NEW RECOVERY FACILITY: Dignitaries at the ribbon cutting of the F. Wayne Hill Water Reclamation Center were Commissioner Chairman Charlotte Nash; District 3 Commissioner Tommy Hunter; Ostara President and CEO Phillip Abrary; F. Wayne Hill; District 2 Commissioner Lynette Howard; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and Mayor Boyd Austin of Dallas, Ga. For details on the new process at the plant, see Notable below.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: DOT Commissioner Asks Georgians To Drive Safer
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Why You Should Vote “Yes” on E-SPLOST Proposal
FEEDBACK: Urges Approval of E-SPLOST; Looks Forward to New Cyclorama
UPCOMING: Health Center To Move to Buford Highway Location in Norcross
NOTABLE: New Waste Recovery System Produces Fertilizer, Saves Money
RECOMMENDED READ: It’s Your World by Chelsea Clinton
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Supreme Court Upholds Native American Self-Determination
TODAY’S QUOTE: What Other Seasons Leave for the Fall of the Year
MYSTERY PHOTO: Only Logan Duke Spotted Previous Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: GACS Wins One-Act Play Competition; Finazzo Is Best Actress
CORRECTION: A story pertaining to the Duluth STE(a)M program in the last edition had a headline incorrectly stating that the program was in Sugar Hill. It also had the incorrect date. The program will be on October 23. We apologize for the errors. –eeb
TODAY’S FOCUSGeorgia auto fatalities rising, so Drive Alert. Arrive Alive.
By Russell R. McMurry, commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation
ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 23, 2015 | Over one thousand fatalities. Over one thousand lives lost on Georgia’s roads. Over one thousand families in turmoil.
McMurry
Georgia has reached an alarming milestone of over 1,000 traffic fatalities in 2015, with several months remaining in the year. As of October 1, the number of people who died in roadway crashes in Georgia was 1,006 — almost one every 6-1/2 hours; about four per day (3.67 fatalities to be exact) – just short of 26 deaths a week.
I hope by now you’ve heard about the DriveAlert ArriveAlive campaign to reduce fatalities on Georgia’s roads. DriveAlert ArriveAlive is not just a catchy slogan. It’s a serious effort to alert the public to a surge in preventable traffic fatalities in 2015 and to encourage simple changes in driving behavior to turn the tide on these crashes and fatalities.
Safety on Georgia’s roads is the highest priority for the Georgia Department of Transportation. While we have seen a consistent reduction in fatalities for nine consecutive years, 2015 is a far different story. If we continue at the current rate, we could see over 1,200 fatalities by the end of the year. That would be the first increase in Georgia in a decade!
Single vehicle crashes account for 49 percent of these fatalities and the main cause appears to be distracted driving. Drivers, now more than ever, are driving distracted or impaired. They’re talking on the phone, texting, using GPS or doing a variety of other things. They are not focused on driving.
DriveAlert ArriveAlive implores drivers to take responsibility for their driving behavior…
- Buckle up … just 39 percent of fatality victims are identified as wearing seatbelts;
- Stay off the phone and no texting … 74 percent of fatalities are attributed to driver behavior;
- Drive alert … do not drive drowsy or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
DOT chart
While DriveAlert ArriveAlive seeks to reduce crashes through changes in behavior, GDOT continues to use a number of innovative measures that contribute to safer driving – like a safety edge that shapes the pavement edge to enable drivers who drift off the highway to safely return to the road; and rumble strips that help reduce roadway departure by alerting drivers through noise and vibration when their tires make contact. Where there is a high potential for crossover crashes, GDOT installs center median cable barriers. Other safety measures include high friction surface treatments, reflective signage and striping, and pedestrian countdown timers.
Each morning, the Georgia DOT daily fatality report lists the deaths reported in the past 24 hours on Georgia’s roads. It is a somber account. After all, these are not just statistics. They are people whose families are torn apart by tragic loss. That’s 138 more people killed on Georgia’s roads compared with the same time last year.
