New Location For Neighborhood Christmas Tree Sale posted 11-24-2004

An Oakhurst holiday tradition for the past several years has been the annual Christmas tree and holiday wreath sale. The sale is operated each year by our local neighborhood Boy Scout troop as a fund-raiser for their activities throughout the year. The sale has traditionally been located in the heart of the business district, but is moving this year to the yard of the troop's Scout Hut, just behind Oakhurst Presbyterian Church. The entrance to the lot is off East Lake Drive just across from the Boys and Girls Club. As in past years, the Christmas tree lot will open on the first weekend in December and will be open each of the first three weekends in the month. Hours are Friday evenings, Saturday mornings through evening and Sunday afternoons.

This year, the Oakhurst Christmas tree lot will open on Friday evening, December 3 (immediately after our community tree lighting ceremony in Harmony Park). The lot will offer trees, wreaths, garland roping and tree stands for neighborhood residents. The new setting, in the wooded yard off the church's back parking lot, will allow neighbors to shop for their tree in a "Christmas forest" setting. Hot chocolate will be on hand and the scouts will also be hosting an "open house" in their Scout Hut each weekend to give neighbors a chance to see what they are all about.

Frasier Firs, the most popular Christmas tree in the southeast, will be the featured trees again this year and will be available in a variety of sizes, including extra large trees for homes with high ceilings. The volunteers at the lot will dress your tree to order, so just tell them the kind of stand you have when you come to pick out your tree. If you need a new stand, they can help with that too.

The Christmas tree lot is staffed by our local scouts, along with volunteer adults who work with the boys in our neighborhood scout troop. All proceeds from the sale are used to help pay for camping equipment and other expenses for the troop. If you have a special request for a tree or wreath or need a tree or wreath during the week when the lot is not open, just contact the troop's Scoutmaster, Vinny Ferguson, at 404-502-9490 (OnTarget@sdbusinc.org).

Oakhurst's Boy Scout troop is the oldest troop in the metro Atlanta area. It was formed in 1911 by a young (fresh out of college) Decatur school teacher who wanted to get involved in his community. This first Scoutmaster, Scott Candler, went on to a lifetime of community service, becoming a mayor of Decatur and, eventually, the long-time county commissioner for DeKalb County. And for over 90 years now, the program he started in his first year as a young teacher has been serving boys in the south Decatur community.

Be sure to take advantage of this annual opportunity to buy your Christmas tree, wreaths and greenery right here in the Oakhurst community and support the youth in our neighborhood scout troop at the same time.

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Oakhurst Elementary Annual Winter Bazaar posted 11-24-2004

Oakhurst Elementary is having it’s annual Winter Bazaar on December 2, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The Bazaar will have crafts made by the kids, wreaths decorated by the kids, poinsettias and baked goodies.

Also on sale is the stunning poster made from a collage of hearts drawn by each of the children at Oakhurst Elementary. Drew Stauss photographed the artwork and Robin Doyon did the graphics. It is really a gorgeous piece. Even if you don’t end up buying one, you have to come take a look!

If you can’t make the Winter Bazaar, then stop by the Decatur Holiday Marketplace at Clairemont Elementary, Dec 3 and 4. This year, Clairemont has invited each of the City of Decatur Schools to participate in their traditional holiday fundraiser. (Kudos to Clairemont for including all of Decatur!)

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Waste Management Advisory Board Looking for New Members posted 11-24-2004

Interested in recycling and garbage issues within the city of Decatur? The Waste Management Advisory Board has some positions available for Decatur citizens who are environmentally aware and civic minded. The Waste Management Advisory Board was established by the City Commission to act as a citizen advisory group on issues of waste management. The board was responsible for developing the Pay-As-You-Throw program, a volume-based initiative that has dramatically reduced Decatur's contribution to landfills, and has been active in stimulating recycling in the community. The Board meets once a month in the Downtown Development Authority conference room. Interested applicants should contact City Hall at 404-370-4102 for an application or contact Richard Cohen, 404-377- 6131 (cohen03@bellsouth.net) for more information.

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International Gift Market posted 11-24-2004

Shop at the International Gift Market Place on Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12 at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church. We will host gifts from around the world made by craftpersons who benefit from this sale. We will also have gifts made by folks in our community. Saturday hours are 10 AM - 3 PM and Sunday from 1 PM - 3 PM. A part of the proceeds will benefit the scholarship fund for summer camp. The Church is located at the corner of East Lake Dr. and 2nd Ave. Everyone welcomed! For information call the Church at 404-378-6284.

