Many have wondered about the new shop “Butter and Cream”, which is going into the old Taste space on Church Street (MAP).

We got in touch with the owner, Stacey Wisniewski who tells us…

I am very excited about my new shop, Butter and Cream. We will be making and serving delicious ice cream and desserts with fun and inventive flavors. Currently we are anxiously awaiting our building permit so we can get started with construction. Thanks for asking!

Stay tuned!

Chadwick sends along a picture of the mayor accepting the donation of a 30′+ Willow Oak from an donor Michael Jackson of Heirloom Tree and Garden as part of the kick off for the Decatur Arbor Festival tree display going on next to the Marlay starting today.  From the event flyer…

Samples of trees and experts who can help you select will be at The Gate Called Beautiful next to The Marlay Feb 21st, 22nd, and 23rd to kick off the ordering period which lasts through March 2nd. After the 23rd, order forms can be dropped off at participating local sponsors.

You can view the order form and tree selection list HERE.

CSD send out this email blast late yesterday…

Dear CSD Families,

At the February school board meeting, Dr. Edwards and the Board of Education discussed the lost instructional time due to inclement weather this semester. Dr. Edwards charged a team of instructional and operational staff to devise a plan to add  30 minutes of instructional time per day before testing season begins.

The team weighed many factors including instructional schedules, athletic practices and games, bus schedules, after school programs and clubs, testing dates, free and reduced breakfast mandates and more.  The team also considered communication from parents and students expressing concern as well as communication in support of the additional 30 minutes.

Please see the schedule below for the new start and end times for all 8 of our schools in theCity Schools of Decatur.  This schedule will begin on Monday, March 3 and end on Friday, May 2.  Should there be additional school closings due to extreme weather conditions, City Schools of Decatur may choose to extend the new schedule through the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

Parents and students will receive communication about specific school-based plans during the week of February 24.  Coaches and after school club and activity sponsors will send additional communications about their programs.  After school childcare providers will contact parents separately from district communications.

Morning bus routes will not be affected by the new morning bell schedule.  Students should be at the bus stop at their usual time in the morning.  Afternoon bus routes will be affected by the new afternoon bell schedule.  Parents should add the additional time to the current bus drop-off schedule in the afternoon.  Questions concerning the bus schedule should be directed to Simone Elder, Director of Transportation, at  .

As previously communicated, students will also make up two inclement weather days on March 10 (previously a teacher workday) and May 29 (the new last day of school).  Post-planning for teachers is now Friday, May 30.

Thank you for continued support of City Schools of Decatur.

A common question in the thread following the announcement earlier this week that Google was beginning talks with the City of Decatur to bring Google Fiber to the community was something along the lines of “Anybody know a way to provide support to the city on this?”

Well,the City of Decatur has responded with a list of things residents can do to help convince Google that they should bring Fiber to the city.  From the Decatur Minute…

Yesterday’s announcement of Decatur as one of 34 cities under consideration for the next round of Google Fiber expansion resulted in an outpouring of enthusiasm from residents, business owners and, well, just about everyone. City leaders and staff are busy taking the next steps in the joint planning process, and updates will be posted here as they become available.

Google wants to know that there is grassroots support for Google Fiber in Decatur. Here’s what you can do to help:

1)      Visit https://fiber.google.com/newcities/ and click on the “Get Updates” button. The more people who sign up for updates that live or work in Decatur the better, so be sure to use a City of Decatur address.

2)      On Twitter? Tweet your enthusiasm to @GoogleFiber and @Google using the hashtag #DecaturGA

3)      Express your support on the Google Facebook page in a comment that tags the Downtown Decatur Facebook page.

4)      Follow the Fiber Google+ page.

5)      Get creative! Google has a corporate culture that values forward thinking, so reaching out to the company in creative and innovative ways is encouraged. How would Google Fiber improve your life, your business or the entire Decatur community? Let Google know “Decatur wants Google Fiber!”

The city would like to hear how you creatively told Google “Decatur wants Google Fiber!” Share in the comments or email 

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

Comments close on Monday.