GwinnettForum | Number 20.26| April, 21, 2020
TITLES TELL: Someone is being creative with book titles. This has appeared on the internet in recent days, with a lesson connected with COVID-19 time. Read the titles out loud for today’s lesson: “The English Patient had caught it……”
TODAY’S FOCUS: Peachtree Corners’ Center for Opportunity Suggests COVID-19 Timetable
EEB PERSPECTIVE: ACLU Stance on Postage for Mailed-In Absentee Ballots Is Unreasonable
ANOTHER VIEW: Climate Lobby Holding Virtual Earth Day Event April 25
SPOTLIGHT: PCOM Georgia
FEEDBACK: Highlights Dates Dr. Anthony Fauci First Spoke about COVID-19
UPCOMING: Former Armstrong College Professor New Dean of GGC’s Liberal Arts
NOTABLE: PCOM Students Saw a Need, and Are Finding Ways to Help Community
RECOMMENDED: The Perfect Fraud by Ellen LaCorte
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Statue Atop Georgia State Capitol, Miss Freedom Remains a Mystery
MYSTERY PHOTO: Unusual Design May Be Clue to This Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Political Forum for Commission Chairman Candidates is Wednesday Night
Center for Opportunity suggests COVID-19 timetable
By Randy Hicks, president
Georgia Center for Opportunity
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | Recently, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) released the following recommendations for governments and schools to adopt to safely return to normal during the COVID-19 crisis. These recommendations come on the heels of President Trump’s announcement that states should begin reopening the economy at their own pace beginning May 1. GCO will be releasing further recommendations in the near future.
- Establish a Georgia Task Force on the Economy and Education
Hicks
We encourage state leaders to put together a task force on reopening the economy. This task force will invite business leaders to submit industry-specific guidelines on how they will operate safely in a restrictive environment until the threat is over, such as when a vaccine is found.
These business leaders will receive guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Georgia’s Commissioner of Public Health. Gov. Kemp can then use these guidelines to loosen restrictions in a safe manner. In addition, GCO recommends that the governor consider modifications to his shelter-in-place order to allow people to shop, a vital step for businesses to rebound successfully.
In addition, we recommend another task force providing advice to families and school districts on facilitating remote learning. This task force should also create a plan and timetable for the safe return to brick-and-mortar schools in a restrictive environment. We also recommend that school systems develop a plan to ensure students are caught up on schoolwork they might have missed. We feel that school systems should prepare for COVID-19 outbreaks during the 2020-2021 school year and be ready to return to remote learning when and if that occurs, including a plan to assist students with limited internet access and limited access to appropriate technology.
- Tap Into Civil Society Resources
Now is the time for civil society to work with the government to plan out the reopening of our economy. Workers are being hurt because of forced closures, and we must focus particularly on individuals in vulnerable sectors of our society who could be working now but are unable. Our small businesses are hurting, too. A recent survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that one-in-four small businesses are on the brink of closure and half are considering a temporary shutdown.
In this environment, civil society is more important than ever through nonprofits, community organizations, and churches. We recommend the state of Georgia tap into these resources through coalitions such as GCO’s “Hiring Well, Doing Good” initiative that matches local businesses with workers.
- Work with Neighboring States
We are seeing positive examples of other states forming regional coalitions to fight the coronavirus. The Georgia government should consider working with neighboring states. For example, the Port of Savannah is close to the South Carolina border, and many people work at the Port and live in the Palmetto State. It would make sense for these two state governments to coordinate reopening this area at the same time.
We are in unprecedented times. We recognize the suffering from those affected directly by the disease, but also by those impacted by the mass closure of our economy, schools, and way of life. The time has come to create actionable items for reopening Georgia. No recovery plan is without risk, but we must weigh the risk and rely on health and business professionals to do so. Now is the time for everyone to come together to explore solutions that protect our neighborhoods and respond to community needs.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
ACLU stance unreasonable on postage for absentee ballots
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
APRIL 21, 2020 | Voting by mail is getting a lot of talk these days, as we have noted before. Millions of Georgia voters got applications to mail back to their county Elections Division if they wanted to vote by absentee during this pandemic period.
We suspect that many will.
