GwinnettForum | Number 21.85| Nov. 2, 2021
FIVE PARKVIEW HIGH GRADUATES are now playing soccer for Georgia Gwinnett College, and having a good time. One of them is Goalkeeper Timmie Peters. The team next competes in the Continental Athletic Conference championship tournament November 12-13 at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville. For more on this story and photos of the other four players, see Today’s Focus below. (Photos provided.)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Parkview five reunited on Georgia Gwinnett soccer team
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Some extended car warranties are probably pure scams
ANOTHER VIEW: Looking at the ties between religion and abortion
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Banking Company
FEEDBACK: Gwinnett household saved $376 on lower fire insurance rating
UPCOMING: Lawrenceville offers glass recycling to all Gwinnettians
NOTABLE: GGC offers no-cost application in November
RECOMMENDED: Book on CD: Language A to Z by John McWhorter
GEORGIA TIDBIT: UGA’s Press shares Open History Library with readers
MYSTERY PHOTO: Today’s Mystery Photo appears to be a recreation center
LAGNIAPPE: PCOM “all in pink” hikes to help raise money to enhance mammography
CALENDAR: Gwinnett’s Christmas tree arrives Tuesday at Historic Courthouse
Parkview five reunited on Georgia Gwinnett soccer team
Narissa Gaither, Bre Harvey, Addie Adame and Mariana Clarke. Goalkeeper Timmie Peters is the fifth player from Parkview on the GGC squad.
By Dale Long
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Parkview High School’s 2017-18 sports season centered around its girls soccer team. Five members were reunited in college to have more success on the pitch at Georgia Gwinnett College.
Addie Adame, Mariana Clarke, Narissa Gaither, Bre Harvey and Timmie Peters played significant roles as Parkview won the Class 7AAAAAAA state championship in the spring of 2018. That season brought a resurgence of the proud Panthers’ program – a nine-time state champion – and a school that’s also famous for capturing baseball state and national titles as well as having significant success on the gridiron.
GGC Head Soccer Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano says: “Parkview has one of the biggest club soccer programs right across the street from the school. So, all the high school players also play club ball. When I’m getting someone from Parkview, I don’t have to wonder if they’re well prepared with skills and training.”
In the 2018 season at Parkview, Head Coach Judson Hamby guided the girls to penalty-kick shootout victories against Hillgrove High School (3-2) and Lassiter High School (a wild 7-6 win) for a matchup against Milton High School in the state championship match.
Parkview and Milton battled to a scoreless opening half before the Panthers found the back of the net twice to close out a season as the nation’s top-ranked team.
Peters recalls: “We were very excited when scoring the first goal. Coach had to keep us from running on the field to show our excitement. Another goal came and the crowd became so loud.”
Success for the five players at Parkview has carried over to Georgia Gwinnett College, leading to three winning seasons, three conference championships and playing in the NAIA tournament each season.
Adame is completing her fourth season as a midfielder for the Grizzlies and will take advantage of NAIA’s COVID-19 season to return for 2022. She earned most outstanding player honors at the 2020-21 conference tournament, scored the game-winning goal in double overtime of the 2019 NAIA Opening Round match against Trinity Christian College (Illinois), and helped the program reach the Round of 16 of the 2018 NAIA national tournament.
Clarke, a sophomore defender, has twice been an all-tournament team selection (2019 and 2020-21) in leading GGC to tournament titles.
Harvey, another sophomore, joined the program this fall after two seasons at Columbus State University.
Gaither and Peters are playing in their first year at the collegiate level. Harvey says: “There is a family-centered approach (at GGC) that’s like what made Parkview so successful. We have a good connection. We are always laughing and having a good time. We’re so well connected.”
Peters, a reserve goalkeeper, says: “It has been awesome to play here. It’s like being home. It is a good experience.”
Adame adds, “Playing here takes me back to high school. I see Bre and Narissa in the midfield and I remember when we were younger. It’s enjoyable just being around them.”
This year’s GGC squad closed out the regular season Saturday with a 8-0 victory against Florida College, giving them a 9-6-1 record for 2021. The team now turns its attention to the postseason, starting with the Continental Athletic Conference championship tournament November 12-13 at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Some extended car warranties are probably pure scams
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 2, 2021 | Scammers don’t quit.
For about the 10th year, we’re in receipt of a letter again from the “Vehicle Notification Department” out of Plano, Texas offering to sell us a vehicle maintenance service contract on an automobile.
Of course, it is a scam. This invitation stinks to high heaven. We have no doubt it’s worthless.
Several people in Gwinnett have received this letter recently. If you have, not only just disregard, but throw it immediately in the trash.
