5/27: On FDR Memorial; Safeguarding baggage; Cold calling; more

LAWRENCEVILLE’S SUMMER CONCERT SERIES begins May 27 at 7 p.m. with country music artist, Josh Dorr, and special guest Samantha Stroh. Dorr, named one of Rolling Stone’s 10 New Country Artists You Need to Know, is best known for his radio hit singles “Save Your Breath” and “All or Nothing.” Lawrenceville will continue its summertime tradition of bringing the annual Summer Concert Series to the Lawrenceville Lawn on the last Friday of each month through September.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Remembering the FDR Memorial and the Ideas Behind His Life

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s a New Way to Safeguard Your Baggage While Traveling

ANOTHER VIEW: Learning from a Manhattan Guy the Success of Cold Calling

SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

FEEDBACK: Peachtree Corners Mayor Posts Q&A Proposed Bridge

UPCOMING: Fallen Heroes Memorial To Add Name of the late Kyle E. Gilbert

NOTABLE: City of Suwanee Open Space Bond Refinancing Saves $3 Million

RECOMMENDED: Lighthouse by P.D. James

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Oglethorpe Power Company Owned By 39 Georgia EMCs

CALENDAR: Memorial Day Services, Gwinnett Pools Open and Many Other Activities

TODAY’S QUOTE: One Man’s View of What Anarchism Means

MYSTERY PHOTO: This Mystery Photo May Prove as Tough as the Last One

LAGNIAPPE: Lawrenceville DAR Member Wins First Place in National Competition

Remembering the FDR Memorial and the ideas behind FDR’s life

By Catherine Brack

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 27, 2016  |  As a resident of our nation’s capitol for more than 18 years, I have been to the Clinton, Bush and Obama White Houses, experienced 9/11 in a way that was far too close for comfort, cheered a visit by the pope, and witnessed an earthquake, hurricanes and tornadoes.  I also have shoveled more snow than I ever thought possible.

One of the true joys of living in the nation’s capital is witnessing through the eyes of others the daily sights that I often take for granted. GwinnettForum readers will know that my parents often visit, and we’ve had great adventures, not the least of which was a recent inside-the-park home run at the Nats game earlier this month. A recent visit of a decades-long friend from California reacquainted me with the brilliance and utter elegance of one of Washington’s key attractions, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

In a time when our current political discourse is reaching new lows, it is refreshing to revisit a past when this country wasn’t about “hope” or “making America great again,” but was about being bold, making tough calls and striving to treat everyone — regardless of place of origin or economic status — with dignity.  Can you imagine our current political “leaders” ever uttering these statements:

“No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is the greatest menace to our social order.” (Sept. 30, 1934).

“We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.” (Jan. 9, 1940).

“They [who] seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of individual rulers…call this a new order. It is not new and it is not order.” (March 15, 1941).

These are samples of the simple, elegant language that address the heart of three challenges, each of which then was followed by policies that backed up the rhetoric. And while there will always be 20/20 fault to find with anyone who is in a position of leadership — the continued racism experienced by African-Americans among them — the legacy of this great and, as we all know, longest-serving president has stood the test of time.

FDR’s New Deal, like it or hate it, was a big vision with long-term benefit.  The Tennessee Valley Authority provided the rural South with electricity.  In the heart of the Great Depression, Roosevelt and his aides designed the Social Security Act to combat poverty among senior citizens. The Works Progress Administration was designed to give out-of-work citizens what they really needed — jobs.

Policy matters.  For this country to address the inevitable big problems of the future, we need courageous leaders to debate policy on core principles and beliefs, not simplistic sound bites driven by personality or gotcha-tweets.

• Immigration.
• Guns.
• Infrastructure
• Economic opportunity.
• Civil rights.

What our current political discourse is missing is bold vision coupled with action steps.

You cannot run a business on dreams, nor can you govern without compromise.  As FDR said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” If we don’t start again doing the hard work of governing, we only have ourselves to blame for not living up to this vision for America:

“Freedom of speech…Freedom of worship…Freedom from want…Freedom from fear.” (Jan. 6, 1941).

