GwinnettForum | Number 21.49 | June 29, 2021
THESE TIGHT, STRAIGHT ROWS are beautiful, and look productive. Students and AmeriCorps volunteers harvest vegetables in the UGArden on South Milledge Avenue in Athens. The mission of UGArden is to build a community of students centered on a sustainable food system. Anyone who gardens yearns to have such a pristine garden. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA.)
TODAY’S FOCUS: North Gwinnett grad enjoyed working in schools for 43 years
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Ever awakened on the weekend by noise of leaf blowers?
ANOTHER VIEW: Georgians divided along party lines on new voting laws
SPOTLIGHT: The 1818 Club
FEEDBACK: If a one percent tax would work, why not do better with five percent?
UPCOMING: Georgia Banking Company announces relaunch of business
NOTABLE: Sugar Hill firm gets contract for new Snellville library
RECOMMENDED: Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Book about Georgia chain gangs of 1930s becomes sensation
MYSTERY PHOTO: Pinpoint where this water dam is located for today’s Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Yep, passion flowers can bloom in Georgia
CALENDAR: Fourth of July celebrations coming this weekend at these cities
North Gwinnett grad enjoyed working in schools for 43 years
By Lawanda Titshaw
SUGAR HILL, Ga. | After 43 years working with a great organization, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) as an administrative assistant, it is time for me to focus on family and myself. I have been afforded many wonderful opportunities at GCPS, and worked with some amazing people. I’ll just name a few: Gwen Gantt, David McCleskey, Gale Hulme, Cindy Loe, Steve Flynt and someone I admire for his great leadership and love for educating all children, Alvin Wilbanks.
Titshaw
I have worked closely with staff from every division through the years on many projects, including the Broad Prize awards and AdvancEd accreditation. When you work on these types of projects, you realize just how important your work with a school district is and you strive for perfection.
I started with GCPS at age 17 in 1973 as a Vocational Office Training student from North Gwinnett when I was a junior. When I graduated in 1974, I became a full-time employee. J.W. Benefield was Superintendent at the time and there were less than 20 schools.
I took five years off with my children when they were babies and when my second one started school, I came back to GCPS full-time. I semi-retired in 2009 and have worked part-time since. One of my special memories I will take with me is being named the 2006 Outstanding Educational Support Staff award recipient by the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders.
I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this great school system. I hope the future of our school district continues to embrace education for all children and do it in a way that all of our community members, parents, and students, can be proud.
An afterthought, what many people in the community don’t realize is that educators don’t just go home when the day is through. We are constantly thinking about our jobs and our students, the children of Gwinnett, whether after work, on vacation, or on the weekend. This is true for most all GCPS employees. You will often receive an email or a phone call when you might expect your supervisor is relaxing.
That is the nature of educators and how they feel about educating children, especially in Gwinnett. They always want the best for the students. I can say this as I have witnessed it first-hand for so many years and that is especially true of Mr. Wilbanks. He has been an exceptional educator and an extraordinary man.
Today in retirement, I don’t have any real big plans other than taking care of our fifth grandchild (19 month old grandson) and my almost 91-year-old mother who lives with us. I do hope we can go the North Georgia mountains, near Blairsville.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Ever awakened on the weekend by noise of leaf blowers?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 29, 2021 | How often have you been awakened before 9 a.m. by the whine of a lawnmower or leaf blower on a weekend? Of course, it can happen any day, but on the weekends, it particularly bugs me.
And if it’s on Sunday, for me that’s really worse. Yep, I’m old-fashioned enough to think of Sunday as a day of rest. On that day in particular, I don’t want to hear loud noises in the neighborhood at any time during the day. And while more people are having to work on Sundays, I think of Sunday being a more peaceful time. Getting up and attending church is on tap, then if work at all, easy, quiet chores on Sunday is my mainstay.
Yet homeowners tending their lawns, or the people they hire to do it, are being downright intruding on early morning hours when turning on the power equipment. Especially on Sunday!
A similar situation involves people living in multi-story housing. Taking your kid to the swimming pool during the early morning hours seems rude. Let the child wait until the hot part of the day, when the water will refresh the little one even more.
If nothing else, not thinking about your neighbors is downright un-neighborly.
This got me to thinking of the ways people who live close together should treat one another so that they are Good Neighbors. You may have some ideas you would share with us on this topic. I’ve compiled a few. Here goes:
- The aforementioned no using power equipment in the early weekend hours.
