Fayetteville police are investigating a claim by two teenage girls that an adult male acquaintance gave them pills in order to take advantage of them and had attempted to do so.

The Fayetteville City Council on Thursday will consider authorizing a resolution that would lead to a sidewalk installation project through Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) and U.S. Dept. of Transportation. The $630,000 project includes a 20 percent match by the city.

Despite not allowing any public comment on the controversial big box request from Capital City Development at last week’s council meeting, new Peachtree City Mayor Don Haddix insists he will not be doing the same terribly often.

Tyrone’s new town manager is on the job. Selected late last year to replace retiring town manager Chris Venice, former Glynn County grant coordinator Richard Newbern began his employment with the town on Jan. 4.

New Peachtree City Councilman Eric Imker, who campaigned on promises to trim the city’s budget back significantly, is inviting citizens to attend a budget review meeting Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.

Fayette County is about to have another opportunity for those seeking a college degree. Atlanta Christian College (ACC) will soon open its first satellite campus in Peachtree City.

Aircraft Spruce and Specialty Company, which sells aircraft parts and pilot supplies worldwide from its home in the Peachtree City industrial park, has gone “green” in a big way.

In December, Boy Scout Troop 211 participated in Polaris Winter Camp 2009. The boys spent four days camping in the cold at Lawhorn Scouting Base where they had a great time. The scouts activities at camp included: Archery, Rifle and Shotgun Shooting, Golf, Weather Forecasting, Emergency Preparedness, Indian Lore, Rock Climbing, Motor Boating, Mountain Biking, “Southern Snowboarding”, and a Polar Bear Swim.

Credit card skimming has been described as one of the most significant problems facing the credit card industry, as it can happen anywhere a credit card is accepted. According to special agents of the U.S. Secret Service’s Atlanta Field Office, the best way for consumers to protect themselves from skimming is by paying attention to the details of credit card usage.

Justin L. Bryant, son of Rev. and Mrs. Larry Bryant, Sr., a Junior at Morehouse College will be the keynote speaker at the annual Rev. Dr. M.L. King, Jr. Commemorative Program. Bryant, also president of the NAACP Morehouse College Branch is enrolled in the Morehouse College Honors Program. He is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and on the Dean’s List. A UPS Community Service Scholar, Bryant earned this honor by volunteering 300 community service hours at a local Atlanta elementary school.

Photo Courtesy of The American Red Cross

UPDATED (Saturday evening) with March of Dimes information

As locals begin efforts to help Haiti residents recover from the recent earthquake, The Citizen wants to publicize as many of these works as possible as a free service to the community.

If your church, civic group, business or organization is embarking on such an endeavor, please send us an email at editor@TheCitizen.com. Please include details about the mission, including how/where/when others can help.

Newnan resident Juan Campos-Reyes was sentenced in federal court Jan. 11 to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges relating to his part in a multi-state cocaine trafficking organization based in Mexico. A Riverdale man and another from Lawrenceville were also sentenced.

The Georgia Department of Labor’s Columbus Career Center will help Mobis, a manufacturing facility located in West Point, fill about 250 second-shift production jobs. Mobis is a Kia supplier.

Palmetto Fire Chief Henry Argo began his efforts as fire chief in Palmetto in early 2007 after 30 years of experience. This week it was announced by Mayor John Miller that Argo has been re-designated as Chief Fire Officer by the international Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC). Argo is one of only 663 designated chief fire officers worldwide.

State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) is introducing a bill in the 2010 General Assembly that he says will clarify and simplify current weapons law and uphold the right to bear arms. The Georgia Common Sense Lawful Carry Act is meant to amend current Georgia law.

UPDATE: Defense attorney said pair had strong case but didn't want to risk outcome of jury trial; Attorney says only mention of sex came from undercover officers

Two former Whitewater High School teachers who were arrested in May during an undercover prostitution sting entered guilty pleas in DeKalb County State Court Tuesday.

Douglas Dee, the former band director, and Kelly Butler, the former choral director, pled guilty to pandering, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1,000 each, court officials said. They also were sentenced to 12 months probation and the judge suspended a 48-hour jail term.

Defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of at least two decades

Jorge Olivo, 24, of Roswell, Ga., and Rene Perez, 32, of San Marcos, Texas, both pleaded guilty in federal court in Newnan Jan. 12 to felony charges of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute 173 kilograms of cocaine that had been couriered by flight from Texas to the Peachtree City’s Falcon Field airport.

Examination of tracts along bypass route reveals new information: See MAP here.

Several opponents of the west Fayetteville bypass have alleged that the $29.7 million project is a “developers’ road.”

It looks like the situation for Misty is improving. The 8-year-old mare is recovering from being shot four times in a Jan. 3 bow and arrow attack at the Padovano farm near Brooks.

Detectives arrested 17-year-old neighbor Jeremy Ryan Richardson and subsequently charged him with felony aggravated cruelty to animals.

Fayetteville police are still searching for two armed men who robbed the Bank of America at Ga. Highway 314 and New Hope Road near the Fayette Pavilion early Saturday afternoon. Investigators are also hoping that so-far unnamed customers who picked up some of the stolen money in the parking lot will contact police.

A proposal to rezone St. Paul Lutheran Church to allow for a new cellphone tower off Ga. Highway 74 North was tabled by the Peachtree City Planning Commission Monday night.

It was a relatively easy agenda item that came with a frequent 3-2 split vote on the Fayette County Board of Education. Board members Monday night voted to change the work session and regular meeting nights from Mondays to Tuesdays and re-elected Terri Smith as chairman and Lee Wright as vice-chair — all on the familiar split votes.

A Fayette County man was carjacked last week near Redwine Road after being followed from his business on Old National Highway. The man was not injured in the incident.

Let the voters have their say on some specialized new uses for existing property taxes, says the Fayetteville City Council.

Fayette County’s purchasing card program, reinvigorated in October 2008, has simplified purchasing for county departments with no abuse of the new associated policies, the county commission was told last week.

School system officials are preparing to meet with the Fayette County delegation in the General Assembly to make their feelings known on a half dozen issues of concern. The planned meeting was announced by Superintendent John DeCotis at Monday’s school board meeting.

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

A proposal to rezone St. Paul Lutheran Church to allow for a new cellphone tower off Ga. Highway 74 north was tabled by the Peachtree City Planning Commission tonight.

A gas-powered limb trimmer became an un-freezing tool for Fayette County public works employees Matt Neal and Miles Hoffman Monday at the fountain in front of the Fayette County Justice Center.

A Brooks resident who was in a serious car crash Dec. 23 remains in a coma at The Shepherd Center, but the community is rallying with prayers and financial support, a family friend has told The Citizen.