GWINNETT GOT A SURPRISE SNOW on Saturday morning. Here’s a view of the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse during the snowfall. Some places reported five inches, though the snow was soft. Snowfall began about 9 a.m., and dissipated around noon. With the warming temperature of the afternoon, the snow caused few problems, and was mostly melted by nightfall. While it was falling, it was quite beautiful.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Neighbor Remembers Friendship and Stories of Maurice Wheeler
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s Another Example of Us Having Too Much Government
ANOTHER VIEW: Understanding the Impeachment Results from Worldwide Media
SPOTLIGHT: Georgia Gwinnett College
FEEDBACK: After Brexit, England Now Holds the Trump Card on Its Future
UPCOMING: Special $2.14 Adoption Fee This Week at Gwinnett Animal Shelter
NOTABLE: State NSSAR Conference Recognized Dee Camerio for Service
RECOMMENDED: Don’t Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Lookout Mountain Near Chattanooga Is a Major Tourist Attraction
MYSTERY PHOTO: Today’s Mystery Is Something of a Walking Giant
LAGNIAPPE: Surprise Snow Brings White to Gwinnett
CALENDAR: Discuss Afrofuturism on Saturday, February 15 at 1 p.m. at the Lilburn Branch Library.
Neighbor remembers friendship, stories of Maurice Wheeler
By Pamela South
FEB. 11, 2020 | A lost cat brought us together. My timid cat had escaped shortly within days of moving into my house in Norcross, and I was frantic. I feared that he would soon perish in the woods of my new neighborhood.
Wheeler
I walked up to a house where a handsome and friendly white haired gentleman was sitting at his kitchen table, and after hearing my description, he said he had seen a cat just like mine on his porch who sniffed around and left, heading down the hill. Sure enough, I found the cat around midnight, just down the hill.
What’s more, my new friend and neighbor called me just a few days later and asked, “Did you find your cat?” We chatted, and he was happy about the cat. He also told me a hilarious story about his cocker spaniel Baby and his Mercedes Benz. And so began my 11-year friendship with Maurice Wheeler, a long-time resident of the City of Norcross, who passed away on February 4th at the age of 95.
I was always welcome at his house, as were other neighbors, their children, and their pets. He was a treasure trove of stories about his childhood, growing up south of Atlanta when trolley cars got you anywhere you needed to be. His love of animals began in his youth, and he recalls a pet white rat and yes, a pet goat that ate off part of his hair while he was sleeping.
He was modest about his military service in the Navy during World War II, about his working with pilots on simulators at the famous Pensacola Naval base after the war, and his storied rise in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He had no resources except himself and his endless appetite to learn, and his success was completely self-made. Maurice retired early and began his second career, that of an artist, carving scrimshaw and showing his work.
He had amazing life stories, but his focus centered on his wonderful encounters with people and animals and left me either laughing or thoughtful. We compared notes on the owls visiting our trees, because Maurice knew every type of bird that entered his yard.
He talked about his late wife, Priss, and his first encounter with her and the polka dot dress she was wearing. We talked about how to fix things, because he could fix anything, and often did.
He was kind and considerate, and so open to discussing his eventful life. Maurice was also marvelously intelligent and intuitive, in ways that seem to be lost to us now.
I think the word for it is one that is not used frequently these days: wise.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Here’s another example of us having too much government
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
FEB. 11, 2020 | We’ve got too much government. People in both political camps can agree on this. It’s the way you go about governing that divides us.
The question is where you put your emphasis on what government should do.
There are essential governmental functions for me:
- Fire, police and safety functions? Yes.
- Public schools? Yes.
- Public Parks and Recreation? Yes.
- Public transportation? Yes, highways, rail and buses.
- Health care for all? Yes.
- Public funds for private schools? No.
- Governmental-forced religious liberty? No.
- To discriminate? No.
- How to use one’s body? No.
Most of us can add to this list, pro and con.
But what we don’t want to see in government is waste and inefficiency. And certainly we see too much of that, of public funds spent in often useless ways, or on unimportant and petty projects of elected officials, often benefiting themselves in some way, or helping their friends.
What set me off was a new traffic light being installed in Peachtree Corners.
Ever since the founding of Technology Park back in the 70s, the three-way intersection of Technology Parkway and Technology Parkway South has flowed traffic through this area smoothly. That’s nearly 50 years! While these are two key streets in this development, neither are major commuter arterial streets like Peachtree Industrial Boulevard or Peachtree Parkway.
The intersection has relatively little traffic. I’ve never seen more than 4-5 cars backed up there awaiting movement. The vehicles take their turns either going straight, or turning left or right. I’ve never seen an accident there. There are few people walking at this location.