The scammers are getting even more lazy than previously. Where before in a previous letter, they listed a specific car we had owned as needing this warranty, this time in their form letter in the space for “Year/Make/Model” they said simply “CALL TO IDENTIFY.” By the way, the time we got the scammer’s letter before, it was a whole year after we had disposed of that car. We didn’t even own it then.
The only personal note about the letter was that they had our name and address correctly.
This offer to sell us a service contract goes into great detail to outline what could happen to anyone’s car. They suggested that the auto’s computer could go out, an estimated expense of $849. Or an alternator ($677), or air conditioning unit ($1,507), and even an engine ($4,352.50).
They even go so far as saying the total cost in this example of what could happen might be $12,914.75. Note this quote was to the exact cent. That would include the above, plus lots of other items: water pump, $495; five days car rental $175; wiper motor, $516.25; Transmission, $3,302. They wrote: “And more.”
Now really? All these various components of your car are going out at the same time? Come on! Cars are built better than that these days.
Look at other instructions in the come-on letter, and note that all this part of the letter was in caps:
- IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE REQUESTED. (The word “immediate” always indicates a scam.)
- OUR RECORDS INDICATE THAT YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED US TO HAVE THE VEHICLE SERVICE CONTRACT FOR YOUR VEHICLE UPLOADED. YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS NOTICE TO ENSURE NO LAPSE IN WARRANTY COVERAGE.
- By neglecting to replace your coverage, you will be at risk of being financially liable for any and all repairs after your factory warranty expires.
- Your file on this vehicle (which they never identified) will be deleted and you may no longer be eligible for this offer regarding service coverage after (certain near date.)
The offer comes from United Car Care Inc. of Greenwood College, Colo. and they also have offices in Northbrook, Ill., in addition to Plano.
They continue to suggest to you in the letter:
“DO NOT PAY.” But they suggest: “Call today so you don’t have to pay for these kinds of repairs out of pocket.”
How nice! They are so polite.
This simply means that they don’t want your money in cash or check today, but will wait until you call later so that they can get your credit card number, and that same day, pull out all of your money from your account if you are foolish to sign up for this malarkey.
This proposal sounds like small potatoes, compared to some scams. We read of one on the weekend that cost that person $90,000. What we describe today, compared to that one, is a low grade scam.
Warranties can have their own problems. An extended coverage such as from this letter, sounds like major trouble for you if you reply. Trash it immediately!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Looking at the ties between religion and abortion
By Raleigh C. Perry
BUFORD, Ga. | Evangelical Christians are the most adamant group of anti-abortion people in the country. It is to them that the Republicans bow to in order to get their votes. They are the reason that today there are six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court.
Perry
What does it matter that two-thirds of the justices are Catholic? In my opinion, the court should be more reflective of the population, since Catholics make up only about 22 percent of the U.S. population. This make-up is out of sync with the nation’s population.
It used to be that the balance of the Supreme Court was in the hands of Jewish justices. Jews today are only 2.2 percent of the U.S. Population. On the other hand, 43 percent of our country’s population is Protestant, and part of that would be evangelicals. The largest group, however, is what they call the “Nones,” people with no religious affiliation whatsoever.
The Republican Party has kow-towed to the evangelical sector of the population since about 1970. The 1973 Roe-v-Wade decision added to the strength of the anti-abortion battle because both the evangelicals and the Catholics are anti-abortion. So the Republicans have generally been anti-abortion. Their numbers are dropping, they need all the help they can get.
A question arises concerning mentions in the Bible, New Testament and Old Testament, about abortion. Checking the Bible, however, reveals that abortion is not mentioned at all in the Scriptures. There is really only one thing in the Bible that tells us not to kill specifically and that is in the Ten Commandments found at Exodus 20:13: “Thou shalt not kill.”
That is a very specific commandment. You should not kill at all. Period! That commandment is so explicit that it would mean that you should not kill even in times of war.
The anti-abortion stance may be part of a particular church’s theology. Theology is an interesting thing. There are many elements that are in a church’s theology that have no Biblical basis. Abortion is one of them. Abortion attempted by those outside of medicine is a dangerous thing. It can kill both the baby and the mother. But the Texas law will drive amateur, non-medical abortions into existence for those that cannot afford to leave the state for an abortion.
The Texas anti-abortion law will be carried out by civilians “deputized” to do what the state cannot: enforce its new restrictive abortion law.
