traveling across the country doing these kinds of visits with each show site that will host the Blue Angels next year. In
Capt. Jeff Kuss and Capt. Corrie Mayes discuss the logistics involved in planning a Blue Angels airshow.
spring 2015, the season will begin and continue each weekend until their last show on Nov. 8. “Our season will almost be wrapped up by the time we get here, so the demonstration will be looking really solid,” Kuss said. When the Blue Angels return, they’ll be traveling with six single occupancy jets that will form the commonly seen “delta” formation. However, the number 7 jet is a twin seater and will be taking some lucky passengers along for a ride. “We select some of the key influencers who make a positive impact in the area to ride along,” Mays said. “A C-130 is also on the
team, which will be bringing support and supplies. It’s a pretty elaborate operation. There’s a lot of moving parts to it so that’s what necessitates our visit here to get things started.” So what’s it like to be a Blue Angel? “It ’s a n honor,” Kuss sa id. “We’ll smile as soon as you ask that question, and you can see it right there that everyone is super excited to be here. “If you walk around the squadron spaces around the f light line in Pensacola, everyone has a hop in their step, Kuss added. “It’s pretty neat to be part of this operation.”