Kristi Royston of the Gwinnett Elections office tells us that voters in the county can expect to get their absentee ballots mailed to their home on May 20. Most Gwinnettians will never have seen such an extensive list of candidates on the ballot. You will be voting for 19 candidates running for the three commission seats; seven candidates seeking three School Board posts; 13 candidates running for the 7th District Congressional seat (Woodall now the position holder); four candidates for the 4th District Congress post; and three for the 10th District seat.
There’s more. In the primary alone, there are 57 candidates running for 27 state legislative positions; seven Democrats are running for Senator David Perdue’s slot; and three people are vying for two posts on the Public Service Commission. That’s a lot of candidates! Runoffs coming!
You may have questions of these candidates. We urge our readers to review the positions of candidates and compare their answers to our online questions to them, available on May 19. GwinnettForum is now planning to list its endorsed list of candidates also on May 19, three weeks before the June 9 primary.
The most unreasonable aspect concerning voting by absentee ballot in Georgia we have seen so far has been the position taken by the Georgia division of the American Civil Liberties Union on mailing back in the absentee ballot.
The ACLU is bringing suit against election officials in Georgia for requiring voters to use their own 55 cents postage to mail in their ballots. “While the cost is small, any financial barrier to voting is barred by the Constitution,” the ACLU said in a complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta. The ACLU said requiring a voter to use his own money for postage is comparable to the poll tax, outlawed for decades.
We greatly respect the ACLU. It has often come to the defense of many in worthwhile causes. We respect what it stands for. Its web site says: “The ACLU’s mission remains realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights for all and expanding the reach of its guarantees. Beyond one person, party, or side — the ACLU dares to create a more perfect union. “ It has 54 offices throughout our nation.
However, we don’t think its stand on individuals having to pay postage on returning ballots is justified or reasonable. After all, unless a person lived within reasonable walking distance to the Gwinnett Elections Office on Grayson Highway, most people would have to drive to the office to deliver their absentee ballot, if not mailed. Should they live farther away, if not voting by absentee, they would have to get themselves to their voting precinct on Election Day to vote.
Driving to the polls costs gasoline to power their auto to the polls. Would the ACLU maintain that the county should pay for everyone’s fuel to get voters to the polls?
The ACLU should also recognize that in these extraordinary pandemic times, measures are being taken to safeguard maximum voting. The very act that the State of Georgia mailed everyone an absentee application goes way beyond normal limits in order to maximize the balloting.
Continue to guard our rights, ACLU. But this move concerning a 55 cent stamp is unreasonable in these times.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Climate lobby holding virtual Earth Day event April 25
By Kathe Gowland
BUFORD, Ga. | On April 25 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., members of the Gwinnett chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby will participate in “Uniting from Home: A virtual CCL event with Katharine Hayhoe.” This event, taking place on Zoom, will allow attendees to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and take action on climate change, while still respecting public health recommendations for social distancing. The Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford is hosting the meeting.
Gowland
This year’s Earth Day celebrates an important milestone in our nation’s history. It will also be memorable for many reasons in the years to come. It’s intended that this virtual platform will help people learn, create and share ideas, and continue the critical work of limiting global warming through climate advocacy.
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a world-renowned climate scientist, an evangelical Christian, and the creator of the educational show “Global Weirding” on PBS.
The event will also include several breakout sessions:
- Climate Advocate Training – People new to climate advocacy can learn how to effectively push the U.S. Congress for climate change legislation.
- Climate Organizing During the Pandemic – People already engaged in climate advocacy can learn to adapt their work for our current circumstances with COVID-19.
- Depolarizing Within – Attendees can practice holding respectful climate conversations with people who don’t share their political beliefs.
Attendees will be guided through three simple actions they can take to help the climate, right then and there.
Mark Reynolds, CCL executive director, says: “It’s important that we continue to educate our communities about the climate crisis and build political will for major climate legislation. Though right now Congress is focused on the pandemic, they will need to turn their attention back to climate change soon enough. When that happens, our volunteers will be there with clear policy suggestions.”
