12/16: Finalists for Hudgens Prize; A way to end run-off elections

BECOMING A TRADITION in Peachtree Corners is this giant, symmetrically-coned artificial Christmas tree at the Forum on Peachtree Parkway. The tree is colorfully decorated with ornaments, and occupies a key spot at a turn-around. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp of Lawrenceville sent in this view of a beautiful holiday element.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Four Finalists Announced for $50,000 Hudgens Art Prize for Georgians

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s a Way To Eliminate Run-Off Elections and Let Majority Rule

ANOTHER VIEW: Tumultuous Year in USA, But the United States Can Take It

SPOTLIGHT: Eastside Medical Center

UPCOMING: Volunteers Needed for Georgia’s Largest Single Day Tree Chipping

NOTABLE: Gwinnett’s Live Healthy Program Wins Recognition from Chamber

RECOMMENDED: The Road to Character by David Brooks

GEORGIA TIDBIT: General Sherman Makes Present of Savannah to President Lincoln

TODAY’S QUOTE: One Consideration When an Older Person Dies

MYSTERY PHOTO: Close-Up View of Building May Limit Figuring Out This Photo

LAGNIAPPE: Peachtree Ridge Twins Honored for Work with the Hungry

CALENDAR: Time This Weekend For Photos with Santa at Historic Courthouse

Four finalists announced for $50,000 Hudgens art prize for Georgians

By Floyd Hall, Duluth, Ga.  |  Four Finalists have been named for the prestigious 2017 Hudgens Prize. With a cash award of $50,000 and an invitation for a solo exhibition for one artist, the Hudgens Prize is one of the largest art awards given in the entire nation, and is open only to Georgia residents.

The four finalists are: Sarah Hobbs who is from Columbus and works in Atlanta; Jiha Moon, who is from DaeGu, Korea and works in Atlanta; Lauri Stallings is a native of Gainesville, Fla., and now based in Atlanta; and Cosmo Whyte, who is based in Atlanta and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

• 

  Hobbs

  Hobbs uses photography and installation to explore the neurotic tendencies in us all. She holds a BA in Art History and an MFA in Photography from the University of Georgia, Athens. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Knoxville Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Sir Elton John Collection, among others.

• 

  Moon

  Moon received her MFA from the University of Iowa. Her recent work on paper, ceramic sculpture and ceramic installation with low tables explores the idea of something foreign. Moon’s works have been acquired by Asia Society, New York, NY; High Museum of Art; The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, N.C.; Smithsonian Institute, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Weatherspoon Museum of Art, Greensboro, N.C. and The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va.

• 

  Stallings

  Stallings has fostered an expanded practice that includes public choreographies, place building, green economy and collaborations with many communities. Founder of the non-profit glo platform, Stallings is a 2016-17 MOCA GA Working Artist Fellow. She has exhibited and performed her work at Central Park in New York City, Art Basel Miami, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, High Museum of Art, Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden; Trinity Laban, Atlanta Contemporary, Augsburg Opera Haus and Zuckerman Museum of Art.

• 

  Whyte

  Whyte was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and attended Bennington College in Vermont for his Bachelor in Fine Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art for his Post-Baccalaureate Certificate and the University of Michigan for his MFA. He has exhibited in the US, Jamaica, Norway, France and South Africa. In 2010 he was the winner of the Forward Art emerging artist of the year award. In 2015 he was the recipient of the International Sculpture Center’s “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” and in 2016 he was the recipient of an Artadia Award. Whyte is currently a professor at Morehouse College.

For more information about the artists, visit the Hudgens Prize page. All four artists will display their work in the Finalists’ Exhibition, scheduled for August 15 through October 21, 2017, and will receive a $1,500 cash stipend to help cover expenses relating to the exhibition.

The $50,000 Hudgens Prize will be awarded by the jury panel based on in-person visits to the four Finalists’ studios and the works on view in the Hudgens Prize Finalists’ Exhibition. The prize winner will be announced at the Hudgens Prize Award Celebration, which will take place on Saturday, September 30. The Finalists will also offer Artists Talks at the Hudgens Center during the exhibition, to be scheduled soon.

