Electrician Contractor in Peachtree City, GA

Forty-two American dioceses and their bishops currently participate.

Giving Tuesday was launched at the 92nd Street Y and its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City in 2012 as way for people around the globe “to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.”

Observed on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and in preparation for the Christmas shopping season, the day encourages people to give generously to their favorite charities as a way of making the world a better place.

In 2015, Cory Howat, executive director of the Catholic Community Foundation in New Orleans, came up with the idea “to hold hands with the secular movement” by launching #iGiveCatholic, in which U.S. Catholics are encouraged to give to specific U.S. Catholic organizations.

In 2021, #iGiveCatholic raised $16,536,705 from 44,000 donors in all 50 states plus 16 countries outside the U.S., which benefitted 1,620 Catholic parishes, schools and nonprofit ministries.

In 2022, Giving Tuesday will be held on Nov. 29, and organizers are hoping for even better results.

“So much of the consumer spending that goes on during the Christmas season is for self-consumption,” said Howat, president of #iGiveCatholic.

“Rather than buying things for oneself, #iGiveCatholic is a countercultural method of giving to others by giving back to Catholic organizations which donors wish to support. Such generosity is integral to our faith as Catholics, is a form of evangelization, and allows donors to be part of the mission of these organizations they support.”

Forty-two American dioceses and their bishops currently participate in #iGiveCatholic; directors include New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson, Mississippi. In a video encouraging Catholics to support the campaign, Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez said #iGiveCatholic “celebrates our unique Catholic heritage and inspires faithful stewards to support vital Church ministries.” Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, believes it is necessary “to help spread the good news of the Gospel to so many people who are in need of hearing it.”

To donate, visit iGiveCatholic.org and click on the “Give Back” button. Donors can choose from a wide variety of Catholic organizations they wish to support, searching in a particular diocese, for a particular cause or in a particular city or state. Once a recipient is selected, donors can view a webpage that gives details about that particular Catholic organization. About 2 1/2% of the amount donated goes to maintenance of the website, Howat said, although there is an option for donors to contribute to cover the administrative cost so that 100% of one’s donation goes to the Catholic organization specified.

New dioceses that wish to be recipients of the giving are encouraged to contact #iGiveCatholic leadership through the website to have their Catholic organizations added to the site.

A commonly asked question asked by donors, National Program Director Julie Kenny said, is: Why give through #iGiveCatholic and not directly to the Catholic organization?

“They certainly can do that, but #iGiveCatholic gives donors a way to find organizations that fit the particular passions that they have, and cuts down on the ‘noise’ of donation appeals they might receive on Giving Tuesday,” Kenny explained.

Howat added that the online technology #iGiveCatholic offers far exceeds what many parishes, schools and other ministries can offer.

Holy Trinity Church in Peachtree City, Georgia, is a 3,000-family parish in the Atlanta suburbs that has raised more than $100,000 since it began participating in 2017. The parish actively promotes the campaign to parishioners, reported staff member Rosa Contreras. Last year, 150 donors gave $22,000 to #iGiveCatholic for the parish, which was used for such projects as replacing old doors and creating new signage.

In 2022, the parish hopes to raise $50,000 for the renovation of the parish hall’s kitchen. They promote #iGiveCatholic with signs, announcements at Mass and through the mail (as many of their older parishioners do not use the internet).

“More and more people are becoming familiar with #iGiveCatholic as part of a national movement and hold off until Giving Tuesday to make their donations,” said Contreras.

The Comeau Catholic Campus Center of Fort Hayes State University in Kansas raised $36,000 in 2021, which was used for ministry programs and building and maintenance. More than 200 attend the Sunday campus Mass, and another 100 students participate in center activities weekly. Activities include Bible studies with Fellowship of Catholic University Students, Catholic speakers, social events and conferences, which enable students “to encounter the Lord at a pivotal point in their lives,” said Macy Becker, an alumna who serves as the center’s development director.

The center is in its second year actively promoting #iGiveCatholic, said Becker, reaching out to alumni and friends in the community to contribute. “#iGiveCatholic is one of our biggest fundraising events of the year and one in which we are dependent to survive.”

Like Holy Trinity Church, the center fundraises through #iGiveCatholic “because it is nationally recognized” and its website is user-friendly for donors. Becker said she is hoping to raise $50,000 for Giving Tuesday 2022.

Another major recipient of #iCatholic is Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, which raised nearly $250,000 in 2021 and hopes to reach $300,000 in 2022. The school serves 650 students in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

“As we approach Giving Tuesday,” Howat concluded, “we invite all Catholics to consider donating to one or more of these Catholic organizations and be part of their efforts to share the Gospel.”