Here’s a new way to safeguard your baggage while traveling

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher, GwinnettForum

MAY 27, 2016  |  You know the uneasy feeling at the airport: you’re waiting for your luggage to arrive on the baggage claim area, hoping your bag will be next, and hoping it’s not lost. You are a little uneasy, since you know bags can be lost or tampered with.

A Peachtree Corners person has produced a device that may relieve some of your anxiety when traveling with bags on airplanes. He’s Jim Dunn, a “product developer,” someone we may call a tinkerer or inventor, who works on ideas and produces outcomes.

His new venture is called GripAZip, a device to help secure your luggage. Jim kept hearing stories about luggage theft and tampering. When your baggage is tampered with, it’s difficult or impossible for you to easily recover missing items. People tampering with your luggage may be “baggage handlers, hotel employers, or even the TSA.”  He learned that incidences of tampering number in the hundred of thousands each year, costing consumers headaches with the airlines when trying to get a reimbursement.

So Jim kept thinking, and eventually developed the GripAZip. It’s been put through all sorts of test and consumer trials. At the center of the activity Jim has a goal of helping people secure their luggage, and having more peace of mind while traveling.

To perfect and refine GripAZip, Dunn tested various materials and securing devices with numerous live travelers to get in-field results. Based upon these “customer safaris,” he was able to better understand the right combination of durability, flexibility and security. After finalizing his design, he filed a patent and began manufacturing the “GripAZip.”  Click here for 90 second product demo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMLPP67G0tk.

Jim feels that whether it is lost possessions, lost time, or even a sense of personal violation, GripAZip provides peace-of-mind to the weary traveler. For a family traveling on a vacation they’ve been planning for months, or a veteran business traveler that has little time to spare, the thought of wasting time and money dealing with a luggage tampering claim is a strong catalyst to act.  The GripAzip becomes a major deterrent to theft.

Here’s how he feels it can help you:

• It presents the same “warning” to criminals on your baggage, such as a “This home is protected by….” sign in your front yard.
• It presents an unwanted obstacle so criminals will bypass your bag in lieu of less secure baggage.
• It provides evidence of baggage tampering allowing the traveler to quickly notify proper authorities.

The GripAZip also prevents lost luggage.  While an airline barcode paper tag comes off, a hidden ID holder built-into the GripAZip holds your contact info so airlines can still identify your luggage. And it comes in a selection of colors and personalization or “Branding” options which reduces the chance of someone picking up your bag by mistake. Check out more details at http://shop.gripazip.com/.The product currently sells for $35, but Jim hopes that when manufacturing in larger quantities, he can reduce the price more.

Meanwhile, though Jim’s key mission now is to market GripAZip wider, he’s also working on other products.  His innovative mind continues to work, as he looks to radio-frequency identification methods and additional security features to keep ahead of the industry. Jim says:  “….as new enhancements become available, current customers will be offered special purchase discounts because we value the loyalty of customers that have placed their trust in us.”

He also produces an internet blog, (http://blog.gripazip.com/) with TSA travel news, tips and links to airport/travel information.

Luggage thieves be warned: GripAZip is here!

Learning from a Manhattan guy the success of cold calling

By Debra Houston

MAY 27, 2016  |  During my 18-year career at a telecommunications company, I worked for some good managers and some not-so-good. One of the good ones grew up in Alabama. When I left public relations for sales, he hoped I’d work for a New Yorker. “You could learn how to succeed from them,” he said.

Guess what? I worked for a man from Manhattan. He was brash and politically incorrect, but charming in a somewhat menacing way. I told him that cold-calling on businesses made my palms sweat, my heart palpitate, and I’d almost rather give away the product than ask for the sale. Secretaries had threatened me, business owners rudely ignored me, and a security guard had already shown me the door.

My Manhattan guy said: “We’ll go cold-calling together!” He would show me “how it’s done. Just watch me,” he said. Unannounced, we breezed through one building to another making magic. Imagine Jimmy Fallon popping by with a deal you can’t refuse. You wouldn’t throw out that guy. My boss could sell sand to a camel in the middle of the Sahara.

