GwinnettForum | Number 22.16 | Feb. 24, 2023
BLOOMER: There are signs all around that spring is one the way, as this flowering tree in Gwinnett shows. But beware: Mother Nature can be tricky. And remember, Gwinnett often has snow late in the season, and we haven’t even experienced blackberry winter yet.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Gwinnett teacher shortage and low-rated local schools
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Cherokees removal in Trail of Tears has ties to Gwinnett
ANOTHER VIEW: GGC program inspires big dreams for African-American males
SPOTLIGHT: Walton Gas
FEEDBACK: City of Fitzgerald boosted by Gov. William Nothern
UPCOMING: Gwinnett policy could keep interior of homes up to code
NOTABLE: Ex-GACS Coach Bradford to Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
RECOMMENDED: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
GEORGIA TIDBIT: City of Fitzgerald formed by Northern and Southern veterans
MYSTERY PHOTO: Many have seen this vehicle before; tell us about it
LAGNIAPPE: Henri’s Bakery and Deli will open in Peachtree Corners
CALENDAR: Career Fair will be held March 9 at Annandale Village in Suwanee
Gwinnett teacher shortage and low-rated local schools
“We are at risk of losing many of these highly qualified educators if we do not take a careful look at the factors contributing to burnout in the profession.”— Richard Woods, state school superintendent (June 2022).
By Jack Bernard
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | With 3,112 openings, Georgia has one of the highest numbers of teacher vacancies in the nation. Of the 37 states reporting, only Florida has more teacher vacancies. Georgia is currently in a pitched battle for teachers with surrounding states, which also have vacancies.
Are Georgia’s teachers happy with their profession? A recent report suggests that they are not.
Gwinnett is Georgia’s largest public school district. As reported recently, the public schools in Gwinnett County are also experiencing retention issues.
At a recent school board meeting, the Board heard from a consultant (the Alma Advisory Group) that Gwinnett’s teacher annual turnover rates far exceeded those of the state, as well as national rates. The state has been running 9 percent, the nation at 11 percent, and Gwinnett at 13 percent. In schools containing lower income students,the rate averages 21%. (IS THAT FOR GWINNETT?)
Monica Rosen, CEO of the consultancy, indicated that there was a discrepancy in regard to the proportion of black and Latino students in each school versus African American and Hispanic teachers. Only 30 percent of Gwinnett’s teachers are Black and Latino, versus two thirds of students being Black and Latino.
Gwinnett County School District gets a “B” on its report card, pre-pandemic, per the State Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. See that site for their criteria. However, Gwinnett County schools vary widely regarding their performance. There are many reasons for this, including factors related to income, and teacher retention/performance, addressed here.
Many schools got an “A”. Many more got a “B” or “C.”
Here are the “D” and “F” rankings, the schools that need the most improvement:
D Rated Elementary schools: Anniston, Anderson-Livsey, Meadowcreek, Nesbit, North Metro, Rockbridge, Simonton and Winn Holt.
D Rated Middle Schools: Jordan, Lilburn, Moore, Richards and Snellville.
F Rated Middle Schools: Gwinnett Intervention Ed Center (East/West), International Transition Center and Summerour.
D Rated High Schools: Central Gwinnett, Meadowcreek and Shiloh.
F Rated High Schools: Gwinnett Intervention Ed Center (East/West), International Transition Center and Phoenix.
The state school superintendent established a Task Force on Teacher Burnout, composed of ten of the top teachers in the state and other key parties. Their report makes a multitude of recommendations as to actions to correct deficiencies.
Recommendations including items like: reducing class size, cutting down on bureaucracy and redundancies, providing extra pay for added tasks, adding support staff, having higher pay based on longevity throughout a teacher’s career, supporting increased teacher input, assisting teachers with mentoring when needed, and strengthening existing mental health programs for both students and teachers.
Instead of sending checks back to residents, in effect buying their votes, our state budget surplus needs to be focused on reducing the rate of attrition of our public-school teachers. Unless we have dedicated, well qualified educators, our children will continue to suffer.
Cherokees’ removal in Trail of Tears has ties to Gwinnett
Gwinnett County Courthouse in 2005. Via Wikipedia.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
FEB. 24, 2023 | This week a group was being led on a tour of the new Lawrenceville Performing Arts Center, which is run by the Aurora Theatre. As the group stopped at one exhibit, something was said that the Trail of Tears, which removed Cherokee Indians westward, started at the Gwinnett Courthouse.
