GwinnettForum | Number 24.01 | Jan. 3, 2025
SITTING AT THE CONTROLS of a diesel railroad engine is Christopher M. Cano, a former student intern from Kennesaw State University. That internship in Gwinnett has paid off immediately, as he is now in training to become a railroad conductor for the Massachusetts Bay Area Transit Commuter Rail near Boston. For more details, see Today’s Focus below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Rail museum volunteering leads to full-time conducting
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Our revised list of Continuing Objectives for 2025
SPOTLIGHT: The Piedmont Bank
ANOTHER VIEW: Remembering Jimmy Carter, our 39th president
FEEDBACK: Joseph gets so little credit in raising Jesus
UPCOMING: First National Park in Georgia may be in Macon
NOTABLE: City of Mulberry up and running after midnight meeting
RECOMMENDED: Recent photo exhibit at SE Rail Museum
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Major Ridge home in Rome is prominent in history
MYSTERY PHOTO: Double mystery: where is it and what happened?
LAGNIAPPE: Radloff school bus driver is Rotary Hidden Hero
CALENDAR: Gwinnett Symphony plans concert Jan. 12
Rail museum volunteering leads to full-time conducting
By Christopher M. Cano
DULUTH, Ga. | One afternoon while visiting the Southeastern Railway Museum a member of the gatehouse staff approached who handed me a small slip of paper and suggested I apply to be a volunteer. At that point, I didn’t have much to do so I thought it would be a good opportunity to be productive and get some experience.
Cano dressed for conducting. Provided.
Once accepted to be a volunteer, I began volunteering at the Park Train (now the Duluth, Southern and Coastline Railroad) in December. I got qualified as a conductor pretty quickly, the Park Train was sent to the shop for seasonal maintenance. I was part of a team of several people who helped transport 900. I decided to broaden and generalize what I could do at the museum. Anywhere I saw someone needing help, I’d try and swoop in to give them a hand.
I’d help with exhibit maintenance, learn how to open and close the museum, dabble in the archives, and work as a safety on the historic train. In February, I’d dip my toes in the shop with my first projects, helping to repair the backhoe and learning how to apply a decal on a locomotive. I then learned how to operate the backhoe and flattened a plot for Duluth Fall Festival trailers. I learned a lot about many things in a small amount of time.
Soon March came and several conductors thought I was ready to get qualified. I was a little shy at first, after all I was just some kid in architecture school at Kennesaw who knew nothing about railroad operations. But I took a qualification run. A couple days after my 21st birthday, I was qualified to conduct on a train. And soon, four months and a lot of training later, I was qualified to operate a train with passengers.
At some point, I believe everyone dreams about operating a locomotive. To actually have the opportunity to sit behind the control stand is an enormous responsibility and an immensely gratifying feeling, one of which I will always appreciate and never take for granted.
Around the same time, I was interested in the science of the railroad and how specifically tracks work. I was introduced to our track supervisor and began learning and taking notes during his weekly inspections. Soon I had more experience on the railroad than I had with any other work and I enjoyed it. After deliberation and research, I decided that I wanted to spend the next phase of my life working on the railroad.
I applied to intercity service on Amtrak, and many smaller regional and commuter services such as in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Transit. I heard back from the company that operates Massachusetts Bay Area Transit Commuter Rail in Boston (Keolis), and I flew up for an interview. Next thing I knew, I have a new career thanks to the experience I earned volunteering for the Southeastern Railway Museum. My first day on the job is January 6. I found an apartment in Watertown, across the Charles River west of Cambridge.
It cannot be overstated how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to volunteer at the Southeastern Railway Museum. Thank you ever so much to Chuck Miller, Bill Pearce, Allen Rider, Stephen Warner, Steve Storey, Andrew Durden, Randy Minter, Chuck Hardt, Bill Bickley, Ken Greenwood, Greg Wells, John Bacon, Glen Landsberg, Ora Ball, Micah Watkins, Dave Koch, Gary Cullen, and Ryan Bornstein, and everyone else who taught and supported me (in no particular order).