Jim Graves Jim Graves is a Catholic writer and editor living in Newport Beach, California. He previously served as Managing Editor for the Diocese of Orange Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Orange, California. His work has appeared in the National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, Cal Catholic Daily and Catholic World Report.

Election Day, November 8, has arrived. Many have voted early, and of those, some chose not to vote on the second ballot for the Peachtree City Special Election. So many of our long-term residents are eager to vote, knowing the local government has allowed some of our valuable civic assets to erode.

A significant number of the “passionate voters” in the Special Election tend to be residents of 15 years plus. Those voters are casting ballots in the hopes the city will stop abandoning the civic qualities that caused Peachtree City to reach national prominence.

Peachtree City has always been different in the most positive ways. Multi-use paths, large protected greenspaces, aesthetically refined development standards, and a location away from the typical bulky and dense development along the interstate highways was a powerful enticement for people in neighboring counties wanting something better as well as out-of-state residents.

In June of 2005, Peachtree City received international attention as the focus of a study conducted by the University College London. The study examined the city´s extensive multi-use path system. The study´s author, Dr. Ruth Conroy-Dalton, whom I met at Georgia Tech, described Peachtree City as the “blue-print of a ‘protopia,´ presenting a principle by which American suburbia could be transformed into sustainable communities.”

Dr. Conroy-Dalton also pointed out that the multi-use path system has several social, economic, and environmental benefits that make Peachtree City an example for other urban areas to follow, see the study here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/32885649_An_American_prototopia_or_Peachtree_City_as_an_inadvertent_sustainable_solution_to_urban_sprawl.

Many newcomers do not know that in 2005 our city was ranked as the eighth best place to live in the United States and the only southern city in the top 10, see: https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2005/. I provided the tour for the Money magazine writers with about 10 minutes’ notice. As an elected official who studied the city for years and was in love with the community, the assignment of presenting the tour was effortless.

Peachtree City wins awards on nearly every platform. We are one of the best places to raise a family and one of the best places to retire. We are one of the healthiest, most well-educated, and most civic-minded cities in the state and nation. The city has attracted businesses from around the nation and the world.

As I showed the Money magazine writers, the city provides tremendous benefits at a remarkably low cost of living. In 2005, Peachtree City had a lower sales tax, auto insurance premium, and average home price than the average of the 100 best cities across the nation.

There were two factors I recognized 20 years ago before running for elected office that could punch serious holes in our magnificent ship: radical development shifts and internal politics.

A long time ago when the city’s founder Pete Knox, Jr., and his fellow real estate investors began acquiring the farm and forest land that is now Peachtree City, the vision was one of creating an urban center nestled in the green countryside, a mixture of a southern factory town and the British “green cities” movement.

Knox and his colleagues eventually sold the land to another large developer, and, by the grace of God, they went bankrupt, and a new version of Peachtree City was born, building slowly at first and at well over 200% annually at the peak.

It was not until the city’s fourth mayor, Howard Morgan, that the multi-use path system came into being. It was a cutting-edge idea borrowed from this up-and-coming vacation spot called Hilton Head Island. Like the path system at Hilton Head Island, Peachtree City developed to be different, setting our city apart from the other cities in the state. It was the key to our success.

In the late 1990s, the corporation serving as the master developer was running out of real estate to sell, causing a development melee between most citizens who wanted to keep the strict and successful development standards versus the development community and their political allies wanting to cash out big as they exited. The philosophy was to build it big, profit, and run, leaving it to future city governments to handle the consequences.

The “big box” developers wanted to break in and they did with the help of developer allies on the city council. It was a major historical line of demarcation on the city’s timeline, creating a “time before big box stores” and an “era afterward with mass commercialization and regional shoppers” on our streets.

Awareness of probable future traffic issues on GA highway 54-W went all the way back to the 1980s, but the city council allowed over-building in the corridor anyway against mass citizen complaints.

The out-of-town, fast-buck apartment developers came to town in the 1990s. The citizens rebelled and a moratorium was installed.

Fast forward to 2021 and the Fleisch administration including current Councilmen Mike King and Phil Prebor as well as Planning Director Robin Cailloux attempted an act of forced development debauchery, a malicious assault on our master-planned community through the Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) plan (see: https://thecitizen.com/2020/11/01/lci-meeting-insult-to-peachtree-city-residents/), literally wanting to plaster high-density multi-family residential complexes around the city and “urbanize” areas with the least traffic capacity. The citizens rebelled again.