But now the City of Peachtree Corners has erected an “advanced” traffic signal there. The city said in a release: “The new traffic signal not only provides an improvement to the intersection in terms of traffic delay and pedestrian safety, it will also provide new opportunities for future smart city technologies development and deployment.” Horsefeathers! That’s not an intersection where there is delay.
There is something new and different at this intersection. It is along this route that Curiosity Lab, the city’s real-world test track environment, runs. That’s the area in use for the driverless car that is tested along the route of Technology Parkway. But that unit runs so seldom that in all our driving on that street, we have seen it in use only once or twice.
That’s not enough use to install a modern traffic light. The city says: “The new signal will create a place to test topics such as optimized cycle times, vehicle detection radar, pedestrian sensors and application interfaces, connected and autonomous vehicles, traffic counting devices and much more.” Again, we say “Horsefeathers.” All that logic can take place without an expensive traffic signal.
The contractor’s fee was approximately $73,000 for the light.
The new signal installation seeks to tackle a problem that has never existed at this location. The addition of the Curiosity Lab routing has not added to the congestion, nor caused the need for the traffic lights. It’s simply government solving a problem that did not exist, and therefore, a waste of money.
Also consider this: with motorists already creating no problem in going through the intersection, will the addition of traffic lights, with their stop-and-go functions as the lights change, maybe cause more problems than not having lights there!
This installation of traffic lights on this non-mainline route is a waste of public monies. We’ve got too much government.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Understanding impeachment results from worldwide media
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. | Do Republicans really think it is just Democrats who despise Trump?
Great Britain’s The Guardian: “….the international media were scathing in their verdict on Donald Trump’s in his acquittal, portraying it as a bitter charade that would allow the president to continue his onslaught on American democracy – with potential global consequences.”
Germany’s Die Zeit said the outcome of the impeachment process was “a triumph for Trump – not just over the Democrats, but over democracy.” The end of this “historic yet absurd process” had made abundantly clear “how seriously damaged the U.S. political system now is.”
France’s Libération said the curtain had fallen “not before time” on a process that for the past fortnight had “offered the American public, and the world, a desperate spectacle. A hollow pretense of justice, without testimony or an ounce of impartiality, it ended as expected – in the president’s acquittal.”
In Australia, The Age warned of the wider consequences of the acquittal. “Even taking into account Trump’s positives, his negatives – corruption, his reliance on lying, the numerous sexual assault allegations, his disregard for the spirit and letter of the law – are destructive for constitutional democracy.” With Republicans unwilling to check his power, Trump functions more like a ruler, a mob boss, or a kingpin than an elected official.
In the Netherlands, De Volkskrant’s Washington correspondent agreed, saying the outcome of the impeachment process was never in doubt… “He exhibits behaviour that has never been seen before in U.S. presidents: the lies, the lack of decorum, the way he puts people under pressure, the demonstrable corruption. But no one is put off. The traditional values of honour and respect, an inherent part of the Republican party for so long, have been abandoned in a staggeringly short space of time.”
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After Brexit, England now holds the trump card on its future
Editor, the Forum:
The comments from England reflect the sigh of relief that the island didn’t sink as many Remainers predicted in countless hyperbolic exaggerations in the media to pump up the populace into frenzy. The sky did not fall; the island remains afloat. Examine the membership of the House of Lords and why they might have benefits in continued contracts with the European Union (EU).
Britain holds the trump card. Yet, the many levels of power will play their hands to massage a final deal, if there is one. Britain wishes to negotiate deals with the rest of the world, and do it without EU regulations or inference. Can the EU deny Britain any access? That would have security implications. The members of the EU would have serious problems with that commercially.
This will be something other than our American minds will not fathom in its result. It will be an agreement displaying new weakness and old nuance, as European importance fades.
Britain has the opportunity to expand its financial expertise, its expertise in all the arts and production of mind. It needs to leverage its agricultural and fisheries, its fossil fuel technology and production, Britain needs to reinvent itself as a powerhouse of new ideas and a center for capitalism.
World War II crippled the entire Commonwealth after a maximum investment was made. In the United Kingdom, minds changed to a dependent population demanding that the government provide for the general population.
Britain has the opportunity to move out of this stagnant stage and enter a more vibrant economy. I can only hope my ancestors still have the stuff to move independently to invigorate Britain.
— Byron Gilbert, Duluth
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Special $2.14 adoption fee now at Gwinnett Animal Shelter
Love is in the air, and Gwinnett Animal Welfare invites you to “Find Your Sweetheart at the Shelter.”