Details to attend can be found on UnitingFromHome.eventbrite.com. Local Citizens’ Climate Lobby members are also available for interviews.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
PCOM Georgia
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Established in 2005, PCOM Georgia is a private, not-for-profit, accredited institute of higher education dedicated to the healthcare professions. The Suwanee, Ga., campus is affiliated with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine which has a storied history as a premier osteopathic medical school. Doctoral degrees in Pharmacy (PharmD), Physical Therapy (PT) and Osteopathic Medicine (DO) are offered at PCOM Georgia. Graduate degrees at the master’s level can be earned in Biomedical Sciences and Physician Assistant (PA) Studies. Emphasizing “a whole person approach to care,” PCOM Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the wider community. To learn more about how PCOM Georgia is shaping the future of health, visit www.pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Highlights dates Fauci first spoke about COVID-19
Editor, the Forum:
Since Jack Bernard appears to “cherry-pick” and completely misrepresent what President Trump actually stated with respect to this virus, allow me to line-list dates and comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci himself:
Anthony Fauci, M.D. Public Statements (all captured on video)
- January 21, 2020: coronavirus is not a major threat; nothing for U.S citizens to worry about (3 days later, the CDC states it as being “low risk” – even after the first identified case had arrived on our shores).
- January 26: very, very low risk;
- January 29: risk to the U.S. is very low;
- January 31: (see below);
- February 18: the hypothetical danger is miniscule; and
- February 29: risk is low (although it could change); no need to change anything you are doing.
I realize that Dr. Fauci’s sudden celebrity is useful to the Never-Trumpers out there, particularly when he appears to differ with the President. Interestingly, the president has – for now – taken the high road in that he has not pointed out these prior statements by Dr. Fauci.
Oh, and what happened on the last day of January? Oh, yeah, President Trump banned flights from China, a decision for which he was then called a xenophobe and a racist. Looking pretty wise right about now, huh? Contrast that with Speaker Nancy Pelosi traipsing around San Francisco’s Chinatown on February 24, expressing a desire to be “unified” with the (apparently) forlorn Chinese community.
— Gregg Stopher, Peachtree Corners
Two opposing views on Bernard’s recent commentary
Editor, the Forum:
Jack Bernard told it like it is in his article comparing medical expert’s knowledgeable comments to President Trump’s misstatements about the current crisis. It brings to mind the bumper sticker, “Elect a clown, expect a circus” except that it isn’t funny now.
— Lucy Brady, Suwanee
Editor, the Forum:
Once again Jack Bernard has penned a forcible, insightful commentary. He has also coined a new acronym we can add to our “great leader’s” growing list of titles: NCL (Narcissistic Compulsive Liar).
We can add that to the president’s newly acquired MD (Medical Doctor). I’m sure he’ll add a few more titles by the time he’s through with us. Thank you Jack.
— Keni Woodruff. Lithonia
Officer is responsible for everything his men do, or fail to do
Editor, the Forum:
I was struck by Jack Bernard reminding us of President Trump’s statement on March 13 when he said, “I don’t take responsibility at all.”
As a young Marine officer I learned that an officer is responsible for everything his men either do or fail to do. Although the president is the Commander-in-Chief, he apparently never learned that lesson, perhaps because he never served in our military. His modus operandi seems to be to always seek credit, but never accept responsibility.
— John Titus, Peachtree Corners
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
Former Armstrong prof is new dean of GGC’s Liberal Arts
The Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) School of Liberal Arts is getting a new leader.
Winterhalter
Dr. Teresa Winterhalter comes to GGC from Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus, where she is an associate dean in the College of Arts and Humanities. While overseeing eight departments and several interdisciplinary programs, she developed faculty recruitment and retention strategies; prepared areas for assessment and accreditation reviews, including Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accreditation; developed community outreach programs and assessed performance of faculty across the college. She is a native of Belmont, N.Y.
Winterhalter spent nearly 25 years at Armstrong State University. She began at the Savannah-based school as a professor of English and moved up the ranks, serving as the founding director of the Gender and Women’s Studies program, director of faculty development, assistant dean and associate dean. She was named dean of Armstrong’s College of Liberal Arts in 2016.
She earned a number of academic honors and awards. Among them are fellowships with the National Endowment for the Humanities, an award of distinction from the Cornell School of Criticism and Theory, and a Georgia Governor’s Teachers’ Fellowship, as well as securing a major grant from the Teagle Foundation for the Liberal Arts.
