City News - July 2019

CITY NEWS July 2019

A community moved by compassion See Page 14

Image courtesy of WSB-TV

Winners in this year’s Taste of Fayette competition included Tour de Italy (top-left) for Most Amazing Booth, The Fusion Chefs Eatery (top-right) for Finest Taste, and Orleans Brews & Beignets (bottom-right) for Finest Treat.

Many other organizations engaged guests at Taste of Fayette, including Southern Conservation Trust, who manages The Ridge Nature Area for the City of Fayetteville.

2019 Taste of Fayette nets three new champs The 2019 Taste of Fayette foodie festival was a great success, with thousands of participants enjoying the event and three restaurants walking away with “best of ” bragging rights.

More than a dozen Fayette restaurants competed in this year’s festival, and judges worked hard to determine the winners. When the tasting was over, The Fusion Chefs of Fayetteville took home “Finest Taste”, Orleans Brews & Beignets earned “Finest Treat”, and Tour de Italy was awarded “Most Amazing Booth”.

This is the second consecutive year that Taste of Fayette was held on the

lawn of the Historic Fayette County Courthouse. It had been held across the street at Stonewall Village/Jack Day Park in 2017 and prior years.

Many festival goers commented that they love the new venue, which offered much-appreciated shade courtesy of the many centuries-old oaks.

“We had a fantastic Taste of Fayette this year, and we are grateful to everyone who made it possible,” said Brian Wismer, Downtown Development Director for the City of Fayetteville. “Our Main Street Fayetteville team did a great job of organizing the event, our volunteers 2 - July 2019

once again stepped up and worked hard for us, and our vendors were amazing as well. It was an all-around good time.”

Wismer noted that, while counting the crowd over a four-hour event is nearly impossible, there were probably a couple of thousand attendees.

“We really want to thank everyone who came out to participate in this year’s Taste of Fayette,” Wismer said.

“This is the biggest fund raiser each year for our Main Street Fayetteville program, which helps us provide community events throughout the year.”

LATEST news

upcoming events

fayeteville-ga.gov/NEWS

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New cans coming soon Waste Industries, who has provided City of Fayetteville trash collection for years, has been purchased

by Green for Life, and over time the new company will relabel and replace the old trash cans to reflect the new corporate branding.

Friday, July 19 Friday Night LIVE >>> Old Fayette County Courthouse lawn, 6-10 p.m., third event in the series, this one is themed “Adventure Awaits”.

Friday, July 26 Free Moovie Night - “Ferdinand” (Rated PG) >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 p.m. Fayetteville-GA.gov Saturday, July 27 The Lowrider Band in concert >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 p.m.

SouthernGroundAmp.com.

Friday, August 16 Friday Night LIVE >>> “Flashback Friday”, 6-10 p.m. on the Historic Fayette County Courthouse lawn.

Fayetteville-GA.gov Saturday, August 17 Purple Madness in concert (Prince tribute) in concert >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 p.m.

SouthernGroundAmp.com Saturday, August 24 Mother’s Finest & Wet Willie in Concert >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 SouthernGroundAmp.com Saturday, September 7 The Pettybreakers in concert (Tom Petty tribute) >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 p.m. SouthernGroundAmp.com Friday, September 13 Lunch on the Lawn >>> Historic Fayette County Courthouse, 11:30-1:30, bring your own picnic or buy a box lunch at the event, musical entertainment and more.

Fayetteville-GA.gov Saturday, September 21 Departure in concert (Journey tribute) >>> Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, gates open at 7 p.m., SouthernGroundAmp.com.

Friday & Saturday, October 18-19 Annual Cemetery Walk >>> Fayetteville City Cemetery on Stonewall Avenue (Hwy. 54 eastbound), 6:30-9:30 p.m., sponsored by the Holiday Dorsey Fife Museum. HDFHouse.com

Local musician Jason Bowen entertained the crowd for the June Lunch on the Lawn event. The next one is coming up Friday, September. 13.

Friday & Saturday, October 26-26 The Great Pumpkin Festival >>> Downtown Fayetteville, more details to come!

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Interns return for duty at City Hall Four college interns have taken up posts at Fayetteville City Hall this summer, three of whom are familiar faces, and all being great helps to City personnel.

