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TODAY'S
ISSUE
In search of "Runner's
High," author attempts the Peachtree
By Cheryl Ritzel
Special to GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 28, 2005 -- When I wrote Runner's High, a murder mystery
that takes place at the Peachtree Road Race, I never dreamed I'd
be running it.
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Ritzel
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The more I read about running and the race for my research on the
novel, the more I wanted to try it myself. So in January I began
the challenge and started training.
In the novel, not only does the murder center around a woman who
plunges to her death from a high rise during the race, but the main
character, Private Investigator Paul Grey, is an experienced and
avid runner.
I wanted my character to be healthy. He has to be able to chase
down bad guys.
I'll be joined in the annual racing event by colleague and friend,
Sarah Kanclerz (five time runner of the Peachtree) and my step-father
Lloyd Packard (a veteran 20 time runner of the race). Both have
helped me with training.
While training, I have definitely felt what athletes refer to as
real runner's high ---- a euphoric feeling I get once I've broken
though a point of exhaustion --- but as I get stronger the feeling
has become more and more elusive. I am looking forward to the high
I'll get when I cross the finish line at my first Peachtree. That
will be the best feeling.
Runner's High is the second book in the Paul Grey Mystery
series which is set in Atlanta.
When not writing, I am a Gwinnett County School teacher and lecturer
on Creative Writing for adults and children.
Among my appearances will be at these local locations: :
- July 7: Writing Workshop at the Suwanee Library from 2-4 p.
m.
- July 13:Lunch With An Author at the Clayton Inn (Rabun County),
from 12-2 p.m.
- July 15: Writing Workshop at the Five Forks Library from 2-4
p.m.
- July 18: Writing Workshop at the Cumming Library (Forsyth County)
from 6-8:30 p.m.
- July 17: Runner's High Release Party at the Suwanee Library
on from 2-4 p. m., which includes discussion with author, autographed
copies of the book, and refreshments.
All events are FREE. Some require registration with the library.
Call branches for information or visit my website at www.cherylritzel.com
For more information about Runner's High or the Paul Grey Murder
Mystery series visit www.paulgreymysteries.com
or http://www.tollingbellbooks.com/runnerhigh.html.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Fireworks injuries will be result of Sen.
Don Balfour's bill
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 28, 2005 -- It might help Gwinnett's Don Balfour get re-elected
to the Senate in some people's minds, but the new law allowing the
sale of fireworks known as "sparklers" in our mind goes
too far. It's a bad law, and should be repealed.
We don't know what persuasive powers Senator Balfour has, or for
what reason the bill was introduced. When it came to the Georgia
House of Representatives, it first lost 96-76. Apparently Senator
Balfour put out a call to his Republican friends, for suddenly the
bill was up for reconsideration, and it passed 199-53.
The legislation is a dangerous move, for it can lead to all kind
of harm and injury to people in Georgia, particularly children.
And Senator Balfour's stated reason for passing this legislation:
"Everyone was doing it anyway. There weren't many injuries,
and there was not a single law enforcement officer in Georgia enforcing
the ban on sparklers."
That's short-sighted thinking on the Senator's part. Why were there
not many injuries: because for years Georgia has had a total ban
on any kind of fireworks, because they are dangerous.
About the only persons being injured with fireworks were those
few people who went across state lines, and illegally imported fireworks
including sparklers into Georgia, Then somehow they had an "accident"
when the sparkler burned them, or a firecracker exploded before
the person lighting it knew what they were doing.
Not only that, but about the only time people were importing fireworks
illegally was on primarily two days: New Year's and the Fourth of
July. That means that the chance of having injury from fireworks
was 365-2. For that reason, Senator Balfour, you can now perhaps
realize the long odds of injury. And most police have more important
matters to oversee than trying to catch illegal fireworks shooters
on holidays.
We wish that Senator Balfour knew two of our former school schoolmates,
brothers (not twins) named Roy and Ray.
Today we still call Roy by his first name. But few people remember
Ray as such. He's called "Nubbin" today, and that stands
for the "nub" of an arm he has after a firecracker exploded
in his hand when he was 12-13 years old.
We bet Nubbin is not one approving this sale of "sparklers"
to Georgia.
Since the law has passed, retailers have blossomed in lots of places
selling this menace of sparklers. It's like the stories can't wait
to make a profit on someone's eventual misfortune.
We stopped at one site selling the so-called sparkler the other
day, which were clearly labeled on the box as "fireworks."
Among the words of warning on the boxes themselves were the following:
- "Caution: emits showers of sparks."
- "Do not hold in hand."
- "Light fuse and get away."
If you think these instructions are merely window dressing, consider
this: some of theses so-called "sparklers" can burn at
1,800 degrees F., and can cause serious burns minutes after the
go off. They are "hot."
Sounds like safe, fun entertainment for the family, right?
At least the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs had the good sense
to oppose this legislation when before the General Assembly. But
their lobbying against it was to no avail. Happily some cities,
led by Covington and its fire chief, Don Floyd, have now passed
ordinances prohibiting the sale or use of such devices in their
own towns. Sounds like home rule understands the problems of fireworks
better than does the government a little distant from the cities,
the state legislature.
We owe it all to Don Balfour. Senator, do you think the Nubbins
of Georgia would think you had lost your senses?
ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
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public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett
County Public Library, named Library of the Year 2000. GCPL
currently operates 12 branches throughout the county. The 13th branch,
to be in Dacula, is under construction and will open in 2006. Library
hours area: Monday -Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday,
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 6 p.m. GCPL offers traditional
books, magazines, CD books, and children's DVDs, plus electronic
resources such as Million Dollar Database, Mergent Online, Reference
USA and Proquest Newspapers. Many online resources are available
remotely by computer. All libraries offer wireless Internet access,
serving as a remote office via your computer. Gwinnett County Public
Library is "not your mother's library." To see why not,
visit any branch, www.gwinnettpl.org
or call 770-978-5154
For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm.
