OPENING SATURDAY will be the ninth annual Snellville Farmers’ Market. Edward Sezonov of Snellville Honey will have his products on display again, as well as many as 40 other vendors and displayers. The Lawrenceville and Norcross Farmers’ Market also opens Saturday.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Jackson EMC Linemen Help with Bringing Electricity for Bolivia
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Short Visit To Cincinnati Gains the Flavor of Ohio River City
ANOTHER VIEW: New Ways of Thinking Bring Feeling of Being Very Old
SPOTLIGHT: Eastside Medical Center
FEEDBACK: Truncated Thoughts from Local Observer of the Political Scene
McLEMORE’S WORLD: Cake Again
UPCOMING: Snellville’s Farmers’ Market Opens New Season Beginning June 2
NOTABLE: Sorority Restores Playground, Surprises Beauty Baldwin with Naming
RECOMMENDED: Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
GEORGIA TIDBIT: See How Many of These Quick Facts of Georgia You Knew
MYSTERY PHOTO: Long Hair and a Guitar Are Clues in Today’s Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Manuscript Workshop at Five Forks Library on Saturday
TODAY’S FOCUSJackson EMC linemen help with bringing electricity for Bolivia
Minish in Bolivia. Photo provided.
By Karen Ewing
JEFFERSON, Ga. | Four Jackson EMC linemen joined a volunteer team, sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International Foundation, which traveled to Bolivia to bring electricity to two remote villages in the Andes Mountains.
Jackson EMC partnered with Carroll EMC, Cobb EMC, Coweta-Fayette EMC, and Flint Energies to send a total of 11 linemen to build nine miles of line. Their work brought electricity to the agricultural villages of San Isidro and Murmutani, which had waited 10 years for access.
Gary Davis and Chris Wallace, journeyman linemen from Jackson EMC’s Gwinnett district, and Greg Angel and Tommy Minish, from the cooperative’s Neese district, were members of the team who brought light to 38 families.
Bolivian mother helped pull wires.
The most significant challenge they faced was the high altitude, which made the team concerned about completing the assignment.
Davis says: “You walked 10-15 feet and had to stop and catch your breath, so trying to climb a pole made it even harder at 13,000 feet above sea level.”
Minish added: “It was harder than expected. It took us about four days to adjust to the altitude.”
Without modern equipment, the linemen walked pole to pole in hard terrain, often on the side of mountains.
Angel says: “Their way of building lines is different; it’s really an old way. So we had to step back in time.”
Minish adds: “It was primitive work, back to the roots of line work. We didn’t have enough tools and it was all by-hand.”
Angel contributes: “You put 11 linemen together for the first time, in high altitude, without the modern equipment we have at Jackson EMC, and it was remarkable what we were able to accomplish.” After overcoming the initial challenges, the team finished the job a day early.
Wallace says: “The local villagers were very happy to see us and they were very excited and eager to help.”
Since they didn’t have a bucket truck or a cable puller, the villagers helped pull wire. Minish remembers: “One of my strongest memories is of a woman carrying a toddler on her back pulling wire up the side of the mountain where we were struggling just to walk.”
Wallace explains his favorite memory of a 72-year-old man who farmed in the village his whole life. “He walked circles around everybody; he literally ran everywhere. He was so excited to work with us.”
Angel
After the villagers turned on the electricity for the first time, they created a special celebration and presented the volunteer team with leis and sprinkled confetti on their heads, which is a traditional symbol of abundance Finally, they gave each lineman a hand-made alpaca wool hat.
Minish continues: “They will be able to grow and improve their communities. It reunited families. Children were living in the city with relatives because they didn’t have electricity to see their school work. Getting lights to these villages enabled the families to live together now.”
“It feels good to be part of a company making a difference,” Davis added.
This project was made possible by NRECA International, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, whose mission is to increase individual and community access to electricity in all parts of the world.
Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, the largest electric cooperative in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Ga. The cooperative serves more than 227,000 meters on 14,000 miles of energized wire. For more information, visit jacksonemc.com.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Short visit to Cincinnati gains the flavor of Ohio River city
The Roebling Bridge over the Ohio River with Cincinnati in the background.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 1, 2018 | Skyline Chili is to Cincinnati what the Varsity is the Atlanta.
Chances are for Atlantans, that Skyline chili seems a little tame. But Cincinnatians probably wouldn’t appreciate the tanginess of the Varsity hot dog.
The Queen City of Cincinnati also cultivates people with praise for Graeter’s ice cream. While it could be good, perhaps it was the circumstances that we were in that didn’t allow us to appreciate it as we should.
