1/19: Medical Reserve Corps; Home plate wedding; more

Something from outer space? No, it’s most local, and now lighted at night, the Diverging Diamond bridge at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Interstate 85. The project is nearing completion and had the lighting feature turned on last week. This is the center pedestrian walkway, with traffic flowing beyond the barriers. When someone asked at a meeting where was the best place to observe the bridge lighting, another person quickly responded: “When stopped at night in a traffic jam on Interstate 85.” (Photo by Gwinnett DOT.)

TODAY’S FOCUS: Local Unit of Medical Reserve Corps Prepare for Emergencies

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Wedding at Home Plate Only One Feature of 1950 Ga. State League

SPOTLIGHT: Renewal by Andersen of Atlanta

UPCOMING: Gwinnett Libraries Launch Two New Programs To Help Patrons

NOTABLE: Snellville Hires Firm to Take Closer Look at Towne Center

RECOMMENDED MOVIE: Wonder Boys

GEORGIA TIDBIT: UGA Began Football Tradition Against Mercer in 1892

TODAY’S QUOTE: When It Is To Do What Is Right

MYSTERY PHOTO: Several Recognize Grecian Buildings Along a River

Medical Reserve Corps in Gwinnett ready for any emergency

By Louis Detweiler

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Jan. 19, 2016 — A disaster just happened – what do you do? If there is a tornado, radiation outbreak, epidemic, or chemical spill, it will take an emergency crew precious minutes to arrive.

Detweiler

What can the average citizen do to help their family and neighbors? The Medical Reserve Corps trains ordinary people to help address emergency situations so the impact can be minimal. The local unit, the Medical Reserve Corps-Georgia East Metro (MRC-GEM) helps prepare for disasters and strengthens community resiliency. The MRC-GEM responded to help mitigate the last H1N1 epidemic and is available to help out when called.

The all-volunteer MRC-GEM trains each month to learn and reestablish skills to help save human lives and abate a potential disaster. Skills the MRC-GEM members train for include such incidents as CPR/AED, Radiation Response Training, Team Building, and Triage, to name a few. Team building is critical. Sherwin Levinson of Lawrenceville, the executive director, says: “You might have all the knowledge to get the job done, but if you can’t influence others and convey the information it’s not worth anything.” Triage training is reserved for large scale disasters where volunteers help to save lives by stopping bleeding, treating shock, and make sure the victim is breathing.

Learning to be safe in a heightened stressful situation is paramount. Responders must be cool and calm with knowledge, which can bring significant results.

Who can be a member of the Medical Reserve Corps? The door is open to everyone who can pass a background check. There are nearly one million residents in Gwinnett County and under 300 public health workers. If a disaster occurs involving several thousand victims, the employed health workers would be inundated.

However, a disaster doesn’t occur on a regular basis. You can’t keep an extra 100 employees around in case of an emergency. That is why there is a real need for volunteers to support Public Health through MRC-GEM.

Currently, there are approximately 400 MRC-GEM volunteers registered in Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Counties. We need to increase our ranks. MRC-GEM volunteers include medical and public health officials, community members with a health background, technicians, EMTs, mental health workers, language specialists, engineers, law enforcement and anyone else interested in building community strength.

Members range in age from 18-year-old high school seniors to retirees. The Medical Reserve Corps is not just located in Gwinnett County; it is a national network that makes up 998 community-based units with over 200,000 volunteers, with units throughout the United States and territories.

In 2001, during the 9/11 terrorist strike, many volunteer workers were turned away because there was no way to organize and process them so they could help. After the 9/11 disaster, the government created The Citizens Corps. By creating the Citizens Corps, the United States had a way to respond to large scale emergencies. From the Citizens Corps grew the Medical Reserve Corps and national standards for the Citizens Fire Academy, the Citizens Police Academy and the Community Emergency Response Teams.

The goals for the members in MRC-GEM are to learn and practice how to be safe in times of disasters, extend safety and security to family, friends, and neighbors, and how to effectively help others.

• Most training sessions are held at the East Metro Health District, 2570 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville. For more information, go to www.mrcgem.com. Contact the office at 678-723-8436 or via email at membership@mrcgem.com.

