Art-in-the-Park Festival returns to Town Center Park in Suwanee on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sponsored by the North Gwinnett Arts Association, the Center will show works of about 60 juried artists. There will also be art demonstrations and several create-it-yourself community projects, as well as other activities.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Norcross Picks Artist for Depicting a Mural on Its Skin Alley
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Passing Stopped School Buses More a Problem Than You May Imagine
SPOTLIGHT: Hayes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC
FEEDBACK: Outsider’s View of Proposed Bridge for Peachtree Corners
UPCOMING: Gwinnett Village Names Anderson-Bomar Sole Finalist as New Director
NOTABLE: Snellville Swears In Tadia Whitner as Associate Judge of City Court
RECOMMENDED: The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Jackson Lee Nesbitt Finds First Work with Etching Commission
TODAY’S QUOTE: The World of Theory, According to Yogi Berra
CALENDAR: Find the latest events in Gwinnett
MYSTERY PHOTO: Is This Photograph of a Familiar Scene That You Recognize?
LAGNIAPPE: NSDAR Chapter Recognizes Miriam S. Machida for Community Service
EDITOR’S NOTES: Starting with this issue, our Calendar now appears near the end of each GwinnettForum.
Also until the May 24 elections, you can read candidate profiles in each of the contested primary elections. Click on the orange area button to the right or the link below to view their answers and our endorsement. You must click on each candidate’s name to view the answers to six questions GwinnettForum put to the candidates. By comparing the candidates, you may get better idea of which candidate you may want to support.–eeb
Meet the candidates and compare profiles
Read our endorsements
TODAY’S FOCUSNorcross picks artist for mural depiction on wall in Skin Alley
By Cindy Flynn
NORCROSS, Ga., May 13, 2016 | This fall, the large drab cinderblock building that protrudes onto Skin Alley in the center of Historic Norcross will blossom into a lively mural, designed to welcome and delight Norcross’ multicultural community and many visitors. Viewable from several vantage points in the city, the artwork will dramatically alter the Norcross visual experience.
Muralist Karl Addison
An international artist has been selected to produce a public art mural in Norcross. Chosen to produce the work by the Norcross Public Arts Commission (NPAC) is international artist Karl Addison, who will create the mural in September. Aiming to enhance Norcross’ continued growth as a vibrant, live-work-play community, the mural will serve as anchor of the Norcross’ Skin Alley ArtWay, with hopes of re-awakening an area into a creative hub that supports year-round global entertainment and cultural arts.
The ArtWay is inspired by the concept of ‘Art is a Way’ for artists and community members to lift each other up, start conversations, share stories, bridge differences and find common ground among Norcross multicultural community. NPAC plans to engage a wide range of artists in future projects to contribute to the ArtWay.
More than 40 applicants responded to an NPAC request for proposals. From Washington State and currently working out of Berlin, Germany, Addison’s creative talent is seen throughout North and Central America, Europe Russia, Japan, and South East Asia. He has worked on several murals in the Atlanta area including two on the Atlanta Beltline.
“For me, it is very interesting in the last few years to see towns and cities across the U.S. to really adopted and take on Post-Muralism as a means of public art,” said Addison. “The traditional murals have always been beautiful, and carried a strong community based message. But it is also refreshing to see contemporary painting and arts start to make their way to public space. My impression is that Norcross is seeing this as well, and taking part in the world wide conversation.”
Because the ArtWay project is designed to reach across generations and cultures in Norcross, community engagement is an essential element of the mural’s creative development. Addison will spend 10 days in the Norcross community from May 19 to 29.
Addison’s community engagement experiences will inform his design. He will submit up to three designs for public consideration before a final design is recommended by NPAC and approved by the City Council. The mural installation is scheduled to begin Sept. 6 and should take about a week to complete. NPAC will announce the dates and opportunities for public review in coming weeks.
The City of Norcross is funding the $15,000 project. The budget includes provisions for materials, community engagement, mural maintenance and artist fee. NPAC is also receiving significant technical support from the Atlanta Regional Commission, which assigned Keif Schleifer of KSDesign, a technical and architectural design firm that works with artists and communities in developing public art project, to consult with NPAC. Schleifer is providing key technical support and project coordination.
EEB PERSPECTIVEPassing stopped school buses more of a problem than you think
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 13, 2016 | Vehicles passing stopped school buses is much more of a problem than most of us realize. At least Gwinnett’s school system is taking steps to address this situation, at no cost to your school tax bill. But only about 10 school systems in Georgia are participating in a new technology which improves school bus safety.
