TODAY'S ISSUE
Thoughts concerning New Orleans (No longer 'The Big Easy')
By Ed Feiler Jr.
Special to GwinnettForum.com

(Savannah Developer Ed Feiler Jr. (who lives at Tybee Island) raised some questions on September 1 about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and gave us permission for publication. --eeb)

SAVANNAH, Ga. Sept. 7, 2005---These are my personal observations and some hard to answer questions.

There is no "play book" for an event of this magnitude.

What happens when low income families become no-income families? Where do they go and who pays for this?

Who does the actual rehabilitation work? Where will they live, eat, etc.? The U.S. Armed Forces are the only institutions that can do this job. They can function in a harsh environment. They have an established chain of command. They aren't in it for the money.

What to do with 1,000,000 refugees? (How to keep them from returning to their homes which have no services?)

What is the status of oil refineries, levees, port, airports, hospitals, schools?

Where do you spend dollars in an evacuated city?

Who makes decisions on reconstruction priorities?

How does the media fit in?

Where does the money come from?

Where does the debris go?

Where will the staging areas be? Who gets to use them? Who decides?

How long will the people who "got out" stay where they are?

Are the numerous heavily damaged vehicles insured? Where will their replacements come from?

Where will the energy supply for reconstruction come from?

What will be the biggest problem after the water is pumped out? (Dead bodies, animals, sewage, mold, disease, muck, roads, electricity, potable water, gasoline supply, food supply, sanitation, communication?)

What happens when the spotlight goes away and hard work takes over?

What role do financial institutions play?

Who will establish control of access and egress to and from flooded areas?

Who will make sure that health care facilities are operating and appropriately staffed?

Can priority be given to cellular telephone service?

Political leadership is absolutely essential. (Don't be afraid to raise taxes to pay for this; this spreads out the burden. Should troops be brought back from Iraq to help? Should we relax some immigration rules to bring in some engineers and manual workers?)

Law enforcement must be respected and supported.

It appears that of the 213,000 homes in the Parish (County) only 84,000 are covered by flood insurance. What happens when folks without flood insurance realize the extent of their losses? How will re-builders get insurance coverage for the buildings which are re-built?
Where will the mortgage money come from?

How can extensive personal and business bankruptcies be avoided?

How do relief agencies decide where to use their resources?

How will U.S. Mail and Overnight Mail be distributed?

Watch out for problems between the "haves" and "have nots?"

When and how will the dead bodies be retrieved and disposed of?

Words won't solve this problem. Actions are required. How long will it take for all of this to become obvious?

This is a huge test of the American spirit.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Duluth, Minn., is delightful; watch when yo udecide to visit
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

SEPT. 7, 2005 -- With Duluth, Minnesota, we have had no connection whatsoever. But last week we ventured there, and found the place refreshing. It's far different from Duluth, Ga.

The trip was something of a lark. Last year my wife and I ventured to another city with which we had no connection, Omaha, Neb., and had a delightful time. We went to both cities because we had never been before.

Barbara says that Duluth, Minn. is a town with "big toys for little boys" in that its focus is with what men will enjoy: heavy emphasis on Duluth's harbor, the transportation industry, giant lake transports, the railroads, and in general, the upper Midwest's outdoor life. It's also a healthcare center.

It's located at the western tip of Lake Superior. Ships haul away coal, iron ore, the Midwest's grain crops to other ports in this country and Canada, but also in ocean-going vessels worldwide. It is a 2,342 freshwater miles from the Atlantic Ocean, but 1,000 ships annually traverse the many locks to get to Duluth.

Mayor Herb Bergson on top of city hall, overlooking harbor.

It's known as the "Frisco of the plains," in that the city is perched on steep, rocky 800 foot hills rising from the lakefront. It's the home of some 87,000 people, plus another 30,000 in the sister-city of Superior, Wis., just cross the bay. (Georgia's Duluth's population is nearly 24,000.)

Duluth, Minn. is about to mark its 150th year, founded as a railroad center. Later came the big ships. To best understand the city, visitors today should take the hour and half city harbor tour, seeing 1,000 foot long ships easily negotiate the bay (with thrusters, ships can now sidle sideways up to the long docks.)

