FIRST IMPRESSIONS can make all the difference to prospective students who are comparing colleges. Toward that end, Georgia Gwinnett College has opened a re-designed welcome center, located in Building D on GGC’s main campus. The space serves as the first point of contact for prospective students, parents and visitors. The area also hosts student orientation, campus tours and college information sessions. The 9,100 square-foot center has undergone a complete renovation that included the removal of a number of walls to give the area an open feel. A part to the renovation is the Joseph Family Presentation Room. The 728 square-foot presentation space seats 40 and has in it a portrait of Dr. Edwin Joseph, the late husband of GGC President Jann L. Joseph. Her husband succumbed to cancer in 2018.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Tell your friends and neighbors to vote for E-SPLOST approval
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Upcoming E-SPLOST-6 should be approved by Gwinnett voters
ANOTHER VIEW: Adding members to the Supreme Court would be a “re-balancing’
SPOTLIGHT: Comet National Shipping
FEEDBACK: Article on 100 year old Spanish Flu hauntingly similar to COVID
UPCOMING: Suwanee offers tax credit to help firms holding alcoholic licenses
NOTABLE: Georgia Water Coalition honors Walton EMC as “clean-water” hero
RECOMMENDED: The Concubine’s Secret by Kate Furnivall
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Largest telescope in Georgia is at Fernbank Science Center
MYSTERY PHOTO: See if you have problems identifying this Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Virtual book club offers free online book for discussion
Tell friends and neighbors to vote for E-SPLOST approval
By Sean Murphy
Chair, Gwinnett Kids Count
SUWANEE, Ga. | On Tuesday, November 3, voters in Gwinnett County will be asked to approve the renewal of the one-cent sales tax for education, or E-SPLOST. This is not a new tax and is paid by everyone who shops in Gwinnett County. The money goes directly to construction, technology, transportation, security and other critical needs throughout the Gwinnett County and Buford City school systems. If passed, the E-SPLOST will generate more than $984 million that will go directly to these public schools, supporting approximately 180,000 students, educators and families and promoting equity in access to educational opportunities.
Murphy
For more than 20 years, the one cent sales tax for education has delivered new and renovated schools, thousands of needed classrooms, upgraded technology, improved athletic facilities, and provided safety and transportation. Most importantly, Gwinnett County Public Schools’ and Buford City Schools’ students gain an award-winning education and job skills training that prepare our children for the future.
The success of Gwinnett’s public schools has played a tremendous role in the economic development of the county. Families seeking a quality public education have chosen to live in Gwinnett in order to afford their children the real-world education provided by our schools. The availability of qualified employees has factored into companies’ location and expansion and created jobs here.
If approved, the Education SPLOST will deliver:
- One new school in the Archer cluster and nearly 10 elementary, middle and high school additions and renovations;
- Advanced technology resources – and equitable access – for every student and every school;
- Updated technology for digital learning and instruction;
- Internet access to help students succeed in virtual learning environments;
- Improved athletic facilities;
- New, more efficient buses;
- Modernized safety and security equipment; and
- Ongoing maintenance for schools and athletic facilities, including HVAC, roofing, lighting, painting and carpeting.
Specific information on advanced technology upgrades can be found here: www.gwinnettkids2020.com.
Classes and internships at our schools range from college prep to engineering, from construction to computer science, from the arts to culinary skills. There are hundreds of options.
The Education SPLOST is one way that we can help make sure our children and all students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for future opportunities. This real-world preparation benefits every business, every community and every family.
In this COVID era, the needs are greater than ever. We need your help to continue Gwinnett County and Buford City schools’ records of excellence and achievement. The referendum question is near the bottom of your ballot.
Tell your friends, your colleagues and your neighbors to vote yes for education on November 3. Early voting begins October 12. Follow and like us on Facebook at gwinnettkidscount and read more on our web site at www.gwinnettkids2020.com.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Coming E-SPLOST-6 should be approved by Gwinnett voters
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 2, 2020 | Gwinnettians are proud of their public school systems, as they well should be. Both the Gwinnett and the Buford City Schools are considered by many the best in Georgia, and high among the best in the nation.