Gwinnett is partnering with Redflex Traffic Systems of Phoenix, Ariz. in having traffic cameras on its buses. Redflex is a wholly-owned subsidiary of an Australian company, which operates the world’s largest network of digital speed and red-light cameras worldwide. Redflex partners with over 200 communities in the U.S. and Canada in traffic safety programs.
The recommended fine locally for passing a stopped school bus is $300. From this, the schools get 25 percent, as does the county, with 50 percent going to Redflex. There is no upfront cost for Gwinnett, as all costs are born by Redflex, while the paying for the program is 100 percent violator funded. Redflex provides a turn-key program, including training and installing all hardware, maintaining the system, payment progressing and collection.
Since the school bus cameras were installed, Gwinnett County’s School Board has received $1.4 million in fine money since January, 2015, as has Gwinnett County government. The School Board is using part of that money to make purchase of new buses (each cost on average $85,000), relieving the school’s budget of that funding.
Illegally passing stopped school buses is a major problem in this country. A 2012 study conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services found that 88,000 vehicles illegally pass 100,000 school buses every day. That’s 16 million illegal passings in a typical 180 day school year.
That figure is similar in Gwinnett County. The schools have only installed the cameras on 300 buses (of its total 1,650 buses running any day). Cameras are on buses in each school cluster.
Once a year the School Board asks its drivers to report how many vehicles passed their stopped bus that day. It hit 3,000 on the one-day count. Yet Gwinnett issues only an average of 100 citations for passing stopped buses each day, meaning that about 2,900 vehicles are not being cited each day. So the problem is much worse than at first glance.
Danny Jardine, the school’s chief operating officer, who oversees the school bus fleet, says that drivers simply pay no attention to the rules of the road concerning school buses. “Everyone should know what the law is when they see the stopped bus,with its lights flashing. When that stop arm comes out, people simply do not pay it any attention. We have videos of as many as six and seven cars at one time passing a stopped school bus. It scares me. And we see this not just on Buford Highway or U.S. 29. We see it even in sub-divisions!”
The law is simple. You do not pass a stopped school bus on a two-lane highway. Traffic in both directions must stop. However, on a divided highway, traffic in the opposite lane does not have to stop. (But many drivers do not understand this either, backing up traffic on divided highways when it is not necessary.)
Danny Jardine adds: “Our job is to make sure that the school children get on and off the bus safely. Installing these bus cameras isn’t about the money we get from the fines. It’s simply about getting our students safely on and off the buses.”
IN THE SPOTLIGHTHayes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s sponsor is Hayes Family Dealerships with Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. Mike, Tim and Ted Hayes of Lawrenceville and Gainesville with Terry Hayes of Baldwin and Stan Roberts of Toccoa invite you into their showrooms to look over their line-up of automobiles and trucks. Hayes has been in the automotive business for over 40 years, and is North Georgia’s oldest family-owned dealerships. The family is the winner of the 2002 Georgia Family Business of the Year Award.
- Check their web sites at: www.hayeschrysler.com or www.hayeschevrolet.com or www.hayesgmcars.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
Guy with no dog in bridge question has his own questions
Editor, the Forum:
Let me state out front that I have no dog in the question concerning a bridge in Peachtree Corners. Although, when I look around at the cities in Gwinnett, I do have to scratch my head at the amazement of the monuments to the cities that are being built. It is, after all, our tax dollars that are being used.
I also understand Peachtree Corners and Sugar Hill wanting and needing a town center, since they really don’t have one in the first place.
While reading the survey results the anti-bridge folks put out, it reminds me of the anti-airport folks. They make it sound like the sky is falling and we’ll all be doomed if this “fill in the blank” is built.
I especially liked the comment: “Most of the ‘yes city’ voters believe that the city is failing in their promise of a city-lite and as a result, a quarter of them would not vote for the city again if the vote were held today.” When did 25 percent become “most?” Shouldn’t most be 75 or 80 percent? Certainly most should be 51 percent at a minimum.
They also pointed out that their survey showed that 64 percent do not want a bridge, preferring the status quo or a tunnel. Too bad the survey did not mention that a tunnel is unfeasible, or at least the proponents say it is. Why was it even a choice? Perhaps to steer the discussion?
I have to wonder how impartial the opponents are, considering the comment oozing with sarcasm: “…an iconic structure to rival the Eiffel Tower or Washington Monument.”
