Peachtree City residents will have the chance to tax themselves almost directly when they head to the polls this week for early voting and next Tuesday, Nov. 6, on the traditional election day.

The beginning of the holiday season usually means smaller agendas for many city councils. The Nov. 1 meeting of Fayetteville City council will be no exception, where the only items on the agenda will be the second reading of a budget amendment and consideration of an alcohol permit for a local restaurant.

The Farm Bureau Insurance office in Fayetteville is set to more than double in size, with Planning & Zoning commissioners Oct. 23 approving the revised development plans for the project.

The Peachtree City Planning Department and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board hosted the sixth of seven comprehensive plan public forums Thursday at City Hall in Peachtree City to discuss updating the city’s comprehensive plan.

It was four up and four down Oct. 23 as Fayette Drug Task Force (DTF) agents arrested four men in back-to-back drug busts at the BP station at Ga. Highway 314 and Ga. Highway 138.

The funeral for Fayette State Rep. Dan Lakly, R-Peachtree City, will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City.

Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Mowell Funeral Home in Peachtree CIty.

Lakly, 65, died Monday of a heart attack while he was hospitalized for treatment of a broken wrist, state officials said. Lakly had suffered the initial injury falling off a ladder Friday.

Lakly has a long history of public service in elected office, also serving on the Peachtree City Council and on the Fayette County Commission.

Fayette County government offices have lowered their flags to half-mast in Lakly's memory. Friday, Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to order all state agencies to do the same.

Three of Fayette County’s schools are among the tops in student test performance in Georgia, according to the Ga. Department of Education. Eleven others also were high on the charts in student performance.

Future may bring throwaway plates at school cafeterias, restaurants; county marshals now on 24 hour shifts for water ban patrols; county to increase fines and penalties for violators

Under an edict by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Fayette residents will have to become more judicious with their water usage, officials said Thursday night.

Perdue is ordering a 10 percent cut in water usage for the months of November through March based on the historical monthly usage figures from last year, Water System Director Tony Parrott told the Fayette County Commission Thursday night.

On a recent vacation to Egypt, (L-R) Beth Nicholson, with mother, Virginia Williams, both of Fayetteville, had a lot of fun with The Citizen in different locations, “but I thought this one was unique,” Williams said.

Fayette’s new in-house counsel served as Commissioner Maxwell’s lawyer in suit against Fayette

Fayette County’s new in-house attorney, Scott Bennett, admitted earlier this summer that he had given the city of McDonough bad legal advice on an ordinance banning cameras from public meetings. Turns out his advice, if followed, would have been a violation of the state open meetings law.

Six of the seven candidates for two seats on the Peachtree City Council answered questions at a forum Monday night sponsored by the Peachtree City Civic Association.

By the middle of November, Fayette County’s parents should be able to see what elementary schools their children will be attending next year.

Starting Monday, Peachtree City residents wanting to vote early won’t have to go far.

The Fayette County Board of Elections will have voting machines at the ready on the bottom floor of the Peachtree City library. The area will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

$50+ million project to be PTC’s 1st ever gated community

The Peachtree City Council approved a rezoning for a 310-unit senior residential development off Rockaway Road, down from the original proposal of 376 units. It’s the first approval of a gated community in the city’s history.

Moments before it was to be considered by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night, a developer withdrew his request for the city to consider selling part of Line Creek Drive to make room for a 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store off Ga. Highway 54 West.

Consultant Kelley Carey shows the school redistricting committee one of the two maps being considered as finalists in redrawing all elementary school attendance lines.

A Fayetteville woman was awarded more than $360,000 in both actual and punitive damages in a civil malpractice suit she filed against a local attorney.

An east Fayette teen was arrested last week for making a threat via email to burn down his house, according to an arrest warrant filed by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

In the face of furious neighborhood opposition, a developer Monday night abandoned his plans to seek a dense redevelopment of three spacious lots along Robinson Road on Peachtree City’s eastern border.

Fayetteville City Council agreed to table a request by Oddo Brothers on a proposal to development a 58-acre, 101-home subdivision at the northwest corner of Ramah Road and Beauregard Boulevard. Project representative Tom Hardy said the move would allow time to look at other options and possibly revise the application.

1 out of every 4 elementary students may be moved; E. Fayette to be closed

Fayette County’s elementary school redistricting committee may recommend to the school board Oct. 29 that more than 2,400 students change schools next year.

Outdoor watering ban drops local daily demand by 27%

Georgia’s total ban on outdoor watering has reduced water usage significantly for the water systems operated by the city of Fayetteville and by Fayette County, officials said.

Without city's land, developer can’t build big box on Hwy. 54 West

PUBLISHER’S OPINION: If council sells land to developer, it’s a perverted sell-out of the PTC vision — See Cal Beverly’s column in the right rail.

A rezoning for a proposed 376-unit senior living complex with condos, apartments and an assisted living facility will be considered by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.

Despite being one of the more affluent counties in the metropolitan Atlanta region, Fayette is not escaping the foreclosure crunch that is tightening its grip on the region.

Georgia’s congressional delegation has entered the fray over alleged health problems at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Atlanta Center in Hampton.

The Fayette County Board of Education is hiring a consultant to investigate the possible sale of 40 acres of land behind Whitewater High School.

A Fayetteville woman faced three cruelty-related counts in an Oct. 13 incident at her home when police were called after her 7-year-old son could not awaken her.

The 2008 Enjoy the City coupon books benefiting the Fayette County Education Foundation are now on sale at the Fayette County Board of Education.

It won’t be long before many people will be enjoying the tastes of the holidays with family and friends. But for a special group of Fayette County residents, the joy of having a delicious holiday meal wouldn’t be possible without the support of a big-hearted community and an organization with a knack for turning a meal into a generous act of love.