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AUGUST 1 - AUGUST 7, 2018

TIMES-HERALD

e e r f

your weekly connection to local news & entertainment

calendar of events inside ➤ page 5

‘Murder in Coweta County’ ➤ page 4

Newnan Theatre Company buys building

PHOTO BY MEGAN BELLEW

Mary Caroline Moore, left, managing director of Newnan Theatre Company, and Tony Daniel, the theater company’s artistic director, are looking forward to upcoming productions in the longtime NTC headquarters, which the non-profit recently purchased.

BY W. WINSTON SKINNER winston@newnan.com Newnan Theatre Company has bought its facility at 24 First Ave. As cast and crew prepare for the August production of “Of Mice and Men,” they are taking a historic step. “Of Mice and Men” will open Aug. 16, the first production in the building since the purchase. The purchase follows an 18-month campaign among its base of patrons. NTC has been renting the First Avenue property for nearly two decades. The building was previously used as a planing mill and a hardware store, and was sold to NTC by Newnan businessman Joe Crain. Dr. Ralph Davis, chairm a n o f N T C ’s n o n profit board of directors, announced at the company’s annual gala in February 2017 that the board had adopted a goal to purchase the building in order to provide a permanent home for Newnan Theatre Company. Davis branded the campaign, “PERMANENCE,” and from that moment NTC began raising funds and making plans to purchase the property.

THEATRE, page 2

Local musician, band hopeful for Grammy nod

SCHOOL STARTS AUG. 3

PHOTO BY REBECCA LEFTWICH

School officials are urging drivers to pay attention to school bus signals, especially flashing lights and stop signs, and to use caution in and around school zones to protect students as they return to school.

Slow down, leave early, watch out as students return BY REBECCA LEFTWICH

becky@newnan.com (Editor’s Note: Coweta County School System’s bus route information will be online next week courtesy of The Newnan Times-Herald at www.times-herald.com .) Delainey “Lulu” Pedrick is one of about 15,000 reasons for drivers to remain alert and cautious when school buses return to Coweta roads. That’s the approximate number of students in the Coweta County School System who ride the bus

to and from school each day, and officials are, as always, urging motorists to pay particular attention in loading and unloading zones to help protect students. Pedrick, then a kindergartener at Elm Street Elementary School, was struck by a car and injured last fall as she was being dropped off in her neighborhood. Police said a driver passed two stopped

SCHOOL, page 3

COURTESY OF DOUG KEES

Doug Kees, left, hangs out with the Indigo Girls backstage while on tour with them. From left to right, Doug Kees, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, and singer-songwriter Michelle Malone.

BY MELANIE RUBERTI

melanie@newnan.com More good news for local guitar player Doug Kees and the Michelle Malone Band. Michelle Malone’s latest album “Slings and Arrows,” on which Kees played guitar, was subm it ted to be con sidered for a Gra m my nomination. According to Kees, the entire album was submitted under the Contemporary Blues category and the song “Just Getting Sta r ted” wa s subm itted under the American Roots category. Kees, Michelle Malone and fellow band members, bassist Robby Handley and drummer Chris Burroughs, learned

about the Grammy subm i s sion s on Ju ly 16 , fresh off their tour as the opening act for the Indigo Girls. “From recording the album last year to touring with the Indigo Girls to this, we seem to keep pushing the bar higher,” said Kees. “I can’t wait to see what comes next.” Kees said being considered for a Grammy nomination means the “ Sl i n g s a nd A r row s” album and the “Just Getting Started” single will be added to a list for members of the Recording Academy, formerly the National Academy for Recording Arts and Sciences or NARAS, to listen to. The Recording Acad-

emy, which is made up of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals, will then decide if the album and song should be nominated for a Grammy Award. According to grammy. com, the award nominations will be announced on Dec. 5 and the 61st annual Grammy award show will take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. Michelle Malone and the band have a lot going in their favor after their “Slings and Arrows” album hit the No. 8 spot on the Billboard Blues chart in May. “The record was two places ahead of the latest Rolling Stones album,”

Kees said. “We got a lot of positive press off of that.” Kees said this would be h i s f i r st Gra m my nod, while Malone has two previous Grammy submissions. “ M ichel le de ser ve s all the attention. Without her talent, personality and singing, nothing else is there. But we are a team,” Kees said. “My part is to play the best I can and see how I can contribute to the team. “She and I have a good rapport,” he continued. “As a bandleader, I know what she needs and what she has to deal with.” Since coming off the

KEES, page 3


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