Mayor's Speech a Hit, All Saints Fish Frys Return Tonight

New Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis gave his first State of the City address Tuesday night in a crowded ballroom at the Crowne Ravinia Hotel.  If the mayor's administration is as big a hit as his speech, rest assured the city will be in good hands over the next four years.
Speaking from an outline - and not regurgitating a written speech - the mayor was confident and straight forward.  He also mixed in a bit of humor. 
"I have a lot of friends here tonight," said the mayor.  "And only one person that didn't vote for me.  Sorry Bob (smiling at the man he defeated in the November election, Bob Dallas)."
The mayor once again spoke of the need to "stop buying stuff and start fixing stuff."  He talked about continuing the city's three-year run of operating with a surplus, said the PVC Farm is "not a park yet," and the importance of stopping the executive session leaks. 
The new mayor talked about his vision for economic growth and his plans for a "CEO round table."  He said he'd like to meet with 20 CEO's per month, and lobby "their CEO friends" to move their businesses to Dunwoody.  He said there are 2.3 million square feet of vacant office space in the city, which equates to 10,000 workers, who would eat and shop in Dunwoody during the course of their day.  He said about 70 percent of the city's revenues comes from business, which helps keep our property taxes the lowest in the county.  The mayor did warn that our aging stormwater infrastructure has council considering a yearly rate hike from $48 to $69.  
And the mayor wasn't afraid to tackle our schools, which fall under DeKalb County School System jurisdiction.  "It's our problem, isn't it.  The key for Dunwoody now is to elevate and distinguish our schools from the rest of DeKalb County.  We have to get word out because we do have better schools than the rest of the county."

All Saints Fish Frys Begins

The Lenten season starts Wednesday, which means the start of the All Saints' Knights of Columbus "World Famous Fish Frys."
The Knights serve up fried fish, broiled cod and salmon with sides of hush pupies, roasted potatoes, cole slaw and green beans on Ash Wednesday and each Friday until March 30.  The Fish Frys are from 5pm to 8pm and are open to the public (it's the only time there are almost as many non-Catholics as Catholics on the All Saints campus).  The Knights serve, on average, almost 1,000 meals per night. 
There is a venue change this year, from the All Saints' social hall to the more spacious gymnasium.

While on the Knights, on President's Day the organization, which is credited with adding the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegience, aired a television ad which reminded our political leaders that freedom of religion, for all religions, has always been acknowledged and embraced by our country's greatest presidents - whether Republican or Democrat. 
As a member of the Knights, I thought the ad was tastefully done.  Click on the photo below to watch.