Visions 2021 - Looking Forward

THE COVINGTON NEWS • LOOKING FORWARD • 2021

VISIONS

Community Spirit Award

‘Sheriff for all’ Ezell Brown’s dedication to community shines bright amid gloom of COVID-19 pandemic

Inside LEADERS: McCrorey wins Youth of the Year

LEARNING: ‘Not another Oxford College out there’

A new direction.

A new purpose.

A new career.

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Equal opportunity institution.

NEWTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE COMMITMENT. LOYALTY. SACRIFICE. DEDICATION.

The goal of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office is “to be recognized as the kind of professional organization that values, respects, and honors the rights and dignity of the entire community. Through an abundance of collaborative efforts, the NCSO is committed to improving life in every aspect for its citizens, businesses, schools, colleges/universities, and visitors.”

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LEARNING

‘Not another Oxford out there’........................................................... 8 Georgia Piedmont Tech focused on student growth......................11 NCCA looks forward to fresh start.................................................... 12 Newton BOE Chairperson tells all................................................... 14

ENTERPRISE

Newton IDA celebrates success amid pandemic......................... 15 Ramsey says future of local retail starts with adaptation.............. 20 General Mills flourishing; expands production............................. 24 Underneath the hood: Jared Rutberg opens up ......................... 28

WELLNESS

Improving health one ‘pop’ at a time.............................................. 30 Keeping Newton informed................................................................32 Alcovy CASA seeks more advocates................................................36

COMMUNITY

911 Center always ready to respond .............................................. 40 Infrastructure tops Oxford’s priorities ............................................. 42 Mansfield emphasizes downtown revitalization ........................... 46 Porterdale eyes new development ................................................. 47 Covington FUMC driven by community......................................... 48

LEADERS

Sheriff Ezell Brown, Community Spirit Award Winner ................. 53 Piedmont Newton Hospital, Employer of the Year .......................57 Meredith McCrorey, Youth of the Year ............................................59 Linda Hays, Unsung Hero ..................................................................61 Phil Johnson, Unsung Hero ..............................................................63 Bradley Stewart, Unsung Hero .........................................................65

ON THE COVER • LOOKING FORWARD

Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown, winner of The Covington News’ Community Spirit Award for 2021.

Photo by CHRIS KELLEY

‘Sheriff for all’ Community Spirit Award

to community shines Ezell Brown’s dedication COVID-19 pandemic bright amid gloom of

6

VISIONS

@Local Coffee House - 38 Acceptance Insurance - 43 A&J’s Bail Bonding - 19 Alcovy CASA - 37 All Js & K Party Rentals - 18 America’s Carmart - 68 Angel Dust - 26 Awake Coffee - 52 Benny C. Phillips, PC - 12 Bethlehem Baptist - 64 Bradley’s Bar B Que - 65 Bread and Butter Bakery - 39 Bulldog Tire - 15 Bullseye Accounting - 13 Cater 2 U - 19 Chapman Insurance Group - 38 Chi Tau Omega Chapter of AKA Sorority - 55 Cinelease Studios-Three Ring - 5 City of Covington - 41 City of Oxford - 42 Community CARES Foundation - 60 Complete Automotive Tire Center - 18 Congressman Hank Johnson - 45 Conner Smith Realty - 25 Conyers Jewelers - 52 Covington Auto Collision - 18 Crystal Organic Farm - 30 C-Town Bikes and Fitness - 51 D&C Collision - 26 D&W Air Flow - 48 Donald J. Hillman D.D.S. - 30 Element Funding - 40 Farmers Insurance - Chenelle Randall - 19 Georgia Piedmont Technical College - 2 Hardy’s Floor Covering - 22 Hines Home of Funerals - 18 Hometown Realty -16 Interior Beauty Designs - 29 JC Harwell & Son Funeral Home - 47 Johnson and Brothers - 19 KC’s 24 Hour Childcare Center - 19 Keep Newton Beautiful - 40 Kiwanis Club of Covington - 49 Kwik Change Lube Service Center - 28 Leapin Lizards Pet Shop - 18 Lee’s Fashions - 39 Lester Lackey Funeral Home - 38 Life Dance Wellness Center - 33 Linda Hays - 62 Loganville Christian Academy - 7 M&K Academy - 18

Mansfield Market Place - 44 McKibben Music - 39 Monroe Power Equipment - 15 Natural Path Health Store - 31 Newton Board of Commissioners - 66 Newton County Chamber of Commerce - 27 Newton County IDA - 27 Newton County NAACP - 56 Newton County Sheriff’s Office - 3 Newton County Tax Commissioner - 48 Newton Federal Bank - 20 Nu-Da Sales - 48 Oaks at Ashton Hills - 32 Oxford College - 9 PC After Dark Computers - 18 Pace & Poppy - 39 Pepper’s Heating & Air - 51 Phil’s Pawn Bank - 51 Piedmont Newton Hospital - 34 Printability Signs - 17 Puff Cloud Vape Shop - 19 Ramsey’s Furniture - 21 Ready Rent-All - 23 Rest Easy Mattress - 18 Ridge Avenue of Covington - 39 Rotary Club of Covington - 50 Shametria Dixon - State Farm - 18 Shannon D. Sneed - Attorney at Law - 19 Simply Naked Candle Co. - 52 Snapping Shoals EMC - 4 Soapary - 51 Social Circle Ace Hardware - 17 Southern Heartland Art Gallery - 39 The Home Store - 26 The Joint Chiropractic - 67 The Meat House - 18 The Pampered Puppy - 52 The Pointe - 51 The Reserve - 50 The Sandwich Factory - 52 The Wildflower Collective - 48 Town House Cafe - 39 Town of Newborn - 46 Travel Arrangements 4 U - 19 United Bank - 24 Westmoreland’s - 52 Wheeler’s Cleaners - 16 Whistle Post Tavern - 51 WildArt - 38 Woven - 38 Young Americans Christian School - 10

Visions is an annual, special publication of

• 2021

VISIONS THE COVINGTON NEWS

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Inside LEADERS: McCrorey wins Youth of the Year

LEARNING: ‘Not another Oxford College out there’

which is published every Sunday and Wednesday by Newton Newspapers, Inc. Patrick Graham

OWNER pgraham@covnews.com

Taylor Beck

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER tbeck@covnews.com

CONTACT US Mail • P.O. Box 1249, Covington, GA 30015 Telephone • 770.787.6397 (NEWS) Online • CovNews.com THE COVINGTON NEWS

LCALions.com PREPARING STUDENTS ACADEMICALLY, SPIRITUALLY, AND SOCIALLY FOR GOD'S CALL ON THEIR LIVES

LEARNING

Oxford students gather while socially distanced on the quad.

(Photo courtesy of Oxford College, David Cannon Photography)

‘Not another Oxford out there’

By TAYLOR BECK tbeck@covnews.com

For years, Oxford College of Emory University has taken pride in being a community-centric institution and providing an unmatched personalized experience for students. But since the global COVID-19 pandemic took root, the college’s administration has been forced to — like everyone else — adapt.

As of April 7, half of the nearly 1,000 students enrolled at Oxford College are learning via in-person instruction. The other half, which consists of students from across the globe, are learning virtually from home.

Prior to the fall 2020 semester, students were receiving all virtual instruction, which Community Relations Director Laura Gafnea said was difficult for both students and faculty. Practically no one from outside the college was allowed onto campus for visits or any other activities.

“As it probably is for every working person, I think Zoom fatigue is real,” she said. “So, you know, 8 VISIONS

how do you help them get over that and figure out a way to connect with them and figure out a way to connect with them in this new format?”

Gafnea said the college’s campus life team has done a great job of making every student know and feel like they’re part of the community through various programs.

Hygge, pronounced “hoo-gah,” is the college’s latest program that has focused on developing a sense of “comfort, community and connectedness” and promote self care and wellness, Gafnea said.

As result of the program, the college’s picturesque quad has been decorated with what Gafnea described as “draped, twinkly lights, comfy chairs and fire pits” for students to take advantage of, all while maintaining the prescribed amount of social distancing.

For off-campus students, Hygge shipped out “care packages” filled with blankets, journals and a grow-your-own-plant kit.

“The Hygge program concept, I think, is really here to stay,” Gafnea said. “It’s about supporting THE COVINGTON NEWS

one another and making sure everyone feels like part of community, which we always are striving to do, even before the pandemic.”

Thanks to programs like Hygge and the diligence of the college’s faculty and staff, Dean Douglas A. Hicks believes the college has taken on the obstacles brought on by the pandemic in admirable fashion. “[Staff and students have handled changes brought by the pandemic] as well as could have been dreamed of,” Hicks said. “And I would say we’ve pivoted so many times our faculty and staff are dizzy.

“I feel like little miracles happen every day to be able to teach half our students in person and living on campus, and the other half everywhere around the state, the country and the world,” he added. “We’ve managed to have really strong retention rates and academic progress rates throughout this pandemic.”

Gafnea said that college’s goal is to return to normalcy in the 2021 fall semester, though health and safety protocols like regular COVID-19 testing and face coverings will likely remain in place.

In addition to the innovative campus life programs implemented during the pandemic, the college has in recent years established new programs connected to its strategic plan, such as the Milestone Project and the Discovery Seminar program.

For one hour of credit, students can participate in the Milestone Project, which is a digital portfolio reflection project “in which each student curates coursework, experiential learning opportunities, co-curricular experiences, and leadership endeavors and reflects upon the connections among and impact of this academic work.” Gafnea said the project would help students along their path and transition to Emory University in Atlanta.

Gafnea said the Discovery Seminar was a program that is catered to first-year students.

The seminars are three-credit courses that allow students to work closely with fellow students in a class led by a faculty mentor, who also serves as the students’ academic adviser during their time at Oxford.

Despite the pandemic, interest in the college has continued to rise. More than 60% of Emory University’s applicants reportedly showed interest in enrolling at Oxford College, which totaled approximately 20,000 prospective students. Hicks said the total marked the highest in the college’s history and — arguably more impressive — the THE COVINGTON NEWS

highest among all liberal arts colleges in the U.S. Ten years ago, Hicks said, the interest was around 20%.

