9/20: PCOM fund; Communicating with a dog; Fair photos; more

WINE FEST NO. 4 is coming again to Suwanee Town Center. The afternoon featuring wines will be November 4. For more information, see Upcoming below.

The next edition of GwinnettForum will be Tuesday, September 27. There will be no Friday edition this week. —eeb

TODAY’S FOCUS: PCOM Unveils Plans for Primary Care Innovation Fund for Healthcare

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s the Story of a Dog Communicating with Its Master

SPOTLIGHT: Infinite Energy Center

ANOTHER VIEW, Leaphart: Americans are tough, won’t let bombing unnerve us

UPCOMING: Aurora Theatre To Present Southeastern Premiere of Women in Jeopardy

NOTABLE: Here’s List of Sites If You Want To Vote Early in General Election

RECOMMENDATION:  Gwinnett County Fair

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Georgia’s Gold Covered Capitol Dome Has Had Its Problems

TODAY’S QUOTE: When A Person Throws Stones at Birds

MYSTERY PHOTO: Here’s a Statue That Might Make Your Head Think a Bit

CALENDAR: Suwanee’s PCOM Plans Open House for Prospective Students for October 7

PCOM unveils plans for Primary Care Innovation Fund for healthcare

By Barbara Myers, Suwanee, Ga.  |  Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has committed through its Foundation the allocation of $5 million to a new venture capital fund designed to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in the healthcare field, with a specific focus on primary care. Investments from across the country are being considered, with a focus on the Philadelphia and Atlanta metro areas, as PCOM’s branch campus (GA-PCOM) is located in Suwanee.

As part of a campus-wide Town Hall Meeting on September 14, both Jay S. Feldstein, DO ’81, president and CEO of PCOM, and Dean Miller, who will serve as Fund Manager, discussed how the fund will work to connect the College with innovations in healthcare.

Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), represents Georgia on the fund’s advisory board and says: “I am excited that PCOM will focus on investments to improve healthcare in Georgia and across the country. There are many opportunities for collaboration with healthcare institutions in the state.” The GRA is a not-for-profit organization that grows Georgia’s economy by expanding university research capacity and by seeding and shaping startup companies around inventions and discoveries.

The Primary Care Innovation Fund is the first such endeavor in the College’s 117-year history and will invest in companies with established products and services that are healthcare-related and focused on primary care. PCOM is the first osteopathic medical school to establish such a fund.

The establishment of the fund underscores the College’s mission of advancing knowledge and intellectual growth broadly, and its commitment to the well-being of the community through leadership and service, according to Dr. Feldstein. He says: “The osteopathic philosophy focuses on prevention and maintaining wellness, and seeing the patient as a whole person—not just their symptoms. Through the Primary Care Innovation Fund, PCOM can extend that philosophy by investing in innovative opportunities nationally to improve and maintain patients’ quality of life.”

Feldstein adds that he is hopeful the more than 13,000 osteopathic physicians and other healthcare professionals whom PCOM has educated could benefit from these innovations by addressing the quality, access and affordability of healthcare for their patients.

Miller says: “The primary care clinician is the point person for chronic conditions that patients face. To that end, it is a natural fit for PCOM to lead the way in promoting innovation within primary care by investing in companies that can address and prevent those conditions.”

Miller is a private equity and venture capital investor with strong regional and national ties to the healthcare and technology sectors. Miller also serves as president and CEO of the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies and as a partner at Evergreen Industries LLC.

The fund will also provide many benefits for the College’s students, faculty, staff and alumni by opening doors financially to those who have a product or service appropriate for funding, and connecting those individuals to learning and networking opportunities within the investment community. The fund will focus on producing financial returns and as a result, offers the College a potential revenue stream that is not tuition-based.

An advisory board comprised of physicians and business operators from Philadelphia and Atlanta will assist Miller in determining the feasibility and market demand for each potential investment. PCOM’s Executive Committee will serve as the Fund’s Board of Managers and, along with Miller, will make the final determinations on investments.

• The fund is currently seeking investment opportunities. For more information, visit www.pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500.

Here’s the story of a dog communicating with its master

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher  |  Communicating.

It’s one of mankind’s more difficult tasks.

Whether it’s one individual to another, one person to a wider audience, or even nation to nation, pitfalls crop up everywhere and often.

Today, Americans are mesmerized by two people trying to communicate, and persuade us, that their approach is the best one for our nation in the next few years. Both are having problems getting that communication to show us.

