GwinnettForum | Number 22.39 | May 26, 2023
THERE ARE A LOT OF SMILES on these 39 faces, and if you had been there, you would be smiling too These are the physical therapy graduates of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Suwanee’s medical school, who got their degrees last week. Altogether, the school graduated 283 students in various disciplines. That includes 109 with a DO degree; 76 pharmacists; 30 physician assistants; 27 biomedical scientists; and two medical laboratory scientists.
TODAY’S FOCUS: PCOM grad wins highest student honor, pursues medicine
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Background on the naming of Jimmy Carter Boulevard
SPOTLIGHT: The 1818 Club
ANOTHER VIEW: Send GwinnettForum your favorite Southern phrases
FEEDBACK: Six letter writers offer their thoughts on a variety of subjects
UPCOMING: Gwinnett summer meals program begins on May 30
NOTABLE: Lawrenceville boasts new kinetic wind sculpture
RECOMMENDED: One Mind by Larry Dossey, M.D.
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Indians in Georgia spoke many languages
MYSTERY PHOTO: Traditional man-on-horse statue is today’s mystery
LAGNIAPPE: Memorial Little Free Library opens in Peachtree Corners
CALENDAR: Author Daniel Black speaks June 1 at Duluth Public Library
PCOM grad wins highest student honor, pursues medicine
By Barbara Myers
SUWANEE, Ga. | Kelsey Martin, DO ’23, is the recipient of the Mason W. Pressly Memorial Medal, PCOM Georgia’s highest student honor that recognizes outstanding achievement and service to the college, the community and the osteopathic profession.
Student doctor Martin’s accomplishments are too numerous to mention, but among her activities are:
- Serving as the director of the Doctor for a Day conference since 2021, an annual event through the Young Physician’s Initiative exposing 100+ high school and college students to valuable advice, mentorship, networking opportunities and insight into pursuing a career as a physician.
- Representing the institution at the annual DO Day on the Hill event in Washington D.C., as a delegate representing her region.
- Numerous community volunteer engagements, including Hosea Helps, a local organization geared toward offering meal and medical services to vulnerable populations; coordinating and volunteering with the Clarkston Community Health Clinic; and volunteering overseas with FIMRC at Project Alajuelita, a medical clinic providing free medical services to a large Nicaraguan refugee population.
An accomplished former gymnast, dancer and classically trained flute player, Martin was born and raised in Decatur. She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia where she performed with the UGA Georgettes and the UGA Dance Dawgs. She fondly recalls performing for the 2018 national football championship game.
Her dance career, which started at the age of two, resulted in multiple injuries, which served as a catalyst for her interest in pursuing orthopedic surgery as a career.
Starting in July, Martin will begin residency training at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, Penn., “to pursue my dream of being an orthopedic surgeon, a dream I’ve had for several years,” she says.
Martin was inspired to pursue a career in health care from childhood by “hanging around my mother’s clinic.” Her mother, Felicia, is a geriatrics specialist who has practiced for 30 years.
“I was aware of the fact that she was able to make a substantial difference in patients’ lives on a daily basis, and I was able to see the impact that those in health care make in their communities,” she says.
“I am someone who was also aware of prevalent health disparities and the need for more healthcare professionals in underserved communities early in life. With even further clinical exposure, this awareness has served as a fundamental catalyst for me to pursue a career as a compassionate, driven physician dedicated to serving these communities.”
Martin’s goal at the start of her medical school journey was to become a physician who would serve her patients in the best possible way. She chose the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program “because I wanted to not only gain the fundamental tools to become the best physician I could be, but I wanted a unique, patient-focused, holistic approach to learning medicine so that I could graduate as a competent, but sufficiently well-rounded physician.”
Martin has been inducted into the Sigma Sigma Phi National Osteopathic Honor Society, the Gold Humanism Honor Society and Phi Chi Medical Fraternity.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Background on the naming of Jimmy Carter Boulevard
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
May 26, 2023 | The idea of honoring President Carter with a road named for him in Gwinnett came from former county commissioner Ray Gunnin of Norcross. In November 1976, signs went up re-naming Norcross Tucker Road (Georgia Highway 140) as Jimmy Carter Boulevard, two months before Carter became president.
What became the complete 9.1 mile-Jimmy Carter Boulevard really began in 1975 when the county built a connector from Rockbridge Road to Mountain Industrial Boulevard at U.S. Highway 29.
