GwinnettForum | Number 22.20 | March 7, 2023
MORE COLORFUL BEAUTY: The bright yellow pansies highlight what Roving Photographer Frank Sharp found at the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse in Lawrenceville. More warm weather is on the way this week though showers are expected to keep these pansies and flora all over Gwinnett in colorful blooms for the next few weeks,
TODAY’S FOCUS: Check out hospital rankings for Metro Atlanta
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Kirby Smart’s silence belies his accomplishments
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
ANOTHER VIEW: With clowns in the House, look for a “Do-nothing Congress”
FEEDBACK: “Hail, Hail!” Good to see traditionalists are still around
UPCOMING: Burger week upcoming March 19-25 at 25 locations
NOTABLE: Northeast Georgia Medical Gains Oncology Accreditation
OBITUARY: James “Jim” Victor Hood Jr.
RECOMMENDED: The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Littleken
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Baseball pitcher Sherry Smith held his own in majors
MYSTERY PHOTO: Let the skyline help you solve this Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Youth homicides and overdose meeting will be March 9 near Norcross
Check out hospital rankings for Metro Atlanta
Northside Hospital Gwinnett in Duluth.
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Much of my career was spent working with large hospital systems, some of the best in the nation.
Professionally, I found it difficult but not impossible to rank hospitals. One simple but reasonably reliable source for potential patients to use is the US News and World Report, which annually lists the best hospitals both nationally and within each state.
So, which facilities were the best in Atlanta? Here they are as rated by US News:
- Emory University;
- Emory St. Joseph;
- Piedmont Atlanta;
- Northside Atlanta;
- Emory Midtown;
- Wellstar Kennestone;
- Northside Forsyth;
- Northside Gwinnett (including both Lawrenceville and Duluth) and
- Piedmont Fayette.
It ranked Northside Hospital Gwinnett very highly (an excellent five of five possible) regarding treatment of heart attack/failure, colon cancer surgery, COPD, kidney failure, and hip/knee replacement.
However, Northside Hospital Gwinnett ranked average or below average regarding treatment for orthopedics, most cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, lung surgery and ob/gyn.
Northside Hospital Gwinnett was also below average (two stars out of five) for patient experience. This was based on patient rankings of overall satisfaction with the hospital, MD communications and patient willingness to recommend the facility.
It should be noted that all rankings are by design, relative. Northside Hospital Gwinnett did perform much better than most Georgia facilities, being number 12 statewide.
US News also does national rankings by specialty area, as well as overall. Per that ranking, the top ten overall are: Mayo Clinic (Minn.); Cedars-Sinai (Calif.); NYU; Cleveland Clinic (Ohio); Johns Hopkins; UCLA; NY Presbyterian; Mass General; Northwestern and Stanford. These are perennially the best in the nation, per the magazine.
As every patient knows, there are many other factors in choosing a hospital for your care, factors that are not accounted for simply by looking at ratings. Where your physicians have privileges is another important factor. Plus, convenience is key for many patients. Where is the hospital versus where you live and where your family might reside?
And, then there is the expense factor. It’s expensive to be treated far from home. Further, for those on Medicare Advantage, HMOs and PPOs, their choice is restricted by the health insurance plan that they have, forcing them to either choose an in-network facility or pay a large out of pocket expense.
These rankings are but one factor in choosing your acute care provider. But every patient should understand why they are going to a particular hospital well before they become an in-patient.
One final note. Any ranking is only as good as the raters and rating system. US News and World Report uses data from 4,554 hospitals across the nation in coming up with rankings.
US News evaluates information on “16 adult medical specialties, 10 adult procedures or conditions and 10 pediatric specialties.” Ratings are based on quantitative data related to patient outcomes, primarily using Medicare data ,although information from the American Hospital Association and other professional sources are utilized.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Kirby Smart’s silence belies his accomplishments
Kirby Smart after UGA won its second national championship this year. Credit: Tony Walsh/UGAAA.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 7, 2023 | Winning isn’t everything.
Try to tell that to a follower of top sports teams, however. You’ll get scorn and laughed at from mad-dog fans of the Universities of Georgia and Alabama, and other sports teams, high school, college and pro.
Don’t they tell you: “We’re number one!” so often that it sounds like a litany?
