GwinnettForum | Number 22.45 | June 23, 2023
HERE’S A SCENE THIS WEEK from the First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville’s annual campground meeting, held off the Braselton Highway each year. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp found attendees enjoying life sitting around this tin-roof “auditorium,” as they have since the Camp Meeting was started in 1832. That year the church bought 50 acres for $50 for the site. See more pictures of those attending the meeting in Lagniappe below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Strumming hijinks in a restaurant kitchen
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Help the shooting problem: Close the bars an hour earlier
SPOTLIGHT: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Norcross
FEEDBACK: Agree with comment about Pete Rose and baseball
UPCOMING: County considering keeping same tax rate for 2023
NOTABLE: Peachtree Corners and Audi collaborate on advanced cellular
RECOMMENDED: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Ga. Tech engineers improve 18-wheeler performance
MYSTERY PHOTO: Can you identify one of our 779 lighthouses?
LAGNIAPPE: Taking part in the 191st Lawrenceville Camp Meeting
CALENDAR: Bluesberry Music Festival will be Saturday, June 24, in Norcross
Strumming hijinks in a restaurant kitchen
By David Simmons
DULUTH, Ga. | Before the dinner rush, you get ready, and prepare for the onslaught. ‘Cause it’s coming. You know that for a half an hour, or an hour or three, you’re gonna get slammed when you are a waiter.
Simmons
You have every table filled, and you’ve got a waiting list. It’s crunch time. As an individual, you can be on top of everything, humming right along.
But a breakdown can occur, causing a back-up. And it spreads. And suddenly, you know where you are. You’re in the weeds. It happens in even the best of restaurants. And nobody is happy.
You struggle, and everybody does the best they can, and finally you work your way through it, finish the shift, clean up and go home. You got through it together, as a team.
This story is about a typically well run dinner shift at Kurt’s in Duluth, Ga., where I worked as a waiter back in the mid ‘90’s. That night the restaurant was full and we were humming. Hitting on all cylinders. Everybody was in tune, working together, super busy, but no stress.
I didn’t plan it. I didn’t even think about it. I just did it. I don’t know why. I came out of the main dining room, down the 20 foot hallway, made a right, a left and kicked open the two way stainless steel door, into the kitchen and up to the serving line.
And for whatever reason, I don’t know, I coughed out the beginning to Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf. “Eh-ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh, ah-huh!”
Just as I hit the last “ah-huh,” Tim, the executive chef, who had his back to me, jumped up and spun around 180 degrees, landed on both feet, and began doing air guitar while singing out the guitar notes. Another chef added the drums, and another was air-strumming the bass, then right on cue, the Sous Chef, John, sang into his tongs, “All Right Now, ………. won’t you listen?”
Then behind him a chef slid a hunk of grilled salmon onto a puddle of lemon butter sauce waiting on an oval plate. After John built a fort of six asparagus spears, Tim drizzled it with s sauce béarnaise, grabbed some parsley and a lemon wedge, garnished, arranged, wiped a thumb print off the edge of the plate and put it up in the window with the other items that completed my order, and told me, “Get this out of here.”
And I did.
That hunk of salmon needed another half a minute on the grill to be perfect. We were so in tune that the 30 seconds just filled themselves. And just as quickly as it started it was over. Not another word was said.
And we all were back at it. Humming along as a restaurant team. I bet it would take Hollywood 30 takes, and countless edits to get it right, but we did it perfectly, unplanned, on the first try, seamlessly, then on we went.
And from out of nowhere I was a witness to, and a participant of, an inexplicable magic moment.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Help the shooting problem: Close the bars an hour earlier
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 23, 2023 | People around Atlanta, and really our whole country, are perplexed about what communities can do to prevent more deaths in shootings. Shootings take place hither and yon all around our country. We have seen the shootings of downtown Atlanta expand to the suburbs, including Gwinnett County.
Unfortunately, our nation is reaping the drawbacks of our Western expansion, where a gun was often needed. This ownership of weapons has escalated, developed as our nation’s conquered the frontiers, and more recently by right-wing militia groups, and in the last century by the continued ballyhooing of the National Rifle Association.
It’s to the point that it is virtually impossible to carry on a sensible and moderated conversation about guns with many elements of society.
What our country needs is some advanced thinking about how to tackle the gun problem. Without it, we will continue to read reports of gunfire bringing to death more and more people, often innocent bystanders. We need to do something about this major problem.
