GwinnettForum | Number 21.96| Dec.10, 2021
ANGEL GIFTS: A temporary warehouse off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard has been busy lately, as donors of items for the Salvation Army Angel Tree program are filling the space with gifts for Christmas for 1,600 children and 200 adults in Gwinnett. Volunteers from the Information Technology Department of Cox Enterprises of Atlanta were on hand this week sorting out the many specially-identified tags for those needing help at Christmas. For another view of the filled warehouse, go to Lagniappe below. (Photo by Charles Youngs of Cox Enterprises.)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Stripers have new owners, though still a Braves affiliate
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Inland terminal near Gainesville may give Interstates relief
ANOTHER VIEW: Law enforcement must be aggressive to reverse disturbing trends
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
UPCOMING: County offering $100 gift cards to those getting vaccines or boosters
NOTABLE: Snellville tops off The Grove at Towne Center garage
RECOMMENDED: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Italian-born artist becomes famous for painting Georgia birds
MYSTERY PHOTO: Check out these magnificent stained-glass windows
LAGNIAPPE: Bicycles galore at warehouse awaiting Salvation Army Christmas
CALENDAR: Gwinnett planning hiring event for IT workers
Stripers have new owners, though still a Braves affiliate
By Dave Lezotte
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | The Gwinnett Stripers baseball team will be sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), along with two other minor league teams in Rome and Biloxi, Miss. The Atlanta Braves will continue to be affiliated with all three minor league teams.
DBH is a subsidiary of Endeavor, the global sports and entertainment company. The sale of the teams remains subject to the Professional Development League (PDL) approval process.
The Stripers will continue to be led by Vice President and General Manager Erin McCormick, and the staff will remain intact. She says: “We are proud to continue as the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Under the leadership of DBH, we will work to make Coolray Field one of the best fan experiences in minor league baseball.”
Diamond Baseball Holdings is also buying several other minor league operations, including:
- Iowa Cubs (Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs);
- Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals);
- Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees);
- Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees);
- San Jose Giants (Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants); and
- Augusta GreenJackets-The Augusta team was not owned by the Braves, and was their Single-A affiliate.
As part of DBH, McCormick will work closely with Diamond Baseball Holdings’ leadership, Pat Battle and Peter B. Freund, to realize the club’s ambitions. Battle is Executive Chairman of DBH, bringing extensive experience at the local and national level, as well as ownership interest in two PDL Clubs. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Learfield and serves as an advisor to Endeavor across multiple companies. Freund is CEO of DBH, also bringing to the plate experience as a longtime Minor League Baseball owner and operator. Freund most recently consulted with the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball on the transition of Major League Baseball’s licensed affiliates while spearheading the formation of the MLB Draft League.
“Diamond Baseball Holdings will be global in our ambitions and hyper-local in our approach, and creating incredible fan experiences will remain our number one priority,” says Battle and Freund. “Additionally, we look forward to providing opportunities for growth to the employees of PDL Clubs whose passion and ingenuity have built the sport through the decades.”
Endeavor has appointed Pat Battle and Peter B. Freund to oversee Diamond Baseball Holdings. Battle is executive chairman of DBH, bringing extensive experience as well as ownership interest in two PDL Clubs. Freund is CEO of DBH and most recently consulted with the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball on the transition of Major League Baseball’s licensed affiliates while spearheading the formation of the MLB Draft League.
Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, Calif. It has 6,400 employees and revenue of $1.4 billion. The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and the original Endeavor Talent Agency. Endeavor represents artists in movies, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing.[3] It also represents the NFLand NHL.[4] Endeavor owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship[5] and Miss Universe. It is headed by CEO Ari Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell.
The group also owns film and television production company Endeavor Content.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Inland terminal near Gainesville may give Interstates relief
Illustration via Northeast Georgia Inland Port.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 10, 2021 | Good government to us means taking care of matters today, but also thinking well ahead to be prepared for what we know will be coming.
After all, another 2.5 million people are expected to live in Georgia by 2045 (24 years away), adding to Georgia’s present population of 10.7 million (2020 figure.)
An example of trying to stay ahead is a planned Northeast Georgia Inland Port north of Gainesville. Anticipation is that this new port will be receiving train traffic via a 324-mile intermodal rail service to offload containers bound for North Georgia, Tenneseee and the Carolinas.
What this will do for our interstate system is to give some relief of highway traffic in Georgia, not requiring as many 18-wheelers on Interstates 16 and 75 from the port in Savannah heading for northeast Georgia. The Gainesville port will offset 600 roundtrip highway miles for every container moved by rail.