Communicating takes on different forms, not just person to person. The entire advertising business seeks to make big waves of people buy products.  Sometimes that message hits the target (such as the Chick-fil-A cows), and sometimes that message is a big bust, such as Ford years ago trying to get people to buy the Edsel automobile.  You can think of other successes and failures.

How about communicating with animals? Some are super-successful: think of the horse whisperer. Communicating with animals has been part of our history as humans, getting horses to go through paces using signals by the rider’s body movement and commands. Or simply a farmer trying to get a cow to stand still while being milked.

Ever think of the animals, in this case dogs, trying to communicate to us, humans? Here I’m talking about our own Hercules, the 20 pounder.  Many ask: “What breed is he?” and we answer: “Best we can figure the back half is a Jack Russell.”  He’s simply a mutt we latched on to about 12 years ago from the White County Animal Shelter.

He came somewhat trained   He would respond to “Sit,” and was housebroken. He usually eventually returns when he is out in the yard when we call him or whistle.

We’ll admit to some problems with Herk when we look him in the eye and say “Come.”

He usually stares at us, then stands still or sits down.  Oh well, communicating isn’t always easy.

But have you ever heard of a dog communicating directly with his master?

We think we see that in Hercules lately. It’s a little amazing. We didn’t try to teach it, either.

Here’s the scene. We let him go out in the yard. Sometimes he wants to sniff around a little while, and we go inside.

Lately, especially near 10 o’clock at night, he’ll stay about five minutes, then return to the door he’s let out of and bark a time or two.  He seems to be saying, “Let me in,” and we get up and do. That’s amazing in itself, to us.

Now comes a new development. One of us lets Hercules outside. On several occasions, I have been in our basement reading. My wife is busy upstairs, directly above me. This is on the opposite end of the house where we let Herk out.

Suddenly there’s an unexpected bark outside the basement, from Hercules.  It appears Herk is saying: “Hey, here I am, at the basement door. Let me in.”

You see why I say he’s communicating with me.  It’s something new, only taking place in the last few months.  Yes, I know, it’s hard to believe. But he wants to come in, and we can’t hear him barking at the other side of the house, so he goes to where we are, and signals to us.

Is that communicating or not?

(Editor’s note: Do your animals communicate with you?  Briefly, tell us how. –eeb)

• Have a comment?  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Infinite Energy Center

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is Infinite Energy Center, home to four distinct facilities in Duluth: Infinite Energy Arena, Infinite Energy Theater, Infinite Energy Forum, and The Hudgens Center for the Arts. Infinite Energy Arena has had 13 years of tremendous success hosting countless concerts, family shows and sporting events, and is home to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators and the NLL’s Georgia Swarm.

Some past concerts include George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, James Taylor and Michael Bublé. Infinite Energy Arena also hosts many family shows including Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, Cirque du Soleil, Disney On Ice and Harlem Globetrotters.  Infinite Energy Forum offers patrons the opportunity to host or attend a wide variety of events, from corporate meetings to trade shows to social occasions.  Infinite Energy Theater has an intimate capacity of 708-seats and is home to many local events, family shows and even some comedians. The Hudgens Center for the Arts showcases a range of artwork throughout the year along with offering a wide range of fine art classes.

• For further information visit www.InfiniteEnergyCenter.com.

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

Americans are tough, won’t let bombing unnerve us

By Alvin Leaphart, Jesup, Ga.  |  The American Indian Wars, or Indian Wars, were the multiple armed conflicts between European governments and colonists, and later American settlers or the United States government, and the native peoples of North America. These conflicts occurred across the North American continent from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924.

Leaphart

Since 1775 the United States has fought in over 100 wars all over the world including the United States and the Caribbean. Of these, 49 wars have been fought in the continental United States in the East and the West, with four of them being fought in the 20th century, the last in 1924, an Indian uprising in Utah.

In writing this, none of the violence that took place in the settlement of this nation from outlaw bands have been taken into consideration, nor has the violence of the prohibition era and the wars among the crime families of this country, nor the violence that took place during the civil rights movement in the latter part of the 20th century.

When you look at our history and couple that with the continued violence which has taken place in the Mid East for the past 2,500 years, today’s events in the world and the several acts of violence that have taken place in our country, the most recent being the explosion last Saturday in New York, should not be that unnerving.

Most of the violence that took place in the United States went relatively unnoticed by the general population up though the 1940s, mostly due to the fact that there was no television, and the media did not try to hype the events.

