PAINTING GWINNETT PINK: Committee members from Paint Gwinnett Pink, a 5K walk and run benefiting breast cancer patients in Gwinnett County and beyond, recently presented a $150,269.09 check to the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation. Proceeds from Paint Gwinnett Pink fund diagnostic technology, screening services and comfort items for breast cancer patients undergoing treatment at Northside Hospital Gwinnett. From left are Domingo Valpuesta, director of Oncology Services at Northside Hospital Gwinnett; Jason Chandler, president of GMC Foundation; Kristen Sapp, Paint Gwinnett Pink chair; Marie Delong, GMC Foundation; Dr. Kimberly Hutcherson, Paint Gwinnett Pink sponsor and Director of Breast Imaging at Northside Gwinnett Breast Center; Beverly O’Toole, GMC Foundation; and Karen Eggers, vice chair of Paint Gwinnett Pink.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Give Public TV Stations Buckets: That Might Rake in More Money
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Delegation: Bring Commission Chairman’s Salary Up to Date
SPOTLIGHT: Howard Brothers
FEEDBACK: Concern of Foreign Influence Does Not Fall on Deaf Ears
UPCOMING: Four Local Rotary Clubs To Erect Peace Pole in Lawrenceville
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Place CID To Invest in License Plate Reading Cameras
RECOMMENDED: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Even Unto This Day, Jane Fonda Protests, now on Climate Change
MYSTERY PHOTO: It May Not Be Easy To Guess Today’s Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Only One of These Gwinnett History Books Available
CALENDAR: Peachtree Corners Plans Corn Hole League in January
Give public TV station buckets: That might rake in more money
By Raleigh Perry
BUFORD, Ga. | For the 45 years that I have been in Atlanta, the public television stations have used the same method of trying to raise funds to keep the stations afloat: on-air appeals. They must not be working all that well. Previously they might have held these fundraisers two, maybe three, times per year for two weeks. Now they are holding them more often and, seemingly, they have added another week, here and there.
Perry
Their methodology is, it appears to me, rather archaic. They tell their watchers about how good their shows are. The whole time they are trying to collect, they have various shows….a raft of doctors who are telling us how to “have good gut health”…or how to handle our finances for a good retirement. They air shows for entertainment, but they seem to return with the same entertainers often. The one thing that they are not doing is showing quality television shows during “collection time.”
How often do I need to see Anne of Green Gables or Downton Abbey? They have a penchant for the Royal Family. Might be more interesting to show the inbreeding of the Royal Family! I could enjoy that.
Then there are the outgoing professional show hosts, who do not live in the Atlanta Metro area. They talk your ears off, but everyone is saying the same thing over and over.
Having been in sales virtually all of my life, I can tell you that many a sale has been lost by the salesman talking too much. Raising money for television is nothing more than a sales pitch.
It is much easier to talk yourself out of a sale than to talk yourself into one. To be successful you have to shut up and let the client talk. If only those on camera were just quiet and presented television that we, the viewers, want to see….that would work better than more talking.
Many years ago I donated to one of the stations. Yet their constant fundraising destroyed my viewing habits and I had to go back to the idiocy of watching the insipid sitcoms shows on commercial stations. (That’s one reason why many today enjoy “streaming” television.)
Virtually every time I go to Atlanta, I take the Clairemont Avenue exit off of Interstate 85. Invariably there is a homeless person standing at the bottom of the ramp holding a bucket and a sign telling us that he is homeless and hungry.
At a nearby convenience store I have talked to several and asked these beggars how much money they picked up in the course of a day. I have been told by some that they get about $500 per day and one couple that said they get about $1,000 per day. In any case, they are making a lot more than the average worker, pay no income taxes and if they are truly homeless and sleeping under a bridge, they pay no rent. I have seen a pregnant woman holding on to a child while begging and she was picked up by her husband in a Mercedes. Real good begging can be profitable.
