Scarecrows at North DeKalb Mall [through Nov. 5]

Photo and announcement courtesy
of North DeKalb Mall's Marketing Manager.

"Take one plain scarecrow plus lots of imagination to equal a spectacular scarecrow display at North DeKalb Mall. The display is brought to you by the art department of select DeKalb County Schools. Come out and enjoy the artistic display by the students from the DeKalb County School District.

Scarecrows included are “Candy”, Uncle Sam, Pirate,
Madea, FrankenJaguar, ScareOwl, Lion Vampire and Michael Jackson!

You can see them all at North DeKalb Mall now until November 5th at regular mall hours."

Decatur Emergency Assistance Ministry collection [Oct 28]

 

Click to enlarge.

Kids' Corner: happenings at our elementary schools

+  Kilometer Kid 1 Mile Mid-Week Fun Run

Wednesday, October 24th, 5:30 - 6:00: Coordinated with the International Community School, the Atlanta Track Club is organizing a 1-mile run for kids ages 7-12. Registration ended on October 2, but please come and cheer the runners on! Also, please be mindful of traffic in the area between Medlock Park and Medlock Elementary/ICS school grounds.

+  International Community School's Student Service Project

Ongoing: Fifth graders are collecting and boxing up donated toiletries for homeless individuals and people living with AIDS. You may drop off travel-size toiletry donations at the office. 

+ Laurel Ridge Elementary's Fall Festival

Saturday, November 3rd, 11am to 3pm: Vendors, food, fun!

+  International Community School's United Nations Day Parade

Friday, November 5, 10am:  Students will dress to represent many nations; the route begins at ICS and loops through Medlock Rd., Lancelot Dr., Scott Circle, Desmond Rd. Gaylemont Circle and back to ICS. 

MANA Community Meeting [Oct 22]

AGENDA

As usual, meeting takes place at the North Decatur Presbyterian Church, 811 Medlock Rd.

7pm: Welcome and acknowledgement of new and current MANA volunteers

• Emily Mann- Volunteer Coordinator
• Theresa Same and Hans Williams will be Co-Chairs of Zoning
• Kathryn Firago and Deb Wilson will work on Senior issues
• Kris Kane will remain as - Welcome Kit Chair
• Tanya Myers will be Schools Liaison
• Pat Camp will remain as - Newsletter Advertising Coordinator
• Stephanie Ruffin will remain as - Newsletter Editor
• Cathy Quinones will remain as - Website Editor
• Casey Boudreau as Parks and Greenspace chair
• Charles Forrest will work with Lynn Ganim of Legislative issues
• Larry Diehl continues to serve as our Community Council Representative

7:15 pm: Aging in Place Village Concept: (30 min)
Karl Williams and/or Amy Tsu, from DeKalb’s Office of Senior Affairs

• review of  concept to see if the neighborhood wants to pursue this grant.
• the Aging in Place Village may include a yearly membership that provides services such as discounts or assistance with service information and repairs, home health care, transportation access, social and educational activities
• this is a concept in progress so questions and suggestions are requested.

7:45 pm: Atlanta Gas Light (15 min)
Zachary Smith, with Eastside Pipeline Project overview and questions

8 pm: Committee Reports

• Treasurer/Membership: Judy (5 min)
• Volunteer Coordinator: Emily (5 min)
• Neighborhood Watch (5 min)
• Schools (5 min)
• Zoning (20 min)

Elections:
President: Bev Monroe
Vice President: Lynn Ganim
Secretary: still need a volunteer!
Treasurer: Judy Perras

ICS accepting donations for student service project

from ICS Director of Development Lauren Azoulai:

"Our fifth grade is working on a project to collect and box up donated toiletries for homeless individuals and people living with AIDS.  One of the girls who is leading the project wrote a beautiful letter to reach out to businesses and other volunteers.  That letter is attached. 

Items can be brought to the school during the coming weeks, but it seemed to make the most sense to try to make it easier and collect the items at [the October 22 neighborhood] meeting.  Please let me know if you can help with this.  Thanks so much. "

Click to enlarge.

