Support Local Banks--Keep Your Money Here

http://www.truth-out.org/stop-them-eating-my-town65481

At the end of the day, Bear Pond’s manager, Linda Leehman, will take my money down to the Chittenden Bank and deposit it.


From Bear Pond I go to one of the dozen or so local restaurants and exchange some of my cash for a good meal. At day’s end that cash, too, will end up in one of Montpelier’s local banks.

The next day Montpelier’s banks are richer by my purchases, as are Stevens, Bear Pond, and the restaurant. If my daughter, a Web designer, wanted to start her own design firm in an office on Main Street (or from her home), she could visit one of those banks, and, if her credit was good, they could loan her some of the money that was deposited with them the night before from the townspeople’s purchases.....

....

Lakeside Groundbreaking Ceremony in Champion News

http://championnewspaper.com/

Lakeside High School is ready to see major changes as the first stage of a $24 million renovation project begins.


At the groundbreaking ceremony for the site, DeKalb County School System officials, faculty and students gathered Dec. 1 to celebrate the project’s long-awaited start. “This process started about three to four years ago and it started with the idea that we were going to get a fine arts auditorium,” school Principal Joe Reed said. “Obviously it’s gotten a little bigger than that. At this point as far as the process continuing the people chairing have gotten us from a fine arts auditorium to 25 additional classrooms...and all sorts of other things,” he added. The audience applauded as Reed went on to thank those involved for “getting this thing way beyond what it was suppose to be.”

The renovations, paid for by the taxpayer-funded SPLOST III, will take place over the next two years, and when construction is finished in August 2012 the school will also have new locker rooms, technology classrooms, new technology, a patio for student lunches, an expanded kitchen and other enhancements to the building. Lakeside’s remodel is part of the system’s larger Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) developed and approved by the Board of Education in 2007. It was created to outline the system’s most pressing facility needs.

At the high school level the CIP encompasses renovations and additions to existing facilities and the construction of replacement facilities, according to school officials. Those projects total more than $225 million and include the replacement of Tucker High School, major renovations to Cross Keys and Druid Hills high schools, technology/classroom/fine arts additions to Chamblee, Clarkston, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside and Redan high schools, and additions to create large school models at Lithonia, Miller Grove, Dunwoody and Martin Luther King, Jr. high schools.

DeKalb Schools Interim CIP Operations Officer Barbara Colman said because all school property must be maintained it is unclear how redistricting and consolidation plans will impact current renovations.“I’d give it a little bit of time. The redistricting and consolidation has to do with the number of seats and the capacity of the existing schools,” Colman said. “The fact that a school might be overcrowded or underpopulated doesn’t really have as much to do with a need for the building; because whether or not it’s crowded, it still is going to need a good roof,” she added.

The total cost of all capital improvement projects being funded by SPLOST I, II and III money is $500 million. That will fund all facility construction projects in the system.The money will be collected through July 2012. The system already has collected enough money to fund all budgeted projects.

Representing Lakeside, District 4 board member Paul Womack also spoke to the crowd and said politics and parents made it all possible.
“I want to thank my fellow board members for accepting a little tradeoff of about $10 to 11 million to make all this happen. I guess it’s politics,” Womack said.

“If all of our communities had the same parental involvement in our school system as we have here, we’d have the greatest school system in the state of Georgia,” he added

Lakeside Groundbreaking Ceremony Thursday Dec 2

Lakeside High School Construction and Renovation Project

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Thursday, December 2 at 4 p.m.

Lakeside-DeKalb High School has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for Thursday, December 2 at 4 p.m. to commemorate the start of major construction additions and renovations of the school facilities located at 3801 Briarcliff Road. The event will be held just due east of the gymnasium. Work on the school, which was opened in 1965, include the addition of a 600-seat fine arts auditorium, 25 new classrooms, new science labs, career tech facilities and new special needs classrooms. Locker rooms, restrooms, cafeteria, media center and other spaces will get much needed makeovers, and the facility’s technology, security and ADA accessibility will also be upgraded. Funding for the $24 million project comes from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) III. Project architect is Manley, Spangler & Smith and construction will be handled by the Hogan Construction Group. All staff, parents, students, and community members are invited to join us on the east side of the school gymnasium.

Contact:
Lakeside Principal
Joe Reed 678-874-6702

Lakeside softball players receive All-Region and County All-Star honors

By Tom Doolittle

Lakeside High School sophomores outfielder Marie Collop (pictured left) and pitcher Aubrey Blackstock (pictured below), along with junior shortstop and utility player Susanne Boden (pictured right) were named to the All Region 6 AAAA First Team in softball. In the order of their mention, batting averages were .462, .512 and .533, respectively. Boden  led the team in most statistics.

The Boden name might be familiar to some, as triplets Allison, Lauren and Stephanie were publicized nationally for their 2010 academic honors as Lakeside's co-valedictorians and salutatorian—as well as record setting athletic exploits. All three are now softball players at Pomona College in California. Scott Boden, the players’ father volunteers as the Lakeside team’s assistant coach.

