Well, it looks like you’ve made it another year — almost. The hurdle of the holidays, overstuffed with physically unhealthy portions of food and fiscally unhealthy credit card bills, still must be jumped. In this economy the bar of self-control has been set really high as we watch our waistlines expand almost as fast as cash disappears out of...
A few weeks ago, I was visiting with family in northeastern Tennessee. Out to dinner with my brother and his wife, we were joined by their 7-year-old granddaughter, Annie.
Annie is smart (“I’ve never made anything less than an ‘A’ in school.”), pretty, affectionate, and a chatterbox.
At one point, I asked, “Annie, what do you want to be when you...
The perceived necessity of a Manhattan Declaration would have jarred the Pilgrims from prayerful contemplation of game birds and the like at harvest festival time, 1621. What — religious liberty so uncertain a thing as to warrant, five centuries later, a 4,700-word document justifying Christian defense of Christian principles?
Even so. On Nov. 20, a coalition of American religious leaders...
No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems — of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind.
Many of the things the government does that may seem stupid are not stupid...
I’m sure I would like Sarah Palin if I got the chance to meet her. We share many things in common. She is still married to her first spouse, as am I. She has a Down syndrome son. I have a brother with Down syndrome. We share the same faith and we both like the outdoors. She is conservative...
How many things in our lives would we like to depend upon the generosity and selflessness of our fellow man, and do you think we would like the outcome?
You say, “Williams, are you now putting down generosity and selflessness?”
No, I’m not. Let me ask the question in a more direct way. Say you want a nice three-bedroom house. Which...
Sometimes there is just a better way of confronting and defeating life-controlling and life-altering issues like drug and alcohol addiction. For John Barrow and the staff at A Better Way Ministries the solution comes when a life is surrendered to Christ.
Beginning operations in 2006, the ministry is based on the Teen Challenge model. With its offices in Peachtree City,...
The U.S. Census Bureau Nov. 18 released the 2008 poverty estimates for every school district and county in the nation. Data for Coweta County showed 11 percent of children ages 5-17 living in families in poverty.
The data is part of the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, representing the only current source of Census Bureau poverty data...
The Coweta County Commission has scheduled a public hearing on Dec. 15 to consider a Neighborhood Agribusiness provision to the county zoning ordinance. The measure surfaced in July at the request of Fayetteville resident Scott Tyson who wanted to establish a small farm operation for sustainable agriculture, organic farming and agritourism on his 10-acre Sharpsburg property.
The Coweta County Planning...
With fall in full swing and winter on the horizon, the cooling seasonal temperatures are sure to make Georgians’ heating bills go up. Now is the time to make sure your home is well prepared to keep you and your family warm without undue use of your heater.
“While customers are seeing some relief on their natural gas bills because...
Newnan Police Chief Douglas ‘Buster’ Meadows has formalized an agreement with the A Child Is Missing Alert Program that has led to a high tech method now in place to search locally for missing children, missing elderly (often with Alzheimer’s), college students, and missing persons who may be mentally or physically challenged or disabled.
Effective November 12, upon receipt of missing...
On the November 13, 14, and 15 the cadets of the Newnan Coweta Cadet Squadron held their Fall 2009 Basic Cadet Training weekend in Hogansville. A BCT is a weekend training exercise designed to teach cadets search and rescue skills and leadership for the future.
The cadets arrived to the Flat Creek Campground outside of Hogansville that Friday. After...
The Citizen recently reported on the classroom instruction aspect of “what makes Fayette County schools special.” But what about the central office aspect of the equation?
An additional Open Records request to the school system has resulted in a tally of the various central office job positions, salaries and staffing numbers.
Excluding bus drivers, figures show 170 persons working in central...
Peachtree City officials are hoping a grassroots email campaign will convince a specialty grocer to fill the empty space left behind by the “baby Kroger” at the Peachtree Crossing Shopping Center in the geographic middle of the city.
The Fresh Market was very close to reaching an agreement with the shopping center and Kroger, the current lease holder, to locate...
The U.S. Census Bureau Nov. 18 released the 2008 poverty estimates for every school district and county in the nation. Data for Fayette County showed more than 5 percent of children ages 5-17 living in families in poverty.
The data is part of the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, representing the only current source of Census Bureau...
The Fayetteville City Council at its Nov. 19 meeting approved the hire of a consultant group to pursue a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) supplemental grant that will focus on re-development in three targeted commercial areas.
Atlanta-based Urban Collage will assist city staff on re-development options for some of the city’s older commercial areas such as the 692 Shopping Center, the...
The recent Flu-Free Schools pilot program conducted in several Fayette County elementary schools was so successful that school system staff want to repeat and expand it next year if possible.
The program was conducted at seven elementary schools in October to provide the FluMist vaccine for seasonal flu to students and employees at those schools, said Public Information Officer Melinda...
