Free-For-All Friday 4/18/14

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

94 thoughts on “Free-For-All Friday 4/18/14”


  2. It’s foraging season! Get out your edible plants guide and see what our public land has to offer. Just stay away from my favorite spots…

  4. Dairy Queen agony. The building sitting there in its beloved way. Still advertising its five-buck lunch.

  6. Friends,
    My wife and I are soon to be moving to Portland, OR. It’s been great living in North Decatur and reading Decatur Metro. Keep trying to get N. Decatur Rd. safer. Support your local market(s).
    And keep having fun.

    3. Sick with jealousy. Enjoy. You are arriving in time for what I call the cornecopia season–berries and wildflowers everywhere galore. I have fond memories of summer bicycling at 10 PM when it is still light there and stopping to sample berries along the side of the road. P.S.: Marionberries, a local berry only, are the best. Marionberry pie!

      1. I did not know that after his political career Marion Berry made pies. I bet they are like crack! ; )

        1. They ARE like crack, in a healthy, sweet but tart, natural sort of way! There used to be a cafe near Mt. Hood that served the best marionberry pie ever, especially good after a day of cross-country skiing!

        2. P.S.: They are named after Marion County, Oregon. Maybe Marion Berry was too.

      1. But I think Powell’s stand-alone travel bookstore that was a satellite right in Downtown Portland is gone. Favorite. Bookstore. Ever.

        1. I think I walked by that one, but have only ever been in the mother ship, as it were.

  8. Why do our Druid Hills / Clifton neighbors feel the need to spray paint the Clifton Ridge sales sign? We may argue on this message board, but at least we’re not that childish and immature. Those folks need to grow up.

    1. I noticed that too. And then I realized that might have something to do with the yard signs opposing Clifton Ridge. I had no idea what they were opposing. Actually, still don’t.

      I don’t know if it’s been covered here already, but anyone have a synopsis of the movement against them?

      1. In short, a bunch of long time residents who live adjacent to or nearby a few undeveloped acres between Clifton and ND County Club are unhappy b/c their “park” is being developed. Given their connections and resources, they managed to drag this out for years. Ironically, instead of making the development cost-prohibitive, the group opposed to the development have only made the development more profitable as land and home values have increased more than the extra carrying costs and costs incurred fighting the group of neighbors.

        And the spray paint just proves true the old saying: Money doesn’t buy class.

        1. I have no dog in the fight, but I heard that the residents also oppose the new development because the developer is/was trying to do an end-run around the historic neighborhood requirements by getting his plan approved at the State level. In any case, spray painting the sign (over and over and over) is not good form.

        2. The Druid Hills neighborhood association is notorious for antics like these.

    2. How do you know that it’s the neighbors doing the spray painting? My guess would be teens up to no good. What does the graffiti say? If it makes no sense, it’s probably gang related. If it’s obscene, it’s probably teens. On the other hand, if it says “We, the homeowners of Druid Hills….”, I guess that’s a give-away.

      1. Are you serious? The developer has put up a sign multiple times and multiple times the builder and agent names and phone numbers have been spray painted over with a single line. That’s an uppity neighbor. Teens don’t care and there is no legitimate reason for a gang to tag a sign in a residential section of Clifton. No benefit of the doubt on this one. It’s a resident.

      2. Hey, AHID, drive by and check it out. The defacement looks clearly like a protest against the development, just straight lines of paint obliterating the information. Every time I drive by I think “This would make an interesting EOTS.”
        I don’t think, DawgFan, there was really a park, but a couple of privately owned lots.
        Anyway, here’s an article from Druid Hills Civic Association, a bit sensational, and I can’t tell when it was dated, but it lays out their argument about the development, http://druidhills.org/deny-clifton-ridge/
        Although I am a denizen of Druid Hills, I don’t have an opinion on this argument.

        1. I know it isn’t a park; note the quotation marks. Its the neighbors who don’t understand that – they were fortunate enough to live next to undeveloped land for decades, and they have decided they want it to remain that way, notwithstanding the rights of the property owner.

          1. Maybe they can put their effort into opening the Fernbank Woods again.
            Possibly, they could raise enough so it’s open on Sundays too?

      3. Why doesn’t the developer put up a camera? Uppity citizens probably don’t want a police record. Or would that just inflame things more? I remember when there were big protests about the Durand Mill development, nearby in Druid Hills, which was built over a beautiful farm that was finally sold by the family. Now some of the most uppity folks in town live there.

  10. It’s a potentially sad day for Aging Metalhead. After 40 years and over 200 million albums sold, AC/DC may be hanging it up due to the health of one of its founding members.

    If it’s true (there seems to be some contradictory stories on the web), then it’s time for me to pull out the old “Let There Be Rock” record, plunk it on the turntable, and revisit the greatness that is/was AC/DC.

      1. Yes. 🙂

        This is one of those bands where the change in singers didn’t affect their excellence (unlike Van Halen). So I’m a big fan of both.

        J_T: I had it on 8-track. Still have it on record and CD.

        Ugh. It’s really starting to hit me how appropriate the word “Aging” is in my screen name.

