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NEWS
FAYETTE
COUNTY
4*THE TRUTH SINCE 1886 4'
INSIDE Starr’s Mill Sweeps Whitewater
Heading into Regions, Bl
VOL 151, NO. 7
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2023
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INSIDE: Coweta-Fayette EMC Accepting Applications Jor WashingtonYouth Tour Through Feb. 17, A7 INSIDEl County’sTop Counselors, Advocates Named for 2023, A5
Fayette BOC Approves New DPH Facility
4-1 Vote Confirms Location, Former East Fayette Elementary School
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
Following a presenta
tion of two options and
public comment regarding
a new location of a Georgia
Department of Public
Health building in the
community, Fayette
County Commissioners
approved the purchase
and renovation of the
former East Fayette Ele
mentary building to house
the new facility during the
board’s Feb. g meeting.
Fayette County Admin
istrator Steve Rapson pre
sented two options to the
board and identified the
“pros and cons” of each.
When detailing the first
option, which is to ren
ovate East Fayette Ele
mentary into an entirely
new Department of Public
Health building, he spoke
about the barriers he and
staff encountered.
“We attempted to value
engineer the existing
building. That was [closer]
to $25-27 million when
you look at furniture, fix
tures, site proofs, and ev
erything else. We took a
pretty good swing at trying
to value engineer that,”
Rapson explained.
“We also looked at
sending the governor a
letter,” Rapson continued.
"We asked for $5 million
and got a response back
fairly quick from the gov
ernor’s office that they did
n’t have that money, so
that option went away
pretty quick.”
Rapson went on to dis
cuss the second option of
reallocating ARPA funds
to fire/EMS training facil
ity, Sheriff s Tactical
Training Course, and $1.5
million toward renovating
See Commission, A6
The ribbon has been cut to officially open the new home of the Center of Innovation. From left are Fayette County Schools Su
perintendent Dr. Jonathan Patterson, Fayette County Board of Education Chairman Roy Rabold, Dr. Georj Lewis of Clayton State
University, dual enrollment student Aralynn White, Southern Crescent Technical College President Dr. Irvin Clark, and parent of
a dual enrollment student, Brandi Meeks. Courtesy of Chris Dunn/Fayette County Schools
Center of Innovation Opens
at Former Booth MS Location
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
Fayette County Public
School’s Center of Innova
tion held its rescheduled
grand opening to the area
on Feb. 6. The event was
open to the public to cele
brate the future of educa
tion for students within the
community.
Fayette County Board
of Education members
were in attendance, as well
as other notable com
munity leaders.
The new home for
Center of Innovation is lo
cated in the former JC
Booth Middle School
building at 250 South
Peachtree Parkway in
Peachtree City. The new
educational structure will
act as an environment for
students to earn career and
technical education oppor
tunities that will prepare
them for college and de
sired professions.
The Center of Innova
tion will not only be open
for Fayette County stu
dents, but also students at
Clayton State University
and Southern Crescent
Technical College. This will
allow high school students
from the county to pursue
dual enrollment credits
and provide assistance to
collegiate students with
another location to learn.
Center of Innovation
officials plan to positively
impact the community by
providing a learning space
that will assist students ac
ademically, as well as pro
duce well equipped
workers for the business
world.
Representatives from Piedmont Healthcare and WellStreet were joined by Fayette County
Chamber of Commerce President Colin Martin and Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson on Jan.
12 for a ribbon cutting at the new Piedmont Urgent Care by WellStreet facility.
Fayette Chamber Holds Ribbon Cutting for
Piedmont Urgent Care by WellStreet Location
FAYETTEVILLE
Leaders from Piedmont
Urgent Care by WellStreet
and members of the Fay
ette County Chamber of
Commerce participated in
a ribbon-cutting ceremony
on Jan. 12 to celebrate the
opening of a new Fay
etteville location at 1175
North Glynn Street, Suite
140.
The Fayetteville loca
tion opened on Oct. 4,
2022. This is the second
Piedmont Urgent Care lo-
See 3 Piedmont, A6
3 Sentenced to life
for Gang-Related
Murder in Spalding
2 Without Possibility of Parole,
a Fourth Awaits Trial in Griffin
Xavier Carter, Robert
Freeman, and Damarion
Sinkfield were sentenced to
life in prison recently for
the July 2020 gang-related
murder of a Spalding
County man, according to a
statement from Griffin Ju
dicial Circuit District Attor
ney Marie Broder’s office.
As initiation into the
Rolling 20s Bloods gang,
Carter planned to commit
an armed robbery on July
24, 2020, Broder said. He
and another defendant,
Ryan Willis, drove to
Spalding Heights where
they met with Freeman and
Sinkfield to devise a plan.
The four drove to
Walden Pointe Apart
ments, where Carter, Free
man, and Sinkfield walked
to the third-floor residence
of the victim, Jeffery Ryan
Deluca. Carter was armed
with brass knuckles and a
handgun, and Willis re
portedly remained in the
vehicle.
When Deluca opened
the door, he was immedi
ately attacked, shot in the
back of the head, and killed
while his fiance and chil
dren were in the apart
ment. All four defendants
fled in the vehicle driven by
Willis, Broder said.
After a one-week trial, a
Spalding jury convicted
Carter and Freeman of fel
ony murder, conspiracy to
commit armed robbery,
three counts of aggravated
assault, and violation of the
Criminal Street Gang Act.
Carter also was convicted of
possession of a firearm dur
ing the commission of a fel
ony.
Carter and Freeman
were sentenced to life with
out the possibility of parole,
plus 20 years to run consec
utively. Carter received an
additional five years to run
consecutively for posses
sion the firearm. Sinkfield
Damarion Sinkfield
Ryan Willis
pled guilty to felony murder
and was sentenced to life
with the possibility of pa
role.
Willis, a former resident
of Upson County, is await
ing trial.
The victim’s fiance
made a statement to Judge
Scott Ballard during sen
tencing.
‘There is no sentence
See 3 Sentenced, A6
INSIDE:
OBITUARIES
A2 FAYETTE VIEWS
A4 LEGALS
B3
COMMUNITY
A6-A8 SPORTS
B1-B2 CLASSIFIEDS
B7
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