Free-For-All Friday 10/19/12
Decatur Metro | October 19, 2012 | 7:00 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close Monday.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close Monday.
Looking Back: The 2011 Atlanta Snowpocalypse
Good morning! This is a first first for me!
140 Home Community Wide Yard Sale
Saturday 8a-1p
Map: 913 Regal Path Ln, 30030
Y’all come.
Patch is reporting this morning that the Brick Store scored a 73 on a recent health inspection. Eeeek!
This issue came up as a topic re: other restaurants a few weeks ago. It’s my understanding that you can wait a few weeks and they’ll get an updated score of ~90+.
There’s enough booze in that joint to sterilize any germs contracted.
These guys do a great job. I will eat there ant day and feel good about it.
Take a break from the partisan politics this morning and watch the video of the two candidates at the Al Smith dinner last night. Two of the funniest stand up performances I’ve seen in a long time.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/2012-election/video-mitt-romney-and-president-obama-trade-jokes-al-smith-dinner
The snippets on NPR during my drive to work were truly witty. My favorite was Obama, noting that Mr. Romney uses his middle name, Mitt, wishing wryly that he could use his own middle name!
As long as the taplines and the pint glasses are clean, who cares?
Lance Armstrong has lost $30M in endorsements since the US doping authorities released their report against him. I think these sponsors failed to look at the positive!
Lance was recognized as the mastermind of the most complex, innovative and successful doping program in the world! He managed a program that delivered innovative integrations of biology and chemistry to deliver the the pinnacle performance against the world’s best, all while avoiding all attempts by external agents to undermine his work.
That is so much more than riding a bike faster than a bunch of other guys in funny shirts!
He beat China’s Gymnastics program!
He’s a national resource! We need to keep him out of the hands of the Iranian Nuclear program!
Like Tosh says:
“I think pro-athletes should be forced to use steroids. I think we as fans deserve the greatest athletes science can create! Lets go! Anything that will make you run faster, jump higher! I have High-Definition TV! I want my athletes like my video games!”
Is trick or treating held on October 31 in the City of Decatur? Need to know, thanks!!
Yes, trick or treating always takes place on Halloween in Decatur, regardless on which day of the week the 31st falls. Of course it makes traffic that day extra scary.
Thank you!
And for those of you who will be drinking wine and walking with your children, especially near the very popular attraction on Adair Street, please try to walk on the sidewalks. I got cussed out on my way home from a night job last year by a woman who thought all of Adair Street should be pedestrian that night. Bet she uses it as a cut-through street, too.
Anyone know where to purchase those 30 mph bike, play etc. speed limit awareness signs? I am about to give up on seeing the motorcycle cop on our street anymore and was thinking of trying some of these.
wanted: community vision for Suburban Plaza vicinity
Sorry, no can do. That involves saying yes to something.
Yes; that doesn’t bode well for annexation.
I am about to buy a Honda and am interested in recommendations of independent Honda mechanics in the Decatur area. Thanks!
Try Quantum Mechanics. They are terrific. 404-484-3995.
Summit Auto has been good to us (oldish Honda Accord)
Address: 173 Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: (404) 373-7070
+1 for Summit. They’re the best!
Another thumbs up for Summit.
I hope you have had a better new car shopping experience than I had. Since the last time I bought, apparently many of the car dealerships have decided to no longer put the price on the vehicles. I went to about 5 dealerships and had to wait and ask for the price on every single car I was interested in. It was beyond frustrating. I had money, I wanted to give it to them in exchange for a vehicle, but they wanted to make it as difficult as possible for me to do so. After a few days of that nonsense, I just decided to wait awhoope longer. Believe it or not, the worst place of all was the Subaru place on Lville. I asked about 4 times for an amount, he kept playing that “what do you want to spend” game and I finally just left, and still never got the price of the car.
“I had money” sounds like you were walking around the lot with a briefcase full of Franklins.
Well of course I was. I generally try to carry no less than 25 or 30k around at all times. Because that’s just how I roll. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take my helicopter on a joyride to Walmart.
