TODAY'S ISSUE
Radloff committed to community improvement district
By B.J. Van Gundy
Executive Director, Southwest Gwinnett Village
Community Improvement Association
Special to GwinnettForum.com

JULY 26, 2005 -- As the Gwinnett County Public School Board member, Louise Radloff knows a lot about the Meadowcreek Cluster. The most diverse school cluster in the county, it and the area surrounding it have been identified as having a critical need for development of a Community Improvement District (CID).

Ms. Radloff maintains: "Working with the schools, churches and other agencies, we identified issues, along with the strengths and weakness of this community, which has great kids. Identifying the issues was easy. Attempting to address the issues was frustrating and at times overwhelming."

Radloff says that data shows that crime overall in this community is the highest in the county, but more specifically, gangs and graffiti are increasing at an alarming rate.

Limited affordable housing has resulted in multiple families living in a single family residence. "This certainly impacts in a negative way the living conditions of our students and their ability to concentrate on their schoolwork both at home and at school." she says. She also notes that "the tax base for the schools in the cluster is being negatively affected on a per student basis, given the more than average number of students per household."

Summer jobs for youth are very limited, poverty and health issues are overburdening the system, and the inequity in parks with facilities like the rest of the county has for our children are absent, she adds.

"These issues have created latch-key communities causing many stable families and business to leave the area.

"I listen to the voices of our children and parents expressing concern. I hear the voices of our educators and law enforcement officers clearly sending the message that if Gwinnett is to continue being "GREAT,"we must respond in a different way."

Radloff says when she heard about the formation of a CID, she was elated. "The business community, under the leadership of Emory Morsberger and other volunteers, are taking upon themselves responsibilities that will stimulate change, increase security and beautification and bring out the strength of our international business community. This all is quite exciting."

Radloff is pleased that the initial meeting and kickoff reception were well attended and calls it a clear indication that business and industry understand that it takes a committed community to change the existing trend.

"Gwinnett is great and we want it to stay that way,"she said. "It is absolutely critical that we as taxpayers pull together to see that this change happens; that the Southwest Gwinnett Village CID, which legislatively gives business and industry the opportunity to improve its investment, be successful."

Emory Morsberger expresses strong support from the Gwinnett Village CID organization for Radloff's efforts, "What Louise is doing is a major piece of the puzzle in the turn-around of the area. Without bringing about order in the residential community and working with the schools and youth, the business aspects of the CID would be less successful. This CID area is unique in that it has a large residential area unlike most other CIDs. Great thanks are in order for Louise for taking this major responsibility on -- sooner rather than later."

The proposed CID will have a people component, which Radloff will chair. "We must stand together and be counted," she says. "There are no losers. Regardless of where you live in this county, the impact of any one area can and will change the face of Gwinnett - the county we call home.

"Remember, the voices of our children ­ they are tomorrow¹s economic workforce."

ELLIOTT BRACK
Rest in peace, Bob Joseph, plus ramifications from all over
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

JULY 26, 2005 -- Bob Joseph is dead. For years he was a infectious force in the Buford and Gwinnett community working with zeal and zest from his radio station in Buford. As a newspaperman, I often bumped into Bob and later, his children, Kathy and Mark, when they were at the station..

Bob was always upbeat, a mover, someone who wanted to be on the cutting edge of whatever he was doing. Along with his wife, Jackie, their demeanor was catching, you might say, as they enjoyed life to the fullest.

Before Gwinnett County put election coverage on cable television, and later on the internet, many of us relied on Bob Joseph for late-night local election returns. Bob was active in many aspects of the county, from Republican politics, to service on the election board.

He was a founding member of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Buford. The church grew in the last 30 years from eight to 3,000 families. It will open this winter in new facilities near Flowery Branch.

Funeral services were conducted Monday at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church for Bob.

Bob Joseph: 1928-2005: may you rest in peace.

* * * * *

Remember last year when "On Eagle's Wing" was scheduled to be performed in Gwinnett. Later it was switched for its first performance in Belfast, Northern Ireland, back in May 2004. Now it¹s coming to public television and will be shown on Georgia Public Broadcasting (Channel 8 in Atlanta) at 8 pm on Thursday. August 11. Thanks to Rosie O'Neill of Lilburn for alerting us to this.