Stay safe and keep rolling on.
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Our revised list of Continuing Objectives for 2025
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JAN. 3, 2025 | For the past year, our List of Continuing Objectives for Gwinnettm printed on the front page of each issue has been:
- Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the General Election.
- Adoption of the 2023 Transit Plan for Gwinnett.
- More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
- Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
- Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
- Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
- 21st century salary for the Gwinnett County Commission members.
- Remove chewing gum on sidewalks at entrances of post offices and other governmental buildings.
- Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
- Condos instead of apartments for Gwinnett.
As we enter the new year of 2025, it’s time to review this list of continuing objectives.
In the past year, we have seen advances on several fronts that have been positive for Gwinnett County. One reason for these solid improvements is that Gwinnett leaders for the most part have worked together in a good light. It’s good to see such cooperation on these many fronts, instead of squabbling that is sometimes obvious in other communities. We urge this continued cooperative atmosphere.
Now to examine our new objectives for the county for 2025.
- Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to take place at the General Election. Currently these important races take place every two years on the date of the primary. That’s significant, since fewer people vote in the primary than in the General Election. It makes much more sense to elect these officials when the most people vote. That’s why we feel this major change is needed. Our Gwinnett legislative delegation should take a leadership role in changing this for the entire state of Georgia.
- We remove the item about the 2023 Transit Plan from this list. However, Gwinnett needs a new long-term solution to the way people move around the county in better and innovative ways.
- The creative arts in Gwinnett: this atmosphere has improved significantly in the last year, yet needs continual developments to make a more fertile community.
- The City of Snellville has the best city historical society in the county. We urge the city councils in other cities to establish their city historical groups, to remember the past and honor those who came before.
- Halting alcoholic beverage sales in Gwinnett at 1 a.m.: GwinnettForum cannot understand why county leaders don’t jump on this as the best way to make significant headway for the safety of our county. Allowing bar sales to continue until early morning hours means nothing less than creating areas where crime, shootings and mayhem arise. People of the county will applaud the county commission when they take this important improvement. This is one way to significantly improve the safety of the county. We pray the commission hears this lament.
- It happens so often: Georgia always seems to concoct new laws each legislative session. If anything, we are “over-lawed.” Such legislation always seems to help some small group, and throw equal taxation out of whack. And hurt the rest of us. Requiring the Georgia Legislature to meet less can relieve this continual burden of unnecessary legislation. We urge local legislators to understand this problem and work toward having the Legislature meet once every two years. Texas does it.
- Salaries paid for being a county commissioner have been changed and improved in the last few years. We remove this from our list of Continuing Objectives.
- Chewing gum on sidewalks in front of public buildings is nasty, unsanitary and awful-looking. We have suggested for public officials to tackle this problem to no avail. Therefore, while abhorring ugly gum’s presence on our sidewalks, we recognize the obvious, that others merely accept it. We won’t beat a dead horse, but remove this item from this list.
- One of the best and easiest ways for Gwinnett County to move into a more sustainable new world would be to outlaw single-use plastic packaging and straws. Other forward-thinking communities have done this, adopting paper bags instead of plastic, and requiring paper, not plastic, straws. Gwinnett officials might recognize this as one small step to help sustain and improve our world.
- The best way for a family to build wealth is to own their own living facilities, which over time when kept up, will appreciate significantly. You can’t say that about apartments, which over time, almost always deteriorate. That’s why we encourage officials and their planning department boards, to take steps to encourage condominiums and townhouses for living facilities, and halt or significantly limit the number of apartment units. This will help to improve our county in the long run. But key leaders must be able to take the heat for this change and stand by it.
So, our revised abbreviated List of Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett for 2025 is the following:
- Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the date of the General Election.
- More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
- Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
- Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
- Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
- Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
- Gwinnett planners to encourage condos and townhouses instead of apartments.
