“Starting the Day” is the title of this artistic work by Nancy Blum who won second place in a recent Kudzu Art Zone competition. The artist catches the mood of the day as the person stretches to adjust her shoe! Over 300 works of art were submitted by artists. The Open Juried Exhibition will be on display through July 22 at Kudzu Art Zone Gallery and Art Center, located at 116 Carlyle Street in Norcross. By the way, and this has nothing to do with this photo, but today is the first full day of summer for 2016.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Older GGC Student Overcomes Obstacles and Returns to College
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Remember Those Water Tank Slogans? Put ‘em To Work Again
SPOTLIGHT: Primerica Inc.
FEEDBACK: On Voting for Someone Other Than the Two Presidential Nominees
UPCOMING: Lawrenceville Gas System Wins Award from National Association
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Tech Gets Support from DEUTZ in Diesel Program
RECOMMENDED: Emma by Alexander McCall Smith
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Lena Horne Spent Part of Her Childhood in Middle Georgia
CALENDAR: Peachtree Corners Had Meeting on Bridge on Thursday
TODAY’S QUOTE: How Prejudices Can Easily Overcome Logic
MYSTERY PHOTO: Two Competing Soft Drink Signs in Today’s Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Looking at Downtown Atlanta West from Jackson Street Bridge
TODAY’S FOCUSOlder GGC student overcomes obstacles and returns to college
By Cody Nichelson | Here’s a story about Max Doster, a 49-year old U.S. Navy veteran and Georgia Gwinnett College student from Lawrenceville, who overcame time and obstacles to return to college.
Max began college at Western Carolina on a track and field scholarship following his high school graduation in 1985.
Things were going well at first, as Max was pursuing his degree in physical education. But during his second year, Max’s mother started experiencing critical problems. He was unable to focus on classwork, his grades started to slip, and he was placed on academic suspension. Max returned home, picked up a decent paying job and started supporting his ill mother and younger brother. He never returned to Western Carolina to college.
A few years later, after getting married and having their first child, Max’s company, Cope’s Vulcan, relocated to London. He, a machine operator, was left without a job, few raw skills and a long unemployment line. Soon after that, Max welcomed his second child, then experienced a divorce and lost his mother. He was devastated, lonely and in a state of despair. He would also soon become homeless.
Doster, in the Navy
Unsure of where to turn, Max joined the Navy. He was in radar and navigational charter aboard the USS Shreveport, a landing dock ship out of Norfolk. He hurt his back during operations, and after completing seven years in the Navy, was medically discharged following two major back operations for herniated discs.
Over the course of the next few years, he continued dealing with those injuries. And during that time, he re-connected with his high school sweetheart, Pamela James. They married in 2006.
In 2013, after making advances in health, Max decided he would return to school, studying political science. His wife was already attending classes at Georgia Gwinnett College, also in political science. His daughter, India, 22, started when he did, studying criminal justice. Max and India anticipate graduating in the fall of 2017, while Pamela, who works full time for the Post Office Service in Marietta, may take longer.
Max says: “Being a non-traditional student, I appreciate that the GGC professors want to stay in contact with us, even after we are in their classes. They will email and ask how I am doing. Knowing someone is actually thinking of you means a lot.”
Doster, today
As a disabled veteran, Max is able to have his education paid for in full. Although he faced many obstacles along the way, Max has not given up on his dreams and determination to seek the best for his family. The State of Georgia sees him as the perfect portrait of part of the economic future, as it’s projected that by 2025, more than 60 percent of jobs will require a post-secondary credential. Today, less than 45 percent of Georgians are prepared to such a level.
That’s why Gov. Nathan Deal, the University System, Technical College System and the Georgia Student Finance Commission established “Go Back. Move Ahead” — a statewide initiative that makes it easier for adults to return to college by offering an easier enrollment process, more ways to transfer earned credits, flexible course schedules and financial aid resources.
In doing so, the state (and its employers) hope more adults will return to school and finish their degrees, filling a critical workforce need.
Persons interested in learning more about Max’s story or “Go Back. Move Ahead,” go to www.GoBackMoveAhead.org, or contact Rosalind Barnes Fowler at Rosalind.Barnes@usg.edu.
EEB PERSPECTIVERemember those water tank slogans? Put ‘em to work again
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Ever happen to you? Ever fail to see something right in front of you?
Or another time, did you ever give something away, and then later regret your action?
That could be happening to Gwinnett County government these days, as it searches for a new slogan that succinctly identifies the diverse community that Gwinnett has become.
It could be a difficult assignment. And no matter what the sloganeers come up with, someone will question it.
Yet at one time, without investing much time or thought into labeling the county with a slogan, Gwinnett unofficially had a slogan that people enjoyed.
