Save Tucker!

TO SAVE TUCKER! GROUP MEMBERS AND FOLLOWERS:  If you are available to speak during public comments at this committee hearing but would like to discuss ideas about content or become part of a Save Tucker! group of presenters, contact cherylpaulmiller@att.net.   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Betsy Lynch Wednesday, November 26, 2014 (404) 656-3996 betsy.lynch@house.ga.gov ATLANTA – The House DeKalb County Cityhood Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building. At this meeting the committee will hear testimony from representatives from the Tucker and LaVista Hills cityhood organizations. Following the testimony, the committee will take public comment. “I look forward to hearing from the proponents of the LaVista Hills and Tucker cities, as well as from members of the community who want their voice heard on this subject,” said Rep. Buzz Brockway, Chair of the DeKalb Cityhood Subcommittee. “...

At least we're not one of the turkeys involved in this debate! 1.  We like where we live the way it is right now.   2.  We can find where we live on a map, globe or with GPS.   (and, Google Maps doesn't get confused about which one is the CITY and which one is the STREET NAME.) 3.  The best things in life are free. 4.  In life, finishing first is not the same thing as winning.   5.  If nice guys finish last, at least we will be surrounding by other nice people. 6.  We know the difference between MORE and BETTER.  7.  We have more medical and professional workers than we do lawyers or politicians.  Nuff said! 8.  We know a turkey when we see one. 9.  The eye of a storm is the most peaceful location, if you are into that sort of thing. 10.  We can't possibly become more conveniently located than we are now to everything. 11.   We know we made good investments in our homes because...

From the AJC: Unease about schools fuels drive to ditch DeKalb By Ty Tagami  ( highlights and comments added by Save Tucker!) Some complain about slow police or missing sidewalks. Others say it’s the whiff, or actual stench, of government corruption that bothers them. Many though, especially parents, say it’s the sorry state of the schools that inspires them to carve up DeKalb County.   (SO, IT IS ABOUT THE SCHOOLS??) (But this is the question asked over and over again that the city advocates would not address.  It made no sense to start cities in the middle of school crisis and try to tell people that it had nothing to do with the schools.) However they do it, through incorporations or annexations, the map of Atlanta’s aging suburban bedroom community may soon be creased with a lot more lines. The threatened dismemberment of a once-great county promises to dominate local politics when the next session of the General Assembly rumbles to a start in January....

When Lakeside City first announced its plans for a city, their board members recited tales of cars left unlocked in driveways that had the GPS stolen or a laptop, left in plain view, taken from inside the car. While not to dismiss the serious nature of any crime, the complaints sounded, at the time, to be minor when compared to crimes we know take place in other parts of our county.  But, they still used the same tired excuse for a new city that Dunwoody and Sandy Springs had used years before: More Police! Map shows how central precinct picked up most police from the closing of the north precinct and how a large portion of those protected by the police now will be harmed if another precinct is forced to close and reorganize.  And before you criticize the Tucker decision to leave police in the hands of the county, take a look at how things are currently set up.  Keep in mind, we have the second largest police force in the state, and TWO of the FOUR preci...

Save Tucker attended a meeting of the County's Operations Task Force in which we were prepared to make a statement. And, at the end of that meeting, the committee adjourned quickly and denied public comment. One member even went so far as to ask a woman in the audience to sit down and told her she was not allowed to ask questions, even though the speaker had asked for questions and motioned to her to permit her to speak.  Recently, the Task Force has changed its meeting location with little notification to the public or they have cancelled their meetings, rescheduling them for daytime hours rather than evening when most people are able to attend without having to take time off from work.  We found this report from a community in Maryland recently and want our elected officials to know that the public has a right to speak. Is this what it will come down to in DeKalb County? We hope not!

NOTE:  WHATEVER THIS GROUP DECIDES TO DO, YOU WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE!   IF CENTRAL DEKALB WISHES TO REJECT ALL CITIES, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS AGREE TO ALL VOTE NO!     Posted by Dan Whisenhunt  November 19, 2014   Decaturish This story has been updated. Three groups vying to become DeKalb County’s newest city had until Nov. 15 to present a map to the state Legislature that resolved their differences. Two of the groups – Lakeside and Briarcliff – met that deadline and proposed creating a city of LaVista Hills, which combines the maps proposed by both groups. But they were unable to reach a compromise with supporters of creating a city of Tucker, leaving both groups with overlapping map boundaries. Now the state Legislature will sort it out. On Wednesday afternoon, House Governmental Affairs Committee Charwoman Rep. Amy Carter, R-Valdosta, appointed five members to a Cityhood Subcommittee on Governmental Affairs. The members are: – Re...

Mary Kay Woodworth was recently asked about the combined Lakeside/Briarcliff map.  Her response here:  http://www.brookhavenpost.co/lakeside-briarcliff-to-meet-with-tucker-before-revealing-unified-boundary-map/22981/ She said she didn't want to "play all their cards."   So, we know who is playing games and it isn't us. See the map below.  THIS is TUCKER.   The blue pins are leaders in the Tucker 2014 group, which we previously exposed for being listed as a FOR PROFIT company!    None of the other city groups have been set up as for-profit.  And, it does not specify WHO is profiting, but we do know that it sure isn't the average citizen living in Dekalb County.   We won't  "profit" off any of these proposals and, instead, many people are fed up with everything and simply choosing to move away completely.   There is only so much that people can take, after all.   People generally do not enjoy or seek c...