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www.OakhurstGA.org posted 11-06-2004

The Oakhurst website enjoys significant traffic on a regular basis. One of the most popular features is the Directory of local Businesses and Residents.

Unfortunately the Resident Directory is in serious need of enhancement. We need a total revamp to make it much easier to use. We might even want to unite it with our security model and possibly tie in our e-Mail lists. We already have some good work along these lines but we need help from our community web developers.

We are looking for anyone at all familiar with PHP and MySQL to help out. If you know what PHP and MySQL are, please drop me a note at webmaster@oakhurstga.org.

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The Oakhurst Leaflet Needs You posted 11-06-2004

The Oakhurst Leaflet is an all volunteer effort and we need your help! We are currently looking for people to fulfill the following roles. Each only takes an hour or two per week, yet has a significant positive impact on our community.

Content Coordinator

We have the best bunch of contributing authors a publication could hope for, but we need someone to coordinate these good folks so that we get a good mix of articles each month. The person or persons acting as content coordinator(s) will help brainstorm ideas, review/proofread submissions, assist contributing authors with editorial standards and recruit additional contributing authors as needed.

Advertising Coordinator

Each month we print approximately 20 advertisements from local businesses and organizations. The good news is that most of our advertisers stick with us for a long time and we have very little turn over. Therefore, we don't have to spend a long time wrangling the details. Still, we need a person or persons to coordinate with our advertisers making sure we have their artwork, produce simple invoices (every 3 months), receive and track payments and schedule advertisements for specific issues.

If you have other ideas on how you can help please eMail us at leafleteditor@oakhurstga.org.

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Our Annual Oakhurst Christmas Tree posted 11-06-2004

Start your holiday season off right at the annual lighting of the Oakhurst Christmas tree on Friday, December 3 at 6:30 PM. After a round of carols in Harmony Park, we'll adjourn to The Solarium for the annual holiday party hosted by the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association.

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WAHOO! posted 11-06-2004

by Kimberly Zwaagstra [Kimberly@zwaagstra.net]

When I first drove by Wahoo!, I thought about the substantive, mild white fish our friends and natives in Cayman Brac caught with a hand line and served us for dinner (called wahoo). And I was already intrigued.

Then, on our 14th wedding anniversary, my husband and I stopped by the"new restaurant in Oakhurst" on our way home from retrieving him from the airport. It looked respectable from the outside, so we thought we'd give it a try rather than going home to open the 14-year-old bottle of champagne from our wedding reception we've been saving all these years. [maybe we're just afraid to open it]

We stepped inside and were greeted warmly not only by the staff, but by some of our favorite friends and neighbors already dining. Tables were shuffled a bit and we joined the crowd for one of the most enjoyable anniversary dinners we've had. It was a treat to share it with friends in the company of fabulous, reasonably priced, go-back-as-often-as-you-can food. Pam Ledbetter, the restaurant creator and owner, even treated us to a bottle of champagne! We thought we'd drop by and get some vittles into our tired selves and we ended up celebrating in true fashion. The bottle of champagne from our wedding reception continues to hover in the wine cooler in anticipation of year 15 (Whew! That was close).

We've been back. And we're still all giddy about it. Oakhurst has once again adopted and welcomed heartily another community gem. If the darn good food doesn't snag you, the laid-back, happy staff will. Or the garden space out back will leave you dreaming about hosting your next party there. It goes on and on and so will your party. We'll all be fighting over it next Spring. And, well, there's always the bar. And the wine list! And the pie! Oh My!

On behalf of all our neighbors, we welcome Pam and everyone at Wahoo! to the Oakhurst community. As it turns out, Wahoo! is named for its expression of joy. At the risk of writing what everyone else is writing, we say "Wahoo!" to Wahoo! We're glad you chose Oakhurst to build a dream that adds another slice of soul to our corner of Atlanta.

You can find Wahoo! at 1042 West College Avenue (on the left just before the East Lake Marta station if you're heading west on College) or at www.wahoogrilldecatur.com. The web site is still being developed, but you can view the menu. Try the Charleston Shrimp and Grits ($12) and plan to eat slowly. You'll want to savor it.

