GWINNETT TECH OFFICIALLY OPENED its 95,000 square foot North Fulton campus Friday as confetti cannons blasted, and polished scissors sliced through streamers of green and blue satin ribbon, at 2875 Old Milton Parkway. VIPs from across the region gathered to celebrate the dedication of the new Alpharetta-North Fulton Campus – a $25 million campus that delivers career-focused education for real-world jobs. The campus is located at a strategic position, adjacent to Georgia Highway 400 at Old Milton Parkway. This campus currently serves 800 students, with anticipation of additional facilities, and could eventually serve 10,000 students. It was 363 days ago, on March 6, 2015, that the first shovel of dirt was turned at the groundbreaking. Upon conclusion of the ceremony, guided tours were offered of the 95,000 square foot building.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Understanding the Differences in Muslim Organizations
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Could 2016 Be the Year for the Death of the Republican Party?
ANOTHER VIEW: Traveling Gwinnettian Learning as He Treks Through Europe
SPOTLIGHT: Peach State Federal Credit Union
FEEDBACK: Wants More Sidewalks from Subdivisions to the Parks
UPCOMING: Changes Coming to Braselton Farmer’s Market, which Opens in June
NOTABLE: Supporters Give $50,000 to Renovated Media Center at Norcross High
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Georgia Women Become Famous With Astonishing Vaudeville Acts
TODAY’S QUOTE: Lewis Grizzard Could Be Poetic, Too
MYSTERY PHOTO: What? This Library Does Not Contain Any Books?
CORRECTION: In a recent list of elected offices in 2016, GwinnettForum incorrectly identified nine statewide offices to be voted on in 2016. This is incorrect. All statewide officials will run in 2018, not 2016. —-eeb
TODAY’S FOCUSUnderstanding the differences in Muslim organizations
By Ayesha Allison Khan
SUWANEE, Ga., March 8, 2016 | Whenever someone asks me what the difference between Ahmadi Muslims and other Muslims, the answer lies in leadership. When Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, declared that he was the Second Coming of Jesus, the Promised Messiah, the Muslims who had admired his defense of Islam previously, suddenly turned into enemies.
Khan
The dichotomy arises from a fundamental difference. Ahmadi Muslims believe that God still speaks to us. We believe in revelation, dreams and visions and that the All Mighty has sent another prophet to the world in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Holy Qur’an calls the Prophet Muhammad as “the seal of the prophets.” While the non-Ahmadi Muslims interpret “seal” to mean he was the last prophet, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad interpreted “ seal” to mean “best”. After the Promised Messiah, the Khalifa (caliph) leads the faithful. His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad is the current Khalifa who leads the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. While other Muslims often wish for central leadership, the Khalifa is chosen by God, not man.
The Khalifa leads the community by giving sermons worldwide on the 24 hour satellite television channel MTA, an acronym for “Muslim Television Ahmadiyya” that was introduced by the fourth Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. The advantages of central leadership are numerous. The Khalifa encourages the members of the community to compete with each other in giving charity and doing good works. He can give a message to reform us or warn us of trials. He requests prayers from his community for those facing difficulties in the world and responds to false accusations against Islam and Prophet Muhammad. He gently corrects misconceptions about the teachings of Islam.
Khalifa of Islam
Each year, the Khalifa gives the keynote address at the peace conference in England and invites like-minded dignitaries. He speaks to the leaders of various nations about how to achieve world peace. His Holiness has also urged the members of the community to keep voluntary fasts every Thursday and pray for world peace.
Ahmadi Muslims are heavily persecuted in many Muslim countries and have been constitutionally declared as non-Muslims in Pakistan. As a result of this injustice, the Ahmadi Muslims have been facing untold persecution in Pakistan where many of the innocent members have been murdered simply because of their faith.