Some Georgia fans have been known to bark after hollering “We’re number one!”
We bring this up as we hear reports that University of Georgia football team members and staff were wildly driving in the wee hours of the morning when two people were killed in an auto accident. Now reports say that there were two vehicles involved, that they were racing at 104 mph, and one car was driven by a football player.
When such incidents happen, the burden of fault lies with the University, its officials from the president on down, and certainly with the key coaches of these athletes. For they have not set up a system where the student-athletes are closely held accountable for their actions, allowing students to play on the athletic field, some getting little of a real education, and often embarrassing the university with their antics. Many fail to graduate from college, though by showing their skills in sports at the college field, many go on to professional careers and make big money.
What the universities need to instill, and many do not, is strict disciplining of its student-athletes. If they can’t conform to basic rules in and out of class, the school should not allow them to promote their skills on the gridiron. Simply kick them off the team. They are not worthy of being associated with the college.
But no. This never happens. The universities themselves, the coaches, and of course the alumni and fans, are caught up in the swell of big-time and big-money college sports. They ignore common sense and propriety and push the school’s athletic teams to seek victory at every turn, and the worst part, at any cost.
So we have students running amuck, caught for stealing, or causing a ruckus at a party, or violating curfew, or roughing up someone. What happens? Slaps on the wrists is about all. There is little discipline enforced. By ignoring these escapades, more unruly conduct abounds.
In the recent case in Athens, it was not only heavy intoxication, driving an automobile recklessly, street racing, but apparently baiting another driver to get engaged in similar disruption. And two are dead.
We have heard little except silence from the university, and especially from Coach Kirby Smart. Their silence injures the reputation of the university,
No college team should give scholarships to bullying, burly ruffian athletes who are undisciplined. That’s not protecting the status of your university. If colleges sign these athletes, they have the responsibility to mold them for the future by training and enforcing strict rules, so that they are a credit to the institution.
Coach Kirby Smart: these young athletes are your responsibility. Train them, but discipline and guide them, and admit problems when they happen. Bring your athletes to the next level of success so that you can all be proud of their maturity and their achievements.
Winning isn’t everything.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia Gwinnett College
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With clowns in the House, look for a “Do-nothing Congress”
By Raleigh Perry
BUFORD, Ga. | There is an article in a current news source that questions Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene and why she is saying what she is saying. It goes into why she would laugh and that others should laugh at what she says. She has spent almost 3 1/4 years in Congress and has accomplished nothing at all. She will live out the rest of this term and accomplish nothing.
Perry
Her ridiculous statements stand out, all of which are unfounded. The Congresswoman does not even attempt to back them up factually. They are made to create laughs for her. There are many reasons why she wants people to laugh at her or with her. She is really crying for help. When she was elected to office, she was way over her head immediately. The problem is that she is getting more and more in over her head hour by hour and needs help.
The problem is that she is not the only one over their heads in the Republican House and the Republican side of the Senate. In these perilous times we do not need those who think that they are comedians in the Congress.
Right now, this Congresswoman is trying to push the “Trump Won the election” button again. It is her contention that there were tons and tons of dead people that voted for Joe Biden. The problem with that scenario is where are the facts. Show me the certificates of death of all the dead and show me their ballots. Surely, they could not have voted by walking into the polling place.
There have been some articles in papers and on television news that say that she is accepted in the Republican Party. My belief is that she is becoming the face of what was the Republican Party, much to the embarrassment of once-mainstream Republicans.
There are too many important issues at hand today that need to be taken care of by responsible people. In January of this year there have been 52 mass murders with 87 dead and 205 wounded (at last count.) That is 1.6 shootings per day. Is there a gun control bill being considered by the Republican-led House leadership? Not that I know of. There are a lot of issues of similar importance that are just hanging out to dry.
The Republican committees are playing their game. They are going to make sure that Hunter Biden is run through the wringer and they are going to make sure that his deceased brother is drawn through the briars. Their singular role, it seems, is to make President Biden’s life nothing short of Hell. With a weak Kevin McCarthy having to bow down to his infantile subordinators, anything that comes to the House will be jaundiced and if any of it crosses over the Democratic Senate, it will merely be shot down.
