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INSIDE
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Fayette Parks S^Rec Flosts ’24
Public Safety Games, A7
Sandy Creek Boys Repeat
as State Track Champs, Bl
INSIDE:
Rising Starr Educator Attends White Flouse’s
First State Dinner for Teachers, B2
THE TRUTH SINCE 1886
FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 152, No. 21 Wednesday, May 22, 2024 $1.
Class of ’24 Top
Graduating Students Announced
Fayette County High Valedictorian Emily Balsam and Salutato-
rian Nadia Karim.
McIntosh High Valedictorian Useong Chang and Salutatorian
Nitish Sudhakar.
Georgia Historical Society Marker representative Breana James and
Fayette County Historian John Lynch unveil the marker to reveal
the dedication to Nellie Mae Rowe. Leah Banks/Fayette News
Rowe Honored with
Dedication in Fayetteville
Sandy Creek High Valedictorian Alex Stallworth and Salutato
rian Kaitlyn Rounsavall.
Fayette County Public
Schools will soon celebrate
graduation, and the Class of
2024 valedictorians and sa-
lutatorians for the five
county high schools will be
at the head of the class on
May 24.
Fayette County High’s
valedictorian is Emily Bal
sam. Balsam plans to attend
Georgia Tech and major in
biomedical engineering.
The salutatorian is Nadia
Karim. Karim plans to at
tend Georgia Tech and
major in chemistry.
McIntosh’s valedictorian
is Useong Chang. Chang
plans to attend Washington
University in St. Louis. The
salutatorian is Nitish Sud
hakar. Sudhakar plans to at
tend Georgia Tech and
major in biomedical engi
neering.
Sandy Creek’s valedic
torian is Alex Stallworth.
See Val/Sal, A6
Starr's Mill High Valedictorian Rush Maples and Salutatorian
Katie Rausch.
Whitewater High Valedictorian Jessica Gorski and Salutatorian
Braeden Hale. Courtesy of Fayette County Schools
May 21
Election
Results
Fayetteville City Council members with the Whitewater High Drug Free Fayette Youth Action Team.
Dylan Shoemaker/Fayette News
Drug Free Fayette YAT
Proposes 5K Run to Council
Citizens Share Concerns of Imminent Domain
Voting ended at 7
p.m. on Tuesday for
the May 21 general
primary election in
Fayette County.
Results from the
election were un
available by press
time.
See results online
at www.fayette-
news.net and in next
week’s edition of Fay
ette County News.
Dylan Shoemaker
Staff Writer
dshoemaker@fayette-news.net
Fayetteville City Council
met on May 16 and reviewed
a 5K run proposal from
Whitewater High School’s
Drug Free Fayette Youth Ac
tion Team, which is actively
seeking support.
DFF YAT is made up of
high school students aiming
to positively influence their
peers and promote a healthy
environment in Fayette
County Schools.
“This 5K is meant to be
an opportunity for the com
munity to come together
while also supporting good
causes and having fun,” said
WHS’s YAT President Au
rora Collins.
Before council re
sponded, members com
mended the group’s
preparation and willingness
to speak for what they want
through the proper chan
nels.
“Extremely impressed
with your children,” said
Mayor Ed Johnson, address
ing the parents in atten
dance. “We will do our best
to support it.”
The YAT asked council to
assist in three topics, includ
ing advertising, financial
See Council, A6
Fayetteville Receives $160,000
Livable Centers Initiative Grant
Announced on May 8,
the City of Fayetteville is
one of five metro-Atlanta
communities to recently re
ceive Livable Cities Initia
tive grants from the Atlanta
Regional Commission.
Fayetteville’s $160,000
award will go toward a new
LCI study, which will help
the city examine strategies
to potentially enhance vi
brancy and walkability
throughout the downtown
mixed-use district, accord
ing to city officials.
