BIG WINNER: Greater Atlanta Christian School’s Giving Officer, Becky Martin, and Greater Atlanta Christian School have received the Georgia GOAL Scholarship, Inc. Achiever Award and Marketing Award. The Achiever Award recognizes the Georgia school that best implemented 1Christian School comprehensively manages GOAL with great success. That includes effective and widespread fundraising, broad and responsible awarding of scholarships, creative and excellent affirmation of their GOAL, and steadfast involvement in the legislative process. She is shown with Georgia GOAL President, Lisa Kelly. The Marketing Award is for implementation of the most creative and effective marketing and communication campaign. This year, 132 students were able to attend Greater Atlanta Christian School due, in part, to donations made to the Georgia GOAL scholarship program.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Grieving Father Ponders Problems of Addiction to Drugs
EEB PERSPECTIVE: The Way Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Looks at Voter Registration Drives
ANOTHER VIEW: Can Voters See Through Smokescreen of Campaign for President?
SPOTLIGHT: Primerica Inc.
FEEDBACK: How Do Exit Pollsters Wind Up with All These Silly-Season Details?
UPCOMING: Norcross Plans Neighborhood Clean Up and Recycling on September 24
NOTABLE: Suwanee LDS Congregation Helps Baton Rouge Storm Victims
RECOMMENDED: Cardinal Hill by Mary Anna Bryan
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Kolomoki Mounds near Blakely Date Back Maybe Before Christ
TODAY’S QUOTE: Oh, The Joys of Our Many Freedoms, Which We Often Seldom Use
MYSTERY PHOTO: This Peaceful Mystery Photograph Could Be from Anywhere
LAGNIAPPE: Georgia Gwinnett College Hosts Reception for Fellows Program
CALENDAR: 64th Annual Gwinnett County Fair Opens on September 15
TODAY’S FOCUSGrieving father ponders problems of addiction to drugs
(Editor’s Note: A friend of ours recently lost a grown daughter to drug addiction. With this touching so many people, we thought others might benefit from reading his lament for his daughters. The article first appeared in the Jesup Press-Sentinel, and is edited for space. –eeb)
By Derby Waters, Jesup, Ga. | On August 7 a young woman lay down to sleep and never woke up. She was a mother of two children, beautiful, highly-educated person, and my daughter.
She was also a drug addict. A great part of my heart is empty.
Waters
What I can feel of it is sorrow so profound there are no words to describe it. Almost 600,000 people in the United States will die this year, just as my daughter did. Death from drug use is among the top killers in this nation. More than 1,600 will die every day this year. That’s 1,600 more grieving families, 1,600 funerals every day, 365 days each year.
Anna Jo did not want to be an addict. She didn’t work to achieve her master’s degree to become an addict. She didn’t marry and have her children to become an addict. She didn’t plan her home and life to become an addict. But just as with so many other addicts, a physical ailment led to the use of pain pills and then stronger prescription medicine and ultimately a dive into the dark, soul-eating world of an addict— the ultimate destination for those with that addictive genetic component.
Just like many other addicts, my daughter tried to live in two separate worlds. One she hated but could not stay away from, and the other she loved and wanted desperately to stay in. Only she could not. And because of that, she was miserable, ripped into, living a lie in a world she desired and plunging into the other to escape her pain and torment, her shame and her inability to forgive and love herself. We tried any and everything to reach inside that other world and snatch our daughter, our sister, back to this world. Treatment, counseling and tenderness, tough love and pulling away.
Fear. Always we lived with the fear that the inevitable day would come as it does for most long-term users. It’s the day we feared but could not really comprehend.
We all worked so hard to avoid that day, and always the specter stalked just behind us. A shadow cast its darkness over all we did, taunting and pulling at our shirttails. We dared not look back lest it reach out and catch us, and so we raced from one episode to the next, trying desperately to hold onto that one family member who needed us, the one we willed to keep one step ahead of that shadow.
But in the end it came. And its endless depth still surprises that it found us. We could not imagine. Surely we could not love so much and try so hard and have it all end this way. It is not so. It is not so.
But it is.
The great majority of addicts do not want that life, but like Pavlovian slaves, they are controlled by beasts that will not let go.
Many more will die, and many more families will lose a loved one. It is a blight and a shame on our society that we cannot/will not do more to show them love and compassion and to give them the medical attention that this disease requires.
