THIS HANDSOME five-story building is relatively new to the area. It is the North Georgia Medical Center, in Braselton, an arm of the hospital system in Gainesville. This 100 bed hospital has been operating for about 15 months now. Learn more about this facility that is located near where four counties, Gwinnett, Jackson, Barrow and Hall, come together. See Elliott Brack’s perspective below.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Judges Start Summer Mentoring Program Focusing on Legal System
EEB PERSPECTIVE: New Braselton Hospital Runs Well Ahead of Projections
SPOTLIGHT: Heaven and Associates, P.C.
FEEDBACK: Appreciates Letter; Middle East To Have Many More Problems
UPCOMING: Amazon Opens New Fulfillment Center in Braselton with 500 Jobs
NOTABLE: Norcross Promotes Bill Grogan To Become Its New Police Chief
RECOMMENDED: Lions by Bonnie Nadzam
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Singer-Actress Lena Horne Carefully Picked Her Movie Roles
TODAY’S QUOTE: Check Out a Person On How He Receives Praise
MYSTERY PHOTO: Glass Ceiling, Various Flags May Give Clue To This Mystery
LAGNIAPPE: Suwanee Police win agency of the year
CALENDAR: Latest events on tap
TODAY’S FOCUSJudges start summer mentoring program focusing on legal system
By Phil Boudewyns, Court Administrator, Gwinnett County
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Recently, high school students from Central Gwinnett and South Gwinnett High schools met with local judges as part of a mentoring program focused on the legal system.
A panel of Recorders Court judges, a Magistrate Court judge, a State Court judge, and a Superior Court judge, all from the Gwinnett Circuit, spent over an hour discussing their legal careers and the law with students eager to learn about the legal profession. The students were given the opportunity to ask questions and peppered the judges with queries about their legal backgrounds and various legal issues.
Students in the S.M.I.L.E. program include Marquise “Jay” Bird, Christine Kim, Conner Densmore, State Senator P.K. Martin (a speaker), Amy Podgurski, Deborah Esowhode, D’Nice Norton, Deveon Latimore, Lois Tiwaa, NeKayla Goldsby, Cassandra Onuhoa, and State Court Judge Joe Iannazzone, one of the founders.
The S.M.I.L.E. (Summer Mentoring in Legal Education) Gwinnett program was initiated by Judge Pam South and Judge Joe Iannazzone from the State Court this spring with the assistance of teacher Rebecca Streetman, program specialist for Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security at South Gwinnett High School; and attorney Dana Pagan, a former teacher at Central Gwinnett High School and now a Gwinnett County Assistant Solicitor. Students applied for the program and were selected in April. The program encompasses six themed presentations and a graduation ceremony, all in the months of June and July.
The program is hosted at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, the county’s courthouse in Lawrenceville, where students have attended sessions in courtrooms. The program began June 3, when the students had a “Lunch with Lawyers” sponsored by the Gwinnett Bar Association. On June 10, the students also attended a program on constitutional law and a presentation on the legislative process by State Senator P.K. Martin, who also spent time telling the students about the Georgia Legislature’s Page Program. The teenagers have become familiar with the courthouse, touring areas including the holding cells and the law library.
Students are looking forward to a tour of the county jail and additional programs on the new “accountability courts” programs and social media issues for teens. The program will end with a reception for students and parents, where students will make presentations regarding their summer experiences in the legal field.
Judge Stacey Hydrick of DeKalb County State Court began a summer mentoring program for high schoolers several years ago in Decatur. Judges South and Iannazzone embraced the idea for Gwinnett county high school students. The program is offered at no cost to the students and is staffed by volunteers. Program leaders are hopeful for a successful first year, with plans to expand the program in the future.
EEB PERSPECTIVENew Braselton hospital runs well ahead of projections
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
JUNE 24, 2016 | Braselton area’s sparkling $200 million hospital has been in business for 15 months now, and is running well ahead of anticipated projections, thanks to the acceptance of the people of the four-county community.
It serves Hall, Jackson, Gwinnett and Barrow County areas. It is an entirely new hospital, an offshoot of Gainesville’s Northeast Georgia Medical Center. While the new facility has found a faster-than-anticipated growth, meanwhile the parent Gainesville hospital has not seen a drop in its patient loads.
One reason for the ready acceptance of the new medical facility is because of the way the Health System went about providing medical services for the area. The Gainesville planners began years ago setting up several Urgent Care facilities, anticipating the eventual construction of a hospital in Braselton. These centers came to Braselton, Buford, Hamilton Mill, Dacula, Auburn, Jefferson, West Jackson County, Chestnut Mountain, Oakwood and Flowery Branch. They were open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, accepted most insurance plans, and had 500 physicians and specialists to work with patients.
