11/11: Improving Gwinnett life; Dems did better; On Hillary

 The Fallen Heroes Memorial in front of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center will be the site for the annual observance of Veterans’ Day today (Friday) at 11 a.m. Speaker for the ceremony will be Lt. Col. (Ret.) Walter “Carter” Tucker. Refreshments will be provided by the Philadelphia Winn chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. For photos of the 2015 ceremony, visit www.flickr.com/photos/gwinnettcounty/albums/72157659052745633.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Three Proposals for Improving the Life in Gwinnett County

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Democrats in Gwinnett Ran Much Stronger Than in Years Before

ANOTHER VIEW: Some Thoughts in Defending Hillary Clinton after the Election

SPOTLIGHT: United Community Bank

FEEDBACK: Two Distinct Reflections Concerning the 2016 Election

UPCOMING: Norcross Merchant Open House To Be This Saturday, November 12

NOTABLE: Suwanee Launches Open Data Budget Website for Transparency

RECOMMENDED: Anna Ruby Falls and the Richard Russell Scenic Highway

GEORGIA TIDBIT: FDR Opposes George’s Re-Election; George Backs FDR on WWII

TODAY’S QUOTE: Deep Thinking from the Mind of Yogi Berra

MYSTERY PHOTO: No Drought Going on Where This Mystery Photograph Was Made

CALENDAR: Author Mary Alice Monroe will appear November 19 in Peachtree Corners

Here are three proposals for improving life in Gwinnett County

(Editor’s note: Dr. Pat Boone is a psychologist  and 2015 graduate of Gwinnett Senior Leadership. Before returning to the Atlanta area in 2013, she lived for 20 years in Colorado, where she was active in civic life. She was chairman of the Colorado Springs Airport Advisory Commission; Vice-Chair of the El Paso County Highway Advisory Commission; Vice-Chair of the El Paso County Board of Adjustment (Zoning Variance Board); plus appointed to the El Paso County Department of Human Services Advisory Commission and the El Paso County Community Services Block Grant Advisory Board. She is also an author, minister and speaker. Her books include “How To Get What You Want in Any Language, and Tips, Tricks and Secrets from Professional Travelers.”—eeb)

By Pat Boone, Duluth, Ga.  |  A resident of Gwinnett for three years, here are the three suggestions I have for improving the county.

Boone

First, the county should raise the littering fine, and make it a dollar amount or as an alternative, allow the litterer to pick up trash.  For example, let them decide to pay $1,000 or 10 hours picking up trash.  It’s been my experience that people who pick up other people’s trash stop littering.

I know it looks and sounds good to have signs on the roadway that such and such a business is keeping a part of a street or highway clean. However, as a psychologist, I can tell you that these signs make people an enabler, when you do things that enable poor behavior to continue.  The ones cleaning should be the ones littering.  That is the only way the behavior will cease or diminish. However, until this suggestion might be adopted, the sponsorship of roadways and streets by companies that will keep them clean is an excellent program from Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.

Second, we should stop overloading the infrastructure with high density housing.  I’m not talking about condos and retirement communities: I’m talking about apartments.  The schools and other public services are maxed out in Gwinnett County, with Gwinnett’s growth, and it needs to stop, even temporarily, so we can continue with the high quality services we have had.

And third: the Gwinnett County Boards and commissions should have a way to get more people interested in governmental affairs. In Colorado, interested citizens signed up for specific advisory boards they were interested in, and the county commissioners or city council selected the members to fill those boards. There was a lot of citizen participation.  It encouraged people to help the commission find solutions, to specific problems, not just complain.

Should the county adopt these proposals, this will mean a better Gwinnett!

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

Democrats in Gwinnett ran much stronger than in years before

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher  |   The United States is a great nation. It is resilient, and can survive Donald Trump. Be pleased and calmed knowing that.

The nation’s best period of government, it appears to us, is when Congress doesn’t necessarily rubber stamp everything the president sends forth. (The very best time we feel is when one House of Congress is of a different party than the president.) We suspect it won’t be long before the legislators find that they’ll need to limit the reach of the presidency. That would also have happened had another person been chosen to lead our country.

What this country now shows the rest of the world is that our mechanism for changing our governmental leaders works. That should curtail some of the suggestions from other worlds that our country’s election system was broken.

THE BIG NEWS out of Gwinnett in this election is that this county is moving faster toward parity in politics. You may remember that GwinnettForum’s very first of its Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett County is: “Development of a two-party system for county offices.” (See other Objectives at column on the right.)

