Resource for local teens

Local Teens Get Grounded
Source: Clifton Community Partnership Update/Spring 2012 

The opening of a new teen center plans to provide a safe haven for local youths to come together through laughter, enrichment and service. 

“Get Grounded is the place to be for sixth to twelfth graders,” says Angie Waddell, co-founder and executive director of Get Grounded. “We offer a number of different enrichment programs and workshops designed for participants to explore something new and unique.”
Located just off North Decatur Road at 1944 Ridgewood Drive, the teen center will offer programs for youths that promote positive peer connection and interaction; promote teen health through proper nutrition and physical and emotional exercise; and training for specific trade that will impart knowledge and/or develop skills among other things. . . . the teen center will evolve into a facility that offers an art studio, community outreach, game room, lounge, music studio, performance theatre, recording studio, study room and yoga. 

Read the rest of the article here or visit the Get Grounded website.

Sunday alcohol sales vote, DeKalb County (oh, and Super Tuesday) [Mar 6]

Update: Unincorporated DeKalb voted YES, now we wait for the County to announce the effective date (AJC says: May 1).

As to the primary, it went this way [with 96% of precincts reporting]: Newt Gingrich (43%) Mitt Romney (26%), Rick Santorum (26%) and Ron Paul (6%) with other candidates in the ballot getting ~1% each.

Original post:

A quick reminder that tuesday is "Super Tuesday" of presidential primary fame. We are also having a special election on whether DeKalb County should allow Sunday alcohol sales.

As a reminder, Georgia's is an open primary and the voter may request a ballot for any party. The alcohol sales vote appears in all ballots, as seen in the samples below; click either sample to enlarge.

If voted at Medlock Elementary you will more than likely now vote at North Decatur Presbyterian Church (611 Medlock Road), for the year 2011. A new polling place will be permanently assigned and announced after the redistricting decisions are made, in time for the 2012 elections.

Golden Retriever FOUND (City of Decatur)

Neighborhood Watch Newsletter [Feb]

Please follow this link.

"Right to Grow" Rally - why you should care about House Bill 853 [Feb. 28]

What passes for an egg-laying hen around these parts... lousy producer, by the way.

There is a rally to support House Bill 853 and timing is critical. The bill is currently gummed up in the House Rules Committee due the Chair of the Rules Committee's refusal to add it to the calendar. If not on the calendar, the House can't vote on it, which means it will never make it to the Senate.

If not added to the calendar by Feb. 28, this bill is as dead as your 2012 dream of fresh eggs. The ag experts at UGA recommend "3- 31/2 square feet of floor space for each bird you intend to keep for egg production" which means that pretty much any property in our neighborhood can accommodate a couple egg-producing hens. Another UGA publication entreaties local governments to adjust archaic and excessive setbacks that disproportionately hurt small family operations. The Chicken Little arguments put forth by lobbyists such as the GA Municipal Association fail the test of logic (never mind proof) in the face of successful urban agriculture ordinances in high-density locations such as City of Decatur and Atlanta.

Why Should DeKalb Care?

Food insecurity, as defined by the USDA, relates to individuals who experience "reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet" and may or may not include "disrupted access" to food (aka hunger). Another context of food security relates to a community's access to food in case of emergencies; it deals with food sources, distribution, and availability. Looking at USDA's Food Desert Map, vs. a google map outlining county limits, it is apparent that DeKalb has food security problems. Why not make it easier for people to provide for themselves? 

DeKalb Co. outline (left) and the food desert areas within it (pink overlay), per the Food Desert Locator (USDA)

If you wish to support House Bill 853 (see text here), see http://northeastcobb.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-right-to-grow-rally and the Georgia Right to Grow Facebook group.

While in the House of Representatives, real-time updates on the status of this bill can be obtained by contacting the Clerk of the House at (404) 656-5015. And contact John Meadows (R - Calhoun), Chair of the Rules Committee.

Remember: this bill is not just about eggs, it's also about access to quality local honey and the elemental comfort and peace of mind of growing your own vegetables at home and living in a community where neighbors have the resources to help one another in the case of an emergency.

p.s.
For more fun with USDA data, check out their Food Environment Atlas.

p.s.s.
Per the above Facebook group page, the Georgia Realtors Association supports this bill. And you just know they would not support a measure believed to hurt property values...

Around the neighborhood...

Briefly, as the sun set on Feb 22.

And down by the creek at Medlock Park...

Downy (or hairy?) woodpecker taking a break. Notice other woodpecker work on that tree.

Feeling a little flaky?

I think that river birch is one of many planted as part of a restoration project back in 1993?

Mason Mill Park: volunteers needed for wildlife habitat restoration

more from CHCA...

From Dave Butler, long time local resident and county greenspace environmental manager: 

The DeKalb County Natural Resources Management Office (NRMO) is a partner with the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) in a grant to restore wildlife habitat in two county parks including Mason Mill Park. This is a two-year initiative and will include the removal of invasive plant species and the reintroduction of native species along the boardwalk trail in Mason Mill Park. This work will add to what was done 3 years ago with members of CHCA [Clairmont Heights Civic Association] and the community clearing invasive plants from a section of the park along the PATH [aka South Peachtree Creek trail]. Interpretive signage will be developed and installed along the boardwalk. ABG is purchasing native plant materials soon to be planted along the trail. The plants were chosen after evaluation by ABG staff, the Atlanta Audubon Society (another grant partner), and NRMO for their benefits to wildlife, their visual appeal, and their suitability for the steep, rocky slope along the trail. 

Help from volunteers from the community is critical to the success of this project. Please call Dave Butler at NRMO at (404) 371-2540 or email dabutler@dekalbcountyga.gov if you want to be part of this rewarding project.