About Fayette County news. (Fayetteville, GA) 2009-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2009)
>>>U> hl. ***+++**+++++++ALLFORAD^ II . GEORGIA 1 www.fayettedailynews.com Volume 133 • No 38 50 Cents M/Kl XDOn Cheek lls Out ONLINE^ Under The Gold Dome Lawmakers race for the finish line Friday With just three legislative days remaining, Georgia lawmakers will be scram bling this week to complete their work. They were scheduled to be in session Monday, Wednesday and finish Friday, but it's not unusual for the schedule to change to allow more time for last- minute negotiations. Three main issues remain unre solved and dozens of minor ones. Topping the list is the $18 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The House passed its ver sion, and the Senate is set to vote Wednesday. That leaves little time for hag gling over the differences before the Friday's midnight conclusion for this year, which leads some observers to speculate the leadership will postpone the final day. Also to be settled in House-Senate conference committees are two trans portation bills. One deals with each chamber's plan for giving voters the option to levy a new 1-percent sales tax for roads, buses and rail lines, and the other revamps the administration of the state's transportation programs. The Senate narrowly passed a version of the transportation-governance bill proposed jointly by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson. But last Friday the House Transportation Committee approved a significantly dif ferent version designed to overcome objections in the House that could have made passage unlikely. Richardson made a rare visit to the House Transportation Committee Thursday to urge approval of a revised plan the next day. "We will, of course, give it a little nudge through the process and try to get it up for a vote,” Richardson said. While the leadership and press focus on the trans portation and budget bills, individual legislators and squads of lobbyists and interest groups will be crossing their fingers in hopes dozens of less-noted bills squeak across the fin ish line before the final gavel falls. To consider as (Continued on Page 3A) SPORTS McIntosh, Starr’s Mill square off See Page 5A VIEWS: Randy Evans:* Alzheimer’s needs a bailout See Page 4A ■ ■■MM MimmM Push is on to save the children Remember Pearl Harbor, Rosie The Riveter, Glenn Miller Band? WWII Heritage Days joins PTC 50th birthday festivities Remember Pearl Harbor Rosie the Riveter or Glenn Miller? If your too young to know what these meant, you’ve got a chance to catch a lit tle history — and at the same time cele brate the 50th annivesary of Peachtree City. Experience the sights and sounds of the Greatest Generation when the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing hosts the sixth annual "WW1I Heritage Days" April 18-19. The public history event will be held at The Historical Airpower Facility, Falcon Field, Peachtree City from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. both days. The weekend will again feature vintage aircraft, period vehicles, education dis- PEACHTREE CITY 1959 - 2009 plays, guest speakers and demonstrations, including mock battles between reenac tors portraying American and Axis troops. WWII Heritage Days is a community celebration that will entertain and educate the entire family." said Jim Buckley, CAF Dixie Wing leader. The community focus has resulted in the program being designated a Peachtree City 50th Anniversary evfent. Why turn a flying'museum into a liv ing history classroom? "Our goal is to honor the Greatest Generation, the men and women who won the Second World War." explained Buckley, who also flies several of the group's aircraft. Over 70 World War II veterans attend ed the history festival's 2008 opening cer emony. A weekend highlight is "Keep 'em Flying", a WWII-theme hangar dance featuring the Peachtree Jazz Edition and Vintage Vocals, a trio that reprises the unique sound of the Andrews Sisters. Proceeds from the dance benefit his toric aircraft preservation and "Education Through Living History,” the group's WWII history program made available to schools and youth groups free of charge. (Continued on Page 2A) County property tax appeal deadline Arpil 1 You only have to Wednesday to file an appeal for your property taxes. The process of assessing property for the purpose of enabling counties, cities, and school systems in Georgia to levy and collect property tax revenues is established by state statute and is enforced by the State Department of Revenue. Local tax offices, including both those that perform the assessment process and those that collect taxes, are required by the Department of Revenue to operate in accordance with these state laws. As of Jan. 1 of every year, it is the responsibility of the Fayette County Board of Assessors to fairly and uni formly establish a value of "real" and "personal" property throughout the entire county, at what is known as "fair market value" — the value one would be able to sell the property for. This appraisal process ensures that all property owners pay only their proportionate share of tax. In May of each year, the Office of the Assessors mails a "Notice of Value" to all taxpay ers whose value has increased from the previous year. This document is commonly known as an "Assessment Notice.” If the notice a taxpay er receives declares a value for (Continued on page 2A) Fayette students advance to state Grography Bee The port of Rotterdam is built on the delta of which major European river? If you are struggling with the answer, then you might call on one of Fayette's State Geography Bee qualifiers for help. Logan Austin, 8th grade, Bennett's Mill Middle; Au Jawad, 8th grade, Flat Rock Middle and Sam Burgess, grade, Rising Starr Middle, will represent the county at the 2008-09 Georgia Geography Bee on Friday at Georgia College and State University. They are among 100 of the state's brightest stu dents in grades 4-8 selected to participate in the com petition. Their selection was based on their perfor mance on a written test to determine their eligibility to compete at the state level. In order to take the writ ten test, students must first win their individual school's competition. By the way, the answer to the question is the Rhine Riven. New Fayette coalition formed to fight substance abuse, violence By Cindy Morley cindy@fayettedallynews.com Save the children... That’s the main focus of a new coalition being formed in Fayette County. “SAVE” - Substance Abuse Violence Education— is aimed at being proactive in the fight against juvenile substance abuse and acts of violence committed by juveniles in the county. Their approach - educate and support the parents. “It’s becoming apparent that the key to addressing substance abuse and violence in the com munity is good parenting,” said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard, who fadilitated the first meeting of SAVE Monday morning. “We’re getting the sense that parents either don’t understand the impact they play in their children’s lives or that they sim ply don’t have the time. “We understand that a vast majority of parents are involved in their children’s lives,” said Ballard. “The root of the problem is those parents who aren’t involved.” Ballard was joined by judges, law enforcement officers, school officials, Juvenile Department officials, and repre sentatives from such organiza tions as FACTOR and Turning Point in Monday’s organization al meeting. “Our first step is to gather data - numbers of arrests, types of offenses, family backgrounds - and see where this data leads us,” said Ballard. “We think we know, but data can be misleading, that’s why we want everyone working on the same track. “Once we have the data, and know what we are looking at, our goal is to find ways bring parents to the table. “We believe that many par ents want to be involved, they just don’t know how.” Ballard said the formation of SAVE was not in reaction to any specific incident or spike in numbers. “We just want to be proac tive,” he said. “We want to find ways to help these children as soon as possible, and avoid more trou ble down the road “Fayette County is not unique,” said Ballard. “We may not be seeing some of the problems taking place in other counties, but if we don’t address this now by becoming proactive, we might.” That threat, officials say, are what brought this group togeth er. In its first meeting, the group members identified problems that do exist in Fayette County. And they acknowledged, that . (Continued on Page 2A) g; Student Athlete of the Week I I Our Lady of 1 Mercy HS All EM Acejas Golf | Mike Fitzpatrick’s Newnan - 770-502-3673 Your Local Weather 04879 12633 T ue 3/31 66/52 Cloudy skies. High 66F. Winds ESE at lO to 15 mph. Wed 4/1 70/50 Rain in the morning. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s. Thu 4/2 71/51 Partly cloudy, chance of a thunderstorm.