I suggest that the television stations give their staff Colonel Sanders buckets and put them at all of the off ramps in the Atlanta area. That way they would make more money quicker.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Delegation: Bring commission chairman’s salary up-to-date
Gwinnett County Commissioners, l-r: Jace Brooks, District 1; Ben Ku, District 2; Charlotte J. Nash, chairman; Tommy Hunter, District 3; and Marlene Fosque, District 4.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 13, 2019 | There is one key subject the Gwinnett delegation to the General Assembly should address come January 1. They need to agree on a significant upgrade of pay for the chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission.
The current salary of the chairman, Charlotte Nash, is $58,342. That salary should have been changed ages ago. It is inadequate for a person who heads a government with 5,000 employees.
And remember: the Gwinnett County operating and capital budget for 2020 is $1.83 billion. Just think of what the pay of a CEO of a company that size would be! Certainly not $58,342.
Ask yourself: does it make sense to pay our highest elected official $58,342 when that person is administering a big—nearly $2 billion — budget?
Another question: do you want a person seeking the office of chairman who only yearns to make $58,342? If that low salary is attractive to them, they have not had positions or responsibilities in the past that would qualify them for the office.
Of course, those six people currently candidates in next year’s election for this office must see ways that they can live off that meager compensation. Most probably anticipate having outside means of support, and do not have to rely on that low salary to live. But that should not be.
Gwinnett County should pay a decent salary to its full-time chairman. After all, they already recognize the legitimacy of paying a decent salary to its County Administrator. That salary is $318,834 annually. And technically, the administrator works for the chairman and its commission, and the chairman only makes $58,342! Something’s out of kilter!
Take a look at what other Metro Atlanta commission chairmen make:
- Fulton County *
- Cobb County: $135,124
- DeKalb County *
- Clayton County: $156,655
- Forsyth County *
Meanwhile Gwinnett County’s four district commissioners are paid $45,000 annually. These are considered part time jobs.
When drawing a new salary bill, our Gwinnett delegation need a provision in the coming legislation that would pay the commission chairman and its members adequate salaries in the future. One way might be to tie the board member’s salary to some plan that would rise with inflation.
For instance, the base pay is set by statute for Georgia Superior Court justices is $128,790. Gwinnett County, since it has treatment courts (for drug, DUI, mental health and veterans courts) pays an additional $6,000 to its judges. It also pays Superior Court judges a supplement of $52,670. That means each Superior Court judge makes $187,460.
One possible suggestion would tie the commission’s salaries to that of the state Superior judges, which gets periodic review by the Legislature. That would give routine increases for the chairman tied to the judge’s salaries.
Whatever the method, the pay scale for the county commission chairman and the board members needs serious attention. We look to the leadership of the Gwinnett legislative delegation to recognize this, and move to solve the problem during the next session of the Legislature. That way when the new chairman takes office on January 1, 2021, that person will be paid a reasonable compensation.
Realizing the seriousness of the pay of the county chairman, GwinnettForum adds to its List of Continuing Objectives (see at bottom right) “21st Century Salary for the Gwinnett County Commission Members.” We urge the Gwinnett legislative delegation to make this their number one priority to pass this new pay rate to begin in January, 2021.
* Note that we don’t list three county chairs’ salaries, though we have been seeking this information through the different counties for over a week. Some governments are easier to work with than others!–eeb
- 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 www.howardbrothers.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Concern of foreign influence does not fall on deaf ears
Editor, the Forum:
Ashley Herndon ‘s concern about foreign influence does not fall on deaf ears. My question is: where was he in 2012 when Israeli President Netanyahu proclaimed that Obama was “bad for Israel” and effectively campaigned for rival Mitt Romney?
Even Joe Klein of Time Magazine referred to it as “an unprecedented attempt by a putative American ally to influence a U.S. presidential campaign.” There is no comparison to the voter influence wielded by the Israeli president and a $135,000 of misleading Russian Facebook ads.
During 2016 republican candidate’s debate, Carly Fioroni promised to call her
“good friend” Benjamin Netanyahu on her first day in office to assure him of her support for Israel against Iran. On December 8, the Jerusalem Post covered Netanyahu’s campaign argument to stay in power “because only I can effectively mobilize U.S. public opinion on behalf of Israel’s vital interests.”
If people are truly concerned about foreign influence in our country, maybe they should start with those countries who have actually achieved it.
