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TODAY'S
ISSUE
GTC students win two
top places in national accounting test
By
Lauren Anderson
For Gwinnett Technical College
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Feb. 25, 2005---Gwinnett Technical College consistently
puts out top scorers for the national accounting accreditation exam,
but the most recent test was the first time two students from the
college had the two highest scores in the nation.
Gwinnett Tech's accounting students to ace the ACAT exam were April
Hammett (the highest scorer in the nation), and Janie Moore Welden,
second highest scorer in the nation (tied).
Cassandra Newby, acting director of the Accreditation Council
for Accountancy and Taxation (ACAT), says "It is quite a coup
[for Gwinnett Tech] to have the high scorer and a tie for the second-highest
score on one exam." ACAT is the independent testing organization
that administers the Accounting Business Advisor (ABA) exam, a nationally-recognized
professional designation.
Lanny Nelms, accounting program director, Gwinnett Tech, adds: "We
salute both of these students, soon to be graduates, for their hard
work. [They] bring a lot of pride to our program."
"The ABA exam," Newby says, "Is a way for professionals
to say to clients and employers, 'my skills have been tested and
you can have confidence in me.'" The ABA exam is divided into
two sections: Practice 1 tests knowledge of accounting principles;
Practice 2 tests knowledge of taxation, ethics and business law.
Applicants must score at least 70 percent on each section in order
to pass the exam.
The exam is offered in December and June annually, with a similar
number of individuals taking the exam each session. The pass-rate
is about 50 percent. There were 101 applicants who took the test
in December.
"Gwinnett Tech always turns out a high percentage of high
scorers," Newby says. "The college has had the top scorer
at least twice, but this is the first time with both a high scorer
and a tie for the second-highest score on the exam."
The ABA credential is for practitioners who specialize in the needs
of small-to-mid-size businesses and in financial services to individuals
and families. Applicants must have three years of related work experience,
up to two of which may be through college credit.
* * * * *
Gwinnett Technical College, one of Georgia's largest technical
colleges, offers more than 45 associate's degree, diploma and certificate
programs, and hundreds of seminars and workshops that provide specialized
training each quarter. The college is also the county's largest
single provider of corporate training programs. Gwinnett Tech is
accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools. For more information, visit Gwinnett Tech
online at www.GwinnettTech.edu.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Youths
get bureaucratic lesson when seeking driver's licenses
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
FEB. 25, 2005 -- It happens in many households. The 15- or 16-year-old
is about to take their learner's or driver's license exam. The youth
is excited, venturing into the adult world.
And suddenly, Wham! A slap in the face, a harsh blow. The youth
finds that government can be so sloppy and differential, as most
youth face frustrating problems to get a license.
It's a harsh reminder that their government is so bleak and inefficient.
No doubt it turns off many students and sours them toward government.
It is also frustrating to parents, who often accompany their child
to get the license.
None other than the governor of Georgia knows of problems with
the issue of driver's licenses. He's even promised relief. Few see
any results of relief.
At least Governor Dr. Sonny Perdue has addressed the problem. His
State of the State speech last month included: "Getting or
renewing a driver's license is probably the one thing government
does that both touches and aggravates just about everyone. If we
didn't have a monopoly on this business, we'd be out of business."
One youth we head about who has a birthday coming up sought information
on February 9 from the Beaver Ruin Road Department of Motor Vehicle
license office. The birthday isn't until April 19, but even back
in February, the best time this office can see her would be in late
May.
So this student checked out the Lawrenceville State Patrol license
office. There the first time this student could get an appointment
was on April 21.
One parent complains about the "indifference. It's pitiful!"
Even once you have an appointment at the licensing bureau, what
strikes a person is the total inefficiency in the way these bureaucrats
handle people. Between each step in the process, there is a long
wait, usually about 45 minutes.
1. You go and start your paperwork, hand it in, then wait 45 minutes.
2. For a learner's license, you take a test, then wait 45 minutes
or so.
3. Then they call you back and give you an eye test. Guess what
is next? You wait more.
4. Now time to take your picture. And then more waiting of maybe
45 minutes.
5. Finally, they call you up and give you a license.
But by then you are worn out, frustrated, and perhaps (reasonably
so) mad. We would be.
One family recently had a father going with their child for a license,
and was there all morning. Then the mother relieved the father (who
was missing from work that morning), and spent the afternoon with
the 15 year old. It was basically a full day of waiting, because
of bloated and inefficient agency.
