tra X
MARCH 21 - MARCH 27, 2018
TIMES-HERALD
your weekly connection to local news & entertainment
MAIN STREET NEWNAN
Spring ART WALK FRIDAY, MARCH 23 5:00-9:00 PM
Painting by M
isha Benson
DETAILS ➤ page 4
Hundreds call for action on gun violence, honor slain BY W. WINSTON SKINNER t he person a l it ies a nd He sa id g u n pu rch a s-
winston@newnan.com Hundreds of Coweta County School System students left their classrooms to spend 17 m i n u t e s o n We d n e s d ay remember i ng t he 17 people who died by a gunman’s hands at a Florida high school. The local gatherings – and similar ones across the nation – we r e o r g a n i z e d by students to remember t hose k i l led at Ma rjory Stoneman Douglas H ig h S c ho ol i n Pa rkl a nd , F l a . one mont h earlier. Many of those participating also want to see cha nges in g un legislation. More t h a n 2 0 0 st udents at Newnan High School wa l ked out of t he front doors of t he school on Wed nesday morn i ng at 10. T hey gathered along the f ront ent ra nce of t he school where the Student Government Associ at ion h ad pl aced 1 7 balloons – one in memor y of e a c h of t h o s e who died. At East Coweta High School , a la rge g roup of s t ud e n t s g a t h e r e d i n a cou r t ya rd where
d re a m s of t hose who died were shared. Northgate High School jun ior Gra nt Wa r n e r o r g a n i z e d a memor i a l s er v ice for t he 17 from Stonema n Douglas with about 180 fel low st udent s gat he r e d o n t h e fo o t b a l l f i e l d a t t h e s c h o o l ’s stadium. W h i le t he Coweta County School System d id not off icia l ly approve t he n at ion a l wa l kout , ad m i n i s t r ators worked w it h students who wanted to p a r t i c i p a t e a t t h e local high schools. T he pol ite i nter play bet ween students a nd adults – and the overall focus on the memory of those who died – does not mean that participating students do not h ave st ron g opi n ion s about guns and changes to firearm laws. At East Coweta, Warner st re s se d t h at t he e ve n t w a s “ a m e m o rial service rather than a protest ” a nd that shouts about gun issues would not be welcome. After school Wednesd a y, h e s h a r e d h i s viewpoint about guns.
ers shou ld have to be at least 21 , a nd better background checks are needed. “Person a l ly, I t h i n k we should have stricter gun laws,” Warner said. New na n Hig h students ex pressed si m il a r t houg ht s . “ I hope ever y t h i n g c h a n ge s ,” freshman Jada Kirkland s a i d . “ I h o p e p e o pl e stop being crazy.” Ninth-grader Samuel Williams made it clear h e w a s p a r t i c ip a t i n g both to remember those who died and to make a statement about gun laws. “It ’s not fa i r. Mom s and Dads have to cr y over t heir k ids. It hu r t s e ver y b o dy,” he sa id, addi ng t hat he hopes “something happens” as a result of t he coa lesci ng of student voices across the country. “It should be harder to ge t a g u n ,” N H S sophomore L i l ly K i rk sa id. “How ma ny k ids have to die?” K irk sa id she was sta ndi ng i n t he ch i lly
WALKOUT, page 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Northgate High student Grant Warner holds a sign with the name of Nicholas Dworet, 17, who died in the Florida school shooting. Warner organized a memorial service that was held at the stadium at Northgate.
Local band making waves on starstudded cruise
NTH FILE PHOTO
Wider walkways in busy areas, a new layout, and more rides are in the works for the 2018 Coweta County Fair.
PHOTO BY MELANIE RUBERTI
The Kiser band, left-right: Melody Kiser, singer/songwriter and guitar player; Aundie Kiser, keyboards; Christian Kiser, singer and guitar player and Gary Herbert, drummer. The band will be performing on the “Melissa Etheridge Cruise,” alongside the famous singer, plus musical artist Sarah McLachlan.
BY MELANIE RUBERTI
melanie@newnan.com W hen members of t he ba nd K iser cr uise the high seas, they may b e c h a r t i n g a cou r s e t hat w i l l lau nch t hei r careers. T he g roup is one of 16 b a n d s p e r fo r m i n g on t he Melissa Et heridge Cr u i se , a voya ge t h at i nclude s t he popular musical artist and singer/song writer Sarah McLachlan. Kiser band memb e r s i n c l u d e : s i n g e r, song w riter a nd g ui-
ta rist Melody K iser; her brother, singer and guitarist Christian K i ser ; her mom , keyboardist Aundie Kiser; a nd d r u m mer, G a r y Herbert. The Kiser family l i ve s i n S h a r p s b u r g ; Gary recently moved to Newnan. T he current members of the alternative rock band have played toget her si nce 2016 , m a i n ly per for m i ng i n clubs around Georgia. B ut a re cent phone call expanded the
group’s horizons when a production company asked Kiser to perform on the sta r-studded cruise. Melody admitted she was skeptical about the offer. “ I t hou g ht it wa s a scam at first,” she said with a smile. “But then the lady sent us a cont r a c t a nd I w a s l i ke , ‘Oh, this is for real!’” “ It w a s ve r y e xc i ti ng,” sa id Au nd ie .
KISER, page 2
Coweta County Fairgrounds getting upgrades BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL sarah@newnan.com Pla n ned upgrades to the Coweta County Fairgrounds will have a bi g i m p a c t o n f a i r enjoy ment, accordi ng to New na n K iwa n is Club fair chairman Gary Welden. The paved walkways at the top and bottom of the midway will be widened 30 feet, along w it h s om e re a r r a n gi ng of t he rides, food booths and games, said Welden. T he New na n K iwa nis Club puts on t he Coweta Cou nt y Fair each fall. T he a rea nea r the
front entra nce, currently occupied by com mercia l booths, w i l l become a k idd ie ride area on one side, and the food booth area o n t h e o t h e r. T h e r e will also be some of the children’s game booths in better locations. The commercial booths will be moved to one of t he i nterior w a l k w a y s , We l d e n said. At t he bot tom end , there will be more ro om for t he c rowd s around the “thrill rides,” a nd t here w i ll also be an area for food booths.
Pla ns a re to a lso have more seating and rest i ng a rea s i n bot h locat ion s . T here w i l l b e l a r g e t a bl e s w i t h umbrellas near the food booths. The wider pavement ser ves severa l pu r poses – i nclud i ng ma k i ng t he fa i r more accessible for those in wheelcha i rs a nd w it h m o bi l i t y i s s u e s , a n d for strollers. The walkways in the busiest a reas a lso tend to get quite crowded duri ng busy times.
FAIR, page 5