GwinnettForum | Number 21.57 | Aug. 9, 2022
CONTINUING A TRADITION: With college soon returning, it’s a tradition at Mercer University in Macon, to take an aerial photo of each new class forming “MU” on Cruz Plaza. The Class of 2025 is pictured here. You’re next, Class of 2026! There are more than 1,000 solid orange T-shirts worn for this bright depiction. (Photo by Matt Smith)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Hear about lessons in becoming a lifelong learner
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Commission should eliminate use of plastic packing and straws here
ANOTHER VIEW: Water aerobics offer fun and fellowship in the water
SPOTLIGHT: Crowne Plaza Hotel
FEEDBACK: It’s gratifying to see an innovative way to save Acacia trees
UPCOMING: Stripers giving more replica rings at some September games
NOTABLE: Toney becomes fourth chair of Leadership Gwinnett
RECOMMENDED: Elvis Close-Up by Jay B. Leviton and Ger J. Rijff
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Best Known Early Priest in Georgia was John Wesley
MYSTERY PHOTO: Period costume dress says something in this special photo
LAGNIAPPE: Here’s how one college continues a tradition
CALENDAR: Gwinnett Chamber’s Moxie Awards to take place on August 31
Hear about lessons in becoming a lifelong learner
Rainbow Village campus.
By Melanie Conner
CEO, Rainbow Village
DULUTH, Ga. | As the children of Rainbow Village prepare for their “back-to-school” return, I am reminded of countless school years from my own childhood. I fondly remember the classes and teachers that I loved, as well as those courses I did not love. I recall thinking “when on Earth will I ever need to use algebra or geometry in real life?”
Conner
And while I do not in fact apply either of those mathematical disciplines in my everyday world today, I have since learned that there have been occasions to apply many other lessons learned – even though those opportunities did not present themselves until much later. I have also discovered that we don’t have to be “matriculated” in a school program in order to learn. Because the world around us is constantly changing and new experiences present new opportunities to enhance our understanding, I have wholeheartedly embraced my role as a lifelong learner, and I never hesitate to encourage the same in others.
When families experiencing homelessness apply for residency at Rainbow Village, they are “matriculating” in a program that inspires a willingness to become resourceful lifelong learners. While simultaneously learning to deal with the trauma of having been homeless, they learn key competencies in the areas of family stability, well-being, financial management, education and training, and employment and career.
Of course, trauma doesn’t magically disappear just because we provide them with a roof over their head. New coping skills are required as new experiences present themselves. The true test comes when they leave the safety net and program of the village and begin applying the knowledge they acquired into practice in a new environment. We urge all graduates of our program to continue to learn and grow in exciting and healthy new directions beyond the borders of our Village.Talking recently with a Rainbow Village alum, she shared her joy about her new accomplishment of owning a home, but made clear that it was not without its difficulties. As if being a homeowner and a single mom in a challenging economic environment wasn’t difficult enough, a minor plumbing issue in her new home was a curveball she hadn’t seen coming. Instead of panicking, she educated herself online on how to solve the problem and avoided a costly bill from a plumber. I could see her sense of self-pride during our time together!
The encouragement of a willingness to learn isn’t limited to the families we serve. It’s something I ask of my team, as well, as we continue to evolve our program to be the best it can possibly be – making big strides towards ending homelessness… one family at a time.
On August 1, we welcomed Randy Redner to our team as chief of strategy and philanthropy officer. There will be endless opportunities for us to learn from one another, brainstorm exciting new ideas together and continue to pave the path forward for Rainbow Village and the families we serve.
We also welcome the opportunity to educate others in our community who express an interest in learning more about the Rainbow Village program. If you’d like to tour our facilities or wish to have a more hands-on experience as a volunteer, we’d love to have you! To schedule a tour or inquire about volunteer opportunities, contact community engagement coordinator, Brittany Lowe, at blowe@rainbowvillage.org.
If your child is returning to school this month, we wish them a happy and impactful school year! May they, too, be inspired to become lifelong learners!
Commission should eliminate use of plastic packing, straws
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 9, 2022 | Individual Gwinnettians can make little progress in improving the world. But the nearly one million of us in Gwinnett, working collectively, can make a dent into one problem this world faces.
