About Fayette County news. (Fayetteville, GA) 2009-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2023)
INSIDE: Greater FayetteWomen’s Club Announces Support for Wreaths Across America, A2 INSIDE: Understanding the 1 in 26: November is Na tional Epilepsy Awareness Month, A5 INSIDE: Panthers Advance; Patriots, Chitfs Fall in Play- ojfs, Bl THE TRUTH SINCE 1886 FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS f ay ett e-news, net Vol. 151, No. 46 Wednesday, November 15, 2023 $1. Commission Authorizes Five-Year $35 Million Bond Issuance to Advance SPLOST Projects DPH Building Renovation GMP Less Than Originally Estimated Luke Haney Editor lhaney@upsonbeacon.com Fayette County Com missioners unanimously au thorized staff to proceed with a five-year $35 million bond issuance to advance eligible 2023 special pur pose local option sales tax projects, enabling projects to begin earlier than antici pated, during the Nov. 9 meeting. County Manager Steve Rapson told commissioners that all projects should be completed in a three-year cycle, and the bond debt can be repaid as SPLOST reve nue is received, estimating that the county will receive approximately $2 million in interest revenue at that time, enabling the county to “take advantage” of a “unique opportunity.” Eligible projects include the recreation multi-use fa cility ($14 million), backup 911 center and emergency operations center at South Fayette Treatment Plant ($1.5 million), justice center renovation ($14.5 million) and Longview and Kozisek Dams project ($5 million). Commissioners unani mously approved accept ance of MEJA Construction, Inc.’s guaranteed maximum See County Bond, A6 Brigitte Greer/Fayette News Georgia State Rep. Lt. Col. Josh Bonner addressed veterans and their families at Tyrone Town Hall on Nov. 10. Results Reported for Fayette County Municipal Elections Leah Banks Senior Reporter leah@fayette-news.net Nov. 7 was election day throughout Fay ette County and citizens in each city and town took to the polls to allow their voices to be heard on who they want as representatives on city and town councils. While each race was equally important, all eyes were on Peachtree City as numbers rolled in for PTC Council Posts 1 and 2. Laura Plauche Johnson secured the win for Post 1 with 2,477 votes, beating Eric Imker and Tamara Moore. Receiving nearly 42 percent of votes, Johnson will face Moore in a runoff election on Dec. 5. Candidate Suzanne Brown secured the win for Post 2 with 3,470 votes, beating op ponent Vic Painter. Fayetteville City Council Post 2 incumbent Joe Clark secured the win in a tight race against Cathy Vaught with 1,000 total votes. In the Town of Tyrone, candidate Jessica Whelan won the Tyrone Council Post 1 seat against Will James with 622 total votes. Of the four candidates running for Town of Brooks Council Post 5 representative, in cumbent Todd Speer won with 131 total votes against candidates Donald Britt, Aaron Edge, and David Harris. Other council seats in area municipalities were won by incumbents facing no opposi tion. Results were reported by Fayette County Elections Office officials as of Wednesday, Nov. 8, and are uncertified. As of press time, numbers reported are uncertified. Lawton Kugler shows his trophy at the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Championships in Orlando on Nov. 5. Submitted PTC Resident Places First at NATO Tournament Brigitte Greer Staff Writer bgreer@fayette-news.net For Peachtree City resident Lawton Kugler, tennis is more than just a hobby or a game, it’s a way of life, and he proved to be “quite good at it” as he placed first in his flight during the 2023 National Adaptive Tennis Cham pionships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando Nov. 4-5. Kugler is a member of Special Pops Atlanta, a nonprofit organi zation that teaches children and adults with intellectual disabil ities the game of tennis. Along with his partner Marcy Hirsh- berg, chair of the USTA National See Kugler, A6 Santa Delivers Christmas to Local Seniors in Need Santa, with the help of Fayette Senior Services (FSS) and generous com munity supporters, will once again share the spirit of the Christmas season and the pleasure of giving to others by bringing “Hope for the Holidays” to seniors in need. During this annual holi day initiative, community partners and individual cit izens provide gifts to ensure that local seniors experience a special Christmas season. Each year, around too local seniors are touched through this program. Iris Harris, FSS case manager, shares