Residents of Gwinnett have shown tremendous support for the two systems by voting for a one cent Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) year after year, by big majorities.
Just look at the record:
- 1997 E-SPLOST 1 70.72 percent approval
- 2001 E-SPLOST 2 78.73 percent approval
- 2006 E-SPLOST 3 66.35 percent approval
- 2011 E-SPLOST 4 60.42 percent approval
- 2015 E-SPLOST 5 74.79 percent approval
This election year, 2020, there will be on the Gwinnett ballot a proposal for E-SPLOST 6 to help fund expansion of the every-growing school systems, including funding new schools and expansion of others.
It is important to recognize that the E-SPLOST 6 being proposed is not an additional tax on Gwinnett property, but is an extension of the current tax level. The special purpose funds can be used only for supporting infrastructure, that is new buildings and equipment, and cannot be used for day-to-day school operations. The Gwinnett school enrollment is at 180,000 students, and continuing to grow, hence the need for expanded facilities., while Buford City Schools enroll approximately 5,400 students.
Here is the wording that faces voters on the extension of the educational SPLOST:
Shall the special one percent sales and use tax for educational purposes currently imposed in Gwinnett County be continued upon the expiration of the current sales and use tax, for not longer than 20 calendar quarters to raise an estimated $984,565,000 for the purpose of funding the following projects:
For Gwinnett County School District:
(A) acquiring land for schools, support facilities and athletic facilities;
(B) constructing and equipping schools, support;
(C) facilities and athletic facilities;
(D) purchasing school buses and other transportation vehicles;
(E) making existing lease/purchase payments with respect to the acquisition of schools and support facilities;
(F) modernizing technology and making system-wide technology improvements; and
(G) acquiring digital instructional materials, software and textbooks (the “Gwinnett Projects”)
at a total cost of approximately $957,096,000; and
For the City of Buford School District:
(A) acquiring land for schools, support facilities and athletic facilities;
(B) constructing and equipping schools, support facilities and athletic facilities;
(C) purchasing school buses and other transportation vehicles;
(D) making existing lease/purchase payments with respect to the acquisition of schools and support facilities;
(E) modernizing technology and making system-wide technology improvements;
(F) acquiring digital instructional materials, software and textbooks; and
(G) retiring previously issued bonded indebtedness,
at a total cost of approximately $27,469,000. If continuation of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall also constitute approval of the issuance of general obligation debt of the Gwinnett County School District in a principal amount not to exceed $300,000,000 for the purpose of funding all or a portion of the Gwinnett Projects.
The combined SPLOST for the two systems is expected to raise nearly $1 billion for improvements to the facilities in Gwinnett. The key part here is that should the SPLOST lose, local taxpayers would eventually have to fund expanded schools through property taxes. In effect, by approving the SPLOST, Gwinnett taxpayers are avoiding a tax increase.
And remember: people from outside of Gwinnett help pay this SPLOST funding. After all, these funds are generated by sales tax, meaning that people shopping at the Gwinnett malls, chain stores, automobile dealerships and every single retail outlet, chip in a penny for every dollar they spend here. So, between 30-40 percent of SPLOST comes to Gwinnett from people outside Gwinnett.
The citizens of Gwinnett will do themselves a favor by approving the 2020 proposed E-SPLOST.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Adding members to Supreme Court would be “re-balancing”
“The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes.
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. | After Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s threat to “Pack the Court,” never again did the then-existing Court tamper with the constitutionality of any New Deal legislation. As eminent historian, J.M Burns once pointed out; FDR was both a lion and a fox. Indeed, Roosevelt went on to appoint nine Supreme Court justices before he died.
On another note, when FDR tried to increase the size of the courts, many African-Americans were denied the right to vote. Even then, when African-Americans gained the right to vote, many rights were denied. Today, when women make up 50 percent of the population and minorities are becoming majorities in many parts of this country, women and minorities still will lack proportioned representation in the courts.