Meanwhile, on November 1, Lakeside seniors Mallory Mayhew, Ashley Raymond and Madison Mayhew (captain) played in this year’s DeKalb All-Star Softball Classic. The event, in its sixth year, showcases the top fifteen (15) seniors from the north and south county. The Softball Classic was set up as an avenue for DeKalb schools’ senior players to display their talents for college recruiters or generate publicity for them.

In the game, Southwest DeKalb’s Elexcia Simmons slapped a one-out, RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete a 10-run rally by the South to overtake the North 12-11. Southwest's Imani Gayle and Chamblee's Erin Bell  were named player of the game for South and North respectively

Lakeside head coach, Tricia Newmyer, pleasantly surprised with the her team’s season performance, said, “We were a very young team and still posted a 12-6 record, one of the best in Lakeside's history,” and explained further that the team only had five players who returned from the previous year, few as previous starters.


2011 Region 6-AAAA First Team
Marist - Ashlyn Johns (3B), Taylor Bradley (SS), Erin McDenitt (CF)
Miller Grove - Elan Conklin (1B), Dionne Roland (2B)
Chamblee - Erin Bell (P), Taylor Harris (OF), Jessie Bragg (3B)
Lakeside - Susanne Boden (INF), Aubrey Blackstock (P), Marie Collop (OF)
Dunwoody - Stacey Ward (P), Breanna Rhoden (C), Elyse Ferguson (OF)
SW DeKalb - Trenece Nash, Imani Gayle (P), Elexcia Simmons


Writer Tom Doolittle is a 17-year Northlake area resident, founding trustee of Northlake Community Alliance, Inc., founder Northlake Business Forum and writes the www.NorthlakeStation.blogspot.com

November 16 Groundbreaking ceremony postponed for Lakeside SPLOST project

Due to expected inclement weather, the November 16 groundbreaking ceremony for the $24 million classroom and auditorium/arts center, and complete renovation of 40 year-old Lakeside High School has been postponed until December 2.

More info later.

Lakeside $24 million and "Valhalla Project" in AJC today

Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the $24 million SPLOST project and groundbreaking event scheduled for next Tuesday, November 14. (see last blog post)


http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-school-hopes-upgrade-737589.html


Maybe the biggest construction project in North DeKalb this (next?) year.

 

Lakeside High Groundbreaking November 16 4:00

Northlake Community and Lakeside Alumni Invited

Contact:

Joe Reed, Principal

Lakeside High School
3801 Briarcliff Road
Atlanta, GA 30345
678-874-6702


For Immediate Release
November 10, 2010

Lakeside High School Sets Major Construction and Renovation Project
Groundbreaking Ceremony for Tuesday, November 16 at 4 p.m.

Atlanta – Lakeside-DeKalb High School has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for Tuesday, November 16 at 4 p.m. to commemorate the start of major construction additions and renovations of the school facilities located at 3801 Briarcliff Road.

The event, to be held just due east of the gymnasium, will be hosted by Lakeside principal Joe Reed and invited attendees include various DeKalb County School System dignitaries.

Construction and renovations to the school, which was opened in 1965, include the addition of a 600-seat fine arts auditorium, 25 new classrooms, new science labs, career tech facilities and new special needs classrooms. Locker rooms, restrooms, cafeteria, media center and other spaces will get much needed makeovers, and the facility’s technology, security and ADA accessibility will also be upgraded.

According to Mr. Reed, the challenge of continuing to educate students amidst the two-year project is one that the school and community will pull together to get through. “Lakeside and its surrounding community have a strong tradition of working together,” said Mr. Reed. “We’ll manage through this process that ultimately will benefit our community, faculty and most importantly our students.” He added, “I was a student here back in the 1970’s and not much has changed since then. That just goes to show you how much this project is needed.”

Funding for the $24 million project comes from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) III used to pay for necessary school system capital improvements including building improvements, new schools, classroom additions, technology, and transportation needs. Project architect is Manley, Spangler & Smith and construction will be handled by the Hogan Construction Group.

Numerous other additions and enhancements to the facilities that will not be covered by the SPLOST funds are to be funded through “The Valhalla Project” by way of the Lakeside High School Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) corporation. More information on the Foundation can be found and donations can be made at http://www.lakesidefoundation.org/.


About Lakeside High School

Tradition. Legacy. Expectation. Reputation. Lakeside High School gives life to each. Opened in 1965, Lakeside has built traditions of excellence and top achievement in academics, athletics, visual and performing arts, citizenship and community service. Such are the traditions of being a Lakeside Viking. With its vibrant, diverse and high-performing students, teachers and administrators, Lakeside is poised to remain a pillar of the community for many years to come.

