The turnout may have been small in this off-year election but voters had their say. Union City voters March 21 overwhelmingly approved two bond referendum items totaling $12.5 million, designed to upgrade city streets and public safety infrastructure.

On a rainy, chilly Sunday in the Hill Country residents and guests of the Serenbe Community are treated to the soulful and sometimes folk musical talents of Elise Witt on guitar.

Harry Andrea Jones had his day in court. When it was done, he found was guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault and sentenced to life plus 15 years.

Fairburn Planning & Zoning commissioners at the March meeting gave their approval to an annexation and zoning request that would turn a 55-acre residentially zoned site on Creekwood Road into one zoned M-1 (Light Industrial). The proposal includes trading 16 acres of city owned property for an equal number of acres owned by Simmons Vedder.

It has been 28 years since the Rico community had a library. It was located at the old Rico Elementary School. But that was then and this is now. Today the doors are open at Rico Public Library, located at the newly opened Rico Cultural Center at 6505 Rico Road.

An estimated $28,000 was raised for Fayette County’s free medical clinic at a benefit last weekend at Glendalough Manor in Tyrone.

For the next week, Tyrone residents will get to have their say about Shamrock Park.

Council members Gloria Furr and Grace Caldwell are going to door to door this weekend with a survey to elicit comments about the downtown park. The survey runs through March 31 and a copy of the survey can also be found on page A2. The survey will ask residents what the park should look like and what type of activities should occur.

Robert Horgan received the most votes in 30 of Fayette County’s 36 voting precincts in Tuesday’s special election to fill a vacant seat on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.

A Newnan man was found guilty Tuesday of cocaine trafficking and several other charges stemming from a traffic stop in April 2004 on Ga. Highway 314 near Kenwood Road.

The potential expansion of First Baptist Church in Peachtree City, which includes a community center, will require approval of the City Council for a proposed land swap between the two parties.

Contract limited rate increase; fee hike likely

Allied Waste is canceling its contract to be the “preferred provider” of residential trash pickup in Peachtree City.

By 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night, Coweta County officials were breathing a lot easier.

With all the votes counted, the county’s proposal to extend the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax easily passed by a 62-38 margin. Voters approving the proposal totaled 3,049, while 1,867 voted against it. Just under 9 percent of Coweta’s 55,813 voters cast ballots in the election.

With more than 200 upset residents staring them down, the Coweta County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to exempt churches and private schools from the county’s new impact fees.

The new Coweta County Justice Center was unveiled last Sunday, complete with a ribbon cutting and the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone by the Grand Lodge of Georgia F&AM. Nearly 500 people were on hand for the event.

A traffic stop in Fayetteville last week resulted in the arrest of two men suspected of stealing items from cars in Fayetteville, Union City, Atlanta and Morrow, police said.

The only white candidate in a five-person race, Fayetteville businessman Robert Horgan coasted to a nearly 52% victory in the special election to fill the unexpired remaining 33-month term for Post 1, Fayette County Commission. With 37 precincts out of 38 total counted Tuesday in Fayetteville, the unofficial final tally (without absentee ballots) is as follows:

As further evidence of the trouble teens can get into in cyberspace, a local girl testified in court Monday that she used the Web site “MySpace” to communicate with a 19-year-old male in July just before she had sexual relations with him. She was 14 years old at the time.

Fayetteville customers, prepare to pay a third more for your water and sewer service over the next three years.

A recent water and sewer rate study has resulted in a recommendation that Fayetteville increase water and sewer rates 33 percent over three years and increase the sewer proportionate share fee.

McIntosh's Brittany Schneider (15) takes a shot in the first half of last Friday's game against Starr's Mill.

Get ready to say bye-bye to those large yellow intersection warning signs that sprouted up last week on Ga. Highway 54 all the way from Peachtree City to Fayetteville.

Nine city-owned parcels along Ga. highways 54 and 74, all of which could be combined with nearby commercial development, will be reviewed for possible sale by the Peachtree City Council.

The Fayette County Board of Education learned Monday night that next year’s state funding won’t be quite as austere as previous years.

Cyclists race past Sams Auditorium in Sunday's criterium race through downtown Fayetteville.

A Republican candidate for the Fayette County Commission was not slighted because his information was not included in a party newsletter distributed recently, party chairman Lane Watts said last week.

The Fayette County High School Sports Hall of Fame committee had a surprise for one of its inductees: a high school diploma.

Fayetteville Planning and Zoning commissioners got a preview March 14 of the newest proposed addition to the growing number of medical facilities along Ga. Highway 54.

Students at Rising Starr Middle got some expert advice on investing money from financial advisor Angie Peterson of Raymond James and Associates.

Expansion Management Magazine has awarded Fayette County Schools its blue ribbon ranking.

The magazine, one of the world’s leading site location and facility publications, evaluates school systems mainly on their test scores and graduation rates. Fayette’s blue ribbon ranking places it in the top 33 percent of the 2,800 secondary school districts that were ranked nationwide.

Fayette’s middle and high school students earned a combined 65 ribbons at the annual Spoken Language Contest sponsored by the Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG).

The Fayette County School System announced the Georgia Lottery funded Pre-K program at Tyrone Elementary will be moved to Crabapple Lane Elementary for the 2006-2007 school year.