          1. Asking which AC/DC album is best/favorite is like asking which venereal disease is best… 😉

          2. From the Bon era, my fave is “T.N.T.”

            From the Brian era, it’s a toss-up between “Back in Black” and “For Those About to Rock.”

    3. Malcolm Young is the living embodiment of Rock and/or Roll.

      I hope he finds something fun to do in his retirement, like hunting chazzwazzers.

    4. I get “eat sh!t and die” looks all the time when I state how awful AC/DC are to listen to. Yes, I have some respect for what they have done, but that is one annoying sounding band.

      1. I am currently giving you one of those looks through my computer screen. 😉

      2. None of those looks from me. People like what they like, and you’re not alone when it comes to AC/DC.

        P.S. I have often gotten the same look when I express similar opinions on KISS.

        1. No doubt you have! Funny though, because I always lump them together in my annoyance category. That really upsets the AC/DC fans! 🙂

    5. 40 years? Makes me also feel aging. Of course, I didn’t start listening to them until the Brian Johnson era.

      My favorite concert memory was during the “For Those About to Rock” album tour. We were standing next to some scaffolding that I thought held lights or something. They opened with a few songs from previous albums, but when they finally got to playing the title track, I was startled by the explosions erupting everywhere. I realized that the scaffolding was holding up mini-cannons! Needless to say, it was a moving experience.

  12. Looking for an amazing theater experience? Find your way to Terminus – now running at Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve in North Decatur.

    http://www.artsatl.com/2014/04/preview-cutting-edge-theater-troupe-saiah-returns-ambitious-civil-war-terminus/

    1. We’re planning on attending the Terminus performance on May 3. Anyone been yet? I’m wondering how the parking works.

      1. Have been there as an usher. Parking is at ICS, just up the street from CSNP. Easy walk from there to the preserve (or shuttles may be available for nights with large attendance).

  14. Tonight Fernbank Science Center is observing “Yuri’s Night”. (The actual anniversary was last week but we were closed for DeKalb’s spring break). Doors open at 6:30 and tonight’s lecturer is a planetary scientist from Tech (she speaks at 7:00). What with this week’s announcement that an earth-sized planet has been discovered orbiting a red dwarf in the “Goldilocks Zone”, she may have some extra insights that don’t get reported in mainstream media. Admission to the lecture is free; the planetarium show at 8 is at normal prices. Come on out!

  16. Has anyone successfully treated a tick infestation in their yard? Our complex’s dog area is suddenly overrun. Are there any effective safe treatments? Has anyone used EcoSmart? Trying to avoid civil war over insecticide use. :-/

    1. I’ve heard of people using diatomaceous earth to treat tick infestations. That might be a good way to start.

  18. AC/DC may be hanging it up, but Decatur Makers is getting ready to rock! (Yup, corny… but true). We just got the Power (and turned on our lights)! Trying to open our doors by August 2014… Hell’s Bells!

    Check us out on FB and at http://www.DecaturMakers.org.

      1. Not only would we make Marionberry pie, we’d build the table on which you could place the pie, the plate on which you would cut the pie, and the utensils with which you would eat the pie. And maybe even build a contraption to do it all for you!

  22. Earth Day Festival tomorrow in Oakhurst at the Oakhurst Community Garden. Join the parade- dress like a pirate if you like! Info at http://www.wyldecenter.org See you there!

  24. Anyone have a recommendation for a hardwood floor expert?

    We live in one of the newer prairie style houses popping up around Oakhurst and are having significant issues with our floors – warping, cupping, sagging etc. Someone recently checked the moisture content of the floor and it is well within normal range.

    Thinking about stating a blog to chronicle this and other quality issues like sheetrock nails popping out etc that we are having with the house.

    1. You’re making me feel better about not having one of those gorgeous houses. All of the warping and popping nails happened so long ago at our home, the house formerly-known-as-asbestos-siding, that we no longer have to worry about it.

      1. I like to joke that our old house is solid, but there’s not a single right angle or straight edge anywhere to be found. Trying to put up molding or hang a picture straight is an OCD-sufferer’s nightmare.

        1. Ditto here–and if you put a marble on the floor, it’s fun to watch it roll around in weird loops. We’ve got a bunch of wood shims under the legs of one big wooden hutch so that it isn’t quite as obviously tilting to one side.

        2. Ha! We got one of those closet firms to come in and put sturdy shelving and drawers into our walk-in closet. They had to be VERY creative. For the drawers, there’s a certain order you have to open and close them or they won’t shut! 🙂

  26. Does anyone know what replaced or is replacing Erbert and Gerberts closed location? There is definitely activity, but I didn’t see a sign.

  28. My mother told me about a place in Decatur that she used to walk by and see confederate widows sitting in rocking chairs on a big porch, up to the 1950s. Does anyone know what this place would have been or what is there now? She lived near Glennwood School.

    1. I don’t know at all, but would really like to know the answer to this question. So I posting in the hope that it does not get overlooked.

