The Coweta County Commission will conduct a public hearing Nov. 13 on a request to rezone 11.1 acres on Lower Fayetteville Road just east of Ga. Highway 154 for commercial retail development.

Coweta County students will have the day off from school on election day, Tuesday, November 4.

In September, the Coweta County Board of Education voted to request that the Georgia Board of Education waive the state’s 180-day student attendance rule for the general election date.

His philosophy in law enforcement is to be community oriented, to reach out to the public and to gain public confidence. That is the mantra of 35-year law enforcement veteran Luther Graham, Palmetto’s newly hired Police Chief.

Senoia’s downtown area now has a place for visitors to sit a spell and learn more about the city’s history.

Downtown Development Coordinator Jennifer Cleland has already seen a variety of visitors at the center, which she staffs Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The much-anticipated $7.5 million adaptive re-use project planned for the Coweta County Courthouse will take a visible step forward this week with the removal of the hydrangeas and nandinas. Crews began trimming and removing the plants this week.

On Oct. 27, the Civil Air Patrol is hosting an open house meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Newnan-Coweta county airport. The open house will extend until 8:30 p.m. There will be fun and educational activities for student. Families are invited. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting.

Campaign signs in many contests for elected office are removed illegally with far more frequency than many people might imagine. But an incident Oct. 5 in Tyrone was one that resulted Fayette County School Board member Janet Smola accusing Tyrone resident Dick Shelley of being caught red-handed removing her signs for the November election from a location at Carriage Oaks Drive along Ga. Highway 74.

It is a venue designed to fill every culinary expectation.

The Georgia Dept. of Revenue has informed Coweta County that an additional levy of $108,173 in taxes is needed to correct property assessments the state claims are lower than the 40 percent of fair market value required by law. But the commissioners Oct. 7 decided to appeal the Dept. of Revenue Sept. 19 letter that said the county’s combined ratio was 35.94 percent. The commissioners said taxpayers should not be burdened with another tax bill unless completely necessary.

The Coweta County Commission is expected in November to consider to purchase a ladder truck for the county fire department. The item was on the Oct. 7 agenda but the board agreed to postpone discussion until next month. Fire Chief Bill Haynes recommended the purchase of a 2009 Sutphen Custom SPH-100 Aerial Platform from Williams Fire Apparatus for $1.058 million.

The Senoia City Council is expected to decide Oct.20 about a conditional use request that would allow a group home run by a religious organization on Stallings Road.

Piedmont Newnan Hospital (PNH) celebrated the first anniversary of the Rehabilitation Services, Outpatient Department with a breakfast for medical staff and outpatient rehab patients today.  Speakers included PNH CEO Michael Bass, Chief Operating Officer Nathan Nipper, Director of Rehabilitation Cynthia Finney, Outpatient Rehabilitation Coordinator Karen Barber and recently discharged outpatient rehabilitation patient Sally Taylor.

Update: Roderick Calvin Thomas was sentenced Friday morning to life without parole by Coweta County Superior Court Judge A. Quillian Baldwin in the murder of 17 year-old Heather Rhodes on March 30, 2004. Thomas was found guilty Thursday on two dozen counts related to Rhodes’ murder, the shooting of two men at a Newnan apartment and the attack on several others present.

The Landmark War Eagles hosted the Fellowship Paladins for homecoming last Friday night and sent the large crowd away happy with a 35-0 victory. The homecoming week festivities included themed dress days for the students, a pep rally, and a special alumni dinner on the campus prior to the game. During halftime, the 2008 – 2009 Homecoming Court was presented.

The city of Senoia is in process of beginning the search for a new police chief. The search comes after the recent retirement of Police Chief Olitta Bennett. Senoia Police Officer Jason Edens has been appointed interim chief.

Senoia’s library employees are now county employees as the city rapidly moves towards ending its financial responsibility with the library.

Six Coweta County schools that were reported as having not met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements earlier this summer have been reported as having met AYP, in a revised report issued by Georgia Department of Education on Tuesday.

Piedmont Newnan Hospital has been selected as a winner of the 2008 VHA Inc. Georgia Regional Leadership Awards in the Operational Excellence category for their improvements in the operating room that increased patient care and improved patient and physician satisfaction. 

It only took a few minutes of discussion Sept. 23 for the Coweta County Commissioners to unanimously adopt the county’s 2009 General Fund budget totaling $60.5 million. The discussion was the last of several that had been held on the budget in recent weeks.

The fourth annual Cruisin to the Oldies Car Show will now run from 1 p.m.-9 p.m. on September 27.

The event is open to street rods, muscle cars, motorcycles and antique cars of all kinds.

Headley Construction has been awarded the bid for rehabilitation of the historic Coweta County Courthouse. The company’s low bid of $6,284,000 beat out the next lowest bid by approximately $600,000. Construction should take approximately 18 months.

It is a good way to find out more about “The City of Homes” and what makes it tick. Now in its 5th year, Newnan Citizen Academy kicked off its six-week course last week.

The Coweta County School System is requiring 2008-09 Affidavits of Residence from the parents or guardians of all children enrolled in Coweta County schools.

The Fall Taste of Newnan, sponsored by Main Street Newnan, J-93, 92.5 The Bear and local Kroger stores, is October 2 on the courthouse square in historic Downtown Newnan from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event showcases local restaurants and caterers and gives visitors an opportunity to sample treats from Main Street Newnan vendors. The event is rain or shine and is free and open to the public.

Was that a hole-in-one? Coweta comes out on top at the 2nd annual Fairburn Golf Tournament held Sept.

Coweta County Commissioners Tuesday night approved Pathway Communities rezoning request to establish Twelve Parks retail and office component to complement the larger residential project previously approved near Sharpsburg. Commissioners approved the RC (Rural Conservation) zoning category change to O-I (Office – Institutional) and C-7 (Commercial Major Shopping District).

Fischer Crossing developer Scott Seymour says the payment now due one of the three parcels included on the large retail development at Ga. Highway 34 and Fischer Road in east Coweta will be resolved by the end of the month. Bank of Coweta last week called in the loan on the parcel situated in the northeast corner of the retail center. Work on the other two parcels will begin before the end of the year, Seymour said.

Coweta County commissioners Sept. 16 held a public hearing on the county’s proposed $60.5 million General Fund budget that will take effect beginning in October. The increase of approximately $900,000 in the proposed 2009 budget represents an increase of just over one-percent. Commissioners are expected to adopt the budget Sept. 23.

It is one more step along the way. Coweta County Commission Sept. 11 unanimously approved a Special Use Permit request by Piedmont Newnan Hospital for the installation of a heliport adjacent to the new hospital that was approved for construction in the spring.

The city of Senoia voted unanimously to ask the General Assembly for a charter change that would allow the mayor and City Council to have four-year terms.