“TCA’s Give an Hour” Moves Fast into Second Year

Since March of 2009 Tucker Civic sets a date and time each month at which volunteers work for a worthy Tucker cause—anything from sprucing up school grounds or youth athletic field to donating baked goods and needed supplies to the police and firemen. We realize everyone leads busy lives but giving just one hour of your time enriches the community and is a rewarding experience for individuals and families alike.

"Give an Hour" at Tucker Precinct

Tucker Civic Association (TCA) is asking area residents to “Give an Hour” by joining an appreciation luncheon for the officers at the Tucker police precinct.  For several years, the Tucker police precinct in December has held an appreciation luncheon for its officers. Last year, TCA chose the luncheon as the “Give an Hour” project for that month. TCA members and residents brought a ham, a turkey breast and other baked goods and enjoyed socializing with the precinct personnel. This year TCA will repeat the project. If you would like to participate and “give an hour” of your time with your cooking or other skills, please contact Jonnie Johnston publicsafety@tuckercivic.org or leave a message on the TCA InfoLine at 770-270-1620.

Main Street Groundbreaking Ceremony

December 1
Members of the Main Street Tucker Alliance, Tucker Business Association, county officials and media attended. Wider sidewalks will be installed on both sides of Main Street to make the area more pedestrian friendly and the road will be reduced from four to two. The improvements will not come at the expense of parking spaces, and special consideration will be paid toward existing business on Main Street. Contractors will only work on one side of the street at a time, and access to existing businesses will be maintained throughout the project.

For more information on the groundbreaking event, please contact: Burke Brennan at 404-371-6305. If you would like information about the Tucker Business Association, please contact: Bill Rosenfeld at 770-414-1390 or Lizbeth Dison at 678.372.8164.

Rivers Alive Clean-Up Update

We removed 16,080 pounds of garbage total from the South Fork of Peachtree Creek on Sarr Parkway. That’s over 8 tons! We hauled out tires, abandoned refrigerators, furniture, recyclables, and other random garbage. We are eager to see wildlife returning to this area because of our hard work.

Special thanks to our Rivers Alive volunteers, who put in a total of 2,975 hours. We also send our appreciation for these businesses in the Tucker community who recognized and supported this important effort.

On Saturday, July 31, members of the Tucker Civic Association came  
out to Sonic to "Car Hop for Tips" where they raised over $360!  One  
hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the 3rd Annual "Rivers  
Alive" Creek Clean Up Saturday, October 2, 2010.

July’s Smoke Rise Park Clean Up a Huge Success

TCA began its “Give An Hour” program in March 2009 as an opportunity for local residents and stakeholders to donate, once a month, an hour of time for a worthy cause.  At the monthly projects, volunteers have cleaned up parks and school grounds, and presented baked goods and staples to police precincts and fire departments.
            The project for July was to spread wood mulch over walking trails at the Smoke Rise Park on Hugh Howell.  The county Parks Department donated two truckloads of mulch, and some 30 volunteers shoveled the mulch into wheelbarrows, pushed the wheelbarrows to appropriate areas, then raked the mulch atop the trails.  The workers spread about 20 cubic yards of mulch over 300 yards of trails.
            Mary Scott, a 10-year resident of the community, said she appeared at the event because “I’ve always wanted to volunteer but I’ve never had the time.  So I decided I have to make the time.  Donating one hour a month is something anyone can do.  It just feels good.  I get to meet new people, have fun and make things in my community nicer, all at one time.”
            Stephanie Earnest added a note of passion.  “Too many people just sit on the sidelines and complain.  It feels good to take ownership of a community resource by working to make it better.”

June "Give An Hour" at Johns’ Homestead

TCA began its “Give An Hour” program (GAH) in March 2009, to encourage volunteers to contribute one hour a month of community service to a worthy cause.
In June, the GAH project was a multi-purpose effort at Johns’ Homestead, an historic property purchased by DeKalb County and located on Lawrenceville Highway. On the site is probably the oldest residential structure in Tucker, a farmhouse, part of which dates to 1827. The county purchased some 47 acres for the property, including two lakes which may provide public fishing sites in the future. On Saturday, June 12, some 40 volunteers cleared privet, scraped trash off shed roofs, and dismantled wall boards from rooms added in later years to the original farmhouse.
One of the volunteers was Ana Stokes, who drove down from her Suwanee home because the property used to belong to her great, great, great grandfather, family patriarch John Johns. She first learned about her connection to the property 15 years ago, at a Johns family reunion held at Rehoboth Baptist Church, located adjacent to the family homestead. The Johns family donated the land for Rehoboth Baptist Church and erected the first church building, a log sanctuary.
Another volunteer, Priscilla Hofert, said she decided to donate time after she read about TCA’s “Give An Hour” program in a local publication. “I like making Tucker better and improving our community,” she explained.

Cathy Chiznell, who grew up in Tucker, moved away, then moved back, said, “If you’re going to be part of the community, you have to get involved, and this ‘Give An Hour’ program is a great way to get involved. That’s how we change things for the better. I’ve driven past this house for many years. It was so sad, just sitting there. Now it’s getting some attention.”

