Newspaper Page Text
45-Plus Teams Compete in 2023 Dragonhoat
Festival, A2
SCC to Kick Off Chorale Season with Gala, A3
Fayette Battles Past Riverdale 25-12, Bl
THE TRUTH SINCE 1886
FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 151, No. 39
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
$1.00
Brian Hill and his family cut the ribbon, alongside staff and local government officials, at the new Fayette County Elections and
Voter Registration Office, located at 175 Johnson Avenue in Fayetteville. Brigitte Greer/Fayette News
FC Elections Celebrates New Building
Fayetteville Council
Amends Development
Agreements
QTS Data Center, Hotel
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
During public hearings
at the Sept. 21 Fayetteville
City Council meeting, coun
cil members adopted ordi
nances to amend and clarify
conditions of two devel
opments: The Villages at
Lafayette Development re
lating to construction of an
all-suites hotel, and the QTS
Data Center.
In the first public hear
ing, council unanimously
approved amendments and
clarifications to the con
ditions of annexation and
zoning related to property
owned by National Acqui
sition Company, LLC for de
velopment of the QTS Data
Center, which adds lan
guage to ensure the existing
undisturbed vegetation
buffer adjoining Highway
54 remains in place during
construction activities, but
vegetation will be removed
from the buffer following
construction.
Amendments also in
clude that all areas between
Highway 54 and internal
See Fayetteville, A3
Council Selects Volunteers
to Fill PTC Planning
Commission Vacancies
Brigitte Greer
Staff Writer
bgreer@fayette-news.net
After several years of
discussion and planning,
and one year of remodeling,
the Fayette County Elec
tions and Voter Registration
Office held a ribbon cutting
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
As the summer months
end, the shift in climate with
cooler temperatures began
to enter Fayette County in
mid-September, and the fall
season officially began on
Sept. 23.
Known as the “autumnal
equinox,” Sept. 23 marks
the transition of seasons
from summer to fall, exhib
ited through changing tem
peratures and shades of
ceremony for its new office
location on Sept. 21, just in
time for election season.
Office staff, previously
housed at 140 Stonewall
Avenue in Fayetteville,
opened the doors to the new
location at 175 Johnson
Avenue on Sept. 11. Fayette
County Director of Elections
green fading to warm hues
of orange, yellow, red, and
brown.
According to the
Farmer’s Almanac, the au
tumnal equinox is the time
of year where the sun
crosses the equator, mean
ing that those who live in
the Northern Hemisphere
and Registration Brian Hill
cut the ceremonial ribbon.
The state-of-the-art
building, once a fire station,
offers spacious parking for
voters, as well as more room
for voting machines. The
layout also allows for a
steady flow of movement
within the building on elec-
will notice more darkness
than daylight. During this
time, citizens may notice
changes throughout the en
vironment, including birds
flying south, animals’ coats
thickening, and the chang
ing colors of leaves.
As leaves begin to cover
the browning grass and the
tion days.
“Our new facility offers
us the opportunity to better
serve our voters,” com
mented Hill. “We look for
ward to continuing to serve
our county’s election needs
and work at our new loca
tion.”
night air begins to crisp, Fri
day night lights in Fayette
County transforms the
nights into scenes of har
vest-colored clothing, flan
nel patterns, and scents of
pumpkin spice filling the
stands as watchers cheer for
See Autumn, A3
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
During the Sept. 21 city
council meeting, Peachtree
City Mayor Kim Learnard
announced a selection of
volunteers to serve on the
Peachtree City Planning
Commission following the
resignation of Michael Link.
Learnard announced
that Felicia Reeves, who was
fulfilling Paul Gresham’s
term, will serve an ad
ditional four years. Andrew
Kriz, who was serving as an
alternate on the planning
commission, will now as
sume Link’s vacated posi
tion.
“Felicia Reeves will
serve another four years on
the planning commission.
