Fairburn’s Green Oill Co. employees Donna Nichols and Sandra Candiotti display a check for $30,000 raised by company employees for charities benefitting children. Employees from the company’s five locations raised more than $1,000 each day for five days, surpassing their combined goal of $25,000. “We are so proud and grateful for the efforts and success of each and every member of our team. They exceeded a goal that we thought would be extremely difficult to achieve,” said marketing director Jim Callahan. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Fairburn police and firefighters make a difference in the life of a Hurricane Katrina survivor and her children this Christmas. Their efforts on behalf of the city’s new resident, and with the help of businesses in Fairburn and Palmetto, made the holiday season especially meaningful. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Things just have not tuned out like Cliftwood Development, Inc. planned. An effort by the developer to have 18.63 acres at Ga. Highway 138 and Jonesboro Road in Union city rezoned for the construction of 60 attached homes began with a denial by the city’s planning commission in June and ended Dec. 18 by withdrawing the proposal from the city council agenda until a later date.

The C.H.O.I.C.E.S (Children Heeding Opportunities in Community and Educational Services) students at Bear Creek Middle School in Fairburn had a couple of opportunities to make the right choice by giving back to their community during this holiday season.

It may be on the way to becoming a fleeting memory in some places, but not in Chattahoochee Hill Country.

It was all over virtually before it started. Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford sided with Walker Brothers-owned First Victoria Properties Dec. 19 in upholding the company’s contention that it is within its rights to construct a controversial trash transfer station on Bohannon Road in Fairburn.

Everything comes to an end. That was the case at the Dec. 18 council meeting as Union City Police Chief Mike Isome announced to the mayor and city council that he would be resigning effective Dec. 29.

Some Christmas goodies come with a price, though with some it might take a get out of jail card to get home in time for Christmas. Drug busts do not take a holiday, according to agents with Fayette’s Drug Task Force (DTF). That was the case for a Union City man arrested in Fayette County on cocaine and marijuana charges.

A relatively new type of burglary occurred near the Fulton/Fayette County line in the early morning hours Dec. 17. It was one in which the members of Fayette and Fulton’s many churches should pay close attention. Burglars left money behind in an organized theft that targeted the hard drives from the church computers.

It is a clear example of how dangerous the highways can be.

The elated spirit of many in the packed council chambers Dec. 11 and 12 in the new city hall at Chattahoochee Hill Country was difficult to put into words. For so many people who worked so hard to bring a vision into reality, it was the culmination of a movement for city-hood that began as a dream and became something alive, something that now has a life of its own.

It is two types of history rolled into one.

Death and taxes may be two certainties in life, but they are not the only ones. When it comes to areas like metro Atlanta, another certainty is traffic. Southwest metro Atlanta is no exception, nor are the rapidly growing problems with the interchange at I-85 and Ga. Highway 74. Attempting to address those complex issues, the Fairburn City Council voted unanimously Dec. 10 to allocate up to one-quarter of the funds needed to finance a Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) Interchange Modification Report in conjunction with other area stakeholders.

Fairburn’s day in court is coming. The lawsuit over the city’s denial of a request by Walker Brothers to establish a waste transfer station for construction debris and household trash on Bohannon Road will be heard Dec. 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Fulton County Superior Court.

The summer of annexation in 2006 is far from over. One of the companies that could not make the cut in time last year was welcomed into Fairburn Dec. 10 when the council voted unanimously to annex Nestle Purina Petcare on Fayetteville Road.

It is finally a done deal. Voters in Chattahoochee Hill Country made their decision in Tuesday’s runoff election. And in its wake the new city has a mayor and five city council members in place to formally begin city operations next week.

One Oakley Township burglary suspect is dead and two others were injured early Tuesday afternoon when they fled police and their vehicle struck a power pole on Bethsaida Road. Residents of Oakley Township are determined to put a stop to recent burglaries in the community.

Palmetto is expanding further into Coweta County. Council members Dec. 3 unanimously approved the annexation of 254.71 acres on the city’s south side. The annexation will extend the city limits to I-85.

Another annexation for Fairburn is in the works. The Nestle Purina PetCare plant off Oakley Industrial Boulevard received a unanimous vote from the city’s Planning Commission Dec. 4 on a request to be annexed into the city.

The Christmas tradition at the home of Michael, Kay and Meagan Plott on Rivertown Road continues this year with more than 300,000 lights and plenty of holiday cheer.

It was only a small deviation on residential density. Palmetto City Council Dec. 3 approved a rezoning request that increased townhouse density on an existing Carlton Road development to eight units per acre.

It’s another move to the Sunbelt. This time it is Hagerstown, Maryland-based Pangborn Corp. that will be relocating to Fairburn. The company is a manufacturer of surface preparation systems, equipment and services.

When it comes to collectibles, everybody knows that “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” That especially holds true for some hard-working high school students in Fairburn, who hope to strike gold on December 15 with their first swap meet that is set to teach them much more than the importance of bargain hunting. Students in the Sankofa Africana Studies Club at Creekside High School have been selling candies and cakes, taking pledges, making phone calls to businesses, and are now hosting a Community Flea market in their gymnasium in effort to raise enough money to pay for their trip to Kenya, East Africa.

Fairburn’s historic district is blocked off just in time Monday night for Santa, Mrs.

At the end of the day Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards got what he wanted. A Nov. 29 hearing before the Georgia Ethics Commission resulted in the dismissal of a complaint over a flyer used in the Sept. 18 vote on the formation of the city of South Fulton. Commissioners did have concerns about Fulton County’s role in the matter. The complaint was filed by south Fulton resident Andre Walker.

History in Chattahoochee Hill Country will continue to be made Dec. 4 as runoff races are held for the new city’s mayor and three of the five council seats.

Union City’s Planning Commission said yes but the city council said no Nov. 20 to a rezoning proposal that would add 30 units to Wyndsor Forest Apartments on Ga. Highway 138.

A 17 year-old Fairburn resident was charged Thursday with vehicular homicide in relation to a traffic crash Nov. 16. A 14 year-old traveling in the car was ejected in the incident and died at the scene.

Presumably the change is a change in name only. Fulton County Community Zoning Board (CZB) Nov. 20 approved, with a caveat attached, a recommendation to have 7,000 acres of land currently in the Chattahoochee Hill Country Overlay District changed to put it in the Cedar Grove Agricultural Overlay District. The same change was included for the Chattahoochee Hill County Conservation Subdivision Ordinance. Fulton County’s Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program in Chatt Hills will also likely move to Cedar Grove.

It’s another move to the Sunbelt. This time it is Hagerstown, Maryland-based Pangborn Corp. that will be relocating to Fairburn. The company is a manufacturer of surface preparation systems, equipment and services.