“For me, our success as a college has been integrally connected to the success of the university as a whole,” Hicks said. “People interested in Emory University discover Oxford College. We just love that phrase ‘unexpected Oxford.’ I met a family visiting the campus recently — their student was recently accepted into Emory University — who had never been to the [Oxford] campus before and not really heard much about it. And they loved it… That’s why those numbers are so significant.

Gafnea agreed but also attributed the growth in interest to the staff’s efforts.

“I think [the reason for the increase is due to] the work of our admissions and enrollment team,” Gafnea said. “But I think the story is getting out that Oxford is a liberal arts institution within Emory University. It’s unique in higher education. There’s not another Oxford out there. So, we are able to offer students two years of really personalized education before transition to Atlanta campus.

“So the story is getting out there, and people are

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VISIONS

9

really intrigued by it,” she added.

Oxford College only accepts 500 new students each year, and despite the growing intrigue, Hicks said there are no active plans for expansion. He said the college’s size is exactly where it needs to be in order to maintain the community-oriented experience found only at Oxford.

Currently, the current average class size is 20, and almost all of Oxford’s offered classes have fewer than 30 students enrolled.

However, Hicks said a pilot program to slightly increase its enrollment numbers was planned to be launched this fall. He said the college wanted to welcome “a couple dozen more” students per year by staggering their entrances, which would avoid any overcrowding and continue allowing the college’s personalized brand of education.

Established in 1836, Oxford College is one of Newton County’s leading employers and an economic driver for the state of Georgia.

In Newton County alone, the college supports 520 jobs and boasts a reported annual economic impact of $79 million. Statewide, the college supports 1,500 and maintains an annual economic impact of approximately $262 million.

Aerial view of Oxford College.

(Photo courtesy of Oxford College, David Cannon Photography)

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Georgia Piedmont Tech maintains focus on getting students career-ready

By GARRETT PITTS news@covnews.com

If you are someone who is looking to take the next steps into a technical field, Georgia Piedmont Technical College Newton Campus can provide that and some on your journey into your job field.

Georgia Piedmont Tech was founded in 1961, but it was not until 1997 that the Newton Campus was built, allowing students to have a local and affordable opportunity to get the technical education they needed.

Georgia Piedmont Tech President Tavarez Holston took over in September of 2018 as he was given the challenge of turning around a college in the midst of a turmoil. “[When I was hired], I came into a situation where the college was in financial distress, and that whole narrative has fully shifted,” Holston said.

Holston recently confirmed big renovations on the campus for 2021, as it looks to improve the campus from the ground up.

“The renovations will start within the next two to three months, every piece of technology [will be improved],” Holston said. “Most of it was spurred by what we learned from the pandemic, and it is about innovating technology into our work.”

Georgia Piedmont Tech strives to provide the proper training and access to learn for the jobs specific to Newton County.

Transportation and logistics, technology, and health care are just a few of the fields that Georgia Piedmont Tech provides and some of the fields that Holston THE COVINGTON NEWS

expects to boom in 2021 as they continue to become more involved in a world that is in a pandemic.

One thing that Holston emphasizes is workforce development and providing proper training in an ever-changing workforce.

“Our whole point of existence at GPTC is that anyone who wants to get a job can get the skills that it takes to pursue the career that they are interested in,” Holston said. “It is going to be increasingly difficult to get a job without some kind of education, so the key to that is a high school diploma or equivalency so we are able to teach that.”

Along with providing the opportunity for people to get the equivalent to a high school diploma, Georgia Piedmont Tech still provides the traditional credit-based courses.

Each program at Georgia Piedmont Tech has its own advisory committee filled with members in those specific fields in order to provide the most up-to-date and effective learning experience possible to better suit today’s workforce requirements.

Another benefit for people specific to Newton County is the location combined with the affordable cost of the college.

“You do not have to travel across multiple counties, it is home,” Holston said. “It is very affordable. In most of our programs that we teach our job placement rate is 99%, so what it means is that when you leave here you get a job, and it is in a field that you studied in.”

Georgia Piedmont Tech offers both the Hope Scholarship and

the Pell Grant as well as the ability to earn more benefits if you are studying in a strategic industry, where more tuition and fees are covered.

Following his first two years at Georgia Piedmont Tech, Holston keeps it simple when discussing why he chose this college.

“It is always about the students. It is about helping someone learn and grow and become what they want to be,” Holston said. “The real motivation behind what I want and [the rest of the staff is to] help people be what they want to be when they grow up.”

As Holston continues to leave his mark on Georgia Piedmont Tech, he wants to continue to change the landscape of how people think about technical college.

“When people think about manufacturing, you think about smokestacks and grease and bad working conditions, and that’s not what that industry is about,” Holston said. “Those [students] are usually carrying around laptops and they are programming and interacting with machinery.”

As Georgia Piedmont Tech looks to have a breakout 2021 with the upcoming renovations and a job market that is in need of technical students, the future is looking bright.

“It is about return on investment, [that’s] what happens with a technical college,” Holston said. “We are in the process of investing millions in technology and our infrastructure and just the aesthetics of the campus.”

VISIONS 11

NCCA looks forward to fresh start

By MASON WITTNER mwittner@covnews.com

The Newton College and Career Academy is looking forward to entering the upcoming school year with a blank slate.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted institutions across the country over the last 12 months.

As some students were granted the option to continue their education from the safety of their house, schools explored virtual and hybrid options that would fit the needs of both their students and educators.

This task has been exceptionally difficult to fulfill for Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) institutes such as NCCA.

The staff of Newton College and Career Academy are excited to welcome students back to campus after the pandemic. (Photo by Mason Wittner)

770-788-2512 www.BPPCCPA.com

7200 Highway 278, Suite 201 • Covington, GA 30014 United Bank Building 12 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

“It’s a difficult job for any teacher, but especially CTAE teachers where the majority of their class is hands-on,” said NCCA Principal Chad Walker. “Our kids are here for a reason. They’re here to get their hands on something, to manipulate it, to try to fix it.

So I think they have really had a difficult time, but they have met that challenge and figured it out.”

Thanks to the resources provided to them by the Newton County School System, as well as the notable work of their faculty and staff, NCCA has found a way to adapt to change. But as vaccines are made readily available and the possibility of a return to normalcy becomes more realistic, the program is eager for what’s in store this fall.

The 2021-22 school year won’t

simply indicate a reversion to old practices, but rather a chance to welcome new and returning students back to campus in strong fashion.

“We look at it as an adventure and an exciting opportunity because really you can have a fresh start,” Walker said. “If we want to do something new, we have that opportunity.”

NCCA’s tagline is “Giving Direction to the Future.” With more than 20 pathways through which students can follow, the program provides its kids with a plethora of opportunities to prepare themselves for college or the workforce. Walker noted that he’s excited for the program’s new addition of a marketing pathway for students to select.

“It’s funny the state calls them

pathways because if you look at it, if we get you on the right pathway, we’re giving you a direction to go wherever you need to go,” Walker said. “And we’re giving our kids opportunities to do want they want to do.”

Walker envisions an uptick in project-based learning with an expected increase in desire for hands-on learning. This past school year, many of their educators have been limited to teaching about theory. But next year could provide a chance to put theories into action.

“Hopefully the kids will rise to the occasion and say, ‘OK, I remember talking about that, now that we’re here in this lab, let’s do it,’” he said.

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VISIONS 13

Newton BOE chairperson tells all

By SARAH DAVIS news@covnews.com

Abigail Coggin is a lifelong Newton County resident who has served as the District 5 representative on the Newton County School Board since she was elected in November 2010. She was recently elected as chairperson on Jan. 19, a position she has served in sevCOGGIN eral times during her 11-year tenure. Coggin also serves as operations director at the Arts Association.

Coggin ran for the board after former District 5 representative C.C. Bates resigned in July 2010.

“The whole reason I ran was because of my kids and just wanting to be involved in their education more so than I already was as a parent,” Coggin said. “ … Politics has always interested me, but the education of my children was most important.”

During the pandemic, the board was forced to make decisions on tight deadlines about virtual education and in-person start dates.

“We were making decisions very fast — faster than I would have liked to have made,” Coggin said. “But that’s just me, personally. I’m one of these types of people that likes to sit down and think about it and look at all the ramifications of it.”

Last fall, the school offered both in-person and virtual options for students. After Christmas, the county saw a spike in COVID-19 cases, causing the board to decide to postpone the start of the spring semester.

14 VISIONS

In-person instruction officially started on Jan. 11. Coggin said that being able to offer an in-person option for kids has been beneficial.

“I see a huge difference in kids who I know were struggling with their mental health and things like that,” Coggin said.

“Just in the past few weeks, we’ve got kids that come in here at night for classes and their face is just lit up. It’s amazing, to me, how important it is for those interactions and how important in-person is for students.”

One of the biggest obstacles for students during virtual school, according to Coggin, was limited internet access in her district.

“We just don’t have the infrastructure for WiFi,” Coggin said. “... That was the biggest hurdle for us to have to jump over was providing, getting a WiFi connection for these students to participate in activities.”

The school system provided a 1:1 option for students who chose to be virtual. This option allowed students to checkout a device, if needed, that enabled them to fully engage in online learning. Coggin said that this one-to-one check out system is something that will stay in place even after the pandemic.

One of Coggin’s main goals entering the position 11 years ago was to see a rise in graduation rates among Newton County students. In the past few years, this is something she said has become a reality.

“That’s one thing I’m very proud of,” Coggin said. “I didn’t personally have anything to do with that, necessarily — that

goes to the teachers, your administrators and your superintendent’s leadership. But, that’s one thing that I’m so proud of being able to provide the resources or help to provide them the funds necessary to give back.”

However, Coggin said that she fears that the pandemic may have a negative impact on this progress.

“It worries me just from my experience in dealing with children in the community not having that face-to-face interaction,” Coggin said. “I know of instances where children are not logged on and our teachers and our staff are having to basically track down to make sure these kids are OK.” Coggin was one of 18 people appointed to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) by Gov. Brian Kemp on Nov. 13. The commission acts as a “regulatory system” for certifying public school employees, according to the GaPSC website.

“It’s fascinating to see that side of education and all it takes to oversee teachers,” Coggin said.

“It’s a great honor to be a part of that and help out with those standards that teachers have to meet to teach our children.”

