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THE TRUTH SINCE 1886
FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 152, No. 10
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
$1.00
Courtesy of Fayette County Schools
MHS's Nate Miller and Dr. Nicholas Wansley
FCHS's Veda Sinha and Jeff Belwood
SMHS's Rush Maples and Christie Leanza WWHS's Owen Quick and Chad Reynolds
SCHS's Morgan Bryant and Monica Dorner
STAR Students, Teachers Honored
Five exceptional Fayette County
scholars have been announced as 2023-
24 STAR Students.
As part of the Professional Associa
tion of Georgia Educators’ Student
Teacher Achievement Recognition pro
gram, one representative from each high
school with the highest SAT score, and
in the top 10 percent of their class based
on grade point average, is selected as the
school’s annual STAR Student.
Each STAR Student then chooses a
STAR Teacher that has influenced their
learning.
Fayette County High’s STAR Stu
dent is Veda Sinha, and the STAR
Teacher is Jeff Belwood.
McIntosh High’s STAR Student is
Nate Miller, and the STAR Teacher is
Dr. Nicholas Wansley.
Sandy Creek High’s STAR Student is
Morgan Bryant, and the STAR Teacher
is Monica Dorner.
Starr’s Mill High’s STAR Student is
Rush Maples, and the STAR Teacher is
Christie Leanza.
Whitewater High’s STAR Student is
Owen Quick, and the STAR Teacher is
Chad Reynolds.
One student will be selected as the
countywide STAR Student and has the
opportunity to compete for the title of
Georgia PAGE STAR Student.
BOE Discusses School Safety Protocol
From left are Steve Cole and Oatha Mann.
Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
Following weeks of
safety threats made at var
ious county schools, the
Fayette County Board of
Education discussed up
dates to the school safety
initiatives during the Feb.
26 meeting.
The update included a
three-pronged approach to
school safety, including
physical safety, safety plan
ning, and safety awareness.
Attendance, Safety, Dis
cipline, and Athletics Direc
tor Oatha Mann provided
the update, explaining each
aspect of the approach and
emphasizing the impor
tance of school safety imple
mentation efforts.
“Unfortunately, you will
have to think about worst-
case scenarios and how
you’re going to prepare for
all those worst-case scenar
ios should something come
about, and all that planning
involves our staff, our stu
dents, our community,” said
Assistant Superintendent
Steve Cole.
Aspects of maintaining
physical safety of those
within schools includes
locked exterior and interior
doors, locked entry control,
security systems and cam
eras, visitor management
systems, facility front office
designs, and school re
source officers.
“I know it sounds very
simple, but making sure our
exterior doors and interior
doors are locked is ex
tremely important when
talking about school safety,”
Mann said. “When you look
at situations where you’ve
had events that have hap
pened throughout our na
tion with mass shootings or
whatever, one of the first
questions that they ask is
‘were the doors secure?’
That’s something that we
really harp on in Fayette
County.”
Regarding safety plan
ning, the board examined
House Bill 147, also known
as the “Safe Schools Act,”
which went into effect in
2023. The bill requires
school safety plans to be
submitted to the Georgia
Emergency Management
and Homeland Security
Agency and requires in
truder alert drills in all pub
lic schools in the state.
“When we talk about our
drills, we aren’t talking
about drilling for the sake of
drilling, but we are talking
about having conversations
on what worked well, what
didn’t work well, and what
can we change moving for
ward,” Mann said.
Safety planning also in
cludes student and staff
preparation, collaboration
with local first responders,
and establishing and main-
See Safety, A3
Rep. Mandisha A. Thomas to Qualify
for Georgia's Congressional 6th District
SOUTH FULTON -
State Rep. Mandisha A.
Thomas (D-65) has an
nounced her candidacy for
Georgia’s Congressional
6th District. Rep. Thomas
qualified on March 4 at the
Georgia State Capitol.
The following infor
mation was provided by
her office:
“Georgia’s working
families are feeling im
mense pain from rising
drug, healthcare, energy
and housing costs,” said
Rep. Thomas. “As a long
time resident of the district
who has their finger on the
pulse of the issues of our
communities, I’m com
mitted to working at the
federal level to bring relief
to the families that need it
the most.”
