Haylie Williams peers from behind a stargazer lily in her photograph that won first place, youth division, among 70,000 entries in the 2009 National Wildlife Foundation contest. The J.C. Booth eighth-grader used a Fuji FinePix camera to shoot the photo of the family garden flower while in a car with her parents, Julie and David Williams, on their way to an event that featured home-grown blooms. Her winning entry is online at www.nwf.org. Photo/Haylie Williams.

One of county’s largest food service operations, Piedmont Fayette stuck in low 80s on health inspections, including a 78 in February 2009

A cash cushion of more than $6 million for the Fayette County School System?

You read that right: State funding cuts, furloughs and decreased salaries notwithstanding, the Fayette County School System is in better shape financially this year than many expected.

Fayette County Commissioner Robert Horgan is asking a superior court judge to overturn a panel’s ruling that he violated the county’s ethics rules when he was arrested May 23 by a Fayette sheriff’s deputy for possession of marijuana and driving with an expired truck tag.

The rain-filled skies over Piedmont Fayette Hospital Nov. 11 could not dampen the spirits of the 60 people in attendance for the groundbreaking of the new cancer center on the west side of the hospital that has been years in the making.

Last week ended another season of Rivers Alive clean-up events sponsored by the Environmental Institute of Georgia (EIOG) and local governments across Fayette County. The five clean-up events saw participation from school students, city employees, elected officials and residents wanting to remove debris from roadways and waterways.

The T-Mobile store on Promenade Parkway across from Fayette Pavilion was burglarized twice last weekend. Three potential suspects are in custody in Clayton County after merchandise from the store was found in their vehicle.

The DECA Club at Whitewater High continues to make news in Georgia. The latest honor for the club came in October with the election of Krystin Glover, marketing teacher and DECA advisor, as president-elect of the Georgia DECA Board, Inc.

The following arrests were reported by local law enforcement agencies for the past week. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty:

The widening of Ga. Highway 74 south from Cooper Circle to Ga. Highway 85 is expected to begin this Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday.

A Union County man recently paroled for burglary and forgery convictions has been charged with a much more serious crime here in Fayette County.

William Jacob Nutt, 23, is charged with aggravated child molestation and statutory rape stemming from an alleged incident Nov. 1 with a 15-year-old relative, sheriff’s officials said. The victim disclosed the incident to her parents that day, and deputies were also notified the same day, sheriff’s officials said.

A plan to explore the redevelopment of three commercial areas in Fayetteville will be one of the few items on the Nov. 19 agenda.

The Fayette-Coweta Clyde Thomason detachment of the Marine Corps League recently celebrated the Corps’ 234 birthday. The youngest Marine present, Bill Stevens, left, and the oldest Marine present, Bob Machen, right, joined detachment Commandant George Dienhart at a birthday cake cutting ceremony Saturday, Nov. 7. Photo/Jim Daughtry.

Despite heavy rains mostly all day yesterday and through the overnight and early morning hours, no significant flooding incidents have been reported in Fayette County.

Fewer than one out of five registered voters cast ballots in last week's off-year election, but their choice in the only countywide vote was unambiguous.

The following arrests were reported by local law enforcement agencies for the past week. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty:

For five years the Fayetteville Police Department has made a difference in the lives of children during the Christmas season. Again this year officers hope the community will help with donations for “Christmas with the Police.”

Fayetteville resident Trenton Andreas Siler was arrested Nov. 6 after threatening to shoot a man after he claimed the Weatherly Apartments resident had caused his brother to be arrested.

If they can do it, so can we. That was the idea behind a Nov. 5 decision by the Fayetteville City Council to appeal a decision by Georgia Department of Transportation that denied a city request to install angled parking spaces on the Stonewall Avenue side of the old courthouse.

Fayette Citizens for Open Government (FayCOG) made no secret about its preference on how the county 1-cent sales tax initiative should be decided. With the effort now defeated, the group says it will continue working on upcoming issues and will work with candidates for future elections while building a coalition among other community groups.

The Fayetteville City Council on Nov. 5 continued its look at a proposal by Thomas Stephens to install permanent lighting on the Tiger Trail property being used for league soccer play.

A group of Southern Living magazine staff and associates visited Senoia Nov. 5 to see the location of the publication’s 2010 Idea House located on the Gin Property residential development in the downtown area. Though long a Southern tradition, the Senoia selection marks the first brownstone chosen by the magazine.

Whitewater Middle School has been named a 2009 Georgia School of Excellence in student achievement by state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. Whitewater was one of 12 schools in the state that placed in the top 10 percent as measured by assessments in reading and math.

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc., and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods of the Carolinas Inc., based in Atlanta and with a significant presence in Fayette County, have agreed to pay a $350,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, federal officials announced today.

Anything relating to business development in Fayetteville has been practically non-existent in the past year due to the recession. But the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission is expected to hear two small proposals at its Nov. 10 work session.

The Fayette County Health Department has just received another 400-dose shipment of the H1N1 flu vaccine nasal spray.
The spray is also known as Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV).

A McDonough attorney who defrauded people in Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Newnan and other Georgia cities in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison today.

Peachtree City voters, your job is not done yet.

Candidates in three races failed to win 50 percent of the vote, there will be a runoff election Tuesday, Dec. 1.

An Oct. 29 agreement between the Federal Reserve System and Georgia Bancshares, the holding company of Bank of Georgia (BOG), stipulates that the company will not declare or pay dividends and will not incur debt or buy or redeem shares without Fed approval.