Palmetto council members Jan. 16 gave their approval to an intergovernmental agreement supporting a March vote in Coweta County on a proposed 2007 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

Fairburn cites 2005 crime stats

For Fairburn cops and the community it was a pretty good year.

Though experiencing continued record growth at nearly 10 percent during 2005, incidents of crime rose only slightly. Calculated at a 3.88 percent increase, serious crimes are actually on the decline from recent years.

The votes have long been counted and re-elected and newly elected city officials in Palmetto, Union City and Fairburn have been sworn in and are busy conducting the business of their respective cities.

The extraordinary setting called Serenbe yielded a special mixture of community and music Jan. 15 with an Afternoon of Bluegrass, the first of a series of musical and storytelling performances sponsored by the Serenbe Arts and Cultural Council.

Discussion of the possibility and implications of the incorporation of two new cities in South Fulton County continued Jan. 9 in Cliftondale. The setting was one of many similar meetings being conducted to introduce the first of its kind concept to area residents.

Gas station mgr. faces marijuana possession charge

Three employees of the Shell Food Mart in Palmetto were arrested on drug charges Tuesday in a joint operation by Tri-Cities Narcotics Task Force and Palmetto Police.

Hannah cites major accomplishments in annual address

The past year in Fairburn was, in many ways, a groundbreaking one in terms of growth, development and public safety. Those and other accomplishments were touted by Mayor Betty Hannah Jan. 9 in the annual State of the City address.

Union City Mayor Ralph Moore is slated to give his State of the City address at the Jan. 17 City Council meeting. Also on the agenda will be a number of items customarily addressed at the first session of the year.

Green Oil Company employees Felicia Stovall, Donna Nichols and Beza Duressa display a $15,200 check presented recently to the Empty Stocking Fund.

As spring approaches, many homeowners are getting ready to sell their homes. Perhaps they’re being relocated, want a larger house, or are downsizing – whatever the reason, the closer it gets to March and April, the more realtor signs will be popping up all over town. As the competition heats up, it is important for the home seller to make sure that as many prospective buyers as possible feel as though they could move right in. One way to accomplish this is through home staging, the art and science of making a home more inviting and appealing to potential buyers.

A group of more than 60 Cedar Grove residents put the national football championship game on hold Wednesday night to learn more about the challenges that lie ahead for unincorporated South Fulton County. The informational meeting at Cedar Grove Community Center was the most recent venue to hear about the proposal to form two cities where unincorporated county now sits.

It was a changing of the guard as three new council members were sworn in at the Jan. 3 Palmetto council meeting.

U.S. Rep. David Scott will address members of the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce during the upcoming Annual Meeting and Luncheon Jan. 19 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in College Park.

GMC Community College in Union City is enrolling students for classes that start Jan. 9 for eight weeks.

Zaxby’s owners Joey and Brandi Clanton, and David and Anita Downing, will open the doors Monday to Fairburn’s first Zaxby’s restaurant, at 7840 Senoia Road.

The following arrests were made by Fairburn police between Dec. 21 and Jan. 3:

• Mendoza Gonzalez, 54, Fairburn, public drunk.

Union City voters will go to the polls March 21 to decide on two general obligation bond issues totaling $12.575 million.

Like all the areas in South Fulton County, the population of Fairburn is growing. The city added nearly 1,000 residents to its population in 2005 but the crime rate through November showed a zero percent increase over the same period during 2004.

Union City council members agreed Dec. 20 to allow city employees to donate leave time to benefit fellow employees suffering from catastrophic illness.

A bus driver with the Fulton County Schools died Monday after being struck by a school bus at the refueling station at the school system’s Heath Street transportation facility in Fairburn.

It nearly took a degree in mathematics to tabulate for the number of perpetrators and solved burglaries and property damage cases announced by Chief Charles Long as he addressed Fairburn council members Dec. 12.

Palmetto council members took the advice of city engineers earlier this month and awarded a Fairburn company the contract for the Thurmond Street drainage improvement project.

An ordinance adopted Dec. 7 by unanimous vote of Fulton County commissioners requires that future subdivisions in Chattahoochee Hill Country maintain at least 40 percent open space.

Hwy. 74 Alliance may change its moniker, but not its mission

The Highway 74 Alliance produced a tentative mission statement at its December meeting. Alliance members also said the initiative might be up for a name change but it will not deter their intent to successfully address future traffic congestion in the area.

It’s nothing short of a tradition along Hobgood Road and Rivertown.

Violators will soon be paying higher fines in Fairburn

Parking violations on Fairburn streets are on the rise. And so is the price of fines resulting from them.

Recent burglaries at residential construction sites in Fairburn were solved through the efforts of city police officers and detectives.

Stephanie Gaines has plans and the determination to see them through. Recently hired as Union City’s special projects coordinator, Gaines envisions a greater community participation geared to empower residents and unify and strengthen neighborhoods.

The customary Ga. Highway 74 gridlock at I-85 might ease a bit if Fairburn gets its way.

Everyone who travels Hwy. 74 in the vicinity of I-85 knows that traffic congestion is a mess. But that mess is not limited to the south side of the expressway. Fairburn has made a proposal to the Georgia Department of Transportation that would alleviate some of the congestion on the north side of I-85 for motorists traveling south by installing a right turn lane that would provide quicker access to southbound I-85.

Bear Creek Middle School will present its Winter Concert Dec. 20, featuring the students in the school’s band, orchestra, and chorus.