GwinnettForum | Number 21.01 | Jan. 5, 2021
NEW LEADERSHIP: Gwinnett has several new officials in office as a result of the 2020 elections. Nicole Love Hendrickson, above, speaks after being sworn in as the new commission chairman. She is the first Black chairman in the commission’s history. Two new commission members are Kirkland Carden and Jasper Watkins. Keybo Tayor is the new county sheriff; Tiffany Porter is the new tax commissioner; Tina Garner is the new clerk of court; and Patsy Austin-Gatson is new district attorney; and new school board members are Karen Watkins and Tarence Johnson.
TODAY’S FOCUS: President Trump’s legacy is a nightmare in American history
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Unexpected death of J. Terry Gordon shocks Gwinettians
ANOTHER VIEW: Produces List of President Trump’s Notable Accomplishments
SPOTLIGHT: MTI Baths Inc
FEEDBACK: There may be light at the end of the pandemic tunnel
UPCOMING: County, GGC partnering in Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center
NOTABLE: Virtual Discussion on 14th Colony will be on January 10
RECOMMENDED: The King’s Witch by Tracy Borman
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Lee County growing and becoming a suburb of Albany
MYSTERY PHOTO: Figure out what’s going on in this dressed-up auditorium
(Editor’s note: we asked two of our regular contributors to assess the four years of the Trump Administration. George Wilson and Gregg Stopher present their views in Today’s Focus and in Another View. We thank them for their presentations.—eeb)
President Trump’s legacy is a nightmare in American history
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga., Jan. 5, 2021 | The Trump legacy is a nightmare in American history. Here are a few reasons:
Poor management: We can start with the beginning of the administration and its poor transition in taking over the government and the high turnover of personnel and staff during the administration. Of Mr. Trump’s 15 initial cabinet members, nine, so far, have not survived his term. In the White House, 59 of his 65 top aides have left, many of them before the end of Mr. Trump’s first year. That’s more than any other recent president. In certain positions, serial turnover; Mr. Trump has had six communications directors and deputy national security advisers. Hence. this has led to confusion in policy at all levels of government and the public’s mind.
Poisoning the body politic: Trump’s never-ending lies have weakened democratic institutions and norms. For example, according to a Pew research poll, only 10 percent of Republicans trust in mass media as opposed to 73 percent of Democrats and 36 percent of independents.
On another matter, the elections were not fraudulent as Trump proclaimed. For example, when 15,000 absentee ballots were audited in Cobb County, no voter fraud was found. Nor, despite Trump’s claims, has fraud been found anywhere else.
Finally, Trump has told over 20,000 lies and misleading claims, often amplified by the FOX Network, right-wing radio, and social media sources.
Missed opportunities: In not working with our allies in creating good trading agreements, he has increased the power of China, who stepped into the vacuum created by Trump policies.
Corruption: Trump’s parting gift to dictators solidifies his authoritarian legacy. His administration has moved forward with a slew of major arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (Yemen dead now tally 233,000), and Egypt. Also, we cannot forget the massive amounts of money paid to his resorts to house government employees, like secret service agents. And don’t forget the pardons to his convicted criminal friends.
Failed in business: As proven by his business failures and bankruptcies, Trump is not a very good businessman. Why should we have thought he would be a solid president?
The American economy was on an upward trajectory when he came into office, after the Obama Administration. Trump’s contribution to overall economic growth was little more than not messing up the ongoing (Obama) economic expansion … until he ignored the combined human and economic impacts of Covid-19. The Trump Administration’s economic performance must be looked at in its entirety, not merely by its performance before 2020. Anything else is political apologias.
Overall: Judged in its entirety, Trump’s economic performance has been a failure – and on the human side, a disaster. Think about it, the handling and response to the Covid-19 crisis, the economy, international relations with our allies, ignoring climate change, backing out on the Iranian nuclear treaty, the vaccine rollout, and finally the vaulted trade deficit that has never been higher.
Finally, Trump should be prosecuted for his crimes, to restore justice and the rule of law. Politically this may be a problem at the federal level, but may not at the state level.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Unexpected death of J. Terry Gordon shocks Gwinnettians
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JAN. 5, 2021 | It is with sadness and a heavy heart that I found out last week of the unexpected death of J. Terry Gordon of Norcross. For the last 17 years, my offices have been adjacent to those of Terry’s certified public accounting practice in Technology Park. I usually would see and often talk with him nearly every day.
