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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Local teacher pens
novel on subject of art theft
By
Cheryl Ritzel
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: Cheryl Ritzel is a seventh grade
teacher at Osborne Middle School, and lives in Dacula. She is
an author, the latest a mystery/suspense novel Beginner's Luck,
in which a scheming local art dealer involved in such art thefts
is killed. For more information visit http://www.geocities.com/critzel2001---eeb.)
SEPT. 14, 2004 -- Want to learn about a lucrative billion dollar
business with a 95 percent success rate? No, it's not computer technology;
it's stolen art.
Ritzel |
Stolen art costs European insurance agencies $500 million dollars
a year. Worldwide it is estimated to be a billion dollar trade where
only five percent of the artworks are ever recovered. Many of the
paintings stolen are famous, like Munch's "The Scream"
stolen recently, and therefore difficult to sell. So where do they
go? Why steal if the thieves can't make money?
Occasionally, a painting is ransomed, although recent successful
sting operations have made this more difficult. Burglars may be
proving their skill or improving their image.
Or thieves may find they have stolen something they'll never be
able to sell because it's too high profile. However, authorities
suspect the individuals or crime rings orchestrating these thefts
sell paintings to pre-arranged buyers or a close network of private
collectors.
According to a report in The Guardian, receiving stolen artwork
is a crime of the upper classes. Many "respectable" people
are willing to accept stolen merchandise and pay handsomely.
In past years, chasing artwork was considered wimpy police work,
compared to chasing drug smugglers. Now, the trend is changing as
the Met, the FBI, and Scotland Yard realize art theft is a perfect
market for money laundering and blackmail for those very same drug
lords.
How does one go about stealing a priceless masterpiece? As in the
case of a recently stolen Da Vinci it's as simple as posing as a
tourist on a castle tour. They overpowered the tour guide in the
room and grabbed the painting off the wall. Then climbing out the
window and down the wall, the thieves scooted quickly to the getaway
car. In the case of a stolen Van Gogh, the thieves leaned a ladder
against the outside wall of an Amsterdam museum, smashed the window,
and grabbed the multi-million dollar canvas.
Thieves don't need to know how to beat hi-tech security and alarms.
The police are going to take 15-30 minutes to get to the scene and
they plan accordingly. Priceless artworks hang in historic homes
and manors all across Europe and make easy targets. Stealing a painting
can be as simple as walking out with it. Apparently that's what
happened to a Corot landscape painting at the Louvre in 1998.
Where force is needed, the thieves are equally successful. In November
2000, one armed raid of a Boston museum resulted in the theft of
paintings valued at $300 million. A month later another armed raid
by three men resulted in the loss of two Renoirs and a Rembrandt
in Sweden.
What happens to those paintings that are never recovered? For one
thing their value continues to climb as does their fascination,
becoming candy for the imagination. The most famous and celebrated
pieces of art are the pieces no one can see, because they don't
exist anymore. A stolen painting is mysterious, unknowable, and
unattainable and therefore it's the most marvelous, most talked
about, and most valuable painting because it is what we can't have.
Will the world ever see Munch's "The Scream" again? Hopefully.
Meanwhile it's allure and value have just taken a jump thanks to
a booming business most of us will never break into.
For more information about art theft try these searches: Art Loss
Register, Interpol, Guardian.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Next
for Wayne Hill? Attractive as lieutenant governor?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
SEPT. 14, 2004 -- Regarded as one of the ablest county commission
chairman in the entire United States, Wayne Hill felt the sting
of defeat at the hand of voters this summer, as his party faithful
unseated him as the county leader in the Georgia primary.
 Now,
at age 62, highly respected and willing, what is Mr. Hill to do?
This may seem far-out, but we suggest that Wayne Hill would make
a great running mate as lieutenant governor for Gov. Sonny Perdue
two years from now in the Georgia election.