Her favorite adventure among these achievements, however, was the Nippon Foundation grant she won, which promoted study abroad and exchange programs with Japanese universities. She was one of eight representatives across the U.S. selected to serve as an ambassador in the program. She is a scholar in her field of Victorian and Modernist literature, and has written numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews, and presented on diversity, narrative theory, feminism and ethics topics.
Keeping her work and personal time as balanced as possible, Winterhalter practices yoga, plays tennis and enjoys chatting with her son, who is the editor of an online publication that matches scholarly research with current events.
Winterhalter earned her bachelor’s degree in English at the State University of New York, Brockport, her master’s degree in English at the State University of New York, Cortland, and her doctorate in English at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y. She begins her new role July 1.
Foundation seeks to reach $1 Million by April 30
The Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia has given over $450,000 in 43 grants to local nonprofits in just four weeks since beginning its COVID-19 efforts for the area. When the Community Foundation created the Coronavirus Relief Fund on March 13, the goal was to be first and fast in responding to the needs of our nonprofits on the frontlines of the pandemic who are providing food, shelter, financial assistance and healthcare. And that’s exactly what happened. As quickly as the money has been raised, it has been granted back out into the community. To date, people have already given over $700,000 to the fund. The Community Foundation hopes to reach its goal of $1 million by April 30.
- Anyone can give now at cfneg.org/covid19.
PCOM students saw need, finding ways to help community
PCOM student Olga Vacariuc. Photo provided.
Students pursuing degrees in the health professions often feel a calling to care for others. Two groups of students at the Suwanee campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) are pursuing this passion and have found themselves with two full-time endeavors. They’ve transitioned to either taking classes or participating in rotations virtually, while also spending multiple hours volunteering their services during this season of COVID-19.
One such effort provides Personal Protective Equipment or PPE to those working on the frontlines.
Bridges
Under the leadership of Kathleen Bridges (DO ’21), Medical Students for Masks – Atlanta, got its start just over a week ago. In a short amount of time, more than 50 students have raised over $5,000 to purchase masks and other PPE for healthcare workers. The students have placed their first order and are expecting a delivery soon.
Drawing on her fundraising skills honed in college at the University of Florida, Bridges decided to launch the project after learning about the efforts of students at PCOM in Philadelphia. “They gave me guidance and let us use their material to get started,” Bridges said. She was “overwhelmed” by her classmates’ response: “Every single day, people are being added to the team including students from every program on campus.” Kayla Thomas (DO ’21) developed a website “in a matter of hours.” Donations can be made via Go Fund Me, PayPal or Venmo.
The team has several point people. Kylie Alberts (DO ’21) is in charge of a team that researches and contacts suppliers and ensures that these companies are following FDA and CDC guidelines. They are concentrating on American-based companies that have switched over to creating and securing PPE such as N95 masks and sanitizer.
Olga Vacariuc (DO ’21) leads a team that is contacting Georgia hospitals to determine their needs and donation policies. “Every day, hospital needs change and we want to make sure we’re allocating appropriately,” Bridges said. The students are also working to supply gloves, gowns and hand sanitizer.
Second-year DO student Hiral Patel (’22), along with Amy Tran (DO ’22) and Manali Desai (DO ’22), searched for ways to contribute and decided to develop COVID Captains, a team of students who grocery shop for the elderly or those with weakened immune systems.
“We’re running a business out of our living rooms,” Bridges said. “I am so proud of what our school and my classmates are doing.”
City of Duluth challenges creativity during pandemic times
To help bring a spark of joy and creativity during these challenging days, the City of Duluth is issuing a TikTok Challenge!
Show us what you’ve got! Maybe you’ve nailed the newest dance trend, or maybe it’s time to share your funny quarantine story time. Let others see your creative juices flowing!
Here’s how:
- Create your TikTok video and post it to your TikTok account using the hashtag #SoDuluth and tag the City of Duluth TikTok account (@CityofDuluthGA)
- Check out the #SoDuluth hashtag and vote for your favorite video(s) by liking them.
- The video with the most likes by April 30 will be awarded a $50 gift card to a local business.
Here are the rules:
- There are no limits on the number of entries each contestant can submit.
- All entries must be family friendly.
- To be considered, contestants must use the #SoDuluth hashtag and they must tag the City of Duluth account on TikTok.
