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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Red Cross suggests
what to do when bad weather hits area
By
Gordon May
American Red Cross
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: with the severe weather season
approaching, we asked the American Red Cross to provide information
on how each family should prepare for such emergencies. -eeb)
MARCH 8, 2005 -- Spring brings thunderstorms, lightening, flooding,
and tornadoes. The Red Cross provides the following tips to help
people safely weather severe weather.
Thunder and Lightening: If you can hear thunder, you can
be struck by lightning. Find shelter in a building or car. Listen
to radio or television for information. Unplug appliances. Avoid
using the telephone or running water. Draw blinds and shades to
protect from shattering glass.
If outside, seek a low-lying, open place that will not flood and
is away from trees, poles, or metal objects. Squat low placing your
hands on your knees with your head between them. In the woods, take
shelter under short trees. If boating or swimming, get to land and
find shelter immediately!
Flood: When a Flood "Watch" is issued, move furniture
and valuables to higher floors and fill your car's gas tank to prepare
for evacuation. If a Flood "Warning" is issued, listen
to radio or TV for information. If told to evacuate, do so quickly.
If there is a Flash Flood Watch, watch for signs of flash flooding
and be ready to evacuate quickly. In case of a Flash Flood Warning,
evacuate immediately moving to higher ground away from rivers, streams,
creeks, and storm drains. Do not drive around barricades. If your
car stalls in rapidly rising waters, abandon it immediately and
climb to higher ground.
Red Cross at work. |
Tornado: In case of a Tornado "Watch,", listen
to radio or TV for updates. Be alert to changing conditions. Blowing
debris or the sound of an approaching tornado may alert you. If
there is a Tornado "Warning" and you are inside, go quickly
to a place that will protect you from glass and other flying objects.
If you are outside, hurry to the basement of a sturdy building or
lie flat in a ditch or low-lying area. If you are in a car or mobile
home, get out immediately and head for safety.
After the tornado passes, be alert for fallen power lines, stay
out of the damaged area and listen to the radio for information.
Use a flashlight to inspect your home for damage, but never use
candles.
Get Prepared: make a Disaster Plan and assemble a Disaster
Supplies Kit. Discuss with your family the types of disasters that
are most likely to happen and what to do in each case. Pick two
places to meet including one close by for sudden emergencies, like
after a fire, and another outside your neighborhood in case you
can't return home. Be sure everyone knows the addresses and phone
numbers. Ask an out-of-state friend to be your "family contact,"
someone who other family members can call to keep in touch. Be sure
everyone knows the phone number. Discuss what to do in an evacuation.
Plan how to take care of your pets.
Assemble a disaster supplies kit including a first aid kit, essential
medications; canned food and opener; three gallons of water per
person; protective clothing, bedding, battery-powered radio, flashlight,
and extra batteries. Also include items for infant, elderly, or
disabled family members, and written instructions on how to turn
off electricity, gas, and water.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Local
dentist treks back to site where moonshine still found
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 8, 2005 -- The 700,000 people who live in Gwinnett these
days don't realize that just a few years back, the county was far
different, mostly rural, the law enforcement was somewhat lax, and
some people made their living from illicit operations.
We're talking right here in Gwinnett. For instance, off Pleasant
Hill Road, between the railroad and just-opened Peachtree Industrial
Boulevard, about 1983, there was an area mostly undeveloped. It
was among places in Gwinnett where moonshine was made.
Recently a local dentist, Dr. Slade Lail, and I went looking for
a still he remembered having found when a teenager and camping in
the area. We went right to the spot, in a ravine between Tree Summit
apartment buildings 4200 and 3200 (on the other ridge).
Dr. Lail remembers the place well. "My parents used to put
us boys out on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, when a cassette tape
warehouse was being built. We would hike in and pitch our tent under
a big rock that overhung the area, and spend the night. That's where
we stumbled on to the pot of the still, maybe 50 feet from the rock."
Today three story apartment buildings ride the ridges of the area,
but down in the gulley, where a very small stream trickles, we found
remnants of a busted-up liquor still. The banks of the gulley are
steep, 60 degrees or more. Few residents of the apartment complex,
we suspect, have ever ventured down to the creek. It took some switching-back-hiking
to get down the steep banks.
Pot for old still found near Duluth |
Today you can see the corrugated metal pot, but with obvious slashes
where no doubt "revenuers" cut into the pot with an ax.
The stream barely trickles from its source maybe 300 feet back to
the start of the ravine. There was an indication, from building
blocks, that the stream was once damned, to provide water for the
still. The deep banks of the ravine meant that whoever made the
illicit whiskey had quite an uphill hike to get the booze to a roadway.
While moonshine was being made in Gwinnett, it was also passing
through Gwinnett from the North Georgia mountains. One prominent
Duluth resident, who shall remain nameless, was a youngster who
grew up where Satellite Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Road intersect.
He remembers Duluth as a "drop off spot" for moonshine
from the Georgia mountains.
"These cars would drive down Buford Highway from the mountains,
then take Pleasant Hill to the drop-off point. The house was near
where Old Norcross Road crossed what is now Davenport Road. The
guy living in the house was doing the hauling to Atlanta and was
a good citizen of the Pleasant Hill community. He didn't do it on
a regular basis, but from time to time he would haul it the rest
of the way into Atlanta."