In race-after-race in this year’s election, local Democrats gave Republicans a good challenge, for both county commission seats and in statehouse races. The Democrats this year fielded an unusually strong slate of candidates. Though only one of their new candidates won election, that of Sam Park for a House seat, many of the others ran very strong, one losing by less than 300 votes.

U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall also won only a 54 percent victory over a relatively weak Democratic opponent. That showed that the Democratic candidates attracted quite a bloc of new voters in every race where they had candidates.

In this and other elections, if the Democratic Party can continue to field good candidates, it may be that in 2018, and probably for sure by 2020, the Democrats could become the dominant party in Gwinnett.

Who knows?  Some of the old-time Democrats who switched to become Republicans to get elected, might even be thinking of switching back to the Democratic Party, worried about their electability as Republicans?

A few other observations about Gwinnett in this election:

• Amazingly, Hillary Clinton actually polled more votes in Gwinnett than Donald Trump. The final unofficial returns shows Ms. Clinton won 50.14 percent of the vote, or 165,063, compared to 146,463 for Trump. Gary Johnson and write-ins won 17,680 ballots.
• Yet in the secondary big race, Republican Johnny Isakson won 154,019 (49.69%) votes to re-take the Senate race here, while Jim Barksdale polled 140,201 votes in Gwinnett. Others had 17,749. The interesting aspect here is that a Republican won the Senate race, while a Democrat won the county presidential vote. Voters, apparently, are actually making choices in Gwinnett, not routinely voting straight party lines.
• Gwinnett’s SPLOST won easily again, with 62.66% of the vote. In 2013, it got 58% of the vote; in 2008, 56%; in 2004, 65%; and in 2000, 55%. The highest winning percentage for SPLOST was the first one, to build a new courthouse in 1985, which had an 88% victory.

Of all the talk we have heard, Gwinnettians (and probably the rest of the nation) are relieved that the 2016 election is behind us. It’s been so ever-consuming, and raucous, and one we will long remember!

WE INVITE GwinnettForum readers to send us one-paragraph reasons why you think the election(s) turned out the way they did!

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

Some thoughts in defending Hillary Clinton after the election

By Debra Houston, contributing columnist  |  Let’s start this by defending Mrs. Clinton a bit. Her year to run for president was 2008. She was younger and prettier, less caustic and healthier. Her record as New York senator was positive. She didn’t have the baggage that serving as secretary of state brought her. The Dems decided they didn’t want her so they threw her out like old bathwater. Not unlike the way they threw out Bernie Sanders this time.

I mentioned this because I’m sure President Obama is unhappy with the results. I imagine him saying, “I had the most skin in the game,” because his legacy was at stake. I hope he remembers how his election eight years earlier sidetracked her.

I thought of others who might be unhappy about Mrs. Clinton losing her last bid for president. Surely foreign leaders who “contributed” to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state are angry. And Clinton staffers who warned against the-server-in-the-basement are vindicated but wish she had listened.

The vacuous Katy Perry, ill-mannered Madonna, and F-bomber Jay Z are upset.  George Will, who never concealed his contempt for Trump, is disgusted. With a cup of Starbucks, the panel of elitists on Morning Joe (MSNBC) washed down a serving of crow the day after. Two weeks earlier they had predicted a Clinton landslide.

Clinton

CNN couldn’t fathom a Trump Administration. The network fired Donna Brazile for forwarding debate questions to Mrs. Clinton. Soon, Americans will fire all the networks including Fox News, where Establishment Republicans love to hang out.

Stories about the server didn’t help Mrs. Clinton. Even in the 90’s she had a penchant to fudge. I recall a book she wrote while First Lady. Someone in the Chinese government read it and complimented her on her lying skills. With Server-gate, the lies began to stack up. Mrs. Clinton couldn’t keep track of what she had said and when.  Guess what? America kept track.

Also, I don’t think we understood the degree to which Benghazi damaged Mrs. Clinton. Ordinary moms and dads whose military sons and daughters deployed in hostile places believe their government will offer at least a modicum of security for service members. Mrs. Clinton didn’t worry about it. She emailed Chelsea, stating it was a terrorist attack. The next day, she blamed it on an inflammatory video.

And who can forget her famous question during the Congressional hearing? In reference to the four Americans who died in Benghazi, she asked, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” On November 8, America answered. It mattered a whole lot and we don’t want it to happen again.