This is no way to run any agency or business.
Back in 2002, when the Beaver Ruin license station was opened,
it was touted as a place to provide "an important increase
in service to metro Atlanta residents, bringing quick, convenient
service close to where the people live and work," so they said.
(GwinnettForum, July 12, 2002.)
At that time, the State of Georgia said the people would get their
license within 45 minutes or get their license free.
If that's the case, the State of Georgia's about to go broke, from
granting so many free licenses.
Government can improve. But it will take someone, perhaps Dr. Perdue,
getting rid of a lot of inefficiency and poor leadership, and adequately
fund this Department, to see any significant improvement.
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD
2/25: Interesting complaint
The latest from cartoonist Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
2/25: Four-lane road
name change and no one told him?
Editor, the Forum:
The Golden Isles Parkway (U.S. Highway 341 from Perry to Brunswick)
is virtually complete as a four lane highway through South Georgia,
except for a few short stretches in Wayne, Appling, Dodge and Pulaski
counties. Has anyone traveling on this highway noticed the signs
designating this as "Georgia's High Tech Corridor?" Has
the Georgia Department of Transportation seen fit to change this
as permanent? I don't see any Golden Isles Parkway signs anymore.
Just wondering.
-- David Earl Tyre, Jesup
CALENDAR
Duluth rail museum plans Caboose Day activities
for April 2
The Southeastern Railway Museum plans its third annual Caboose
Day for April 2 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., celebrating the end of
the train and the folks who lived and worked in cabooses.
Activities include track speeder rides, music, special speakers
and food. Guided tours through cabooses will be available, as will
a caboose set-up where kids can have a snack. There will be a craft
corner for kids to create a souvenir to take home.
In the afternoon the museum will dedicate a "Wall of Honor"
to all of the men and women who built, operated, and maintained
all of the transportation systems that have made this country prosper
and those who have helped preserve the history of transportation.
The museum is also accepting sponsorship applications for inclusion
in the Wall of Honor.
Through March 26 the museum is open for general admission only
on Saturdays, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Effective March 31, 2005 the
museum will expand days of operation for the summer.
The Southeastern Railway Museum has been in operation since 1970
and is "Georgia's Official Transportation History Museum".
It is located in Duluth off Buford Highway, approximately one mile
north of Pleasant Hill Road.
NOTABLE
John Linder heads key
subcommittee on homeland security
Congressman John Linder (R-Ga.) was named chairman of the Homeland
Security Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack.
As chairman of the Subcommittee, Rep. Linder will oversee efforts
to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States involving nuclear
and biological weapons, and will oversee the Department of Homeland
Security's role in nuclear and biological counter-proliferation
and detection of fissile materials, biological weapons, precursors,
and production equipment. The Subcommittee will seek to integrate
Federal, state, and local efforts in order to prevent nuclear and
biological attacks.
RECOMMENDED
READ
- An invitation: What Web sites or books have you enjoyed?
Send us your best recent read along with a short paragraph as
to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
2/25: Fall line across
mid-Georgia was former coast
 The
fall line is a geological boundary about 20 miles wide that
runs across Georgia northeastward from Columbus to Augusta. As the
Mesozoic shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean, it separates Upper Coastal
Plain sedimentary rocks to the south from Piedmont crystalline rocks
to the north. The fall line is notable not only for the geological
relationship but also for the impact that the geology had on early
transportation and consequently on commerce and society.
The falls that give rise to the term fall line are the shoals or
waterfalls caused by the first exposure of crystalline rocks encountered
when traveling upstream in rivers of the Coastal Plain. These falls
represent a barrier to navigation.
Rivers of the Coastal Plain were a major means of commercial transportation
during the 1700s and early 1800s. The cities of Columbus, Macon,
Milledgeville, and Augusta were located at the fall lines of the
Chattahoochee, Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Savannah rivers, respectively.
They became early centers of commerce because of their positions
at the upstream limit of navigation.
The differences in geology to the north and south of the fall line
give rise to differences in soil types, hydrology, and stream morphology.
Sandy soils predominate to the south of the fall line, whereas clay
soils are the rule to the north. Wide floodplains have developed
along many of the streams south of the fall line. Narrower stream
valleys are present north of the fall line. A consequence of these
differences is that the fall line separates significantly different
plant and animal communities.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Thoughts concerning
education and progress
"Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress
implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for
education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them."
-- Henry Steele Commanger, vis Roy McCreary, Dacula.
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