The Decatur Minute

The Decatur Police Department is excited to join Nextdoor to share alerts, updates and information on programs and events with our community members. Nextdoor is a free private social networking website for your neighborhood that makes it easy to connect with your neighbors and build stronger, safer, happier places to call home. Decatur Police Department staff are NOT able to see any of the content on your neighborhood website, but you can reply to our messages and send us private messages.

Join us on Nextdoor. We look forward to connecting with you to build stronger, safer neighborhoods throughout the city of Decatur.

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The Decatur Prevention Initiative will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 7:00 pm at Ebster Recreation Center.

A majority of Decatur middle and high school students are annually surveyed about their behaviors, including alcohol and drug use. The most recent survey results show increases in our numbers from 2013-2014 reports, while the national trend is for these rates to be decreasing. We have an issue in our community that we need to talk about.

Please join DPI, along with local representatives from law enforcement, schools and parents, to engage in a solution-focused discussion.

• A brief look at local rates and how we compare to other areas
• Join a discussion of “Why here and why now?” and help drive local efforts
• Learn about research-based strategies to effect community-level change
• Discover how you can become part of the solution in this community, regardless of parental status or age of children
• Tips for getting your children to talk about this issue and strategies to guide them to healthy choices

If you have not yet completed the DPI parent/caregiver survey, please do so. Your feedback is needed!

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Join Decatur’s Comprehensive Planning Process: A Midterm Check-Up

Comprehensive Planning is a process required by the state of Georgia to ensure that all communities achieve minimum planning standards. Because Decatur’s existing culture of planning far exceeds what’s mandated by the state, Decatur uses the Comprehensive Plan process as an opportunity to do a midterm check-up on our larger Strategic Plan, which was completed in 2010 and is due to be updated in 2020.  You can  help ensure we’re still on track.  Here’s three ways to participate during the month of April:

On-Line Survey

Complete our online survey.  Count on 20 minutes to complete.

Open House – Phase Two

Wednesday, April 20 | 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Public Works Building, Community Room, 2635 Talley Street

Focus Topics: Land use, Affordable housing, Natural and cultural resources

As an Open House session, residents can pop in, review current data, ask questions, and provide input. Everyone is encouraged to attend and be heard.  Count on 30 minutes to participate.

Drop-by Opportunity – Phase Two

Sunday, April 24 | 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Oakhurst Garden Earth Day Event, 435 Oakview Road

Same focus topics as above.  We’ll have data and activities from the Open House repeated here.

More questions? Visit DecaturNext.

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The Decatur Police Department will be registering bicycles and scooters at three upcoming events.

Sunday, April 24, 2016 from 12:30pm-3:30pm at the Decatur EARTH DAY Festival, Wylde Center, 435 Oakview Road

Wednesday, May 11, 2016 from 4pm-7pm at the Decatur Farmer’s Market, First Baptist Church Decatur, 308 Clairemont Avenue

Friday, May 20, 2016 from 7am-10am at the Bike to Work Commuter Breakfast, Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore Street

Bicycles are a commonly stolen item and are not registered like vehicles. Bicycle registration includes bringing your bicycle, providing owner contact information, having the manufacturer and serial number documented and having a numbered decal applied to and a photo taken of your bicycle.  The process takes just a few minutes.  Registering your bicycle allows officers to look up recovered bicycles and contact the owner and allows for us to quickly look up the needed information about your bicycle if it were to be stolen.  The information is kept in a secured database only accessible by police department staff. We will also register scooters that do not meet the size requirements for state tag registration. There is NO CHARGE to register your bicycle or scooter.

For additional information, please contact Lt. Jennifer Ross.

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Treat yourself at Storefront Saturday, April 23, noon-5 p.m.

Eighteen Decatur shops are participating:

• Bleu Hanger
• Boogaloos
• Boutique Karma
• Collage
• Furry Tails
• The Great Frame Up
• HomeGrown
• Kismet
• Little Shop of Stories
• Natural Body
• Splash of Olive
• Sq/Ft
• Squash Blossom
• Treehouse Kid & Craft
• Tres  Jolie
• Trinity Mercantile & Design
• Wild Oats & Billy Goats
• Worthmore Jewelers

Each shop will have specials and a raffle to win a gift card to a local Decatur restaurant. Bring your receipts from one or more of the participating stores to the tent on the square between noon and 5 p.m. and you’ll be entered in to win a giant Decatur gift basket filled with goodies from Decatur’s local shops.

Visit the Storefront Saturday FB event page for more info.