This community has poured out love and compassion for us. And for that we are so grateful. So many friends, so much love. Maybe somehow Anna Jo can know this, and it will give her comfort as it does for us.
Rest now, my darling daughter. You were loved so well.—Daddy.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The way Kareem Abdul-Jabbar looks at voter registration drives
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | The concerted efforts by many politicians to have voter registration drives seeks to get more participation in our democracy by citizens who so far don’t vote.
On the surface, it seems a reasonable move.
But not to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the former UCLA and Milwaukee Bucks basketball star, who was once known as Lew Alcindor. The other day on National Public Radio we heard him explaining why he thinks such voter registration drives are not a good idea. You may be surprised at the way he reasons:
“Ignorance is not something that really lends itself to a meaningful discussion. So some of these people really shouldn’t vote, because they don’t know what the issues are. And I think people that are voting in the blind are doing a dis-service to our country by not being better informed….I hope that everybody understands the issues and votes their conscience according to a well-informed effort on their part.”
Abdul-Jabbar
By now I was paying close attention. He continued:
“By knowing what the issues are and how things can proceed, given what the issues are, I think we get a lot more done when we have the electorate being well informed. And it is my fervent hope that a well-informed electorate is the result of all this. Some (people) definitely aren’t prepared to vote. And that’s unfortunate, but it’s a fact.”
Immediately his thoughts found acceptance by me.
In our family, we remember we had one member who at one time was not paying much attention to the political process. This person was also registered to vote, and our fear was that she would vote…..wrong because of her-then ignorance. Happily, this person is fully informed today, and we are pleased at the way she thinks, and will “vote right.”
We remember when Abdul-Jabbar was a star player, setting records one after another, at both the college and professional level, finishing in 1974. But we had not kept up with him after his sporting career.
He has written several books, including his latest just published, Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White. For years he has been a regular columnist for TIME magazine, and a regular contributor to discussions on race and religion, among other topics, in national magazines and on television.
He was raised a Catholic, but became a Muslim not liking the way the Catholic church treated Africans years ago. At that time, he also changed his name, with him saying he was “latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims. My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th century. My people survived slavery. My father, a New York policeman, found out about that when I was a kid and it gave me all I needed to know, that, hey, I was somebody even if nobody else knew about it. When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that’s a terrible burden on black people, because they don’t have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.”
That NPR news program has given me a new understanding of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a new way of looking at voter registration drives.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Can voters see through smokescreen of campaign for president?
By George Wilson, contributing columnist | The Dallas Morning News broke with more than 75 years of tradition to endorse a Democrat for president, choosing Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.
The Dallas Morning News’ editorial page is very, very conservative. It hasn’t endorsed a Democrat for president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. But a recent editorial went on to savage Trump:
“He plays on fear — exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny — to bring out the worst in us, rather than the best. His serial shifts on fundamental issues reveal an astounding absence of preparedness. And his improvisational insults and midnight tweets exhibit a dangerous lack of judgment and impulse control.”
Clinton, the editorial board wrote, is a “known quantity.” Let me add the thought that Clinton’s skill as a bureaucratic infighter makes her the right pick for an era of political gridlock. Even better, if the Democrats also gain control of the Senate, this country could make some real progress. Furthermore, I can’t think of anyone having so much experience in so many areas of the government as Hillary Clinton.
Let’s review: Secretary of State, US Senator, first lady, and trained in the law. Trump’s ignorance on the issues has somewhat insulated him from any accountability. Because Hillary knows exponentially more about just about everything, she is held to a higher standard…yet somehow his complete ignorance and her challenges with some very complicated issues are portrayed as equal.
There may be things about Hillary Clinton that some are not comfortable with, but they are small in comparison to Donald Trump severe flaws. Finally, what’s not presidential: Donald Trump and his narrow views, divisive rhetoric, lack of understanding of the issues and authoritarian tendencies? Hopefully the voters will see the same.
IN THE SPOTLIGHTPrimerica, Inc.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income families in North America and is Gwinnett’s fourth largest employer, with 1,700 employees. Primerica representatives educate their Main Street clients about how to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, which it underwrites, and mutual funds, annuities and other financial products, which it distributes primarily on behalf of third parties. In addition, Primerica provides an entrepreneurial full or part-time business opportunity for individuals seeking to earn income by distributing the company’s financial products. It insures more than five million lives and approximately two million clients maintain investment accounts with them. Primerica is a member of the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 2000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI.” For more information, visitwww.primerica.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
How do exit pollsters wind up with all these silly-season details
Editor, Gwinnett Forum:
It is “Silly Season” again. What do I mean about this? That’s our Presidential Election Cycle, of course. Exit polling is a major contributor to the silliness.
