GwinnettForum | Number 23.50 | June 24, 2024
BIOREADY: Gwinnett County is the first county in Metro Atlanta to receive a ‘gold status’ as a BioReady community. One reason is that Gwinnett is a hub for cutting-edge research and development activities, such as at The Water Tower in Buford. For more on this new recognition for Gwinnett, see Notable below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Lawrenceville’s Aurora Theatre kicking off 29th season
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Norcross resident new Preservation Board member
SPOTLIGHT: The Piedmont Bank
ANOTHER VIEW: Polarized politics grasping at past won’t come back
FEEDBACK: Buying first home is a matter of making choices
UPCOMING: Projects along Ronald Reagan Parkway funded
NOTABLE: Gwinnett becomes first BioReady area in Atlanta
RECOMMENDED: I Shall Not Be Moved, Poems by Maya Angelou
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Pretty Woman was Julia Roberts’ first big hit
MYSTERY PHOTO: Just one hint about today’s mystery
CALENDAR: Taste of Peachtree Corners will take place Thursday night
Lawrenceville’s Aurora Theatre kicking off 29th season
Season 29: Aurora’s annual Christmas Canteen is always popular. Photo via Aurora Theatre.
By Tony Sandrew
Director of marketing, Aurora Theatre
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | It’s summertime, and Lawrenceville Arts Center is presenting a vast variety of entertainment options that promise something for everyone. From captivating theatrical productions like The Color Purple and live music performances such as Sweet Baby James: James Taylor Tribute to one-of-a-kind children shows like Phenomenal Physics and thought-provoking art exhibitions, the summer lineup is designed to delight and inspire audiences of all ages.
Under the artistic leadership of Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director Ann-Carol Pence and Managing Director Katie Pelkey, Aurora Theatre is resident company and manager of the Lawrenceville Arts Center. Theatrical productions are comprised of the biggest Broadway plays and musicals alongside exciting contemporary theatre.
Additionally, Aurora produces concerts, stand-up comedy, children’s programs, metro Atlanta’s top haunted attraction Lawrenceville Ghost Tours, as well as Atlanta’s only professional Spanish language theatre, Teatro Aurora. Nestled on the historic downtown square, Lawrenceville Arts Center has FREE attached covered parking and is surrounded by restaurants and shops.
Lawrenceville Arts Center (LAC) is a world-class facility with five venues, with the ability to host performances and community events both indoors and outdoors. Aurora Theatre, co-founded by Anthony Rodriguez and Ann-Carol Pence, has garnered numerous accolades that include a 2016 Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities.
Among the top engagements for the current season:
Bob Marley – The Ultimate Tribute will be Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m., with tickets starting at $20. Bob Marley and the Wailers turned reggae music into a global phenomenon. Yvad Davy, the former lead singer of The Wailers, is now on tour, offering audiences the authentic reggae experience!
Joe Grandson and His Big Band is Thursday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25.This Atlanta-based band brings the magic of the Rat Pack era to life with this captivating performance.
I Feel Good: A Tribute to James Brown and Friends will be on stage Friday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m., with tickets starting at $25. The night opens with the sultry sounds of Bill Withers, Al Green, Nat King Cole, Barry White and others. After intermission make way for Soul Brother Number One, as we pay tribute to The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.
Sweet Baby James: James Taylor Tribute is scheduled for Saturday, August 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25. Nashville musician Bill Griese performs the songs of the legendary JT.
Meanwhile, lots of other activities are going on at the Center. Aurora Theatre Academy Classes are ongoing all summer long. They include:
- Film Series Part 2: Production and Filmmaking: Want to be a screenwriter, film director, editor or producer? This Part 2 intensive is for aspiring filmmakers who want to put behind the camera skills to work in real time! This camp will end in a viewing of their short film! For grades 3-12, to be held July 8-12 from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuition: $325
- Triple Threat Boot Camp for grades 3-12, on July 15-26 from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuition: $550.
Kicking off season 29 will be The Color Purple, which will run from August 15 – September 15 on the grand stage, with tickets starting at $21. Based upon the novel written by Alice Walker, this Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel will kick off Aurora’s Season 29. Follow the unforgettable journey of Celie as she discovers her own strength and resilience in the face of extreme adversity. The joyous musical features a score that blends gospel, jazz, and blues. Originally developed in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre in 2004, Aurora welcomes home this epic story that is a testament to the healing power of love.
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Norcross resident new Preservation Board member
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 25, 2024 | A Gwinnett resident has been named to a three year term on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Trustees. He is Jeff Hopper of Norcross, who has been a member for 12 years, and has served on the board previously.