St. Bede's Holds Annual "Bangles and Bede's" Bazaar

JUBILEE BARGAINS, BANGLES ‘n’ BEDE’S FALL FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2010
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

250 FAMILY YARD SALE
Featuring
Household Items
Furniture Jewelry Books Toys

ARTS & CRAFTS BOOTHS

FOOD

CHILDREN’S CARNIVAL

SILENT AUCTION

Located at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church
2601 Henderson Mill Road
At the corner of Midvale Road

Children’s Carnival sponsored by St. Bedes Episcopal Day School from
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.

Lakeside Community Health Fair--Free Tests

Lakeside High School Health Fair-Open to the Community


You are invited to the 2nd Annual Lakeside High School Health Fair.
October 19th
5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Lakeside High School
3801 Briarcliff Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30345

Sports medicine, nutrition experts, sports fitness, counseling services, chiropractic evaluations, orthodontic information, vision screenings, refractive surgery experts, blood pressure & BMI checks, women's health, flu shots, "ask a pharmacist", are amongst our experts to answer your health care questions.

This is a great way to learn more about your health, our community services, sign-up for a free class, receive a local discount, and get a low cost ($20) flu shot to protect yourself this season. This free event is open to the public and as an added bonus,special give-a-ways while supplies last.

For more information or to volunteer your services, please contact Marisa Bergstrom at lakesidehealthfair@gmail.com.

$50 MM Sports Complex May Replace DeKalb's Defunct PDK Development

On-site at the PDK property: Patrick Henderson, ASC; Jay Leslie, KW Commercial; Melvin Sprawls, ASC


A youthful Tuskegee University alumni and former Air Force “brat” born in Taiwan, is proposing to develop a 28-acre property across the street from PDK Airport that Chamblee Mayor Eric Clarkston once viewed as crucial to the city’s economic future. Patrick Henderson, CEO of one year-old, downtown-based Atlanta Sports Connection, plans a large sports complex where for nearly a decade; there were dreams of an International Village commerce center. Atlanta Sports Connection’s website describes the company’s service as a “social lounge for intramural sports players in the Atlanta area” and the parent company of what is proposed to be the Atlanta Sport Complex.

Henderson, a Californian who relocated to Atlanta in 2001, says there is an acute need for highly professional and large sports facilities “inside I-285”. So now, across Chamblee-Tucker Road from PDK Airport, a proposed hotel, outdoor performance theater, offices and retail for international trade may give way to a covered football field, playing facilities for most organized sports, athletic medical offices and meeting rooms targeted for local “charter schools”, sports leagues, corporations, professional teams and airport visitors. The change in concept and type of financing is a stark example of a shifting business landscape in the 21st century. Whereas the original mixed-use vision for the site was seeded by a loan from what would become a failed regional bank (Colonial, Alabama), entrepreneur Henderson says his project’s financing is from a $50 million “private capital raise”.

Henderson’s realtors, Jay Leslie of KW Commercial First Atlanta and Atlanta Land Group’s Robert Armstrong found the site for the developer, excited that the project fills a unique need, as compared to a glut of over-promised and hyped “mixed-use” projects in the area. The sport complex developer more bluntly characterized the one-time Village plan as “a square peg in a round hole”, citing a lack of community support as one of the Village project’s hurdles to overcome. An Atlanta Business Chronicle article reported the Village property owner, PDK Investment Group, LLC declared bankruptcy in early 2008. The site was then advertised for a sale price of $12 million, now owned by Kennedy Funding (New Jersey) and Belgian/Dutch bank, Fortis, Belgium’s largest employer.

Negotiations for the property purchase have been complicated, testing the buyer’s patience. Henderson would only say that he is not paying $12 million for the property, but points out that his company’s lower offer is not the primary factor holding up the purchase. Realtor Leslie lamented that the bankers’ confusion over the loan has been the biggest problem, saying the Atlanta group actually had to arrange for Kennedy and Fortis to discuss the loan between themselves and that they had never seen the property for which they had assumed loans. The original loan to PDK Investments to purchase the property was from Colonial Bank in Alabama, shuttered last year by the federal government. Fortis also failed in Europe in late 2008 and is now BNP Paribas-Fortis, adding to the small Atlanta sports company’s tribulation.

Emphasizing his commitment to develop in DeKalb, entrepreneur Henderson projected, “we have a 99% chance of acquiring the Chamblee site”, but parenthetically mentioned an alternative location in Doraville.


Government Involvement
Henderson expects no problems with zoning, however the regulatory action is required according to Chamblee Mayor Clarkson. The property was zoned specifically for the International Village development.

Henderson also foresees a working relationship with the county government. “We just met with the county (DeKalb Development Authority-DADC) and they are very excited about the project”, Henderson said Monday. Saying he was familiar with the original “partnership” between the finance authority and the defunct mixed-use development, the sports enthusiast mentioned that the development incentives being discussed would be similar.