With reelection coming up in November, Coggin said she is unsure whether or not she will run again.

“You hear about some of the negativity that goes on just in general for elected officials … and you just reach that point where it’s just not worth it,” Coggin said. “… But then you look at the kids, and you’re just like, ‘Wow, I helped make that happen. I was a part of that.’”

THE COVINGTON NEWS

ENTERPRISE

Officials break ground in December on The Cove at Covington Town Center — a project that has been led by the Newton County Industrial Development Authority and the city’s leadership. (File | The Covington News)

Newton County IDA celebrates successes despite pandemic

By TAYLOR BECK tbeck@covnews.com

Despite a variety of obstacles the COVID-19 pandemic threw in the face of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority, a plethora of successes were celebrated.

Several major developments, in which the Newton County IDA played an integral role, were both announced and broke ground throughout the year, including the addition of a Publix supermarket and the construction of a handful of hotels and apartments in and around the Covington Town Center.

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Within the city of Covington, developers announced a Starbucks would take the place of a former Chick-fil-A and a Chipotle Mexican restaurant would occupy the former Moe’s location along U.S. Highway 278 in Newton Plaza.

And arguably the biggest development from the Newton County IDA was the purchase of Stanton Grove, an undeveloped area located west of U.S. 278 and north of I-20 that neighbors the renowned industrial park Stanton Springs — home to Facebook’s Newton Data Center and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Newton County IDA Vice President

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PIctured is the Stanton Grove property located in/near Social Circle recently purchased by the Newton County IDA. (Special to The News)

Serra P. Hall said she believes the future is bright for the industrial park.

“We’re excited about the possibilities,” Hall recently told The Covington News. “Beyond Stanton Springs, I would say [Stanton Grove] is our most popular site for [requests for proposals] and interest. We feel like that will only continue.”

These successes were all attained during a turbulent time because the authority was never forced to close its doors.

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“We never really shut down,” said David Bernd, who is executive director of the Newton County IDA. “We worked two months remotely a lot, but we were still in the office once a day or something like that.”

“Work never slowed down or came to a halt for us,” Hall said.

Rather than putting all their attention on new projects, the authority was thrust into a new role by surrounding businesses and industries — a beacon of hope and aid. Bernd said he and Hall were doing things that were “never on our plate before.”

This included hosting a weekly, then later monthly, industry leader call to keep everyone up to date amid the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic. Bernd said they were called on to assist in different ways to help others adapt throughout the pandemic. For example, the authority helped Oxford College of Emory University partner with local hotels to look to house students while trying to maintain proper social distancing.

“We saw people from other industries step up and be willing to help others out,” Bernd said.

As this happened, Bernd said interest in Newton County among the industrial world never slowed

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down — it actually increased, which is a far cry from how the community was viewed years ago.

“We had an industrial base that was fading seven years ago,” Bernd said. “We lost focus on who our customers are. We had depended on Atlanta to provide our people jobs … But we have finally changed that mindset. We said, ‘We’re going to make the jobs here.’ And we did. That’s what you’re seeing now.”

Bernd and Hall attributed the area’s industrial growth in part to the continued success and achievement of Newton County Schools.

“Industry growth and continued interest in bringing industry to Newton County starts with schools,” Bernd said. “Now we have a 90% graduation rate. In 2000, it was 54.6%. Who wants to move to an area where the graduation rate is not good? … You start to put that together with an area that was primed for growth … Now we’re a desirable [area].”

And as someone once said, the proof is in the progress. Not only have new businesses and industries made commitments to locate within Newton County, but even those already here have renewed their commitments to the area.

Over the last few years, General Mills, Nisshimbo and Bridgestone Golf, among others, have each expanded their production in Covington.

“Momentum causes momentum, and all we had to do was pour gas on the fire,” Bernd said.

Bernd and Hall both agreed the unsung hero of the Newton County IDA was Mike Hopkins of the Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority Board of Directors.

“Without the partnership of the water and sewage authority, we wouldn’t be in this position,” Hall said.

“Not only did they fund us, but if they aren’t sticking tens of millions of dollars in the ground right now … that’s Mike putting the infrastructure in to

make sure this office can put industry in that we’re shooting for in the future,” Bernd said. “We’ve had people donate land to Mike for not only 24-inch waterlines, but for water towers. That hasn’t always been typical of Newton County in the past.”

Adding to its work during the pandemic, Hall said the authority picked 2020 as the time to rebrand the agency.

“I think for 2020, a real great phrase — I know a lot of people probably used it — is resiliency,” Hall said. “We decided in the oddest of times to reshape our office — reshape who we were… So on a small scale, I think we were resilient to reformat an entire office and administrative roles … and I think we’re stronger than ever through the work with the county, the city and the chamber, who all sit on our board.”

Reflecting on the past year, Bernd and Hall are grateful to say the Newton County IDA has been on the fortunate side of COVID-19 and look forward to even better days.

“We accomplished [so much] in the middle of a pandemic,” Bernd said. “It’s a little bit nuts when you think about it.”

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Ramsey says future success of local retail depends on adaptation

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

Tony Ramsey has seen 24 years of changes in Covington’s downtown that he said have kept the historic area “alive.”

Not every town is so lucky, he said.

“It’s turned into an entertainment center instead of a retail center,” Ramsey said of the Covington Square.

And though some retail stores are still in the area, the evolution came about because the buying public wanted restaurants more than retailers in the area, he said.

The same is true of the retail industry’s future in Newton County — it will have to evolve with the consumer’s preferences or face an uncertain future, he said.

“You’ve got to listen to the customer,” Ramsey

said. “You have to pay attention to the trends.”

Ramsey left a job selling and servicing printing machines around metro Atlanta in 1997 to help his uncle, Sam Ramsey, operate the family-owned furniture store that had opened in Covington in 1919.

He now offers the most popular lines of furniture — Ashley, La-Z-Boy, Benchcraft and more — in 30,000 square feet of space in its main store on Clark Street and some historic buildings nearby.

The pandemic, however, did not allow him and other retailers to attend the annual furniture market in High Point, North Carolina, that gives store owners nationwide a view of the latest trends and styles, he said.

Ramsey said he works to compete with big-box competitors through personal service. Many of his employees are longtime residents who may know many of the customers entering the store, he said.

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Tony Ramsey sits inside the showroom of Ramsey’s Furniture in downtown Covington.

(Photo by Tom Spigolon)

The pandemic, though, has seriously affected the supply chain for almost every part of the retail industry — even if their products are produced

domestically, he said.

Shipment of furniture a consumer may order specially to match the décor or space in a new home formerly took about 45 days to arrive at Ramsey’s.

It now takes from six to eight months because of consumer demand and delays because of the pandemic, he said.

Ramsey said many retailers’ main competition now is at customers’ fingertips — what they can find on their smart phones rather than the brick and mortar store “around the corner.”

Websites like Pinterest also have prompted consumers to want more choices in styles and colors — and that means a retailer like Ramsey’s needs to meet that demand, he said.

He said most of the demand now is for custom-designed furniture — a complete reversal from the 1990s when most sales were whatever the customer saw displayed on the floor, Ramsey said.

“You have to adapt and evolve or slowly die,” he said. “You have to think outside the box and make adjustments.”

However, many people in Newton County still “want to support local” stores rather than national chains, Ramsey said.

For 102 years, Ramsey’s Furniture has been home to the Covington area’s largest selection of fine furnishings.

We have over 30,000 square feet of furniture on display since restoring several large historic buildings across the street from our main store. Come see us at 1145 Clark Street near the Newton County Courthouse.

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An aerial view of the Covington Square. (File | The Covington News)

Covington also is close to enough to Atlanta that people will “travel 30 to 45 minutes” for the kind of quality products his store offers, he said.

“You have to become a destination,” he said.

The continued popularity of the Covington Square also has been a boon to the store, he said.

“You can still see good retail around downtown.

Not that many squares are as vibrant as what we have here,” Ramsey said.

The rise of big-box furniture stores in past decades dealt a major blow to “mom and pop”

furniture retailers that seemed to operate in most southern towns.

The Great Recession that began in 2008 also had a major effect on many Georgia towns’ family-owned furniture stores because many could no longer afford the mortgage payments they were making on their buildings, Ramsey said.

But the housing industry’s comeback from the Recession and its continued strength through the pandemic in the area has meant there is a steady demand for Ramsey Furniture’s products, he said.

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VISIONS 23

‘Flourish and expand’

General Mills’ 2020 expansion means jobs for Covington’s next generation

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

Local and state experts believe General Mills’ expansion announced in September 2020 is a good indicator a 32-year industry will continue to operate in Newton County.

David Bernd, executive director of the Newton County Industrial Development Authority, said the expansion and capital investment for production of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal “helps solidify a second generation of General Mills employees right here in Newton County.”

“The Newton County IDA is extremely excited that, over the past four years, we have been able to navigate and overcome severe headwinds, ensuring a 30-year career staple in our community is able to flourish and expand,” Bernd said.

The Covington plant employs about 400 and is

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The company boosted production of one of the country’s most popular cereal brands by expanding their Cinnamon Toast Crunch operations and was adding 40 jobs in the process, Gov. Brian Kemp announced in September.

Increased operations began in the same month at the Covington facility at 15200 Industrial Park Blvd. NE, the governor’s office said.

Company spokeswoman Hanna Johnson said the expansion was one of the largest capital projects in General Mills’ history.

Griffin Bell, the company’s senior associate brand manager for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, said in a posting on the company’s blog “Taste of General Mills” that the cereal brand “has a strong runway for growth.”

“This new line will give us the

opportunity to expand our capacity and accelerate the brand,” Bell said.

Roxie Simon, plant manager of General Mills Covington, said the company “has a long legacy of making food the world loves, right here in Georgia.”

“Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of our most beloved brands as the No. 2 cereal in the United States, and growing.

“We are proud to partner with the state to create new jobs, tap into some great local talent, and expand our capacity to make even more of this family favorite in Covington.”

Bernd said securing the Cinnamon Toast Crunch expansion project “involved dozens of team members from Covington to Minneapolis.”

The IDA worked with the Georgia Department of Economic

Development on the project.

The company’s work in the Newton County community since 1989 has included the Covington Hometown Grant Program, which has helped support local families in need.

