GwinnettForum | Number 20.40 June 9, 2020
IT’S NOT EVERY DAY you come across a figure of a dinosaur in Gwinnett. Altogether, the Gwinnett Parks and Recreation Department now counts eight dinosaurs scattered among the Gwinnett parks. Get out, hike around, and perhaps you can spot a dinosaur. The dinos come to Gwinnett through an arrangement with the Walt Disney Company. See more details in Upcoming below, and another view of the dinos in Lagniappe.
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TODAY’S FOCUS: Freedom of Assembly Does Not Give Us a Right To Spread a Virus
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Boris Johnson Must Annoy and Confuse the Red Chinese Authorities
ANOTHER VIEW: Let African-Americans Know That We Care About Them
SPOTLIGHT: Centurion Advisory Group
FEEDBACK: Tell us your thoughts
UPCOMING: Georgia Gwinnett College Is Having Record Summer Enrollment
NOTABLE: Coronavirus Has a New Victim: Gwinnett Festivals
RECOMMENDED: A Lucky Life Interrupted by Tom Brokaw
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Confederates Burn USS Water Witch So Union Doesn’t Get It
MYSTERY PHOTO: Simple Grassy Field with Boulders Is Today’s Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Another Dinosaur Spotting: at Vines Gardens near Loganville
CALENDAR: Building Bridges Gathering Coming to Peachtree Corners Saturday
Freedom of Assembly does not give us right to spread a virus
By Dick Goodman
SUWANEE, Ga. | The last time I occupied this space I wrote about “Living Beyond Expectations.” This is the societal phenomenon of people living longer, considerably longer, not only than preceding generations, but longer than had been generally and generously assumed.
Goodman
Now, however, in a world of the COVID-19 pandemic, all bets are off. In fact, just living TO expectations is a challenging goal for the world’s aging populations. Now, according to the World Health Organization, people are dying ten years sooner than they might have, had they not been living during this pandemic. A sobering thought if you happen to be among the most vulnerable of its potential victims. I recently came upon an actuarial table that predicted I’d live to 94 years of age.
While that doesn’t thrill me…I believe there is such a thing as living too long…I’m not ready to check out more than a decade sooner than my pre-pandemic life expectation.
It might be appropriate to apply to this period of the 21st-Century the opening lines of Charles Dickens’ 19th-century epic, A Tale of Two Cities: “It was,” he wrote, “…the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Yes, today we might say everything was bouncing along pretty well. Unemployment was low, inflation was manageable, young people were preparing to graduate from high school and college. The Federal government was…well, let’s talk about baseball. On second thought, how about hockey? If you haven’t thought much about hockey, consider that the NHL was about to cancel the Stanley Cup playoffs and then rethought it, and decided the players could play but not with fans in the stands. But if it were broadcast on Fox maybe they could pipe in recorded fan sounds. O’boy!
The playoffs had been canceled only once before, in 1918, because of a pandemic remembered today as the “Spanish Flu.” The Spanish Flu infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide, or one-third of the world’s population killing at least 50 million including about 675,000 in the United States.
I certainly hope we fare better this time around. We’ve come a long way in the 102 years since the last great pandemic. Or have we? Back then people understood how the flu spread and most self-quarantined, but like today they lacked a vaccine. But unlike today, they also lacked antibiotics to fight secondary infections. As a result, it ravaged the population. Still today, like back then, the best defense is to stay behind a fence…figuratively at least.
Unfortunately, then as now, there’re always people who see efforts to arrest the spread of the pathogens as a violation of their individual right to do whatever they want and go where they want regardless of the possible impact on their fellow human beings. They bring to mind the statement by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. that freedom of speech does not give a man the right to falsely yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater.
Our Constitutional freedoms of assembly and such do not give an individual the right to aid and abet the spread of a dangerous virus.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Johnson must annoy and confuse Red Chinese authorities
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 9, 2020 | With today’s Georgia primaries, the recent unrest and riots across the county, all overlaid by the coronavirus, a recent story out of Britain didn’t get much traction in the United States.