Americans are tough people and are not going to let these cowardly acts of violence unnerve us. We will do what we have always done, meet them head on.

Traditional newspapers have long had varied uses

Editor, the Forum:

I too lament the disappearance of the traditional newspaper. I enjoy reading a real paper while eating breakfast. I like to do the Sudoku and crossword puzzle as well. It’s just not as much fun on a digital device.

Additionally, the paper has far more uses than just delivering the news, sports, and weather. They don’t call it a fish wrapper for nothing. I paper-trained my dog with this versatile gazette.

When I was a kid putting model cars and planes together it served as a table liner.

Who hasn’t made the ubiquitous newspaper hat; there being two styles. Style one I call the Robinhood, since it looks like a cone with a rolled up rim around it, like Errol Flynn wore in the movie, or style two the Seaman, which looks like Popeye’s hat. The later was particular popular with the pressman at the paper.

I’m sure there are probably a thousand more uses for this mashified tree  pulp, but how will I start my fire without rolled up newspaper?

— Jim Savadelis, Duluth

Send us your thoughts:  We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum.  Please limit comments to 300 words.  We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length.  Send feedback and letters to:    elliott@brack.net

Aurora Theatre to present Southeastern premiere of Women in Jeopardy

Fun, flirtatious and filled with adventure, Women in Jeopardy! invites Atlanta audiences to play detective during its run at Aurora Theatre here, September 29 through October 23.

Imaginations run wild in the Southeastern premiere of this lively tale of two divorcées on a mission to uncover hidden truths of their friend’s new peculiar dentist boyfriend, when his assistant mysteriously goes missing. Does a dark past actually exist or will suspicions lead them on a wild goose chase? To “save” their best friend Liz, Mary and Jo trade in their wine glasses for a pair of spyglasses in this side-splitting comedy written by award-winning playwright Wendy MacLeod.

Kelly Criss, the show’s director, says: “One of the great things about Women in Jeopardy is its zany, relatable content. At its foundation, it’s a story of three divorcées whose lives get turned upside-down when one of them finds companionship, albeit with an extremely eccentric dentist. This sets off a chain of events that result in hysterical antics. When watching the show, you can’t help but envision a neighbor, colleague or even family member who would do something crazy like Mary and Jo, which brings even more hilarity to the production, if that’s even possible.”

Under the direction of Criss, Women in Jeopardy! is brought to life by the innovative design team of Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay (Set and Costumes); Sarah Thomson (Scenic Artist); Mary Parker (Lights); Ryan Bradburn (Props)’and Thom Jenkins (Sound).

The cast is led by top regional actors Andrew Benator (Jackson/Sgt. Kirk Sponsullar), Kerrie Seymour (Mary), Drea Lewis (Jo), Lala Cochran (Liz), Caroline Arapoglou (Amanda) and Justin Walker (Trenner).

Women in Jeopardy! will be presented September 29  through October 23 on Aurora’s Metro Waterproofing Strickland Family Mainstage. There will be a Wednesday Discount Matinee on October 19 at 10 a.m. with tickets starting at $16. Regular show tickets range from $20-$55 and are available online at bit.ly/jeopardytickets or by calling the Box Office at 678-226-6222.

• Regular show times are as follows: Tuesday-Friday at  8 p.m.; Saturday: 2:30 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. For more information on Women in Jeopardy or Aurora Theatre’s 2016-17 season, visit auoratheatre.com.

UNDER THE artistic leadership of Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Anthony Rodriguez and Ann-Carol Pence, now in its 21st Season, Aurora Theatre produces professional live entertainment to suit everyone’s taste. Aurora Theatre is home to over 650 events each year. Two series of theatrical productions, the Peach State Federal Credit Union Signature Series and the GGC Harvel Lab Series, are comprised of the biggest Broadway plays and musicals alongside exciting contemporary theatre. Additionally, Aurora produces concerts, stand-up comedy, children’s programs, metro Atlanta’s top haunted attraction Lawrenceville Ghost Tours, as well as Atlanta’s only professional Spanish language theatre, Teatro Aurora.

Fourth Suwanee Wine Festival coming this year on Nov. 5

The fourth annual Suwanee Wine Festival is set for Saturday, November 5, at Suwanee Town Center Park from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  VIP admission will start at noon. Tickets are on sale and are available at suwaneewinefest.com, and at Beverage Superstore in Suwanee.