Finally, who was happy the day after November 8? Obviously Donald Trump. As the world watched, Americans confirmed that our power lies in the vote.  I’m proud of my country for standing up against the insults, smugness and downright failures of the far left. We aren’t deplorable or irredeemable. We’re just fed up.

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

United Community Bank

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriting sponsor is United Community Bank, with 30 offices within Metro Atlanta. Headquartered in Blairsville, Ga., it is the third-largest traditional bank holding company in the state with more than 130 locations throughout Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina. Since 1950, United Community Bank has been dedicated to providing platinum-level service to its customers as the foundation of every relationship. Known as The Bank That SERVICE Built, it is committed to improving the lives of residents in the communities it serves through this philosophy of delivering exceptional banking service. In Gwinnett, the bank has offices in Lawrenceville, Snellville and Buford.

• For more information, visit  https://www.ucbi.com or call 770 237 0007.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.

In 2008, voting in one Savannah precinct really meant something

Editor, the Forum:

When we first lived downtown in Savannah, our apartment was on the far west side of the historic district. That meant voting in 2008 at the Savannah Civic Center, along with the nearly 100 percent black populace to the west of downtown.

On the morning I voted, lines were long, and it’s no exaggeration to say I was one of a small handful of white voters amid hundreds of African-Americans. Most were my age or older, and it appeared that all who were of that age were dressed as if going to church.

Not just jackets and slacks, but suits and very nice dresses. I will never forget that image. Voting clearly meant a great deal to these people. They were doing something very special. It ranked with church. Would that everyone took it that seriously.

— Bob Pritchard, Savannah (formerly Norcross)

The people found a new way to make a dent in Washington

Editor, the Forum:

Hungover and bleary-eyed, empty wine bottles on counter, I am shocked after the election.

Shocked but proud to live in the USA, proud that we showed the world that we can conduct a peaceful revolution, for as ugly and dirty as it was, it was  peaceful. The  people spoke. .

After reading the news of the day both here and abroad, I have come to a conclusion that Trump was a rock. The people rose up in a revolution against the status quo of Washington and its many problems and lack of action.

The people looked at the rock, it was covered in spots maybe some people had no ill feelings for, and did not wish to disturb. But it was also covered in dirt and smell that would normally make them not want to touch it, but here it was the only weapon they had.

The people looked carefully at the one rock and then looked at their goal of making a dent in our government.

They had to carefully pick up the rock, now a weapon, not touching the things they didn’t care for and not getting the dirt and aroma that was on it, on them. Each voter carefully handled the rock and wrestled with their conscience, and let fly with a mighty heave, scoring a direct hit. Each of the throwers could then sit back and say he had done his best and be relieved of any guilt of the outcome.

— Tom Payne, Gray

That 50th celebration for Berkmar was from 1966, Not 1956

Editor, the Forum:

Berkmar High School opened in 1966, not 1956.  This was not the first consolidation involving Bethesda. Bethesda and Lawrenceville High Schools became Central Gwinnett in the fall of 1957.

Originally, Dacula and Lilburn were included in this effort, but elected to retain their high schools. Also that year, South and West Gwinnett High Schools were opened, in Snellville and Norcross. North Gwinnett would open in 1958. Berkmar came about due to the growing population in the area and the name was derived from Berkshire District (Lilburn area), and Martins District (Bethesda area).  Love the Forum.

— Doug Edwards, Lilburn

Dear Doug: Chalk that one up to my obvious illiteracy in mathematics.–eeb

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

Norcross Merchant Open House to be this Saturday, Nov. 12

Tis’ soon the season for shopping and the City of Norcross is ready to help gift-buyers check off on their list with the annual Norcross Merchant Open House on Saturday, November 12. At this special one-day event, the downtown shops of Norcross will be decked and ready with door prizes, special surprises, sales, new merchandise, refreshments and more.

Shoppers are invited to meander through the streets of downtown Norcross and enjoy the unique shops of one-of-a-kind antiques, boutique apparel, whimsical home and garden accessories, original artwork and custom fine jewelry.

During the Merchant Open House event, shoppers are encouraged to further support downtown Norcross merchants by taking a ‘selfie’ and posting a message to social media outlets that they #ShopNorcross and support @CityofNorcross.

• For more information on the Norcross Merchant Open House and a listing of participating merchants, please visit http://aplacetoimagine.com/holiday-merchant-open-house/.

