JULY 19 - JULY 25, 2017
➤ calendar
of events inside
Continued from page 1 Ada Bedingfield is clearly proud of her sculpture. Students at the Nixon Centre’s art camp created sculptures of cats and kittens during the week of June 19-23.
free
more art camp photos, ➤ page 4
your weekly connection to local news & entertainment
Sky is limit for flight school Falcon Aviation expands enrollment, signs new partnership with ExpressJet
PHOTO BY CLAY NEELY
Camera, lighting and audio equipment, are part of the support services film companies use during production including catering, construction, transportation, accounting and payroll, and post-production, which employs many Cowetans.
Deal: Film industry generates $9.5 billion Georgia-filmed productions represent $2.7 billion in direct spending in FY 2017
T
he film industry in Coweta County, and Georgia as a whole, is providing jobs and supporting the local economy, and the industry shows no sign of slowing down. Pa r ts of Coweta ca n
frequently be seen transformed into film sets for movies and TV shows. G o v. N a t h a n D e a l announced July 10 that Georgia-lensed feature film and television productions generated a n economic impact of $9.5 billion during fiscal year 2017. The 320 feature film a nd television productions shot in Georgia represent $2.7 billion in direct spending in the state. “Georgia’s film industry supports thousands of jobs, boosts small business growth and expands offerings for tourists,” said Deal. “As one of the top places in the world for film, Georgia hosted a
“Literally hundreds of new businesses have relocated or expanded in Georgia to support this burgeoning industry . . .” — Gov. Nathan Deal remarkable 320 film and telev ision productions during the last fiscal year. These productions mean new economic opportunities and real investments in local communities. We are committed to further
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Former Falcon Instructor Alex Copogna speaks with Allen Gao, a China Eastern Airline Student. Copogna is now working for Endeavor Airlines.
By CLAY NEELY clay@newnan.com
establishing Georgia as a top film destination and introducing film companies to the Camera Ready backdrops available across Georgia.”
Recently flight school Falcon Aviation Academy formalized an agreement with a regional airline to begin a coordinated program to train pilots at the same time it is moving its growing group of foreign students into customized housing. The two initiatives are part of a response to the burgeoning international demand for personnel in the aviation industry. According to the Boeing Company’s 2016 Pilot & Technician Outlook, there is a need for 617,000 new pilots worldwide over the next two decades, with Asia Pacific requiring the most — 248,000. Fa l c o n Av i a t i o n A c a d e m y ’s o n g o i n g partnership with China is helping meet that demand. Falcon is one of about 3,000 flight schools certified by the Federal Aviation Administration,
FILM, page 4
FLIGHT, page 2
Expanded medical cannabis law in effect By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com As of July 1, several new conditions are eligible for treatment with cannabis oil, under Georgia’s expanded program allowing the use of a medicine derived from marijuana. Anyone under hospice care, whether inpatient or outpatient, is eligible to be treated the cannabidiol oil, as long as a doctor signs the paperwork for the patient to receive a registration card from the state. Other new conditions include severe autism in children and any form of autism in adults, the skin disease epidermolysis
bullosa and severe or end-state Alzheimer’s, AIDs, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette’s syndrome. Senate Bill 16, which expanded the state’s medical cannabis law, took effect July 1. Other conditions that were already approved are seizure disorders, Crohn’s disease, mitochondrial disease, cancer when it is severe or end-stage or when cancer treatment creates wasting illness or severe nausea or vomiting, and severe or end-stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Sickle cell disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Scle-
rosis was formerly called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named for a baseball player who had ALS. To receive a card allowing the possession and use of the oil, patients must have a doctor who will fill out the certification paperwork. The oil can contain up to 5 percent THC, the primary ingredient responsible for the marijuana high. The primary active ingredient in the oil is cannabidiol, another compound found in marijuana. Under the law, the oil must be in a pharmaceutical container that states the percentage of THC. Though the possession and use of the oil is legal for those
with a registration card, the law doesn’t address how someone is to acquire the oil. The oil is not legally available in the state of Georgia, though some companies in Colorado will ship certain low-THC varieties. Earlier versions of an expansion bill contained several additional conditions including chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and autoimmune disease. Those conditions were in a version that passed the Georgia House of Representatives, but that bill was a no-go in the state Senate. Cowetan Stefanie Anderson has chronic pain and fibromyalgia and has been following the
expansion actions in Georgia. She was disappointed that chronic pain was removed. “I’ve never had any interest in ‘drugs.’ But I’m so sick of feeling this awful, even on prescription meds,” she said. Other Coweta women said they wished the state would allow the oil for the pain of arthritis and endometriosis, as well as bipolar disease, anxiety and depression. Anderson is hopeful that fibromyalgia or chronic pain will one day be added to the state’s list of approved conditions. “I want to see if I can get relief,” she said.
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