* * * * *

Brian Luders of Duluth passes this on for your consideration:

"Got this from my niece, an EMT in the Buffalo (NY) area, and it makes sense.

"Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to that person's identity. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea that they are trying to get everyone to adopt: ICE.

"ICE stands for In Case of Emergency."If you add an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone number of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf, you can save them a lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly. It only takes a few moments of your time to do.

"Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. ICE your cell phone NOW!"

Jack McElfish, Gwinnett's fire chief, says: "It is a good idea. It has been an idea put forward by the recent terrorism bombings in London. Various fire service groups are pushing for people to do this. It will just take a lot of education to get people to do it." Now you know. Most of you read it here first. Go input ICE into your cell phone!

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Total enrollment in Georgia public schools, in 2003: 1,496,012. Source: From EduFact. Said another way: Gwinnett County now accounts for nearly 10 percent of all Georgia students.

Diversity is quickly changing the Gwinnett school enrollment. We got this from the Gwinnett Schools recently, from last October, showing our minority white enrolment:

Asian-- 9.8 percent.
Black/African American-- 22.6 percent.
Hispanic-- 17.4 percent.
White-- 46.5 percent.
Multi-Racial-- 3.7 percent.

* * * * *

What's in a name? South Carolina is now marketing itself as "The Tastier Peach State." Commercial peach production in South Carolina dates back to 1860, and the peach industry is worth about $30 million. Although Georgia has been known as "The Peach State," South Carolina produces more orchard-fresh peaches than any state except California, which produces nearly half the nation's peaches. We get this information from the Augusta Chronicle.

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FEEDBACK
7/26: Memorial service for 15 year old is moving experience

Editor, the Forum:

Please allow me to share an inspiring memorial service that I had the pleasure of attending this month. The service was held for a 15 year old boy who recently died from brain tumors.

The mood was both sad and hopeful. The young man of 15 had many friends and the meeting hall was full. Guests were greeted with soft acoustic guitar music and were given a flower for placement in a vase located on the altar. The altar was covered with rose petals, candles and a beautiful photo collage of treasured moments from his short life.

Fifteen gongs on a Tibetan prayer bowl, one for each year he lived opened the service. A prayer was then led by the female minister, whose wise words spoke of the courage of the young friends in attendance, innocence lost, and life yet to live. A poem was read which described the wonder of life and the joy of the journey each of us are on. This was followed by a song with acoustic guitar giving more tribute to the mystery of life and the connectedness of all things and all beings.

The eulogy given by a close family friend shared many beautiful and intimate moments that gave witness to the young man¹s rapid maturity in the throes of a disease he knew was killing him. His love of life and constant living in the moment defined him long before his illness was diagnosed.

After the eulogy was a ceremonial moving of rocks from one wooden bowl to an empty wooden bowl of the same size. The symbolism of emptying one vessel and filling another was one of passage. It was started by his closest friends and was followed by a moment of silence. The guests were then asked to come forward and also place a rock from one bowl to another. After the ceremony had been completed guests were invited to follow the family outside to release two white doves. It was a perfect ending to a service which was inspiring to the living and paid the utmost respect to the deceased.

Death will be the one thing we all have in common. It is in death that we become aware of our need to live our own lives to the fullest and follow our own hearts. Death teaches us of our need to love first ourselves and then others.

-- Roger Hagen, Lilburn

7/26: Says media misleads us into thinking about war in Iraq

Editor, the Forum:

Listen Up, America!

I am proud of you, that most of you have learned to separate the Warrior from the War, that you might not support Iraqi Freedom, but you now support the soldiers. We Vietnam Vets have paid a terrible price so that you could learn this lesson.

Now, it is time to learn another lesson. You are being lead astray by the media! The media only reports bad news, because bad news sells, but the American public is only getting the bad side of the news. So each of us needs to realize this and accept that there is another side to the story that is not being told. Don't let the media bias you with their one-sided reporting. They caused many, many deaths in Vietnam because they only reported bad news to the public, thereby giving hope and aid to the enemy to hang on a little longer, and the public tired of the war, and the VC and the North Vietnamese ultimately won.