DeKalb County had originally assembled this property, starting in 1997, as part of a larger tract by buying dozens of residences as part of a noise abatement plan along the airport flight path. The county then sold this 28-acre portion to the original developer, PDK Investments, for $3.7 million in 2005 and heavily promoted the project. DeKalb owns the abandoned property next door, now considered greenspace. Asked to comment on past county government involvement, DeKalb’s Communications Director Burke Brennan said, “it was a project that the Office of Economic Development worked on in 2004-2005. I don’t think anyone can answer the question of why it (was not successful)”, alluding to PDK Investment’s bankruptcy and foreclosure.

DADC has recently been thrust into the limelight in regional news coverage related to its plans to issue bonds for a government property purchase of the former General Motors (GM) factory site in Doraville. The property purchase was considered an incentive for a Florida developer that conceived a mixed-use area which would potentially anchor a new “transit oriented district” for Doraville. The land would have been owned by DeKalb’s government and leased by the developer with the lease income apparently intended to help taxpayers foot the bill for the bonds.

In 2009, The Georgia Supreme Court sided with State Representative Mike Jacobs (Chamblee/Brookhaven) in a lawsuit against DeKalb County, slamming the door on certain types of bond issues approved by DeKalb’s County Commissioners. The Georgia Supreme Court sided with Jacobs to require a local voter referendum for bonds proposed by the DADC that would be paid for by taxpayers rather than revenue from proposed facilities.

Tom Doolittle is a 17-year Northlake area resident, founding trustee of Northlake Community Alliance, Inc., founder Northlake Business Forum and writes the www.NorthlakeStation.blogspot.com

Northlake Leader is Governor's Pick for Interim State Schools Chief

44,000 petition signatures needed for access to November election

by Tom Doolittle

William (Brad) Bradley Bryant has been tapped by Governor Purdue to fill the State Schools Superintendent job recently vacated by Kathy Cox. Cox heads to do nonprofit work.

Bryant, who was apponted to the State School Board in 2003 by Purdue, had recent high profile roles in representing the governor and DOE with two failing county school systems--in 2008 serving as one of two liaisons between the state and the troubled Clayton County Board of Education after the district lost its accreditation.


The lifetime Northlake area resident and education advocate from now-closed Henderson High School was a DeKalb School Board member and/or chairman from 1990 to 2002. Bryant attended Northlake's Henderson Mill Elementary School and was in Henderson High School's first 8th grade class upon the school opening in 1968. The future public servant graduated from Washington &Lee University in Staunton, Virginia and earned a law degree from Mercer University. Bryant also served as president of the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Georgia School Boards Association and the National School Boards Association Southern Region


The Republican plans to gather signatures to run as independent for a full four-year term, he said. Cox resigned after the state qualifying deadline, so Bryant cannnot run as a Republican.

Cox's sudden resignation split the superintendent's race wide open. Vying for the GOP nomination July 20 are John D. Barge and Richard Woods. The three Democratic candidates are Beth Farokhi, Joe Martin and Brian Westlake.

Attend Re-Imagining Shallowford This Weekend June 19

8:30 registration & coffee; 9-noon meeting, St Pius High School, 2674 Johnson Rd NE, Atlanta 30345



The May 22 meeting was a good beginning; on June 19 we dig deeper. We began to form a Vision of our "village"; a subgroup is coalescing the many visions into one Vision for review on June19. We will also review a summary of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) exercise. Then participants, in small groups, will talk about how that Vision Statement breaks down into details, like what it means in terms of land use, transit, parks, etc. We'll end with a "Road Map" to implementation of the Vision.


May 22 wrap-ups posted at www.northbriarcliff.org: SWOT exercise output summary & photos.

Sponsors: TABASCO Coalition (DECA & NBCA) & Commissioner Jeff Rader. Facilitator: Davis Fox.

More info: tabasco@northbriarcliff.org

Commuter Rail Spurs Smart Growth

Northlake "Station"? One day.
http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2010/05/26/report-atlanta-macon-commuter-rail-could-spark-smart-development

The rail line could jump start and change land-use patterns surrounding the stations, bringing walkable streetscapes and mixed-use development — two features that young, mostly single people and couples are increasingly seeking when they look for a place to live. Aging residents could also benefit from this type of environment because they wouldn't have to drive to go shopping or could connect to transit. Throw in the fact that the train stops could revitalize the downtowns of cities along the routes,

Georgians for Passenger Rail, which began with the mission of connecting universities between Athens and Atlanta with train service, has changed priority to the Atlanta-Macon route due to the $88 million federal "earmark" from 2004.

Shallowford “Village” Effort Moves Forward Without ARC

by Tom Doolittle

A 1960's Suburban Strip Center and gas station at the Frontier Road neighborhood gateway can be revitalized for more "town-like" activity at Shallowford and I-85

What's Next

2nd Vision Exercise
St. Pius High School
June 19, 2010
8:30 to Noon


The group that is trying to add the first level of planning (a “vision”) to revitalize about a half-mile radial area around the Shallowford Road/I-85 intersection was not able to persuade county officials to apply for an ARC Livable Centers Initiative grant in 2009. So the TABASCO Coalition (Transform and Beautify Along the Shallowford Corridor) is moving forward with participative workshops on its own.