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Sunday, April 17
• Third Sunday Stroll, starts at the Decatur Recreation Center, 2 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20
• Decatur Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m.
• Farm to School Spring Dine-Out, 5-9 p.m.

Thursday, April 21
• Oakhurst Jazz Nights, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday, April 23
• Decatur Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Storefront Saturday – treat yourself and shop local! noon-5 p.m.

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On April 4, 2016, Mayor Garrett proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month in Decatur, Georgia as part of a local and national campaign. This proclamation is a call to action to focus on underage drinking and highlight the positive impact that can be made by community members working together toward reducing the incidence of underage drinking.

Mayor Garrett & members of the DPI work group at the proclamation signing during the April 4th Commission meeting.

This proclamation was put forth to the mayor by The Decatur Prevention Initiative. DPI is a Decatur-focused prevention agency with over 20 years’ experience working with Decatur youth and families. DPI’s vision is to promote a healthy Decatur community, free of the negative effects of alcohol and other drugs on youth and families. DPI activities are driven by the DPI coalition members, who utilize the latest local data from the Georgia Student Health Survey and evidence-based strategies. These members include committed individuals from local law enforcement, schools, recreation, juvenile justice, the housing authority, Emory School of Medicine, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the local PTSA and other youth-serving organizations. Also included are parents and individuals who have a passion for this topic.

DPI is asking City of Decatur parents to help us better plan our efforts by completing a short, anonymous survey. This survey is for anyone living in Decatur, regardless of whether their child(ren) attends public or private schools. The information gathered will be shared at the upcoming DPI Town Hall meeting on April 28 at 7:00 pm at the Ebster Recreation Center,105 Electric Avenue.

DPI Community Prevention Alliance Work Group members at April meeting.

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Workshop:  Camellia Propagation
Woodlands Garden
Sat, April 16
10-12pm
$20

Join local Camellia expert, Jim Pruckler, as he conducts a hands-on workshop about our favorite winter blooming shrub–Camellia. During the 2-hour workshop, attendees will create an ‘air layer’ on a camellia of their choice at Woodlands Garden. During process of ‘air layering’ the camellia will grow roots through the summer, and attendees will return in the fall to get their very own, new Camellia plant. Jim will also demonstrate the traditional process of grafting a selected variety onto existing rootstock.  Come learn firsthand how to propagate at home and you’ll be prepared to take this new skill home to your own yard.

Please bring your gloves, water bottle, and a sharp pocket knife or box cutter.  Jim will provide all the other supplies.  Registration fee of $20, RSVP to ruby@woodlandsgarden.org.

Jim Pruckler:  Jim worked for many years as a microbiologist at CDC and is currently the Vice President of the North GA Camellia Society.  He has become the resident Camellia guru at Woodlands and takes yearly trips to assist his friend, Tom Johnson, at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC.  Magnolia Plantation was recently featured in Southern Living for their amazing Camellia collection.  Woodlands Garden is thrilled to be a beneficiary of his time and knowledge.  

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Weebly, the global platform that helps anyone easily build brilliant websites and online businesses, has announced a bus tour through the Southeast, aimed at empowering entrepreneurs of any age to start their business and become their own boss.  The Weebly Like a Boss bus will tour for nine days, hitting 10 cities in the Southeastern region of the United States, and the City of Decatur has been chosen as one of their stops.

The San Francisco based company is hitting the road to create 1,000 bosses in 10 days at their #LikeaBoss interactive tech tailgate. Weebly’s team of web experts will be rolling into Decatur and partnering up with the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce on April 15th in Decatur Square with on-site, outdoor web workshops, 1:1 website and ecommerce help, free headshots, swag and cash giveaways.

Starting at 10AM until 4PM, hopeful entrepreneurs can stop by the Weebly #LikeaBoss Bus in Decatur Square in downtown Decatur. One lucky person who signs up at this free event will win $1,000 dollar cash prize to launch their idea online. Register at www.weebly.com/likeaboss.

Weebly has helped over 32 million site creators bring their dreams to life online and now Weebly wants to help more people take the next step to sell, blog, design, cook, craft, make and live… Like a Boss.

To follow the journey and RSVP go to www.weebly.com/likeaboss.

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Join Café Alsace, Taqueria del Sol, and Raging Burrito and Taco on Wednesday, April 20th, as they participate in the 24th anniversary of Dining Out for Life.  Each restaurant will donate 25% percent of proceeds from the evening to support Open Hand’s community nutrition programs and meal deliveries. Giving back has never been so easy or delicious!

For information on Dining Out for Life visit www.DiningOutforOH.org or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dining-Out-for-Life-Atlanta/547923545240786.

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