You can help turn the tide on preventable crashes and deaths by taking responsibility for your driving behavior. Be the driver you want your kids to be. By setting an example, not only will they be safer when they’re in the car with you, but they’ll also be safer drivers.
Do it for yourself, for your passengers, for other motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Do it for the ones you love!
DriveAlert ArriveAlive. With your help, we can save lives.
EEB PERSPECTIVEVoting Yes on E-SPLOST means Gwinnettians get 40% discount
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
OCT. 23, 2015 | People love sales. We all, if we were allowed to choose, would rather buy something at 40 percent off the regular price, than at the regular price.
That’s essentially what the Gwinnett County School Board is offering Gwinnettians in the November 3 referendum on whether to approve the one-cent sales tax to fund school infrastructure, the educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST). If approved, Gwinnett County’s school sales tax level will continue without an increase through 2022.
This will essentially be a 40 percent off vote, since a penny is collected on every sale in the county. That’s because an estimated 40 percent of all retail sales in Gwinnett are paid by people not residing in the county. These out-of-countians essentially help Gwinnett pay for its school construction, and for county infrastructure, reducing the tax level for local residents.
And that penny amounts to a lot: The most recent figure shows that this single penny brings in roughly $12 million a month ($12,624,000 last month) to the county, both for education, and for general county infrastructure. It’s estimated that approval of the sales tax over the five years of the collection will bring in $950 million from 2017-2022. Wow! The current E-SPLOST will bring in $878 million through March of 2017.
Now realize: If Gwinnett did not have SPLOST funds, those monies necessary for building infrastructure would mean nothing less than an annual $144 million for schools, and another $144 million for county infrastructure. That’s a $288 million funding annually, which would be needed if we did not have the sales tax collection. Our ad valorem taxes would have to increase that much to provide the same level of service.
The funds from the November 3 E-SPLOST are earmarked for building four entirely new schools, and funding renovations and additions to nine schools, for a total of 510 new classrooms. It also earmarks monies for E-Class online learning and other technological elements.
Sean Murphy, CEO of Procurri, a high-tech entrepreneur, who is chair of the campaign to pass this E-SPLOST vote, sees this concept in 2015 “not just an issue for kids in the school system. After all, Gwinnett County competes with lots of places in the nation and around here for jobs and new industry. We need to pass this vote to make sure that the county can keep attracting jobs. Those people moving to our county are attracted by good schools, and if nothing else, this passage would help us to compete for industry. People often underestimate how much the schools impact economic development.”
He adds: “Passage of this E-SPLOST will help Gwinnett schools to ‘lead the pack’ in funding to make our schools better.”
Gwinnett County has approved E-SPLOST votes in 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2011. Now the school board asks for a re-affirmation of the penny for schools on November 3.
What worries me about this proposal in 2015 is that it is the single issue on the ballot, since this is a non-election year. That means a smaller percentage of voters will vote on this proposal. So ask your friends to be sure to vote, since the turnout could be low. We need every single positive vote possible on the proposal to ensure this continuation of the penny for schools.
With this in mind, consider voting early on this question. Residents may vote through October 30 at the Gwinnett County Elections office at 455 Grayson Highway, in Lawrenceville, Suite 200, in Town Center. Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 30. Voting hours on November 3 are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Let me urge you to go to the polls and vote “Yes” for the continuation of the one cent sales tax for education! It’s important for the education of our children, and after all, it’s a 40 percent off sale!
IN THE SPOTLIGHTGwinnett Village Community Improvement District
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District was formed in 2006, and is a self taxing revitalization district that includes just over 725 commercial property owners with a property value of over $1 billion dollars. Gwinnett Village CID includes the southwestern part of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Buford Highway, Indian Trail, Beaver Ruin, and Singleton Road. Gwinnett Village is one of four CIDs to be created in Gwinnett County and is the largest of all CIDs in the state. Gwinnett Village’s mission is to improve property values through increased security, a decrease in traffic congestion, and general improvements to the curb appeal of the area.