Many other community governments are adopting rules for their residents to help mankind. One particular problem that mankind now faces involves the public’s use of plastics, which when discarded, are threatening our environments, particularly the ocean waters.
Dr. Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia is internationally recognized for her work to reduce plastic waste. Her research has spurred governments, industry and nonprofit organizations to protect ocean wildlife and ecosystem health by reducing plastic waste generation and expanding waste management infrastructure.
She estimated from her studies in 2015 that eight million metric tons of plastics enters the world’s oceans every year. Then later she found that 90.5 percent of plastic has never been recycled.
What happens when plastics get into our oceans? Plastic ingestion reduces the storage volume of the stomach of fish and fowl. One estimate was that 60 percent of all seabirds have eaten plastic, and by 2050, that number will be 90 percent.
Another study maintains that plastic waste kills up to a million seabirds a year. Scientists report that many seabirds are found dead with their stomachs full of plastic.
For larger sea animals, whales, dolphins and porpoises, a ballooned plastic bag can look like squid or other prey, so they gulp them down, never realizing it’s just a bag full of water. And their stomachs fill with plastic waste.
How can Gwinnettians help with this problem?
We urge our County Commission to adopt rules regarding the use of plastics in Gwinnett. Eliminate single-use plastics like bags and straws. Instead, require the use of paper products instead of plastic in our retail stores and restaurants. Most Gwinnett residents will applaud this move
Paper products are biodegradable, easy to recycle and reuse, and can be composted. Paper bags are eco-friendly, and are often used over and over. They are also sturdier when hauling in heavy purchases, such as from grocery stores. Fewer paper bags are needed than plastic in such instances, since they hold more.
Many commercial enterprises have already taken this step to paper products. The Krystal restaurants, specifically, in the past year no longer hand purchases in plastic bags to customers, but now use paper bags. Some retail stores ask customers if they want their purchases in plastic or paper bags.
Another plastic product, single use straws are consumed 500 million times a year in the USA. They are difficult to recycle, are not biodegradable, and harm our wildlife. Many governments have banned their use. As an alternative, paper straws are easily substituted, and can be disposed of without harming animals.(Some people use stainless steel straws, both washable and durable.)
Therefore, we strongly urge the Gwinnett County Commission to ban these plastic products in our county, and adopt the use of paper products for substitutes, as the new Gwinnett Standard within our borders. This is another way Gwinnett County can lead the rest of Metro Atlanta the way toward progress.
We also add as another of GwinnettForum’s Continuing Objectives, the elimination of single use plastic packaging and straws and require instead the use of paper products.
Together, the nearly one million Gwinnett residents can do their part for an improved world through a new Gwinnett Standard.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Water aerobics offer fun and fellowship in the water
By Sue Baum
BETHESDA Community of Gwinnett | Elizabeth (Betsy) Greenwood is the first one at the door each morning at the Bethesda Park Aquatic Center in Lawrenceville. She’s been participating in drop-in water aerobics classes here nearly since the place opened its doors in 2007.
Baum
At a youthful age of 88, Betsy loves the exercise and the social connections with her fellow swimmers, saying, “It keeps you young.” Betsy is always moving, even though it’s a bit more challenging recently. Just a few years ago, she walked an average of 4.5 miles on top of attending the drop-in water aerobics classes Monday through Friday each week.
Greenwood
However, in November 2021, she suffered a fall, breaking her femur and hip and requiring surgery. Her doctor told her that only 50 percent of women with the same injury even survive, but she beat the odds, returning to the pool in the spring of 2022. However, another fall in April led to a broken wrist and pelvis. Betsy was down, but not out. As soon as she could, she was back in her regular place in front of the class. Betsy remarks, “I’m like a Timex…I just keep on ticking.”
At the Bethesda Center, Linda McLemore has been an instructor at the pool since the place opened. She used to be a runner, but after surgery, discovered the benefits of rehabbing in the water and decided to teach. She notes the benefits of water aerobics are really two-fold. There are the obvious benefits of aerobic exercise and that fact that the water is easier on aging joints.
