I just remembered that we’ve done this in years past and actually a lot of fun – an open thread to report your Halloween adventures.
Talk about your candy stomach ache, bumps in the night, or the cutest Halloween costume that came to your door. It’s totally up to you.
Happy Halloween!
Church Street @ Commerce Ave (pic submitted by Shannon)
Many will recall the nearly 3-year battle between Lake Claire residents and a property owner along DeKalb Avenue to save a giant pecan tree named Grandma Gordon. Residents threw up numerous legal road blocks over the years to stop the property owner from cutting down trees and developing the property.
Today, an eye-witness reports in…
There’s currently a tree crew, a handful of protesters and some cops at the site and the tree is 90% gone…Guess the legal battle wrapped up…
One more pic after the jump.
Photo courtesy of Anne
Judd sent me a link yesterday to this Wall Street Journal op-ed by Journal Lenore Skenazy – the “Free Range Kids” lady who we’ve discussed before – about how many parents fear their kids’ few hours of freedom on Halloween despite all evidence to the contrary.
It’s a good, sarcastic and irritated rant. Full of fun facts and assertions. I’m a fan of this line in particular, “Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.” (However, I’m a sucker for a sentence that starts with “Sure,” truth be told.)
Anyway. Parents, free-range advocates, those annoyed by “nanny-“anything will all find something to cherish in its peevish paragraphs. I strongly recommend it.
But Judd’s right on the money when he remarks that the conclusion reminds him of assertions often made here on DM…
In fact, she says, “We almost called this paper, ‘Halloween: The Safest Day of the Year,’ because it was just so incredibly rare to see anything happen on that day.”
Why is it so safe? Because despite our mounting fears and apoplectic media, it is still the day that many of us, of all ages, go outside. We knock on doors. We meet each other. And all that giving and taking and trick-or-treating is building the very thing that keeps us safe: community.
We can kill off Halloween, or we can accept that it isn’t dangerous and give it back to the kids. Then maybe we can start giving them back the rest of their childhoods, too.
Hell yeah. Take back the night from the apoplectic media.
Assistant Superintendent Thomas Van Soelen writes in…
In addition to the free/reduced lunch data that has been added this week, a new was added: map 8. all maps are still available at this site: http://fiscalresearch.gsu.edu/decatur/
Upon analysis of the narrative comments offered by community members, Maps 4 and 7 emerged as most appealing. Map 4 offers the best racial and socioeconomic mix, labeled “differential” on the pros/cons list. Map 7 allowed one of the smallest school sites, Clairemont, to remove the learning cottage.
A concern about Map 7 arose regarding the number of Black students that would be attending Oakhurst. The perception may be a reversal of Board policy regarding the integration of students, capped by the removal of the Desegregation Order in 2007.
Map 8 has been created so that the racial and socioeconomic differential of Map 4 is achieved but with no learning cottages needed at any of the sites. In addition, Map 8 divides Decatur Housing Authority into three areas, thus creating more of a consistency between schools. This division of three has historical precedence: during the years of 7 elementary schools, Allen Wilson Terrace was divided north/south. The proposed line would divide that area east/west.
The community can learn more about the process on Wednesday, November 3 at 6 pm, Westchester, and/or talk to the Board of Education at 7 pm.
Decatur Square, Decatur, GA (pic submitted by Kate)
