COMING SOON: The square in Lawrenceville will soon be changed, as the City of Lawrenceville will build a new arts and education center on North Clayton Street. It will be staffed by the Aurora Theatre. See more details in Today’s Focus below.
READER SURVEY: Share your priorities in new survey
TODAY’S FOCUS: Lawrenceville Announces $31 Million Expanded Arts-Education Center
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Three Elements You’ll Need To Succeed in Any Business
ANOTHER VIEW: Another Government Subsidy Which You May Not Have Considered
SPOTLIGHT: Law Firm of J. Michael Levengood, LLC
UPCOMING: Rally in Lawrenceville January 27 Focuses on “One Nation Under God”
NOTABLE: Unterman’s Committee Reports Recommendations on Service Animals
RECOMMENDED: From Cold War To Hot Peace, By Michael McFaul
GEORGIA TIDBIT: W. E. B. Du Bois Is Included in Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
MYSTERY PHOTO: Colorful Building Ask: Where Was This Mystery Photo Taken?
LAGNIAPPE: Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross Begins Series of New Member Exhibits
CALENDAR: Tannery Row Art Gallery Reception To Be on Saturday in Buford
READER SURVEY
Share your priorities in new GwinnettForum reader survey
As we start the new year in Gwinnett, we’d like to give our readers a chance to sound off about your priorities at the local and county level in a new GwinnettForum reader survey.
We encourage you to participate in this 10-question survey to share your thoughts on the community challenges and priorities. The survey provides an opportunity for you to rank major issues and to provide us with information that we can share with you and our elected officials.
The deadline to complete the survey is January 19. We’ll provide results in a coming issue. Your answers will be anonymous unless you provide your contact information to us, as outlined in the survey. Thank you.—eeb
Lawrenceville announces $31 million expanded arts-education center
By Laurel Haislip
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | The Lawrenceville City Council has voted to move forward with plans for an expanded arts and education center in its downtown. The new $31 million structure will be on North Clayton Street, adjoining the current Aurora Theatre. The site is directly across from the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse now occupied by a Peach State Federal Credit Union location.
Though the City is fronting the investment.Fifty percent of the total space is planned to come from the City’s arts and educational partners. The expanded facility will include a 500-seat theater, encompass the existing theater facilities managed by the Aurora Theatre and incorporate additional educational space, a cabaret theater, office space and room for complimentary development on the Crogan Street side of the block.
This decision furthers the City’s vision to be ‘the college town of tomorrow… where art comes alive in a talent-rich regional epicenter…’ set forth in its new 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
Major Judy Jordan Johnson says: “This exciting project continues the dynamic transformation of the downtown . Lawrenceville is the heart of Gwinnett and maintains a central area rich with activity for all generations. This facility will bring the arts community together with educational opportunities and all the other amenities that our vibrant community has to offer to create a dynamic core for Gwinnett County.”
The facility will be constructed on the block surrounded by Pike, Clayton and Crogan Streets with its front entry opening onto Clayton Street across from the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse. The Aurora Theatre will contract with the city to manage, operate and craft programming for both its current venue and the future facility being proposed.
Though the facility is expected to transform the landscape of downtown, City officials remain dedicated to retaining the historically intrinsic nature of downtown Lawrenceville’s architecture and infrastructure and blending it with a progressive community engagement center.
City Manager Chuck Warbington says: “Staff is diligently working to ensure that this facility honors the progressive vision of the Council while still contributing to the historic significance and aesthetic appeal of the square, We have heard the public comments and desires of our community and look forward to delivering a structure that all residents and patrons to our downtown can be proud of and enjoy.”
The community provided much needed input on the design and direction of the project and with that input, the city will move forward to begin demo and construction in the next 90 to 120 days. The facility is expected to be complete by mid-2020. For more information on the City of Lawrenceville, please visit www.lawrencevillega.org.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Three elements you’ll need to succeed in any business
By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
JAN. 11, 2018 | Today we’re going to treat you with our formula of what you need to be successful in any business enterprise.