Dining area at Braselton hospital
So, when the Braselton hospital opened, the Urgent Care patients were familiar with their doctors, and had a new hospital nearby if needed for more serious ailments.
The Braselton hospital sits on 119 acres west of Interstate 85, off Georgia Highway 211. It has 100 licensed beds, with the capacity to grow to 400 beds. That’s because the original three story building recently had two more floors added, which are not in use yet, but will eventually be occupied. Also: the foundation is strong enough to support eventually an 11 story building.
It’s modern in every way, a LEED-certified “green” building, and is heated and cooled by 156 geothermal wells with a closed loop system. Its wells are bored to 500 feet, the geothermal system will be paid for in six years, and will eventually save A/C costs of $14 million over 30 years. The hospital has no fossil fuel components.
Williamson
President of the facility is Anthony Williamson, a veteran hospital official, who has been with the Gainesville system since 2005. He’s a native of Peru, Indiana, grew up in the Upper Peninsular of Michigan, but is a graduate of Florida State, with a master’s in health science from the University of Florida.
Williamson, who lives in Hoschton with his wife and 15 year old daughter, loves working in a “peaceful, calming environmentally conscious arena.”
He says: “We have had high growth. Our Emergency Room has been extremely busy, 20 percent ahead of projections. During our second year, we anticipate treating an average of 3,200 patients a month in the Emergency Department and 375 patients a month in Surgery and Procedures – slightly more than anticipated. We’re ahead of budget in the financial area, and are of course, here for the long term.” The hospital discharges about 400 patients a month.
He says: “We’ve had a great response from the community. In addition, we’ve had primary care offices in the area for a number of years, before we had the hospital, got enough physicians coming to the market to help with our overall success.”
Williamson adds: “It’s interesting that our Urgent Care offices in the area have not slowed down since we opened the hospital. By opening these offices first, the community became familiar with the physicians for smaller medical matters, and come here now for major items.”
The new Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton: it’s a well-thought out addition for Gwinnettians and people of this northeast area.
IN THE SPOTLIGHTHeaven and Associates, P.C.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Heaven & Associates, P.C., is a certified public accounting firm. They provide solutions for success. They are located at 4720 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Suite 201, Norcross, Georgia. They work with clients to minimize their tax obligations, address the financial and accounting needs of their businesses and address the broader accounting needs of estate planning, business succession planning, and benefit and retirement planning. They can be reached at 770-849-0078.
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Appreciates letter; Middle East to have many more problems
Editor, the Forum:
I much enjoyed the letter and thoughts of Joe Briggs in Friday’s publication. He sounds like someone I would like to sit down with for a discussion. I would surely like to steal the first three paragraphs of Mr. Briggs letter.
People have taken umbrage at my thoughts of the Middle East’s problems over the last 120 years. This has been being caused by the United States and its fellow gang of land and resource opportunists, dividing lands to their advantage, and trying to control the rule of countries they arbitrarily fashioned in the sand.
With the Middle East destabilized, there is sure to be larger problems to come from there. My recent readings find that Syria has re-started missile production for export to Hezbollah. They also have improved missiles from Iran, with a range of 180 miles. Surely this is leading up to another attack against Israel.
The problem will be to contain regional conflicts without disturbing one world economy.
Well I surely did not mean to ramble on so long, but heck just started putting down some related thoughts starting from Mr. Briggs excellent letter of Newton’s law, and here I am.
— Tom Payne, Gray, Ga.
- 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
Amazon opens new fulfillment center in Braselton with 500 jobs
Amazon.com this week announced plans for a new fulfillment center in Braselton. When opened, Amazon will create more than 500 new full-time jobs at the facility. The company currently has more than 1,500 full-time employees at its existing facilities in the state.
Akash Chauhan, vice president of Amazon’s North America Operations, says: “We will add a new fulfillment center to better serve our customers in the region. This facility will create hundreds of new jobs with competitive pay and great benefits starting on day one. We look forward to growing in the Peach State.”
Amazon employees at the new 600,000 square-foot fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship large items for customers like household décor items, sporting equipment and gardening tools. The building is located on Georgia Highway 124, a speculative building, adjacent to the Haverty’s distribution center.
Full-time employees at Amazon receive competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, 401(k) and company stock awards starting on day one, as well as generous maternity and parental leave benefits.
Amazon also offers employees innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will pre-pay 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch, employees are pursuing degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.
- To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, interested candidates can visit www.amazondelivers.jobs.
