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Breast Cancer Awareness Month OCTOBER 11 - OCTOBER 17, 2017
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Taste of Newnan Draws A Big Crowd
Keg Creek subdivision to bring 365 lots to Senoia By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com
People were eager to jump behind the wheel of the “General Lee,” a 1969 Dodge Charger made famous by the TV show “The Dukes of Hazard.”
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PHOTO BY CLAY NEELY
Kacey Bolton from Bolton’s Bakery offers Kim Armistead a mini fried pie during the Taste of Newnan last Thursday evening.
By CLAY NEELY
clay@newnan.com Hundreds of hungry folks filled the Downtown Court Square last Thursday evening with the opportunity to sample a smorgasbord of
many tasty and unique offerings from around Coweta County. The Taste of Newnan Fall ’17, a fun-filled, family event that is held twice a year, hosted perfect fall weather
for those ready to browse the many options available and chow down. Crowds jammed the streets to sample “tastes” from more than 40 Newnan-Coweta food vendors.
Along with great food, participants enjoyed some entertainment during the event, with two stages featuring family-friendly, live music, and a “Kid’s Zone” along West Washington Street.
A subdivision with 365 residential lots is proposed for property on Seavy Street and Hwy. 85 in Senoia. The Keg Creek Landing development is on 248 acres currently owned by the Frances Cleveland Estate and Bray Properties, and wraps around land owned by Berti Lu Nations-Miller. The developer is Brent Holdings LLC/Brent Scarbrough. The property was zoned for a conservation subdivision several years ago, according to Community Development Director Dina Rimi, and the conceptual plat for the development went before the Senoia Planning Commission on Sept. 19. The planning commission voted 3 to 2 against approving the plat. The conceptual plat request will go before the Senoia City Council on Oct. 16. There is a proposed overall density of 1.44 units per acre, with 136.2 acres of greenspace. That greenspace includes 29 acres that could possibly be used by the city for a future sewer facility. The developers will get a density bonus for making improvements to the intersection of Seavy Street and Hwy. 85, Rimi said. The base density under the zoning district would allow
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Babysitter hailed a hero by house fire victims GOFUNDME ACCOUNT SET UP TO HELP FAMILY By CLAY NEELY
clay@newnan.com
A m o t h er wh o lo s t everything in a house fire said the quick thinking of her babysitter avoided a much larger tragedy. Last week, the home of Shane and Tonya Cox was destroyed after an electrical fire reportedly started in a family playroom. Babysitter Hailey A r n o ld w a s a t h o m e watch i ng 2 -yea r- old twins, Jensen and Jared, when the fire started. Arnold, 17, said she was looking for a remote at the time when the boys ran into the room, alerting her to the fire. Inside the playroom, Arnold found a mattress was on fire and immediately took the boys out of the house and unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire with a hose. Arnold said she tried to call 911 with her smartphone, but didn’t have any luck. She took the boys to their great-grandparents’ house located on the property and success-
fully called 911 from their home. Just after 7:30 p.m., firefighters arrived at their Smith Road home and found heavy fire conditions through the entire top floor of the residence. Once the f ire was f i n a l ly ex t i n g u i s he d , investigators spent the next few days attempting to discover the cause of the blaze, which was later determined to be an electrical fire. Tony Cox sa id she’s incredibly grateful for Arnold’s intuition and keeping the twins out of harm's way. “She’s amazing to me in so many ways,” Cox said. “Not many people could have thought so fast, even parents.” Over the weekend, the family has spent their days sifting through the charred remains of their home – a 17-yea r-old home designed by Cox and built by her father. “We have insurance, but I never imagined having to start over from scratch,” she said.
However, wh i le t he family sorted through the ashes, many visitors stopped by to offer assistance to the family, who is currently staying with relatives. She said they’re still in shock over the ordeal and want to find a home to rent but without paying for a year-long lease. “Everyone has been so helpful,” she said. “People I have never met are stopping by to donate their time and things like gift cards for restaurants. I can’t believe how good people can be. It’s amazing to see. “I just want people to know how thankful I am for everything they’ve done a nd for a ll their prayers,” she said. “It’s devastating to lose your home, but we owe a tremendous debt to Hailey, who made sure our boys were safe.” A GoFundMe page was created for those who are interesting in helping the family rebuild and can be found at: https://www. gofundme.com/4i193ig
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Two-year-old twins Jensen and Jared Cox sift through the ashes of their home after an electrical fire reportedly started in their playroom. The family is attempting to rebuild their lives after the fire consumed their home last week.
Community Foundation offers employee assistance programs By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com
Local companies have the opportunity to set up “employee assistance programs” through the Coweta Com munity Foundation. The funds would help employees who are dealing with a major event that causes financial hardship, like an accident or illness, a natural disaster or even a big automobile repair bill.
“ It ’s a huge benef it to a n employee working at a corporation that has it – if you ever need it, it’s there,” said Ginger Queener, chairman of the board of the Coweta Community Foundation. Each company can tailor its fund to the compa ny ’s speci f ic needs. The foundation will manage the fund, for a small administrative fee. The foundation can also handle the application, review
and selection process for a company. The company itself, as well as vendors and customers, can contribute to the fund, and employees can contribute through payroll deductions. All contributions are tax-deductible, and the program has to follow IRS guidelines. Employe e s don’t re ceive t he funds – instead the grants go directly to pay specific bills or fund specific
needs. B e c k Fac i l it y S ervices was the first company to set up a program through the community foundation. “We see the need in our organization,” said owner Danny Beck. “We have 800 team members – we see a lot of sad stories,” he said. “Back when I started t h i s compa ny a nd we had two or three people, if somebody had a prob-
lem we would jump in and fix it,” he said. “Now we can have 50 people have a problem in a week.” When remnants of Hurricane Irma came through south Georgia, many businesses were closed, and Beck employees didn’t have buildings to clean. “Nobody could get to work. We had to kick in and raise money and help out with that situation,” Beck said. When something cata-
strophic affects a Beck employee, “our employees step up immediately. It is easy to ra ise t he money,” Beck said. But “I felt we need some type of tool where our employees can continually donate, whether it is $1 a paycheck or $5. With that many e m ploye e s , t h i s f u n d could grow into something huge.” The program is named
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