TODAY'S ISSUE
Hill looks back, forward after 12 years in chairman's slot
By F. Wayne Hill
Chairman, Gwinnett County Commission
Special to GwinnettForum.com

(Editor¹s Note: Though leaving office this year, we asked the chairman of the county commission to think back on his 12 years in office, and give us once again his view of the State of Gwinnett. -- eeb)

LAWRENCEVILLE, DEC. 10, 2004 -- When I was first elected 12 years ago, there had not been a promotion in years in the Police Department. I was told that I could have a $50 million dollar deficit in my fourth year of office. We were told we had problems at the Civic Center and had a lawsuit hanging over our heads that could cost as much as $50-$60 million.

Hill

We made some adjustments and the economy turned and here we are today. We have been busy, with many accomplishments. Among them:

• Built many fire stations and several libraries;
  
• Paved 5060 dirt roads;
  
• Built swim centers;
  
• Bought a tremendous amount of green space and park lands, going from 1,700 acres in 1993 to 7,800 acres in 2004;
  
• Built the Gwinnett Arena;
  
• Helped start a four year college campus by approving $6 million for land and $3 million for infrastructure;
  
• Purchased two major buildings that adjoins the Gwinnett Justice and Administrative Center along with about 38 acres of land;
  
• Had two bond rating upgrades;
  
• Underway with a new JuvenileRecorders Court;
  
• Built a state-of-the-arts water plant and are in the second phase of the F. Wayne Hill Reclamation Facility;
  
• Purchased land for a water reservoir;
  
• Almost doubling the uniformed division in the Police Department and again almost doubling the number of Medical units in Fire Department.

Since the day I took office, we have almost 300,000 more people in Gwinnett than we had in 1993. The projection by Atlanta Region Commission is that by 2030, we will add at least 400,000 more people. I was blamed for all the growth. But, I don't think you can find one person that I asked to move to Gwinnett. Most people come for the quality of life here, and by that I mean good schools, great parks, and good opportunities for jobs.

The challenges I see in the future are how we mesh the diversity into the county. We now have over 100 languages in Gwinnett. I hope most of us will see this as a positive and all work together for an even greater Gwinnett.

The new board of commissioners will have to deal with some budget problems in 2006 or 2007. I hope they will see commercial growth that out paces the homes so that they might avoid a tax hike. I believe we will see a Stormwater Utility in Gwinnett¹s future to take some of the burden off the general funds.

The challenges will continue to be great in Gwinnett with the growth that is expected. Roads will need to be built, widened and improved. Public Safety will need to be expanded. Water and Sewerage will need to be expanded and a need for a new courthouse is in Gwinnett¹s future.

In reality, the issues won't change much. The challenges will be great and the need for more funding will always be there. I wish the new Board well, and hope they have much success.

I believe that I, along with the great Board members and a great bunch of county employees, whom our County Administrator has put together, have made Gwinnett a better place than it was 12 years ago. If not, why would 25,000 people still move here every year?

Thanks for letting me serve as your chairman these 12 years.

ELLIOTT BRACK
It's sad that we don't have the old-time department stores
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

DEC. 10, 2004 -- Especially at this time of year, department stores are on our mind, as most of us visit them in our rounds of Christmas shopping.

In earlier days, no matter where you lived in this country, each big town had its own favorite home-grown department store. These stores went up against the national chains of those days, the Penneys, the Sears and the Montgomery Wards, and usually came out ahead. There was something about loyalty that made many of us concentrate our purchases at the local department store.

Belk in North Carolina, Rich's in Atlanta, Macy's in New York, or Marshal Field in Chicago, Loveman¹s in Birmingham ("Meet me under the clock") or Nordstrom's in Seattle, Wannamaker's in Philadelphia, Dillard's in Little Rock...and on and on, each of us can remember.

(Sadly, Rich's soon will be no more, but will take on the national name of Macy's. We remember one Georgia lady, who enjoyed shopping at Rich's so much, that her husband bought stock in Rich's for her, so her shopping would help enrich the company, and she would not feel so guilty about going there so often.)

These thoughts came to mind this week when out shopping for Christmas. It was not a good experience. Perhaps we are becoming more sophisticated, or older and wiser, or perhaps we are just plain becoming more of a grouch. But going to a department store is not what it was like back in "the good old days."

Today we see lots of differences. Among them:

• Jammed-in tight spaces, with no elegance remaining in the shopping experience.
  
• Lower quality of goods at traditional stores.
  
• Fewer clerks, and most now part-timers with little experience to help guide you.
  
• Merchandise poorly selected, aimed at lowest element of market, with no effort at providing classic clothing.
  
