East Atlanta Community Association
  Newsletter
January 26, 2009 
In This Issue
Dine Out Benefit
Friends of East Atlanta Library - Get Involved!
Friends of Brownwood Park Update
EAV Farmers Market & Burgess Peterson Academy - Get Involved!
EABA - Business Briefs
Upcoming East Atlanta Area Meetings
DeKalb Animal Control - Get Involved
DeKalb CEO Holding Neighborhood Gatherings on '09 Budget
Local School News & Information - Updated
News Around Town
EACA Public Safety
EASP News & Information
2009 EACA Membership
Join Our Mailing List!
Quick Links
 
 Greetings!

This week's newsletter is full of content including an update from our EACA Parks Committee, DeKalb County's 2009 proposed budget and neighborhood budget hearings, EABA's business briefs, and information on our area schools' open houses and enrollment.
 
Two non-recurring meetings of note are on the calendar for this week - the first East Atlanta Security Patrol meeting (see article in newsletter below) on Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. at Branan Towers and the Special Committee meeting regarding the ongoing discussion for the Land Use & Zoning Application for 525 Moreland Avenue on Thursday, 6:00 p.m. at Martha Brown Church.
 
Several ways to get involved within the community are also highlighted through the EAV Farmer's Market partnership with Burgess-Peterson Academy, the Friends of Brownwood Park, volunteering at the East Atlanta Library, and lobbying for DeKalb Animal Control to receive their proposed budget allocations for 2009 officer positions.
 
In next week's newsletter, look for an update on our Linking Education And the Public (LEAP) group and ways you can contribute to building better schools here in our community!
 
 Dine Out for a Safer Atlanta 
 
Checklist ImageThis Wednesday, January 28th is the Dine Out event to raise money for the Crime Stoppers reward fund seeking information in the murder of The Standard's bartender, John Henderson.

Some 50 Atlanta restaurants are involved and many East Atlanta establishments are participating including: The Glenwood, Flatiron, Grant Central Pizza, Holy Taco, Little Azio's, Midway Pub, and The Graveyard.

The AJC article on the Dine Out can be found HERE. Full details on the event and a list of all participating restaurants can be found HERE.

 EAV Farmers Market Partnering with Burgess-Peterson Academy - Get Involved!
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The EAV Farmers Market and Georgia Organics are working with Burgess-Peterson Academy on a garden project this year.  The garden will be part of a student wellness program at the school facilitated by Coach Jackson. 

The 1st and 2nd grade classes and their teachers will be the primary users of the garden, and the student Wellness Ambassadors (4th and 5th graders) will be serving as mentors.  Volunteers from the community are meeting with the teachers and students on Wednesday the 28th to talk about what the garden should include, pick a site and start developing a plan.  Trees Atlanta has offered a couple fruit trees and others like Fairywood Farm have offered materials.  
If you are interested in participating with the Burgess-Peterson Garden, please contact Jonathan Tescher at [email protected].

Friends of Brownwood Park Update - Get Involved!
Parks Committee
East Atlanta Community Association
 
Park Work Days Scheduled for 2009:
Earth Day - April
Hands On Atlanta Day - October
Additional work days expected, look for upcoming details
 
Recreation Center Addition Delayed
Due to current economic conditions, the Recreation Center addition has been put on hold.  As it faces revenue shortfalls, the City of Atlanta has decided to delay the issuance of further Opportunity bonds to avoid facing the possibility that it would not be able to pay the bonds back in a timely manner and potentially damage its bond rating.  The City is expected to evaluate its options after the 2009-2010 fiscal cycle has completed.  Obviously, the decrease in revenues has put the City in the uncomfortable position of having to cut basic services and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs tends to be at the top of the chopping block.  Basic maintenance will continue at the park, but on a longer rotation.  This means that the grass cutting and trash pick up will happen, but not as frequently.  Please help during this period and be diligent to put your trash in the designated receptacles.  Our park glitters when there is no litter!