After all, with the Democrats having the sitting lieutenant governor,
there's a gawking gap in the Republican office-holder line-up. And
while in the past people have not lined up to run as a team for
the two top state positions, there's nothing keeping any two candidates
from running as a team. It would amount to the governor anointing
someone as his running mate.
In many ways, Mr. Hill could strengthen the governor's position
in the race. First, Wayne Hill's name is recognizable as a running
mate, one who has gained considerable stature among people from
throughout the state. You may remember that, among other positions
of leadership, Mr. Hill is a former chairman of the Association
County Commissioners of Georgia! He knows people from big and small
counties, those who have looked to him in the past for leadership
among the county leaders of Georgia.
Hill |
Second, Mr. Hill has earned the respect as a leader of the Atlanta
Region Commission, you may remember. He knows the problems of the
Metro Atlanta area, and could project that into help for the sitting
governor.
Third, Mr. Hill and the sitting governor also form a geographic
strength, since Mr. Hill comes from the Republican donut around
Atlanta, and the governor from rural Georgia.
Not only that, but the governor obviously likes Mr. Hill, whom
he sat fit to endorse in his recent re-election bid in Gwinnett.
Yet it was not to be, as Mr. Hill fell after 12 years in his position.
Some say his defeat was expected, since that office was involved
so often in controversial and tough decisions that affected many
in the county. As one political wag said, "You can't make that
many decisions and not make a few enemies." And after 12 years,
there were many decisions….many political enemies, affecting
him continuing in that office.
Ironically, many of those same so-called "enemies" would
be expected to be behind Mr. Hill should he seek another office,
such as lieutenant governor.
So, a tag-team of Perdue-Hill to lead the Republicans in their
quest to hold onto the office of governor? Before the current Administration,
we had not had a modern sitting Republican as governor. Is a Republican
lieutenant governor on the horizon?
* * * * *
Democrats, meanwhile, are expected to have their own problems when
it comes to choosing their candidate for governor in 2006….as
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor of Albany as well is Secretary of State Cathy
Cox, who is from Bainbridge, not far from Albany, are obvious contenders.
Two respected South Georgians battling for the state's highest
office on the Democratic side: which of these will the Democrats
put up to face Sonny Perdue?
Most all expect a real slam-bang governor's race in 2006, with
the Democrats fighting to return to power, and the Republicans fighting
to hold onto it. And it is already underway!
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12 at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center. The 10th Anniversary
Season includes six events: three symphony orchestra concerts and
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FEEDBACK
9/14: Missed book recommendations
in last issue
Editor, the Forum:
I noticed that the section on "Book Recommendation" was
not part of last Friday's Gwinnett Forum articles. I really enjoy
learning about other people perspectives on the books they have
read. Will this section be back next week?
Teresa Lynn, Duluth
Dear Teresa: We hope so. We've asked several
people to send us their choices, but actually ran out of material.
If readers want this as part of the line-up, they must respond
to our requests. We hope they do; we enjoy it, too. Even tell
us what you have read lately….and we hope others do, too!
-eeb
9/14: American in Germany
seeks help for GIs, children from war
(Editor's Note: this letter comes through a friend
of ours in Germany, and may interest GwinenttForum readers. -eeb)
Editor, the Forum
I am a proud spouse of an American soldier who is deployed down
range, and live in Schweinfurt, Germany. If someone would have told
me a year ago that I would spend my days and nights gathering donations
for wounded soldiers and Iraqi children, I would have shook my head.
After all I just graduated from a well known Fashion Institute as
summa cum laude and I was a personal shopper at Saks Fifth Avenue
in San Diego, Calif..
As son as we arrived in Germany, my husband received orders for
Iraq. I was ready to move on in my career and I had a couple of
promising opportunities. Then my phone rang in early April. My husband
asked me to check on a soldier in Landstuhl, Germany, who had been
hit badly....it didn't look good.
My life changed that day. Trying to deal with all the eyes of dozens
of wounded soldiers....I realized that I could not leave this anymore.
Could not leave….what? Well, I did not know yet at that time.