On the western side of Jimmy Carter Boulevard, in 1981, the county extended a new four-lane road from Norcross Tucker Road in Norcross toward Buford Highway, with an underpass at the Norfolk Southern Railroad, connecting with Holcomb Bridge Road in today’s Peachtree Corners. In effect, the road from Mountain Industrial, via Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Holcomb Bridge Road, and on to Georgia Highway 400, was a parallel corridor to I-285.
What before 1952 was a dirt road had blossomed into a four-lane highway, driven largely from the development of Metro Atlanta’s first high-tech industry. That was the announcement in 1969 that the national telecommunications firm, Western Electric, would build a copper cable manufacturing plant on 175 acres in Gwinnett. It was located at the intersection of I-85 and Norcross-Tucker Road. Heralded as a $20 million plant that would employ 2,000, it eventually employed 3,800 people.
Western Electric’s groundbreaking was in October 1969, and the first production shipment of copper cable was made in 1973. Gwinnett County got its first $1 million property tax payment from a single industry, Western Electric, in 1972.
An integral part of the Western Electric facility in Norcross was its research arm, Bell Labs. I was part of the media in 1976 that Bell Labs invited to an announcement of a dramatic change in communications. That day Bell Labs introduced what they called initially “Light guides,” that is, tiny hair-sized fibers that carried light, which was patented out of Bell Labs in Norcross. Engineers told us that “light guides,” today known as “fiber optics,” would revolutionize the world, and eventually take the place of copper cable.
In the 1970, the arrival of Western Electric also started a housing boom in Gwinnett, first seen near Atlanta in the Norcross to Lilburn area. Since then, that housing boom has never stopped in Gwinnett.
Georgia Tech graduate Paul Duke had an idea in 1970 to build a community where people could live, work and play, and would employ Georgia Tech graduates in engineering jobs. That was the start of Technology Park/Atlanta, which opened in 1972. It became a hotbed of excellent jobs in high tech fields. If you were in those days in high tech, you had a Norcross address.
A key factor in Gwinnett high-tech positioning in the 1980s came via Hayes Microcomputer. Those behind this company, Dennis Hayes and Dale Hearthington, invented a way to allow computers to talk to one another through their modem. This sat the high-tech world on its ear, with Gwinnett at its center. Today those working on computers never realize that modems are built into their units to allow accessibility to the Internet.
Key to today’s Jimmy Carter Boulevard changes has been Gwinnett Village CID, beginning in 2006, now called Gateway85 CID. It has dramatically improved the Jimmy Carter Boulevard corridor. What was once a deteriorating neighborhood has bounced dramatically back, and now includes 3,000 businesses which employ 47,000 people. Today there are six CIDs in Gwinnett, with Gateway85 being the county’s largest CID, covering 14 square miles.
The mover behind this week’s tribute to Jimmy Carter is the executive director of the Gateway85 CID, Emory Morsberger. We all owe Emory our thanks for this incredible idea to honor our former president.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The 1818 Club
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is The 1818 Club, named for the year that Gwinnett County received its charter. The 1818 Club is a member-owned, private dining experience providing the best in food, service and meeting accommodations for its members. Whatever your business or social dining needs, the 1818 Club has the proper facilities, recently renovated, to gracefully host your gatherings.
- 100-seat formal dining room open for breakfast and lunch.
- Capital Room open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as cocktails.
- Three private rooms which can be used for dining or meeting space. AV is offered in each room.
- 220 seat Virgil Williams Grand Ballroom, divides into three sections, all with AV.
- Gwinnett Room for upscale dining, with Frankie’s menu available.
Our top-notch service team enhances your experience by providing a sophisticated social atmosphere, engaging events and a full serving of dining and entertainment opportunities. If you want an urbane and central site to entertain people, consider joining the 1818 Club. For more details, visit https://www.the1818club.org/Home.
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Send GwinnettForum your favorite Southern phrases
By Will Nelson
BUFORD, Ga. | I like Southern phrases. Perhaps after reading this, GwinnettForum readers will bite and send in some Southern phrases of their own. I would like to hear from others with their favorite phrases.
Here are a few I will offer. Some of mine are perhaps more inspirational – at least for me. Below are a few I will offer off the top of my mind.
“God-willing and the creek don’t rise.”
“Better a poke in the eye than with a sharp stick.”
“If it ain’t fried, it ain’t food.”