Of course, once the freight containers are at the Gainesville Inland Port, trucks will be used to haul them to their ultimate destination. However, trucks will no longer be necessary for the longer haul from the port to Gainesville. (You wonder: if we are having difficulty hiring truck drivers now, how about when the Inland Port is finished?)
Meanwhile, the State of Georgia will concurrently have under construction the widening of two additional Interstate lanes (another lane each way) along Interstate 16. Traffic on I-16 is expected to increase 40 percent in coming years.
That highway construction work is only in the initial stages now, as you may have seen clearing and grubbing along portions. It is expected that this work will not be complete until between 2024-2028. That’s at least one year earlier than originally thought. That work is now just beginning to start, as the massive remake of the I-16 and I-75 interchange in Macon, now being finished by the Snellville firm of E.R. Snell Contractor.
As an aside, ironically by that time the Interstate widening is done, Georgia may have grown enough that most vehicle drivers will not notice much difference in road improvement. But without this work, Georgia drivers may be more crowded and more frustrated than ever.
One person closely watching the activity is Ed Crowell, president of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association. He says: “The need is strong and growing, and will be obviously temporary, but when the work is done, matters will settle in, but at a higher level than before. Things were growing before the pandemic, but now we see the push to recovery, and everyone wants it all at once, as traffic builds up again.”
The location of the Intermodal Terminal is above Gainesville, off the Interstate 985 intersection at White Sulfur Road. The terminal should be operational by 2024. It will be alongside the Norfolk-Southern rail tracks at Hillcrest Drive. The site is at the Gateway Industrial Centre, and consists of 104 acres. The site will be composed of six rail tracks, with a length of 18,000 feet. Part of the financing came from a $46 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Construction has not gotten underway yet, awaiting a permit from the National Environmental Policy Act process, which is expected soon.
The Northeast Georgia Inland Port idea comes out of government trying to get ahead of the curve. But by the time all this is complete, Georgia may have grown enough, and traffic may be heavier….so that most of us won’t see much difference in vehicle traffic on Interstates 75 and 16. But it will be not just good, but necessary, to have.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Law enforcement must be aggressive to reverse disturbing trends
(Editor’s Note: The following is contributed by the General Counsel for The National Narcotics Officer’s Association Coalition.—eeb)
By Peter Boyce
DACULA, Ga. | Last year was alarming for many reasons including Covid, border security, and overdose deaths. The law enforcement profession now MUST stand up, be heard, and take an aggressive role in reversing these disturbing trends.
Boyce
Police officers are each sworn to promote and protect the public good. Public health is a big part of the public good. Covid was the leading cause of death for police officers in 2020 killing six times as many officers as were killed in shootings.
Yet far too many police officers throughout the country have refused to take the required vaccine mostly not for religious or legitimate health conditions. Why refuse a vaccine given to nearly a billion people? Why expose unvaccinated officers to the public or their vaccinated peers? Why risk the lives of officers who refuse to comply with mandated vaccine regulations? Why risk the life of every person an unvaccinated officer has contact with each day?
Border security is a tremendously difficult issue. It is difficult to understand, with all the resources we have in this country, why we can’t secure our entire border and then enact a reasonable policy to allow some controlled immigration and maybe a path to citizenship for the millions here illegally.
Law enforcement must do a far better job telling the truth to the voters (not to the politicians), about all the crime, drug smuggling, and terrorists who pass through our border each day. Why can’t we collect and publish every crime committed, every drug dealer arrested, every drug bust, every terrorist caught as a way to make reasonable people finally question the irresponsible politicians who seek ways to remain in office by catering to their base with their nonsensical policies and legislative enactments?
Recently it was reported that annual drug overdose deaths would top 100,000, setting a record. No one in law enforcement is surprised by that number. The police community has been trying for years to convince the politicians we have an immediate crisis that needs aggressive action.
Few political leaders seem to listen or even care. They release drug dealers and drug offenders from jail and move to legalize or decriminalize pot and in some states nearly all drugs. They tolerate and, in some instances, promote civil unrest. They take billions gotten from the OXY lawsuits and rarely use those funds for any efforts to combat the drug trade.
Will it take 150,000 to die next year from drug overdoses for the political leaders to take notice? Not likely unless a groundswell from law enforcement and the public demand action now. What could happen if every police chief and sheriff in the country started a vigorous campaign to persuade the public that the illegal drug trade is destroying their communities?
Law enforcement needs to stop pussyfooting around and become the leader in this effort to combat illegal drugs in each community they serve. The law enforcement leaders who spearhead any such campaign may lose their jobs by speaking the truth, but they may save their communities.
These multifaceted challenges must be addressed. The law enforcement profession must commit its resources and expertise to take the lead in doing everything possible to stop the spread of Covid. Additionally, law enforcement must speak loudly about how open borders and a laissez-faire attitude about illegal drugs raise violent crime rates and tragic drug overdose deaths.
