The bid by Charter Schools USA to establish a K-8 charter school in Senoia was defeated June 25 by a unanimous vote of the Coweta County School Board. Charter Schools has the option of presenting the petition to the Georgia Charter Schools Commission for consideration later this summer.

For East Coweta High School student Kristina Matheny, summer vacation has been far from average.

Instead of lounging by the pool or watching television, the 17-year-old – who recently returned from the 2009 Washington Youth Tour (WYT), a leadership program sponsored by the electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) of Georgia, including Coweta-Fayette EMC – visited Congressional leaders in our nation’s capitol.

It was as professional a photography exhibition as anything you would see in Buckhead, as the photographic and interviewing skills of 12 Palmetto youngsters were displayed at the Palmetto Community Center June 27 and 28. Their efforts culminated in “Our Lives, Our Land, Our Legacy,” an exhibition of the Palmetto Cultural Arts Project funded in part by the Fulton County Arts Council and the City of Palmetto.

Bryan M. Cavan of Newnan was sworn in as president of the 40,000-member State Bar of Georgia on June 20 during the organization’s annual meeting at Amelia Island, Fla. Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears of the Supreme Court of Georgia administered the oath of office.

Residents of Coweta and Fayette counties lost another local bank with the June 26 closing of Neighborhood Community Bank (NCB) by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (DBF). The Newnan-based bank operated two branches in Coweta County, along with branches in Peachtree City and Tyrone. NCB deposit accounts were transferred to CharterBank of West Point.

The Coweta County Commission last week gave unanimous approval to support proposed improvements to Newnan-Coweta Airport. The improvements are expected to be funded largely by federal dollars.

The Georgia State Board of Education has approved a revised charter for the Central Educational Center (CEC), a National Model High School, which will govern the charter school in its second decade of operations. The 10-year charter came with a unanimous vote at its June 11 meeting.

It is not Hollywood, at least not yet. Senoia’s downtown once again became the setting for a production crew. Last week it was the cast and crew of Drop Dead Diva, being produced for Lifetime television by Sony Pictures Television.

A federal bankruptcy ruling earlier this week in Newnan has opened the door for the construction of a Sam’s Club store at the Fischer Crossing retail development on the northwest corner of Ga. Highway 34 and Fischer Road, less than one mile west of Peachtree City's western city limits.

Coweta County School System will be unable to accommodate parents wishing to have their children transfer to other schools under a recently passed state law due to a long-standing federal desegregation order. Coweta has complied with all 27 areas in a federal Consent Decree and is waiting on the review by the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

The housing boom may be over, but “This Old House” editors have tracked down 51 great neighborhoods that have promising futures and homes that truly deserve a long-term commitment. So if you are looking for the great older neighborhood selected in Georgia, look no further than Newnan.

The procedure for parents being held accountable for unexcused absences for their public, private and home-schooled children in Coweta County will change when the new school year begins in August. The 6th unexcused absence will result in a complaint being filed with Coweta County Magistrate Court that could result in misdemeanor charges.

The Crime Suppression Unit of Palmetto Police conducted simultaneous drug raids June 19 that resulted in two arrests and charges for the sale of methamphetamine and prescription drugs.

Palmetto, GA – June 22, 2009 – The youngest residents of the Christian City community now have the world at their fingertips, thanks to four computers recently donated by Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round-Up program.

It was over almost before it started. A quick motion to deny a business license for Starship Adult Novelties & Gifts at Thomas Crossroads received a unanimous vote from Coweta County commissioners June 16 as nearly 250 opponents of the business who had filled the commission chambers and the foyer outside looked on. Starship attorney Alan Begner after the meeting said he is preparing a legal challenge to the decision.

The new D&H Distribution Center for consumer electronics and associated products located in Coweta Industrial Park held its grand opening June 12. The state-of-the-art facility employs 100, with a goal of adding another 40 employees. The largest of the 91 year-old company’s facilities, it incorporates cutting-edge automation, environmentally conservative equipment, recycling facilities and more. At a current 476,000 square-feet, the location can be expanded up to more than 750,000 square-feet to accommodate growth.

East Coweta High School traveled from Sharpsburg to the Walt Disney World Resort on April 16-18, for the 5th annual Festival Disney Competitive Music Festival. East Coweta’s Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band members competed for top honors in this one-of-a-kind festival event.

Coweta County Fire Chief Johnny Teeters was the guest speaker earlier this month as the Peachtree City Fire Department celebrated the successful completion of National Professional Qualification firefighter testing for 12 of their Recruit Firefighters on Thursday night by hosting a Graduation Ceremony.

The Coweta County Commission will host Town Hall Meetings in each of the five districts with their respective commissioner. The meetings are designed to give citizens an opportunity to meet with their commissioner in a welcoming environment.

The grand opening of the Habitat for Humanity’s Habitat ReStore in Newnan was held June 13 at the its new location at 150 Pine Road, across from the Coweta County Fairgrounds. The ReStore provides a one-stop shopping venue for those wanting to purchase furniture or appliances and anyone with ideas of home remodeling.

Northgate High School wrestling will be holding its 16th annual Caveman wrestling camp June 22 - 25 from 9 to 4:30 at Northgate High School, Newnan.

Coweta County School Board Tuesday night unanimously adopted a $172 million general fund budget for the 2009-2010 school year.

The attempt to start up a charter school in Senoia is officially in the pipeline. The Coweta County School Board’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee will review the proposal and come back to the board with a recommendation, likely by the July meeting.

Senoia residents last week got the chance to make suggestions on what they would like to see in their city in the coming years. More than 100 of them filed into the Freeman Sasser Building to make those suggestions known at the meeting sponsored by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).  Topping the list was pedestrian accessibility, increased food choices, an outdoor entertainment venue and the availability of a home improvement business.

As county commission meetings go, the June 16 meeting of the Coweta County Commission will likely be memorable for many with a stake in the outcome of the attempt by Starship Adult Novelties & Gifts to open its doors at Thomas Crossroads.

Gov. Sonny Perdue announced last week that the required certification had been submitted for $39 million in transit projects around the state that will be paid through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus package. Coweta County’s portion is $20,800. The funding is being routed through Georgia Dept. of Transportation (DOT).

Members of the Fischer Road community got exactly what they wanted Tuesday night as Coweta County commissioners voted unanimously to drop plans to construct a fueling station on county property on the north side of the fire station that sits adjacent to Northgate High School. Residents had recently held community meetings with commissioners and the school system, expressing their opposition to the plans.

Coweta voters in November approved a $20 million bond referendum to construct a new headquarters and to purchase a communications system and new fire trucks. Commissioners June 2 approved the purchase of 7 new fire trucks for a total price of $4,333,040. The figure is below the $5 million set aside for the purchases.

Senoia City Council June 1 unanimously approved a state-required Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) designed to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste generated within the city. The plan includes a 10-year time frame.

Coweta County Commission approved two changes orders June 2 for the rehabilitation of the historic 1906 Coweta Court Courthouse. Between those changes and one that occurred previously, the project at this point is approximately $75,000 below the original contract amount of $6.284 million.