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TODAY'S ISSUE
UGA in Gwinnett plans open house Feb. 22 for new students
By David Dodson

Special to GwinnettForum.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, Feb. 8, 2005 -- Prospective students interested in learning about degree programs offered by the University of Georgia at Gwinnett are invited to attend an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville.

Representatives from the various undergraduate and graduate degree programs UGA offers at the center will be on hand. The event will be held in the atrium of building B of the Gwinnett University Center, located just off Highway 316 at Collins Hill Road.

UGA currently offers seven bachelor's degree programs at the Gwinnett University Center, plus a variety of graduate degree programs. The newest graduate program is a master of internet technology offered by UGA's Terry College of Business. Applications are now being accepted for fall enrollment in that program.

Students interested in applying for UGA's undergraduate programs offered at the center have until March 1 to complete applications for summer enrollment and until April 1 for fall enrollment. Applications received after those deadlines will be considered pending academic program availability and adequate administrative processing time.

The undergraduate degree offerings include:

These are degree-completion programs open to transfer students with at least a 2.5 grade point average who have earned at least 60 hours of transferable course work at other institutions, as well as students who already hold a bachelor's degree and are seeking a second degree.

UGA has been providing graduate degree programs and continuing education in Gwinnett since the mid-80s. The College of Education offers master's degree programs in several fields, ranging from early childhood education to occupational studies. Other master's degree programs are offered in business administration, social work, public administration, and food science and technology.

UGA's College of Pharmacy, in conjunction with the University System's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP), also offers a special graduate-level certificate program to train regulatory affairs professionals in the biosciences industry.

UGA began offering undergraduate degree programs in Gwinnett in 2002, when the Gwinnett University Center moved from temporary leased space to its current 177-acre campus. However, these programs are scheduled to be phased out once a new four-year Gwinnett State College begins operating from that location.

"We are waiting to see whether the proposal for Gwinnett State College is approved and funded by the Georgia General Assembly," said Bob Boehmer, senior administrator for UGA at Gwinnett. "The current timetable we are looking at is to discontinue our undergraduate programs in fall 2008. But that will be affected by the General Assembly's actions."

Regardless of the fate of the undergraduate programs, UGA plans to continue offering both graduate degree programs and noncredit continuing education courses in Gwinnett.

The standards for admission to UGA's undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Gwinnett are on par with the standards at the main campus in Athens. In addition to the minimum credit-hour and GPA requirements, transfer students applying for the undergraduate degree programs must meet the criteria for admission into the specific program they wish to pursue. "The degree earned is a UGA degree, though the course work is delivered in a setting other than Athens," Boehmer noted.

For more information about UGA degree programs in Gwinnett, call 678/407-5364 (undergraduate inquiries) or 678/407-5302 (graduate inquiries) or visit www.uga.edu/gwinnett.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Trying to pull off a little alchemy with walking a dog
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

It's been nearly four years since the death of our previous dog, the feist known as Reilly. He was about 18 at the time of his death, and had trained his family pretty well by then. This new dog has a way to go to get the family in line.

One of the reasons for getting a new dog is pure logic: perhaps it will allow the shifting of some weight, from me, that is, to the rather young, skinny dog. It could amount to alchemy, for if I can move about 15 pounds off me, and put about three more onto the dog's bones, why that will amount to nothing more than magic!

So twice a day, at least, here you see me being dragged around the block by this animal at the end of a leash. Sometimes the pace is slow, as the mutt checks out every blade of grass or every line on the pavement that is possible. Once he gets his head of steam, however, he can create quite a tug on the leash, his little legs going almost like scissors, and the human on the other end finding out that he or she is about out of breath.

You can see from the picture that the dog is a mixed terrier, perhaps a lot of Jack Russell, but some say also a touch of Brussels-Griffon terrier. He weighs in about 12 pounds, and the Dr. J.W. Wallis, our vet, tells me he is about nine months old. The young teeth are sharp, for sure, and he tries them out on my hand, or shoe, or old towel, often.

Visiting two adoption centers, and two animal shelters a recent Saturday, we ended at the White County Animal Shelter, between Cleveland and Helen. (We were going to that area anyway.)