On Christmas Eve around noon, he stuck his head into my office for two-three minutes. Later I learned that he had gone to his doctor that afternoon, not feeling well, and was that day admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He died peacefully in the hospital five days later with his family by him, shocking us all.
In addition to conducting his large auditing and tax practice, Terry was involved in many Gwinnett civic and charitable activities. He volunteered on numerous charitable boards, often either advising them of tax questions, or serving as the treasurer.
No matter when you saw Terry, he was always genial, friendly and happy to talk with you. People came away from conversations with Terry in a happy mood. He did not bring controversy with him.
Terry was raised in the south Georgia town of Fitzgerald. After high school, he went to Statesboro and graduated from Georgia Southern College, now University. During those days of the draft, he was a member of an Air Force Reserve unit.
Gordon
Many may not remember the “Pueblo incident,” but it affected Terry’s life. On Jan. 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Naval intelligence ship with 84 crewmen, was captured by North Korean patrol boats, and its crew imprisoned. This caused Terry’s Reserve unit to be called to active duty at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, and he served for over a year at Dobbins.
Earlier Terry had met Jane Lowe, a graduate of Auburn University, when both moved to Atlanta. While serving at Dobbins, Jane and Terry were married. Afterward, he worked for the large accounting firm of Touche, and later joined Jerry Ashworth of Tucker in a CPA practice. From there, he opened his own accounting firm in Peachtree Corners in 1984.
J. Michael Levengood, an attorney in Lawrenceville, remembers Terry’s voluntary activities. “Terry Gordon supported the Gwinnett community in many significant ways. Terry also audited the annual financial statements of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce for many years. Terry was soft spoken with a quick smile, a generous spirit, and a remarkable willingness to share his professional skills to improve the quality of life for all of us in Gwinnett County.”
Terry was president of the Gwinnett Rotary Club in 1986-87. One of Terry’s key activities has been with the Georgia Rotary Student Program, which brings foreign students for a year’s study in the USA, paid for by local clubs. It is the only program of its kind in Rotary. As many as 70 students annually study at Georgia colleges before returning home as “Georgia ambassadors.” Terry has been on this board for 29 years, was its treasurer for 14 years, was for three years as vice chairman and then chairman for five years. Terry was often traveling all over Georgia working with this program and its students.
Terry and Jane were founding members of the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Lilburn, where they were deeply involved.
Terry’s life was a testament of how a person should live. We will miss him sorely.
James Terry Gordon, 1943-2020: May you rest in peace.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Produces list of President Trump’s notable accomplishments
By Gregg Stopher, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. | Donald J. Trump will go down in history as one of the most consequential presidents in American history. There are those who do not like some of his comments, his “style,” his tweets, or his often-inarticulate use of the English language. But all of that is pure emotion, that is not based on logic and facts. I hereby present an annotated record of his accomplishments for the American people over the past four years.
Stopher
Here’s the list of his notable accomplishments:
- Trump installed three Supreme Court justices and 230 judges overall to the federal bench — all for lifetime appointments.
- Trump established the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces — the Space Force. (It is the first new military service since the U.S. Air Force was created in 1947.)
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the biggest overhaul to the U.S. tax code in three decades.
- First Step Act – criminal justice reform giving (mostly Black) criminals a second chance at life.
- Defeated ISIS and killed their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
- Killed Iran’s Qasem Soleimani.
- Hundreds of miles of border wall constructed.
- Record low unemployment for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and women (pre-Covid).
- Operation Warp Speed, marshalling resources to combat the virus and getting two vaccines approved in less than 10 months.
- Renegotiated NAFTA, getting better terms with the USMCA for American workers.
- Brought back over half a million manufacturing jobs to the U.S.
- Became world’s largest producer of oil and the U.S. became energy-independent for the first time ever.
- Negotiated the release of over a dozen foreign hostages.
- Moved the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.
- Permanent fund established for Historic Black Colleges and Universities (Future Act).
- Created Opportunity Zones for economically-depressed areas.
- Taiwan Semiconductor to begin making semiconductors in the U.S.