Since the day I first set foot in Peachtree City with a wife, toddler, and newborn, I have been thoroughly impressed with the unity of purpose among the city’s residents. We all could have afforded to live elsewhere, and no one moved to Peachtree City to be close to anything, a sacrifice we were willing to make for living in a special place.

Citizen participation has been the soul of Peachtree City’s success. Our citizens have shown intense community pride, they volunteer, promote successful local endeavors, and create intense opposition to government officials who attempt to change our award-winning paradigm.

So, if you want to force radical urban change in a city like Peachtree City against the will of the citizens, you must crush the city’s soul and eliminate the opposition. It’s as clear as the city’s adult softball field with no games being played.

We used to call City Hall and get a trained receptionist who could answer and direct nearly 98% of all citizens’ inquiries with politeness and efficiency. It was unbeatable customer service, and it was constantly cited by residents. Today, you get an automated call system and most likely a voicemail.

In 2010, the city council disbanded the city’s citizen library commission. There was no bad intent and the library’s oversight duties were handed over to the city’s citizen recreation commission. The library was the 19th most active library in all of Georgia when the oversight duties were transferred.

Unfortunately, the Fleisch administration secretly eliminated the city’s citizen recreation commission, no announcement, no vote, poof — gone. So, the citizen library commission’s authority was transferred to the citizen recreation commission, and it was stealthily terminated.

No one should wonder why the city council does not care about the library and its patrons (see: https://thecitizen.com/2022/09/26/mayor-council-choke-off-public-use-of-excellent-library/).

Adult recreation patrons have come to me asking why the city ignores them. The city has a wonderful adult softball field with parking and a restroom. Sadly, the once successful adult softball program cannot play because the city council refuses to replace the old wooden light poles illuminating the field (adult softball plays at night after work hours). They would go to the citizen recreation commission to support their cause, but the city secretly axed the citizen commission.

Go to a city council meeting and ask Councilmen King and Prebor why they have allowed the softball field to remain empty. It stands as a symbol of their leadership.

Mayor Kim Learnard in her first year has proven to be as self-centered as her predecessor. For nearly two decades, citizens have been asking to replace the stinky port-a-potties at the very popular Battery Way Park with a real restroom.

Learnard pulled the restroom project from the top tier of the SPLOST list and moved her pet project up, a new pickleball facility (see: https://thecitizen.com/2022/09/19/mayor-pickle-ball-says-battery-way-park-bathrooms-can-wait-while-local-taxes-skyrocket/). Instead of making a significant improvement to a highly used existing park, she wants to build her low priority pet project that the city cannot afford to maintain without raising your taxes.

When the city’s citizen planning commission began objecting to projects that did not match the city’s plans and development pattern, King, Prebor, and the rest of the Fleisch administration removed all authority from the commission (see: https://thecitizen.com/2021/02/25/demoted-planning-commission-can-no-longer-protect-residents-from-bait-and-switch-apartment-rezonings/).

When the local citizens began to publicly criticize the horrible performance and destructive practices of the Fleisch administration, the city council created a measure to allow the city government to sue local taxpayers with their own tax dollars to shut them up (see: https://thecitizen.com/2019/04/23/governments-stop-silencing-your-citizens/).

Public speech has been so restricted in city council meetings that a giant stopwatch is projected on the meeting screen to buzz them when a citizen’s 52 seconds is up (see: https://thecitizen.com/2022/07/04/local-elected-officials-routinely-ignore-and-violate-part-of-1st-amendment/).

If the citizens complain about the city council or demand justice, the answer appears to be forcibly and completely quash them and remove every avenue of representation they might have.

Tuesday is upon us. Go vote. Make an informed vote.

After examining the candidates’ responses to the questions offered by The Citizen, here is my conclusion, see https://thecitizen.com/2022/10/24/examining-peachtree-city-candidates-positions/.

Go make a difference and save the city’s assets and qualities that brought us all here.

[Brown is a former mayor of Peachtree City and served two terms on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners]

A 14-year-old was accused of setting a fire in the paper products section of the store. Walmart has plans to re-open the store, but it will remain closed for the entire holiday shopping season.

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - The 14-year-old girl accused of setting a fire which gutted the Peachtree City Walmart in August was sentenced on Friday in juvenile court

The teen, whose name was not released, took responsibility for her actions and was sentenced. The teen admitted to sparking the fire in the paper goods aisle. It happened shortly before 7:20 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the Walmart located on 2717 Georgia Highway 54.

Firefighters said the sprinklers were quickly overwhelmed. The flames at one point were licking the roof, making the structure unstable.

