11/16: Gwinnett Tech’s growth; Remembering a newspaperman; Gerrymandering

GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE has approval from the State Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to offer an additional degree.  It will be for a new bachelor’s degree program in middle grades education.  For more information, see Notable below.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Gwinnett Tech Continues Enrollment Growth for Fifth Semester

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Fitzgerald Newspaperman A Leader on the Cusp of Better Journalism

ANOTHER VIEW: Here’s the Way That Gerrymandering Worked Near Her Home

SPOTLIGHT: Infinite Energy Center

FEEDBACK: It’s Time for You To Take a Look At More of “Murphy’s Laws”

UPCOMING: GEHC Hosting National American Festival on November 19

NOTABLE: Regents OK New GGC Degree Program for Middle Grade Education

RECOMMENDED: Every Note Play by Lisa Genova

GEORGIA TIDBIT: There are 16 Dams Creating Large Impoundments on the ACF Basin

MYSTERY PHOTO: From A Difficult Mystery Photo, Now for an Easier One.

CALENDAR: Coming events

Gwinnett Tech continues enrollment growth for 5^th semester

By Melissa Smith

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.  |   For the fifth semester in a row, Gwinnett Technical College has recorded the highest enrollment numbers in the College’s 34-year history. This fall, more than 9,100 students across Gwinnett and North Fulton began their studies in high-demand career fields.

Fall semester 2018 recorded a nine percent increase in enrollment over a year ago. Dr. D. Glen Cannon, president of Gwinnett Tech, attributes this surge in enrollment to a few key factors:

• Focusing on academic programs designed to feed high demand careers such as engineering, cybersecurity, computer programming, business management and accounting, criminal justice, welding and healthcare.
• Increased awareness about programs and support services for Veterans and their families. The College’s Office of Veterans Affairs ranks third in the nation on the 2018 Best Colleges for Vets list by Military Times.
• Expanding HOPE Career Grant offerings from 30 certificates and diplomas to 51. Programs of study include automotive and construction, computer sciences, early childhood care and education, health sciences, heavy diesel, logistics management and welding and joining technology. The HOPE Career Grant pays for 100 percent of tuition costs.

Cannon

There has also been a 32 percent increase in the number of North Fulton and Gwinnett county high school students enrolled in the Dual Enrollment program. This fall, 1,604 high school students from public, private and home schools across the community are enrolled at Gwinnett Tech, while in high school, taking classes on their home high school campus, at Gwinnett Tech or online.

Dr. Cannon adds: “Our faculty and staff are dedicated to offering a career-focused education for real-world jobs. We work with our industry partners to deliver educational programs that meet the needs of the job market. ”

The College now offers more than 140 different associate degree, diploma and certificate programs expanding programs to meet the ever-changing demands of today’s job market.

Gwinnett Tech offers the community an opportunity to explore the campus through weekly tours and information sessions. Information sessions are hosted on the Lawrenceville campus Mondays at 11 a.m. and every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Campus tours are available Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons following the 2:30 p.m. information sessions. Visitors are also welcome to attend information sessions on the Alpharetta-North Fulton campus Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and by appointment. Those interested in tours and information sessions may call Gwinnett Tech’s Recruitment Center at 678-226-6751 to register.

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

Fitzgerald newspaperman a leader on the cusp of better journalism

By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher

NOV. 16, 2018  |  Going to funerals is something I remember since I was 4 years old, when my younger brother died. Over the years, we’ve felt it important to attend funerals of friends.  As a veteran funeral attendee, we can distinguish between a good and bad funeral. (Length is not the criteria.) We realize those we’re losing won’t be at our funeral, and the older we get, the fewer there will be to say farewell to us.

We were to attend two funerals this week, but backed out of attending one Tuesday because of the widespread rain across North and Middle Georgia. We though it prudent to stay home, rather than drive 193 miles one way to Fitzgerald for the funeral.

The funeral was to be that of Jerry Pryor, 87, retired publisher of the Fitzgerald Herald Leader, who himself was an institution in that town, having been born there and the newspaper publisher from 1959 until1996.