It was during this time that a person known as Fats Hardy was convicted
for selling moonshine that caused the deaths of dozens of Georgians.
Word leaked out about it, and made the headlines.
The Duluth resident remembers those times. "Rumor had it that
this member of our community had done hauling for Fats, and was
worried that he might be pulled into the deal with the Hardy investigation.
But he never was, though we understand that he was nervous about
it."
While members of the Pleasant Hill community in general knew of
the rumors surrounding the house and the individual, "We knew
where it was and drove by there. But we asked no questions."
All this took place not that many years ago, right here in Gwinnett
County. Who would have thought that viewing booming Gwinnett today?
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FEEDBACK
3/8: Wall Street would be beneficiary of Social
Security reform
Editor, the Forum:
President Bush says the Social Security system is failing. Why
did he wait until after the massive tax cuts for the rich to go
into panic?
Wall Street investment firms have disseminated for years the imminent
shortfall of Social Security.
Why the sudden interest? Servicing the accounts would net the investment
firms billions of dollars.
-- Ralph Greene, Snellville
3/8: Even a developer
recognizes HB 218 is bad legislation
Editor, the Forum;
So Elliott, how do you really feel about House Bill 218? Even as
a current economic developer, I say you are right on target! HB
218 is very bad public policy. And didn't Governor Barnes get defeated
partially due to the "closed door flag deal?" Interesting
politics!
-- Pat Mitchell, Jefferson N.C.
(Dear Pat: Bet you had a smile on your face
writing this! -eeb)
3/8: Feels House Bill
helps keep state of Georgia competitive
Editor, the Forum;
I respectively take issue with your piece on HB 218. I co-chaired
a sub-committee for two years with Georgia Municipal Association,
Association County Commissioners of Georgia and Georgia Economic
Development Authority. Our work helped produce this bill.
You have attempted to make it political when it is not. This bill
is good for Georgia and will allow our State and GEDA to be more
competitive while negotiating with potential companies interested
in relocating to Georgia.
Former Gov. Roy Barnes himself admitted that the current Open Record
Laws that he authored made an error with this specific area. It
was an unexpected outcome of the Open Records Legislation.
I would be happy to discuss further.
-- Nick Masino, Mayor, City of Suwanee
(Dear Nick: Fire away with more information,
if you would like. We fail to see how such secrecy can protect
a homeowner from having some development he opposes (and must
help pay for in incentives) from locating next door. That's what
could happen according to our understanding. So yes, please, give
us more insight into this.-eeb)
CALENDAR
Deadline approaching for two Chamber leadership
programs
Deadline is approaching for nomination for the Gwinnett Chamber
of Commerce's two leadership programs. Leadership Gwinnett and Senior
Leadership Gwinnett provide a diverse group of existing and emerging
leaders with a unique opportunity to experience many of the challenges
facing Gwinnett.
Leadership Gwinnett is a nine-month program that includes a series
of seven one-day sessions, two retreats and monthly study group
sessions.
Senior Leadership Gwinnett is designed to offer a variety of opportunities
for mature adults, aged 55 years and older, who are seeking new
learning experiences and want to make a positive difference in their
community. The program will enhance leadership skills of senior
adults whether employed or retired.
The Chamber is accepting nominations for the 2005-2006 class of
Leadership Gwinnett until March 15, 2005. If you know of a qualified
candidate that would benefit from this worthwhile experience, please
use the following link for nomination:
- Nominate
someone
http://www.gwinnettchamber.org/Nominate_Someone_for_Leadership_Gwinnett.114.0.html
For Senior Leadership Gwinnett, deadline for applications is April
1. Contact Meghan Beard at the Gwinnett Chamber for information.
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
3/8: Bobby Jones was
great amateur golfer; founded Master's
The greatest amateur golfer ever, Bobby Jones (1902-1971) dominated
his sport in the 1920s. In the eight seasons from 1923 to 1930,
Jones won 13 major championships, including five U.S. Amateurs,
four U.S. Opens, three British Opens, and one British Amateur. On
September 27, 1930 he became the only man to win all four major
titles in one season, completing the "Grand Slam" of golf.
Then, while still in his athletic prime at the age of 28, he retired
from competition to devote more time to his family and his law practice.
 His
career is all the more remarkable considering that he competed as
an amateur rather than as a professional. Always displaying a sense
of modesty, Jones regularly reminded his fans that some things were
more important than winning. He became famous, for example, for
calling penalty strokes on himself, even when it cost him a championship.
Moreover, Jones never accepted prize money, did not play as often
as most professionals, and chose to focus on the national championships.
Those choices allowed him time to pursue other priorities, including
his education and family. In 1922 Jones graduated from the Georgia
Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering. Two years
later he added a second bachelor's degree, this one in English literature
from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Then in the fall of
1926, Jones enrolled in Emory University's law program. After just
three semesters, he passed the Georgia bar exam and began practicing
law at his father's firm early in 1928.
His most outstanding project in retirement was the creation of
the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta and the annual invitational
tournament it spawned, the Masters. First played in 1934, the Masters
became recognized as one of the four major tournaments in golf.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Keep looking at the
closed door and you'll never succeed
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often
look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do
not see the ones which open for us."
-- Inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
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