— Joe Briggs, Suwanee
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
Four local Rotary Clubs to erect Peace Pole in Lawrenceville
A Rotary Peace Pole will be dedicated next week on the Lawrenceville Lawn. The project comes from four local Rotary Clubs: Gwinnett County, Lawrenceville, Duluth and Gwinnett Sunrise.
Four Rotary Clubs in Gwinnett will host a dedication ceremony for a Rotary International Peace Pole on Friday, December 20 at 3 p.m. at the Lawrenceville Lawn. Cooperating in the placing of the pole will be the Rotary Clubs of Gwinnett County, Lawrenceville, Duluth and Gwinnett Sunrise. Mayor Judy Johnson of Lawrenceville will be providing a brief dedication along with David Stovall, Rotary International Director for Zones 33 and 34. The general public is invited to attend.
A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four sides. The four languages on the Gwinnett County Peace Pole include English, Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese. These four languages represent the prevalent languages spoken in Gwinnett County. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in nearly every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.
As part of the Peace Pole project, four Gwinnett county high school Interact clubs and the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrenceville installed their own Peace Pole on each of the campuses. Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.
Exhibit on Coney Island at Heritage Center through March
A traveling exhibit exploring Coney Island will be on display at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center through March 16, 2020.
The exhibit, adapted from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art’s flagship exhibition “Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008,” brings to life the excitement of Coney Island. It shows visitors how its magnetic world of attractions has become a touchstone for American mass culture and popular recreation.
The exhibition investigates the rise of American leisure and traces Coney Island’s influence on amusement parks and popular culture throughout the country. Photographs, ephemera, film clips and hands-on interactives immerse visitors in the experience of Coney Island.
This exhibition was organized by Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Conn, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, Kansas City, Mo. This exhibition is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities on the Road. It was organized by Robin Jaffee Frank, Ph.D., former Chief Curator and Krieble Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Admission is free. The Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center is located at 2020 Clean Water Drive, Buford Ga., 30519.
Roundabout coming to Nash Street at Constitution Blvd.
The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners have awarded a construction contract for a new roundabout on Constitution Boulevard at Nash Street in Lawrenceville to Peach State Construction Company. Gwinnett County’s 2017 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax program is funding the contract valued at $1.167 million. In addition to the installation of a roundabout, The project, which also includes installation of lighting and sidewalks, is anticipated to be completed by the fall of 2020.
Gwinnett Place CID to invest in license plate reading cameras
The board of directors for the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District (CID) announces a new multi-year partnership with Flock Safety for an automatic license plate reading (ALPR) camera system for the area. Under the partnership, a large number of ALPR cameras will be installed in 2020 with the option to add more.
The cameras are one of Gwinnett Place CID’s largest investments this year. The partnership reflects one of the CID’s key focus areas in enhancing public safety.
Leo Wiener, chairman of the board of directors of Gwinnett Place CID, says “That’s possible thanks to partnerships with the Gwinnett County Police Department and investment in crime-fighting technology like Flock Safety.”
Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company, was started in 2017 by Georgia Tech graduates who wanted to leverage new technology solutions to fight crime. According to the FBI, 87 percent of nonviolent crimes in the U.S. remain unsolved and this is often due to a lack of evidence that police say starts with the license plate. Flock Safety built the first license plate reading camera specifically for neighborhoods. Today, Flock Safety cameras provide evidence for police to solve up to five crimes every hour in 400 cities across the country. In the greater Atlanta area alone, 60 percent of police departments are actively using Flock’s cameras.
Jackson EMC Foundation awards $45,500 to local nonprofits
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $99,969 in grants during its November meeting, including $45,500 of which benefit organizations serving Gwinnett County. Among them:
$12,000 to St. Vincent de Paul – Lawrenceville, for its financial assistance program that provides funds to Gwinnett County families in crisis for rent, mortgage, and food.
$10,000 to Judy House, a faith-based transition home for homeless men who have been incarcerated or under community supervision in Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties, to provide housing assistance.
$10,000 to Latin American Association, a nonprofit organization whose “Family Well-Being” focus area fosters stable, healthy Latino families in Clarke, Gwinnett, and Hall counties, to help its Urgent Needs Program, which provides rent assistance to families in need, preventing eviction and further family destabilization.
