GwinnettForum | Number 20.48 | July 7, 2020
VERY FEW PEOPLE were in the water or at the Rhodes Jordan Park swimming pool when Roving Photographer Frank Sharp visited last weekend. The hotter weather attracted only a few brave swimmers, perhaps as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But isn’t the pool beautiful and inviting in this scene?
TODAY’S FOCUS: Norcross Police Surprise Locals with Birthday Roll-Ups
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Evidence Suggests Possibility of Georgia Becoming Blue in November
ANOTHER VIEW: Dependence on Chinese Drugs Production Is Threat to USA’s Health
SPOTLIGHT: Comet National Shipping
FEEDBACK: The Greatest Harm May Be That Which We Cannot See
UPCOMING: Peachtree Corners Inaugurates Night Market on July 10
NOTABLE: Duluth Rotary Club Provides Meal on July 4 for Police Department
RECOMMENDED: Video about the Star Spangled Banner
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Naval Air Station Located in Metro Atlanta Until 2009
MYSTERY PHOTO: Watery Location Asks for Your Identification of This Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Bright Full Moon Rises at Rhodes Jordan Park in Lawrenceville
CALENDAR: Free Movie on Peachtree Corners Town Green on July 11
Norcross police surprise locals with birthday roll-ups
By Craig Newton
Mayor, City of Norcross
NORCROSS, Ga. | Community-oriented policing is a strategy of policing that focuses on building ties and working closely with members of the communities. The main idea is to create trust and partnership between police and the public.
Newton
We’ve adopted this philosophy here in Norcross. Supported by our Police Chief Bill Grogan, the police recently completed 30 days of “birthday roll-ups” for our citizens pinned up during the coronavirus. It has had a positive impact in complementing community policing.
(Norcross Police Department officers sang Happy Birthday to one local resident outside their home during April.)
In addition to community policing, it is my belief that the implementation of constant training, peer review and accountability are the keys to minimizing abuse of power within our law enforcement ranks. This is best achieved through state certification and national accreditation through The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The Norcross Police department is currently working toward its re-accreditation.
There are only 46 law enforcement agencies in Georgia that have achieved CALEA Accreditation. (There are 1,181 total law enforcement agencies in the state.)
CALEA programs internationally accredit more than 1,100 agencies nationally. CALEA was created in 1979, and the organization’s accreditation program seals are awarded to public safety agencies that have demonstrated compliance with its standards. The Commission was created through the combined efforts of four major law enforcement organizations: The International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Police Executive Research Forum.
This accreditation does not come easy, as our police force must go through a rigorous review and evaluation of its organization, and then implement any suggested policy and procedure changes. The process does not stop at that point. By choosing to seek CALEA accreditation, the agency commits to an ongoing review of adherence to CALEA’s standards. Each community with CALEA-accredited agencies should feel confident that their public safety organization is going above and beyond and operating under the highest standards in public safety.
This accreditation is a sign that the City of Norcross police adheres to strict policy and best practices. CALEA accreditation validates to the community that our department is following national standards and best practices. It supports our commitment to the community in providing the highest quality police services. Each year CALEA evaluates 25 percent of its 484 standards to make sure each department is in compliance. Random citizen review of police performance is also a part of this certification process.
The purpose of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by maintaining a body of standards developed by public safety practitioners covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process, and recognizing professional excellence.
Specifically, CALEA’s goals are to strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities, formalize essential management procedures, establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices, improve service delivery, solidify interagency cooperation and coordination, and increase community and staff confidence in the agency.
As mayor, I am proud of the work of our Norcross Police Department being recognized and awarded CALEA accreditation in past certifications. This speaks volumes to the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of our law enforcement team. The citizens of Norcross really value our police force and the respected public service that they provide.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Evidence suggests possibility of blue Georgia in November
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JULY 7, 2020 | While it appears that Gwinnett County could see many of its local offices land in the Democratic column come November, that’s most likely not true of the majority of the counties in Georgia. While the larger cities of the state may report in the Democratic column, much of the state, including the Legislature, will no doubt remain in control of the Republican Party.
