Public Safety Briefs

Realtor Collette McDonald of Collette McDonald & Associates arranged to have a dilapidated house on Colebrook Circle in Decatur used by the DeKalb County Police Department’s SWAT team for training exercises prior to demolition. McDonald contacted builder Kelly Rei, who gave permission for the house to be used for the training event.

The City of Decatur Fire Department encourages parents to utilize the Youth Fire Setting Prevention and Intervention Program If you have any questions or concerns about fire safety and prevention, email Captain Violante at ninetta.violante@decaturga.com or call her at (404) 947-0522.

The Atlanta Police Department has trained more than 100 officers in the Zone 1 area of Atlanta in the use of Naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan . Atlanta Police Officers will carry the nasal form of Narcan, which is a drug that can reverse a heroin or opiate overdose instantly in cases where the overdose is apparent and medical help has not arrived yet. Police are often the first to arrive at the scene, and in many cases those first few minutes are key to saving a life.

Decatur has announced that its Smart911 system can now give community members the option to opt-in to receive emergency and general notifications from the city. For more information, visit Smart911.com.

The Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit was recently featured in the documentary series e First 48 on A&E. The show’s crew filmed alongside the Homicide Unit as well as other key units in the department such as Fugitive, ID and throughout the zones as they investigated and solved homicides in the City of Atlanta.

Pet Pick

Butternut is the most lovable 5-year-old boxer you will ever meet. She enjoys every second of every day, and we know she will quickly spread that joy to her adoptive family. She has lived with another dog who was smaller than her, and she seems to like her cohorts at the shelter too. She is smitten with children and would be wonderful for a family of any size. Butternut is healthy, happy, and waiting for you at PAWS Atlanta. To adopt Butternut or any of the other dogs and cats available, visit pawsatlanta.org or the shelter at 5287 Covington Highway in Decatur.

Pet Briefs

LifeLine Animal Project has been awarded $100,000 from the Petco Foundation to continue its lifesaving work. LifeLine took over management of DeKalb and Fulton County Animal Services in 2013, and in less than a year, has reduced euthanasia rates by more than 50 percent at both shelters and achieved record numbers of pet adoptions. The organization has also performed over 80,000 free and low-cost spay neuter surgeries at its two low-cost spay/neuter clinics in addition to providing rehabilitative care for animals at their own no-kill shelter.The Petco Foundation’s Lifesaving Impact Grant will help LifeLine save more homeless animals by providing the critical funding needed to run its lifesaving programs.

Good Mews Animal Foundation will be holding its annual Spring Flea Market starting April 17 and continuing weekends through May 17. Hours on Opening Day, Saturdays, and Friday, May 15, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours on Sundays are noon to 5 p.m. New merchandise will be on display each weekend. The Flea Market will be held in Sandy Springs at 6317 Roswell Road, Suite 6331, behind BB&T Bank and in the same shopping center as Hudson Grille. For more information, visit goodmews.org.

e Atlanta Dog Jog one-mile run or walk and 5K run will be held May 2 at Piedmont Park. The event supports VetHeart of Georgia and Canine Companions for Independence. To register and get more information, visit atlantadogjog.org.

1065 Midtown

A Look Back

This Month in History

Ann Taylor Boutwell

April 1, 1910: The Atlanta Georgian newspaper’s front page carried the story of the arrival of the new police wagon called “Black Maria.” It caused a great deal of attention as it sped through city streets with its first passengers, the city’s police commissioners. That day the wagon went out Whitehall Street to West End, Peachtree to the Piedmont Driving Club and out Edgewood to Inman Park. The “Black Maria” could accommodate 12 or 15 prisoners.

April 4, 1997: The Atlanta Braves played their first game at the newly reconfigured Turner Field, which was built as the stadium for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The Braves beat the Cubs, 5-4.

April 8, 1974: Baseball fans go wild as Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s record by hitting home run number 715 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

April 16, 1925: Mayor Walter A. Sims signs a five-year lease on an abandoned auto racetrack and commits the city to developing it into an airfield. As part of the agreement, the 287 acres of land is renamed Candler Field after its former owner’s family, including Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler. The airfield would later be known as Atlanta Municipal Airport and eventually Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

April 19, 1936: Walter Rich, founder of Rich’s department store, sought to make Atlanta internationally known for the blooming of the dogwood trees during a week-long event called the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Trees were planted in all parts of Atlanta under the sponsorship of the garden clubs and citizens interested in the beautification of the city. Pageants, parades and carnivals sponsored by the Junior League, along with performances by the Metropolitan Opera (its first appearance in the city in five years), Philadelphia Symphony, and choruses from local colleges, were featured.

April 12, 1916: Talented, vivacious and witty stage and silent screen actress Gladys Hanson married Charles Emerson Cook, playwright and producer. The Georgia native was a member of the Henry Miller theatrical company, and at age 26 played Ophelia in “Hamlet” on Broadway. Some of her stage credits include “Evensong,” “Mary Goes to See,” and “Brown Danube.” From 1914 to 1916, Hanson appeared in the films “The Straight Road” and “The Evangelist.” She also appeared in the film “The Havoc” with famous actor, Lewis Stone. She died February 23, 1973 and was buried in Westview Cemetery.

April 13, 1945: After his death from a cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s funeral train stops in Atlanta to change engines on its way to Washington D.C. Thousands turned out to pay their condolences as the train arrived and departed the city.

April 20, 1868: In the aftermath of the Civil War, Atlanta is made state capital by order of the military governors overseeing reconstruction. Many had called for an election in 1847 to move the capital from Milledgeville but it was opposed by those who believed the seat of power should be more centrally located in the state.

By Tim Sullivan