Wedding at home plate only one element of 1950 Ga. State League

(Editor’s Note: Today’s space is allocated to a long-time friend, and former partner in a newspaper, Dr. Lanier Harrell of Jesup, Ga. A medical doctor and radiologist now retired, he recently spoke to the Jesup Kiwanis club about the Jesup Bees, a minor league baseball team from the 1950s. While teaching in Wayne County, he was also the business manager of the baseball team. Part of his talk appeared in the Jesup Press-Sentinel. Here’s one memorable story.—eeb)

 By Dr. Lanier Harrell

JAN. 19, 2016 — For the Jesup Bees professional Class D baseball team after World War II, attendance was never very good. (Other teams in the league were Douglas, Fitzgerald, Tifton, Baxley, Eastman, Dublin and Vidalia.) Many special nights were tried to boost attendance, Ladies’ Night, various giveaways and lucky drawings. The Bees’ most unusual attraction in 1950 was a real wedding at home plate, and it would be long remembered.  It happened this way.

Harrell

The team was in need of an experienced outfielder. One afternoon, during batting practice, a player who said his name was William Holt showed up, asking for a tryout. He said he had played the year before in the Florida State League. Manager Herb Stein checked his book. William Holt’s name was there. He had only a mediocre year in 1949 in Palatka, Fla., but he was signed anyway.

In short time, he made friends with Nat Haber, another outfielder. Haber had saved his pennies and just made a small down payment on a 1937 Ford Sports Roadster, with a rumble seat. It was his pride and joy. During the first week on the team, Holt got the word out that he and his fiancée were to be married soon. From there, a home-plate wedding began taking shape.

The players were paid on Saturday mornings. Holt opened an account in the American National Bank. He and his bride-to-be then went to the Ordinary’s (Probate Judge’s) office and purchased their marriage licenses. Gordon Bishop was the ordinary. They pre-paid Bishop his fee for marrying them and the fee for the license, all in one check.

Next, they went to Jack Belmer’s Jewelry Store on Cherry Street and purchased a nice engagement–and-wedding set. After showing Belmer the deposit slip from the bank, Holt gave him a check for the down payment on the set.

Sunday was a beautiful day. The Bees were playing the Douglas Trojans. The players from each team lined up from the pitcher’s mound to home plate, facing each other with an arch made by their bats. Bishop was at home plate, and the couple came to him under the arch as the public announcement system blared with the bridal march.

Stein gave the bride away, and Haber was his good friend’s best man. After the marriage vows were said, a wedding collection was taken up in the stands for the bride and groom. Then the game was played.

Stein had given Holt Monday off, and he was to be back for Tuesday night’s game. Haber had loaned his 1937 Ford Roadster with a rumble seat to his buddy for his fast honeymoon. It was loaded with presents from fans and merchants.

Holt and his bride hopped into Haber’s 1937 Ford Sports Roadster with a rumble seat … and were never seen or heard of again in Jesup.

Holt had gone by the American National Bank just at closing time Saturday and drawn out all his money except for one dollar. Both Bishop’s and Belmer’s checks were of course worthless. A warrant for Holt was issued by the sheriff and he was reported to the office of the commissioner of minor league baseball, George Trautman, all to no avail. No one every knew just who William Holt was or how many times he and his female friend had pulled this same stunt before.

But everyone felt very sorry for Haber over the loss of his 1937 Ford Sports Roadster with a rumble seat.

Renewal by Andersen of Atlanta

The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today we welcome a new underwriter. Renewal by Andersen of Atlanta serves the window replacement and patio door replacement needs of the greater Atlanta area. We are the window replacement division of Andersen Windows, drawing on the Andersen tradition of over 110 years of quality, innovation and craftsmanship. Our turnkey process includes a respectful in-home sales consultation, custom-manufacturing of replacement windows to precisely fit your home, and installation by a dedicated team of professionals. Best of all, we stand behind our products and installation with one of the strongest warranties in the window replacement business.

• For more information, visit our Atlanta area office in Norcross office at 2725 Northwoods Parkway, Suite C, call 678-710-9038, or go to www.thebestwindow.com.

• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.

 Send us your thoughts, words and reads

• Send Feedback and Letters to: elliott@brack.net

Gwinnett libraries launch two new programs to help patrons

Gwinnett County Public Library has two new programs. The library has launched ArtistWorks, an online instruction tool that will make music and art instruction accessible to county residents.

ArtistWorks for Libraries provides patrons with world-class instruction through self-paced video lessons from highly accomplished and Grammy Award-winning music professionals and art instruction.

Library Executive Director Charles Pace explains the new project: “The price of private music lessons can be a barrier to the arts for many families and individuals. With ArtistWorks, the Library is making high caliber music instruction available to our entire community.”

