Fayette County

Mr. Ralph Van Hicks, 57, of Fayetteville

Mr. Ralph Van Hicks, 57, of Fayetteville, died on March 13, 2010 following a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

Van was a loving husband, father, brother and son and was the “ultimate family man.” He was active for many years in youth sports leagues in the Morrow and Lake City area. He is still affectionately known to many as “Coach Van.” He and his wife Karen owned and operated Karavan Doors for 27 years. He was a member of Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church and enjoyed photography and film making in his spare time. Read More»

Venice LaVerne “Muzzie” Carroll, 72, of Fayetteville

Venice LaVerne “Muzzie” Carroll, 72, of Fayetteville, died March 11, 2010.

She retired in 2003 after working over 30 years in the library at Hood Avenue Elementary School. She was preceded in death by her son Hoke Carroll. Read More»

PTC fire, police escape cuts to balance current budget

More cash reserves to be used; less bang for July 4th fireworks

Saturday by the Peachtree City Council at the final day of its annual planning retreat.

The police cut would have left the department one person short in the patrol division, according to Police Chief Skip Clark. The fire cuts would have meant that at the end of the year shifts would be reduced from 19 personnel to 18 personnel when employees took sick leave or vacation time, said Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth. Read More»

Inmate hangs self in Fayette jail

An inmate at the Fayette County Jail apparently hanged himself with a bed sheet while in his cell March 10. Riverdale resident Rodney Scott Tutton had been in jail since Feb. 19 on a charge of probation violation.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Brent Rowan said the 35 year-old Tutton was found unresponsive inside his cell with a sheet tied around his neck. The sheet was tied to the top bunk, Rowan said. Though he shared the cell with another inmate, Rowan said Tutton was alone in the cell when the incident occurred. Read More»

S. Fayette resident subdues armed home invader, wife injured jumping from window

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office on March 10 arrested one man for a home invasion robbery at a residence on Price Road in south Fayette County. Read More»

Former Tyrone cop arrested for child molestation

Former Tyrone cop arrested for child molestation

Former Tyrone police officer Matthew New was arrested March 11 by investigators with the Fayetteville Police Department on 41 charges involving children, including child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. New resigned his position in Tyrone in late February while under investigation for unrelated policy violations.

The 38-year-old Fayetteville resident was arrested on the basis of an investigation by Fayetteville police that began Feb. 2, said Chief Steve Heaton. The former Tyrone officer was initially arrested on two charges of child molestation, Heaton said. Read More»

Baston-Cook employees raise $50,000 for children at Christian City

Peachtree City resident Randy Hall (seated) and Batson-Cook Construction employees gather around the leader board to celebrate the results of their two hour phone-a-thon to sponsors for their annual clay shoot which benefits The Children’s Village at Christian City and the American Cancer Society.

Batson-Cook Construction employees held a phone-a-thon to raise money for The Children’s Village at Christian City and the American Cancer Society. The two hour fundraiser netted over $50,000 in sponsorships for Batson-Cook’s upcoming annual “Clays For A Cause” charity clay shoot. Read More»

Time change for Saturday's handbell concert

The starting time for Saturday’s Handbell Festival Concert at Peachtree City United Methodist Church has been changed to 3:30 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than the originally published time of 4 p.m.

This special concert features 14 handbell choirs from United Methodist churches throughout the state of Georgia, all performing together under the direction of Arnold Sherman, composer, arranger and director. Read More»

Street repaving to be PTC's SPLOST priority

Peachtree City Council at the March 12 retreat. (Top, L-R) Vanessa Fleisch, Doug Sturbaum, Don Haddix, Kim Learnard and Eric Imker. Photo/John Munford.

Multiple projects canceled; streets and cart paths to get lion’s share of remaining $3.3M; cart bridge widening nixed

Peachtree City has $3.35 million remaining from the 2004 transportation special purpose local option sales tax, and nearly 72 percent of those funds will be used to maintain city streets and upgrade the cart path system. Read More»

Daniels graduates from basic military training

John-Adam Daniels

Air Force Airman John-Adam Daniels graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Read More»