Three officers, who charged into the store to ensure everyone was out safely, had to be rushed to the hospital after being overcome by smoke. No other injuries were reported.

It took the combined efforts of the Peachtree City, Coweta County, Fayetteville, and Fayette County fire departments to eventually get the blaze under control. That happened around 4 a.m. the next morning.

There was significant damage caused to the interior and roof. One estimate puts the damage at more than $30 million and could top $40 million after restoration efforts are complete.

Unfortunately, those efforts won’t be complete in time for the holidays, Walmart says. In fact, the store will likely not reopen until after the first of the year. Customers have been asked to drive to the stores in neighboring Newnan and Fayetteville.

Walmart did open a mobile pharmacy in the parking lot to help locals get their prescriptions easier, but it is closed nights and weekends.

Employees have been temporarily transferred to other stores and the Peachtree City Walmart will be accepting applications soon in preparation for the store’s grand reopening. That exact date has not yet been set.

As for what sentence the teen faces, those court records are confidential, so the sentence will not be disclosed.

Police say there is no evidence to support the rumor the fire was set as part of a TikTok challenge. Investigators believe the setting of the fire was a simple impulse action.

Texas Border Business

TAMPA, Fla. – The United Soccer League announced on Tuesday the All-Tournament Teams for the 2022 USL Academy League Finals, honoring the top performers from the final event of the league’s second full campaign in the Tampa Bay region last week.

Tampa Bay United earned four selections after claiming the Playoff Division title, led by tournament Golden Ball winner Nicholas Skubis, who recorded a goal and assist in the side’s 2-0 victory against Queensboro FC in Sunday’s Final, and Golden Glove winner Nicolas Mejia, who notched three shutouts in four games. They were joined by left back Tate Johnson, who had a stellar tournament after making his USL Championship debut as a USL Academy signing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies this past season, and center back Lucas Kamrath, who impressed throughout.

Queensboro FC earned three selections, including center back Nicholas Wilson and right back Moussa Diarra, both of whom were stellar on QBFC’s back line during the event. Left winger Gabriel Enriquez was the third selection for the side.

New Mexico United’s Alex Waggoner, who claimed the Golden Boot with six goals in the tournament, was joined by teammate Miles Merritt, who had a fine tournament in the center of midfield.

In the Showcase Division, each of Wake FC, Rio Grande Valley FC and Orange County SC earned two selections to the All-Tournament Team, with Wake FC goalkeeper Josef Sikiric and left back Greene Rand honored after the side allowed only three goals in four games over the week. Orange County SC attacking duo Bryce Jamison and Nico Ruiz were also honored, as were the Toros’ Duilio Herrera and Dylan Hernandez after both impressing in the final third.

Throughout the 2022 USL Academy League Finals, the Talent Identification process heavily involved all coaches and technical staff from each of the participating clubs. After each of their four games, technical staff members were asked to complete the USL’s Player Talent ID form to assist with the recognition of top performers from both the Playoff & Showcase Brackets. In conjunction with the submitted Talent ID forms, the USL Sporting Dept. then worked together to create the All-Tournament teams shown here.

USL Academy League Finals All-Tournament Team – Playoff DivisionGK – Nicolas Mejia, Tampa Bay UnitedRB – Moussa Diarra, Queensboro FCCB – Lucas Kamrath, Tampa Bay UnitedCB – Nicholas Wilson, Queensboro FCLB – Tate Johnson, Tampa Bay UnitedCM – Miles Merritt, New Mexico UnitedCM – Nicholas Skubis, Tampa Bay UnitedRW – Denis Paz, Indy ElevenAM – Nicolas Rincon, North Carolina FCLW – Gabriel Enriquez, Queensboro FCST – Alex Waggoner, New Mexico United

Honorable Mention: GK Nicholas Holliday (North Carolina FC), CB Michael Melilli (Tampa Bay United), CM John McDowell (North Carolina FC), RW Ivan Moore (New Mexico United), ST Daniel Lugo (Tampa Bay United)

USL Academy League Finals All-Tournament Team – Showcase DivisionGK – Josef Sikiric, Wake FCRB – Jesus Vasquez, Charlotte EaglesCB – Sebastian Sanchez, Louisville City FCCB – Sawyer Gribble, Lexington SCLB – Greene Rand, Wake FCCM – Osvaldo Escalona, Park City Red Wolves SCCM – Aidan Morrison, Charlotte IndependenceRW – Bryce Jamison, Orange County SCAM – Dylan Hernandez, Rio Grande Valley FCLW – Duilio Herrera, Rio Grande Valley FCST – Nico Ruiz, Orange County SC

Honorable Mention: GK Owen Brakstad (Charlotte Independence), CB Cameron Pfahl (Peachtree City MOBA), AM Renzo Andreucetti (South Georgia Tormenta FC), RW Blake Oberholzer (Park City Red Wolves SC), ST Cole Burke (Wake FC)

A contentious battle continues over whether to close a golf-cart cut-through between two cities in Fayette County.