It was an invitation by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow nearly three million people from Hong Kong to live and work in Britain if China enforces a new national security law that takes away certain rights for the former British colony of Hong Kong.
While the United States, under President Donald Trump, is flexing its muscles toward China, threatening them in the usual Trump way, Boris Johnson has taken a more direct approach.
By inviting these former subjects to the British homeland, Johnson is showing compassion, plus a certain amount of savvy, in knowing how to get under the skin of the Chinese authorities. It must have come to a surprise to the Chinese government to find Johnson taking this route, when Britain has been previously worried about immigrants from Europe. That situation ended in the Brexit agreement, taking Britain out of the European Common Market, and giving Mr. Johnson and his country more flexibility in dealing with other countries.
Beijing’s continuing threat of taking away rights of the Hong Kongese, has been a dominating element over the last few years. Ever since the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang in 1984, there has been a threat of China having a more dominating influence over the previous Hong Kong colony. This has focused on the human, political and commercial rights of Hong Kong. Previously, Hong Kong had a high degree of autonomy under what was called “one country, two systems.”
Even long-time Hong Kong residents must have questioned just how long the Red Chinese government would allow the people of Hong Kong to have such a distinctively different status compared to mainland Chinese nationals.
Even under this threat, Hong Kong has continued to thrive commercially, being a world-class independent banking and commercial center. Yet all this rankles the Chinese government, itself intent on another form of government and trade, having to put up with an independent one that is powerfully successful.
Into all this indecision between China and Hong Kong, steps forward Boris Johnson with this unanticipated and innovative proposal. It appears that many in Britain agree with Johnson on inviting these 350,000 Hong Kong residents with British passports, plus 2.5 million others who are eligible to apply for a British passport, to immigrate to England.
Now if many of those eligible opt to apply to move to England, how that country would easily assimilate or even provide housing for them, is another question.
But the invitation has been issued. England stands ready to accept them. And this must annoy and confuse the higher-ups of China.
It was a distinctive invitation, made in good faith, which showed enormous courage and leadership. Hats off for Boris Johnson seeking to shake up the world again. There’s more going on in the world than problems in the USA.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Let African-Americans know that we care about them
By Debra Houston, contributing columnist
LILBURN, Ga. | I love America and I make no apologies. Drew Brees, there’s nothing wrong with defending the flag. Yes, America has made mistakes, but free speech isn’t one of them. Americans believe we can address injustice, but can we heal the deep-seated wounds of racism? Black people have been lynched, hosed down, and treated unequally for hundreds of years. They’ve been more than patient.
George Floyd was denied basic human compassion and died a horrible death. No one should ever die that way. We’ll never be a true democratic republic until the words of the Declaration of Independence apply to every American. Consider: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all African-Americans are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Reading those words, you may have felt left out if you were white. Uh-huh.
To the peaceful protestors whose marches were hijacked by anarchists, we heard your pleas. To the police officers who offered hugs to protestors instead of bullets, God bless you. To mayors and governors, you must take charge of your streets and stop anarchists from destroying property and killing innocent people.
Kudos to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms who minced no words when the streets of Atlanta turned violent. “Go home!” she said to troublemakers. That was a proud Atlanta moment. The city too busy to hate is still too busy to hate. Agitators, the real haters, go home!
To those who scribble four-letter words on buildings, go home. To looters, get a job. Flipping burgers isn’t beneath you. Small businesses are struggling and you’re stealing from them? Go home and leave the things you stole behind.
To men inciting riots, what are you teaching? Black or white, become a positive role model for your sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. Go home!
It’s time for everyone to step up to the plate, including me. Our black neighbors are hurting, grieving, and maybe afraid. Perhaps we could show our love for them and let them know they’re not alone. Some of my neighbors have suggested buying from black businesses in the community. (That’s not to exclude the usual establishments we support.) Step inside and buy something. Say hello. Have a conversation. You might make a friend for life. We need to let African-Americans know we care about them and their rights.