The Suwanee Wine Festival will give visitors an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of tasting unlimited samples of wines from all over the world.  Beverage Superstore has selected over 150 premium wines to create a tasting experience crafted for wine novices and aficionados alike.  Event programs include wine descriptions to give attendees the opportunity to take tasting notes, and notate their favorite selections.

As festival-goers sip and stroll their way through Suwanee Town Center Park, they can enjoy live music from local bands, browse products for sale from vendors and artists, check out the cooking with wine demonstrations, and taste food from some of the area’s most popular restaurants in the Food Court. There is even an opportunity for the beer lovers in the crowd to make their way over to the “Georgia Beer Garden” to try craft brews and catch a game of football on television. General Admission tickets start at $49 per person for unlimited samples of beer and wine in the park from 1-4:30 pm.

VIP tickets are limited and are anticipated to sell out quickly, so log onto www.suwaneewinefest.com to get yours!

New this year, there will be a silent art auction at the festival. In an effort to give back to the local Suwanee community and “Drive Art in Schools,” the auction will feature more than 50 pieces of student art from Suwanee area schools, with the proceeds directly benefitting the arts programs in Gwinnett County Schools.

A portion of the festival proceeds will also directly benefit Annandale Village, a Suwanee organization that provides care and life assistance to adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injuries.

Taylor leads food drive for Peachtree Corners

As part of the annual Great Days of Service, Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA) has challenged the county’s 16 cities to a friendly competition to collect non-perishable food to benefit local food banks.

Cities across the county are gearing up for the drive – including Peachtree Corners – and all for a good cause. The program titled “Give Hunger the Boot” is a combined effort to collect food items to be donated to food banks which serve those in our community in need.

Each city has an ambassador to lead the drive, with Michelle Taylor as the contact for Peachtree Corners. Contact her for additional information and to volunteer.

The Norcross Co-op will be the beneficiary of the city’s drive. Peachtree Corners residents may drop off canned goods and other non-perishable items to City Hall during regular hours (Monday – Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Donations will be accepted now through October 22.

As with most drives, volunteers will be key in making it a success. Volunteers are needed to hold food drives through their neighborhoods, churches, schools, companies and organizations; to assist with collection or transportation of food to the Norcross Co-op and other opportunities.

Each city has an ambassador, with Michele Taylor the contact for Peachtree Corners. Contact her for additional information and to volunteer.

Braselton couple seeks bringing people closer with Note Day on Sept. 25

A Gwinnett couple, Christine and Bob Martinello of Braselton, inventors of the Original Love Box, are on a mission to ‘Give more love, one note at a time.’

The couple is hosting a community wide National Love Note Day to bring families, friends and non-profits together at ‘Love Notes Live!’ event on Sunday, September 25 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mocha Moes coffee house in Flowery Branch.

People will participate in the Original Love Box tradition by writing love notes to family members, friends and 300 women in five local charities.  Martinello says, “Let’s come together and celebrate love, peace and community.”

Here’s a list of sites if you want to vote early in General Election

The nation’s General Election will take place on Tuesday, November 8 at all polling locations in Gwinnett County. The deadline to register to vote and be eligible to cast a ballot in the election is Tuesday, October 11.

There are several sites within the county to vote before the election date. These sites are:

• Advance Voting (Main Office): Oct.17 – 28: 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.; Oct. 31  through Nov.4, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Saturday Voting (Main Office): Oct. 22: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ; Oct. 29: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Satellite voting is to be on October 29 and then also from October 31 to November 4 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at these locations:

• Bogan Park Community Recreation Center, Buford;
• Dacula Park Activity Building;
• George Pierce Park Center, Suwanee;
• Lenora Park Activity Room, Snellville;
• Lucky Shoals Park Center, Norcross;
• Mountain Park Activity Building, Stone Mountain; and
• Shorty Howell Activity Building, Duluth.
• For more information visit: www.gwinnettelections.com

GGC ranked high for ethnic diversity and for its affordability

Georgia Gwinnett College was again noted for its ethnic diversity and additionally for its affordability by the U.S. News & World Report (USN&WR) annual college rankings of U.S. colleges and universities. The magazine’s 2017 rankings were released yesterday.

GGC is ranked the No. 10 top public school in the Southern region, placing it in company with several state universities.

