You Blew It, Decatur, GA!  Ashamed To Call You My Hometown

Since February 11th of this year, my oldest brother and I have been involved with an exciting adventure! What to do with 77 acres of land that was the former United Methodist Children's Home in the city of Decatur.

After buying the property which is only four doors down from where I was born and raised, the mayor of Decatur announced that it is "important for the land to remain a valuable place for the children."

Since the city is only a tiny 2 mile by 2 mile area, land is precious in my hometown. When they built a new football stadium and gym 10 years ago on the school property while I was a teacher and coach there, there wasn't enough room to build a track around the field like most high schools.

Rodney Thomas, the new athletic director at Decatur High School, told me that the days of using Agnes Scott College's track and swimming pool for practice were over. If they wanted to continue using them, a fee would be charged.

Decatur uses a city park a mile away for baseball. Coach Robby Gilbert has won 2 straight region championships since his arrival using a field that is too small with dugouts built in the 50's. The park struggled to accommodate large crowds and parking while hosting state tournament games!

Besides not having a swimming pool, track or baseball field on campus, the school also has no room for tennis courts. Not to mention a cross country course designed by my brother Eddie that runs through residential streets instead of trails.

What an opportunity! 77 acres of land suddenly available for the children! This was a no brainer for the proud tradition of Decatur athletics. A perfect opportunity for the city to make necessary improvements and have an athletic facility like no other. I wrote a letter to the mayor to explain how it could also bring in revenue all year round to the city.

Last night I was invited to attend a town meeting. The invitation read, "since kicking off planning efforts for the former UMCH property in February, we've talked big picture, collected ideas, presented options, and then surveyed the community on what they liked best. Now the result of that input, in the form of a unified vision for the property, is ready for its big debut."

My parents and my brother Eddie would have been proud of me. Since February of 2015, I lost all three of them in a 20 month period. My sister Lynne also passed in 2004. I fought hard to represent my family that has supported DHS athletics for almost 60 years. My sister, 3 brothers and I all graduated from Decatur High School.

And then it happened! The presentation was made and here is the result. Two corners of the land will have affordable housing. There will be a "Creative Village" for artists. A section will be made into a small farmer's market. There will be an amphitheater, organic garden, trails, playgrounds, and plenty of greenspace. Oh yeah, in 10 years, they'll think about building a track if they can afford it!

I should have known. As a 58 year old man, I have almost felt like the youngest one in the room at all the workshops and the event last night. I also noticed that the large percentage of African-Americans that live in Decatur were not very well represented.

Shame on you, Decatur! I can't even imagine what a city like Buford or Carrollton would have done if they suddenly had 77 acres of land to play with. Decatur just lost there last chance to show their support for the only high school in town. I feel sorry for the new athletic director.

There is no more room to expand. I honestly don't see how the athletic program can survive with such a lack of support from the community! For God's sake, most of the people in the gym last night will be dead by the time the track is built. I guess they could then use the greenspace for a cemetery.