Back in the 80s, a friend of mine ended up in a crime-ridden part of Chattanooga. It was late at night, she was trying to get home, and she took a shortcut. Unfortunately, the shortcut was more of a delay than she imagined when her car died.
Another car drove up, and the window rolled down. A black man asked if she needed help. “If you don’t mind,” my white friend said, “could you drive me to my house?”
On the way, the black man said, “I never dreamed a white woman would ever get inside a car with a black man she didn’t know.”
She said, “Why not?” She wanted to go home.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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GGC is having record summer enrollment
GGC has record summer enrollment. Photo provided.
Georgia Gwinnett College officials reported a 14 percent increase in its summer enrollment—its highest summer enrollment increase in the college’s 15-year history.
Dr. Jann Joseph, GGC’s president, says: “In times of economic trouble, people turn to higher education as a path to a brighter future. And with GGC’s affordability, quality of instruction and a convenient location to such a large population, we know that many people will turn to us.”
Michael Poll, GGC’s vice president for Enrollment Management Services, believes the college’s retention initiatives contributed to the spike. “GGC implemented retention initiatives in fall 2019 based on University System of Georgia (USG) data on student retention and success,” he said.
Studies suggest students who complete at least 15 credits per semester are more likely to remain and graduate. Moreover, Poll explained that students who choose a major as they enter college are far more likely to remain than those who enter college with undeclared majors. “We ensure every single freshman has a major or program choice,” Poll added.
The two retention efforts are associated with the Momentum Year approach, a USG initiative that provides data-based strategies to improve student success. The initiative focuses on students in their first year of college, which is said to be a crucial time in their college experience.
Although the fall semester is a few months away, Poll said fall enrollment looks strong and applications are still being accepted. GGC’s free application week is June 10-17.
“While it’s always a challenge to predict, particularly with all that’s going on in the world, we do feel good about the numbers,” Poll said.
June 13 market in Norcross will include recycling dropoff
Norcross Community Market is adding recycling for the June 13 online farmers market, even while it cannot safely gather in groups just yet.
In partnership with Gwinnett Recycles and the Sustainable Norcross Commission of the City of Norcross, Norcross Community Market will again accept the following hard to recycle items. Just drop them off on Saturdays, June 13, between 9 and 11 am when picking up your online order. Both drop-off of recyclables and pick-up of fresh items will be at the Norcross City Hall.
TerraCycle will recycle empty toothpaste tubes and floss containers, empty haircare product tubes, bottles, and spray triggers, empty cosmetics packaging such as lipstick cases, mascara tubes, and eyeshadow cases, empty deodorant containers and caps.
ReCork will make products out of your natural wine corks (no plastic please).
EcoSneakers will distribute your shoes, especially sneakers, in any condition to folks in need or recycle them to make basketball court surfaces.
The City of Norcross and Advanced Disposal will recycle glass, rinsed clean of any contamination. The market will also repurpose clean blue jeans, fabric scraps, sewing notions, yarn, etc.
Clean, old towels and blankets and empty, clean medicine bottles (labels removed) will be donated to a pet rescue.
Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries will distribute any unopened hotel toiletries or full-sized personal care items to people in need.
The Norcross Lion’s Club and its Lighthouse will take eyeglasses, hearing aids, and cell phone donations.
Coronavirus has new victim: Gwinnett festivals
The coronavirus is taking out new victims: local festivals.
After 37 years of continuous operation, the Duluth Fall Festival will not take place this year. Not only that, but Peachtree Corners announced this week that its festival, scheduled for June 12-14, will be postponed until fall, with the date to be announced later.
Willis
Kathryn Willis of the Duluth Festival says: “This is incredibly sad for us, as we have not missed a single year in our 37-year history. However, we will have the Duluth Fall Festival
next year and are already making plans to improve and expand it! We cannot in good faith move forward with this year’s Festival. Our main concern is the health and safety of our sponsors, volunteers, guests, vendors, suppliers, and everyone involved.
