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February 19, 2014
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‘Over’coming obstacles By DOUG GORMAN dgorman@newnan.com
W hen the pre-game music blares from t he loudspea ker, or when Newnan Lady Cougar basketball coach Lavarrett Pearson yells instructions to his team, junior point guard Dakota Overton can’t hear any of it. The Newnan High School student has lived in a silent world since birth and has to rely on educational interpreter Linda Lindsey to understand the instructions her coach is trying to convey to the team. But deafness doesn’t define Overton, nor does it stop her from fulfilling her dream of earning a spot on the school’s varsity basketball team. In fact, she is a two-sport athlete who also excelled last year in the Lady Cougars lacrosse program. Overton divides her time between the junior varsity and varsity basketball teams, but once she steps on the floor, she thrives on playing good defense and shooting long-range
jumpers. Although her time has been limited with the varsity this season, she helped the Lady Cougars earn an easy win over Lithonia during the holidays, hitting a 3-pointer to the delight her teammates, who waved their hands in a shaking motion — the sign for applause. “I love to steal the ball and I like to shoot 3-pointers,” she said through her interpreter. Although Overton can read lips, she does most of her communicating during games through the help of Lindsey, who is employed by Coweta County School system. The two have formed a special bond, spending several hours a month together, both in class and at games and practices. Since earning her place with the Lady Cougars, Overton’s biggest challenge hasn’t been dribbling or shooting the basketball, it’s been finding ways to communicate with her team. “I really had to improve my skills
“She is a hard worker. She loves the game of basketball. The girls get along with her well. They have learned sign language and I have learned sign language, too. She has been very inspiring. There were some challenges and adjustments at first, but it’s all great now ... “ — Newnan girls head basketball coach LaVarrett Pearson on junior guard Dakota Overton
of communication a lot, communicating with the team was tough at first,” she said. “It’s easy to communicate now as we have gone on. At first, they thought I understood the lip reading a lot better than I did. I had to have them slow down because they talked so fast. Now, I can understand and lip read them during the game. If they mouth the play, I can see it and understand it.” One way Overton and her teammates bridged the communication gap was to develop special signs for the different plays. “Once they understood I can’t always read lips as well as they think, that made it easier,” Overton said. B efore s te ppi n g fo o t on t h e Newnan campus, the point guard honed her basketball skills as a member of Smokey Road Middle School’s program. “It’s really where I learned to communicate with hearing players for the first time,” she said. Overton didn’t just win over her Lady Cougar teammates with her basketball ability. Her charismatic personality and infectious smile helped her make friends both on and off the court. Despite limited playing time, Overton isn’t just a deaf player who happens to be on the team. She is a student-athlete who has the ability to play the game and contribute to the team.
overton, page 3
Alice Jackson looks back on 23 years with the Coweta County Health Department By Bradley Hartsell bradley@newnan.com
programs for better family planning. The health department became a hotspot for the community. “It got to be quite a big deal. We started to believe we had some people coming great distances to come to our clinic,” said Jackson. “We moved to the Jackson Street location in ‘94. By ‘98-2000, we were bulging. We didn’t know it was going to grow like that.” In 2011, the county gave the Health Department a new, advanced facility on Hospital Road. CCHD was allowed significant input in the design of the new building that opened in June 2011. W h a t w a s Ja c kson most proud of in her 23 years with the department? “To be involved with
W it h t he close of Ja nuary, Alice Jackson said goodbye after 23 years with the Department of Public Health in Coweta. In the week after retiring, Jackson unfortunately battled a seasonal cold, and although she hasn’t been able to enjoy retirement to the fullest yet, she looks forward to the beginning of a new phase of her life. Jackson grew up in Milledgeville, where she received her master’s from Georgia College. She entered the workforce in the developmental disabled division at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. After five years, Jackson and her family moved to Newnan in 1990. By 1991, she joined the Coweta County Health Department staff as the county nurse manager, a position she held until Jan. 31. “It was just a new experijackson, page 3 ence. The community and people were new,” Jackson said. “Whenever you start a new job, it’s always a difficult move, but I was excited and I always enjoyed public health because I feel like they prevent disease and that was a big deal.” After only a few short years of living and working in Newnan, the city — and its health department — began expanding at a rapid rate. The building at the time was on Perry Street, but moved during this time to a building on Jackson Street. Neit her of t he locat ion s proved adequate for the health department. The Perry Street building was small and cold because of loose windows, and the Jackson Street building was again too small, with a design that brought too much separation within the department. “We outgrew that building in about five or six years,” said Jackson of the Jackson Street location. Coweta’s population in 1991, when Jackson sta rted, was Photo by Winston Skinner about 45,000. By the mid-’90s, Alice Jackson, center, looks at photos in a memory book made for population boomed, and Med- her with Debbi Heard, left, and Barbara Stephens, right, at Jackson’s icaid programs began allowing retirement ceremony at Asa Powell Center.
Photo by Jeffrey Leo
Newnan junior basketball guard Dakota Overton carefully watches the sign language from educational interpreter Linda Lindsey during a Lady Cougar timeout earlier this season. While born deaf, Overton continues to remain active in athletics while playing both varsity basketball and lacrosse.
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Coffee Toffee Heath Cupcakes
Delectable dessert indulgences Family Features Dessert is an indulgence, and when you delight in the taste, texture and aroma of a decadent sweet treat, you savor every bite. It is easy to get lost in the flavor and fragrance of rich chocolate or creamy caramel. But what happens when chocolate or ca ra mel a re paired with different flavors,
like salty, sour or savory? Spurred by curiosity, the food scientists in the Wilton Test Kitchen dug deeper into unusual f lavor pairings to enhance the taste experience. While the terms “taste” and “flavor” are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. The taste of a food is what the taste buds perceive, while the
flavor of a food is the combination of these tastes, plus t he a roma a nd t he ot her sensations. Treatology™ is the science of blending different flavors and tastes to create dishes that are an experience all on their own. Look for more ta ste, f lavor a nd i nspi ration at www.treatology.wilton.com.
Taste Terminology There are five basic taste categories the taste buds perceive: Sweetness is recognized by the presence of sugar. It is very predominant in desserts, but also creates great contrast with salty and sour. Sourness can be added through a variety of acidic foods, such as vinegars and citrus fruits. Salt enhances flavor, intensifies sweetness and suppresses bitterness. Bitterness may be found in a variety of foods, including chocolate and coffee. When not in balance, bitter can be offensive, but in very small quantities it adds richness and depth. Umami is described as a savory, often mouthwatering taste perceived when eating meat, fish, cheeses like parmesan and bleu and certain vegetables such as asparagus.