It won’t start until the Monday after Thanksgiving, but plenty of Peachtree City residents will be thankful it is finally underway.

Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) board members Wednesday at a special called meeting voted unanimously to approve a contract with Tennessee-based Environmental Power Strategies, LLC (EPS) to dry and haul sludge from the wastewater treatment plant. The move will be a cost-saving of $3 per ton over the current rate.

David Ring, who wears many volunteer hats working with recreation programs in Peachtree City, was recently named Volunteer of the Year for the population category of 30,000 to 80,000 by the Georgia Park and Recreation Association at their annual conference in Jekyll Island.

This holiday season, when economic conditions are tough and people really want their gifts to matter, the Atlanta Red Cross is kicking off a new holiday campaign that offers a way to give a gift that has real impact. 

Unlike last week’s public hearings, the two Neely Pond development proposals along Ga. Highway 16 just south of Sharpsburg came with no comment or discussion Tuesday night as Coweta County commissioners voted quickly and unanimously to deny both rezoning requests.

What began in a Nov. 12 public hearing as a request by Michael and Judy Cunningham to rezone 38.11 acres located along Lower Fayetteville Road and Ga. Highway 154 from Rural Conservation (RC) to C-7 (Commercial Major Shopping Center) and C-8 (Heavy Commercial District) ended Nov. 17 with a 4-0 vote to approve a lesser C-6 zoning that maintained all but a few of the original plan components.

Mayor asks council to withdraw from deal with Coweta

Upset with a lack of communication from Coweta County library system officials, Senoia Mayor Robert Belisle asked his fellow council members Monday to withdraw from the library system and the city’s $21,000 funding commitment.

But water, sewer shortfall mean rate increases likely

Senoia’s 2010-2011 budget was unveiled at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

When downtown Senoia merchants gussie up their stores with Christmas lights this year, they will be doing so on their own dime.

Coweta firefighters can breathe a little easier with the unanimous decision Nov. 17 by county commissioners to approve the purchase of new breathing devices and other equipment. The new air-paks will replace the older, questionable equipment currently in use.

Girls involved in the juvenile court system are about to have a residential alternative that will meet temporary or long-term needs. The Coweta County Commission on Nov. 17 approved a conditional use permit for a non-profit transitional facility on Macedonia Road that can house up to 16 girls.

Haylie Williams peers from behind a stargazer lily in her photograph that won first place, youth division, among 70,000 entries in the 2009 National Wildlife Foundation contest. The J.C. Booth eighth-grader used a Fuji FinePix camera to shoot the photo of the family garden flower while in a car with her parents, Julie and David Williams, on their way to an event that featured home-grown blooms. Her winning entry is online at www.nwf.org. Photo/Haylie Williams.

One of county’s largest food service operations, Piedmont Fayette stuck in low 80s on health inspections, including a 78 in February 2009

A cash cushion of more than $6 million for the Fayette County School System?

You read that right: State funding cuts, furloughs and decreased salaries notwithstanding, the Fayette County School System is in better shape financially this year than many expected.

Former Arkansas governor, likely 2012 presidential candidate and Fox News host Mike Huckabee rolled into Peachtree City Saturday night for a book-signing of his most recent release, “A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit.”

Fayette County Commissioner Robert Horgan is asking a superior court judge to overturn a panel’s ruling that he violated the county’s ethics rules when he was arrested May 23 by a Fayette sheriff’s deputy for possession of marijuana and driving with an expired truck tag.

The rain-filled skies over Piedmont Fayette Hospital Nov. 11 could not dampen the spirits of the 60 people in attendance for the groundbreaking of the new cancer center on the west side of the hospital that has been years in the making.

Peachtree City staff is proposing additional language to clarify how proposed exemptions to the city’s new business impact fee will be handled.

Early voting for the three runoff races for mayor and two Peachtree City council posts began in earnest Monday.

To vote this week, residents will have to travel to downtown Fayetteville to cast a ballot at the Fayette County Elections Office. The office is located in the county’s Stonewall government complex at the southwest intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 85.

Last week ended another season of Rivers Alive clean-up events sponsored by the Environmental Institute of Georgia (EIOG) and local governments across Fayette County. The five clean-up events saw participation from school students, city employees, elected officials and residents wanting to remove debris from roadways and waterways.

The T-Mobile store on Promenade Parkway across from Fayette Pavilion was burglarized twice last weekend. Three potential suspects are in custody in Clayton County after merchandise from the store was found in their vehicle.

Starting Nov. 27, all fire stations in Fayetteville and unincorporated Fayette County, along with several in Peachtree City, will be accepting new, unwrapped toys for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign.

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

The widening of Ga. Highway 74 south from Cooper Circle to Ga. Highway 85 is expected to begin this Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday.

A Union County man recently paroled for burglary and forgery convictions has been charged with a much more serious crime here in Fayette County.

William Jacob Nutt, 23, is charged with aggravated child molestation and statutory rape stemming from an alleged incident Nov. 1 with a 15-year-old relative, sheriff’s officials said. The victim disclosed the incident to her parents that day, and deputies were also notified the same day, sheriff’s officials said.

A plan to explore the redevelopment of three commercial areas in Fayetteville will be one of the few items on the Nov. 19 agenda.

Peachtree City staff is proposing additional language to clarify how proposed exemptions to the city’s new business impact fee will be handled.

Sandy Creek has moved on to the second round of the state playoffs with a 37-19 win over Loganville, while Starr’s Mill lost a heartbreaker to Apalachee, 27-24 in double overtime. In other games, Newnan beat Valdosta 28-9, Lowndes defeated East Coweta 52-14 and Commerce beat Landmark Christian 29-19.

The Fayette-Coweta Clyde Thomason detachment of the Marine Corps League recently celebrated the Corps’ 234 birthday. The youngest Marine present, Bill Stevens, left, and the oldest Marine present, Bob Machen, right, joined detachment Commandant George Dienhart at a birthday cake cutting ceremony Saturday, Nov. 7. Photo/Jim Daughtry.

Property tax hike, budget cuts likely to avoid $2.7M shortage

Since Fayette residents voted down a new 1 percent sales tax, Peachtree City faces some difficult budget decisions.