Brack, by Frank Sharp
After all, many incumbent members of the Legislature either have no opponents or weak ones. For Democrats to take control of the Georgia House and Senate may take several more General Elections, if and when it may occur.
Yet there remains a question of how Georgians will vote in the national presidential race. President Trump won Georgia with a 5.7 percent victory (51.3 percent) over Hillary Clinton (45.6 percent). Remember, Libertarian Gary Johnson got 3.1 percent of the Georgia vote. The president’s margin of victory was lower than the two previous Republican presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and John McCain.
Now, start looking to November. Many people think that the Georgia presidential voting will be close. Many figure that Donald Trump will win again in Georgia. But Democrat Joe Biden is coming on strong.
The 270ToWin site shows 10 different stateside polls, and altogether, they show no clear picture. Six predict a close Biden victory. Four show a Trump win, one as much as by 11 percent. Go to https://www.270towin.com/2020-polls-biden-trump/georgia/ to check it out. Take your pick of the polls.
Now overlay this with the heavy Democratic primary turnout in 2020. In some area counties, the Democrats were turning out twice as strong as Republicans. In Gwinnett County, there were 101,903 Democratic voters for president, with Joe Biden getting 85,688 votes. For the Republicans, Donald Trump polled 57,897.
A similar result took place in another suburban area, as normally Republican Cobb County scored 63,696 votes for the president, and the Democratic presidential votes totaled 100,896. Joe Biden got 89,811 of these.
Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb Counties of Metro Atlanta are normally Democratic counties. This means that the suburban counties of Atlanta will probably give Joe Biden a big lead in the November voting. That brings the question: what will the mid-size and rural counties do?
The other day we saw the returns from small Early County, in deep southwest Georgia. The presidential returns really surprised us, particularly how well Joe Biden did there. He polled 1,172 votes. There were only two other Democrats that got presidential votes: Michael Bennet got 37 votes and Bernie Sanders won 98. So, Democrats scored 1,307 votes in Early County. President Trump got 1,241 votes.
What? President Trump lost a South Georgia county in the primary voting count? Up until now, we had assumed that our sitting president would do well in South Georgia, to overcome what he would lose in Metro Atlanta.
Realize this is looking at voting in only one small rural county. This indication may be significant. It has implications for the national scene, as Georgia will vote on not the usual one Senate seat this fall, but vote on both Senate seats. Is this Trump negative margin going to have implications for control of the Senate?
Not only that, but how about the Georgia Legislature? Is the now-in-control Republican Party vulnerable this fall? We don’t think so….but no doubt the way President Trump is handling his office these days, not only politically but with the pandemic crisis, it gives you more room to wonder.
The upcoming General Election suddenly takes on new vibrations.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Dependence on Chinese drug production is threat to USA
By John Titus
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | China is increasing production of generic drugs, which account for 89 percent of prescriptions. In turn, this could undercut other manufacturers on price, driving them out of the market. The result would be an America dependent China for its generics.
Titus
Currently the United States is much more dependent on China for active ingredients needed to make many generic and brand-name drugs, over the counter products and vitamins. In 1990 the U.S., Europe and Japan manufactured 90 percent of these key ingredients. Now China is the largest global supplier. This centralization of the global supply of essential ingredients for drugs made in China makes it vulnerable to interruption, whether by mistake or design.
How did this happen? Normal trade relations were established with China at the end of 2001. American pharmaceutical companies saw an opportunity to reduce the cost of producing drugs while entering the huge Chinese market. China had an abundance of chemists, cheap labor and almost nonexistent safety and environmental regulations. There was nothing to stop U.S. companies from manufacturing in China.
