Sunday Edition November 25, 2018 BARTOW COUNTY’S ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER $1.50 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield returns to Bartow Marketplace BY JAMES SWIFT Tribune News earlier this year that the hospital had at- [email protected] tempted to join the Kaiser network for several years, only for the carrier to repeatedly refuse to sign a con- As of 2018, Bartow County has just one Affordable tract. Care Act (ACA) carrier — Kaiser Permanente. “So what Kaiser appears to be trying to do is to steer That poses a problem, Cartersville Medical Center Bartow County residents out of Bartow County into Chief Financial Officer Benny McDonald said, because Cobb County to access their facilities there,” Sandlin CMC is not contracted with Kaiser — nor are many said. health care providers within the local community. Heading into 2019, however, Bartow residents seek- “From what I understand,” he said, “there was only ing health care coverage through the Marketplace will JAMES SWIFT/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS one physician in town that’s in-network.” have another carrier option — Blue Cross Blue Shield JAME SWIFT/DTN Cartersville Medical Center Patient Access Director Rather, Bartow residents with coverage through the of Georgia, which officially rebrands as Anthem Blue Julian Falkenstein, 29, started Amanda Owens and CMC Chief Financial Officer Benny his “The Sign Flipper” McDonald both said Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Marketplace have had to travel out of the county for in- Cross and Blue Shield in January. network care. business in Bartow more than Shield’s return to Bartow’s Marketplace is “huge” for 10 years ago — since then, he’s SEE MARKETPLACE, PAGE 7A the local community. Former CMC CEO Keith Sandlin told The Daily traveled the world and made appearances in numerous television programs and commercials. Iron Age Office ‘GIFT TO MOTHER EARTH’ expects to TOSSING double workforce, AND sales in 2019 BY JAMES SWIFT TURNING [email protected] When Iron Age Office officially launched in 2015, sales weren’t Cartersville’s exactly through the roof — in- deed, CEO and president Sean Di- neen said the company pulled in world-famous less than $200,000. “Fast forward to our third solid ‘Sign Flipper’ year in business and this year we should be closing out on $4 mil- makes a lion,” he said. “We really see no limit to what we can achieve.” In fact, business has picked up homecoming so much that Dineen is in the BY JAMES SWIFT process of upgrading his manufac- [email protected] turing location from a 20,000- square-foot building on Wansley On a soggy, overcast November Drive to a roughly 70,000-square- morning in West Cartersville, a foot remodeled plant on Industrial deep blue blur shot through the sky. Drive. The arrow-shaped object “We’re closing all the details twisted, twirled and pirouetted in now on the lease,” he said. “It’s the air, rotating like a bullet blast- not 100 percent finalized, but RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS ing out of a chamber. Up and down Paper and plastics are among the categories of items recycled at Bartow County’s Recycling Center. we’re obviously there or there — and sometimes sideways — it about. If it all goes well, we’re bounced, over and over again, like a spiraling cardboard bottle rocket. looking to move in towards the It meant, of course, one thing: If end of the first quarter, so you’re Recycling experts but for a few days, the world-fa- looking at March.” mous “Sign Flipper” had returned The Manchester, England, na- underscore importance of to Cartersville. tive didn’t come to the United “This is where it all began, every- States to start his own line of de- thing,” said 29-year-old Julian signer office equipment, though. turning trash into treasure Falkenstein, as he dumped a packet What initially drew him stateside of sugar into his cup of coffee from was a gig as a soccer coach. BY MARIE NESMITH tin and aluminum cans, plastic milk and juice Martin’s. “This is where I grew up, “I was living with different fam- [email protected] jugs and drink containers, even your live this is where I went to school, this is ilies every single week,” he said. Christmas trees, minus those lights and dec- where my heart and soul is.” “One of the families I lived with For Sheri Henshaw, helping turn trash into orations.” Considered an unsung folk hero was in Acworth, and he owned treasure is a yearlong endeavor. In the midst Also urging the public to take part, Bartow to some and a public nuisance to Southern Machine and Fabrication of the holiday season, the executive director County Solid Waste Director Rip Conner others, Falkenstein is undoubtedly Co. (SMAF).” for Keep Bartow Beautiful and sustainability shared the advantages of recycling are