With

the Georgia General Assembly set to open next

week, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland is looking forward

to the "education year."

Westmoreland

represents northern Fayette and eastern Coweta

counties in the 104th District. Gov. Roy Barnes

has said his focus this legislative term will be

in beefing up the state's education program,

Westmoreland pointed out.

"Everybody's

excited about this and I'm glad we're finally

focusing on education," he said.

One

of the local education issues Westmoreland will

be monitoring is securing state funding for

Coweta County's Central Education Center.

The

center, which opens next fall, is Coweta's first

technical and charter school. Businesses from

around the county offered input into the types of

classes taught at the school and Westmoreland

believes the governor will approve state funding

for the project.

"I

think he wants this to be a centerpiece to show

other communities around the state what can be

done when everybody works together," he

said.

Usually

requests from local leaders about issues that

need to be discussed by the legislature. But this

year, the phone has been quiet.

Statewide,

Westmoreland said the legislators will focus on

trying to spread some of the Atlanta region's

good economic health to other parts of the state.

"The

governor has created a Georgia One program that

would offer economic incentives for companies to

locate in other areas of the state," he

said.

Legislators

also will look at the governor's proposal to

require developers to set aside a certain

percentage of their land for green space.

Westmoreland recently served on a committee

studying the state's water supplies and said

water will also be a critical issue as the state

continues to grow.

Since

this year is an election year, Westmoreland

expects things to be relatively quiet this year.

The representative recently moved to Sharpsburg

from his long-time home base in Tyrone.

Westmoreland is enjoying his new surroundings,

but still manages to visit many of his friends in

Tyrone, he said.

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