China’s industrial policy compels Western companies to transfer technology for the privilege of selling drugs in China. The belief by foreign companies that large foreign investments, the sharing of expertise and significant technology transfers, would lead to an ever opening of the Chinese market has not proven true. Annual foreign pharmaceutical sales in China fell from 20 percent in 2013 to 5 percent in 2015. We enabled China to set up domestic competitors and the Chinese government gives them preference. Our actions have increased Chinese capability, lessened our own and eliminated research and manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Heparin is a blood thinner widely used in surgical and dialysis procedures. In late 2007 and early 2008, contaminated batches of its active ingredient shipped from China and manufactured in final form here, had been sold to hospitals and dialysis centers. By mid-February many severe reactions and four deaths had been reported.
The heparin incident demonstrated that the safety of medicines coming from China is a major concern. Currently China must allow our FDA inspectors to enter their facilities but has limited their number and hindered their work. China will likely pressure Washington to determine that China’s inspection system meets U.S. standards. If that occurs, the U.S. will have lost control over the safety of our medicines.
There is also a direct national security concern. The Defense Logistics Agency buys medicine for the military. They must be made in the U.S. or an approved country. China is not among them. Exceptions are made when no other source is available. Between 2012 and 2017, 31 exceptions were made for China. Simply put, the health of our military may be dependent on a likely adversary.
In 2017 Jeffrey Johnson, a cybersecurity expert, stated: “China’s aim is to assert monopoly-like control of key industries and the global economy by infiltrating companies, research enterprises, and governments to gain insider access to sensitive intellectual property.” He urged government support for our companies in this battle.
Bringing medicine-making back to America is vital to our country’s health security, economic prosperity and national security. Restoring it can bolster employment and maintain a workforce with the skills necessary for a rapid increase in production in anticipation of a public health emergency or national security event. This is a vital step to lessen China’s threat to America’s health.
Source: CHINA Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine by Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh, Prometheus Books, 2018.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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The greatest harm may be that which we cannot see
Editor, the Forum:
Thanks for the Debra Houston comment on Friday. I can not agree more with the sentiments and observations she made in her “…the world has gone crazy” piece. And she is likely right in that the greatest harm is not in what we can see – the mindless destruction of our historical markers – but what we can not see, which is the effort by media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, to silence those whose views it doesn’t agree with. Scary times.
— Joe Briggs, Suwanee
Blue or red, don’t keep pushing trade revaluation
Editor, the Forum:
In World War II, our country lost 405,000 people. This gift from Wuhan, China has killed over 500,000 worldwide. When will the world realize this?
How long before this doubles? We are only struggling with the beginning. How many viruses have grown from America? We spent our early years of the Twentieth Century purging our food system to deliver dependable food to the public. Bringing in products and people from other countries challenges our controls begun in these times.
Revaluation of how we trade and how people immigrate to the land of the free and the home of the brave needs serious overhaul. Those we elect are cowards to address the issue. Blue or Red, just push the can down the road.
— Byron Gilbert, Duluth
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
Peachtree Corners inaugurates Night Market on July 10
Peachtree Corners will inaugurate a Night Market taking place once a month on Fridays July through October. The first market will be July 10 from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m.
The Night Market will feature 40+ local farmers with fruits, vegetables and natural meats, gardeners with fresh flowers and herbs, honey and homemade sauces, jellies, and soaps. A select number of local artists will also be featured monthly and showcase their locally created fine art and premium hand-crafted goods.
To ensure everyone’s safety, the city is strongly encouraging all attendees to wear face masks. Additionally, maintaining the CDC’s required six-foot social distancing is required. Attendees will hear live music provided by 42 Coldplay Tribute band.
Parking is available within the Town Center at 5200 Town Center Boulevard, with additional parking off Davinci Court off Peachtree Corners Circle. You are able to cross Peachtree Corners Circle and access the Town Green via a path. Look for the signs.
Duluth Rotary Club provides meal on July 4 for police
Duluth Rotarians from left are Teresa Lynn, Matt Reeves (with wife Suzette and children Susannah, Sara Beth, and Paul), Sallie Boyles (with husband Gary), Police Officers Scott, Vegter, Seiferheld, and Bustamante, and Tony Muse (with wife Brenda). Also present were Rotarians Erica McCurdy, president-elect of the Peachtree Corners Club; and Chatur Chhabhaya, president of the Emory Druid Hills Club (with Atul and Kishor Chhabhaya).
