By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Group says road widening, intersection should be top Newton tax funding priorities
road-work

COVINGTON, Ga. — A group that recommended sales tax-funded projects in 2017 has weighed in on transportation projects they believe Newton County commissioners should fund with money from a proposed 1% sales tax for transportation.

The county’s 2017 SPLOST Committee informally recommended 12 specific transportation projects the county should undertake with $41.6 million it could receive if voters on Nov. 3 approve a new 1% Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST).

County commissioners, however, have only stated in the resolution calling the special election they will spend the money on projects in three broad categories: roads, bridges and public transit.

The committee — which recommended projects on which money from the 2017 SPLOST is now being spent — said they considered improvement of the intersection of County Road 213 and Ga. Hwy. 36 as the top priority in unincorporated Newton County.

Widening of Brown Bridge Road and a startup project for transit service inside the county rounded out the top three transportation needs, the committee determined.

The committee’s recommendations for funding with the $41.6 million included:

• Intersection improvements, CR 213 and Ga. Hwy. 36 Intersection, $1.2 million;

• Widening of Brown Bridge Road, $17 million;

• Transit service startup, $2 million;

• Countywide safety plan (striping, signage, and other safety measures) $1 million;

• Industrial Boulevard improvements, $900,000;

• Bridge replacement, Henderson Mill Road over Bear Creek, $2.5 million;

• General paving, $6 million;

• Realignment of intersection of Mote Road and Ga. Hwy. 162, $2.2 million;

• Bridge replacement, Flat Shoals Road over Dried Indian Creek, $1.4 million;

• Improvement of intersection of Kirkland Road and Jack Neely Road, $2.5 million;

• Improvement of intersection of Harold Dobbs and Crowell roads, $2 million;

• Bridge replacement, Dial Mill Road over Little Haynes Creek, $3 million.

A 13th recommended project was an $18.5 million widening of Crowell Road but was not included to provide more money to smaller projects, the committee said.  

County Manager Lloyd Kerr said he asked committee members to recommend what they believed were the highest priority transportation projects to the Newton County Board of Commissioners. County Engineer Chester Clegg then sent a list of proposed projects to committee members. 

They determined they would vote on projects within six categories: safety improvements, bridge repair/replacement, facility expansion, intersection improvements, paving and transit service. 

The committee voted on 21 projects and rated 12 as highest priority, it said in its report.

The intersection of County Road 213 and Ga. Hwy. 36 was the scene of 135 crashes — with 23% resulting in injuries — between 2013 and 2016, according to a traffic study prepared by Thomas & Hutton.

In addition, transit service was a project Chairman Marcello Banes supported being included in the funding plans.

He wrote in a recent “Chairman’s Corner” column on the county government website that he foresaw the project as a fixed-route system that would only operate within Newton County.

“This is envisioned to allow those Newton County residents who need to get to one of our many secondary education opportunities get there to improve themselves; to allow our residents who may not have a vehicle to get to work and to help get our seniors to work or the store,” Banes wrote.


‘Newton Six’ member and civil rights icon Joseph Lightfoot passes away
joe lightfoot

Trailblazer. Icon. Revolutionary. Hero. All of these words can be attributed to local legend Joseph “Joe” W. Lightfoot.

Lightfoot, widely known throughout the community as a civil rights icon, passed away on Feb. 6 at the age of 75. He was officially laid to rest on Feb. 15.

Born on May 6, 1949, Lightfoot grew up in an era where segregation was prevalent. In a time when Jim Crow laws still held weight, he endured an era filled with discrimination.

While desegregation of schools throughout the U.S. was made official in 1954, the problem still persisted in Newton County throughout the 50s and 60s. Integration of Georgia schools was made mandatory in 1969 as part of a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice against the state.

As part of the lawsuit, the Newton County School System adopted a desegregation plan that would consist of seven years of elementary school and five years of high school. The plan would also phase out the Washington Street Elementary School with an all-Black student body and a 2:1 ratio of White teachers to Black teachers. Additionally, the all-Black R.L. Cousins High School was slated to become a satellite campus for the then all-White Newton County High School.

However, once rumors spread that Black teachers and administrators at R.L. Cousins would be terminated, the students decided to take action. Students at R.L. Cousins decided to walk out of class on Feb. 27, 1970, and march to the Board of Education in protest, with Lightfoot joining in alongside them.

Protests continued throughout much of March, expanding to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office as well as segregated stores in downtown Covington. Eventually, the protests caught the eye of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Rev. Hosea Williams, a key member of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner-circle. Williams sent Tyrone Brooks, a now-former Georgia State representative, to help lead the protests. 

The next step in the protests was taken with what was called “Black Easter,” a boycott measure designed to hamper the local economy. Instead of buying new clothes for Easter Sunday, approximately “80 percent” of Black residents decided to wear older clothes instead.

This drew the ire of then-Sheriff Henry Odum, who elected to take harsher measures. Odum ordered the jailing of six people: SCLC leaders Leon Walker, Lloyd Jackson and Brooks as well as Newton County residents Forrest Sawyer Jr., Robert Johnson and Lightfoot.

Together, the collective would be known as the “Newton Six,” which remains one of the more influential groups in Newton County history.

The Newton Six, Lightfoot included, were held without bond in Newton County Jail on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. After 45 days, they were released on orders from the federal government.

Eventually, the work from the Newton Six began to take shape, with Black representation increasing throughout the county for years to come.

But even though the original protests ended 55 years ago, Lightfoot remained active in fighting for what he felt was right. 

“We want to keep the dream alive, keep Dr. King’s dream alive - one nation, under God, with individual rights,” Lightfoot said in a Covington News interview in 2009. “On the local level that includes education, community advancement and creating jobs.”

Since that 2009 interview, the dream has continued to live on. Black History Month proceedings are larger than ever in Newton County, with events like the Leonard Moody HBCU Invitational and the annual Black History Month Parade taking place to honor the importance of Black history. 

While there may still be work that needs to be done, many were quick to point out the impact that Lightfoot had in his 75 years on Earth.

“Mr. Lightfoot was a phenomenal man and great leader for the community,” said Newton County Board of Commissioners community liaison Nwaka Hughes. “His words of encouragement and wisdom will be remembered and forever missed. May he Rest in Peace and Power.”

“I will cherish all the stories that Mr. Lightfoot shared with me about his life in Newton County,” said District 3 Commissioner Stephanie Lindsey. “He truly will be missed.”

“He was a pillar in the community that will be missed,” said Dr. Gwen Cattledge, Immediate Past President of the Newton County NAACP. “Remember that earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. Rest in Power.”