Wondering what was announced to the community at 6pm tonight on Decatur Square?  Here it is…

A Decatur family has bestowed the Decatur Education Foundation with its single largest gift to date, a $500,000 donation that will provide a wide range of educational support to the city’s students.

The gift was announced this evening on the city square at the kick-off of the “Terrific Thursday” holiday shopping season.

“This gift will allow us to continue to build on the work accomplished over the past 10 years to ensure that every child in Decatur has opportunities to thrive,” says Paula Collins, chair of DEF’s board. “Coupled with the continued support from our community, it will allow us to impact exponentially more children. For that, we are most grateful.”

From the DeKalb History Center…

The History of the Streetcar in Atlanta & DeKalb County. Presented by Patrick Sullivan. Patrick Sullivan will present a talk on the establishment, growth, and decline of streetcars and inter-urban commuter lines in the Atlanta area with a special focus on the development of the transportation network in DeKalb County.

The history of the streetcar is as large and as colorful as history gets. Expansive, fast (for their time), noisy, and romantic, they were much loved by urban Georgians. Businesses, neighborhoods, recreational sites, and schools were tied into the new transportation system that provided movement to places people wanted or needed to go. Social relations changed as they brought white and black riders into close contact within the Jim Crow South. While the trackless trolley and personal automobile would bring an end to their use, funeral parties held in many cities honoring “last trolley rides” testified to their strong hold on the traveling public.

In 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation hired New South Associates to develop a context for resources associated with Georgia’s historic streetcar systems, with an emphasis on the metro Atlanta area. The purpose of the report was to provide GDOT staff and preservation professionals with identification guidelines for streetcar-associated resources when they are encountered during road construction projects and a framework for evaluation of their historic significance and eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Patrick Sullivan is a historian and architectural historian with New South Associates in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He received his M.A. in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University in 2007. Over the course of his seven-year career at New South Associates, Mr. Sullivan has worked on a number of architectural and historic resource surveys throughout the eastern United States for clients that include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the General Services Administration, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the National Park Service among others.

• November 13, From Noon to 1:00 p.m.
• Historic DeKalb Courthouse, Second Floor, 101 E. Court Square
• Free – bring your lunch!

Photo courtesy of the Wren’s Nest

I’m a couple of days late in pointing this out, but it’s still worth acknowledging even if many of you have already seen it.

Back on Tuesday, the AJC’s Maureen Downey wrote a beautiful report/reflection/eulogy about Renfroe teacher Stacey Daniel on her blog.  Ms. Downey and her son’s personal experiences with Ms. Daniel and very reflective of the reactions of many who knew and work with Ms. Daniel.  Here’s a small excerpt from the beginning of the post…

My 13-year-old twins differ on many things. My son’s favorite meal is a burger. My daughter prefers sushi. When my son rushes to the computer, he’s checking on the Falcons. When my daughter goes online, she’s checking Facebook He’s a math guy. She’s a language arts kid.

But there is one thing on which they agree: Stacey Daniel was their favorite teacher of all time at Renfroe Middle School in Decatur. And they were not alone in that. Hundreds of students in Decatur considered Ms. Daniel their most beloved teacher.

All the very best to Ms. Daniel’s family, friends and students during this extremely difficult time.

• Op-Ed: Suburban style development is “bad news” for the Beltline [CL]
• Three Tavern’s Brian Purcell talks home brewing [Eatocracy]
• GSU cutting 110 positions [AJC]
• Don’t forget Terrific Thursdays start tonight [COD]
• McDonald’s looking at second Clairmont Road location near Briarcliff [TNT]
• Cliff Bostock’s top 10 Atlanta restaurants for 2012 [CL]
• The Big New Yorker book of dogs [Brain Pickings]

Rendering courtesy of CL