mul- one of Bartow County’s most From the outset, SMAF owner coordinator for Bartow County government tifaceted. unique celebrities — if not its most RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS Michael Stephens saw a “hidden” is busy promoting the economic and envi- “The argument to recycle today is the unexpected. ronmental benefits of recycling. same that it has been all along,” Conner said. Sheri Henshaw is the executive director The Cartersville High product talent in Dineen, who received a of Keep Bartow Beautiful and the “Thanksgiving, Christmas and New “By doing so, you save valuable natural re- spent his youth engaged in all sorts degree in graphic design from sustainability coordinator for Bartow Year’s are festive times, but they are also sources, energy and it also saves airspace in Sheffield Hallam University. County. of activities. He was into skate- times when we buy so many heavily pack- the landfill. In 2017, we recycled approxi- boarding for a while and competed “He simply didn’t like the tradi- aged items,” Henshaw said. “… Make sure mately 2,500 tons of material at our recy- time employees and two sheriff’s deputies in amateur boxing, and he even had tional office furniture and had the you set up recycling stations in your home cling center. Most of that was sold to local from the Bartow County Jail and their in- a few experiences handling tradi- materials in his workshop, so he for this time of year, as your gift to Mother vendors for use in their various manufactur- mate details that work in the recycling cen- tional martial arts weaponry. Unbe- threw them together,” Dineen rec- Earth. The busiest day of the year at the ing processes, which of course allows those ter.” knownst to Falkenstein at the time, ollected. “We decided ‘Hey, county’s collection and recycling centers is businesses to continue to prosper and keep Along with promoting the accepted items, all of those diverse athletics inter- there’s a potential opportunity here Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, when employees working. Conner and Henshaw also are spreading the ests would soon merge into the and let’s run with it.’” everyone cleans out all those boxes, wrap- “The sale of recyclables in 2017 generated word that glass is no longer a recycled ma- “hobby” that garnered him interna- And from that small workshop ping paper, plastic wrap and food containers. $322,327.83. That revenue paid for the ex- terial in Bartow. tional acclaim. — just a few hundred square feet “Two-thirds of what you throw away can penses of operating the recycling center, but SEE , PAGE 6A — Iron Age Office was born. be recycled, including all cardboard boxes, more importantly, it also paid for three full- RECYCLING SEE FALKENSTEIN, PAGE 5A The premise of the company, Dineen said, was to provide a “powerful” alternative to the rank- and-file office furniture found in Adairsville High construction team cubicles from coast-to-coast. SEE IRON AGE, PAGE 6A wins 1st place at Skills Challenge BY DONNA HARRIS gle from AHS and Cole Pelfrey from happy with the results from a con- [email protected] CHS — won the top prize out of test that his team was competing in eight teams in the TeamWorks cate- for the first time. TeamWorks students from gory at the Northeast Georgia Skills “I would like to congratulate Adairsville and Calhoun high Challenge in Gainesville Nov. 8. these students that have worked schools had less than two weeks to The event helped prepare the stu- very hard and have achieved awe- prepare for a recent construction dents for competing in their re- some results,” he said, noting a fifth SPECIAL competition, but they had no prob- gional SkillsUSA event in January. team member, Shyann Bailey from Showing off the tools they won for nabbing first place in lem walking away with first place. AHS adviser Barry Arrington Sr. AHS, was unable to participate in the TeamWorks category at the Northeast Georgia Skills The four-member team — juniors — who teamed up with his son, the event. “They don’t garner much challenge are, from left, Adairsville High School adviser Andrew Bearden and Vidal Diaz- Barry Arrington Jr., the adviser at Barry Arrington Sr. and team members Vidal Diaz-Sandavol, Dineen Sandavol and senior Hamilton Nog- CHS, for the competition — was SEE SKILLSUSA, PAGE 5A Hamilton Noggle, Andrew Bearden and Cole Pelfrey. INSIDE TODAY Partly Obituaries . .2A Sports . .1B sunny VOLUME 72, NO. 174 Bartow Bio . .3A Classified . .5B High 63 U.S.& World . .4A Business . .1C www.daily-tribune.com Blotter . .7A Entertainment . .7C Low 41 2A Sunday, November 25, 2018 • www.daily-tribune.com Local The Daily Tribune News ContactUs OBITUARIES The Daily Tribune News Shauna Craig and by several In lieu of flowers the family Holliday Berry (Jim), Lea Holli- NABW (National Association of Address: 251 S.