It doesn’t matter what type of enterprise we’re talking about, you need three or four essential elements to make anything a success. We aren’t even talking about money, though it helps to have basic financing and a friendly local banker no matter what business you go into.
Of course, you’ll need a good idea for any business to succeed, and yes, you’ll have to give your effort hard work and pay attention to details. Our essentials are much more basic.
Here are our three elements we think essential in any business:
- A good accountant.
- A good attorney.
- But maybe most of all, a good spouse.
Yes, we may sound old-fashioned, especially on the third one. And yes, some bachelors make it without a spouse. But let’s look into these three elements we consider essential.
ACCOUNTANT: When we first ventured into our own business, we inherited the person who had been preparing the financial reports for the small newspaper. We never thought about doing otherwise. Yet over the next couple of years, we felt that we did not always have good advice, so essentially chunked that person, who ran a bookkeeping service, and hired a certified public accountant.
We were amazed at the difference between the two. The CPA was much more up-to-date on regulations, and relatively soon, we got a tax refund from the previous year that the our bookkeeper did not understand we were entitled to. We found ourselves much more pleased all along. We learned that the CPA firm had to attend periodical updates on the field, therefore allowing this person to be a much more informed help to our business.
ATTORNEY: From time to time, most businesses have legal questions pop up. We didn’t employ an attorney on retainer, but had an attorney in town to help us on items from time to time. This person had drawn up a partnership agreement, and guided us in incorporating the firm, etc. And being in the newspaper game, we asked of him, and sometimes our press association attorney, certain technical questions.
At one time we had a story that told of some wrongdoing, and to make sure we would not have exposure once printed, we had our attorney read it. And we told him: “This is a good story. I have the facts to back it up in case we have to defend ourselves in court.”
To this, our attorney simply told us: “My number one job is to keep you out of court. Once you go into court, anything can happen.” And so we didn’t print that story. We realized that we would have to have a better, more solid facts before we could run that story. And our attorney’s advice has stuck with us over the years.
SPOUSE: Realizing in the modern age that this may be old-fashioned, we think a person in business needs to have a solid spouse to support, guide and comfort them in business and in everyday living. It gives great comfort to a businessperson to know that there is someone there that they can depend on wholeheartedly, and who can often offer another view that might be valuable, and certainly needs to be run by them for numerous reasons. A supporting spouse works wonders, and makes life even better.
There you have it: our Three Essentials to succeed in business. The rest is up to you.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Another government subsidy which you may not have considered
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. | Why are the taxpayers subsidizing soft drink manufacturers such as Coca Cola? Currently over 10 percent of food dollars spent in the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) is for sugary drinks.
This is three times more than SNAP recipients spend on milk. The savings would be tremendous, since the program’s budget is $70 billion. Furthermore, the purchase of sugary drinks plays a significant role in weight gain and the onset of Type 2 diabetes. America’s obesity rate has soared to 39.8 percent in 2015-2016.We need to eliminate this indirect subsidy to the soft drink industry.
Another solution to the above health problems would be to incentivize the purchase of healthy foods. For example, a 30 percent subsidy to encourage people to buy such things as vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grain bread and fish. No doubt our local farmers would also benefit. Massachusetts has already successfully tried a similar pilot program.
This could over time lead to billions of dollars in health care savings. Consequently, it would also prevent thousands of heart problems. An estimated one out of every two deaths from heart disease in the United States is attributable to what we eat. More than 1,000 deaths per day are due to poor diets. As for the state of Georgia, we rank 24th highest deaths in the USA because of poor diet at 31.6 percent. Georgia is eighth in obesity rates for youth ages 10 to 17. Sure, poverty, educational levels and access to parks all play a part, but a proper diet is the biggest contributor.
The obstacles are plenty, such as corporate lobby power and institutional inertia, but it’s worth at least a pilot program in the Coca-Cola Country, that is, Georgia. This, along with the statewide expansion of Medicaid would result in lower health costs and contribute substantially to the health of all Georgia citizens.