Lastly, they admitted that the deck is stacked, “The Ballot Committee constructed a survey with the help of a survey and marketing professional who volunteers with the group.”
— Tim Sullivan, Buford
The arts in Lilburn beginning to show some development
Editor, the Forum:
The arts in Lilburn have for a long time been somewhat latent, as we have often gone to other communities to whet our appetites for inspiration and entertainment. Yes, we have talented, committed individuals working to support arts appreciation in our community, but it has been a challenge to develop a thriving, anchored arts environment. Some wonder will Lilburn ever foster and grow an arts community?
The answer is beginning to look like a YES! Much like a chrysalis from which a beautiful butterfly will soon emerge, there have been signs that our community is ready to grow and support the arts.
Music on Main Street’s youth camp is full and their concert season is already packing in patrons; an artist just recently opened the Hummingbird Mill on Main Street. The Lilburn Arts Alliance is offering classes and expanding their membership. Adding to the arts mix, we now have a community theater (Staged Right Theatre) ready to call Lilburn home if they can get community support. These recent business and organizational efforts are all building upon the presence of the small colony of professional artists that have called Lilburn home for some time.
Only time will tell if this movement will sustain itself and become a significant chapter in Lilburn’s history or simply a short lived trend. The reality is that we can all determine the outcome by supporting our Lilburn artists, thus enabling our arts community to burst free and fly inspiring generations to come.
— Diana Preston, Lilbun
- Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 200 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett Village names Anderson-Bomar sole finalist as new director
Anderson-Bomar
Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District has named a single finalist for the job of executive director, succeeding Chuck Warbington. The board picked Marsha Anderson Bomar of Duluth to head the organization. She will begin work on June 1. The board will meet soon to confirm her selection.
Anderson Bomar boasts more than 40 years of experience in the field of civil engineering, planning and community development. That experience includes founding Street Smarts in 1990 and Data Smarts in 1993. Under her leadership those companies grew to employ more than 120 individuals with annual revenues of almost $20 million before being purchased by Stantec, an international consultancy.
Anderson Bomar is an international past president and fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and chaired the Olympic Transportation Task Force Support Group on Goods Movement for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Other professional affiliations include the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American and Georgia Planning Associations, WTS, the Transportation Research Board, the Council for Quality Growth and the Society of Women Engineers.
Anderson Bomar is also a member of the Duluth City Council since first being elected in 2006. She will not seek another term in this office. The board picked Bomar for the post from 49 applications for the job.
Invite a monarch butterfly to lunch in Norcross on May 21
Norcross will soon be breaking ground on the Discovery Garden Park (DGP). The new garden park will allow the community to connect with nature, grow and learn together. Come and invite a monarch butterfly to lunch on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. The event will be upstairs at the Norcross Community Center. Refreshments will be served.
Join Trecia Neal, Biologist and Monarch Conservation Specialist at Fernbank Science Center, who will give an overview of the amazing monarch butterfly migration and life cycle. Learn why the migration is endangered, and how you can help.
Trecia has been a biologist at Fernbank Science Center since 1990. She served as co-committee chair of Monarchs Across Georgia, is a committee member and actively tags with teachers from DeKalb County and promotes the citizen science projects of Monarch Health, Journey North, and Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. This free presentation is co-hosted by the Discovery Garden Park and the Norcross Garden Club.
Lawrenceville seeks nominations for Heritage Trail medallions
The City of Lawrenceville and its Downtown Development Authority (DDA) are partnering to construct a walking trail that is designed to pay homage to individuals – throughout Gwinnett County history – who have made significant contributions to the City of Lawrenceville. To be known as the Heritage Trail, the walkway commences at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial and ends in front of Rhodes Jordan Park.
Honorees for the Heritage Trail Medallions are to be chosen annually based on their contributions to Lawrenceville.
This year, the DDA will accept applications for nominees for a Heritage Trail Medallion from May 1 – June 30. Candidates may be submitted by Lawrenceville citizens or any organization operating within Lawrenceville city limits. Nominations must be submitted by June 30. Details and nominations forms are at www.LawrencevilleGa.org.
NOTABLESnellville swears in Whitner as associate judge of city court
Attorney Tadia D. Whitner was sworn in as a City of Snellville associate judge Monday. She replaces Angela Duncan who has become full-time Magistrate Judge in Gwinnett County.