Back in 1948, Harry Truman called Congress a “Do-nothing Congress.” Yet it appears that the 1948 Congress will not compare at all to the upcoming real “Do-nothing Congress” of 2023-24.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
“Hail, Hail!” Good to see traditionalists are still around
Editor, the Forum:
Leaving aside the wisdom of fighting extreme rightwing MAGA rhetoric with extreme leftwing rhetoric (“Plantation Capitalism” and ascribing racist antebellum speeches to modern conservatism), I take issue with a relatively minor misapplication of the word “remnants.”
We conservatives who do not identify with the alleged “conservatives” of the former Tea Party, aka MAGA, Trumpsters, QAnon, whatever, etc. consider ourselves the surviving “Remnant” of Classical Liberal thought.
Traditional Conservativism finds itself in the unenviable position of having to engage radical thought from both sides of the political spectrum. We do so happily.
But, we’d appreciate not having our adopted name sullied in such an insulting manner.
– Theirn (TJ) Scott, Lawrenceville
Dear Theirn: We are glad to see your traditionalists still kicking. So many have appropriated your name that we had thought your ilk lost forever. Hope you find your message moving forward and thriving, for we respect all kind of traditionalists.—eeb
Cornerstone article hit the nail on the head!
Editor, the Forum:
Ashley Herndon has hit the nail on the head again with his column about “Plantation Capitalism.” If I ever studied the “Cornerstone Speech” made by Georgia’s Alexander Stephens before the Civil War, I don’t exactly remember it.
Teachers probably were ashamed of it. Today, Wikipedia has much info about the speech and we can find more on the Internet. I’ve said a few negative words recently about our digital society, but I don’t know what I would do without the information provided whenever we want it.
– Alma Bowen, Gainesville
More on retaining school teachers and the county pension plan
Editor, the Forum:
In the last couple of issues of GwinnettForum, there’s been discussion of how to retain teachers and county employees.
One thought has been that better pay, or perhaps the retention of the county pension plan, could help. Compensation and benefits have limits.
I’m certain that the changes to the county pension plan under Bannister’s Administration were done to help the county maintain financial viability. It was a prudent move and one quite common in the business world over the last 30+ years.
Rather than throwing money at problems, which is a classic government solution, the county school board as well as the county commissioners may want to ask former employees why they left. Those kinds of conversations should yield the insight needed to make the changes necessary to retain or recruit employees.
That’s my $.05
– Randy Brunson, 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.
Burger week coming March 19-25 at 25 locations
The eighth annual Gwinnett Burger Week will take place March 19-25, with the weeklong celebration featuring limited-time burger creations for $10 at 25 restaurants across the county. The event is sponsored by Explore Gwinnett.
Each restaurant participating in Gwinnett Burger Week will feature an exclusive off-menu burger throughout the week.
For a full list of participating restaurants and limited-time burger offerings, visit www.ExploreGwinnett.org/Gwinnett-Burger-Week. All participating restaurants will have the chance to win the “People’s Choice” award for Gwinnett’s best burger, which will be selected by participating diners. In addition, there will also be an optional “Judge’s Choice” award in which restaurants that choose to participate will bring their burger to the Explore Gwinnett office for the judges to taste and score.
- For more information about this year’s competition, visit www.ExploreGwinnett.org/Gwinnett-Burger-Week/voting.
Northeast Georgia Medical gains oncology accreditation
Patients in north Georgia have yet another reason to trust Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) in their fight against cancer. NGMC’s Cancer Centers in Braselton, Gainesville and Toccoa are now the only accredited radiation oncology locations north of Atlanta. NGMC received this national accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology, which evaluated the radiation oncology service’s safety and quality processes.
NGMC’s expert physicians and clinical staff care for approximately 3,000 newly-diagnosed cancer patients each year at locations in Braselton, Gainesville, Toccoa and Winder.
James “Jim” Victor Hood Jr.
James “Jim” Victor Hood, Jr., 84, of Monroe, Ga. passed away on Friday, March 3, 2023. He was preceded in death by his parents, James Victor Hood, Sr. and Annie Mae Hinton Hood; as well as brother, Allen Hood.
Hood
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Hood; daughter, Judy Hood; granddaughter, Victoria “Tori” Suenaga and her husband, Chris; great-grandchildren, Cade Jameson and Harper Drew; sister, Martha Frances Hutchins; sister-in-law, Brenda Westfall and husband, Ron in West Virginia; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
He was born and raised in Lawrenceville and attended Lawrenceville High and graduated in the Class of 1956. He was a member of the school’s first football team. He attended one year at North Georgia College.
