Must be a pretty darn nice field to play on.

This morning’s AJC reports on an unexpected (?) perk of the new DHS stadium.

Bowl officials helped Tennessee pick Decatur as a practice site over Georgia Tech and Clark Atlanta after the Vols (7-5) were selected to play in the New Year’s Eve game against Virginia Tech.

…“We came down for an inspection, and [Decatur High] was the option that suited us best,” travel coordinator David Elliott said. “We were looking for a surface similar to that of the Georgia Dome and this was the best fit.”

…“It’s a very exciting time, not only for our school but for the City of Decatur,” [Decatur athletics director Carter] Wilson said. “It shows that other people think highly of our facilities, as we do. We look forward to a long relationship with the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.”

h/t: InDecatur

P.S.  TheDNO posted some photos of Saturday’s practice on Flickr.

P.P.S. Here’s InDecatur’s report, with an extensive photo montage, from the Vol’s weekend practice.

Yesterday I received correspondence from Assistant Superintendent Thomas van Soelen and City Schools of Decatur Board Member Julie Rhame on the ongoing community issues involving 5th Avenue acreage and the potential of using the Beacon Hill as the site of the city’s new 4/5 academy.

Both the Assistant Superintendent and Ms. Rhame attached two documents with their email.  One is a 4-page letter from Superintendent Dr. Phyllis Edwards responding to these two issues; discussed at length here and sent to CSD in a letter/petition format.  The other attachment is a 3-page site evaluation of Beacon Hill, requested by the board and performed by Rosser.  Both documents are must-read.

Read the rest of this entry »