Heneghan’s Dunwoody Blog

Reasons to sign Teens up for Collision Avoidance Training (C.A.T.) offered by the Dunwoody Police Department

John@JKHeneghan.com (John Heneghan) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:52:53 PST

The Dunwoody Police Department has been offering the Collision Avoidance Training (C.A.T.) Program since June 2010. This is an advanced defensive driving and vehicle control program designed for teenage drivers. The two day driving program is designed to provide young drivers with the knowledge and understanding of vehicle dynamics and human kinetics.

In September, 2011 the National Traffic Safety Academy selected at random a number of parents from the first six months this program was offered by the Dunwoody Police Department to be included in a survey. Parents were asked to complete a short survey which would help us determine the effectiveness of the training program. The results were as follows:

87.2% of the surveys were completed and returned.
Since attending the class 12-18 months ago, less than 5% of the teens were involved in an automobile crash.
Of that 5%, no one was at fault, charged or injured in the crash.
Since attending the training no one has received a traffic citation.
95.1% rated the change in their teens driving ability as “Greatly Improved”
4.8% rated the change in their teens driving ability as “Improved”
100% rated their satisfaction as-“Exceeded my expectations”

It is extremely important to teach these teenage drivers the importance of traffic safety. The skills they learn will assist their decision making when they take to the streets. The results reflected above, show the impact it has on the students that participate in this training.

In the Feb. 16th edition of USATODAY – “Traffic fatalities rise among 16, 17 year old drivers”

“A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association highlights what could be a very troubling trend among 16 and 17 year old drivers. GHSA examined deaths of 16 and 17 year old drivers through the first 6 months of 2011 and found an 11% increase of the same period in 2010. Deaths of 16 year olds rose 16% and 17 year olds rose 7% for an overall increase of 11%.Twenty-three states saw no increases, 19 had decreases and there was no change in eight states and Washington, D.C.”

“We think that what you taught her will be incorporated into the driving skills that she is currently reinforcing, without having first learned some bad habits.”(Judy Gordon/Dunwoody Parent) “

"I didn't particularly want to attend at first but I'm glad I did, and I will recommend this to my friends”(Dunwoody HS Student).

The next training classes will be held on April 13-14, 2012 and May 25-26, 2012.

For more information on the Collision Avoidance Training, please contact Lt. William Hegwood @ 678-382-6904 William.hegwood@dunwoodyga.gov, or go to www.dunwoodypolice.com and click on “CAT”.

Dunwoody schools to participate in Georgia Walk to School Day on Wed March 7th

John@JKHeneghan.com (John Heneghan) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:19:42 PST

Wednesday, March 7th, will be our "Georgia Walk to School Day". Each of Dunwoody's elementary schools - Austin, Chesnut, Dunwoody Elementary, Kingsley and Vanderlyn - will be hosting a walk/bike to school event on this day as part of its walk to school program. We have raised the stakes this year, as the schools will be competing for "The Golden Sneaker of Dunwoody" - awarded to the school with the highest percentage of walkers.

We would like to invite you to join our students and parents for this great event. Each school has individual walking routes and schedules, so if you are interested in joining us for "Walking Wednesday" please contact the school you will be joining for additional information.

School contacts are as follows:
Austin: Stacey Harris, staceyharris70@hotmail.com
Chesnut: Chris Newberry, newby211@gmail.com
Dunwoody Elementary: Rosemary Gorham, rosemary_gorham@hotmail.com
Kingsley: Tom Lambert, tldlshop@comcast.net (see below for Kingsley information)
Vanderlyn: Kate Sweeney, kate1sweeney@gmail.com

As an FYI - Kingsley will be meeting at the old ACE Hardware parking lot on Mt. Vernon Drive at 7:00 AM, and will start the walk to school down North Peachtree Rd at 7:10 AM sharp. Captain Kingsley's new partner - Princess Comet - will be making her first public appearance at this event.

Agenda for Feb 27th Dunwoody City Council Meeting

John@JKHeneghan.com (John Heneghan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:46:04 PST

Monday, February 27th
Dunwoody City Hall
41 Perimeter Center East

Dunwoody, GA 30346

6:00 p.m. - Work Agenda
7:00 p.m. - Voting Agenda
Watch Live at 7 pm

Agenda

Recognition of Officer Ronny Gomez-Delima for Earning His Bachelor of Information Technology Degree.

Award of Unit Price Contract for Stormwater Pipe Repair and Replacement.

Approval of Contract with ConnectSouth.

Approval of GIS Fees.

Resolution to Appoint Members to Serve on City of Dunwoody Community Council.

Presentation of Convention and Visitors Bureau of Dunwoody 2011 Year End Report.

Resolution to Set Stormwater Utility Rate.

Resolution to Appoint Zoning Code Rewrite Sounding Board.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Charter Schools and City of DeKalb are moving forward in the State Legislature

John@JKHeneghan.com (John Heneghan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:45:38 PST

Charter Schools - Legislation

The state could create charter schools rejected by local school boards under a constitutional amendment approved by the Georgia House of Representatives Wednesday.

The legislation, which passed 123-48 and now goes to the Senate, essentially would ask Georgia voters to reverse a state Supreme Court decision. In a 4-3 ruling last year, the justices overturned a 2008 law that formed a state commission with the power to create charter schools as an unconstitutional intrusion into local control over public education.

During Wednesday’s debate on the House floor, the amendment’s supporters argued that letting the court decision stand would abandon what historically has been a responsibility for public schools shared by the state and local school systems.

The state spends $7 billion a year on K-12 public education, said House Majority Leader Larry O’Neal, R-Bonaire. “Should we send $7 billion a year in taxpayer money to local school districts and hope they do well?” he asked his legislative colleagues. “The people of Georgia expect responsible stewardship of their money.”

Maureen Downey
Savannah
AJC
Atlanta Business Chronicle
North Fulton

City of DeKalb - Legislation

CrossRoads News - Pro
Peach Pundit - Con

Other News - Tom Bowen thinking of leaving School Board for County Commission, Kathie Gannon to have a challenger.

Shorter summer break mentioned at the DeKalb County School System address.

John@JKHeneghan.com (John Heneghan) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:45:23 PST

I sometimes find interesting news reports on the web like the story in the AJC outlining the possibility of shorter summer breaks in DeKalb County. The story quotes two Dunwoody residents (Gil Hearn - Parents for DeKalb Schools & Nancy Jester - School Board) who differ on the reaction of parents on the proposed change. AJC school reporter, Maureen Downey has an excellent recap of the speech at this link that is worth reading along with the blog comments.

Besides the "normal" news sources, I also found informational bits that can be pulled from Twitter that are just as interesting, below are quotes from the speech that were posted to Twitter.