12/18: GGC graduation; Updated continuing objectives; Oligarchy

FIRST HONORARY DEGREE: Tommy Hughes of Buford, a former Gwinnett County Commissioner, right, receives Georgia Gwinnett College’s first honorary degree. That’s GGC President Stas Preczewski on the right. For more details, see Today’s Focus below.

TODAY’S FOCUS: GGC graduates 479 Students; Hughes Gets First Honorary Degree     

EEB PERSPECTIVE: It’s Time to Revise Continuing Objectives for the Coming Year

ANOTHER VIEW: We Watch The Decline of an Exceptional Government Into an Oligarchy

SPOTLIGHT: Hayes Family Automotive Group

FEEDBACK: Thoroughly Enjoys Telling Stories at Gwinnett’s 200^th Party

UPCOMING: Three Named Winners of First Gwinnett Trailblazer Award

NOTABLE: Parsons of Cumming Will Be Closing, as Will Furniture Village

RECOMMENDED: Chopin’s Funeral by Benita Eisler

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Joe South Makes Name in Music as Performer and Song Writer

MYSTERY PHOTO: Nice Smooth Roof of Structure and Openings are Key Clues

CALENDAR:  Dedications and more

Man and democracy: a two-way street

“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination for injustice makes democracy necessary.”

— Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), via John Titus, Peachtree Corners.

GGC graduates 479 students; Hughes gets first honorary degree       

Jessica Sok, an information technology major, was honored as GGC’s University System of Georgia Outstanding Scholar. She is shown with President Stas Preczewski and Provost T.J. Arant.

By Asia Hauter

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.  |  Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) celebrated nearly 479 graduates at its fall semester commencement ceremony, held last week at the Infinite Energy Arena.

The ceremony featured the conferral of the college’s first honorary degree to Thomas P. “Tommy” Hughes, Gwinnett community leader and businessman. He has served as a charter member of the Foundation Board and chair for more than five years, and was one of several Gwinnett community figures who worked to ensure that a four-year college was established in this county.

In his remarks, President Stas Preczewski recognized Marteisha Kemp, the first recipient of a GGC bachelor’s degree in human development and aging services, one of two programs recently added in answer to local employment needs and opportunities. He also congratulated history major Margaret Thomas on completing her bachelor’s degree 51 years after she first attended college.

Jessica Sok, an information technology major, was honored as GGC’s University System of Georgia Outstanding Scholar. She was recognized earlier this year as part of the state legislature’s Academic Recognition Day.

Preczewski reflected on how far GGC has come in the 10 years since it celebrated its first graduating class in 2008. The college has grown from a few hundred students to more than 12,000, and from just under 50 alumni to nearly 6,400. Business major Kimberly Lacey was acknowledged as GGC’s 6,000th graduate. She will be recognized at a future GGC Alumni Association event.

Charlotte Nash, chair of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, presented the ceremony’s keynote address. She reminisced about how her parents, neither of whom attended college, worked multiple jobs to enable their children to pursue a college education. Through their hard work and perseverance, three generations of their descendants are successful college graduates. She added: “Dare to dream audaciously about the possibilities, especially those that may seem out of reach,” said Nash. “For poor country folks like my parents, college for their daughters was an outlandish goal. It was a real stretch, but we grow much more by stretching to reach what seems impossible than by accepting what is safe.”

Speaking on behalf of the graduates was Justin Lunt, an exercise science major, who encouraged his classmates to be independent and persistent, but to also realize that no one goes it alone.

A deputy sheriff with 15 years of experience with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, he suffered a traumatic brain injury while on duty in 2014. Lunt was working a road closure on I-85 when a driver collided with Lunt’s vehicle at 75 mph. The teen had been distracted by his phone.

Lunt thanked his family for never giving up on him during his recovery. He then discussed his SWAT team training, focusing on how no one ever enters a room or structure alone. He likened this support to that provided to his classmates by GGC faculty.

“My GGC professors always encouraged me, pushed me, and challenged me to do better, yet were understanding and compassionate,” Lunt said. “They never let up on me because they wanted me to grow not only academically, but also as a person … after all, a diamond does not become a diamond without applying intense heat and pressure.”