One person who did not hear this entirely, exclaimed: “You mean that they gathered all the Indians here to start the Trail of Tears?”
Well, no, that was not what was said. Today in Georgia History reported that on Sept. 15, 1831, the beginning of the infamous Trail of Tears could well be traced to a Gwinnett County courtroom. It all occurred in a case of Worcester v. Georgia.
Here’s some background: During the 1820s, Governor George Gilmer made Cherokee removal a top priority. But in 1827, the Cherokee Nation established a government and declared themselves sovereign.
In response, furious Georgia leaders abolished the Cherokee government, and annexed Cherokee land. Meanwhile, two missionaries working with the Cherokees were providing legal and political advice to the tribe. The missionaries to the Cherokees, Samuel Worcester and Elizur Butler, were accused of violating a newly passed Georgia law that prohibited whites from living within the Cherokee nation.
On October 15, 1831 in a Lawrenceville courtroom, they were tried, convicted and sentenced to hard labor. On appeal to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall struck down Georgia’s laws and ruled the Cherokees a separate, sovereign nation.
The decision outraged President Andrew Jackson and only strengthened Georgia’s resolve to seize Cherokee land and led directly to forced removal in 1838. The dark path to the Trail of Tears began on September 15, 1831.
Here are some additional facts in the case:
Worcester and Butler, who were non-Native Americans, were indicted in the Superior Court of Gwinnett for “residing within the limits of the Cherokee nation without a license,” and without “having taken an oath to support and defend the constitution and laws of the state of Georgia.”
This indictment came in 1830.
Among the arguments made in Worchester was that the state of Georgia could not maintain the prosecution because the statute violated the Constitution, treaties between the United States and the Cherokee nation, and even violated an act of Congress entitled “An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes.”
The Gwinnett court did not listen to Worcester, et als’ arguments. The two were convicted to “Hard labour in the penitentiary for four years.”
On appeal, the main question before the United States Supreme Court was: does the state of Georgia have the authority to regulate the intercourse between citizens of its state and members of the Cherokee Nation?
In the opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the answer was a 5-1 decision for Worchester, with the majority opinion reading: “The Constitution acknowledges Indian tribes as separate and political entities rending the Georgia statue void.”
After receiving a pardon from the subsequent governor, Worchester left Georgia on a promise to never return. He moved to Indian Territory in 1836 in the period of Cherokee removal on the Trail of Tears. Worcester resumed his ministry and continued translating the Bible into Cherokee. On April 20, 1859, he died in Park Hill, Indian Territory. In 1963, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Thanks to Daniel Summers Jr. of the Aurora for help in putting this puzzle together. That’s the end of a history lesson for Gwinnettians today.
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GGC program inspires big dreams for African-American males
From left are Jamarius Strong-Williams, Dr. Brandon Lewis, Gustavious Maddox and Harrison Clark. Photo provided.
By Jacqueline Todd
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Jamarius Strong-Williams has dreams of working in healthcare. The 19-year-old Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) student majors in biology with a concentration in biochemistry in the hope of someday becoming a surgeon. But Strong-Williams said that having grown up in the town of Covington, he felt that such big dreams were elusive for a small-town African American male, where the poverty rate is 21 percent, nearly double the average of the poverty rate in Georgia.
“Where I come from, there are not many people – really anybody at all – who say they want to be things; it’s more about money,” he said. “Surgery isn’t about that – it’s about helping people and giving them the effective care that’s needed.”
When Strong-Williams became a GGC student, he was invited to join the college’s African American Male Initiative/Elite Scholars (AAMI), where he met Harrison Clark, a student who had some big dreams of his own.
“When I came to GGC,” said Strong-Williams, “Harrison told me he wanted to be a lawyer, which gave me more confidence to be more open about what I wanted to be. I saw that everyone wanted to be something that not a lot of African Americans wanted to be.”
Harrison Clark hails from Lithonia, near Covington, with a population of about 2,700 people, with 16 percent of them with a college degree. The son of an African American father and a white mother, Clark struggled with his identity and felt like an outsider in a predominantly Black community. But Clark knew that his road to success ran through a classroom.
The AAMI is an initiative of the University System of Georgia, launched to improve black male graduation rates in its 26 schools. GGC’s AAMI/Elite Scholars program, started at the college in 2011. It’s designed to meet students where they are, according to Dr. Brandon Lewis, who began overseeing the initiative in 2021. Lewis, an associate professor in GGC’s School of Education, sees the program as the catalyst that attracts historically marginalized students, gives them an outlet for their experiences and feelings and offers a way for them to navigate their college experience – and beyond – with purpose.
