The Piedmont Physicians Group recently added internist, Charlotte Grayson, M.D., to the team at Fayette Medical Clinic, and pediatrician Lisa McMath, M.D, to the team at Shakerag Hill.

Volunteers from Whitewater High School in Fayetteville are currently hunting for costuming and accessories which will be used by the many choral students during the upcoming March performances of the annual "Whitewater Spectacular" musical production. 

On Feb. 10, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of Tyrone, Pack 79 and Troop 79, will work together by knocking on doors to collect food.

• Air Force Capt. Russell K. Gore has deployed to Southwest Asia in the Persian Gulf region to support the mission of Operation Enduring Freedom as a member of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. The servicemember is normally assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, England. Wing members provide support for the U.S. Central Command's Air Forces mission, assisting in the full spectrum of fueling and aerial refueling operations to U.S. and coalition aircraft engaged in the war on terrorism in the region. Flight crews fly thousands of combat refueling sorties delivering aircraft fuel in the millions of pounds. The captain is a flight surgeon with five years of military service. He is the son of Russ and Mickey Gore of Peachtree City, Ga. Gore graduated in 1993 from Woodward Academy, College Park, Ga., and received a bachelor's degree in 1997 from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. He earned a medical degree in 2001 from Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.

Divergent groups and individuals rally around one family’s needs

What started in January 2006 as an effort to convince a 56-year old Coweta County woman to see a doctor about her abdominal pains has turned into a textbook example of how people helping people can make life-changing differences in this world.

The effort has rallied an eclectic group of good Samaritans and developed into an ongoing health crusade and a complete home renovation.

• Julianne Janell Parsons of Peachtree City, Ga. was inducted into the Samford University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi honor society during the fall semester. Phi Kappa Phi, Samford’s highest honor society, recognizes superior achievement in all academic disciplines. Members include undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty/professional staff members. Samford, Alabama’s largest privately supported college or university, enrolls 4,478 students from 49 states and 27 nations. Parsons is a senior exercise science and sports medicine major.

Helping pave the way for a fulfilling future

It all started in 1994 when Leslie Filacchione, then Leslie Moore, first learned the value of an individualized teaching approach while tutoring a student who needed help in math, specifically fractions, who said he hated the subject.

By the time fall classes were in session that same student was well versed in fractions and even felt a sense of confidence in the subject he once disliked.

Filacchione worked at the Howard School in Roswell, Ga., for three years learning the latest in neuroscience research and language-based learning. She then worked in Fayette and Cobb County schools, bringing with her high expectations and specialized teaching strategies.

Her experiences, studies and successes equipped her to open The Lighthouse school just outside of Peachtree City, which opened its doors to students in January 2005.

Cherelle D. Crenshaw has been named as the first recipient of the Promise Place Student Community Service Award. Crenshaw, a McIntosh High School senior, was nominated by McIntosh Resource Officer Cpl. Kristine Doyle for her work with the Explorer Program 999 at McIntosh High School, as well as her work with the Spirit of McIntosh Marching Band and her activities with her church youth group.

Eight members of the Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City were recently honored as recipients of the George F. Hixon Fellowship Award. Members were chosen based on their extensive participation in community service projects and fund-raising events. The award was named for the first Kiwanis International president who served from 1916-18. The club donates $1,000 in honor of each recipient to Kiwanis International who then directs the funds to support Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD), the world’s leading preventable cause of mental retardation, particularly among the young.

Chaplain William (Bill) Shelton, of Peachtree City, has been admitted to the membership of the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC).

Members of the Thomas Wingfield Chapter of the Colonial Dames of the Seventeenth Century received a lesson in creating a personal coat of arms at their November meeting.

Billy Lee, pictured helping Isabella Kunz-Frost, Grace Edwards and Sarah Rolader, is now teaching pottery at the Fayette Art Center and Gallery. He will have an after school class on Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m. Call 770-461-4494 to register.

• Jessica Breanne Stanley, a second-year political science major at the University of Georgia, has been named vice president for recruitment of the executive board of the Panhellenic Council. The Peachtree City, Ga. student is one of seven women named as officers of the council, which oversees the activities of 18 member sororities on the UGA campus. Stanley is a 2005 graduate of Starr’s Mill High School and is the daughter of Bryan and Denise Stanley. A member of Kappa Delta sorority, her other campus activities include serving as a freshman advisor for UGA HEROs, a student organization dedicated to raising money for children with HIV/AIDS. She is also a member of the Sophomore Leadership Circle. For more information about the Panhellenic Council, contact UGA’s Greek Life Office at 706-542-4612 or log on to www.uga.edu/greeklife.

It is more than a memory that lives on. It is a part of her daughter, a young woman who cared so much for the plight of those less fortunate and those in need. It is the love of a mother preserving the work her daughter began.

