A late-night fire Saturday damaged a home in Peachtree City, also killing three family pets, fire officials said.

The fire at 223 Cedar Drive started in the garage area, but firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading throughout the home, said Assistant Fire Marshal David Williamson. When firefighters first arrived, flames were visible from the garage, Williamson said.

For 26 years, Peachtree City’s Preston Garner was one of the many Fayette County employees who try to help people untangle the web of local government.

Because The Citizen newspaper offices will be closed Tuesday, July 4, earlier advertising and news deadlines will be observed this week.

Two Peachtree City teens have been arrested for breaking into six businesses at the Wilshire Pavilion shopping center early Thursday morning, police said.

Peachtree City Library will be hosting a family program by County Historian Carolyn Cary as part of the Picnic in the Plaza event July 2nd.

Fayette County High School will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Marching Tigers band with a special alumni ceremony Sept. 8 during the football game against Jonesboro High School.

The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) has recognized the achievements of the Fayette County School System’s public relations office with three Merit Awards.

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, more than 4,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries involving fireworks each year. Most of these injuries occur in the few weeks before and after July 4. Children ages 5 to 9 have the highest rate of injury from fireworks.

With various issues on their upcoming council agendas, the senior adults of the PTC Senior Council are looking for some answers to issues of specific interest for senior adults. A forum to hear county and state candidates is planned July 9 from 2 p.m until 4 p.m. at The Gathering Place in Peachtree City. Their questions concerning funding, transportation, housing, redistricting, and more will be presented. The format also allows opportunity for questions from the audience and informal conversation while enjoying refreshments. All interested voters are encouraged to attend. Committee chair Clora Griffith expects a full turnout of interested voters as we need to know where the candidates stand on these issues especially impacting adults 50 years and older.

The following arrests were reported by local law enforcement agencies for the past week. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Three juveniles were arrested after they assaulted a woman in the parking lot of a Fayetteville grocery store early Sunday morning, police said.

A Sharpsburg teen accused of murdering his friend at an early morning party Tuesday in Peachtree City will remain in jail without bond, and the Peachtree City teen who hosted the party has been charged with several misdemeanors, police said.

Tinseltown theaters had its day in court June 20. That court date resulted in a guilty plea by Manager Brian Ortega and $2,000 in fines. City court Judge Mike Martin fined the theater $1,000 for each of the two recent health and sanitation violations handed out by county health inspectors.

Does Fayette County Board of Education member Greg Powers have the right to continue to serve on the school board?

That’s the question Republican candidate for school board Frank Oakley put before the school system’s leaders at their regular meeting Monday night.

Facing voter heat over out-of-county students attending Fayette County schools, the local school board has decided to beef up enforcement.

It was down to the wire, but Tinseltown scored big. A June 15 health and sanitation inspection by Fayette County Health Department resulted in a score of 98 out of a possible 100 for the theater.

A developer wanting to annex 400 acres into Peachtree City for an “active adult” gated community was given a cautious go-ahead by the City Council last week, allowing city staff to work on the proposal.

When would you like your child to start school in 2007?

That’s the question the Fayette County School Board is pondering after four school calendars were presented at Monday night’s meeting. The four options include start dates of Aug. 6, Aug. 9 and Aug. 13. Three of the calendars would end school on May 23, while one of the Aug. 13 start dates would see the school year end May 30.

Balloon artist Angelique David hands out balloons after a demonstration at the Fayette County Library Monday.

The largest budget in the history of the Fayette County School System got a unanimous “thumbs up” Monday night.

Fayette property owners will pay more school taxes this year as a result.

As in past years, The Citizen is again opening its opinion pages to candidates for contested local and locally-decided political offices.

The good news is that Fayetteville property owners can expect no tax millage rate increase when the Fiscal Year 2007 budget is adopted later this summer.

A request to consider rezoning a 7-plus acre parcel from general commercial to multi-family has been denied by the Peachtree City Council.

The Metro Fayette Kiwanis is holding a political forum on Thursday, June 29. The forum is open to qualified candidates for the county commission seats and will be at the Sams Auditorium, Fayetteville, at 7 p.m. The format will be governed by a moderator and timekeeper and Comcast will be recording the event.

Linda Wells, vice chairman, Fayette County Commission, brought a “state of the county” address to the Metro Fayette Kiwanis.

The Peachtree City Rotary Club wants to give voters a chance to meet candidates who are seeking local offices. The club is hosting a “Meet and Greet” event Tuesday June 27 from 7-9 p.m. at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.

An “Extreme Ground Breaking” is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. for the Chick-fil-A at Wilshire Pavilion in Peachtree City. Chick-fil-A will have event tents set up on the site where the new store is to be located off Ga. Highway 74 at Wilshire, adjacent to Publix plaza. The company will have lots of fun activities, games, giveaways, and of course the cow will be there to host it all. Chick-fil-A will be giving FREE food to the first 500 people.

The Fayette County School System’s first ever Air Force Junior ROTC (AFJROTC) program has graduated its first four-year cadets.

The Board of Regents, the 18-member governing body for the University System of Georgia, elected Regent M. Allan Vigil to a one-year term as the board’s chair.

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizen.com
and JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizen.com

The Fayette County Board of Elections plans to notify the county board of education that BOE member Greg Powers is no longer eligible to serve on the board.