DHS teacher Chris Billingsley writes in…

Georgia Close Up day one was successful- except for the lame lunch, a middle school group (Yuk- Eighth Graders!), walking in snow in flip flops, and a fussy teacher complaining about students not paying attention (These were student comments). When I returned and crashed in my classroom, a teacher came by and asked, “How did it go?” I told her, “Fine. I got everyone back alive. No one got sick and threw up. And everyone ate something for lunch (although there were a few complaints about ” no real chefs”. After thirty-three years of teaching and field trips, my expectations are not as high as in 1976.

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After much recent noise – on both this site and around the community – the Decatur City Commission added new details to the city’s booting ordinance at its meeting last night.  These amendments look to deal with “issues of interpretation of certain portions of the ordinance in regards to signage placement and visibility.”

Here’s a summary of the four “amendments” (page 19 of the supplemental materials) suggested by the Decatur Police Department (by way of City Manager Peggy Merriss) and approved by the commission…

First, we want to address the issue of placing signs at both the entrance and exit to the parking deck so that persons who may not have seen the signs are given warning as the leave the lot as a pedestrian.  This should give the parker ample notice to return to their vehicle and either pay for the parking or remove their car.

Second, we want to make sure that the sign sare visible from each parking space so that parkers are also given notice when they pull into a space.  Previously this section was undefined and we were having difficulty enforcing a consistent standard.

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Over on the Little Shop blog, Dave tells the story of how “Pete the Cat’: I Love My White Shoes” went from a local sensation to getting picked up by none other than Harper Collins.  Pretty sweet story!

Eric Litwin, a local storyteller and musician, had an idea for a children’s book starring Pete the Cat. A chance random meeting with James Dean, a local artist and creator of Pete, started the collaboration. Eric and James put the book together and published it themselves. Amazingly successful, the first printing sold out. Outrageously successful, the even bigger second printing also sold out.

In the meantime, multiple big time publishers began knocking on their doors.

Read the rest of the tale over on the Little Shop blog.

The Decatur bookstore will host a book release party for Dean and Litwin this Saturday, March 6th at 7pm.

Disclosure: Little Shop of Stories is a DM sponsor.

From Dan Magee at 231 Sycamore…

This Wednesday is the 1st Annual Georgia Walk/Bike to School Day. Join Decatur Active Living staff and parent volunteers at Clairemont, Oakhurst and Winnona Park Elementary Schools and Glennwood Academy as we greet students and parents before and after the school day. International Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 6th, 2010.

Wednesday’s event is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation’s “Safe Routes to School Georgia” program.

Back by popular demand, here’s a snow post (in March!) for ya.

Karass wrote in…

…has anyone heard any whispers of CSD schools closing early? Just trying to figure out how and when to get the Mom-mobile from work to school.

And I want to know where all the bad snow-drivers are.  I’m always hearing people saying, “I KNOW how to drive in the snow, it’s all the other nutcases sliding around out there who worry me!”   But we never hear a peep from these supposed “bad drivers”, so I’m beginning to think that everyone THINKS they’re good drivers and just go around blaming everyone else.

Are you one of those terrible drivers when it snows?  Fess up!