Year in Review
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 — 1B
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Jan
Human remains identified after 2 decades
■■ Newnan-Coweta Humane Society works to find homes for 30 animals rescued from a puppy mill on New Year’s Eve. ■■ Charter Foundation gives a second grant – of $11,294 – to the Newnan Community Theatre Company for its play based on the 1948 John Wallace murder trial. ■■ Plans for a Blueprint for Successful Communities study in Moreland are announced by the Georgia Conservancy. ■■ “The Fat Boy Chronicles,” filmed locally, is released on DVD.
Feb
■■ David Brown, chairman of Coweta County Development Authority, states in a meeting that greater community support should go to the planned West Georgia Technical College campus. ■■ The local Salvation Army Service Center announces red kettle collections in December A view of I-85 looking south from the Highway 154 overpass totaled $52,736. at northbound traffic. In January 2012 U.S. Department of ■■ A routine traffic stop Transportation gives approval to a new interchange between on Interstate 85 leads to the Bullsboro Drive and Highway 154. confiscation of 65 pounds of marijuana. ■■ Cynthia Jenkins is re■■ Human remains found on been missing since 1991. elected mayor pro-tem by her ■■ Coweta County employWelcome-to-Arnco Road in ees see increase in health plan colleagues on Newnan City April are identified as Ann Council. copays and deductibles. Margaret Berry’s. Berry had
See Jan, page 2B
■■ Montana Bush is named Special Olympics of Georgia Female Athlete of the Year. ■■ Alexander Sean Gerbert is returned to Coweta County from Illinois to face child molestation charges. ■■ Several Tuskegee Airmen are guests of honor at a Black History Month program at Northgate High School. ■■ Coweta Board of Commissioners approves a bid of $11,400 to clean up property on Ishman Ballard Road. ■■ Senoia City Council approves a 20-year recreation master plan. ■■ Michael John Putney, 32, escapes without life-threatening
injuries when struck by a train in Moreland. ■■ Men and boys wear female footwear for the Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event in downtown Newnan to raise funds for Community Welcome House. ■■ Carol Moore, former director of the Georgia Mountain Center, is hired as director of the Newnan Centre, a city-owned conference center under construction. ■■ Cast and crew of “The Walking Dead” resumed filming locally. ■■ Chattahoochee Valley Poultry Association holds its eighth annual show and sale at the Coweta County Fairgrounds. ■■ A grant from Safe Routes
to School is announced to pave walkways for children attending Newnan Crossing Elementary School. ■■ Shannon Alicia Schmeider, a former Coweta County teacher assistant, is sentenced to 40 years – 20 to serve – for charges stemming from a relationship with a 14-year-old boy. ■■ Bob Coggin, who worked his way to a top echelon with Delta Airlines, is named to the Travel Hall of Fame. ■■ Donations – including funds from Coweta-Fayette EMC Operation Round-Up program
See Feb, page 2B
An outpouring of community grief follows news in February 2012 that Capt. Nicholas Shade Whitlock had been killed in the African nation of Djibouti.
Freight train ablaze as it rolls into Newnan
■■ A memorial service is held at Hurlburt Field, Florida, in honor of Newnan’s Capt. Nicholas Whitlock, who was killed while flying a combat mission in the Middle East for the U.S. Air Force. ■■ Newnan’s AfricanAmerican Museum and Research Center remains closed as officials investigate alleged financial irregularities and leadership questions. ■■ Senoia elected officials begin discussing changes to the city’s form of government to switch to give the city manager more authority. ■■ Three men are arrested in major cocaine bust, another is
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Coaters is fined by the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration after 20 violations were noted. ■■ Shenandoah Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center unveils its new mobile planetarium at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. ■■ Eight Coweta County schools are honored by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement for high student achievement during the 2012011 school term. ■■ The U.S. Department
Filming resumes locally for ‘Walking Dead’
■■ Coweta Circuit Superior Court Judge Allen B. Keeble announces he will take senior status at the end of 2012. ■■ Ryan Edwards, 34, is arrested following the death of his child. ■■ Unseasonably warm weather leads to jonquils and daffodils blooming early. ■■ Coweta County Water and Sewerage Authority votes to refinance bonds issued in 2007 in order to save on interest. ■■ Oldcastle Building adds 33,600 square feet with plans to expand its workforce as well. ■■ An undercover sting leads to the arrest of four on drug charges in Senoia.
March
■■ Members of Girl Scout Troop 22 collect 135 coats for Operation Overcoat. ■■ Sanford Cousin is grand marshal for the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. ■■ For the second year, Georgia Trend magazine names State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, as one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians. ■■ “Joyful Noise,” filmed partly in Newnan, opens in theaters nationwide. ■■ Food Lion announces plans to close its two stores in Coweta County. ■■ NuTech Powder
charged with burglarizing a church. ■■ A colon cancer awareness event is held at Ashley Park in Newnan. ■■ A Blueprints for Successful Communities meeting is held in Moreland. ■■ Newnan volunteers take part in the Great American Cleanup. ■■ Cowetans vote to extend the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for five years. ■■ Sharpsburg and Haralson approve Sunday sales of package beer, wine. ■■ A freight train is noticed on fire as it pulls into
A freight train is noticed on fire as it pulls into Newnan in March 2012. The blaze is extinguished by Newnan Fire Department with no major damage. This view is from the Salbide Avenue bridge looking north.
Newnan. The blaze is extinguished by Newnan Fire Department with no major damage.
■■ Coweta’s STAR students are announced. ■■ Financial transaction card “skimmers” are discovered at
Newnan area gas pumps. ■■ The Moreland Town Council investigates restoration of the historic Moreland hosiery mill. ■■ A bomb squad detonates two “suspicious” canisters at a car wash on Highway 34 East. No persons or property are damaged and the canisters turn out to actually be paintball equipment. ■■ The newly-created Coweta County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program opens office, requests volunteers. ■■ Grantville City Council approves a non-binding ethics code.
■■ The Coweta County Board of Education agrees that recess is good for youngsters. ■■ An auto repossession gone awry leads to a shooting incident. ■■ Skeletal remains found months earlier are identified as those of Emmitt Luther White. ■■ A trio is arrested for selling methamphetamine at a local motel. ■■ A 19-year-old missing for two weeks contacts parents. ■■ Coweta County Fire Department receives a new
See march, page 2B
From top to bottom, left to right: A JROTC honor guard welcomes members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen to Northgate High School in early February. Fiberglass horse statues painted in designs by local artists pop up across Newnan in early April 2012 as the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society’s “Horsey Affair” opens. TV personality Jeff Foxworthy makes a surprise appearance to present a Richard Brooks Visionary Award of Achievement to his friend David Boyd at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts in June 2012. On stage are, from left, Foxworthy, Mike Steed and Boyd. Robert and Retta Stokely speak to supporters in August. Robert Stokely is elected to replace Billy Horne in the General Assembly. Three East Coweta students are arrested for November vandalism at Drake Stadium, where a $20,000 Newnan Cougar mascot statue is removed from base and rolled down a hill. Viewing the replaced statue are NHS Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Stave Allen, Walter Drake, whose father Homer Drake donated the statue, and NHS Principal Doug Moore. Serving as grand marshal in the Light Up Senoia Christmas parade is AMC TV show “The Walking Dead” actor Scott Wilson, riding with his wife, Heavenly.