The media is doing that same tap and dance with the current situation. Don't let them give aid to the terrorists with their bad news only reporting. Demand that they balance their news with the true picture of these wars and the rebuilding of these nations. Remember, these terrorists want you dead. Osama Bin Laden and his many varied followers have declared total war on us, the Great Satan, the US of A. If they had it in their power, they would poison us with chemical weapons, make us sick with biological weapons or vaporize our cities with nuclear weapons.

Not all media is at fault; the August, 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics shows how our American soldiers and marines are winning the fight against the Muslim jihadists. Ask a returning soldier about his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there is a lot of good going on. I have several emails that show this good news and will forward to any of you interested. Please contact me by email.

-- Bruce B. Lind, Hull, Ga.( b.b.lind@att.net)

NOTABLE
New fire and police stations and tag office open near mall

Fire Station 24, North Police Precinct, and North Gwinnett Branch Tag Office are open for business. The facilities are located at 2735 Mall of Georgia Boulevard in Buford, just east of the Mall of Georgia.

Fire Station 24 is a three-bay facility; it will increase coverage in the Mall of Georgia area, which has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years. The North Police Precinct and the North Gwinnett Branch Tag Office share an 18,860 square foot building adjacent to the fire station.

The tag office is open Tuesday ­ Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In keeping with her commitment to customer service, Tax Commissioner Katherine Sherrington feels that the Saturday hours will offer a new convenience for individuals who can¹t make it to a tag office during traditional business hours.

The police precinct is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday ­ Friday (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch). The records department at the precinct is closed on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

County officials will celebrate the official ribbon cutting for the three facilities on July 28 at 9 a.m. The tag office was funded by the general fund, while the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax paid for the fire station and police precinct.

RECOMMENDED READ
Tunnel of Light

"I have just finished Tunnel of Light by Richard Dew and found it very entertaining. Set against a background of a father's grief over his only child's death due to a drunk driver, the plot twists and turns through small southern town, a medical practice, strained family relations and a corporate criminal climaxing with a bizarre but uplifting conclusion.

"Next on the nightstand is 100 People Who are Screwing Up America by Bernard Goldberg."

-- Patrick Malone

• 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
  
  
  

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Base near St. Marys home to modern nuclear submarines

The Naval submarine base Kings Bay, located at St. Marys on the south Georgia coast, is the home port for the Fleet's most modern nuclear ballistic submarines, the Trident or Ohio-class subs. It is the only navy base with the capability to support the Trident II missile, the most sophisticated nuclear missile designed to be launched from a submarine. The highly secure facility encompasses approximately 16,000 acres, 4,000 of which are protected wetlands. In 2002 more than 9,000 military and civilian personnel, including contract personnel, made up the installation's workforce.

The Kings Bay base was commissioned in July 1978. Its original mission was to serve as the forward refurbishment site for Submarine Squadron 16, which was stationed at Rota, Spain. The Navy funded a four-year, $125 million construction program, which provided shore facilities that included waterfront operational facilities, industrial and support facilities, and family housing. The construction was the largest peacetime project ever undertaken by the Navy.

In May 1980 the base's mission changed. It was named the Atlantic Fleet home port for the Trident submarines. A massive nine-year construction effort was initiated in 1981. This $1.3 billion project included construction of facilities to support a squadron of Trident submarines; facilities were built for submarine maintenance and repair, crew training, weapons handling and storage, and personnel support.

The base became a naval submarine support base in April 1982. The first Trident submarine, USS Tennessee, arrived at the base in January 1989. The Tennessee was followed by the USS Pennsylvania, the USS West Virginia, the USS Kentucky, the USS Maryland, the USS Nebraska, the USS Rhode Island, the USS Maine, and the USS Wyoming. The USS Louisiana was the last Trident II submarine commissioned in Kings Bay, in September 1997. Since 2002 three of these submarines have been reassigned to bases on the West Coast as the Navy works to balance its fleet between the two coasts. In October 2005 two additional submarines will depart for Naval Submarine Base Bangor in Washington State.

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

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Why Shirley Temple no longer believes in Santa Claus

"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph. "

-- Actress, Shirley Temple, (1928 - ) via Roy McCreary, Dacula

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

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