GwinnettForum | Number 21.40 | May 27, 2022
LOCAL OUTAGE: A small part of Norcross lost power Thursday, when what appeared to be a healthy tulip poplar tree took out power lines, seen on the right. Power was restored in 2.5 hours. If you have trees on your residential property, it might pay to check with an arborist to see if any are subject to fall…..across power lines, or even on your house.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Haven at Hebron will welcome the young and pregnant
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Reviewing the 2022 Georgia primary winners and losers
SPOTLIGHT: Mingledorff’s
FEEDBACK: Wants help in honoring Mack Renwick and Marshall Hooper
UPCOMING: $1 million grant to Lilburn for new Bryson Park roundabout
NOTABLE: Gateway85 adds Elliot Williams as a new director
RECOMMENDED: Atomic Habits by James Clear
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Xeriscaping gardening is natural form of conservation
MYSTERY PHOTO: Try your luck at identifying this classical, handsome building
CALENDAR: Memorial Day service is at 11 a.m. Monday at GJAC
Haven at Hebron will welcome the young and pregnant
(Editor’s note: today’s article is from the chairman of the board of a new venture sponsored by Hebron Church.—eeb)
By Becky Turner
DACULA, Ga. | The Haven at Hebron began out of a desire for Hebron Church to actively live out the Gospel. If the church’s desire is to give every unborn child life, what would that look like in reality? With that desire in mind, a team assembled and began researching current options for some of our most vulnerable population — single, young (21 and under) women who are pregnant and homeless.
Turner
As research soon confirmed, there is a vast need for housing for these women. Currently, the only other licensed, maternity home in Georgia is in Savannah. Community organizations have no place to send young pregnant women who need housing in the Metro Atlanta area. While this is a niche need, it is a big need, and also fits within Gwinnett’s focus on solving homelessness in general.
Dr. Landon Dowden, senior pastor of Hebron Church, says: All that God entrusts to Hebron we pray to steward well for the good of our community and the glory of God. The Haven is an opportunity to demonstrate this conviction. For the most vulnerable who have nowhere else to go, we want them to know they can have a home with us.”
According to the Voices for Youth Count, an organization that tracks youth homelessness, more than 40 percent of 18–25-year-old women who have experienced homelessness in the past year are either pregnant or already a parent. Article 223915460 at macon.com revealed that “the unstable living conditions that accompany homelessness can pose health risks for pregnant women and their children, especially in a state like Georgia.” Our state consistently falls to the bottom of national rankings for maternal and infant health care for its high mortality rates and shortage of providers, especially outside of major metropolitan areas.
There are no geographic boundaries for those who will be considered for housing at The Haven. The site will serve the entire state of Georgia, with the desire to meet the needs of our most vulnerable population.
The Haven at Hebron has the following program objectives:
- The Haven will provide housing for up to eight pregnant women 21 and under throughout their pregnancy and up to eight weeks postpartum, all within the guidelines of the State of Georgia to serve minors. Live-in house parents will operate the home, ensuring the safety and well-being of the occupants.
- The Haven will provide opportunities for higher education, life skills training, dietary and nutritional training, financial planning, referrals, and pregnancy/parenting classes, all under the supervision of a Program Manager and in collaboration with a team of counselors, staff, and volunteers.
- The Haven will provide healthcare including prenatal care, well-care check-ups, and dental care.
By providing these services to our most vulnerable population, pregnant women 21 years old and under, The Haven will empower them to move from a state of homelessness to a safe housing environment, from a lack of education to education, from a lack of medical care to full medical care.
The Haven will consist of a 7,000 square building, just west of the church on Fence Road. Kelly Scott of SCA Services of Atlanta is the contractor for the facility.
Construction has begun. The forecast opening date is late summer 2023!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Reviewing the 2022 Georgia primary winners and losers
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 27, 2022 | Today let’s review the 2022 primary.
First, let us thank the candidates, the winners and losers, for we cannot vote in our democracy without candidates. They allow it to work.
The most satisfying and surprising turn of this primary was that Lisamarie Bristol ousted Solicitor General Bryan Whiteside, and by a good margin. She had 31,835 votes to 25,658 for Whiteside. She had no Republican opposition and so will be the new solicitor.
In reality, Mr. Whiteside was his own worst enemy, since he had not worked well with officials at the courthouse. So the courthouse crowd got their revenge. We now look for a smooth transition to the new solicitor.
Another surprise is how easily Democrat Lucy McBath beat Carolyn Bourdeaux for the Seventh District congressional nomination. It was a 2:1 margin, and should set up Ms. McBath for a relatively easy win in November.