I don’t buy a car often but when I do, I avoid car dealers. My approach is to first decide what I want. That’s mostly based on looking around the road, reading Consumer Reports, and talking to friends/acquaintances/colleagues. Then I find a way to buy the car at what I know is a reasonable price, not necessarily the best, but reasonable. One time I used a car broker recommended by a friend. That was after visiting every Toyota car dealer in the Portland metro area, none of whom had the color and make I wanted nor were willing to order it for me, and all of whom wasted my time with meaningless drivel about what I should buy and how to finance it. Another time I used a Consumer Reports-related buying service. My husband’s approach is to wait until his father gets a new car and then buy his old car off of him, knowing what kind of usage and maintenance the car would have gotten. My hats off to folks who can brave the car dealership approach and have the time to bargain successfully.. But I’ve known many a friend who has come home with something more than the originally bargained for.
For Honda maintenance, we use the dealership in Snellville. They have coffee, wifi, and fairly efficient service. Again, not necessarily the best deal, but reliable so far.
I’ve purchased a few cars at Carmax and think they are great. The prices are no-haggle but reasonable, they will make a reasonable offer for your own car, and they’re actually quite pleasant to deal with. I was so confident in their quality standards that I paid them $400 to transfer a car from Virginia to Norcross, sight unseen (in person), for my last car purchase. It showed up exactly as advertised, I bought it and it’s been trouble-free since.
Also, on that last purchase, I sold them my previous car off a lease. We agreed on the price, then Carmax negotiated the buy-out price with the leaseholder and credited me with the difference. It was like an unexpected bonus.
I’ve heard more than a few people say that their buying experience was simple there, and that’s important to me, so they’re definitely on the list.
And thanks for all the great suggestions guys! Lots of new ideas to investigate over the weekend.
Halley Toyota in Roswell also has no-haggle prices, might want to ca
Heck them out too.
proof that comments do NOT close monday
“I don’t buy a car often but when I do…” the manager comes out and offers me the lowest price on the first try. Stay thirsty my friend. 😉
For my last car purchase, I used the Consumer Reports buying service. It’s called “ConsumerReports.org Cars Best Deals Plus.” It was great! It cost $13.00, and was the best $13.00 I ever spent.
First you “build your car” on the Consumer Reports website. Make, model, color, options, etc. Consumer Reports then tells you how much you should pay for the car, after taking into account dealer incentives, holdbacks, rebates, etc. Then, when you decide you want to buy the car, Consumer Reports contacts several dealers and says, in essence, “Labdad is willing to buy this car at this price. If you are willing to sell him this car at this price, contact him.” If it turns out that the dealer gives you the old switcheroo, CR asks that you inform them, and they will take that dealer off their list. They also ask that you tell the dealer that you’re going to tell CR. I ended up getting exactly the car I wanted at the price I was willing to pay.
Mind you, this works best when you are paying cash for the car and not trying to negotiate trade-in of another car. While the dealer may sell you your car at your price, they will jerk you around on trade-in and financing.
I heartily second jj’s recommendation about setting up an email account solely for the car-buying, because you will be innundated with emails long after you’ve purchased the car!
I think this is what I did.
Daydreamer – try emailing the dealerships. Tell them exactly what you want and ask for their best price. Some will still try to beat around the bush but I’ve found that’s the best way to get straight up prices. Once you’ve gotten a few acceptable responses, then you can go check out the cars in person. I would recommend creating an email account solely for car shopping though because they will follow up with you relentlessly.
The last car we bought, we emailed the dealers in the area after we went online to view their online stock. Said we were interested in car X, with the inventory tag Y. What is your best offer. Not going to ask a second time. Got about half a dozen quotes on the same car, and went with the lowest, which was only a few hundred bucks over what the dealer paid (truly). I will never go and play the negotiation game in the car dealership again.
Me: “I’m willing to pay X”
Mr. Sleaze: “Oh, that’s below what we paid for it. Let me go talk to my manager and see what we can do for you.”
Never again.
Once you decide on what you want, you should email several dealerships. When the Mrs. recently decided on what she wanted, I email 3 different Toyota dealerships and all 3 gave me a different price.
Twenty years ago the same thing happened to me at the Honda dealership on 78. First the sales guy couldn’t believe I knew how to drive a manual and that I wanted one. Then refused to give me the price “until I took out my checkbook.”. I’ve been taking it out at Ed Voyles ever since. But if you want a manual shift, good luck. I had to wait weeks for one 5 years ago and to get it in the color I wanted, they would have has to make it for me. No one wants them in the South …
Sonny’s Automotive just past the DeKalb Farmer’s Market has been taking care of my Honda for 10 years – never a problem.
