We hear you

A few years ago, we made a decision to stop the Sunday comics and cease publishing an evening TV guide.

Impressive improvement

It is gratifying to see the 2012 graduation rate in Newton County schools grow so rapidly from the low point it dropped to just three short years ago.

Defective government

"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world."

New superintendent

Graduates

County budget

The Newton County Board of Commissioners has a tough task in front of them as usual, deciding how to make expenses meet revenues, but we'll say what we've said for each of the past few years - this is still not the time to raise taxes.

Some thoughts

Last week, two young lives were snuffed out on Interstate 20. A 19-year-old and a 7-month-old baby will never know what it's like to grow old.

New superintendent

On Tuesday night, the Newton County Board of Education will choose Dr. Gary Mathews' successor as superintendent of the Newton County School System.

Mother’s Day

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

Making the grade

In Wednesday's paper, we ran a story explaining what the new state school assessment model means to students and other citizens of Newton County.

Good moves

The Covington City Council has made two practical decisions that could contribute to economic growth in the future.

The morning-after pill

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 1.3 million babies a year are aborted in the U.S. That is a staggering number.

Social Circle

If you were driving through the main street in Social Circle and blinked twice, you might miss the physical heart of the city.

Rotary

A sure sign of spring here in Covington and Newton County is the sweet smell of Vidalia onions.

Development

There's no question we've had a successful run of economic development deals in Newton County over the past couple of years.

A second holiday thought

"For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table, which we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet... Shall we think of the day as a chance to come nearer to our host, and to find out something of him who has fed us so long?"

Disappointed

While we praise the school system for the career academy, we must also express disappointment in the recent behavior of the school board in discussing an upcoming education SPLOST vote.

Career academy

Last week General Manager T. Pat Cavanaugh joined a group of local industry leaders on a tour of the Newton College and Career Academy, a newly opened educational facility that leaders hope will be the shining jewel of the school system.

Hospital

Recently, officials at Newton Medical made a decision to charge a $150 upfront deposit charge for patients who do not have a non-emergency condition.

Stadium

The fact that many people in the state of Georgia are still suffering from the effects of the Great Recession does not seem to affect Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, in his attempt to build a new $1 billion retractable roof stadium for his team with the assistance of tax funds provided by the citizens of Georgia.

Sign ordinance

One of the accomplishments of former Mayor Kim Carter's administration was the passage of an overhauled sign ordinance.

Veterans Day

Wrapped around today's edition is a four-page pullout dedicated to the thousands of veterans who call Newton County home.

Shutouts galore

Newton County had an interesting night of football Friday as all three local teams played in lopsided shutouts during the last week before the playoffs begin.

Veterans Day

We can't equate spending on veterans with spending on defense. Our strength is not just in the size of our defense budget, but in the size of our hearts, in the size of our gratitude for their sacrifice. And that's not just measured in words or gestures.

Back to business

While political parties are and have been an essential part of the American voting experience since the beginning of this Republic, we question whether they have a role to play in our local elections.

Come on restaurants

Newton County voters passed alcohol by the drink overwhelmingly in Tuesday's election. While we understand that many people choose personally not to drink alcohol, we're pleased that voters saw fit to approve referendums that will allow us to recruit some more upscale restaurants to the county, providing better options for consumers and more taxes for the county's coffers. Even if you don't believe that Newton County will be able to recruit such restaurants, there was ...

Newton’s visionary

A month ago, we wrote an editorial of praise for Pierce Cline, who had just been awarded the coveted Oxford College Carl Chandler award.

The election is finally over

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. ~ Winston Churchill As you read this today, it must be some sort of relief that this local election season is finally over. The results of our local election are on page one and further details can be seen and read at CovNews.com. This election, both nationally and locally, created tension and mistrust that seems to be stronger than in past years' elections. ...

Election nightmare

In six more days, this long national nightmare of an election will be over. The campaigning, which seemed to start the day after the 2008 presidential election has been nasty, brutal and expensive. In the current economy, it seems almost criminal that millions of dollars was spent on political ads targeted at voters who have benefited more from seeing that money infused into the general economy. Locally, we've learned this season that politics at the ...

School progress

Three years ago, it appeared the Newton County School System had reached rock bottom. Scores were dropping as the system struggled to deal with the effects of rapid growth without the extra resources that had been provided by skyrocketing property tax revenue.