Dirt Put to Good Use, Nature Center Sale, Ticketing at Murphey Candler

I received the following news release from the city of Dunwoody today.  Congrats to city officials for killing two birds with one stone:  1) solving the dump truck issue on Glaze Drive and 2) finding a location where 5,700 cubic yards of dirt can be put to good use. 
An all purpose field at the back of Brook Run Park is exactly what the city needs.  And it wouldn't hurt if one end of the field had a baseball diamond and a backstop (for either pick up games or organized practices).
Of course, the Dunwoody Homeowners Association gets a big pat on the back for making this possible.  It was the DHA that first raised a red flag on the city permitting the dumping of all this dirt in a residential area.  While procedure was followed in issuing the permit, if officials had dug a little deeper, they likely would have had second thoughts, and potentially prevented the residents of Glaze Dr. from having the veins popping in their neck, seeing red!

Dunwoody, GA – March 29, 2012 – The City of Dunwoody today began moving soil from the Chamblee High School construction site on Chamblee Dunwoody Road to a location within Brook Run Park which the City intends to use as a future open play field and recreational site.

The soil currently is being hauled in and placed at a spot where the old hospital facility was located in the northwest area of Brook Run Park. Once in place, the dirt will be moved, graded and leveled to accommodate an approximate 3,000-square-foot open play field and recreation area.
The dirt from the construction site was previously permitted for a location on Glaze Drive in Dunwoody. After meeting with local residents, City officials explored alternate locations and determined the Brook Run Park site as an available and optimum place for the construction soil.
“We are pleased to have found both an alternative site for the soil coming from the construction site and a beneficial use for the dirt being moved,” said Brent Walker, City of Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Manager. “We are doing everything possible to ensure this operation is safe, efficient and as non-intrusive a process as possible for residents and park visitors.”
The City this week ran thorough tests on the soil and determined the contents are well within all of the required U.S. Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental standards. The soil tests performed by the City have shown that the soil is un-impacted and permissible to use on the Brook Run Park location.
The City is working with an experienced contractor to move the soil from its present location at the Chamblee High School construction site. The contractor and City estimate all hauling operations will take approximately two weeks and have made arrangements to not perform any hauling activities during weekend hours.

Dunwoody Nature Center Spring Sale

The Dunwoody Nature Center is having its Spring plant sale through March 31. All ordering is online; information, plant descriptions and pictures and payment instructions can be found at dunwoodynature.org. This year the Nature Center is offering hard-to-find Spring wildflowers, which you won’t see in big-box stores or even in most nurseries. This is a painless way to support the DNC, not to mention the pleasure you’ll get from these lovely flowers every Spring.

Traffic Tickets at Murphey Candler

If you are a Murphey Candler family and spend many of your spring evenings at the ballpark, be very careful where you park your car.  DeKalb Police are on a ticket-writing spree!  Unfortunately, Murphey Candler does not have enough parking spaces, thus, sometimes parents are forced to be creative in finding or "making" a space.  I can understand DeKalb Police ticketing cars that hop curbs and park in some very precarious areas, but police officers need to exercise common sense.  Take a look at the photo below.  Does the white Jeep warrant a ticket?  It got one!