      1. Maybe this is what she was remembering?

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Soldiers'_Home

    2. The Agness Lee chapter of the UDC was located, I believe, on Candler, if you are speaking of Decatur. Very possibly it. Otherwise, there was a Confederate Memorial home in Stone Mountain near the depot/gazebo.

      1. The Agnes Lee Chapter of the UDC is located at 120 Avery St. It doesn’t have much of a porch for rocking.

    3. Any chance she could have been remembering walking in Atlanta?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Soldiers%27_Home

      For a postcard image, scroll to near the end of this page:

      http://postcardman.org/Atlanta/hospitals_clinics.htm

      Page also has a postcard of the Scottish Rite Children’s Home along with many other Atlanta area hospitals and clinics.

    4. Before MARTA ruined Sycamore Street, I believe on of the six houses they demolished was occupied by the American Red Cross. I remember it as a large 2 story house with a big porch. It could have been that house since many confederate widows were active with the Red Cross and it’s in the Glennwood neighborhood.

      1. The building known as the Red Cross House was one of two homes relocated instead of demolished as part of the settlement of legal action by Sycamore Street residents against Marta. It is now known as 737 Sycamore Street, is the first house east of the park on Sycamore Street, and has just been put up for sale.

        1. Do you know the history of the house and how it came to be owned by The Red Cross? Was the other house the last house going east on Sycamore? I remember one of the houses was called the Love House?

          1. I do not know how the Red Cross came to own the house, but know they were there in the mid-1960s. The last house on the south side of Sycamore Street next to the Marta station is the other relocated residence and is known as the Death House because that was the name of the family that owned it. The yellow brick house (also on the market) in between these two homes was not relocated. I don’t know of a Love House, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t one.

    5. “My mother told me about a place in Decatur that she used to walk by and see confederate widows sitting in rocking chairs on a big porch, up to the 1950s.”

      How did she know they were confederate widows? Also, they must have been very old if it was “up to the 1950s”.

      1. They didn’t have to be widows from during the war – they could have been young women when they married late in life former soldiers. Does no one remember the Donald Sutherland film besides me? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_Living_Confederate_Widow_Tells_All

        1. Oh. DIdn’t think of that. Assumed it referred to women whose husbands died in the war.

      2. Being the widow of a Confederate soldier or veteran would have been a well-known aspect of a woman’s identity for the rest of her life. That war was still immediate in the first half of the 20th century in this part of the country. My mother recounted stories told to her by her grandmother, who was a little girl during what was referred to in my childhood as the War Between the States.

        1. True. My maternal grandmother (a born & bred Southerner) always referred to it as “The Late Unpleasantness” or “The Most Terrible of Conflicts”. Not once did I ever hear her call it The Civil War…

    6. Thanks for all this help. We’ll see if anything looks familiar to her. Like smalltowngal said, in the 50s the war was still a big deal here in Decatur, as my uncle recalls getting beat up for being from Ohio, by kids in gray kepi’s.

  30. So, proposed names for the Atlanta soccer team? Current favorite is Atlanta Gridlock, followed by “The ATLiens”

    3. The Atlanta “Blanks”. Named after: a) the owner
      b) the typical final score of at least one team
      c) the look you get from most Southerners when asked about soccer
      d) the check elected officials seem prepared to write professional sports teams.

    4. I’ll stay out of the name game for now, but I do hope they institute some sort of perimeter-based offensive strategy that involves shifting players ITP and OTP, with the possible variant of one player perpetually circling his teammates.

  32. ‘Road Work Ahead’ signs that look semi permanent are being installed on a number of streets that intersect Clairemont Avenue. Does anyone know what the project is about?

  34. wishing everyone a wonderful Easter, with a reminder to remember what this day is truly about: the power of redemption, and the resurrection of our spirits when we feel all hope is lost, only to discover mom hid a candy filled egg under the sofa cushion.

  36. Next Friday, April 25th is the Oakhurst Elementary Auction at the Solarium. if you have a business or a hobby, please consider donating a good or service to be auctioned off; that form is here: http://goo.gl/siOUQ7

    Hire a sitter and get your legwarmers out! Friday, April 25 is the Totally Awesome 80s Night at Oakhurst Solarium. Featuring great food, drinks, and entertainment from around Oakhurst and Decatur, as well as an amazing Live Auction, this is a gala event not to be missed! We are also pleased to bring you a wonderful online auction showcasing unique and exciting items, experiences and packages from around Decatur and beyond!

    Schedule of Gala Events
    Friday, April 25
    Oakhurst Solarium

    7:00pm: Silent Auction is Open – Music with DJ Lee Taylor
    10:00pm: Online & Silent Auction close, Live Auction begins with the incomparable Ms. Nesbitt
    11:00pm: Post Auction Karaoke Hour

    http://oakhurstauction.dojiggy.com/ng/index.cfm/ad2d242/regPages/pages/?p=127582

  38. Gorgeous day for whatever holiday you celebrate (or not). Sit outside weather–warm but before the humidity and mosquitos kick in. Reminiscent of Southern California on one of the rare days without smog. .

  40. Morning! We need to have some brick steps replaced. Any recommendations for a brick mason (or anyone else who could do the job)?
    Thank you

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