Mayor Herb Bergson is an affable former chief of police of his city (and ironically, was also a former chief of Superior, Wis.) When we visited, he was soon to depart for San Diego, Cal. for de-commissioning of the frigate USS Duluth, which had served since World War II. He was hoping that the strike against Northwest Airlines would be settled, for his airline ticket was from Duluth, "And I can't cross picket lines." Though the mayor is non-partisan, most officeholders in Minnesota are Democratic. His solution if the strike is not settled: drive the 150 miles to Minneapolis-St. Paul and ride on an alternate airline.

Duluth, Minn. as see from excursion in harbor.

The symbol of Duluth is its Aerial Lift Bridge, a 138 foot high structure that rises to allow the giant ships into its harbor through a 300 foot wide channel. The bridge marks its 100th anniversary this year. It was an engineering feat when first built. It is raised some 6,000 times a year to allow ships, large and small, to enter the protected harbor. It's even led to a local verb: "bridged," meaning that you were late because the bridge delayed you 10-15 minutes.

The story is that Duluth, Ga. was named for Duluth, Minn. is known. But we never new before that the name Duluth came from explorer Daniel Greysolon, who in 1679, claimed the land for France. He was, you see, the "sieur du Lhut," which got translated to the "lord of Duluth," and hence the name.

If you go: stay at Fitger's a brewery converted into an inn, with shopping and restaurants onsite. Request a lakeside room, and manage the ships arrivals!

But watch when you go. Though Duluth, Minn. gets only 30 inches of rain a year, it gets 77 inches of snow! Fall is perfect for a visit!

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UPCOMING
9/7: Counseling agency to open new Gwinnett office Tuesday

Gwinnett Commissioner Lorraine Green will snip the ribbon to welcome Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta to Gwinnett at a ribbon cutting and open house at its new Gwinnett office in Crescent North, 3473 Satellite Blvd, Suite 212. The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce will provide its giant scissors for the event, which will be Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m.

Mark Cole, executive vice president of CCCS, says: "This is a great location in a professional, accessible office building." A Gwinnett resident, Cole will help cut the ribbon.

CCCS Counseling Manager Brian Young says, "We're very proud of our new home and hope members of the business community will join us to celebrate."

CCCS, a nonprofit organization with 10 offices throughout north Georgia, has had a successful Gwinnett office off Jimmy Carter Boulevard for several years. Consumers seeking unbiased advice about debt and credit issues may schedule a free, confidential session with a certified counselor. "Consumers have the option of doing a counseling session in-person, on the telephone or online," said Young. Service is available in English and Spanish.

Thanks to a grant from the Goizueta Foundation, CCCS operates a dynamic Hispanic outreach initiative with Financial Education Specialist Beatriz Mauersberg based in the Gwinnett office.

In addition to individual and family financial counseling, CCCS offers community and personal money management education, debt management programs and comprehensive housing counseling. CCCS provides practical solutions to financial problems, serving clients with confidentiality and respect.

Founded in 1964 by business and civic leaders, CCCS Atlanta has been honored for four consecutive years as Outstanding Agency by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. As a nonprofit, community service organization, CCCS is dedicated to empowering people to achieve a lifetime of economic freedom.

CCCS is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children and is a member of the Better Business Bureau, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and a partner with United Way. Governed by a community-based board of directors, CCCS receives funding from creditors and clients and through grants from foundations, businesses and government agencies. CCCS offers around the-clock service by phone at 800-251-CCCS or online at www.cccsinc.org

NOTABLE
9/7: McGinnis Ferry Road projects get approval at both ends

Two projects on McGinnis Ferry Road will give motorists some relief when completed.

One is a new four-lane highway bridge for McGinnis Ferry Road over the Chattahoochee River to Forsyth County. Gwinnett's County Board of Commissioners signed an agreement recently with the Georgia Department of Transportation and Forsyth and Fulton counties. The agreement was approved by Fulton County earlier this year. A short, two-lane section of the road in Gwinnett will also be widened to four lanes.