The law in Texas will only affect those that are too poor to get out of the state. The law in Texas does not allow for abortion in cases of incest and rape. All any country needs is a bunch of poor with unwanted babies.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgia Banking Company
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Georgia Banking Company is Gwinnett’s newest commercial bank with offices opening later this year in Duluth and Lawrenceville. Investments have been made at every level to provide the best of technology and product offerings, to ensure customer experiences are efficient and high quality, and to ensure communication is clear and accessible. A team of relationship-driven bankers with a focus on exceptional service will provide the expertise business owners in Gwinnett need from a local bank. Other notable members of the team include Tyler White, Director of Community Banking, Jennifer Bridwell, Gwinnett Market President, Brittany Vickery, Commercial Relationship Manager, Kevin Jones, Branch Manager (Lawrenceville) and Wanda Weegar, Branch Manager (Duluth). The vision of GBC is to meet the needs of small to medium sized companies, including not-for-profit companies, while delivering an exceptional customer experience. Visit www.geobanking.com to learn more.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Gwinnett household saved $376 on lower fire insurance rating
Thank you for your article that highlights Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Management Services. I wish every resident of Gwinnett understood as clearly as you do the value this fine department provides to all of us.
I also know that you will celebrate the fact that Gwinnett’s ISO rating has been 2/2x for several years now. For a jurisdiction of Gwinnett’s geographic size, this is unusual. Gwinnett’s decision to cross-train its personnel for Fire and EMS was instrumental in the Department ultimately attaining this rating. And, of course, the ability of the GC Water Resources Department to deliver water at the necessary pressure was also critical.
— Charlotte Nash, Dacula
Dear Charlotte: Thanks for recognizing that indeed, the Gwinnett ISO rating is 2/2x, giving residents an even lower fire insurance rating than we reported off the county web site last time. This means it saves Gwinnett citizens even more on their fire insurance policy. The John Moore Agency in Duluth tells us that on a home valued in Duluth at $326,400, their insurance rate under the ISO 2/2x would be $2,230, while if the Gwinnett County fire insurance rating was the previous 4.0, the same home fire insurance annual cost would be $2,606, a saving of $376 annually. Thanks John, Jr. –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 to: elliott@brack.net.
Lawrenceville offers glass recycling to all Gwinnettians
The City of Lawrenceville is now offering a new option for recycling. A drop-off Glass Recycling Station is now available at Lawrenceville Public Works located at 435 WestPike Street in Lawrenceville. Drop off is available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
Mayor David Still says: “The City Council and I received the message that recycling is extremely important to our citizens. It saves energy, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution, and reduces the amount of waste sent to our landfills.”
Community members dropping off glass are asked to separate it into bins marked for clear and colored glass. Accepted items include: All colors of food and beverage bottles, as well as jars. All lids should be removed and discarded, and glass should also be rinsed to remove food and debris.
The following items are not accepted at the Public Works Glass Recycling Station: Broken glass, car windshields, light bulbs, mirrors, televisions, and window panes.
The City of Lawrenceville is working with Latham Home Sanitation to transfer the glass to a recycling center offsite.
Those wishing to utilize the Glass Recycling Station at Public Works do not have to be City of Lawrenceville residents.
Special activities at Andersonville site on Nov. 13-14
Meet and talk to Union prisoners, Confederate guards, Father Whelan, and other figures during Civil War Day at Andersonville National Historic Site!
Kids can drill like Civil War soldiers, build miniature shelters, and discover more about the Civil War period at Andersonville. Talk to living historians portraying Father Whelan, Women of Andersonville, Confederate Guards, and Union Prisoners. Activities will be offered from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 at Andersonville National Historic Site.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, join researcher Damien Shiels to uncover the important role Irish Americans played in the Civil War. Mr. Shiels will also present a special program in Andersonville National Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 14.
Entrance into the park and all activities are free. For more information or to find out how you can become a living history volunteer, call 229-924-0343.
Andersonville National Historic Site is located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, Ga. and 10 miles northeast of Americus, Ga. on Georgia Highway 49.
GGC offers no-cost application in November
Fall is an exciting time for students seeking to further their education. Application deadlines creep up, midterms are rolling in and financial aid planning begins. With this time comes a flurry of payments for application fees and stress from a sudden influx of information about admission to different colleges across the state and beyond.
That is, until 2008 when then Governor Sonny Perdue opened up the state’s application process by offering the Georgia Apply to College (GAC) program to kickstart students’ careers. The GAC program helps participating high schools set up events where the students are exposed to different colleges and majors. It also provides a much-needed volunteer service that helps students with the application process.
To help this movement, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) has highlighted November as a free application month, when applicants can apply for admission for free. This fee waiver was created to address students’ financial challenges. About 81 percent of GGC students qualify for financial aid.
- To find out more about this program and the incentives GGC offers new students, contact admission with the school at ggcadmissions@ggc.edu.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Book on CD: Language A to Z by John McWhorter
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: John McWhorter, professor of Linguistics at Columbia presents a feast of information about language using the alphabet as the backdrop for his lectures. Employing creative catch faces for each letter such as A for Aramaic, D for Double Negatives, F for First Words and G for Greek Alphabet, he moves all the way to Z, illustrating the irregularity of evolution of some words, how slang developed and also how different areas of the world had unique meanings and shortcuts little understood outside of the culture. Each lecture is about 18 minutes and there are 24 lectures in all. A few require two listenings because he imparts much information and the pace of his voice while entertaining can move more quickly than the learner who may be driving, can take in. The series shows how much professor McWhorter reveres language for its mystery, conundrums and its origins and evolution over centuries.
