Residents, old and new, who have questions about Newton County, what to do locally, how things work or how to get more connected, should attend the final meeting of Celebrate Our Home from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Live Oak Elementary School, 500 Kirkland Road, Covington.
The program, which has been held across the county at four other schools this year, is designed to help residents learn more about Newton County and get their questions answered, whether the questions are about finding fun things to do locally or finding out how their taxes and utility rates are calculated.
Several groups will be there to answer questions, including local governments and utility providers, recreational groups, nonprofits, banks, businesses and The Covington News.
"Celebrate Our Home is a great opportunity to reconnect with the community if you're a longtime resident, and is a great opportunity for newer residents to establish connections with the community," said event organizer Anna Liddick. "Newton County has a bounty of services and amenities. We want the community to reorient itself to the county - shop here, volunteer here, play here."
Longtime residents and community leaders obviously feel Newton County has a lot to offer and an important part of Celebrate Our Home is making people aware of local amenities, whether those are parks, rivers and reservoirs or an abundance of nonprofit groups, churches and art and music opportunities.
In that spirit, the Celebrate Our Home events are meant to be community parties with free food, entertainment for kids, live music and a raffle drawing for several prizes including a 32-inch TV.
"The raffle drawing is stacked-gift cards, free memberships, a rain barrel and other swag from local organization," Liddick said. "Make sure you visit United Bank's exhibit and enter the drawing for a 32" TV. You should also visit the City of Covington's exhibit to enter a drawing for a collection of gift certificates from Mainstreet Covington worth over $350! So come on out, bring your family, your neighbors, and your friends. We want to celebrate with you."
Live entertainment will include the Apostles of Bluegrass band, local storyteller and funny man Andy Irwin sharing stories about Newton County and local students performances of dancing, singing and other talents.
Another important part of the event will be the sharing of the 2050 Plan, which seeks to plan for Newton County's growth over the next 40 years and ensure that the county has a good mix of urban and rural environments and amenities.
"We also hope the community will recognize that an agreed-upon (2050) plan can aid Newton County leaders as they prepare for the future. Their approach to planning for the future is so simple, and yet so progressive that it's drawing national attention," Liddick said. "I think that Celebrate Our Home is a great opportunity for the community to learn about the work being done, why it's being done and take pride in Newton County's rising star status."
For more information about the event visit facebook.com/CelebrateOurHome or centernewton.org/COH or contact Liddick at anna@thecenter-newton.org or (770) 788-0484.