Park Pride Community Grant Update
The Park Pride Community Grant, funded in part by the Woodruff Foundation, is in the works - a landscape architect has been hired to evaluate the existing conditions in the park and meld them with the walkways developed and approved through the Master Plan process in 2006.  Frawley and Associates will be drafting a walkway design for the North Side of the park that will provide a circular path system and incorporate the changes planned for the park in the upcoming years.  Other improvements slated for the park as a result of the Community Grant include:
  • A rain-water collection system to harvest the water from the Recreation Center for use in the Community Garden and surrounding beds.
  • A new drinking fountain installed by the playground utilizing the current spigot in the Pavilion
  • An updated drinking fountain with dog-bowl to replace the existing fountain at the Tennis Courts
  • Removing the existing Pavilion roof for future replacement with an open-aired (pergola-styled) structure (pending City approval)
The Recreation Center is closed until late June and may be closed for all of 2009.  Again, budget shortfalls have forced cutbacks, especially in programming and staffing.  Of the 33 Recreation Centers operated by the City of Atlanta, only 11 remain open with abbreviated operating hours.  With that in mind, we are brainstorming with area community groups to determine if there is enough interest in the community to engage the Department of Recreation in a dialogue to allow local stakeholders to re-open the Center.  If you are interested in helping with this (potential) process, have an idea for a class/program that could be offered at the Recreation Center or are a group that would be interested in utilizing the Rec Center space, please contact [email protected] with your thoughts and ideas.
 
Look for a Friends of Brownwood Park Logo and Website update in February 2009.

 Friends of East Atlanta Library - Get Involved!
Library BooksVolunteer Day
Friends of East Atlanta Library will be having a Volunteer Day at the Library on Sunday, February 1st from 1:30 until 4:00 p.m.

There are many different things that need to be done including re-shelving materials, cleaning and reorganizing storage closets, straightening and reading the shelves, outdoor beautification, cleaning computer terminals, and sorting and organizing magazines and audio and video materials. The more people there are, the faster it goes. We have fun and meet our neighbors, too! Come join us and help out the neighborhood! Contact Henry Bryant at [email protected] for more information.

Love Your LibraryLove Your Library Party
The 2nd annual Love Your Library Party in celebration of Valentines Day and Love Your Library month will be February 19th at 7:00 p.m. at the Gentry McClinton House on East Lake Drive. There will be wine, heavy hors d' oeuvres and sweets and attendees are encouraged to get in the spirit and wear something red.

The Gentry McClinton House is the historic home built by the inventor of the pay telephone who was the founder and the President of Southern Bell. Alexander Graham Bell and other notables have been entertained at the mansion. The first floor will be open courtesy of current owners and Library Friends members JoAnn and Emory McClinton. Entry to the party is free for Friends members - the party is exclusive for Friends members, but all can join at the party for an annual dues payment of $5. Contact Henry Bryant at [email protected] further information.

 DeKalb CEO Ellis Holding Neighborhood Gatherings on 2009 Budget 

DeKalb Chief Executive Officer Burrell Ellis will hold an unprecedented 11 public hearings throughout DeKalb County to ensure the people's concerns and questions are addressed regarding the 2009 budget recommendations. The 2009 recommended budget can be found HERE

The hearing nearest to East Atlanta will be Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at the East Lake YMCA. For dates and locations of other hearings, look HERE.

  DeKalb County Animal Control - Get Involved!

Major Kathy Mooneyham, Deputy Director of DeKalb County Animal Services, brought several DeKalb Animal Control officers to January's EACA meeting where they presented to our membership. A few of the 2008 accomplishments presented and gathered in follow-up include:
  • Establishment of an investigative Animal Cruelty Unit that investigates and prosecutes crimes against animals which has made a total of 38 arrests - 14 of which have been felony arrests, and over 150 citations.
  • Establishment of a prosecuting team with the Dekalb County District Attorneys Office for felony cases, and have developed a rapport with the Solicitors office for misdemeanor cases.
  • Creation of an Intake Officer and Trap Officer position as well as an adoption/rescue Coordinator position (adoption rate was up 8% over 2007).
  • Establishment of a veterinary clinic that now allows for spay/neuters and minor surgeries to be performed on-site.
The DeKalb County Animal Ordinance can be found HERE.

In addition to information regarding the accomplishments achieved in the last year and the efforts being taken to make improvements, Major Mooneyham shared that there are 7 proposed positions for allocation in the 2009 DeKalb County budget. East Atlanta residents have a voice and as DeKalb residents can influence the budgeting process through avenues such as attending the community hearings with the County CEO (referenced in above article) and by writing letters to Commissioner Larry Johnson encouraging fulfillment of these proposed positions.