McLemore
But maybe not-so-obvious are the social benefits of friendship and fun. Some of her students come five mornings a week. There’s also a whole other dedicated group who come to the pool classes in the evenings. Says Linda: “These classes mean a lot to a lot of people.” At a drop-in price of $2 for county residents, she also notes that it’s the “best deal in the county.”
Bethesda Aquatic Center is just one of nine community pools throughout Gwinnett, which were built with SPLOST funds that add a penny for the county sales tax. It is just part of the large network of parks and libraries that serve Gwinnett citizens. The other aquatic park sites are:
- Year-around: Bethesda and Bogan.
- Year-around and seasonal: Collins Hill, Mountain Park, and West Gwinnett.
- Searsonal: Best Friend, Dacula, Lenora and Rhodes Jordan.
All ages benefit from these centers, providing the gifts of health and fellowship. For more information, go to the Gwinnett Parks and Recreation website.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Crowne Plaza Hotel
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriting sponsor is the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Norcross. It is the only four-star hotel in the area, at the intersection of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Holcomb Bridge Road. Its 238 rooms and 10,000 square feet of meeting spaces await you. Enjoy amenities such as an on-site pool and fitness center. Enjoy the elegant Eighteen70 restaurant and lounge (named for the date the City of Norcross was founded.) You will find the two ballrooms and in-house catering makes for a perfect wedding venue. Parking is always free, and you can easily connect to the internet without cost. Nearby are shopping, sports and parks. The Chattahoochee River is two miles away, offering some of the best trout fishing in its cold waters. For more details visitwww.crowneplaza.com/norcrossga.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
It’s gratifying to see an innovative way to save Acacia trees
Editor, the Forum:
A most interesting story was presented on BBC World News about the deforestation in Kenya and the loss of the important Acacia trees. The community has responded with a creative remedy that I find very inspiring.
Acacia seeds are covered with ground charcoal to form 3/8 -1/2 inch balls. The coating keeps wildlife from eating the seeds and protects them until the rainy season. The charcoal is also a conditioner and nutrient.
The balls have been used as a game at recess in schools where children use slingshots to distribute them across the countryside in vast quantities. Almost any way imaginable is used to cast these balls over Kenya. It is amazing to see the vast list of methods people are using to do this.
The seedlings have begun to stick their heads up through the soil and if only a small fraction become mature Acacia, Kenya will once again be covered in them. Pretty cool.
– 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.
Stripers giving more replica rings at some September games
Gwinnett Stripers, Triple-A affiliate of the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves, have announced three additional World Champions Replica Ring Giveaways for the month of September. All three dates are presented by Coolray Heating and Cooling.
Following the success of World Champions Replica Ring giveaways on July 30 and 31, the Stripers have added the following giveaway dates for the season’s final month:
- Thursday, September 1 (7:05 p.m. vs. Jacksonville) – First 1,500 fans;
- Monday, September 26 (7:05 p.m. vs. Louisville) – First 755 fans; and
- Tuesday, September 27 (7:05 p.m. vs. Louisville) – First 755 fans.
The Stripers are giving away 755 rings in each of the final two dates as a tribute to Braves legend Hank Aaron, who clubbed 755 home runs during his Hall of Fame career.
Kemp to give environmental address here Aug. 12
Kemp
After having to cancel the Governor’s Environmental Address for two years in a row because of the pandemic, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful will present this event on Friday, August 12 at 11:15 at Gas South District in Duluth. Governor Brian Kemp will address this address, a 14-year tradition, at this lunch.
The 2022 Environmental Stewardship and Consciousness Awards will be announced at the event, says GC&B Environmental Director Shelly Marlatt. Tickets are still available for purchase through the GC&B website. The environmental program was launched in 2001 with Governor Roy Barnes addressing the audience. Since then, GC&B welcomed former Governors Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal to its stage.
At the meeting, GC&B will announce the granting of two scholarships to students from Georgia Gwinnett College. The entire program is part of the idea that the county can positively impact the environment as long as its residents are working together.
