GwinnettForum | Number 21.59 | Aug. 3, 2021
NORCROSS GALLERY AND STUDIOS’ exhibit of works by their artists will have a Spotlight 3 show beginning August 30 and lasting until October 21. This work, Santa Fe Hotel, shows a sunlit hotel rendered in acrylic on paper by Lucy Brady. It was inspired by one of many visits there. Norcross Gallery and Studios (formerly Kudzu Art Zone) is located at 113 Carlyle Street in downtown Norcross and is open Fridays from noon until 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The website is norcrossgalleryandstudios.org.
Please put the Duluth Fall Festival on your calendars now. This family-friendly event will take place on September 25-26. This is the 38th year, and it is consistently voted one of the top festivals in the whole metro area. It has been voted ‘Best Large Festival in the Southeast.’ It includes more than 300 arts, crafts, sponsor and food booths, a huge parade, entertainment at two venues, “Tailgate Central,” Duluth Depot, a 5K road race, and much more. It is always Duluth’s biggest event of the entire year. Plan to take advantage of our FREE shuttles! Come to Food Truck Fridays and look for the Festival tent for more information. More info at duluthfallfestival.org.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Consolidation of hospitals will lead to higher medical costs
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Protect yourself and others: get a Covid vaccination
ANOTHER VIEW: Jody Hice continually issues misleading and false statements
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Banking Company
FEEDBACK: Looking at Republican party members in three counties
UPCOMING: County takes first steps of Parks and Recreation master plan
NOTABLE: Question buying a solar system from door-to-door pitchman
OBITUARIES: Kelvin (Kelly) J. Kelkenberg
RECOMMENDED: Roadrunner, a film about Anthony Bourdain
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Playwright Eugene O’Neill lived on Sea Island for four years
MYSTERY PHOTO: Today’s Mystery Photo is distinctive in looks and use
LAGNIAPPE: Bug makes journey across a leaf, from Hickory, N.C.
CALENDAR: Southwest Chamber to present Commission Chairman on Friday morning
Consolidation of hospitals will lead to higher medical costs
By Raleigh Perry
BUFORD, Ga. | What Piedmont Hospital and Northside Hospital are doing by buying hospitals all over the place is nothing new. Other hospital systems in other states are doing the same thing.
Perry
Last year 60 Minutes had a show about the same process in California where one hospital corporation controls most of the hospitals in northern California. The end result was no competition, meaning no alternative. The hospital can charge what it wants and their prices have gone out of sight.
What Piedmont and Northside are doing is a national trend. With higher charges in hospitals, health insurance prices will go up. There is a solution, but that solution has a phrase in it that scares a pretty good part of our society.
That phrase is “Socialized Medicine.” In the future, socialized medicine may end up being the best medical practice for Americans. Surely, socialized medicine will cause taxes to go up. Live with it! It works to reduce medical expenses and virtually pushes the health insurance prices for your entire family out the window.
The two best systems in the world right now are in Denmark, which is the best, and Canada, which is second best. I have a friend in Denmark that had a cancer on his back and it was spreading into the lymph nodes and now, possibly into his lungs. The Danish system is taking care of everything and the cost to him is no more than the bus rides to and from the hospital. I also have a friend in Canada. He had a colon cancer. That was all taken care of by their socialized medicine program. His only expense was, again, getting to and from the hospital.
Even now we already have socialized systems in the United States. Social Security incorporates both Medicare and Medicaid. Public schools are another social program. If you think that your taxes in your county pay for the education of your child, or children, you are badly mistaken. If you think that your fare pays for public transportation systems, like MARTA, it might help, but not that much. Such systems are mainly subsidized by various governments.
There have been reports that COVID patients who have had extended times in the hospital had bills that were in the millions. Who can afford that? Very few people. Medical insurance companies will be raising their rates. The average price, per annum, for a family of four is about $1, 500. That figure was derived from an average of several major insurance companies. That figure would disappear in a program of socialized medicine.
I do not have a dog in this fight. However, I am 100 percent disabled because of problems caused by my Vietnam service. The VA system is a socialized medicine system, running the largest hospital system in the country. I pay nothing and have not for some years.
Maybe I am a bit naive but if you are a family of four and paying, on average, $1,500, I cannot envision what you would have to pay as an increase in taxes would almost cover what your tax will would go up to.
Check out this 60 Minutes program about the northern California hospital situation.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Protect yourself and others; Get a Covid vaccination
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 3, 2021 | With more cases of the Covid virus, now often the Delta version, being reported virtually every day, this could drastically affect us all.
