Cellphone companies Tuesday night presented their case for the necessity of new cellphone towers to the Peachtree City Council and Planning Commission.

Fayette braces for property tax crash

Fayette County officials are preparing for the bleak economy to catch up to home values this year.

More than three dozen residents attended a budget meeting hosted by newly-elected Councilman Eric Imker Saturday afternoon at City Hall in Peachtree City.

The Fayette County Board of Education heard last week its funding next fiscal year could be more than $10.3 million less than what it currently gets, bad news for a system already reeling from $12.65 million in cuts so far this year.

So far, so good, for the Fayette County School System, at least in terms of the projected fund balance for the year ending June 30. Barring any funding changes the school system might show a balance of $7.88 million in the general fund by the middle of this calendar year, about 4 percent of the total budget.

Bye-bye, Barnes & Noble; hello, Goodwill store.

It will have been nearly 10 years to the day from the time that Barnes & Noble opened its doors across from the Fayette Pavilion until the time it closes those doors. The bookseller will discontinue operations at its Fayetteville store on Ga. Highway 85 at the end of May.

Fayette sheriff’s detectives have arrested five Clayton County youths for burglarizing a home in the Hampstead Heath subdivision off Ga. Highway 314 North early Monday afternoon.

The United States Postal Service is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men who robbed a postal service contract truck driver at the Fayetteville Post Office Friday night.

Sheriff’s Capt. Deborah Hannah was responding to a burglar alarm at her own home the afternoon of Jan. 2 when her sport utility vehicle collided with another car, sheriff’s officials said.

Fayette County State Court Solicitor’s employee Sabrina Ann Miller has been charged with felony theft by taking of more than $3,800 in funds from her office at the Fayette County Justice Center. Additional charges could be forthcoming.

The U.S. gross domestic product grew by 5.7 percent in the last quarter of 2009, but you could not see any improvement locally by the look of Fayette County’s jobless rate. That rate rose again last month and now sits at 8.3 percent.

Landlord claimed HP scanner sparked blaze at dress shop

A retired Fayette County teacher has won a $110,000 jury verdict against the Hewlett-Packard Corporation for a fire at a downtown Fayetteville building that was tied to a computer scanner used by a tenant.

The Fayetteville City Council will take up a change to the purchasing ordinance and consider an improvement to the Lee Street sidewalk project at the Feb. 6 council meeting.

The oldest school building in Fayette County still has some life in it, despite having lost all its students.

School Board members last week seemed to be amenable to the idea of having the school system’s Facilities Services department relocated to the former East Fayette Elementary School. The board is expected to make a decision on the move at the Feb. 9 meeting.

A Better Way Ministries co-director Tony Ingram passed away unexpectedly Sunday night.

A Better Way founder John Barrow said Monday that cofounder and musician Tony Ingram died Sunday night of what is believed to have been a heart attack. Ingram is survived by a wife and two small children.

An Atlanta woman was arrested Saturday morning when a Fayette County patrol deputy caught her in the act of stealing an air conditioning unit at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Ga. Highway 314.

Update: 2:03 p.m.

A suspect has been arrested after being subdued by a Fayette County K-9 unit.

A call at 1:47 p.m. indicated that the K-9 unit "made apprehension" off Helmer Road just this side of the Clayton County line. An ambulance was being sent to the scene to treat a dog bite, according to reports.

The Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater this morning announced its lineup for the 2010 concert season.

The B-52s of Athens rock fame will be playing the amphitheater July 24, and the season kicks off May 15 with Gloria Gaynor and The Village People.

The Fayette County School Board is doing more than waiting to see how things play out with more state cuts this year. The board heard a presentation by Comptroller Laura Brock at the Jan. 26 meeting that centered on the 2011 budget cycle that begins in July. Brock gave the board a look at several factors that could influence budget calculations.

The plan for a shopping center off Ga. Highway 74 south and Redwine Road has shrunk a bit under a rezoning approved Thursday night by the Fayette County Commission.

• The American Cancer Society is seeking volunteers in the Coweta County and Carroll County areas to assist with the Road to Recovery Program. Volunteers will be drivers to assist cancer patients who need transportation to the location for their radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments.The patients involved have no other means to access the treatment that is essential to their recovery. Anyone who would like more information about the Road to Recovery Program is asked to telephone 770-460-8920 ext 227.

Patrons of the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater’s summer concert series will soon be receiving their ticket renewal forms in the mail along with an announcement of this year’s acts for the season.

The effects of the recession are still being evidenced in Fayette County and Peachtree City. Fayette’s unemployment for December rose to over 8 percent while Peachtree City’s jobless rate rose to well over 7 percent.

The future of cellphone towers in Peachtree City will be discussed at a workshop meeting of the City Council Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.

The Peachtree City Council has selected a design option for widening the existing cart path bridge that spans Lake Peachtree along Ga. Highway 54.

Cutting carbon dioxide would add costs to electric bill, other products

A bill in Congress touted as a way to improve the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions will hit Georgia folks in their wallets, according to Michael Whiteside, the former CEO of Fayette-Coweta Electric Membership Corporation.

Residents and business owners are being encouraged to respond to a survey initiated by Peachtree City staff.

Among the questions on the residential survey, the most telling answers might be found on the section about the 2010-2011 budget, which is facing a potential $3 million shortfall.

A space heater is being blamed for causing a fire that destroyed a trailer in downtown Tyrone last week.

The trailer, located adjacent to Tyrone Tire, caught fire Jan. 21 but no one was hurt, fire officials said. The resident had left the space heater on for several dogs while the resident was away, officials said.

Contingent attending trade show to increase corporate traffic

Atlanta Regional Airport Falcon Field in Peachtree City will be participating in National Business Aircraft Association’s (NBAA) 21st Annual Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference that will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center January 27-29 in San Antonio, Texas.

It has been nearly a decade since Barnes & Noble opened its doors across from the Fayette Pavilion on Ga. Highway 85 in Fayetteville. Those doors will close at the end of May.