LIttle Creek Farm Fall Festival Fundraiser [Oct. 200]

Little Creek Farm is a DeKalb County facility. If you have never visited, this is the perfect chance--it's a treat!

Via Little Creek Farm:

Bring your whole family to enjoy a beautiful, fun fall day at the farm! We will have activities sure to entertain folks of all ages including fabulous riding demonstrations, pony & horse rides (even adults who are kids at heart can enjoy!), carnival games, kids crafts, tasty food (chili, hotdogs, homemade booked goods, yum!), and an expansive silent auction offering items of every price range. We've got some other fun, free activities in the works, so visit back soon for more details! 

Cost: $5 admission (cash or check only), kids 5 & under get in free! Admission includes access to the barn, silent auction, fabulous riding demonstrations, and select activities. Bring additional cash or checks for activities such as pony rides, crafts, and carnival games. Credit cards will be taken at the silent auction via PayPal. 

The Good: All proceeds go to benefit the Little Creek Farm Conservancy and their efforts to remodel the outdoor arena.

Little Creek is another nearby treasure, located on Lawrenceville Highway across from North DeKalb Mall. Little Creek offers horse boarding and riding lessons. Little Creek offers self-guided tours as well as guided tours. From their website:

"The Mission of Little Creek Farm Conservancy, Inc. is to promote the stewardship of Little Creek Farm for equine activities, including educational, environmental and recreational outreach programs for the general public. 

Little Creek Farm is a facility of Dekalb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. "

Update: ALG meeting with Barton & Blackmon neighbors

The area in question sits on a slice of land between North Decatur Rd. and Scott Blvd.

From Hans Williams, MANA Zoning Co-Chair:

Notes from meeting with Atlanta Land Group:  10-16-12 

• Atlanta Land Group (AGL) is investigating the 17-acre neighborhood between Scott Blvd and N. Decatur road
• ALG would work on behalf of the homeowners to broker a deal with a developer, who in turn would deal with commercial retailers.
• ALG is working with North Decatur Baptist Church in the sale of their land.
• ALG is seeking to represent the Barton Way and Blackmon neighbors as a collective, and admits that a few homeowners holding out can prevent any deal from taking place. ALG's deals with homeowners are contingent on both everyone agreeing to sell and the land being rezoned.
• ALG is primarily interested in the residential properties.  If a potential developer is interested in including the commercial properties behind the residential neighborhood, those could be included, but it is the residential properties that represent the highest developable value.  The commercial properties are irregular in shape and not conducive to the standardization most commercial retailers demand.
• ALG has confidence in being able to find developers and retailers who are interested in the properties, and that a deal could go through if the residents were willing.
• ALG will spend the next week to ten days talking with residents one on one, gathering feedback and gauging interest.  Then they will send out an email and let the homeowners know what the general consensus they are hearing is.  If there is consensus from the homeowners to move forward, and they have a verbal agreement from the enough home owners, they will have everyone sign a listing agreement.  A listing agreement will allow ALG to represent the homeowners for a set number of days (90 to 100).  During that time they will broker a deal with a potential developer, otherwise the deal will not happen.
• Once a deal has been brokered and a contract is signed by all homeowners, it will still take time before closing.  It could take 12 to 14 months from when the community is first contacted until closing.  And the sale is still contingent on the development passing the rezoning process.
• This neighborhood is a desirable neighborhood.  Retailers are seeking to move into more in-town neighborhoods with established population bases.  The location near Suburban Plaza and the City of Decatur makes this area very attractive.

Most of the questions revolved around how likely this was to actually happen.  There was definitely a mix of reactions from “This is about my home, not just money” to “It is all about money.”  I did not notice any real negativity towards the idea of this deal happening, only concern that homeowners can remain whole and skepticism that this will be successful.  A few homeowners at the meeting have been through this before, and expressed concern over the inevitable conflicts such a deal, successful or not, brings to the neighborhood.

The meeting was mostly limited to residents who are directly affected; in addition to the MANA zoning co-chair,  a representative from Commissioner Rader's office was also present.

MANA supports the homeowners' right to decide whatever is best for their families. The MANA zoning team will continue to monitor potential developments.