“We value your support and friendship, appreciate your past involvement, and look forward to having you with us for the Duluth Fall Festival September 25-26, 2021.”
However, activities are picking up in Loganville. On June 19 the Grooving on the Green concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. That will be followed by an old car show on June 20 on the Town Green 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On June 27 the annual Independence Day celebration will be at 6:30 p.m. at West Walton Park.
Yikes! Can you see dinosaurs in Gwinnett parks?
Dinosaurs are returning to Gwinnett County’s parks as part of the “Meet Me in the Park,” program which encourages families to use parks for fitness and exploration. Statues of eight dinosaurs are being placed in Gwinnett County parks, and clues to their locations will be shared on Facebook and Instagram @GwinnettParksandRec. Park patrons are encouraged to take selfies with the dinosaurs and share them with the hashtag #MeetMeAtThePark.
Prehistoric celebrities that may be found in the parks include Citipati, Daspletosaurus, Maiasaura, Pachycephalosaurus, Pterodactyl, Dilophosaurus, and Stegosaurus. The dinosaur scavenger hunt is expected to last throughout the summer, so there’s plenty of time to join in the fun. Those visiting the parks are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines and practice social distancing.
The “Meet Me at the Park Play Spaces” grant program is a collaboration between the National Recreation and Park Association and the Walt Disney Company. The grants are awarded to park and recreation agencies that submit the best ideas to help make outdoor play accessible to children and families in underserved communities. A map of Gwinnett’s parks can be found at GwinnettParks.com.
Berkeley Lake GACS grad wins prestigious scholarship
Meskramkar
John Meshramkar of Berkeley Lake, a recent graduate of Greater Atlanta Christian School (GAC), is the recipient of the prestigious Kimberly-Clark Bright Futures Scholarship. Only 45 students were chosen in North America to share the $900,000 scholarship, which totals $20,000 for each over a four-year period. The student is the son of Nitin and Beena Meshramkar and plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall. Meshramkar spent his entire school experience at GAC. He served as the Head Prefect (high school president) this past year. He has also been a multi-year GHSA state qualifier in Track and Swim and played on the water polo team.
A Lucky Life Interrupted by Tom Brokaw
From John Titus, Peachtree Corners: In the summer of 2013 Tom Brokaw was experiencing steady, nagging back pain. In August he attended a Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees meeting and arranged a physical. The results came back, “You have a malignancy.” It was multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. After his diagnosis, Brokaw began a journal which ultimately resulted in this book. It follows his journey for over a year – his reactions, treatments, set-backs, successes and coming to terms with his mortality. By January 2015 his blood tests revealed that his cancer was now manageable, but remains incurable. He writes in the warm, friendly voice that those of us who watched him remember. We meet two remarkable women in his family, his wife, Meredith, and his physician daughter, Jennifer. He is honest, down-to-earth, self-deprecating and humble assuring us that he still considers himself to have led a lucky life.
- 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
Confederates burn USS Water Witch so union doesn’t get it
USS Water Witch
The USS Water Witch, part of the Union fleet assigned to carry out a naval blockade of the Georgia coast during the Civil War (1861-65), was captured by Confederate naval troops in 1864. This rare Confederate naval victory ultimately had minimal significance, however.
Constructed in 1852 in the Washington Navy Yard at Washington, D.C., the USS Water Witch, a wooden-hulled, side-wheel gunboat, spent years surveying South American rivers before being called to duty in 1861 for the Union blockade of the Confederacy. In 1863 the vessel joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which operated mostly in Georgia waters around Ossabaw Island.