Finally, our thoughts continue to focus on companies that cause humanity’s great scourges: gun manufacturers, big pharmacy, large food processors, and the fossil fuel industry.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Law Firm of J. Michael Levengood, LLC
Today we welcome a new underwriting supporter of GwinnettForum. It is the law firm of J. Michael Levengood, LLC, which is engaged in the general practice of law. Before opening his solo law practice four years ago, Mike Levengood practiced law in Atlanta area for 34 years, handling a wide variety of commercial and litigation matters for business clients. Mike is a community leader in Gwinnett County where he serves on several non-profit boards. He is also an adjunct faculty member at his alma mater, the University of Georgia School of Law. By moving his law practice to Lawrenceville, Mike has been able to better serve his clients at more affordable rates than possible in a large national law firm.
- Visit this supporter’s web site at https://www.levengoodlaw.com
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
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
Rally in Lawrenceville on Jan. 27 focuses on “One Nation Under God”
Atlanta Prayer Partners invite individuals, families, churches and civic groups to attend a celebratory gathering and march on Sunday, January 27 in Lawrenceville to declare their faith and belief that America is “One Nation Under God.”
The first-time happening begins on the Lawrenceville Lawn, 210 Luckie Street in Lawrenceville, at 3:30 p.m. Free public parking is available at the Lawrenceville Lawn and throughout the historic downtown area, but police might temporality reroute traffic after the event is underway to accommodate marchers.
Local philanthropist Clyde Strickland, who conceived the idea and spearheads the event, says, “We, the people, are uniting to bring God to the forefront of America and teach the young people in this country to do what’s right.” Having studied societal trends ever since the courts began excluding prayer from public schools, Strickland contends that many of the nation’s problems have resulted from those decisions. A Christian who believes that people of all faiths should exercise their religious freedom by speaking out, he says, “When Christians stand up for God, God will change America.”
In addition to motivational speeches from individuals and distinguished faith leaders, country music star Ricky Lee will perform with his band and lead the crowd in patriotic songs. Participants are encouraged to bring signs to carry with messages like “One Nation Under God” and “In God We Trust.”
Programs on radon gas to be presented in Dacula, Lawrenceville
Radon is a radioactive gas that can be found in the soil under every home. Exposure to it may cause lung cancer. Testing your home is the best way to know if radon is present. Join Derek Cooper, UGA Extension Radon Educator, to learn more about radon and how to protect your family. Radon Testing Kits will be available for purchase by cash or check only.
Presented by Gwinnett Library, this Radon Awareness program is free and open to the public. Dates, times, and locations are below:
- Wednesday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hamilton Mill Branch, 3690 Braselton Highway, Dacula; and
- Wednesday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Collins Hill Branch, 455 Camp Perrin Road, Lawrenceville.
- For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.
Lilburn councilman to become Main Street manager for DDA
Lilburn Councilman Brian Burchik announced his resignation from the Council effective January 1, 2019. Burchik, a Lilburn native and Parkview High School graduate, has accepted the position of Main Street Manager for the Lilburn Downtown Development Authority (DDA).
Burchik
Burchik says: “Over the last year, my passion for Lilburn, and specifically the revitalization of our downtown district, has grown to the point where I began asking how I could work more directly on revitalization efforts. This personal curiosity coincided with the Lilburn Downtown Development Authority joining the Main Street America program.”
Butchik began his term of office in January 2016. Prior to being elected to the City Council, he served on the city’s Planning Commission. With less than 12 months remaining in his term, the Lilburn City Council vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment by the mayor and council.
Unterman’s committee reports recommendations on service animals
In December, Senator Renee Unterman (R–Buford) and members of the Senate Study Committee on Service Animals for Physically or Mentally Impaired Persons adopted committee recommendations. They are:
- To address liability for individuals who help save animals from hot cars;
- To consider a process for emotional support animals to be certified by a physician;
- To certify animals capable of service;
- To ensure that renters and landlords are educated on the qualifications of service animals
- To create educational resources to increase awareness and inform public schools and other interested parties on the difference between a “service animal” and “emotional support animal,” as well as the fraudulent misrepresentation of such terms and meanings
- To use the Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit to serve as the primary contact in addressing complaints
- To revise the Georgia code to clearly define the use of terms and definitions for service animals, emotional support animals, and assistance animals
Members of the committee reviewed current procedures to determine if there is a need for “a uniform certification process or the issuance of information cards.” Additionally, the committee discussed the issue of “fake service animals” and examined if this should be a criminal act.