Sonny’s +1
Sonny is a nice guy, too.
Honest mechanic.
I’ve been happy with Avondale Independent servicing my current Civic and the one before it. They are on College on the AE side of Sam’s Crossing. It’s not an attractive little strip, but they are much better than the facade!
Sonny’s service center on ponce just past the farmers market
DeKalb County Hosts Household Hazardous Waste Event
I went last spring. long wait and they don’t take glass containers. But worth it to get rid of all the assorted chemicals in my garage from the previous owner.
http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/portals/news-room/a_release.asp?filePK=1652
After years of resistance, it’s finally time to break down and buy a gaming console for the kids. Any thoughts on which system we should go with – Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3? I’m kind of leaning toward the PS3 for Blu-Ray, although we all like the playing the Xbox Kinect games at Lenox Mall.
Note: it really will be mainly for the kids (6 and 8). It’s not a secret plot for Dad to spend hours playing Madden, Medal of Honor, or Assassin’s Creed.
We got a wii when my youngest was around 6. She wasn’t able to play many of the traditional games with traditional controllers at that point, so it was the best option for us since you could play the wii games with her, plus use the old school Nintendo controllers and game cube games for the more advanced.
We’ve noticed though that the newer mario games for the wii (most recent releases this year) tend to suck in comparison to what’s being produced for the 3DS and what had been made for the wii. Plus offerings seem to be getting slim – there’s evidently a new console they are getting ready to push out. We tend to use ours mostly for Netflix now and are looking at trading it in and going with something else now that the youngest can play more complicated games.
Either route you go, I would recommend picking up used games from game stop unless you KNOW you guys like them. Game Stop has a 7 day return policy on used games only – which gives you a chance to see what kind of games you like without the fun of shelling out $50 for a non-returnable new one that will net you a $10 or less trade in credit.
2 things to consider IMO. 1) Streaming capabilties – X-Box streams Netflix and recently added a scaled down version for Amazon Prime (with full functionality promised at a later date). I don’t know about the other two. Blu-Rays may be obsolete before the system will. 2) This is more minor, but if there are any specific games that your kids must have, you may want to make sure it is available on the system you are looking at. Many games are available for all, but some aren’t.
The Wii and PS3 stream Netflix as well. Games on the Wii lean more towards younger kids. PS3 and Xbox lean towards older kids/adults. Wii U comes out 11-18-2012, so they may discount the old console leading up to it/right after if you don’t need the latest and greatest. Xbox and PS3 still probably have another year until their replacements come out, but I expect the performance and interactivity of those systems to be really good. The Xbox will get a streaming music service, but I wouldn’t let that sway you. Both the Xbox and PS3 have agreements for Amazon Prime streaming.
I just don’t know what to think about the Florida Board of Education’s new race/ethnic-based academic roadmap to bring up test scores. On the surface, it seems incredibly racist. But is it? Is the BoE actually doing the right thing by recognizing the achievement gaps and addressing them in a direct manner? One thing I did notice about the Board; it’s almost exclusively white.
Also, can we discuss this without rancorous political finger-pointing?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/education/florida-officials-defend-racial-and-ethnic-learning-goals.html?_r=0
A roadmap, as in a plan of action to increase achievement, would be one thing. This isn’t a roadmap. It is a goal that says, at best, we can’t expect more than about 3/4s of black kids to read at grade level by 2018! It’s hard to say who this BOE expects less from, the black children attending its shools or the teachers working there.
Good distinction. The goals should be the same for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, background, gender, unless they have a documented medical diagnosis, e.g. severe intellectual impairment, that requires a goal that fits the diagnosis. How you get to that goal depends on the individual needs of the children involved. CSD gets lots of credit for having high goals for all children regardless of background.
In my experience, it’s the individualized needs and educational strategies that’s hard for public schools to deliver. The nature of bureaucracy, budgets, accounting, managerial thinking, accountability etc. is to lump kids into groups as though that takes care of it. IEP or not and there’s an invisible limit on how many IEPs should be doled out. RTI level 3 vs. 2 vs. 1. Links/Bridges/Accelerated or not. Gets Title 1 funding or not. AYP or not. Counselors do counseling, special ed staff do special ed, gifted staff do gifted, and never the twain shall meet. What’s needed is differentiated instruction for all children regardless of organizational lumping. But that’s hard to deliver. Renfroe’s case manager approach seems the best in CSD but it only serves children with an IEP. Inclusive instruction with an excellent teacher who can differentiate instruction for 25-30 children is ideal; inclusive instruction with a poor to mediocre to ok teacher is worse than pull-out. Not easy especially in a changing student population for which prior assumptions about who is needy and who is not have to be challenged.