It’s not as if the group hasn’t tried for planning funds. County planners did submit an application to the ARC for Shallowford within its “Community Choices” program in March. However, as North Briarcliff Civic Association member Beth Nathan put it, “We were told that our project was larger than what they wanted to take on”, after a month’s review. They also met with the Georgia Conservancy’s Blueprints program in 2008 and 2009.

The first “Re-Imagining Shallowford” vision session was held at St. Pius High School on Saturday, May 22. The private school is located within the proposed boundaries of the neighborhood planning area. The vision session was attended by about 40 people who had an opportunity to provide ideas and discuss areas of agreement and disagreement. A smaller group of six now moves forward to coalesce what was said in a concise mission statement, which may include naming the area.

Chances for future ARC funding may be bettered due to activism by a county commissioner, Jeff Rader. He is a former ARC executive and a transportation professional. Further supporting, one of DeKalb’s ARC board representative Davis Fox is leading the “re-imagining” effort. The process will conform to the ARC’s workshop guidelines so that the area can qualify for future transportation design and construction funds.

The “D-word” for many long-time suburban single-family dweller is density. The notion of a mixed-use, live/work/play and essentially any re-development immediately invoked a question about “higher” density among session participants. Subsequently, in a subsequent meeting designated to hammer out a “mission statement”, it was agreed that a village might not change the number of residences per acre and in fact, has as much of a chance to decrease it. The opportunity, says Davis Fox, is to use the same acre for more compressed (higher buildings) units so that more greenspace can remain.


What’s a Neighborhood Center? Smaller than a Town Center
So-called “character areas” arose from the DeKalb Planning Department’s most recent view of the next natural progression of land use development—into pod-like pedestrian-friendly “nodes” where mass transit could more effectively serve the most people moving from node to node—and probably living there, rather than traditional suburban single-family subdivisions far from work, shopping and services. DeKalb’s newest update of its comprehensive land use plan, says “(neighborhood centers) should complement the character of neighborhoods and the location of commercial areas should reduce automobile travel, promote walkability and increase transit usage.”

Three scales of “character” are identified in the two year old latest comprehensive land use plan—the largest of which is a high-density city-like regional center, such as the Northlake Mall area and Perimeter Center; a medium density “town” center, including Tucker and Druid Hills Road/Executive Park and the most “village-like” type, the neighborhood center, which includes Shallowford. According to DeKalb’s comprehensive plan “The intent of the Neighborhood Center Character Area is to identify areas that can serve the local neighborhood’s needs for goods and services.”

Shallowford can in some ways be viewed a Northlake area gateway, as are several others: Lavista/Tucker, Embry Hills, Chamblee-Tucker (corridor), Oak Grove/Lakeside and US 29/I-285.

With its progressive Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) started in year 2000, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has put its stamp of approval on plans that can be generated from the “bottom up”, by nearby citizens, business groups and institutional entities. The Northlake LCI was the first in DeKalb, a grant of $450,000 to plan and design streetscape improvements along Lavista Road near Northlake Mall. Northlake Community Alliance, Inc. was formed by a combination of residential and business interests, foremost being managers of the three of the largest commercial property owners in the area, Northlake Mall, Northlake Business Park and the colloquially named “Best Buy Shopping Center”.

At the time, the county comprehensive plan did not support the development of a higher-density area there, thereby jeopardizing any notion of live-work-play. County planners played catch-up and in 2008 and formally adopted more than a dozen live-work-play character areas throughout DeKalb. Apparently, the number of character areas can also evolve, depending on where commercial property developers feel higher-density is marketable-or land is “underutilized”. The new neighborhood center at Druid Hills and Briarcliff Roads was added to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan after the Sembler Company of St. Petersburg, Florida unsuccessfully proposed a high-density development that would promote similar projects on all four corners of the intersection. Executive Park is also now its own “town center” in conjunction with parts of Buford Highway.

Rader said it is best for local interests to initiate plans for creative re-development and re-vitalization. “The idea is to get ahead of any development proposals so that they can be merged with what the neighborhood has prescribed.”

Mary Scott Nature Preserve: Who and How (2003)

Originally published in the Community Review Newspaper (later The Story Newspapers)
--November 13, 2003


Hawthorne Area Greenspace Invokes Northlake Park Network
By Tom Doolittle

Nearly eleven (11) acres of undeveloped land that divides the Brookdale Park and Flair Forest Subdivisions, near the intersection of Briarcliff and Shallowford Roads, has been owned by DeKalb County for about six months and cleanup activities began last week by the Parks Department. The property belonged to the Arthur M. Armstrong family has been uninhabited since 1988, says Art Armstrong, who inherited it from his mother, Mary. The Armstrongs refused to sell to developers in the 1960s, leaving the site enviably tucked into a very large neighborhood. Northlake subdivisions grew up around the Armstrongs, many with “natural” areas like nearby Lake Flair parceled out to private owners and miles of lowlands that have been youth havens for decades. “This land (Armstrong’s) fills a void in the park system—a big factor in pursuing it”, said Tina Arbes, DeKalb’s Assistant Administrator in charge of the Parks/Greenspace Bond Program. (See http://dekalbgreenspace.com for a map of property acquisitions, including an expansion to Henderson Park and a “Creek/Trail” acquisition on Barkside Court near Embry Hills.)