We spent three days in Cincinnati recently, every day with overcast skies and rain. One afternoon we walked from our hotel for a Graeter’s destination, two blocks away.
As we waited for a traffic light, it began to sprinkle. Once across one street, then having to cross another, it began to rain harder, and us with no umbrella. By then we were more than halfway to the ice cream parlor, so we continued on, running, through by then in a downpour, feeling the wetness of our soggy pant legs from the blowing rain.
So maybe when we arrived at Graeter’s, we weren’t in the best mood for ice cream than when we started out. Dripping into the shop, we ordered. By the time we left, it was merely drizzling. You can see where our mind was, on the rain and us being soaked, not paying much attention to the ice cream. We don’t think it measures up to Ben and Jerry’s, or even to Bruster’s. But Cincinnatians are proud of Graeter’s.
Why visit Cincinnati? Because we had never been. It’s an old town, founded in 1788. We passed one restaurant about seven blocks from the river, which said it had been serving food since 1788. We bet its first location was hard by the river.
Three United States presidents were born or raised in Cincinnati: Ulysses S. Grant (18th), Benjamin Harrison (23rd), and William Howard Taft (27th).
Cincinnati’s downtown is laid out on a grid, and easy to get around. Staying downtown, we could walk to many locations. We attended a play, just four blocks away.
We like the Cincinnati Bell Connector, a streetcar on a 3.6 mile loop from downtown to the Over the Rhine neighborhood. We took it to Phoenix Market, a busy place on a Saturday for people buying fresh vegetables and meats, to those simply stopping by to nourish themselves at eateries. The Cincinnati street car two hour pass cost $1, but all day is just $2. That encourages ridership.
Cincinnati, being nearly as old as our nation, was once the jumping off place for the West. And as such it produced businessmen early on who made their fortunes. Today it’s a center of banking and insurance, known for its varied restaurants, including several legendary German ones. Proctor and Gamble, plus Kroger, are headquartered there.
Our cultural element on this trip was a visit to the Taft Museum. It is well done, and our High Museum card got us a 75 percent discount!
Right across the river are Newport and Covington, Ky. The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) is smart enough to run a continuous free shuttle from these towns to Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. It was great to hop the shuttle and five minutes later be dropped off at Newport’s Hofbrauhaus for lunch. Afterward we returned via the trolley directly to our hotel. So these two Kentucky towns benefit from downtown Cincinnati visitors.
Our visit was a short trip, but a nice one. You can have a good time in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Our next venture? We hear good things about Greenville, S.C., next in sight.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
New ways of thinking bring feeling of being very old
By Debra Houston, contributing columnist
LILBURN, Ga. | The Pope says God is OK with homosexuality, that He made you the way you are, gay or straight. I’ve heard the opposing argument that God wouldn’t create a homosexual, because the Bible says it’s a sin.
Also I heard that God wouldn’t create a human who runs counter to the natural order of life as He designed it. So I ask, “Why does God create babies with disabilities? Isn’t that going against the natural order of things?”
If I sound like a middle-of-the-roader, then perhaps I am. President Barack Obama said marriage is between a man and a woman. I believed him. Then he said he’d evolved when the Supreme Court ruled gays could marry.
So I’ll confess that the Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage surprised me, though I understand that in a pluralistic society we don’t create laws based on anyone’s particular religion. Not anymore, at least.
Now we have L.G.B.T.Q. for gay people. But isn’t the Q word as offensive to gays as the N word is for black people? This is foreign to me. I suddenly feel very old.
There’s a scripture that gives me hope in remaining an old-fashioned girl in a modern world. I’m paraphrasing here: 1 Thessalonians 4:11 – “Aspire to lead a quiet life (and) ….to mind your own business…”
I can do that. I also continue to love all people regardless of who they are.
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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 at both their Main and South Campus locations. 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 now has three Eastside Urgent Care centers located in Lawrenceville, Centerville, and Lilburn. 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, click here.
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Truncated thoughts from local observer of the political scene
Editor, the Forum:
Here are my recent thoughts: I do believe Republicans have warmed to Trump since he was elected, but the African American vote will be extremely strong like it was for Obama. A female, black governor candidate will help all Dems on the ticket because of turnout. Multiply that by the overwhelming hatred for the president among Dems and there is at least 40 percent of the vote.
What independents do is the question. Trump and the present governor have improved the economy dramatically. Georgians see it daily.
Another question is the wet macaroni effect of Reps in power. Their overall motivation to vote versus the Dems, who are like angry wolves scratching and ripping at the barriers, prevent them from tearing Trump apart has quite a differential. Normally, the Dems do not have a chance at this, but unless Reps get motivated, history could be made. However, Trump did take the state previously.