The annual round of Christmas shopping cranks up on Friday. And Fayetteville Police are offering a number of crime prevention tips to help keep holiday shopping safer.
The precautions officers advise are all common sense, but their suggestions can be easily overlooked or forgotten during the rush to get the best bargains on those Christmas gifts. The precautions pertain to...
Ralph Norman Jones, a resident of Peachtree City since 1961 and who served as its second mayor, has died at the age of 80.
He was born and raised in Franklinville, N. C. and was a graduate of North Carolina State with a degree in Civil Engineering. He had served as a 1st lieutenant in the United States Army and...
The Kedron Village shopping center will be transformed into a Christmas village of sorts Sat. Dec. 12 from 2-5 p.m. for its first ever “Christmas Celebration.”
Residents are urged to deck out their golf carts holiday style for a parade and contest. First place wins Chick-fil-A for a year; second place wins Planet Smoothie for a year and third place...
The Peachtree City Council has decided to go ahead with a $26,000 investment that will pay itself off in four years.
The funds will purchase an apparatus to fill firefighter’s oxygen tanks, which in the long run will save the city a $6,300 a year that’s currently paid for the tanks to be delivered here.
The purchase was funded in the...
Peachtree City police will be at the Kedron Village shopping center Wednesday and Thursday collecting new unwrapped toys for underprivileged children in the area.
As part of the “Light Up the Night” toy drive, officers will be parked in front of Planet Smoothie and the Target store from 4-7 p.m. The blue lights will be flashing for a good cause...
The Peachtree City Police Department has again won re-accreditation on the national level.
On a day to day level, accreditation affects every action taken by the police department because the department has to follow standards set out by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. Those standards cover every aspect of police work from criminal investigations to how a...
Local children are being asked to help the Peachtree City Police Department trim its Christmas tree this year.
Children who want to participate are invited to bring an ornament by the department Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., place it on the tree and have their picture taken with an officer.
Handmade ornaments are of course very welcomed...
The Peachtree City Fire Department is offering online training courses for its 142 career and volunteer personnel.
The department last week won approval from the city council to shift $11,261 from other training programs in this year’s budget to fund the online training agreement with Target Safety. The programs, which are web-based, are available 24 hours a day, officials said.
The...
The Peachtree City Police Department will be hosting a basic Community Emergency Response Team class beginning Feb. 9, 2010. The classes will be held each Tuesday for ten weeks concluding on April 13th from 6 p.m. to approximately 9 p.m.
The CERT program offers valuable insight into the first few critical hours following an emergency related event and how...
The Georgia Association of School Psychologists has recognized two Fayette County Public School employees for their efforts in encouraging the state to keep psychologists in public schools.
School Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis and Fayette County Alternative School principal Tim Carter were presented certificates of Excellence in Advocacy during a school system administrative meeting. Association president Deborah Crockett, who is also...
The Pregnancy Resource Center of Fayette is a non-denominational Christian ministry that helps women and families facing an unplanned pregnancy. Earn While You Learn, the PRC assistance program, is available to parents who need help providing for an infant or toddler. Participants can earn maternity clothes or baby clothes, items, or equipment. The Center accepts new and gently used...
The Fayette County School System strives to ensure that all students receive the best education possible while arming them with the skills they will need to succeed in today’s competitive environment.
For the seventh year in a row since the award’s inception, the school system’s Exceptional Children’s program has been recognized for excellence in the education of students with disabilities...
The Fayette County Public School System’s After School Program (ASP) wants to help parents get ready for the holidays.
Crowded stores, long checkout lines and heavy traffic may leave some parents needing to add a few extra hours to their day to get everything done. That’s why the ASP is extending a special offer just in time for the holidays.
November...
The 10th Annual Southern Crescent Alzheimer’s Memory Walk was held in early October in Peachtree City with over 1,500 people participating. Organized teams of walkers came from six South Atlanta counties, including Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, South Fulton and Spalding. Each team raised funds or solicited donations from various sources. Sponsors, businesses and individuals also donated cash or made...
It was like a classroom in reverse Nov. 19 as Georgia Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) presented information on the reality of the current and upcoming state budgets to nearly three dozen Coweta County educators.
Seabaugh in the data-heavy presentation said he wanted teachers to understand the challenges ahead and asked that they consider potential cost-saving measures and forward...
Peachtree City Police are undertaking a toy drive this year aimed at providing toys for local needy children.
Police will be stationed at area shopping centers several times in the weeks before Christmas accepting new but unwrapped toys for their “Light Up the Night” campaign. The toys will be distributed to local families identified with the help of local schools...
Fayette County resident Robert Rosser couldn’t stay retired for very long.
After a number of years in sales and management positions in the pharmaceutical industry and time as a senior medical practice consultant in association with Allergan Medical and BSM Consulting, Rosser formed his own company, Primoro, Inc., realizing that he wanted to use his expertise and knowledge to help...