Meanwhile on the GOP side of the Seventh District race, there was another surprise. Newcomer Mike Corbin led the field with 41 percent of the vote. He will be in the runoff on June 21 against Mark Gonsalves, who gained 27 percent of the vote. The unknown Corbin shocked many and did it after raising only $6,000 to make the run for Congress. He adopted a middle-of-the-road stance and tried to appeal to the more educated, moderate voters.
Turning to Gwinnett races, a current state representative from Peachtree Corners, Beth Moore, who was running for a new Senate seat, got blindsided by Nabilah Islam and lost that election by a mere 78 votes. Ms. Islam, an Atlanta native, Lawrenceville resident and Muslim, is one of the new breed of diverse candidates that Gwinnett is seeing. She will face Republican Josh McCay in November.
Perhaps the most ironic turn-around of the primary was Rep. Bonnie Rich’s loss to Rep. David Clark for the House District 100 seat. Rep. Rich chaired the redistricting committee that changed the county House lines, ending up pitting the two House members against one another. Clark polled 4,282 votes to Rich’s 2,946, a difference of 1,336 votes.
Two Democratic House members also found themselves together in a new district. Shelly Hutchinson defeated Rebecca Mitchell for House District 106. Ms. Hutchinson faces unopposed Republican Preston Wren in the November election.
Gwinnett voters will choose a new State Court judge in a nonpartisan runoff on June 21. Matt Miller led in this three-way race with 48,631 votes to Erica Dove’s 43,519.
Turning to state elections, Gwinnett’s Nakita Hemingway is the Democratic nominee for the Commissioner of Agriculture, winning her race with 57 per cent of the vote. She will face Republican Tyler Harper in November.
In the Sixth Congressional District, Dr. Rich McCormick is in a GOP runoff after getting 43 percent of the primary vote. His runoff opponent is Joel Evans, who won 23 percent and advertises that he is wholly supported by Donald Trump. We suspect Dr. McCormick will give ex-President Trump another slap in the face.
We’re waiting for the last half of a percent of returns to determine who will be the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor. Burt Jones has slightly over 50 percent of the votes, and Butch Miller ran second wit 31 percent. Those few final votes will see whether there is a runoff for this slot.
On the Democratic side for lieutenant governor, Kwanza Hall led the field with 30 percent, while Charlie Bailey got 17 percent, so there will be a runoff here.
For secretary of state on the Democratic side, Bee Nguyen (44 percent) faces Dee Dawkins-Haiger (19 percent) in a runoff.
And wasn’t it another slap to Mr. Trump that Brad Raffensperger (52 percent) won the GOP race for secretary of state…..without a runoff! Take that, Jody Hice!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Mingledorff’s
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is Mingledorff’s, an air conditioning distributor of the Carrier Air Conditioning Company. Mingledorff’s corporate office is located at 6675 Jones Mill Court in Norcross Ga. and is proud to be a sponsor of the Gwinnett Forum. With 40 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina, Mingledorff’s is the convenient local source with a complete line for the quality heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration parts and supplies you need to service and install HVAC/R equipment. Product lines include Carrier, Bryant, Payne, Totaline and Bard.
- For all of your HVAC needs, and information on the products Mingledorff’s sells, visit www.mingledorffs.com and www.carrier.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Wants help in honoring Mack Renwick, Marshall Hooper
Editor, the Forum:
Hooper-Renwick Memorial Library, to be constructed in Lawrenceville, is about two heroes, Mack Renwick and Prof. Marshall Hooper. These two built the first school in Gwinnett County to serve Black children in Gwinnett County during the segregation period of 1924 to 1968.
During the first meeting about this new Library, I proposed that the Muslim community members should be involved with this project. The organizers whole heartedly welcomed the idea. I am inviting the Muslim community to come together and explore the idea that we all can participate by creating an environment of a peaceful coexistence in diverse Gwinnett County.
Hooper-Renwick Memorial Library will be a positive step forward and an example for other counties and states in America to follow. It will allow Gwinnett County to explore its history and find unspoken hidden heroes and heroines who contributed to this great country. I feel this efforts by the Muslim community will be a small drop of water towards acknowledging the contribution of all Americans and a form of reparations to all oppressed groups of humans. They can be Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, South Americans and yet all Americans.
I believe in such reparations. We have to acknowledge the suffering, pain, tortures, oppression of the past and as a nation we must and should say, “We are sorry.” Acknowledging and saying that we are sorry as a nation and teaching the truth to all is the biggest part of the process of reparations.
I am a prime example of the product of reparations. I am from Bangladesh. My professors and friends in Missouri and Kansas gave me them to me. How so? My first university, Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo., offered me my first job with campus pay of $2.72 as a dishwasher in the cafeteria. I used that money to pay for my tuition of $1,500 for a full load of classes. I came to this country with $1,200 and a suitcase but I never gave up the desire to excel in education and good health. I successfully earned my Ph.D from the University of Kansas.