For the third consecutive year, GGC was ranked the most ethnically diverse Southern regional college. The college’s student body reflects the rich diversity of Gwinnett County and the northeast Atlanta metropolitan region. USN&WR cited GGC’s largest minority as African Americans at 34 percent. The magazine omitted non-resident alien students in this calculation.

For a second consecutive year, Georgia Gwinnett was listed among the top Southern regional colleges for least student debt. For 2017, it is ranked second – an improvement its 2016 fifth place – with 73 percent of graduates having an average debt of $18,612. By comparison, institutions noted for highest student debt have averages approaching $50,000.

“We are delighted to be recognized again for our campus community’s ethnic diversity and our exceptional affordability,” says Dr. Stas Preczewski, president. “These rankings indicate that GGC is succeeding in its game-changing efforts to make an attentive higher education experience accessible to a broad population at an affordable cost.”

GGC’s tuition is $129 per credit hour and is capped at 15 credit hours, even if a student takes additional courses/credit hours. GGC has raised its tuition only $7 since 2008.

“At less than $6,000 per year for commuters, Georgia Gwinnett offers exceptional value, which is important to our students – 94 percent of whom qualify for federal financial aid,” Preczewski adds.

Prospective students may learn more at GGC’s Oct. 29 Open House. Registration is now open at www.ggc.edu/openhouse. GGC’s 2017 application deadlines are November 1 for spring semester, April 3 for summer semester and May 1 for fall semester. Visit www.ggc.edu/admissions for more information.

USN&WR defines the Southern region as including the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Gwinnett County Fair

Editor’s Note:  The following recommendation and photos of the Gwinnett County Fair are offered by our roving photographer, Frank Sharp of Lawrenceville.

By Frank Sharp, Lawrenceville  |  The Gwinnett County Fair is one of the largest county fairs in the nation. I went twice, once at midday and then at night. Travel Tip: Go Grayson Highway to Davis Road and take that to the back gate so as to miss the gridlock on Sugarloaf Parkway.  If you are on a budget and like down home cooking, the Old Time Restaurant is a good place to eat.  For instance, a bowl of veggie is only $3.  These photos were shot with a Canon Powershot S-100 and Lumix FZ-1000.  The livestock barn was closed but they had a full train set running in the exhibition hall.  This was so much fun that I plan to go again tomorrow. Could life be better, except for the hot temperatures!

• 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’s gold-covered Capitol dome has had its problems

During a 1957 renovation of Georgia’s capitol, A. Thomas Bradbury, the architect in charge of the project, and Gordon Price, a Dahlonega-born engineer living in Atlanta, proposed that the deteriorated tin-covered dome be replaced by a more attractive and durable surface, which would then be covered by a gilding of Georgia gold.

In response to the state’s reservations about the cost, citizens from Dahlonega and Lumpkin County offered to donate the gold. Within a week, 20 ounces of gold had been pledged by citizens from an area that 129 years earlier had been the site of the nation’s first gold rush. Secretary of State Ben Fortson accepted the chairmanship of the gold dome project, which by the end of July had collected the 43 ounces of gold estimated to be necessary for covering the dome.

On August 4, 1958, a caravan of seven mule-drawn covered wagons left Dahlonega with the gold. Following the three-day trip to Atlanta, during which time the wagon train averaged about three miles an hour, the gold was presented to Governor Marvin Griffin in a ceremony on the steps of the capitol. Thereafter, the gold was sent to Philadelphia, where it was milled into gold leaf 1/5,000th of an inch thick, or about the thickness of a piece of tinfoil used to wrap chewing gum.

The gold (on Georgia’s Capitol) was expected to last 30 to 40 years. Unfortunately, the gold was applied during the winter months, and the engineers were unaware that gold leaf does not bond properly when it is applied during cold weather. The thinness of the gold leaf also made it susceptible to wearing away from oxidation and weather.

By 1977, only 19 years after its application, almost half of the gold was gone from the dome. Concern over the disappearing gold and the dome’s appearance led a number of Georgians and state officials to explore how the dome might be regilded. The Dahlonega–Lumpkin County Jaycees committed their organization to raising the gold for the project, as they had done in the late 1950s, with overall responsibility for regilding to be assumed by the Georgia Building Authority.

The fund-raising effort was ambitious; a wagon train crossed the state, visiting each of the state’s former capitals. In June 1979, after a journey of almost six weeks, the wagon train pulled up to the city limits of Dahlonega, where Governor George Busbee boarded the lead wagon and drove it for the final few miles. Before the end of the year, enough gold for the dome had been collected.

