From the county-by-county section of Friday’s AJC…

Decatur Schools Superintendent Phyllis Edwards said that given the city’s renewed focus on annexation, “It looks to me we’ll have to build another school or build on an existing campus.”

Last spring Decatur schools projected that total enrollment would swell to over 6,000 by 2018, but Edwards admitted those numbers are now outdated.

Neither annexation nor the city’s at least five planned mixed-use developments figured into those original projections.

Edwards added the only existing campus with room to build is Winnona Park Elementary. Bill Banks for the AJC

Decatur’s Director of Active Living, Greg White, sends along details of a new exhibit coming to the Decatur Library in February as part of Black History Month that’s in honor of his mother Mrs. Lillian W. White.

All during the month of February, the Decatur Library will exhibit the private collection of owls of Mrs. Lillian W. White (March 24, 1932-May 8, 2011), former librarian of the Durham County Library System and one of the first professionally-trained, African-American librarians in the state of North Carolina. Mrs. White is the mother of Greg D. White, Director of the City of Decatur’s Active Living Division. On February 2, 2014, 3:00 p.m., Mr. White and his sister, Sharon White will host a brief discussion about their mother and her passion for owls.  The discussion will be followed by a reception and tour of the exhibit.

Greg tells us that his mother was a “huge owl collector” and that he is sharing 167 of his mother’s owls with the Decatur community.

Chadwick writes in…

Tree Canopy Goal? There’s a Festival for that!

Ever since the new tree ordinance was proposed, I have been talking with my friends in the design and horticulture community about the issue. Many understood why Mayor Baskett took the tough step of proposing a new ordinance; however, they were pained that a few individuals had created a situation where the community as a whole could face punitive measures for an environment they did not help to create.

At the commission meeting on the 21st, Commissioner Drake’s comment about trusting the citizens of Decatur and the commission’s discussion about an incentive based solution to the problem really resonated with my peers. Just like The Brick Store is with beer, or Farm Burger is with hamburgers, or The Kimball House is with oysters, etc. etc.  - we have talented people  in our community that are at the pinnacle of horticulture, and want to share that with their fellow citizens. It is in this spirit that we have marshaled our talents and resources to launch this initiative.

However, it is up to the community to make this a success. Our goal is to plant 366 trees, which is 10% of the commission’s goal for the city to reach by 2039. If we are able to get close to this goal in 2.5 months what the city proposes should take 2.5 years, we hope that it may shift the landscape in the deliberations about the best way forward. And we hope to plant a lot of awesome trees at great value to the community and have fun in the process!

TO DO THIS WE NEED HELP! We need volunteers with backs, volunteers with trucks, people to volunteer to work booths, people in the horticulture community that can offer consultations, and sponsors – my email is listed in the flyer attached.

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.

Comments close on Monday.