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

It’s time to revise continuing objectives for the coming year

By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher

DEC. 18, 2018  |  GwinnettForum in each issue publishes its List of Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett County. Here is the list which has been running recently:

• Development of a two-party system for county offices
• Moving statewide non-partisan judge election runoffs to the General Election
• Commuter rail for Gwinnett from Doraville MARTA station to Gwinnett Arena
• 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 city and Gwinnett historical societies
• Stronger regulation of late-night establishments with alcohol licenses
• Requiring the legislature to meet once every two years.

Here near the end of the year, let’s address each of these:

Two-party system: The 2018 election flipped parties on many legislative districts in Gwinnett, and also brought two Democrats to the County Commission, and one to the School Board. It appears that Gwinnett has achieved this objective. However, this arena needs constant surveillance as each election can bring changes. We therefore reword this objective to be: “High quality candidates for elective office in Gwinnett.”  After all, if both political parties field high quality candidates, it doesn’t matter who gets elected, for we will have good government either way.  We’ll add that, in general this year, both parties fielded better candidates than we have seen in previous elections.

Non-partisan judicial elections: We urge our Gwinnett representatives to lead the effort to change the time when judges are elected statewide. Now their election comes during the statewide primary. We urge that judges be elected when the most people vote, during the General Elections!

Mass transit: The past legislative season saw movement in this arena, with Gwinnett planning a vote on whether to join the MARTA system in March 19, 2019. We’re glad to see more interest on this subject, in hopes that Gwinnett will move to seeing mass transit in its future.

Tobacco: We continue to urge the County Commission to ban the use of all tobacco products in Gwinnett parks and public buildings. Today that would also include the new scourge of vaping products, a new public nuisance.

Diverse appointments: While the electorate has produced more minority candidates who now have won elections, it’s up to our County Commission and city governments to see that more diverse people serve on non-elected boards. This is a way to introduce this population to government service, and possible future elected office.  We re-word this objective as “More diverse candidates for appointment to local boards.”

Support of the arts: We’ve been impressed with several elements of the arts scene this year. There have been several new public art elements added, the most striking being the new Eastern Continental Divide marker in Norcross. We were also pleased to see several artistic presentations at the Gwinnett Bicentennial soiree on Saturday night. We urge even more distinctive presentations of creative artistic expression in Gwinnett.

Historical societies: There has been no movement on new local historical societies within our communities. Only the county-wide Gwinnett Historical Society, plus groups in Snellville and Duluth, are active. We urge city governments to take steps to establish  formalization of local historical groups to energize their communities.

Late-night bars: We said it before, but not much good happens after midnight in institutions that serve alcoholic beverages. Government needs tighter regulation of these places. Some don’t close until 5 a.m.  That’s not good for any community. We change this objective to read: “Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 2 a.m., and close by 3 a.m.”

Georgia’s legislative time: Georgia’s Legislature meets for 40 working days each year. With most people on pins-and-needles of what the Legislature might do to them every time it opens its doors, we suggest meeting less. It works in the big state of Texas!  It will benefit the state, and especially economic development, if the Legislature met less. Keep the 40 day limit, but require that the Legislature meet only once every two years.

Therefore, our revised list for the coming year reads:

• High quality candidates for elective office in Gwinnett.
• Move statewide non-partisan judge election runoffs to the General Election.
• MARTA rail for Gwinnett from Doraville station to Gwinnett Arena
• Banning of tobacco and vaping products in all Gwinnett parks.
• More diverse candidates for appointment to local boards.
• Creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
• Advancement and expansion of city and Gwinnett historical societies.
• Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 2 a.m., and close by 3 a.m.
• Rewrite the rules to require the Georgia Legislature to meet once every two years.
• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

We watch the decline of an exceptional government into an oligarchy

By George Wilson, contributing columnist

“Civil government, insofar as is instituted for the security of property, is in reality  instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” — Adam Smith. 

