The Decatur Minute

   CALLANWOLDE CONCERT BAND PRESENTS A “POPS” CONCERT TO CELEBRATE AMERICA

Bring a blanket, lawn chair, and picnic basket! We cordially invite you to join us when a free “Pops” concert to Celebrate America will be presented by the Callanwolde Concert Band, Raymond Handfield, Music Director and Conductor, on Friday, July 4, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the bandstand on the square in Decatur. Mr. Handfield will be joined by  Assistant Conductor Scott Files in this performance.

The program of light classics and popular favorites will feature patriotic songs, marches, musical comedy selections, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture (complete with fireworks) and of course Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever March.

The concert follows the annual Decatur Pied Piper Parade. Decorate your wagons, ride your bike, skate, or walk in this fun event. Food will be available from booths and restaurants in the square.

The Band, a community organization for over forty years, is DeKalb County’s premiere symphonic wind ensemble. Admission to the concert is free.

We hope that you can join us for this concert to Celebrate America.

Further information about the Band is available at its web site, www.calcb.org  

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Decorate your bicycle, skateboard or wagon and walk, ride, or skate in the Pied Piper Parade as it winds through the streets of downtown Decatur.  Line-up begins at 5:30 in the parking lot of Decatur First Baptist Church and steps off at 6:00pm.

Concert on the square features Callanwolde Concert Band. Parade 6 p.m.; Concert 7 p.m.; Fireworks at dark.

Click here to download the parade guidelines. We want to see your silliest and most creative decorations!

New this year! Prizes will be awarded for the best “float” and for the best kid’s vehicle (bike, scooter, or wagon) 

Prize pack includes puzzle, book, super hero mask, candy, and more

Basket includes a $50 gift card to Victory, bottle of wine, cups, napkins, and other festive holiday gifts

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As part of the Oakhurst Streetscape Improvements, roadway construction activities are scheduled for the period from Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, weather permitting.

Work will be performed on Oakview Road immediately south of the East Lake Drive intersection to completely remove and replace the existing roadway to improve storm drainage and permit the construction of new curbs and sidewalks. The street will be completely closed to vehicular traffic and a detour route will be signed to aid motorists in bypassing the construction zone.

Pedestrian access will be maintained to all businesses during this work.

The City’s contractor, CMES, Inc., will be performing all of the required work to remove and replace approximately 90 linear feet of Oakview Road south of East Lake Drive and will post signs on the street to advertise the street closure and the route for traffic detouring. Please contact Jennings Bell at 678-553-6529 if you have questions regarding this project.

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Please join the businesses of the Eco-Art District on East Howard Street on Saturday June 20th from 1:30PM-4PM for a Summer Solstice Celebration- Yoga for Yoga from 1:30PM to 4PM.  The proceeds from the event’s Silent Auction will be donated to Centering Youth- a non-profit whose mission is to help our youth that are stuck within the current juvenile system by offering them yoga and other mindful practices as a means to break out of the cycle, to date Centering Youth’s success has been remarkable in helping our youth back to a more normalized childhood by extending a helping hand when so often none has never been extended before.  The day’s festivities will include music, arts and crafts, family yoga, storytelling, face painting, balloon art, massage therapy and the like.  In addition Whole Food and several other health conscious food vendors (KIND Bar, Suja Juice, Ancient Awakenings) will be present to allow those attending to sample their foods and learn about their health benefits. So plan to kick off the summer by celebrating in the Sun at the First Annual Summer Solstice Celebration- Yoga for Youth- all events are free and open to the public.

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Lifelong Decatur survey results are in! Learn the results of the Lifelong Decatur survey on Thursday, June 18, 6:30 p.m., at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St. The Lifelong Community Advisory Board will present findings from the survey that was completed by more than 630 residents. Find out what steps the board is taking to make sure Decatur is a place where people can live throughout their lifetimes, regardless of age, ability, or economic status.

The survey report is available online. For more information, email leeann.harvey@decaturga.com or call 678-553-6548.

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Tomorrow’s Walk with a Doc will be led by City of Decatur landscape infrastructure coordinator India Woodson. Meet at 10 a.m. at the front doors of the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St. for a FREE, healthy walk. All ages are welcome. India will point out significant Decatur trees during the hour-long walk.

For more information contact tracie.sanchez@decaturga.com.

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This Thursday, June 18, is “Dump the Pump” – an opportunity for drivers to try transit as a commute alternative to save gas and stress. For this year’s Dump the Pump celebration, MARTA is bringing back its popular scavenger hunt on June 20 at Five Points station. In addition to MARTA’s efforts, Georgia Commute Options is offering a week-long commute logging challenge, entering anyone who logs a public transit commute on GaCommuteOptions.com between June 15 and 19 into a $25 prize raffle, with one winner selected per day.

Here is the full press release from Georgia Commute Options:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Pricey Commute? Dump the Pump for Transit.