As a state representa
tive, Rep. Thomas has
served on the Agriculture
and Consumer Affairs,
Energy, Utilities and Tele
communications, and In
dustry and Labor
committees. She has
championed legislation to
create jobs, bolster Geor
gia’s economy, make
healthcare more afford
able, and provide re
sources for working
parents, small business
owners, and low-income
families. During the cur
rent legislative session,
Thomas introduced legis
lation to limit the use of AI
in health insurers’ deci
sions and to protect home-
owners from squatters.
A consistent advocate
for sustainability and agri
culture, Rep. Thomas has
worked with farmers and
Rep. Mandisha A. Thomas
agriculture experts to de
velop policies to support
the growth of agriculture
throughout the state. Her
Georgia Environmental
Justice Education and
Awareness Symposium
brings leaders from across
the state to develop
strategies and policies for
innovation in sustainabil-
See Thomas, A2
PTC and Crabapple
Lane: Huelfer's Journey
to Bridge the Gap
Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
For more than one year,
the Huelfer family has com
municated with Peachtree
City and Tyrone officials
about the passage between
the two cities through the
Crabapple Lane golfcart
path.
While there was some
understanding, the road to
true clarity has been met
with roadblocks.
The initial conversation
began between PTC Council
members in November
2021 and has since been dis
cussed among both PTC,
Tyrone, and Fayette County
officials. Debate ideas range
from implementing an al
ternate route for members
of Tyrone to providing path
access for select Tyrone res
idents.
A family that has been
advocating for a simplified
solution is the Huelfer
family, who has been
searching for compromise
for their daughter Lily, who
uses the path to drive her
golf cart and maintain a safe
transportation route to and
from their home off Farr
Road.
Since 2022, the family
has been met with sympa
thetic words from both res
idents of PTC and Tyrone,
with many calling for coun
cil members to find a man
ageable solution so Lily can
commute to and from work
safely, given that she is on
the autism spectrum and
cannot drive a car.
See PTC, A6
Presidential Preference
Primary is March 12
Local Qualifying Ends March 8
Advanced (in-person)
voting for the March 12
Presidential Preference
Primary election remains
open Monday-Friday from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Fri
day, March 8. The last Sat
urday voting date was held
March 2.
On Tuesday, March 12,
voting will take place at
registered voters’ assigned
voting precincts, listed
below:
•Fayette County Elec
tions Office: 175 Johnson
Avenue, Suite B, Fay
etteville, Ga. 30214.
•Fayette County Public
Library: 1821 Heritage
ParkWay, Fayetteville, Ga.
30214.
•Peachtree City Li
brary: 201 Willow Bend
Road, Peachtree City, Ga.
30269.
•Tyrone Recreation Of
fice: 945 Senoia Road, Ty
rone, Ga. 30290.
Qualifying for 2024
county elections opened at
9 a.m. on Monday, March
4 and will close at noon on
Friday, March 8. Below are
offices up for election and
related qualifying fees:
Board of Education
(Districts 1, 3, and 5):
$306; Clerk of Superior
Court: $2,591.45; County
Commission (Districts 1,2,
and 5): $672.16; Coroner:
$108; Magistrate Judge:
$2,643.28; Probate Court
Judge: $2,591.45; Sheriff:
$2,891.45; Solicitor Gen
eral - State Court:
$3,055.28; Tax Commis
sioner: $2,591.45.
The general primary
election will be held on
Tuesday, May 21, with a
general election slated
Tuesday, Nov. 5.
For more information,
contact officials by visiting
the Fayette County Elec
tions Office, emailing elec-
tionsgroup@fayettecounty
ga.gov, or calling 770-305-
5408.
The next scheduled
meeting of the Fayette
County Board of Elections
is March 15 at 5 p.m. at
140 Stonewall Avenue
West, Suite 100, in Fay
etteville.
Spring Forward
This Sunday
It is once again time to “spring forward” as
daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. on Sun
day, March 10, when folks throughout the coun
try will “lose” one hour of sleep while sunrise
comes 60 minutes earlier in the morning.
DST was first introduced in Germany in 1916
but was not adopted in the United Stated until
the Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918. Al
though unpopular at the time, online sources
say it ivas abolished nationally after WWI and
was not nationally re-established until WWII,
when President Franklin Roosevelt instituted
year-round DST, called “War Time.”
DST procedures changed multiple times
throughout the 20th Century. It was not until
2007, through the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
when it became recognized as it is known today
(March-Nov ember).
Time will “fall back” at 2 a.m. on Nov. 3.
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