Staff Spotlight:

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This month's Staff Spotlight is County Landscape Architect: Debbie Bell

Debbie Bell is a Georgia native and a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Environment and Design and is a Registered Landscape Architect. She is also an ISA Certified Arborist and a certified Wetland Delineator. Through her many years of camping, hiking and horseback riding in the Georgia Piedmont, she has become very familiar with its plants, wildlife and terrain.

Debbie’s training and knowledge of the local environment are a great asset in her job. She reviews development plans for Newton County, assessing them for compliance with the tree and landscape ordinance, proper protection of stream buffers and wetlands, and location and archaeological delineation of historic resources such as cemeteries.

Some accomplishments that are a result of Debbie’s work include the location and protection of over a dozen cemeteries that might otherwise have been destroyed by development, the planting of thirty-six 2" caliper trees at Rocky Plains Elementary School , educational programs at various schools and civic groups and a tree planting project on the Historic Courthouse Square.

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