Adoption fees for all cats and dogs are $2.14 during this special adoption event beginning the week of February 10. The special will conclude through Saturday, February 15 with an event of vendors, resources for pet owners and photos with your pet between noon and 2 p.m. on February 15.
All pets adopted at Gwinnett Animal Welfare have already been vaccinated, neutered and microchipped, and are ready to go home with their new family. Dogs that have tested heartworm positive will be treated before going home. The standard adoption fee is $45 for dogs and puppies and $30 for cats and kittens.
Gwinnett Animal Welfare is located at 884 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. For more information, visit www.GwinnettAnimalWelfare.com.
State NSSAR conference recognized Camerio for service
From left are Georgia State Society Sons of the American Revolution President K. Scott Collins, Dorothy “Dee” Camerio and Awards Chairman Wayne Brown.
Sons of the American Revolution, in their annual state conference, held an award’s night recently in Gwinnett, and recognized Dorothy “Dee” Camerio with the society’s prestigious Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
This Medal recognizes outstanding and unusual patriotic achievement and service. Dee is also being nominated for the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Gold Good Citizenship Award, which will be presented at the 2020 annual national convention. Ms. Camerio resides in Lilburn with her husband, Lou Camerio. She was recognized for her dedicated work on behalf of military veterans and their families.
Her award citation reads in part: “Dorothy ‘Dee’ Camerio has provided exemplary service to veterans, beginning with her 30 years as a paid employee of the Veteran’s Administration. Upon her retirement she began, what is now nearly 10 years, continuing volunteer service, as an Accredited Veterans’ Claims Agent. During this period, she has assisted veterans across the state of Georgia and the Southeast, using her acute knowledge of the system to make a serious difference in the lives of those who served our country. Without Dee’s passion and understanding, many veteran benefits would have been denied. Her service to the community merits consideration for recognition by GSSAR as a nominee for the Silver Good Citizenship Award.”
Following Dee’s accreditation from the General Counsel in Washington, D.C., she began volunteer service for veterans. Dee is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Don’t Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: I really wish I’d had a bigger brain when I was reading this book. It is jam packed with information about ancient history, civilizations and, of course, mythology. If you like any one of these things, you will find plenty to enjoy. The beginning chapters lay out the big picture explaining what myths are, how they originated, how they differ from legends and folk tales and how they evolved. Then the author focuses on different regions, beginning with Egypt, and sets the historical stage for how the various myths influenced the different cultures and religions. I love its “mythological milestones” and the extensive historical timelines. The beauty of this book is that you can cherry pick so, if you’re only interested in a particular time or place or myth, you can zero in on that. But if you really enjoy world history, you will probably appreciate the whole book. The full title is Don’t Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know about the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned.
- 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
Lookout Mountain is major tourist attraction
Known primarily for its role in the Civil War (1861-65) battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga, and for the Rock City, Ruby Falls, and Incline Railway tourist attractions in and near Tennessee, Lookout Mountain is actually a bigger physical presence in Georgia, and even larger in Alabama.
Geologically considered a ridge in the state’s Valley and Ridge province, Lookout Mountain stretches 84 miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tenn., to downtown Gadsden, Ala. Only three miles of Lookout Mountain are located in Tennessee, while 31 miles lie in northwest Georgia and 50 miles extend into northeast Alabama. The mountain’s highest point is located near the community of High Point, Ga., along the eastern brow, where it reaches an elevation of 2,393 feet.
Lookout Mountain is the southernmost extension of the Appalachian Plateau, a land mass that runs from Birmingham, Ala, to Knoxville, Tenn\. Lookout Mountain is separated from Sand Mountain (also part of the Cumberland Plateau) by Lookout Valley, a two-mile-wide channel that includes the towns of Trenton and Rising Fawn, Ga.
Along the top of Lookout Mountain, in Walker County, are incredible views of two different valleys: Chattanooga Valley to the east and Lookout Valley to the west. The narrow, flat top of Lookout Mountain is large enough for small communities and a few roads, and is well suited for homes built along the brow that provide outstanding scenery into the valleys below.
Most people know Lookout Mountain through its tourist attractions. Ruby Falls is a commercial cave that takes tourists 260 feet down into the limestone rock, where they can view a 145-foot waterfall and strange rock formations. The Incline Railway ascends the steepest part of Lookout Mountain, near the Chattanooga neighborhood of St. Elmo, reaching a grade of 72.7 percent in one section. On the northernmost point of the mountain is Point Park, part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park commemorating the Civil War battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. After their defeat at Chickamauga in September 1863, Union troops broke through Confederate general Braxton Bragg’s line the following November during the Battle of Chattanooga, forcing a Confederate retreat and ending the Chattanooga campaign.
