Elliott Brack’s Perspective
BRACK: Action from 2006 might be harming police hiring
By Elliott Brack | An action taken by Gwinnett County government back in 2006 may be creating problems in retaining county employees. On Dec. 31, 2006, the county’s defined benefit plan (read as “pension”) was closed to all new employees of the county. Those employed at that time had the option of remaining in the pension plan or being included in either a 401 (a) or 457 (b) retirement plan.
BRACK: Cherokees’ removal in Trail of Tears has ties to Gwinnett
By Elliott Brack | This week a group was being led on a tour of the new Lawrenceville Performing Arts Center, which is run by the Aurora Theatre. As the group stopped at one exhibit, something was said that the Trail of Tears, which removed Cherokee Indians westward, started at the Gwinnett Courthouse.
BRACK: Summertime in the South, with baseball, colas and peanuts
| Having been born in the South, we boys growing up never even thought of how hot it got in the summer time in Georgia. It was just plain hot, and we accepted that in the days before air conditioning was standard. Suffer from heat? Not us. Sweat during the summer? Probably, but it seemed natural, and didn’t slow us down.
BRACK: It’s a sad time when those in Congress heckle a president
By Elliott Brack | Discourteous people bother me….seriously. It doesn’t matter who, when or where someone shows bad manners, it’s telling…about that person. Shocked! Yes, we were shocked at the lack of civility Tuesday night when the president of the United States was heckled by many Republicans during the State of the Union address.
Gwinnett Forum | April 1, 2025
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”
— Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965), via Lee Klaer, Duluth.
Continuing objectives
Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. His 2025 list:
- Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the date of the General Election.
- More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
- Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
- Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
- Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
- Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
- Gwinnett planners to encourage condos and townhouses instead of apartments.
- County-wide microtransit services.
Interested in Gwinnett history?
Now re-printed in its third edition, Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta, the award-winning history of Gwinnett County, is once again available for purchase. It sold out of its first two printings. The book won the 2010 Award of Excellence in Documenting Georgia History from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. The book is available at Old Town Antiques at 93 Main Street in Lilburn.
- The history of Gwinnett is also available as an e-book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble for $9.95.
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