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

Here’s a way to eliminate run-off elections and let majority rule

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher  |  The requirement that winning political candidates have a majority of the votes causes problems.

The first problem is that there must be a run-off between the top two candidates if no one wins a majority in the election.

The second problem is that there are often fewer voters returning to the polls for the runoff election, meaning that the will of the overall majority is seldom served.  While a candidate in the first election may have received 48 or 49 percent of those voting, he or she could win a runoff with 51 percent of the second balloting…….yet that 51 percent may represent only 10 percent of those who voted in the first round.

So in effect, a minority of the total voters can put the candidate into office.

Is there a better way?

Several governments think so. It’s the way that voters in Australia and Ireland conduct their elections. And come 2018, it’ll be the way that the state of Maine elects its state officials.

It’s called “ranked-choice voting,” or by another term, “instant runoff voting.”

Here’s how it works. Instead of voting for a single person in a race, each voter would rank all the candidates in each race. If there were four people in a race, the voter would rank them one to four in order of his or her preference.

After counting the ballots, if no candidate had a majority of the votes, the candidate with the least number of votes would be eliminated from the counting. If your candidate was eliminated, then your second choice would be your vote in the next round of counting. And if there was still no majority winner, the candidate polling the least votes in the second round would be eliminated, so that a majority would be finally achieved in the third round.

If there were only two persons in the race, a simple majority would automatically be determined when the tallying was complete.

The good part in this method is that there would not have to be a run off election, eliminating this costly second round of voting.  In addition, the eventual winner would have a majority of votes when the most people voted.

Remember, in Gwinnett, we have many voting precincts, requiring a lot of poll workers, so that a run-off election can cost Gwinnett County from $500,000 to $1 million. So while “instant runoff voting” or “ranked choice voting,” brings with it additional costs, these costs should not equal the high cost of having a runoff.  Call that more efficient voting.

This new type of voting which eliminates runoff is also already in place in several cities around the country. That includes Minneapolis, Cambridge, Mass., Portland, Maine, and San Francisco.

And listen to this: a similar way of voting is used to pick the winners of the Oscars! Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sees validity in making sure that its winners have a majority of its 6,028 member’s votes. (See http://mentalfloss.com/article/54560/how-are-oscar-nominees-chosen/)

One reason Maine voters approved this new way to eliminate runoffs is because for nine of the last 11 elections in that state, the winning gubernatorial candidate did not have a majority of the votes. But in 2018, with “ranked choice voting,” the governor will have a majority votes of the people.

Adopting such a new voting system in the rest of the United States may be a long way off. However, if you are concerned about a candidate becoming a political winner with less than a majority of the votes, here’s another system that many cities, and two countries, are already using, and it works!

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

Tumultuous year in USA, but the United States can take it

By Debra Houston, contributing columnist |  We come to the end of a tumultuous year. The presidential election was an ugly one, worse than any I can recall. Both parties were to blame. As a result, we hear unendingly from the shrill media that the American people are more divided than ever.

Which is hogwash, for lack of a greater expletive. A student of history, I propose we were more divided in 1861. During the four years of the Civil War, some 620,000 soldiers died from combat, dysentery, starvation, and accidents. Nearly an entire generation of young men died from that war.

So the media has it wrong again. Divided? No one speaks seriously about seceding from “The Union.” To speak more accurately, we live in a divided government, one created by men who were wise enough to understand that when everyone agrees, it becomes harder to dissent. America is at its finest when it allows non-violent dissent.

Although America is a republic made up of 50 states, we nevertheless strive for an impossible ideal of full democracy. We don’t wish economic failure for others or discrimination against anyone because they speak, look, or behave differently from the norm. For those who do wish ill on others, let them state their case and get it out of their system. The United States can take it.

My resolution for the New Year is to listen more than I speak, and truly hear what people say.  Then, and only then, will I consider dissenting.

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

Eastside Medical Center

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today we welcome a new underwriter, Eastside Medical Center, which has been a healthcare leader for more than 35 years providing quality care to patients in Gwinnett and surrounding counties. Eastside is a 310-bed, multi-campus system of care offering comprehensive medical and surgical programs as well as 24-hour emergency care.

