What’s the best way to get out the message of the many accomplishments of the Fayette County School System?

Peachtree City residents, you can still choose your own trash pick-up provider.

Peachtree City will not be adopting the monopoly franchise model for trash collection, the City Council decided last Thursday night.

Critics say a bill under consideration in the Georgia legislature could have drastic effects locally by making it cost-prohibitive to enforce zoning restrictions such as setbacks, buffers and tree preservation ordinances.

Peachtree City residents will have to fork over $12 every five years to register their golf carts, thanks to a vote of the City Council Thursday night.

The Peachtree City Council approved a residential rezoning Thursday night that will put 23 single family homes on an 8.45-acre tract in the northwest corner of the city.

The Fayetteville City Council passed a rezoning request at its monthly meeting last Thursday.

It came from Brent Scarbrough to rezone 18.98 acres located at Ga. Highway 314 and White Road. It was changed from C-3, Highway Commercial, to DR-15, One and Two Family Residential homes. The development will be the site of the 60-home Grove Park subdivision, slated for marketing to home buyers 55 years and older.

The Fayette County School System voted Monday night to surplus nearly 100 acres of property it recently purchased.

School spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach confirmed the system closed on 129 acres last week at Inman Road and Ga. Highway 92, south of Fayetteville. The system paid $2.9 million, or $22,500 an acre.

Thanks to an alert citizen, Fayette County deputies were able to arrest a 17-year-old and three juveniles on several burglary charges early Sunday afternoon on the north end of the county, police said.

Peachtree City residents wanting more information about the widening of Ga. Highway 74 South can attend an open house hosted by the Georgia Department of Transportation on Thursday, Feb. 2.

Folks in Fayetteville, Tyrone and Senoia will be seeing a big boost for certain downtown projects thanks to some considerable state assistance.

The votes are in and the winners have been announced in the First Annual Fayette Festival of Lights.

Glendalough Manor wins the business category, and Crystal Swygert of Fayetteville takes home the residential prize. All of the contestants did a fabulous job decorating their homes and the tour was a great success, according to organizers.

National Board Certification, the highest credential in the teaching profession, has been earned by 14 of Fayette’s finest educators bringing the system-wide total to 68.

If state Senator Ronnie Chance has his way, kids needing to say goodbye to a parent heading overseas for military service will get an excused absence from school for up to five days.

In honor of the “Year of the Dog,” the Peachtree City Dog Park Association will host a Chinese New Year celebration Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at the dog park.

A local program to help elementary children get “caught up” in reading and math will be presented this month to a group of national educators at a seminar in Atlanta.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) with support from Mercedes-Benz of South Atlanta and Mercedes-Benz dealers nationwide announced that it will make $1.5 million in scholarship funding available to students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.

A Sharpsburg couple was arrested Thursday by Peachtree City police for financial identity fraud.

Charles Williams, 28, and Brenna Williams, 26, of Oxford Court in Sharpsburg were taken into custody after the Peachtree City Police Department received reports from others who said their identities had been used to apply for and receive credit cards, according to a written statement from the police. Each of the victims had applied for credit at the Best Buy in Peachtree City, which opened in November.

Trash pickup in Peachtree City will go from a free-market version of multiple vendors to a city-chosen single-company monopoly, if a staff proposal gets City Council approval this Thursday night. Pickup fees also are expected to rise.

Peachtree City homeowners are about to get billed for the water that runs along street curbs into storm drains.

The Peachtree City Council will likely vote next month to create a new utility to address significant stormwater issues around town.

It will cost $12 every five years for Peachtree City residents to register their golf carts, if a staff proposal is approved by the City Council Thursday night.

Participants in Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. parade

The Fayette County High School Marching Band is headed to the granddaddy of them all: the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., for New Year’s Day 2007.

They’ve confiscated cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana with a street value of $811,193,200, seized more than $14 million in cash and made nearly 1,000 arrests just in the past five years.

It’s going to be a competitive race to see who will replace A.G. VanLandingham on the Fayette County Commission.

When qualifying ended Friday, five candidates had qualified for the race. For the first time in many elections, the race will pit Democrats versus Republicans. The candidates are:

Ga. Highway 92 North will soon be home to hundreds more residents.

The Fayette County Commission on Thursday approved more than 140 lots that will be developed by John Wieland Homes. The property will be developed as a conservation subdivision, which allows homes to be clustered and maintain more green space.

In a county known for its golf-cart lifestyle, the county seat, Fayetteville, has no golf cart ordinance.

So, Fayetteville Planning and Zoning Commission started on a path Jan. 10 designed to consider implementing a golf cart ordinance. Board members said it was only a beginning and assigned no timetable to the consideration.

The Fayette County Board of Education kicks off the retreat season this Saturday with a short trip of about two blocks to the Lafayette Education Center in Fayetteville. Although it’s a short trip, the board plans to tackle many items during the open session that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Fayette County Democrats will host its monthly breakfast meeting Saturday with breakfast starting at 10 a.m. at Chaps Restaurant in Tyrone. Three Fayette County Democratic candidates — Kevin Madden, Wendy Felton, and Rod Mack —will address the group.

Call it voter ID, part 2.

After a federal judge struck down the voter identification bill passed by the Georgia legislature last year, lawmakers are close to passing a bill that addresses the chief shortcoming outlined by the judge.

Dawn Burnette of McIntosh High School is one of 11 finalists for the 2007 Georgia Teacher of the Year award, according to state school superintendent Kathy Cox’s office.