- For more information visit gwinnettvillage.com or call 770-449-6515.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
Encourages Gwinnettians to vote Yes on Nov. 3 E-SPLOST question
Editor, the Forum:
As a parent with children in Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), I will be voting “Yes” for the continuation of the education SPLOST on the county ballot this November 3. I encourage all parents to do the same.
E-SPLOST funds have been critical to the system’s ability to address overcrowding as our school age population has continued to grow. As a result, the vast majority of our children are sitting in classrooms, not trailers. They have also allowed GCPS to integrate technology into the learning environment.
There is nothing more important to our children’s future than a good education. I for one believe that a one-cent sales tax is a worthy investment in our students and our schools.
— Chuck Studebaker, Lilburn
Looks forward to seeing Cyclorama in new location at History Center
Editor, the Forum:
I would like to thank you for posting about the new building for the Cyclorama. I had heard about it earlier this year and think it is a good move.
I haven’t seen the painting in probably 20 years and this move reminds me how easy it is to see history right in front of you and still miss it. This could easily have been lost over the years and I feel we are very lucky to have it. I don’t see anything sacred about the painting but it is a rare type of art and Atlanta should be proud to have it and keep it safe for the future.
In times of economic and cultural stress it can sometimes be hard to justify the expense of public funds to support art and cultural projects. Over time people, events and the ideas of taste and style change and it can be hard to decide what to save and what to keep. But I think this is a worthy project and I am glad that others have worked so hard to save it.
Even if I only remember it as something I saw as a child, it is something that I will not forget. And something that I will be there with ticket in hand to see once it is open again.
— Charles Blair, Lawrenceville
- SEND FEEDBACK AND LETTERS: elliott@brack.net
Good Samaritan Health Center to move next year to Norcross site
The Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett, a nonprofit medical clinic exclusively serving the uninsured, will acquire a 13,000 square foot property on Friday, October 23. The new facility is located at 5949 Buford Highway in Norcross.
5949 Buford Highway in Norcross
Founded in 2005, the Christian health center has served the poor and uninsured in its original 4,300 square foot facility on Club Drive in Lawrenceville. On a busy day, the Clinic will serve 125 customers. Last year, the clinic provided 11,989 patient appointments, and expects to serve 17,000 customers this year. The center was started by a small group of volunteers, and today is supported by fourteen employees and nearly 500 volunteers.
The clinic is expected to open in its new location in the spring of 2016, after renovation are complete. At that time, the nonprofit will offer the uninsured residents of Gwinnett and surrounding communities access to low-cost medical, dental, pharmacy, and counseling services. In addition, the Center also serves as a clinical site for graduate students completing required rotations in family practice and women’s health. The center has provided clinical rotations for more than 150 pharmacy, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students during the recent four years.
Greg Lane, the executive director, says: “We are particularly excited about launching our nonprofit dental practice. Our holistic approach to healthcare has been limited to medicine and counseling because of our space restrictions, but next year we overcome that problem and will integrate the delivery of medical and dental services with health sciences education.” Once in its new facility, the Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett will host the county’s only full-time charitable dental practice.
The Good Samaritan Health Center is hosting an event to celebrate its 10th year of service and showcase its new facility. The celebration will be on the evening of November 5 at the Flint Hill event facility, located across the street from where the nonprofit will relocate next year. To attend the celebration, register at www.adecadeofhealing.eventbrite.com.
NOTABLENew waste recovery system produces fertilizer, saves money
In a leading example of stewardship in water management, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, has officially opened a nutrient recovery facility at their F. Wayne Hill Water Reclamation Center (WRC), the county’s largest wastewater treatment facility.
Continuing Gwinnett County’s resource recovery program, Ostara’s Pearl® nutrient recovery process at WRC will help protect freshwater lakes such as Lake Lanier by recovering phosphorus and other nutrients from the wastewater streams and transforming them into an environmentally responsible fertilizer, marketed as Crystal Green®.