“The partnership the company has developed with the community and the support that it provides to our K-12 students, workforce development, arts programs and health initiatives like the ‘Cheerios Challenge,’ has made the entire General Mills family a vital interwoven partner to the region,” Bernd said.

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VISIONS 27

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Underneath the hood Local auto shop owner details humble beginnings, COVID impact

By SARAH DAVIS news@covnews.com

Newton County resident Jared Rutberg opened Kwik Change Lube & Service Center in January 2009 because of his concern for the 2008 recession. After finding success in his first auto shop, he decided to expand and open a second shop, Covington Pro Lube, in 2011.

At both of his auto shops, Rutberg places an emphasis on family and community even down to the detail of the company name. In the name of his first shop, the ‘K’ in Kwik and ‘C’ in Change stand for RUTBERG his two eldest sons Kyle and Connor, respectively. Additionally, Rutberg said he treats his employees like family by being flexible to their needs.

“We try to work with the employees as far as their family situations,” Rutberg said. “ … One of my employees [was] having a problem with the bus picking their kid up on time, so Jennifer changed the schedule, so that she could make sure a kid got on the bus and get that taken care of.”

After graduating from Springfield College in 1995 with a degree in physical education, Rutberg joined the U.S. Army, serving as a commander in Afghanistan and Korea. Rutberg said that his military experience taught him leadership roles that influence how he runs his business. The operations manual is formatted in an orderly military style and employees are trained to memorize and use a firm set of callouts when operating on a vehicle.

In these systems of call-outs, the “hood techs” working on the front of the car yell messages to those at the customer service desk as well as to the mechanics in the “pit” of the shop. This communication consists of a call-out and then a THE COVINGTON NEWS

response, verifying the message’s transmission.

Communication is “very important” at the shop, said hood tech Jenny Cloud, who has worked at Covington Pro Lube for two-and-a-half years.

“If a car comes in and they don’t need an oil change, we need to let everybody know who’s involved,” Cloud said. “ … When they call out the information it’s so everyone in the shop can hear it. Everyone knows what’s going on so there’s no miscommunication.”

Rutberg said one of the main principles in his business is accountability.

“I see 21,000 vehicles a year,” Rutberg said. “At some point, I’m gonna make a mistake somewhere. To me, the way to evaluate a company is not how they are when things are going well, it’s what do they do when things aren’t going well.

Everybody looks like a superstar when things are going well, but when things don’t go well, how do they handle it?”

On one recent occasion, Rutberg drove to Johnson City, Tennessee, after a customer called in and reported car problems.

“It wasn’t anything that had to do with us, but it happened to be a few days after she had gotten an oil change and she had a separate issue,” Rutberg said. “I drove up there and ended up hauling her vehicle back.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rutberg’s businesses were able to stay open under the category of “essential business.” The two auto shops adjusted cleanliness standards to ensure the safety of employees and customers.

The customer bathrooms were closed, as was the customer waiting room at the Pro Lube location, while the Kwik Change location has a socially distanced area for customers. Employees disinfect customer pens, take daily temperature checks and limit going into customer vehicles.

A glass divider between customers and employees at the customer service desk was also put up to ensure the safety of customers and staff. This is one of the safety measures that Rutberg said will stay in place even after the pandemic has ended to prevent the spread of other viruses, such as the flu.

In terms of the ramifications the pandemic has had on business, Rutberg said he feels lucky.

“I don’t see any long term impact for us,” Rutberg said. “Not like restaurants, office spaces, regular retail. They’ve had changes that I don’t think they’re ever going to fully go back to the way it was before.”

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WELLNESS

Improving health one ‘pop’ at a time

By MASON WITTNER mwittner@covnews.com

It’s said an ounce of prevention equates to a pound of cure.

That proverb is the foundation for the business model at The Joint Chiropractic in Covington.

“At The Joint, our mission is to improve our patients’ quality of life through routine and affordable chiropractic care,” explained Dr. Patrick Greco, regional developer for The Joint Chiropractic and owner of The Joint’s Covington clinic in Newton Plaza.

Greco has been a practicing chiropractor since 1999. His involvement with The Joint dates back to 2012, when he purchased 30 licenses for the Metro Atlanta area. A resident of Madison, he already owned clinics in Midtown and East Atlanta before noticing a need for a chiropractic clinic in Newton County two years ago.

“I took a little gamble because the population density in Covington is a lot lighter than our normal requirements,” he explained. “But I really felt there was a need for it here, so I went forward and opened up the clinic.”

The gamble quickly paid off.

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February and Greco was immediately inundated with support from the community. Despite numbers dipping in the first two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the business quickly rebounded with the help of loyal customers who were willing to take a chance on them.

“It was just astounding how grateful the community was that we brought The Joint Chiropractic to Covington. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Department of Economic Development really embraced us and welcomed us into this communi-

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ty. That was just a game-changer,” Greco said. “I’ve never done a business transaction that provided so much gratitude.”

The Joint exists to guide patients along the path to a healthy lifestyle through a drug-free approach.

While their routines aid in improving overall health, they view themselves as more of a well care clinic as opposed to a traditional sick care health center.

Patients are given regular adjustments that help maintain their quality of living.

“That’s really what chiropractic care is about. It’s preventative healthcare,” Greco said. “Our goal is not only to get you well; our main goal is to keep you well.”

The Joint differs from traditional chiropractors by making chiropractic care more accessible.

Upon their initial visit, patients pay $29 to receive their first evaluation, exam and adjustment. They are then able to select from a variety of plans and packages that will afford them the opportunity to maintain routine care.

The Joint’s most popular option is its Routine

Wellness Plan, which allows patients four visits per month for $69, with additional visits priced at $10.

“All of our wellness plans and packages are considered prepaid, and they’re reciprocal at any of our locations nationwide,” Greco explained. “We have 600 locations nationwide, so our patients can go to any location, swipe their key fob, and if they have any prepaid in their account it will cover the cost of their visit that day.”

Electronic medical records are shared among the locations as well, so The Joint’s chiropractors are able to check their patient’s history, see any pre-existing conditions and treatment plans, and take note of their adjustment preferences.

As The Joint’s Covington clinic enters its second full year of operation, Greco says the organization is committed to improving its communication and education of wellness care to the community.

“The healthier our patients are, the more resilient their bodies are going to be and their health is going to be,” he said. “They’d be a lot healthier in dealing with any different obstacles, from paint to sickness to whatever it is that they may run into.”

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VISIONS 31

Keeping Newton informed Local health specialist educates, helps compile data on community’s needs

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

DaShe’ McMillian is a public health specialist and knows about the health dangers of COVID-19.

But she also knows about the long-term dangers of other health dangers — everything from diabetes to tobacco use — and teaches them to young and old alike in Newton County.

McMillian is lead community health educator for Newton County for the Gwinnett-Newton-Rockdale Health Departments.

Her job is to tell seniors about

proper nutrition, or make sure people know how to lower infant mortality rates, or teach young people about the hazards of drug

“The goal is to work together just to improve the community’s health.” use.

McMillian’s work takes her “in the trenches” — to such areas as

schools, housing projects and civic clubs.

It even took her to Georgia State University’s Newton campus in 2018 where she helped health sciences students collect data about food pantries, food “deserts,” teacher and staff mental health and adolescent health.

Their collected survey data became part of Newton County health department’s 2019 Community Assessment Report, which is compiled every five years.

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She also makes herself available to senior care facilities or locations where seniors meet, such as the county senior center.

Many community organizations use grant funds to do their work, she said.

“The goal is to work together just to improve the community’s health,” McMillian said. “We’ve got a pretty good network now.”

The Community Assessment is designed to help residents “see how their community is doing health-wise,” she said.

She said participants from each of 10 essential public health services identified health priorities on which there was a need to focus in Newton County.

Priorities they identified included: • Lack of access to care, including a few primary care and specialty physicians; lack of public transportation; and a large number of uninsured and underinsured; • Chronic illness prevention and management, including diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, stroke and cancer; • Mental health and substance abuse, such as suicide, opiates and heroin; • Adolescent lifestyle choices, including tobacco, alcohol, substance abuse, and STDs; • Quality of life and lifestyle, including obesity, tobacco use, and motor vehicle safety; • Senior health.

Top community governmental of institutional leaders separately discussed a variety of public health-related topics, including quality of life and a five-year vision for Newton County.

Common areas in need of THE COVINGTON NEWS

DaShe’ McMillian is lead community educator for Newton County for the Gwinnett, Newton, Rockdale Health Departments.

(Special to The News)

improvement mentioned by two or more key stakeholders were physical health wellness and obesity, mental health care and services, poverty and food deserts in the county, the further development of the Newton trail system, the need for more sidewalks, improvement of transportation services, increasing availability of communication services, improving seniors’ quality of care and way of life and pushing for more collaborations with organizations in the community. Health concerns were mental health awareness, obesity and underinsured and uninsured in the community.

The report stated that many key stakeholders mentioned mental health could worsen in the next five years if not ad-

dressed “and likewise obesity could increase due to bad eating behaviors and sedentary lifestyles in the population of Newton County.”

“They also mentioned the growing senior population in Newton County and providing more services for this population.”

Chad Wasdin, a spokesman for the health departments, said his agency has plans to make community health statistics more easily accessible online for the public.

For example, if a person wants to know information about diabetes, the data could be downloaded, he said.

“We want to be a conduit for the community,” he said.

VISIONS 35

CASA seeks more advocates

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

A child who already has experienced abuse or neglect during a young life goes through the court system to determine a future home.

A government agency responsible for the child already is overloaded with such cases.

The Alcovy Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program works to help carry some of the load in Newton County.

The nonprofit agency oversees a group of volunteers in Newton and Walton counties trained to be advocates for abused or neglected children during Juvenile Court hearings concerning their future placements in foster care.

Each advocate “makes independent recommendations to the court for services which focus on meeting the needs of each child,” according to the Alcovy Judicial Circuit website.

CASA originated in Seattle, Washington, in 1979 and began operations in Newton County in 1988.

It opened a second office in Walton County in 2009, said Alcovy CASA executive director Lindsay Dycus.

Newton and Walton counties comprise the Alcovy Judicial Circuit but each county has its own juvenile court and judge.