Get the picture: cells held one dog each, and most of them were at the front of the cell, wagging their tales, putting their nose through the bars, or standing on their back legs, all giving the same plea: "Adopt me." Not this guy we adopted. He wasn't anxious or nervous one bit. He was standing near the back or the cell, his head cocked a bit, ears pointed up, and holding back, as if saying: "Hmmmm. I wonder if I want to adopt you and your family."

He's been a delight every since, house trained, and even beginning to answer a call of his name or a whistle.

One thing I liked about him from the beginning: he settled into the household quite easily, going to sleep the first night and each night since. He's most gentle, though of course, he is a terrier, and he's sometimes races up the hallway, or around the yard, and wants you to play, play, play.

His face is happy and as one friend says, you can tell he has some Jack Russell in him in that he wants to plant his feet on your chest and lick your face!

His name? Thinking at first he was a Brussels-Griffon, a friend suggested a French name. So we came up with Hercule (as in Poirot, the detective), but he goes by Herky, which is also the mascot's name (a hawk) at the University of Iowa.

It's wonderful to have a dog back around the house. So welcome Hercule Rumpole Brack to our neighborhood.

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Just Emissions, a firm performing State of Georgia emission testing as certified by the Georgia Clean Air Force (GCAF). We eliminate the potential conflict of interest in the test and repair facility by performing only the test, never the needed repairs. For our commercial accounts we offer charge accounts and a single source of record keeping eliminating the need to "scramble" when it is time to purchase vehicle tags. Just Emission offers certified emission testing in minutes by our courteous, trained technicians. In Gwinnett, we are located at the corner of Scenic. and Grayson Highways in Lawrenceville. There are also locations at 1830 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, close to Emory University, and 51 S. Cobb Drive, Marietta one block south of the Big Chicken. No appointment is needed.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush tried to sell us a risky Social Security privatization scheme --- which, in reality, would guarantee benefit cuts for the American people, and divert billions in taxpayer money to the President's Wall Street friends.

Without Social Security, almost half of today's seniors would live in poverty. It just doesn't make sense to replace a guaranteed benefit with a guaranteed gamble.

Editor, the Forum:

I generally write when we disagree but your comments last week about the 316 bridges seem much more reasonable than the public-private toll road solution. It is certainly much more realistic than the golden domers idea of using emergency lanes to relieve traffic. Whatever is decided we need to move with some since of urgency. Keep pushing.

The Georgia Smoke Free Air Act could be one of the most important pieces of health legislation ever to Georgians of all ages, but especially to our children.

Recent studies are showing that inhaling second hand smoke is hazardous and can lead to cancer, especially in children. A seven-year, 10-country European study showed that exposure to passive smoke increases the risks of respiratory disease by 30 percent and lung cancer by 34 percent. It also showed that the more children are exposed to smoke, the greater their risk.

Those exposed to tobacco smoke at home every day for several hours are nearly four times as likely to contract lung cancer later in life as those whose parents were non-smokers. The Mayo Clinic explains that the haze caused by second-hand smoke generally contains more than 4,000 chemicals. At least 60 of the chemicals in a puff of smoke are carcinogenic (cancer causing), some which are formaldehyde, arsenic, cadmium, benzene, and ethylene oxide.

The Environmental Protection Agency has placed second-hand tobacco smoke in the most dangerous category of cancer-causing agents since 1992 and links secondhand smoke not only to lung, but also to cancers of the breast, cervix and bladder. And then there's the heart disease link - the U.S. Surgeon General reports that environmental smoke is associated with up to 62,000 deaths from heart disease in the United States each year.

This is not about government control of business. This is about the rights of
non-smokers to protect their health and the health of all children. It is about keeping insurance costs down and curbing taxes that pay health costs for the uninsured.

As a 30-year volunteer for the American Cancer Society and as a cancer survivor who grew up in a home with almost constant second-hand smoke, I urge you to do your research on environmental smoke and learn more about how it can affect our health. Then contact your state
representative and senator and ask them to vote for the Georgia Smoke Free Air Act.

The Buford North Gwinnett Rotary Club plans its third Annual Valentine Charity Ball Saturday, February 12 at the Renaissance PineIsle Resort at Lake Lanier Islands. The black tie optional affair offers entertainment by The Sentimental Journey Orchestra to the sounds of the big band era.