Another Gwinnett project will provide a four-lane extension of McGinnis Ferry Road from its current end at Satellite Boulevard eastward along the alignment of the existing two-lane Burnett Road, bridging over I-85 (south of the Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road interchange) and ending at Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road south of Old Peachtree Road. Fulton and Forsyth are planning to widen the road on their side of the river as well.

Gwinnett County will pay one-third of the engineering cost of the project and will pay for acquiring right-of-way and utility relocation between Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and the river. The money will come from the transportation portion of the voter-approved 1997 sales tax program known as SPLOST. Gwinnett has budgeted about $1.9 million for its share of the costs. Construction, funded by state and federal money, is expected to cost about $5.5 million and begin in 2007.

REVIEW

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
  
  
  

GEORGIA TIDBIT
9/7: Button Gwinnett had turmoil in politics; died from duel

(Third of a series about signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia.)

Button Gwinnett was one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. He served in Georgia's colonial legislature, in the Second Continental Congress, and as president of Georgia's Revolutionary Council of Safety.

Gwinnett was born in April 1735 in Gloucestershire, England. Gwinnett arrived in Savannah in 1765 and became a merchant. After this venture failed, he purchased St. Catherine's Island and set himself up as a planter. He became active in local politics, winning election to the Commons House of Assembly in 1769. By 1773 Gwinnett was again in financial straits; he sold most of his personal property and possessions and withdrew from the political scene.

The Revolutionary crisis brought him back into politics. Gwinnett rallied the opponents of the Christ Church Parishled Whig Party, which until that time had dominated the leadership in the emerging dispute with the British crown. He succeeded in uniting coastal and rural dissidents into a loose coalition that demonstrated its strength by electing Gwinnett commander of Georgia's Continental battalion when the state's Provincial Congress met in early 1776. When his election proved controversial, Gwinnett stepped aside and accepted instead an appointment to the Continental Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia. Lachlan McIntosh commanded the battalion in Gwinnett's stead, and these two would become bitter enemies.

In Philadelphia, Gwinnett served on a number of committees and supported separation from England. He voted for independence in July, signed the Declaration of Independence in August (along with other Georgians George Walton and Lyman Hall), and soon afterward returned to Georgia, where he became embroiled in political controversy.

Disappointed in his military ambitions, Gwinnett continued to lead the opposition to the Christ Church Parish coalition, and when his followers gained control of Georgia's Provincial Congress, they succeeded in electing him Speaker. He played a key role in the passage of the Constitution of 1777 and began to purge the military of officers whom he and his followers deemed less than zealous in their enthusiasm for the Whig cause. This brought him into conflict with Lachlan McIntosh. After the death of Georgia's president and commander-in-chief, Archibald Bulloch, in February 1777, the Council of Safety appointed Gwinnett to succeed him.

Gwinnett proposed a military foray into British East Florida, a defensive measure that he argued would secure Georgia's southern border. McIntosh and his brother George (who had opposed Gwinnett's election as president and subsequently had been arrested for treason) condemned the scheme as politically motivated. The expedition failed, and though he was not elected governor when the new legislature met in the spring of 1777, Gwinnett was exonerated of any misconduct in carrying out the campaign.

McIntosh was furious. He publicly denounced Gwinnett in the harshest terms, and Gwinnett challenged him to a duel. Though each man shot the other, only Gwinnett's wound proved fatal. He died on May 19, 1777, and it is unknown where he was buried. Gwinnett County was named for him when it was established in 1818.

Gwinnett's signature is one of the rarest and most valuable of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1979 a letter signed by Gwinnett brought $100,000 at a New York auction; its value was estimated in 1983 to be up to $250,000.

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

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Buchanan raises questions on Iraq, Louisiana and Mississippi

"The anti-war movement has a new argument : What in Iraq is more important than Mississippi and Louisiana?"

-- Columnist Pat Buchanan on lewrockwell.com, Sept. 2, 2005 via Marshall Miller, Lilburn.

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

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