$7,500 to Tiny Stitches, in Suwanee, to provide materials and supplies for their network of volunteers to hand-craft a 28- to 32-piece layette of clothing and blankets to keep an infant warm and dry for the first three months of life, donated to mothers in Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties who have little or nothing for their newborns.
$6,000 to Girl Scouts, to offer 120 Gwinnett County girls from low-income households the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, a program that impacts 15 developmental outcomes that help girls discover their own strengths, connect with others in healthy relationships and become more resourceful problem solvers.
Jackson EMC Foundation grants are made possible by the 194,069 participating cooperative members who have their monthly electric bills rounded to the next dollar amount through the Operation Round Up program.
Snellville revises booting ordinance seeking more politeness
The City of Snellville is cracking down on business owners who “boot” vehicles without properly warning those who park in their parking spaces.
Following months of complaints from residents who say a Scenic Highway business is unfairly booting vehicles, Mayor and Council approved an ordinance amendment Monday requiring clear signage on any property – every entry and exit point – that employs the practice of booting vehicles.
The measure also requires employees of any booting company to wear a uniform that prominently displays the name of the booting company and to provide for a personal warning to be given to an individual before a vehicle can be booted.
Before a company boots a vehicle, the driver of the vehicle must have received a meaningful “in-person” warning from the employee. The notice may be either oral or written, but may not be made by “yelling across the parking lot or placing a written notice on a vehicle,” according to city documents. The warning should also be made in a cordial, non-confrontational manner.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
by Kim Michele Richardson
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: I found this book to be painful reading, but my book club liked it, so you decide. This well-researched work of historical fiction takes place primarily in the backwoods of Kentucky during the depression of the 1930s. Cussy, the protagonist, is a young woman who works in Roosevelt’s WPA’s ‘Pack Horse Library Project’ as a traveling librarian riding a mule over dangerous terrain in all kinds of weather. She and her cohorts are lifelines for many remote, poverty-stricken people in rural Appalachia providing not only books but sometimes food, medicine and friendship to the homebound. But Cussy has a rough life. She also happens to be one of the ‘Blue People’ of Kentucky who were discriminated against because they carried a recessive gene that turned their skin blue. I enjoyed the history in this book but found the descriptions of severe poverty and racial and gender discrimination gut wrenching.
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
Even unto this day, Fonda protests, now on climate change
(Continued from previous edition)
Jane Fonda, a longtime political activist, has made public appearances to promote the nonprofit organization V-Day. The group is led by playwright Eve Ensler and conducts campaigns around the world to combat violence against women. Some of Fonda’s past political activism has generated controversy, particularly her protests of the Vietnam War (1964-73). One incident that has particularly haunted her career occurred in 1972, when she was photographed sitting atop a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. Afterward, some people accused her of being a Communist and a traitor to the United States. Ire over her activism during this period still lingers for some, although she apologized publicly in 1988 and told journalist Barbara Walters in an interview on the television program 20/20 that she regretted criticizing the returning American soldiers who had been prisoners of war.
During the 2004 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, Fonda announced that she would make her movie comeback, after many years in retirement, by starring opposite Jennifer Lopez in the comedy Monster-in-Law. Fonda plays the role of a ruthless mother-in-law in the film, which opened in May 2005 with an Atlanta premiere.
Fonda’s previous acting credits include two Oscar-winning performances. She received the first award for her portrayal in Klute (1971) of a tough-talking call girl who is stalked by a killer. She received a second Oscar for her performance in Coming Home (1978), in which she plays a loving wife whose husband is serving with the Marines in Vietnam.
Fonda also gave memorable performances in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), On Golden Pond (1981), The Morning After (1986), and Stanley and Iris (1990). She is currently starring in a Netflix production with Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie.
In 1979 Fonda opened an aerobics studio in Beverly Hills, Calif., and throughout the 1980s released popular exercise videos and books.
