Charles

Golden's neighbors got his goat recently -

actually his goats - when they complained

about several small goats he was keeping as pets

and county marshals made him get rid of them.

But

now the Fayette County Commission has helped

Golden get his animals back.

Golden's

Hood Road home is on 4.5 acres, and five acres

are required for keeping animals defined as

"livestock," which goats are.

But

Golden said the animals are not livestock;

they're pets. "My wife and I really enjoy

them," he said, adding that he felt the law

should be changed.

Commissioners

voted unanimously to solve the problem another

way, changing the zoning of 78.4 acres next to

Golden's home from R-70, a subdivision category,

to A-R, agricultural-residential.

Golden

told commissioners he intends to buy several

acres of the land, owned by Johnie Williams, so

he can build a pen and keep the goats there.

The

land is mostly wetlands, and is in a watershed

protection area, so commissioners rezoned the

land conditioned on Golden's penning the animals

outside any flood plain.

Golden

said out of six goats he originally kept as pets

only two remain. After being warned by marshals,

Golden temporarily boarded his goats at the Oddo

family's farm on Redwine Road, and "a pack

of dogs killed four of the six recently," he

said.

But

he wants to buy some more, but he assured

commissioners he doesn't want to raise a herd,

just a handful. "They are all neutered, so

I'm not going to be breeding them," he said.

In

other action last week, commissioners formally

conveyed the land occupied by Fayetteville's

historic Hollingsworth House to the city.

City

leaders are planning to open the house as a

community center and art studio soon, after

having moved and restored it over the last year.

It was rescued from the path of the bulldozer

when First Baptist Church offered to donate it if

the city would move it to make room for the

church's expansion project.

The

county last year agreed to let the city use a

small parcel between the County Administrative

Complex and the Board of Education building on

Ga. Highway 54 to sit the house on until such

time as the county needs the land, but city

leaders last week asked the county to give up the

land permanently.

Commissioners

unanimously agreed to that, limiting the

conveyance to the footprint of the house plus

five feet. The parking lot behind the house will

remain county property.

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