Whitner
Whitner is a graduate in political science of Howard University, where she also obtained her law degree in 1995. After admission to the Maryland Bar, Whitner received a commission as a first lieutenant to the U.S. Air Force. She served as the Chief of Claims and Chief of Military Justice while stationed at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. After graduating from the Air Force’s Squadron Officers School, Whitner was stationed at the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court of the Air Force. Whitner was discharged from the U.S. Air Force as a captain in 1999. She previously was a major in the National Guard.
Ms. Whitner previously was with the U.S. Virgin Islands Office of the Attorney General. In 2004, after admission to the Florida Bar, Whitner relocated to Orlando where she was appointed to be an Assistant Attorney General by Florida’s Attorney General Charlie Crist.
In 2005, Whitner was admitted to the Georgia Bar and in 2006 she began working as an Assistant Public Defender for the Office of the Public Defender in the Eastern Judicial Circuit. In 2011, Whitner co-founded the Porter and Whitner Law Group, LLC, a general practice law firm, in Norcross.
She is a current board member with the Gwinnett Pearls of Service, a non-profit organization that provides college scholarships to Gwinnett County high school students. Whitner is married to Brian and they have two children, Zander, age 11, and Jaide, age 10.
CMES gets $1.8 million contract for 3 transportation projects
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners have awarded more than $1.8 million in contracts to build three transportation projects, two of which are in the Gwinnett Place area. Construction, Management, Engineering Services Inc. (CMES)of Norcross was the low bidder on two intersection improvement projects and a pedestrian safety project.
With a bid of $780,639.40, CMES will install sidewalks along Steve Reynolds Boulevard from Venture Drive to Shackleford Road and improve the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Gwinnett Place Drive. The intersection improvement will provide access to Gwinnett Place mall for southbound motorists on Pleasant Hill Road via Gwinnett Place Drive. Funding comes from the 2009 SPLOST program with a contribution from the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District.
CMES will also improve the intersection of Suwanee Dam Road and West Price Road adjacent to North Gwinnett High School. Funds for the $1,062,498.30 contract are coming from the school safety category in the 2014 SPLOST program. The project includes the installation of a traffic signal and left turn lanes on West Price Road as well as curb and gutter and drainage improvements.
Deal Names Brantley to family-children’s board
Brantley
Gwinnett State Court Judge Emily Brantley has been named to the Advisory Board of the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services by Governor Nathan Deal. Brantley, of Suwanee, was elected to the bench in 2012. Among her duties, she oversees the DUI Accountability Court. She grew up in Marshville, N.C., attended the University of North Carolina and Pfeiffer University, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in 1979. Her law degree is from Georgia State University.
Georgia Genealogical Society presents speakers at June 4 event
The Georgia Genealogical Society and the Georgia Archives will present a Summer Genealogy Picnic at the Archives on Saturday June 4. The all-day event, which runs 9:15 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.
Speakers will focus on genealogical activities that often take place in the summer, with an emphasis on ways to encourage young family historians. Judith F. Russell PhD will begin the day with information about the Ask Granny program. Valerie Frey, author of the book Preserving Family Recipes: How to Save and Celebrate Your Food Traditions, will speak about Heirloom recipes for the Genealogist. College student Hunter Gentry will tell what inspired him to begin researching his family history and how to get young people interested in genealogy with his presentation Brick walls and Breakthroughs: A Teenager’s Genealogy Journey. To round out the day, Kenneth H. Thomas Jr. will talk about How to Find Descendants or Heirs of those Buried in a Cemetery.
A sandwich lunch with chips, cookies and lemonade will be available for a donation. There also are numerous restaurants in the area, or participants may bring lunches. In addition to exhibits by historical and genealogical societies, genealogy books will be for sale to help with research.
RECOMMENDEDThe Nest
A novel by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
This popular best-seller has as its center an inheritance that the Plumb family father arranged for his children years ago…..with a major lump sum going to each of his four offspring, but not paid until the 40th birthday of the youngest. The story is set in New York, and has all sorts of complications, as you would expect of a large family. The book starts out slowly, but gets good traction toward the middle of the book, then tails down, in something of a bell curve course. Yet the author introduces enough turn-arounds in the story to keep it brimming. It’s well-written and easy to follow. And it tackles the problem of family inheritance in an entangled manner. This is a book you should read from the library, for you may not want to keep it in your personal library. But yet, it’s entertaining.–eeb
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 TIDBITJackson Lee Nesbitt finds first work in etching commission
Jackson Lee Nesbitt, a noted printmaker and painter of the American Scene, dedicated his artistic career to the portrayal of ordinary people going about the business of their lives. A native of Oklahoma, Nesbitt created scenes from the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s, but in the 1950s, when interest in his work diminished, he moved to Atlanta and established a second career in advertising. Thirty years later, Nesbitt sold his business and resumed his artistic career from Atlanta.
