City says it’s needed to protect new path

A new wall erected along Peachtree Parkway to protect cart path users has caught some flak from Peachtree City residents who think it is unsightly.

Tyrone Planning Commission Thursday night continued the lengthy process of reviewing and upgrading the town’s Land Development Regulations. The topic included the portion of the regulations dealing with the procedure for plat approvals and construction authorization for subdivisions.

Fayette County employees will now have a guaranteed retirement pension so long as they can make at least five years service with the county.

The defined benefit pension plan was approved tonight by the Fayette County Commission on a 3-1-1 vote to select GEBCorp as the plan administrator. Voting for the plan were commissioners Jack Smith, Robert Horgan and Lee Hearn. Voting no was Herb Frady and abstaining was Eric Maxwell, who said he supported the pension plan but didn’t approve of the vendor that was selected.

The move to construct Senoia’s new facility to house the police department and municipal court continued at the April 6 city council meeting with a unanimous vote to proceed with construction drawings for the project. JMA Architectures Interiors Planning representative Marion Repeta gave council members an overview of the construction plans for the $1.3 million project that will be located near the ball fields on Howard Road.

An April 4 chase that began in Senoia ended 30 miles away in Zebulon with the driver arrested and facing multiple charges after he finally pulled over and gave himself up. There were no injuries or accidents resulting from the pursuit.

Like many others in Coweta, county commissioners are intent on seeing an interchange constructed at I-85 and Poplar Road. A discussion at the April 7 commission meeting addressed that eventuality with the approval of funds for preliminary engineering to be paid with impact fees.

Jeff Fisher has been appointed to serve on the Senoia City Council to fill the vacancy left by councilman Keith Harrison who recently resigned the position. The term expires at the end of 2009.

Adesa Auto Auction agreed April 7 to clean-up the required portions of its 60-acre site along I-85 and to comply with all zoning requirements after the company leased the property to auto storage company APLS for the short-term storage of new vehicles. The site lost its grandfathered status when Adesa moved out.

Southeastern Site Development, Inc. was the low bidder for the installation of a proposed traffic light at Ga. Highway 154 and Glenda Trace at a price of $176,203.

People who plan to give animals to children for Easter should consider the potential danger the animals pose to children.  The cute, cuddly looking creature could have disease carrying bacteria and or have aggressive behavior attacking anyone who attempts to touch it, warns Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Newnan Community Theatre Company (NCTC) is pleased to announce it is about to break ground for a Spring Beautification Project. A beautiful plant and flower bed arrangement at the corner of 1st Avenue and Long Street has been planned and is scheduled to be completed by April 25th.

The Rotary Club of Coweta-Fayette is proud to announce the induction of its newest member, James I. Pace III. Jimmy represents local development firm Group VI in the Club, and his classification is Commercial Real Estate Development. He was inducted at the Club's regular weekly meeting on Monday, April 6th, at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.

Suspect arrested immediately after crash

A woman running from Union City police crashed her car head-on into an unmarked sheriff's detective's SUV on Gingercake Road west of Fayetteville as she tried to evade a swarm of police on her trail this afternoon.

A young boy strapped into a car seat in the back of the car suffered minor injuries and was taken to Scottish Rite hospital in Atlanta as a precaution, officials said.

Brandon Patton has worked for two years as executive chef at the Hollingsworth House in Fayetteville. He has been missing since the night of April 2 when he left for Tampa to pick up his 3-year-old daughter for a vacation.

A former resident of Fayette County now living in Atlanta, Patton began the journey to pick up his young daughter from her mother’s home in Tampa, said Hollingsworth House co-owner Belinda Fitch.

Approximately 3,500 Fayette County property owners — 23 times the usual yearly number — want their properties re-assessed.

The Fayette County Commission agreed Wednesday to develop the West Fayetteville bypass as a two-lane, limited access road to preserve its original intent ... to move traffic.

Tommi Ahvala, a two-time world champion stunt rider, performs during Dixieland Amusement Park’s opening weekend activities. The Fayetteville park is open all week for spring break and recently announced a number of additions and enhancements at the park. For more on Dixieland, click here. Photo/Michael Boylan.

With county reservoirs back to healthy levels and a 300-plus day supply of fresh water on hand, Fayette County officials will ask the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to ease drought restrictions for local residents and businesses.

Three juveniles were arrested Saturday after taking a trip from one end of Peachtree City to the other on a series of stolen golf carts that they abandoned one after the other when the electrically-powered vehicles ran out of juice, police said.

Christian churches in Fayette and Coweta counties will join with Christian churches all over the world this week as they celebrate one of the foremost holidays of the church — Holy Week and Easter — the mourning of the death and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A federal program designed to help dispose of foreclosed homes may be available only to a small geographic section of northern Fayette County.

Thursday night the Fayette County Commission is expected to vote on offering a defined benefit pension retirement plan for county employees.

Nearly a dozen south Fayette residents met April 6 with Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) District Engineer Mike England and Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon to talk about putting a traffic light and turn lanes where Ga. Highway 85 South intersects Bernhard Road and later, potentially, at Harp Road.

The Fayetteville City Council April 2 voted unanimously to adopt a $263,211 amendment to the general fund budget brought on largely by decreasing sales tax revenues. The city has seen a decrease of more than 8 percent in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) in the past year.

Fayetteville police made a total of 14 arrests and issued 29 citations in two late night road safety checks last weekend.

Fayetteville police made three traffic stops over the weekend that resulted in felony drug charges and seizure of a stolen weapon.

The Fayette County School Board will meet April 13 to evaluate and conduct the annual update of the school system’s Five Year Strategic Plan 2007-2012. The 164-page plan will be reviewed by board members with needed updates accompanying presentations by school system department heads.

The following arrests and incidents were reported by local law enforcement agencies for the past week. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty:

Two north Fayette residents were arrested April 1 for growing marijuana in their home on Whitetail Court, sheriff’s deputies said.

Fayette Alliance Coordinating Teamwork Outreach and Resources, otherwise known as FACTOR is an organization that is able to bring together diverse people and organizations. It is a community collaborative partnership with a board of directors representing the school system, faith based organizations, local governments, social and civic groups, and non-profit organizations, as well as family members.