Remember those iconic water tanks alongside Interstate 85 in Norcross just after entering Gwinnett northward? The first water tower simply told the world “Gwinnett Is Great.” That’s a simple slogan easily remembered and one closely identified with the way Gwinnett has grown since World War II.
Later on the county added on a second water tower, a phrase the Gwinnett Chamber had been promoting, “Success Lives Here.”
People all around Atlanta were familiar with the slogans as they passed by on Interstate 85. People knew they were in Gwinnett, and that Gwinnett took pride in what was going on in the county, and among its people.
So what happened? Something we often hear about these days, called “unintended consequences.”
Gwinnett’s Water and Sewer Authority found that maintaining the two relatively small water towers was inefficient, and in the Department view, costly. After not much discussion, and little public input, the order came to dismantle the water towers, so that the continuing maintenance of the tower could be eliminated.
Solid decision, so many in the Water Department thought. Good move, so that the county could save some money, and anyway, the towers were small, and didn’t store that much water.
Few questioned the decision.
But soon, people, even out-of-towners, began missing the water towers and their slogans. People from away had not followed the story, and simply asked: “What happened to the water towers? We always knew we were welcomed to Gwinnett when we saw them.”
It was perhaps an informed decision. But essentially, it meant that all of a sudden, Gwinnett was without this towering identity. People, in and out of Gwinnett, missed the water towers and slogans. That long-standing identity was lost, perhaps forever.
Well, not necessarily so. Remember those children’s inflatables you see at many parties?
Just how much would it cost to sew together some heavy fabric in the shape of a water tower, attach an air hose to it, and erect two new fabric water towers with those familiar slogans on them? The power to run the air would be small, certainly cheaper than having to re-paint the metal water towers every few years. And Gwinnett would have its slogans back, welcoming passers-by to our county. There would be no need to compensate some creative people for dreaming up a new slogan. The old ones were in the public domain, after all, all these years!
Who knows? The county might let kids come pay to jump and play in the inflatables, earning some operational monies. And the kids dancing on the inflatables would give the slogans a jerky, attracting motion.
If no inflatables, Gwinnett might at least erect signs at edges of the county, proclaiming: “Gwinnett Is Great … Success Lives Here.” That would be easy.
Those two slogans still look mighty strong. Why look around for new slogans, when you have something distinctive, time-worn, and we feel, even truthful, staring you in the face?
IN THE SPOTLIGHTPrimerica Inc.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income families in North America and is Gwinnett’s fourth largest employer, with 1,700 employees. Primerica representatives educate their Main Street clients about how to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, which it underwrites, and mutual funds, annuities and other financial products, which it distributes primarily on behalf of third parties. In addition, Primerica provides an entrepreneurial full or part-time business opportunity for individuals seeking to earn income by distributing the company’s financial products. It insures more than four million lives and approximately two million clients maintain investment accounts with them. Primerica is a member of the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 2000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI.”
- For more information, visit www.primerica.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
Nothing to worry about for him in this write-in vote
Editor, the Forum:
The Titus letter in your last edition brings to mind my vote (write in) in one of the presidential elections. I, too, did a write in as a protest. I wrote in “Alfred E. Neuman.”
Remember him? “What! Me worry?
— David Earl Tyre, Jesup
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
UPCOMINGLawrenceville gas system wins award from national association
The City of Lawrenceville’s Gas Utilities Department has earned System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) at the silver level from the American Public Gas Association (AGPA).
SOAR is designed to recognize those public gas systems that have achieved excellence in the operation of their natural gas utility. With Silver level honorees earning 90-96 percent of possible points, the program is judged based on four categories: system integrity, system improvement, employee safety, and workforce development.
Chuck Warbington, Lawrenceville City Manager, says: “We are so thrilled that the SOAR program is in place to recognize a hardworking group of individuals who strive daily to ensure that our community and environment are both protected and preserved. By enforcing specific policies and procedures, our gas utilities team works diligently to provide excellent customer service to the community all while providing safe and top level utility services.”
The AGPA will host their annual conference on July 26 in Newport, Rhode Island, where honorees will be presented with a plaque signifying the recognition for excellence in gas utility operations. Lawrenceville’s Gas Department director, Mike Hutchins, will be on-hand to accept the award on behalf of the city.
Snellville’s new garbage collector begins service July 1
Snellville’s new garbage collection company, Advanced Disposal, will start operation July 1. In the meantime, residents will be asked to put their old garbage carts to the curb this week so the city’s former hauler, Waste Pro, can pick up its containers. Letters will be attached to the new carts with more instructions.
Drop off sites used by garbage haulers are no longer accepting recyclables mixed with glass, therefore there is no curbside pick up of glass. Residents may bring glass to the Snellville Recycling Center, located on Marigold Road next to Briscoe Park.