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte J. Nash and Environmental Advocate and Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. officially opened the facility following a brief ceremony.
Chairman Nash said at the opening: “This incredible technology recovers nutrients that shouldn’t be in our waterways and turns them into an environmentally responsible fertilizer made from a renewable resource. We were already treating our wastewater to extremely high standards and returning it to Lake Lanier, our source of drinking water and a key recreational asset for the entire metropolitan Atlanta region. Now we are recovering even more resources from the wastewater treatment process.”
Kennedy, who gave the keynote address, congratulated the county, saying: “Today we have an inspiring example of water stewardship. The installation of the Ostara system will be a catalyst for change in effectively dealing with nutrient pollution in the state of Georgia. Having a solution to clean up the nation’s watersheds, and without economic burden, is progress for the environment, taxpayers and generations to come.”
Also present was Phillip Abrary, president and CEO of Ostara, who added: “We are very pleased to partner with Gwinnett County to provide a cost-effective and innovative water treatment technology which will progress their continuing environmental stewardship.”
Ostara’s nutrient recovery process will help the county maintain phosphorus levels below nutrient loading limits and protect local waterways, mitigating one of the planet’s most critical environmental challenges: the proliferation of algae blooms that debilitate waterways and destroy aquatic life.
The Crystal Green fertilizer – and its unique mode-of-action, releasing nutrients only when the roots need them, meaning lower application rates, and reduced nutrient loss through leaching and runoff – also has a positive impact for the County. “The benefits of the fertilizer, both in the way it is produced and applied, supports Gwinnett County’s stewardship goals of nutrient recovery, energy capture and water conservation. We are excited to partner with Ostara to take our resource recovery program at the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center a step further,” concluded Nash.
By recovering potentially polluting nutrients from the treatment facility’s wastewater stream and converting them to slow-release fertilizer, Ostara’s technology helps the county increase operational inefficiencies by avoiding struvite build up. Struvite is a concrete-like mineral deposit that builds up in pipes and on equipment in wastewater plants, leading to decreased efficiency of the entire wastewater treatment process. Although chemical additives can temporarily relieve struvite problems, it is a costly solution that also generates solid waste requiring disposal.
Overall the Ostara system, known as the Pearl process, will recover more than 85 percent of the phosphorus and 40 percent of the nitrogen from nutrient rich process streams before they accumulate as struvite on pipes and equipment.
Using two of Ostara’s Pearl 2000 reactors, Gwinnett County’s nutrient recovery facility has an annual Crystal Green production capacity of up to 1,400 tons. The County will receive revenue for every ton of fertilizer it produces. In addition, the nutrient recovery facility will create annual cost savings in chemicals, solid waste disposal, maintenance and power.
Deal appoints Norton to Commission on Equal Opportunity
James “Jimmy” Norton of Snellville has been named to the Commission on Equal Opportunity by Gov. Nathan Deal. Norton is an investment broker with VOYA Financial Advisers and operates an airplane hangar complex at Briscoe Field in Gwinnett County. He is a past president of the Snellville Commerce Club and a past chair of the Grayson and Snellville Downtown Development Authority, the Gwinnett Airport Authority and the Evermore CID Board. He is a former line pilot for Atlanta Southeast Airlines and a board member of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. Norton earned a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and Economics from the University of Georgia.
RECOMMENDEDIt’s Your World
By Chelsea Clinton
They say that Bill Clinton is in charge of “’splaining things.” Well his daughter, Chelsea, does her ‘splaining to our young people in her book, It’s Your World. Chelsea shares her own experience and stories of other young people dealing with world problems, describing issues of poverty around the world. She explains why the rights of education and gender equality around the world are so important. In one section Chelsea describes how health issues threaten young people. Lastly she discusses questions of the environment and endangered species. What is so special about this book is the emphasis on ‘Get Going!’ that encourages the reader to take action. This book encourages readers to research their world further and to get inspired by the heroic actions of other young people. Parents and teens should read this book together to use it to explore how getting informed can lead to inspired actions.