An invitation: Help! We’re about out of recommendations. Get on your thinking cap. Tell us in 150 words 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
UGA’s Press shares Open History Library with readers
The 18 volumes of Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants Who Settled in America (reproduced in 16 books) contain the diaries and letters of Lutheran pastors who ministered to the Salzburgers, German-speaking Protestant refugees, in Georgia. Samuel Urlsperger collected and edited these writings into the Urlsperger Reports printed at Orphanage Press, Halle, Germany, from 1735 to 1760. The original German publication, Ausführliche Nachricht von den saltzburgischen Emigranten, is available through the Internet Archive, but this English-language translation has not been available online until now.
The reports are the work of Samuel Urlsperger, (1685-1772) who was a German Lutheran theologian. It is edited by George Fenwick Jones, (1916-2010) was a professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Maryland, with a foreword by Ben Marsh, a professor in American history at the University of Kent.
The Detailed Reports offer insight into daily life in colonial Georgia and provide precious details and vignettes on subjects that receive less attention in other sources, notably African Americans, women, silk production, and the cost of goods in a frontier colony. The Reports are an underutilized resource for the study of this period and an unparalleled source for the evolution of a rural community during the early years of the colony.
The Georgia Open History Library has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this collection, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The work can be purchased through the University of Georgia Press. It is pleased to share the Georgia Open History Library, an open access library featuring nearly 50 scholarly volumes that provide a detailed portrait of early Georgia and its diverse inhabitants.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Today’s Mystery Photo appears to be a recreation center
For today, we’ll already tell you that this Mystery Photo looks something like a recreational playground. Your job is to tell us where it’s located. Send your guess to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
Lou Camerio, Lilburn, recognized the red bug which was the last Mystery Photo. He wrote: “This is the crayfish monument in Woodbine , Ga. It was sculpted by educator Carlos B. Jones for the 2009 Crawfish Festival. It is located at the Satilla River Waterfront park.” The photo came from Brian Brown of Fitzgerald.
Alan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. said of the mystery: “This steel crawfish sculpture was done in 2009 to help celebrate the annual Woodbine Crawfish Festival that is traditionally held at the park during the last weekend in April. Sadly, because of COVID-19, the event had to be cancelled in 2021, but organizers remain hopeful that it will return in 2022.”
Others recognizing the photo included Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; and George Graf, Palmyra, Va.
Clad in pink and wearing masks, 26 students, faculty and staff members walked a mile on the PCOM Georgia walking trail to help raise money to enhance mammography services in Gwinnett County. Part of Paint Gwinnett Pink, the Office of the Chief Campus Officer has sponsored the community-wide event, hosted by Northside Hospital Gwinnett, since 2018. This year, the President’s Community Wellness Initiative also supported the effort with the 2021 theme, “See Beyond.” Bryan Ginn, chief campus officer says: “The insidious disease of cancer touches us all in some form. I was honored to join with many campus colleagues to celebrate several of our PCOM Georgia breast cancer survivors by walking with them in this fun annual event that supports our community’s efforts to serve those facing this significant health challenge. I walked in honor of my mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor.” (Editor’s note: while GwinnettForum regularly omits photos with people wearing masks, the colors of this group were so vivid that we just had to show them outfitted in pink.)
Gwinnett’s 34th Christmas Tree will be in place November 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse, 185 West Crogan Street in Lawrenceville. A 38-foot Norway Spruce has been selected for Gwinnett County’s 34th annual lighting of the tree. The stately spruce was transported from the mountains of North Carolina and arrived in downtown Lawrenceville November 1. It will now be installed on the lawn of the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse for the lighting on Thanksgiving Day. The tree will remain on display to the public throughout the holiday season.
Harvest Fest will take place November 6 from 1-8 p.m. at the Lawrenceville Lawn . It will bring together live entertainment by three country acts, fun and games for kids, and festive fall activities for the whole family, all at no charge. Enjoy hayrides around the square, a petting zoo with over 20 animals, pumpkin painting station, and food from a variety of vendors.
Veterans Day Ceremony will be November 11 at 11 a.m. at the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. 75 Langley Drive in Lawrenceville.
Mountain Park Community Pop-up meeting will be Saturday November 13, from 1-4 p.m. at JB Williams Park, 4935 Five Forks Trickum Road. Residents of this area are invited to learn about services provided by the Gwinnett Planning and Development and share their vision for the future. For more information, contact Nargis Fountaine at 678-518-5705 or contact PamDOutreach@Gwinnett County.com.
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