YAY Beerfest! Hope to see some other DMers tomorrow.
I will be the guy with sunglasses, a really small glass and some degree of intoxication, dependent upon the time of day I meet you…
SO looking forward to Beer Fest! We have an out of town guest coming for the third year in a row- worth the flight from IL to her for the great beer and even better vibe. Looks like fantastic weather is in store too!
We are going as well….unfortunately our out of town guests cancelled last minute……we are looking to offload 4 tickets if anyone is interested. Email me at: [email protected]
Beer Fest patrons don’t forget to buy a sandwich from the Decatur Bulldog Booster tent. All proceeds go to support the athletic programs at Decatur High and Renfroe Middle. We serve burgers, hot dogs and the best bratwurst this side of Wisconsin.
We need carpet cleaning, but smallish project– stairs and an upstairs hall. Anyone have any suggestions for quality and cost? The hall involves an old dog with accidents.
If it’s a small space, rent your own from the grocery store. Spot treat and then clean.
Or Intown Ace
unfortunately need more than rent-our-own
Accucare Carpet Cleaning 770-591-1916
The Breast Cancer 3 day, 60 mile walk is coming through the Stone Mtn to Atlanta path this morning. The group is supposed to go through downtown Decatur from 11:00A-3:00P. Give these gals a big welcome for the effort they are putting forth to raise $ for cancer research.
And thanks to the volunteers who mark the course and provide support to the 3-Day walkers. All are pretty amazing.
Not to rack the mud, but it will be interesting to see if St. Thomas More Catholic Church will again provide a refreshment stop for the Walk this year given the local archdiocese’s recent condemnation of Komen due to their funding of Planned Parenthood.
I have a small complaint/request for the City of Decatur. On Fridays, I usually telecommute and have the time to bike ride with my daughter to the 4/5 @ 5th Ave. Since we live by the YMCA this is a pretty good ride. Today, she had an early morning dental appt. We decided to ride downtown and then on to school afterwards. Upon arrival at the office complex (on the corner of Church and Ponce) we were unable to find a bike rack! We locked up to a handicap parking sign, but it was less than ideal as the car that showed up later pulled right up to the sign. I do not understand why the City doesn’t put bike racks everywhere in the downtown area and at every park. I understand that bike lanes can be expensive and require extensive planning when retrofitting our old car friendly streets. Bike racks are cheap! When you travel to more bike friendly countries, one of the first things you notice are the abundant bike racks. How about we offer building owners a 1 for 1 discount from city taxes if they install a bike rack.Come on COD, install bike racks like crazy. If you build it, they will come!
+1
On a minor related note, is it just me or are the bike racks on Trinity near the fire station situated oddly? That is, who is going to lock their bikes there, and where will they be going? DQ?
Does anyone know if YDFM carries corn tortillas that aren’t frozen. I get told so many different things by employees when I am there and I have still not been able to find them. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t.
I can’t find them at YDFM, either. But you can get them freshly made and warm at the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market! Yum!
Stop! Are you serious? Do they make flour as well? I only like the corn when fresh made, and Hubs only likes flour…we have been importing our tortillas from Texas for years. Sounds like a field trip to Buford HIghway Farmers Market is about to happen.
Oh, I know they do! Just not as quick of a drive. They are delicious though…
I am just very surprised that YDFM doesn’t even have them at all!
And those same yummy fresh corn torillas found at BuHi Farmer’s Market can be found at the Kroger at DeKalb Industrial.
They make em on premises at that Kroger? That is what makes em unbelievably good at BuHi Farmers Market…
Re the flour ones, get El Milagro if you can find them, they are made in Norcross I think — I know BuHi Farmers Market has them, not sure re the Kroger…
The same ones that are found at BuHi are at the Kroger, obviously not made on premises but packaged to stay fresh. I’ve bought them there after discovering them at BuHi and found them to be great and a lot closer.