Suwanee seeks proposals from artist for 5^th SculpTour

Suwanee’s Public Arts Commission has issued a Call to Artists/Request for Proposals (RFP) for original outdoor sculptures to be featured in this spring’s fifth installment of SculpTour, Suwanee’s signature outdoor art exhibit. Featuring 10-20 sculptures of various styles, types, and sizes – including interactive, kinetic, playful, musical, and light-based works – will be exhibited throughout downtown Suwanee beginning in May.

Nnamdi Okonkwo’s Friends is a symbolic statement in bronze of the spirit or essence of friendship.

Denise Brinson, economic and community development director, says: “The City of Suwanee values public art as a key component to creating a world-class community. The SculpTour provides a relatively low-cost way to bring quality public art of various styles and mediums to our community. Our hope is that the art pieces will engage our citizens and bring new visitors to downtown Suwanee.”

Artists may submit up to three original sculptures for consideration. Selected artists will receive a stipend of up to $1,500 and be eligible to win cash awards totaling more than $5,000. The RFP is available at www.suwanee.com on the Public Art/SculpTour page. The deadline for submissions is January 6.

Artwork selected will essentially be on loan to the City throughout the SculpTour, scheduled for May 2017-March 2019, with the possibility at the end of the exhibit, again depending upon funding, that the City will purchase one or more of the pieces for display in one of Suwanee’s public spaces.

Submissions will be evaluated based upon originality/creativity, relation to architecture and themes of downtown Suwanee, general community appeal, maintenance/longevity, quality of materials and execution, ease of installation, and other factors.

Suwanee launches open data budget website for transparency

In an effort to provide complete and clear financial information, the City of Suwanee has launched its open data budget website, ensuring that city financial data is easily accessible and understandable for citizens.

The City leveraged Seattle-based Socrata’s financial transparency suite of applications to publish their online budget data quickly, economically, and in a consumer-friendly way. Rather than wading through hundreds of pages of scanned documents of legal and financial information, citizens and staff see financial data contextualized in charts, graphs, and images that are attractive, navigable, and easy to understand.

Amie Sakmar, Suwanee’s director of finance, says:  “We’re big believers in authenticity and transparency in government, and that certainly includes our financials. Our citizens should be able to easily access and understand our spending. At its most simplified, this is the taxpayers’ money, and it’s their right to know that we are being fiscally responsible for their dollars. The open data website is incredibly intuitive, and allows citizens to dig as far as their interests take them.”

This program brings life to the City’s static citizen operating budget: it makes the numbers interactive and shows the annual progress of collections and expenditures. Prior, the City would produce the budget in brief but the document and numbers were not updated as reviewable presentation for citizens to easily review and understand. This system provides the transparency of how the budget is performing on an ongoing basis, not just a snapshot of a moment in time.

• Visit www. http://budget.suwanee.com to explore the open budget, or contact Amie Sakmar at 770-904-2797 or asakmar@suwanee.com for more information

Anna Ruby Falls and the Richard Russell Scenic Highway

Reviewed by Karen Burnette Garner, Dacula:  Nestled within the Unicoi State Park on the northern edge of Helen, Ga, lies United States Forest Service’s Anna Ruby Falls.  A vigorous hike to the falls is well worth the trip, and even with the current drought, the scenery is beautiful. The trail is paved, though it is not truly accessible to motorized wheelchairs, as the grade can be steep.  Along the way, you might see a deer, raccoon or even a bear hidden in the trees.  An hour’s drive to Helen’s hidden treasure will reward your efforts with quiet, restoring nature. Fall color is in swing, and you might even have time to go along the Richard Russell Scenic Highway, whose entrance is nearby.  Stunning vistas have recently been added, with views all the way to Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest point. We highly recommend this natural Georgia gem.

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

FDR opposes Sen. George’s re-election; George backs FDR on WWII

(Continued from previous edition)

In 1928 Georgia’s congressional delegation selected Georgia Sen. Walter F. George as their candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Al Smith from New York received the national nomination but was soundly defeated by Republican candidate Herbert Hoover.) Even though George was never a serious candidate for the nomination, it was clear that he was very popular among his fellow Georgians.

George

The stock market crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression of the 1930s, and with it a new era in American politics. Still very conservative, George opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt’s nomination for president in 1932. Although never a strong proponent of the New Deal (and certainly not to the degree that his fellow senator Richard B. Russell Jr. was), George did support some programs that he saw as beneficial to Georgia—primarily the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Agricultural Adjustment Act.