Founded in 1973, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is a statewide, nonprofit preservation organization. The Trust works for the preservation and revitalization of Georgia’s diverse historic resources and advocates their appreciation, protection and use.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation helps Georgians to understand and appreciate the irreplaceable value of historic buildings and places and their relevance to modern life. We envision Georgians who promote careful stewardship and active use of these diverse resources and recognize the economic and cultural benefits of preservation.
Hopper
Hopper, who formerly was an owner of LDI Reproprinting, a blue printing company, and now is the company treasurer. It has 15 locations around the southeast. He and his wife, Pam, have been residents of Norcross for 26 years. They have two adult children. He has been chairman since inception of the Norcross architectural review board.
Other new trustees of the Preservation Board include:
- Leigh Burns (Atlanta);
- Les Callahan (Atlanta);
- Elaine Cook (Athens);
- Erik LaVelle (Atlanta);
- Joe Smith (Madison/Athens);
- Todd Strickland (Atlanta); and
- Bobby West (Atlanta).
Nick Bush (Macon) is the chairperson of Hay House and will serve as an ex-officio member of the board. Chairman of the board of the Georgia Trust is Tiffany Alewine of Savannah.
New owner: The Preservation Board has recently been given title to the former library on North Peachtree Street in Norcross. The building was most recently the home of the Norcross Woman’s Club.
The original Norcross library was started with a gift of $100 in 1907 by Norcross native Edward Buchanan, who made a fortune on Wall Street. The first location was at the Norcross school, and then was in a room at the Masonic Hall. Later Mr. Buchanan wrote a check for $2,500, wanting the town to have its own library building. It was dedicated in 1921. (Mr. Buchanan later lost most of his resources in a Wall Street crash.)
In 1957, the Norcross library joined the Gwinnett library, and needing more space, the library was moved to a former Southern Bell building on Carlyle Street. The library building became the Norcross Woman’s Club, which had built an addition behind the main library building. The Woman’s Club was active for many years.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s words to Jen Psaki on MSNBC recently illustrates that Democrats are flipping the script on the MAGA Republicans. “We’re producing more energy than ever before in this nation. We have the strongest economy in the world, and we are beating China for the first time in decades. More people went to work this morning in America than at any other time in our nation’s history. So I’ve got a message to Donald Trump and all his negativity and his whining: Stop (trash) talking America. This is the greatest country on earth, and it’s time that we all start acting like it.”
Since Britain was the first country to use prepaid postage stamps, they have never printed the name of their country on their stamps, just a portrait of the reigning monarch. It started in the 1830s. A new monarch means a new set of stamps, just out with King Charles gracing them.
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
The Piedmont Bank
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is The Piedmont Bank, a full-service commercial bank that has been serving the Greater Metro Atlanta and North Georgia markets since 2009. With 16 locations, Piedmont Bank has capitalization in excess of $200 million and over $2 billion in total assets. The bank is active in making loans to businesses and individuals in its local markets. Piedmont’s board of directors includes local business leaders with strong ties in the communities it serves. Deposits at The Piedmont Bank are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Polarized politics grasping at past that won’t come back
The Wilkinson County, Ga., field where Will Brack grew cotton in the 1930s. Photo by Andy Brack.
By Andy Brack
Editor and publisher, Charleston City Paper
CHARLESTON, S.C. | Ninety years ago, the red, sandy field in middle Georgia buzzed with agricultural activity as a grandfather worked the land to coax cotton out of 12 acres. It was hard work for a man who left school after seventh grade. After ginning a crop and paying back a government loan for seed and fertilizer, he pocketed about $50. For the year.
For all of the talk these days in politics about going back to simpler times, people forget the sweat and toil across a South with no air-conditioning, few phones, little reliable electricity and the soul-numbing racism, misogyny and poverty that filled every rural crack and crevice throughout the region. It was a different time.
Fast forward to the post-World War II years when my father grew up – not on the farm, but in Macon, Ga., where the family eventually shifted from renters to owners of a small home. Communication and transportation got better. Prosperity bloomed as more people moved off the farm and sent their kids to decent public schools. Some even became the first in their families to get college degrees.
The family unit was still strong as in-town folk often returned to the country to visit, eat, attend church services and generally commune. And while times were changing, the old bugaboo of race lurked in segregated schools, cafeterias, bus stations, theaters and daily interactions. “The good old days” still weren’t all that good for too many people across the South.