Zipporah Dorsey, Malcolm Montgomery, and Chase Johnson all worked at City Hall last year, and they were joined by University of Georgia senior Riley Bayly this year. This crew is helping the Finance and Information Technology departments catch up on filing, document digitization and other special projects.

Dorsey, who is a rising junior at Savannah College of Art & Design’s Atlanta campus, grew up in Fayetteville, rose through the Fayette County Public Schools system, and graduated from Fayette County High School in 2017. While government work may not be her personal career path in the future, she says she wants to always be a contributing member of her community wherever she lives, and she says the experience this year and last has been helpful in learning more about local government and how it interacts with the people it serves.

Even the seemingly mundane task of digitizing old Planning & Zoning documents has been educational, she says, because they provide clues to the City’s recent

“It’s awesome to know I’m helping the mayor with his promise to digitize the City of Fayetteville.”

- Intern Zipporah Dorsey

past which helps make sense of how things are ordered now. She says she even found old drawings of a daycare center where she used to go as a child.

“That brought back a lot of memories,” Dorsey said. “It’s awesome to know I’m helping the mayor with his promise to digitize the City of Fayetteville.”

Montgomery, who graduated from Fayette County High School this spring, is now headed to the University of Georgia to study law or journalism, he says. Between now and then, he says he is glad to be back at Fayetteville City Hall working.

“It was pretty good. I got to meet a lot of good people,” Montgomery said of his 2018 intern experience.

Montgomery digitized a great many City documents last summer, and he’s back on the case this summer as well.

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“It’s a good move,” Montgomery said. “I see why we still need to keep the physical records, but they are easier to access when they are digital.”

Bayly, who is a new face for 2019, has been working with the Finance team, where he has been doing a lot of general filing but also some work alongside Occupational Tax Clerk Phyllis Brown handling business license records. He says he has enjoyed getting an inside view of local government, because he has future aspirations in government as well.

He is a political science major at the University of Georgia looking to study law.

“I want to get into politics,” Bayly said. “That’s really my goal rather than being a lawyer.”

Johnson, who is a finance major at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., did a lot of filing and document digitizing last year when he worked at City Hall, and this year he has worked more closely with the Finance team on day-to-day budget and reporting projects.

“I wanted to work on something more technically difficult,” Johnson said, noting he was grateful to be invited back for another summer of interning.

One of his new projects is data

The Fayetteville City Hall interns this summer are (l-r) Zipporah Dorsey, Malcolm Montgomery, Chase Johnson, and Riley Bayly.

visualization for employee benefits.

This will be an individualized, graphically illustrated presentation for each City employee showing their combined salary and benefits compensation package.

Johnson this year is working closely with Director of Finance Mike Bush.

“The City of Fayetteville has been very fortunate and blessed to have such hardworking young adults to intern under the Finance and Information Technology departments over the past few summers,” Bush said. “It is inspiring and encouraging to see such inquisitive individuals work so hard and put forth incredible amounts of effort to educate themselves on the inner-workings and day-to-day operations of our

“They develop their technical and professional skill sets each and every day.”

- Director of Finance Mike Bush

local government. They develop their technical and professional skillsets each and every day.”

Bush says the interns’ hard work and dedication not only speaks volumes about their character, but also gives him hope for the future.

“I foresee that they will go on to succeed and accomplish big things in college and beyond,” Bush said.

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When Johnson expressed that he wanted greater challenges this summer, Bush met that request with an opportunity.

“I have had the pleasure of personally instructing and educating the Finance Department intern, Chase Johnson, in various areas of finance, including auditing, depreciation, data visualization, and budgeting,” Bush said. “Chase’s advanced familiarity with the Microsoft Excel software coupled with his ability to enter sizable quantities of data and information into our databases has proven an invaluable asset to the Finance team and the City of Fayetteville as a whole. We are very thankful for his tenure as an intern and hope that his experience here has been meaningful and useful.”

The City of Fayetteville Water Department works hard around the clock ensuring the City’s fresh water supply system is in good working order for the benefit of our residents. Here they are pictured repairing a water main along South Glynn Street (Hwy. 85 South) only a block away from Fayetteville City Hall.

Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s main entrance shares a Hwy. 54 intersection with the relatively new Togwatee Village retail plaza, and this summer the Georgia Department of Transportation upgraded the crosswalk system to better accommodate pedestrian traffic between the two locations. At press time, some signal work was still in progress, but the final product is expected to be completed soon.