Eastside Medical Group provides primary care for patients of all ages in Snellville, Grayson, and Loganville. Specialty surgical services and gynecology and maternity services are also offered by Eastside Medical Group in Snellville.  Eastside Medical Center will be opening three new urgent care centers located at Sugarloaf, Centerville, and Lilburn in 2017. Our exceptional medical staff of 500 board certified physicians, 1,200 employees and 400 volunteers is committed to providing our community a healthcare system of excellence.

• To learn more about Eastside Medical Center, visit online here.

• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: https://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.

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

Volunteers needed for Georgia’s largest single day tree-chipping

After the presents have all been unwrapped and visions of sugarplums no longer dance in the heads of Gwinnett County children, some may wonder what happens to those live Christmas trees.

For the last 30 years, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful (GC&B) has held the largest single day “tree-cycling” event in the State of Georgia. The nonprofit organization is preparing to raise the curtain on its 31st installment of “Bring One for the Chipper.” Now-dead Christmas trees will be collected at drop-off locations throughout the county. Volunteers are needed to take part in the task of transforming all of the collected trees into mulch.

Explains Schelly Marlatt, executive director for GC&B: “We are pleased to offer this opportunity to local residents as a cornerstone of what Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is all about. Rather than choke our landfills with Christmas trees that may take dozens of years to decompose, trees that are ‘tree-cycled’ will get a new life right away.

“We want families who take part in “Bring One for the Chipper” to know that their tree will become mulch that will one day line park pathways or flower beds around public buildings and schools. In a way, we’re extending the magic of Christmas and we invite families to join us – whether by dropping off their Christmas tree or volunteering for our Bring One for the Chipper event… or both! It can become a new addition to their holiday traditions that they look forward to sharing year-after-year.”

The Fire Stations of Gwinnett are the drop off locations for Christmas trees. The stations  will begin accepting trees on December 26, 2016 and continue through January 15, 2017. Trees must be free of lights, tinsel, decorations and tree stands in order to be tree-cycled.

After January 15, all donated trees will be transported to Bethesda Park for the “Bring One for the Chipper” event on Saturday, January 21, beginning at 8 a.m.

Many volunteers are needed, and must be at least 14 years of age. Many families sign up for this. Others often signing up include individuals, school groups, civic organizations, companies, neighborhood association, and others.

• Volunteers should register online at www.GwinnettCB.org. Each should download a Volunteer Release Form to bring with them to the event. Questions may be directed to gwinnettcb@gwinnettcb.org or by calling 770-822-5187.

Let your Christmas tree turn to mulch for Suwanee parks

Ah, the magic of December 26: wrapping paper is still strewn across the living room, batteries have finally been found for all the new toys,…and the Christmas tree has dropped nearly all of its needles on the floor.

When your now-dead tree is past its fragrant, sparkly prime, give it a new sense of purpose through the City of Suwanee’s “treecycling” campaign, which is part of Keep Georgia Beautiful’s annual ‘Bring One for the Chipper’ program.

Area residents may drop off their former living Christmas trees at Sims Lake Park, located at 4600 Suwanee Dam Road, from December 26 through January 31. Decorations, lights, and stands should be removed from all trees prior to donating. Last year, mulch from nearly 1,200 former Christmas trees was spread in Suwanee parks.

Volunteers will be available to assist with unloading, as well as handing out crepe myrtle, redbud, and red maple seedlings (while supplies last) from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, January 7, 2017.

• Adult and teen volunteers are needed to assist January 8. To volunteer, contact Nicole Schnepper at nschnepper@suwanee.com or 770-945-8996.

Gwinnett’s Live Healthy program wins recognition from Chamber

Gwinnett County Community Services’ Live Healthy Gwinnett Program earned a nod from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce at its Healthcare Awards ceremony this week. The program was named the 2016 winner in the Community Wellness category, which honors a community wellness initiative, organization or individual that promotes healthy living through outreach.

The Healthcare Awards program is the Gwinnett Chamber’s commitment to paying tribute to those who are leading the way through innovation, patient and family care, philanthropic efforts and volunteerism. \

Live Healthy Gwinnett launched in 2014 as a partnership between Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation and Eastside Medical Center. This community-wide wellness initiative takes a proactive approach to address the preventable chronic illnesses that impact Gwinnett County by encouraging residents to invest in personal wellness by making simple lifestyle choices. The partners of Live Healthy Gwinnett engage residents through year-round active programs, events and policy implementation.