Our profession, if we commit full resources, can reverse these very dangerous trends, or future students of history may ask “Why did a free American society perish?”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization that boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. Guided by a Citizens Advisory Board representing all sectors of the county, GC&B is a nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities, involving more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its mission of “Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett,” visit www.GwinnettCB.org.
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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 offering $100 vaccine, booster gift cards
Gwinnett County Department of Health is encouraging residents to get the Covid vaccine shots, or the boosters, by offering $100 Visa gift cards, while supplies last. The cards are available to people ages 5 and up who receive a COVID-19 vaccine at community-wide vaccine incentive events this weekend. Partners in the program, besides Health Department, include Piedmont Eastside, Emergent Testing and COVID Care Georgia.
From Friday, December 10 to Sunday, December 12, the partners will host vaccine clinics throughout the Gwinnett community wih a variety of locations and available hours. A dedicated website has been created for the event. Go to FinishStrongTogether.com for specific location, hours and appointment information. Appointments are strongly encouraged.
Vaccines are free. ID and insurance cards are not required but encouraged. People without insurance or ID will not be turned away. People should also bring their CDC vaccination card if they’ve already received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Audrey Arona, district health director for Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments says: “Whether it’s a first shot, second dose or booster, for adults or children, we want to make sure all of our residents have the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We have worked with partners across this community to ensure that there are vaccine locations close to where our residents live, work and shop and that there are extended hours to remove barriers to getting the much-needed vaccine.”
The County is using federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for the vaccine incentive gift cards.
Vaccines for ages 5 and older:
Emergent Testing (Drive-Up Service) – 3110 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, Suwanee, GA 30024. No appointment necessary but pre-registration for contactless service is available.
Piedmont Eastside Medical Plaza 2 (Walk-In Service) — 1800 Tree Lane, Suite 250, Snellville, GA 30078. Appointments are strongly encouraged but not required.
COVID Care Georgia, Plaza Las Americas (Drive-Up Service) – 733 Pleasant Hill Road, Lilburn, GA 30047. Appointments are strongly encouraged but not required.
Vaccines for ages 12 and older:
Gwinnett County Health Department Gwinnett Place Mall Vaccination Site (Appointment Walk-In Service), will be in the former Sears at Gwinnett Place Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. Appointments are strongly encouraged but walk-in clients will be served, as able, based on open appointment slots.
Sponsorships available for 3rd Wreaths Across America
Join the Philadelphia Winn Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), to honor American heroes at their third Annual Wreaths Across America ceremony. This observance will be held on Saturday, December 18 at Noon at the East Shadowlawn Memorial Gardens, 87 Scenic Highway, Lawrenceville.
Also participating will be the Button Gwinnett Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), the Elisha Winn Society, Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.), Georgia State Society SAR Color Guard and Militia, and additional local community organizations.
The sponsored wreaths will be hand-crafted of all-American balsam, hand-tied with a red velvet bow and made in Columbia Falls, Maine. If you choose to sponsor a wreath ($15 each), you will be invited to place the wreath on the marker of a veterans’ grave during the ceremony. Consider joining a grateful nation in saying “Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
You may sponsor a wreath online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/ga0265p, or send a check, payable to Philadelphia Winn Chapter to: Kathy Schmidt, Chapter Treasurer, 886 Marbrook Dr., Lawrenceville, Ga. 30044.
- For any questions, contact Ann Story at (404) 538-4521, email Annstory@ymail.com or Lynn Jacques at (678) 332-9852, email Lynnjacques55@gmail.com.
Snellville tops off The Grove at Towne Center garage
Snellville has topped off The Grove at Towne Center’s parking garage. Vertical construction is now complete on the five-level parking deck which houses 750 parking spaces to be used by the Grove for all of the site’s tenants. That includes over 50,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and entertainment space, as well as approximately 250 multi-family luxury apartments and the two-story Elizabeth Williams library. From left are Brett Hutchins and Shannon Dixon of Casto Southeast (the co-developer with Mid-City firm), and Snellville Mayor Barbara Bender.
Winter Construction is the contractor for the project. The Grove’s luxury residential apartments will surround the deck on three sides and feature an ornamental glass staircase on the east side that will provide beautiful views of the Elizabeth Williams library as well as the mercantile retail space and Grove Town Green.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
From John Titus, Peachtree Corners: This book, covering the period from 1860 to 1890, details the history of America’s expansionism from the point of view of the Native Americans. Using records of treaty councils and other formal meetings with civilian and military representatives of the U.S. government, autobiographies, and first-hand descriptions, Brown allows the great chiefs and warriors of many tribes to tell of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties. He contends that when reading about this period Americans have always looked westward. In this case he encourages them to look eastward. This book is both enlightening and disturbing. Once read, it is unlikely that non-Native Americans will ever again regard this period of our history in the same way.