*Sigh.* I learn this now, days after buying a big bag of masa (ironically from the BuFM) and learning to make my own. When that runs out, I’ll definitely buy the pre-made but fresh kind. Homemade tortillas are yummy but kind of time-consuming.
Thanks for the heads up about the El Milagro flour tortillas, too.
Anybody ever found a big white heron standing in their fishpond? Is there a way to keep it from becoming a habit? I’m slightly proud of the fat goldfish that we raised from a little 5$ baggie of “feeders”. He was standing right next to a white heron decoy that bobs in the wind, which we bought to keep the real ones away.
Probably looking for a date! Try a scarier decoy. Like a 4-5 foot tall Great Blue Heron. Or maybe an alligator.
Or you could outfit your goldfish with laser headgear.
Not a big white heron but a Great Blue Heron. We lost several fish to herons early on. Try plants in your fishpond. Put the plants in flower pots and set them on top of overturned flowerpots or concrete blocks if the pond is more than a couple of feet deep. Giving your fish plant cover is the best way to keep them out of a heron’s beak.
You can plant sweet flag, japanese iris, golden club, pickerel plant, umbrella palm, and many others in pots and leave them there all year long. They will thrive in the pond, and will winter over very well since the water temperature doesn’t get below freezing even if the air temperature does.
I found this web link that gives a good overview of aquatic plants that do well in water gardens:
http://www.your-garden-ponds-center.com/water-garden-plants.html
+1 Labdad – we also had a Great Blue hunting in our goldfish pond. The fish (that were left) learned to hide under the water plants.
It’s not pretty, but you can also put netting over the pond (which I do in the fall anyway to keep the leaves out).
We put some “cabbage” in the pond and it very quickly took over and seemed to offer good cover, plus a couple of upturned plastic milk crates which I think help, though one can imagine a determined heron with plenty of time on its hands defeating that as well. As soon as we saw the predator, we did what Pierce recommended, netting over a PVC pipe frame. My greatest fear is that the cheerful creatures will get spooked and stop the feeding frenzy show we always enjoy. I have no doubt that the little ones will get away and repopulate the pond, but one hates that kind of carnage in ones pond, would rather save it for the dinner table. Thanks for the shopping list Labdad! Also, note: replace the ‘we’ above with ‘me but mostly my wife the gardener and PVC pipe artist’.
After having been raided, we found the only sure solution is netting. However, I’ve heard that stringing fishline around the pond annoys them into moving on to the next pond. And that would be less visibly disruptive. But we haven’t tried that one yet.
This discussion string makes me want to install a fish pond for the express purpose of attracting a heron to my yard! I could stock it with inexpensive fishies & then one day maybe have an entire flock of herons.
Thanks a lot guys. Now I can’t get this damn song out of my mind.
To Pierce, SP and anyone else who may be interested:
Sunday I’m draining and cleaning my pond in preparation for winter and probably have nearly fifty goldfish to give away. They are all homegrown since this time last year. (We had a particularly fecund bunch of fish this year). If you want some backyard goldfish, I’m your guy!
Contact me at [email protected] for particulars.
I want to rent an “air dancer” or “sky dancer” for my child’s birthday, one of those tall blowy things (http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/eamfc.exayq/v/vspfiles/photos/TI0200-2T.jpg?1349380991 ) , since she’d get kick out of it. All the places to rent them seem to be 100 miles away or so. Anyone know of some place with a closer one, or one to borrow?
The mattress overstock place at Suburban Plaza uses one. Maybe you could rent it for the day. Good luck!
The Methodist Church on the corner of Church Street and North Decatur asks, via their marquee sign, “Who Would Jesus Vote For”? Discuss.
who ever is running aganst Pontius Pilate
This makes me laugh. Then I think, maybe it’s offensive to some. But I keep laughing every time I read it so I think it’s mostly just funny.
So who does the Methodist Church think Jesus would vote for?
What is your opinion on the age level of trick-or-treaters? Feel “slightly” robbed when a teen-ager is at my door!
As a mother of teenagers, I’d rather have them trick or treating than creating other mischief. Actually, I think mine is hosting a party for his friends, so that should take care of some of them.
I don’t mind teenagers as long as they are polite. I had a group of sarcastic, smart- a**tericks a couple of years ago. I hope they enjoyed the root beer dum-dums I gave them from my special stash of things my kids won’t eat.