To date some 248 Ahmadi Muslims have been killed while the perpetrators have not been caught or punished, The second Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, gave Ahmadi Muslims their motto: ”Love for all, Hatred for None.” He said it is a short summary of the message of the Holy Qur’an. We do not believe in the jihad of the sword. Other Muslims were disappointed when the Promised Messiah announced that this is, instead, the time of the jihad of the pen.
Among the faithful, Ahmadi Muslims compete to do volunteer work to please God, since we believe the blessings lie in serving mankind. Consequently, Humanity First, a charitable organization, responds to world disasters by helping victims, clean up the aftermath, and provide essential personal items for survival. Volunteer doctors help the sick and needy. At other times, they provide African communities with schools, hospitals, electricity and wells.
Each year, Ahmadi Muslims hold a Jalsa (gathering) of love in each country, where we listen to speeches about the true message of peace in Islam, while other Muslim sects hold a Jalsa of hate.
Anyone is welcome to join the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which meets locally at 1800 Willow Trail Parkway, Norcross every Friday at 1 p.m. for prayers. Under the caliphate, we become all for one and one for all. The “Oneness” we celebrate is the Oneness of God.
EEB PERSPECTIVECould 2016 be the year for the death of the Republican Party?
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
MARCH 8, 2016 | This year you may be seeing right before your eyes the death of the Republican Party in national politics. If it happens, we lament it. (We feel that our country benefits by have a strong two party system.) It appears that the GOP could find itself threatened in this crazy political year.
Here’s how this might turn out, outlined in a shortened step-by-step process.
- Donald Trump doesn’t get enough delegates to become the Republican nominee for president.Mainline Republicans nominate a non-Trump candidate.
- Trump bolts the party and continues his race for president on a Third Party ticket.
- This causes a split in the GOP conservative camp, so that the Democratic nominee wins the election.
- Mainline Republicans place third, behind Trump, in the election.
- The Grand Old Party becomes less significant, and could waste away in national politics, though the Republicans would remain strong in state politics across the nation.
- Meanwhile, the Third Party that Trump heads recruits more to their cause, becoming the main opposition to the Democrats. Many long-standing Republicans would join his ranks.
We suggest: this probably won’t happen. But we foresee that it could, in this turbulent political season.
After last week’s castigation of Trump by mainline Republicans, perhaps the Grand Old Party can nominate someone more to their liking. It could happen, as we have said before, the Republicans will go into their Cleveland convention with no one having a delegate majority, and have to fight out the nomination on the floor.
That would be the crucial time for the Republicans. What could happen at the GOP convention could determine just how this political year goes.
The emergence of Trump as a strong candidate, and its ramifications, may end up causing just what neither Trump nor the Republicans want: making it even more impossible to capture the presidency. With polls showing either of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, with significant poll numbers over any Republican, it looks more and more like a Democratic year.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, the efforts by Republicans to block any nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court could throw a monkey wrench into this process. Now we see several candidates being suggested for the court vacancy who are already Appeals Court judges. They have previously won approval of the Senate, often by significant margins. All seem more centrist candidates than liberal.
Instead of not holding hearings on President Obama’s eventual nominee, this spring and summer might be the best chance for the conservative element of the Republican Party to influence the selection of the court nominee. After all, should a Democrat win the next presidential election, the Republicans may kick themselves for waiting to consider perhaps what would have been a more centrist nominee.
Consider this: should the Democrats win, the new president could nominate Barack Obama for the Supreme Court. Man alive! What a confirmation hearing that would be! For Obama’s confirmation, it might require that the Democrats win several Senate seats. But it could happen.
With this Supreme Court vacancy coming at a time when the court is often split, the nomination of the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia takes on added importance.
ANOTHER VIEWTraveling Gwinnettian learning as he treks through Europe
(Editor’s Note: We learned that a young Gwinnettian, Daniel Forkner, was on a trek around Europe, and asked him to give us some insight into his trip. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Forkner of Duluth. We anticipate further dispatches on his journey.—eeb)
By Daniel Forkner
MARCH 8, 2016 | A native of Gwinnett, I rode my bicycle as a boy on the concrete foundation of Hull Middle School, which was across the street from our house. I’ve witnessed Gwinnett grow and evolve, and realize it has everything you could ask for in a vibrant community.