AAMI activities are plentiful and varied. The group hosts discussion sessions, where guest speakers who are GGC AAMI alumni return to the college to speak to group members. Students participate in peer mentoring, where older AAMI members mentor their first- and second-year counterparts. Recently, AAMI members participated in a luncheon event with GGC President Jann L. Joseph to share their thoughts and ideas about the school and its offerings.
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Walton Gas
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Walton Gas is a local natural gas provider that serves homes and businesses all across Gwinnett – and the greater Atlanta area! With an office in Gwinnett, they have a rich history of investing in this community – from civic and business groups to non-profits organizations and scholarships/grants for school students and classrooms. They have received the highest customer satisfaction ratings among all of Georgia’s competitive natural gas providers. To learn more about their outstanding value and service, call 770-427-4328 or, visit:www.waltongas.com/gwinnett.
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City of Fitzgerald boosted by Gov. William Northen
Editor, the Forum:
It’s a shame the Georgia Encyclopedia has no mention of the pivotal part Gov.William Northen had in the founding of one of America’s unique cities — Fitzgerald, the Colony City.
Indiana newspaper editor P.H. Fitzgerald was receiving numerous letters from former Union Army veterans about the economic difficulties they were having, mainly because of the federal government not honoring ensign benefits.
Fitzgerald had the idea to form a colony for veterans in a part of the country without the harsh winters of the North, and he began to look at Georgia. His strongest ally in his effort was Governor Northen, who helped him choose the site in Irwin County, later Ben Hill County, which was an equidistance from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1896, Fitzgerald was formally founded with Governor Northen on hand. The planned city became a haven for the disenfranchised Union veterans, who were welcomed by Confederate veterans, and Fitzgerald became the “City where America reunited,” thanks to William Northen.
– Tim Anderson, editor and publisher, Fitzgerald News-Herald, Fitzgerald, Ga.
Dear Tim: thanks for this. Note that the governor is prominently mentioned in the Georgia encyclopedia entry about the City of Fitzgerald. See the Georgia Tidbit below.—eeb
Here are a few items about soft drinks in the South
Editor, the Forum:
RC was from Columbus, Coke syrup was made in Atlanta, and there was another drink called Double Cola that was made in Chattanooga. RC and Double Cola had their own syrups. Coke bottles were made in Chattanooga.
On July 21, 1899, Chattanooga attorneys Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead signed an agreement with Asa Candler, president of the Coca-Cola Company, to receive exclusive rights to bottle the soft drink throughout most of the United States. Because of the bottling rights, there is more Coca-Cola wealth in Chattanooga than Atlanta. (Wikipedia.)
Coke bottles were made in Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Glass Company made bottles for other colas, too. Chattanooga Box and Woodenware made the 24 bottle case for colas, as well as the six pack container. Cavalier in Chattanooga made the Coke coolers, and later Vendo and others made them. There is more Coca Cola money in Chattanooga than Atlanta. I know all this because I grew up in Chattanooga.
– Raleigh Perry, Buford
Editor, the Forum:
The old days of country baseball and Cokes were interesting. Don’t forget walking up and down the road to find drink bottles that people had thrown out their car windows so we could get a few pennies when we turned them in at the store.
I grew up in Toccoa/Stephens County, and that was a long time ago.
– Darrell Pruitt, Sugar Hill
Editor, the Forum:
Yes, I also fondly remember the RC Cola. Growing up in Missouri, we were not so much on the peanuts although we also loved that delicacy. When we had money for it, we went to Moore’s store on Highway 77 and asked for an “RC Coca Cola and a Moon Pie. Trust me, they are as much a match as the peanuts.
– Dan Bollinger, Sr., Loganville
(Dear Dan: several people pointed out that in talking about buying iced drinks in bottles during my childhood, I didn’t mention a favorite of many: Moon Pies and a RC Cola. For some reason, the pies were never a favorite of mine. –eeb)
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Gwinnett policy could keep interior of homes up to code
It’s the first major step, Gwinnett Commissioners have voiced their support to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code, with local amendments tailored to the needs of Gwinnett County.