While random shootings are taking place all around, a lot of the shootings have common elements. They sometimes occur late in the night, often after midnight, and many times at what you can call “night spots,” whether outright clubs, open-late restaurants or at gathering places for people, often in gangs.
So if people are coming together at regular spots, why not focus on those spots? We specifically would point out that many of these locations include establishments serving alcoholic beverages, and that these locations are and can be regulated by local laws.
Unfortunately, not enough governments spend enough time regulating these alcohol-serving establishments. That’s an area that might prove essential in tackling the shooting problem.
Years ago, GwinnettForum began promoting closing these spots at an earlier hour.
The way the Gwinnett code wording now reads in Gwinnett County, “Last Call” is at 1:45 a.m. at places serving alcohol. These establishments must halt serving beverages by 1:55 a.m. and there must not be any alcohol on any table by 2:50 a.m. This applies six days a week. On Sundays, bars must stop serving beverages at midnight.
That might make you think that these places close at 3 a.m. during the week. That is not necessarily so. Some bars serving alcohol keep their doors open well after 3 a.m. They may not be officially allowed to serve alcoholic beverages, but the rules say nothing about food or when they must close.
And it is in staying open later that people may continue to congregate in the establishments. It is during this time where significant problems can erupt, and people get injured in fights that can turn into gunplay.
Therefore we formally suggest to the Gwinnett County Commission that they consider changing the hours for serving beverages. Make the “last call” one hour earlier, at 12:55 a.m. , and require that no alcoholic beverages can remain on tables after 1:55 a.m. With this, GwinnettForum has changed the wording of the List of Continuing Objectives to reflect the earlier closing times.
Yes, this is a small step. But if it can reduce the number of shootings in Gwinnett County, it will be a welcomed change.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Norcross
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s sponsor is the Crowne Plaza Atlanta NE Norcross, ranked No. 1 in guest satisfaction amongst all Crowne Plaza hotels in North America! The Norcross hotel provides everything you need for a great stay, including modern guest rooms, complimentary Wi-Fi, and free parking. Enjoy a delicious meal at Eighteen70 Restaurant and Bar, take a dip in our outdoor pool or relax in the sauna or steam room. There are over 10,000 square feet of conference space available to rent for social or business events. Crowne Plaza Atlanta NE-Norcross is the perfect place to relax after a great day exploring the area or working. No matter what brings you to town, Crowne Plaza Atlanta NE-Norcross welcomes you! Book your reservation at the Crowne Plaza online.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Agree with comment about Pete Rose and baseball
Editor, the Forum:
Couldn’t agree more on your comment concerning Pete Rose and his being barred from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Great article. Hopefully, the successors will hold fast to preventing Rose from ever entering the HOF.
– Mike Tennant, Duluth
Then there’s another baseball Hall of Fame in Kansas City
Editor, the Forum:
Something else about Kansas City, especially with your recent comment about the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kansas City is also home to the fabulous Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which chronicles the history, achievements and great players from those leagues. We visited there in ’21 and I highly recommend it to any baseball fan.
– Darrell Pruitt, Sugar Hill
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
County considering keeping same tax rate for 2023
Gwinnett commissioners are considering keeping the general fund millage rate the same as last year, at 6.95 mills, and will hold three public hearings for residents to comment.
The public hearings will be held in the auditorium of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center located at 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville on the following dates:
- Thursday, June 29 at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 18 at 11 a.m.
The online comment period closes July 17 at 9 p.m. Millage rates will be adopted during the Board of Commissioners regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 18 at 2 p.m.
When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.
For 2023, Gwinnett County’s rollback millage rate is calculated at 6.558 mills. The 2023 millage rate that the Board of Commissioners is considering is 6.950, or 0.392 mills above the rollback millage rate. Therefore, state law requires commissioners to announce a property tax increase. Required notices for the millage rate adoption will be published in the Gwinnett Daily Post, the county’s legal organ, Wednesday, June 21.
Ex-legislator announces candidacy for commission chair
Former state Rep, Donna McLeod, who previously served in Georgia House District 105, has announced her candidacy for Gwinnett County chairperson. She says: “I have seen firsthand the challenges faced by residents in our county, and I believe that we need new leadership and fresh ideas to address these challenges effectively. The face of Gwinnett County leadership changed in 2020, but the status quo remained the same. As chair, I will prioritize building strong relationships with all our communities and advocating for policies that will improve the lives of all Gwinnett County residents.”