“Two butt kitchen” or “Three butt kitchen,” signifying how many people could be in the kitchen at one time.
“If we ain’t got it, or can’t get it, you don’t need it.” (Sign at a salvage yard.)
“The mill cannot grind with the water that is past.” (Younger folks may not make the connection.)
“Little deeds are like little seeds; they turn to flowers or to weeds.”
“Excelsior higher and higher, but only step by step.”
“Barking up a tree with no squirrels.”
Now, what’s yours?
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Carry on with the 14th, Mr. President
Invoke the 14th Amendment, Mr. President. Congress, especially the House, has no wish to help the middle class. We are the ones who will suffer if there is a default.
– Barbara Knox Luckhurst, Duluth
Should have had “Don’t DeKalb our Gwinnett” years ago
Editor, the Forum:
Love the “Don’t Gwinnett our Oconee” sign. Should have put up “Don’t DeKalb our Gwinnett” signs ten or 20 years ago. Unlimited development is not progress. It is just a money grab and a lot of that money going to out-of-county owners and developers that could care less how it affects the local residents.
We now have the biggest school system in the state, which is hard to manage. Terrible traffic with no clue in sight. Stripping every tree from lots while many buildings and homes already sit empty and getting into disrepair. Can’t fill a third of the open county police positions. Crime and road rage going up.
Did I forget anything? Unfortunately there are no solutions for Gwinnett; that time has passed. Look ahead 20 years and see what a mess this area will become. Truly a shame.
– Dan Mackaben, Lawrenceville
Really, Jack? Pot calling kettle black?
Editor, The Forum:
Really Jack (Bernard)! You think the Democrats are any different, pushing their agenda? Pot calling the kettle black.
– Jim Savadelis, Duluth
Parent’s responsibility to monitor what children taught
Editor, the Forum:
The opinion regarding “Parent’s Bill of Rights” is well taken; nonetheless, it is in fact the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their children are being taught and to make sure local “Boards” are making good decisions. I see no foul there.
Another thought: borrowing more money to pay back borrowed money is generally not a sound method to balance the books.
– John Moore, Sr., Duluth
Is there not hypocrisy in this?
Editor, the Forum:
Republicans are all for local control, except when they’re not! Do they not see the hypocrisy in this?
–John Titus, Peachtree Corners
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.
Gwinnett summer meals program begins May 30
Gwinnett County’s Summer Meals Program is back, offering free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch from May 30 to August 1. The nutritious meals are for families with children 18 and under as well as those who are ages 19 and older with a physical or mental impairment.
Meals can be picked up curbside at 21 sites from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday — including County holidays — while supplies last. Pick-up locations span the county, including distribution sites in Berkeley Lake, Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville, Norcross, Snellville, Stone Mountain and Suwanee.For more information about Gwinnett Summer Meals, call 770-822-8840 or visit GwinnettSummerMeals.com.
Peachtree Corners, Israel state technology collaboration
Peachtree Corners has announced a collaboration that will bring the most promising Israeli technology startups to the heart of “Silicon Orchard” here. The program will enable selected companies to prove solutions in a real-world environment to enhance city safety and IoT-enabled operations, as well as share capabilities, resources and learnings for mutual benefit.
Applications to the program will be opened in Israel, with Peachtree Corners and the Innovation Authority selecting, screening and approving finalists. Finalists will then join the Curiosity Lab ecosystem where in addition to testing, they will have access to resources to aid in product development, business development, expanding into the U.S. market and more.
Dr. Amiram Applebaum, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and Chief Innovation Scientist at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, says: “The collaboration between Israel and Peachtree Corners has been growing for the past several years, and we’re excited to formally help bring some of the most advanced new smart city technologies while enabling our startups to expand into North America.”
Lawrenceville boasts new kinetic wind sculpture
The City of Lawrenceville now boasts Gwinnett’s first kinetic wind sculpture. Sinclair, an original sculpture by artist Anthony Howe was installed in Lawrenceville’s Gateway Park on May 19. “Sinclair” was selected and recommended by the Lawrenceville Arts Commission earlier this year.
Chuck Warbington, city manager, says: “We toured other art-focused cities like Greenville, SC and Washington, D.C., and then worked with the Arts Commission to find the right fit for Lawrenceville.”
