More state cuts in local funding could mean as many as 5 more students per classroom

Fayette school classes could each get five students larger if the state slashes more funding later this year.

It was supposed to be an appeal of a Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission denial over lighting concerns at the sports field on Tiger Trail and Hood Avenue owned by Thomas Stephens.

It was essentially a formality Thursday night as the Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously to hold the 2009 millage rate at 2.988 mills.

Coweta County commissioners Tuesday approved the submission of a letter to Fayette County Water Department requesting that Fayette include Coweta properties in federally-required documents relating to the the upcoming construction of Lake McIntosh. That inclusion could help Coweta property owners near the 650-acre lake avoid the requirement to purchase flood insurance.

Four Peachtree City teenagers have been arrested in connection with numerous entering auto cases reported Aug. 14-15, police said.

A Hampton man died this morning after his car struck a tractor trailer on Ga. Highway 279 near Imperial Way shortly after midnight.

A Clayton County man was arrested by Fayette County sheriff’s deputies Thursday for burglarizing a home on Graves Road July 17.

The high school football season started on Saturday with the U.S. Army/Corky Kell Classic in the Georgia Dome. The Starr’s Mill Panthers took on the Etowah Eagles and lost 21-14 in the first match of the day. The Panthers will look at the tape and practice this week and the coaches will have an open Friday to go off to scout their opponents as high school football kicks off for everybody else.

It is a mechanism used in some Georgia localities to turn economically deficient areas into productive ones. The Fayetteville City Council will meet in called session Monday at 4 p.m. to consider the feasibility of initiating a Tax Allocation District (TAD) process in the city.

The Fayette County Commission is expected to vote Thursday night to maintain the current maintenance and operations millage rate of 5.4 mills for the 2009-2010 budget year.

The Peachtree City Council voted Thursday to accept a $650,000 grant over a five-year period to hire six new firefighters.

The novel H1N1 strain of influenza is already here in Fayette County, Peachtree City emergency officials told the city council Thursday night.

The vote is in and the potential to have alcohol served by the glass on Sundays in Tyrone will be left up to the voters in November. Council members approved the measure at the Thursday meeting.

Despite the struggling economy, several Peachtree City residents told the city council Thursday night that they support a property tax increase of .244 mills.

The Peachtree City Council voted Thursday to accept a $650,000 grant over a five-year period to hire six new firefighters.

A decision to add to Falcon Field’s name to boost marketing and enhance operations has resulted in a minor controversy at the Peachtree City airport.

The demand for recreation field space is on the rise, creating an issue that will ultimately have to be dealt with, Recreation Commission Chairman David Ring told the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.

A new fee to inspect new roof construction was adopted recently by the Peachtree City Council.

The fee stems from recent code changes and the need to inspect roofing activity, which has spiked recently, according to a memo from city interim Community Development Director David Rast.

A McDonough sculptor is setting out to honor Peachtree City founders Joel Cowan and Floy Farr.

Andy Davis, who has sculpted the likenesses of Truett Cathy, Margaret Mitchell and others, won the city council’s approval to conduct a private fundraising drive so he can construct busts of the two founders.

The Coweta County School Board voted Monday to hold the millage rate steady at 18.59 mills for the fifth straight year. Board members also voted to keep the school system’s bonded indebtedness tax rate at 0 mills.

Coweta County commissioners Tuesday held the line on the millage rate, maintaining the 7.66 mill rate for the incorporated areas and lowering the unincorporated rate to 6.93 mills from last year’s 6.98 mills. The recession-fueled local economy saw only minor digest growth in the incorporated areas and a decrease in growth in the unincorporated areas.

Newnan High School was transformed into a movie set last Saturday as filming continued on “The Fat Boy Chronicles,” written by authors and screenwriters Mike Buchanan and Diane Lang. Inspired by a real story, “The Fat Boy Chronicles” is a drama that tells the story of an obese 9th grader struggling to find his way in our thin-obsessed society.

Members of the Springwater Plantation Homeowners Association (HOA) have announced their opposition to a request by Marietta-based Baldwin Paving Co. to construct an asphalt plant on the Vulcan Madras Quarry property on Ga. Highway 154 in northeast Coweta. The issue will go before the Coweta County Board of Zoning Appeals Sept. 1.

Hundreds of residents made their way to downtown Senoia last week for an outdoor screening of the film “Fried Green Tomatoes,” which was filmed in the area in 1990.

A Senoia resident has filed an ethics complaint against City Councilman Jeffrey B. Fisher.

The 33-page complaint from Donald I. Rehman alleges a number of grievances, one being Fisher’s comments to him at the July 20 council meeting when Rehman spoke with council about sight distance problems at Rockaway Road and one of the exits for the Heritage Pointe subdivision.

District 4 Public Health wants parents and employers to know that flu-like illness is being reported in communities within the 12 county Region. Because only a small portion of persons with respiratory illness are tested for novel H1N1, confirmed and probable case counts represent a significant underestimation of the true number of novel H1N1 flu cases. Because of the low testing rate, we should not use these as indicators of the presence of H1N1 in our commnity. We should be proactive and conduct ourselves as if this virus is already in our communities. Therefore, it is important for everyone to take steps to prevent contracting the flu and follow recommendations to prevent the further spread of illness.

Coweta County commissioners Tuesday approved the submission a letter to Fayette County Water Authority requesting that Fayette include Coweta properties in federally-required documents relating to the the upcoming construction of Lake McIntosh. That inclusion could help Coweta property owners near the lake avoid the requirement to purchase flood insurance.

Traffic slowdowns expected in some areas of city as part of adult triathlon

Due to the Peachtree City Adult Triathlon Saturday morning, the city library won't be opening until 2 p.m.

The Army Ground Forces Band will return to the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater in Peachtree City to perform a free “To the Colors: Tribute to the Stars & Stripes” concert tonight at 7 p.m.

A decision to add to Falcon Field’s name to boost marketing and enhance operations has resulted in a minor controversy at the Peachtree City airport.