Local residents received a New Year's blessing as we found out, at least for now, that we are not losing one of the two major retailers left in Newton County. Kmart, located off U.S. Highway 278 in Covington, generates significant sales and property tax revenue for the city and county and employs a large number of local residents. Sears Holdings Corp., the parent company of Kmart and other Sears stores, announced just after Christmas that it was closing 79 stores across the country; our store was not in the list.