At it’s most recent meeting, the Decatur School Board unanimously approved the extensive Farm-to-School action plan.  In an email to the community, CSD explains what committing to this plan will mean when you get down to brass tacks.

Initial plans for the Decatur Farm to School Program include:

• Edible school gardens, planted and maintained by students, teachers, parents, school staff and community members
• An increase in the number and types of fresh, local foods served in schools
• Integrated curriculum resources to leverage learning around nutrition, science, biology, math, social sciences, and local community resources
• Farm field trips and farm education that explore local economics, biological systems, local environmental issues and the holistic connection that links food, health, and the environment
• Hands on food preparation and taste-tests featuring fresh, local foods and local chefs

On its blog, Little Shop of Stories announces that with the help of a bunch of local sponsors, the bookstore is bringing the Decatur Christmas Tree back to the Square!

The tree will sit on top of our building, so you’ll be able to see it from the square and from Ponce all holiday long. And what would a tree be with out a tree-lighting party? So come out and join us as we kick off the season (and my favorite time of year) on Thursday, December 3 at 7 pm.

Click over to the Shop’s blog for more details!

Disclaimer: YankeeMetro is insanely jealous of Kodac Harrison’s accent, and would eagerly sit through a Toyota Mall of Georgia commercial if he provided the voiceover.  “All Camrys and Corrollas on sale…everything must go…”  Ah…pure music.

Anyway, check out this great video intro to Decatur, the Brick Store Pub and “Love at the Pub”, narrated by Kodac, with great insight by Dave and Mike.

h/t: InDecatur

UPDATE: Due to weather, the Love at the Pub street party and book-signing has been moved to Thursday, December 10th. Here’s Mary Jane’s note…

Hello everyone

Due to inclement weather and a host of other factors, the Book Signing Block Party in and around Brick Store Pub has been postponed from this Sunday to:

Thursday December 10

5:00 – 10:00 PM

I am also mindful that too many Decatur folks cannot make it on short notice and that weekends are precious. Now we can make this a REALLY Terrific Thursday.

The AJC reports this morning that GDOT is considering trying to spend the $87 million “use-it-or-lose-it” federal funding for the Lovejoy rail line to help construct the much talked-about Grand Central Terminal in downtown Atlanta’s under-utilized “Gulch”.

The proposed terminal hub would be located just northwest of the current Five Points MARTA station – here’s an excellent map that shows all of Atlanta’s past, present and proposal rail stations – and would serve not just MARTA, but high-speed passenger rail, AMTRAK and commuter lines for the entire metro area.

Of course, any costly infrastructure improvement requires taking on some risk.  If high-speed rail and commuter lines never find their way out of the Northeast, and all rail becomes as difficult to execute as the Lovejoy line, an giant Atlanta hub might only echo with the footsteps of lovely MARTA riders lost in an underground world of unused tracks.

However, if the alternative is allowing the $87 million to go unused and thrown back into the federal pile only to be snatched up by some other competing second-tier city, I say “If you can determine its legality, build away!”

P.S.  In writing this post, I discovered the great Track Twenty Nine blog out of D.C., which did some exciting renderings of what Atlanta’s hub might look like, with high-speed, MARTA and commuter lines stretching in all directions from the city’s core.  Pretty cool stuff if you’re into rail porn.

Walking past the 335 building yesterday, with a dog intent on finding fans to slobber on, I noticed that signs of life in the old Eviva space had already morphed into tall metal tables and a couple clothing racks.

Do we have a new clothing store in town?

Use this post to comment and ask questions about local issues not addressed in the past week.

Comments close on Monday.

Just sent from the City Schools of Decatur in an email blast to the community…

As the AJC reported today, there was a police incident on South Candler Road this morning. Winnona Park received a few calls asking if they were in lockdown status at all. They were not placed on lockdown.

Winnona Park Principal Gregory Wiseman saw the police barricade at the intersection of South Candler and East Davis on his way to school this morning. He immediately pulled to the side, identified himself as the Principal of Winnona Park, and asked if there was a situation he need to know about for the safety of his students. The Decatur Police office said that there was not.

As Mr. Wiseman got to school minutes later, he called the School Resource Officer. The officer was on his way to the South Candler scene. When he arrived, he assessed the situation with his superiors and contacted Mr. Wiseman to inform him that there was no need for the school to be placed on lockdown.

After voting Tuesday to adopt last year’s voter referendum for a considerably weaker CEO, the DeKalb Commission is already looking to scrap it.  According to an article in today’s AJC, a majority of DeKalb Commissioners are in favor of doing away with the CEO entirely and hiring a city manager to run day-to-day operations.

CEO Burrell Ellis, who favored the weakened CEO referendum last fall – even though he was running for job – doesn’t sound all that enthused on this latest development.  Ellis suggests that the commission may just be using this idea in order to gain leverage in a recent budget dispute.

I’m not sure I can come down definitively on either side of this particular issue.  I do believe that Ellis has made significant inroads to repair many of the charred bridges left by his predecessor.  On the other hand, with a city manager-style government, I might actually stand a chance of understanding the way decisions are made at the County level.

Right now I’m pretty sure the way it works is they all flip a coin, the North and South DeKalb contingents argue over whether it’s heads or tails, and then the CEO vetoes it. 

Kidding…love ya politics.  Love ya.

From the Oakhurst Message Board…

There is a house fire on Mead between Leydon and the Village. No telling how long the street will be blocked completely, but if you’re out & about you might consider alternative routes. The fire appears to be under control already, but there was lots of smoke for a while. From our vantage point, it doesn’t appear anyone was home.

- Mark Reeve

319 Mead

UPDATE IV: Chief Booker forwarded DPD’s official release on this morning’s incident…

On today’s date, November 19, 2009, at approximately 6:45am. the Decatur Police Department received a trouble unknown call at 621 South Candler Street. Upon the officer’s arrival, it was determined that an armed subject had barricaded himself in the residence. DeKalb County SWAT was notified of the incident and responded to assist. The subject was eventually taken into custody without incident. The subject is under investigation for an incident that occurred in Athens, Georgia. Please contact Athens-Clarke County Police for additional information.

UPDATE III: Sounds like it’s over.  The AJC now reports…

At 10:25 a.m., police began leaving the scene.

UPDATE II: WriterChad is tweeting from the scene.

UPDATE: The AJC is now reporting this…

Robin Blocker, who lives nearby, said a man was taken from the residence in handcuffs, but at 10 a.m. police had not confirmed whether the standoff is over. Blocker said police told her the standoff was related to a homicide in Athens.

…A police officer later came to the door, Abuato said, and told her that there was a report that a man inside the house had killed his family in Athens and fled to the Candler Street house, where his mother lives, and was inside with a knife. Abuato said the mother rents out rooms in the home to college students.

Lots of emails this morning inquiring to the police situation on South Candler near Kirk Road and Green.  Multiple residents have said that police at the scene are refusing to respond to resident inquiries.

Emily provides a link to an AJC article that says that DeKalb SWAT officers have been called to the scene, but doesn’t give much other info.

Feel free to comment with your own reports.

I’ll contact Decatur PD and try to get more info.  Stay tuned.