Seems like a lot more businesses plan to open today – that’s the other thread! – but there’s likely to be a considerable amount of ice on the street until the temperature works its way up toward 32 degrees. So here we go again!

Report road conditions in your area.  Let your neighbors who must go out know the best routes.

I thought it would be useful and informative to hear what Decatur Police have been up to/experienced the last 24 hours.  Sgt Jennifer Ross provided this summary…

Between when the storm hit yesterday to 3pm today, officers have handled 17 assist motorist calls, provided 16 courtesy transports, worked 9 vehicle accidents and conducted 23 welfare checks.  Police and fire personnel have also conducted 62 checks on seniors in the community and continue to do so.

Our dispatch center has handled 300 incoming calls.

We have responded to reports of two vehicles entered during overnight hours in the 700 block of Atlanta Avenue.  In both cases there was damage to the ignitions indicating an attempt to steal the vehicles.  A cell phone and set of gloves was taken from one of the vehicles.

We have snow chains on 11 police vehicles and officers are out patrolling.

We had some day watch officers who worked yesterday stay over into last night’s shift and officers due in for today’s day watch shift come in at 3am for overlapping coverage.  We had command staff and officers that could not make it home late last night stay at a hotel and in the office. Officers that lived nearby were transported home or picked-up.  Court personnel had to be transported to/from home to handle hearings at the jail.

What can the community do?

• Stay off the roads tonight.  Any thaw will re-freeze as the temperature drops.
• Check on neighbors, especially seniors, and make sure everyone is okay and basic needs are being met.

Please call the police department at if you believe a neighbor is in trouble, so officers can conduct a welfare check.

Just in from the City of Decatur…

Delayed openings tomorrow in Decatur

City of Decatur government buildings will open at noon tomorrow. This includes City Hall, the Design, Environment and Construction division of Public Works at Talley St. and the Decatur Recreation Center. Evening activities at the Recreation Center are cancelled for tomorrow night, and the center will close early.

Trash & recycling pick up is expected to have a delayed start time of 10 a.m. tomorrow. If sanitation crews can safely get to your rear yard they will pick up trash tomorrow. If they cannot, they will pick it up next week. Please use good sense when deciding if it is safe to put your recycling bin by the curb. If your driveway is too frozen to safely move your bins leave them until next week’s pick up.

While most of the major roads in the City of Decatur are currently clear and mostly dry, GEMA continues to recommend staying off roads. It is possible that roads and sidewalks could refreeze overnight so continue to exercise caution if you decide to leave your house.

While there have been a few minor traffic accidents in the past 24 hours, no one has been seriously injured in the City of Decatur. The community has done a great job of staying safe and warm indoors. If you do require emergency assistance, please call the police non-emergency number .

Decatur PD’s Sgt. Jennifer Ross asks that residents stay off the roads in vehicles.  She reports that there was a “little bit of thaw” today and it will re-freeze this evening.

She continues “[Decatur Police] were on South Candler Street last night trying to assist motorists who could not get up the hills and even with chains on the patrol cars, we were not able to push them and they had to abandon their vehicles.”

She’s going to provide us with a more detailed report of what’s been going on around the city – from a DPD perspective – a bit later this afternoon/evening.

City Schools of Decatur Facebook page just broke the news…

There will be no school for City Schools of Decatur students and staff tomorrow, Thursday, January 30. All schools will be closed. We are so grateful that all our students made it home safely yesterday! Thank you to all the faculty, staff and parents who helped make that possible. Please stay safe and warm!

We’ve received a couple of sign-related snow pics this morning.

West College Ave, Decatur GA (photo courtesy of Scott)

South Columbia at Kirk Road, Decatur GA (photo courtesy of Carrie)

The city sent out this announcement this morning…

Decatur’s roads and sidewalks are ICY, so please stay where you are and avoid driving if at all possible. City crews treated roads overnight with salt and sand, but with the low tempatures refreezing occurred. If you decide to venture out for a walk today please be extremely careful, as sidewalks are more slippery than roads in many places around the city.

Today’s closings:

• Decatur Recreation Center is closed today
• Decatur Municipal Court is closed tonight. Please call to reschedule your hearing.
• City Hall is operating with very limited staff.
• The Design, Environment and Construction division of Public Works is closed today, as all staff that made it into work are focused on clearing roads, etc.
• Tonight’s Town Hall meeting (“Review of the 2014 General Assembly Legislative Session”) hosted by state Rep. Rahn Mayo, state Rep. Howard Mosby and state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver is cancelled. It will be rescheduled at a future date.

The good news is that there were no car accidents, no trees down and no loss of power in the City of Decatur last night. The few people who were stranded yesterday were able to make it home ok. Public safety personnel were able to do a number of winter weather welfare checks on seniors and other vulnerable residents. (And as a reminder, if you have a senior neighbor, please be neighborly and check on him or her today.)

If you need emergency assistance during this winter weather, please call the police non-emergency number at .

Please check www.theDecaturMinute.com later today for updates on the weather and possible closings tomorrow.