Gwinnett courts get first Korean-Hispanic judge, Ramon Alvarado
Gwinnett County now has its first Korean-Hispanic judge. He is Ramon Alvarado of Peachtree Corners, newly named judge of Gwinnett County’s Recorder’s Court. He replaces retiring Judge Patti Muise.
Previously Alvarado had his own criminal defense practice in Gwinnett. He has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2005. State Court Judge Emily Brantley swore in the new judge.
Little Free Library founder’s family launches foundation
The family of Little Free Library founder Todd Bol, who died in October at the age of 62, has launched a family foundation and a nonprofit dedicated to his vision.
Bol
Bol built his first library-on-a-stick with the message “Take a book, leave a book” on his deck in Hudson, Wis., in 2009. Launched with the goal of creating 2,150 little libraries — topping the number of Carnegie Libraries in the country — the Little Free Library movement now includes 75,000 libraries in 88 countries. The movement also has given rise to a culture of front-yard sharing that includes Little Free Pantries and Blessing Boxes stocked with food and personal-care items.
Bol said before his death from pancreatic cancer:”I believe people can fix their neighborhoods, fix their communities, develop systems of sharing, learn from each other, and see that they have a better place on this planet to live,” according to Share With Others, which was launched on January 2, Bol’s birthday.
Bol’s brother Tony, who will lead the organization, located in Stillwater, Minn., where he grew up, says: “Share With Others will serve as a complementary organization supporting the Todd Bol Family Foundation. Share With Others is dedicated to supporting and spreading Todd’s vision of this broader neighborhood sharing movement through the sale of front-yard exchange boxes that can be used for Little Libraries, food pantries, and other ideas (that will) support neighborhood sharing, engage readers, fight hunger, and connect communities. Our goal is to provide supplies and support to meet community needs — at accessible prices, but with the quality Todd demanded.”
There are numerous Little Free Libraries across Gwinnett. See some of them.
Efstration attends White House signing of trafficking victims bill
State Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) this week attended the White House’s Oval Office signing ceremony of Senate Bill 1862, which enacts the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017.
Efstraton
He says: “I want to thank President Donald Trump for his leadership in working to end human trafficking and save victims from this evil criminal enterprise. Enacting this bipartisan legislation is a crucial step in the effort to combat this worldwide epidemic.”
The enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 revises the criteria for determining whether countries are meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and allows for actions to be taken against countries that fail to meet the new standards. The bill also allows for the U.S. Agency for International Development to incorporate child protection and anti-trafficking strategies for countries on a special watch list. Senate Bill 1862 also includes provisions
From Cold War To Hot Peace, By Michael McFaul
From Joe Briggs, Suwanee: In this book, a ‘Russia expert’ details his experiences working with former President Obama from campaign, through cabinet staff, and finally as Ambassador to Russia. McFaul was the author of the Russia ‘reset.’ The book witnesses the administration’s attempt to implement it. McFaul feels the ‘reset’ collapsed the day that the U.S. and France went beyond the agreement made with then Russian President Medvedev to protect innocent civilians in Libya and instead orchestrated yet another regime change resulting in the murder of its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and a chaotic civil war. Putin said the Libyan disaster was just another link in the chain of including Georgia, Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria, and never trusted President Obama or McFaul again. The book is well written. If a fault, it’s admitting a U.S. role in each of the overthrows, but not providing validating details. For that, you need to seek other sources.
- 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
Du Bois is included in Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
(Continued from previous edition)
During his early years at Atlanta University, W. E. B. Du Bois published significant studies that examined black conditions in the state. In 1901, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor, he published The Negro Landholder of Georgia, in which he examined how in only a generation after slavery, blacks had accumulated more than a million acres of land. In 1904 he published Some Notes on Negro Crime, Particularly in Georgia. Du Bois and his team of researchers concluded that Georgia’s prison industrial complex was financed by the incarceration of black males and that laws were applied to blacks in blatantly discriminatory ways. They also argued that while black crime decreased between 1895 and 1903, lengthy sentences for blacks made it appear that blacks committed more crimes.