Lessons available include beginner to advanced music instruction for the most popular string and band instruments as well as art and voice classes. For more information about ArtistWorks, visit gwinnettpl.org.

The second new program is one-on-one help sessions with trained information professionals who can provide assistance on a variety of research and technology topics. These will be individual appointments matched to an individual staff member with the most expertise in the topic requested.

Hamilton Mill branch manager Margaret Penn says: “The service is a way for the library to provide customers with in-depth, uninterrupted assistance on topics that make an impact on their lives,” Topics available for the 30 minute to one-hour sessions include job search and resume help, database assistance, e-Reader and tablet troubleshooting, and more.

• Customers can make an appointment by stopping at the help desk at their local branch, online at www.gwinnettpl.org, or by calling (770) 978-5154.

Relay for Life plans 2016 kick-off rally on Jan. 23 in Lawrenceville

The kick-off rally for the 2016 American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Gwinnett will be Saturday, January 23 at 550 Trackside, 550 North Clayton Street, in Lawrenceville. This launches the 2016 fundraising of the event. The event will begin at 9 a.m.

The rally will feature Phylecia Wilson, formerly of Gwinnett, known as the founder of Gwinnett Relay. She is a cancer survivor, who benefitted from the funds raised at Relay. This also will be the first opportunity for Team Captains to celebrate their success of the 2015 Relay For Life of Gwinnett event and their place once again as the Number One fundraising event in the world for the American Cancer Society.

In 2015 Relay For Life of Gwinnett raised in excess of $1.8 million securing their place as the largest of nearly 6,300 events worldwide.

In 2016, the Relay For Life event will again be held at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on May 13-14. Participants will walk through the night as they enjoy music, live entertainment, food, and fun while celebrating cancer survivors and raising funds through this overnight event.

Relay For Life began in 1985 with one man who walked and ran around a track for 24 hours and raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society. To join a Relay For Life in your community, call 1-800-227-2345, or visit RelayForLife.org/gwinnettga.

Christ The King Lutheran Church’s new pastor comes from Arizona

Albright

The Rev. Leland Albright is the new pastor of Christ The King Lutheran Church in Peachtree Corners. His first Sunday at the church will be January 24. A service of installation will be that afternoon at 4 p.m., with a reception will follow. The public is invited to join the celebration. The minister comes to Christ the King Lutheran from Mountain View Lutheran in Phoenix, Az. He graduated from the University of Virginia and Luther Seminary, and has served over 15 years in ministry at churches in Virginia, Minnesota and Arizona. He succeeds interim pastors John Weber and Mica Koli.

Snellville hires firm to take closer look at Towne Center

Snellville officials are taking another step toward creating a vibrant downtown, as the Mayor and Council gave the go ahead to an architectural firm to provide small-area updates to the Towne Center.

The city has identified four areas within the downtown area that have received investor interest. Design firm Clark, Patterson, Lee has been tapped to work with the city and these potential investors to refine the downtown master plan’s recommendations and create a small-area plan for each location. The firm will examine the local conditions and provide detailed recommendations to improve those areas. Under the terms of the $40,000 contract, the firm will build on the downtown master plan and provide a finer level of detail to address the area’s unique needs and opportunities.

Conceptual renderings will be created to allow potential investors and residents to visualize the resulting plan. Funding for the study was budgeted in the FY14 Special Local Option Sales Tax Budget and extra needs such as visual layouts and renderings will be addressed if the need occurs during the project.

Jackson EMC accepting application for Walter Harrison scholarships

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is currently accepting applications for the Walter Harrison Scholarship (WHS), a program sponsored by Georgia’s 41 electric cooperatives. The scholarship fund will provide $1,000 scholarships to local students who plan to pursue a post-secondary education in Georgia.

Students interested in applying should contact their high-school guidance/ counselor’s office or visit www.jacksonemc.com/scholarships for an online application, FAQs and complete details. Completed application packets must be received at Jackson EMC by 5 p.m. on January 29, 2016. The scholarship can be applied to academic expenses at any accredited two- or four-year university, college or vocational-technical institute in Georgia. Full- or part-time students who apply for the scholarship must be accepted or enrolled in an accredited undergraduate degree program, a customer of Jackson EMC or the son or daughter of a customer and a resident of the home served by Jackson EMC.

• For more information visit www.jacksonemc.com/community.