Long story short.....I started an Organization called FAITH (Friends
Aid Injured Troops Hospitalized.) Standing in the community every
week, asking people to donate clothing items, toiletries and snacks
to the wounded, which I have been taking to the wards ever since.
I also work as a volunteer on the ward now, I sit with the soldiers,
I laugh and cry with them and I give them a few minutes of hope.
I have brought Billy Blanks to the ward, I chased after Miss Teen
USA for Autographs for the men, and I ran after Mugsy for hoops.....I
have collected over $16,000 worth of items and I bring pastries
every week to the troops.
Six months into this, sending and giving donations at four different
hospitals....I added on a new task, which I call: Teddies for Toddlers.
With all the negativity in prison abuses, I had to make a difference,
to prove that we care about the people. We need to nourish them,
educate them and show them love. Well, Teddy Bears are a great tool
to show love. I use my networking and marketing skills in "begging"
for these projects. There are millions of children. I have about
1,600 bears so far....a long way to go...but I know that this will
find more support some where. It's hard to put this all in words.
I hope I gave you a good look at my work. Unfortunately an article
in Stars and Stripes was printed on a holiday...not too many people
had a chance to see it...since everyone was off from work, but my
FAITH is big. Thank you.
-- Sandra Hummel (shoppingsandra@yahoo.com)
Operation in FAITH, Attn. Sandra Hummel, CMR 464 Box 2417, APO AE
09226
NEWS
9/14: Hudgens Arts
Center presents celebration on Sept. 17
A celebration of wine, food and the arts is set for September 17
at the Hudgens Center for the Arts at the Children's Arts Museum
at Gwinnett Center.
Included in activities will be an auction to tempt and delight,
plus "Get a Clue", a mystery theatre, presented by Perimeter
College's Gwinnettian Players.
The event is at 7:30 on September 17 at the Center in Duluth. Classic
cuisine will be supplemented by fine wines from area wineries and
distributions contributed by Wine South Inc. Sports cars restored
by The Jaguar Club of North Georgia will be on hand.
For more information, call 770 623-6002 x110 or email dlwelch9@hotmail.com
to reserve tickets.
BOOK
RECOMMENDATION
- An invitation: What books have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent book along with a short paragraph as to why you liked
it, plus what you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
9/14: Milton County
merged with Fulton County back in 1932
Milton County, where cotton was king for most of its 75 years of
existence, was one of only two Georgia counties in modern times
to be abolished (the other was Campbell County, south of Atlanta,).
Its county seat, Alpharetta, was the hub of city and county activities
and events. Located 25 miles north of Atlanta, on the south Milton
County bordered the town of Roswell, just two miles from the Chattahoochee
River, and it was surrounded by Cherokee, Cobb, and Forsyth counties.
Its early trails and later roads served as major thoroughfares from
counties and towns in the north Georgia mountains to Atlanta markets
and those along the way.
Old
Milton County Courthouse |
The need for a more accessible county seat led to the creation
of Milton County on December 18, 1857, from parts of Cherokee, Forsyth,
and Cobb counties. In 1859 small portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett
counties were added, with the land from DeKalb transferred to Fulton
County in 1929. Milton County was named for John Milton, Georgia's
first secretary of state, who was elected three times. A lieutenant
colonel in the Revolutionary War, he is credited with saving and
preserving the state's official records during the British occupation.
Milton County, with a population of 6,730 in 1930, merged with
Fulton County on January 1, 1932, through an act of the state legislature.
The annexation meant lower taxes, an improved economy, the advantages
of the Fulton County school system, and county medical offerings
for the residents of the former county.
In May 1932 the Roswell Militia District, including the city of
Roswell, seceded from Cobb County and also merged with Fulton County.
Thus was born what is known unofficially and variously defined today
as north Fulton County.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
One characteristic
of someone who we would want to love
"We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh."
-- Agnes Repplier, (1855 - 1950) US essayist, submitted by Cindy
Evens, Duluth.
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