- Cut over eight regulations for every one enacted during his four years (promised a two-for-one split).
- 2018 Farm Bill, gave $12 billion of relief to farmers.
- Initiated zero wars.
- Got us out of the disastrous Iran nuclear deal.
- Got us out of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership).
- North Korea stopped shooting off rockets and Trump actually stepped inside of North Korean borders when he met with Chairman Kim.
- Four Mideast peace agreements (Abraham Accords) signed between Israel and Arab-Muslim nations (U.A.E., Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan).
- Saw prescription drug prices drop for the first time in 50 years.
- Opened up more than a million square miles of federal land for hunting and fishing.
- Got Mexico to put its own troops on its southern border to stem the immigration flow.
- Permanently funded the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
- Saw household income rose over $5K.
- Had highest numbers of Americans ever working (160 million-plus).
- Child tax credit doubled, to $2K per child.
- Saw 56 percent decline in illegal immigration.
- Seven million less people on food stamps.
- Twenty-four months with unemployment rate below four percent.
- Got NATO members to start paying like they had agreed to years before when NATO was formed (two percent of GDP; $130 billion more than what they had been paying).
- Donated his $400K salary every single year to various charitable organizations.
- Dow Jones at 30,000+; how is your 401(k) looking?
Yes, there are more, but one “gets the picture.” Your turn, President Biden!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
MTI Baths Inc.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is MTI Baths Inc. of Sugar Hill. MTI Baths is a manufacturer of high-quality acrylic and engineered solid surface bath products, including whirlpools, air and soaking baths; lavatories; shower bases; and kitchen sinks. MTI’s patented Fill-Flush® and Simple Touch® whirlpool cleaning systems are the best on the market. MTI now offers engineered solid surface–countertops and sinks. Every product is custom-made to order and shipped within seven business days. We are now operating in an additional manufacturing plant of 38,000 square foot. CEO of the firm is Kathy Adams, while Russell Adams is president.
- Visit their web site at http://www.mtibaths.com/.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
There may be light at the end of the pandemic tunnel
Editor, the Forum:
It is truly amazing that we have begun to vaccinate with the first of many vaccines developed in 2020. With upfront funding, cutting of red tape, volunteers for trials, traditional processes were focused to deliver multiple vaccines in 20 percent of the normal time. Hopefully, a new method has been found. In six months we should see control of this Covid-19 that has shutdown business and schools and churches in so many parts of our country and the world, while bringing hospitals to near capacity.
It will be interesting to see if the changes remain. We may have become spoiled by food delivered to our homes from groceries and restaurants. Medical visits at home have been great and telemedicine is a winner too.
The population of the world is not dropping enough to avoid future pandemic viruses. It will be interesting to see if there’s pressure to maintain masks. I can see hand washing and a pump of goo. I can see continuation of disinfection of shopping carts.Online sales will just grow higher and people will devise ways to secure delivered shipments. I already get texts telling me the moment a package is delivered to my door.
So, the light may be at the end of the tunnel and the aftermath may be somewhat different.
— Byron Gilbert, Duluth
Agrees that Trevor Lawrence of Clemson deserves Heisman Trophy
Editor, the Forum:
Trevor Lawrence is a winner, and is amazing. I agree he deserves the Heisman Trophy. He has surprising speed too, a complete player. I remember how he ran away from the Ohio State team for a long touchdown last year, untouched – left ‘em in the dust, as they say. (Of course, it was a different story this year.)
I love to watch him play. That was a great guest column on the Heisman. Trevor made me a Clemson fan. Former Heisman winners get to vote each year. Archie Griffin won it twice. Makes you wonder: does he get two votes?
— Marshall Miller, Lilburn.
Satisfeed had wrong address; is “org,” not “com”
Editor, the Forum:
Thank you so much for publishing the article about Satisfeed and feeding the hungry, and for all the great graphics you added. It has been pointed out to me that I included a bad link to the donate page. It should be https://www.satisfeed.org/donate, not .com. Thanks for making this correction to what I sent in.
— David Bell, 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
County, GGC partnering in Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center
Gwinnett County Government and Georgia Gwinnett College have announced that the two institutions are partnering to operate and staff the new Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center. It will be an incubator for fledgling Gwinnett start-ups and small businesses looking to grow. The 6,718-square-foot center, located at 405 North Perry Street in Lawrenceville, and is scheduled to open in the spring.