The club is supporting two organizations this year with the theme of "helping children both near and far". The Gwinnett Children's Shelter and One World Adoption Services will benefit from table sponsorships, ticket sales and a silent auction. Diamond pendants, a weekend in Destin, a night in a Cashier's, N.C. inn, lighting fixtures, an Adirondack chair and clock paintings, and sports memorabilia including a signed Falcon's football. All have been donated by supporters of the club. Personal services donated include a Shiatsu message, certificates for dental work, and a membership to Karate World.

Hors d'oeuvres, desserts by Schwanns, and coffee by Starbucks will be available. For tickets call 770 965-0005.

Small business people of Gwinnett are invited to attend the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce's Development Luncheon on February 16. The meeting will be at 11:30 at the 1818 club on the third floor of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Building, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Speaker for the meeting will by Attorney Tanya Eades, discussing legal issues for small businesses. Registration is requested by February 14th.

Democratic members of the Georgia Legislature are holding a statewide "listening tour", addressing concerns about cutbacks in Gov. Sonny Perdue‚s $17.4 billion budget proposal and the effect on areas such as health care and education, says Rep. Pedro Marin of Gwinnett.

He adds: "The local stop on this tour will be Tuesday, February 15, at 7 p.m. at St. James Lutheran Church on Jimmy Carter Boulevard. The public is invited to attend, and I urge you to make your concerns known."

The purpose of these forums is to allow lawmakers the opportunity to hear how these budget cuts will impact the people before the legislature votes on budget proposals that come out of the Appropriations Committee.

Marin also says: "There is a fear that the budget process is moving with such speed through the legislature that insufficient consideration is being given to the substantial impact the funding reductions would have on our local schools and health care providers."

While most of us think we know a good deal about Gen. George Washington, we probably don't know as much as we think. This book moves very quickly, revealing the great significance of the Battle of Trenton of the Revolutionary War. It also shows how Washington and his Army in particular were most vulnerable at this time of our rebellion against England. And it raises the question of the tactics of the British, wondering why they didn't move on to the provincial capitol of Philadelphia. All the while, everyone thought this war, too, would be a quick one, but it dragged on for five years. It's a fast read, and offers great insight into the beginning of our nation. --- EEB

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
2/8: Macon native Sidney Lanier was poet, novelist, composer

Sidney Lanier (1842-1881) contributed significantly to the arts in nineteenth-century America. His accomplishments as a poet, novelist, composer, and critic reflect his eclectic interests, and his melodic celebrations of Georgia's terrain are among his most widely read poems. Lake Lanier was dedicated to him in 1955 in recognition of his life and accomplishments.

Sidney Lanier was born in Macon on February 3, 1842. He graduated from Oglethorpe College near Milledgeville in 1860 with high honors. When the Civil War began, he volunteered to serve in the Confederate army. In 1864 he was captured and held as a prisoner of war for four months in Maryland, during which time he contracted the debilitating tuberculosis that plagued him for the rest of his life. His marriage to Mary Day in 1867 led to the births of four sons. He died on September 7, 1881, in Lynn, N.C., where he had traveled in the hope that the climate might cure him.

Lanier's works reflect his education, his love of literature and music, and his concerns for the Reconstruction South. His first major publication was his only novel, Tiger-Lilies (1867). While the novel was unsuccessful, it mirrored some of the painful struggles of the war-torn South. Later Lanier returned to poetry, writing his most memorable poems in a relatively brief period. They reflect his accomplished infusion of music into poetic lines.

Today Sidney Lanier is most noted for his experimental musical renderings of Georgia's fields, rivers, and shores in such poems as "Corn" (1875), "The Song of the Chattahoochee" (1877), and "The Marshes of Glynn" (1879). In the alliterative and fast-flowing lines of "The Song of the Chattahoochee," the river speaks of its rush through the northeast Georgia counties of Habersham and Hall. Despite the call to "abide" made by the luxurious native laurels, ferns, grasses, oaks, chestnuts, and pines, as well as the "friendly brawl" of stones and jewels on the river's bottom, the Chattahoochee insists upon its duty. It must water the fields and turn waterwheels on the plains as it makes its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."

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