I understand how they do it. But what I don’t understand is how they get to, where they get to, once they are done. The amount of detail in their categories is hard to understand or believe.
I could understand, 55 percent say they voted for this guy and 45 percent say they voted for that guy. It is the specific and exacting detail they come up with that I don’t understand:
- 42% of the white voters, who went to two years of college, before going on to become left-handed carpenters, voted for this guy.
- 63% of fallen-away Catholics, who have been married three times, where the first and third marriages were to the same person, voted for that guy.
- 54% of those who voted in the 2000 election, but did not vote in 2004, nor the 2012 election, but returned to the voting booth in this 2016, voted for this guy.
Oh well, so much for “Secret Balloting.”
— Alex Ortolano, Duluth
Look what happened to Russia with hand-picked general officers
Editor, The Forum:
When Joseph Stalin came to power, he began to get rid of the general officers in the Soviet Army and replace them with officers he thought would support him. As the result the army was decimated and when they sought to invade Finland, the Finns slaughtered the Soviets because of their incompetence.
If it had not been for the Russian winter destroying the German supply lines, and the United States pouring arms and tanks into Russia via the North Sea, Germany could well have been victorious in the World War II Russian Campaign, changing the entire course of the war.
The United States was relatively safe up through the 40s from having the mainland invaded and destroyed. In the 21st Century with the development of computer-guided atomic missiles, rather than having months to prepare for an invading force from the sea, it will take less than 30 minutes for enemy rockets to be launched and explode in the middle of many of our major cities.
Our presidents need to keep our military out of politics. Hillary Clinton knows and will adhere to this. But a mentally deranged Trump doesn’t have a clue.
— Alvin Leaphart, Jesup
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. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
UPCOMING
Norcross plans neighborhood clean=up and recycling on Sept. 24
With the falling of leaves as autumn nears, in addition to raking, it is also a good time to clean and purge items in our homes and neighborhoods.
To help keep Norcross ‘clean and beautiful,’ the City of Norcross is hosting a Neighborhood Clean-up and Recycling Day on Saturday, September 24, where residents can bring in documents to be securely shredded, haul in non-hazardous bulk items and recycle electronics.
The City is also asking participants to bring canned or non-perishable goods to support the 2016 “Can” Do for Hunger Campaign. Donations will be accepted at each cleanup/recycling location. The donated items will be given to local food banks and to community members in need.
Clean-Up Event: During the Clean-up Day, which also includes a shredding and recycling event, residents can bring in items that are not hazardous material to the Public Works Facility, 345 Lively Street (just off Buford Hwy) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The clean-up event is free and open to City of Norcross residents only (proof of residency required).
Shredding Event: The shredding event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. – noon or until the truck is full at Norcross City Hall, 65 Lawrenceville Street. American Security Shredding will be on-site with their shred truck. Each person is limited to five medium boxes or equivalent.
Electronics Recycling Event: City of Norcross residents or the general public are invited to participate in the electronics recycling event where they can get rid of old cell phones, computers and keyboards without guilt. Atlanta Recycling Solutions and city volunteers will be available to help unload donated items. For a complete list of recyclables visit the city website. This event is free except for televisions, which require a $20 fee. CRT Monitors are $5. Note that console or projection televisions cannot be accepted. The recycling event will be held at the Norcross Community Center, 10 College Street, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- For more information, visit norcrossga.net or contact Sonya Isaac at 678-421-2027.
Best-selling author Harlan Coben to be in Duluth Sept. 23
Harlan Coben is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels including Fool Me Once, The Stranger, Missing You, the Myron Bolitar series, and a young adult series featuring Myron’s nephew, Mickey Bolitar. His latest novel, Home, delivers an explosive and deeply moving thriller about friendship, family, and the meaning of home.
Meet Harlan Coben Friday, September 23 at 6 p.m. at the Infinite Energy Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy, Duluth. This free event is presented by Gwinnett County Public Library. Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Eagle Eye Book Shop. For more information, call 770-978-5154 or visit www.gwinnettpl.org.