Peachtree Corners, Audi collaborate on advanced cellular
The City of Peachtree Corners and Audi of America Inc. have announced a collaboration to advance cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) practical deployment pathways as part of the city’s Curiosity Lab ecosystem.
Both Audi and Peachtree Corners see this as an opportune time to further deployment of C-V2X applications that allow vehicles to communicate with city-owned streets, traffic signals, crosswalk signals and other infrastructure, as well as with vulnerable road users. With Audi having recently received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy this advanced technology, both intend to fine-tune strategies to expand connectivity on public roadways for increased roadway safety, increased traffic efficiency and more.
The automaker has worked on initial deployments with public authorities to address the safety of construction workers when vehicles approach a construction zone. In addition, Audi has collaborated with various companies to develop C-V2X technologies to connect cars with school buses to improve the safety of children and to alert drivers of active school zones.
Plein art event at St. Simons coming in August
Glynn County Visual Arts is inviting art painters in Georgia to a Plein Air event in August. Visit Saint Simons Island for three days of plein air painting with accomplished artist Kathy Rennell Forbes. The mediums will include watercolor, acrylic and oils. Imagine: three days of painting under the guidance of an acclaimed teacher, interrupted only by meals and walks on the beach!
The island offers opportunities for painting both historical sites and exceptional landscapes. The workshop is appropriate for watercolor, acrylic, and oil painters with some experience in their medium. Experience painting in early mornings and spectacular sunsets on the island.
Visit sites around the island for the sessions, including on Gascoigne Bluff, Village Creek Landing, Fort Frederica, St. Simons Lighthouse and Pier, Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, or locations of your choice. For more detail, go to www.glynnvisualartscenter.com.
Three consultants announce formation of new firm
Waller, Keaton and Yarbrough
Three longtime local Gwinnett political consultants have announced the merging of their three previously independent political consulting firms. They are Bianca Keaton, McKenzie Waller, and Matthew Yarbrough, who announced a joint venture to focus on Gwinnett’s 2023 municipal and 2024 local elections. It will be known as Gate City Ventures.
Services include brand management, fundraising support, compliance support, communications oversight and direct vote engagement activities. Additional clients are in active consultation with the firm for their impending 2023 and 2024 elections.
Among their clients are Gwinnett Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson; Gwinnett Tax Commissioner Denise Mitchell; Gwinnett Clerk of Courts Tiana Garner; Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor; Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins; Gwinnett State Court Judge Veronica Cope; Duluth Mayoral Candidate Greg Whitlock; and Gwinnett District Attorney Candidate Andrea Alabi.
McKenzie Waller is a 2020 graduate of Sewanee: University of the South who immediately became a full-time political consultant. Born and raised in Gwinnett County, Waller has worked on 15 campaigns in Gwinnett.
Bianca Keaton is a Spelman College graduate. Keaton has been for six years an aide to Democratic Congressmen Lucy McBath. Returning to Georgia in 2014, she served as chair of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party. She and her husband, Sherrod, reside in Norcross and are the parents of a 7-year-old daughter.
Matthew Yarbrough is a UGA graduate with a master’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado-Boulder. A metro Atlanta native, he is a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett. Yarbrough served as district director for U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux. He and his husband, Jordan, reside in historic Marietta.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: This book is a vast panorama of events in the evolution of mankind. It includes early groups of people who lived the hunter gatherer lifestyle, which moved into the agricultural world and then scientific mindset. As the ages progress, sapiens multiply and become more complex with inventions, and the gradual identification with things collected rather than the investment in the whole of the tribe. The underlying question seems to be has mankind really progressed, or have we become more fragmented and discontented? The book, which is a compilation of lectures by Professor Harari, forces the reader to think about who mankind is and where civilization is going. The answers are disquieting.
- 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
Ga. Tech engineers improve 18-wheeler performance
An innovative technology under development by Georgia researchers could improve the fuel efficiency of tractor-trailer trucks worldwide while making the big rigs safer and easier to drive.
Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are adapting aerodynamic control techniques originally developed for aircraft to help the boxy truck trailers move along the highway as if they were streamlined. The technique, called a circulation control system, involves blowing compressed air from a series of slots on the trailers. Air exiting from the slots improves the way that wind flows over the trailers as they move along the highway.