Aurora Theatre production of In the Heights to open July 21
Aurora Theatre announces that the Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning In the Heights, will be staged July 21- August 28, in the 2016-17 Peach State Federal Credit Union Signature Series. This universal tale, a co-production with Theatrical Outfit, delivers a poignant message on the power of family and the strength of community in the face of adversity.
Atlanta audiences are invited to sway along to the salsa rhythms and rich melodies of New York’s vibrant Washington Heights community, a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the pulse of three generations of music through the Manhattan streets. It is written by Hamilton creator and pop culture icon Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Ann-Carol Pence, Aurora co-founder and associate producer, says: “With everything going on in our world today, this story is an empowering display of a community rallying together to make positive change in the lives of one another. After partnering with Theatrical Outfit for last season’s smash-hit Memphis, we knew we wanted to produce In the Heights as a co-production; a powerhouse musical of this capacity is destined to leave a beautiful, lasting impression on audiences with two of the region’s leading theaters in collaboration.”
The production will be led by Aurora’s Associate Artistic Director Justin Anderson. In the Heights follows the story of a tight-knit Latino community on the brink of change.
Tickets may be purchased starting July 1 for $30-$65 online at tickets.auroratheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 678-226-6222. Season and group tickets are on sale now. For more information on this production or the 2016-17 Signature Series, visit auroratheatre.com. Regular show times are as follows: Tuesday – Friday: 8 p.m.; Saturday: 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday: 2:30 p.m.
- Aurora’s co-production of In the Heights will continue September 8-18 at The Rialto Center for the Arts with tickets available from Theatrical Outfit online at bit.ly/rialtoheights or by calling 678-528-1500.
Duluth residents can look forward to fabulous July 3 celebration
Another fabulous night of holiday activity will take place in Duluth on July 3, as it celebrates America. Music will inspire, patriotism will be celebrated and the United States will be marking another birthday. The smooth tunes of the 116th U.S, Army Band and the Band of Gold take over the stage in Duluth’s award winning patriotic celebration, while fireworks will conclude the night’s activities. All this will be at the Duluth Festival Center, with the City Hall lawn filled with revelers.
Thousands are expected to flood downtown Duluth for the annual event to take place on Sunday, July 3 from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. Food trucks, children’s activities, giveaways and more will be a part of the event. A gigantic firework display with City Hall as the back drop will wrap up the night.
VIP tables are available for purchase. This is an open zone event, so bring, your friends and family and celebrate America with Duluth! To purchase a table, visit: www.duluthga.net/events.
NOTABLENorcross promotes Grogan to become its new police chief
Interim Police Chief Bill Grogan has been named the new police chief for the City Of Norcross. He had been serving as interim chief since February, 2016, upon the resignation of Warren Summers.
Grogan
The appointment came from City Manager Rudolph Smith, who says: “The safety and well-being of our citizens is of upmost importance and with that in mind, Chief Grogan was a solid choice for our community. He has proven leadership skills with his 10 year history at the Norcross Police Department.”
Prior to being appointed interim chief of police, Grogan served as captain of support services for the Norcross Police Department.
Born and raised in Norcross, Grogan is a Navy veteran and received his undergraduate degree in business from Georgia State University. Grogan briefly relocated to Colorado where he began his law enforcement career. Upon moving back to his hometown 10 years ago, Grogan was hired by the Norcross Police Department where he has served in numerous capacities.
Grogan says: “The Norcross Police Department prides itself on working closely with the community to identify concerns and implement solutions. We are here for the citizens of Norcross. As the eyes and ears of the community—our relationship with local citizens is vital to the success and safety of the City of Norcross.”
Rotary grant helps libraries to expand instructional program
Gwinnett County Public Library will soon expand instructional demo programs at two branches thanks to a $650 grant from the Rotary Club of Gwinnett.
The grant helped the library purchase two Acer Chromebooks that will be used at library branches for instruction and outreach purposes. Programs expanded with the purchase include job and career research demos, Google App tutorials, kids coding, 3D printing and more.
Grayson Branch Manager Ron Gauthier looks forward to offering expanded resources. “This contribution will help broaden instructional demo programs at the Grayson Branch Library and will enable us to continue training the community to use evolving, modern technology,” says Gauthier. “We will empower our users to employ innovative, creative techniques to fulfill their recreational, career, and educational needs.”
- For more information about Gwinnett County Public Library programs, resources, and services, visit gwinnettpl.org or call the Library Help Line at 770-978-5154.
Lions
A book by Bonnie Nadzam
Lions is a story about a living ghost town on the prairie of eastern Colorado. Insight into the history of the American plains is written poetically with each character chiseled by personal and community ghosts. The story weaves a mosaic of the myths and desperation of individuals coping with their dreams, their reality, and their ghosts. This book should be read quietly or better, read aloud around a campfire under a full moon.
