Again this year, to align with Twilights, the regular bike ride will change date, time, and place for December.  Riders should be at the Newton County Public Library, ready to roll by 4 pm on Sunday, December 8.  Decorate your trusty two-wheeler and don your best holiday attire if you want a shot at one of the prizes for the best decorated/most festive.  As always, we'll take a leisurely roll through downtown Covington streets, accompanied by Christmas music, sounding the welcome for all to come join the fun at Chimney Park.  We'll be back by 5 pm when the gates open for Twilights.

Many students and their parents participated in the Bike to School day event on the Eastside Trail.

Positive Vibes on the Eastside Trail

If you haven't visited the Eastside Trail, there is no better time than right now. This is the 2.6 mile bike and walking trail that goes from the Newton County Public Library and Chimney Park to Eastside High School. It is a 10-foot-wide concrete path that begins off Ramsey Drive on the West side of the library. The first .6 miles meander through Chimney Park, the woodland area behind the library and the Newton County health Center. After winding gently through the woods over rolling terrain, the trail drops down to cross Martin Street. The trail features four wooden boardwalk sections that traverse forest wetlands and a tunnel beneath the Covington Bypass Road that allows pedestrians and cyclists to pass safely beneath the traffic overhead. On the east side of the bypass, the trail continues east and then runs between pasture land and woods south of the high school.  You will be amazed at the number of people you can greet along the trail. You will see joggers, walkers, bikers, moms strolling babies, and families walking their dogs. At this time of year native hardwoods are in full fall color. It is a great outing for all.

There are a lot of exciting things happening on the Eastside Trail. On May 8th, many students from Eastside High School and the Ficquett Theme School participated in the Bike to School day. 

Some recent happenings include installation of signage outlining trail usage rules, addition of trash/recycling containers provided by Newton Trails and upcoming installation of benches. The City of Covington has taken over maintenance of the trail and their employees are doing a wonderful job. Employees who are involved with the maintenance have become trail advocates and are taking great pride in their work on the trail. They have taken down hazardous trees and have kept the trail neat and clean. The City will soon be placing markers at tenth mile intervals to assist users in achieving exercise goals as well as providing safety locations in case of an emergency. 

A successful fundraiser was held by Friends of Newton Parks to raise funds to pave a walkway into Chimney Park for handicapped individuals who needed a hard surface for wheelchairs. The paving is completed and a fire pit is underway for gatherings during events.  Newton Trails is raising funds to connect the Chimney Park walk to the Eastside Trail. Hopefully, that will be accomplished in the near future. 

The Newton Trails Board would like to thank both Linda Woodworth and Maurice Carter for their outstanding service. Both Linda and Maurice have decided to dedicate their time and energy to different endeavors.

Linda Woodworth

Linda became a Newton Trails Board member after an extensive and impressive career with non-profits which included serving as the President of a parent pre-school co-op, as a Public Relations Assistant with Families First, and as the Executive Director of Corporate Volunteer Council of Metro Atlanta. After she retired in 2009, she started using her considerable energy and passion on a number of projects such as renovating a 125 year old farmhouse with her husband, running an organic farm and designing websites. She also enjoys spending time playing with her 3 grandchildren. 

Linda has used her skills and experience to help build support and excitement for family-friendly public trails by working on the Newton Trails website, starting the newsletters, coordinating several quarterly socials, helping to organize the Harvest Picking fundraisers and helping coordinate the first Bike to School day.  

Maurice Carter

Maurice  is a very active member of the Covington/Newton County community. He has volunteered with numerous local organizations such as the Newton County Trail Path Foundation, the Washington Street Community Center, Smart Growth Newton County, the Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce and the Covington Conyers Cycling Club. In recognition of this, he was awarded the 2009 and 2010 President's Volunteer Service Award.

Maurice understands the importance of trails in providing safe places for people to bike/walk and enjoy other outdoor recreational activities, and in bringing renewed prosperity to Newton County.  As such, he has served as the chair for Newton Trails  for four years. 

Maurice has almost single-handedly reinvigorated the board as well as the organization. Under his leadership, Newton Trails has expanded Newton County's system of greenway trails. Some highlights include:

• the construction of a trail segment in Oxford between Soule Street and Watson Street
• a memorandum of understanding with the cities of Mansfield, Newborn, Oxford, and Porterdale, for the purposes of exploring options to acquire the Central of Georgia Railroad corridor from Porterdale to Newborn for possible trail use
• helping secure a 2011 technical assistance grant from the US National Park service to assist master planning and coordination of the Yellow River Park in Porterdale, including the greenway and blueway trails planned for the park, with connections to Turner Lake Park in Covington   
• assisting the City of Porterdale by raising funds to relocate and renovate a donated rail car to house rest rooms and changing facilities for the trail head at Yellow River Park
• initiating NT's presence in social media such as FB (close to 1,000 "likes" at present)