- 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, which opened its doors in 2009, is a full service commercial bank. It has recently closed a merger with Westside Bank with offices in Paulding and Cobb Counties and also recently opened an office in downtown Duluth. Piedmont now has offices in 14 locations, with its home office in Peachtree Corners at 5100 Peachtree Parkway and other locations; at 185 Gwinnett Drive in Lawrenceville; east of Interstate 85 near Suwanee at Old Peachtree and Brown Roads; in Dunwoody at 1725 Mount Vernon Road, in Cumming at 2450 Atlanta Highway and in Cleveland, Gainesville, Jefferson and Blue Ridge, plus another office in Kennesaw opening soon. Piedmont Bank has capitalization in excess of $200 million and over $1.9 billion in total assets and 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. Board members include Lamar Black, Ray Black, Robert Cheeley, Paul Donaldson, Kelly Johnson, John Howard, Paul Maggard, Michael Tennant, Ray Barnes and Monty Watson. 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.
Remembering Jimmy Carter, our 39th president
By Emory Morsberger
NORCROSS, Ga. | Jimmy Carter, born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, dedicated his life to public service and progressive leadership. His journey began in the small farming community of Plains, where he developed a strong sense of community and commitment to public service. He started his political career as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967, and went on to serve as governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 where he implemented significant reforms in state government, education and environmental protection. He also promoted racial integration and sought to end discrimination, making Georgia a more inclusive and progressive state.
Jimmy Carter, official presidential portrait.
In 1977, Carter became the 39th president of the United States for one term and the only Georgian to be president. His presidency was marked by a focus on human rights, energy conservation and foreign policy initiatives, and those policies made it possible for immigrants from around the world to come to the U.S. Notably, Carter also introduced a comprehensive national energy policy and established the U.S. Department of Energy. He also created the U.S. Department of Education, underscoring his commitment to improving the nation’s educational system.
Carter’s connection to Georgia is celebrated through various landmarks, including Jimmy Carter Boulevard, which serves as the main artery through the heart of Gateway85 Community Improvement District. Stretching nine miles, it is the longest of only a handful of roads in the country named after President Carter. As Norcross has grown in both size and diversity, this boulevard has become a hub of entrepreneurship and a testament to Carter’s enduring legacy, reflecting the values he championed throughout his life.
Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday, Dec. 29, marking the end of a remarkable life that saw him become the oldest living former U.S. president and the longest-living president in U.S. history. His legacy continues through The Carter Center, which promotes peace, fights disease, advocates for democracy and enhances freedom worldwide. Jimmy Carter’s grandson, Jason, serves as chair of the Board of Trustees.
To learn more about Jimmy Carter and see the Tribute created by The Carter Center, click here.
Do you have a memory of President Carter you would like to share? Please click here. Gateway85 will create a memory book to place on our website.
- Have a comment? Click here to send an email.
Joseph gets so little credit in raising Jesus
Editor, the Forum:
Did you ever notice that the Catholics give so much recognition to the Virgin Mary, but Joseph gets little credit for bringing up a son who was not his own. Wonder how things went when Jesus was a teenager?
– George Graf, Palmyra, Va.
Concerning the business of worrying
Editor, the Forum:
I heard a lyric that I changed around a little. It makes for a good philosophy to live by. Makes a lot of sense.
I don’t worry ’bout it much,
But I think about it some.
Worrying doesn’t do you much good. But you ‘gotta deal with stuff.
– David Simmons, Norcross
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: ebrack2@gmail.com.
First national park in Georgia may be in Macon
The Ocmulgee River curls around Ocmulgee Mounds
From the Saporta Reports, by Mark Lannaman
Georgia is one of 20 U.S. states without a national park, but that may soon change.
The state is on the verge of getting its very own national park through the Ocmulgee Mounds Park, located in Macon, which looks to become a national park pending final approval from Congress.
The Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act passed through the U.S. Senate in late November of this year — a huge win for advocates of the establishment of the national park. The Ocmulgee Mounds Act was unanimously reported out of committee.