Du Bois
In 1906 Du Bois penned the poem A Litany of Atlanta in response to what he saw and felt when he witnessed the Atlanta race riot of that year. Afterward he kept a double-barreled shotgun in his home for protection against the white mobs. In 1910 Du Bois left Atlanta University to become director of publications and research for the NAACP in New York, and later that year he founded its monthly magazine, The Crisis. He remained connected to Georgia and affiliated with the Atlanta University Studies until 1914.
In 1934 Atlanta University president John Hope invited Du Bois back to chair the university’s sociology department. During the next decade Du Bois published his seminal Black Reconstruction (1935), which challenged the dominant historiography of the time by arguing that Reconstruction was not a total failure and that blacks played an important role in democratizing America. While at Atlanta University, Du Bois also published the black history treatise Black Folk Then and Now (1939) and the autobiographical Dusk of Dawn (1940), and founded a scholarly journal, Phylon (1940). After Hope’s death in 1936, Du Bois found himself at odds with Atlanta University’s power structure. In 1944 he resigned from his position to work again in New York as the director of special research at the NAACP.
Du Bois’s years in Georgia were some of the most productive in his 70-plus years of scholarship and activism. While he has most often been associated with New England, it was in Georgia and other parts of the South that Du Bois focused much of his studies on black social conditions. He died in Ghana on August 27, 1963.
In 2000 Du Bois was inducted as a charter member into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Colorful buildings ask: Where was this Mystery Photo taken?
Where is this colorful and beautiful scene? This delightful Mystery Photo could be in one of several locations. It’s up to you to pinpoint it. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown address.
The last Mystery Photo found only two people identifying it. The photo was of the harbor in Saint Tropez on the French Riviera. It was sent in by George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. wrote: “This mystery photo was taken in bustling Saint-Tropez, a town on the French Riviera, 62 miles west of Nice. The port was widely used during the 18th century as a transportation port for various commercial trades, including fishing, cork, wine, and wood. Its role as a commercial port has since declined, and it is now primarily a tourist spot and a base for many well known sail regattas.
“Frankly, it was Brigitte Bardot, the rebellious French starlet, who put Saint-Tropez on the map, so to speak. She arrived in Saint-Tropez in 1956 to shoot the movie And God Created Women, the film which would catapult her into international superstardom, and transform the rustic fishing village onto one of the hottest destination in the South of France.
“The bell tower that is visible in the background of the photo is part of the Eglise Notre Dame de l’Assomption. This Italian baroque-style church was built in 1784 and is one of the most recognizable sights in Saint-Tropez, with its bright ochre and earthy sienna colored bell tower.”
The only other person recognizing the scene was Fran Worrall, Lawrenceville: “The Port of Saint Tropez is one of the most famous marinas in the world. Located in the quaint coastal village of Saint Tropez on the French Riviera, the port is surrounded by Provençal buildings, shops and restaurants and is known for high fashion, people watching, dining and nightlife. The height of its popularity comes once a year during the nine-day regatta called the “Voiles de Saint Tropez.” The race, which begins at the foot of the Portalet tower and bypasses the Nioulargue buoy before returning to port, brings together 300 of the finest yachts from around the world, including authentic swans and schooners.”
Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross begins series of new member exhibits
“Hemlock Falls, Rabun County, Georgia”
Kudzu Art Zone will soon begin a series of group exhibits featuring selected member artists. Title of the initial show is “Spotlight artists”, running from January 11 until February 16. Participating artists are: Dolly Alexander, Sally Arnold, Sallie Atkins, Jean Baldwin, Debra Barnhart, Lucy Brady, Barb Boyer and Cynthia Corbin. The exhibit seeks to anticipate spring with sunny landscapes, enticing waterfall views. Among the painting in this exhibit is Sallie Atkins’ pastel titled “Hemlock Falls, Rabun County, Georgia,” inviting the viewer to imagine a lovely, scenic hike to the iconic falls. The hours at the gallery are Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 4 pm. It is located at 116 Carlyle Street, Norcross; contact 770-840-9844 or visit the website at kudzuartzone.org
Tips about Social Security: Whether you are about to retire or start a new chapter, Social Security provides financial benefits, information, and tools to help secure today and tomorrow for you and your family. This will be presented on Saturday, January 12 at 11 a.m. at the Suwanee Branch of the Gwinnett Public Library, and then presented again on January 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Collins Hill Branch in Lawrenceville. It is to be presented by Gwinnett Library, in partnership with the Social Security Administration. The program is free and open to the public.
