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FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 151, No. 27 Wednesday, July 5, 2023 $1.
BOE Talks Technology Refresh,
Cellphone Policy Changes
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
While school may be out
for summer break, the Fay
ette County Board of Educa
tion met on June 26 to
discuss early changes and
advancements for schools
within the county.
Topics ranged from stu
dent code of conduct and
handbooks to technology
advancements and ad
ditions, leading to discus
sions of cellphone policy
changes in high schools.
The technology en
hancements and advance
ments stem from the
E-SPLOST budget, which
will be used for the upcom
ing school year. According
to Jim Farmer, chief tech
nology officer at Fayette
County Public Schools, the
budget items are seen as
“infrastructure refreshes”
that include Chromebooks
and teacher laptops, as well
as school and administra
tion technology enhance
ments like network
technology and security.
Technology advance
ments include a communi
cation solution between
schools and parents to
streamline and simplify
communication between
faculty, staff, and parents.
This solution was rec
ommended by the com
munications tool evaluation
committee, which is com
posed of various members
of the Fayette County com
munity who are teachers,
coaches, administrators,
and parents with a goal of
simplifying communication
methods.
The committee des-
See BOE, A3
Adam Campbell, right, places the first book in the Little Free Library on the Fayette County Courthouse square with support from
Scout Master Dan Bird, Fayette County Manager Steven Rapson, Fayette County Library Director Michelle Bennett-Copeland, Seth
Manual, and Jake Harper. Brigitte Greer/Fayette News
Eagle Scout Brings Little Free Library
Back to Courthouse Square
Brigitte Greer
Staff Writer
bgreer@fayette-news.net
Years after the dis
appearance of the Little
Free Library on the Fayette
County Courthouse square,
an initiative led by Carmen
Tuggle and Adam Campbell
led to a collaborative effort
to bring the structure back
to the community.
After numerous in
quiries concerning the
whereabouts of the “little
free library” that once stood
on the courthouse square,
Tuggle knew she had to do
what she could to replace
the free book exchange box.
Upon learning years of
harsh weather conditions
were responsible for the
structure’s demise, she took
to social media, looking to
raise funds and find vol
unteers to make this goal
into a reality.
“The old unit installed
by the Girl Scouts many
years ago was rotted. It was
mysteriously removed by a
resident as being unsafe,”
Tuggle explained. “We were
looking for someone to do
nate time to build the unit.”
Luck was not on
See Library, A2
PTC Celebrates Reopening of Riley Track
After months of reconstruction and revitalization, the track at Riley Field
is completed. Peachtree City officials laced up their oivn trainers and held a
grand reopening of the resurfaced track to the public on June 28. Light refresh
ment ivere sewed as attendees ivere able to watch the final track meet that ivas
hosted by Peachtree City Running Club for its 2023 Summer Track Series.
Melaney Cooper
Rydrickus Daniels
2 Arrested in
Multi-State
Fraud Case
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
Transaction and identity
fraud have lately been
frequent offenses in Fayette
County, and on June 20, the
Fayette County Sheriff s Of
fice arrested two suspects in
connection to an alleged
“fictitious” financial fraud
case that involved theft of
more than $80,000.
According to the press
release from FCSO, investi
gators conducted a search
warrant on June 20 at 500
Oak Street in Fayetteville,
where suspects and Fay
etteville residents Rydrickus
Daniels, 33, and Melaney
Cooper, 34, were arrested.
“The investigation re
vealed the residents at 500
Oak Street to be operating
what law enforcement refers
to as a ‘paper plant’ and
otherwise known as the
manufacturing of fictitious
checks,” the report stated.
“Fayette County Sheriffs
Office Investigators uncov
ered over $80,000 in ficti
tious checks and numerous
stolen identities being uti
lized to defraud the U.S. fi
nancial system during the
See Fraud, A2
Tyrone Town
Manager Provides
Post Office Update
After a fire that caused
destruction to the post of
fice in Tyrone earlier this
year, Town Manager Bran
don Perkins recently issued
a statement providing an
update regarding the statis
of the facility.
According to an update
issued by Perkins on June
27, Tyrone Mayor Eric Dal
spoke with the owner of the
post office building on June
26 and received an update.
In reference to this con
versation, the United States
Postal Service signed a five-
year lease with the current
owner last November,
which became active in
May, according to Perkins.
As the landowner states
he has not heard otherwise,
the update stated that it was
assumed the USPS intends
to honor the lease and will
re-open once the current fa
cility is repaired and
deemed fit for use upon
completion of a facility ren
ovation assessment check
list.
While this is noted as
progress toward the reopen
ing, residents of Tyrone
have inquired about the
possibility of a new location.
“Some of our citizens
have asked why the USPS
has not considered other lo
cations in town and the new
lease is one explanation for
that. Regardless, any avail
able facility would require
extensive modification to fit
their needs and would take
time,” Perkins said.
Additionally, Perkins
noted that the landowner
discovered asbestos in the
See Tyrone, A2
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