Seth Clark, executive director of The Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) and mayor pro tempore of Macon-Bibb County, said: “We expect Congress and will be strongly advocating for them to swiftly take it up as part of budget reconciliation in the first of the coming year.”
He adds: “The first piece of legislation was proposed in Congress in 1934 by Rep. Carl Vinson, and over the course of the 20th century, Middle Georgia [has] expanded its public access to conserve public hunting and fishing lands, and put invaluable cultural resources that were built by the ancestors of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation into conservation and protection. We’ve been cobbling land together for a century to make a continuous footprint along the floodplain of the Ocmulgee River. So it’s been almost a century in the making.”
The Ocmulgee Mounds contain over 17,000 continuous years of historical artifacts, especially from the native cultures that called the lands their home. Its significance cannot be understated, especially as the Muscogee Nation is based in Oklahoma these days after being forcibly pushed out of their ancestral lands throughout the 19th century.
City of Mulberry up and running after midnight meeting
The City of Mulberry officially began on January 1. Mayor Michael Coker says: “Your Mulberry City Council is hard at work for the start of our new city.”
The Mulberry City Council hosted three meetings this week to ensure a smooth start for the City of Mulberry. All meetings are open to the public and held at Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church at 1450 Pine Road in Dacula.
You may ask why the City Council held a meeting at midnight on New Years’ Eve?
The Mulberry City Council held a meeting at midnight on New Year’s Eve because the city officially began at midnight on January 1. If the Mulberry City Council were to delay the meeting, the city would essentially have a period of time where the city was in existence but had no laws (ordinances) in place.
These “midnight meetings” are common, and most new cities hold a meeting at midnight to adopt the new city’s laws on the first date of their existence (Peachtree Corners is an example.)
The City of Mulberry has notified Gwinnett County that effective January 1, 2025, the city is responsible for planning and zoning and code enforcement within the Mulberry city limits. All other services (police, fire, schools, parks, etc.) will remain with Gwinnett County.
The City of Mulberry’s webpage with all the city contact information, rezoning request applications, and permit instructions will be online shortly.
Norcross Gallery and Studios looks to successful 2025
It’s January and Norcross Gallery and Studios are celebrating successes in 2024 and getting off to a great start for 2025 with new events on tap. Norcross is extraordinarily picturesque, observed our member Anne Labaire, and at her instigation we set about inviting the community to show us the ways with a first contest in 2023.
Our 2024 photography contest was developed in partnership with the Norcross Public Arts Commission, our official sponsor.
Free to enter, our contest garnered photos from 52 photographers, almost twice as many as in 2023. To select the top photos from the more than 150 entries, we asked three persons with Norcross ties: Beth Coffey, executive director of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce; Mary Dowdy, owner of Reminisce at Antique Traditions and president of the Historic Norcross Business Association, and Nicole Morgan, board member of the Norcross Public Arts Commission.
We received meaningful financial support with grants from Creative Gwinnett and the Georgia Council for the Arts, April MacManus of Keller Williams and Advanced Color Imaging, who printed the top images for display at the gallery.
Mayor Craig Newton and City Council members have enthusiastically supported this contest and mayor pro tem Bruce Gaynor presented the awards selected by the jury.
The first exhibit of the new year, which opens January 9, is a collaborative show of works by members, all focused on abstract works, a nice departure from usual general shows.
EMC Foundation sends $42,000 to local charities
A $15,000 Jackson EMC Foundation check to Family Promise of Gwinnett will support its shelter program for families without homes through a network of local congregations. At the check presentation were, from left, Jennifer Fennell, Jackson EMC Gwinnett district manager; Carol Love, executive director of Family Promise of Gwinnett; Dee Anderson and Beauty Baldwin, Jackson EMC Foundation board members; and Kenny Lumpkin, Jackson EMC Foundation representative.
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total of $137,000 in grants for organizations during its recent meeting, including $42,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Adventure Bags, Inc., Winder, for its One Bag at a Time Program, to create comfort bags and distribute to displaced children through local DFCS offices, domestic violence shelters, fire departments, group homes and children’s shelters in Barrow, Banks, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties.