Of the 248 justices appointed to the courts by Trump, eight have been Latino/Hispanic and eight have been African-American. Yet today is 2020, not the 1920s or 1930s, that is, except in the eyes of Trump and the Republican Party.
Furthermore, many people are dissatisfied with Republicans, who are pretending they want judges who won’t “legislate from the bench.” What they really are saying is that they want judges who will legislate a conservative agenda from the bench. They would overturn campaign finance laws, overturn voting rights laws, overturn healthcare laws, all passed by elected representatives. Yet we still have the continued existence of our Constitution. Democracy is the issue.
Meanwhile, the Republican Senate has impaired the non-partisan perception of the court so much that it cannot fulfill its purpose. The GOP has been intent on further corrupting the court by stealing a seat. Now they seek to further corrupt the court by placing another biased ideologue on the court.
Accordingly, the Democrats must right this ship and save democracy itself and the rule of law. One way is to increase the size of the court, which is both legal and Constitutional. And interestingly, it is every bit similar to the Senate majority making up their own rules. Not only that, the GOP changes the rules for their own political advantage.
Finally, the more justices on the court, statistically over time, the more it evens out the variant of the impact any one presidential term could have on the make-up of the court. This would not be “packing” the court. It would be “re-balancing.”
Adding more members to a review court isn’t new or even unknown to us in Georgia. In 2016, the Georgia Republicans, in control of the Legislature, added two seats to the Georgia Supreme court, giving the court a new conservative posture. Governor Nathan Deal made those appointments.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Comet National Shipping
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- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
100-year-old Spanish Flu hauntingly similar to COVID
Editor, the Forum:
Let me strongly recommend an article in National Geographic by Dan Vergano, published January 24, 2014, that discusses the positions of historians claiming the worldwide influenza that took 50 million lives worldwide, originated in China in 2017.
World War I was depleting manpower by 1918, and laborers were needed for the front in France to dig trenches. Some 96,000 Chinese workers were shipped to Canada in sealed railcars to cross the country. They were then boated to England where they were kept in camps. Some were showing symptoms of sickness, but treatment was minimal.
Once in France, both French and German troops became infected. The illness was in the H1N1 family. Real connections confirmed by examining corpses from 1917 Northern China and initial corpses in 1918 France which found the same virus or mutation. China seems to have developed some herd immunity, since it was not impacted by the pandemic like the rest of the world.
Spanish media was uncensored during the war and their reports of the illness caused the world to attach the idea that the flu began in Spain. This was totally misleading.
This pandemic hit right after four years of death and disfigurement in World war I, and would take the lives of more than were killed in the war.
The 1918 pandemic came home with our troops and spread quickly. In October, 1918, it took my grandmother, Sarah Parks Knepshield (Wareham) at 24 years old. That was the strange thing that this virus killed young healthy adults.
There’s a large number of photos and posters in the National Geographic article about masks that hauntingly remind of today. They still sat shoulder to shoulder at baseball games. It hit all ages.
— Bryan 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
Suwanee offers tax credit to firms with alcoholic licenses
The Suwanee City Council is giving a break to restaurants and bars. The Council has approved a 2021 alcohol license tax credit in an effort to offset hardships created by COVID-19. Suwanee’s program provides up to $6,000 in alcohol license tax credits that can be applied to the 2021 renewal period for eligible businesses.
Mayor Jimmy Burnette says: “While nearly all city businesses experienced negative impacts during this pandemic, restaurants have faced special challenges and difficulties due to mandated restrictions and social distancing. The city council developed this program in hopes of helping these businesses make it through these difficult times.”
The one-time tax credit is available to renewing restaurants and beverage establishments that currently hold a City of Suwanee alcohol license for on-premises consumption, as well as new restaurants and beverage establishments that begin operation between October 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Suwanee essentially has three types of on-premises consumption alcohol licenses: beer ($500), wine ($500), and distilled spirits ($5,000). For an establishment that sells all three types of alcohol, the sum of $6,000 is remitted annually and renew each year on December 31.
