Fall Fun Day at Vanderlyn

Friday was Fall Fun Day at Vanderlyn and the kids weren't the only ones having a great time. Ships ahoy, Matt! On second thought, that's not a pirate - it's the neighborhood's first president, by George???

Halloween Comes Early

Halloween came early for many members of our neighborhood who took part in Wednesday night's Trunk & Treat party at St. Luke's. Great costumes, candy and fun - even for the adults (recognize your neighbors in the picture)?

New School on Schedule, City Manager

Construction on the new 4th/5th grade academy appears to be moving at warp speed. School officials expect the yet-to-be-named academy to be complete in time for the start of the 2009-2010 school year. Still to be determined - if one bus will be used for the academy and Vanderlyn, dropping off children at one school first, and then the other. Stay tuned.

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The Dunwoody City Council will next meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 3 at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. Among the items on the agenda: the council's approval of Mayor Ken Wright's choice for the all-important position of city manager. Wright's choice appears to be Norcross city manager Warren Hutmacher. While we certainly hope Hutmacher is the right man for the job, I wonder why Sandy Spring assistant city manager Steve Rapson was not given more consideration. Rapson is not only experienced in public administration, but is a financial whiz and has experience in starting up a city.

Halloween Celebration A Smash

Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, Sunday's Halloween Celebration was a smashing success. Thanks again for the hard work by Betsy Wagner, Eileen Webber, Dori Miller and Kimberly Kirkland. A great time was had by all.

Halloween Celebration on Sunday

As you probably surmised due to the rain, the Halloween Celebration has been pushed back to Sunday - 4-6 p.m. The bouncy will be up-and-running from 3-7 p.m and the potluck-style buffet is still on tap:

• A-I please bring a side dish for 12
• J-S please bring an entree for 12
• T-Z please bring a dessert for 12

Halloween Celebration, Eagles Win, Home Sale

With a 90 percent chance of rain on Friday, the Springfield Halloween Celebration is up in the air, an announcement will come ASAP. There is still a small chance the party will go on as planned Friday night, however in the case of rain it will be moved to Sunday from 4-6 p.m. (the bouncy will be available from 3-7 p.m.).

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Congratulations to Ben Hogan's Eagles who won their first game of the season earlier this week at Murphey Candler. After 4 loses and 2 ties to start the year, the Eagles finally notched their first win by shutting out the Cowboys 13-0. After the victory, as promised, the coach let his team of 6-and-7-year olds shave his head!
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This past week, the home listed at 4915 Leeds Court sold. It was listed for $449,500 (the home had many upgrades including a new kitchen and finished basement that included a wine cellar) and sold for $415,000. For more details, click on the link:

Buyer Brief Page or email me at bobfiscella@comcast.net

Cub Scouts Camp out, Kingsley Elementary Honored, City Council Agenda

Cub Scout Pack 434, which includes Springfield scouts Durham Wysocki, Victor Chiles, Andrew Mills and Jack Fiscella, spent the weekend at Providence Canyon State Park, a three-hour drive south off Dunwoody. The Cub Scouts had, arguably, their best camp out ever as close to 100 family members took part. Please contact Steve Wysocki (404.392.6110) for more information on how to become a scout.

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(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) The school council at Dunwoody's Kingsley Charter Elementary School has been named by the education publication PTO Today as its national parent group of the year. Parents last school year put in 8,002 volunteer hours - a 333 percent increase over the year before.

Kingsley council members are the first group from Georgia awarded the publication's national honor. If the school's name doesn't ring a bell, consider this: It is also the place where Sally Foster - yes, there really is one - started a school fund-raising effort that grew into the empire we know today.

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The Dunwoody City Council holds a work session at 7 p.m. Monday night at Peachtree Middle School. Among the items on the agenda: staff discussion (perhaps the all-important position of city manager) and city implementation. All work sessions and council meetings are open to the public.

Dunwoody Resident for School Board Confirms his Stance

One of the most important races in the November elections is that for DeKalb County School Board. Dunwoody resident Michael Culver is among those running for the position. Considering Michael's commitment to the community - both past and present - he has my vote. What follows is a email that Micheal sent to a Vanderlyn parent who lives south of Womack Rd. and was concerned that Michael was trying to get the school lines redrawn. That is not his intention.

Thank you for contacting me. I said nothing of the sort. I am not opposed to the 4/5 academy but am willing to listen to people's concerns as we move forward. I did say that I am confident that Dunwoody can make the 4/5 school outstanding if we come together and discuss the concerns that some have had and determine the best way to go forward. I did say that we could deal with concerns about transportation and PTA if we come together now. I did say that I would propose having the K-3 and 4/5 students ride the same buses with a certain drop off and pick up order to help keep the traffic concern to a minimum. I did say that we need to work with the City of Dunwoody, Perimeter College and other local traffic entities to devise an effective traffic routing and timing plan. I did also say that I would bring a majority of the board and Dr. Lewis to Dunwoody prior to the New Year to hear what parents thoughts and ideas were. I did say that there has never been a consensus on attendance numbers at the school and I did say that the board made a decision that it truly thought was best based on the arguments and concerns expressed last Spring about equitable redistricting in Dunwoody. And I did say that the board would not change its position. I also commented that it is unfortunate that Kingsley and Hightower are not directly a part of the new 4/5 academy and that we need to make sure that the cluster does some cooperative programs with these schools to make the transition to PCMS as smooth as possible when the schools come together. This is not a diversion from any previous position. Please feel free to contact me with any other concerns.