Tinwood Books, which Fonda co-owns, released its first publication in 2000-2001. The two-volume set, entitled Souls Grown Deep, features color photographs of art by African American self-taught artists. Tinwood’s next book, In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was published in 2002. Fonda’s memoir, My Life So Far, became an immediate bestseller upon its publication in 2005 by Random House.
These days Fonda is continuing to protest, being arrested in Washington, D.C. several times when picketing about climate change.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
It may not be easy to guess today’s Mystery Photo
We sometimes throw a “cream puff” Mystery Photo to our readers, and other times choose what we believe will be a tough photo. Today it’s a tough one, a photo recently taken. That’s about the only clue we’ll give. Send your guess to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.
It was an obscure bridge, and didn’t have lots of clues, but a few people solved the last Mystery Photo.
It was sent in by Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill.
Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex. was the first responder: “Today’s mystery photo is of the CSX/ACL Railroad Bridge that crosses the Hillsborough River just south of West Cass Street in Tampa, Fla. The photo was taken facing south from the Tampa Riverwalk on the East bank of the Hillsborough River, just in front of the Straz Center Fountains near the Performing Arts Center.
“More commonly referred to as ‘The Cass Street Bridge’ or simply ‘The Old Steel Railroad Bridge’, it is a truss bascule bridge that was built in 1915 for the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) Railroad by the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co. of Chicago, Ill. It is 511 feet long and was named after General Lewis Cass, who served as Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson from 1831-1836. The bridge is still being used today by CSX Transportation.
“The Cass Street Bridge is actually two crossings in one with the CSX Railroad truss bridge having been built first in 1915, and then the adjacent vehicular bridge built in 1926, and rehabilitated in 1949. One would normally refer to the railroad bridge as a ‘drawbridge’, but it is more accurately called a ‘bascule bridge’ because it is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span bridges because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate.”
Two others recognized the bridge, including George Graf of Palmyra Va. Bob Foreman of Grayson added: “I recognized Tampa, Fla. immediately. The spires of the University of Tampa in the distance give it away. The river is the Hillsborough River. The bascule bridge that is up in the photo is the CSX railroad bridge. It is next to the Cass Street Bridge which I have crossed over many times. I had a summer job in Tampa while attending the University of Florida (long time ago).”
Though the Gwinnett history book, Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta, is out of print, occasionally we come across a copy. This hard-back, 850-page book can be a good Christmas present for someone interested in local history. It’s in excellent condition, and goes to the first person responding to this notice by sending an email to elliott@brack.net. Price is $100.
Author Visit: Children are invited to hear Author Nury Crawford reading from her latest book, Sofia and Vivi: Big Sister. This is a bilingual English/Spanish children’s book about two sisters and their family who are new to the United States. She will be at the Buford Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library, 2100 Buford Highway in Buford, on Saturday, December 14 at 10:30 a.m. The event is free, and the books will be available for purchase and signing.
Santa in the Garden will be Saturday, December 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Discovery Garden Park in Norcross. Join Santa for marshmallow roasting and hot cocoa around the fire pit! Cookies and Cocoa with Santa will be on Saturday, December 14 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Duluth Festival Center (new location!). Free crafts, homemade cookies and hot cocoa will be available while supplies last. Letters to Santa are welcome. Professional pictures will be taken on site and later posted on the City of Duluth’s Facebook page for free download. Guests are asked to arrive early as Santa will leave promptly after the event to make it back to the North Pole.
New Year’s Eve: Psi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and its philanthropic arm, Georgia Pearls of Service Foundation, Inc., will ring out the old and ring in the new with their third annual “A Kaptivating Affair”, on December 31 at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center, from 8 p.m. – 1 a.m. Proceeds will be used to fund community service projects, outreach programs, and college scholarships. Guests can expect an evening of the whimsical sounds of The Magic Dream Band, a traditional New Year’s Day meal, a count down and champagne toast at the stroke of midnight.Tickets are $85 per person and attire is formal. For tickets, click here.
Cornhole League Forming: A seven week winter outdoor cornhole league is being planned at the Peachtree Corners Town Center. The Season begins on Thursday, January 9, but individuals must be registered by December 30. Play times are 6:45, 7:30, and 8:15 p.m. All teams play a best of three series against an opponent at their same skill level. For more details, click here.
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