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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Raises questions to
advocates of slow growth policies
By
Jim Hood
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA., Sept. 17, 2004---I would like to discuss the
realities of "No" or "Slow" growth policies.
If the building industry is stopped or slowed, who gets hurt? Got
any family or friends in the plumbing, electrical, grading, framing,
roofing, carpet, appliances, mortgage, insurance, real estate, banking
and any other related field?
All these businesses are directly related to growth of our county.
Got any ideas where they might work when you put them out of business?
Let's talk taxes for a minute. The average homeowner does not pay
enough in taxes to educate one child much less provide enough taxes
to finance their share of the operation of county government. The
malls, Home Depots, and other large business, along with medium
and especially small business, take up the shortfall to finance
the essential government operations of this county.
When you stop the development of the above kinds of business, who
is going to pick up the difference? You, the homeowners that's who,
and it isn't going to be pretty.
Now, let's talk about voting. Does it bother you that 7,000 voters
controlled the last run-off primary? One percent of the population
decided the political direction of this county for the next few
years. We who voted should be proud, and you that did not should
be ashamed.
I know Wayne Hill to be a dedicated leader with the best interest
of the county at heart. The growth was coming anyway. He had the
vision to provide some of the necessary roads, water, sewer, and
other things that you the newer residents needed and wanted. Got
any thoughts on where SPLOST is funded? The customers of the businesses
in our county (many of them from out of our county and even out
of state), that's who.
Okay, "Slow" or No" growth advocates: if you get
your way, be ready to pay the taxes necessary to operate the government
in the manner you have come to expect.
Oh yes, one other thing. When you turn down property owners who
want to use their property as they have the right to, the lawsuits
will follow and as Wayne and the other commissioners have already
learned, most re-zoning requests that are turned down will be overturned
by the courts. Guess who gets to pay the legal fees? You the taxpayers,
that's who. Private property rights are still the backbone of the
free enterprise system.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Trip
to Omaha: For no other reason than we had not been
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
SEPT. 17, 2004 -- Several have asked, "Why did you visit Omaha?"
 The
answer is perhaps too simple: because we had never been there. We
saw a cheap ticket during a Delta sale, and a few days later, we
were in Omaha. (Actually, the cheap ticket was to Kansas City; there
are few Omaha special sale tickets from Atlanta.)
The more complicated answer was that it was my 49th state to visit.
Only Hawaii is still on my list to visit, though Barbara has not
yet visited in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Tell us if you spot
cheap tickets up that way.
Omaha was thoroughly wonderful during out time there. We never
realized it had such a history, as the jumping-off place for many
early pioneers to make the trek across the West. The Oregon and
Mormon Trails left from there, and it was the marshalling yard for
all of the westward movement of the Union Pacific Railroad, still
headquartered in Omaha.
The railroad has given the area its old Union Station as a museum,
today one of the most enjoyable we have been in. Virtually entirely
local in nature and focus, it evokes memories of not that long ago.
Life-size cast bronze figures dotted around the station nearly come
to life as you approach them, allowing you to listen in on their
conversations. Be sure to visit this museum if you go.
 There
was so much more. Adjacent to one another are three attractions:
(1) the world-acclaimed Henry Doorly Zoo (the bears and gorillas
were our favorites); (2) Rosenblatt Stadium, where the College World
Series is played (we saw an Omaha Royals AAA game); and (3) an Imax
Theatre (where we saw an Imax Lewis and Clark presentation.) Down
by the Missouri River is one of the Lewis and Clark landing sites.
Downtown Omaha has preserved about a 15 block area called Old Market,
once old warehouses amid brick streets, today a mix of shops, restaurants
nightlife and older attractions (no chain outfits allowed), harking
back to an earlier day. We found a wonderful hand-made ice cream
shop in a converted gas station. We visited more than once!
Being an outfitting town for the westward movement, my theory is
that people made a lot of money more than 100 years ago in Omaha.
And we figure that accounts for the 20 insurance companies headquartered
here, since insurance requires a lot of capital, and they had it
in Omaha.
It's also the home of the tallest building (42 stories) between
Chicago and Denver. It's Omaha's First National Bank tower, and
if you look at the building, you see architectural indentions in
the tower at the 7th, 18th and 38th floors, each indention meaning
something. The 7th and 18th floor indentions symbolize the bank's
earlier buildings, and the 38th marks the size of the nearby Woodman
of the World building, up until recently the tallest tower around.
You can bet the new bank tower now is the tallest….by design,
from the efforts of the Lauritzen family, who have been in Omaha
for years, and own the bank. You can tell there's a lot of pride
in Omaha!
Omaha has 404,267 (2000 census ) people, and nearby (50 miles away)
Lincoln has 225,581 more. The total population of Nebraska is 1,711,263,
so you see most of the state's activity is in the two eastern cities.
And remember that Nebraska is about 500 miles wide!
And yes, we had a steak in Omaha. Its stockyards and meat packing
places are greatly diminished today, but when an old, established
restaurant personally cuts you a steak in Omaha, wow! It's good.
And yes, Omaha residents sneer at frozen, boxed steaks!
Sometimes the short trips you take turn out wonderful. That's how
our recent quick trip to Omaha was. Check off 49th state for me,
47th for Barbara.
ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
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is the largest privately held bank in Gwinnett, with assets of $640
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD
9/17: Looking at buying
assault weapons
The latest from cartoonist Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
9/17: Says new park
off Five Forks Road is really hopping!
Editor, the Forum:
The new Ronald Reagan Park is really hopping!