To commemorate Independence Day, the Rotary Club of Duluth provided a holiday meal for the Duluth Police as a gesture of appreciation for the men and women who put their lives on the line to preserve peace within the community and safeguard the liberties of all. Barbecued ribs, chicken, and pork with traditional sides and beverages was catered by Dreamland Barbecue. Rotary members prepared a variety of homemade desserts.
Duluth Rotary’s President, William Edwards, who assumed his leadership role in the club on July 1, championed this endeavor. “The Rotary Club of Duluth is proud to support our dedicated first responders, especially the Duluth Police Department,” he affirmed. “Rotary is committed to ‘service above self,’ a motto of Rotarians, and promoting peace through understanding. This is just a small way of saying thank you for protecting our community and preserving our rights as citizens. Thank you for your dedication and service.”
Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher also expressed his thoughts: “Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Duluth for providing dinner to our officers on July 4th. Many of our officers are not able to spend time with family over the holiday weekend, so this kind gesture and show of support is much appreciated. We value the relationships we have with members of our community, including the Rotary Club, and we thank you for thinking of us.”
Video about the Star Spangled Banner
From Jack Mason, Lawrenceville: Israel was the first nation in history to be dedicated to God. That occurred when Solomon dedicated the nation to God when the first Temple was completed. The United States was the second to be dedicated to God, on April 30, 1789, when George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the U.S. and the first Congress was sworn in. If one accepts the Bible’s presentation of there being “Times of the Gentiles” and “Times of the Hebrews,” it is extremely difficult to ignore the concept of the U.S. being the Gentile version of Israel. And, of course, neither nation has been righteous and perfect before God, but has been used by God to bring His Word to the rest of the world. Here is an 11 minute history lesson about the Stars Spangled Banner as you have never heard it for this July 4th weekend. Visit https://www.youtube.com/embed/YaxGNQE5ZLA
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
Naval Air Station located in metro Atlanta until 2009
From 1943 until 2009 Naval Air Station Atlanta (NAS) trained flight personnel from throughout the southeastern United States. Along with training and other operations, its reservists assisted U.S. Coast Guard operations off the southeastern U.S. coast.
The history of NAS covers two locations: the first one in Chamblee in DeKalb County and the second one near Marietta in Cobb County. In late 1940 the U.S. Navy department selected Camp Gordon, near Augusta, as the site for a Naval Reserve Aviation Base. The new base was officially commissioned and opened for business on March 22, 1941, with the primary responsibility of training navy and Marine Corps aviators. Because Camp Gordon was designated more for army use, a new navy base in Chamblee, on the site now known as DeKalb Peachtree Airport, was officially designated U.S. Naval Air Station in January 1943.
As wartime training was phased out, the Naval Air Reserve Training Program was activated. However, with the evolution of jet fighters and large patrol bombers, it soon became apparent that the limited area at Chamblee could not be used safely for very long. In April 1955 Congress appropriated more than $4 million to start building a new air station at a more suitable location that would allow for longer runways.
The site selected was a large military reservation between Marietta and Smyrna that was jointly occupied by Dobbins Air Force Base and the Lockheed Corporation (later Lockheed Martin). The new air station was completed in April 1959.
The 1960s brought to NAS the first assigned tactical training jet, the Lockheed Seastar T2V. The mid-1980s were years of transition and farewells. Among military passenger planes, the U.S. Navy’s last C-118 Liftmaster was retired after thirty-three years of service, and its replacement, the McDonnell Douglas C-9 “Skytrain,” was operated by the Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 46 (VR-46).
During the 1990s, NAS saw phenomenal change and growth. Attack Squadron 205 (VA-205) made the transition from A-7E Corsair to A-6E Intruder attack planes. Although VA-205 was then decommissioned, an A-7 marked the entrance to the air station, and an A-6 stood watch over hangar 5.