Under the agreement, Gwinnett County will provide the facilities, such as co-working spaces, a training room with technological equipment, conference rooms, a breakroom/dining area, outdoor workspace and offices.
GGC will provide instruction and supporting services, such as workshops, coaching, peer learning, connections to customers and capital and market research, plus membership opportunities. The project is being headed by the County’s Office of Economic Development.
The center, located in a renovated former preschool building on Perry Street, will actively recruit business owners from low-to-moderate income households, as well as diverse business owners.
Gwinnett County outgoing Chairman Charlotte Nash said it makes sense for the county to collaborate with the GGC School of Business and its Center for Emerging Business and Entrepreneurship.
She said: “A strong and vibrantly connected local economy is a strategic priority for the Board of Commissioners, and the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center will help give new Gwinnett businesses a better shot at success. Many people have great ideas, but they don’t know how to make them a reality. The County is providing a place where they can temporarily have an office and resources, and GGC can provide the advice and coaching to help new businesses survive the early days when so many struggle.”
Recorder’s Court of Gwinnett halts in-person court sessions
Because of rising COVID-19 concerns, the Recorder’s Court of Gwinnett County is not conducting in-person court appearances for the month of January. Cases scheduled for the month of January will be cancelled and re-set for a later date.
Recorder’s Court will continue to use virtual meeting platforms to dispose of negotiated cases and other matters agreed to by all parties.
All persons represented by counsel should contact their attorney with questions. Attorneys and defendants not represented by counsel may contact the Solicitor’s Office to discuss their cases.
Regional commuter bus announces new mobile ticketing system
The Xpress regional commuter transit service and Gwinnett County Transit (GCT) announce their partnership with Token Transit to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Token Transit is a new mobile ticketing program that allows people to ride Xpress and GCT and pay the fare without touching cash or kiosks. The app is free and is available in both the Apple and Google Play stores. Using Token Transit eliminates the need for hard surface contact at the farebox between operators and passengers. It is a cashless, cardless, and contactless payment solution. Both Xpress and GCT will be offering a 50 percent discount on the first purchase made through the Token Transit app during the months of January and February.
Gwinnett County Transit launched Token Transit on January 4. This partnership will provide their riders with a new level of convenience that eliminates the need for carrying cash.
Virtual Discussion on 14th Colony will be Jan. 10
Join Gwinnett County Public Library in discussion with author and historian – Mike Bunn, on his new book Fourteenth Colony: The Forgotten Story of the Gulf South During America’s Revolutionary Era. The virtual event will be January 10 at 3 p.m.
In Fourteenth Colony, Bunn discusses the history of the forgotten 14th colony that stretched from the majority of what are now the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Bunn will have a conversation with noted historian Gene Ramsay. Ramsay co-authored Images of America: Norcross, and has written for professional and history journals.
West Florida did not rebel against the British Government, so that colony has long been dismissed as a loyal but inconsequential fringe outpost.
Professor Samuel C. Hyde, Jr. says, “At last we have an easy-to-read book that corrects the long-embraced notion of thirteen American colonies rising in revolution against Britain. Mike Bunn’s impressively researched and well-written Fourteenth Colony will open many eyes to a startling historical omission just as it will force reconsideration of how we teach, and interpret, the American Revolution.”
- Registration is required for virtual events. To participate, click here: GCPL Author Programs
The King’s Witch by Tracy Borman
From Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville: The novel is based on the “Gunpowder Plot” of 1605 to kill King James I, his sons, Crown Prince Henry, Prince Charles and members of Parliament. The plot was foiled and the men who planned this were caught and put to death. What makes this book interesting is the intrigues. While it is a love story, it’s based on factual incidents, even the main characters are real. The story revolves around King James before he was made king of England after Queen Elizabeth I died. James was a monster to his subjects and was hell-bent on wiping out any and all who he thought practiced witchcraft. A lot of innocent people died during his reign because they were believed to be witches or worshipped Satan. This story shows how people in power can manipulate the narrative and make otherwise normal people paranoid into believing what is factual, false.