Jim started his career working at a bank in Decatur, but after a brief time in banking he decided to become a Realtor. In 1964 he returned to Lawrenceville where he opened his real estate office. Jim joined the Gwinnett Board of Realtors and became president in 1972. He was also president of the Georgia Association of Realtors serving in 1988.
Jim was a member of the Kiwanis Club in Lawrenceville for many years and after moving to Monroe in 2007 he joined and became a member of the Monroe Kiwanis Club.
Jim was an avid golfer and was a member of the Monroe Golf Club. He found great pleasure in playing golf and also met many lifelong friends at the golf club. He and Barbara became members of First Baptist Church in Monroe where they made many friends who have become like family. Jim loved his Sunday School Class and his teacher Kitty Smith.
He served as a deacon for many years. In association with the church he volunteered in their Fish For Kids Summer Feeding Program. He enjoyed helping people and doing good for others, but most of all, he was best at being Barbara’s husband, Judy’s Daddy, Tori’s Pop and Cade and Harper’s G-Pop.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, March 7, at 2 p.m. at the Monroe First Baptist Church.
Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.wagesfuneralhome.com. Tom M. Wages Funeral Service, 120 Scenic Highway, Lawrenceville.
The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, by Erin Littleken
From Lee Klaer, Duluth: This, the first historical novel by Erin Littleken, is based on actual events in the Ukraine in the period from 1930-1933. It is chilling. Joseph Stalin set out to turn the people of ‘The Breadbasket of Europe’ into Soviet-style communists. His ruthless methods of starving the people to death if they did not become party members, results in the death of somewhere between eight and nine million people in the Ukraine. (There are estimates of 80 million deaths in all of Russia.) This is a story of two people who managed to survive and ultimately got to the United States. Contrast the life of the descendants in the USA with all their problems, the effect is even more mind-boggling. Stalin’s treatment of his people makes Hitler look like a Boy Scout. You won’t want to put this one down, even while being horrified at the ‘Holodomor.’
- 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
Baseball pitcher Sherry Smith held his own in majors
Although he was not the greatest professional baseball player ever to come from Georgia, the early-20th century pitcher Sherrod “Sherry” Smith more than held his own in what many baseball aficionados consider the sport’s first era of superstars, which included Babe Ruth, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Tris Speaker.
Sherrod Malone Smith was born in Monticello to Zipora Permelia and Henry Smith on February 18, 1891. He went on to play 14 years in the major leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911-12), the Brooklyn Robins (later Brooklyn Dodgers) (1915-17, 1919-22), and the Cleveland Indians (1922-27). He compiled a pitching record of 114 wins and 118 losses, with a lifetime earned run average (ERA) of 3.32. Prior to the start of his major league career, the 6-foot-1-inch left-hander played on semiprofessional teams in such Georgia towns as Elberton, Madison, Mansfield, and Newborn.
Despite his sub-.500 mound record, Smith’s place in baseball history was cast through his play in the 1916 and 1920 World Series. In the 1916 series Smith, pitching for the Brooklyn Robins, faced Babe Ruth in the second game, with both pitchers going a phenomenal 14 innings before Ruth’s team, the Boston Red Sox, won 2-1 en route to winning the Fall Classic.
In 1920 Smith pitched in two World Series games, defeating the Cleveland Indians in game three by a two-to-one score and then four days later losing 1-0 in game six. In his 30 innings of World Series pitching, Smith posted an ERA of 0.89, the fifth-best in major league history, ahead of such luminaries as Sandy Koufax (0.95) and Christy Mathewson (0.97).
Smith’s greatest big-league season came in 1915 during his first full year in the major leagues, with Brooklyn. That season he compiled a 14-8 record with a 2.59 ERA. In the World Series season of 1916, Smith had a 2.34 ERA.
At the age of 33, Smith was the workhorse of the 1924 Cleveland Indians staff, going 12-14 with 27 starts, 20 complete games (the translation being he completed more games than he won, unheard of in modern-day baseball), 247.2 innings pitched, and 1,050 batters faced. A sportswriter during the era characterized Smith as “strong as a horse and tireless as a Missouri mule.”
