It is always good to see people willing to lend a helping hand. That was the case Thursday as members of the South Fulton/Fayette Community Task Force met with residents of the Buffington Road area who are living with damage to their homes and concerns about health from their close proximity to the Red Oak granite quarry.

Hector L. Zavala, 20, Fairburn, altered license plate, driving while unlicensed, tag light violation, theft by receiving stolen property

When all was said and done, Thursday night’s meeting of the Tyrone Town Council amounted to housekeeping duties relating to the town charter. The items up for revision made no major changes the charter but did clear up the language and amend some portions of the charter that had not been addressed since 1998.

The following arrests were made by Fairburn Police between Jan. 8-15.

Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Fire was accidental; neighbors pitch in to help couple

A Tyrone woman escaped injury Tuesday afternoon when a fire started in her garage and eventually damaged the entire structure, officials said.

Another familiar face is now on the payroll in Tyrone.

Mallett Consulting was unanimously picked as the town’s engineer Thursday night after town manager Chris Venice gave a glowing report of her working relationship with the company when she worked for Fayette County. Mallet has worked with Fayette County for years and did work on the new courthouse, Lake McIntosh and numerous road projects.

The further rejuvenation of Shamrock Park in Tyrone got a boost Thursday night as the town Council unanimously approved a conceptual plan to renovate the downtown park.

The Village Market in Tyrone closed on Christmas Eve last year, much to the dismay of many Tyrone residents.

Well, Tyrone residents, the Spezzano family has come to the rescue.

A Jan. 10 burglary committed by a Fairburn man was solved one day later when Tyrone Police used a cell phone he dropped in the back yard of the Wynfield Drive residence to identify him.

New Tyrone town manager Chris Venice has a two-year contract with her new employer.

Mayor Don Rehwaldt confirmed that Venice will be paid $97,000 a year in her post, and would receive three months in severance if the town decides to terminate her employment.

All’s well that ends well. The same can be said for beginnings. Tyrone’s old library closed its door in December, but the two week wait for the new 9,009 square-foot library on Commerce Drive to open Jan. 2 was worth the wait.

It could be a gas station or a convenience store or a restaurant or a self-storage warehouse or a combination of the four. A proposal for commercial development on the northwest corner of Senoia Road and Rockwood Road presented Dec. 27 to Tyrone Planning Commission was withdrawn until a revised proposal can be made.

It was only a little over two acres, but questions were significant enough to have a residential rezoning proposal continued until Tyrone Planning commissioners could obtain additional information.

Tyrone Police have been busy. And their efforts were not contained only to law enforcement. Members of the department continued their gift giving ways that began earlier in December in the Shop with a Cop program for needy children with a visit to Southland Nursing Home in Peachtree City Dec. 21 to help Santa stuff stockings using some of the proceeds from the earlier effort.

Members of the Sandy Creek Kiwanis Key Club recently serenaded at the Azalea Estates Assisted Living Center and the home of Carolyn Cary.

A Tyrone man was arrested Christmas Eve on charges of aggravated assault after attacking his wife with a knife.

John L. Hill, Jr., 44, admitted to police that he had struck his wife with a steak knife, causing a laceration, approximately one-inch in length and one-inch deep along her jaw, according to Public Information Officer Alicia Batts.

Badcock Furniture is planning a move to Tyrone on Ga. Highway 74. Those plans will require additional work before the planning commission can address the site plan.

Cadets from the Sandy Creek High Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) program have volunteered their time to support many area community services. The most recent effort was the AFJROTC annual canned food drive. Each fall cadets get the entire Sandy Creek student body involved in donating food for local needs. Over the past several years the donations have helped the Real Life Center.

It was not an official meeting but it had all the makings of one. New Tyrone Mayor Don Rehwaldt, above, and new council members Tracy Young and Eric Dial took the oath of office at town hall Thursday night as nearly 75 supporters looke on. Photos/Ben Nelms.

For the second time in three months, the Shell convenience store on Palmetto Road was the site of a burlary. The latestc crimeoccurred Dec. 16 at approximately 10:45 p.m. Police were alerted by an alarm call, finding the store’s front door busted out, said Tyrone Police spokesperson Alicia Batts. The owner arrived and confirmed that two cash registers had been pried open and drawers were missing, she said. An undisclosed amount of cash was missing.

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.

Tyrone’s second annual Christmas Parade went off without a hitch Thursday afternoon.

It will be a much happier Christmas for eight youngsters in Tyrone this year thanks to the efforts of the men and women in blue. With an outpouring of support from businesses and citizens, Tyrone Police coordinated a Shop with a Cop program Dec. 8, clearly making the point that the only way to make a difference is to be the difference.

The Tyrone Christmas Parade Foundation announced this week that the city’s annual Christmas Parade is set for December 13 at 4:45 p.m.

It may be the holiday season, but 3-2 votes are still the norm in Tyrone.

On Thursday night, Mayor Sheryl Lee broke a tie vote and voted to reduce the setback for O’Reilly Auto Parts on Tyrone Road.

This tree was donated to the town of Tyrone as the town’s official Christmas tree by Big John’s Christmas Trees.

On Wednesday December 5, 2007 the Tyrone Police Department held its first annual awards dinner at the Tyrone Depot. The department honored its officers for their service achievements over the previous year and for accomplishments they have made in training throughout their careers.

It was a busy week for copper theft, burglary and theft by receiving stolen property, resulting in the arrest of three Tyrone residents.

The council chambers at Tyrone Town Hall were filled Thursday night as curious and upset residents wanted to weigh-in on two rezoning proposals by Olde Towne Tyrone that would land a total of 135 homes on 43 acres along both sides of Palmetto Road adjacent to Arrowood Road and Swanson Road. But the proposals did not make it to planning commissioners, being withdrawn earlier in the week.

Tyrone officials this week countered a claim that the town is slow in processing occupational tax certificates.

Two weeks ago, Coweta County Solicitor Robert Stokely paid a visit to Tyrone to question the town’s procedures on issuing occupational tax certificates.