Daniel in Venice
I never ventured outside the county lines much on my own. Although the heart of Atlanta is just a 25 minute drive from home, it was not until I finished a degree in finance at the University of Georgia that I experienced Atlanta for the first time. I moved into a two-bedroom apartment with a friend from college not far from Piedmont Park, and began selling real estate, following in the footsteps of my dad and grandfather.
Despite the fact that I’ve stayed close to home most of my life, I have always dreamed of going out into the world with nothing but a sense of wonder and curiosity. I would hear friends describe trips abroad and question if I would ever have the courage to do something similar.
As I got a job in a real estate office, seeing potential for a long career right here in Georgia, it dawned on me that if I did not turn my dreams into a reality now, I might never get the chance again. So on January 20, 2016, I boarded a plane for Barcelona, Spain, terrified with nothing more than a backpack and an eagerness to discover the world.
One month into my trip, I know that my life has forever been changed. I’ve learned how to feed baby lambs, and how to skin a rabbit on a farm in Belgium. I’ve learned to avoid trouble on the streets of Amsterdam, and how to avoid getting ripped off by Hungarian taxi drivers. I’ve learned that Venice is an island, and that it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world (that I’ve experienced). In Barcelona I learned how to build relationships with hostel owners through my video editing skills.
Along the way I’ve been constantly amazed at the opportunities that have presented themselves. I’ve also been humbled time and again by the generosity of locals who have no reason to help a traveling American, but chose to do so out of the kindness of their hearts.
I have been surprised how affordable travel can be if you forgo certain luxuries. My expenses are sometimes less than $20/day. My advice for anyone who wants to travel is to choose a destination and schedule it. As the date approaches, your excitement, fears, and concerns will come sharply into focus, making the details much easier to address.
As I write this, I am on a train between Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic. I cannot tell you what is in store for me next. I know that if I keep my mind open, and continue to cultivate the confidence, kindness, and interest in people that I’ve learned growing up in the greatest county in the country, I will be welcome wherever I go.
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Sees need for more sidewalks connecting subdivisions to parks
Editor, the Forum:
We need more proponents for Gwinnett like your GwinnettForum!
One thing I’d suggest for your Continuing Objectives would be more sidewalks in Gwinnett. My wife and our five children live in the Dacula area, near Gwinnett Progress Center. Our nearby park is Rabbit Hill Park. Gwinnett has an outstanding park system, but my kids (and I) feel there should be more sidewalks leading to the parks from area subdivisions.
I now own a production company and provide sound, lights and stages to area municipalities for their special events, festivals and concert series.
— Mark Joseph, Dacula
- Send Feedback and Letters to: elliott@brack.net
Changes coming to Braselton Farmers Market, which opens in June
Changes are coming to the Braselton Farmers Market, based on customer feedback. The market, held in historic downtown Braselton, will help the town of Braselton mark its centennial year..
The market will feature a new sales season, new location, new fee structure for vendors and have a market manager. Peg Sheffield, who will be the manager, says: “We plan to open each Friday in June and July with the potential for August, depending upon consumer demand and availability of fresh products. We’ll also move across Harrison Street in the shady vacant lot adjacent to the Community Center. Customer parking will be on Harrison Street where the market was formerly held.”
Vendors are encouraged to apply now to sell their Georgia-grown produce or homemade food products. The fee structure will be $10 per market or a discount of $75 for all nine Fridays. Only pre-approved vendors will be allowed in the order in which they arrive.
“We’ll incorporate our ‘Buy Local Braselton’ and the town’s centennial into our marketing and presentation this year adding value for the vendors and our customers,” said Sheffield.