Dycus said the program had about 28 volunteers in 2008 when it was able to cover all foster care cases in Newton County.

It now has about the same number of volunteers to serve 55 of the roughly 100 children in the county’s foster care system, Dycus said.

“We absolutely need more volunteers,” she said.

In Walton County, the need is even greater. It only has 20 volunteers serving 50 children out of 200 in foster care, Dycus said.

She said four issues typically lead to parents abusing or neglecting their children: drug use, mental health issues, family violence or extreme poverty.

“What we are seeing is they’re usually (interrelated),” Dycus said.

The Child Protective Services staff of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) investigates reports of child abuse or neglect to “protect the child and strengthen the family,” its website states.

However, each caseworker also is assigned caseloads that typically are “enormous,” Dycus said.

36 VISIONS

Alcovy CASA advocates participate in a training session. (Special to The News)

A CASA volunteer may advocate for one child or a group of siblings, she said.

“The beauty of CASA is it’s one on one,” she said.

“They’re keeping up with a child just like a parent would.”

Research has shown a child with a CASA advocate spends eight fewer months in foster care than a child without one, Dycus said.

They also are more likely to be placed with their siblings or in a home with a “responsible” family member rather than a foster care home if a CASA volunteer is involved, Dycus said.

She said each CASA volunteer is vetted “heavily” through “all the screenings” such as background checks.

If they check out, the advocate is trained before being sworn in and assigned a case, Dycus said.

They are given access to court information about the child and may accompany the child to court or visit them at home to get a better sense of the child’s needs, she said.

Dycus said CASA volunteers come from all walks of life.

One volunteer, a special education teacher, ended up helping a child whose background left the child “grades behind” students the same age, she said.

Others have included small business owners or nurses. One retired businessman was able to help a 7-year-old with attention-deficit issues and emotional problems simply by playing catch with him outdoors, Dycus said.

“He found he had quite an arm,” she said.

THE COVINGTON NEWS

100 children are in foster care in Newton County Help these kids by being their CASA Volunteer!

A CASA Volunteer visits the child at least once a month in their foster home and gets to know who they are and what they need while they are in care A CASA Volunteer speaks with those involved in the child’s life and ensures they get what they need. For example, A CASA speaks to the child’s teacher, doctor, foster parents, and social worker A child with a CASA Volunteer spends less time in foster care and more time in their safe and loving forever family than a child who does not have a CASA Volunteer.

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COMMUNITY

911 Center always ready to respond

By TAYLOR BECK tbeck@covnews.com

When there’s an emergency, we’re taught to immediately call 911.

Today, if residents of Newton County are in a dire situation, they can dial the three-digit number and, without fail, a local dispatcher will answer the call and do his or her best to meet the need.

But 911 hasn’t always been around.

In Newton County, the first 911 call was made Aug. 28, 1989, but before that day, residents had to call their respective police or fire departments any time they needed immediate assistance.

Since the center was established more than three decades ago, Covington-Newton County 911 has served as the sole answering point for the county, dispatching calls for agencies such as the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Covington Marshal’s Office, Newton County Animal Control, Oxford Police, Porterdale

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A Covington-Newton County 911 dispatcher answers a call. (Taylor Beck | The News)

Police, Covington Fire, Newton County Fire and Piedmont/Newton EMS. The center also works closely with the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigations and the Newton County District Attorney’s Office.

Covington-Newton County 911 Director Trudy Henry said the role of the 911 center and its dispatchers is more important than most people realize. She described being a dispatcher as a thankless position that often goes overlooked.

“We’re the one you’re going to call on your worst day,” Henry said.

Though the job description might sound easy, working as a dispatcher can be quite difficult.

“It can take a mental toll on you, for sure,” said Henry, who has worked within the 911 center for 26 years. She was appointed director in 2019.

“When you take those calls, most of the time you don’t ever get to know the end result,” she added.

“You don’t get the closure, and that can be tough sometimes, depending on the situation.”

In 2020, the center reportedly received a total

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of 92,063 CAD (computer-aided dispatch) calls. Of those calls, the center generated 104,529 calls to local agencies. More than three-quarters of those calls were law-related, meanwhile only approximately 13% were EMS-related and roughly 9% were fire-related. More than 50,000 of the calls were put out to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office alone.

Despite a series of ups and downs that has accompanied the COVID-19 global health crisis, Henry said she’s proud of her team’s efforts.

“They do a phenomenal job in there,” she recently told The Covington News. “We have a great team. I can’t say enough good things about them, especially during this pandemic.”

Henry said the center has been “fairly lucky,” as only one dispatcher has contracted the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began. The person had minimal symptoms, she said, and returned to work without issue.

Due to the threat of the virus, the Covington-Newton County 911 staff was forced to split up and work from different locations at times.

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Administrators who once shared office space were forced to move to various spots across the county.

In some instances, Henry said she transformed her vehicle into a makeshift office.

In order to curb the spread of disease, dividers were installed between dispatchers’ call desks and cleaning protocols were put in place. All staff members were urged not to go anywhere deemed unnecessary to avoid contracting the virus and/or spreading it among the staff.

Henry said the 911 center has been understaffed at times, so it was important to ensure everyone stayed healthy. There are minimum of five dispatchers per shift, Henry said, so missing just one or two people would be significant.

Amid the pandemic, Henry said the 911 center was playing an integral role in the installation of a new radio system for the county that she anticipates being ready to launch in March-April of 2022.

To get the system operational, 10 towers had to be placed in various locations around the county.

Henry said the 911 center was also working toward unveiling a 911 text message system.

VISIONS 41

Infrastructure tops Oxford’s priorities

Welcome

The residents of Oxford, the Mayor and the City Council members would like to welcome you to Oxford.

David S. Eady, Mayor

Council Members: Lynn Bohanan, George Holt, Laura McCanless, Avis Williams, Jim Windham and Jeff Wearing 770-786-7004 • www.oxfordgeorgia.org 110 West Clark Street 42 VISIONS

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

Oxford has several priorities that officials with the 180-year-old city hope will enhance its quality of life well into the future.

They include working to protect one of its natural borders, improving its sidewalk and water system infrastructure, and updating its farmers market — all to help maintain Oxford’s residential “atmosphere,” the city manager said.

The Methodist Episcopal Church chartered the city of Oxford in 1839 to be the original location of Emory University.

Emory later moved its main campus to DeKalb County just outside Atlanta but kept its original campus as a two-year liberal arts college for freshmen and sophomore students.

The city of Oxford is now centered on Emory Oxford College, which is where 25% of Emory’s undergraduates attend before completing their degrees at the Atlanta campus, according to information from the city.

Pepper said residents on a committee established to address sustainability issues are working on a state-aided program to halt the gradual degradation of Dried Indian Creek north of I-20 along Oxford’s eastern edge.

The Oxford City Council is working to protect the creek from further development near its shore THE COVINGTON NEWS

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through land purchases and donations and conservation easements, he said.

They also are working with the University of Georgia to assess the creek’s watershed area to understand what’s entering the waterway that eventually flows into the Yellow River, he said.

Oxford and Covington officials are in the “very early stages” of joint efforts toward protecting the creek south of I-20, he added.

Oxford’s sidewalk initiative involves replacement of its existing sidewalks and construction of new sidewalks along the east side of Oxford’s main thoroughfare, Emory Street.

It is working to build new sidewalks from Soule to Richardson streets, and along Emory Street’s west side from Soule Street to Watson Street at Asbury Street Park.

It also is working to add pedestrian lighting and a mid-block street crossing on Emory Street to enhance safety for walkers, Pepper said.

The 2021 budget includes $100,000 to make repairs to the existing sidewalk that runs along the west side of Emory Street from city-owned greenspace to Soule Street.

Pepper said Oxford also has applied for a federal

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Community Development Block Grant of about $150,000 to replace a part of a water main line off Oxford Road near the city’s west side.

The line serves about 75 homes in the areas of Keel Street, Beakhead Court and Perry Circle outside the city limits but in Oxford’s water service area, he said. The city’s 2021 Capital Budget includes $1.36 million to replace the water main section, which is more than 40 years old, city records show.

Oxford also wants to “build up” its farmer’s market, which the city now hosts informally by allowing vendors to sell locally grown produce on its greenspace area on many weekdays and Saturdays, Pepper said.

It now is allowing items like crafts and artwork and prepared food like jellies and jams to be sold, in addition to local produce, on Thursdays and Fridays from noon to sundown, and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m..

The city has created a “beefed-up” application process for vendors and has designated parking for the market off West Clark Street, Pepper said.

The Oxford Farmers Market’s Spring Festival is set for April 29 through May 1.

VISIONS 45

Mansfield continues emphasis on downtown revitalization

By MASON WITTNER mwittner@covnews.com

The widespread impact of COVID-19 has done little to deter the continued development of Mansfield.

Mayor G.W. Davis said his residents “did not realize a big change” due in large part to the city primarily serving as a bedroom community. He believes the largest loss the municipality faced was the closing of a restaurant, although another one has already been scheduled to open in its place.

“There have been some effects,” Davis said, “but I would

say that compared to some other areas of the state, the country, and maybe even the county, we’ve been blessed.”

As the calendar flipped to a new year, Mansfield continued its pursuit of completing the city’s last 10-year plan, which emphasized the revitalization of downtown. Four new business licenses have been issued for the downtown area this spring, as well as an undisclosed fifth project that Davis said “will be a big thing for us” should it go through.

In the meantime, the city center has already received a high-

ly-anticipated facelift. Mansfield held a Christmas tree lighting ceremony downtown in December and an Easter service with more than 200 people took place there April 4.

“It’s going to be a great addition to the town for those kind of things,” Davis said of the renovated city center. “We want to have some movies on the green and different events down there.”

Additionally, there continues to be an uptick in usage of the city’s trail. There remain sections that need to be paved, but noticeable progress has been made in the past year, Davis said.

The Mayor and Town Council would like to welcome you to Newborn Mayor: W. Gregg Ellwanger Council Members: Rob Bratton, Tom Krieger, Wayne Sams & Martha Ellwanger Come and Visit: Newborn Town Park right next to Town Hall Historic Newborn Schoolhouse & Community Center Jeanette Adams Zeigler Library Yearly Events: Arbor Day, Horneyhead Fishing Tournament and Festival

http://www.newbornga.com 46 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Porterdale eyes new development

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

Porterdale is ready to add an all-new residential area to its current supply of homes that mostly date to the early 20th century in the restored mill village.