We have known the Pryor family for 45 years, first meeting them through the annual convention of the Georgia Press Association, held many of those years at Jekyll Island. With most newspapers publishing 52 weeks a year, many smaller publishers used the three day convention of newspaper-people as their only vacation, bringing the whole family. Virtually every major daily was also in attendance. So all got to know not only the professionals, but their families, too. Today with corporate-owned newspapers not springing for convention dollars, not as many newsmen attend the GPA convention, sad to say. The convention is down from 600 in attendance in its heyday to less than 100 today.

Pryor

Up until modern printing methods came into vogue, the smaller publisher was constantly at the keyboard of the formidable and sometimes cantankerous Linotype machine producing its hot lead slugs. Since many smaller papers had only one Linotype, the publisher operated the machine to produce every line of type in each paper. Therefore, he didn’t have time to get out and sell advertising himself. He relied often on advertising walking in through the front door, and had a relative small paper each week.

Since the introduction of “cold type” and computers, typesetting is no longer the major obstacle of the newspaper. Typesetting is not even an afterthought, as modern production consists of shifting blocks of type around the computer screen.

Jerry Pryor was a person of the more modern era. He wasn’t trained to be a Linotypist for newspaper work, but graduated from the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, becoming a newsman-reporter. After serving two years in the Army, and then working on newspapers in Swainsboro and Milledgeville, plus owning part of the Wrightsville newspaper, he in 1959 purchased the Fitzgerald Herald. Then a few years later, he bought the Fitzgerald Leader, and combined the two weeklies. Today his daughter, Becky, and her husband, Tim, are the management team at the Fitzgerald Herald-Leader. Jerry’s fellow publishers recognized his leadership abilities, electing him president of the Georgia Press Association in 1989-90.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, newspapers were changing. Publishers realized that they were using their costly newspaper press on a limited basis. Jerry was among the first to get several of his fellow publishers to go together, buy a modern press, and in 1970 combine their printing operations. (Their Pineland Press co-op printing plant operates out of  Ocilla.) Utilizing the off-set printing method, which was easier and cheaper, these publishers produced a bigger, slicker, modern and eventually colorful newspaper than before.

We were disappointed not be in Fitzgerald for the celebration of Jerry’s life. We counted him a good friend.

Gerald W. “Jerry” Pryor (1931-2018): May you rest in peace.

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

Here’s the way that gerrymandering worked near her home

By Debra Houston, contributing columnist

LILBURN, Ga.  |  Well done, Democrats. I’d be remiss not to commend you on your midterm successes. You were disciplined, persistent, and undaunted. You also had friends with deep pockets who funded the glut of advertisements over the airways and social media.

I belong to the Republican Party, which, after the 2010 Census, began gerrymandering districts based on “population shifts.”  A party can do that when they’re in power. Redistricting sounds like a nice word, but it’s all a scheme. It allows politicians to choose voters instead of voters choosing their representatives.

If you detect a bit of starchiness in my tone, understand that Republicans kicked me out of my district. I’m in Lilburn, which is the Seventh Congressional District seat conservative Republican Rob Woodall holds. Lilburn was redistricted and part of it now belongs to the Fourth Congressional District seat, held by liberal Democrat Hank Johnson.

Guess which district I fell into? If I leave my house, cross the tracks, and make a hard right, I’m in Woodall’s District. I’m talking 2/3 of a mile. You tell me why that 2/3 of a mile should be in the same district as Decatur. Also understand that when I cast my ballot in 2016 for Mr. Trump, the district went for Mrs. Clinton. You may as well say my vote fell on fallow ground.

Some operatives in a smoke-filled room shuffled us voters like a pack of cards. I have nothing against Rep. Johnson. His constituency is mostly African-American and he serves them well. I’d never want them redistricted unless they request it. I would, however, want a Republican to challenge him, as Joe Profit did this election.

He has had challengers but I doubt they received much financial support. My party won’t pour money into an unwinnable race.  Stop rolling the dice, Republicans! Stop hoarding campaign money!   

