4/10: On home fire safety; Brand Bank’s change; Newnan rally

DAHLONEGA’S 22ND ANNUAL Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is scheduled for the weekend of April 20-22.  It is staged rain-or-shine in and around the town’s Public Square. On Friday, April 20, music will prevail when street jamming begins around midday, and continues all weekend. A silent auction begins at 5 p.m. Friday. Saturday will see performances by 11 well-known bands and musicians, while the Southern Order of Storytellers has a line-up for Saturday.  Other performers, workshops, and entertainment go on all during the weekend. For more information visit www.bearonthesquare.org.  (Photo by Bob Fellows.)

TODAY’S FOCUS: Fire Department Offers Seniors Devices To Improve Home Safety

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Brand Bank Potential Sale Cuts Link with Old Time Banking in Gwinnett

ANOTHER VIEW: Racist Gathering Being Planned in Newnan on April 21

SPOTLIGHT: Howard Brothers

McLEMORE’S WORLD: Aging

UPCOMING: 12^th Annual Supplier Symposium for County Set for April 26

NOTABLE: Alexander’s Diamonds Moves from Toco Hills to Lawrenceville

RECOMMENDED: Movie: Paul the Apostle of Christ:  Affirm Films, 2018

GEORGIA TIDBIT: John Burrison Helps Publicize Jug Makers of Georgia

MYSTERY PHOTO: Take a Look at maybe King Kong In Action

CALENDAR: Southern Wings Bird Club Plans Hike on April 14

Fire Department offers devices to seniors to improve home safety

By Stephen Hrustich
Assistant Chief, and Fire Marshal, Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Service

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.  |  Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services (GCFES) SeniorBSafe initiative was born out of our Residential FACT (Firefighters and Communities Together) program.  It focuses on fire and injury prevention in the senior community.

Hrustich

The program can supply seniors with such items as fire alarms and other devices, without cost, which will ensure a safer home.

With Gwinnett’s senior population set to double in the next two decades, we must adopt innovative, comprehensive and research-based solutions that focus on engineering concepts to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.  Our goal is simple: allow our seniors to safely stay in their homes as long as they can.  The program and all of its components are free to senior residents within Gwinnett County and is funded through a 2016 Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety grant, through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency.)

On average, GCFES responds to 640 residential fires per year.   Some 69 percent of these fires of are in one and two-family dwellings. These homes predominately range from 20 to 40 years old and lack residential fire sprinklers. Most lack operable smoke alarms. Cooking fires are the predominant cause of fire in the county, representing over 52 percent of all structure fires in one or two-family dwellings and 48 percent in other residential occupancies. These fires resulted in 56 civilian injuries and 10 firefighter injuries in 2015.

Gwinnett’s local fire data indicates that single family dwellings have the highest occurrence rate of residential fires and occupant-related fire deaths. Data analysis also identified significant gaps in protection through the absence of working smoke alarms, no home escape plan and a general lack of knowledge regarding fire safety and preventable injuries.

The community segment that was found to be at the highest risk and most vulnerable was older adults, especially non-English speaking residents in low income housing.  Similarly, research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that seniors are at an elevated risk for CO poisoning and its effects are even more devastating because of a prevalence of other existing illnesses.

In respect to falls, GCFES responded to over 4,600 reported falls in 2015, 71 percent being attributed to seniors. This number is slowly increasing, up from an average of 68 percent over the past five years. Our risk assessment also showed that 64 percent of these falls occur at the victim’s home and 72 percent are attributed to slipping, tripping or stumbling, while another 12.5 percent are related to a fall from a bed, chair or commode.

Through our Home Safety Visit Program, we have effectively measured the impact of the environmental change that we have made to thousands of homes and identified that our senior population is at high risk due to non-working smoke alarms, hearing impairment and lack of pre-fire event planning.   Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services has developed the SeniorBSafe program to deliver heat limiting technology to stop cooking fires before they start, smoke alarms, CO alarms and engineered products such as motion lighting and grab bars to support positive environmental changes in the home to thwart life altering falls.

The program also provides effective education to prevent prescription medication overdose. The SeniorBSafe program provides onsite education in the home on how to reduce home injury risks to older adults and how to respond properly in an emergency such as a home fire.