- When lawn mowing, don’t blow the grass clippings toward the street. Keep it neat.
- Make sure you know clearly where your property lot line is. Don’t venture or plant on your neighbor’s property.
- If tree or bush limbs overhang the lot line, have an understanding with your neighbor on who trims and maintains this area.
- If you plan a party at your house, observe reasonable decorum. Loud parties at one property extend sound all around the area, impacting the neighbors. Inviting neighbors is nice.
- How many of us are guilty of this: do you know your neighbor? It could serve you and your neighbor to have their telephone numbers, in case of emergency. That way, in case something happened to someone, and that person was out of town, a neighbor could alert them to the situation.
- If your neighbor is elderly, be considerate of them. This could mean helping out with unloading a car when the person has been shopping, or bringing in their trash container. If it snow, shovel your neighbor’s pathways. And be sure to visit from time to time, just to be neighborly.
- Sometimes we just run out of items we need right now. If you borrow a cup of sugar, that should result in at least sharing your cookies! And should you borrow a shovel or other implement, be sure to return it clean.
- If you have a pet, show responsibility in all ways. Always pick up after your pet, and dispose correctly. And don’t let your dog bark excessively, by keeping them inside.
- If you live in an apartment, think of those above or below you, and be aware of how easily sounds travel. If you live above someone, don’t wear shoes that make loud noises.
Obviously, a list like this can continue with other restraints. Send along any ideas that you have that will make you a better neighbor.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgians divided along party lines on new voting laws
“This lawsuit is the first of many steps we are taking to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote,”
— U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, said in announcing legal action to overturn Georgia Senate Bill 202.
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Our legislature passed, and Governor Brian Kemp signed, SB 202, an election law many consider to be a return to the Jim Crow era. They did this despite the fact that Georgia’s 2020 election was one of the best in the history of the state. Our Secretary of State, lifelong Republican Brad Raffensberger, thought so. So did the governor.
That’s why moderates and progressives were taken aback by the rapidity with which Georgia changed its election laws to appease Trump and his followers. The answer lies in the details.
The School of Public and International Affairs, the University of Georgia’s polling unit, surveyed Georgians about the new law, issuing a report on April 20, 2021. The results are illustrative of the divisions plaguing our democracy.
SPIA found whites, conservatives and Republicans did not believe it was a fair and honest election. Nearly three fourths of GOP voters believe Biden won through fraud. So, it’s understandable that these groups supported voter suppression disguised as reforms to ensure election security.
Only 44 percent of voters thought that it was more important to make voting easier rather than to battle potential voting fraud. But liberals were polled at 81 percent and Democrats at 80 percent on this question. Conservatives were at 14 percent and Republicans even lower at a dismal 5 percent. Among whites the figure supporting easing voting was low, less than half the percentage for blacks (67 percent).
Consistent with their ideology and belief in the dishonesty of the 2020 election, these GOP voters supported “changing the state’s election system”. Overall, 82 percent of GOP voters thought the recent changes to Georgia’s election law increased their confidence in the system, as did 75 percent of conservatives. Conversely, only 17 percent of Democrats and 16 percent of liberals agreed. Most whites were in favor versus only a small minority of blacks, less than half the white percentage.
Probably the most interesting question asked was about the motivation behind the Georgia election bill. Two thirds of whites said it was for election security, but three fourths of blacks said it was to reduce voting for targeted groups. As you might expect, Conservatives and GOP members were even more positive about the motives, at 79 percent and 89 percent. On the other hand, 87 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of liberals believed the motivation to be voter suppression.
Related to this issue was a question as to whether or not the respondent felt that the law would make it harder to cast a ballot. Two thirds of whites said no, as opposed to only 17 percent of blacks.
The impact of the new law will be seen in coming years, if it withstands the Department of Justice efforts to overturn it. In the meantime, one thing is certain. Our electorate is composed of groups totally at odds with one another.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The 1818 Club
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is The 1818 Club, named for the year that Gwinnett County received its charter. The 1818 Club is a member-owned, private dining experience providing the best in food, service and meeting accommodations for its members. Whatever your business or social dining needs, the 1818 Club has the proper facilities, recently renovated, to gracefully host your gatherings.
- 100-seat formal dining room open for breakfast and lunch.