“Auction Barn,” an etching by Jackson Lee Nesbitt. Click image to see a larger version.
Nesbitt was born in McAlester, Okla., on June 16, 1913, the only child of LuCena Grant and Howard Nesbitt. The family resided in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where his father owned a commercial printing business. Jack, as Nesbitt was known, helped out in the family business until 1931, when he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
Two years later Nesbitt enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. Thomas Hart Benton, who joined the faculty in the fall of 1935, quickly became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist.
In 1937 the management of the Sheffield Steel Corporation contacted deMartelly concerning an etching commission. Because Nesbitt was an outstanding student, his teacher suggested him for the job. When Nesbitt arrived at the plant one afternoon, he was taken to the open-hearth furnace area, where he diligently sketched anonymous workers in that dramatic setting until five o’clock the following morning. On the strength of his sketches, he was commissioned to create a series of etchings illustrating different phases of the steel industry. The commission launched Nesbitt’s career as a professional artist.
The commission with Sheffield Steel Corporation provided the financial security that enabled Jack and Elaine Nesbitt to marry on June 1, 1938. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute about the same time. Working as a freelance artist, Nesbitt augmented his commissioned work with genre scenes of the Midwest, and he routinely went with Benton on sketching trips to rural Arkansas. The landscape and people of the Ozarks often appear in the finished work of both artists.
(To be continued)
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
(NEW) Summer Camps: Lionheart Theatre Company in historic Norcross is planning summer camps, with classes and shows for tots through adults. Highlights include a musical theatre class and talent show for older adults, a new art class, digital video for children, teens and adults, and a workshop to give actors complete audition preparation including a resume and headshot. The summer’s finale is The Tempest, a children’s musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s whimsical adventure. That will be on August 4-7. The camps begin on June 6, and are aimed at specific ages. For a list of camps for all ages, go to http://www.lionhearttheatre.org/camps/.
(NEW) Maker Fest in Sugar Hill on May 14, beginning at 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The City of Sugar Hill has a history of “making” and Lanier schools have engineered the first city “Maker Fest,” to have those fun creators of things come together in celebration. The event celebrates technology, art, craft, science, music, food, engineering projects, as well as the do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s an outgrowth of the 2015 Lanier High STEM Maker Fest. For more info, contact sugarhillmakerfest@lanierhs.org or visit the website at www.sugarhillmakerfest.com.
Classic Car Shows in Norcross, Saturday, May 14 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Classic autos, mint-condition motorcycles and more than 300 vintage vehicles will be on display. This event raises money for medical scholarships. Come enjoy the sights, the treats and place your name on a silent auction item. This will be followed on May 15 with a Porsche car show in Norcross with in Lillian Webb Park from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Free electronic waste recycling and paper shredding, Saturday, May 14, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1826 Killian Hill Road, Lilburn. Atlanta Recycling Solutions will offer free e-waste recycling and Recall Corp. will collect paper for free shredding in the church parking lot. For a complete list of items accepted visit this website or call 770-972-4418.
Common Raptors of Georgia will be presented Saturday, May 14 at the Mill Creek Nature Center Amphitheater in Buford at 10:30 a.m. Beth Thomson, a wildlife educator who has U.S. Fish and Wildlife and GA DNR permits to have birds of prey in her possession, will teach about the unique attributes of raptors. The program is presented by the Southern Wings Bird Club.
The hit show, Memphis will be presented by the Aurora Theatre for a one-night-only performance on Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. on the Duluth Festival Center stage. This is part of the Duluth Art Week. A co-production with Theatrical Outfit, the show was presented at the Aurora Lawrenceville stage earlier, in 2015. The show is free to the public; however VIP tables are available for purchase. The VIP tables range from $200 – $450 for four to eight chairs. A family-style dinner from Dreamland BBQ is included in the price. For more information on this event, contact Maggie Waddell.
Fashion Show from the Snellville Arts Commission. Belks Department Store is the sponsor. This will be on May 15 at 3 p.m. at the Snellville City Hall Community Room. Tickets are $10 with proceeds benefiting local Snellville art initiatives and Give Hunger the Boot. For information, visit www.snellvillearts.com.