• To schedule a SeniorBSafe home visit by GCFES personnel, interested parties should contact the Public Education section of Gwinnett County Department of Fire and Emergency Services by calling 678-518-4845 or emailing fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com.
• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Brand Bank potential sale cuts link with old-time banking in Gwinnett

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher

APRIL 10, 2018  |  Reports last week that Brand Bank of Lawrenceville would be bought by a Mississippi bank in one way cut the link to old-time banking in Gwinnett County. After all, Brand Bank was the oldest of the locally owned banks in Gwinnett, founded in 1905, and the biggest, with $2.4 billion in assets.

The only remaining Gwinnett banks with local distinctive ties are Gwinnett Community Bank in Duluth, and Piedmont Bank in Peachtree Corners, which have total assets of $277 million and $827 million respectively

Though Renasant Bank will purchase Brand Bank, Bartow Morgan Jr., current president and CEO of Brand Bank, will be the chief commercial banking officer for Renasant Bank system, in charge of all their 180 retail operations. There are seven Brand Bank locations in Gwinnett. Brand Bank has assets of $2.4 billion, while Renasant has assets of $9.8 billion. The sales price is valued at $500 million.

Morgan says that he has been working on completing this merger for the last eight months, finally getting close to the merger details.  He says: “I took the deal to all our shareholders 60 days ago. We could not hold out to a fault, and I didn’t want to do something stubborn. When they offer you a big number and say you will be the boss, you have to listen to that.”

Bartow Morgan Jr.

Back during the recent recession, most Georgia banks were fighting closing.  Eventually, some stock of Brand Bank was purchased by the Carlyle Group out of Washington, D.C.  Later the Stephens interests out of Little Rock also invested in a portion of the Brand stock. However, no one entity had control of the bank stock.

Morgan explains another of the reasons Brand Bank was interested in accepting offers. “No one much goes to local banks any more.  With technology, mobile apps, and heavier governmental regulations of banks after 2008, community banks don’t have an ability to work with customers anymore. Banking has become a standard process. We came out of 2008 and watched 100 Georgia banks die, with most of them upside down.

“All this is changing the competitive advantage of the community bank. All banks have to do banking the same way.

“The industry is not going the right direction for really small community banks. Today you need scale and size, There are two breaks in banking operations today, those with about $8-10 billion in assets, and those over $50 billion. The rules are changing, and you don’t want to get caught in no-man’s land between $10-50 billion.”

Robin McGraw, Renasant chairman and CEO, will remain chairman. Mitch Waycaster will become CEO at that time. Mike Dunlap, Brand Bank’s executive vice president and director of commercial banking, will become president of the Georgia Commercial Banking Group for Renasant Bank.

Brand Mortgage will be spun off and be a stand-alone business.

Brand Bank, under Bartow Morgan’s father, Bartow III, was a throwback to old times, for years keeping a pen-and-ink ledger when other banks were adopting computers. Mr. Morgan III had two cane-back chairs in his second-floor office on the Square in Lawrenceville—one for him, and the other for his customer. Once when I wanted a loan to pay for a child’s upcoming college, he asked if I was going to pay him back. I said “Yes,” and he said, “OK.”  I protested: “But I didn’t tell you how much I wanted to borrow.”

He replied: “Don’t matter, if you’re going to pay me back!”

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

Racist gathering being planned in Newnan on April 21

By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  |  A white nationalist group will be coming to Newnan on April 21 to stage a rally, which will be counter-protested by anti-fascists. As an ACLU member, I support free speech.  However, while we must permit free speech under our constitution, we certainly do not have to support what is said by racists.  We all need to speak out.

But, this regrettable situation is just a snapshot of what is happening to our great country. Our nation is in serious trouble.

Over the past few decades… but especially in the last year with the most divisive, arrogant, deceptive President in modern times, America has devolved into political tribalism. Love of country and national unity has been replaced by love of party and, over the last few years for a third of our nation, a dangerous form of celebrity worship.

There is a lot of talking, but very little listening to the other side and very little desire to compromise by either party. Longtime friends are at each other’s throats and throwing insults back and forth on social media.

To a large extent each side filters what it hears and sees. I am a vanishing breed—-a moderate Republican who watches both CNN and FOX News. It is clear to me that the nativist right is especially dismissive of anything that has not come directly out of the President’s camp or his personal news outlet, Fox News.