Rock City, known for its “See Rock City” signs painted on the tops of barns across the Southeast, is a product of millions of years of erosion of the mountain’s native sandstone, which has produced fantastically shaped boulders. Frieda and Garnet Carter started Rock City in 1932. Garnet Carter also built the world’s first miniature golf course on Lookout Mountain in the 1920s.
Outdoor enthusiasts nationwide are drawn to Lookout Mountain’s unusual landscape. Miles of caves wind through the limestone of the mountain. Ellison’s Cave on the Pigeon Mountain extension of Lookout Mountain in Georgia is the deepest cave east of the Mississippi River. Cloudland Canyon State Park offers hiking in and around the deep gorge cut into the western edge of Lookout Mountain in Dade County. The elevation in the park drops from 1,980 feet to 800 feet. In the Alabama section of Lookout Mountain is the Little River Canyon National Preserve, which contains the longest river in North America that runs its course entirely on top of a mountain.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Today’s Mystery is something of a walking giant
Today’s Mystery Photo is something of a giant. It’s somewhat famous, but where is it located? Send your thoughts to elliott@back.net, and include your hometown.
The mystery photo from the most recent edition was the Brant Point Lighthouse on Nantucket Island, Mass. First to spot it was George Graf of Palmyra, Va., who added: “ The whaling industry in Nantucket boomed by the 1740s requiring an aid to navigation to guide mariners around Brant Point, an area through which all vessels passed as they entered the island’s inner harbor. Established in 1746, the Brant Point Light was the second lighthouse established in colonial America. It has since been moved and rebuilt more times than any other lighthouse in the Nation. The present lighthouse is the ninth one built on Brant Point.” The photo came from Chuck Paul, Norcross.
Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill wrote: “The Brant Point Lighthouse at the Nantucket has burned down several times and was destroyed by a storm twice and moved to its present location in the mid-1800s. The lighthouse in the mystery photo looks just like what I remember. I enclose a photograph as we were coming into the harbor.”
Others recognizing it include Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Patty Clemmons, Lawrenceville; and Virginia Klaer, Duluth.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., gave details: “The Brant Point Lighthouse, at 26 feet high, is the shortest in New England This wooden lighthouse was originally built in 1901, automated in 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. This lighthouse is actually the 10th light to be located at Brant Point, with the first one being built in 1746, thereby making this the second oldest light station in the USA (second only to Boston Light Station). Four of the previous nine lights at Brant Point were either burned down or blown away in ferocious Nor’easter storms. Two others were condemned, while two were decommissioned after being determined to have unsatisfactory and dangerous foundational issues caused by shifting and eroding sands. The ninth tower at Brant Point was built of stone in 1856 and is still standing, approximately 600 feet inland to the west of the current light tower. While not currently operational, the 1856 tower and its original fog bell, are both well-maintained and located next to the offices of the US Coast Guard Brant Point Station, as can be seen in the attached screenshot from Google Maps.
“By 1901, the shifting sands once again necessitated the construction of a new light on the point, about 600 feet from the 1856 light. The lantern room was moved from the old light to the new light, and the old tower capped (see attached photo). An electrically operated fog tower was installed in 1918, replacing the station fog bell, which was put on display at the 1856 tower. Finally, the light was switched from white to red in 1933, to avoid confusion with the town lights. The last civilian keeper, Gerald Reed, served from 1927-1939, when the Coast Guard took over.”
Surprise snow brings white to Gwinnett
Snow as a surprise hit Gwinnett Saturday morning. One photo from Sugar Hill shows the impact on that city, while Frank Sharp shared his photo of his neighborhood north of Lawrenceville.
Discuss Afrofuturism on Feb. 15 at the Lilburn library
State of the County Address by Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash will be Wednesday, February 12 at 11:30 a.m. at the Infinite Energy Center. The luncheon is co-hosted by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Council for Quality Growth will provide an update of county services, focusing on the county’s economic development, revitalization, public safety, mobility and infrastructure. For more information, contact Lina Teitelbaum |at 678.584.2252 or email her at Lina@GwinnettChamber.org.
Learn and discuss the cultural phenomenon of Afrofuturism – the blend of science fiction, fantasy, and technology with the rich traditions of black literature, art, music, and folklore. Dr.Tanya Clark of Morehouse College will speak on Saturday, February 15 at 1 p.m. at the Lilburn Branch Library. The session is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.
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