There’s a new political player in town, and it has its aim on opening up local government to public scrutiny.

Former Fayette County Commission Chairman Harold Bost in July helped organize the new Fayette Citizens for Open Government (FayCOG-PAC) Political Action Committee.

Local football fans were blessed with getting to watch Calvin Johnson play both his high school and college ball in the area.

The Fayette County Board of Education last spring discussed the possibility of raising revenue from the sale of 49.4 acres of surplus property designated for wetlands mitigation use at the Goza Road complex on Fayette’s south side.

The economy may be down but not in the medical field. A rezoning and annexation request by Piedmont Fayette Hospital for three tracts totaling 17.85 acres along Sandy Creek Road will come before the Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission Sept. 9. The request cites future uses that could include a daycare facility, parking spaces and stormwater infrastructure.

You can read about the number of Fayette County school buses on the road each day, the number of gallons of diesel fuel that is used, and the hours of training and re-certification of the drivers, but the real question is — are the buses safe?

The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce would like to invite interested community members to participate in the upcoming Leadership Fayette class, beginning September 16. Leadership Fayette is a program designed to help develop and educate business and community leaders about important aspects of the Fayette community. Through this interactive program, participants will learn about Fayette County's history, government processes, economic development, law enforcement, judicial system, education system, and health & human services. 

The Fayette County SPLOST public information meeting for the West Fayetteville Bypass, Phase 2 is set for September 16 at the public meeting room at 140 Stonewall Avenue West.

The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City will host a community preparedness event Sept. 16 to help citizens become better prepared to respond to emergencies.

Fayette County’s largest private employer plans to close its manufacturing operations by the end of 2009, resulting in the loss of approximately 500 production-related jobs, a company spokesperson confirmed Friday afternoon.

A burglary early Friday morning at J&R Clothing on Ga. Highway 85 in Fayetteville resulted in the theft of an undetermined amount of merchandise. There were no witnesses to the incident.

The RBC Centura bank on Ga. Highway 314 north across from the Fayette Pavilion in Fayetteville was robbed at gunpoint around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 according to reports on police radio.

The suspect was initially described as a black male wearing a long white sleeve shirt, blue jeans, braided hair and with a fake beard that appeared to be drawn on with some type of makeup. It was speculated that the hair possibly could have been a wig.

McIntosh’s varsity football team won their second straight season opener last Friday behind a tremendous effort from sophomore quarterback Cam Porter. Porter was 12 of 20 passing for 249 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs defeated Forsyth Central 28-7. For more on McIntosh’s win and the other games played last Friday night, see the story on Page C8. Photo/Joseph Wilson.

Sometimes a cop is fortunate just to be able to go home at the end of the work day. Fayetteville Police Officer Todd Chitwood is living proof of that after a 16-year-old male took aim at him and pulled the trigger of a 9mm Glock handgun as Chitwood gave chase in an Aug. 30 incident that began behind Tinseltown Theater at Fayette Pavilion.

Most people would not mount an organized write-in campaign for elected office. But that is what Peachtree City resident Nicole File is doing.

File on Aug. 29 announced her intention to run against incumbent Janet Smola Nov. 4 for Fayette County Board of Education Post 1.

Come Thursday night it should be official, at least in terms of being on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Fayetteville City Council Sept. 4 is expected to call for a referendum to place the Sunday sale of alcohol by the drink squarely in the hands of voters.

For Fayette County’s Lane Watts, the opening day of the Republican National Convention typified what the party represents.

After a small delay, the Fayette County Commission will consider replacing 19 vehicles in the county’s fleet Wednesday afternoon.

Shoppers at Towne Center Kroger will start noticing a few changes in the next couple of months.

The Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission Aug. 26 voted unanimously to approve nearly 14,000 square feet of expansion on the store’s south side. Expected to be completed by next summer, the project will increase shopping space by 25 percent.

Newnan resident Harold Space has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted on charges of receiving child pornography via the Internet.

It is never over until it is over. Peachtree City resident Nicole File announced Friday that she will run as a write-in candidate against Fayette County School Board Post 1 incumbent Janet Smola in the Nov. 4 general election.

Fayette County Board of Education issued a press release Thursday afternoon in response to the loss of accreditation by Clayton County schools announced earlier today. Regardless the current situation in Clayton, the Fayette school system will hold to its previous position and will only enroll students that reside in Fayette County.

The only thing left to do was vote yea or nay. And by mid-morning Thursday, Fayette County School Board voted unanimously to adopt a revised Maintenance & Operation (M&O) millage rate set at 19.75 mills and a bond debt millage rate of 4.17 mills. The two represent an overall millage increase of 1.754 mills, or $8.2 million.

Fayette County High School quarterback Justin Murray fires the ball out of bounds as he is hit by a Jonesboro defender in scrimmage action Friday. The Tigers lost the game 21-14 and open their season this Friday at Stockbridge at 7:30 p.m. For complete football coverage, look inside for our football preview section. Photo/John Munford.

Fayette students, take a bow.

When results of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) were released Tuesday, Fayette’s students posted an overall average score of 1551, three points above last year’s average, 85 points above that of the state and 40 points over the national average. A perfect SAT score is 2400.

The Fayette County Board of Education will hold its third and final public hearing on the millage rate Thursday. The rate will be adopted at the conclusion of the hearing.

A Peachtree City manufacturing facility has received a national award for reducing its use of water, electricity and two other components of its manufacturing process.

TDK Components USA received the National Performance Track award from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The Fayetteville City Council Aug. 21 approved a new parade route that will give a boost to fund-raising efforts for Cleveland Elementary School’s Sept. 13 Curious Fun Run.

The Fayette County Commission is expected to set its final tax rate for residents Thursday night.

In previous years, the rate was set earlier, but the county had to wait on the school board this year. The Board of Education had to adjust its rate after getting more bad economic news from the state.

Fayette County School Superintendent John DeCotis last week was named one of four finalists statewide for the 2009 Georgia School Superintendent of the Year award.

Fayetteville Police were busy last weekend responding to numerous calls on a variety of issues. Two of those calls ended in arrests for carrying a concealed weapon, battery and cruelty to a child.