Then came my generation where the late 1960s and 1970s saw huge changes with conflict among the old and young over civil rights, war, pollution and lifestyles. What emerged was an inward-focused culture that was more equal and diverse, but too comfortable with ego and greed. Too much of family got shoved aside for the all-important “me generation.”
Again, communication and transportation got better. Technology surged with endless solutions to generational problems. But politics started getting more divisive, just as more people prospered. And in the South, lots of newcomers started moving in, which changed things even more.
Now look at today’s youths, with their high-speed internet and social media obsessions that shrink society to a mobile phone and often put families on the sidelines. Oh, they can move money instantly, Facetime with a friend in Romania or learn a language using an app. But too many seem lonelier than the poor Southerners in times of my grandparents and parents. Today’s Southerners are connecting but getting more disconnected.
Florida-born humorist Sean Dietrich taps into this dichotomy as he plays banjo, piano and accordion to 200 audiences a year. Just this month in Charleston to a crowd of more than 400, he sang everything from church spirituals to the theme from Beverly Hillbillies. The mostly older, white audience knew the words and sang along.
Dietrich, 41, tells stories of the disappearing South, the region of the country where “I worry my children and generations beyond won’t appreciate the Sunday church dinners on the grounds with tables laden with the best fried chicken, weird jello ‘salads’ and desserts galore.
“These stories are mostly about growing up in this interesting and diverse hotbed we call the South and there are so many shared experiences that we have from growing up in this part of the world,” he says. “And I fear that that way of life that we experienced when we came in — at least my generation — came in on the tail end of that way of life, and it’s falling apart.
“Everybody’s learning how to talk like Midwestern sports announcers. Everybody is learning how to be this global community instead of this rich, strong region that we used to experience.”
It all worries me too – the disconnect with extended family, the technological onslaught that sends us deeper into personal holes, the polarized politics grasping at a past that’s not going to come back.
And while society now is more diverse and has more knowledge, I don’t think I’d want to grow up in the challenging world that kids encounter today. What about you?
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Buying first home is a matter of making choices
Editor, the Forum:
Let me agree with Meghan Wegendt of Lawrenceville and her comments (June 18, GwinnettForum) regarding the ability to buy a home. My description of home buying guidelines offered a best-case scenario. It is inordinately challenging for most households to buy their first home, given the current spreads between incomes and home prices. Both of these are supply/demand considerations.
The good news is that secular trends suggest that incomes for most of those who are prepared to be employed should grow nicely, on an inflation adjusted basis, over the next 20 to 40 years. Across decades, home prices should continue to rise, though there may be short-term price softness because of interest rates and the cost of homeowner’s insurance.
My last thought is the idea of choice. I propose that each of us has a choice about how we want to live our lives. The great challenge, even with the opportunities present to us in the USofA, is that many people struggle with self-imposed limits, for reasons which fill the self-help sections of bookstores and academic journals. Each of us can make long-life choices. We can choose to get an education. Or to increase our incomes. Or to save, prepare, etc. Is there a cost? There is always a cost. And the price or cost for some will be greater than for others. But it is who we become through the journey that is the greatest reward.
Enough philosophizing. How can we help those who need a helping hand, and want to buy their own home?
– Randy Brunson, Suwanee
Justice Thomas was only member with this view
Concerning the way people view the Supreme Court: just this week, Justice Clarence Thomas voted for allowing persons who have been convicted of domestic violence to be able to have guns. Thank goodness eight other judges did not agree.
– Barbara Knox Luckhurst, Duluth
Dear Barbara: Yes, and to think that he is one of us, a Georgian from Pinpoint, Georgia, near Savannah. —eeb
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 by to: ebrack2@gmail.com.
Projects along Ronald Reagan Parkway funded
Two long-awaited projects near Lilburn are finally coming to life, through the efforts of Gwinnett County, the Georgia Department of Transportation, SmartRoad Technology, LLC and the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) programs. Both projects are on the Ronald Reagan Parkway.
The Lilburn Community Improvement District identified these two projects as critical infrastructure in 2014 through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) Recommendation Committee. The initiatives were later recognized as high-priority in the Pleasant Hill Small Area Study, funded by the CID.
The projects’ completion will enhance safety and mobility for both drivers and pedestrians. These upgrades, totaling $868,000, are funded by the 2014 and 2017 SPLOST programs.
One project is at Pleasant Hill Road where Ronald Reagan Parkway begins. This will enhance pedestrian safety with a new crosswalk with a flashing beacon at the eastbound entrance ramp of the parkway. Additionally, a new sidewalk will be built along Pleasant Hill Road beneath the parkway overpass, connecting sidewalks on both sides of the intersection. SmartRoad Technology, LLC of Norcross secured the project contract for $417,803.
