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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Toxic mold claims another
victim: Grayson Methodist chapel
By Diane Bates
Special to GwinnettForum.com
GRAYSON, Ga., March 9, 2004 -- Toxic mold, known to cause serious
health problems and even death, has claimed another victim. This
time the victim is the hundred year old, wooden Grayson United Methodist
Church chapel, located in Grayson at the corner of Rosebud Road
and Grayson Parkway.
 The
building, which is filled with toxic mold, is to be torn down next
week, according to Charles Hill, who is co-chairman of the church's
building committee. "After considerable discussion within the
church and the community, we decided to dismantle the old chapel,"
he said.
"It's with deep regret that we made the decision because the
chapel has been such an important part of our church," said
Hill. Originally, the chapel was the main building for the church,
but as the congregation grew and other structures built, the chapel
was used for Sunday School facilities, Boy Scout meetings and other
community activities.
Last year, as part of a new building program, the church investigated
renovating the chapel but soon discovered that the building had
serious, dangerous environmental and structural problems. Over time,
rain had leaked into the basement, undermining the chapel's structure,
rotting the wood and creating the toxic mold. As if that were not
enough, the church discovered that squirrels, which had nested in
the walls and attic, had damaged the building's electrical wiring,
making the building a potential fire hazard.
Once the church discovered these problems, not wanting to further
expose the staff that worked in the building or the youth, and other
groups that met there regularly, the church closed the chapel for
safety and health reasons.
 Then,
in an effort to renovate and save the chapel, the church hired independent
consultants to inspect and study the building. Those consultants
reported that not only would renovation be extremely expensive,
but the building would also require additional structural and electrical
repair to bring it up to current building code standards. According
to their inspection report, it would be less expensive to remove
the old building and build a new one. The renovation costs far exceeded
any funds Grayson United Methodist Church or even the City of Grayson
could raise.
Although the chapel itself is coming down, the church is preserving
the history of the small building. The chapel's wooden pews and
the stained glass windows will go into a new fellowship hall that
the church is building. In addition, the chapel's antique bell will
become the centerpiece for a new memorial park the church plans
to construct on the chapel's current site. By incorporating these
artifacts from this historic building into the new building, Grayson
United Methodist Church's rich past becomes part of their future.
"We want the community to know our sadness and to know the
difficulties we have incurred as we face the loss of our chapel,"
said Hill. "The Grayson United Methodist chapel has served
our church and our community well, and it will surely be missed."
ELLIOTT
BRACK
"Button
Bash" becoming bountiful benefit for Gwinnett
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 9, 2004 -- Saturday we attended our first "Button Bash",
a grouping of people from throughout Gwinnett that Emory Morseburger
puts together. It is a lively event, one sure to grow in significance
in the coming years.
 Here's
why: Emory controls what happens, and limits the hot air coming
from the stage. Meanwhile, people are interchanging with one another,
and having a good time.
He got the idea for the "Button Bash," named in honor
of the county namesake Button Gwinnett, as a way to get the leadership
of "all the organizations of Gwinnett County to get to know
each other better and improve communications between them."
This came after Emory was chairman of the Gwinnett Re-Vitalization
Task Force, and was "Amazed at how little communication there
was between different groups in the county." (Interestingly,
the idea of continued communication of ideas was the idea behind
GwinnettForum."
In Emory's work, he concentrates on trying to revitalize neighborhoods,
specifically at first, the southern half of the county. In recent
days he has turned his efforts beyond Snellville to Lawrenceville
and Duluth." We want to exhibit and discuss plans and thought
of revitalization in all parts of the county."
What we like about the Button Bash is that there are a lot of leaders,
including politicians, in the crowd. But Emory won't allow the event
to turn into one political posturing speech after another. In fact,
he generally keeps the politicians away from the microphone, except
for an opening prayer by Commission Chairman Wayne Hill, which was
appropriate. Though Emory introduces the pols present, they don't
speak.
"We want the people to visit with one another, and keep talking,"
he says. Generally, that's what happens during the night, through
an innovative system of handing our name cards to one another, with
prizes for who collects the most.
Button Bash 04: we had not been in town for the first two Bashes,
but hope to make it a regular event from now on. Good move, Emory!
* * * * * * *
Congresswoman Denise L. Majette of the fourth District, which includes
Gwinnett, has been named an assistant whip of the US House of Representatives!
Majette was one of only three freshmen tapped to join the Whip
Team this month as part of an effort to build upon the team's successes
by adding energetic and effective members. As an assistant whip,
Majette will help gather support among her colleagues for key legislation.