- Capital Room open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as cocktails.
- Three private rooms which can be used for dining or meeting space. AV is offered in each room.
- 220 seat Virgil Williams Grand Ballroom, divides into three sections, all with AV.
- Gwinnett Room for upscale dining, with Frankie’s menu available.
Our top-notch service team enhances your experience by providing a sophisticated social atmosphere, engaging events and a full serving of dining and entertainment opportunities. If you want an urbane and central site to entertain people, consider joining the 1818 Club. For more details, visit https://www.the1818club.org/Home.
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If 1 percent tax would work, why not do better with 5 percent?
Editor, the Forum:
In regards to solving the student loan program with a tax on corporate earnings, first, it would be a good idea for higher education to actually improve a graduate’s employability. Corporate America could then see a real benefit to a college education.
Also, since a tax of one percent tax on the top line of every corporation in America will significantly reduce their retained net earnings, should they raise prices now or wait for the tax to pass? Their retained earnings have to be rebalanced. When your bottom line retained earnings are slammed, doing nothing is not an option.
If every consumer in America (regardless of income or education level) is willing to pay for this tax at the cash register (and they will pay it), then this tax “on Corporate America” is blindingly brilliant. Just think what we could give away if we nailed the consumer with a five percent tax? Let’s be Europe and go whole hog.
— Bud Mingledorff, Bluffton, S.C.
Suggestion might result in relevant, valuable coursework
Editor, the Forum:
In response to Here’s a solution to the national student loan program, I think this suggestion would also have the effect of getting businesses and organizations more involved in communicating to the higher education community the skills and knowledge that is most important to them. This would help all stakeholders involved in education/workforce development ensure that coursework is relevant and valuable.
— Chris Moder, Peachtree Corners
Florida catastrophe came from building on fill dirt on sand
Editor, the Forum:
When I lived in Florida for about a year and a half, it was obvious that problems were going to happen. I have seen condominiums and hotels built so close to the sea. They are running out of land and build them on fill dirt on top of sand. The building that fell has been sinking at a regular rate for some years. Think of the leaning tower of Pisa, built next to rivers on what is called micaceous soil. That means that the soil resembles mica or is very soft. In the Florida case, however, it was built on fill dirt that was packed over sand. Think about the sea rising and that sand getting mushier day by day.
— Raleigh Perry, Buford
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, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
Georgia Banking Company announces relaunch of business
(Editor’s note: here is a formal official release from a new bank with offices in Gwinnett. Part of this information has appeared before. –eeb)
Georgia Banking Company (GBC) has announced the relaunch of the bank as the company accelerates its plans to build a banking franchise serving middle market business across Atlanta. Customers will be introduced to the new GBC team, products, services and enhanced technology as well as changes to signage and branch environments in the coming months.
This transformation for the company is led by fifth generation banker, CEO Bartow Morgan, Jr., and a team of veteran bankers. He says: “We are assembling a strong team with longstanding relationships in Atlanta,” as he is welcoming seasoned bankers to the team, who focus on building relationships and growing businesses in Georgia. GBC will step in to fill the need for a commercial community bank in the Atlanta market.
The bank will expand its focus to provide expertise on commercial lending, including commercial real estate, and treasury solutions delivered through an innovative and personal customer experience. “The dynamic outlook for our team and our customers is reflected in the new look of our brand, as it tells our story of growth and opportunity,” says Morgan.
A launch party for employees was held on June 24 at the bank’s new offices at 1776 Peachtree Street NW, Suite 300. Morgan states: “Our employees are our greatest advocates, and we believe in providing them with an exceptional experience as a valued member of our GBC team.” Employees took part in a tour of the bank’s new space, including a sneak peek at the Private Banking suite which will open this fall.
Richard Fairey, president and chief operating officer, says: “We are here to grow Georgia, and that commitment is in our DNA. You’ll see our pride in Georgia and Georgia-based enterprise in everything we do.”
Working with Atlanta-based marketing agency, Fizz, has given the GBC team a focus on the fundamental aspects of the bank’s new vision and a way to express those within the organization and to its customers. Fizz specializes in helping companies identify the elements of their brand and unique story that are most relevant to their customers.
Margaret Whieldon, senior vice president of marketing, says: “GBC is proud to have the expertise of the Fizz team as we work to bring our values to life in ways that positively impact our customers; they have helped us build this filter into every inter. Our focus on expertise and partnership, as well as service and access, will be recognizable to our customers in every action.”