Rickman is Snellville Senior Center Volunteer of the Year

The Snellville Senior Center Volunteer of the Year is Cathy Rickman, second from left, shown being presented with a plaque by Snellville Mayor Tom Witts. Senior Center Director Kathi Gargiulo is at the left, and Parks and Recreation Director Lisa Platt is at the right. Gargiulo says of Rickman: “Her willingness to be wherever she is needed has been such a contribution to the success of the Senior Center. If not for volunteers like Cathy, we would not be able to provide the amount and the quality of programs that we currently offer, always with a smile on her face.” Rickman also volunteers regularly at her church as a youth adviser, a counselor, in the Woman’s Club and as part of the annual craft auction. She enjoys making wreaths, cards, scarfs and other crafts. She also enjoys cross-stitching, scrapbooking and painting.

The Road to Character by David Brooks

Reviewed by John Titus, Peachtree Corners: The author, a New York Times columnist, describes his latest book as being about humility, i.e., truly knowing one’s self. He considers the difference between resume virtues, that contribute to external success, and eulogy virtues, like kindness, faithfulness, honesty, etc., that are mentioned at one’s funeral. Examining the lives of famous persons from many walks of life, he explores how through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations each built strong inner character. He contends that in recent decades we have moved from a society which valued humility to one which worships the “Big Me,” and argues for a return to humility. A worthwhile read.

• 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

General Sherman makes present of Savannah to President Lincoln

After Fort McAllister fell on December 13, 1864, General William T. Sherman made preparations for a siege of Savannah.

Confederate Lieutenant General Hardee, realizing his small army could not hold out long and not wanting the city leveled by artillery as had happened at Atlanta, ordered his men to abandon the trenches and retreat to South Carolina. Sherman, who was not with the Union army when Mayor Richard Arnold surrendered Savannah (he had gone to Hilton Head, S.C., to make preparations for a siege and was on his way back to Georgia), telegraphed President Lincoln on December 22 that the city had fallen. He offered Savannah and its 25,000 bales of cotton to the president as a Christmas present.

Sherman’s Savannah headquarters.

Sherman’s march frightened and appalled Southerners. It hurt morale, for civilians had believed the Confederacy could protect the home front.

Sherman had terrorized the countryside; his men had destroyed all sources of food and forage and had left behind a hungry and demoralized people. Although he did not level any towns, he did destroy buildings in places where there was resistance. His men had shown little sympathy for Millen, the site of Camp Lawton, where Union prisoners of war were held. Physical attacks on white civilians were few, although it is not known how slave women fared at the hands of the invaders. Often male slaves posted guards outside the cabins of their female friends and relatives.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis had urged Georgians to undertake a scorched-earth policy of poisoning wells and burning fields, but civilians in the army’s path had not done so. Sherman, however, burned or captured all the food stores that Georgians had saved for the winter months. As a result of the hardships on women and children, desertions increased in Robert E. Lee’s army in Virginia. Sherman believed his campaign against civilians would shorten the war by breaking the Confederate will to fight, and he eventually received permission to carry this psychological warfare into South Carolina in early 1865. By marching through Georgia and South Carolina he became an archvillain in the South and a hero in the North.

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

Close-up view of building may limit figuring out this photo

This edition’s Mystery Photo is a real close-up of a building in what appears to be a primitive setting. Does it give you enough of a clue to figure out where it is?  If so, send in your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.

The most recent Mystery Photo came from Mark Barlow of Peachtree Corners (who had forgotten that he had sent it in weeks ago,) and “guessed right” with an answer. Bob Foreman of Grayson recognized it as the Boer War Memorial in Dorcester Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Both horses legs off the ground means the rider died in battle. A dismounted rider means he represents all those who died in the war. The soldier I figure (not sure) represents the soldiers who died in the Boer War and is not any particular person. If it represented a particular person, it would have been on the horse. It is interesting that the French Canadians did not volunteer to participate in the war, which they disagreed with. So it is very strange that this memorial is in Montreal.”