Have you heard about, or had a chance to see, how busy it is on
evenings and week-ends? The parking lot is packed, there are groups
at every table, the playgrounds, skating park, basketball courts
are full...I think the success of this new park shows what type
of park the residents of Gwinnett need. It's not even a very big
park, and yet it attracts lots of people across the age spectrum.
I hope that the County Administrators can plan for more of these
parks throughout our County. I also hope that they can figure out
a way to allow people using the park to walk safely across Five
Forks Trickum to the library. Seems silly to have to get back in
the car just to drive across the street. Parks and libraries complement
each other very well, especially if you have easy access from one
to the other.
-- Charmaine MacKenzie, Lawrenceville
9/17: Follow the money involving Iraq to friends of George!
Editor, Gwinnett Forum:
Over 1,000 Americans have died in Iraq. Why? With no WMD's, no
nukes,
George says it's "to establish a democracy in the Middle East."
Lofty sounding, ain't it? No wonder they won't let the media show
the return of hundreds (over 1,000) flag-draped coffins.
Watergate taught us, "Follow the money." Multi-million
dollar NO BID contracts to rebuild Iraq went to FOG's (friends of
George). Halliburton raked in $4.3 billion in defense contracts
in 2003 alone, more than in their previous five years combined!
We have no real coalition in Iraq because it's more lucrative for
FOG's if we're "forced" to go it alone. Bush even wants
to privatize services to the military (food services, gas delivery,
even security). Who profits? Halliburton and other FOG's.
The entire world was in our corner after 9/11. Now most of the
globe hates us. With staggering deficits and hundreds of billions
more needed for Iraq, "Homeland security" isn't properly
funded. There's no money for education, health care, job training,
and other services languishing under Bush. We have fewer teachers,
police, and fire fighters -- but they're letting the ban on assault
weapons expire!
End this FOG that has enveloped us for four years! Vote for the
interests of 98 percent of us, not the wealthiest two percent. John
Kerry is not perfect, but he is superior to George in leadership,
integrity, and genuine courage. God willing, this time, all the
votes will be counted, and this nightmare can be ended.
-- M. J. Buckman, Lilburn
CALENDAR
Junior League teams
with Aurora for benefit performance
The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties and the
Aurora Theatre invite you to an evening of mystery and wine. This
killer event will be held Friday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Schumacher's
Restaurant in Tannery Row located in downtown Buford.
The Aurora Theater will provide an interactive evening full of
murderous fun as you figure out who done it!
Enjoy a tasting of Gallo's best wines such as: Red Bicyclette,
Rancho Zabacco, Frie Brothers, Davinci, Black Swan, and many more.
Chef Wilfried Hausy will be preparing an array of delicious foods
to satiate appetites. Tickets for this event are $55 each, with
a 10 percent discount if purchasing eight or more tickets. Proceeds
from this event will help support the Foster Care Support Foundation
and other League initiatives. Call 770-339-7339 to purchase tickets.
The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties (JLGNF)
provides volunteer and financial help to non-profit organizations
supporting women and children's issues. The JLGNF is a member of
the Association of Junior Leagues International, comprised of 296
leagues in four countries and over 193,000 members. Since its inception
in 1991, JLGNF has donated more than $290,520 and 20,000 volunteer
hours to local community projects. For more information about JLGNF,
please visit www.jlgnf.org
or call 678-476-3090.
Technology Forum to hear about "Voice over Internet"
McDonough |
Gwinnett's Technology Forum has as its speaker on Tuesday, Sept.
21 Chuck McDonough, former CTO for Z-Tel Communications, Inc., for
a discussion on "Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)."
The event will be at 7 a.m. at the Busbee Center of Gwinnett Tech.
For more information, call Alice Krogh at the Gwinnett Chamber of
Commerce, 770 232-8807.
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
9/17: Lamar Dodd, gifted
artist, leading UGA art educator
Lamar Dodd was not only the most recognized artist of his generation
from the state of Georgia but also a passionate advocate for the
arts and a skilled administrator. His most visible legacy is the
Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia.
 Born
on September 22, 1909 in Fairburn and reared in LaGrange, Dodd took
classes at LaGrange Female College (later LaGrange College) when
he was 12 years old. After a brief stay at the Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta, he taught art in rural Alabama, then enrolled
at the Art Students League in New York City.
As part of a national movement to put working artists into universities,
Dodd was appointed to the faculty of the University of Georgia in
1937. Within three years he had consolidated all teaching of the
visual arts into one department and had even enrolled the first
graduate students in a master's program. The department grew quickly
and, thanks to his efforts, is today one of the largest, most comprehensive
art schools in the United States.
In later life, Dodd returned to the natural world for his subjects.
The seascapes of Monhegan Island in Maine were a favorite subject,
as were the sunflowers of America and Europe.. Dodd was again urging
his viewer, his student, to look closely, to join him in acknowledging
the pull of the center, the essential in nature. He went full circle,
from analysis of his own backyard to a study of the cosmic forces
that defined all of us and, finally, back to a private, personalized
universe where he asked his viewer to join him in an appreciation
of the nearness of beauty.
Before his death in 1996 Dodd went back to his roots in the American
Scene movement. For fully two-thirds of the 20th century, Lamar
Dodd represented Georgia's visual arts community as administrator,
teacher, and advocate, and as the most influential Georgia artist
of his generation.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Reflections on life
from someone who has not been there
"It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere."
-- Written in the dust on the back of a bus, Wickenburg, Ariz.,
submitted by Benita Dodd.
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