My Alabama boss was right about New Yorkers. And though my Manhattan guy was abrasive at times, he won awards and his sales team consistently placed first. With a heightened awareness that selling is a form of art, I began to respect salespeople of all stripes.

Another fast-talking New Yorker has made the rounds lately, showing America what winning looks like. His name is Trump. He’s rough around the edges, boasts a corpulent amount of combed forward hair, and he’s an equal-opportunity offender.

But enough voters have liked his ideas to make him the “presumptive” Republican nominee. He’s forcing the uptight country club wing of his party to leave its smug comfort zone and “consider” endorsing him. Like my Manhattan boss, Trump is succeeding in spades.

I’ll never like his yellow hair or his big mouth. And he needs to ramp up on that “getting presidential” thing.

If he wants my vote, he’ll end the vulgar and hateful speech, and perhaps, pontificate lucidly on sound conservative ideas. If so, I might see him as a pretty good Manhattan boss. That said, I might vote for him to let him show the world “how it’s done.”

Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Professional healthcare programs leading to doctoral degrees in Pharmacy (PharmD) and Osteopathic Medicine (DO) are offered at Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) in Suwanee Ga. A graduate degree at the master’s level can be earned in Biomedical Sciences and Physician Assistant Studies. GA–PCOM is a private, not-for-profit branch campus of the fully accredited Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a multi-program institution with a 117-year tradition of educational excellence.

• To learn more about how GA-PCOM is educating tomorrow’s healthcare professionals, visit pcom.eduor call 678-225-7500.
• For an appointment at the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine specialty clinic which is open to the public, call 678-225-7485.

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

Peachtree Corners mayor posts Q&A on proposed bridge

By Mike Mason, mayor, City of Peachtree Corners

In the next 10 years, traffic on Peachtree Parkway is anticipated to increase to over 50,000 vehicles per day. Officials indicate that being able to safely cross this six lane roadway is an important motivator for wanting to connect Peachtree Corners’ planned Town Center with the existing Forum shopping center.

In addition to safety considerations, the proposed bridge has also received praise from business leaders who expect it to have significant economic development benefits.

We are still gathering information to help complete the design phase. No decisions have been made and no votes have been taken. The process for developing a bridge actually started with the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, which recommended that the City conduct an in-depth analysis of the Town Center area. The Town Center study was completed in 2015 and included the recommendation that a pedestrian bridge be built over Peachtree Parkway as part of a multi-use trail system.

Two committees were then formed, (one comprised of citizens, the other a technical committee), to move the bridge project forward. In January, the citizens’ committee choice was presented at a well-attended UPCCA meeting. In March, we held a town hall meeting, which was also well attended and provided most helpful input. The city will be holding more information-gathering events in the coming months to get citizen input.

We’ve heard from a number of our citizens and appreciate everyone’s input. Below you will find a list of questions and a link to the answers for some additional questions that have been raised. The questions:

• Where did the idea for a pedestrian bridge originate?
• Who will use it? Why do you need a bridge to go from The Forum to the Town Center?
• Shouldn’t we spend our SPLOST funds on traffic improvements instead of a bridge?
• What are the economic development benefits?
• I thought Peachtree Corners was a limited service City. How can you build a bridge? Aren’t you exceeding your powers?

Perhaps these answers (in the link) will help residents understand more.

Agrees with Wilson about right wing not needing to dig up old issues

Editor, the Forum:

Although not a political activist and not totally on the Trump train, I have to agree with George Wilson that the “right wing” does not need to dig up old issues on Hillary Clinton.

A casual glance at the current issues related to Bengazi, the email issue, the Clinton foundation, etc., leaves enough for anyone to try and explain without digging into the past.

Waiting for clear answers to these issues before kicking Hillary all the way to the curb sounds more prudent than having her worry about the distant past. She is having enough difficulty pushing aside socialism within her own party to worry about winning the general election at the moment.

— Charles Summerour, Duluth

Three takeaways from Georgia primary seem obvious

Editor, the Forum:

Several observations about yesterday’s Georgia primary:

First, turnout was pathetic. Less than 5 percent even bothered to do their civic duty. Any wonder we end up with lousy candidates with all this apathy?