Toney becomes 4th chair of Leadership Gwinnett
Toney
Alisa Toney, the senior director of development at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, has been named the chair of the Leadership Gwinnett Foundation Board of Directors. She is the fourth person to serve in this position since the organization’s founding in 1985, succeeding Renee Byrd-Lewis.
A member of the Leadership Gwinnett class of 2013, Toney believes that “Leadership Gwinnett is an experience that completely transforms you and exposes you to people, places and processes that will enhance your perspective.”
A graduate of Tulane University with a BS degree in psychology, Toney is an emeritus member of the Director’s Advisory Board of the Newcomb College Institute at Tulane University. She has an MS degree from Georgia State University in educational policy studies, research and measurement, and a certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from The Fund Raising School, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Prior to joining PCOM, Toney worked at Georgia State University, Spelman College and Emory University, all in metro Atlanta.
Originally, from Memphis, Tenn., Toney is the mother of two children, Thomas, a senior at Yale University, and Camille, a freshman at North Gwinnett High School. Toney has been a resident of Gwinnett County since 1993.
Leadership Gwinnett’s signature yearlong program has graduated 36 classes and Glance Gwinnett, its three-day program has conducted 25 sessions. The programs combined have an alumni base of more than 2,100.
Two with Gwinnett connections promoted in Gainesville
Recent management changes at The Times in Gainesville involved professional journalists with Gwinnett County connections.
Casas
Shannon Casas, previously editor-in-chief at The Times, has moved to a new job as director of audience for The Times and its sister publications, the Forsyth County News and the Dawson County News. In that position, she will be responsible for analyzing data related to readership and subscribers and working closely with the newsrooms at all three properties to assure that content in print and online provides readers with the information they want and need.
Casas, now a Gainesville resident, completed North Gwinnett High School and had an undergraduate degree from Berry College. She lived for a time in Norcross with her parents, Susan and Mike Rohrabaugh, before moving to Suwanee.
In a corresponding move, Nate McCullough has been named as group editor for the three news operations and will oversee print and online content and reporting staffs. McCullough is currently a resident of Stone Mountain and was a longtime member of the Gwinnett Daily Post news operation.
The three newspapers are owned by Metro Market Media headquartered in Gainesville.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Elvis Close-Up by Jay B. Leviton and Ger J. Rijff
From Miriam Machida, Watkinsville: “The new movie about Elvis caused me to revisit a book on my shelf, Elvis Close-UP: Rare, Unpublished Photographs of Elvis Presley in 1956. The introduction places the time as ‘Ground Zero, Year One, the epicenter of the Elvis Moment.’ I recommend it to Elvis fans. Collier’s magazine assigned an Atlanta photographer to follow Elvis on his tour stops in Jacksonville, Florida, and New Orleans in August. See how Elvis wore his belt buckle to the left so that it wouldn’t interfere with the guitar. See a grumpy Jacksonville juvenile court judge in attendance to make sure the show was respectable. The cover photo is the epitome of intimate Elvis, caught posed with a sultry look on his hotel room bed looking directly into the camera. Not being an Elvis fan, I must confess that I am biased. I knew the photographer and think of him as he looked at Elvis from behind the lens. The full title is Elvis Close-UP: Rare, Unpublished Photographs of Elvis Presley in 1956.
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
Best known early priest in Georgia was John Wesley
The first priest selected by the Trustees was a volunteer, Henry Herbert, who sailed with the original colonists, reaching Georgia in 1733. Herbert founded Christ Church of Savannah, the first Anglican parish, or self-supporting congregation, in Georgia; but he died during his return voyage to England before the year ended. The Trustees appointed a series of nine Anglican priests in the first twelve years of the colony. Although the Trustees interviewed and appointed the priests, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel paid the priests’ salaries.
The Trustees also established charity schools to ensure that children understood the Anglican catechism. Teachers were supervised by Anglican clergymen, but children of all faiths were invited to attend. (Indians; Sephardic, or Spanish-speaking, Jews; Huguenots; and Moravians were among those living in the environs.) One of the prime results of these charity schools was the ready acceptance of English as the official language of Georgia.