As I write this, Rep. Woodall it appears to be reelected to his seat, barely. The bean counters are still calculating. I wonder if Mr. Woodall would’ve had an easy race were it not for redistricting. I wonder if Gwinnett County would’ve turned blue had the gerrymandering never happened.

If I were The Queen of Politics, I’d find a smart young Republican who believes in small government to run against Rep. Johnson. The candidate must be disciplined, persistent, and undaunted.  Republican purse strings would open wide and advertisements would flood the airways and social media. The national media Fourth District.

Meanwhile, Congressman Johnson wakes up each morning assured he’ll keep his District seat until he retires. That’s a nice job if you can get it.

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

Infinite Energy Center

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is Infinite Energy Center, home to four distinct facilities in Duluth: Infinite Energy Arena, Infinite Energy Theater, Infinite Energy Forum, and The Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center For Art and Learning. Infinite Energy Arena has had 15 years of tremendous success hosting countless concerts, family shows and sporting events, and is home to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators and the NLL’s Georgia Swarm.  Some past concerts include George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, James Taylor and Michael Bublé. Infinite Energy Arena also hosts many family shows including Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, Cirque du Soleil, Disney On Ice and Harlem Globetrotters.  Infinite Energy Forum offers patrons the opportunity to host or attend a wide variety of events, from corporate meetings to trade shows to social occasions.  Infinite Energy Theater has an intimate capacity of 708-seats and is home to many local events, family shows and even some comedians. The Hudgens Center For Art and Learning showcases a range of artwork throughout the year along with offering a wide range of fine art classes.

• For further information visit InfiniteEnergyCenter.com.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

It’s time for you to take a look at more of “Murphy’s Laws”

Editor, the Forum:

This isn’t original with me, but your readers might enjoy them.

MURPHY’S OTHER 15 LAWS

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
2. A fine is a tax for doing wrong.  A tax is a fine for doing well.
3. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
4. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.
5. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
6. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t.
7. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
8. The 50-50-90 rule:  Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there’s a 90% probability you’ll get it wrong.
9. It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end-to-end, someone from California would try to pass them.
10. If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.
11. The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first.
12. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.
13. Flashlight:  A case for holding dead batteries.
14. God gave you toes as a device for finding furniture in the dark.
15. When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.

            — David Earl Tyre, Jesup

Enjoyed trolley column tidbit

Editor, the Forum:

Enjoyed your column item on the Braselton Trolley. When I was growing up in Jefferson, a few miles away, Braselton’s “commercial” district consisted of the Braselton Brothers general store, maybe a gas station and not much else. Its city limits almost overlapped Hoschton, which was about the same size. In those days, Braselton was best known for its high school boys’ basketball team, which won state championships and consistently beat the schools in larger towns around it. How times change!

— Carrol Dadisman, Tallahassee, Fla.

Remembering the name of the yearbook at Georgia State University

Editor, the Forum:

At first, I thought the Georgia State University yearbook was still The Nocturne, since Georgia began as a night school. But then I remember that it is called The Rampway, because the initial building was Kell Hall, a former parking garage. Students never had to climb stairway, just walk up the ramp.  I’ve made many trips up and down those ramps!

— Meg Sweigart, Suwanee

Editor, the Forum:

The yearbook was named The Rampway. It got its name from the rampways in Kell Hall, which was a former parking deck.

— Judy Moore, Lawrenceville:

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

GEHC hosting National American Festival on Nov. 19

A Native American Festival will be held on November 19 at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (GEHC), from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with activities for people of all ages. The festival will expose visitors to traditional Cherokee games, grinding corn, hearing Native American stories and learning to speak and write with the Cherokee syllabary created by Sequoyah. Activities will include exploring tools, weapons, and musical instruments made from river cane, native plant hikes, and a showing of GEHC’s Stellarium presentation to explore how Native Americans interpreted the stars.

Jason West, Manager at GEHC says that according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the first humans to arrive in Georgia appeared more than 12,000 years ago. He adds: “While the earliest people to inhabit Georgia and Gwinnett did not leave a written record of their experiences, it is important to note that they made a significant impact that is still felt today. This festival reminds us that Gwinnett and Georgia are continually influenced by those who came before us.”