Andrew Kriz, as alternate,
will bump up to take the
now vacated seat as of the
end of this month,” Lear
nard said, “vacated by Mi
chael Link, who is stepping
down from the planning
commission so that he can
pursue volunteer opportu
nities in other ways in
Peachtree City.”
The new alternate for
the commission is Ray
Liotta.
Link resigned from the
commission during its Sept.
11 meeting, following seven
years of service.
“I have been serving for
seven years, two years as an
alternate, and I’m now a full
term and two quarters of a
term,” Link said. “I feel like
it’s time to move on and do
some other things for my
self and for the city.”
He acknowledged the
diligence and hard work of
the staff during his time on
the commission, adding,
“You guys have done a great
job and I want to thank you
for working with me. As you
know, I got thrust into this
position, and you’ve really
helped me a lot and I really
do appreciate that.”
He also thanked Plan
ning and Development Di
rector Robin Cailloux and
Senior Planner Lora Hooks
See PTC, A3
Dia Hunter
Candidate for
Tyrone Council Post 2
Eric Imker for
Peachtree City
Council Post 1
Laura Plauche
Johnson for PTC
Council Post 1
Tamara Moore
Candidate for PTC
Council Post 1
Fayetteville Municipal Court Earns
Clearance Rate Excellence Award
The Judicial Council of Georgia has
recognized City of Fayetteville Munic
ipal Court with its Clearance Rate Ex
cellence Award for calendar year 2022,
an honor reserved for the top 10 per
cent of courts in the state.
The Clearance Rate Excellence
Award recognizes these courts for
demonstrating exceptional perform
ance in maintaining clearance rates, a
key indicator of a court’s ability to ef
fectively manage its caseload.
Clearance rates are calculated by
dividing the number of disposed cases
by the number of filed cases and ex
pressing the result as a percentage.
Cases not disposed of in a timely
manner contribute to a backlog of
cases awaiting disposition.
See Excellence Award, A3
Happy Fall, Y’all
Sept. 23 Marks First Day of Autumn
Entrepre
neur, public
servant, profes
sor, spiritual
leader, hus
band, father,
and friend Dia
Hunter has an
nounced his
candidacy for
Tyrone Town Council Post 2.
After serving for five years as a
planning commissioner, Hunter
says he wanted to continue his jour
ney as a public servant in a different
capacity.
He is a graduate of Clark Atlanta
University with a bachelor’s degree
Dia Hunter
Eric Imker
has an
nounced his
candidacy for
Peachtree City
Council Post 1.
Following is
his submitted
statement:
I have a
proven record of voting for the cit
izens too percent of the time.
Our city’s priorities include:
•We do not need more densely
packed housing of any kind. I
helped get both councilmembers
Frank Destadio and Clint Holland
elected because I knew they would
A former
small business
owner with
school-aged
children at
home, Laura
Plauche
Johnson, run
ning for Peach
tree City
Council Post 1,
says she has a pulse on the com
munity and is best suited to advo
cate for families - young and old.
“Our city needs a fresh conser
vative voice on the council, and I am
ready to get to work,” Plauche
Johnson said. “I ask for your sup-
“I am proud
to announce
my candidacy
for Peachtree
City Council,”
said Post 1 can
didate Tamara
Moore.
As a long
time resident
and one of the first graduates of
McIntosh High School, Moore says
she will represent the people of
Peachtree City with the same energy
and tenacity she poured into her po
sitions at Delta Airlines and various
city committees and educational or
ganizations during the past 30
Erik Imker
Laura Plauche
Johnson
Tamara Moore
See Hunter, A6
See Imker, A6
See Johnson, A6
See Moore, A6
INSIDE: FAYETTE VIEWS
SPORTS
A4 SCHOOL
B1 LEGALS
B2 CLASSIFIEDS
B3
CONTACT US: support@fayette-news.net - (770) 461-6317 - fayette-news.net
B2
We Look Forward To
Seeing You Soon!
Open for Lunch and Dinner • Seven Days A Week
180 Hwy 314, Fayette, GA • 770.703.7514 • fridasbarandgrill.com
ran
Frida’s
f * M
