Posted in Community on August 29, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
The deadline for the October Focus is Thursday, September 1. Send information for this issue to decaturfocus@decaturga.com (as a word document or in the body of the e-mail only; please no PDFs) or to ATTN: Decatur Focus, PO Box 220, Decatur, GA 30031.
Posted in Community, Events on August 28, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
This is a weekly blog post that lists all of the events and sales going on around town. It will be updated daily. If you would like to add an event, email Catherine.lee@decaturga.com.
Wednesday, Aug. 31
• Decatur Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m
Thursday, Sept. 1
• Oakhurst Jazz Nights, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2
• Decatur Book Festival, Keynote, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 3
• Decatur Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Decatur Book Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Posted in Community on August 23, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
This is a weekly blog post that lists all of the events and sales going on around town. It will be updated daily. If you would like to add an event, email Catherine.lee@decaturga.com.
Wednesday, Aug. 24
• Decatur Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m
Thursday, Aug. 25
• Trois Dames beer tasting at Ale Yeah, 5-8 p.m.
• August Fourth Thursday Stroll, Decatur Recreation Center, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 26
• Book As Art opening reception, Decatur Library, 7-9 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 27
• Decatur Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Decatur Square Bar Crawl, 6 p.m.
• Creating Community 4 Decatur Vigil on the Community Bandstand, 7:30 p.m.
Posted in Community on August 23, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
DeKalb County Watershed Management currently has one lane closed on East Ponce De Leon Ave at Poplar Road, eastbound in front of Avondale Marta Station, for repairs.
Posted in Community on August 21, 2016 | 2 Comments »
This Thursday, August 25th, will be an important date for those who would like to volunteer and be a vital part of our community. The Citizens Assisting Public Safety will have a meeting at 7pm at Station One to discuss our vision for the Fire CAPS team and how it will work with the City of Decatur Fire and Rescue 
Department. Whether you are already active with CAPS or simply interested in learning more about the program, we would love to have you attend this meeting and share your thoughts and questions.
If you know others in the community who enjoy being actively involved while learning and being part of a team, please let them know about this meeting. For more information, click here. This video also gives a brief overview of the Fire CAPS program, but we are looking to even further expand the scope of opportunities to volunteer and serve in our city.
Posted in Community on August 19, 2016 | 1 Comment »
Milagros Collective, the artists chosen to design the mural for the MARTA Overpass at the corner of W. Trinity & Atlanta Ave., have completed their initial design. We have scheduled a community engagement meeting on Wednesday, August 31 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Ebster Recreation Center, 105 Electric Ave.
If you live, work, play, or drive/bike/walk/ride MARTA under or around the proposed mural location, or if you care about public art and are curious, come give us your input.
We held two community input meetings earlier this year designed to solicit feedback about the Overpass and the area around it including how it is used and how it is viewed by the community. Milagros Collective took that information and came up with a design that incorporates what they heard and saw. Additionally, participants drew images and/or pasted pictures on tabletop butcher block paper that the artists took to use for reference.
The meeting will include an unveiling of the proposed design, information from the artists on their thought process and the design itself, and ways we might want to celebrate once the mural has been completed.
Questions? Contact Angie Macon, admin@decaturartsalliance.org or Linda Harris, linda.harris@decaturga.com.
Posted in Community on August 18, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Photo: Jonathan Phillips
Sage Powell steers a squid down Madison Ave. in Decatur during the 4th annual Madison Ave. Soap Box Derby on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
The Madison Ave Community Fund (MACF) is excited to announce the 6th annual Madison Avenue Soapbox Derby will take place on Saturday, October 1, 2016.
Registration for the race is now open at www.madisonavesoapboxderby.org
Founded in 2011 by the Madison Ave Community Fund (MACF), this unique competition challenges amateur racers to design, build and race non-motorized, gravity-powered soapbox cars. With the support of the community and neighborhood businesses, it has grown from about 20 drivers in 2011 to almost 100 drivers in last year’s derby. Derby day will include local vendors with food and drinks along with live music after the race.
This year, one hundred percent of all proceeds raised by the Derby will benefit Reading is Essential for All People (REAP).
It’s crucial for a child’s educational development that he or she become a proficient reader by the end of third grade. This is when kids start reading to learn instead of learning to read. Unfortunately, 32% of Georgia’s 4th grade students read below grade level.
Reading is Essential for All People (REAP) is a non-profit dedicated to improving reading proficiency in public school students through teacher training and enrichment. Teachers leave college without all the tools they need to reach all their readers. Shrinking school budgets and increasing time constraints make is difficult for teachers to access the necessary professional development required to meet all their readers’ needs once they are in the classroom. REAP provides teachers with specialized approaches to reading instruction that makes all readers stronger but are critical for those students who struggle.
Posted in Community on August 18, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
The Decatur Downtown Neighbors are hosting a Park Presentation on Saturday, August 20 from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street. All Decatur residents and interested parties are invited to attend.
Posted in Community on August 18, 2016 | 1 Comment »
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation selected The Task Force for Global Health (The Task Force), an international organization dedicated to addressing large-scale health problems primarily affecting people living in extreme poverty, as this year’s recipient of the Hilton Humanitarian Prize—the world’s largest humanitarian prize.
The Task Force has been a pioneer in global health since its founding 32 years ago, and it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people in 151 countries through programs focusing on neglected tropical diseases, vaccines, field epidemiology, public health informatics, and health workforce development. The organization collaborates with partners in diverse sectors, including pharmaceutical companies and health agencies in other countries, on comprehensive disease control and elimination programs.
They will receive $2 million in unrestricted funding and join 20 other nonprofit organizations that have received this Prize during the last two decades, and will be honored at this year’s international Humanitarian Symposium in New York on September 30.
Posted in Community on August 16, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
The City of Decatur Municipal Court announces the upcoming 2016 Amnesty Program. The program, which begins August 15, 2016, and goes through October 15, 2016, offers amnesty to individuals to resolve past-due traffic citations and active bench warrants for failure to appear in court. It is important to note that a failure to appear in court may have resulted in a driver’s license suspension. The goal and purpose of the Amnesty Program is to help restore as many drivers as possible to legal status to drive on Georgia roadways, and to avoid more harm to their driving history with additional charges and fines. Amnesty will save individuals money because warrant and other fees, if any, will be waived.
Individuals with outstanding violations may walk in to the City of Decatur Municipal Court, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from August 15, 2016 to October 15, 2016, and from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, October 8, 2016 to resolve their outstanding violations without facing any additional charges or costs. Any person with a failure to appear warrant, which resulted in a license suspension, who pays the fine to resolve the original citation violation, will receive documentation to submit to the Department of Drivers Services to have their driver’s license reinstated. If the original violation, such as DUI, driving on a suspended license, or no insurance, requires a mandatory court appearance, individuals should appear on Amnesty Saturday, October 8, 2016.
The court encourages anyone who believes they may have an outstanding matter in the City of Decatur Municipal Court to take advantage of the Amnesty Program. The City of Decatur Municipal Court is located at 420 W. Trinity Place, Decatur, GA, 30030. Contact us at 678-553-6655 or visit the city’s website at https://www.decaturga.com/city-government/city-departments/municipal-court/2016-amnesty-program for more information.