The system is expected to reduce aerodynamic drag by at least 35 percent, which would cut fuel consumption for tractor-trailers by approximately 12 percent. If used on the entire U.S. heavy truck fleet, the technology could save an estimated 1.2 billion gallons of fuel a year.
Beyond the fuel savings, however, circulation control could also improve directional control for the trucks, increase traction, and augment braking. The system could also create lift on the trailers, effectively reducing their weight and cutting rolling resistance on tires, reducing tire wear and further increasing fuel economy.
Blowing slots on each side of a trailer would counter crosswinds, giving the driver a way to fight the effects of sway. By selecting the right slot combination and blowing rates, the system would increase drag to augment braking, particularly helpful for trucks going down steep hills.
Controlled by internal fast-acting valves, the system would respond quickly to driver actions. Using computerized controls, the driver wouldn’t even have to think about how it works. Pressing the brakes or accelerator, or moving the steering wheel, would cause the proper blowing slots to open and assist the conventional controls. Compressed air for the system could come from the exhaust gasses, the turbocharger on the truck engine, storage tanks, or an electric compressor in the trailer.
Circulation control systems were developed and tested on fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s as a simplified means of greatly increasing lift, improving control, and reducing take-off and landing distances. During the 1990s Georgia Tech engineers applied the technique to automobiles and demonstrated significant savings in drag and energy use.
The potential value of the system has been demonstrated in wind-tunnel testing on truck models and testing on full-sized truck trailers. If it proves successful, the system could quickly become part of new trailers and could be sold as aftermarket kits for existing trailers. The research is being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Can you identify one of our 779 lighthouses?
Yes, it’s lighthouse time again. See if you can find the location of this gem, sitting just above dunes somewhere. Understand that there are 779 standing lighthouse in all, in 50 states, so we may get readers sending in more to identify. Send your idea to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Kay Montgomery, Duluth, was first in identifying the “sculpture of Annie Moore, the first immigrant at Ellis Island, N.Y. Another stature of her and her two brothers is outside of the Heritage Centre, in County Cork, Ireland, Irish Republic. Mike and I went to Ireland in 2016 and went to County Cork.” The previous Mystery Photo came from Chuck Paul of Norcross.
Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill added: “Annie is memorialized because she was the first immigrant to the U.S. to pass through the Ellis Island facility in New York. Annie’s parents had left for New York the year before so she and her brothers joined them there. The Irish American Cultural Institute presents an annual Annie Moore Award “to an individual who has made significant contributions to the Irish and/or Irish American community and legacy.”
Others getting this photo identified include George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Steve Ogilvie, Lawrenceville; Molly Titus, Peachtree Corners; Ann Serrie, Lawrenceville; Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex.; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville, who wrote: “There are two statues of Anne Moore, the one with her two brothers at the Cobh Heritage Center in Ireland and the second statue is just her with her suitcase at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in New York. Both statues are done by the Irish artist, Jeanne Rynhart.”
- 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.
Partaking in the 191st Lawrenceville Methodist Camp Meeting
Sitting around, talking with neighbors, and enjoying food, is one of the key parts of life at a Camp Meeting, as Lawrenceville Methodist have put on since 1832. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp made these photographs from this week’s 191st annual meeting.
Bluesberry Music Festival will be Saturday in Norcross
Bluesberry Music Festival will be Saturday, June 24, from 3 to 10 p.m. at Betty Mauldin Park in Norcross. Come for a day filled with bluesy music and delicious blue-themed food and beverages.Don’t miss out on this berry-tastic extravaganza! For more information, visit aplacetoimagine.com.
Reception for the visitors to the Norcross Gallery and Studio will be Sunday, June 25, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The current exhibit at the Gallery is “Pigments of the Imagination.”
Meet Author Lisa See on Saturday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Norcross Cultural and Arts Center. Enjoy an evening with this best selling author. Here’s the link to get the Lisa See tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-gwinnett-county-public-library-presents-an-evening-with-author-lisa-see-tickets-629488155017
Volunteer Wanted: to be the theater critic for GwinnettForum. Experience preferable but not necessary. Enjoy contemporary theater in the Atlanta area with this assignment. All volunteer work with no pay, but it will extend your thought process, and give you many good outings. Send your resume to elliott@brack.net, include a picture and examples of your writings.
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