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. also got the right answer, and gave this added information on the Mystery: “The monument commemorates both the heroism of the soldiers who died on the field of honor and the involvement of Lord Strathcona (1820–1914), governor of the Hudson Bay Company. Strathcona equipped a cavalry regiment for Great Britain, on the occasion of Canada’s first participation in an overseas war, the Boer War (1899-1902), which pitted Great Britain against the Boers, the descendants of the first German, French, and Dutch settlers to arrive in South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries.

“It was not a popular war in Canada or England since it was based on access to a newly discovered gold field in South Africa.  After the British victory, the Boer territories were annexed to the British Empire.  Casualties of the British and Colonial forces had 7,882 die in combat and 14,210 die of disease, 934 were missing, and 22,828 wounded.  The Boers and volunteers had 6,000 killed and 24,000 Boer prisoners sent overseas so they couldn’t escape and re-enter the fighting.  Also, 27,927 Boer civilians died in concentration camps, along with 20,000 black Africans of the 115,000 interned.”

Peachtree Ridge twins honored for work with the hungry

Two Gwinnett County teens were honored for going above and beyond in their dedication to the well-being of the state. Lauren and Steven Grant Seroyer were presented with the Outstanding Georgia Citizens Award by District 100 State House Representative Dewey McClain, shown in back. The twins attend Peachtree Ridge High School and have created the C.A.R.E (Community Assistance Resource Effort) Closet after a conversation with a classmate who was hungry and had no access to food at home. The C.A.R.E Closet is a confidential school-based food pantry sponsored by various high school clubs, local businesses and non-profit organizations to provide their peers and community members with a basic need that is essential for their academic success. With the success of the C.A.R.E Closet, Lauren is one of two Spark Award recipients from the local chapter of the United Way. The organization was awarded $25,000 to help launch this program in other schools in Gwinnett County. Rep. McClain says: “I am very proud of the accomplishments of the twins, they are role models and citizens we like to have in our community.

Candlelight Tours of Yule Decorated McDaniel Farm Park in Duluth.  Tours will also be offered at 8:30 p.m. on December 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21. See the warmth of candles and the home decorated with fresh greenery and period holiday ornaments as costumed guides share historic customs and traditions with a glimpse of everyday life on a family farm.  After the tour, guests will enjoy a delicious cup of hot chocolate or apple cider as well as have the opportunity to make a holiday craft. A program fee for the candlelight tour is $8 per person. Pre-registration is required and must be done online at www.gwinnettEHC.org. McDaniel Farm is located at 3251 McDaniel Road, Duluth,

FINAL STOP for Santa Claus on Saturday, December 17 will be at the Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth, from 10 a.m. until noon. Professional photos taken here will be posted on Duluth’s Facebook page for downloading, free of cost. You should know that Santa must leave promptly at noon to make it to the North Pole on time, so arrive early. Arts and crafts will greet the children. Come see Santa here!

(NEW) Visit with Santa Claus at the Gwinnett County Historic Courthouse, and get your picture taken with him. Families can tour the decorated courthouse, make a holiday craft in the Elf Workshop and take home a keepsake photo from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 17 and 18.  The last chance to visit with Santa will be Monday, December 19 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. to give him your list. The cost for keepsake photo is $5, and crafts range from $1 to $2. For details or to register for special holiday events, visit www.gwinnettparks.com or call 770-822-5450. The Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is located at 185 Crogan Street in downtown Lawrenceville.

(NEW) Get your dancing shoes ready for Duluth’s New Year’s Eve Extravaganza! Georgia native Craig Campbell will hit the stage with his chart-rising song “Outskirts of Heaven” on December 31. There will be family friendly activities, a gigantic snow slide, a winter carnival and live entertainment by the Highbeams and DJ Rob. The festivities kick off New Year’s Eve at 7 p.m. on Duluth Town Green. The main event is free to the public. The event is an activity of the City of Duluth and sponsor, Kicks 101.5.

STATE OF THE REGION address is Friday, January 13 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast. Speaker will be Kerry Armstrong, chairman of the Atlanta Region Commission. This is presented by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. To register, click here.

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