Fire destroys home

NEWTON - by Lawren Bacon/KJAS - Around 10:00 on Wednesday night the Newton Volunteer Fire Department was notified of a fire on Walthal Road in Newton.

Kathleen Foster, 23 of Newton, rents the home and lives there with her boyfriend, Charles Ray Hadnot Jr., also of Newton, and three kids. Luckily, Hadnot was at work and Foster and the children were at a family member's home a few yards away from her residence when the fire started. A neighbor, Felicia Levias of Newton, went to the family member's house and notified Foster that her house was on fire.

Witnesses said that the fire started in the back of the house, and in minutes half the home was engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire was unknown, but Newton City Police officer and volunteer fireman, Herb Kelley, said that the couple had electrical problems last week.