Upon hearing about today’s planned press conference, we call upon our local delegation and the members of the House and Senate who are involved in the process of creating new cities to please defend the known and easily identifiable borders of our existing zip code designations of 30084 and 30085. Please note that there are NO SUCH COMMUNITIES existing today called by ANY of the names that have requested your time and attention other than our known community of Tucker. However, it is URGENT that we bring to your IMMEDIATE attention that the maps so far presented by Tucker 2014/2015 are NOT what is currently known and recognized by most residents as Tucker.   And, if they agree to give up some of the most valuable property in our map in exchange for large swaths of residential areas without any supporting commercial, please reject their plan because that is not an acceptable compromise.   It is a set up for failure. Please accept this email as a plea from the actual res...

We don't have a regular newsletter or even a newsletter staff.  But, we do know that saving Tucker is a big job and it will take the voices and effort of our entire community if it is going to be successful.  Sometimes, the wheels of the government turn slowly.  And sometimes there is action when it appears no one is paying attention.  If we hear of anything that requires an immediate or urgent response from you, the residents and homeowners of Tucker and others who support our effort to keep our community in tact, we will use our email list in order to contact you.   You will always have the option to "opt out" of the email and we will never  sell or provide your information to another source or third party.   We wouldn't do that to our neighbors.  You know where we live! Thanks for following our blog and don't forget to "like" us on Facebook, too.   www.facebook.com/SaveTuckerFromLakesideCity .

The Brockett Heights Community met Nov.11  at the Greater Atlanta Homebuilder's Association Building at 1484 Brockett Road in Tucker.  Here is a rundown of the concerns they shared with state Senator Steve Henson: AREAS OF CONCERN FOR BROCKETT HEIGHTS City Border Negotiations and Disputes,  Negative impact of this process on neighborhoods,  Many vacant homes or homes for sale now, Growing concerns over the large refugee population still being brought to Dekalb,  Annexation Areas Identified by Clarkston and  The previously approved plan to create a city of Northlake  Who is representing us? Why can’t we get any answers?  What can we do about being gerrymandered away from our community of interest? Lobbyists not identifying themselves as such when making public comments or when addressing the legislature in front of the public.   City groups treating Tucker and other areas with a different set of rules compared to Emory or neighbo...

So, Lakeside and Braircliff are now one group and they want to move forward toward forming a city together. Are you amazed that these rivals are suddenly finding common ground? Well, we're not. In fact, we've been telling you that this was their plan all along. One of them plays the "bad guy" and one of them is the "good guy," and it just depends on your perspective which one you believe is which. In reality these folks all run in the same circles, play in the same tennis leagues and sit on the same boards and task forces together all the time.  They understand that a true two party system is what usually provides the best outcome for the majority of the people who live under that system and therefore, a successful city should have a balance of Republicans and Democrats who can behave themselves and work together for the good of their constituents. If they did not know this, they would not be very educated in the history and workings of politics, w...

Wonder if these homes, found on Zillow.com, were factored into "The Lakeside Plan." Would you pay that much for a home that is apparently on the easement of someone else's front yard? They have full descriptions.  They just are not physically there. Looking to move to a certain school attendance zone so you can get the best education possible in DeKalb County, the worst large metropolitan county for education in one of the lowest ranked states for education in the country?  If you answered yes, then you are exactly the kind of person who needs one of these beauties: How about  19 44 Sil vastone Dr # 0,  Decatur, GA 30033,  4 beds  2.5 baths -- sqft FACTS   Single Family Built in 1960 Of course we don't know how this home existed on this street in 1960 when all the others around it were built in 1966 or later.   Maybe this WAS the one room school room where the kiddos used to go?  Either way, it is a steal a...

Nov 13, 2014 Dear Rep. Carter and Rep. Brockway, Thank you for leadership on the Governmental Affairs Committee in Georgia. I am a resident of DeKalb County and followed the hearings you conducted in the last session for the cities of Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker. At the conclusion of the hearings in March it was determined that none of the bills could proceed. With other bills I have followed, this meant that they were “dead.” Reference: http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/2-new-dekalb-cities-dead-until-2015/nfFbK/ ; Therefore, there is some confusion among the residents of DeKalb who do not understand why a recent press release spoke to rules for new groups (or at least new names for some of them) when they have not even secured new bills or new bill sponsors. Can you clarify? Rep. Carter, Rep. Jacobs, Rep. Brockway, Rep. Taylor: this deadline of Nov. 15 is not a fair deadline for Tucker for the following reasons:   1.) The...

 From the AJC  (Above headline was ours, however) ********************************************** Name that city!  November 7, 2014 | Filed in: DeKalb County. The communities of Lakeside and Briarcliff are teaming up to form one big city, but what should it be called? Briarlake? Lavista? Lavista Hills? Briarton? Briar Vista? Those are the choices in an online survey of residents in the north-central area of DeKalb County that could be incorporated next year. Lakeside and Briarcliff have been working together since this summer after their divided efforts earlier this year led to neither community winning cityhood. This time, they’re collaborating on a map that could be presented to the Georgia Legislature for consideration in January. *************************************************** If  you have concerns over the NEW process announced by press release that allows these groups another shot, please contact your state legislators as well as the House C...