The second project is a realignment of the eastbound off-ramp at U.S. Highway 29 and Ronald Reagan Parkway. It will allow drivers a safer turn-around, and will boost accessibility for business owners, plus greatly increase vehicular safety. It also includes the replacement of the current sidewalk and implementation of drainage enhancements. This contract was also awarded to SmartRoad Technology for $450,241.
County extends partnership with View Point Health
Gwinnett County has extended the Gwinnett County Police Department’s partnership with View Point Health.
Through the $714,000 contract, the Behavioral Health Unit pairs a licensed mental health clinician with an officer at each police precinct to respond to individuals experiencing mental health crises.
Implemented in 2021 as a pilot program, the unit began with a single co-responder team composed of a police officer trained in mental health and crisis de-escalation paired with a licensed mental health clinician. This initiative aims to divert individuals in mental health emergencies from the criminal justice system to essential recovery resources.
Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson emphasizes the program’s importance.“The success of our Behavioral Health Unit in diverting individuals from incarceration and connecting them with the necessary resources underscores the vital role of this program,” Hendrickson says. “By continuing our partnership with View Point Health, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting mental health and enhancing public safety in Gwinnett County.”
The unit handles an average of 15 to 20 calls daily, approximately 300 calls monthly. In 2023, the Behavioral Health Unit responded to 4,800 calls, including 2,650 crisis calls, over 760 calls for assistance from uniform patrol, and 675 follow-up contacts with individuals from previous calls.
Statewide, more than 65 percent of detention centers house inmates incarcerated due to mental health concerns. By employing effective de-escalation tactics, Gwinnett’s Behavioral Health Unit achieved a 98 percent jail diversion rate last year. Notably, out of all the calls in 2023, 223 individuals were involuntarily committed to a hospital or treatment facility and 82 were voluntarily committed.
The unit, now fully staffed, consists of six teams and a program coordinator.
Gwinnett becomes first BioReady area in Atlanta
Gwinnett County is the first county in metro Atlanta to qualify for and receive gold status as a BioReady® Community, named recently at the BIO International Convention in San Diego, Calif..
Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson says: “Our county’s forward-thinking zoning policies and supportive infrastructure make us an ideal destination for companies looking to establish or expand their biotechnology operations. By fostering a welcoming environment for life sciences companies, we continue to position Gwinnett as a hub for cutting-edge research and development.”
Randall Toussaint, Gwinnett’s economic development director, says: “Life science industries continue to invest and grow in Gwinnett. With our recent investments in key projects that focus on biotech and other life science industries, such as The Water Tower and Rowen, this recognition continues to show our commitment to enhancing the visibility of these industries across Gwinnett County.”
The BioReady® program rates communities in three tiers: Bronze, Silver and Gold. These ratings assess a municipality’s readiness to host biotechnology facilities based on zoning practices and infrastructure capacity, helping real estate developers and biotechnology companies find the most favorable destinations to locate.
County department wins first Emmy
The Gwinnett Communications Department is an Emmy Winner! The Department achieved this historic milestone by winning its first Emmy during the 50th anniversary of the Southeast Regional Emmy Awards ceremony recently.
The award-winning series, “Upfront Gwinnett: Fighting Fentanyl,” competed against top television productions from five Southern states. The achievement honorees are county spokeswoman Deborah Tuff, who hosted and was executive producer of the series; producer Ryan J. Dennis, filmmaker; editor Brandon Davis and editor Derek Davis.
The idea for the series originated during an August 2022 meeting between Chairwoman Hendrickson, Newton County Chair Marcello Banes and Rockdale County Chairman Oz Nesbitt. Hendrickson highlighted the alarming rise in fentanyl use in the neighboring counties and emphasized the urgent need to address the issue in Gwinnett. To see this winning program, visit this link.
I Shall Not Be Moved, poems by Maya Angelou
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: I Shall Not Be Moved is a collection of poems that call to mind the resiliency of African Americans as we stumble towards equality in what is still a minefield in the USA. The poem, Our Grandmother is a 15-stanza litany of the many pains, hurts and struggles unseen by the world, but moved through daily. The poem, Human Family, describes the many differences between people around all of us and yet states the truth: that we are all together in this world with the same and similar wants and needs, goals and dreams, failures, and successes. These similarities overshadow the differences, in color, creed, size, gender, and other man-made definitions. These two poems and many others in this collection are luminous reminders of lives hidden from each other but with the same worth and resonance.
- 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. Click here to send an email.