May I invite you to help us in this venture to establish the Hooper-Renwick Library? Please join us on June 9 at 1 p.m. at the Kabab King, 5775 Jimmy Carter Boulevard, suite 190, in Norcross. We welcome you.
– Rashid Malik, Lawrenceville
- 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.
$1 million grant to Lilburn for new roundabout
Lilburn CID is getting a $1 million grant from the State Road and Tollway Authority awarded from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank. The grant will help complete the Bryson Park/Hood Road Realignment at Lawrenceville Highway project, realigning the Lilburn School Road and Jennifer Drive, which currently form separate, stop-controlled intersections with Lawrenceville Highway. The goal will be to remove both intersections, allowing the two roads to intersect and form a new roundabout on Bryson Park property.
A third leg of the roundabout will be built to intersect with Lawrenceville Highway and align with Hood Road to the south. Installation of a traffic light at this third leg will also eliminate three separate stop-controlled intersections. This project will improve mobility and access to Lawrenceville Highway as well as provide significant safety benefits.
Lawrenceville updates its false alarm ordinance
The Lawrenceville City Council has approved an update to its false alarm ordinance. It will go into effect on Dec. 1, 2021. Fines for excessive false alarms will begin on June 1, 2022.
The purpose of the False Alarm Ordinance is to encourage alarm owners and alarm companies to properly use and maintain operational effectiveness of monitored alarm systems in order to improve the reliability of alarm systems and reduce or eliminate false alarms. The City of Lawrenceville finds that excessive false alarms unduly burden the limited resources of the Lawrenceville Police Department
The fee schedule for false alarms has Non-Residential and Residential components. Non-residential fees are: first false alarm, $0; second, $50; Third, $200; and fourth and subsequent, $400.
Residential fees are first and second alarm, $0; third alarm, $25; and fourth and subsequent, $100. Any alarm signal response to an alarm site located within the City of Lawrenceville will result in the automatic address registration of the alarm. .
Gateway85 adds Williams as a new director
Williams
Gateway85 Community Improvement District has elected Elliot Williams, vice president – Link Logistics Real Estate, to its board of directors.. It also re-elected two current board members to serve a three-year term on the board.
Tim Le, broker/owner, Atlanta Maxim Realty International, was re-elected to Post 1 and will continue to serve as secretary. Ryan Hoyt, senior managing director with JLL, was re-elected and will continue as vice chairman on the Gateway85 Board of Directors.
Williams will join eight other board members working to enhance the economic impact, mobility and accessibility of Gateway85 through projects and collaborative partnerships. It works with organizations such as the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) and the Georgia Infrastructure Bank (GTIB), the Georgia and Gwinnett Departments of Transportation and the Gwinnett County government.
Williams has more than 12 years of experience in industrial capital markets. Prior to joining Link, Williams was with JLL in the Industrial Capital Markets division and began his career in commercial real estate with Colliers International.
Emory Morsberger, executive director of the Gateway85 CID, says: “We are pleased to elect Elliot to join our mission of making Gateway85 the most attractive and accessible district in the County. He will be an asset to our engaged board.”
EMC Foundation awards $74,828 to Gwinnett area agencies
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded of $144,928 in grants during its May meeting, including $74,828 to agencies serving Gwinnett County.
$20,000to SISU of Georgia, Inc., a Gainesville nonprofit organization providing educational, therapeutic, nursing and family support services to children with disabilities in Banks, Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties, to support the Early Intervention Program. - $19,828 to Boy Scouts of America – NEGA Council, serving all Jackson EMC counties, to provide uniforms, handbooks and camp fees to help underprivileged youth participate in scouting.
- $15,000 to Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, to provide the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, a program that impacts 15 developmental outcomes that help girls discover their own strengths, connect with others in healthy relationships and become more resourceful problem solvers, for 200 Gwinnett County girls from low-income households.
- $15,000 to Spectrum Autism Support Group, a parent-run nonprofit group in Suwanee that provides Gwinnett and Hall County families with support, education and resources-pro for the entire spectrum of autism disorders, to help disadvantaged autistic individuals ages four to 22 attend the organization’s weeklong summer camp program.
- $10,000 to Camp Amplify, in Winder, to provide 15 children ages eight to 12 from underserved communities with a week-long camping experience to develop character, leadership and teambuilding skills through a high adventure, overnight camp.
- $10,000 to Camp Kudzu, a year-round camping program for children and teens with diabetes, to help children from the 10 counties served by Jackson EMC attend a one-week overnight summer camp.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Atomic Habits by James Clear
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: Summer is coming and you may have a number of goals to accomplish. Do you focus on those goals? No! According to James Clear, you should create a detailed ‘system’ of tiny daily habits that will take you to those goals. Concentrate only on what’s to be done today. Clear defines the word ‘atomic’ to mean miniscule, and he insists that making tiny changes each day will balloon into big changes. Clear also says it’s important to change your identity. Do you have to run every day before you can say you’re a runner? No, you say you are a runner now, then you will run. Clear gives four laws of behavioral change with loads of tips and instructions. I knew I would be recommending this very helpful book after reading only two chapters. I also recommend buying it (which I did not do and took 48 pages of notes).