Norcross seeks proposals from artists for gateway mural downtown

The City of Norcross is seeking proposals for a large gateway mural in downtown Norcross. The Norcross Public Arts Commission (NPAC) wants to have painted an original, innovative mural on the building in Skin Alley. A mural budget of $15,000 has been outlined for the 1,776 square foot area of the project.

The request for quotes on this seeks an artist(s) to produce a mural on a private building (in a public setting).  The project is commissioned by the NPAC. Applications are due by February 10, 2016, with a finalist(s) to be selected by March 1, 2016. The projected installation will be from May to June, with the anticipated completion of June 30, 2016.

Wonder Boys

“The movie Wonder Boys” (2000) is the comedic character study of an eccentric, stymied writer turned professor at a Pennsylvania college. Opening at the college’s “WordFest,” he comes face to face with his writer’s block, and pressure from talented students whose writing eclipses his own. Toby McGuire shines as the pathological liar whose storytelling is extraordinarily believable, and Frances McDormand deftly portrays the college chancellor who is having an affair with the professor. Robert Downey, Jr. is the flamboyant editor who sticks by his writer, at the cost to his own career. The film is a showcase of the heavyweight acting talent of Michael Douglas, and a glimpse of the gifted ensemble cast before they were stars. Many twists, and worth it!”

— Karen Burnette Garner, Dacula

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

UGA began football tradition against Mercer in 1892

The University of Georgia played its first football game on January 25, 1892, in Athens against Mercer University. (Georgia won, 50-0.)

Nearly a month later, on February 20, UGA journeyed to Atlanta to play Auburn University’s team, from Auburn, Ala. It was the first game of what has become the South’s oldest college football rivalry, and many of the sport’s historians consider February 20, 1892, to be the birth date of college football in the South. (Georgia lost 10-0.)

In 1927, Georgia started the season 9-0 before losing in Athens to the Georgia Institute of Technology, UGA’s archrival. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs were voted national champions in two recognized polls.

The 1942 squad, led by Heisman Trophy–winner Frankie Sinkwich and all-American end George Poschner, is heralded as the best in the first half-century of Georgia football. The team won 11 games and defeated the University of California at Los Angeles in the Rose Bowl to win the national title.

After several players from that team left school to serve in World War II (1941-45), many of them, including halfback Charley Trippi, returned in 1946 to win another national championship. UGA finished the season with a perfect record and beat the University of North Carolina in the Sugar Bowl. The 1968 Bulldogs went 8-0-2 in the regular season and again went to the Sugar Bowl. Despite losing the bowl game to the University of Arkansas, Georgia was still voted number one in the final Litkenhous poll.

The 1980 UGA team is considered the most dominant in school history despite having been largely ignored in the preseason polls. Led by freshman sensation Herschel Walker, the Bulldogs went undefeated and beat Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Virtually every poll ranked the Bulldogs first at the end of the season, and UGA won its first undisputed national championship among the major polls.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Perhaps the snowfall will help you identify this area

Winter’s here, at least in some parts, so can you identify this place with the snowfall in place. If you think you know the answer, send your idea to elliott@brack.net, and be sure to include your hometown.

Several people found last edition’s Mystery Photo relatively easy. It was sent in by Bob Forman of Grayson.

Michael Varga of Norcross writes: “For any of us who grew up in Philadelphia, this photo is an easy one.  That’s the boater’s row along the Schuylkill River with the Philadelphia Art Museum hovering beyond and above.” Another person with a Philly background, Jim Savadelis of Duluth, also identified the photo, saying: “Boat houses for the different rowing clubs and University teams. I believe they are replicas of the different Greek temples as rowing in Philadelphia also has competition between Frats (Greek Life). The large building at the top of the picture is the Museum of Art that has  the steps most famous for the Rocky victory scene in the movie of the same name.”

Gary Rowe of Lawrenceville says: “This week’s photo shows the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the hill.  The foreground shows the boat houses for the racing teams of the University of Pennsylvania.  That’s the Schuylkill River flowing by.”  George Graf of Palmyra, Va. Writes: “A view of the Philadelphia riverfront along the Schuylkill river.  In the background, the neoclassical temple-like building with columns is the Philadelphia Museum of Art.”

Others identifying the photograph included Ruthy Lachman Paul, Norcross, and Ross Lenhart, Pawley’s Island, S.C.

GwinnettForum 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:

• MORE: Contact Editor and Publisher Elliott Brack at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com

UNSUBSCRIBE

We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.

© 2016, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.