2009 Year In Review by The Times-Herald

Thursday, January 1, 2009 — The Times-Herald — 5C

2008

REVIEW - JULY

Sunday liquor sales on ballot • Newnan builder Jason Veitch, 28, is charged with felony murder in Coweta Superior Court for the shooting death of Gaston Gonzales, 23. A $100,000 bond was later set for his release. • Fifteen people are injured in a car pile-up on I-85. • It is announced that a new VA clinic is planned in Newnan. • TGI Friday’s closes its doors the first week of July. • The Coweta County Commission decides not to place limits on issuing building permits. • The Coweta County Commission decides to hold the line on property tax. The school board also decides to keep the same property tax millage rate. • A candlelight vigil is held to remember Newnan resident Stacey Lauture, who was shot and killed June 24. • Ten Coweta County schools may not make AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, the school system announces. • The county celebrates the July 4 holiday with fireworks displays. • A leak repair program is expected to save the Coweta County Water Department $2 million a year. • NuLink cable company announces a new headquarters in the former Newnan Pawn building downtown. • Coweta County Development Authority President Bill Harrison says that Coweta County could expect to see 300 new jobs within the next year. • A decision is made to remove many of the bushes and trees around the Coweta County Courthouse as part of renovation plans. The original courthouse interior paint colors were found to be brown, sage green, and harvest gold. • Newnan and Peachtree City both court Atlanta Christian College. • The Times-Herald moves its printing press from Andrews Street to 39 South Industrial Park Drive. • Peg Leg Pauly’s closes. • Delta Community Credit Union opens. • Banning Mills in Whitesburg is found to have strong Newnan ties. • The Newnan City Council agrees to place Sunday liquor

It looked like a fairy tale ending in July 2008 for DeAnna Pappas and suitor Jesse Csincsak, 26. But wedding plans were off by fall.

sales on the November ballot in Newnan. • Newnan resident DeAnna Pappas, starring on The Bachelorette TV program, picks Jesse Csincsak as the winner, with plans to marry in May 2009. Their relationship unravels just a few months later, however. • James Armond Blackmon, 23, of Senoia is arrested in connection with the murder of a Peachtree City man. Eric Stephen Bonner was arrested for robbing the Bank of America on Greenville Street. • School lunch prices will be increased by 25 cents, the school board decides. • West Central Technical College announces plans for a Newnan campus at Coweta Industrial Park. • Newnan’s reservoirs were “basically at 100 percent,” announces Newnan Utilities General Manager Dennis McEntire. • A memorial service is held for 15-year-old shooting victim Antonio “Tone” LaVern Sims II. • A joint conference/education center is proposed. • A LaGrange Street home at Alpine is demolished. • Coweta Solicitor Robert Stokely is re-elected in a hardfought primary battle against Randy Coggin. Rodney Brooks is also elected county commissioner and Ray Yeager is elected coroner. • A manhunt is underway for Kip Harris, 39, who is sought in the slaying of 51-year-old Leon Dennis. He is finally captured on July 18. • Newnan-Peachtree City Area Employer Committee holds job networking event. • Schools are named for long-

time Coweta educators Richard Brooks (on Jim Starr Road) and Thomas Glanton (in Grantville). • Local movie fans declare The Dark Knight the “best Batman movie ever” and camp out at night to see it. • Coweta County property tax valuations are found to be too low. • Meals on Wheels announces that volunteers are needed. • Powers’ Crossroads gets a state promotion grant. • State DOT Commissioner and Coweta native Gena Abraham Evans says she’d “rather be selling sunglasses” than battling controversy after controversy regarding her professional and personal relationships. • Ashley Chalker is named the new Newnan Main Street program coordinator. • The Atlanta Rhythm Section performs for a July celebration at Ashley Park. • Neighborhood Community Bank representatives acknowledge that “times are tough” for the banking industry following a collapse in the bank’s share price and a troubling Texas ratio. • People complain about the noise generated by the air conditioner at Coweta’s new Central Library. • Broad Street Bakery closes. • A gas line break on Smokey Road closes the road to traffic for hours. • One hundred and forty descendants of the LeighDeVaughn family return to Coweta for a family reunion. • Seven of 27 Coweta schools make AYP. • About 3,700 pills are confiscated in a drug bust. • There is no teacher shortage in Coweta, local officials announce. • Members of the McIntosh Trail Preservation Society work to get the Trail recognized as an official Scenic Byway. • Unwanted pets becoming an increasingly difficult problem for Coweta County Animal Control to handle. • Gasoline prices begin to fall from a high of more than $4. • Shoppers take advantage of the tax-free holiday and scoop up bargains at local stores as they prepare to go back to school.

MORELAND ANIMAL HOSPITAL Internal Medicine . Vaccinations Nutrition Counseling . General Surgery Preventative Health

Nicole Andrews DVM 2789 Hwy. 29 South, Moreland, GA 30259

Opening Mid-January

Doctor’s Ofﬁce Hours by Appointment

www.morelandanimalhospital.com

eorgia welcomed one of the world’s longest and highest canopy zip line tours in 2008 and it is only 15 miles from Newnan! With “stay-cations” more popular in today’s economy, locals are now able to enjoy a unique “eco trek” in the trees without having to leave the country. Enjoy the adventure of the half mile long zip line, and breathtaking cable and wood bridges that criss cross the beautiful Snake Creek Gorge and ghost town of Banning Mills. Have an experience that will last a lifetime.

TO R S I H

Call: 770-834-9149 • Email: info@historicbanningmills.com RSVP www.historicbanningmills.com REQUIRED

MILLS

205 Horseshoe Dam Road • Whitesburg, GA

BANNIN G

A N E X P E R I E N C E T H AT S C R E A M S A DV E N T U R E !