Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
Month: December 2016
City of Decatur Selected by Emory’s Barkley Forum as “Speaker of the Year”
The City of Decatur made this announcement late last week…
The City of Decatur has been selected, by members of the Barkley Forum of Emory University, as the 2016 Georgia Speaker of the Year for its “innovative and ethical leadership in implementing the Better Together Action Plan”.
Since 1967, the Barkley Forum has recognized individuals or groups that exemplify outstanding and effective communication that aligns with the organization’s values: creating space for deliberative dialogue in pursuit of the public good.
The Georgia Speaker of the Year Award is presented at an annual banquet. Past recipients who have been honored include Ralph McGill, Andrew Young, President Jimmy Carter, Benjamin Mays, Senator Zell Miller, Ted Turner, Johnnetta Cole, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, and Mayor Shirley Franklin. Decatur will be the first city to receive the award.
Better Together is a citizen-led, government supported effort to build deeper connection, understanding, and mutual respect among the Decatur community. The process facilitated a substantive community conversation around the myriad differences — in culture, race, age, abilities, politics, economic resources, and more — that make us who we are.
The community conversation culminated in the creation of a tangible Community Action Plan that focuses on cultivating a more just, welcoming, inclusive, equitable and compassionate experience for all who visit, live or work in the City of Decatur. This action plan is a policy and implementation guide for the community, consisting of facts about Decatur’s populations, background on the Better Together process and the people behind it, key findings and recommendations that emerge from the process, the community’s suggested actions moving forward, and the individuals or organizations responsible for implementation.
According to its website, the award has been given each year since 1967 to “honor the power of communication in intelligent, responsible, and effective civic speech”. The Georgia Speaker of the Year represents these skills in the public sphere.
Free-For-All Friday 12/23/16
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet discussed here over the past week.
Decatur Community Steps In To Help Out After Tragic Passing of 1-Year Old From Pneumonia
One of the most tragic things happened to a local Decatur family; they lost their one-year old son, Asher Krop, unexpectedly to pneumonia after a week in the hospital.
Family friend Andrea writes in that “In typical Decatur fashion, people want to help however we can. A few people close to the family have established a fund to help defray the cost of funeral expenses and hospital bills that are likely to be very high. They are looking to get the word out to as many people as they can…”
So that’s where the community has already started to help out and can continue to assist.
A Meal Train website has been set up to help the community offset hospital and funeral costs for the family. Here’s the fundraising’s site’s stated mission…
As we mobilize to help this wonderful family we are hoping to raise some funds to help offset the (yet to be fully known) costs of hospital bills, funeral services, etc., that are likely to be very high. The family is NOT interested in gaining unneeded funds. Any remaining funds will be donated to a charity of their choice in honor of Asher’s life.
Almost $3,000 has already been donated to help the family, with a posted goal of $20,000.
MARTA Overpass Mural To Be Completed in April; Underpass Will Become Playspace
From Asst. City Manager Linda Harris on The Decatur Minute…
The mural on the MARTA Overpass at W. Trinity Place and Atlanta Ave. is almost complete. The Milagros Collective, consisting of artists Felici Asteinza and Joey Filastre, began work on the mural in the middle of November.
The project was initially delayed in order to do a lead abatement on the steel girders and while the rain was much-needed, it caused more delay in the painting process. The artists worked for a month through the middle of December and one side of the mural is just about finished along with the pilings under the Overpass. The other side has been pressure washed and primed and is ready for the detail work.
Felici and Joey are part of a residency program at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) from the end of December through the end of January.
They will return to finish the mural the first week of April when the weather is warmer so the paint will adhere better. In addition to finishing the mural, they will be working with Decatur Active Living and the community at the Decatur Housing Authority to enhance the area under the bridge.
The area under the bridge has been funded by a KaBoom! Play Everywhere grant to create a playspace that will give the community a pleasant place to stop by and be physically active. The space will be an extension of the mural and have features such as hopscotch, four-square, an artist-created bench and more. The space is also used as a bus stop by the adjacent community and once the mural is complete and the space is activated, it will be brighter, more welcoming, and add an element of fun to the area.
Video courtesy of The City of Decatur via YouTube
Scout Opens Today in Oakhurst
After a few nights of soft opening events, Scout is officially opening in the old McGowan’s space at Scottish Rite to the general public this afternoon.
In announcing the opening, Eater described the new Oakhurst spot thusly…
The venture is a reunion of sorts for a few veterans of Midtown’s Georgian Terrace hotel. Chris Martha, ex-director of food and beverage at the hotel, revealed plans for Scout in March. Michael Semancik, previously of the Georgian Terrace’s Livingston Restaurant + Bar, joined as executive chef in June. Nate Shuman, known for his work behind the stick at the hotel’s Proof & Provision, was announced as beverage director in August.
Scout’s official website doesn’t currently include a menu, but the focus will be on becoming a neighborhood spot that features local and “not overdone comfort food” Southern fare, according to the Eater post.
Photo courtesy of Scout’s Facebook page
Decaturite In Malawi Goes Sorta Viral Singing Toto’s “Africa” To Raise Funds For CARE
You all know Andisheh, right?
The former Creative Loafing writer, occasional DM contributor, and current Social Strategies Manager at CARE was in Malawi a couple of days back and took this video of himself singing Toto’s “Africa” along the country’s busiest highway.
Why? To raise funds to buy a goat at gifts.care.org. (He explains it in the video.)
Well the video went a bit viral on Facebook and “It’s raised several thousand dollars and generated many more views than I have Facebook friends.”, according to Andy.
So here we are. Spreading the viral-ish message a bit further. If you’re still looking to make a donation this holiday season, watch Andy’s video and maybe buy a goat. Or a goat and some chickens!
P.S. from Andisheh: “The serious bits of the trip (see hashtag #DreamWithHer on Facebook) are a big hit, too. And Decatur-made. I and Church Street’s-own Kate Crosby are leading this for CARE.”