In June 1864, while anchored in the placid waters south of Savannah, the Water Witch was surprised in the early morning hours by a Confederate raiding party comprising 11 or 12 officers and 115 men from the crews of the Georgia, Savannah, and Sampson. Led by Lieutenant Thomas Postell Pelot and Moses Dallas, an ex-slave paid a salary for his service as a ship pilot, the Confederates boarded and, after winning a pitched battle on deck, captured the Union ship. The Confederates lost both of their leaders, however, and without a pilot the surviving troops had difficulty navigating the Water Witch to shore.
During the attack, a former slave in the Union ranks leapt overboard, swam to shore, and warned other solitary blockaders that the Water Witch was no longer a friendly craft. Before the Confederates could pick off the ships one by one in the guise of a Union sloop, the Union mobilized its vessels and went on the offensive, forcing the Confederates to hide their new ship beneath a bluff on the Vernon River. In December 1864, as Union general William T. Sherman’s troops bore down from the west on their march to the sea, the Confederates cut their losses and burned the Water Witch so that it would not fall back into enemy hands.
In 2007 a team of researchers, led by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, found what is believed to be the Water Witch shipwreck off the coast of Savannah beneath approximately fifteen feet of sediment. In 2009 the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus completed a full-scale replica of the Water Witch, which sits anchored in full view along Victory Drive in Columbus.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Simple grassy field with boulders is today’s Mystery Photo
Today’s Mystery Photo is a rather peaceful, quiet rural scene, but it is far more than that. Let your mind wander, consider what this has been in the past, and perhaps you can figure out this Mystery Photo. Tell us where it’s located by sending to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
For the most recent Mystery, it was Jim Savedelis of Duluth telling us the answer is the Longwood Bell Tower, located at the Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Penn. Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden, consisting of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley. The Chimes Tower and Waterfall were built using stone unearthed during the Main Fountain Garden construction. These popular Longwood attractions were completed in 1931. Until 1956, the Tower housed 25 tubular chimes that played melodies from punched paper rolls. Electronic chimes were then used for several decades until a 62-cast-bell carillon was installed in the Tower in 2001.”
The photo came from Ross Lenhart of Stone Mountain.
Others recognizing the photo included Robert Foreman, Grayson; George Graf, Palmyra, Va. ; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. gave an extensive report on the site: “The main focus of today’s mystery photo is the Chime Tower, itself having a long history of existence and change. Pierre S. du Pont began construction of the 61-foot-tall stone tower in 1929, basing it on a similar structure that he had seen in France. Completed in 1931, the tower originally included 25 tubular chimes that played melodies from punched paper rolls, much like a mechanical music box of the time, but on a much larger scale. In 1941, the maker of the original chimes tried to convince du Pont to replace them with their newly developed electronic imitation bells, but du Pont decided not to make any changes to the chimes at Longwood. In 1956 however, the original tubular chimes were replaced with a 32-note electronic carillon which sounded on the quarter hours and played more than 16,000 daytime concerts from 1956 to 1981. By 1989, the electronic bells had deteriorated to the point where they were no longer in acceptable playing condition and so were permanently disconnected.
“Renovation of the tower began in February 2001, and included the addition of a today’s state-of-the art, 62-cast-bell carillon from the Netherlands. The five-octave carillon can be played by hand at a traditional carillon-style wooden keyboard, or automatically by a computer system. This is possible since each bell is stationary and has two strikers; one inside each bell connected by wires and levers to the manual keyboard that a carillonneur strikes with the hands; the other an external striker powered by an electromagnet and connected to the computerized recording/playback system.
“I have attached a picture of the bells currently installed in the tower. If you would like to hear the chimes ring out from the tower, you can hear it on YouTube here.”
Exciting! Dinosaur spotting at Vines Gardens near Loganville
Roving Photographer Frank Sharp was eagle-eyed in spotting this dinosaur at Vines Gardens near Loganville. Note that the great heron was also watching the creature.
Building Bridges: Community Unity: A gathering of neighbors, faith leaders and city officials to pray for peace, justice, and unity in the community. This will be held at the Peachtree Corners Town Green on Saturday, June 13, starting at 9 a.m. Face masks and social distancing will be required.
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