— Bryan Gilbert, 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
McLEMORE’S WORLDCake again
- For more of Bill McLemore’s cartoons, see his page on Facebook.
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Snellville’s Farmers’ Market opens new season June 2
The award-winning Snellville Farmers’ Market will open its ninth season Saturday, June 2.
The popular weekly market will be open each Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Towne Green through September 29. The market will open its season with the National Anthem sung by Snellville’s Kriss Johnson at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Johnson is the 2015 Ms. Senior Georgia and the 2017 Ms. National Patriot.
Also, David Tyberg will entertain patrons with his tenor banjo, focusing on rock/pop favorites, jazz and Broadway classics, as well as his own pop songwriting. More entertainment and guests will be featured throughout the season.
The market features products that come from farms and gardens that, for the most part, are located within a 100-mile radius of Snellville. When people purchase local produce, rather than produce that has been shipped across the country, it comes from farmers who have nurtured their crops and usually picked their produce the day before the market, or even early that morning, giving the consumer freshly picked and flavorful products.
Primary parking is across the street in the City Hall parking lot with overflow parking at Cobblestone Place. There will be new vendors this year, as well as all your favorites from years past.
Andrews to have author appearance in Lawrenceville June 3
Mary Kay Andrews of Atlanta and Tybee Island, the New York Times bestselling author, will talk about her latest book, The High Tide Club, on Sunday, June 3 at 6 p.m. at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville. Guests should park at 153 East Crogan Street, Lawrenceville. This is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
She is the author of 24 novels including Weekenders, Beach Town, Ladies’ Night, Summer Rental, Deep Dish, Hissy Fit. Her latest book, The High Tide Club, is Andrews at her “Queen of the Beach Reads” best. This is a compelling and witty tale of romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered, and true love found. It is a delightful novel of new love, old secrets, and the kind of friendship that transcends generations. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.
NOTABLESorority restores playground, surprises Baldwin with naming
The women of the Upsilon Alpha Omega and Psi Tau Omega chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. parted with their pearls and pumps on May 19 to revitalize the playground at North Metro Academy of Performing Arts in Norcross. More than 100 volunteers assisted in the efforts to enhance the playground.
Baldwin
The AKA 1908 Playground Mobilization project was designed to update the playground with new equipment, and cleaning up the pavilion area, community benches and surrounding grounds. says Vice President of UAO, Nicola McIntyre. The playground was provided by King of Swings whose owner, is Letitia Campbell, a member of the South African chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Psi Tau Omega.
To the surprise of the crowd and the honoree, the playground was named after Beauty P. Baldwin, founder of the school, who is an UAO charter member and longtime leader in Gwinnett County education. Beauty P. Baldwin also has a school named in her honor and serves on several boards in Gwinnett County.
This service project was created to ensure children have a safe and inviting place to play. The AKA 1908 Playground Mobilization Project is a worldwide effort. Sorority members are well on their way of restoring and renewing 1,908 existing community and school playgrounds.
Thompson writing about his recent loss at the polls
Many of voters were wondering how and why long-time Democratic Senator Curt Thompson was defeated for re-election in the recent primary. Come to find out unusual activities were taking place within his family. He wrote on an internet posting:
“I should have messaged earlier but as many of you know my son had surgery to remove several tumors the day after the primary, and even in public service there are times like these when family comes first. Now that my son is recovering from a successful surgery, I wanted to take the time to first congratulate Sheikh Rahman on his win for the May 22 Democratic Primary. I wish him well as he represents us and our communities in the 5th State Senate District starting in 2019.”
RECOMMENDEDEverything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain | This is the story of two sisters, who have very different temperaments and create very different lives after their mother’s untimely death. Miranda is the stalwart, traditional sister while Lucia is the wildly excitable sister whose larger than life experiences spill over. After their mother’s death, Lucia starts to hear voices. This illness/aberration is briefly under control until her marriage to a much older Russian. Her sister Miranda attempts to make a life for herself in Switzerland with her new husband but she is always the protector of her quixotic sister, whose changes in the course of her own life dramatically impacts Miranda’s life. While I initially had challenges connecting with both sisters, it was in the middle of the book that I became mesmerized. The author’s skill at describing mental illness from the standpoint of the patient was quite affecting and made both sisters real people
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
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITSee how many of these quick facts of Georgia you know
Here are Quick Facts from the Georgia Encyclopedia. See if you knew all this about Georgia.