The planned Cedar Shoals multi-use development broke ground recently on a 250-acre site in southwest Porterdale.

It is in a long, narrow area roughly between Covington Bypass on the south and Ga. Highway 81 on the north on a site formerly planned as a development called White Horse.

Plans call for 350 single-family residential homes, 142 townhomes, and 720 apartment units along with trails, kayak access to the Yellow River, and a commercial area on both Highway 81 and Covington Bypass.

Mayor Arline Chapman said she believed the project will be “a very important thing for Porterdale” because it will bring new residents with new ideas to the government and lifestyle of the histor-

ic town.

“It will change Porterdale forever,” she said.

The city council anticipated the Cedar Shoals development and imposed rules and regulations meant to guarantee housing in the new development will be “good quality,” Chapman said.

However, the city also will continue to maintain and develop the recreation areas along the Yellow River, which includes the Porterdale Yellow River Park, walking trails and a kayak launch area, she said.

“The riverfront is God’s gift to us,” she said.

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VISIONS 47

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48 VISIONS

Covington FUMC driven by community

By GARRETT PITTS news@covnews.com

It would be hard to find a church more invested into the community than the Covington First United Methodist Church.

The Covington FUMC has been an integral part of the community since the 1820s.

Led by Senior Pastor Douglas Gilreath, the Covington FUMC offers many opportunities to learn, grow, and connect with the community.

One thing that has set the Covington FUMC apart from other churches in Covington for years is its youth program.

The preschool program has been in existence for 30 years, as they continue to grow both their reputation and size of their youth programs. Covington FUMC holds their preschool program every week THE COVINGTON NEWS

from Monday to Friday.

“We have around 175 kids in our [youth] program,” Gilreath said. “It is a great place that has a great reputation for educating kids and taking care of kids.”

One thing that is a commonality for all the practices at Covington FUMC is the continuous drive and effort to help and serve the community. One of the biggest things that Gilreath and other members of the church participate in is the food pantry that operates four days a week.

During those four days of operating the food pantry, the Covington FUMC can serve up to around 150 to 400 families.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the church holds the food pantry on the side of the building as members of the community can drive in, while on Tuesdays the church goes out to deliver items to families who are unable to leave their house.

During the beginning of the pandemic last year, Covington FUMC had to shut down for a brief time, but the church was still able to reach the community through technology.

“By mandate of our bishop, we closed down the second Sunday in March [of 2020],” Gilreath said.

“Immediately we were able to record services and put it out to the congregation, and now we are able to do livestreams [of the services].”

Despite a hectic year, the Covington FUMC was able to bring back in-person worship in June of 2020, and they have no had to shut down due to no outbreaks taking place.

“We are beginning to roll in former programs, [such as] Sunday school,” Gilreath said. “Our youth have meeting the whole time and [so have] the children.”

As the pandemic slowly starts to lighten up, the church is looking forward to their big plans for 2021 The Covington FUMC has multiple local, national, and international mission trips planned as the pandemic slows down. Gilreath has also already planned for an educational trip to Israel this summer.

“We are beginning to roll back in some of the things that we do outside of the church, whether regionally, nationally, or internationally,” Gilreath said.

As 2021 slowly ushers in the ability to do more as the pandemic slows, the Covington FUMC is looking to continue its pursuit to serve the community.

“This church loves this community, and this church loves being in ministry in this community,” Gilreath said. “It is what drives this church.”

April 2020 | THE COVINGTON NEWS

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.

The Kiwanis Club of Covington has been serving our community since 1927.

If making a positive impact in the lives of children and members of your community is something you have a calling for, we’d love to meet you.

We meet every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Covington First United Methodist Church. covingtonkiwanisclub@gmail.com www.covingtonkiwanis.org Kiwanis-Club-of-Covington-Georgia kiwanisclubofcovington Serving the Children of the World VISIONS

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The Rotary Club of Covington serves Newton County through its Empty Stocking Fund, Top 10 students and Camp Sunshine projects, along with nationwide and international contributions.

The club, formed in 1939, meets for lunch, an informative program and networking every Tuesday at noon at the Covington First United Methodist Church. Visit www.rotarycovington.org for more information about your club.

50 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

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VISIONS 51

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THE COVINGTON NEWS

LEADERS Community Spirit Award:

Ezell Brown

Sheriff’s dedication to community shines bright amid pandemic

By TAYLOR BECK tbeck@covnews.com

Bearing the title of sheriff comes with a great authority and overwhelming responsibility — something Ezell Brown has taken pride in for more than a decade.

Since he was first elected Newton County’s top constitutional officer and leading chief of law enforcement nearly 13 years ago, Brown has worked fiercely to ensure the safety and security of the community, but he’s done so through more than upholding the law. He has conducted and contributed to numerous outreach programs to keep food on the table and a roof over the head of families in need.

But giving back isn’t something Brown does as a political tactic THE COVINGTON NEWS

“I am the sheriff for all. Regardless of who they are.

Regardless of their feelings toward me ... I’m still their sheriff.” or simply to garner attention. It’s something he feels is part of the job description.

“I look at the position as not a political position,” Brown said. “I look at it as being a steward of the community.”

This mindset is what led Brown to being recipient of The

Covington News’ 2021 Community Spirit Award, an annual honor given by the newspaper to a person who exemplifies the best of Newton County over a lifetime of service; one who is associated with volunteer work, favors and gestures of good will to local residents and businesses, always putting the community first — a person who is simply upstanding and a primary example of what every citizen should strive to be.

Brown said his job as sheriff consists of much more than “playing cops and robbers.”

Many days he is required to be a counselor or minister. Other days he is asked to help individuals pay a month’s rent, fill someone’s gas tank or meet a different need. And his actions are never limited to a specific group.

VISIONS 53

Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown, pictured far right, takes part in a local “driveby” graduation party during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Special to The News)

Brown said he’s willing to help anyone in a crisis.

“I am the sheriff for all,” Brown said. “Regardless of who they are. Regardless of their feelings toward me. Regardless of whether or not we’re in the same party affiliation. Believers or non-believers. I am the sheriff for all. And as I say many times, even those who have chose not to vote for me or support me, I’m still their sheriff.”

Brown said his inclusive attitude was brought on during his upbringing. Raised in a family with 15 brothers and sisters, the Blakely native said he learned many valuable lessons from his parents — especially concerning the treatment of others.

“My mother would always teach and would always tell me to give,” he said. “Anyone who holds their hand closed, you can’t allow anything to come into it.

54 VISIONS

“My father was a giver,” Brown continued. “He had the belief in giving ‘til it hurt. My mom was just totally different. She would say, ‘Help everyone you can, but do not allow the helper to need help.’”

Brown recalled a time when growing up when his friends — Black and white — would often share a meal at his home, saying his mother would cook and was willing to feed everybody.

And many times, Brown said, that meant he and his friends would have to take a spot on the front steps because there was no more room to sit at the table inside.

“I see beyond color barriers, because that’s how we were brought up,” he said. “We were taught to love everyone.”

Years later, Brown decided to take the same approach when he went to work in law enforcement.

Before becoming sheriff, Brown worked in construction, which actually brought him to Covington. Although the job was in Atlanta, he said didn’t want to live in the metropolitan. Brown said one of his brothers lived in Newton County, so moving to Covington made sense. In 1973, Brown chose to join the Covington Police Department and worked his way up the ranks before joining the Newton County Sheriff’s Office a few years later.

Brown made his first run for sheriff in 1996 but was unsuccessful. Though he handily won the Democrat nomination, Brown suffered a close loss to Joe Nichols. Shortly after the election, Brown vowed to never run against Nichols again, so long as Nichols was doing a good job. Brown said he was glad to honor that commitment until 2008 when Nichols decided to step down as sheriff.

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Brown then became the first Black man elected sheriff in the county’s history.

As he now enters his fourth term in office, Brown said he’s never considered himself a politician and only ran for sheriff because he believed he could “make a difference.”

“I’m not doing it for the money; I’m not doing it for the recognition,” he said. “I’m only doing it because I always felt I had the leadership ability to make a difference.”

Since taking office, Brown has helped continue and even create many community outreach programs to help families across the county, including CHAMPS, Explorers, the Random Act of Kindness program, the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment inmate program and various food giveaways.

When the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the community, Brown and the Newton County Sheriff’s Office increased its outreach efforts.

For a period of time, Brown led countless food and supply drives multiple days per week “to make sure families were able to eat, because we knew there were so many families without jobs.”

Brown and his deputies have also participated in

“drive-by birthday and graduation parties.”

“To be honest with you, when I first got a call about [a drive-by birthday party], I thought it was the most ridiculous thing,” Brown said. “… But we ended up taking part in several of them because we saw how much it meant to those people — from small children to even elderly people.”

While being sheriff is what Brown described as one of the “highlights of his life,” it is not easy. He said one of the most difficult aspects of the job is the negativity often voiced about his job performance and question of character. Brown said he’s been accused of many things over his career, including “incompetent,” “a thief” and “a drug dealer.”

“Those things aren’t hurtful to me,” Brown said, as he’s learned to let many things go in one ear and out the other. “But they are hurtful to my family … That’s the most hurtful piece about it. You open your family up to scrutiny. But thank God I have a family who knows me and knows I would never do anything to jeopardize my future or their future.”

Brown said he’s proud of many things that have

In 2004, the visionary Ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Chi Tau Omega Chapter became a vital part of the Newton County Community!

Looking back...we recognize that much of our community impact is attributed to Sheriff Ezell Brown and the other extraordinary leaders honored in this year's VISIONS Magazine.

Today, we are "Looking Forward " to continued partnerships that aid us in providing "Service to All Mankind."

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@aka_chitauomegachapter VISIONS 55

been accomplished during his tenure, as he’s seen the sheriff’s office grow and expand. And when he decides to step down as sheriff — whether another four, eight or 12 years from now — Brown hopes he will be remembered by those accomplishments and generous actions.