The best case is that we will not catch this wave of the virus. This is tremendously enhanced if we will be disciplined and wear masks when in the public.
The worst case is that we could die from catching this new strain of the virus.
There is one giant step we can take to do our best not to be a victim this time around from the virus. Many of us have taken this step, which is to get an inoculation. Unfortunately, many of our fellow Georgians have not taken that step. The latest figures we have seen is that only 37 percent of Georgians have the virus vaccination.
That’s horrible. And those of you who have not been vaccinated are being selfish, and downright dumb, about this process.
You are selfish in that you think you are not thinking of your fellow man. You could give someone else the virus if you are not vaccinated. That’s selfish. But it is also dumb, because you could catch the virus yourself, and even might die.
Look, no one likes to be pin-pricked with a vaccination needle. We personally don’t like the needle, and cringe to think about it. But we accept it to help maintain good health. Perhaps most of us have memories when as a kid someone, who was less-than-smooth in giving a shot, injected us. Often there would be a swelling (which could hurt) from the injection. Those old memories may keep you from actually wanting to get a shot. But, you should.
Many doctors today use modern medicine to check your health by taking blood at your annual or six month treatment. We don’t love that procedure, either. But we do it, so that the doctors can analyze our blood to make several calculations on our health, including which medicines to take, and how much, to improve our health.
We’ll admit to a certain unusual method we ask when being stuck with a needle for a blood test. Where formerly the nurse would insert the needle on the inside of my elbow, apparently in that area I have small blood vessels. After years of being poked in several places before the nurse could draw blood, I balked.
“Look at the top of my hands. I have large veins. Insert it there.” The nurses do, and it’s much easier, usually working the first time. Less stress on me and done rather quickly. Try it if you are apprehensive of being poked in a difficult place.
Now back to a statistic from Dr. Andrew Fauci we heard him say on Friday: in the case of the people who have recently died from Covid, 99.5 percent of them had not had the Covid shot.
What? Ninety nine point five percent of deaths because these person were too dumb, too stupid, too afraid or have had the wool pulled over their eyes so that they choosse not to get the Covid vaccination!
That speaks loudly.
If you have not so far had a Covid shot, protect yourself, and others, by getting a shot this week. Help us stop this pandemic by doing your part and stay healthy at the same time.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Hice continually issues misleading and false statements
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist | Tenth District Congressman Jody Hice has declared that he will be challenging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2022. Hice is loudly peddling the big lie that the past presidential election was stolen from former President Trump by “scoundrels” like Brad Raffensperger. Even though he was a Republican office holder, Raffensperger had the nerve to follow the law, defy the former president, and be honest. How dare he!
No one has ever accused Georgia Rep. Jody Hice of being tactful or subtle. Or truthful for that matter.
Hice represents a heavily gerrymandered district in Georgia that proves why gerrymandering is against democracy and not what the Founding Fathers intended. Supposedly, Hice represents progressive Athens, the home of the University of Georgia. But because Clarke County is liberal, the Georgia Legislature made sure to split it in half to water down the liberal vote, giving a way for Hice to win the Tenth District. Of course, the General Assembly made sure to add in lots of rural areas in a multitude of counties stretching from up in the hills to way down in mid-Georgia at Wrightsville.
Hice’s positions on every topic are as backward and uninformed as they can possibly be, as can be seen by looking at his tweets. For example, look at his reactionary views about teaching children an accurate version of American History. According to Hice, “Adhering to the Constitution led America to realize our founding principle of ‘all men are created equal’ to end slavery and other injustices” (Hice Tweet, June 24, 2021). Nice thought: I wish it were true, but it’s entirely incorrect.
Hice
The American Constitution was written by slave holders like Jefferson. It took a Civil War to get it amended so that African Americans could be considered free people.
But Hice doesn’t want students to learn the hard facts. He would rather rail about the supposed evils of “critical race theory”, a vague concept defined by whomever is talking about it.
Or take Hice’s tweet of June 29, 2021: “Democrat leaders spent a full year advancing the Defund-the-Police movement. They’re finally realizing the insane policies of their extremist woke base have SERIOUS consequences.”
Again, Hice’s statement is completely and totally inaccurate. Every national Democratic leader has criticized the use of the term “defund the police.” These leaders have stated that there needs to be major reforms of local police departments based on the racism that has been exhibited time and time again. But no one has said do away with cops. In fact, a number have asked for more funding for training and other reforms. Hice is merely attempting to create a negative history solely for political gain.
Representative Hice is a stranger to the truth. He’s the guy who said to CPAC that the upcoming 2022 Secretary of State primary “is about election integrity, period.”