COLONY: Founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733; 13th colony
STATEHOOD: January 2, 1788; 4th state
CAPITAL: Atlanta, since 1868
MOTTO: “Wisdom, justice, and moderation”
NICKNAMES: Empire State of the South; Peach State
TOTAL POPULATION: 9,687,653; 9th most populous in United States (as of 2010 census)
LAND AREA: 57,513 square miles (as of 2010 census); 24th largest in United States
COASTLINE: 100 miles
HIGHEST POINT: Brasstown Bald, 4,784 feet
LOWEST POINT: Sea level at the Atlantic Coast
COUNTIES: 159
ELECTORAL VOTES: 16 (as of the 2010 U.S. census)
U.S. CONGRESS: 2 senators; 14 representatives (as of the 2010 election)
GOVERNOR: Nathan Deal, 2011—
LATITUDE: 30° 31′ N to 35°
LONGITUDE: 81° W to 85° 53′ W
LENGTH & WIDTH: 300 miles long and 230 miles wide
GEOGRAPHIC CENTER: in Twiggs County, 18 miles southeast of Macon
HIGHEST RECORDED TEMPERATURE: 112°F, July 24, 1952, at Louisville; and August 20, 1983, at Greenville (Meriwether County)
LOWEST RECORDED TEMPERATURE: -17°F, January 27, 1940, at CCC Camp F-16
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE: from a high of 92.2°F to a low of 32.6°F
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Long hair and a guitar are clues in today’s Mystery Photo
Looks like a guitarist is today’s Mystery Photo. Figure out who, and where, and send your answers to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
There were three readers recognizing the last edition’s Mystery Photo, which we took in Cincinnati on our recent trip. Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex. was first in: “Today’s mystery photo is the George Grey Barnard’s bronze Abraham Lincoln statue that was commissioned by Charles P. Taft for Lytle Park in Cincinnati in 1917. This particular statue is the first cast (of three) of a statue commissioned by Charles Taft, half-brother of William Howard Taft, for the city of Cincinnati in 1910 and displayed in 1917. A second cast was sent to Manchester, England, in 1919, and a third cast was created and displayed at the Louisville Free Public Library at Fourth in Louisville, Ky. The base of the statue in the mystery photo reveals that this was the 1917 version in Cincinnati. At the time, this statue was criticized on both aesthetic and political grounds. Even sympathetic observers found it ‘gloriously ugly and at the same time touchingly pathetic.’”
Others recognizing it were Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill and George Graf of Palmyra, Va. George writes: “Abraham Lincoln is an 11-foot bronze statue of the 16th president in Lytle
Park within downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. There’s something a bit ragged and a lot rugged about the bronze Abraham Lincoln in Lytle Park. His clothes are as wrinkled as his folded hands, as disheveled as the cowlick atop his furrowed brow. Not even a beard masks the concerned creases in his thin face. We see every line in this Lincoln. All the rough, lean edges that made the man. This Lincoln is the Rail-Splitter. The Kentucky-born son of the American frontier. He’s a hard-working man who was hardened by the land he loved, with big, rough hands and even bigger feet.”
CALENDAR
Manuscript Workshop is being planned for Saturday, June 2 at the Five Forks Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library from 11:15 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. Join author Rebecca Petruck as she shares the journey of her latest middle grade novel, Boy Bites Bug. Bring the first five pages of your picture book, middle grade, or young adult novel (double-spaced) for feedback. The Meet the Author portion of this event will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.
10th Annual Gala of the Duluth Fine Arts League will be June 2 at 7 p.m. on the Duluth Town Green. The casual event will include a Live Auction, Proof of the Pudding dinner, lawn games, a DJ, jewelry raffles, and other activities. The proceeds go to the Duluth High School Arts Scholarships Program and for a future art piece in Duluth.
Generations Expo for 50+boomers and seniors will be at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth on Saturday, June 2 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Adults over 50 or those planning for a loved one, or looking to their future, will find a world of Generations E-information, advice and opportunity at the fourth annual event, presented by Gwinnett Medical Center and the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Peachtree Corners Festival will be on June 9-10 and seeks volunteers to help make the magic happen. Volunteer opportunities, as short as two hours, are available for assisting exhibitors with setting up booths, as well as support during the festival for hydration and rest breaks. The car show will also need people to direct cars and help drivers, while the dining area will need to be kept clean for guests, and the hospitality suite will need to be manned. Visit PeachtreeCornersFestival.org and click Volunteers to get started. Every volunteer receives the exclusive 2018 Peachtree Corners Festival t-shirt. Teens and groups are welcome.
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