Susan Giess carries on the vision and the loving heart of her daughter Mandy, whose life ended tragically on Aug. 24, 2003 in an automobile accident near her Palmetto home. Mandy was 22 years old.

Spring Hill Elementary has been collecting supplies over the last two months for a school in Afghanistan that recently burned down.

Mr. McClain, a soldier with Homeland Security, informed Mrs. Holcombe, an enrichment teacher at Spring Hill and friend of Mr. McClain, that he knew of a school in Afghanistan that was badly in need of supplies after their school was damaged. Spring Hill students generously donated pencils, pens, scissors, glue sticks, notebooks and erasers as well as cash donations to help offset the cost of shipping the supplies to Afghanistan.

The grand opening of Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries in Peachtree City will occur on Friday, Jan. 5 at their store location at McIntosh Village, 2707 West Highway 54, Peachtree City, Ga. The opening will feature free T-shirts for the first 500 customers between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Regular store hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday - Sunday. Franchisee TC Tompkins stands under the Peachtree City Five Guys sign with his son Henry Tompkins who is the store manager.

The J.C. Booth Middle School band performed their holiday concert on Dec. 12. Booth's band director, Robert Burton, has been named J.C. Booth teacher of the year for 2007. Photo/Special.

Local Boy Scout Troop 172 held a wilderness survival weekend Nov. 17-19. The scouts in the troop participated in many survival activities including first aid, nourishment, water filtration, orientation and shelter. As part of the training all of the boys constructed their own shelter from materials in the area.

Fayette Pavilion merchants Belk and Toys-R-Us recently hosted a special evening of holiday shopping for Southern Regional Health System and their families. Many of which reside in the Fayetteville area. Pictured: Taylor Carlington, daughter of a Southern Regional Employee and Gena Wilson, Toys-R-Us Events Coordinator.

From now through Jan. 15, Georgia Southern University is accepting nominations for the 2007 Golden Award, honoring the teacher or professor who sets the standard in teaching excellence in composition.

Suzanne Shelley, formerly a resident and president of New Neighbor League in Peachtree City, has been crowned Ms.

Seventeen year old Craig Western of Peachtree City, a senior at McIntosh High School, took the new, expanded SAT in October and scored a perfect score of 2,400.

• Air Force Airman Jason S. Ali-Talha has arrived for duty at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, N.C. Ali-Talha, an aerospace propulsion apprentice, is assigned to the 4th Component Maintenance Squadron. He is the son of Larbi and Laura Ali-Talha of Fayetteville, Ga. The airman is a 2003 graduate of Lovejoy High School, Hampton, Ga.

Santa Clause arrived in Fayette County at Falcon Field via a King Air airplane. He was accompanied by nine other airplanes, including a Piper Navajo, a couple RV 4's and RV 6's, and a Cessna 172.

David Holder, a 5-year-old Peachtree City boy who is being treated for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), is one of 15 young Georgia cancer patients whose artwork is featured in the 2007 CURE Childhood Cancer Calendar. Holder’s colorful picture was chosen last summer for this year’s calendar and is included as the artwork for the month of June.

Ici Paris Day Spa and Salon located in The Avenues shopping center in Peachtree City, is helping children at Christian City's Home for Children to have a merry Christmas by sponsoring an angel tree. The hairdressers, employees and clients of the salon are generously donating toys and gift cards to be presented to the children in upcoming weeks.

Desiree Wood, of Target Stores, recently presented Spring Hill Elementary School with a check for $253.18 as part of the Take Charge of Education program. Target customers who use the program’s REDcard (Target Visa and Target card) are able to help their schools receive up to 1% of the amount of purchases simply by designating the school of their choice. Pictured with Wood are students from Mrs. Fencil’s second grade class and Laurie Brooks, Media Specialist.

Recently the Girl Scouts of Pine Valley Council, Service Unit 619 of Fayetteville, joined with Rivers Alive to provide a clean up of Lake Horton, located in Fayette County, on the Flint River Waterway and the Flint Watershed.

The Newnan-Peachtree Area Employer Committee is a voluntary committee of area employers active in our community and with the Department of Labor.  The committee recently gave the Real Life Center a donation in honor of the work they do in the area of employment. Featured in the photo are Lee Whetstone, Chairperson/NPCAEC, Cathy Berggren, Director of the Real Life Center, and Fred Huntington, Treasurer/NPCAEC.

Leigh Anne Moore belts out “Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child” with the Dogwood Worship Choir at Christmas At the Fred part of Peachtree City’s annual Hometown Holiday event held Dec. 2. Approximately 2,200 people braved the chilly weather for the concert before traveling down the Trail of Lights by golf cart to city hall for The Lighting of the Grand Christmas Tree.