Fighter Attack Squadron 203 quickly filled the VA-205’s position, bringing the advanced F/A-18 Hornet to Atlanta. In June 1992 the marine presence at NAS was redefined as Marine Air Group 42 relocated to Atlanta, an air component of the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a full component of helicopter and fixed-wing aviation. In June 1993 the Marine Light Medium Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773) arrived, along with its UH-1 Huey and AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters.
On November 18, 1995, Carrier Early Airborne Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77), which flew E-2C Hawkeye radar planes, was commissioned. This reserve squadron served with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies to provide sophisticated air and surface surveillance of drug trafficking off the southern coast of the United States. In September 1997 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 (VMFA-142) joined the Atlanta team, adding another F/A-18 squadron to the air station.
In May 2005, as part of an ongoing effort to consolidate military installations, the Pentagon announced that NAS Atlanta would be closed. The closure occurred in 2009, and ownership of the station property transferred to the Georgia Department of Defense, which opened the General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center at the site. The new station is named for Marietta native Lucius D. Clay, a U.S. army officer and veteran of World War II (1941-45) who organized the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 and served as principal architect of the national interstate highway system. Some of the aircraft at NAS Atlanta were moved to the Aviation Wing of the Marietta Museum of History.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Watery location seeks identification in this Mystery Photo
Today’s Mystery Photo at least gives you something of a geographic reference by the vessels that are in the scene. So, it’s a waterway, but where? Send your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
What we thought would be an easy Mystery Photo in the last edition didn’t get many responses. And it was almost a local scene. (Unfortunately, we lost who sent the photograph in. “Fess up,” if it was you.)
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. recognized the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers Ga. “Visitors are welcome year-round to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, the inspirational home of Georgia’s Trappist Monks. With more than 2,300 acres of contemplative space, the Monastery is less than an hour from Atlanta. The new Monastic Heritage Center – a 17,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art museum – is educational, interactive and kid-friendly. There is also a bonsai garden, store and cafe. At the Abbey Gift Shop, which is the largest Christian bookstore in Georgia, visitors can purchase monk-made biscotti, fruitcake and fudge, all of which the monks sell in an effort to be self-sustaining and feed the local poor. You can also see the Norman Gothic architecture of the Abbey Church and take a quiet stroll along the lake, or spend time in prayer and meditation.”
Others recognizing the photograph included John Titus, Peachtree Corners; Meg Sweigart, Duluth; David Will, Lawrenceville; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex.
Mikki Dillon sent four of her paintings from the monastary. Click here to see all four.
Mikki Root Dillon of Lilburn not only recognized the photo, she was downpainting there, and sent along several of her works. “I have participated in three plein air paint outs there with sales afterwards to benefit the Monastery. They were wonderful events where the artists had access to everywhere on the grounds and many of the monks were so kind as to pose for us. The highlight for me was to really get to know many of them personally through these paint-outs.” (See adjacent.)
Allan Peel also gave this additional detail: “This religious complex is officially known as the ‘Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit’ and is the home of 48 Trappist monks spanning several generations, who live, work and pray at the Abbey Church. The monastery was founded on March 21, 1944 by 21 monks from the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky. on land that was donated to them by media mogul Henry Robinson Luce (1898-1967), an American magazine magnate. the monastery sustains itself through revenues generated at the Abbey Store and Cafe, a bakery, a bonsai garden center, a stained glass manufacturing business, donations, a cemetery, and onsite retreats.”
Full moon
Roving Photographer Frank Sharp caught this July full moon rising over Rhodes Jordan Park recently, with the moon looking something like a giant light.
Peachtree Corners will have a free series of movies on its Town Green beginning July 11. Movies begin at 7 p.m. Bring a blanket and stretch out on the lawn and experience movies under the stars. Grab food from your favorite Town Green restaurants and picnic. Please note: It is strongly recommended that all attendees wear face masks. Additionally, the CDC’s recommended six-foot social distancing is required. The July 11 movie will be Back to the Future.
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