- $15,000 to Family Promise of Gwinnett, Inc., which provides shelter, meals and support services to families without homes in Gwinnett County through a network of local congregations for its Promise Haven Shelter Program.
- $12,000 to Neighborhood Meals on Wheels, Inc., Norcross, for a walk-in refrigerator and freezer to store food that will be served to senior adults in Gwinnett County.
Recent photo exhibit at Southeastern Rail Museum
From Rick Krause, Lilburn: Sandy and I and our caregiver went to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth recently to see the exhibit of photographs of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg. Beebe and Clegg: Their Enduring Photographic Legacy – An Exhibition. It was really quite something. On exhibit were several of their photographs and many of their books on the subject of trains, railways, and related subjects. I am not a hard-core railroad buff, but I certainly liked the exhibit, maybe because many of the photographs were set in the West. Of course, the Museum has plenty of exhibits to offer to attract visitors at any time in its own right, and we certainly enjoyed it all. The Beebe and Clegg exhibit ran through December 29. Let’s hope they have similar exhibits in the future.”
- 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.
Major Ridge home in Rome is prominent in history
A National Historic Landmark was the home of the prominent early-19th-century Cherokee leader Major Ridge and his family.
The mission of the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home in Romeis “to preserve and interpret the heritage represented by the Chieftains house and campus.” Thus “its heritage most significantly encompasses the history and traditions of the Cherokee Indians and the clash of cultures in the southeastern United States that culminated in the tragedy known as the ‘Trail of Tears.’”
The Chieftains Museum has national significance. As leader of the Treaty Party, Major Ridge negotiated and signed the Treaty of New Echota with U.S. officials in December 1835. The treaty turned over all Cherokee lands in the Southeast in return for $5 million and a promise of land in the West. The treaty resulted in the forced removal of the Cherokees from the Southeast to Indian Territory in the West during the harsh winter of 1838-39. More than 4,000 Cherokees died on that fateful journey. Branded a traitor by the majority of Cherokees, Major Ridge was later murdered for his role in the Treaty of New Echota.
After the War of 1812 Major Ridge moved his family and enslaved people to a site on the Oostanaula River near present-day Rome. The original house was a two-story, dogtrot-style log house. The Ridges installed glass windows; added clapboard siding, shutters, and porches; and painted the structure white. The stately home served as the centerpiece of a 280-acre plantation that included corn, vegetable, and cotton production, an extensive fruit orchard, and a river ferry business. With George Lavender, Ridge operated a trading post, where Cherokee and white friends and neighbors, including Principal Chief John Ross, conducted business.
In the next two decades Cherokee leaders adopted a governmental structure modeled on that of the United States and encouraged the people to pursue European lifestyles and practices. Such accomplishments did not protect them from the implementation of the Indian Removal Bill passed by Congress in 1830, however. In 1832 Georgia held a lottery to give away Cherokee lands, despite the fact that Cherokees occupied them. Ownership of the Ridge plantation fell to white Georgians, although the Ridges remained until 1837.
Subsequent owners of the house made renovations and additions, and the property was divided and sold. The house became known as “Chieftains.” In 1928 the American Chatillion Corporation purchased the property and built a textile mill there. In 1969 the Celanese Fibers Corporation donated the current campus to the Rome Junior Service League, which opened a museum. In 1987 Chieftains Museum incorporated as a separate entity.
In 2002 the museum added “Major Ridge Home” to its name and became an official historic and interpretive site of the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. This relationship increases public awareness of the site while preserving the museum’s integrity as a private nonprofit organization. The commitment of the board of directors and staff to sharing Cherokee culture is symbolized by the 2003 opening of the Grizzard Center for Cherokee Studies on the site.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Double mystery: where is it and what happened?
Something memorable happened in this house. See if you can locate the house and tell what the significant event that took place here. Send your answers to ebrack2@gmail.com to include your hometown.