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Pictures Galore posted 11-06-2004

If you'd like to see photos and video of the Oakhurst International Arts and Music Festival last month, there's plenty on the web. We have a photo gallery on Oakhurst's web site, www.oakhurstga.com, with pictures from the festival and the 5K race. And there's more on the DeKalb County community web site www.godekalb.com. There you'll also see pictures of the run and the festival as well as streaming video. The video is in the Community Album section. It was prepared by local video artist David Beauvais, who also made the video and DVD of the Oakhurst walking tour from last summer.

You can borrow the walking tour video or DVD from the Decatur library or by stopping at Charles Cope's store, One Step at a time, at 650 East Lake Drive in the village. And you can buy one for $7 ($2 of each purchase goes to the ONA) by contacting Jack Krost at 404 373-8750 or jkrost@aol.com.

Pre-School Play at Oakhurst Park posted 10-10-2004

Parents of pre-schoolers who want to get together with other parents and kids in the neighborhood during the week have been meeting regularly on Thursdays, from 11 am to 1 pm, at Oakhurst Park. In addition to the regular get togethers on Thursdays, the group has decided to add an extra day of weekly playtime on Mondays, at the same time, at Oakhurst Park. So, if you find yourself at home on those days and want to get out of the house, please come join us!

With cold and wet weather just around the corner, the Community Center of South Decatur has graciously offered the Solarium to this group to use on Mondays when the weather is bad. For more information about this playgroup, please contact Anne Baca at 404-373-4224, or ebaca@bellsouth.net. °

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Trick or Treat at the Solarium posted 10-10-2004

School has started and before you know it, goblins will be knocking on your door. Yep, Halloween is right around the corner. In what will no doubt be the highlight event of the fall, the Community Center of South Decatur will again be hosting our annual Halloween Party at The Solarium on Sunday, October 31. We are currently seeking some dedicated community members to help with a few of the details of the event. We promise that if you volunteer, we won't wear you out; just one or two little tasks that will not take more than one hour of your time.

We need volunteers to help with preliminary planning prior to the big day and set up/clean up the day of the event. People without young children are encouraged to help with clean up so that the parents involved can go trick-or-treating with their young ones. In addition, we are looking for a good storyteller that would be willing to donate some time as well as a judge for the costume contest. If you know just the person, or to volunteer for any of the small projects we need help with, please contact Beth Thompson at 404-377-2552 or Beth_Thompson@yahoo.com.

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Dog Park Update posted 9-2-2004

Over the past few years, a growing number of Oakhurst residents have been meeting to socialize and allow our dogs to play together. This group has been working with Decatur Parks and Recreation to establish a permanent, dedicated dog park in Oakhurst to serve these residents and their dogs. We made progress a couple of years ago on setting up some guidelines and ideas for the park, but our progress was halted when a suitable location for the park could not be identified.

Recent developments have started the dog park concept rolling again and we are reviewing and seeking permission for the dog park to be sited on one of two locations: the drain field adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club on East Lake Road or the field behind Fifth Avenue Elementary School.

We are all probably aware of the recent developments at 5th Avenue; the field has been converted to a gravel-dusted parking lot for the City school buses, complete with lighting, 9 foot fencing and razor wire. This would seem to be a very intense use for a neighborhood green space in the middle of a low density area. Several of us attended a recent school board meeting to express our disappointment with the parking lot. The last communication was that the school board was considering other, less residential areas to park the school buses. If that can happen, the 5th Avenue field, in connection with Decatur Parks and Rec's plan to renovate the playground, would make an excellent candidate for the dog park. Parks and Rec is concurrently drafting a proposal to the Boys and Girls Club for a temporary usage situation that would become permanent if all parties are satisfied with the arrangement.

The entire community would be well served by a dog park. It would allow for no dog activity on the existing "human" fields, it would foster a great deal of neighborhood "human" socialization and would allow the dogs to be better socialized and therefore better behaved. If you would like more information and to be added to my email list regarding developments on the dog park, please email me at abcorder@comcast.net. We will plan to have a meeting within the next 6-8 weeks once a location has been established to discuss rules, design and safety factors.

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The Seen Gallery Had Decatur Mugs posted 9-2-2004

The Seen Gallery is selling coffee mugs designed by one of their artists, James Dean. The mugs include the City of Decatur logo. A portion of the sales receipts from these mugs will be donated to the Decatur Education Foundation in support of educational programs for children and youth in Decatur.

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OIAMF Features Literary Arts posted 9-2-2004

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. ..." When's the last time you picked up a classic & re-read it for fun? How important IS reading? How big a role do books play in your life? The Oakhurst International Arts and Music Festival on October 9, 2004, will feature a Literary Arts Event along with the arts, crafts, music, fun run and children's activities. We plan on having several local writers discuss their books with the audience, in addition to dramatic readings by a local playwright group.