If adopted, Gwinnett County code enforcement officers will be able to work with tenants at residential rental properties to make sure the interior of the home is up to code. As it stands today, officers don’t have the authority to issue citations for interior code violations.
Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson says that as the county grows, the Board’s support is a step in the right direction. “Everyone deserves a safe and comfortable place to live. This resolution not only ensures our residents feel valued, it holds landlords accountable for how their properties are maintained.”
The amendments are limited to residential rental properties to allow Gwinnett County to effectively address complaints by tenants. State law requires the Department of Community Affairs to conduct a 60-day review of the proposed changes prior to final adoption of the International Property Maintenance Code by the Board of Commissioners.
Ex-GACS Coach Bradford to Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
Jackie Bradford being hosted by the 1977 championship team. Photo provided.
Greater Atlanta Christian School legendary coach, Jackie Bradford, is set to be inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on February 25. Bradford joined GAC in 1968 as the head basketball coach, where he accomplished an impressive record of 253-82 and secured three state championships in 1971, 1972, and 1977.
Hailing from Valdosta, Bradford played college basketball at Lipscomb University and received honorable mention All-American honors before joining GAC. Following his coaching career, Bradford played a vital role in the success of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, serving as president and executive director from 1975-2004. The club’s annual Naismith Awards recognize the top players and coaches in women’s and men’s basketball at the national, state, and local level. In 2012, he was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
Bradford will officially join the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame at the 67th Annual Induction Ceremony on February 25, 2023, at the Macon City Auditorium. Along with Bradford, the 2023 class includes Andruw Jones and Ron Reed of the Atlanta Braves, former Georgia Bulldogs football coach Mark Richt, former Georgia Tech quarterback Shawn Jones, former Georgia Bulldogs tennis player Al Parker, former Braves and Hawks front office member Stan Kasten, and longtime Southwest DeKalb football coach Buck Godfrey.
Food Bank of NE Georgia gets $50,000 from Jackson EMC
Jackson EMC has donated $50,000 to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia for its new facility expansion project, slated to open in 2024.
Erin Barger, president and CEO of the Food Bank, responds: “We applaud Jackson EMC for being, not only a reliable and effective electricity provider, but moreover a leader in philanthropic investment.”
Jackson EMC’s donation will provide for the cold storage units, including freezer and refrigeration, and space in the new expanded facility.
Barger adds: “The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia is grateful to Jackson EMC for understanding the power and promise behind the vision of a new food bank, which will increase our overall facility capacity by 65 percent, giving us the opportunity to mobilize millions more meals,”.
Barger explains why space is paramount in food banking. “Access to food is essential for our neighbors, and our new facility will help ensure food access for the next generation.”
The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia works to address hunger and end food insecurity by serving communities across the region, providing consistent access to nourishing food and relevant education.
The Jackson EMC donation was made possible using margin refunds that have been unclaimed by the electric cooperative’s members for five years. Legislation passed in 2005 permits Georgia electric cooperatives to make charitable, education and economic development contributions of unclaimed margin refunds.
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Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
Set in the Lowcountry near Charleston, this book has several levels of stories, centered around a particular small condo complex, telling the stories of its occupants. One is a newly-arrived teen spending the summer there before heading for college in Charleston. Another is a 26-year-old hippie, who escaped a cult camp, while another is a chef who grew up on the island where the stories are centered. Add two older sisters who have not spoken for ages, and a famous author who never much gets past his first book. Throw in an unexplained unlocked door each morning at one of the condos, plus several reports of a ghost sighting, so toward the end, you have quite a tale unfolding. Then there’s the island’s history, centered around marshmallow chocolate, and this makes the book particularly interesting. It’s a good tale with a great ending. It’s a delightful read.—eeb
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City of Fitzgerald formed by Northern and Southern veterans
Fitzgerald, the seat of Ben Hill County, is located in the heart of south central Georgia, 25 miles northeast of Tifton. Settled in 1896 by a land company under the direction of Philander H. Fitzgerald, the town is best known as a place of reconciliation among Civil War (1861-65) veterans.
Fitzgerald, a former drummer boy in the Union army, had become a pension attorney with a thriving practice in Indianapolis, Ind. His interest in the welfare of his fellow veterans, well documented in the widely read weekly newspaper American Tribune, led Fitzgerald to conceive of the idea for a soldiers’ colony in the South. Georgia governor William J. Northen was eager to settle some of the sparsely populated areas in the wiregrass region of the Coastal Plain, and after some negotiation they settled on the area around the site of the former turpentine village of Swan on the Ocmulgee River.