If that is truly what it’s about, then Hice should immediately withdraw from the race. Hice is the candidate without integrity, the one who is accusing an honest fellow GOP office holder and secretary of state of helping to “steal” an election, when all Brad Raffensperger did was ensure a fair and honest contest.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia Banking Company
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is Georgia Banking Company, which is Gwinnett’s newest commercial bank with offices opening later this year in Duluth and Lawrenceville. Fifth generation banker, CEO Bartow Morgan Jr., has assembled a team of seasoned bankers with in-depth knowledge of the Atlanta market including Richard Fairey, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Rob Cochran, Chief Financial Officer, both previously with BrandBank. A team of relationship-driven bankers with a focus on exceptional service will provide the expertise business owners in Gwinnett need from a local bank. Other notable members of the team include Jennifer Bridwell, Gwinnett Market President, Tyler White, Director of Community Banking, Brittany Vickery, Commercial Relationship Manager, Kevin Jones, Branch Manager (Lawrenceville) and Wanda Weegar, Branch Manager (Duluth). Local bankers, local decisions and exceptional service are at the core of Georgia Banking Company. Visit www.geobanking.com to learn more.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Looking at Republican party members in three counties
Editor, the Forum:
In the latter part of the 90’s, I started my involvement with the Republican candidates in the area. I had a conversation with someone who had been heavily involved for years. We have remained friends. He gave me an historic overview of Republicans in the Atlanta area.
He said that Cobb County Republicans are John Birchers who symbolically roast a liberal at every one of their meetings and even stuff an apple in the mouth to keep it quiet. He laughed, but felt they were fanatics.
Fulton County Republicans he felt were fiscal Republicans who will support anything that improves their portfolio. They also don’t care about social issues.
Gwinnett Republicans are religious and want people to care for each other.
His comments seemed quite accurate and helpful. My, how things in these counties have changed since then. Gwinnett then was ranked 10th reddest in the country and Cobb was 17th.
What changed? I don’t think people changed parties. People moved, people died, new residents moved in from other states, and residents from the city moved out to find better life. Cobb, North Fulton, and Gwinnett urbanized.
Ten or more years ago, I had many conversations with people from Gwinnett moving to Barrow, White, or Dawson counties. When I moved here in 1994, I was told Forsyth was KKK country. Now it is the only county in Georgia to make the Forbes Top 25 income, as former Fulton residents pour into that area.
— 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, 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.
County takes first steps of Parks and Recreation master plan
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is on board with the first step of a Parks and Recreation master plan that lays out a proposed blueprint for adding parks, greenspace, trails and developing recreational programs over the next decade.
The plan approved recently had extensive public input and analysis to identify gaps in Parks and Recreation’s programs and locations. Next steps include prioritizing capital improvement projects.
Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson says: “Gwinnett has a top-tier parks and recreation program, developed over the years with careful thought and planning. It makes sense to revisit these plans every 10 years because of changing demographics, priorities and interests. This plan will continue the tradition of the Gwinnett standard of excellence in recreation and facilities.”
In developing the plan, Gwinnett Parks and Recreation examined existing and projected demographics, current parks inventory, local and national trends as well as what residents and stakeholders really want. For example: creating recreation opportunities within a 10-minute walk.
Assuming funding is available, the proposal calls for renovations, park improvements and new parks, including adding more playgrounds, dog parks, interactive water features, outdoor courts and trails.
Meanwhile, armed with more than 29,000 social media responses, results from 1,700 surveys and information from 10 town hall meetings, Gwinnett Parks and Recreation learned it’s exceeding what other agencies are offering across the nation. One of the key findings is that parks and recreation is positioned as an essential service and residents hope it stays that way. To do so, feedback shows communications, convenience, facilities, amenities and protecting the natural areas – should remain priorities.
Lawrenceville awards contract to improve Paper Mill Road
By unanimous vote, the Lawrenceville City Council approved the Paper Mill Road improvement project and awarded it to the low bidder, Archimetric Design and Construction, Inc. of Norcross for an amount not to exceed $2,342,447.60. The improvement project will include 1.01 miles of curb and gutter, drainage, sidewalk, road safety improvements and striping.
Work is expected to begin in September 2021 and is expected to be completed in late 2022. The City of Lawrenceville is awarding this contract for sidewalk and road improvements in order to enhance neighborhoods and provide an overall improvement to the safety and functionality of our City.
Question buying a solar system from door-to-door pitchman
Would you buy a new car from a door-to-door salesman? For most of us, the answer is “No.”