The Suwanee City Council also offered a business license tax credit in May 2020 to help offset hardships created by COVID-19 on local businesses. Suwanee’s program provides up to $500 in business license tax credits that can be applied to any City of Suwanee business for either the 2020 or the 2021 business license. This program also applies to new businesses that open through March 2021.
Water Coalition honors Walton EMC as “clean-water” hero
Walton EMC’s solar power initiatives have been recognized for their positive efforts on behalf of Georgia’s water by the Georgia Water Coalition. Shown are, left to right, Walton EMC Vice President of Walton Energy and External Affairs Jim Bottone; Facebook Southeast Community Development Manager Katie Comer; Georgia Wildlife Federation President/CEO and Georgia Water Coalition leadership team member Mike Worley; Walton EMC Community and Public Relations Director Greg Brooks; Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Solar Program Director Bryan Jacob; and Walton EMC Senior Vice President of Finance Marsha Shumate.
By Greg Brooks
MONROE, Ga. | Imagine 20,000 semi-truck tankers filled with fresh water. That’s how much Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) is saving every day due to its innovative solar power efforts.
Those efforts were recently recognized when the Georgia Water Coalition (GWC) presented the Clean 13 Water Heroes Award to the cooperative against a backdrop of solar panels at one of Walton EMC’s Cooperative Solar installations. The award is typically given at the organization’s annual gala. Instead, the COVID-19 crisis necessitated a small, outdoor, local event.
GWC annually names the Clean 13 list not only to recognize positive efforts on behalf of Georgia’s water, but also as a call to action for our state’s leaders and citizens to review these success stories, borrow from, and emulate them.
In Georgia, more water is used to produce electricity than for any other purpose. Expanding the Walton EMC solar portfolio not only provides more clean energy, it also prevents the withdrawal of hundreds of millions of gallons of water.
Among the activities that GWC cited as leading to the award is the cooperative’s Cooperative Solar program, where Walton EMC customer-owners buy blocks of solar power to offset the electricity they use that is generated by traditional means.
The other achievement mentioned is Walton EMC’s execution of 232 megawatts of additional solar energy contracts in 2019 to supply Facebook’s Newton Data Center with 100 percent renewable energy. Southeast Community Development Manager Katie Comer represented Facebook in celebrating the award.
“We are here today to salute Walton EMC’s responsiveness to their customer-owners’ desire to lessen their impact on our world,” said Mike Worley, Georgia Wildlife Federation president/CEO and member of the GWC leadership team. “Their customer-owners wanted the opportunity to use clean, renewable power and Walton EMC has responded to that desire with one of the most aggressive solar development programs in their industry. Congratulations to Walton EMC and its customer-owners on this tremendous initiative and accomplishments to date, and to the future of their conservation investments.”
Charities receive grants from Jackson EMC Foundation
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $77,595 in grants during its September meeting, including $30,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, to provide financial assistance for the Home of Hope program, which includes up to 12 months of transitional housing, life skills training, individual and family therapy, and life coaching so families can emerge from homelessness into a sustainable mode of living.
- $15,000 to Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity, to purchase materials for two homes, including an HVAC unit, cabinets, paint and trim.
The Concubine’s Secret by Kate Furnivall
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: The Concubine’s Secret by Kate Furnivall continues the story started in The Russian Concubine by this author. In this story, the heroine, Lydia Ivanova is searching for her father, who vanished from her life decades ago, condemned to the fields of Siberia. Lydia travels with her half-brother, Alexei, across Russia facing many dangers from the Russian police and the powerful followers of Stalin. At her side is her Chinese lover, Chang An Lo, who seeks to protect Lydia and learn all he can from the Communist Party in Russia so he can take the information on how to build the party in China. Filled with romance, terror, danger and a push to reach a goal despite obstacles, this book is a pager turner as was The Russian Concubine.
