New Medlock Private School Announces Open Houses

Hess Academy opened in the fall.

Next Emory Lavista Parent Council Meeting to Tackle Charter Schools

The Wednesday, Oct. 17 meeting will be held at the International Community School in Medlock.

The Emory Lavista Parent Council will tackle the subject of charter schools next week when it brings its traveling group to Medlock's new charter school, the International Community School. The session, titled "The Georgia Charter School Ammendment: The Devil is in the Details," will include state Rep. Scott Holcomb giving an overview of why the state ammendment is up for a vote Nov. 4. It will also include Mark Peevy, former executive director of the Georgia Charter School Commission and Margaret Ciccarelli, legislative services manager and an attorney with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. The meeting begins at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the school, 2418 Wood Trail Lane, Decatur.

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Tom Doolittle

10:00 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

From Dunwoody Crier--blogger "Alpharetta Mom" http://www.thecrier.net/our_columnists/article_5bd46dc2-121d-11e2-a5cb-001a4bcf887a.html "A couple of concerns - we currently have a law in Georgia which affords an appeals process to petitioners who have been denied a charter by a local board. Why isn't this adequate? The enabling legislation, HB 797, allows charter petitioners the option to declare …   more ›

Bank Donates School Supplies to International Community School

The Medlock charter school was one of 24 schools in five states to receive supplies from City National Bank.

City National Bank recently donated a generous amount of school supplies to the International Community School in Medlock. Taking part in this donation were (l-r) fifth grade student Preslie Ladd, science and technology teacher Sudha Awasthi, and City National colleagues Randie Brooks, account manager and Imane Bitar, customer service officer. The bank donated more than 36,000 school supplies to 24 schools and one community organization in five states.

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Medlock Yard Sale to Support Rinehart Family

The Saturday, Oct. 6 yard sale will be open for business from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Courtesy of a post in the Medlock Area Neighborhood Association's website: Please mark your calendars for our annual neighborhood sale. The homes listed above have joined together to host a fundraiser. Our neighbor Hannah Rinehart passed away recently and this activity will help collect donations so that her husband Mark can meet medical costs related to Hannah's extended stay in the ICU. To make financial donations at any time, please visit  http://www.operationappreciationga.org/. Operation Appreciation is a 501(c)(3) charity that supports the members and families of the Georgia Guard, of which Mark is a member.

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Half-Naked Hitchhiker in Medlock?

A local resident called police after he spotted a man hitchhiking in the Medlock neighborhood in his underwear Saturday morning.

Here's a good one: A local resident called DeKalb County police after he saw a barefoot man hitchhiking in his underwear Saturday morning. Steven Campagna told North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch he called police after he saw the man at 6:35am. I'd love to write more about this, but, sadly, that's pretty much it. A dude in his underwear was hitchhiking. In Medlock. Here's to half-naked hitchhikers. UPDATE: Steven Campagna just emailed me to assure me the hitchhiker was not wearing his underwear as the lede could suggest. I could change the lede the reflect Mr. Campagna's concerns, but it's raining, and it's dreary, and I like the idea that someone might think a hitchhiker was wearing Mr. Campagna's underwear.

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What Should Go Here?

There used to a nightclub on Lawrenceville Highway called Dash. It upset some people. Then it closed. What should replace it?

There was a nightclub on Lawrenceville Highway called Dash. It was a curious (read: completely ridiculous) location for a nightclub, and a number of people from the neighboring Medlock community took issue with it, particularly the attendant noise that sounded early into the morning. But Dash has closed, and that issue is no more. At Patch, we like to get an idea of what the community envisions for their open spaces, and now this space at 1850 Lawrenceville Highway is open. The Dash space is small and is part of the same complex housing Cafe Istanbul. That area has been attracting quite a few ethnic restaurants and stuff like that, and it's near what we've started referring to as Little India along Church Street and DeKalb Industrial Way. …

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Emma Harger

11:57 am on Tuesday, May 29, 2012

As a GSU alumna, I'd hardly call the area a wasteland; you've got more than 30,000 hungry students and then of course the school's professors and other staff, all looking for places to eat. Have you SEEN how crowded Woodruff Park and the Luckie Street restaurant corridor gets at about 12:20 p.m., especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Yes, it's a little dead at the weekends, but since a lot of …   more ›

Letters to the Editor

I Will Never Shop at Walmart. Period.

A Decatur resident writes in about her own experience with a Walmart and her thoughts on the retailer's expansion into North Decatur.

I'd like to add my two cents to the Suburban Plaza debate. First off, let me tell you where I live: south of Memorial Drive off Midway/Peachcrest. A few years back we had a big ruckus over the Walmart Supercenter that went in where the mall used to be. We picketed. We wrote letters. We petitioned. Ultimately, Walmart came and did just as they pleased without building any sort of mixed use like they promised they would. The closest we got to "mixed use" is that a SunTrust bank opened up where the supposed condos were going to be. Nothing else was done. In other words: We got screwed. The neighborhood has not improved one tiny bit. The surrounding area has not magically transformed into better quality stores. NOTHING. That corridor of …

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Medlock Couple Receives Anonymous Note, Cat Disappears Two Days Later

The note, complaining about the cat, arrived at their home Nov. 17. Their Siamese cat was gone two days later.

The Week in Review

The top five stories from the previous week in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area.

Northlake Post Office Considered for Closure: Judging by the comments on the story, people don't seem to have much of a problem with the postal service considering that office's closure. But, hey, maybe fans of the office haven't showed up. Correct me if I'm wrong. Former Football Coach, St. Pius Teacher Bill Conley Dies at 80: Bill Conley was known for his championship football coaching elsewhere, but he was well-known and liked at St. Pius X Catholic High School. We rounded up some coverage from Patch, other news sites and postings on a memorial Facebook page to remember Conley. Brieske Baseball Continues in Medlock: A good number of people seemed to dig this story about a family passing on their pastime–and their Medlock memories–to …

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Brieske Baseball Continues in Medlock

Two generations of Brieskes have played baseball at Medlock Park. Here they recount their experiences and talk about the newest generation of Brieskes to pick up the bat.

The Brieske family, including brothers John, Jim and Robbie, first moved to Atlanta in 1969 and settled on Harrington Drive where their mother still lives. The brothers, who are now 48, 47 and 46 respectively, took a deep interest in playing baseball during the summer at nearby Medlock Park. Today, that tradition continues with Nathan Brieske, who is eight and plays in the Summer Sandlot Pinto League. Each of the three brothers has their own memories of their baseball-filled summers growing up, but they all recall feeling a sense of safety and freedom that allowed them to enjoy days at the park. “We lived about a mile from the ballpark, and that’s just the place you went every weekend. ... All summer long it was between going there, then …

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