FEEDBACK
6/28: Eat
out Friday in smoke-free restaurants; tell the manager
Editor, the Forum:
Georgia's new Smoke Free Air Act goes into effect on July 1. To
celebrate everyone's hard work and dedication to passing this legislation,
we are urging supporters to declare July 1 "Smoke Free Restaurant
Appreciation Day" in communities all across Georgia.
A bi-partisan poll of Georgia voters conducted on January 27-28,
2004, by Shapiro Research Group and Ayres, McHenry & Associates,
Inc. found that two-thirds of Georgians, and a majority of every
demographic group, supported a smoke free air law. The poll also
revealed that over 91 percent of Georgians believe that secondhand
smoke is harmful to health. And, that Georgians are more likely
to eat in smoke-free restaurants by almost a five to one margin.
Smoke Free Restaurant Appreciation Day is a great opportunity to
reaffirm support for smoke free air and celebrate the new law. The
Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention, the state tobacco coalition,
can help with free stickers and event support for local activities.
Please look over the information below and contact us with your
ideas. We will post them on our new website gasmokefreeair.org (up
on June 27).
Share this announcement with family, friends and co-workers and
ask them to take three easy steps to help support their favorite
restaurants, and the new smoke-free air law in Georgia:
- Go out to eat at your favorite restaurant on Friday July 1.
- Ask to speak with the restaurant manager, operator or owner
and thank them for being smoke-free.
- Write a brief personal note on your check, such as "Thanks
for being smoke-free" or "I enjoyed the smoke-free dining
experience."
- If you are member of a local group or organization, plan for
your organization to meet at a local smoke-free restaurant and
wear stickers (see order request/feedback form) for smoke free
air. Consider releasing a press announcement, holding a press
conference and/or presenting your restaurant of choice with a
plaque or thank you on behalf of all the restaurants in your community
going smoke free.
For more information, contact the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco
Prevention, Shairston@alaga.org,
770.434.5854.
Enjoy the new Smoke Free Air Act; it will help us all breathe easier.
-- June Deen, Vice President for Public Affairs, American Lung
Association of Georgia
UPCOMING
Gwinnett
resident to direct dance competition in Atlanta
A Gwinnett resident is directing a dance competition in Atlanta
on July 22-23.
She is Tonya Fletcher of Lawrenceville, who is the director of
the competition, and president of FLAVA., Inc Mentoring Through
Dance. The praise and or dance team competition is to be held at
North Atlanta High School. FLAVA stands for For Life, Acceptance,
Vibrance through Art.
On July 22 the Southern Classic "Step it Up" Dance Competition
2005 will host its Cultural/ Stomp and Praise/Lyrical competition
consisting of more than 50 teams and individual dancers from Tennessee
and parts of Georgia. Along with a variety of dance styles, participants
will compete in divisions ranging from primary and intermediate,
to solo, duo, small and large groups ranging from grades seven up.
In addition to cash awards, FLAVA, Inc. will give members from the
top three teams in each division medals and trophies.
Ms. Fletcher says: "I believe the arts play an important role
in our lives. Through the arts, we are able to expand our horizons.
Our imaginations get a workout, and feelings and memories begin
to flow. The arts offer us a sense of culture, and a sense of who
we are."
FLAVA INC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit established in established
in Lawrenceville, with the primary focus on educating and empower
youth organizations through dance. The organization came after many
dance programs have been cut out of schools, while other programs
have emerged through community centers and churches.
The Southern Dance Competition will allow those organizations the
opportunity showcase their original dance works with a focus on
emerging dance artists encompassing all disciplines of dance..
To attend or participate contact by July 10 Paulette Robinson (270)
886-5112, Kelly Taylor 678-499-2106, or Tonya Fletcher (678) 368-5987.
For more information log on to www.vwebstore.com/flavadance_com/index.htm.
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
Piedmont region lies
between Blue Ridge and Fall Line
The Georgia
Piedmont lies between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Upper
Coastal Plain. It is part of a larger area, called the southern
Piedmont and located in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions
of the United States, that is about 1,400 kilometers long and 100
to 300 kilometers wide. It runs in a northeast-to-southwest direction,
following the main axis of the mountains, faults, and coastline
of the southeastern United States. The southern Piedmont extends
from Alabama and Georgia northeastward through South Carolina and
North Carolina.
The boundary of the Piedmont on the southeastern side is the fall
line, which generally separates the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont
from the sedimentary rocks of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. In Georgia
and the Carolinas the rivers mostly rise in the Piedmont and flow
to the southeast, cutting through the metamorphic rocks that extend
in the direction of the ocean underneath the sandy soils of the
Coastal Plain. At the surface where Coastal Plain and Piedmont rocks
are juxtaposed, the rivers may have waterfalls or rapids. In the
early days of settlement of this region by Europeans, these falls
could interrupt travel. Sometimes it was necessary to stop at the
falls, unload the cargo, and place it in warehouses, where it could
be repackaged for shipment in small boats farther up the rivers.
This meant that forts and houses were built at these locations,
and they form a consistent pattern of urban development across the
region. In Georgia the important fall line cities are Augusta, Macon,
and Columbus.
The boundary of the Piedmont on the northwest margin is the Blue
Ridge Mountains. This margin is especially evident in the Carolinas
and the part of Georgia approximately marked by the presence of
the Brevard fault.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Humor has its saving
grace, in a way not necessarily expected
"That is the saving grace of humor: if you fail no one is
laughing at you."
-- A. Whitney Brown.
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