— Reviewed by Alan Schneiberg, Sugar Hill
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 TIDBITSinger-actress Lena Horne carefully picked her movie roles
(Continued from previous edition)
In 1939 Lena Horne made her first Broadway appearance, in the musical Blackbirds, and received acclaim in 1957 for her performance in the Broadway show Jamaica. Her stage career continued into her 60s with the autobiographical show Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which debuted on Broadway in 1981 before touring the country. That show garnered many awards, including the Drama Desk award, a citation from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, a special Tony Award, and two Grammy Awards (for the show’s soundtrack).
Horne
In 1942 Horne became the first black performer to be awarded a contract with a major film studio when she signed with MGM. She appeared in several musicals for the studio, including Cabin in the Sky (1943), Stormy Weather (1943), Broadway Rhythm (1944), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Duchess of Idaho (1950), and The Wiz (1978). Most of her roles were not integral to the films’ story lines and were filmed in such a way that the segments featuring Horne could easily be edited out. This was a common practice at Hollywood studios and was done so that the edited versions could be shown to southern moviegoers, who often would not watch movies featuring black actors, especially if their roles were not as servants or other subordinates.
For her part, Horne refused to play such roles traditionally given to black women as maids or nannies; in 1946 she dropped out of a stage musical co-written by Johnny Mercer when the NAACP boycotted the production for its negative stereotypes of African Americans. She also appeared in television specials and as a guest on variety shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Perry Como Show. Horne’s film career was put on hold in the early 1950s, when she and many other politically active performers suspected to be Communists were blacklisted as a result of the McCarthy hearings in the U.S. Congress. Though she was unable to appear in movies and on television, she sang in nightclubs and cabarets. In the mid-1950s, when the blacklist lifted, Horne returned to Hollywood.
Horne continued to remain active in the NAACP and to participate in civil rights events, often singing at rallies, including one sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta in 1963. That same year she participated in the March on Washington, during which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream Speech,” and spoke at a rally with civil rights leader Medgar Evers, just days before he was assassinated.
Horne spent her later years in New York City, where she died on May 9, 2010, at the age of 92.
- To see more of the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Glass ceiling, various flags may give clue to this mystery
Today’s Mystery Photo may be difficult for the fact that people don’t always look up to see what the ceilings look like. Check out this glass ceiling, which is apparently surrounded by flags, and see if you can determine where it is. Send in your thoughts to elliott@gwinnettforum.com and be sure to include your hometown.
Though we thought the last Mystery Photo perhaps difficult, a few readers quickly honed in to identify it. First in was Lynn Naylor of Atlanta, who identified the C.F. Hays and Son General Store is located in Musella, Ga. (Crawford County).
Others getting the correct identification include Ruthy Lachman Paul of Norcross; Jim Savadelis, Duluth; and Neal Davies of Decatur, who wrote: “As far as the competing companies’ signs is concerned, I don’t think that was all that unusual at the time these signs were put up. I think I’ve also seen Merita Bread and a competing brand at the same store.”
Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill wrote: “This is what photographer Brian Brown says in his blog, ‘Vanishing South Georgia’: ‘C. F. Hayes and Son has been in business since 1900 and the grandson of the original owner is still operating it today. He has a real passion for the family business and its place in the history of the peach- packing town of Musella . . . . Mr. Hays, who has another job besides this one, painstakingly stocks the store with staples and various sundries and country store memorabilia authentic to the store’s history.”
George Graf, Palmyra, Va., wrote that the “Robert Lee Dickey started the general store at Musella in 1900, and sold it to Cary F. Hays Jr. (1913-2007) in 1934. The store, with 110 years of continuous operation, is the oldest store of its kind in Georgia, and possibly the nation. The father of Cary F. Hays Jr., Cary F. Hays Sr. (1882-1966), also was involved in the general mercantile business. He opened a general store in downtown Byron in 1913 and operated the business for over 50 years.”
LAGNIAPPESuwanee police win state agency of year award
The Georgia Chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy Associates presented the Suwanee Police Department with the Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award at the organization’s annual summer conference last week. Suwanee’s Police Department has been recognized by the Georgia chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy Associates as the agency of the year. Gathered around Suwanee Police Chief Mike Jones (center on front row) are Terry Sosebee of Gwinnett Fire Department; Capt. Grady Sanford of the Georgia State Patrol; J.T. Ricketson, GBI; and Jimmy Stevens, retired, of the Savannah-Chatham Police. On the back row are Keith Zgonc, Sandy Springs; Cass Mooney of Suwanee; and Ron Freeman, sheriff-elect, of Forsyth County.
CALENDAR
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.
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