“Being sheriff, to me, is one of the highlights of my life,” Brown said, “because I enjoy what I do.

“May the work I’ve done speak for me; may the life I live speak for me. That’s it,” he said of his legacy. “I don’t have to have my name on buildings or on pavers in the street … I just want it to be known that I was a fair person, that I was a kind a person, that I was a loving person and that I was a forgiving person.”

Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown speaks to a resident at one of the sheriff’s office’s food and supply giveaways during the pandemic.

(Special to The News)

Newton County NAACP (#5224) P.O. Box 2521 Covington, GA 30015 Phone: 770. 378.1146 Email: newtoncountynaacp@gmail.com Facebook: Newton Branch

Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown helps hand out turkeys during a December 2020 giveaway event.

(Special to The News)

Congratulations, Sheriff Ezell Brown!

“Looking Forward” to many, many more years of new and successful partnerships!

The Newton County NAACP has been ensuring the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights for all Newton County citizens for 75 Years!

56 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Employer of the Year:

Piedmont Newton

CEO: Staff was ‘incredible at what they do’ during pandemic

By TOM SPIGOLON

heroes’ has been used pretty liberally across the country and the world. But, I can honestly tell you David Kent said the Piedmont Newton Hospital that the people that we have in the hospital have staff he leads has been “truly heroic” during the been truly heroic,” he said. pandemic.

Kent served as a top executive for Cancer TreatKent, who is chief executive officer of The Covment Centers of America before joining Piedmont ington News’ 2021 Employer of the Year, said the Healthcare’s Newton County hospital in April 2020 medical facility on U.S. Highway 278 has seen both — about a month after the pandemic began in the good and bad effects of the yearlong COVID-19 earnest in Metro Atlanta. pandemic.

Patient demand for COVID services at Piedmont “On the one hand, it’s been a difficult and chalNewton went through three “peaks” and four lenging year, not just because of taking care of “valleys” — sharp increases and sharp declines — COVID patients. That has been difficult,” he said. during the course of the pandemic, he said.

“But the fear and uncertainty about what the “We’re still seeing COVID patients obviously at pandemic will bring, the application it will have the hospital but the overall number of COVID paon the hospital and all our community and on our tients is just relatively low for us right now,” he said own staff family. It’s been trying and difficult to in late March of this year. manage through,” Kent said.

One example of how hospital staff members “On the other side of the coin, it’s those condimade him proud during the pandemic was the tions — difficult, uncertain and challenging — that way they shifted to a different routine of working, really creates an environment for people to be such as putting in extra time to clean the facility, really incredible at what it is they do. he said.

“So, as difficult as it’s been, the term ‘health care “Change is hard sometimes,” Kent said. “They tspigolon@covnews.com

THE COVINGTON NEWS

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decided they wanted to help.”

He said he was “grateful and thankful” for his nursing staff, including those who volunteered to take the then-new Pfizer vaccine in December.

However, he also said the “health care story” of the pandemic is the community pulling together to help its residents get through the economic and social effects of the disease.

Newton County’s business and religious communities were among those that combined efforts to support the hospital workers with things like free meals, cards, letters and gifts, Kent said.

The experience of treating a previously unknown disease will only slightly affect how Piedmont Newton will operate in the future because of its vast experience with other communicable diseases, he said.

“I do think that COVID is here to stay. We’ll deal with COVID ongoingly as part of our normal operations,” he said.

“We’re really treating it now as a routine illness. It’s just another communicable illness that we treat in a community,” Kent said.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is we deal with a lot of other infectious and communicable diseases all day long. Flu is the biggest one. It’s seasonal, we prepare for it, we know what’s coming.”

He said he believed COVID-19 “will come and go” in the future.

“It will dissipate and then spread over time. I don’t think it will really go away,” he said.

“Hopefully, as more and more of our residents, especially in Newton County, get the vaccine there will be a direct proportional impact on how many COVID patients we’re seeing at any given time.”

He said what is unknown is if a 58 VISIONS

illness,” Kent said.

In the future, the hospital’s leadership is “going to do what we have always done which is to assess the needs of the community for all health care services, not just COVID services, and grow and expand those services to meet that need,” Kent said.

“What that will look like for Piedmont Newton Hospital will be more physicians, expanded service lines, and more offerings for the community to get care right here at home,” he said.

Kent said data shows “too many” Newton residents leave the county for their health care.

“Our job as a hospital, and with our primary care networks and our specialty physicians, is to grow those services to meet the fourth COVID-19 wave is coming, community so they don’t have to as well as its timing and size. leave.”

As a result, he said there is He said that will mean Pied“just a little bit of a race” bemont will increase the employtween people getting vaccinatment levels within the county’s ed and the new variants of the health care sector — both with disease — such as from the U.K. additional medical personnel and Brazil — spreading among and support staff. the population.

The hospital also is “looking at “What we know is that the different options to renovate” the vaccine does a fairly good job facility “to allow for more paagainst the variants, preventing tients to access us,” Kent said. fairly severe COVID. The more Kent said an example of using people that get vaccinated in a its existing space in a different community, the less of an impact way came during the height of it will have on the health care the pandemic when it was able system as a whole,” Kent said. to add 12 patient beds by openHe said he saw CDC data ing an inpatient unit in a formerrecently that showed more than ly vacant area. seven of 10 people above the age Piedmont Newton also “potenof 65 have received at least the tially” may expand its facilities first dose of the vaccine in the on U.S. Highway 278 in CovingU.S. ton beyond its current 103-bed “Not always, but that seems to limit, he said. be the population that gets the He said he believed 103 beds sickest from COVID. I think that’s are not adequate to serve a an encouraging sign that our community the size of Newton elderly, most vulnerable populaCounty. tion are getting the vaccine and “I think that’s likely several that will have an overall positive years out, but definitely meets impact on the spread of the the needs at some point to exillness, and the severity of the pand our facility,” Kent said.

Piedmont Newton CEO David Kent has voiced his appreciation for a hard-working staff during the pandemic.

(Special to The News)

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Youth of the Year:

Meredith McCrorey

Eastside senior forms county’s first special needs livestock show

By MASON WITTNER mwittner@covnews.com

Inclusivity is an issue that has been near and dear to Meredith McCrorey for as long as she can remember.

When Meredith was younger, the McCroreys were close friends with a set of parents whose daughter had Down syndrome. She recalls receiving odd looks and stares when the families would go out together, and she understood from a young age that it was unfair for someone to be treated differently simply because of a disability.

Through that experience, she says, she developed a passion for helping others feel welcomed regardless of circumstance.

“I’ve always tried to include everyone that I can,” said McCrorey, a senior at Eastside High School and FFA member through the Newton College and Career Academy, “because nobody’s disability is greater than their ability.”

McCrorey’s selfless desire to help others sparked a novel idea during her first year of high school.

In her freshman floral design class, she develTHE COVINGTON NEWS

oped a friendship with her classmate Gabby, a special education student enrolled through the school’s mainstreaming program. At the time, McCrorey and several of her classmates showed livestock — she’d personally shown a pig at a recent event — and commonly discussed it amongst one another. One day the topic piqued Gabby’s interest, leading to pleads for her involvement.

“Gabby just lit up and was like, ‘I want to show a pig! I want to show a pig!’ We kind of brushed it off, but it became an everyday thing,” McCrorey recalls. “I realized this wasn’t just something she was repeating. She actually wanted to do this.”

McCrorey helped enroll Gabby in a livestock show and served as her buddy as the two showed a pig together. Gabby’s lips spent hours curled in an obdurate smile that refused to be wiped away.

She was thrilled with the experience, ceaselessly expressing her gratitude. Afterward, McCrorey set out looking for similar events the two could do together, but was saddened to find her request unfulfilled.

“I tried to look at some other things Gabby could VISIONS 59

participate in but I saw there weren’t any opportunities for those with disabilities to keep showing livestock,” she said. “So, I talked to my agriculture teachers and we took it upon ourselves to create one.”

McCrorey founded Unique Kids Showing Pigs, Newton County’s first special needs livestock show. She’s now helped put on two independent shows, with a third, which was scheduled to take place during this school year, postponed due to COVID-19.

The shows have created an avenue for disabled students to be involved in agriculture, a science she took an interest in at a young age after her older sister enrolled in FFA. “Growing up, I always had the appreciation for agriculture, but not the understanding behind it,” McCrorey said. “Being able to go help my sister out helped me understand where the appreciation comes from. That was neat, and it got me into it.”

McCrorey’s love for agriculture isn’t going away anytime soon. She’s recently been accepted into the University of Georgia, and plans to continue studying the science at the collegiate level. She

The Ladies of the Community C.A.R.E.S. Foundations, Inc. Salutes Sherriff Ezell Brown and other Nominees on their Outstanding Service to the Newton County Citizens Rev. Darlene M. Smith President Dr. Sherell Vicks-Crawford Vice-President Community C.A.R.E.S. Foundation is a 501(c) 3 foundation serving both Newton and Rockdale Counties since 2012 www.communitycaresfdn.org 60 VISIONS

Meredith McCrorey guides her friend Gabby, right, as a buddy during a livestock show McCrorey started years ago.

has an existing relationship with the director of a program at UGA called ESP — Extra Special People — and she’s already been in discussions about how she can bring a similar special needs livestock program to Athens.

But despite her time in high school nearing its end, she has no intention of taking her hands off the Unique Kids Showing Pigs events in Covington.

It is her hope that they will continue to proceed, and she will continue having a hand in their production, long after she’s moved away.

“I don’t want people to think that this was something for a school project. This isn’t something that once I graduate, it leaves also.” McCrorey said. “I want it to be a lasting impact that the kids have.

Just because I leave doesn’t mean the students should have to miss out on the opportunity.”

As the 2021 Youth of the Year, McCrorey passed along words of advice for other high school students who are seeking to make a positive impact on the Newton County community.

“If there’s something you’re passionate about and you want to see a change, just be the change that you want to see,” she said. “There’s no better way for something to get done than if you do something about it.”

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Unsung Hero:

Linda Hays

Newton’s Clerk of Courts one of longest tenured in state history

By TAYLOR BECK tbeck@covnews.com

Despite being one of Newton County’s four elected constitutional officers, Linda Hays has spent more than four decades working in a position that some might think peculiar but one she simply calls “the background.”

