WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017
Westmoreland won't join governor’s race
PHOTO BY MAGGIE BOWERS
Deedra Ludwig describes her work as “environmental.”
Louisiana artist embraced locally
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com It’s official. Lynn Westmoreland is not running for governor in 2018. There have been rumors that the longtime Cowetan would run for governor since before he announced his retirement from Congress in January 2016. The chatter stretches back to at least 2008. In March and April of this year, Westmoreland said in public appearances that he was still trying to decide whether or not to run. On May 24, he and his wife Joan made it official. “After much prayer and consideration, Joan and I have decided that I will not be a candidate for governor in 2018,” Westmoreland said in a statement. “While I am humbled by the kind words and encouragement that we have received from so many over the last few months, I think the best contribution that I can make to our state is outside of elected office.” Instead, “I look forward to doing all I can to support the Republican nominee for governor and the entire Republican ticket in 2018.” Westmoreland’s announcement came just a day after the “Draft Westmoreland” campaign sent an email plea to Georgia Republicans. The email asked recipients to sign a petition to “Draft Westmoreland” for the governor’s race, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A Draft Westmoreland website and Facebook page popped up in early May. By the next day, neither could be found. Westmoreland’s own website, www.lynnwestmoreland.org , was also
NTH FILE PHOTO
Congressman Westmoreland speaks at a restaurant in Newnan.
unavailable. Before serving 12 years as congressman representing Coweta, first in the 8th District and then, after redistricting, in the 3rd, Westmoreland represented the area in the Georgia House of Representatives. He served 12 years in the state house, including time as House Minority leader – back in the days when Democrats controlled Georgia’s state government. State Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, who served as Westmoreland’s chief of staff, said he was a little sad, in a selfish way, to see that Westmoreland wouldn’t be running for governor. “It’s sad to kind of see it come to an end, so to speak,” Brass said. “He’s definitely paid his dues, and he’s earned the right to kick back and relax. So I’m happy for him.” Declared Republican candidates for governor, so far, include Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, and State Sen. Hunter Hill of Atlanta. Democratic State Rep. Stacey Evans of Smyrna is officially running and House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams has filed paperwork to run.
By MAGGIE BOWERS maggie@newnan.com Newnan’s latest artist-in-residence, sponsored by the local ArtRez program, which offers emerging and career artists a retreat to pursue studies in downtown Newnan, seems as adaptive as her natureinspired mixed media paintings. The artist blends in seamlessly in downtown Newnan and finds inspiration everywhere – including nearby parks and woodlands that were a part of the county long before its residents. Deedra Ludwig describes her work as “environmental,” noting that each piece she creates “captures a fragment of the landscape’s character.” “Art has the ability to make one see things in a new light,” Ludwig said of her work. “It allows us to develop a love for places and natural objects that we may not have noticed or appreciated.” Working at Gray Cottage in Newnan through June 12, she doesn’t simply paint a reflection of her surroundings onto the canvas, but incorporates bits of each location literally — usually by adding the very soil and plant life found in the area to the paint itself. Ludwig has been enjoying Chattahoochee Bend State Park throughout her
ARTIST, page 2
Bishop pens book on Cherokee Trail of Tears Testimony of Cowetan Cotter featured
Local author and historian W. Jeff Bishop’s newest book is called “Agatahi,” a Cherokee word that translates into “Witness.” Bishop’s book is written from contemporary accounts of the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia, and one of the primary witnesses to the historical events spent much of his life in Coweta County. William Jasper Cotter was nearly a century old when he wrote “My Autobiography” in 1917. By that time, he had served for many years as a Methodist preacher in churches all over Georgia, including Grantville, Senoia, Turin and Newnan. Before that, Bishop said, Cotter had been “an eyewitness to history,” both during the Civil War
and, as a young man, to the forced removal of the Cherokee Indians on what came to be known as the “Trail of Tears.” “The book is comprised primarily of Cherokee stories of their removal,” said Bishop, a longtime president of the Trail of Tears Association’s Georgia chapter and current executive director of the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. “But Rev. Cotter gives a unique perspective because he had a front-row seat to the events that were happening in 1838, so he is featured very prominently.” “It would be hard to make the people of the present time understand the situation then,” said
BISHOP, page 3
Closeup of “Vermilion,” oil pigments, graphite & ink on canvas, 68” x 48”
Food trucks coming to downtown Newnan
City Council gives thumbs-up for trucks at specific events By CLAY NEELY clay@newnan.com
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PHOTO: METROCREATIVEGRAPHICS
The draw of food, music and a new alcohol ordinance continues to inspire upcoming events for downtown Newnan. On the evening of May 23, the Newnan City Council voted to allow food trucks to participate in several activities planned for the summertime. Starting next month, Newn1 Xtra front
aNights piggybacks off the recent Tucked Away Music Festival, providing live music each Thursday between June 22 through July 13. Each event will allow open alcohol consumption, but the addition of food trucks may also draw more visitors downtown, according to Lori Duncan, owner of Blue Fern Merchant. Along with several other local , APRIL 26, WEDNESDAY
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business owners, the group petitioned to have several food trucks present for the NewnaNights events, along with Jazz In The Park, an event organized by the Newnan Cultural Arts Commission. “So many people who live in this town don’t even realize that downtown Newnan exists,” she said.
FOOD TRUCKS, page 4
2017
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