Sugar Hill firm gets contract for new Snellville library
The firm to build a new library in Snellville has been approved. Reeves Young, LLC of Sugar Hill was awarded the contract recently by the Gwinnett Commission. The library is to be at The Grove at Town Center development on Wisteria Drive, replacing the smaller current library on Lenora Church Road.
The two-story building will house the library on the first floor. The second floor will be operated by the city for co-working space, college classes and other public or educational uses.
Mayor Barbara Bender says: “The city is excited to partner with Gwinnett County and the Library Board on this project. Our residents are looking forward to using the new library and this location will add to the activity and vibrancy of our downtown.”
The branch will replace the Elizabeth Williams Library. The new 22,000-square foot space will include adult, teen and children’s areas; 20 computer workstations; and a multipurpose room.
Library Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Wandy Taylor says: “As stated in the Gwinnett library’s strategic plan, our goal is to explore, design, and develop library facilities that are flexible and responsive to changing needs in our community. This new Snellville branch library will be in keeping with that vision.”
Gwinnett County and the city of Snellville are jointly funding the $10,235,000 project using 2017 SPLOST program dollars.
Gwinnett names Ohio man as new elections supervisor
A new elections supervisor has been named in Gwinnett County. He is Zach Manifold, formerly of Columbus, Ohio. The announcement comes from Elections Board Chair Alice O’Lenick, who says of him: “He brings a wealth of knowledge to this position, having served in various election administrative capacities – including leading a bipartisan staff of Democrats and Republicans to conduct a controversy free-election in Columbus.”
Manifold
After graduating from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2004, Manifold’s election-related career began in 2005 as a legislative aide for a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. Rising in the ranks, he served as a Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio Board of Elections member, manager of Absentee and Early Voting as well as interim director.
From 2019 to 2021, Manifold served as deputy chief of staff for external engagement to the Franklin County auditor, while overseeing three office divisions: communications and community outreach, policy and strategic initiatives, and consumer services. He and his wife, Julia, are parents of two children.
Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: Long Petal of the Sea, the descriptor for the country of Chile by Isabel Allende, is a beautifully written, resonant account of two refugees from the Spanish Civil War. Victor Daumau and his wife, Roser, marry and escape Fascist leader Franco by crossing over to the French border. The marriage is one of convenience because Roser is pregnant from Victor’s brother who was killed in the war. They migrate to Chile on the ship Winnipeg , chartered by the poet Pablo Neruda. Once they arrive in Chile, they experience trial after trial in part due to the unsettled conditions in Chile. Over time they come to depend upon each other’s strengths of birth and true love. Though they adapt in Chile, their dream is to return to Spain. War and outbreaks appear to follow them wherever they land, but their love and courage sustain them for over 50 years.
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
Book about Georgia chain gangs of 1930s is sensation
I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang! was a sensational best-selling book by Robert Elliott Burns. Published in 1932, it recounts the dramatic story of the author’s imprisonment in Georgia and his two successful escapes, eight years apart, with seven years of freedom, business success, and emotional intrigue in between. It was also the basis of a popular movie entitled I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, produced later that year by Warner Brothers.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Burns was a drifter and a battle-scarred World War I (1917-18) veteran who found himself living in a cheap hotel in Atlanta in 1922. In February of that year Burns and an accomplice stole $5.80 from a local grocer, Samuel Bernstein. They were arrested instantly; Burns was swiftly tried, convicted, and sentenced to six to ten years on the Campbell County (later Fulton County) chain gang.
It did not take the stunned northerner long to comprehend that ten years on the chain gang was practically a death sentence. Southern chain gangs, notorious across the rest of the nation, had their origins in the scandalous convict lease system of the late 19th century. When convict leasing was abolished in 1908, with the demand for convict labor still growing, the chain gang took its place.
Burns’s book is full of sensational, lurid, yet mostly verifiable descriptions of mistreatment, brutality, disgusting food, and labor so unrelenting and exhausting that it left men in a stupor. As he soon learned from his wretched fellow prisoners that to leave the chain gang a man had to “work out, pay out, die out, or run out,” Burns decided to run out.