During the event, visitors can view the Roots of Wisdom – Native Knowledge, Shared Science exhibit highlighting four Native American communities from across the country and exploring the blending of age-old traditions and modern science. The exhibit is produced and toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and made possible with funds provided by the National Science Foundation.

Admission to the Native American Festival is $5 per person for Gwinnett residents and $10 per person for out of county guests. Register online at www.gwinnettEHC.com using code EHC48128 or pay at the door on the day of the event. For more information, call 770-904-3500.

Regents OK new GGC degree program for middle grade education

University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents approved Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) proposal for a new bachelor’s degree program in middle grades education during its meeting yesterday.

Dr. Cathy Moore, dean of the School of Education, says: “This program will fill a critical need for middle grades teachers in Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), as well as the Atlanta region and elsewhere in Georgia. We will be excited to begin accepting students into this program once it has been approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.”

As with GGC’s existing programs in elementary education and special education, the middle grades program includes field experiences imbedded in many upper-level classes. Students in the program will complete a full year of student teaching. Georgia Gwinnett collaborates on student teacher field experiences and placements with GCPS, the largest employer of the college’s graduates in education.

Adding this program also supports USG efforts to provide qualified new teachers for the state’s school systems. This need is pronounced in Gwinnett County. The U.S. Census shows that since 2010, Gwinnett County’s population has grown 12.6 percent while the rest of the state’s population has grown 6.4 percent. In the age category of individuals under 18 years of age, Gwinnett outpaces the rest of the state at 27 percent, and its population is greater than that of Georgia’s 76 least populated counties.

GMS’s Williams is national winner as Athletic Trainer of the Year

Williams

Gwinnett Medical Center’s James Williams has been named the Association of Independent Institutions’ 2017-18 Athletic Trainer of the Year. Williams is also the head athletic trainer at Georgia Gwinnett College. This award is from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) colleges and winners are voted on by other collegiate level athletic trainers. This is the first time he has garnered this award.

GGC Associate Vice President of Athletics Dr. Darin S. Wilson says: “GGC is fortunate to have some of the best athletic trainers in the country. This A.I.I. recognition is well-deserved for the outstanding job that James does on a daily basis. James is the ultimate professional who goes above and beyond his normal job duties to treat our student-athletes with the utmost care.”

With over 19 years of experience in athletic training, Williams served as the former assistant athletic trainer for the Cleveland Browns (2006-09) and the Atlanta Falcons (2010). In 2012, he joined Georgia Gwinnett College’s athletic department through Gwinnett Medical Center’s Sports Medicine Program. Williams and his staff provided athletic training support as GGC hosted four A.I.I. championship events during the 2017-18 seasons.

Williams is also the 2013 Gwinnett Medical Center Athletic Trainer of the Year and has recently been nominated for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Healthcare Professional of the Year award.

Gwinnett Parks and Recreation wins District 7 agency of the year

Gwinnett’s Parks and Recreation Department is the 2018 Agency of the Year in the 50,000 and over population class of District 7 of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association. The award was presented at the association’s annual district awards banquet hosted recently in Oconee County.

The Volunteer Award was presented to Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance Company’s “Serve with Liberty” program. For the past six years, volunteers with the program have completed 1,122 hours of service in Gwinnett County parks.

Monte Harpe received the Distinguished Professional Administrator Award for his dedication to the field of aquatics and his work in the community. The Roy A. Hammond Leadership Award was presented to Chris Minor, deputy director of Parks and Recreation, for his leadership and vision, inspiring success in his team, organization and the community.

Every Note Play by Lisa Genova

From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: This is a story about a world-renowned concert pianist who is stricken with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), who begins a long painful slide to a non-functioning body.  His ex-wife, Karina, is also a talented pianist who subjugates her dream for Richard’s.  Eventual unhappiness leads to the end of the marriage. However, with Richard’s health slowly fading, Karina becomes his ambivalent caregiver. The reader is taken on a stark journey of how a progressive disease can be a source of existential healing even as the body erodes beyond repair.  Better than an article or book about ALS, Genova’s novel puts in stark relief how  all systems in the body shut down slowly and the hearts of Richard and Karina are pruned of all discord as healing comes to both, amidst regret and forgiveness.  Not for the squeamish, this book is a revelation about the disease ALS and its impact.