Arthur M. Armstrong, the son of Arthur Hammond Armstrong (memorialized Georgia Tech Athletics Director), was an English teacher and track coach at Druid Hills High School until around 1970, after returning from the Pacific Theater in WWII. Mr. Armstrong modified a former hunting shelter into a house and carved a quarter-mile dirt entrance drive off of Briarcliff Road. Young Art Armstrong was raised there, born in 1945, attending the original Tucker Elementary school before shifting to a “new” Oak Grove School in 7th grade and was a member of (former) Briarcliff High School’s first graduating class. The area means a lot to Art Armstrong and his boyhood home means even more.

“The last thing that spot needs are a bunch of new zero lot-line homes”, Armstrong says. “What it does need, is a place where a large neighborhood can congregate and relax. People have always had to get in their cars and go a ways to find a park.” Nearly 600 homes make up Flair Forest, Brookdale Park and Briarmoor Manor, the primary feeders to Hawthorne Neighborhood School, another recreation site. All have access to the Armstrong property on connected subdivision streets. Safe crossings on Briarcliff and Shallowford could afford half-mile access to 2000 households. Unrelated and not widely discussed, the DeKalb’s Trail Master Plan includes a North Fork Peachtree Creek Trail nearby, which would connect Shallowford Road with Mercer University and other individual local greenway initiatives.


Local Advocacy: Alliances and Coalitions Get Attention

“I had already been talking to members of Shallowford Presbyterian Church. They wanted to preserve the area behind them, but didn’t have the money”, Armstrong added. Some homeowners, including members of Flair Forest Garden Club and Hawthorne Civic Association, submitted an official “property nomination”, to be considered for county recognition by the County Greenspace program. The locals then combined forces with the church to advocate for a public purchase, ultimately gaining County Commissioner Gail Walldorff’s support. Armstrong’s for sale sign came down in the spring—the preservation idea had teeth. “We were fortunate to work with a land owner that was sympathetic (to the goals of the greenspace program) and to have several groups come forward”, says Administrator Arbes. The land was purchase for $2.12 million with, about 40% paid for with county funds—with contributions from the Georgia Greenspace Program and Blank Foundation.


Greenspace or Park?

Dave Butler is DeKalb’s Greenspace Environment Manager. Distinguishing greenspace from parks, he says “the goal of preserving greenspace is ultimately to improve water quality”. Until eight months ago, Butler was head of the South Peachtree Creek Nature Preserve, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that sub-leases low lying land from the county. Butler says the future of each new greenspace will be driven by locals. He says the decision has already been made to name the former Armstrong property “Mary-Scott” after Art Armstrong’s mother and her lifetime friend Scott Brown, but will it be called a “Park” or “Natural Area”?

Beth Nathan is a member of the Flair Forest Garden Club and also on the Board of Hawthorne Civic Association. Nathan understands the value of neighborhood advocacy in communicating with a land owner, county officials and other nearby partners, like churches (in the Armstrong case). She says, “the County is open to suggestions (as to property use) and I understand that people will be able to walk into (the property), but not drive in.” Nathan included some information about the County purchase in a Labor Day Garden Club newsletter. “I also tried to include something in the Hawthorne Civic Association annual meeting newsletter, but there wasn’t enough space”, she said.

While speaking with Butler, I overheard a site manager on a walky-talky confirming his instructions to clean up the remains of the Armstrong home, crushed by falling trees long ago. The chimney will be left standing for posterity.

Lakeside, DeKalb and Georgia Rank High in AP Tests

From the Lakeside High School PTA Newsletter, March 1, 2010

Georgia, DeKalb and Lakeside Receives AP Honors!


Georgia has the 12th Highest Percent of Seniors Scoring a 3 or Higher on AP Exams according to The College Board's AP Report to the Nation released last week. This report measures progress of the class of 2009.

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox recently named more than 125 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools. Among those 125 were eight DeKalb County high schools: Lakeside, Avondale, Chamblee Charter High, Cross Keys, DeKalb School of the Arts, Druid Hills, Dunwoody and Southwest DeKalb.

Lakeside JV Academic Bowl State Champs!

From the Lakeside High School PTA Newsletter (March 1, 2009)

JV Academic Bowl State Champs!


Please congratulate the 2010 Junior Varsity Academic Bowl Team as 4A state champions for 2010 - state champions again!

