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UPDATED Tuesday night, July 1

All four Republican candidates for sheriff, four [UPDATED] Republican candidates for board of education and the incumbent Republican district attorney have refused to participate in The Citizen’s Online Political Forum.

Republican House District 73 challenger Rick Williams broke with other GOP leaders locally to favor a change to district voting for the Fayette County Commission.

Many people dream of receiving their 15 minutes of fame, and one of the ways they attempt to fulfill that desire is to try out for reality TV shows.

Some reality TV hopefuls get their opportunity without even trying, which is exactly what happened to Georgia McGuffie, a 2003 McIntosh High School graduate, who was born and raised in Peachtree City.

Tax Commissioner George Wingo is still maintaining that he is doing nothing wrong by placing the CPA designation on his political signs.

Crowds of local diners flocked to sample beloved dishes like the Pecan Grilled Chicken at The Village Café one last time last Saturday night, because when the doors closed at the end of the evening, they would not open again.

None of the Fayette’s three Superior Court judges will face opposition in this year’s general election in November.

Winner will replace retiring long-time judge Martha Stephenson

The three candidates vying to become Fayette County’s next Probate Judge touted their experience in their answers to questions posed in writing last week by The Citizen.

DA Ballard declines to answer questions

Rudjard Hayes contends his 12-plus years as a prosecutor makes him the most qualified candidate to lead the District Attorney’s office for the Griffin Judicial Circuit, which includes Fayette County.

Sites open in PTC, Fayetteville and Tyrone

Voters who’ve already made up their mind will have the chance to avoid lines on election day by voting the week before.

One of the defining issues resonating through this year’s County Commission races seems to be the county’s proposed defined benefits program.

During the Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which was held at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, on June 20-22, athletes from across the nation competed for a spot on the USA team that will compete at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, July 8-13.

Mike's story

The opening scene of “Cliffhanger” has Sylvester Stallone’s character, Gabe Walker, go out on a long line to save his buddy’s wife or girlfriend. As her equipment breaks, he grabs her hand and tells her to hang on, but she slips out of his grasp and plummets to her death. Great opening to a Stallone movie that was better than most.

2 other school board candidates answer questions for online political forum

Five candidates for the Fayette County Board of Education said they disliked questions posed by The Citizen for its Online Political Forum and refused to answer.

Post 3 incumbent Marion Key and Post 2 challenger Mary Kay Bacallao responded with answers to the nine questions posed by this newspaper. The questions follow this article.

Post 2 School Board Chairman Terri Smith, Post 1 incumbent Janet Smola and three challengers — Mark Aasen, Dave Houston and Carol Jensen-Linton — refused to answer the newspaper’s questions unless the questions were redrafted “in a positive manner.”

They said, “... we believe these questions are negative in nature.”

Here is the boycott letter:

Candidates in all other major local races are participating in the online forum

The four candidates for Fayette County sheriff Monday refused to participate in The Citizen’s Online Political Forum.

The candidates — Barry Babb, Wayne Hannah, Thomas Mindar and David Simmons — jointly signed a typed letter, and all four delivered it to the offices of The Citizen Monday morning.

As of noon Monday, candidates for Fayette County Commission, Fayette County Board of Education, Fayette tax commissioner, Fayette probate judge, district attorney and legislative offices have responded to The Citizen’s invitation to answer questions.

Here are the questions from The Citizen that the four men running for Fayette’s top law enforcement job refused to answer:

Panasonic Automotive Systems confirmed Friday that a combined total of approximately 50 full-time jobs had been eliminated June 20 in two of the company’s plants in Peachtree City and Southfield, Michigan.

Fayetteville man remembered fondly by friends

A Fayetteville motorcycle racer is being mourned after he died Wednesday following a motocross accident last week in Madisonville, Tenn.

Tyrone’s budget was approval by unanimous vote Thursday night, with a $177,920 shortfall expected to be made up by measures currently under discussion or by transferring money from reserve accounts.

A months-long setback variance request on a 2.192-acre residential lot along Coastline Road in Tyrone finally made it through the first part of the approval process June 26 when Planning Commission members voted to recommend it to the town council. The request will go before the council in July.

The Peachtree City Recreation Department has released a map showing the parade line up, the water station locations and the porta john locations. “We thought it would be a good idea to inform everyone ahead of time where water stations would be, where the parade will start, and where the porta johns will be located,” says Ashley Alonso, parade coordinator.

Peachtree City residential property owners, as individuals or members of a group or organization, can earn a 25% credit toward their April 2009 stormwater utility fee by participating in the Peachtree City’s “Adopt-A-Mile, -Path or -Park” programs.

In 1963 the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich was invented. In 1977 their freshly squeezed Chick-fil-A Lemonade was introduced. In 1982 Chick-fil-A was the first chain to sell nuggets nationally. In 2008 the President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc., Dan T. Cathy, will serve as the Grand Marshal for the annual Peachtree City July 4th Parade.

The Miss Southern Beauty Pageant was held recently. The winners are pictured here. In the front row is Kazley Gilreath, Grand Supreme, 0-6 years old. From left are Rachel Roberson, Overall Most Beautiful 7-18, Brea Driskoll, 13-15 Divisional Queen, Jessica Jackson, 16-18 Divisional Queen, Kylie Hastings, Overall Beauty Photogenic 7-18 yrs, Cymber Davis, 10-12 Divisional Winner, and Jamie Walloch, Grand Supreme 7-18. Not pictured Katelyn Glaze, Overall Most Beautiful 0-6 yrs. Photo/Special.

On July 6, the community is invited to join Peachtree City Christian Church in welcoming Coach Bobby Bowden to speak at the 10:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. worship services. Bowden’s visit is part of the church activities during the B.I.G. 4th of July Weekend Celebration. Other activities include a picnic fireworks at Pebble Pocket Pool and participation in the PTC Parade.

The four candidates vying to become Fayette County’s next sheriff laid out their plans and goals to the public at a forum in downtown Fayetteville Thursday evening.

While results of Coweta County’s Criterion Reference Competency Test for grades one through eight were released Monday, nearly 1,200 students and school administrators are really looking towards the middle of July as a crucial day.

The Senoia City Council reluctantly approved a large change order to help the expansion of Winpak Films continue.

In a special called meeting Monday night, city administrator Richard Ferry explained the dilemma the city faced. Ferry explained the city agreed to pay for infrastructure improvements, including a new public access road and road improvements to Howard Road.

Coweta residents may get the chance to address growing public safety needs as early as November by voting on a bond issue for $15-20 million in equipment and facilities for the county fire department. A successful vote in the referendum would offset a potential millage increase needed to meet county fire response requirements.

Looking for an adventure of a lifetime? All students going into third through eighth grades are invited to attend the Coweta 4-H Adventure Camp, July 7-11, at the Coweta County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall on Pine Road. the camp will be a journey of the animal kingdom on a quest to discover the animal world as the expedition takes participants over the land through forests and streams.

The Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the city of Newnan Convention Center Authority, is encouraging citizens to weigh in on the need and feasibility of constructing a new conference center in the city. All citizens of Newnan and Coweta County are urged to fill out a conference center survey online at www.newnancowetachamber.org before the deadline of July 7. Paper surveys are also available at the Chamber headquarters at 23 Bullsboro Drive in Newnan.