 
  Upcoming East Atlanta Area Meetings
East Atlanta Security Patrol Meeting (See EASP section of newsletter for more info)
Tuesday, January 27th - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Branan Towers
For more information, contact EACA Public Safety Chair Myron Polster at [email protected]

PEDS Meeting & Pizza Party (Pedestrian Advocacy Group)
Tuesday, January 27th - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Slice Pizza -Downtown
For more information, see www.peds.org

NPU-W Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, January 28th - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Martha Brown United Methodist Church
For more information, contact NPU-W Chair Ed Gilgor at [email protected]

525 Moreland Ave - Special Committee for Application Meeting
Thursday, January 29th - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Martha Brown United Methodist Church

SAND Monthly Meeting
Thursday, February 5th - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Beulah Heights University Student Activities Center
For more information, contact SAND President Steve Norman at [email protected]
  EABA - Business Briefs
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By Marc Takacs
President
East Atlanta Business Association
Realtor, Keller Williams
 
The East Atlanta Business Association, in partnership with SouthStar CDC and a grant from the East Atlanta Beer Fest will start monthly cleanups in the commercial district the first week of February.  The Samaritan House's Clean Street Team has been hired for monthly servicing.  Keep any eye out for the teams, and especially the many bags of trash they collect to make our neighborhood just a little cleaner.
 
Below are some details of the Clean Street Team.  More info can be found at http://www.samhouse.org/:
  • Launched in 2005, The Clean Street Team is a transitional employment and training program that affords homeless men and women the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience and help prepare them for full-time employment.
  • The Clean Street Team engages approx. 30 homeless men and women per year to work on various exterior and interior cleaning projects throughout the city. The end goal for the men and women in this program is to find permanent jobs and housing, and return to their families and communities as productive members.
  • Clean Street Team participants receive a stipend of $7-$9 per hour, job training and assistance with gaining full-time employment, assistance in securing housing, comprehensive case management and daily morning breakfast.
 
The Dine Out Event to help find the perpetrators in the John Henderson murder is January 28th.  Almost every East Atlanta establishment is involved.  If you've been looking for a good excuse to try a new restaurant this might be it.  Full details and a list can be found HERE.
 
Did you know that the majority of the restaurants in EAV have their cooking grease collected by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy where it is taken to their bio-diesel refinery on Arizona Ave. and sold for very competitive prices to the public?  This is just one example of initiatives the small business owners in this neighborhood have taken to reduce their environmental impact.

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                                             Checklist Image
How to Write a Novel
Tuesday, January 27th - 7:30 p.m.
With author Sheri Joseph

Award-winning author Sheri Joseph will discuss her novel writing process. If you've been thinking about writing a novel, this is a great opportunity to meet a novelist and ask her questions.

Josef's first book was the story cycle Bear Me Safely Over and her second book was the novel Stray, which includes characters from Bear Me Safely Over, is also available.

Sheri Joseph teaches graduate and undergraduate fiction writing classes and serves as fiction editor of Five Points literary magazine. Her recently published novel, Stray, was awarded the Grub Street National Book Prize. Her cycle of stories, Bear Me Safely Over, was a Booksense 76 selection in both hardcover and paperback. "The Elixir," a story included in Bear Me Safely Over, was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. She has been awarded fellowships from the Sewanee Writers' Conference, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Kenyon Writers' Workshop, the Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers (in Scotland), the MacDowell Colony, and Yaddo.

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Glenwood Logo
New 2009 Menu!

Chef Angel has developed her menu for 2009, and it's a winner: Many old favorites are still around, but she's also introducing new dishes that are certain to become favorites!

See the new menu HERE.

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Introducing Atlanta Technical Resources - now serving the EAV

ATR has been in business for almost 10 years and supports over 120 small businesATR photoses in the Greater Atlanta Area. In addition, we help between 200 - 400 residential customers each year. Hailed as one of Atlanta's best in customer service by Angie's List members, we have received their prestigious Super Service Award for the past 2 years.

Spencer Alexander, the owner, has recently made the EAV his family's new home and is excited to be working with several of the local businesses and their employees. We look forward to helping East Atlanta residents with all of your computer and networking needs. Call us anytime for a free phone consultation at 678-358-4395 and find us online at www.atlantatechnicalresources.com. Mention the EACA Newsletter and receive $20 off 2 hours or more.

 News Around Town - Atlanta News
Local News

 

 Local School Open Houses & Enrollment Information

Atlanta Charter Middle School
As public schools, charter schools comply with state and federal regulations, and their admissions are open to all.  The school's size is limited by its charter. Presently, the Atlanta Charter Middle School serves 130 students. For the 2009-2010 school year, ACMS will enroll a new class of entering sixth grade students, as well as fill whatever openings may arise in the seventh and eighth grades.
 