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Fayetteville-GA.gov 66 -- May 2019 July 2019

The Police Department welcomed three new officers, who graduated from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center’s Police Academy on June 28. Pictured are (l-r) Deputy Chief Robert Mask, new officers Carlos Adorno, Sara Brandao, and Vanessa Giorgi, Captain Patty Kent, and Captain Jeff Harris.

Connie LIpham (left) and Gretchen Herrman demonstrated the old-fashioned craft of thread spinning during a recent Punch on the Porch event at the Holliday Dorsey Fife Museum.

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Construction in the Community Development updates from around Fayetteville (See location map on Page 10)

1. Del Taco - Expected to open this summer

2. Georgia Military College - Construction continues, adding 10,000 square feet for a total of 26,000

3. New Holiday Inn Express - Will be a four-story hotel with 83 rooms 820- July 2019 - April 2019

5. Pinewood Forest Central Park - This combination of amenaties lies between the two residential phases.

4. Piedmont Fayette Wellness Center and adjacent office building at Pinewood Forest - Construction continues, opening this year

7. Pinewood Forest - Tiny homes averaging 856 square feet are coming along on the rear of the mixed-use development.

6. Pinewood Forest - Capstone buildings will include residential and commercial uses in three phases.

8. Pinewood Forest Solea - This residential-use pool facility was recently completed and is now open to community members on the edge of Phase 1 residential.

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Construction in the Community Continued

Construction locations within the City

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9. Satterfield Property - The development located across Hwy. 85 North from Aldi will include several brands, including RaceTrac, Discount Tire, Chipotle, Aspen Dental, Panda Express, and Freddy’s Frozen Custard.

10. Land along Old Senoia Road on the south side of the city is being cleared for Knight Development’s new office park.

11. Air Evac is building a helicopter pad and a support facility on Promenade Parkway on the north side of Fayetteville.

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Welcome New Fayetteville Businesses FIRST CHOICE HAIR BRAIDING ATL 144 GEORGIA AVE E FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ISHABINTU B BANGURA PHONE: 470-488-6042 TYPE: HAIR BRAIDING & ACCESSORIES START DATE: 06/28/2019 DAISY FRESH CLEANERS (NEW OWNER) 585 GLYNN ST N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: JAY PARMAR PHONE: 770-461-3873 TYPE: DRYCLEANERS START DATE: 06/27/2019 HOPEBRIDGE AUTISM THERAPY CENTER 126 PAVILION PARKWAY FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: BEN J. SEIB PHONE:317-449-0750 TYPE: AUTISM THERAPY FOR CHILDREN START DATE: 06/21/2019 NORTH CENTRAL INDUSTRIES INC 1307 HIGHWAY 85 N STE D FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: JEFF BRANDENBURG PHONE: 404-549-3391 TYPE: RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER FIREWORKS START DATE: 06/21/2019 PRAISE AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING 347 GLYNN ST N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ENOTIE LINDA EBOIGBE PHONE: 678-934-2734 TYPE: HAIR BRAIDING & BEAUTY SUPPLY START DATE: 06/21/2019 CLOVERLEAF CORPORATION 120-A ROBINSON CT FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MATTHEW SCHINDLER PHONE: 813-649-1336 TYPE: SALES DISTRIBUTION & HIGHWAYS SAFETY PRODUCTS START DATE: 06/19/2019 SHAW AUTO BROKER 355 LANIER AVE E STE N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: LACY SHAW PHONE: 470-599-3981 TYPE: AUTO BROKER (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 06/18/2019 DEVOTION AUTO LLC 110 HABERSHAM DR STE 138

FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: EMMANUEL OKOYE PHONE: 770-371-5010 TYPE: AUTO BROKER (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 06/14/2019 MARVIN @ REJUV SPA 315 HIGHWAY 314 STE B FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MARVIN G. WOODS JR. PHONE: 404-374-8944 TYPE: MASSAGE THERAPY START DATE: 06/14/2019 PYE MASSAGE @ REJUV SPA 315 HIGHWAY 314 STE B FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: QUINISE PYE PHONE: 404-667-7658 TYPE: MASSAGE THERAPY START DATE: 06/14/2019 SIENA SKY SALON 275 LANIER AVE E FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: NEESHA THORNTON PHONE:770-743-2657 TYPE: HAIR SALON START DATE: 06/14/2019 CYNTHIA MILLER @ ENVY SALON 805 GLYNN ST S STE 139 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30215 CONTACT: CYNTHIA MILLER PHONE: 770-716-7277 TYPE: SALON – HAIR START DATE: 06/12/2019 KILIKI WALKIN-N-FAITH SALON STUDIO F/BEAUTY SUPPLY 105 COMMERCE DR STE F FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: CHRISTY WILLIAMS PHONE: 770-703-7501 TYPE: HAIR SALON & BEAUTY SUPPLY START DATE: 06/12/2019 PITTSTOP COUNSELING & CONSULTING SERVICES 320 LANIER AVE W STE 200 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: LATRICIA PITTS PHONE: 404-913-3720 TYPE: THERAPY SESSIONS, SUPERVISION MEETINGS START DATE: 06/06/2019 WDH BUSINESS CONSULTANTS, INC. (NEW LOCATION) 376 GLYNN ST N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: WILLARD D. HUFFINS JR. PHONE: 404-793-7013 TYPE: BUSINESS CONSULTING/

ACCOUNTING START DATE: 06/06/2019 PATRICIA’S ACCESSORIES 275 GLYNN ST S FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: PATRICIA A. LAWSON PHONE: 662-610-5382 TYPE: BOUTIQUE CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES START DATE: 06/05/2019 YING FOOT MASSAGE 925 GLYNN ST N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: YING LU PHONE: 678-667-1332 TYPE: FOOT AND BODY MASSAGE START DATE: 06/04/2019 HELPING HANDS HEALTHY LIVING 305 CHASE DR FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: BETTY SISTRUNK PHONE: 404-434-2954 TYPE: MOBILE FOOD SERVICE START DATE: 05/31/2019 MORGAN PORT SERVICES LLC 220 LANIER AVE E STE 5 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ROBERT MORGAN PHONE: 678-598-8360 TYPE: FREIGHT FORWARDING/ OCEAN TRANSPORTATION INTERMEDIARY START DATE: 05/30/2019 AMAAN AUTO SALES LLC 115 COMMERCE DR STE E11 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: SHOAIB RIZWAN PHONE: 404-462-7133 TYPE: AUTO BROKER (OFFICE ONLY) START DATE: 05/24/2019 AMF AUTO LLC 125 COMMERCE DR STE B1 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MATTHEW JOFFRE PHONE: 678-427-5573 TYPE: AUTO BROKER START DATE: 05/24/2019 UNIFORMS FOR AMERICA 935 LANIER AVE W STE 1004/1006 FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: MICHELLE THOMPSON PHONE: 678-489-5078 TYPE: UNIFORMS START DATE: 05/21/2019 EDWARD D. JONES & CO LP 800 LANIER AVE W FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: EDWARD D. JONES PHONE: 678-489-4300 TYPE: STOCKBROKER/DEALER

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START DATE: 05/16/2019 HEARTHSIDE LAFAYETTE LP 105 MEETING PLACE DR FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: JAKIVA SPEED PHONE: 770-460-0770 TYPE: INDEPENDENT SENIOR LIVING START DATE: 05/16/2019 ATLANTIC HEALTHCARE CONCIERGE 500 LANIER AVE W STE 910A FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ABIBATU ABIGAL ASANTE PHONE: 404-937-3738 TYPE: PRIVATE HOME CARE PROVIDERS START DATE: 05/15/2019 IMAGE BEARERS MINISTRIES (NEW LOCATION) 385 JEFF DAVIS DR N STE E FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: DAVE B. SIMS PHONE: 770-461-2910 TYPE: CHRISTIAN COUNSELING START DATE: 05/15/2019 J WOOD ENTERPRISES LLC 500 LANIER AVE W STE 912A FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: JOANNE ALVAREZ & BRETT WOOD PHONE: 770-658-8473 TYPE: INSURANCE AGENCY START DATE: 05/15/2019 GEORGIA STEM CELL CLINICS LLC 101 YORKTOWN DR STE 209A FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: DANIEL MARTIN & JOHN STEPANEK PHONE: 678-519-1575 TYPE: MEDICAL STEM CELL CLINIC START DATE: 05/14/2019 TRANSFORMATION MINISTRIES 115 KATHI AVE FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: ANTHONY WALKER PHONE: 706-326-2451 TYPE: CHURCH START DATE: 05/14/2019 FULL CIRCLE SALON 535 JEFF DAVIS DR N FAYETTEVILLE, GA 30214 CONTACT: NADENE BARNES PHONE: 404-798-7026 TYPE: BEAUTY SALON START DATE: 05/10/2019

