The Senoia Planning Commission Tuesday night unanimously approved the conceptual site plan for the K-8 Coweta Charter Academy on Rockaway Road that will be run by Charter Schools USA. The approval came with several conditions suggested by City Administrator Richard Ferry. The school will open in August.

The project to build what will be the tallest building in southwest metro Atlanta was delayed more than a year ago in the middle of the recession. But Piedmont Newnan Hospital is back, with start-up on the new Poplar Road facility near I-85 set to begin immediately. The first phase of the hospital is projected to open in early 2012.

State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) championed legislation through the State Senate that will ensure utility contractors are not prohibited from bidding on projects if they do not possess a general contractor license. The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 53-0.

Decatur resident and former Grady Hospital doctor Adam Wayne Lebowitz has been convicted by a federal jury of sex crimes that stemmed from a 2006 investigation by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office after receving a complaint from a 15 year-old male and his mother.

It was all about developing a “Sustainable Green Subdivision.” And it was the entry that won three 2nd Place awards for a group of Coweta and Fayette kids in January as part of a statewide competition at Georgia Tech sponsored by the international First Lego League (FLL). The “biobots” team boasts six members from the Sharpsburg, Senoia and Peachtree City areas.

A conditional use permit for the BelAir transitional home in north Coweta was approved unanimously Feb. 16, but not without much discussion and 36 conditions being imposed before the home can be re-opened.

The Coweta County Commission on Feb. 16 voted unanimously to confirm the execution of the construction agreement for the county’s new fire station #1 on Turkey Creek Road.

Newnan Police Department are still investigating the Feb. 4 hit-and-run on Newnan Crossing Bypass that claimed the life of 30-year-old Curtis Rodriguez Mitchell of Newnan.

Serenbe is pleased to announce the launch of three new art programs in the community: the Serenbe Photography Center, Serenbe Playhouse and Fine Arts Workshops. Each has workshops and/or performances scheduled that are open to the public.

It is almost time for the annual Race for Riley fundraiser to benefit the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville. A pre-event fundraiser will be held Feb. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Sprayberry’s Barbecue location on Ga. Highway 34 across from Walmart near I-85 in Newnan.

The fire last week that destroyed several of Fairburn’s historic two- and three-story downtown businesses at Campbellton Street and U.S. Highway 29 is still under investigation, but fire Chief Jody Weller said Wednesday that arson has been ruled out as a cause.

There is a Thin Blue Line running through the city of Chattahoochee Hills today.

That thin blue line stretches along Vernon Grove Road and is emblematic of the service of Lt. Mike Vogt, a longtime officer who gave his life in the line of duty Monday afternoon after being allegedly shot while in his patrol car by 44 year-old Robert Cook who was arrested Wednesday.

The idea of potentially expanding the Coweta County Jail and a methodology to accomplish that need moved one step closer to reality Feb. 16 when commissioners approved the award of a needs assessment and space analysis to low bidder Mark Goldman & Associates. Goldman was one of four bidders responding to the Request for Proposal.

A search of the area near a residence on Kensington Drive off Reese Road in east Coweta over the weekend revealed the body of 36 year-old David Brightwell in a lake behind the home.

Developer Scott Seymour got the go-ahead on minor changes to the Fischer Crossings commercial development on the northeast side of Fischer Road and Ga. Highway 34/54. Coweta County commissioners Tuesday voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal. That vote is expected to result in the opening later this year of a multi-screen theater.

Starship Enterprises Adult Novelties & Gifts has upped the ante on its bid to conduct business at its proposed location on Ga. Highway 34 at Thomas Crossroads. The company has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Coweta County’s actions to prevent the store’s opening is unconstitutional.

Family members were uninjured in a house fire early Friday morning on Ga. Highway 85 South near Senoia that resulted in a total loss of the home.

It was the final hurdle for parents who wanted a charter school in Senoia. That hurdle came Thursday when the Georgia State School Board offered no opposition to the recommendation by the board’s Charter Schools Committee that the petition to start up the Coweta Charter Academy at Senoia be approved.

It is always relevant for a person to think of the plight of others and go into action to lend a hand. Such an action is no less significant when it is born in the minds and hearts of two 4th graders. And that is what happened as Thomas Crossroads Elementary School students Taylor Racht and Riley Scruggs began the “Pennies for the Poor” effort that raised $1,400 for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Developer Scott Seymour will return to the Coweta County Commission next week to see the outcome of a proposed change to the Fischer Crossings commercial development on the northeast corner of Fischer Road and Ga. Highway 34/54. Commissioners on Feb. 2 were split 2-2 on the issue.

By anyone’s standards it was a unique landmark. But all that changed in the early hours of Thursday morning when flames engulfed one of downtown Fairburn’s large historic buildings along U.S. Highway 29, resulting in the loss of several businesses. No injuries were reported in the fire that is under investigation.

The longstanding question about the closure of the railroad crossing at Valleywood Road in Tyrone continued Thursday night. Representatives from Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) were on hand to review the project again and solicit community input. Residents were there, at least most of them, to voice their opposition to the closure. The Town Council is expected to make a final decision on the matter in the next 30-60 days.

There is still no resolution to the Fischer Crossings commercial development along Ga. Highway 54 just east of Fischer Road. Coweta County commissioners Feb. 2 voted 2-2 on changes to the conceptual site plan pertaining to an aquatic center on the north side of the property and questions about the access road situated behind the aquatic center and the theaters. Commissioners asked developer Scott Seymour to return Feb. 16 with additional information.  

A large group of Senoia residents at a public forum last year said they wanted to see another restaurant in the city that would serve breakfast. Enter the Fried Green Tomatoes Cafe. The Senoia City Council Monday unanimously approved a variance request for the restaurant destined for Main Street across from the post office.

It may seem like a small matter in terms of a change in procedure, but for those wanting to have input on decisions at meetings of the Coweta County Commission that small change can make the difference in having your say prior to the vote.

Charter Schools USA will hold a public forum Monday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Freeman Sasser Building in Senoia. School representatives will provide an update on the efforts of Charter Schools USA to establish a K-8 school in Senoia.

The City of Senoia was one of four recipients recognized last week by the Coweta Chamber of Commerce for their significant economic contribution to the Coweta community. The large group of business leaders and elected and appointed officials pictured outside city hall Wednesday include (from left) Ed Tigchelaar, Paul Lombardi, Scott Tigchelaar, Ellis Crook, John Barrow, Larry Owens, Bobby Graham, Jeff Fisher, Frank Hollberg, Robert Belisle, Greg Crook, Suzanne Helfman and Maurice Glover.

Cutting carbon dioxide would add costs to electric bill, other products

A bill in Congress touted as a way to improve the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions will hit Georgia folks in their wallets, according to Michael Whiteside, the former CEO of Fayette-Coweta Electric Membership Corporation.

A space heater is being blamed for causing a fire that destroyed a trailer in downtown Tyrone last week.

The trailer, located adjacent to Tyrone Tire, caught fire Jan. 21 but no one was hurt, fire officials said. The resident had left the space heater on for several dogs while the resident was away, officials said.

There was no discussion needed last week at the meeting of the Coweta County Commission as board members unanimously approved a conditional use permit and buffer variance for Crossroads Baptist Church to construct a 14-acre recreation complex off Marion Beavers Road.