“This study is a compo
nent of the ‘Moving Fay
etteville Forward’ LCI Study
completed in 2022, which
helped us reimagine how to
transform downtown Fay
etteville into an intercon
nected, walkable, and
livable activity center,” said
Community Development
Director David Rast. “That
study area encompassed
[more or less] 900-acres
surrounding the Historic
Fayette County Courthouse,
which were ultimately re
zoned into an innovative
downtown mixed-use zon
ing district, with eight sub-
districts identifying
approved uses, building ty
pology, spatial require
ments, and architectural
form.”
Rast explained that the
study will explore place
making, public space activa
tion, interactive art
concepts, open space utili
zation and activation, and
pedestrian and bicycle con
nectivity enhancements.
The city desires to establish
an arts district along the Lee
Street corridor, hopefully
creating an incubator space
See Fayetteville, A6
Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
Artistry is maximized in
the City of Fayetteville
through archived works and
history and is cultivated by
those who continue to tell
these stories once the origi
nators pass that torch.
On May 15, members of
the Fayetteville community
joined various historical or
ganizations to celebrate the
life and works of late Fay
etteville native and re
nowned folk artist Nellie
Mae Rowe.
The event began at 11
a.m. in Heritage Park, where
Rowe was honored with a
dedication marker as key
note speakers Fayetteville
Mayor Ed Johnson, Fayette
County Commissioner
Charles Rousseau, county
historian John Lynch, and
Georgia Historical Society
Marker representative
Breana James shared
Rowe’s story with those in
attendance.
Rousseau provided a
welcome and informed at
tendees of the life that Rowe
lived while residing in Fay
etteville. Following Rous
seau, Johnson highlighted
Rowe’s time as member of
See Rowe, A6
Woolsey Council
Talks Town
Traffic Updates
Dylan Shoemaker
Staff Writer
dshoemaker@fayette-news.net
On May 13, Woolsey City
Council discussed proposed
improvements to the north
and south intersections of
Hampton Road and State
Route 92 as the top-tier
transportation goals under
the special purpose local op
tion sales tax project R-21.
Transportation updates
came from Caitlin Store, an
appointed Woolsey town
ship representative on the
Fayette County Transporta
tion Committee, who stated
the project is still in a design
stage.
Results from an inter
section control evaluation
recommended the installa
tion of both a signalized, re
duced-conflict, U-turn
intersection at Highway 92
and Hampton Road North
and a single lane round
about with a southbound
option through the bypass
lane at the Highway 92 and
Hampton Road South inter
section.
Town officials cited most
of the citizens’ concerns for
both intersections are safety
and traffic delays, with the
meeting mainly involving
the future construction of
the Highway 92 and Hamp
ton Road South round
about.
A property near the area
reportedly had four vehicles
veer off the road with two of
the cars previously crashing
into the owner’s house, leav
ing a hole in the side of the
home.
Short-term alternatives
were suggested by Mayor
Gary Laggis, like rumble
strips for the roadway ap
proaching stop signs or the
installation of HAWK cross
walk systems to provide ad
ditional pedestrian safety.
“It doesn’t substitute
still looking both ways and
using some sense, but it will
catch more people who
don’t realize or think about
that [pedestrian safety],”
said Store, commenting on
the HAWK system’s effec
tiveness.
The town is in collabo
ration with Fayette County
and Croy Engineering to ad
dress the logistical issues.
By utilizing ICE - a method
that acknowledges existing
conditions, crash history,
See Woolsey, A6
Memorial Day Event
at Patriot Park
Fayette County’s Memorial Day event will take
place at Patriot Park, located onRedivine Road in
Fayetteville, on Monday, May 27, at 10 a.m.
Join to honor those who sacrificed for freedom.
Guest speakers include Brigadier Gen. Mark
Gelhardt, retired, of Peachtree City, with special
musical performance by the group NOTEWOR
THY.
The event will include tivo military flyovers.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.
The countywide Memorial Day program is
held by American Legion Post 105 and Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 3650, both of Fayetteville.
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