Atlanta, GA – June 11, 2015 – In metro Atlanta, public transit plays a larger role in maneuvering traffic than you might think. Many commuters might be surprised to learn, for instance, that without these systems, our region’s traffic delay would increase by 10,520,000 hours annually, and the annual costs associated with that traffic congestion would increase by $232 million. (Source: 2012 Texas Transportation Institute Mobility Report)

Saving money and reducing delay are two of the main benefits promoted by Dump the Pump, an annual campaign designed to promote transit as a commute alternative that saves on gas and time. While Dump the Pump 2015 officially occurs on June 18, local entities such as MARTA and Georgia Commute Options are running promotions leading up to the event to encourage Atlanta transit use as an alternative to driving alone.

Consider this: The average one-way commute time in metro Atlanta is 34 minutes and covers 18.3 miles,* costing the average metro Atlanta commuter $340 a month** once fuel, maintenance and parking costs are accounted for. Compare that to the $95 it costs to ride MARTA for a month, and the savings are hard to ignore.

“Dump the Pump is a great opportunity for drivers to see what a hassle-free commute feels like. Instead of the usual angst associated driving in traffic, a person can spend that time reading a book, listening to music or catching up on email,” MARTA spokesperson Lyle V. Harris said. “Make the switch, just for a day, to see how you like it. Commuters will often find that transit is faster and easier than they once thought — and that it’s a great option for getting to work at least once or twice a week, if not every day.”

For this year’s Dump the Pump celebration, MARTA is bringing back its popular scavenger hunt on June 20 at Five Points station. More info can be found at http://www.itsmarta.com/scavenger-hunt-2015.aspx. In addition to MARTA’s efforts, Georgia Commute Options will offer a week-long commute logging challenge, entering anyone who logs a public transit commute on the GaCommuteOptions.com between June 15 and 19 into a $25 prize raffle, with one winner selected per day.

“We’re excited to help MARTA get the word out about the benefits of taking transit,” says Cindy VanDyke, Georgia DOT State Transportation Planning Administrator. “By choosing alternative commute modes, metro Atlanta commuters can impact our region’s traffic and air quality in significant, positive ways.”

Georgia Commute Options encourages “clean commuting” — that is, using alternatives to driving alone — by offering prizes and incentives to commuters who make the switch. When drive-alone commuters switch to an alternative like transit, they are eligible to earn $3 a Day, up to $100. Other commute alternatives promoted by Georgia Commute Options include carpooling, vanpooling, teleworking, walking and biking to work. Clean commuters (including transit riders) can regularly log their trips to win prizes at GaCommuteOptions.com.

About Georgia Commute Options

Georgia Commute Options, a program funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation, helps commuters, employers and property managers take advantage of alternatives to driving alone to and from work. Georgia Commute Options reports that every day in metro Atlanta, the use of commute alternatives such as carpooling and transit results in 1.1 million vehicle miles not traveled and 550 tons of pollution kept out of the air. For more information, visit www.GaCommuteOptions.com.

*2014 Regional Commuter Survey conducted by the Center of Transportation and the Environment on behalf of Georgia DOT

** Calculated using data from current AAA travel cost analyses and from 2014 “Your Driving Costs” study from the Center for Transportation and the Environment

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Many Decatur residents are devoted dog owners (sidenote: if you’re looking for just the right canine companion, LifeLine Animal Project is offering free pet adoptions in June) and spend lots of time walking their dogs around the city and visiting Decatur’s popular dog parks. For the safety of everyone, dogs should be on a leash when out and about or securely fenced when outdoors at home.

Here is the complete law, straight from the Decatur Code of Ordinances:

Sec. 14-33. – Duty of owner to keep animal under restraint while on property.

(a)

It shall be the duty of every owner of any animal, or anyone having possession or custody of any animal, to ensure that the animal is kept under restraint and that reasonable care and precautions are taken to prevent the animal from leaving, while unattended, the real property limits of its owner, possessor or custodian, and to ensure that:

(1)

The animal is securely and humanely enclosed within a house, building, fence, pen or other enclosure out of which it cannot climb, dig, jump or otherwise escape on its own volition. Such enclosure must be securely locked at any time the animal is left unattended.

(2)

No animal shall be chained, tethered or otherwise tied to any inanimate object such as a tree, post or building, outside of its own enclosure as provided for in paragraph (a)(1).

(3)

The animal is on a leash and under the control of a competent person; or is off leash and obedient to that person’s command and that person is pre

sent with the animal any time it is not restrained as provided for in paragraph (a)(1) of this subsection.

Sec. 14-34. – Duty of owner to keep animal under restraint while off of property.

It shall be the duty of the owner of any animal or anyone having an animal in his/her possession to keep the animal under restraint at all times while the animal is off the real property limits of the owner, possessor, or custodian. For the purposes of this section, an animal is deemed under restraint when it is confined within a vehicle, parked or in motion, is secured by a leash or other device held by a competent person, is within the boundaries of a designated dog park under voice command of a competent person and such person is present with the animal, or the animal is properly confined within an enclosure with the permission of the owner of the property where the enclosure is located. A violation of this section shall be punishable as provided in section 1-12.

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Slide the City tickets for the event in Decatur on July 25th have SOLD OUT.

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