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.

This Week

An Evening with Malcolm Gladwell, author of David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants, Wednesday, January 29th at 8pm, Symphony Hall (ticket info here), $45 (includes a signed copy of the book). NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER.

An Evening with Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers, Wednesday, February 5th at 7pm, Davis Academy, 8105 Roberts Drive, Atlanta 30350, free but please RSVP to  [It is not true that they changed the name of their street address just for this event.]

Upcoming

Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, author and illustrator of Wildwood Imperium, Friday, February 7th at 7pm, Kavarna Coffee, hosted by Poverty is Real and sponsored by Little Shop of Stories (ticket info here) to benefit the Decatur Education Foundation‘s literacy programs, $15 adults, $10 kids, plus the purchase of one book per family.

Pulitzer-prize winning poet Paul Muldoon, Saturday, February 22nd at 4pm, Glenn Auditorium on the Emory University campus, free but this event is ticketed; tickets can be obtained at theSchwartz Center for the Performing Arts box office, be reserved online (tickets.arts.emory.edu) and by phone (404-727-5050) with a $4 per order service fee, and a limited number of tickets are available at A Cappella Books, Charis Books & More, Eagle Eye Book Shop and Little Shop of Stories. Tickets (capped at two per person) must be picked up in person at these locations.