The Braselton Farmers Market opened in 2014 to sell directly to local residents while providing residents an opportunity to learn more about Georgia-grown food and homemade products. The market promotes healthy eating, buying locally and enjoying fellowship with neighbors and friends. Vendor applications are available at www.downtownbraselton.com or by calling 706-684-0369.
Raderstorf wins 2nd straight Kudzu art competition
Winners have been announced in the Kudzu Art Zone of Norcross “First Impression” art contest. The exhibition consisted of 48 artworks in various media including, oil, acrylic, watercolor painting, mixed media, photography and lithography.
“Gig Saw,” by Daniel Raderstorf
The judge, Linda Lindaborg, awarded the first place prize to David Raderstorf of Lawrenceville, for his mixed media piece, Gig Saw. Mikki Root Dillon of Lilburn received second place prize for her photograph, Night Light, St. Francisco de Assis. Third place was awarded to Shirley Shepherd of Lawrenceville, for her collage entitled Peace. Mohammed Haque of Lilburn received an honorable mention for his watercolor, Silence, and Melanie Sheldon of Berkeley Lake won honorable mention for her watercolor, October Walk.
Raderstorf commented: “Gig Saw was designed around my favorite colors: teal, yellow and magenta. I made extensive use of paste, gel and heavy acrylics, creating three dimensional images and textures.”
Mr. Raderstorf also was first place winner in the previous Kudzu competition, for his painting The Old Barn Door.
First Impressions will run through April 14. The Kudzu Art Zone gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Kudzu Art Zone is also calling for all Georgia artists to participate in its Open Juried Exhibition. The first place winner of this exhibition will receive $1,000 cash prize. The deadline for entries is April 30. The exhibition will run from June 17 through July 22. Visit www.kudzuartzone.org for further information and to enter the exhibition.
NOTABLESupporters give $50,000 to renovated media center at Norcross High
The new media center at Norcross High was unveiled last week, hosted by the NHS Foundation for Excellence. The Foundation, and its supporters, donated $50,000 towards this renovation.
Elizabeth Gross, NHS Foundation Co-President, says: “The Foundation selected the Media Center renovation project as the focus for our capital improvement budget to help the high school create a collaborative learning centered space for innovative teaching and learning. Others helping fund this project include parent Challengers (NHS families who take the challenge to support the Foundation with a donation of $1,000 or more), the City of Norcross, the City of Peachtree Corners, the Gwinnett County Foundation, the Peachtree Corners Business Association, Glenfield Capital, and others. Mayor Bucky Johnson (Norcross), Mayor Mike Mason (Peachtree Corners), and Gwinnett County School Board member, Dr. MaryKay Murphy, were all present at the ribbon cutting.
Some of the additions that can be seen in the renovated NHS Media Center include moveable furniture; large collaborative works stations for various size learning groups; Sharewalls (writeable wall surfaces); Media –Scape learning centers that accommodate various types of electronic devices; and various size study groups; new paint and lighting; and soft seating for individual and group work.
Lauren Hagey, NHS media specialist, sums up the renovation: “It’s much like a studio, where people create, tinker, share and reflect. We designed our Media Center to create a more fluid, flexible space for formal and informal learning.”
NHS Media Specialist, Christine Pulliam adds, “This renovation will enable our NHS staff and students to connect as a community of learners.”
DAR nominee wins Women in American History award
A local DAR chapter’s nominee for Women in American History has been selected to join those distinguished ranks. Carol Cain of LaGrange, a storyteller, and recent retired educator, was suggested by the Philadelphia Winn Chapter (Lawrenceville), National Society Daughters of the American Revolution for this distinction.
Cain
Carol has been entertaining audiences for over 25 years with her historical monologues, making presentations and storytelling at libraries, museums and conventions throughout the Southeast while employed full time as an educator. She will be honored on the Sunday, March 20 meeting of the chapter in earning this award. One of her most popular presentations is her “Rosie the Riveter” story, based on the American women who entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers during World War II.
