Filing dates for a “return of value” on residential and commercial property began Jan. 1 and will continue through April 1. And as in previous years, tax assessment notices coming in May will only be sent if the fair market value property has changed since last year.

The Fayetteville City Council on Thursday will consider authorizing a resolution that would lead to a sidewalk installation project through Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) and U.S. Dept. of Transportation. The $630,000 project includes a 20 percent match by the city.

The former chorus director and the band director at Whitewater High School pled guilty last week in DeKalb County to pandering after they arranged a meeting at a hotel there with two prostitutes who were actually undercover police officers.

A meeting to discuss the American Clean Energy and Security Act (House Resolution 2454), commonly referred to as the “Cap & Trade Bill,” will be held Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Gathering Place in Peachtree City located at 203 McIntosh Trail.  

Fayetteville police are investigating a claim by two teenage girls that an adult male acquaintance gave them pills in order to take advantage of them and had attempted to do so.

The Fayetteville City Council on Thursday will consider authorizing a resolution that would lead to a sidewalk installation project through Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) and U.S. Dept. of Transportation. The $630,000 project includes a 20 percent match by the city.

Photo Courtesy of The American Red Cross

UPDATED (Saturday evening) with March of Dimes information

As locals begin efforts to help Haiti residents recover from the recent earthquake, The Citizen wants to publicize as many of these works as possible as a free service to the community.

If your church, civic group, business or organization is embarking on such an endeavor, please send us an email at editor@TheCitizen.com. Please include details about the mission, including how/where/when others can help.

State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) is introducing a bill in the 2010 General Assembly that he says will clarify and simplify current weapons law and uphold the right to bear arms. The Georgia Common Sense Lawful Carry Act is meant to amend current Georgia law.

UPDATE: Defense attorney said pair had strong case but didn't want to risk outcome of jury trial; Attorney says only mention of sex came from undercover officers

Two former Whitewater High School teachers who were arrested in May during an undercover prostitution sting entered guilty pleas in DeKalb County State Court Tuesday.

Douglas Dee, the former band director, and Kelly Butler, the former choral director, pled guilty to pandering, a misdemeanor, and were fined $1,000 each, court officials said. They also were sentenced to 12 months probation and the judge suspended a 48-hour jail term.

Examination of tracts along bypass route reveals new information: See MAP here.

Several opponents of the west Fayetteville bypass have alleged that the $29.7 million project is a “developers’ road.”

It looks like the situation for Misty is improving. The 8-year-old mare is recovering from being shot four times in a Jan. 3 bow and arrow attack at the Padovano farm near Brooks.

Detectives arrested 17-year-old neighbor Jeremy Ryan Richardson and subsequently charged him with felony aggravated cruelty to animals.

Fayetteville police are still searching for two armed men who robbed the Bank of America at Ga. Highway 314 and New Hope Road near the Fayette Pavilion early Saturday afternoon. Investigators are also hoping that so-far unnamed customers who picked up some of the stolen money in the parking lot will contact police.

It was a relatively easy agenda item that came with a frequent 3-2 split vote on the Fayette County Board of Education. Board members Monday night voted to change the work session and regular meeting nights from Mondays to Tuesdays and re-elected Terri Smith as chairman and Lee Wright as vice-chair — all on the familiar split votes.

A Fayette County man was carjacked last week near Redwine Road after being followed from his business on Old National Highway. The man was not injured in the incident.

Let the voters have their say on some specialized new uses for existing property taxes, says the Fayetteville City Council.

Fayette County’s purchasing card program, reinvigorated in October 2008, has simplified purchasing for county departments with no abuse of the new associated policies, the county commission was told last week.

School system officials are preparing to meet with the Fayette County delegation in the General Assembly to make their feelings known on a half dozen issues of concern. The planned meeting was announced by Superintendent John DeCotis at Monday’s school board meeting.

A gas-powered limb trimmer became an un-freezing tool for Fayette County public works employees Matt Neal and Miles Hoffman Monday at the fountain in front of the Fayette County Justice Center.

A Brooks resident who was in a serious car crash Dec. 23 remains in a coma at The Shepherd Center, but the community is rallying with prayers and financial support, a family friend has told The Citizen.

Though there are few items posted for the meeting Monday night at the Fayette County School Board, the item listed as Legislative Issues could prove to be very significant in coming months due to lagging state and local revenues.

Blood donors needed as freeze leads to shortage of types O- and B-; blood drive today at Fayette County Public Library from 3-7 p.m.

Fayetteville Police are searching for two black men who robbed the Bank of America at Ga. Highway 314 and New Hope Road near the Pavilion shopping center early this [Saturday] afternoon.

Last night and all day today, Coweta County road crews have worked to address the remaining black ice and slick spots on Coweta roads.

UPDATE — Friday 3:20 p.m.: Suspect granted bond; must surrender archery gear

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Seventeen-year-old Brooks resident Jeremy Ryan Richardson, accused of striking a horse with multiple arrows, has to surrender his archery equipment as a condition of his bond, a Fayette County Magistrate ruled Friday afternoon.

Richardson was arrested Thursday on felony charges for aggravated cruelty to animals in the arrow attack on a horse at the Padovano farm on Bankstown Road in Brooks discovered Sunday morning.

Richardson also faces 14 additional charges relating to illegal deer hunting.
A bond of $14,550 for all the incidents was set by Magistrate Joe Tinsley. Included in that figure is a $10,000 bond for the aggravated cruelty to animals charge.

The archery equipment must be turned over to Richardson’s attorney, Tinsley ruled.

Seventeen year-old Brooks resident Jeremy Ryan Richardson has been arrested on felony charges for aggravated cruelty to animals in the arrow attack on a horse at a Bankstown Road farm discovered Sunday morning.

The Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) has issued a travel alert for Thursday for large portions of the state. An incoming winter storm system has the potential for making travel on roadways hazardous.

A request to up-size one building in a shopping center on Ga. Highway 54 West from 50,000 to 65,000 square feet will be considered Thursday night by the Peachtree City Council.

A central Fayette County man and woman were charged and more than two dozen underage drinkers were cited by Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies New Year’s Eve at the couple’s residence on Green Meadow Lane near Quarters Road. That’s a semi-rural area between Redwine and Ebenezer roads in the south-central part of the county.

Fayetteville wants a TAD more — tax money, that is, for three redevelopment projects.

Members of the Fayetteville City Council at the Jan. 7 meeting will consider a resolution asking for the passage of local legislation that will lead to a referendum which, if approved by voters, would give the city redevelopment powers needed to move ahead with Tax Allocation District (TAD) projects identified last year.

A 17-year-old Moreland man was arrested on multiple charges Jan. 2 after taking a dare to harass someone in the Towne Center parking lot on South Glynn Street in Fayetteville. The arrest came after he approached a family in an aggressive manner with a knife, police said.