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — A contentious battle continues over whether to close a golf cart cut-through between two cities in Fayette County.

One neighborhood wants it closed, citing safety concerns. Another community wants it open, arguing it’s their only access point.

Evan Huelfer’s daughter, Lily, drives the cart path every day from her house in Tyrone to the Kroger Shopping Center in Peachtree City.

“It takes her probably about ten minutes via golf cart,” Huelfer said.

On the autism spectrum at age 20, she doesn’t drive a car, but she can manage a golf cart to get to her job at the grocery store.

“It has been extremely beneficial to her confidence, her independence, her self-reliance,” he said.

The argument lies with a section of dirt road called Crabapple Lane that connects the town of Tyrone to the Peachtree City cart paths through a neighborhood called Kedron Hills on the other side.

The Peachtree City Council closed the road to cars in December because of safety concerns and complaints from Kedron Hills residents. Now, orange barricades and a half-wall block the entrance into the neighborhood, leaving only enough space for a small golf cart to squeeze through.

But, Kedron Hills neighbors want the cut-through closed off to the 30-or-so golf carts that come through each day, too.

“The question is when this should be closed, not whether, but when,” one resident said at the most recent council meeting.

After a November 2021 council meeting, that was the plan. The Peachtree City Council voted unanimously to close the gap in the half-wall and shut off the cut-through entirely by June 1, 2022. But, earlier this week at the May 17 meeting, the council voted to extend the deadline to December to give the town of Tyrone time to come up with another solution.

Scott Beamer, HOA President for Kedron Hills, spoke at the council meeting, saying, “Why are we having this conversation? We live in Peachtree City. We’re the taxpayers. We’re the residents. We’ve seen kids almost get run over by cars . . . and tonight the Peachtree City Council is trying to manage Tyrone’s problem. It’s not our problem. We had a solution.”

People who live outside of Peachtree City, like Huelfer, pay an extra fee to access Peachtree City’s extensive golf cart paths. It’s a $235 fee in addition to the required $15 golf-cart license.

Huelfer, who chose his home based on the current cart access, thinks the path should stay open until there’s another way to get through.

“That is the only access point,” he said. “For some it’s a matter of inconvenience. For us, it’s really devastating if that were to be closed.”

Tyrone Mayor Eric Dial said he’s working on creating another cart path, but because of budget constraints and property ownership for right-of-way, it’s trickier than it seems.

He also spoke at the meeting to answer Peachtree City Council members’ questions, some of which came across as hostile.

“I have spoken with a developer. We’ve talked numbers. We’ve talked routes. I’ve spoken with [Dogwood] church. We have to be able to get through the church to make this happen,” Dial said.

A previous plan to create a path down Dogwood Road stalled after the city determined it would require a costly bridge and a chunk of Tyrone’s budget.

“We were looking at somewhere between $800,000 and $1.2 million. We don’t have that much budgeted for our entire cart path system this year, so that’s out of the question,” Mayor Dial said.

Several more Kedron Hills residents spoke at the meeting, many admitting with the cars gone, the safety concerns have been largely addressed.

“My children finally feel safe because cars are no longer an issue,” said one woman who lives on the street where the access point enters the neighborhood.

Still, she and others want to restrict golf carts from coming through over fears of future development.

“There are acres down Dogwood that will eventually be developed. It will become a safety issue again eventually. When it gets to more development, then we’re really going to have a fight on our hands,” she said.

After all the public comments, Peachtree City Council voted 4-1 to keep the path open until December with a warning to the next town’s mayor to bring “concrete proof” that the city is working on another solution by that time.

Dial sent 11Alive a statement in response to the decision that says, “We appreciate the willingness of Peachtree City Council to hear our concerns and work with us on a solution that can benefit all parties. Because of the variable characteristics of the development of multi-use paths and the associated costs, we are presented with challenges, but we will do the best we can to get a path constructed in a reasonable time frame.”

Peachtree City Mayor Kim Learnard told 11Alive that if Mayor Dial brings the council concrete proof in December, the path will continue to stay open until the project is done. If not, the current cut-through will close.