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.  |  The United States Constitution directs the government to regulate commerce. Not commerce to direct the government.

In addition, the Constitution gives no special rights to business except for the press.

The First Amendment to the Constitution grants the right to petition the government. Petitioning does not now, nor has it ever, meant giving cash and honoraria to grease the palms of government officials, whether representatives or judges.

People scoff when I claim moneyed interests own our government, but it is true. They bought the Republican Party and they financed it. These same moneyed interests set about to bring state legislatures under their control, and then gerrymandered “permanent” majorities for themselves and enacted voter suppression.

The courts are no different. Republicans even went so far as to steal a Supreme Court nomination from President Obama for no better reason than it would please Republican donors.

We are watching the continuing decline of the United States from an “exceptional” form of government into an oligarchy. No wonder President Trump is a Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a fan boy.

Further, the scene in Washington and our state government has degenerated into a bunch of hogs lapping at a trough. We see unneeded deregulation of rules that protect the environment; shredding of consumer protections; shrinking of public land to allow for fossil fuel exploration; and continued attacks on health care. The same in allowing for offshore oil drilling along the coast.

All this while our government is under the tutelage of the fossil fuel industry denying climate change. Can you imagine?

Finally, have you noticed that you get so little detail from the word “deregulation”  when you hear campaign rhetoric from political candidates? Do you wonder why?

• Have a comment? Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Hayes Family Automotive Group

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• Check the web sites at: hayeschrysler.com or www.hayeschevrolet.com or www.hayesgmcars.com.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

Thoroughly enjoys telling stories at Gwinnett’s 200^th party

Lots of Gwinnettians were involved in Gwinnett’s 200th birthday party Saturday at the Hudgens Arts and Cultural Center. Karen Harris, center, told stories. Representing Great Britain were the royal couple, with performances from Jason West as   Prince William and Cammie Fulmer as Queen Elizabeth II.

Editor, the Forum:

Saturday I had the unique opportunity to serve as a storyteller for the Gwinnett 200 Birthday Celebration! Not only was it wonderful to tell my two signature oral Tradition stories, there were loads of people to talk to who immediately said how much they “Love Their Library.”

Hudgens Art Center/Museum is a veritable fairy tale land and the storytelling chamber was amazing! Well…I had three wonderful hours meeting and greeting, telling stories and having fun! It was a day replete with beauty and blessings!

There is nothing in the world like being fully yourself and enjoying! It has taken me 60+ years and many painful experiences to learn this. Each of you has helped me along the way and I am grateful!  It was a great day for me.

— Karen Harris, Stone Mountain

Disturbing that many Americans don’t appreciate American capitalism

Editor, the Forum:

I read an article in a recent Savannah Morning News, written by Pat Stansbury, who is the executive director of the National Foundation of Patriotism.

Entitled “Remember to Remember Pearl Harbor,” in it she mentioned that of the 10 million Americans who served in WWII, there are fewer than 500,000 surviving today. She goes on to mention the fact that “we are losing sight of what these veterans fought for and that it is a clear and present danger.”

How dangerous? In October, a survey by the victims of Communism Memorial Foundation found that 52 percent of U.S. millennials would rather live in a socialist or communist country than capitalist one!  Just 32 percent knew that communism has killed over 100 million people.

A November survey found that Americans 38 and under are turning on their country.  Nearly half believe that America isn’t great, and many see the flag as “a sign of intolerance and hate.”  End of quotes.

As a veteran (and a patriot), I personally find this very disturbing. Are our children being taught this in our public schools and colleges?  Or, do their parents spout this garbage?

—  David Earl Tyre, 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

Three named winners of first Gwinnett Trailblazer Award

Three Gwinnett leaders from the early growth days of the county, the 1970s, were named the first winners of the Gwinnett Trailblazer Award announced by County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash at the Gwinnett Bicentennial observance on Saturday night.

The award winners were two former county commission chairs, Bill Atkinson of Lawrenceville and Wayne Mason of Snellville, plus Beauty Baldwin of Dacula, former Buford Schools superintendent. All three will have county facilities named for them.