And, his evangelical minions blindly follow him, excusing each and every faux pas as well as each clearly racist rant and act. Often, instead of defending his actions, their rationale is “he’s much better than the other side.” However, they would not be so forgiving if the shoe were on the other foot.

Anyone can promote false moral equivalencies, equating white Nazi sympathizers with anti-fascists….even a President.  It is very easy to do, but ethically and factually wrong.

How are those words defensible by traditional Republicans? Why doesn’t the GOP leadership directly and strongly condemn the racist person saying them?

Can our modern-day P.T. Barnum, President Trump, get away with selling absolutely anything to the rubes who go to the county fair? The answer is that at least one-third of us still believe in him and seemingly will continue regardless of the truth and objective reality. It’s up to the GOP leadership, McConnell and Ryan, to change that situation.

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

Howard Brothers

Today’s sponsor is Howard Brothers, which has retail stores in Alpharetta, Doraville, Duluth, Oakwood and Athens. John and Doug Howard are the “brothers” in Howard Brothers. This family-owned business was started by their dad, and continues to specialize in hardware, outdoor power equipment and parts and service.  Howard Brothers are authorized dealers of STIHL, Exmark, Honda, Echo outdoor power equipment and Benjamin Moore paint.  Howard Brothers is also an authorized Big Green Egg, Traeger Grill and YETI Cooler dealer.

• Visit their web site howardbrothers.com.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

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

Aging

• For more of Bill McLemore’s cartoons, see his page on Facebook.
• Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net

12^th annual Supplier Symposium for county to be April 26

Businesses interested in having Gwinnett County Government as a customer are encouraged to attend the 12th Annual Supplier Symposium hosted by the Gwinnett County Purchasing Division on Thursday, April 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. The event is free.

The symposium is designed to give potential vendors an opportunity to network and establish relationships with County departments, understand county purchasing processes and learn about current and upcoming projects.

Prospective vendors can meet with numerous buyers and contracting officers from the Purchasing Division as well as representatives from various county departments and agencies from other jurisdictions, including cities, neighboring counties and the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce. Participants can register as a vendor to learn about and discuss upcoming projects.

Purchasing Director Bryant Davis says: “We want to help vendors do business with Gwinnett County government. This symposium allows them to learn about the latest policies and procedures in the procurement process. Plus, we believe that we can save taxpayer dollars if we have more companies competing for our business.”

Attendees can visit the Purchasing Department webpage at www.gwinnettcounty.com to register for this event, to view current open projects and business opportunities and to download a how-to-manual for doing business with Gwinnett County. The Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center is located at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.

Time to appeal property taxes if owner is dissatisfied with value

The Gwinnett County Board of Assessors mailed approximately 280,000 annual Notices of Assessment to residential and commercial property owners last week.

State law requires notices be sent to property owners advising them of the assessed value of their taxable property and providing them with a reason for any change in value from last year. The current year’s value on the notice will be the value used by the Tax Commissioner in calculating property taxes later in the year.

The annual Notice of Assessment includes an estimate of 2018 property taxes, but it is not a tax bill. The estimate combines the 2018 value with the 2017 millage rates. The actual 2018 millage will be determined by the County Board of Commissioners, the Board of Education and each city later in the year. The estimates on the notice also do not take into account potential changes to exemptions or fees, such as stormwater, solid waste, streetlights or speed control devices.

This year, about 59 percent of all properties in Gwinnett will see a change in value from the previous year due to market changes in property values. Overall, property sales reflect a real estate market that remains positive with high demand.

Chief Appraiser Stewart Oliver said that to better serve Gwinnett customers, frequently asked questions have been printed on the back of the annual notice of assessment. Property owners can also visit the Board of Assessor’s website at www.gwinnett-assessor.com  to find answers to frequently asked questions, view and print copies of their annual notice of assessment, research market values and file an appeal.

According to state law, the estimated amount of taxes cannot be appealed; only the current year’s value can be appealed. Oliver recommended that property owners carefully review the notice to determine if the current year’s value is an accurate reflection of their property’s value. Property value information can be researched at the Gwinnett Tax Assessor’s website or other online sources.

Property owners have 45 days from the date on their annual notice of assessment to file an appeal. Appeals must be in writing; however, Oliver suggests that appeals be filed online at www.gwinnett-assessor.com to expedite the process. To resolve appeals more quickly, property owners should consider sharing relevant information that may affect values, such as damage or needed repairs existing before January 1 early in the process. Property owners may also contact the Tax Assessor’s Office by email at taxpayer.services@gwinnettcounty.com or by telephone at 770-822-7200 for assistance.