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
Lee County growing and becoming a suburb of Albany
Lee County, which spans 356 square miles, was created by an act of the state legislature on June 9, 1825, along with Carroll, Coweta, and Troup counties (although the counties were not officially named until December 1826). Georgia’s 61st county was formed from land that was ceded by the Creek Indians in a treaty signed on February 12, 1825.
One of Georgia’s earliest counties in the southwestern part of the state, Lee originally comprised the subsequently created counties of Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, and Webster and parts of Chattahoochee, Clay, Macon, Marion, and Schley. The original county boundaries ran from the Flint River to the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama border. The total population in the 1830 census was 1,680. In 1832 the county seat was named Starkville after General John Stark, a Revolutionary War(1775-83) hero of the battles of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts and Bennington in Vermont.
With the completion of the Southwestern Railroad from Americus to Albany in 1857, two towns were created along the railroad. Smithville, in the northern section of the county, was incorporated in 1863. In 1872 Wooten Station, located in the central part of the county, was chosen as the county seat and incorporated as Wooten the same year. In 1874 Wooten was renamed Leesburg. As Leesburg continued to grow, Starkville, the old county seat, lost its population and eventually became a ghost town. Today, the only reminder of Starkville is an old public cemetery, where some of the first county officials are buried.
In 1814, on his way to fight in a campaign against the Creek Indians, General Andrew Jackson camped in an area that would become part of Lee County. Four years later, near the future site of Leesburg, the Georgia militia mistakenly attacked the Indian town of Chehaw and several friendly Chehaw Indians were killed. In 1912 the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a memorial marker at the site in remembrance of the massacre.
With some of the best agricultural soils in the area, Lee County became a large cotton producer, and cotton plantations were located throughout the county. Later, peanuts and corn became the major cash crops for local farmers.
During the first half of the 20th century, politics were an important part of the local community. In the October 25, 1938, issue of Look magazine, Lee County was shown as the most solidly Democratic area in the United States; in the 1936 presidential election 490 votes were cast for Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt and only one vote was cast for his opponent, Republican Alf Landon.
Since the 1950s, Lee County has changed from an agricultural area to an area of rapid residential and commercial development. Between 1990 and 2000, according to U.S. census records, the county grew at an astonishing rate. The 2000 population of 24,757 showed a 52 percent increase from 1990, much of it from Albany, in adjacent Dougherty County. In 2010 the county’s population grew at a more modest pace to 28,298. As a growing market area, Lee County has become an important economic center for southwest Georgia.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Figure out what’s going on in this heavily-attended auditorium
Something’s going on in this photo. First, tell us where you think this photo was taken, then figure out what happened in this picture exhibit. It’s unusual. Send your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
The last edition’s Mystery Photo had a not-mentioned holiday theme about it, as it was, as Lynn Naylor of Norcross said, a “building-sized Advent calendar in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany.” The photo came from Frank Studer of Greenville, S.C. Hoyt Tuggle of Buford also recognized the setting.
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. gave more detail: “The Adler Apotheke in the Mittelalterlicher Marktplatz in the Altstadt (Old Town) of Kues of the Bernkastel-Kues town on the Moselle River, Germany.I’ve probably been there many times, as my wife Diane and I would take a trip down the Moselle River Valley once or twice a year for 16 years. Besides Alsace, the Moselle area was our favorite trip with the gorgeous half-timbered houses, vineyards lining the steep valley and delicious wines.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. writes: “Today’s mystery photo is of a half-timbered building in the historic Market Square (Marketplatz) in the town of Bernkastel-Kues, Germany, located approximately 75-miles west-southwest of Frankfurt. The ground-level floor of the building houses a pharmacy, the Adler-Apotheke. However, what makes this building particularly special is that each year as Christmas approaches, the windows of the upper floors are converted to one of the world’s largest Advent calendars.
“During the holiday season, the 24 upper-level windows of the building in the mystery photo are decorated with 24 hanging curtains, which when opened, display a variety of German-inspired murals. From December 1 through December 23 each day at 5:30 p.m., a new curtain is opened to plenty of pomp and heraldry, to reveal another mural. The final door is opened at 11 a.m. on Christmas Eve. During the daily ceremony, people gather in the market square for the opening of the curtain and a narrator tells a story to go along with the opening.”
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