Atkinson

Atkinson, a retired General Motors executive, is one of the few remaining farmers in Gwinnett, keeping  a herd of cattle in the Harbins area. He continues to serve on the board of directors of the Gwinnett County Fair, Senior Leadership Gwinnett and Engage Gwinnett. The county will rename the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter in his honor. The Animal Control function was initiated while Atkinson was county chairman.

Mason

Mason followed Atkinson as chair of the commission. Nash recalled that Mason was a shrewd businessman at a early age, who had the vision to see Gwinnett’s coming growth, and understood what to do to capitalize on it. He helped fund the first Lake Lanier water plant, installed a 48 inch water loop around the county, and paved over 800 miles of road while as commissioner. As an investor, he developed subdivisions and commercial structures, donated land and services to churches, and as Nash said, shaped Gwinnett in public service and as an individual. The county will rename the Water Supply Intake facility at Lake Lanier in his honor.

Baldwin

Baldwin, a native of Washington County, began teaching in 1963 and came to Central Gwinnett High in the 1970s as the first black faculty member. She later became principal in Buford, and in 1984 became the Buford City Schools superintendent, retiring in 1993. Later she established Hopewell Christian Academy, where she was an administrator for 16 years before founding the North Metro Academy and Performing Arts charter school in 2014.

Among her many current activities, Ms. Baldwin has since 1996 been on the County Elections Board.  Once a face-lift is completed at the Elections Office, Ms. Nash says, “We are renaming the facility to show our appreciation for your service.”

Duluth’s 11^th annual LEAD Academy now accepting applications

The 11^th session of the  Duluth L.E.A.D. (Learn, Engage, Advance Duluth) Academy is set to begin on February 5, 2019.  It will consist of eight Tuesday evening sessions held from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be one Monday evening session, February 25, when the class will join the City Council for the regularly scheduled Work Session. All meetings will take place at City Hall.

This program will spark a person’s interest in local issues, provide insight into the decision making process and provide an avenue for participants to help advance the community to a better future. Thee deadline for applications is January 18, 2019. For more information and an application go to www.duluthga.net/lead. Questions? Contact Alisa Williams at awilliams@duluthga.net or 678-475-3506.

Parsons of Cumming will be closing, as will Furniture Village

A unit of a long-time Gwinnett-based Parsons is closing. The Parsons family has a 142 year history of retailing in this area, with its initial store in Lawrenceville. Parsons in Duluth opened in 1925, and its store in Cumming opened in 1948.

Now the Parsons of Cumming is to be closed, with a going-out-of business sales now underway. It is expected that the store will remain open through February.

Gary and Cris Willis own the Parsons Gifts (main store) and Christmas Shop in Cumming..  Kay and Mike Montgomery own the Parsons Thomas Kinkade Gallery there. The 22,000 square foot store has sold home decor, jewelry, ladies clothing, and Christmas goods.

Parsons Gifts in Suwanee, owned and operated by Patsy Odum, will continue in business.

A long-time furniture story in Stone Mountain, Furniture Village, is also to close in 2019 after 52 years in business in Gwinnett County, beginning in 1966, J.M. Patterson, store owner, says Furniture Village first began in Lawrenceville. It eventually opened locations in Buford and Stone Mountain. For 30 years, the three-store chain was the largest independent furniture retailer in Gwinnett County. The store will continue remain open until all is merchandise is sold, probably in about two months.

Chopin’s Funeral by Benita Eisler

Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: This book brings to life the times, joys, tribulations and immense gift of this composer from the Romantic Period of classical music.  The book reads as a historical novel, historical text, a romance and also a case study in what illness can do to the soul of the sufferer. It is engaging in the way the author weaves the creation of Chopin’s most important works; i.e the Etudes, Mazurkas, Preludes, Impromptus, waltzes and barcarolles. The chapters about his long time partnership with George Sand related the ups and downs of the relationship that what was a cornerstone in Chopin’s life.  The reader gets a sense of who Chopin was, including his interior world, laced with suffering and creative genius. Readers who are musicians familiar with his work will hear the pieces he composed as the back drop of the times are related including his state of health and events in Paris, London and throughout Europe.