Because of the amount of money involved, it doesn’t make sense to purchase a rooftop solar system for your home that way, either. But it’s happening in local communities right now. Sadly, many times that business deal ends in heartache.
Brooks
Greg Brooks, Walton EMC’s community and public relations director, finds: “This isn’t something you should do on a whim. Don’t let anyone pressure you into paying out this kind of money for a solar system if it’s not something you’re completely sure about.”
Out-of-state companies are sending door-to-door salespeople promising unrealistic and unachievable results from installing solar systems. These systems can end up costing as much as three times more than what local, reputable installers charge.
“When something goes wrong, these companies are usually long gone,” says Brooks. “You’re stuck with a big payment and useless system.” Because of the way the sales contracts are often written, homeowners are obligated to pay even if the solar system generates no power.
Solar systems are not right for every home. What goes into a decision-making process for use of solar has several elements:
- The direction the home faces;
- The amount of shading from trees;
- Whether the home is owned or rented, and;
- The length of payback.
“You should go about buying a rooftop solar system the way you go about any other large purchase,” says Brooks. Primarily, he says to do your research. Check with local established solar firms. Ask for references, and check them out. And get multiple bids. Also: make sure an installer has a license and insurance coverage.
You should also determine whether you are leasing or purchasing the solar system. And recognize the payback period: if it’s 20 years, the system will probably need to be replaced before it pays for itself.
Brooks adds: “We hate to see our customer-owners being taken advantage of. We hope they’ll trust us to help them make the right decision.”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Kelvin (Kelly) J. Kelkenberg
The City of Duluth has announced the death of Councilmember Kelvin (Kelly) J. Kelkenberg.
Kelkenberg
Councilmember Kelkenberg was in his third term, having served ten years on the city council. He was a passionate supporter of Duluth and was part of a team that saw the development of Parsons Alley and overall city-wide growth. He was a mentor and friend to many. The city joins with his family in mourning his loss but benefitting from having known him and his leadership. His legacy will impact our city for generations to come.
Kelly was a retired colonel in the United States Air Force and also retired from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Funeral details will be announced later.
Roadrunner, a film about Anthony Bourdain
From Frank Sharp, Lawrenceville: Recently we made it to our local cinema in Lawrenceville AMC Colonial 18 just off Highway 31, to see this aptly named movie Roadrunner by Morgan Nevill. This film describes Anthony Bourdain and his varied careers and lust for life. It shows his rise from writing the best seller book called Kitchen Confidential to a celebrity chef along with his fame as a world traveler. He was a perfect host for CNN Travel series with his winning Hollywood smile and great knowledge of food, drink and culture and his ability to intermix with people of all races, rich and poor in different countries and set them at ease over native dishes and drinks. I would rate this as a four-star, but with too much foul language for kids.
- 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
Playwright O’Neill lived on Sea Island for 4 years
One of America’s most distinguished playwrights, Eugene O’Neill lived on Georgia’s Sea Island from 1932 to 1936. He first visited the island while on vacation with his wife, Carlotta, in November 1931, soon after his drama Mourning Becomes Electra opened on Broadway in New York City. The playwright, who loved warm weather and the sea, was looking for a new home, and he quickly decided on Sea Island. The O’Neills bought a beachfront lot, designed and built a house, and moved to the island on June 22, 1932.
Forty-three years old at the time, O’Neill was already one of the nation’s most honored writers, with three Pulitzer Prizes to his credit. (He would later win a fourth as well as the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the only American playwright ever to win the honor.) Yet O’Neill’s four years as a resident of Georgia remain little known.
Carlotta oversaw its design and construction. When the house was finished, the O’Neills gave a series of dinners, individually inviting each executive of the Sea Island Company and his wife to Casa Genotta. According to O’Neill’s biographer Louis Sheaffer, the “Sea Island brass had hoped that the world-famous playwright would be a social lion of his community,” but in fact O’Neill was often reclusive. Nevertheless, the O’Neills hosted numerous well-known writers and others from the theater world during their years on Sea Island. These visitors included British novelist and playwright W. Somerset Maugham, writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten, and fellow Broadway playwright Russel Crouse.
From the beginning, O’Neill sought a place of quiet solitude to escape the hectic pace of New York and the theater. He found it at Casa Genotta, writing several complete plays and parts of others during his time there. His most significant accomplishment was his only comedy, Ah, Wilderness!, an affectionate portrait of small-town family life at the turn of the 20th century. Completed early in 1933, the play opened on Broadway in October, with a film version following in 1935.His final play written in Georgia was a first draft of A Touch of the Poet, completed just before the O’Neills left Sea Island in 1936.