The team of Anne Grosse, Kevin Bai, Michelle Vu, and Coby Benveniste remained undefeated in this Saturday's tournament at Ola High School in Henry County.

Thank you to Bharat Koti for assistance in scoring and time-keeping.

Mr. Saltmarsh, team members, parents, and faculty are very proud of the team!!

Evidence Mounts For Towns and New Centers

Northern Virginia Snow and another vote to live in towns and centers (and create new ones):
Just spoke with sis-in-law in Ashburn, near Leesburg and Dulles Airport--burried, but able to get to stores only with 4-wheel drives.

Her comment struck me--"Of course anyone in DC or Arlington can get what they want because they can walk to their stores." Hmmmmm...

Larger Storms, Fuel Price Increases/Shortages and Less Dough for Infrastructure--says we better look to different "living arrangements". Who's ready to make a business out of this? Local banks, locally-owned businesses, smaller industry/manufacturing, nonprofits, local transit....

Oak Grove Free-Throw Competition Raises over $2,000 for Haiti Relief

By Tom Doolittle
Feb. 8, 2010

Oak Grove Elementary, a Lakeside High School feeder, hosted “Hoops for Haiti”,

Pictured: Oak Grove Phys Ed Teacher Anne Hasse with some shooters (indoors due to weather)

....a basketball shooting contest to raise money for the Red Cross efforts in Haiti this past Saturday, February 6. This was on the heels of the school’s “Caps for Haiti” benefit just after the January 12, 2010 earthquake leveled the island nation, inspiring an unparalleled international funding drive.

Oak Grove parent Sarah Guzman, and physical education teacher Anne Haase were running things when I shot my free-throws (28 for 50 on a 9.5 foot rim) and several Lakeside National Honor Society students were helping out. Guzman said the Oak Grove student council organized the event. Haase, a Sandy Springs resident, has taught at Oak Grove for 17 years.

Ms. Guzman, with two children at Oak Grove and one at In Town Community Church middle school (Lavista Road near Toco Hills), said the event attracted 120 “shooters” and raised $2,098. “Caps for Haiti” was also a $2,000 fundraiser.

The competition had all of the earmarks of a well-coordinated community event, with PR help and participants from Clairmont Presbyterian Church. The church hosts the “Top of the Key” basketball player development program, very popular along DeKalb’s portion of the I-85 Northeast Atlanta and Lavista/Briarcliff Corridors. Check out http://www.topofthekey.com/  or go to the church’s “Parish Life” website for information about youth basketball.

The Oak Grove event also included a surprise show by the young rock band, “Frets on Fire”, three Oak Grove and one Henderson Middle School students who have studied with “Chicago Joe Jones”, who runs a popular rock and blues camp near I-85 and Monroe Avenue. His young bands and others get their live show experience at Maddy’s, a ribs and Blues joint in Decatur.

“Frets” has played at the Memphis International Blues Festival, so if anyone wants to encourage young talent at a local event, call band manager/parent Eric Reinhart at

(404) 663-0225 and see what the band and followers are up to at www.myspace.com/fretsonfireband


The author and family are 17-year Northlake residents, children having attended Lakeside High School. Doolittle was the founding treasurer of Northlake Community Alliance, Inc., authored its 501-c-3 application to the IRS for charitable status and incorporation documents with the Secretary of State. He also ran the Northlake Business forum and wrote “The Northlake Romance” column for Community Review/Journal newspapers, contributes research to Henderson Middle School’s Henderson (History) Project and Northlake news to GoDeKalb.com.

Henderson Park Community Garden (Update)--1/26/10

Date: January 26, 2010 9:58:38 AM EST


This Saturday's workshop on DeKalb County's community garden program. I will attend and welcome your participation.


Saturday, January 30

9:00am- 12:00 pm

Georgia Perimeter College
Decatur Campus


Between the launch of its community garden program and the progress on the master plan, DeKalb County is moving ahead. Now it's up to us to make our garden happen. There's a lot that needs to be done on our end and we need your help. Please let me know if you're willing to participate in the planning of our garden. Planning activities include submitting paperwork, establishing guidelines, attending meetings and workshops, designing the garden area and plots, obtaining materials, raising funds, and reaching out to potential plot-holders, donors, volunteers, and other community members.

Regards,
Susan Farrar

Northlake’s Resurgens Bank Targets Atlanta’s Largest Small Business Market

January 26, 2010

Newly founded Resurgens bank was opened in Northlake in 2008 “due to the strong consumer demographics, knowledge of the market and large number of small business, especially in the Tucker area”, according to the bank’s CEO Charles M. DeWitt. Resurgens is headquartered across from Northlake Mall and iconic Bambinelli’s Restaurant on the ground floor of an office building. DeWitt, a former SunTrust Bank executive claims that Tucker has more small businesses than any zip code in the Atlanta region. One of the most recent banks to open in Georgia (there are three more recent); the community bank has only to weather the slow-down in business borrowing to thrive here.