By 1981 the total regilding of the capitol dome was complete. Gold leaf is very thin and vulnerable to heat, wind, and rain damage, so by the 1990s flaking was again occurring on the dome. Today, rather than waiting until the damage is visible from the ground, the Georgia Building Authority now repairs the damage as it occurs.

Only ten other states have capitol domes covered with gold leaf: Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Of these, the gilded domes of Iowa and Georgia are the largest.

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

Here’s a statue that might make you think a bit

The Mystery Photo for this edition is a statue of quite a famous lady, which can be seen openly on a city street. Tell us who you think this is, and where.  Send in your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.

This Mystery Photo came from Chuck Paul of Norcross, who recently made a trip to Germany, and sent in this photo of Bamberg.  First in with the right answer was Ross Lenhart of Pawley’s Island, S.C.

Other correct entries came from Tom King of Huntsville, Ala.; Rob Keith of Peachtree Corners; and Tim Keith of Sugar Hill.

As usual, George Graf of Palmyra, Va. provided us with more information: “Until closure on September 12, 2014, Warner Barracks was a United States Army military base in the city of Bamberg, southern Germany. Units from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 16th Sustainment Brigade, and 18th Engineer Brigade were stationed on Warner Barracks.  Prior to World War II, almost every branch of the German Army was stationed at Warner Barracks at some time, the most elite being the 35th Armor and the 17th Cavalry Regiments. The cavalry was composed of noblemen who were wealthy and had their own riding school. Claus von Stauffenberg, who was known for 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler, served in the cavalry regiment; it was his family’s traditional regiment”

Library Temporarily Closing: Gwinnett County Public Library’s Suwanee Branch will be closed on Thursday, September 22 for the removal of the help desk. The branch will resume normal business hours on Friday, September 23. Book drops will remain open.

RECYCLING: Saturday, September 24 is the date for Norcross’ Neighborhood Clean-up and Recycling Day. Residents and the public can bring in documents to be securely shredded. You can also haul in non-hazardous bulk items and recycle electronics. During the one-day event, the City of Norcross will also be accepting canned or non-perishable goods donations for the 2016 “Can” Do for Hunger Campaign.

Dedication of the new Baldwin Elementary School in Norcross will be Sunday, September 25, at 2 p.m. The school is located at 124 Price Place,  on the space formerly occupied by Summerour Middle school, which has been re-constructed adjacent.

64th Annual Gwinnett County Fair opens September 15 and continues through September 25 at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, located off Sugarloaf Parkway near Georgia Highway 20 in Lawrenceville. For a list of daily activities at the Fair, go to: www.gwinnettcountyfair.com.

Environmental Address by Gov. Nathan Deal, Tuesday, September 27at 11:15 a.m. at the Infinite Energy Center Ballroom. The event is sponsored annually by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.  To buy tickets at $50 each, visit: http.

Safety and Security – Postal Procedures for Mail Handling is the topic of a meeting on September 29 from 10 a.m. until noon. A US Postal Inspection Service Dangerous Mail Specialist will conduct training on the: prevention, recognition, mitigation, and initial investigation of mailed threats, explosives, and hazardous materials. For sworn and civilian personnel who handle incoming mail and investigate mail threats. The meeting will be at the Duluth Public Safety building, 3276 Buford Highway.  For more information, contact dwoodruff@duluthpd.com.

(NEW) Author Karin Slaughter will be at the Norcross Cultural Center for a program and book signing on Tuesday, October 4, at 7 p.m., hosted by the Gwinnett County Public Library. This program is free, and books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Barnes & Noble.  Guests who purchase books at the event will get signing line preferential treatment. Her latest Will Trent novel is The Kept Woman. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.

(NEW) Open House at the Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine will be Friday, October 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Faculty members and students will be on hand to discuss the programs offered at the Suwanee campus including Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Pharmacy (PharmD), Biomedical Sciences (MS), and Physician Assistant Studies (MS). The Open House will include a tour of the campus. In addition, information about the curriculum, the application procedure and the financial aid process will be available.  Those interested in attending the open house are encouraged to register here or call the Admissions Department at 678-225-7500.

Fall Challenge at the Tannery Row Artist Colony in Buford is continuing through October 10. This art exhibit is at the historic Tannery building at 554 Main Street in Buford, the home of 16 artist studios. Donna Biggee of Snellville has created a 30×30 inch painting, as a feature of the exhibition. The art center is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

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