The same volume-based garbage procedures are still in place. Residents are not charged for basic service nor is there a separate line item on tax bills. Any extra garbage must be placed in the blue city bags. Blue city bags which have the current sanitation provider, Waste Pro’s name on it, will continue to be collected at curbside by the new service provider, Latham Sanitation (Advanced Disposal). The existing bags with Waste Pro’s name on the box will continue to be sold at Kroger, Publix, City Hall and Public Works until the inventory is depleted.
NOTABLEGwinnett Tech gets support from DEUTZ in diesel program
DEUTZ Corporation and Gwinnett Technical College are helping students in the College’s Heavy Diesel Service Technician program prepare for their future careers. As part of the new DEUTZ Technical Education Partnership, DEUTZ Corporation has donated seven diesel engines, valued at over $70,000, to the program, giving students hands-on experience with modern technology.
Robert Mann, DEUTZ Corporation president and CEO, says: “Our industry is suffering from a lack of well-trained technicians. Off-highway diesel engine emission regulations have become increasingly stringent, necessitating the use of electrical controls and exhaust after treatment systems. As a result, diesel engine technicians need additional in-depth training.”
Those attending the Gwinnett Technical College recipient of diesel engines include Mike Price, General Manager, Gwinnett Tech Foundation chair; Robert Mann, president and CEO, DEUTZ Corporation; Dr. D. Glenn Cannon, president of Gwinnett Tech; Matthew Holtkamp, Holtkamp Heating and Air and member of the Gwinnett Tech Foundation Board of Trustees; and Ms. Gail Edwards, dean of Automotive and Trades.
Gwinnett Tech’s Heavy Diesel Service Technician Program educates students on both theory and diagnosis of the basic diesel engine systems found in heavy equipment, safety and fuel systems.
Dr. D. Glen Cannon, president of Gwinnett Technical College, responds: “The Heavy Diesel Service Technician Program is at the core of our Automotive Service Technology and Automotive Technology programs. This particular program attracts students who want to pursue careers in the diesel repair industry to Gwinnett Tech, and with our in-depth instruction and new equipment, we expect its popularity to grow. It is such a crucial program to our school, and it is an honor to partner with DEUTZ Corporation, a training and equipment leader in the diesel engine industry.”
By donating engines and training, Norcross-based DEUTZ Corporation hopes to help increase the number of trained diesel technicians available within the heavy equipment industry. Students beginning the Heavy Diesel Service Technician program in August 2016 will have a full academic year to complete and obtain their certificates from Gwinnett Technical College. The program’s length allows students to submerge themselves in their training and develop extensive knowledge. Approximately 40 students will be under the tutelage of Johnny Stalling, a Gwinnett Tech instructor with an extensive diesel engine background. To further assist program students, Stalling will periodically return to DEUTZ Corporation for additional training. DEUTZ Corporation wants this partnership to be a lasting one, and keeping the program’s instructor supplied with the latest information will certainly help.
DEUTZ Corporation plans to monitor the progress of a few students in the program to see how the new equipment and training have prepared them for their careers. Should the DEUTZ Technical Education Program with Gwinnett Tech prove successful, DEUTZ will roll the program out to other technical schools across the country.
Census Bureau offers free webinars concerning new data
The U.S. Census Bureau will conduct a series of free data access webinars to interested data users. Attendees will learn how to access demographic, socioeconomic, housing and business data from the decennial census, American Community Survey, Local Employment Dynamics, economic programs and more.
The free seminar will run through August 31. To learn about and register for the webinars, visit census.gov
July Webinars include:
- Creating Custom Tables and Colorful Maps Using American FactFinder – Wisconsin;
- Creating Custom Tables and Colorful Maps Using American FactFinder;
- Talking Numbers in Indian Country: Weaving Census Data in Grants, Community Assessments and Strategic Planning-A 3-PART SERIES;
- Exploring American Indian and Alaska Native Data (IA, MI, MN, WI);
- Increasing your Competitive Advantage- New Tools to Access Regional Economic Development Data;
- San Francisco Bay Area Income and Poverty Related Statistics; and
- Movement and Change: Accessing data on Foreign Born Populations in the United States.
This webinar series will offer a variety of thematic sessions using data tools such as American FactFinder, QuickFacts, DataFerrett, Census Explorer, Local Employment Dynamics, Business Dynamics Statistics, Voting Hot Reports, etc. All sessions are conducted by a representative from the Census Bureau and will last between 30 minutes to two hours. Those not familiar with the American FactFinder tool, should attend an introduction to American FactFinder or the Quick Data Reports webinar prior to participating in other sessions.