Positioning Resurgens
The big question is can the smallest community banks succeed in an extended recession with slow borrowing? Maybe, as long as the start-up capital lasts through the “Big R” Recession. FDIC data confirms that the bank was formed with $12.8 million, and Dewitt says it has $75 million in assets. It is one of nine banks opened in 2008, only months after the now-infamous Shearson-Lehman bank failure. According to the FDIC, thirteen of the 98 community banks opened in Georgia after year 2000 have failed—two having opened as recently as 2006.

“My heritage was the old Trust Company” (understood as a conservative pedigree in the banking world), DeWitt confided. He is modestly confident that Resurgens has the right ingredients to succeed. The bank does mainly local loans and has done little construction lending.

The banker says his customers are converts from large banks rather then other community banks and the depositors and borrowers have unique requirements that can best be served by someone who has lived here and understands the community. DeWitt, originally from Chattanooga, has lived off of Briarcliff Road for fourteen years, having become familiar with the area via his wife, who grew up in Hawthorne and attended Lakeside High School. Dewitt serves as a Trustee with Northlake Community Alliance and Senior VP Patrick Putman recently served a term as Chairman of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. The bank sponsors Lakeside High School football program and Tucker Youth Soccer.

Last Saturday, Resurgens hosted a "Community Shred Day", doing its part in keeping locals' identities secure from cyber-fraud.

The former SunTrust and Trust Company executive describes his market as a wedge with $4 billion in customer deposits that starts at Morningside (Atlanta) through “submarkets” in Virginia Highlands, Toco Hills, Northlake and Tucker. Anyone along the Northeast I-85 corridor knows that those are all small business centers with specific neighborhoods that are attracted to them. Northlake banks have a higher deposit total than any Resurgens’ target submarkets, with $750 million.


Why Target Lending to Local and Small Businesses?
Community banks strengthen the economy in two ways; they provide a forum where residents and businesses can receive service from a local bank with local values, and they create an investment opportunity for individuals and businesses that want to put their money in a place where it will bring a positive return, while at the same time supporting the community. A 2003 FDIC study concluded that consolidating community banks increased small business loan growth while consolidating large banks resulted in lower small loan growth. The same survey stated, “traditionally, (small business) lending has been local in nature—often to firms having idiosyncratic credit needs and risks tied to the prospects of the local economy.”

What is so important about small businesses and their link to local financing? A survey in Maine found that national retail chains return only 14.1 percent of their local revenue to the local economy, mostly in the form of payroll (compared to over 45% from locally-owned businesses). The survey also found that the local businesses contributed 0.4 percent of their gross revenue to charity. That's four times as much, relative to overall sales, as Wal-Mart gave to charity in 2002, and twice as much as Target gave.

Northlake Area Is Unique
Bank managers in the Northlake Regional Center (the overlay district) have said that there are more millionaires doing business with them than any other of their banks’ branches—including in many other states. They characterize these stingy bank depositors as mostly “millionaires next door”, meaning older long-time savers. In today’s banking environment, that kind of profile might mean a welcome degree of stability.

At the August, 2009 one-year anniversary celebration of Resurgens, I met a 65-plus year old Henderson Road resident in ruffled cloths who surprisingly admitted he was looking for a local bank to deposit over $200,000. It seems he believed in having several banks for shares of a much larger sum. I also met a woman from a nearby well-to-do “ITP” neighborhood who has invested in the bank. The Northlake Mall manager also attended, along with as many people as I would recognize standing in line at an election precinct location.

In so many words, banks in the Northlake/Tucker area are may be in good shape if they can fill a local business borrowing vacuum when the economy recovers—by applying a “millionaire next door” deposit base to the largest concentration of small businesses in the Atlanta region.

Why was the name “Resurgens” chosen for a new community bank in Northeast Atlanta? DeWitt replied, “We wanted a name that was unique (not a First Community Bank type name) but had a tie to Atlanta. As you know, Resurgens is the seal of Atlanta dating back to the Sherman burning his way through the city. We believe Resurgens captures both.”


Tom Doolittle and family are 17-year Northlake residents, children having attended Lakeside High School. The author was the founding treasurer of Northlake Community Alliance, Inc., authored its 501-c-3 application to the IRS for charitable status and incorporation documents with the Secretary of State. He also ran the Northlake Business forum and wrote “The Northlake Romance” column for Community Review/Journal newspapers, contributes research to Henderson Middle School’s Henderson (History) Project and Northlake news to GoDeKalb.com.

New Restaurant at Northlake Mall

January24, 2010

Published on Tuckerdiscussions@yahoo.com

A new restaurant is getting ready to open in the former Crescent Moon location. This project has been held up by the county, but the restaurant is expected to receive its certificate of occupancy within the next 2 weeks.


The Seasons at Northlake will serve lunch and dinner to start. It will have a menu similar to Crescent Moon with fewer choices - quality over quantity. Emphasis will be family dining.