Pretty Woman was Julia Roberts’ first big hit
(From previous edition)
Five years after leaving her hometown of Smyrna, in Cobb County, to begin an acting career, Georgia native Julia Roberts achieved international celebrity with her starring role in the 1990 film Pretty Woman. Today an established Hollywood icon, Roberts is an Academy Award winner, the owner of a production company, a philanthropist, and one of the highest-paid actresses in the film industry.
Julia Fiona Roberts was born in Atlanta on October 28, 1967, to Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts. She belongs to the fourth generation of Robertses to live in the Atlanta area, beginning with her great-grandfather, John Pendleton Roberts, a farmer.
Although as a child Roberts hoped to become a veterinarian, as a teenager her interests began to shift, especially in light of her brother’s early successes as a professional actor. After her 1985 graduation from Campbell High School in Smyrna, Roberts joined her siblings in New York City, where Eric had lived since the mid-1970s. Her first role was a non-speaking part in the film Firehouse (1987), followed by a small speaking part in the drama Blood Red (1989) alongside her brother.
Roberts soon landed her first major role, Daisy Arujo, in the independent film Mystic Pizza(1988), written by Atlanta native Alfred Uhry. Her next film, Steel Magnolias (1989), proved to be a significant critical and box-office success, especially for Roberts, who received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. In a 1990 interview, Roberts credited the other women in the cast, veteran performers Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Darryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, and Dolly Parton, with supporting and mentoring her.
During the 1990s Roberts became one of the most recognized Hollywood actresses, and her swift rise to fame began with Pretty Woman (1990), a romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall and co-starring Richard Gere. Roberts was awarded the Golden Globe, this time for Best Actress, while receiving another Oscar nomination.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Just one hint about today’s mystery
Here’s a hint about today’s Mystery Photo: think of a film title. That’s it; you have to take it from there. If you identify the photo, send your guess to ebrack2@gmail.com and tell us the town you live in.
Kay Montgomery of Duluth was first by telling us the mystery was downtown Norcross years ago. Two Norcross residents also recognized the photo, including Connie Weathers and Julie Duke, who said: “Looks like the annual high school parade which was still marching through Norcross into the 90s. The house on the left is no longer and is now Betty Mauldin Park. At the top of the street is the school which is now Lillian Webb Park/fountain. And to the right is what was C&S Bank. Never seen this picture before. What fun!”
Former residents Michelle Dolske, Orlando, Fla.; and Gary Cobb, Oviedo, Fla.;, chipped in, as did Howard Hoffman, Berkeley Lake; Pat Bruschini of Peachtree Corners; and Hoyt Tuggle, Buford; George Graf, Palmyra, Va, and Allen Peel of San Antonio, Tex.
This mystery brought about some research, which has yet to be solved. The red building at the top of the hill is the former Norcross school, known as The Castle. Trying to date the mystery photo proved unsuccessful. When was it taken down?
In 1957, the Gwinnett School System opened what was then West Gwinnett High, for Norcross and Duluth high schoolers, in a new building on Price Place, as well as a new elementary school. The Castle was determined no longer usable, and torn down. But determining the date that the school was torn down has been difficult. (By the way, West Gwinnett High lasted only a year, after Dacula parents sued for their children not to go to Central Gwinnett High, so Duluth students returned to Duluth High for the following year.)
So, who can date the demolition of The Castle at the end of Jones Street in Norcross, which is now Lillian Webb Park?
- 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: ebrack2@gmail.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Taste of Peachtree Corners to be Thursday night
Helping Kids Manage Big Emotions will be at the Collins Hills Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on Tuesday, June 25, at 6:30 p.m. Gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing your child and practical steps you can take to ensure your child’s needs are met.
Public Art Unveiling Ceremony will be in Braselton at the library at 15 Brassie Lane on June 25 at 5:30 p.m. This features the sculpture by J. Doyle Rogers and Logan Berry. It is sponsored by the Braselton Public Arts Council.
Taste of Peachtree Corners will be Thursday, June 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Community Room of City Hall, presented by the Peachtree Corners Business Association. Enjoy an evening of bites and drinks as you get to sample foods from local businesses.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
Meet our team
- Editor and publisher: Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
- Managing editor: Betsy Brack
- Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
- Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
- Contributing columnist: George Wilson
More
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 1365, Norcross, Ga. 30091
- Work with us: If you would like to learn about how to be an underwriter to support the publication of GwinnettForum as a community resource for news and commentary, please contact us today.
Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.
- Click to subscribe.
- Unsubscribe. We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.
- © 2024, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.
Follow Us