— Al Schneiberg, Sugar Hill
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITSupreme Court upholds native American self-determination
(Continued from previous edition)
After their arrest, several missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, represented by lawyers hired by the Cherokee Nation, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Worcester v. Georgia, the court struck down Georgia’s extension laws. In the majority opinion Jurist John Marshall wrote that the Indian nations were “distinct, independent political communities retaining their original natural rights” and that the United States had acknowledged as much in several treaties with the Cherokees.
Although it had surrendered sovereign powers in those treaties with the United States, Marshall wrote, the Cherokee Nation remained a separate, sovereign nation with a legitimate title to its national territory. Marshall harshly rebuked Georgia for its actions and declared that the Cherokees possessed the right to live free from the state’s trespasses.
The Cherokee leadership hoped the decision would persuade the federal government to intervene against Georgia and end the talk of removal. Georgia ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, refused to release the missionaries, and continued to press the federal government to remove the Cherokees. President Jackson did not enforce the decision against the state and instead called on the Cherokees to relocate or fall under Georgia’s jurisdiction. (Although Jackson is widely quoted as saying, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it,” his actual words to Brigadier General John Coffee were: “The decision of the supreme court has fell still born, and they find that it cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate.”)
In 1835 a dissident faction of Cherokees signed a removal treaty at the Cherokee capital of New Echota. In 1838 the U.S. Army entered the Cherokee Nation, forcibly gathered almost all of the Cherokees, and marched them to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma, in what became known as the Trail of Tears.
Widespread criticism of Georgia’s imprisonment of the missionaries prompted the state’s new governor, Wilson Lumpkin, to encourage them to accept a pardon. Lumpkin persuaded the Georgia legislature to repeal the law the state had used to convict Worcester and the other missionaries. After intense pressure from the governor, the American Board, and their lawyers, the missionaries gave up on their Cherokee campaign, accepted a pardon, and were released from prison in January 1833.
In several decisions in the latter half of the 20th century the Supreme Court revived Marshall’s assertion that the Native American tribes possess an inherent form of national sovereignty and the right of self-determination. From that point forward the Worcester decision became the Indian nations’ most powerful weapon against state and local encroachments on their tribal powers.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Another Mystery Photo with bells; where is it?
Here’s another Mystery Photo with bells for you to identify. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.
Wow! The Mystery Photo in the last issue nearly stumped everyone, and interestingly, the photo was a local one. The only person to identify the photo was Logan Duke of Atlanta. He said: “Despite the eastern world look, that picture is definitely of the fountain and carillon in the courtyard at Atlanta Galleria office park in the Cumberland area near I-75 and I-285. The 100 building is visible to the right in the background. Perhaps RJR Nabisco was responsible for such a gawdy garden feature.” The photo came from Mark Barlow of Peachtree Corners.
In addition, we failed to mention that Kay Montgomery of Duluth correctly identified the previous Mystery Photo.
LAGNIAPPEGACS wins one-act play competition; Finazzo is best actress
The Greater Atlanta Christian cast of John Lennon & Me stole the show at the 2015 Georgia Theatre Competition for the One Act Play in Gainesville. The actors won first place and were fan favorites. Under the direction of Clif Jones, the winning cast includes: Rebecca Buechler, Dorey Casey, Rachel Finazzo, Alexandra Hord, Robert Jackson, Parker Jennings, Stephen Lamb, Connor Tarpley, Caroline Wigmore, and Bethany Wood. As state winners the drama cast will represent Georgia at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in March 2016. Rachel Finazzo, above, was selected as Best Actress for her portrayal of Star, a teen living with Cystic Fibrosis, a vivid imagination, and Beatle-mania.
CREDITSGwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.
- Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue to Gwinnett Forum for future publication.
- MORE: Contact Editor and Publisher Elliott Brack at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
Follow Us