Alexander’s Diamonds moves from Toco Hills to Lawrenceville

Alexander’s of Atlanta Fine Diamonds is now at home in new facilities in Lawrenceville. The firm, which operated for 54 years out of Toco Hills, is now open for business at 193 East Pike Street in Lawrenceville, according to President Jeff Alexander, a Central High graduate.

Alexander

Alexander’s is a full-service jewelry store offering engagement rings, ready to wear, jewelry of all prices, custom made jewelry, jewelry repair and gifts. Alexander says:  “We make regular trips to diamond dealers in Antwerp, Belgium, the Tahitian Pearl farmers in French Polynesia as well as other jewelry manufacturing centers.  Our selection is always changing to bring fresh new styles to our collection.”

Since 1964 the company operated a store in the Toco Hill Shopping Center.  Two years ago, the company began the search for a new location.  Working with the Lawrenceville Downtown Development Authority, the building and grounds were extensively remodeled to fit the needs of the jewelry store operation while keeping with the feel of the historic downtown square.

Alexander’s of Atlanta Fine Diamonds is accredited by the American Gem Society (AGS) and has the distinction of being the longest serving independently owned store to hold that title in Atlanta. Mr. Alexander, who is a Registered Jeweler with AGS, has twice served as the president of the Southeastern Guild of the American Gem Society.

Mr. Alexander is a Graduate of Central Gwinnett High School and holds a BS from Georgia Southern University, and MS from Southern Polytechnic State University, and a Diamonds Graduate Diploma and numerous certifications from the Gemological Institute of America.  Jeff and his wife, Linda, have one son who is serving in the United States Navy. They have a home in Gwinnett County.

Missed Mamma Mia!  Also scheduled for Ferst Center June 9-24

Mamma Mia! fans, rejoice!

After hosting a sold-out 50-show run of the hit musical at Aurora Theatre, the fastest-growing professional theater in Georgia is partnering with the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech to bring the show to audiences inside the perimeter this summer! Mamma Mia!, which broke records at Aurora Theatre as their best-selling show in history, will have audiences dancing in their seats during an additional 12-show run at the Ferst Center for the Arts from June 9-24, 2018.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s hit songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” Mamma Mia! combines timeless tunes with a sunny, funny tale that unfolds on a small Greek island. Mamma Mia! is an absolute must see, filled with ABBA hits, non-stop laughs and explosive dance numbers. In the title role of Donna Sheridan, Aurora Theatre proudly cast Kristin Markiton, the star of last season’s The Bridges of Madison County.

Mamma Mia! will play at the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech June 9-24, 2018. Ticket prices range from $30 – $85. Call (678) 226-6238 for more information on bringing a group.

• For more show information and ticket purchase, visit https://tickets.arts.gatech.edu.

Movie: Paul the Apostle of Christ

Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain  |  Paul awaits his execution in a Roman prison during Nero’s reign of terror.  Over these last days, he is visited by Luke, the physician who desires to write a book about Paul’s life. Luke travels between the hidden Christian community in Rome and Paul’s cell in an effort to gain inspiration to share with the struggling community and to learn more about Paul’s life which is in a large part depicted in the Acts of the Apostles.  Paul’s account, shared with Luke, includes a dramatic depiction of his time as a persecutor of Christians and his conversion which begins by being struck blind.  This quietly powerful story of a flawed human being who finds his way into the Light of Faith is not for those who want blood and gore, but for those who want to know both men in this moving character study.  Well worth your time!   Affirm Films, 2018

• 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.  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Burrison helps to publicize jug makers of Georgia

(Continued from previous edition)

John Burrison was awarded the Ph.D. in 1973 from the University of Pennsylvania. His dissertation, Georgia Jug Makers, foreshadows much of his later work and examines the survival of a traditional art form, discussing it as a folk tradition in modern terms.

Burrison

Before he moved to Atlanta, Burrison’s primary interests were oral literature and musical traditions. Then, in early 1968, while collecting information and artifacts for an exhibition of north Georgia folk crafts, Burrison stopped by the Meaders family pottery in White County. Cheever Meaders had recently died, and Burrison wanted to see what had become of the family’s pottery business.