Here's where YOU come in! We want to post in the literary tent area and, perhaps, in a followup article about the event, a brief list of "What We in Oakhurst Are Reading"! Please respond to Gary Garrett at: gpgarrett50@aol.com with the following: Your name, street, occupation/vocation, what you are currently reading (title/ author) along with a comment or two about the book; favorite book(s)/author(s) you've ever read; favorite quote from a book; and favorite poems/poet.

A BONUS Question: What's so great about books, anyway?

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Oakhurst Garden Looking for Plants To Sell At OIAMF posted 9-2-2004

Attention Gardeners with extra plants to spare! The Oakhurst Community Garden Project will have a table at the upcoming Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival held October 9, 2004. We are looking for trees, shrubs, perennials, groundcover, herbs, etc to be donated. How about those plants you were meaning to plant all summer or that perennial that desperately needs to be divided? The proceeds from the plant sale benefit the garden and the environmental education programs for our community. Bring your marked and potted up plants to 530 Ansley St. here in Oakhurst. If the plant blooms, please note the color on the label. For further information or questions, please contact Stephanie Van Parys at (404)377-8675 or svanparys@hotmail.com.

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The Seen presents William Bibb and Jill Alikonis posted 9-2-2004

Bibb and Alikonis have been capturing images on film for a combined 47 years. They are Decatur photographers who shoot at home as well as abroad. This retrospective of their work will feature color as well as black and white images of local and global settings. Together, they have covered Vietnam, Italy, France, Australia, Kosrae, Hawaii, Ireland, Corsica, and Portugal as well as Alaska, Arizona, and of course Georgia. They will also present some documentary and figure work.
Show dates are October 2-November 14, 2004 in conjunction with Atlanta Celebrates Photography. Opening party is Saturday, Oct 2 from 7-10pm. Live music and wine bar. Visit www.theseengallery.com for more details.

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At The Solarium posted 9-2-2004

Monthly Scrapbooking Workshop

If you have ever wondered where you will find the time or space to finish that scrapbook you've started, here is your opportunity. Whether you are a novice scrapbooker or are interested in starting a new hobby, we have the event for you.

Robin Wright, and independent consultant with Creative Memories, along with The Community Center of South Decatur will be hosting a monthly scrapbooking workshop for the community at The Solarium at Historic Scottish Rite. The event is the second Thursday of every month at 7 PM.

Robin will bring her great ideas as well as some helpful tools to get us started. She can also help you organize your photos.

If you are new to scrapbooking, just bring a few photos and Robin will help you get started. If you are an old hand, bring your goodies; we'll have plenty of room to spread out!

To make it a party, please bring a snack and/or a drink to share. Something simple is great! Alcohol is quite acceptable! CCSD will provide paper goods.

We ask for a $10 donation to cover the costs of this event.

Trick or Treat, Halloween at The Solarium

School has started and before you know it, goblins will be knocking on your door. Yep, Halloween is right around the corner. In what will no doubt be the highlight even of the fall, the Community Center of South Decatur will again be hosting our annual Halloween Party at The Solarium. We are currently seeking some dedicated community members to help with a few of the details of the event. We promise that if you volunteer, we won't wear you out; just one or two little tasks that will not take more than one hour of your time.

We need volunteers to help with preliminary planning prior to the big day and set up/clean up the day of the event. People without young children are encouraged to help with clean up so that the parents involved can go trick-or-treating with their young ones. In addition, we are looking for a good storyteller that would be willing to donate some time as well as a judge for the costume contest. If you know just the person, or to volunteer for any of the small projects we need help with, please contact Beth Thompson at 404-377-2552 or Beth_Thompson@yahoo.com.

Oakhurst Getting in Shape

Please join Kim Holmes, an AFFA certified fitness instructor, for a fun weekly fitness class consisting of a neighborhood fitness walk, strength training and flexibility. Classes will be held at the Solarium at Historic Scottish Rite on Monday nights from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. beginning on September 13, 2004. The six (6) week course is $60.00 and is open to all fitness levels. Participants should plan on bringing a set of hand weights and a mat or thick towel.

Please contact Kim with questions or to register at (404) 377-3471 or via e-mail at kimandalan@covad.net.
Due to space restrictions, we unfortunately have to limit the class to