Jo Landgren and Kenny Gailey help light symbolic torches moments before the “survivor’s walk” at the annual Relay for Life fund-raiser at the Fayette County Fairgrounds Friday night.

Talk about sticker shock.

Jaws fell slack last week during the County Commission’s budget hearings as Recreation Director Anita Godbee told the board it would take $10 million to finish all three phases of Kenwood Park in north Fayette.

The ink is barely dry on candidates’ qualifying checks, but the political fireworks are already sparking.

Kay Seabolt, who is running for the Post 5 seat on the Board of Education, has been asked to withdraw her application for the election. Seabolt said Marilyn Watts, chair of the Fayette County Board of Elections, contacted her last week and informed her she couldn’t run for the office because she was an employee of the school system.

Officials at Peachtree City’s First Baptist Church are being urged to locate their proposed community center on church-owned property at the corner of Willowbend Road and Hip Pocket Road to avoid disturbing the city’s Pebblepocket tennis courts and nearby greenspace.

An estimated 250,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Line Creek Saturday morning because of a human error, said Larry Turner, General Manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority.

After extensive budget discussions Monday morning, the Fayette County Commission voted to cut the budgets of four divisions of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department by a collective $35,397.

The troubled purchasing card that many Fayette County employees used to buy incidentals or to pay for travel expenses is a thing of the past.

Peachtree City’s new cart paths for the current fiscal year have been approved by the City Council.

Two of the path segments will link the northern end of Robinson Road to Ga. Highway 54, continuing on to the Peachtree East shopping center, where it will connect with the SteinMart store, said City Planner David Rast. The area along Hwy. 54 has been an unofficial cart path used by many residents even though it is unpaved.

A controversial figure in the dispute between the Fayette County Commission and the Sheriff’s Department is headed for big sky country.

The landscape at Fayetteville’s wastewater plant is changing by the day. What was solid ground with council members shoveling dirt at the groundbreaking only weeks ago at the First Manassas Mile facility has quickly become the beginnings of the plant’s third aerobic digester.

The Georgia Department of Transportation wants to realign Kingswood Drive and Hilo Road on Ga. Highway 92 south and install a traffic signal at the newly-configured intersection.

The Fayette Democratic Women will host their February breakfast meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Du-Roc Cafe in Fayetteville. Scott Holcomb, candidate for Georgia Secretary of State, will address the group.

This Saturday, May 13, country music groups from all over Georgia and many from Nashville will gather in Fayetteville to participate in a family style event in Johnny Cochran’s back yard to celebrate life as well as Cochran’s birthday.

The Metro Fayette Kiwanis again honored the most improved student in the county’s fifth grades. It has been a project of the club for over 10 years.

The Partners in Education committee named the 2006 Business Partners of the Year at a breakfast held by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce May 5 at New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville.

The following arrests were reported by local police agencies for the past week. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

An estimated 250,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Line Creek Saturday morning because of a human error, said Larry Turner, General Manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority.

By CAL BEVERLY
editor@TheCitizen.com

The Georgia Supreme Court today (May 8) handed the Fayette County Commission a setback and Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson a partial victory in a dispute over the status of the county marshals’ powers.

A Palmetto man is facing murder charges in the May 2 shooting of 26 year-old Coweta County resident Bradley Alan Mitchum. The early morning shooting occurred along Ridley Road in Coweta County near Palmetto. Mitchum was transported to Atlanta Medical Center where surgery was performed for a gunshot wound to the head. Mitchum died Wednesday.

Union City is looking to redevelop targeted areas of the city with a focus on commercial areas such as Shannon Mall. Setting the stage for that redevelopment was an April 18 vote to put a measure on the November ballot authorizing the city to create a Tax Allocation District.

Monday’s meeting of the Palmetto City Council was one of the shortest in recent history. But sometimes the duraton of a meeting is not the most important factor. A question posed by a resident related to the city’s proposed annexation plans helped illuminate the issues surrounding the move.

A May 2 recommendation by the Fairburn Planning & Zoning Commission might make it easier to locate day care facilities in more appropriate areas of the city.

Palmetto Police are seeking the person or persons involved in two burglaries that occurred April 25 at residences on Sabal Drive and Tiffany Lane. The similarities in the burglaries was noticeable.

A revised preliminary plat for Pine Valley subdivision in Fairburn got a recommendation for approval from the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission May 2. The Pine Street development was approved for 13 lots situated on 8.02 acres.

Local farmers and artisans from Bear Creek Farms, Fairy Wood Thicket, Jane Storey’s Knitting and Woodcrafts, Puck’s Farm, Scharko Farms and Titania’s Soaps will feature the fruits of their labors at the Fairburn Farmer’s Market on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. beginning May 6 and running through Oct. 28 at the city’s Historic Freight Depot located at 30 West Broad Street.

Business association sets next meeting

The next meeting of the newly formed Fairburn Business Association takes place on May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairburn Annex, located at 40 Washington Street. Capt. J.T. Rogers from the Fairburn Police Department will be the featured speaker. His presentation, Problem Solving Policing, will bring the group up to date on programs and activities designed to increase public safety throughout Fairburn.

Fulton County Board of Education District 4 member Linda Bryant will hold a community meeting at Liberty Point Elementary School in Union City May 8 at 6 p.m.

Fulton County continues its trend of high scores on state testing with 93 percent of eighth grade students scoring “On Target” or at the “Exceeds Target” level on the Middle Grades Writing Assessment. For the seventh consecutive year Fulton County has scored above the state and metro Atlanta average.