- 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
Xeriscaping gardening is natural form of conservation
Xeriscape (pronounced “zera-scape”), a term coined in Colorado in 1981, is loosely defined as a water-conserving method of landscaping in dry climates. Xeriscape gardening refers to a seven-step approach to conserving landscape water without sacrificing environmental quality.
Its importance in Georgia has increased as water shortages and restrictions on outdoor water use have become more common and population growth has placed increasing strain on available water supplies. Between 1990 and 2000, Georgia’s population grew by 20 percent, and the majority of these new residents migrated to urban areas. By 2000 more than half of Georgia’s 8.1 million residents lived in just 15 of the state’s 159 counties. Not only are there more people competing for water resources in urban areas, but periodic drought during the growing season increases the demand for municipal water as citizens turn on irrigation systems to keep their lawns green and their plants healthy.
During the summer months, when citizens irrigate their yards and gardens, residential water use typically increases between 40 and 60 percent. Unfortunately, much of the water applied to landscapes is used unnecessarily to irrigate drought-tolerant plants that do not need supplemental water. Millions of gallons of water could be saved each year if citizens learned how to water, when to water, the most efficient methods of applying water, and the water requirements of lawns and landscape plants.
The seven steps to Xeriscape gardening include proper planning and design, soil analysis, appropriate plant selection, practical turf areas, efficient irrigation, the use of mulches, and appropriate maintenance. The more thoroughly these steps are implemented, the more water-efficient a landscape will become. The Xeriscape concept has been adopted by states throughout the nation, including Georgia, and has been modified to fit local climate and soil conditions.
Proper planning and design are important, both for designing a new landscape and for adding to an existing landscape. When possible, incorporate existing native vegetation into the landscape. Native areas left undisturbed generally require no supplemental irrigation. When designing new areas, divide the landscape into three water-use zones: high, moderate, and low.
High-water-use zones are small, highly visible areas of the landscape where plants are watered routinely for optimum growth. Plants in the moderate-water-use zone are watered only when they show visible signs of stress, such as wilted foliage and off-green color, while plants in the low-water-use zone are provided no supplemental irrigation once established. Ideally, 10 percent or less of the total landscape area should be zoned for high water use, not more than 30 percent should be moderate water use, and 60 percent or more should be zoned for low water use.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Try to identify this classical, handsome building
Today’s mystery is a classical and handsome old building. Now can you identify just where this Mystery Photo is located? Send your guess to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
Talk about a difficult photo! Yes, the last Mystery photo must have been hard, for only one reader, George Graf of Palmyra, Va., was able to deduce where it was located. The photograph came from Bill Baughman of Snellville, who by the way, has been under the weather and is in rehab, we understand, after taking a fall.
Graf scoped it out and found the mystery was “The Higginbotham House in Twin City, Ga., down in Emanuel County. Indeed it was difficult to locate. Higgenbotham House was built by Jefferson Davis Durden and recently restored by its current owner. The early Durden family were entrepreneurs in the area. Twin City began as the town of Summit which was incorporated on April 25, 1898, at the present intersection of U.S. 80 and Georgia Highway 23, as the center. In 1921 a legislative act was introduced to incorporate them as one; thus Twin City was formed. The House is part of the Twin City Historic District which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
But Graf did not get the Georgia and Gwinnett political significance of the house. It was later owned by Lynda Cowart Pierce, who was at one time a University of Georgia extension agent in Gwinnett County. Then in 1984 she became the new wife of former Governor and later Sen. Herman Talmadge, though 26 years younger. Talmadge died in 2002. Lynda Talmadge continues to reside in Twin City.
19th annual Memorial Day observance will be May 30 at 11 a.m. at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. Keynote speaker will be Gwinnett County Commissioner Lt. Col. (Ret) Jasper Watkins.
School may soon be out but summer meals are in! From May 31 through August 2, Gwinnett County is offering free grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. while supplies last. Curbside pick-up of nutritious meals is for 18 years or younger or those 19 years of age or older with a physical or mental impairment. See all 21 meal locations on GwinnettSummerMeals.com.
Authors Visit: Meet the bestselling father and son writing team of Michael and Matthew Carson, as they discuss their book, How Did Black History Month Begin: Preserving the Legacy of African-American History. This event will be at 3 p.m. on June 5 at the Suwanee Branch library. Books will be available for sale and signing.
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