Early on, the prospect of so many northerners inhabiting the Deep South was a strange concept, but as soon as settlement began, the locals offered their cooperation. An early nickname of Fitzgerald, the “Colony City,” is still in use today. Through this harmony the idea that the town would be a spotlight of post- Reconstruction reconciliation was assured. There was little strife among the new colonists, who proved their dedication to unity by naming an equal number of streets in the city proper for Union and Confederate notables. In one of the first public-works constructions in the United States, a mammoth four-story hotel was built; it was named the Lee-Grant Hotel, to honor the leaders of the opposing sides of the Civil War.
In 1906 the town became the seat of the newly created Ben Hill County, named for prominent Confederate Georgia senator Benjamin Hill. Previously it was located in Irwin County, which was subdivided partly because Fitzgerald was about five times the size of the county seat of Irwinville. Almost immediately there was a model structure of government in the newly designated seat of government. A mayor and council were soon elected, and the city already had in place fire and police protection, infrastructure, and even a utility provider, which was quite rare at the time. The school system was among the first in the state of Georgia to issue free textbooks to students, in 1897.
Much attention was brought to the city through the efforts of Beth Davis, founder and director of the Blue and Gray Museum. The museum hosts a Roll Call of the States, in which visitors from every state in the Union are photographed with their respective state flags. This idea was derived from an early custom in the colony in which representatives of the many northern and midwestern states paraded in unity through the center of town.
The writers Brainard Cheney and Frances Mayes, as well as military leader Raymond G. Davis, were born in Fitzgerald
Mayor Gerald Thompson, who held office from 1968 to 2011, made the growth of Fitzgerald his life’s work. Through his efforts nearly 30 industries, East Central Technical College (later Wiregrass Georgia Technical College), and services usually expected only in larger cities thrived.
According to the U.S. census, the 2020 population of Fitzgerald was 9,006.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Many have seen this vehicle before; tell us about it
We’ll tell you in advance that many of you have seen this vehicle before. Now you tell us the rest of the story. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
The most recent Mystery Photo drew several quick responses: Channing Haskell, Peachtree Corners; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Steve Ogilvie, Lawrenceville: “Edinburgh Castle. Visited when I was a kid. My dad’s parents came from Dundee and he had an aunt and uncle who lived in Edinburgh. That summer we visited them twice;” Lou Camerio, Lilburn; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; John Titus, Peachtree Corners; Michael Green of Milton; and from the Central Time Zone, Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex. Haskell sent a view (at left) of one of the cannons at the Castle.
Peel wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is a shot of the Edinburgh Castle sitting high up on Castle Rock in the center of Edinburgh, Scotland. The Princes Street Gardens are actually two adjacent public parks that were created in the 1820s and are extremely popular with locals and tourists all year long, but especially during the flowering and budding spring season. The West Princes Street Garden is 29-acres in size, and is the larger of the two parks.
“The Edinburgh Castle is situated high on the top of Castle Rock which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age (1200 BC – 550 BC), and the site has had a royal residential castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century. Since the 17th century it has been predominantly used as a large garrison with military barracks. Only a few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century when the medieval defenses were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment.”
A NEW EATERY is coming to Peachtree Corners. It is Henri’s Bakery and Deli, which already operates five locations in Metro Atlanta, originally established in 1929. The Gwinnett location will be at 5005 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 820, near the Ingles supermarket. Joel Keller, chief operating officer, said it is expected to open in April 2023.
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre presents two iconic ballets at the Gas South Theatre on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. and March 5 at 2 p.m. The ballets are Carmen and Paquita, two classical ballets. Paquita, set by GBT’s Artistic Director Lori Zamzow-Wire, and contemporary ballet Carmen, choreographed and set by Michael Garrison, are full of precise technique, dazzling costumes, and exciting music. Use the discount code “BringAFriend” to receive two tickets for the price of one at the Gas South box office.
Career Fair will be held March 9 at Annandale Village in Suwanee. Open positions include CNAs, CMAs, LPNs, RNs, direct support professionals and much more, including roles in food services, housekeeping and transportation. A full list of open positions can be found online at annandale.candidatecare.jobs. Annandale Village is one of three places in the United States offering a full continuum of care for adults living with developmental disabilities or acquired brain injuries, from independent community-based care to on-campus independent and semi-independent living, through assisted living and skilled nursing.
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