the goal behind this thoughtful proj ect. “The purpose of Hope for the Holidays is to spread holiday cheer to seniors who are financially challenged, shut-in, or lonely, and who may otherwise not have any gifts this holiday season.” Beginning Nov. 13, FSS will have Christmas trees standing at both their Fay etteville (4 Center Drive) and Peachtree City (203 McIntosh Trail) locations filled with ornaments. Each ornament includes a wish of a gift that participating sen iors hope for this holiday season. The deadline to re turn gifts will be Dec. 5, and all gifts should be returned directly to Fayette Senior Services. In addition to their wishes being filled, those in volved will also receive a bag of fresh fruits and snacks to enjoy. This year’s Hope for the Holidays program is sponsored by Kaiser Per- manente. For more than a decade, FSS has played a role in en suring seniors have a gift for the holidays. After the needs of individual seniors are as sessed and wishes are sub mitted, a team puts together a list for “Santa.” The Christmas trees go up, and are full of ornaments indi cating requested presents and needs. Members of the com munity can retrieve orna ments and go shopping to brighten the holiday season for many. Once presents are returned, FSS and a team of volunteers will have a gift wrapping party to wrap and organize everything re- See Seniors in Need, A6 Hometown Heroes Recognized on Veterans Day Leah Banks Senior Reporter leah@fayette-news.net Fayette County is the home to countless heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the safety and pro tection of American citizens, and between Nov. 10 and 11, Fayette residents and mu nicipalities celebrated the hard work and dedication of these service men and women who reside locally. In the Town of Tyrone, residents and town officials gathered for a salute to vet erans on Nov. 10 at Tyrone Town Hall. The National Anthem was performed by the Sandy Creek Advanced Treble Chorus, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Officer Eric Holley of the Tyrone Police Department. Georgia State Rep. Lt. Col. Josh Bonner addressed the room of veterans and their families as the keynote speaker. Officer Holley con cluded the ceremony with the recognition of veterans in attendance. Citing inclement weather, Main Street Fay etteville’s Veterans Day celebration was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. Across the nation, Vet erans Day, which originated as “Armistice Day” in 1919, commemorated the end of World War I. In 1926, Con gress passed a resolution to make it an annual obser vance, followed by making it a national holiday in 1938. Sixteen years later, Pres ident Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation that would change the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to “Veterans Day” to honor and celebrate those who served their nation See Veterans, A6 Fayette County State Court Receives Clearance Rate Excellence Award Fayette County State Court was recently recog nized with a Clearance Rate Excellence Award for the State of Georgia. Judge Jason B. Thompson has worked hard alongside court staff and interns to keep a stable rate of clearance in the courtroom, according to court officials. Due to their “tremendous effort and dedication,” they have been recognized with this accolade for the first time. “This award is shared with everyone in the court house that works tirelessly to manage the caseload and move the cases forward both fairly and efficiently. I am proud of our hard-working staff for going above and bey ond on a daily basis to make sure we are effectively serving the citizens of Fayette County. Special thanks go to Tara Barfield and Sylvia Wil son for consistently manag ing our calendar and assisting me in moving the Judge Jason B. Thompson cases,” Judge Thompson said. The Clearance Rate Ex cellence Award is given to the top 10 percent courts of each category, such as state, super ior, magistrate, and others, that can maintain their clear ance rate. The clearance rate is the number of disposed cases divided by the number of filed cases, and if this number is too percent or above, it demonstrates that said court can manage at least the same amount as it did the previous year. INSIDE: FAYETTE VIEWS CLASSIFIEDS A4 SPORTS B6 LEGALS 31 SCHOOL B3 B2 CONTACT US: support@fayette-news.net - (770) 461-6317 - fayette-news.net We Look Forward To Seeing You Soon! Open for Lunch and Dinner • Seven Days A Week 180 Hwy 314, Fayette, GA * 770.7037514 * fridasbarandgrill.com f\SST\ Frida’s