Suwanee installing new wayfinding signs throughout the city
Suwanee Citizens and visitors alike will begin noticing new wayfinding signage throughout the City, alerting travelers to city and county parks, Suwanee’s historic downtown, and other notable locations. The new signs will serve to help visitors – as well as residents – find community and cultural destinations throughout the city. The wayfinding signage has been placed in 13 locations, and will not only provide directional information, but serve to highlight the city’s wide range of attractions through universal design standards that are reflective of the city’s brand identity.
NOTABLESuwanee LDS congregation helps Baton Rouge storm victims
Usually people see Labor Day weekend as a chance to take a well deserved break from work, but this Labor Day over a hundred people from the southern Gwinnett County congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did just the opposite – they gave their labor to help the families of Baton Rouge whose homes were devastated by the unexpected floods that hit the area in early August.
Anne Torrez of the Collins Hill Ward: “I will always remember the sweet people that we helped…”
A call was issued from Church leaders who asked members throughout the southeastern United States to travel to the Baton Rouge area to give aid to flood victims. Over 5,000 members answered the call, giving more than 108,000 hours of service between August 29 and September 4.
Accommodations for most was a tent pitched on the grounds of the Hammond, La. church building. Siu Tam came to serve with her husband and daughter. “When I first arrived and saw the whole church grounds covered in tents I suddenly realized how big this whole thing was and felt privileged to be a part of it. It was a sea of tents, but all was in order and people were helpful and friendly.”
Flooded homes generally had to be stripped of all property in the damaged area of the house primarily involving removal of debris, furniture and other belongs, and then stripping out drywall, cabinetry, wood floors and other components of homes so owners can start to rebuild.
From left are Michael Lenahan, Nathan Reid, Garrett Coffee, Glenn Urquhart, Christian Tracy, Kelly Ladd, Bill Bentley, Minho Park, and gather around Ruthie and David of Baton Rouge in the garage of the home they are restoring after the floods. They group spent the morning tearing down damaged kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Sunday morning individual teams, dressed in rugged work clothing, attended a shortened worship service. Dean M. Davies, a visiting authority from Salt Lake City, Utah, spoke briefly and promised the volunteers they would always have “Sweet Memories” of the weekend. After the close of the meeting the volunteers were back out again, helping families demolish the damage the floods had left behind so they could begin to build anew.
Katie Torrez, a young volunteer who traveled with her family to Louisiana after they decided to forgo plans for Disney World, says: “The most rewarding thing I experienced was the reaction of the home owners when they saw their houses. They were so excited and grateful. It felt great to see how your work for a few hours could affect their lives that much.”
Tim Brady, who also worked on Torrez’s team, has done other trips for disaster relief efforts. He believes service brings true happiness. “Exhausting work was never more gratifying.” He said the most rewarding part of the trip was the faces of those he served. “They couldn’t believe we would do all this for people we didn’t know. We took pictures with them when we left. They felt more like family than strangers.”
Siu Tam agrees. “They were all so grateful and expressed such joy at the help that was given freely. It was hard work and rewarding at the same time.”
Sweet memories, indeed.
Brookwood cluster schools get $250,000 entrepreneur grant
A joint student entrepreneur venture between local schools and the City of Snellville got a big boost in the form of a $250,000 award from Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Gwinnett School Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said in a letter informing Brookwood High Cluster officials of the award: “One of the primary purposes of this award is to recognize the behaviors we want exhibited in our schools and classrooms. Therefore, the $250,000 awarded to the Brookwood Cluster Schools is to further the innovative and engaging practices you have been using to educate our students to the highest possible level.”
The Brookwood Cluster Schools’ Integrated Entrepreneurship program will now expand to the elementary and middle school levels. Brookwood schools have offered the successful business experience-based education program in partnership with the Snellville’s Office of Economic Development for a number of years.
The funds open the door for Brookwood Elementary School to further grow its student entrepreneur programs, the first of its kind for an elementary school in the county, program officials said.
Cindy Quinlan, GCPS Entrepreneurship Program Specialist Work-Based Learning Coordinator says: “I am so thankful to GCPS for providing the Innovation Award. Now, more than ever before, students need skills to create their own opportunities and to develop soft skills crucial for a successful future. We must continue to innovate in our classrooms to meet the demands in an ever changing world. With this funding, we will continue to go grow our entrepreneurship education programs within the Brookwood Cluster Schools.”