He did so in June 1922, after serving only a few months’ time. Burns’s dramatic escape to Chicago was crowned by brilliant success in the publishing business, social recognition, and marriage. But years later when he proved an unfaithful husband, his wife, Emily, turned him in to the authorities. His arrest on May 22, 1929, caused a sensation in Chicago. Burns had never told Emily about his past, but she discovered his secret by opening letters from his brother, the Reverend Vincent Burns, an Episcopal priest.
In negotiations with officials from Georgia, Burns arranged to return to Georgia, take a soft job in the prison system, and receive a pardon after one year—or so he believed. But the state of Georgia was unrelenting, and Burns once more faced the hardships of the chain gang, this time at a prison in Troup County.
In September 1930 he escaped a second time and made his way to Newark, N.J. There he wrote, “Georgia cannot win! . . . I have decided to write the true story, while in hiding, of my entire case.” Burns’s memoir, first serialized in True Detective Mysteries magazine, was published in January 1932 and was an instant success. “It would be hard to find a more thrilling story in either truth or fiction,” a New York Times reviewer wrote.
Some critics and scholars believe Burns’s brother ghostwrote the book. Vincent Burns, who was known mostly for his patriotic and religious poetry, served as the poet laureate for the state of Maryland from 1962 until his death in 1970. He also wrote Out of These Chains (1942), a sequel to I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!, and The Man Who Broke a Thousand Chains: The Story of Social Reformation of the Prisons of the South (1968), a memoir of Robert Burns. Vincent Burns later sued his brother for a greater share of the profits received from the book and the film.
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Pinpoint where this water dam is located
The Mystery Photo for this edition might surprise you. Obviously, it’s a water dam. Just tell us where it’s located, and some details about the area. Send your answer to elliott@brack.net to include your hometown.
Lynn Naylor of Norcross correctly identified the McLean House at Appomattox Court House, Va. as the last Mystery Photo. She adds: “This is where Robert E. Lee’s surrender was to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, which effectively ended the Civil War, although other southern forces would still be surrendering in May. The two generals met with just a few aides in the small parlor of Wilmer McLean’s house. A small irony is that McLean was present at both the beginning and the end of the war: he had moved from his original house on the Bull Run battlefield to get as far away from the theater of war as possible.” The photo came from Raleigh Perry of Buford.
Rob Ponder of Duluth writes of the photo: “I love being able to recognize your mystery photos from having been there! This one goes back a long way (51 years)…..to when I was 11 years old with my family on a summer vacation trip to see a lot of U.S. history. The picture is the back of the house in Appomattox Court House, Va. I have an old black-and-white photo in an album at home (that I took with my 110 Kodak camera) of almost that exact same view. I recognized your photo from my memory of that old B&W photo that I have not seen for at least 30 years. In subsequent years, I discovered that there were two “Ponders” that were with Confederate armies that went to the signing location. Both were dismissed immediately after the signing and made to walk home: one to Albany and one to Cairo.”
Others recognizing it include George Graf, Palmyra, Va,; Lou Camiero, Lilburn; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; and Allen Peel of San Antonio, Tex.
Passion flower: Mary Beth Twining of Buford writes: “I was astonished to find this passion flower growing beside a dirt access road under a power line near my home in Buford. With a little internet research, I learned that in Georgia passion flowers do indeed grow in the wild. A nice surprise for this (relative) newcomer to the state.”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Fourth of July celebrations coming this weekend
Several cities are planning fireworks displays this week, with the fireworks shows beginning at dusk. We have heard of the following:
Lawrenceville plans a July 2 Prelude to the Fourth, starting at 5 p.m. on the Lawrenceville Lawn, with food from several vendors. Performers include the 116th Army Band.- Duluth will have a Saturday July 3 celebration featuring food trucks, live music, entertainment and fireworks from 5:30 until 10 p.m.
- Norcross plans a fireworks show on its pre-Fourth of July celebration on July 2. Vendors will be in downtown Norcross, plus music will be on stage at Thrasher Park.
- Lilburn will have its annual Sparkle in the Park on Saturday, July 3, at 5:30. It will include a variety of food, children’s activities, performance by the GLOW Band and fireworks extravaganza! The fireworks are scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m.
- Sugar Hill will hold its Sparks in the Park on July 3 starting at 6 p.m. at E.E. Robinson Park.
- Auburn will mark its Independence Day celebration beginning at 5 p.m. on July 3.
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