George found far more to oppose during Roosevelt’s second term, however, including rigorous regulation of utility companies, the Wealth Tax Act, and Roosevelt’s attempt to pack the U.S. Supreme Court with justices favorable to his New Deal policies.

Roosevelt—who considered Georgia his “second home,” given the time he spent at Warm Springs —undertook to actively try and unseat George. In a famous speech delivered in Barnesville on August 11, 1938, Roosevelt praised George for his service and acknowledged his intelligence and honor but urged voters to choose George’s opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary. George shook the president’s hand and accepted the challenge. George easily won re-nomination for his senate seat and, with the Democratic Party firmly in control of Georgia, easily won reelection also.

George and Roosevelt were in greater agreement on foreign affairs. In the 1940s, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then of the Senate Finance Committee, George supported Roosevelt’s efforts at military preparedness, including Lend-Lease aid to Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, already at war, and American defensive build-up in response to the threat posed by Japanese and German militarism. Once the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, George embraced the president’s vigorous prosecution of the war, and even reversed his previous opposition to an international agency designed to keep peace by supporting ratification of the United Nations Charter in 1945.

(To be continued)

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

No drought going on where this Mystery Photograph was made

Wherever this Mystery Photograph was taken, you can tell that that area had plenty of rain, and the area was not like what many of us in North Georgia through North Florida are experiencing with the drought. The last significant rain in Gwinnett was September 18, moving closer to two months of no rain. Enough dry thoughts! If you can figure out this photo puzzle, send in your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.

Allison Nobles of Lawrenceville was the first to identify the last Mystery Photo, which was sent in by Molly Titus of Peachtree Corners.  Allison writes: “Today’s mystery photo is Thorncrown Chapel designed by E. Fay Jones and located right outside of Eureka Springs, Ark.  The inspiration for the chapel is Sainte Chappelle, a light filled gothic chapel in Paris, France (photo below).”

Bob Foreman of Grayson; Tim Sullivan, Buford; and Rob Keith of Peachtree Corners also recognized the structure.

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. writes: “Who was the inspiration for this modern facility? Thorncrown was the dream of Jim Reed, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  In 1971, Jim purchased the land where the chapel now stands. Thorncrown Chapel was designed by world renowned architect E. Fay Jones (a student of Frank Lloyd Wright) whose inspiration for Thorncrown Chapel was Sainte Chappelle, Paris’ light filled gothic chapel.

“Thanks to its unique design, the chapel was granted National Historic Site status in 2000, a remarkable achievement since a site is generally required to exist for at least 50 years before even being considered. However the chapel’s impact on architecture and design pushed it past this qualification. It has also won numerous architectural awards.”

Veterans’ Day:  November 11, at 11 a.m. will be observed at the Fallen Heroes Memorial near the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.

Fall Program of the Stone Mountain Barbershop Chorus will be Saturday, November 12 at both 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, 4480 Peachtree Corners Circle. This program presents the best in four-part harmony, featuring songs from The Music Man, and other Broadway and movie productions. Save with advanced purchase of tickets at www.stonemountainchorus.org or by calling 770-978-853.

“The Origin and Evolution of Birds” will be the topic at the November 14 meeting of the Southern Wings Bird Club at 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville, in Room A. Chris Showalter  will speak on the evidence that birds evolved from a group of small dinosaurs and other alternative perspectives. For more information, visitwww.southernwingsbc.com.

Free Seminar on Social Security benefits, Thursday, November 17 at 9 a.m. at the Hudgens Center for the Arts. The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia presents this seminar, with nationally known Social Security expert Elaine Simmons. She’ll cover subjects from when to start benefits, to potential entitlements for benefits as a widow or widower.  To register, go to: https://cfneg.wufoo.com/forms/strategies-for-social-security/

Red, Blue and You Event, Friday, November 18, at 11:30 a.m. at Coolray Field, honoring first responders of Gwinnett. Hosted by the Evermore Community Improvement District.  A barbecue lunch will be available for purchase.. For more information, call 404 580 1103.

(NEW) Author Presentation: Best selling author Mary Alice Monroe will appear November 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 5575 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners as part of the North Georgia Reads series. She will also be in Cobb County on November 18, and in Flowery Branch on November 20. Miss Monroe found her calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina. Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her novels. North Georgia Reads was created to promote collaboration between neighboring library systems and to bring bestselling authors to a community of 46 libraries in north Georgia.

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