Hays has served as Newton County’s Clerk of Courts since first elected in 1982. She presides as the chief keeper of all records, from court filings and property records to arrest warrants and name changes.

“It’s a lot,” Hays said. “When people come to work in the office, they often say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize just how much this office does.’”

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Hays said her office filed more than 69,000 civil and criminal documents. The number dramatically decreased in 2020 to approximately 49,000, but Hays said her office remained open during the pandemic.

Aside from keeping records for the superior and magistrate courts in Newton County, Hays’ duties also include jury and grand jury management.

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Hays said even after more than 40 years, each day is different from the next, which is why she enjoys her position so much.

“I love the county, I love the people, and if this is how I can make a difference, I really want to,” she said. “I want to contribute to the county … It’s just what I do, I guess.”

Hays, a lifelong Newton County resident, started work in the clerk’s office in 1976. She came to the office after briefly working in family-children services, but never envisioned such a long tenure.

“This sounds terrible for me to say, but … I really just wanted to raise my children,” Hays said.

“I really didn’t have a career path that I was on.

I didn’t think about being in politics. My daddy loved politics. He could tell you anything about politics, but I never really thought about any of that.

Now, I voted. I’ve never missed an opportunity to vote, but it was just so strange that I would end up being an elected official.”

Had former Newton County Chairman Jack Morgan not asked her to apply, Hays said she may have never gotten a job at the clerk’s office.

VISIONS 61

“That’s why I say it just had to be a God thing,” she said.

Hays was elected to the Clerk of Courts position in 1982 and took office in 1983. During her time in office, Hays has been honored with a handful of awards, including the Stetson F. Bennett Clerk of the Year Award, Georgia’s Constitutional Officer of the Year Award, and most recently the Pillar of Power Award from Congressman Hank Johnson in 2019 and F. Barry Wilkes ECLAT Award in 2020.

She is currently one of the longest serving clerks in state history.

“Part of the mission statement of the Newton County clerk’s office is ‘To Serve with Courtesy,’” Alcovy Superior Court Judge Ken Wynne said of Hays when she accepted the ECLAT Award. “Linda has led by example in that regard. Her first priority is to serve the people of Newton County by making sure all the court records are kept meticulously and to help everyone who comes in to her office with courtesy. I have personally witnessed her interactions with people, and she has always

treated everyone with dignity and respect.”

Looking back on her career’s humble beginning, Hays said she wouldn’t change anything. She has been grateful for her time in office, but said her office’s success is due to the tireless efforts of her 15-person staff. She has met several people and acquired numerous friends from across the state.

“Without my great staff, I wouldn’t be able to do anything,” Hays said.

Hays has been married to her husband, Theron, for 54 years. She has two children, Marcy and Greg, along with four grandchildren and one great granddaughter. She says keeping up with her kids and grandkids’ interests are her favorite hobby.

Hays and her family attend Eastridge Church in Covington.

Recently unopposed for another four-year term, Hays said she’s unclear of when she’ll step away from her duties as the county’s chief “official record keeper.” When she does decide to call it a career, Hays said she’ll likely spend time traveling with her husband.

Congratulations to all the Visions Winners!

Mrs. Linda D. Hays The Clerk of Courts It is my honor to serve the citizens of Newton County 62 VISIONS

NEWTON COUNTY CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT 1132 USHER STREET, SUITE 338 COVINGTON 770-784-2035 • ALCOVY CIRCUIT.COM THE COVINGTON NEWS

Unsung Hero:

Phil Johnson

Works long hours to ensure Newton County has ‘good elections’

By TOM SPIGOLON tspigolon@covnews.com

A lofty salary was not prompting Phil Johnson to dedicate most of his waking hours at times in 2020 to making sure Newton County elections ran smoothly.

However, he said he had “no idea how challenging it would be” when asked in 2019 to serve as chairman of the Newton County Board of Elections.

“When you take a job, you make a commitment,” Johnson said. “I think elections are the bedrock on which government operates.”

The challenge — other than safety and health concerns every organization faced with a then-unknown virus in 2020 — included Newton County voters casting up to five times the usual number of absentee ballots because of safety concerns around COVID-19.

It also included working past midnight and coming back the following morning to complete the counting of absentee ballots in the June primary elections.

Johnson, who receives about $100 per monthly THE COVINGTON NEWS

meeting, was among those counting the mailed-in ballots that required far more time to verify than those cast by machine.

However, through four elections, two recounts and voters sometimes having to endure long lines to cast ballots, Johnson said his goal was always “to get it right and secure.”

“I do feel we held a good election in Newton County,” he said.

Johnson has been a practicing attorney in Newton County for more than 44 years with a law practice that concentrates on commercial real estate, business law and estate matters.

He also formerly was heavily involved in banking and commercial and residential development in Newton County.

Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University and his law degree from the University of Georgia Law School.

Then, soon after he finished law school, he won election to a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1976 and served two terms before being succeeded by Denny Dobbs.

At the local level, he ran for chairman of the VISIONS 63

Newton County Board of Commissioners but lost in a Democratic Primary runoff to eventual winner Marcello Banes.

In business, Johnson was an active residential and commercial developer in the 1980s.

He also served on the board of First National Bank of Newton County and was its acting CEO for a time in the early 1980s.

Johnson said his goal as elections board chairman is to make the “voting experience” the best it can be within the resources the board of commissioners gives the Elections and Voter Registration office.

He noted some nonprofits gave grants to the county totaling $150,000.

Grant funds were used to pay temporary workers hired to process the absentee votes and to rent tents to protect most early voters from the elements as they waited in line in the rear of the county administration building, he said.

Johnson said he wants the board this year to request a fifth full-time employee from the Newton County Commission to help manage the rapidly growing voter rolls — which increased by about 60% between 2016 and 2020.

The number of registered voters increased from around 50,000 in 2016 to 80,000 in 2020, he said.

“I won’t be surprised if it’s 100,000 in 2022,” Johnson said.

He said he wanted to “take a hard look” at the county’s elections infrastructure.

Johnson also said he wants to see if the number of voters in each precinct justifies eliminating or merging some of the 22 voting precincts it maintains and staffs on Election Day. For example, only five voting machines are needed to serve the Newborn precinct where 784 registered voters reside in eastern Newton.

However, the board employs 24 machines to serve the Downs precinct in western Newton, which has 6,215 registered voters.

Johnson said poll workers need more training now with absentee voting becoming more popular and updated laws adding new requirements for verifying voters’ identities.

Voting is getting more complex and a spotlight that formerly was not as focused on part-time poll workers now burns brightly after the 2020 presidential elections, he said.

“They’ve got to be almost perfect,” Johnson said.

Sheriff Brown, Your church family proudly unites our voices in song with our fellow Newton County citizens in thanking you for all you do! Our pride is showing as we witness this awesome achievement!

Being named the 2021 “Community Spirit Award Winner” is a tribute to all that you represent!

Pastor Ronnie M. Thomas, Jr Jeremiah 29:11 64 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

Unsung Hero:

Brad Stewart Covington business owner exemplifies humility, servant’s heart

By MASON WITTNER mwittner@covnews.com

Brad Stewart doesn’t prefer the term “hero.”

The founder and owner of Bradley’s Bar-B-Que is apprehensive as I inform him he’s been nominated as one of The Covington News’ Unsung Heroes.

When I explain that the reason for the recognition is his selfless service to the community over the past year, he still isn’t convinced.

He assures me there are countless others in the community more deserving of the honor. He downplays the significance of his contributions, insisting he was simply doing his job. In the end he accepts the nomination and agrees to an interview, under one condition: he’s allowed to focus on the community he serves rather than the service itself.

It’s not long into our second conversation that I assess Stewart’s initial hesitation wasn’t a false showing of humility. He’s firm in his belief that the role he and the staff at Bradley’s Bar-B-Que played in providing food for Newton County front-line workers and residents was simply business as THE COVINGTON NEWS

usual.

Ironically, his refusal to view himself as an unsung hero is part of what makes him one.

“Just to be open and used as part of the whole operation was gratifying for both me and the people that work at Bradley’s Bar-B-Que,” Stewart said.

“But it’s also why I have a hard time thinking that I did anything all that heroic.

“For us, we tried to do the things we were supposed to do to not put ourselves around people that either knew to be or were suspected to be

1160 Church Street

770-786-1140

www.bradleysbbq.com Monday-Wednesday 11am-8pm Tuesday – Saturday 11am-9pm VISIONS 65

sick. We stayed out of harm’s way. But we considered ourselves fortunate to be able to, in some way, support the people who were putting themselves in harm’s way.”

As Newton County endures the fight against COVID-19, Stewart’s restaurant has provided countless meals over the past year for local doctors, nurses, police and firefighters, among others.

“It would be hard to count the number of meals provided, but none of it would have been possible without the financial support of our community or from our employees,” Stewart said.

So, what makes Newton County a special place for Stewart?

The selflessness of its citizens.

“This pandemic really allowed the community to kind of showcase how important it was for the people that could take care of people to take care of people,” he said. “Everybody was doing their part to try to take care of people that were putting themselves out there on the front lines. That just showed me that our community puts others first.”

The Rotary Club of Covington honored Stewart in January by naming him the Lee Arrendale Voca-

tional Excellence Award recipient. Established in during Rotary year 1990-91, the award is presented annually to a Rotarian believed to have displayed vocational excellence by upholding and furthering the club’s ideals.

“You and your Bradley’s Bar-B-Que team keep us fed every week,” the Rotary Club stated in a Facebook post. “You truly show exceptional vocational service.”

As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, and Gov. Brian Kemp continues rolling back state-wide mandates and restrictions, it stands to reason the light is beginning to emerge on the other side of the proverbial tunnel. But regardless of what the future may hold, Stewart and his staff will remain committed to serving the community at large.

“This past year has been tough for everyone, and it’s not over yet. I really want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our customers and workers,” Stewart said. “We are blessed to serve this community and we can not imagine making it through tough times anywhere else.”

Congratulations Sheriff Ezell Brown and Clerk of Courts Linda Hays from the Newton County Board of Commissioners for moving the vision of Newton County forward.

#ONENEWTON 66 VISIONS

THE COVINGTON NEWS

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