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
Italian-born artist becomes famous for painting Ga. birds
Italian-born artist Athos Menaboni arrived in Georgia in the late 1920s and remained active until his death at the age of 94. His early career focused primarily on painting murals and creating other decorative features for clients in Atlanta and elsewhere in the state. He then turned to painting birds from life, usually in pairs and in their natural habitats. Today Menaboni is best known for his numerous paintings of more than 150 different species of birds.
Athos Rodolfo Giorgio Alessandro Menaboni developed a profound respect for and love of nature from his early childhood in the seaport of Livorno, Italy. The second of five children, he was born on October 20, 1895, to Jenny Neri and Averardo Menaboni. His father was a ship chandler and successful businessman, which allowed the family to live prosperously. He even built his son an aviary for a collection of exotic birds.
Menaboni’s artistic talent was evident in childhood, and at the age of nine he began art lessons with an Italian marine painter. He also studied with a sculptor and later attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy, until the outbreak in 1914 of World War I in Europe. During the war, Menaboni served in the Italian army for four years.
Loath to join the family business after the war, Menaboni joined the crew of the U.S. vessel S.S. Colthraps. He arrived in Norfolk, Va. in 1921. He later became a citizen in 1939. He initially lived in New York City, where he struggled financially and socially because he barely spoke English. In 1924 he left New York to serve as art director for a new real estate development on Davis Island in Tampa, Fla., remaining there until 1926.
Menaboni settled in Atlanta, where he remained for the rest of his long life. There he fortuitously met Sara Regina Arnold, the niece of his landlords and a student at Shorter College of Rome. After a one-year courtship, the couple married on August 14, 1928, and Sara soon began juggling multiple roles as Menaboni’s social secretary, allowing him the solitude he craved as an artist; as his agent, sending his work to galleries and actively seeking clients for him; as his collaborator, supplying text to accompany his ornithological drawings; and as his partner in making their home a sanctuary for wildlife.
The couple survived financially through commissions acquired through the prominent Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze. Menaboni designed murals for Swan House, the home of Emily and Edward Inman that is now part of the Atlanta History Center. That work led to additional commissions for private homes, public buildings, and places of worship. The couple developed a reputation for rehabilitating injured and abandoned animals, particularly birds.
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Check out these magnificent stained-glass windows
Today’s Mystery Photo shows more magnificent stained-glass windows. Some are enormous. Tickle your mind to determine the location of this art, and send your answer to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
It’s not a well-known landmark, and now sits in disrepair, while three people recognized last issue’s Mystery Photo. First came in was Jim Savedelis of Duluth identifying the mystery as the Hotel Willard in Helena, Ga. The photo came from David Earl Tyre of Jesup.
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote: “The Hotel Willard, Circa 1893, Helena, Georgia. This structure with a turret was known for the longest time as the Hotel Willard, but also was called the Brick Inn and the Telfair Hotel, as well as serving for a time as the VFW Hall and at least one restaurant. The building supposedly was built by the railroad which came to Helena in the 1870s. The building attached to it on the far right was a garage and gas station in the 1940s. There was a hotel manager’s apartment in the back on the ground floor that had a garden just outside.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. added: “When the hotel first opened in February 1891 it charged $2 per day. Throughout its history, the building has had a number of other names and served a variety of purposes. For those readers who may be interested in seeing what this building looked like when it was an active hotel.”
Lots of Bikes: Salvation Army’s local Angel Tree program gets donors to help make Christmas special for many Gwinnett citizens. Just look at the larger units, mostly bicycles, that kids have asked for this Christmas season. It takes days of volunteer work for the delivery of the goods from donors, then sorting, and finally, getting these gifts to children and adults. Anyone wanting to make a cash gift to help the Salvation Army this Christmas season, should go to a website to make a contribution. Go to https://give.salvationarmygeorgia.org/fundraiser/3614802. (Photo by Charles Youngs.)
Hiring Event: The Gwinnett County Department of Information Technology Services wants to hire you. It will host a hiring event on Saturday, December 11 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the second floor of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville. The department is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions: Senior Project Manager, Senior IT Systems Administrator, IT Systems Administrator, Business Relationship Consultant, IT Manager, IT Security and Open-Source Developer. Applicants should apply online prior to the event at GCGA.us/ITSHiring.
The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra will continue its 15th anniversary season by celebrating the Most Wonderful Time of the Year with two Christmas concerts this year, both on the same day, Saturday, December 18, 2021, at the Johns Creek United Methodist Church, 11180 Medlock Bridge Road in Johns Creek. The concerts are at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
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