Dunwoody Town Hall hosted by District 3 - TONIGHT

You wanted 'em, you got 'em!  The next in the local neighborhood Town Hall series is at the Dunwoody North Driving Club tonight.

A word to the wise:  everybody has something they disagree with City Council on.  (Ask me how I know this...!)  Give them a chance to answer questions, even if you're pissed about something.  It's the courtesy you would want from them.  Hear the answers and give them a shot before blowing off the official you already decided you don't like.  Some of the nasty comments in the gallery after the first town hall at DHS directed at Mike Davis were really discouraging.

Due to work obligations I can't attend tonight, but I do have some questions of my own.  If you seven folks are reading, please consider an answer to the following.

1)  Feelings about developments at Brook Run are still raw.  Some will never forget the number of trees that were removed for the walking trail.  There is still conflict over the location of the dog park and whether the trees there are in fact harmed by the dogs.  Then you have the nearby neighborhoods who are watching for any trouble due to both of these.  You're also in the process of (finally!  thank you!) destroying the unusable buildings toward the front.  The trail is as yet unfinished and the outcome of the dog park move remains to be seen.  Why would you consider an unsolicited offer from a company to make use of the park for an obstacle course (which is not even close to being on the parks master plan) when there are still conflicts and concerns for "negative impact" over current developments?  Why was it necessary to move ahead with a treetop obstacle course plan when current development in other areas is still underway and their benefit and potential problems are far from clear?  Why did you not choose to put this request on hold until prior developments and their questions were closer to resolution?

2)  Congratulations on the state grant to fund the redevelopment of the Tilly Mill/N. P'tree/Peeler intersection.  As a resident who drives through it several times a day I concur it is long overdue.  I would have been satisfied with any plan, so long as it expedited traffic through the intersection safely.

With that said, there is much more to safety and shorter wait times than just infrastructure.  Because these roads are arteries to I285 and Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) you have some additional issues:  namely, a large concentration of college students with a limited amount of driving experience and the "ten-feet-tall-and-bulletproof" view of themselves that all college students experience.  Infrastructure alone - including striping, bike lanes, signage, lights, etc - does not necessarily persuade drivers (including bicyclists) to drive safely.  In addition to speed traps and occasional jaywalking warnings at the college itself, how is the City working with GPC to reinforce and encourage safe driving/bicycling habits in this population?

2a)  Even though a street is on the drawing board for redevelopment, the lane striping still needs maintenance.  It is not acceptable for striping to be allowed to disappear from use just because a refurbishment is coming.  That's an accident waiting to happen and you don't need the liability.  Try driving south on N. Peachtree approaching Tilly Mill.  The center yellow lines are *gone* and it is almost impossible to determine where the left-hand turn lane ends and the northbound lane begins.  See above re:  college students.  You also have a population driving through here that doesn't live in Dunwoody, is not as familiar with the streets as those who live on them and an accident is bound to happen.

3)  You may be interested to know that if the City plans to install tennis courts at Brook Run in place of the office buildings (thank you, again!) and even refurbish those at Windwood Hollow Park (please?), facilities grants are available from the USTA for their installation.  (http://www.usta.com/About-USTA/USTA-Awards/grants/ - scroll down to "Facilities".)  Milam Park in Clarkston (http://www.southern.usta.com/milam_park_conversion_opens_in_clarkston_ga/) was a recipient of one of these grants and they created an outstanding facility for their community, including scaled-down "quickstart" courts for smaller children.

If/when these courts are installed/upgraded, please consider additional markings to scale the courts down to 60' and 36' for younger players.  (aka, "blended lines")  You don't have the space for dedicated smaller childrens' courts, and I'm sure you're not planning any professional-grade play, so additional blended lines will do the job.  (For info see:  http://www.usta.com/Facilities/facilities_frequently_asked_questions/#1345)

This is just an FYI from a tennis mom who has seen kids of all ages enjoy the sport when it is scaled for them.  I'm sure other sports enthusiasts can include their two-cents on other sport amenities.

Thanks for hosting this event tonight and I look forward to hearing your responses to the above questions and more.  Please give answers as honest as the questions.  They are going to be posted somewhere, right?

Vote in the May 20 primaries

May 20 is an odd date for a US or state election so pollsters are anticipating "low turnout".  So every vote will carry more weight.

I was going to write up a litany of candidates in the Republican primary that are getting my vote tomorrow (no listing means my thinking is still in progress) but I would be repeating what some of my neighbors are saying.  So I'll include links to their thoughts and you'll get the gist.

State School Superintendent - Nancy Jester

I supported Nancy from Day One in her campaign for school board and have never regretted it.  The only way to get any improvement in systems in crisis is to put officials in place who call a spade a spade and aren't cowed by the inevitable slings and arrows from the sectors clawing their way up to the status quo.  I'm relieved that Stan is running unopposed for District 1 of DeKalb Co. Schools

Dunwoody Talk on Nancy

State Representative - Tom Taylor

I had no idea who Brad Goodchild was until I started getting stark campaign letters with vague positive language and no specifics.  Which immediately buried the needle on my personal BS detector.  Then I saw Erika Harris' letter in rebuttal to a campaign letter I had not yet seen.  I've met Erika briefly when she was discussing GLASS at one event or another.  I completely agreed with her points as I've heard Tom speak directly to what was at stake with his local school district bill and how difficult it would be to get it into law.  But surely, she was exaggerating, right?  Who could be that silly to call Tom's bill "DOA"?

Then I received my copy in the mail today.  The articles were not an exaggeration.

I roll my eyes at a lot of campaign materials, even those for our own City Council.  (Sorry, guys.)  I was utterly offended by this one.  You don't accuse someone of "just showing up" and then fail to show up in any public venue to promote yourself and your ideas.  You don't campaign for a seat in one of the biggest shark tanks in the state and then refuse a community-level candidate forum over alleged lack of fairness.  (You want to see "unfair"?  Sit on that floor for an hour and watch the rhetoric, then watch the local media spin at 11 PM.  Now that is unfair.)  You REALLY don't criticize a long-haul effort for reform in educational structure without knowing what was happening any step of the way.  Even an elementary school chess club knows that to secure an advantage and win a battle you have to move your pieces backwards and sideways in your strategy.

Anywho, Erika's words speak to my thoughts in the link above.  Goodchild doesn't have a pot to piddle in compared with Taylor

State Senator - Fran Millar

Believe me, I do not sit around agreeing with Fran on every little detail.  No question the man is a politician and good at that role.  But has he performed in any way in the State Senate than warrants broad spectrum attacks from Dick Anderson?  Not that I can see.  Fran hasn't deviated from the Constitution (state or federal) so that someone has to come in and "return" to it.

Commentary from Bob L including observations of this race.

Now I'm hitting the hay so I can get to vote ASAP in the morning.  Make the time to vote - it's always worth it.

Happy Mother's Day

Reposted from "The Time Warp Wife" blog.
Read the entire article at:  http://timewarpwife.com/?p=3120

The best Mother's Day tribute I've ever read because I've been through quite a few of these.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.