County Commissioner Matthew Holtcamp of Buford recognized the last mystery photo immediately. “That is our church parish, Mary our Queen, in Peachtree Corners. We have been parishioners for about a year now. After visiting the many options available, we selected Mary our Queen for its vibrant liturgical and music programs. It is absolutely beautiful!”
Others recognizing the sanctuary include Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Pat Bruschini, Cathy Loew, and Molly Titus, Peachtree Corners, Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Steve Ogilvie, Rehobeth, Ala.; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; and Meg Sweigart, Duluth.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., said: “Today’s mystery photo is of the relatively new Mary Our Queen (MOQ) church located on The Corners Parkway in Peachtree Corners. Plans for the building began in 2008 when then retired pastor Father David Dye wanted to relocate St. Gerard’s Catholic Church from Buffalo, N.Y. after it was de-consecrated, because of lower attendance. Dye’s vision was to dismantle St. Gerard’s brick-by-brick and move it to Peachtree Corners, where it would be rebuilt. However, initial estimates for the relocation efforts exceeded $16 million The project was scaled back, with plans to build a new church that closely replicated the century-old Buffalo church, while removing, restoring and relocating many of the historical artifacts from St. Gerard’s Catholic Church.
“The new church was designed by architectural firm Harrison Design from Atlanta. The design was heavily based on the Roman Basilica-style of St. Gerard’s, and captured the essence of what it looked like on both the inside and outside. Work was completed within two years, with the dedication on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2019. The original altars, stained-glass windows and the 105-year-old oak pews were relocated and restored before being installed in the new church.”
- 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.
Radloff school bus driver is Rotary Hidden Hero
Radloff Middle School bus driver Jamario Felder, third from right, is being hailed as a hero for actions he took to save a student who was unconscious on his bus in August. The Rotary Club of Gwinnett County presented its Hidden Hero Award and a check for $500 to Felder recently. Rotary members at the presentation included from left Soul Ongoiba, Katrina Lucisano, Joe Godfrey, Louis Radloff, Schelly Marlatt, Felder, Brad Beisbier (Rotary president) and Mike Fulton.
Gwinnett Symphony plans concert Jan. 12
Snellville Commerce Club meets Tuesday, January 7, at noon at the Community Room of Snellville City Hall. Speaker will be Segun Adeyina, state representative from District 110, which includes parts of Grayson, Snellville, Loganville and Lawrenceville.
Hear discussion about Jones Bridge Park at a public meeting at the Pinckneyville Park Community Center, 4650 Peachtree Boulevard, on January 8 at 2 p.m. Park officials will discuss the ongoing situation and plans for Jones Bridge Park. Interested residents are invited.
2025 Personal Goals Workshop is scheduled for January 11 at 11 a.m. at the Norcross Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Learn how a structured approach to personal goal-setting can refine your values, cultivate self-love, and foster acceptance.
A Vienna New Year’s Celebration will be presented by the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra (side by side) on January 12 at 7 p.m. at the Discovery Theatre in Lawrenceville. Come hear the music of Strauss and Mozart once played in Vienna. Get tickets at visitGwinnettSymphony.org.
Author Talk with Leara Rhodes will be January 13 at noon at the Peachtree Corners Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Join Author Leara Rhodes as she discusses her historical novel Spancil Hill. Books will be available for sale and signing
Mobile Career Lab: Climb aboard the Mobile Career Lab to receive assistance from a professional Human Resource Specialist in career planning, job readiness coaching, resume assistance, information about training opportunities, and more. The lab will be parked at the Lawrenceville Branch of Gwinnett County public library on January 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m..
Detention Pond Maintenance Workshop: Attend this and learn maintenance guidelines for private property owners and Home Owners’ Associations. Learn how to care for detention ponds in your neighborhood. This will take place on January 16 at 6 p.m. at the Collins Hills Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
Meet our team
- Editor and publisher: Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
- 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.
- © 2025, 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