Howe, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, attended the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., Cornell University, and the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting. After a short career as a watercolor painter, he discovered working with metal as a medium through a part-time job erecting steel shelving. Soon he was creating kinetic wind sculptures using discarded elevator cables. He now resides in Orcas Island, Wash., with his business partner and wife, Lynn.
He has sold works to hundreds of private collections from the Middle East to California. Most notably, In Cloud Light III was installed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Lawrenceville is home to the first Anthony Howe sculpture in Georgia.
Aura-Leigh Sanders, Lawrenceville Arts Commission Chair, says: “This exceptional sculpture will welcome visitors and residents as they come into Lawrenceville and is a great example of how our city recognizes the importance of investing in art and celebrating artists for the enjoyment and well-being of all in our community.”
Sinclair was carefully packed in two crates and shipped from Washington State to Lawrenceville, weighing 1,173 pounds. A team of individuals from the city installed a concrete base for its installation. and social media teased the public to guess what project could be on its way. The completed artwork measures 178 inches tall by 68×48 inchesand is made of stainless steel. It has no motor or battery and is entirely operated by winds of only one mph.
Jackson EMC team wins top honors in Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo
A journeyman lineman team from Jackson EMC was named the top overall team competing at the Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo, held May 6 in Fort Valley, Ga. The event draws linemen from across the state to compete in a series of events in traditional lineman skills and tasks.
Jackson EMC sent six journeyman teams and 27 apprentices to the state competition. A total of 26 journeyman teams and 126 apprentices competed at the Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo. Apprentices compete as individuals, while journeymen compete in teams of three.
Tommy Parker, Jackson EMC’s managing director of operations, says: “A lineman’s job is rewarding but complex. Practicing for and competing in these events allow our linemen to refine and demonstrate to others the skills needed to perform as a lineman. The preparation for this competition requires a dedication to the profession and teamwork.”
A journeyman team with Jeremy Adams, Kaleb Chapman and Jeff Sutton, of Oakwood, finished in first place as the top overall team, first in the EMC division, first in the recloser switch changeout event, first in the lightning arrester changeout event, second in the hurtman rescue event and fourth in the crossarm changeout event.
One Mind, by Larry Dossey, M.D.
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: This book is an exploration of what makes us all connected as part of the human experience. The author identifies with the patron saint of One Mind, the Austrian physicist Edwin Schrodinger, who said: ‘Mind is by its very nature a singular tantrum; I should say the overall number of minds is just one.’ Schrodinger’s philosophy was honed over many years. Explored are why people put their lives on the line; how twins think the same thoughts even if they are miles apart; How “savants” or those with singular intelligence but minimal relational skills can pull complex mathematical computations out of thin air and do not know how they know the answer; and many other riveting ideas that belie scientific inquiry. Filled with stories about experiences of patients, doctors and scientists, One Mind may hold the seed to healing the many divisions in the global community.
- 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
Indians in Georgia spoke many languages
The Indians of Georgia spoke an incredible number of languages. It would surprise most people to learn that there were as many differences between some of the languages spoken by native Georgians as there are between English and Chinese, and that these large differences did not directly coincide with differences in culture or ethnic identity.
Linguists classify the 5,000 or so known languages on the earth in language families. A language family is a group of languages that are clearly related and have a common ancestor, or mother tongue. Languages that cannot be clearly identified as related to other languages are called language isolates. Most native languages spoken in Georgia fell into separate language families, and at least two languages were isolates.
The most important language family in Georgia, based on the number of speakers, was Muskogean. There were at least three separate languages within this family spoken by Georgia natives. The accepted classification of the languages in the Muskogean family was presented in 1941 by linguist Mary Haas. All of the Georgia Muskogean languages are part of what she termed Eastern Muskogean, as opposed to the Western Muskogean languages of Choctaw and Chickasaw spoken in what is now Mississippi.
The specific language for which the entire family was named, Muskogee, is usually called “Creek” by linguistic scholars. In Georgia, Muskogee was spoken in areas around Columbus, extending about 75 miles to the north, east, and south. It was also spoken in adjacent areas of east central Alabama. The Seminole language spoken in southern Florida today is closely related to Creek. There are many speakers of Muskogee in Oklahoma today as a result of the forced removal of the Cherokee and Creek Indians from Georgia lands in the 1830s known as the Trail of Tears.