Secondly, it appears that the folks running the elections are doing everything they can to lower the interest in turning out even more. The poll workers weren’t properly trained, even in the basics like what identification is acceptable. The separation of the presidential primary from the state and local voting is horrible and confusing to many, especially so that then to vote on city issues you need to go to a second, more remote, location.

Perhaps the biggest news in the media was the accusations, once again, of voter fraud. Are our “leaders” that desperate to become a public servant? It makes it seem that there must be huge illegal financial payouts somewhere in this system.

— Steve Rausch, Peachtree Corners

• 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

Fallen Heroes Memorial to add name of the late Kyle E. Gilbert

Gwinnett County officials will remember Army Specialist Kyle E. Gilbert during the 13th annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30 at 1 p.m. at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville. Gilbert, a Lawrenceville native and graduate of Mill Creek High School, died as a result of friendly fire last September in Bagram, Afghanistan. Gilbert’s name is the first to be added to the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial under Global War on Terrorism since 2011.

The keynote address will be given by Brig. Gen. Thomas Carden, assistant adjutant general of the  Georgia Army National Guard. Other officials scheduled to speak include Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner Tommy Hunter and the mayors of Lawrenceville and Lilburn. Law enforcement honor guard members will also take part in the ceremony.

The Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial, located on the grounds of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville, honors all Gwinnett residents who died in the line of duty in military or public service. The memorial opened in 2003 and was built with funds from private donations and Gwinnett County government.

• For additional information about the memorial, visit www.gwinnettfallenheroes.com.

Norcross firm seeking to recruit 200 construction workers

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) will help Construction Management Engineering Services (CMES) recruit up to 200 construction workers for its regional plant in Norcross.

The event will be held on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the plant located at 6555 McDonough Drive.

The company is recruiting commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers, dump truck drivers, grading and excavating foremen, heavy construction equipment operators, heavy machine operators, project managers, safety inspectors, superintendents and water and sewer pipe installers for drainage. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

• For more information about the recruitment, please contact the Business Services Unit at swat@gdol.ga.gov.

OFS workers, company approaching May 28 strike deadline

With the May 28 expiration of the contract covering about 300 workers at OFS, a division of Furukawa Electric (formerly Lucent), members of the Communications Workers of America at the plants in Sturbridge, Mass., and Norcross, Ga., voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike if a fair agreement cannot be reached.

As Furukawa Electric’s top performer, OFS’s profits have more than doubled over the last year. In the same time period, OFS made nearly 23 times more than in 2014. OFS is a leading manufacturer of fiber optic cable and products.

Bargaining Committee member Chris Lapierre says: “OFS workers have approached this process determined to constructively bargain on important issues including pay and healthcare costs. Unfortunately, OFS has responded with disappointing proposals, despite its huge profits. It’s time for OFS to go back to the drawing board and come up with an offer that doesn’t diminish the employees who have worked tirelessly to help this company succeed.”

PBS broadcast on May 30 featuring war hero Rocky Gause of Jefferson

Tune in Georgia Public Broadcasting Channel 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Memorial Day, May 30, for Georgia native Damon ‘Rocky’ Gause.”

First Lieutenant Damon Gause was a fighter pilot from Jefferson, stationed in the Philippines in December 1941. After capture by the invading Japanese, he was on the infamous Bataan death march. Later, overcoming his guard, he swam, under fire, three miles to the, yet to fall, island of Corregidor and passed out. Then 24 hours later he awoke to the smiling face of his Jefferson High school classmate, Lieutenant Mildred Dalton.

As Corregidor was falling to the Japanese, Mildred Dalton helped him escape to the mainland where he linked up with US Army Capt., William Lloyd Osborn. Together, in an old and leaky 20 foot long fishing boat, they made their way 3,200 miles to Darwin, Australia where they were each personally decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Mildred spent the three years in a Japanese prison and is herself the subject of a book The Angels of Corregidor. This documentary will be narrated by Emmy award-winning actor Chandler Massey, the grandson of Kayanne and Abit Massey of Gainesville.