RECOMMENDEDEmma
By Alexander McCall Smith
This prolific Scots author is most creative, as seen by his many books on a variety of subjects. He’s our favorite author, as we enjoy his deep inventive understanding of many fronts, giving us pleasure to read. However, in this effort, he seeks to retell a familiar Jane Austen story in a modern setting….and well, he is cramped by the original story. He can’t let his creative juices run wild as he does in his other writings. We far more enjoy his Botswana series about “traditionally-built” women; or his 44 Scotland Street stories about the 6-year-old genius Bertie, or even his bumbling German professors who specialize in Portuguese irregular verbs. However, if you want a book which is easy to read and puts Austen in a modern English setting, you might enjoy this latest McCall Smith book. And remember, he turns out three to four books a year, so watch out for the next!—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 TIDBITLena Horne spent part of her childhood in middle Georgia
Perhaps best known for her sultry rendition of the song Stormy Weather, which she performed in the 1943 film by the same name, singer Lena Horne spent part of her childhood in Fort Valley and Atlanta. A recipient of several honors commemorating her contributions to the performing arts, including a Kennedy Center Honor in 1984 and induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1991, Horne also spent much of her life advocating for civil rights
Horne
Lena Calhoun Horne was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 30, 1917. Her parents separated when she was a child, and she lived with her paternal grandparents and uncle. Horne’s grandmother Cora Calhoun Horne was well known in her community as an active supporter of many civil rights causes and took Horne with her to meetings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Urban League, and Suffragette organizations.
When Horne was about six years old, she joined her mother, a singer and dancer in various drama troupes, on tour. Over the next six years, they moved often, and while her mother performed or looked for work, Horne stayed with family friends, relatives, or residents of the houses in which she and her mother boarded. In her autobiography, Lena (1965), Horne recounts the time she spent with two Macon women who taught her about traditional southern cooking and told her Bible stories. Horne also joined a youth choir, which performed at the city hall, during her time in Macon.
From 1927 to 1929 Horne lived in Fort Valley with her uncle, Frank Horne, a teacher and dean of students at Fort Valley High and Industrial School (later Fort Valley State University), who later served as director of the Office of Race Relations during the administration of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt. She attended school and was reunited with her father during his two-month stay in the town.
From Fort Valley, Horne moved to Atlanta, into a house that her mother had bought there. The two did not stay in Atlanta long, however, and moved back to New York when Horne was 12 years old. In 1933, at age 16, Horne began her career in show business as a dancer at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club. A few years later she began singing with touring dance bands, making her recording debut with Noble Sissle’s band in 1936. She toured with Charlie Barnet’s band from 1940 to 1941 and, in doing so, was the first African American to tour with an all-white band.
In 1937 Horne married Louis Jones, with whom she had two children, Gail and Edwin, before the couple divorced in 1944. Edwin died from kidney complications in 1970, just one year before the death of Horne’s second husband, arranger and composer Lennie Hayton, whom she married in 1947.
(To be continued)
- For more, visit the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Two competing soft drink signs in today’s Mystery Photo
Here’s a clue for this edition’s Mystery Photo: it’s located in Georgia, but you tell us where. Also note the juxtaposition of this store having a Coca-Cola sign against the building, with another beverage sign, of Royal Crown Cola, also sticking out from the wall. Send in your thoughts to elliott@gwinnettforum.com and be sure to include your hometown.
Granted, the Mystery Photo in the last edition had few revealing clues, and it was a difficult view that no one identified. Howard Williams of Snellville came closest, saying that it was on the eastern Intracoastal Waterway….but got the location wrong. It was taken from Bowen’s Island, S.C., looking across a tidal creek toward Folly Beach, and came from photojournalist Bill Hawker of Sydney, Australia, who recently graduated from a communications course at the University of Texas in Austin.
Atlanta skyline looking west from the Jackson Street Bridge
Roving Photographer Frank Sharp went with his camera club for a shoot of the Atlanta skyline near dusk from the Jackson Street Bridge over Freedom parkway over the weekend. This is looking west from the bridge. Frank used a Canon 60D camera with a EF 24-105 L lens.
CALENDARGroundbreaking Ceremony of the new EpiCenter in Sugar Hill, Wednesday, June 22 at 11 a.m. The Center is located at 5009 West Street in Sugar Hill. The event is hosted by the mayor and city council of Sugar Hill and also by its Downtown Development Authority.
(NEW) Peachtree Corners Community Meeting to discuss a pedestrian bridge across Georgia Highway 131, Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the City Hall office at 147 Technology Parkway. Residents will be presented with bridge options, then are invited to review designs, ask questions and talk with officials concerning the bridge.
Photography Exhibit on India and the Taj Mahal is open through July 27 at the Collins Hill Library, 455 Camp Perrin Road in Lawrenceville. The work is by GwinnettForum Roving Photographer Frank Sharp. The library standard hours are now Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.
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
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