DHS teacher Chris Billingsley was good enough to take a few shots inside CSD’s Opening Day 2011 at the High School today.  Here’s his accompanying note…

Attached are a few pictures of opening day activities for the high school and CSD. Ms. McKain told us that both the state school superintendent and the Lieutenant Governor, as well as local dignitaries will be here later on this week for the official opening of the DHS Career Academy. I think everyone had a great time meeting as a system and reflecting on some of the changes that have taken place in CSD over the past 50 years. And the food from Skips was terrific, of course! All are excited about the new school year.

And speaking of Mr. Billingsley, you gotta watch Patch’s video of the awards ceremony (after the jump and HERE) when he and Pat Cooper go up to receive recognition for 35 years of service.  It gave me chills.  Really cool stuff.

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One is made of plastic.  The other can’t be recycled.

So which one has less of an impact on the environment?

Decatur Active Living’s Cheryl Burnette writes in…

Mark your calendar and plan to attend the Team Decatur and Get Active! Atlanta Kickoff for the KP Corporate Run/Walk on the Decatur Square on Thursday, July 28,6-8pm. Join Mayor Bill Floyd, Race Director and Olympian Jeff Galloway and local singer/songwriter Morgan Rowe  for this fun event. There will be a Health and Fitness Expo featuring local businesses that will have information on getting and keeping fit, as well as drawings for prizes and information on registering for the run/walk. The event is free to the community and everyone is invited.

One lucky attendee will win a free beach retreat weekend with Olympian Jeff Galloway on the Florida panhandle, near Seaside!
For a sneak peek at the retreat, visit http://www.jeffgalloway.com/retreats/destin.html.

Photo courtesy of Be Active Decatur

You may have noticed that there’s been an unusual lack of crashing on DM over the past week.

Well, I’m happy to report that after weeks of work – mostly by the great WillyC – DM has been living on a new server for over a week now.  This home is more spacious, with room to stretch out and is much less prone to crashing and slowing down.  Huge thanks to Willy for helping make the transition as painless as possible.   The next time you don’t have to hit the “Refresh” button, give him a shout out!

Also – in response to many, many requests – I’ve upgraded the Decatur Metro mobile site so that comments are now threaded on your mobile phone and there’s a new version of the site just for iPad!

This StoryCorps interview caught my attention on WABE this morning: Beth Jordan and her mom, Joy Cooley, reminiscing about Beth’s growing-up years in Decatur in the 1960s and 1970s — “misadventures and close calls, while growing up in a neighborhood full of kids.”

They talk about going to the swimming pool every day (“the neat thing was being able to walk from our house to the swimming pool and crossing the railroad tracks, and playing on the trestle”), metal swing sets (“which were probably covered in lead paint”), no sunscreen (“didn’t need it!”), playing street hockey at night after dinner and going into the sewers to retrieve the ball, no seat belts.

You can hear the interview here.