1/5: Global investors; continuing objectives; our money

SKATING FUN: Though the winter has been warm so far, people are flocking to a new element in Sugar Hill, its ice skating rink. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp recently visited the site, behind Sugar Hill City Hall. He says: “It’s great that area residents have a neighborhood skating rink so  citizens  don’t have to make the long drive to Centennial Olympic Park rink in downtown Atlanta to skate.” The Sugar Hill rink will be open until January 30. A snack bar is located at one end of the rink as Big Bird keeps an eye on the skaters.

For more views of Sugar Hill skating, click here.

TODAY’S FOCUS: Global Investors Look at Gwinnett and See Some Drawbacks

EEB PERSPECTIVE: A Look at GwinnettForum’s Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett

ANOTHER VIEW: Where is Georgia’s share of federal dollars? Some is still in Washington

UPCOMING: Several New Art Classes on Tap at Kudzu Art Zone

NOTABLE: Jackson EMC Foundation Distributes $67,000 to Gwinnett Charities

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANT: Newk’s in Peachtree Corners

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Here’s How You Pronounce One of Georgia’s Smallest Counties

TODAY’S QUOTE: Calvin Coolidge’s View of the Spirit of Christmas

MYSTERY PHOTO: Beautiful Photograph Asks You “Where Was This Taken?”

LAGNIAPPE: High Waters in Atlanta

(Editor’s Note: The main telephone line of GwinnettForum has been inoperable for several days. If you need to reach GwinnettForum, call its second line, which is working, 770 840 6025. We hope to have this AT&T line restored soon, but it’s been two weeks now.—eeb)

Global investors look at Gwinnett County and see some drawbacks

By John Snyder

NORCROSS, Ga., Jan. 5, 2016 — “Global investors are looking toward Atlanta.”

This was the headline of an article in the Dec. 23, 2015 AJC, dealing with the regional economy and what major investors are looking for. These investors, both national and international, are impressed with the variety of business-to-business technologies the area possesses. They view Atlanta as a fertile ground for investing thanks to the Advance Technology Development Center and the Atlanta Tech Village. This region is looked upon favorably as being supportive of technology growth.

Snyder

However, if we as a region want to continue succeeding, it will require maintaining and developing more infrastructure projects along with having investment in these project increased to attract and maintain talent, investors, entrepreneurs coupled with Fortune 500 companies.

Mobility is a key element of this strategy as more and more of the Fortune 500 companies demand access to mass transit. We, as a region, and as a county, Gwinnett, must come to the realization that the time for foot dragging is over, whether it is a possible conflict with other projects or a reactionary opinion by some voter elements.

We as a county have already suffered multiple business losses of Fortune 500 companies, most recently NCR moving from Gwinnett. We, as citizens of Gwinnett, either business owners or workers, cannot and must not allow this trend to continue.

A short-sighted view on regional mass transit is affecting each and every one of Gwinnett County business owners and workers. When a Fortune 500 company either relocates to Atlanta from Gwinnett County or passes on building here, this is a major drawback. When they do not move their headquarters because of our county elected officials refusal to do what is needed with mass transit to improve our county, we in Gwinnett County are suffering. This is the effect of unnecessary obstacles to the attractiveness of locations when being analyzed by Fortune 500 companies.

The longer we wait for change, the more we as a county lose on employment opportunities, increased taxes, expanding our colleges, and funding for charities in the county. Naysayers cannot dictate anymore what is going to be funded.

We citizens of Gwinnett County have the power to fix this, whether it involves conversations with our commissioners or using the power of the ballot to end this direction of ultimate disaster. We need commission members who look to increase the success of all peoples of the county.

Another look at GwinnettForum’s continuing objectives

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher

JAN. 5, 2016 — Each issue of GwinnettForum contains our list of Continuing Objectives for the county. These objectives have been arrived at after much thought about what is needed to make life in Gwinnett better.

These are long-term objectives to improve our county. These objectives need the support of local citizens to stimulate county officials into recognizing the importance of these goals, and making them happen. We ask GwinnettForum readers to recognize these objectives, and mention them to our local officials so that the improvements can be accomplished.

There has been little movement on these goals in 2015. We look forward to more interest in these objectives during 2016. Here are several thoughts concerning objective which may see more action in 2016.

With this a political year, there is hope for several to be accomplished. Specifically, we look forward to a more rigorous two-party system for Gwinnett. While the Republicans have been strong here for years, we have been saddened at the continual weakness of the Democratic Party. Some say that with more diversity in the county, there is hope that the Democratic Party can be more aggressive in the future. It needs a larger base of operations, and strong leadership. This could come from people who have not been active in Democratic affairs before who see the possibilities for attainment of more accomplishments in the new year.