Perhaps the best-known Anglican priest in Georgia’s history is John Wesley, appointed by the Trustees to serve as rector, or the priest in charge of a parish, of Savannah’s Christ Church in 1735. Wesley apparently considered himself successful in his mission to convert the Indians, and he ministered to the local Huguenots and Moravians in their own languages. He alienated some of the prominent colonists, however, with his rigid interpretation of church rules and teaching.
After only two years he returned to England, where not long afterward he developed Methodism. Twenty-three-year-old George Whitefield, another early Anglican missionary priest in Georgia, gained fame for his eloquent sermons and departure from staid liturgical Church of England rites. Although he was rector of Christ Church, Whitefield devoted so much energy to founding and supporting the orphanage called Bethesda, near Savannah, that the Trustees soon found another priest for Savannah’s Anglicans.
John Wesley’s brother, Charles Wesley, served as resident minister of Frederica for a brief time in the 1730s, and by 1751 Augusta and Savannah each had an Anglican clergyman in residence. Traveling missionaries served other colonial Georgia communities, including those at Abercorn and Ebenezer, until the American Revolution.
By the 1770s more than half of Savannah’s residents were members of the Church of England, and a good number of others were spread throughout the colony. Unwilling to leave the faith when the colonies revolted, Anglicans in America formally reconstituted themselves in 1789 as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Other than political affiliations, the tenets of the faith were not changed, and Anglicans in America are generally known as Episcopalians.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Period costume dress says something in this special photo
It’s a simple statue, in period costume, and telling us more than you might think. It’s something you don’t see everyday, and has a good story with it. Can you identify this Mystery Photo? Send along your ideas to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
Readers have been leaving it to the regular spotters to identify many recent photos, as was the case last week. George Graf of Palmyra, Va., Lou Camerio of Lilburn and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. all recognized the Bailey Island Bridge, Harpswell, Cumberland County, Maine. Graf told us it “….was designed by Llewellyn N. Edwards, completed in 1928 and carries traffic across Casco Bay on Maine State Route 24.” The photo was made by Elliott Brack.
Peel added: “It is also called the Cribstone Bridge. This rather unique bridge connects Orr’s Island to Bailey Island, about 14 miles south of the junction of Route U.S. 1 and State Route 24. It has much back history. From a historical perspective, the fishermen who lived on Bailey Island had long wanted a bridge to connect their island with Orr’s Island, but the town council turned down their requests. However, after the Maine Legislature passed a law to allow the state and counties to fund bridge construction, a plan emerged to build the bridge, completed in 1928.
“Design of the 1,150-foot-long bridge was complicated by the tides in the area known as Will’s Gut. It was decided to build a cribstone bridge, and modeled after a design that originated in Scotland. The design used granite slabs as cribstones, acquired from local quarries in nearby Yarmouth, Maine. The granite slabs were sufficiently heavy to withstand the buffeting of wind and wave and the open cribbing or cellular construction permitted the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing the normal tidal current to any appreciable degree.
“The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and to the Historical Civil Engineering Landmark in 1984, which at the time, indicated that only 74 cribstone bridges remained throughout the world. To better understand just how durable this bridge design is, consider that throughout its history, the Bailey Island Bridge has been closed only once because of weather and related safety concerns. A severe southeast storm on January 9, 1978 packed winds in excess of 75 mph and in confluence with both a five-year tide and an annual spring tide pushed the tide peak to over 13-feet high. Despite all of this, the bridge stood firm and functioned as designed in allowing the strong storm surges to readily flow through the structure virtually unobstructed!”
* * *
Bob Foreman of Grayson reminds us that August 7 was National Lighthouse Day, honoring the beacons of light that for hundreds of years symbolized safety and security for ships and boats at sea. At one time, the beacon of light could be found across almost all of America’s shorelines. Yep, look for more mystery lighthouses in future editions of GwinnettForum. After all, readers send ‘em in.–eeb
Moxie award winners from the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce will be celebrated on August 31 at 10 a.m. at the Gas South District. Keynote speaker will be Sara Hathorn, CEO of Hathorn Consulting Group of Chicago, who will speak of women’s leadership and highlight five characteristics that great leaders exhibit. To purchase tickets, go to https://gwinnettchamber.org/moxie-awards/.
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