RECOMMENDEDCardinal Hill
A novel by Mary Anna Bryan
Reviewed by Susan Ward, Lawrenceville | Fans of Carson McCullers and Harper Lee will truly enjoy this novel. It’s as Southern as sweet tea on Grandma’s front porch! Young Margaret Norman tells us the story of her childhood. Missing her deceased Mother, she seeks answers to her questions, but no one in the family wants to talk! Her father is detached and lonely, her sister Louisa spoiled and hateful, but gentle Aunt Maggie is there to provide Margaret with comfort and encouragement. Margaret is hiding her own heart-wrenching secret. Finding her way in her dysfunctional family, she matures into an awesome young woman. Will anyone tell the tales of the past regarding her beautiful mother? Will Margaret’s secret ever be found out? Ms. Bryan is a local author who should be congratulated on a wonderful story told wonderfully well.”
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
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
Kolomoki Mounds near Blakely date back maybe before Christ
The Kolomoki Mounds site is one of the largest prehistoric mound complexes in Georgia. At the time of its highest development, from around A.D. 350 to 600, Kolomoki was perhaps one of the most populous settlements north of Mexico. The site is located in Early County in southwest Georgia. It lies on a tributary of the Chattahoochee River near the town of Blakely. Most of the site is now protected as part of Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park.
The Kolomoki site includes seven preserved mounds. The largest of these, Mound A, stands about 56 feet in height. Limited archaeological excavations on the flat summit of Mound A failed to divulge its function. Mounds B and C, which flank Mound A to the south and north, respectively, consist of small dome-shaped constructions. Excavations in these mounds revealed the remnants of large wooden posts that were probably used in religious ceremonies by the Swift Creek and Weeden Island Indians.
Mounds D and E stand opposite Mound A, forming a line to the west. These mounds served as burial repositories. Each of the two mounds included large caches of ceramic vessels, some elaborately decorated in the forms of animals and people. The ceramic caches were deposited on the eastern sides of the mounds, presumably during mortuary rites.
Finally, Mounds G, F, and H are small, flat-topped mounds. Excavations in the latter two indicated that they served as platforms, probably for ceremonial occasions. Mound G is privately owned and is not a part of the state park.
The Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., conducted excavations at Kolomoki between 1894 and 1897. Since then the only large-scale, modern excavations were led by archaeologist William Sears from 1948 to 1953. Sears believed that the site dated to the Mississippian Period (A.D. 800-1600), when such large, flat-topped structures as Mound A were built throughout the Southeast. However, archaeologists now recognize that the main occupation of Kolomoki dates to the Woodland Period (1000 B.C.-A.D. 900).
Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park is open year-round. A small museum shows the interior of Mound E as it was left after excavation, and exhibits provide background information on the site.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
This peaceful mystery photograph could be from anywhere
What a peaceful-looking scene. It might be anywhere, from New England to the Deep South. But who says it is in the USA? Figure out where this is and send in your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.
Lou Camiero of Lilburn wanted input from Forum readers to help his family figure out where the last photo was taken, and quickly got an answer to the last Mystery Photo, as several readers recognized the photograph. First in was Mike Sweigart of Suwanee, saying: “I am pretty sure this is the Arlington National Amphitheater in Arlington Virginia. It was built in 1920. Check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Memorial_Amphitheater.”
Then others responded. Tarra Winter of Lawrenceville writes: “This photo appears to have been taken at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. The Amphitheater is located near the tomb of the unknown soldier. We visited this national treasure a few years ago and of course had to take a photo of our then 9 year old son sitting in this same enormous chair.”
Bob Foreman, Grayson: “That is the Amphitheater at Arlington Memorial in Washington, D.C. The area shown in the photo is the stage area of the amphitheater. The quote seen partially in the photo is from George Washington: “When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.”
Joseph Hopkins, Norcross: “The mystery picture was taken at Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Amphitheater. President Obama referred to this quote in his Veterans Day speech in 2009. I saw President Reagan there for Memorial Day 1986. Not sure why the big chair is there. The stage is behind it.”
John Nevins of Berkeley Lake and Hoyt Tuggle of Lawrenceville also solved the mystery.
Then George Graf of Palmyra, Va. agreed with others about the location of the photograph, saying: “I’ve attached a photo where you can see the matching inscription.”
Thanks to all for helping Lou out.