Curiously, Hitchiti, not Creek, was the most widespread Muskogean language in Georgia. At the time of Native Americans’ first contact with European explorers, Hitchiti was spoken over most of Georgia and South Carolina. The exceptions were in west central Georgia, extreme northwestern Georgia, and extreme south central Georgia. Because the speakers of Hitchiti were typically forced out of their native lands prior to the removal of people from other areas, scholars know less about this language than some of the others. The Mikasuki language of some of the Seminole in southern Florida is related closely to Georgia Hitchiti. Speakers of Hitchiti were integrated into what became the Creek Confederacy in the 18th century, and Creek speakers sometimes called their language the Stinkard language.
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Traditional man-on-horse statue is today’s mystery
Today’s mystery photo is something of an older, traditional statue, mounted high on a pedestal. See if you can figure out where this photograph was taken. Send your answer to elliott@brack.net, and be sure to include your hometown.
First, a recap and apology: GwinnettForum did not identify where the earlier mystery photo (left) was located. That house is located in Bedford, Pa., and few got it. One reason is because the cupola that is so prominent in the photo was not on this house, but one behind it. That photo came from George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
The most previous photo was identified by several people as the pier in St. Petersburg, Fla. They include Stew Ogilvie, Lawrenceville; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Duane Stanford, Norcross; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; George Graf; Ruthy Lachman Paul, Norcross; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. The photograph came from Chuck Paul of Norcross.
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.
Memorial Little Free Library opens in Peachtree Corners
A memorial Children’s Little Free Library has been installed at the Town Green Children’s Corner in Peachtree Corners. The little library was donated by Steve Cloer on behalf of his son, Benjamin “Lloyd” Cloer, a 2011 Norcross High graduate, who lost his life in an act of senseless gun violence on November 10, 2019, at age 26. The little free library encourages kids to take a book and leave a book to encourage increased literacy and the love of reading. The library was paid for with funds from Benjamin and was designed and built by Benjamin’s father.
Benjamin Cloer was a student at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. He worked as a research Assistant studying biological neural networks and the binding of diabetes drugs. Being an accomplished violinist, he was awarded several scholarships to study advanced violin while at Pomona. In 2015 he earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a minor in mathematics.
He continued to pursue his education at Georgia State University and served as an assistant professor. In 2018, he began the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence program at the University of Georgia. He was planning on attending Georgia Tech to pursue his Doctorate in Artificial Intelligence. Benjamin received his master’s degree in AI from UGA posthumously in May 2020.
Author Black speaks June 1 at Duluth Public Library
Flag Retirement Ceremony: Boy Scout Troop 26 invites neighbors and the surrounding community to this ceremony on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, beginning at 4 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 400 Holcomb Bridge Road in Norcross on the grassy field behind the church office. When attending, bring a chair and any flags you have in need of retirement. Enjoy the afternoon as the troop performs this civic service. If you cannot attend the ceremony, but have a flag to contribute, drop it off at the church office before 4 p.m. on May 26, or leave it by the Scout storage door on the middle level of the Activity Center before May 29. This photo is from the ceremony of July of 2022.
The 20th annual Memorial Day ceremony in Gwinnett will be on Monday, May 29 at 1 p.m. to pay tribute to fallen military and public safety heroes. Join us on the grounds of the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville. This year, the county will be inducting Gwinnett Correctional Officer Senior Scott Riner into the Fallen Heroes Memorial. The keynote speaker will be Georgia Department of Veterans Service Executive Director for Field Operations and Appeals Shelly-Ann Simpson.
Meet Author Daniel Black, award-winning author, and African American Studies professor, on Thursday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. He will discuss his new book, Black on Black. In his debut essay collection, Dr. Black tackles topics ranging from police brutality to the AIDS crisis. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Ribbon Cutting: The Gwinnett Housing Corporation (GHC) announces the opening of the Gwinnett County Homeowners Resource Center, located at 128 Lawrenceville Street in Norcross. While the center will officially open to the public in July 2023, GHC and its partners will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site on Monday, June 5, at 2 p.m The Center is designed to ensure that more low-to-moderate-income residents in Gwinnett have the opportunity to become homeowners, providing resources that support the preservation of home ownership to current low-to-moderate-income homeowners in the county.
Meet the Author Diane Marie Brown on Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Duluth Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Come enjoy a lively, fun-filled author talk with the author of Black Candle Women! Piper Huguley, author of By Her Own Design, will moderate this event that is not to be missed! Books will be available for sale and signing.
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