Tannery Row Art Gallery Reception, Saturday, January 12 from noon until 4 p.m. at the Artist Colony in Buford, 554 West Main Street. Join us in congratulating the 2018 Tannery Row Artists who received awards for their work in the 2018 Juried Art Exhibits at the Tannery. They include Debra Barnhart, Donna Biggee, Christine Canova, Adrienne Forshner Kinsey, Judy Isaak, Donna Jassmann, Bree Sauers and Judith Surowiec.
Author Visit: Brad Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of over 12 novels. Hear him on Sunday, January 13 at 3 p.m. at the Peachtree Corners Branch, 5570 Spalding Drive, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092. His latest, Daughter of War, is another heart-pounding thriller starring Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill. This event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Get your birding year off to a good start by attending the Southern Wings Bird Club meeting on Monday, January 14 at 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. Speaker will be Peter Gordon, educational director of the Elachee Nature Science Center in Gainesville. He will tell of a birding journey through the seasons and discuss the birds people in the area can expect to see throughout the year. Peter will also talk about the Elachee Nature Science Center and the exciting things that are going on there.
Promotional meetings: The Town of Braselton business owners, managers and staff from all over Braselton (four counties, four zip codes, and four state highways) are invited to four quarterly network meetings and discuss ideas or suggestions they have for promoting business in Braselton. Each meeting is held in a different part of town. All are welcome to attend! Snacks and refreshments will be served. Mark your calendar and come join us. The next meeting will be on Georgia Highway 211 at 6:30 p.m. on January 15 at Primrose School of Braselton,2711 Old Winder Highway.
Water Conservation Program: Gwinnett County Water Resources has developed “Homeowner H2O” to educate residents about water conservation. This presentation focuses on leak detection and repair, do-it-yourself water audits, Gwinnett County’s toilet rebate program, and increasing water-saving behaviors inside and outside the home. This free education seminar takes place on Tuesday, January 15 at 1 p.m. at Gwinnett County Public Library’s Collins Hill Branch, 455 Camp Perrin Road, Lawrenceville,. Register by emailing events@gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978
Discovery High park site public meeting: will be Thursday, January 17 at 7 p.m. at Discovery High School. A site is being acquired to function as a community park for all ages. Residents are invited to attend and share thoughts on this future project. For more information, contact 770-822-8840.
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.
Free Nature Photography Workshop at the Gwinnett Public Library’s Five Forks branch, 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road in Lawrenceville, on January 26, at 2 p.m. Join the Georgia Nature Photographers Association for this informal talk and Q&A nature photography workshop. They will provide information about cameras, editing software, and tips for getting better photographs with the equipment you already have.
M.L. King Day of Service will be January 21 from 9 a.m. until noon. Start the year off right by giving back to your community. Join us for National Day of Service to help empower and strengthen local communities. Families, service organizations, and Scout groups welcome. Register at www.volunteergwinnett.net or call 678-277-0900 for more information.
CHIPPING CHRISTMAS TREES: Bring One for the Chipper will be held on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Bethesda Park in Lawrenceville. The mulch resulting from the chipped trees will be used in Gwinnett County parks and trails and on county school grounds. Cut Christmas trees will be accepted at Gwinnett County Fire Stations locations between December 26, 2018 and January 20, 2019. Before dropping trees off, trees must be free of lights, tinsel, decorations and tree stands in order to be tree-cycled.
State of the County Annual Report will be February 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the Infinite Energy Center. Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash will review 2018 achievements and present the vision for 2019 and beyond.
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