City of Suwanee open space bond refinancing saves $3 million

The Suwanee City Council approved the refinancing of the city’s outstanding Open Space bonds, resulting in savings of $3 million over the life of the bond for Suwanee tax payers.

Based on current market conditions and Suwanee’s AAA bond rating, the city was able to forward refund the approximately $12.3 million bond and lock-in at a 1.96 percent rate (formerly 4.3 percent) with JPMorgan Chase. This option provides a fiscal year comparison savings of $3 million, as well as shortening the outstanding debt from 16 to 10 years.

Last fall, the City of Suwanee refinanced 2006 revenue bonds – also with JPMorgan Chase – that were used to help fund construction of Suwanee City Hall, saving the city approximately $180,000.

These new vet-tech graduates of Gwinnett Tech all have jobs

Gwinnett Technical College graduated more than 600 students this May. For the entire 2015-16 academic year, the college will graduate nearly 1,500 students. Among those graduating were this group, all majoring in veterinary technology, and all have jobs as vet techs!  From left are Kimberly Ledford, Gainesville; Nathaly Rodriguez, Lawrenceville; Hayden Thomas, Buford; Elizabeth Almond, Atlanta; Elizabeth Moses, Lawrenceville; and Meghan Zulock, Monroe. The enrollment at Gwinnett Technical College continues to rise as nearly 80 percent of today’s jobs don’t require a four-year degree, but they do require specialized education that a technical college provides.

New Snellville ordinance limits when fireworks may be used

Residents of Snellville can expect fireworks to stop earlier in the evening after a measure was approved by the Mayor and Council Monday. Following complaints statewide about how late residents can use fireworks, new provisions allow local governments to restrict the usage of fireworks.

The legislation prohibits the sale of fireworks to anyone under 18 and prohibits the use of fireworks within the right-of-way of any public roadway. The bill allows fireworks to be used on any day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. only.

On Jan. 1, July 3, July 4, and Dec. 31, fireworks may be used after 9 p.m. until 11:59 p.m., and on Jan. 1 of each year beginning at 12 a.m. and ending at 1 a.m.

Lighthouse

A novel by P.D. James

Starting to read a newly-purchased book, immediately the writing wasn’t interesting to me. The author didn’t keep me alert after a few pages. So I turned to a book I had for years, by the English Mystery Writer P.D. James.  Immediately I was hooked with her ‘Lighthouse.’ There was a definite distinct excellence to her prose. In this book she weaves many clues to a catching story about an offshore (12 miles) private island on the south coast of Cornwell, which few people are allowed to visit, where the accommodations are excellent. (Even a prime minister has visited here.) Here an unusual murder has been found. Scotland Yard sends in Police Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his expert team comb the island for the clues and find the murderer, but not before there are several plot twists. Baroness James of Holland Park has pulled off another in this 2005 thriller.  –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

Oglethorpe Power owned by 39 Georgia EMCs

Oglethorpe Power Corporation is the largest electric power cooperative in the United States, with more than $1 billion in revenues, $7 billion in assets, and 4.1 million customers, as of 2011. It supplies wholesale electric power to 39 of Georgia’s 42 electric membership corporations (EMCs). Its headquarters are in Tucker.

Oglethorpe Power’s mission is to meet the electric requirements of its member EMCs, which are owned by their residential, commercial, and industrial customers. As a not-for-profit corporation, it charges rates sufficient to cover the cost of service and provide a reasonable profit. Oglethorpe Power is governed by a 13-member board of directors, composed of 12 member EMC directors or managers and one director from outside the cooperative.

The roots of the company lie with the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. The REA provided loans for building transmission lines in rural areas, which commercial power companies had found uneconomical to serve. Customers in rural counties formed EMCs to purchase power from commercial and governmental sources.

Thirty-nine Georgia EMCs incorporated Oglethorpe Power Corporation in August 1974 to acquire generating capacity and transmission lines. In the 1970s Oglethorpe Power purchased co-ownership of four plants either under construction or planned by the Georgia Power Company. Since then, Oglethorpe Power has acquired or built plants financed primarily through loans from the REA and its successor agency, the Rural Utilities Service.

