School closings and liquor store openings
Feb. 18 — It’s Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Dunwoody. Last week, I went on the Dunwoody Trolley Tour and documented it on our Rough Draft social media accounts, which got a lot of engagement. Hope that translates to signups for the future tours. Even though I’ve been here forever, I learned a lot about the city.
🦼 Dunwoody is holding a meeting about sidewalks that I can heartily endorse, mostly because of the location. An open house will be held at Vintage Pizzeria, 5510 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, to discuss paths in the Dunwoody Village area. Here’s the good news/bad news. The city has a good start on funding the improvements, but construction isn’t expected to start until 2029. I doubt I’ll still be walking by the time the ribbon-cutting ceremony is held.
☂️ Jerry’s Habima Theatre, Georgia’s only professionally run inclusive theater company featuring actors with disabilities performing alongside professional artists, will present “Mary Poppins Jr.” at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta from March 5-15.
♻️ Dunwoody is taking applications for its sustainability hero for 2025. The Sustainability Hero Award program “honors exemplary individuals and organizations for their dedication, service, and leadership in sustainable practices.” I watched someone throw a can of paint and a pocket door into our condo’s compactor the other day. I fished both items out and put a mean note on the door, but I doubt I’m the kind of hero they are seeking to spotlight.
🚙 Let’s drive on, shall we?Cathy
🏀 Bring the whole family out and celebrate Kids Day, presented by Georgia Aquarium, on February 22 as the Hawks hit the court against the Nets. The first 3,000 kids through the gates will enjoy a shoe charms giveaway. Lock in tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Winters Chapel Path open house draws a crowd
🥶+⛪️ Nearly 100 Dunwoody residents shared their thoughts Feb. 12 on the second phase of the Winters Chapel Path, which will eventually connect neighborhoods in east Dunwoody to nearby commercial areas and city parks.
Phase two, set to begin construction in 2029 with federal funding, will extend south from the existing Winters Chapel Path (from Dunwoody Club Drive to Charmant Place) to a planned multi-use trail along the north side of Peeler Road. Not everyone is jazzed up about this path, BTW.
🔖 Read Hayden’s report on the night here.
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School daze
🦖 Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my daughter went to Austin Elementary, which, along with Vanderlyn, was considered one of the top schools in the state of Georgia, in terms of test scores and lots of other measures. Both schools were so esteemed that any residential real estate listing in either attendance zone had it as the number one amenity. Many years later, the shine has not worn off at either school.
That’s why it was so shocking that Vanderlyn was named as one of 27 DeKalb schools on the proposed closure/repurposing list last week.
✏️ District 1 Board Member Andrew Ziffer wrote a very thoughtful response to my request for comment. To give it justice, we are running it as an opinion piece. Read it here.
🏀 Bring the whole family out and celebrate Kids Day, presented by Georgia Aquarium, on February 22 as the Hawks hit the court against the Nets. The first 3,000 kids through the gates will enjoy a shoe charms giveaway. Lock in tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Picture this: Promises, promises
Dunwoody World of Beverage, which has spent what seems like a decade building a liquor store on land that used to house a really decrepit Walgreens Pharmacy on Shallowford Road, is crawling towards completion, according to its Instagram account.
The photo above from DWOB’s Instagram seems to indicate that it’s ready to go. I drove by yesterday, and it somewhat resembles the picture, except for the “coming-soon” sign, the stocked shelves, and the illuminated interior. The trees, however, appear to be real.
Keep hope alive – DWOB’s social media says the store is hiring.
