Odds and Ends

My last blog entry concerned the morning traffic on Womack Rd.  The flashing red light at the intersection with Vermack Rd. combined with the additional cars on the streets destined for Dunwoody Elementary, Vanderlyn and the high school, make for the perfect storm.  Since writing that blog entry, I have sent an email to Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan - who's usually prompt with a response - and communicated with Rosemary Gorham, the head of the transportation committee at DES.   Rosemary tells me a large part of the problem is one-third of all students at DES are driven to school by their parents.  That is an extremely large percentage considering that most all students have access to bus service. 
Rosemary went on to say that she was in touch with the Clean Air Campaign, and in connection with CAC sent out a carpool form to all parents, trying to match up potential carpool families. She got 4 returned forms.  Four! 
This past week, Dunwoody Talk also addressed the traffic issue.

A Fall Saturday at Murphey Candler


While most of the at large candidates for Dunwoody City Council spent the weekend campaigning, councilor John Heneghan spent his Saturday at Murphey Candler Park serving as "water boy" for his son Riley's football team.

City Closes on PVC Farm

The City of Dunwoody is now, officially, the proud owner of the PVC Farm, the 16-acre parcel between Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. and N. Shallowford Rd.  It's assumed that the city has targeted that land for greenspace, but that is not necessarily the case.

The news release from the city says, "Through the Georgetown/North Shallowford area master planning effort, and the previous Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the City received extensive feedback and input from the community indicating this property could better serve the community as a park, civic or institutional use, and/or future public/private venture as a catalyst for redevelopment of the area. Following basic site stabilization, including capping and sub-grading of the existing PVC pipe and basic site maintenance the city will work with the public to further investigate all potential uses of the property outlined in the Master Plan.

Whether this becomes a park or a public/private venture, it is a win-win for Dunwoody.  The same cannot be said of the $66 million that city council is trying to raise through two November bond referendums.  Simply too many questions - read Farmer Bob.

Rain Barrel Workshop

This coming Thursday night, I'm attending a rain barrel workshop that I learned about through the City of Dunwoody (kudos to city officials).  Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Bonny Putney is the presenter.  The cost of the workshop is $35, which is a steal.  For the price of admission, I'll get a 55-gallon rain barrel (donated by Coca Cola), as well as all the necessary accessories.  Typically, the price of a 55-gallon barrel is $80-120.  For more information, contact Linda Shulin at lshulin@bellsouth.net.

Dunwoody Prep Killer Cops Insanity Plea

Don't know if you saw this article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution over the weekend.  I find the comments by Hemy Neuman's attorney, Doug Peters, very disturbing.  He says, "The issue is not what happened, but why it happened."  I seriously doubt the late Rusty Sneiderman, or his children, would agree!

By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hemy Neuman's lawyers filed notice Friday their client will plead not guilty by reason of insanity, acknowledging he in fact shot and killed Rusty Sneiderman outside a Dunwoody day care facility last November.
"The issue is not what happened, but why it happened," said attorney Doug Peters in an interview with the AJC. "The facts of this case are not in dispute."

Peters said, because of Neuman's mental illness, he was unable to differentiate between right and wrong at the time of the shooting.
"We are relieved that Mr. Neuman has admitted that he killed Rusty Sneiderman," said Seth Kirschenbaum, the attorney representing the vicitm's widow, Andrea Sneiderman. "This was a cold-blooded, pre-meditated murder, however. Hopefully, the prosecution is prepared to rebut his insanity defense. "
Click AJC to read the rest of the story.

DCSS Input Session

What: A Community Engagement Session to gather input from stakeholders

When: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Where: The DeKalb County School System Administrative and Instructional Complex (AIC) Auditorium, 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Who: All DeKalb County School System stakeholders are invited to participate.

To Attend: Please RSVP by calling 678-676-0023 or by email: research@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us If you need an interpreter in order to participate, please notify us of your specific needs when you RSVP.

An on-line survey will be available for those who can't attend the meeting. A link to the survey will appear on the district's website immediately following the meeting.