Majette is also president of the freshman class of House Democrats
and chair of the Task Force on Jobs and the Economy. She is a member
of the 1) Budget, 2) Education and Workforce and 3) Small Business
committees
* * * * *
Each new Internet Bug seems more sophisticated then the one before.
Here's the text of one we got this week: 'This message has had
one or more attachments removed Warning: (details.rtf.exe, details.zip).
Warning: Please read the "(name of GwinnettForum's server)-Attachment-Warning.txt"
attachment(s) for more information."
Then it said: "scanned by Norton Antivirus", trying to
legitimize the message. Of course, it wanted me to open an attachment,
which no doubt actually contained a virus.
Our computer folks tell us: open only messages that you know are
from real people. But the bad part of that is that this week I got
a message from what appeared to be our own server ("staff@brack.net"),
which also suspiciously looked like a virus. I did not open that
one, either.
Be careful. These new bugs are highly sophisticated and can cause
you and your computer lots of problems!
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Harry Day Pianos
of Duluth. Whatever your piano needs, call Harry Day: tuning,
buying, selling, restoration, or even piano moving. We specialize
in restoration of fine grand pianos. Call 770 476-1749 or visit
our web site for a list of used pianos of all kind: www.harrydaypianos.com.
FEEDBACK
3/9: Keeping perspective
on gay marriage is difficult
Editor, the Forum:
Thank you for your fine response
to Mr. Lewis' letter regarding what to tell children about gay
marriage, etc. You spoke a necessary word, temperate, reasoned,
sensible, and caring. You helped us keep our perspective on
a difficult question. I liked your comment that our country
is working its way through this concept now. So is my Presbyterian
Church (U. S. A.) where I continue to serve as a retired minister.
In my book, yours is a prophetic word we need to hear. Keep
up the good work.
-- Bill Crosland, Atlanta
3/9: Keep up the
good job on area of maintaining liberties
Editor, the Forum:
What a great response to Rikk Lewis, Grayson.
I have refrained from commenting on the marriage legislation
but do some very strong feelings about maintaining liberties
in this country. I think you pretty well covered many of my
thoughts and in a much nicer way than I could have. Keep up
the good job.
-- Jim Dumond, Buford
NEWS
County seeks input
on new park to be opened near Suwanee
Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation will hold a meeting
on Thursday, March 11, at 7 p.m. for the public to give input
on a future park on Suwanee Creek Road in northeastern Gwinnett
County.
The 155-acre active community park site, which also has a lake
that sits on the property, is located on Suwanee Creek Road
near the intersection of Wildwood Road. The property is adjacent
to the site of Peachtree Ridge High School, where the meeting
will be held. The school is located at 1555 Old Peachtree Road
in Suwanee.
At the meeting, residents can apply to serve on the Peachtree
Ridge Park Site Steering Committee, a volunteer board that will
offer input on the park's master plan. They also will have an
opportunity to complete a community recreation interest survey,
which will be used to determine what types of amenities may
be offered at the park.
For more information, please call (770) 822-8840.
Caboose Day at Southeastern Rail Museum is set for March 27
On March 27, 2004 The Southeastern Railway Museum will host
its second annual Caboose Day. The Museum's restored fleet of
Cabooses will be featured as the Museum pays tribute to this
vanishing part of American railroading.
Throughout the exhibit buildings, there will be caboose exhibits
and displays. There will also be special Caboose themed slide
shows in the museum's audio visual room.
Other activities taking place on March 27 include a visit by
the Georgia Operation Lifesaver truck, track speeder exhibits
and rides as well as a sale of library surplus items.
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
3/9: Blindness
didnt' stop Thomson musician from greatness
Blind Willie McTell was one of the great blues musicians of
the 1920s and 1930s. Displaying an extraordinary range on the
12-string guitar, this Atlanta-based musician recorded more
than 120 titles during 14 recording sessions. His voice was
soft and expressive, and his musical tastes were influenced
by southern blues, ragtime, gospel, hillbilly, and popular music.
In 1981 Blind Willie McTell was inducted into the Blues Foundation's
Blues Hall of Fame. In 1990 McTell was inducted into the Georgia
Music Hall of Fame. Each year, the city of Thomson hosts the
Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival in honor of their hometown
legend.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Skill and imagination
must be combined in right way
"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us
many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination
without skill gives us modern art."
-- Tom Stoppard, "Artist Descending a Staircase."
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