There, Burrison met Lanier Meaders, Cheever’s son, and the two began a friendship that would last until Meaders’s death in 1998.

Meaders, in continuing the traditions of his father, was a remarkable representative of an ongoing craft tradition.  Meaders’ engaging personality led Burrison to examine the continuity represented by this family of potters. Burrison then widened the scope of his study to show the Meaders family’s connections with other regional pottery makers. Such ties offered a compelling way to read the central role of folk craftsmen, and their production, in forming a regional identity.

In his work, Burrison takes the traditional material culture study approach (that is, a folklorist’s perspective) and combines it with extensive interviews, oral histories, and exhaustive archival research on both the potters’ families and their locations. These analyses add to his work contextual dimensions that illustrate how networks of artisans and artifacts evolve over time and place. His methodology also includes discussions of pottery-making techniques gleaned from interviews and from critical study. For Burrison, proper study of the artifact includes the historical, political, artistic, and cultural markers that lead to and away from it.

Brothers in Clay, inspired by Lanier Meaders and his work, is indispensable to scholars, collectors, and others with an interest in the folk culture of Georgia and the Southeast. The book was the first comprehensive survey of a southern state’s ceramic traditions, both living and historical, and is still considered definitive for Georgia.

It has also been a model for similar studies in other states. In 2010 Burrison published From Mud to Jug: The Folk Potters and Pottery of Northeast Georgia, which updates the story.

Burrison has been a frequent consultant to museums, arts councils, film productions, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He has lectured at the Library of Congress in Washington; the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Northern Ireland; the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany; and Peking University in Beijing, China.

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

Take a look at maybe King Kong in action in this photo mystery

Today’s Mystery Photo reminds us of King Kong, and it may be, but it’s not in New York. That’s the only hint we’ll give to you photo-sleuthers. Send your idea of what this photo is to elliott@brack.net and include your home address.

Last week Jim Savadelis, Duluth immediately recognized the photo: “It’s Lake Burton!” he wrote, and he is absolutely right. The photograph was sent in by Billy Chism of Toccoa.  Neal Davies of Decatur/Tiger also reported: “Looks very much like Hall’s Boathouse on Lake Rabun in Rabun County, Ga.”

Leave it to George Graf of Palmyra, Va. to give us more information: “Lake Burton near Clayton, Ga. is a reservoir that was formed in 1920 and has 62 miles of shoreline and is 2,775 acres large. There is even an old town (the town of Burton) under the lake! Anchorage Boat Dock was built by Ned and Ruth Stockton in 1959. Materials including timbers and rock were gathered at the site and the construction was done by members of the family. The Poole family purchased it from them in 1967 and it has remained a family owned and operated business ever since.”

Smart Driver Workshop to help drivers understand new vehicle safety technologies and how to use them will be Tuesday, April 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the Collins Hill Branch Library, 45 Camp Perrin Road in Lawrenceville. Drivers will learn how the benefits of these technologies may enhance their driving safety and extend their safe driving years. The workshop is free, but reservations are requested by RSVPing o events@gwinnettpl.org. For more information, call 770-978-5154.

Vegetable Gardening Workshop will be Tuesday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Suwanee Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Timothy Daly, UGA Extension Agent, will discuss the vegetables that can be grown in the area, and give pointers on how to produce a bountiful harvest.  He will also present the program at the Hamilton Mill Branch Library on April 17 at 6:30. Both sessions are free and open to the public. Registration is requested. To RSVP, go to events@gwinnettpl.org. For more information, please visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.

(NEW) Southern Wings Bird Club will meet Saturday, April 14 at 8:45 a.m. The club will take a Bird Hike at BriarLake Forest Park, hosted by Dan Douthart. The plan is to meet at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center and carpool to the site.  The club will leave the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center at 8:45 a. m.  For more information, contact: BriarLake Forest Park at  https://www.briarlakeforestparkcom/information-about-the-park.html.

Gwinnett Multicultural Festival at Shorty Howell Park in Duluth, will be on April 29 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The free event will feature live performances from across the globe, kids’ activities, and other fun events. County agencies will have tables, booths, and staff to answer your questions. The police and fire departments will also have some of their specialized vehicles for you to check out.  Shorty Howell Park is located at 2750 Pleasant Hill Road.

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