• A plethora of sales, making you question low prices, for fear of even lower ones.
  
• A atmosphere of crassness with little regard for the customer.
  
• New policy on returning goods, best described as "difficult."

For clothing, in particular, today's department stores seem to employ buyers of their goods straight out of college, with little experience, who aim their merchandise mostly at the hip, younger crowd. It forces many families into the discount stores for their major shopping. Or else it pushes people toward higher-priced retailers, who often employ people who usually keep their nose elevated for most customers, many of whom are turned off with this approach.

Also cutting into the department store sales are today's discounters of national chains, intent on selling us questionable merchandise, though with no interest in the local community. They are almost like leeches in a community, sucking the profits for the conglomerate's shareholders, far, far away.

Perhaps the most significant new development for shopping in recent years is the Internet. Now people can get more choices than ever, at prices that sometimes rival discount houses, plus allow shopping from home. Many people feel the cost of delivery is easily balanced by not having to fight the crowds, or take the time to battle others for parking. And yes, online shopping is cutting into the profit margins of local stores, and helping doom many of them.

You think back to the welcome you got at the olden days department storesŠ.and you miss the simple touches, like remembering your name, or free delivery, or for some, the use of a doorman ushering you into the store. Don¹t wait for these touches to return. About the best you can do is consider the greeter at today¹s largest merchandiser, Wal-Mart.

And somehow...it doesn¹t compare.

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McLEMORE'S WORLD
12/10: Way you feel when Christmas shopping

Another great cartoon by Bill McLemore:

NEWS
Perimeter College platform awaits Godfather of Rap

Urban entrepreneur Russell Simmons will deliver the keynote address at the ninth annual Georgia Perimeter College Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration in January.

Simmons is best known as the godfather of rap music and hip-hop culture. As co-founder of Def Jam Records, Simmons created a pop movement that spread from the inner city to mainstream America. Not resting on his business success, Simmons has become one of the country¹s most effective advocates for peace and social justice. Like King, Simmons is outspoken, inspiring and relevant in today¹s society.

The MLK birthday celebration will be held at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 15. Admission is free.

The event will feature lively performances by the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and a mass
choir. Also, GPC will present its two annual Humanitarian Awards at the event, honoring a corporation and an individual for outstanding community service.

Past speakers at Georgia Perimeter¹s celebration include Maya Angelou, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Danny Glover, Spike Lee and Judge Glenda Hatchett.

For more information call 404-244-5033 or visit the website: www.gpc.edu/mlk.

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
12/10: William Tappen Thompson was early writer of backwoods

During the middle of the 19th century, William Tappan Thompson(1812-1882)
gained national popularity as a writer of humorous stories. He was best known for creating the fictional character Major Joseph Jones, a down-to-earth Georgia planter who wrote dialect letters about his courtship, rural life, and travels. Thompson was one of a group of 19th century southern writers whose humorous and realistic tales about the backwoods produced a literature that was distinctively American.

Thompson was born August 31, 1812, in Ravenna, Ohio. At the age of 14, he left home to make his own living. He gained his first newspaper experience on the Philadelphia Daily Chronicle and later traveled south to work as a secretary with the territorial government of Florida. In 1834 Thompson moved to Augusta, to study law under Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, the author of Georgia Scenes (1835).

Major Jones's Sketches of Travel, originally published as humorous letters in the Western Continent, describes the Major's adventures on a tour from Georgia to the North and Canada. His naïvete as a rustic in the big city is the source of much of the book's humor, but the Major's comments on slavery give the volume a serious undertone reflecting the growing controversy between the South and the North.

In 1850 Thompson became the founding editor of the Savannah Daily Morning News. Except for a short period during the Civil War, he edited of this newspaper until his death. He became a leading spokesman for the South during the postwar years. Joel Chandler Harris worked for the paper during the 1870s before accepting a position with the Atlanta Constitution. Thompson served as a mentor for Harris as Longstreet had for him many years earlier.

During the last years of his life, Thompson had a significant influence on Georgia politics. He vigorously supported conservative Democratic principles in his editorials for the Savannah Morning News. Although he made some enemies with his outspoken editorials, few people doubted his integrity or sincerity. He died March 24, 1882, at his home in Savannah. His daughter prepared an appropriate memorial by gathering some of his uncollected writings and publishing them in 1883 as John's Alive; or, The Bride of a Ghost.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Why Andrew Carnegie endowed so many church organs

Over the course of his life, Andrew Carnegie endowed 2,811 libraries and many charitable foundations as well as the internationally famous Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also bought 7,689 organs for churches. The purpose of the latter gift was, in Carnegie's words, "To lessen the pain of the sermons."

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

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