Michael

Michael Culver

michaelculver@kw.com

770/630-9371 (c)

678/495-1818 (o)

Bonser Wins; Fireside Chat at Vanderlyn

Adrian Bonser won the final seat on the Dunwoody City Council by defeating Larry Pankey in Tuesday's runoff for the District 2 Local position. Bonser got 59 percent of the vote (970 votes) to Pankey's 41 (678). The turnout was 17 percent. Bonser's seat is for one year, after which the position turns into a four-year term.

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The Vanderlyn PTA Parent Education Committee invites you to attend a “Fireside Chat” and Planning Session on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM at Vanderlyn Elementary’s Media Center. Although there will not be an actual fireplace by which to sit, there is certain to be some “hot” topics/issues on your mind about which you would like to hear more. Please plan to join us if you have topics/issues to share, know of someone that might give a presentation about a topic of interest, or just would like to become involved in a PTA committee. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to the Parent Education Committee Chairperson Dave Fuss at: d_fuss@yahoo.com

Election Day

A reminder that Tuesday is Election Day for the runoff for Dunwoody City Council District 2. St. Luke's will have the normal voting hours of 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The race is between Larry Pankey and Adrian Bonser. While I feel the best candidate already has been eliminated (unfortunately I did not make the runoff), it has been a hotly contested race and every vote counts. I will not tell anyone how to vote, except to tell you that I will be voting for Larry Pankey. While both candidates behavior has been unbecoming the last week of the campaign, I feel Larry gives the council a diverse voice that it sorely needs, as all the other members of the council came from the Citizens for Dunwoody and the Dunwoody Yes sector. See you at the polls.

Springfield has its First $1 Million Home

The bottom may be dropping out of the stock market, but the price of homes in Springfield has gone through the roof! At least the price of one home in particular. The tear down and first rebuild in Springfield is now on the market. The home at 1539 Summerford Ct. was listed on Friday. The price tag: a cool $1.15 million! While that is the list price, I believe the builder is going to have a very difficult time finding a buyer. He has three major obstacles working against him:

• The current economy
• The current real estate market
• Resale value

While this particular home may, indeed, be worth $1.15 million in the Spalding area of Sandy Springs, it will be a long time before it is worth that price in Springfield. With that said, Springfield has maintained its value better than many Dunwoody neighborhoods. For more on this home, click on the link: Buyer Brief Page

For all of your real estate needs you can contact me at bobfiscella@kw.com or 404.644.5220.

Goodwill In the Heart of Dunwoody?

Is Dunwoody about to get a Goodwill collection store right in the heart of the city? I don't have all the hard, cold facts, but Kroger Corporation, which owns the lease on the property where the old Ace Hardware was located off Jett Ferry Rd., reportedly is negotiating with Goodwill. While I have nothing against Goodwill, and certainly admire the charity work that the organization does, one of its stores does not seem to be the best fit for this location. What do you think? Post a comment.
For more information, visit John Heneghan's website at http://www.dunwoodynorth.blogspot.com/.

Springfield Halloween Celebration; CH2M Hill Drops Out

The Springfield Halloween Celebration, the annual subdivision block party, will take place Friday, October 24. Click on the flyer (right) for details. Hope to see you there!

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The Dunwoody City Council held a work session Monday night at Peachtree Middle School, at which time it was announced that service provider CH2M Hill had withdrawn its offer to the city, leaving Boyken International with the only offer on the table. The withdrawal by CH2M Hill comes after months of negotiations with city officials. It is not yet known if this is a contract negotiation ploy by the Denver-based company. CH2M Hill is the provider that all of the other new cities in the area have contracted for services.

Meantime, Boyken International made a formal presentation to the council, which called for CEO and longtime Dunwoody resident Don Boyken to serve as interim city manager. Boyken would hire an interim finance director and police chief, with recently fired Sandy Springs chief Gene Wilson serving as the latter. The police department would consist of 33 officers.

The council holds it's next formal meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Peachtree Middle School.

City Council Work Session Tonight

The Dunwoody city council's next work session is 7 p.m. tonight at Peachtree Middle School. The mayor and city councilmen are expected to discuss whether to hire CH2M Hill or Boyken International to help the city get up and running. The council's next voting session is 7 p.m. tomorrow night at Peachtree Middle School. The public is encouraged to attend both sessions.

The Dunwoody Homeowners Association's monthly meeting was last night. Among the proposals made by developers: a new restaurant and 6 or 7 story hotel on Ashford Dunwoody Rd. across the street from California Pizza Kitchen. The developer says he will improve the street scape as well as add greenspace.

Vanderlyn Social

Friday night is the Vanderlyn Social at Brook Run Park from 6-8 p.m. This event is for the entire family and children will not be admitted without an adult. Please carpool with your friends if you can. There is parking available at Brook Run Park and St. Barnabas Anglican Church, across the street from the park. Bring your picnic dinner and your family can enjoy an evening of music, Maggie Moos ice cream and all your Vanderlyn friends! If you have any questions contact Christine Houk, houk8703@comcast.net or Hunter Snyder, huntifer@comcast.net

Unbeaten Dunwoody High School has an open date before returning to action next Friday night at Towers High. James Teter's Wildcats are 5-0, already having scored at least 50 points in three separate games.

An Uneventful First Council Meeting for Dunwoody

If you were expecting fireworks from Dunwoody's first official city council meeting, they never materialized. One of the first acts by the council was to table the highly anticipated vote on a service provider, much to the dismay of representatives from CH2M Hill and Boyken International.

Wednesday night's meeting at Peachtree Middle School, which drew a gathering of approximately 50, was almost as much comical as productive, as the council struggled to follow procedures. Among the first votes by the council, to name Brian Anderson as acting city attorney and to adopt an official city seal (pictured).

The council's next work session is 7 p.m. Monday, October 6. It's next meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 7. The public is encouraged to attend.