It is your 1-cent special local option sales tax at work. Construction is well underway for the widening of Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard in Fayetteville.

Fayette County should be drawing water from Lake McIntosh by 2011, despite having to seek a different way to fund part of the project.

Fayette County students will be starting school the second week in August for the next three years, the Board of Education decided Monday night.

National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch from 4 p.m. Monday through Tuesday evening for a large portion of north and west central Georgia that includes Fayette and Coweta counties.

National Weather Service has issues a Special Weather Statement for portions of Fayette and Coweta until 7:45 p.m. Sunday.

For all the rain currently being dumped by Tropical Storm Fay on large portions of south Georgia, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, Fayette and Coweta counties will likely see precious little of the much needed liquid. Some gusty winds are expected to prevail Saturday and Sunday along with a 40-50 percent chance of rain.

Eatonton resident Jason Pollard, 29, who allegedly robbed the BP gas station on Ga. Highway 138 north Thursday morning is now in jail after being arrested at 11 p.m. Thursday, according to Fayette Sheriff's spokesperson Belinda McCastle. Pollard was a former resident of Fayette County, McCastle said.

Click here for the BP robbery video that helped lead to the Pollard's apprehension

Det. Josh Shelton credits the video being broadcast on Fox5 Atlanta for helping generate multiple tips on the Pollard's identity. The video led to multiple anonymous tips on the Pollard's identity, he said.

Fayette County School Board held the first of three public hearings on the millage rate Thursday morning. Once approved at the final public hearing Aug. 28, the millage rate will increase from the current 18.596 mills to 19.75 mills.

Click here for BP robbery video

The AT&T store at the Fayette Pavilion was broken into early this morning, Fayetteville police said.

Thieves got away with one flat screen TV, but left behind another that had been removed from the wall, police said.

By the time new 675-student school opens, the system will have 700 more slots than it has students to fill them

In 2004, building a new elementary school in the center of the county may have seemed like a good idea.

What a difference four years makes. Even as the Fayette County Board of Education held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $9.9 million Rivers Elementary School Aug. 14, many taxpayers are debating the need for a new school while the economy is slumping and student growth is flat or declining.

A north Fayette teen has been arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl, sheriff’s deputies reported.

Auston Wayne Relaford, 17, was charged with child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes, deputies said. The incident took place at a residence on Shenandoah Trace off Ga. Highway 138.

Georgia state School Superintendent Kathy Cox visits Sara Harp Minter Elementary Monday, taking time to read Jeff Foxworthy’s book, “Dirt on My Shirt,” to a room full of second-graders.

In a discussion about board meeting minutes, the Fayette County Board of Education Monday agreed to pursue putting an audio transcript of board meetings on the Internet.

The Fayetteville City Council responded to the slowing economy Aug. 14 by rolling back property taxes for 2008 to 2.988 mills, a decrease of .002 mills that matched the reassessment portion of the tax digest.

The Peachtree City Recreation Department is proposing to charge an annual $10 fee to city residents who use the Gathering Place for regularly scheduled events such as bridge groups and the like.

The economy may be slow, but that does not stop people from eating or buying groceries. With that in mind, Kroger in Towne Center Shopping Center in Fayetteville is looking to increase shopping space by 25 percent.

The Fayette County Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 18 to approve a low bid by SunTrust Bank for a $12.5 million tax anticipation loan that will provide funds for expenses until property taxes come in later this year.

Last week, it was the U.S. Census Bureau that indicated Fayette’s once-vibrant growth engine has stalled.

This week, population estimates were released from the Atlanta Regional Commission that offers even more gloomy news on Fayette’s growth rate.

Newnan resident and former Clayton County Police Officer Casey Carmichael pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to obscenity charges involving the use of his department-issued computer.

The south side Kroger in Fayetteville is looking to add to its presence at 805 S. Glynn Street. A proposal at the city’s Planning Commission work session Aug. 12 would add 13,920 square feet to the existing 55,000 square-foot grocery store.

Economy Down? Then do not increase taxes. That was the message Thursday morning when Fayetteville City Council held a brief meeting to rollback the millage rate to 2.988 mills to avoid property owners having to pay any increase in taxes.

McIntosh and Starr's Mill high schools both cracked the top 25 highest average scores for this year's ACT.

McIntosh was third in the state with a score of 24.8, and Starr's Mill was fifth with a score of 24.2.

Children and parents arrive in droves Aug. 11 for the first day of classes at the new Inman Elementary School, now home for students who attended the former East Fayette Elementary in Fayetteville. Inman is located on Inman Road near Ga. Highway 92 south of Fayetteville. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Local children get an up-close and personal look at one of Fayetteville’s canine crime fighters last week at the annual National Night Out event at the Fayetteville Target store.

System says state funding shortfall will require total rate hike of 1.754 mills

Inflation is about to envelope your school taxes, with the rate going up 1.754 mills — a $8.2 million new bite out of your wallet.

Biggest uptick is minority growth; Fayette’s minority population now matches Coweta’s

If you thought that somebody had turned off the faucet on the county’s growth, last week’s Census Bureau report confirmed that suspicion.

It was smooth sailing Aug. 7 as Heritage Creek Development presented the Fayetteville City Council with an improved proposal on the 13.7-acre Villages at Lafayette retail/office/residential development along Ga. Highway 54 West.