In the days before air conditioning, the Sea Island climate was challenging even to the well-off O’Neills. During their summers, the couple would sometimes escape the heat by heading north for weeks at a time. They also returned to New York City for theater premieres and for business. In the summer of 1936 a professor from the University of Washington in Seattle, who was working on a book about O’Neill, visited the couple at Sea Island and spoke about the Northwest. O’Neill was apparently tired of the hot Georgia summers and looking for another place to live.
The O’Neills left Sea Island late that summer and headed to New York for a time before moving into a rental house on the Puget Sound in Washington State. There, O’Neill received a telegram on November 12 announcing that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The couple later moved to California, where O’Neill wrote some of his most distinguished plays, including The Iceman Cometh, Moon for the Misbegotten, and his most autobiographical work, A Long Day’s Journey into Night. He died in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1953.
In 2007 the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association put on performances of Ah, Wilderness! at the historic Ritz Theatre in Brunswick to honor the 75th anniversary of Casa Genotta’s completion. O’Neill was also an honoree at the 2012 Georgia Literary Festival, held on Jekyll Island. Casa Genotta still stands on Sea Island as a vacation rental property.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Today’s Mystery Photo is distinctive in looks and use
Today’s Mystery Photo is no ordinary photo and could be considered difficult to identify. Figure where this photograph was taken, then tell our readers where it is, and what it is. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
For last week’s mystery photo, Virginia Klaer of Duluth wrote: “This is the Anchorage Boat Dock on Lake Burton, Ga. The lake has 2,775 acres, with 62 miles of shoreline, and the average list price of homes now is $1,199,000. Beautiful mountains surround this lake. This picture is cool and inviting, but this summer is so busy there that boat owners have to wait in line to gas up.” The photo came from Billy Chism of Toccoa.
Others recognizing the photo include Mike Tennant, Duluth; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Greg Shumate; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; George Graf, Palmyra, Va., and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. Peel added: “The Anchorage Boat Dock on the North-end of Lake Burton at the head of Timpson Creek near Clayton was built by Ned and Ruth Stockton in 1959, using timbers and rock that were gathered at the site. Susanne and Charles Poole purchased it from them in 1967 and it has remained in the Poole family ever since. The site includes the Anchorage Marina which offers both wet and dry slip rentals, boat sales, rentals and repairs, a marina store, the ‘Take It On the Lake’ restaurant, a hair salon called ‘Lakeside Roots’, a live bait shop, as well as a paddle-board rental office, and both wet and dry slip rentals.”
UP CLOSE: Talk about your close-up photos, but check out this bug on a leaf. It’s from Bill McBrayer of Hickory, N.C. Walking across such a leaf might be a good workout for this bug. And who can identify what kind of bug this is?
Author talk: Live, virtual talk with author and Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer and award winning actress Francine Locke will be Thursday, August 5 at 7 p.m. Free and open to all. Registration is required to access this program. Register online at GCPL.org. Learn how a childhood fascination of the industrious bee led the author to become a seasoned, certified master responsible for the productive survival of his own backyard hives.
Southwest Gwinnett Chamber will meet Friday, August 6 at Atlanta Tech Park at 7:30 p.m. . Speaker will be Nicole Love Hendrickson, the Gwinnett County Commission chairwoman. Cost is $18 for members and $30 for non-members, though first time visitors are charged $20. Register prior to noon, August 5 at southwestgwinnettchamber.com.
Race and Guns in America: Bestselling author Carol Anderson in conversation with NPR Host Rose Scott will be Thursday, August 12 at 7 p.m. EST, virtually. Free and open to all. Registration is required to access this program. Register online at GCPL.org. Anderson powerfully illuminates the history and impact of the Second Amendment, how it was designed, and how it has consistently been constructed to keep African Americans powerless and vulnerable.
ATLReads Virtual Book Club Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, Tuesday, August 17 at 7:00 p.m. EST, virtually. Outlander is the first book in the Outlander series, the basis for the Starz original series. Free and open to all. Read the book and chat with us! Invite friends to join. Guests do not have to be library cardholders. Those who are cardholders may download a free copy of this book by clicking here. To join us, click here.
Climate Change Prevention: Andreas Karelas – Renewable Energy Advocate, will be on Thursday, August 26 at 7 p.m. EST, virtually. Join Andreas Karelas to discuss his solutions to climate change and his new book, Climate Courage. Karelas is the founder and executive director of RE-volv, a Audubon TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Fellow and an OpenIDEO Climate Innovator Fellow. Free and open to the public. Registration is required to access this program. Register online at GCPL.org.
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