Coupled with leadership from the trenches, the Democratic Party must fill challenges in offices with people who are accomplished and electable. This will strengthen the alternative party more than anything else.

Happily, last year saw the start of more talk about rapid transit in the county. While studying issues is important, what the county needs is a proposal for voters to show their support for rapid transit. That puts the onus on the county to work toward a reasonable proposal with all dispatch available. To delay work on this means more traffic congestion and frustration by motorists.

One of the pleasures of 2015 has been a more active arts community. With a new board showing leadership, the Hudgens Art Center is taking on new life, now having a new director. Not only that, but there is growing interest in the arts in our cities, which is also commendable. Hurrah! While more is needed, there was significant move on this objective last year.

There was also significant enlargement of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District in 2016. That was commendable and bodes well for the re-development of that area of the county.

Here is the list of our Objectives for 2016

Gwinnett Objectives:

• Development of a two-party system for county offices.
• Light rail for Gwinnett from Doraville MARTA station to Gwinnett Arena.
• Extension of Gwinnett Place CID area to include Gwinnett Arena and Sugarloaf Mills Mall.
• Banning of tobacco in all Gwinnett parks.
• More diverse candidates for political offices and appointment to local boards.
• Creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
• Advancement and expansion of municipal and Gwinnett historical societies.
• Stronger regulation of late-night establishments with alcoholic licenses.

Statewide objectives:

• Moving statewide non-partisan judge election runoffs to the General Election.
• Requiring the Georgia Legislature to meet once every two years.
• Establishment of more Community Gardens.
• Development of more roundabouts at heavy traffic intersections.

Where is the money that Georgia sends to DC? Still in Washington

By George Wilson

JAN. 5, 2015 – – Your money stays in Washington because of reactionary conservative Republican state government policy. Let me explain. Georgia ranked 39th in per-person receipts from the federal government in fiscal year 2013, the most recent calculated by State Policy Reports, a publication of the Washington-based Federal Funds Information for States. The state’s lowest ranking, 46th, in terms of federal grants per person, is the money doled out for projects like highways, sewer projects, education and mostly Medicaid.

Gov. Nathan Deal decided not to take advantage of bonus grants if the state expanded its Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act., but that didn’t take effect until after the period analyzed. However, that decision means Georgia most likely received less grant money per person than states that expanded their Medicaid health coverage for the poor.

Also in the category of grants is funding for transportation. The state has passed up offers of federal grants to build passenger-rail lines, but transportation leaders here complain that the state doesn’t get its share of road funding. Yet polls show a strong preference for rail. In fiscal year 2013, Georgia received $1,163 per person in overall federal grants compared to the national average of $1,600.

Moreover, the lack of participation in the expansion of Medicaid probably results in a job loss of about 65,000 jobs. This has resulted in diminished tax revenues and the loss of the multiplier effect on the economy. Hence it has caused Georgia’s unemployment numbers to remain too high. In addition, the loss of life because of not having health insurance is a serious moral issue. Furthermore, we all pay higher rates because of the uninsured using the emergency rooms for health services. So any rise in health insurance premiums should be blamed on Governor Deal and the Republican dominated legislature, not the Affordable Health Care Act or Obama care.

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Several new and different art classes on tap for Kudzu Art Zone

New art class offerings are on tap at Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross. Kudzu Art Zone offers art classes that focus on both technique and the creative spirit.

Kudzu Art Zone is a non-profit art center and gallery, dedicated to fostering a supportive culture for both visual artists and art enthusiasts. The organization, located at 116 Carlyle Street in Norcross, offers art classes suited to varied levels of expertise and interest.

Starting in January, a new group of classes in oil, acrylic, watercolor painting and drawing will be taught by experienced, well-known instructors in the Atlanta metro area such as Chris Sherry, Summer Lowe and Karen Chesney. The noted artist, Mark Mehaffey will teach a four day workshop (February 15-18). In addition to classes that emphasize technique, Kudzu Art Zone offers classes that focus on nurturing the creative spirit.

Beginning January 14, Karen Chesney will lead a class entitled “Art Journaling.”  This class is for anyone who likes to doodle, sketch or jot down quick drawings. According to Ms. Chesney, “an art journal is an informal way to try new things, test ideas, record creative ideas, and document the things we see and think.” Ms. Chesney will also teach a class in basic drawing and another class in oil painting at Kudzu Art Zone.

Micah Goguen is leading a class entitled “The Artist’s Way.” This class is not just for artists; it is geared to anyone who wants to explore their creative side. Based on the book by Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way has spawned numerous support groups around the world. Micah Goguen’s 12-week class is designed to help people work through creative blocks and develop confidence.