See more new business listings online at Fayetteville-ga.gov

Police Department bids farewell to key personnel

We recently bid our fond farewells to two outstanding Fayetteville Police Department personnel, who have both left lasting positive impacts on the City and the community. Thank you, Lynne, and thank you, Eddie, for your dedication, service and friendship! Lynne Cook has retired after nearly two decades with the City, and CARE Unit Officer Eddie Hernandez and his family are moving out of the area.

Operation Kidsafe forms are free, and they’re available at the Allstate Insurance office on Grady Avenue here in Fayetteville. Drop by to learn more.

Sign up for City of Fayetteville E-Mail Updates!

Fayetteville-GA.gov/EmailUpdates 13 - July 2019

Community response to one man’s need forever changes his future outlook Fayetteville resident Simon Childs experienced first-hand what a community can do when it is motivated to help a person in need. Along the way, he went from being a man known by few to being known across the Atlanta area and beyond, all because his story resonated with so many people moved by compassion.

It all started in late June when a person posted on Facebook a picture of Childs sleeping on a bench inside the Fayetteville McDonald’s restaurant located at the corner of North Glynn Street and Kathi Avenue. The sentiments posted with the photo in that private Facebook group were negative, but other group members quickly chided the author of the post and rallied to help the young man, who turned out to be going through a rough time in his personal life.

Seven years ago, Childs moved from Chicago, Illinois with his mother to Stockbridge, and then he moved to Fayetteville. He says he recently lost his mother, and for a time he had nowhere to live, so he was sleeping in the restaurant between shifts. At the time, he was working there, earning money to cover his living expenses and trying to earn money to help support his young son.

When Childs learned about the Facebook post, he said he was a bit discouraged, but he didn’t think anyone would really care about his personal plight. He was wrong.

When he returned to work for his next shift, people had dropped off diapers and other items for him and his son.

The generosity continued.

When the owners of Fayetteville’s The Fusion Chefs Eatery learned about Childs, they offered him a free loaner vehicle to help him get around until he can afford to buy a car.

Simon Childs (pictured above at left) told his story to WSB-TV reporter Matt Johnson. Below is a photo of Childs sleeping on a bench at McDonald’s between working shifts there. (Images courtesy of WSB-TV)

When the City of Fayetteville caught up with Childs by phone, he was working in a new, betterpaying job with the Osmose lumber company as a telephone pole inspector.

“The people here have been amazing,” he said. “I apreciate it.”

Childs story caught the attention of the regional media as well. His initial story and a couple of updates were reported by WSB-TV’s Matt Johnson, who says the story was personally heartwarming for him.

Johnson said he is a member of that Facebook group and saw the initial photo of Childs sleeping on the bench.

“When I saw that someone had actually gone to the McDonalds to speak to Simon and find out about the recent loss of his mother, and his homeless status, it was jawdropping,” Johnson said. “I knew 14 - July 2019

right away that it would turn into a fantastic story about a community coming together.

“They say we don’t get to know our neighbors anymore,” Johnson continued. “But the community in Fayetteville got to know Simon through his story and decided to change his life forever.”

In the wake of Child’s story going viral on social media, a few people have reached out to the City of Fayetteville asking what can be done to help homeless people. Locally, one good resource is Fayette Samaritans, which is located on the campus of Fayetteville Christian Church at the corner of Hickory Road and New Hope Road. They can be reached at 770-719-2707. The United Way of Greater Atlanta is another resource, reached by calling 404527-7200.

Find more events at Fayetteville-GA.gov/Events

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Remaining Series A

THE LOWRIDER BAND

July 27 Series B

PURPLE MADNESS (Prince tribute) Aug 17 MOTHER’S FINEST / WET WILLIE Aug 24 THE PETTY BREAKERS (Tom Petty tribute) Sep 7 DEPARTURE (Journey tribute) Sep 21

SouthernGroundAmp.com