Help! GwinnettForum is low on recommendations. 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
Largest telescope in Georgia is at Fernbank Science Center
Several universities in Georgia maintain observatories with research-grade telescopes. At Agnes Scott College in Decatur, students in undergraduate astrophysics use a 30-inch Cassegrain telescope, which was purchased in 1947 and upgraded in 1998. Included in the college’s Bradley Observatory is a radio telescope and a number of smaller telescopes.
Hard Labor Creek Observatory (HLCO), located in Rutledge’s Hard Labor Creek Park, opened in 1986 to house a16-inch Boller and Chivens telescope for Georgia State University (GSU). The observatory also houses a 16-inch Meade telescope and a one-meter Multiple Telescope Telescope (MTT) instrument. The largest astronomical telescope in the Southeast, the MTT is used for astronomical spectroscopy. Although HLCO has become home for several professional astronomers from GSU, it also offers a public viewing program.
During the 1990s the Georgia Institute of Technology Research Corporation obtained two refurbished 30-meter antennae (built by AT&T), located in Woodbury, for the purpose of joining the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence project with Greenbank Observatory in West Virginia. The antennae were abandoned in 2000, only to be purchased by a farmer for agricultural purposes.
The Coca-Cola Space Science Center at Columbus State University in Columbus opened in 1996, and students from around the world were invited to design proposals for studying the sun. Winning students and schools were awarded time on the remote-controlled 16-inch solar observing telescope in the center’s Mead Observatory.
Young Harris College Observatory, dedicated in 2002, houses a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope to teach undergraduates, and North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega uses a 16-inch Boller and Chivens reflecting telescope for the same purpose.
Mark Smith Planetarium at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon houses 10 and 14 inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, as well as a 17-inch Dobsonian for public observations. The Fernbank Observatory, part of the Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, which has offered astronomy education to the public since its 1967 opening, houses a 36-inch Cassegrain reflector, one of the largest telescopes ever dedicated to public viewing.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
See if you have problems identifying this Mystery Photo
Today’s Mystery Photo may not be much of a mystery for anyone who has been paying attention to their surroundings. This scene may be most familiar to some, and may also have been popularized in an unusual way. Figure out this mystery and send your idea to elliott@brack.net, including your home town.
When Scott LeCraw of Suwanee looked at the recent Mystery Photo, he then wrote: “I’m not one to go researching your mystery photos, preferring to just draw on my experience. That being said, with no research, I think this week’s photo might be the Isle of Capri in Italy.” He was right. The photograph came from Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill. Also recognizing the photo was Lou Camiero, Lilburn.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. says: “Today’s mystery photo is of the Marina Grande on the northern shore of the Isle of Capri in Italy. It is situated in the Gulf of Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea, approximately 20-miles due south of Naples. Capri is only accessible by boat and ferry and is famous for its busy and upscale hotels and shopping, restaurants, and a rugged coastline that, as evident from the mystery photo, attracts many tourists as well as the yachts of the rich and famous.
“Today, Capri is one of the smallest islands off the Amalfi Coast by land mass, yet is home to more than 12,000 permanent residents, and entertains over 20,000 visitors E- during the busy summer months. Over 80% of visitors only stay for a single day, and tourists are prohibited from using cars during the summer season.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. saw the photo and wrote a personal note: “My wife, Diane, and I spent a day on the Island of Capri. We arrived by boat from Naples and docked at this marina. We visited on one of the elevated high overlooks, sat on a bench in the shade and just enjoyed the beautiful sea view before having a fantastic lunch.” He added about last week’s main item in GwinnettForum: “I also enjoyed reading Ross Lenhart’s article. I too was stationed in the Army at Gablingen, Germany, and after my discharge, joined the Army civilian ranks.”
Book Club: Join Gwinnett County Public Library for a virtual book club for adults. The next event will be October 20 at 7 p.m. for the book Disoriental by Négar Djavadi. Email events@gwinnettpl.org if you want to join in. Download a free copy of the book by visiting gwinnett.bibliocommons.com, or purchase a copy from your favorite bookstore. Read the book, and join the online meeting on the planned date/time by using your laptop, phone, iPad, etc. You can join the discussion or you can type comments in the chat box.
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