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

There are 16 dams creating large impoundments on the ACF Basin

ACF Basin

Chattahoochee and Flint rivers are part of a larger Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin, which flows through the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. The Chattahoochee River drains an area of 8,770 square miles and is the most heavily used water resource in Georgia.

Its headwaters begin at the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Union County, at an altitude above 3,000 feet, and flow 430 miles to the Chattahoochee’s confluence with the Flint River in southwest Georgia at Lake Seminole, in Seminole County. The Flint River is approximately 350 miles long and drains an area of 8,460 square miles. Most of the larger tributaries in the ACF river basin are located in the lower reaches of the Flint River basin.

The headwaters of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers occur north of the fall line in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont respectively. Water supplies in the headwater region derive primarily from surface waters. South of the fall line are the Providence aquifers and upper Cretaceous strata. The Providence aquifer system is the deepest of the principal aquifers in southern Georgia and consists of sand and gravel separated by clay and silt confining beds.

The lower reaches of both rivers are part of the Floridan aquifer system, a limestone aquifer that is susceptible to contamination. This aquifer is one of the most productive worldwide. The hydrology connecting the Floridan aquifer and the Flint River results in groundwater discharge contributing to baseflow more in the Flint River than in the Chattahoochee River. Groundwater flow into the Chattahoochee River is one-fifth of that discharging into the Flint River.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has constructed 16 mainstream dams, which create large impoundments for flood control, water supply, power, and commercial navigation, in the ACF river basin. Thirteen of these dams are on the Chattahoochee River.

Along most of the river’s length, hydroelectric plants release water to produce hydropower and to control the river’s flow. In the early 1800s dam construction in the basin began on the Chattahoochee River above the fall line at Columbus to take advantage of natural elevation gradients for power production. During low flow periods, stored water is used to supplement the discharge of the river.

There have been marked decreases in the frequency of high and low flows since the start of operation of Buford Dam in 1956, and river flows fluctuate daily below the reservoirs along the Chattahoochee River. Lake Lanier provides 65 percent of the water storage to regulate flows, yet it drains only five percent of the ACF river basin.

Four large reservoirs along the Chattahoochee River include Lake Lanier (38,000 acres in area and 540 miles of shoreline); West Point Lake (25,900 acres in area and 525 miles of shoreline); Lake Walter F. George (45,180 acres in area and 640 miles of shoreline); and Seminole (37,500 acres in area and 500 miles of shoreline).

Two hydropower dams located on the Flint River impound run-of-the-river reservoirs (which means that the amount of water flowing through the dam is the same amount flowing into the reservoir from the river upstream) and do not appreciably influence the monthly flow of the Flint River. The dams do alter the daily flow regime, however. The Flint River lacks impoundments for more than 200 river miles.

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

From a difficult Mystery Photo to an easier one

After a hard Mystery Photo, how about an easy one?  Just follow the clues. Send your idea to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.

What we thought would be difficult because there were few obvious clues to the Mystery Photo was easy for a few of you. Kay Montgomery of Duluth wrote immediately: “High Falls State Park is a Georgia state park located near the city of Jackson, in Monroe County, just northwest of Macon. It is the site of a prosperous 19th-century industrial center, which became a ghost town when it was bypassed by the railroad. We always enjoyed stopping there on our trips going south on I-75.” The photo came from Molly Titus of Peachtree Corners.

Several others easily recognized it: Joseph Hopkins of Norcross; Meg  Sweigart of Suwanee wrote: “I’m going to take a wild guess and say High Falls State Park here in Georgia. Something about this photo looks familiar to me.” Tim Daly of Snellville recognized it, as did David Earl Tyre of Jesup.

Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas wrote: “To classify this week’s mystery photo as ‘difficult’ may be a bit of an understatement, as I am certain that there are a very large number of similarly looking falls throughout the world, and even just in Georgia. Having said that, I will hazard a guess, and really that is all that it is … a guess (which is based on the type of rock formations and trees in the photo, and assuming that you wanted to have a bit of ‘local’ flavor to this week’s photo). All that said, this looks like part of the Tallulah Falls in the Tallulah Gorge State Park in North Georgia.

‘If this is correct, the readers may be interested in knowing that (according to Wikipedia) the Tallulah Gorge is a gorge formed by the Tallulah River cutting through the 250 – 500 million year old Tallulah Dome rock formation. The gorge is approximately two miles long and features rocky cliffs up to 1,000 feet high. Through it, a series of falls known as Tallulah Falls drop a total of 490 feet in one mile. Tallulah Falls is actually composed of six separate falls: l’Eau d’Or (46 feet), Tempesta (76 feet), Hurricane (the tallest at 96 feet), Oceana (50 feet), Bridal Veil (17 feet), and finally, Lovers Leap (16 feet.) The Tallulah Gorge is located next to the town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Tallulah Gorge State Park protects much of the gorge and its waterfalls and the gorge is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.”

LILBURN TREE LIGHTING will be held Saturday, November 17 at City Hall. See real reindeer! Enjoy refreshments, holiday music, kids’ crafts, decorated trees throughout City Hall. Note that the reindeer picture opportunity is 6-8 p.m. only. Enjoy holiday music, kids’ crafts, decorated trees throughout City Hall. Entertainments will be by Georgia Brass Band, Lilburn Middle School Chorus and Lilburn First Baptist Proclamation Handbell Ensemble.

AMERICA RECYCLES DAY is November 17, from 9 a. m. until noon at Coolray Field. To celebrate, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is partnering with Gwinnett County Solid Waste and Recovered Materials Division. Recycle items that are typically harder to recycle, such as electronics, tires, paint, ink cartridges, clothes, and more! Free paper shredding will be available, up to five boxes per vehicle. To volunteer, visit http://www.volunteergwinnett.net.

REINDEER GAMES in downtown Braselton is Saturday, November 17 at 10:30 a.m. It’s the year of the Deer! And we’d love for you to join us as we kickstart the holiday season. Parade entries are free and a little doe is awarded for the best floats. So put your antlers together and start planning today! For more information contact Amy at apinnell@braselton.net .

FOURTH ANNUAL CHILI COOKOFF to benefit the Gift of Adoption Fund will be Saturday, November 17 at Suwanee Town Center. Sponsored by Peach State Federal Credit Union, there will be over 50 chili teams vying for the $1,000 Grand Prize, voted on by the attendees. The fund assists Georgia families with their own domestic and international adoptions. Advance tickets are available at www.peachstatechili.com.

A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, Manuela Mendels Bornstein, will present a first-person account of his  once in a lifetime experience.  Join Gwinnett Library, in partnership with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, as Mrs. Bornstein shares her story.  This event will be Sunday, November 18 at 3 p.m. at the Peachtree Corners City Hall , 310 Technology Parkway, in Peachtree Corners.  This program is recommended for grades five and up and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.

TURKEY TROT: on Thanksgiving morning, November 22, with the Women’s Club of Sugarloaf Country Club Charities, Inc. sponsoring its annual 5K run.  Proceeds benefit six local charities:  Rainbow Village, Duluth Co Op, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, The Next Stop, Connections Homes and New Directions. The race begins at 9 a.m. Packets may be picked up at 8 a.m. at Sugarloaf Clubhouse parking lot that morning or from 4-6 p.m. on November 21. For more information contact: Judy Gagne at jbgagne@aol.com.

GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.

Meet our team

• Editor and publisher:  Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
• Managing editor: Betsy Brack
• Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
• Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
• Contributing columnist: Debra Houston
• Contributing columnist: George Wilson

More

• Location: We are located in Suite 225, 40 Technology Park, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 30092.
• Work with us: If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.

Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.

• Click to subscribe.
• We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.

© 2018, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.