In a note to people other than myself, Superintendent of Schools Phyllis Edwards expresses her concern about the gas shortage’s impact on schools.  But this has nothing to do with getting students to school on buses, which according to her note still have the needed fuel to get around our 5-square mile city, but teachers and staff.

Apparently over half of Decatur’s school staff live outside the zip, and are concerned about getting to work if gas doesn’t become more freely available soon.  Now this point might now be moot (since gas lines are getting shorter) but the crisis has got CSD thinking more about conservation and Edwards announces the following…

• a car-pooling list for staff
• completely shutting all schools down during the 4 day Columbus Day holiday weekend
• working with neighborhood gas stations to get school staff the gas they need
• looking at the future possibility of a 4-day workweek school year schedule (especially during the summer)

Oh man, that last one is going to go over like a lead balloon. I can see the headline now…”Unsupervised Kids Take Over City Hall.  Demand Jake’s Ice Cream in Return for Unharmed City Staffers”

Crisp evenings call for lots of community events!

• Paula tells us that Greene’s Fine Foods is having its Grand Opening today, notated by balloons out front.
• Carl writes in that Worthmore is having an “America Celebrates Photography” opening reception tonight featuring Johnny Colt, the original bass player for The Black Crowes and the current bass player for Train.
• From a recent walkby – Sharian’s annual outdoor rug sale starts tomorrow and runs thru the 12th.  Look for the nighttime security guard.
• Beacon Hill Studios is hosting an Open House fundraiser for DHS Arts program this Saturday from 4p-9p ($10 suggested donation) – courtesy of Carl
• Though this happened last week, “A” lets us know that Twist & Scoot’s new Decatur store is now open between Dancing Goat’s and Whit’s End.

Anything else?

Kristin Allin in Her Living Room (photo courtesy AJC)

After doing a feature on their garden a few weeks back, the AJC now has a photo feature and article about the Allin’s recent home renovation.

Looks great from the inside! (I covet that upstairs bath…)

However, I wish the AJC would have provided an external shot of the house.  Craftsman additions can be tricky since they weren’t really originally designed to be expanded (unlike late 1930s-early 1950s homes with large, unfinished attics) and I’m always interested in seeing individual solutions.

In other recent house renovation news, I noticed that Decatur Living’s newest issue features the redo of the house at the corner of Oakland and Northern.

h/t: InDecatur