In 1997 Oglethorpe Power restructured into three separate, interrelated cooperatives. Oglethorpe Power retained control of power generation, Georgia Transmission Corporation owns and operates the transmission lines and substations, and Georgia System Operations Corporation provides system and administrative support.

Oglethorpe Power is significantly involved with Georgia Power, the state’s largest supplier of electricity. Together they own the Rocky Mountain hydroelectric plant in Floyd County, and along with two other utility companies, they co-own the Hatch and Vogtle nuclear plants in Appling and Burke counties respectively, the Wansley and Scherer coal-fired plants in Heard and Monroe counties respectively, and the statewide Integrated Transmission System.

Changing demographics have affected Oglethorpe Power’s development. Georgia’s rapid population growth has been reflected in the increase of megawatt-hour sales, which rose from 6.75 million in 1979, to 16.06 million in 1989, to about 32 million in 2005. As urban areas have expanded, EMC service areas have become less rural and more suburban. Oglethorpe Power’s two largest EMCs, Jackson County and Cobb County, are particularly good examples of this trend.

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

Red, White, Bluegrass and Bach comes to Suwanee on Friday, May 27, at 7 p.m. at Town Center Park. The Fort Benning Silver Wings will parachute into the Center, weather permitting, to kick off activities.  Bluegrass Band Sideline begins their entertainment t 8:30 p.m. For more information contact Events Manager Amy Doherty at 770-904-3387 or adoherty@suwanee.com.

(NEW) All aquatic facilities of the Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR) open Saturday, May 28. Visitors will find a wide array of amenities for both fun and learning, including private, semi-private, and group swim lessons annually for all ages. For details on admission fees, specific amenities, hours of operation or information on facility rentals, visit www.gwinnettparks.com.

Memorial Day Service in Duluth will be Saturday, May 28 at 10 a.m. on the Duluth Town Green, honoring veterans and Armed Services members.  The  Duluth High ROTC will present colors and the city will recognize veterans and service members.

(NEW) Snellville’s Farmers Market will open Saturday, June 4, operating from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. through September 24. The market is located on the Towne Green in front of City Hall, 2342 Oak Road.   For more information visit www.snellvillefarmersmarket.com

(NEW) Lilburn’s Third Annual Behind the Garden Gate Tour will be Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. It is sponsored by the Lilburn Woman’s Club. Tickets are $20, and may be purchased online or the day of the tour. For more information, visit www.lilburnwomansclub.org.

(NEW) A Bridal Show, an Engaging Affair, will be held Sunday, June 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with more than 30 wedding professionals. The exciting event is $6 in advance and $7 cash per person at the door. The Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is located at 185 Crogan Street. For more information or to pre-register, call 770-822-5450 or visit www.gwinnettparks.com.

This Mystery Photo may prove as tough as last one

The Mystery Photo this time may prove as hard to identify as was last edition’s.  While it has no distinguishing mountains or water or about anything else to place it, perhaps you will recognize the bricks. Send in your thoughts to elliott@gwinnettforum.com and be sure to include your hometown.

Paige Havens of Lawrenceville pitched GwinnettForum readers a mystery photo last week, and everyone struck out.  Not a soul recognized where this photograph was made, though a couple got the right state. It was taken at the Stanley Hotel Sculpture Garden overlooking Rocky Mountain National Forest in Estes Park, Colo.

Lawrenceville DAR member wins first place in national competition

Sara Rawlins, of Lawrenceville, has won first place in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution American Heritage committee contest.  She competed in the Crafts – Cloth Dolls category. Sara’s dolls show the past meeting the future—one doll represents the young DAR member of today, while the seated doll in 1890s fashions represents a founder of DAR. She titled her entry: “Looking Forward by Looking to the Past.” Sara enjoys working with fabrics, shaping and molding as she goes. She thanks Mary Ann Kaahanui and Bonnie B. Lewis for their doll patterns and Barbara Willis for clothing patterns for the dolls.  She won third place in 2013, and second place in 2014 and in 2015 for her entries in Crafts – Cloth Dolls in the American Heritage Contest in the national competition. (Photograph by Frank Marchese.)

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