LAGNIAPPEGeorgia Gwinnett College hosts reception for Fellows Program
Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville hosted a reception Thursday evening for the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Fellows Program, the nation’s premier higher education leadership development program preparing senior leaders to serve American colleges and universities. Attendees from across Georgia included both past Fellows and college administrators interested in the program. Panelists discussed the benefits of the program during the reception. Shown are Dr. Stas Preczewski, president of Georgia Gwinnett College and a former ACE Fellow; Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges; Dr. Sherri Hughes, director of ACE Leadership and a former ACE Fellow; and Dr. Paul Jones, president of Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., and a former ACE Fellow.
CALENDAR
Restoring Hope Partner’s meeting and breakfast, Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 a.m. at the Norcross First United Methodist Church, 2500 Beaver Ruin Road. Restoring Hope is the campaign to engage, encourage and empower the Norcross Community Ministry. Those wanting to attend should RSVP by August 22 to kyra@norcrossco-op.org or call 770 263-0013.
(NEW) Ninth Annual Rock’n Ribville, Saturday, September 17 on the Lawrenceville Lawn, from noon until 8 p.m. Join people at this city’s Downtown District, as it brings local businesses, a Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) National Competition and traditional Southern barbecue together with live music, arts, crafts and kid-friendly activities. Proceeds benefits the city’s police Benevolent Fund. For additional event details visit www.RocknRibville.com.
Panel Discussion on “Remembering Pat Conroy,” Saturday, September 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the Dunwoody Campus of Georgia State University, 2101 Womack Road, Building NC auditorium. John Pruitt will lead the discussion, with panelists Terry Kay, Daniel Sklar, Cliff Graubart and Bernie Schien. More info: http://www.atlantawritersclub.org.
“Ethics, Epidemics and Education” is the title of a symposium on Public Health on September 17 at the Georgia Archives in Morrow. It will bring together scholars to discuss topics as diverse as Zika, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, immunization, and the Tuskegee syphilis study. Another symposium is set for the day before, entitled “Ethics, Eugenics, and Public Health in Georgia.” Both include a tour of the Archives, a panel discussion and a reception. Georgia Humanities, a sponsor of the events, looks forward to presentations by Georgia Humanities Dr. Jodie Guest, professor of the Rollins School of Public Health and School of Medicine at Emory University, and Kaye Lanning Minchew, author of A President in Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia. For more information, visit www.georgiaarchives.org/.
Gateway International Food and Music Festival will be on September 17 from 4-8 p.m. at Lillian Webb Park in Norcross. Held in conjunction with Welcoming America’s Welcoming Week, this event will showcase the region’s best multicultural talent and highlight the rich cultural contributions of Gwinnett’s diverse communities. For more information, visit aplacetoimagine.com.
30th Annual Japan Fest will take place September 17-18 at the Infinite Energy Center , 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. JapanFest Weekend will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Saturday) and10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 404-842-0736 or visit japanfest.org.
Open House at Byrd and Flanigan Funeral Service in Lawrenceville on Sunday, September 18, from 1 until 5 p.m. The new funeral home is located at 288 Hurricane Shoals Road Northeast.
Library Temporarily Closing: Gwinnett County Public Library’s Suwanee Branch will be closed on Thursday, September 22 for the removal of the help desk. The branch will resume normal business hours on Friday, September 23. Book drops will remain open.
(NEW) Dedication of the new Baldwin Elementary School in Norcross will be Sunday, September 25, at 2 p.m. The school is located at 124 Price Place, on the space formerly occupied by Summerour Middle school, which has been re-constructed adjacent.
(NEW) 64th Annual Gwinnett County Fair opens September 15 and continues through September 25 at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, located off Sugarloaf Parkway near Georgia Highway 20 in Lawrenceville. For a list of daily activities at the Fair, go to: www.gwinnettcountyfair.com.
(NEW) Safety and Security – Postal Procedures for Mail Handling is the topic of a meeting on September 29 from 10 a.m. until noon. A US Postal Inspection Service Dangerous Mail Specialist will conduct training on the: prevention, recognition, mitigation, and initial investigation of mailed threats, explosives, and hazardous materials. For sworn and civilian personnel who handle incoming mail and investigate mail threats. The meeting will be at the Duluth Public Safety building, 3276 Buford Highway. For more information, contact dwoodruff@duluthpd.com.
(NEW) Fall Challenge at the Tannery Row Artist Colony in Buford is continuing through October 10. This art exhibit is at the historic Tannery building at 554 Main Street in Buford, the home of 16 artist studios. Donna Biggee of Snellville has created a 30×30 inch painting, as a feature of the exhibition. The art center is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
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