Beginning Wednesday, January 20, Chelsea Elliott Harris will lead two art therapy classes: a teen session from 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., and an adult session from 7 to 9 p.m. These classes will meet once a week for four weeks. Ms. Harris holds a Master of Science degree in Art Therapy from Florida State University.

• Those interested in classes can visit www.kudzuartzone.org for more information.

Author Brad Taylor coming Jan. 9 for talk, signing

Author Brad Taylor will talk and have a book signing on January 9 at 3 p.m. at Barnes and Noble at the Forum in Peachtree Corners. He has written 14 fiction books, generally on military matters.

Taylor was born on

Taylor

Okinawa, Japan, but grew up on 40 acres in rural Texas.  Graduating from the University of Texas, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry then served for more than 21 years, retiring as a Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel.

During that time he held numerous Infantry and Special Forces positions, including eight years commanding troops in First Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta.  He has conducted operations in support of US national interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other classified locations.

His final assignment was as the Assistant Professor of Military Science at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.  He holds a master’s degree in defense analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, with a concentration in Irregular Warfare.  When not writing, he serves as a security consultant on asymmetric threats for various agencies.

Brenau art and design students on display at High Museum for a month

The third Brenau University Student Art and Design Show will be held January 5 through February 7 at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The show includes work from art education, studio art, fashion design, mass communications and pre-occupational therapy students. There will be a reception for the show at the High on Sunday, January 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. The reception will offer light refreshments, music and will be free and open to the public.

More than 100 unique artworks from over 30 students will be on display, including digital prints, ceramics, oil and acrylic paintings, stoneware and mixed media. The exhibition will be held in the museum’s Greene Family Education Center in the lower level of the Stent Family Wing.

Jackson EMC Foundation awards $67,000 to Gwinnett charities

The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $98,910 in grants to organizations during their November meeting, including $67,000 to agencies serving Gwinnett County residents. Among those getting awards:

• $15,000 to Annandale at Suwanee, a nonprofit community serving adults with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury, for the Afterglow Gardens program, a horticulture therapy program using a climate-controlled greenhouse and garden center that will provide year-round recreational/therapeutic gardening opportunities ranging from potting plants, working in raised beds and harvesting produce.

• $15,000 to the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter to provide 60 homeless children and their mothers with The Next Step program, which provides a 3-12 month transitional living experience where children can regain a sense of security and mothers can work with a life coach to develop a customized plan to help them achieve financial security and permanent housing to prevent future homelessness.

• $15,000 to the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center Foundation, a multi-use science, history, culture, heritage and environmental facility located on a 700-acre campus in Buford, to allow students from low-income families to attend interpretative, hands-on field studies and educational programs.

• $12,000 to St. Vincent de Paul Society Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch for its Aid Hot Line program, which provides emergency aid to families in crisis for rent, mortgage and temporary housing to prevent homelessness and disrupted lives.

• $10,000 to Athens Urban Ministries, a grassroots organization dedicated to assisting those in Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Jackson and Madison counties who need a hand up, to help provide instruction and materials for GED training to promote self-sufficiency.

Any individual or charitable organization in the ten counties served by Jackson EMC (Clarke, Banks, Barrow, Franklin, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison and Oglethorpe) may apply for a Foundation grant by completing an application, available online at http://www.jacksonemc.com/foundation-guidelines or at local Jackson EMC offices.  Applicants do not need to be a member of Jackson EMC.

GGC’s Golden Key Society packs shoeboxes for the needy

The Golden Key International Honor Society Chapter at Georgia Gwinnett College led the campus community in supporting Operation Christmas Child for the second year. This project promoted one of the college’s four pillars, service. Operation Christmas Child is a humanitarian relief organization that gives shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items to children in poverty-stricken regions, disaster areas and refugee camps in the United States and abroad. The project received more than 100 shoeboxes packed by individuals, groups and entire classes. Golden Key officers packed additional boxes with other donated items and passed along financial contributions from campus community members to Operation Christmas Child. Below from left are Golden Key officers Anna Davidson, vice president of public relations and communications; India Dillard, secretary; (in box) William Chase, vice president; Sergio Ballesteros, president; Jarron Ridgley, treasurer and Julian Dsilva, past treasurer.

Glass no longer accepted for recycling at Recycling Bank of Gwinnett

The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett is no longer accepting glass for recycling.

The Bank had on its web site the following information:

“Since our inception in 1980, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has been proud to accept glass bottles and jars among our long list of items for recycling. However, beginning January 1, 2016, the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett will no longer be able to accept glass bottles and jars at our facility. To provide you with many reasons why this difficult decision has been made, we have created this fact sheet – including research compiled by the National Waste and Recycling Association. We encourage you to change your recycling habits and either find alternatives to glass bottles and jars when shopping or get into the habit of putting your glass in with your trash.”