• 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.  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

South makes name in music as performer and songwriter

Performer and songwriter Joe South virtually created the genre of country soul through his unique blend of sounds and influences.  Whether writing hits for country and rock-and-roll acts or singing his own songs, South was involved with some of the most popular music of the 1960s and 1970s.

South

Joseph Alfred Souter was born into a working-class family in Atlanta on February 28, 1940, and he grew up in Adamsville, in the southwest part of the city. He developed a love for country music at an early age while listening to radio station WSM. Saturday mornings were spent listening to Uncle Eb Brown, the radio persona of disc jockey Bill Lowery. At the age of 12, Souter met Lowery at an Atlanta radio station, and a short time later, inspired by Lowery and taking a friend’s advice, he shortened his last name to South.

He grew up in a creative family. His father played guitar and mandolin around the house, while his mother produced a large collection of romantic poems. Lowery became South’s mentor, and as Lowery developed the National Recording Corporation, South, along with such other local musicians as Little Jimmy Dempsey, Paul Peek, Jerry Reed, and Ray Stevens, proceeded to place Atlanta on the recording map. They became Lowery’s house band, learning studio craft and musical skills as they performed.

After high school South attended Southern Technical Institute for a while but dropped out to become a musician full-time.

With Lowery’s support, South had his first hit in 1958 with the single “Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor,” which made it to number 47 on the Billboard chart. South worked as a studio musician in Nashville and in Muscle Shoals, Ala., during the early and mid-1960s, playing on recordings by such legendary musicians as Eddy Arnold, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Marty Robbins, and Simon and Garfunkel.

A return to Atlanta to work in Lowery’s new studio saw South producing and writing songs for the Tams and Billy Joe Royal. South’s first number-one hit came in 1962 with a song he wrote for the Tams, “Untie Me.” He also wrote Royal’s 1965 hit, “Down in the Boondocks.” By the end of the decade South’s songs were some of the most recorded in the business. Simultaneously, such experiences as playing on Bob Dylan’s 1966 album Blonde on Blonde had a profound effect on South and helped him find the confidence and originality to release his first solo album, Introspect, in 1968.

Although the album as a whole did not achieve commercial success, Introspect contained South’s most successful song, “Games People Play.” The song reached number 12 in the United States, but South’s wider appeal was reflected in the single’s top-ten rating in the United Kingdom. At the 1969 Grammy Awards “Games People Play” won both Song of the Year and Best Contemporary Song.

South continued to write hits for both himself and other musicians. Lynn Anderson’s version of “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden” stayed at the number-one position in America for five weeks in 1970.

South appeared on television shows, performed in Europe, and produced numerous albums in 1970 and 1971. Singles such as the nostalgic environmental warning “Don’t It Make You Want to Go Home” and the timeless plea for racial equality, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” maintained an international chart presence. Never comfortable as a live performer, South spent more and more time in the studio.

In 1971 South’s brother and drummer, Tommy, committed suicide after struggling with drug addiction. While South retreated to Hawaii to grieve, Capitol Records released South’s final album for the company in 1972, the dark, introspective A Look Inside. South emerged briefly in 1975 to release his final album, Midnight Rainbows, and he battled his own drug addiction. He recorded sporadically during the 1980s and 1990s but largely remained reclusive.

Musicians and the music industry have paid tribute to South’s work on numerous occasions. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1981. On the 1990 album Highwaymen 2, Johnny Cash makes reference to South in “Songs That Make a Difference.” On the 1993 compilation Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys sing “it was out of sight/Joe South was singing/’Games People Play'” in the song “Games Two Can Play.”

(South died at his home in Buford, Ga. on September 5, 2012 of heart failure. He was 72. South and second wife, Jan Tant, who died in 1999, are buried in Mount Harmony Memorial Gardens Cemetery, in Mableton Ga.)

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

Nice smooth roof of structure and openings are key clues

Here’s help: no, this is not an Indian mound. But what and where is this Mystery Photo located? Search your brain and send your idea to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.