After last year’s fiasco at Winnona Park Elementary’s field and back woods, I have decided that teens over the age of 12 do not need to go out and trick or treat. Parties at homes with chaperones are fine. But bands of good kids were drawn to the action at Winnona Park and it was a mess with alcohol, sex, and possible criminal activity. A scene better avoided. I’m sure that many of the kids were originally just looking to socialize, trick or treat, and see friends, not looking for trouble.
Now if a polite band of teens comes to my home to trick or treat in costume, I’ll gladly give them treats. And hope that they stay on course because one never knows where the next teen scene that leads to trouble will pop up.
Please let me know (cbillingsley1823@gmail) if you need a “Yes Charter Schools/Amendment One” yard sign for your City of Decatur property. I was lucky to meet the head of the “Yes Charter Schools DeKalb” parent this evening (who strangely enough, lives in South DeKalb in what I would describe as solidly middle class black neighborhood) and she provided me with plenty of yard signs for those who already benefit from charter schools (City Schools of Decatur) but want to support families that want what we have. Please send me an email with name, address, and phone and I will get you a sign.
Supporting Charter School, now that’s Real Change!
Clarification: City Schools of Decatur has a system charter which has nothing to do with charter schools. None of its schools are charter schools. I believe that the School Board (and maybe the administration?) is against the Amendment although it cannot use school funds or facilities to lobby one way or another. Certainly, CSD has been quite cautious about sharing decision making with its school leadership teams so I doubt it is anxious to share its limited budget with local charter schools that have independent leadership.
IMHO, some charter schools provide a needed alternative to local public schools and the competition keeps the local school system more transparent and focussed on serving its true constituents–students and families. Those charter schools are run by parents, teachers, and the community. However, some commercially-run charter schools are investments by companies who care about profit more than students, teachers, and the community. You have to decide whether you trust the State, with its spotty history on commitment to lead and fund public education, or local government (school systems) to make charter school decisions. It may seem like a tough choice but a constitutional amendment is hard to undo if the voters choose unwisely. There is already a mechanism for local charter schools to appeal to the state level if local systems do not grant them a charter.
The best scenario is when a local school system provides the kind of educational quality and parent and community involvement that parents do not feel the need for a charter school.
Please do some research on this topic before putting up signs and voting. There is already a system in place for becoming a charter school in Georgia. This amendment is an attempt to privatize schools by right wing groups, businesses and politicians who stand to make a great deal of money off school privatization and who wish to force their conservative beliefs on the rest of us. Don’t be fooled into thinking these folks are suddenly concerned about education.
If the amendment passes, State approved charter schools can bypass local approval or override local rejection. Any State charter school would take funds away from local school systems by decreasing the amount of per-student funding, since the State schools would not count in the local schools’ numbers. The main supporters of the amendment are for-profit charter school managers, who on several occasional have been fired by existing charter schools. Interesting that the GOP is supporting the amendment, since their mantra is always about local control, which the amendment would eliminate.
Interesting that the GOP is supporting the amendment, since their mantra is always about local control, which the amendment would eliminate.
The GOP supports local control when local units of gov’t pass policies they otherwise support, like laxer environmental laws, tougher immigration policies, and looser firearms regulations. But when local units of government want more permissive drug laws or recognition of same-sex marriage, they’re perfectly happy to have the feds come in to put a halt to it. There is absolutely no reason to take talk of “local control” or “federalism” seriously.
I’m supporting CSD by voting NO for this amendment! CSD does not have charter schools. We are a charter system, as AHID pointed out.
Me too. I am against the Amendment. Not against charter schools on principle, but against this particular amendment.
This is a gentle reminder to parents who use a nanny or babysitter to take your kids to the plastic park: go over with your nanny basic safety techniques, such as not leaving an awake infant, unattended, strapped in a baby seat, on the edge of a picnic table, with toddlers running about. I am not trying to be holier than holy. I just see a lot at the plastic park.
Grateful to not be up on this, but does anyone know if you still surrender your plastic drivers license when you get a ticket and then get it back after court or once the fine is paid? I don’t think the yellow paper ticket will count as a photo ID at the polls!
I am up in Asheville figuring that someone had to go from Decatur to here to equalize out all of their coming to us.