Since East Atlanta is in The Atlanta Charter Middle School's primary attendance zone, registration begins on Monday, February 2, 2009 and concludes on Monday, February 23, 2009 at 4:00 PM.  Once the first registration period is over, a second registration period for the remainder of the city of Atlanta will begin on March 2nd.
 
You must attend a mandatory Information Session if you wish to register your child.  All students in the primary attendance zone that register during the first registration period have an equal chance of being enrolled, so there is no rush to register prior to attending an information session.
 
Information Sessions are currently scheduled at the school on the following dates and times (RSVP to Maria Larson at [email protected] or 678-904-0051):
  •  Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 10:00 to 11:30 AM
  •  Tuesday, February 17, 2009 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM
  •  Saturday, March 7, 2009 from 10:00 to 11:30 AM
If you are unable to attend one of the information sessions but are still interested in applying, please contact the school's principal, Matt Underwood, at [email protected] or (678) 904-0051.
 
For registration details and applications, visit http://atlantachartermiddle.com/content/enrollment.php

Neighborhood Charter School

Learn more about registration for the 2009-2010 school year at the Neighborhood Charter School (NCS).  NCS is a free, public school serving children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade and is located at 688 Grant Street in the Grant Park neighborhood. 
 
The Second Registration Period is open to all families from the City of Atlanta Planning Unit W (NPU-W):
Begins: Monday, March 2
Ends: Monday, March 16
 
Lottery: Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 pm (Rosswurm Hall)
 
Information sessions:
  • Thursday, February 12, 9:30 am (Media Center) and 6:30 pm (Rosswurm Hall) 
  • Thursday, March 12, 9:30 am (Media Center) and 6:30 pm (Rosswurm Hall) 
  • Thursday, Arpil 30, 9:30 am (Media Center) and 6:30 pm (Rosswurm Hall) 
For more information, please visit http://www.neighborhoodcharter.com/enroll.html.

Kingfisher Academy Open House
Kingfisher Academy will be hosting a winter open house on Wednesday January 28th from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. More information can be found at www.kingfisheracademy.org

Imagine Wesley Open Houses and 2009-2010 Enrollment
Imagine Wesley will be hosting Open House meetings and campus tours on the below dates from 6:30-8:30 p.m.:
  • Thursday, January 29, 2009
  • Thursday, February 12, 2009
  • Thursday, February 26, 2009
2009-2010 registration has begun and the list of information needed to submit an application can be found here on the Imagine Wesley website.


 EACA Public Safety - Week 3 Police Report / DeKalb County CRIMETRAC
 
Week 3 Police Report
At each month's EACA meeting, we present the monthly crime statistics for our area along with year-to-date trends and analysis. We are now also publishing the weekly detailed crime reports in the EACA newsletter.
CRIMETRAC
DeKalb County has rolled out "CRIMETRAC, an innovative mapping system designed to give citizens a first hand look at crime statistics in unincorporated DeKalb County. CRIMETRAC is another element of the Department's Interactive Community Policing (ICP) Unit's partnership with the community." For more information, visit the CRIMETRAC site HERE.

 East Atlanta Security Patrol News & Information
EASP Logo
There will be a meeting for both current and prospective Security Patrol members on Tuesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m. at Branan Towers.

The purpose of the meeting will be to take suggestions on how we can improve EASP, to offer IMMEDIATE opportunities for volunteers to take on tasks that have already been identified, and to answer any questions you may have about how the Security Patrol operates.  You will also be able to join the Security Patrol, as the next enrollment date is February 1st.

To learn more about EASP or to enroll, visit the East Atlanta Security Patrol website (http://patrol.eaca.net). The cost to join the patrol is $50 per quarter, with a 50% discount for longtime residents and those 65+.
 
If you have additional questions, please direct them to [email protected], or call EACA Public Safety Chair Myron Polster at 404-429-8815.

  2009 EACA Membership

Join or renew your EACA membership today! Annual dues are $10 per household. As an EACA member, you can vote at EACA meetings on topics of interest within our community. Additionally, there are numerous local business who offer discounts to EACA members. See the official list of EACA member discounts and take advantage of them by showing your 2009 membership card throughout the Village.

You can sign up for your 2009 EACA membership and order EACA Yard Signs on-line! Pay electronically through your online banking site or via Paypal HERE.
 
Contact Information:
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://eaca.net

Submissions:
If you're interested in submitting an article to the EACA weekly newsletter, send it to [email protected] by the end of the day on Friday. Include relevant dates, times, locations and contact information, as well as details of the event or announcement.