Smith was also an excellent defensive pitcher, completing the 1923 and 1926 seasons without committing an error.
Smith also served in the U.S. Army during World War I (1917-18) and was sent to France. He ended his baseball career in 1932 as the coach of the Macon Peaches in the Southeastern League. Later, he became police chief in the Georgia towns of Porterdale and Madison. Smith died on September 12, 1949, at the age of 58, in Reidsville. He and his wife, Addilu, are both buried in Mansfield, in Newton County
In 1980 Smith was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. In 1994 he was honored with a state historical marker (“Mansfield’s Famous Southpaw”) on Georgia Highway 11 south in Mansfield.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Let the skyline help you solve this Mystery Photo
Look carefully. Does this skyline help you identify this edition’s Mystery Photo? When you figure out an answer, send it to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. nailed the identity of this mystery. “It is the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Fla. In 2007, the formerly open-air villa courtyard was enclosed with a glass canopy. This measure was taken to protect the interiors and the collection they house from the elements, namely the salty air and high humidity of South Florida. It was also an important move to make the Main House more resistant to hurricanes and tropical storms.
“Unfortunately, the original canopy limited the amount of light that filtered down into the courtyard, and so, also the types of plants that could grow there. This canopy was replaced with a lighter and more efficient version in 2012, which improved the growing conditions in the space and allowed the museum’s horticulture team to get creative. Today, the courtyard is alive with different colors, textures, and scents, just as it was when the home was first built.”
Eagle-eye spotters of this issue include Michael Green, Milton; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Stew Ogilvie, Lawrenceville; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex.
>>> SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Snellville Commerce Club meets March 7 (today) at noon in the Community Room of Snellville City Hall. Speaker will be Police Chief Greg Perry, who has been chief since 2021. Chief Perry obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Reinhardt University, and is a board member of the Gwinnett Chief’s scholarship committee, is a Rotary Club member, and is actively involved at 12Stone Church Snellville as a volunteer.
A community meeting focusing on youth homicides and the number of overdoses among teens on Thursday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m at the Universal Church located at 6081 Singleton Road in Norcross, hosted by the Gwinnett Police Department. Residents who have questions about police procedures or concerns about what’s going on in their neighborhood are encouraged to attend.Police Chief J.D. McClure and members of the command staff from West Precinct and Criminal Investigations will be part of the panel discussion. Spanish language assistance will be available.
Career Fair will be held March 9 at Annandale Village in Suwanee. Open positions include CNAs, CMAs, LPNs, RNs, direct support professionals and much more, including roles in food services, housekeeping and transportation. A full list of open positions can be found online at annandale.candidatecare.jobs. Annandale Village is one of three places in the United States offering a full continuum of care for adults living with developmental disabilities or acquired brain injuries, from independent community-based care to on-campus independent and semi-independent living, through assisted living and skilled nursing.
Meet Bestselling Author Lynn Cullen on March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Duluth Branch of the Gwinnett Public Library, celebrating Women’s History Month. She will discuss her newest novel, The Woman with the Cure, a timely novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Christ Church Men’s Civic Breakfast will hear Norcross Mayor Craig Newton at its March 11 meeting at the Activities Building of the church. The event starts at 8 a.m. and includes a full breakfast.
Firearm safety and security classes: Join Gwinnett Police to learn the guidelines and best practices for safe gun handling from police personnel. Classes will be held Wednesday, March 15 and Wednesday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett Police Training Center 854 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. Youth who plan to attend must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This class is not intended to teach firearm operation; its purpose is to teach safe firearm handling and storage. To sign up, fill out this registration form.
Public Forum: Gwinnett residents are invited to attend the Gwinnett Clean Community Forum on Thursday, March 16 at the Pinckneyville Park Community Recreation Center located at 4650 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Berkeley Lake from 5:30 to 7:30p.m. Attendees will hear presentations by Gwinnett Code Enforcement, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, and Gwinnett Transportation on the collective efforts of the County and residents to keep Gwinnett a safe, livable, and healthy community. Those present will have the opportunity to share their neighborhood successes and ask questions. For more information, contact Shannon Ashe at Shannon.Ashe@GwinnettCounty.com.
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