• To read the details, click here.

Newk’s Restaurant in Peachtree Corners

My husband and I just ate at the now open Newk’s Restaurant in Norcross at The Forum. They had many sandwiches and soups and salads and pizzas to choose from. I had the Pesto Chicken sandwich with fruit, which was good. My husband chose the Choice Roast Beef sandwich with chips which he enjoyed. Both meals were under $9. When we go back, I may try one of the salads and Mark was looking at the pizzas! Bon Appetit! The restaurant is located at 5185 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 105, in Peachtree Corners.

— Cindy Evans, Duluth

An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb

Here’s how you pronounce one of Georgia’s smallest counties

Taliaferro County (pronounced “Tolliver”), in east central Georgia, is the state’s 69th county, created in 1825 from Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, Warren, and Wilkes counties. It was named for Benjamin Taliaferro, who was a colonel during the American Revolution (1775-83), as well as a Georgia legislator and a judge. The land was originally held by Native Americans, who ceded it to the colonial government of Georgia in 1763.

The seat of the 195-square-mile county is Crawfordville, named for William Harris Crawford, an early presidential cabinet member and candidate for U.S. president in 1824. Hermon Mercer, brother of the founder of Mercer University in Macon, produced a city plan for Crawfordville. Known thereafter as the “Crawfordville Plat,” it was later used by a number of Georgia towns. In the 1880s and 1890s thousands of visitors came to the county for the reputed healing powers of the Electric Health Resort near Sharon, where it was said that exposure to bedrock in a subterranean chamber provided electrical healing powers. The resort, which included a hotel, lake, and post office, burned down, but the rubble left behind is still visible.

In 1965 Taliaferro County came to national attention during the struggle to desegregate its schools. Local resistance to integration prompted Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to call for a protest march from Crawfordville to Atlanta.

Notable persons from Taliaferro County include John Loyd Atkinson Sr., a Tuskegee Airman during World War II (1941-45) and the first black superintendent in the Georgia state parks system; writer Richard Malcolm Johnston; Robert Grier, founder of Grier’s Almanac; and Georgia governor Alexander Stephens.

The Taliaferro County Historical Society maintains a museum next to its offices in the antebellum post office building in Crawfordville. Additionally, the A. H. Stephens Historic Park, founded in 1933, was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It encompasses Liberty Hall and the adjoining lands, birthplace, and home of Alexander Stephens.

Once a symbol of southern hospitality, the mansion included rooms for permanent residents, well-to-do visitors, and poor transients. Stephens spent his old age there and is buried on the property.

Restored with help from both public and private sources, Liberty Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and is open for tours. The whole park was added to the register in 1995. Visitors to the park may also tour the park’s Confederate museum, which displays Civil War artifacts, uniforms, and documents. Recreational land within the 1,177-acre park features a camp for large overnight groups and many attractions for nature lovers.

According to the 2010 U.S. census, the county’s population was 1,717, a decrease from the 2000 population of 2,077. It is the county with the fewest residents in Georgia.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Beautiful photograph asks you, “Where was this taken?”

This beautiful photograph brilliantly shows the harbor at a seaside town. Can you figure but where it is?   Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.

Photo by Michael Kaynard, KaynardPhotography.com

The photo in the last edition of a building with a Santa hat had four people who recognized the city, that of Charleston, S.C. Howard Williams of Snellville nailed it better than anyone, also identifying the location: He wrote: “The 266-year old home is located in Charleston, S.C. at the corner of Meeting and Tradd streets. The owner covered the cone-shaped cupola part of the roof with a Santa hat.”

John Hager of Lilburn said: “Thought it looked like the Juliette Low house in Savannah, but it’s not. Still looks like Savannah or Charleston.  Only places I can think of with palm trees and high enough land values back then to cause one of wealth to build a house like that right up to the sidewalk.” David Earl Tyre of Jesup said:: “I am pretty sure the photo was of a building in Charleston, S.C., but can’t bring the street names up.” Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill wrote: “Knee-jerk reaction to photo Charleston. But I have no idea where it is in Charleston. Such a playful decoration.” Congratulations to all these eagle-eyed readers.

Recent rain creates overflowing waters in many areas

Over the Christmas holidays, Gwinnett and all of Atlanta was awash with rainfall, measuring over seven inches in one Gwinnett spot. Russell Mullennix of McDonough sent to his brother in Peachtree Corners, Scott, this image of a recent Mystery Photo, that of Starr’s Mill. But instead of the relatively quiet flow, now the water was pouring mightily over the dam.

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