Spring Concert by the Gwinnett Symphony on Monday, May 16, at the Infinite Energy Theater in Duluth. At 6:30 p.m., the Youth Orchestra will perform, followed at 7:30 p.m. by the Chamber Orchestra, with Dr. Nancy Schecter, violinist, as soloist. Then the Symphony will perform Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74. Buy tickets the Infinite Energy Center box office.
Career Expo on Thursday, May 19, at the Lawrenceville United Methodist Church, 395 West Crogan Street. Hours are from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Georgia Department of Labor and Crossroads Center Network are working together on this annual program. For more information about the recruitment, contact the GDOL’s Gwinnett Career Center at (770) 840-2200.
(NEW) Glow and Show Festival on Saturday, May 21, at Tribble Mill Park. The festival begins at 5 p.m. and is free to attend. Participants will experience wellness exhibitors, health screenings, fitness demonstrations, entertainment, inflatables, giant lawn games, food vendors, and park-wide activities. Following the festival at 8 p.m., a Glow and Show in the Dark 3K Fun Walk/Run Run will begin for $10/person. Proceeds benefit the Gwinnett Parks Foundation’s Health and Wellness Scholarship fund. All will be followed by a free Movie on the lawn showing The Good Dinosaur. Details: Contact Lindsey Jorstad.
ToGetHerThere Luncheon for the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Monday, May 23, at the 1818 Club in Duluth. Gwinnett County Commissioner Lynette Howard will be the keynote speaker. For more information, contact Merrill Baker.
New Art Exhibit is now on display at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church in Lawrenceville, each day from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. through July 8. This features the work of artist Mikki Root Dillon, in paintings and photography, both abstract and representational. The church is located at 737 Moon Road.
MYSTERY PHOTOIs this a familiar scene that you recognize?
Today’s Mystery Photo may be too easy for your super sleuths. But let’s give it a whirl. But is this a sleeper to confuse you? Send in your thoughts to elliott@gwinnettforum.com and be sure to include your hometown.
After several Mystery Photos in distance places, we picked a local photo for the recent mystery. First one in with the right answer was Timothy Daly of Snellville, who correctly identified Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River in Sandy Springs. The photo came from Jerry Colley of Decatur.
Also identifying the photo was George Graf of Palmyra, Va. He wrote: “Bull Sluice Lake was created by the Morgan Falls Dam. As the water of the Chattahoochee River leaves Morgan Falls Dam, it passes the popular Morgan Falls boat ramp and continues a 436 mile trip to the Gulf of Mexico. It already carries a significant amount of both point-source and non-point source pollution. On the west bank of the river, Johnson Ferry Park, a mile south of Morgan Falls, holds the remnants of what was once a thriving business – the Chattahoochee Outdoors Center. When the United States Geologic Survey began posting the results of bacterialogical tests on a board adjacent to the launch ramp to the Chattahoochee, enough rafters decided not to ‘Shoot the Hooch’ to make the business unprofitable. It closed in 2002 and both the building and parking lot are overgrown. Rafting is still permitted and outfitters near the Chattahoochee River provide services to many customers, but since the Outdoor Center closed the number of people on the river have dropped by 80 percent.”
LAGNIAPPENSDAR chapter recognizes Machida for community service
The Philadelphia Winn Chapter NSDAR Certificate of Award has been presented to Miriam Shindelbower Machida, left, for Excellence in Community Service. Nancy Vaughn, right, presented the award to Ms. Machida. Regent Lydia McGill in background
Miriam promotes literacy by operating her own Little Free Library in her front yard in Duluth. Many neighbors have stopped by to pick up a book. Reading is a passion for Miriam as seen through the Little Free Library and through her work at her church choir library at Duluth First United Methodist Church. Miriam also volunteers for the Gwinnett Historical Society each week at the Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville
She has transcribed minutes for the years of 1833-1869 of Friendship Baptist Church, which was located in the Five Forks community. She also transcribed the 1888 Gwinnett Tax Digest. Miriam has spent many hours for several years indexing the photo albums of the society and keeping the cemetery records up to date. Miriam edited the society’s quarterly newsletter, The Heritage, for two years as well as writing the Philadelphia Winn Chapter Newsletter for several years.
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:
- MORE: Contact Editor and Publisher Elliott Brack at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
Follow Us