Wow. Plenty of people came forward to the correct answer to last week’s Mystery Photo (at right), which was sent in by Donny Loeber of Norcross, now traveling in France. First in was Ann Serrie of Lawrenceville, saying:  “Is this Mont-Saint-Michel, France at low tide?  It is a place I have wanted to visit since I first saw photos of it in National Geographic as a youngster.”  Mikki Root Dillon of Duluth was right behind with: “I believe it’s the beach at Mont-Saint-Michel, off the coast of France.” Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: “This must be Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. But, wherever it is, it is a great shot!!” Then Mike Sweigart, Suwanee, also got it right.

Michael Green of Milton: “The Mystery Photo captures the shadow of the abbey of the island/commune of Mont-Saint-Michel.  It is a rocky mount 0.6 miles off the coast of Normandy in France. I was debating with myself if the shadow was that of the castle on St. Michael’s Mount off the coast of Cornwall in England.  It, too, is a rocky mount separated from the from the mainland.  The height of the spire in the shadow made me choose Mont-Saint-Michel.”

Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., gave details about the island: “ I instantly recognized today’s mystery photo since I had recently visited this site with my wife in Sept 2018. The photo is incidentally absolutely brilliant! More than three million people visit this site each year (which averages to well over 8,000 people per day, and many more times that number during the peak seasons of July and August). Another fact about this site is that, as shown in the mystery photo, the island is actually surrounded by quicksand. At low tide the gray, clay-like sand that completed surrounds the island can suddenly give way to pools of quicksand where an inexperienced trekker can become trapped. Despite the availability of organized tours with trained guides, there are the occasional tourists who venture out on the flats by themselves and get caught in the sand, requiring a rescue.”

Peel also included a close-up photo of the figure on top of the cross of Mont-Saint-Michel.

Others spotting the island: Rob Ponder of Duluth: Cindi Hall of Snellville; Holly Moore of Suwanee; and Bob Foreman of Grayson, who added: “The photo shows the shadow of Mount-Saint-Michael. The shadow shows the spire of the abbey chapel, which sits at the top of this very picturesque island. The island is surrounded by water at high tide. When the tide goes out the island is surrounded by ‘dry’ land.”

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. recognized the photo, and added some historical aspects: “In 1791, the abbey was closed and officially converted into a prison per Louis XI’s orders. Along with 300 priests, high-profile political prisoners followed, but by 1836, influential figures — including Victor Hugo — had launched a campaign to restore what was seen as a national architectural treasure. Le Mont Saint-Michel at one point in time became deserted. This was during a time when there was so much tension and fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants.  Due to the constant fear of the Protestants invading the island and mounting pressure of a take-over, monks and abbots started to abandon their living quarters at Le Mont when it got to the point when the buildings were beginning to collapse.”

(Editor’s note: Also included here (above) is a photograph that your editor took when at this location. We had dinner about a mile east on the mainland, and about 9:30 p.m., I took this photograph across the marshland, thinking Mont-Saint-Michel, about a mile away, would make a good silhouette. However, unknown to me, there was a post in the picture’s frame, and a beer bottle was sitting on the post. That’s when we named the photo “Two Verticals”

DEDICATION of the Gwinnett Bicentennial Trail and Plaza will be Tuesday, December 18, at 11 a.m. at the Plaza, which fronts Luckie Street in Lawrenceville between South Perry and South Clayton Street. This is the area where a fire station was previously located. Parking is available at the Lawrenceville Lawn east of the Plaza.

ANOTHER DEDICATION: An outdoor sculpture dedication honoring former County Commission Chairman Wayne Hill will take place at 3:30 on Tuesday, December 18 at the Environmental Heritage Center. It was funded by the private, non-profit Environmental and Heritage Center Foundation. The sculpture honors Mr. Hill, who as county commission chairman, was the main force behind establishment of the Center.

NORTH ATLANTA Metro Area Realtors (NAMAR) is holding its annual EXPO on January 17, 2019, at the Infinite Energy Center, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Nearly 150 exhibitor booths will be in attendance.

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