Volunteers “Give An Hour” at Fitzgerald Field

About 35 local adults and children joined in TCA’s “Give An Hour” at Fitzgerald Field on May 1, sprucing up the youth athletics facility in advance of Tucker High School’s spring football game. The field is reached by passing a brick entry wall and following a driveway about 30 yards, and weeds and brush had grown over the entry wall and both sides of the driveway. The volunteers cleared these areas and planted perennials in front of the wall. Other workers pulled weeds and trash from the field and stands, mowed the grass, and rooted fresh flowers in planters surrounding the flag pole. TCA even arranged for the donation of a new American flag for the facility. Mark McManaman, who brought his teenage son, Joe, to the cleanup, said, “We came in part because Joe needs service hours to satisfy a school project. But it’s also important for everyone to give back to the community on an on-going basis, and this is a great way to meet other community-minded people.” Echoing that sentiment, Erin Mitchell explained her participation by saying, “I’ve reached a point of wanting to do more to help insure that Tucker does well.” Dorinda Perez, who watches her grandchildren play football at Fitzgerald Field, added, “It means a whole lot to me to see this many people involved, because this is for the benefit of the children.”

TCA’s next “Give An Hour” is scheduled for Saturday, June 12, 10 a.m., at historic John’s Homestead, 3071 Lawrenceville Highway. Volunteers will spread mulch around trees and bushes, continue to dismantle a portion of the house, remove privet and clean off shed roofs. Crow bars, pry bars, hammers, shovels and rakes will be useful. For more information, call Wanda Cail, TCA’s district representative for the area, at 404-433-8731.

Scores of volunteers at Cofer Park cleanup

More than 70 residents of all ages joined in TCA’s “Give An Hour” at Cofer Park on May 10.  There were local homeowners and their children, Boy Scouts, and more than a dozen congregants from Tucker First Baptist Church.  After the county Parks Department dropped off a mountain of mulch and four new metal park benches, some volunteers spread mulch around bushes and flower beds while others dug post holes and poured cement to anchor the benches near the park’s fishing pond. 

Another large job was removing a two-inch deep layer of silt from the floor of the park pavilion, then digging a trench around three sides of the pavilion to direct future stormwater runoff.   There was real enthusiasm for this event.  First Baptist Pastor Randy Shepley explained, “Our church exists to love our community through Jesus, which means working with our neighbors for the common good.” 

Victoria Taylor, mother of a Boy Scout, said, “Anything that can bring people out to the park to work with their family and others while enjoying nature is a worthwhile effort.”  Juliet Melvin, whose 13-year-old daughter plays soccer in the park, added, “We use the soccer fields here, and it’s invaluable for children to see that you have to clean up the facilities that you use.”

TCA projects for MLK Day draw dozens of volunteers
January 18

The Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday is organized as a national day of service, generating volunteer efforts in communities across the nation.
Tucker Civic Association (TCA) used the holiday this year – Monday, Jan. 18 – to sponsor four community service projects, in conjunction with TCA’s “Give An Hour” program. Under that program, TCA holds one or more projects each month at which citizens of Tucker are invited to volunteer an hour of work for a worthy cause.
Three of TCA’s District Representatives sponsored events on MLK Day. District 3 Representative Jannean Bello sponsored the day’s first event, a 10:00 a.m. clean up at Tucker Recreation Center on Lavista Road. About 40 volunteers picked up rubbish and yard waste on the driveway, the parking lot, the yard and the playground. Adults and children combed the campus, filling about 20 large bags.
Jannean also sponsored an 11:00 a.m. project at Midvale Elementary School. Some 20 adults and kids wire-brushed curbs at the school and then rolled down new yellow paint on the curbs.
About noon, District 4 Representative Ron Wilkinson led an effort to clean up the grass triangle at the intersection of Lavista Road and Lawrenceville Highway. The 5 volunteers who showed up picked up litter and removed the remnants of a grill cart – metal frame and shelves – which had been dumped on the adjacent grounds of the new public library.
At 1:00 p.m., some 20 adults and children gathered at Johns Homestead historic property on Lawrenceville Highway to help TCA District 2 Representative Robert Koch and DeKalb Parks & Greenspace Environment Manager Dave Butler pick up trash and pull up privet.
Residents who showed up at the projects gave a variety of reasons for volunteering. Lorine Spencer said, “I just wanted to do my community duty.”
Mary Weeks, who attended with her daughter Amanda Weeks and Lorine’s daughter, Jessie Spencer, explained, “We’ve been wanting to get the kids to do community service. It reinforces the importance of getting involved on a local level.”
Tommy Lupo, who came to the clean up at the Johns Homestead property, talked about his local interest. “I live right around the corner. This is part of my neighborhood. And the fact that we’re preserving history right here in Tucker is really cool.”
Becky Howd, who also volunteered at the Johns Homestead property, added, “I like old things and seeing them preserved. And with this (project) you get to meet people who share the same passion.”
Tucker Civic Association’s “Give An Hour” program this year has enlisted the efforts of scores of resident volunteers and benefited local institutions including the Tucker police precinct, the Tucker fire station, a youth athletics facility and Livsey Elementary School. TCA will soon announce a schedule of “Give An Hour” projects for the coming year.

Tucker High School has been a major
part of the Tucker community and prides
itself on a longstanding tradition of
excellence. On Jan. 14 we celebrated with the staff, students and community of Tucker High School.

Click here to download a PDF with
more details.

TCA Board Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 10, 7pm
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
4882 Lavista Road