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1 week ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley |Doug Tucker
Silence fell over the classroom as the phone on the desk continued to ring. The teacher answered the phone, listened, then responded, “Yes, I’ll send her right up.” She walked over to the student’s desk and tapped her on the shoulder.
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2 weeks ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley |Neil Sullivan
With the oppressive heat and humidity of the summer finally giving way to the crisp cool of fall, the early morning bus trip to the pumpkin patch provided a much-needed break from the rigorous routine of the elementary school day for both students and teachers alike. The two busloads of kindergarteners from Willis Road Elementary were taking the annual October trip to Pete’s Pumpkin Patch and Farm.
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3 weeks ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley |Neil Sullivan
By starting to read this story you, Dear Reader, are venturing down a path you may soon find impossible to stray from. For the next two weeks, enjoy navigating the twists and turns of a real-life mystery right here in this column. It’s a mystery solved by only one person – a brilliant little girl. Through her deductive reasoning and insight, it took only a week for the fourth grader to uncover the answer.
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley |Neil Sullivan
If you still have children in your house, then consider this your survival guide for the long summer break. If you’re a grandparent and only have the grands visiting you for a week or two during the summer, please take heed. This guide is for you too. At the end of this story, you’ll have what you need to make the summer much happier for you and them. After completing my first year as a kindergarten paraprofessional, I can truthfully say that folks are really excited about the upcoming summer break.
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley
After almost twenty-five years of marriage, The Wife has once again surprised me, leaving me speechless. Now, some of you who know me may be wondering just how she did such a thing and whether she could tell you how to do it too. Well, you don’t have to ask her. I’ll tell you right now. Just give me a blank canvas, and I’ll be quiet for hours. And if you give me a ginormous blank canvas like The Wife did last weekend, I’ll be busy and quiet for months. Just how big is it?
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Neil Sullivan |Rick Ryckeley
Last Tuesday, the Coweta County School System (CCSS) presented their first of two budget workshops as part of the FY 2026 budget process, The Horton administration has presented a budget increase of approximately $19 million dollars or nearly 6%. A large portion of these increases are salaries, benefits, and pension costs. Many of these costs are mandated by the state. See the attached budget workshop documents nearby.
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley |Neil Sullivan
True or false? Right or wrong? Neither question is that complicated to understand. It’s either one or the other. At least that’s the way it was when I was going to school while growing up a long, long time ago on that old familiar street not so far away called Flamingo. Back then, testing in school was, dare I say, easy. If you have a child in a Georgia school, then you’re already aware they are currently undergoing academic testing.
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley
There are 1,251 words in the English language that have a total of only three letters and, due to the timing of this story, there is no doubt which is the most important. Mom. Now I know some will make a case for the all-powerful, the all-knowing, the never wrong entity, but Dad will just have to wait until next month for his day. Today we are writing about Mom.
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1 month ago | 
thecitizen.com | Neil Sullivan |Rick Ryckeley
Previously, I stated that Peachtree City Mayor Kim Learnard had proposed a LOST or Local Option sales tax. That was incorrect. I was remembering an article she submitted to The Citizen regarding a recent town hall regarding HB 581. In this article, the mayor did an excellent job of explaining the options and ramifications of HB 581. Unfortunately, I read too much into the article, the mayor has clarified and does not propose or support a flexible sales tax solution provided under HB581.
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2 months ago | 
thecitizen.com | Rick Ryckeley
‘Tis time once again to venture down to the dark, `basement, fight off the ever-growing horde of spider crickets, retrieve the soapbox, and stand upon it pontificating. And what’s got my shorts in a bunch this time, you may ask? Buckle-up, Dear Reader. This is gonna be one wild ride. “To bag or not to bag?” That used to be the question, but not anymore. Growing up on that old familiar street not so far away called Flamingo, we five kids joined Mom grocery shopping every Saturday morning.
