Andrea Berry at Decatur eLife is coordinating a Decatur holiday video card…

We want YOU to be part of our first city-wide holiday video card. Here’s how to participate:

It’s simple! Just decide what you want to include: a photo, a note, a drawing or a short video of no more than 45-seconds.

The only rules are that your submission has to be holiday-related and it must be emailed to us by December 7, 2009.

Email your submission to aberry@elifemagazine.net. It can be just from you or from your whole family! We’ll put it with the other submissions and post it online with our Decatur Blog partners, during the week of December 7th.

Be as creative as you want to be! We look forward to receiving your greeting!

Which neighboring towns, cities and unincorporated areas will you be sending it to?

“Happy Holidays Scottdale! Love, Decatur.”

Charlie sends in this sad announcement…

This is a quote from an email sent around our neighborhood. It concerns the huge oak tree next to the rec center playground that has had a tree house in it.

A champion tree is the largest tree of its kind in the state.

I’m sure people driving down Candler will ask questions.

“We have received some very sad news that our Champion Tree in our backyard has root rot. There is no cure and has to come down. Root rot begins at the tips of the roots and works towards the trunk of the tree. We have root rot fungus completely surrounding the base of the tree. To many people our tree looks very healthy from the street and will most likely question why we are taking this tree down. I wanted to make sure that you all know why.

R & R Tree Co. will begin on Tuesday, Dec. 1. There will be trucks, a chipper and a crane around our house. The tree company will be posting signs to ask the residents not to park in front of our house or the Burges during this 3 day process. They would prefer not to close down the street. I do apologize for the mess and noise that all of us will have to put up with during this time.”

UPDATE: Chief Booker writes in…

…yesterday at approximately 9:26am., Decatur officers responded to a pedestrian that had been struck by a vehicle. Upon arrival officers determined that a female was walking northbound within the crosswalk in the 200 block of West Ponce de Leon Avenue at its intersection with Ponce de Leon Place. The driver of the Chevy Malibu failed to yield and subsequently struck the pedestrian. The pedestrian was treated on scene and then was transported to Atlanta Medical Center. Injuries sustained at the time of the accident did not appear to be life threatening.

The “wreck” reported on Twitter in the 9am hour at Ponce de Leon Ave and Ponce de Leon Place (in front of Cakes and Ale) was actually a pedestrian hit by a car.

Jonathan writes in with an eye-witness account…

I’m pretty sure a pedestrian got hit by a vehicle this morning crossing Ponce at Ponce Place. It’s possible that the pedestrian had just fallen or something and the driver (turning left on to Ponce, eastbound) just stopped right in front of her to help. But it looked like a vehicle-pedestrian collision.

Since multiple vehicles had stopped to tend to the downed pedestrian (who was sitting up in the crosswalk and seemed conscious) and I heard approaching ambulance sirens, I thought it would be best to stay out of the way.

Altmod referred to the incident as…

…the pedestrian hit this morning in front of Cakes and Ale while crossing the street. Many cop cars, ambulances, fire trucks, etc. Any word if she is okay?

I’ve got a note in to Decatur PD requesting further detail.  Stay tuned.

The Little Shop blog reports a 99 person line had formed in front of the store prior to opening yesterday as the bookstore gave out all but 100 tickets for the Niel Gaiman event on December 14th at 6pm.

As for those 100 remaining tickets, the store is reconsidering how they will be distributed.  Jump over to their site for more detail.

I wonder if the Brick Store provided 99 bottles of beer for those in line…sorry, I thought I’d just throw myself on the lame joke sword before someone else did.

Brent writes in…

Was out walking this afternoon and ran into several families expressing concern over the missing toys at the most popular toddler park in Atlanta at the corner of Nelson Ferry and Ponce (across from First Christian Church). Children’s cries could be heard all around the neighborhood as they were left to ponder what Grinch was capable of such a horrible act during this Christmas season.

“This can’t happen now, it couldn’t, it wouldn’t, it mustn’t, it shouldn’t; not now, not then; not ever again.”

Occasionally there are clean-up days at the toy park – when old and really broken toys are discarded – but if so many parents are taking note, something may be up.