Boyce Design Firm wins 2nd “Best Customer Service” award
Design by Boyce
For the second year in a row, Boyce Design and Contracting of Atlanta, Ga. has won “Best of Design” and “Best of Customer Service” on Houzz®, a leading online platform for home remodeling and design. Thomas Boyce is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Boyce of Dacula. Additionally, Boyce Design and Contracting was awarded the National Association Remodeling Industry of Atlanta’s Contractor of the Year for 2015, received a “Bulldog 100” recognition, and was selected as a “Best of Gwinnett 2015 Winner” as well. Thomas Boyce, CEO and president of the firm, says: “We are thrilled to be selected as one of the Best of Houzz winners in multiple categories. By designing and building high quality projects time and time again, we are building lasting relationships with each client we serve.”
RECOMMENDED- 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 women become famous with astonishing vaudeville acts
Beginning in 1883, several young women from Georgia astonished the nation by demonstrating strange powers in their vaudeville acts. Two of these women, Lula Hurst and Annie Abbott, were particularly successful.
Lulu Hurst, the first Georgia Wonder, was born in 1869 in Polk County. In September 1883 she gained local attention by demonstrating mysterious abilities: chairs, canes, and umbrellas, held by others, seemed gripped by an invisible power when Hurst touched them lightly. Hurst’s vaudeville act was soon in demand throughout Georgia and beyond. Hurst and her parents toured the South and Northeast in 1884, and the West and Midwest in 1884-85. By the conclusion of her northeastern tour, Hurst, just 15, was one of the most famous women in the country. In fall 1885 Hurst cancelled a tour of Europe, retired from the stage, and retreated into silence.
Hurst refused to discuss her career or her powers until 1897, when she published a best-selling autobiography that gave a selective account of her tours and an explanation of her methods. She then resumed her silence and maintained it to her death on May 13, 1950.
Hurst’s fame and substantial earnings inspired many imitators, including Mattie Lee Price of Bartow County and Mamie Simpson of Marietta, but the most successful was known as “Annie Abbott, the Little Georgia Magnet.”
Annie Abbott, born Dixie Annie Jarratt in 1861, married Charles N. Haygood when she was 17. The couple apparently witnessed Hurst’s performances in Milledgeville, and Dixie Haygood first performed her version of Hurst’s act publicly in 1885. She soon adopted the stage name Annie Abbott.
After her husband’s death in 1886, Abbott supported herself and her children by gradually expanding her tours to include northern cities. In 1891 a successful run in New York City led to performances in London, England. She was enormously successful there, performing before packed houses for six weeks. She then toured Europe and Russia for nearly two years, literally performing, in the old theatrical phrase, “before all the crowned heads of Europe.”
Her success was in part due to her creation of new and remarkable effects, including the apparent ability to resist being lifted from the floor by male strength and thereby to defy physics (hence her nickname, the “Georgia Magnet”). Like Hurst, Abbott was frequently examined by physicians and others, who were usually baffled by her feats. Her popularity was undiminished, perhaps because the controversy generated by the exposes drew larger audiences. She died on November 21, 1915, and is buried in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville.
Controversy followed these Georgia Wonders for decades, in part because their demonstrations raised questions about both the paranormal and women’s abilities and roles, two prominent cultural debates of the late 19th century.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Mills once most important to America’s communities
Milling machines were once most important in rural America, as most good size communities had at least one mill. They were also favorite meeting places for outings, with the nearby water beckoning swimming. Today they are favorites of photographers. Can you figure out where this mill is? If so, send your idea to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Only one reader recognized Friday’s mystery photo, that of the Templeton Library in Sewanee, Tenn. But the “library” is not a library, as Heather Sawyer of Johns Creek explains. “It sits at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau near the University of the South. It was built by the Templeton Foundation and it’s my understanding that it was never used as a library and now houses apartments for rent. The building overlooks the valley where John Templeton, financial investor and philanthropist, was born.” The photograph was sent in by Lou Camiero of Lilburn.
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