- All videos submitted with that hashtag may be downloaded and shared across the City of Duluth social media.
The Perfect Fraud by Ellen LaCorte
From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: Claire is part of a family of psychics who use their gifts to help others. However, Claire is not a real psychic because she uses basic definitions of the meanings of tarot cards to read her customers. This secret is bothering her, and she longs to share it with her mother, who is renowned. A chance meeting with Rena and her daughter Stephanie, on a flight, changes the trajectory of all their lives with surprising secrets, miseries and dangers unleashed for resolution. I was caught on the first page. The story moves along at a good pace and accurately conveys what occurs when a psychic gets an impression about a person or situation. A bit formulaic, I would have given it four stars if the text had not been laced with four letter words. Still and yet, it is a suspenseful story that comes to a slightly open-ended conclusion.
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Statue atop Georgia capitol, Miss Freedom, is mystery
Atop Georgia’s state capitol is a statue of a woman with a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. Who she is, what she represents, and how she came to adorn the capitol is something of a mystery.
In an Atlanta Constitution newspaper account written during the construction of the capitol, Captain W. H. Harrison, the secretary of the board of capitol commissioners, refers to the statue as the “Goddess of Liberty.” In recent decades, however, she has been referred to as “Miss Freedom.”
There are no records or specifications from the original installation of the statue in late 1888, so her height and weight were unknown until 2004, when the statue was removed and sent to Canada for restoration. Before being shipped north, she was weighed and measured for the first time.
Miss Freedom is 22 feet tall from head to foot, with the total height from her torch to her feet being just over 26 feet. The statue, weighing 1,600 pounds, is a hollow frame covered with sheets of copper that have been painted white. At night, the torch in Miss Freedom’s hand is lit. Although it was planned from the first that a light would be placed within the torch, it was not until 1959 that this was achieved. A five-inch tube was placed through her arm and attached to a retractable trolley so that the lightbulb can be changed from the inside.
Who conceived or constructed the statue, however, still remains a mystery.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Unusual design may be clue to this Mystery Photo
Today’s Mystery Photo is not your everyday building. It’s something special, and often talked about. Other than the building itself, there are not many clues. Figure out where it is and what it is, then send your ideas to elliott@brack.net along with your hometown.
In what we thought would be an easy Mystery Photo, only two readers sent in the correct response. Both regulars George Graf of Palmyra, Va. and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. correctly identified the Tropic Lightning Memorial in The Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum, near Columbus at Ft. Benning, Ga. In addition, Virginia Klaer of Duluth found a similar memorial in Coleman, Mich.
Peel writes: “This memorial pays tribute to those from the 25th Infantry Division who lost their lives in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the more recent Global War on Terror.
“There are actually three different versions of this bronze sculpture group; the original is in Honolulu, Hawaii and is called the ‘United by Sacrifice Memorial’. Another version, called the ‘Coleman Veterans Memorial’, is located in the small city of Coleman, Michigan. I can tell that the one depicted in the mystery photo is the one at the National Infantry Museum since the National Infantry Museum grandstand is just barely visible in the background of the photo.
“The original memorial is located at Schofield Barracks near the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters in Honolulu. The memorial was created by Hawaii-based sculptor Lynn Weiler Liverton, who focuses her efforts on creating art that memorializes individuals for their hard work and selfless sacrifices. Interestingly, this original memorial only had four male soldiers. However, a fifth female soldier was added to memorialize the sacrifices of the thousands of women who served in Hawaii’s 25th Infantry Division. This addition was unveiled by Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on Oct 7, 2016. Rep. Gabbard was a major in the Hawaii National Guard who deployed in Iraq.
“The memorial depicted in today’s mystery photo is an exact duplicate of the one in Hawaii, and was placed at the National Infantry Museum in April, 2016. As such, it also contains the fifth female soldier in the sculpture group.”
Political Forum: The five Community Improvement Districts in Gwinnett will host a political online forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. All eight candidates for chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission have said they will participate. It will be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook. The event will be moderated, and candidates will be allotted time to answer questions covering transportation, redevelopment, security and more. Viewers may also submit questions via the Zoom chat option or in the Facebook Live comments. The public can register to watch the forum by clicking here.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
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