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Issue 9.21 | Friday, June 12, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE _::
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Meet a sponsor |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS NORCROSS, Ga., June 12, 2009 – The Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District (CID) board of directors heard a presentation by consultants for the conceptual design of the I-85 Corridor Light Rail Transit system Thursday. Formed in March 2006, the Gwinnett Village CID considers transit as a crucial component to revitalizing the southern part of Gwinnett County. In December of 2007, the CID and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) completed a heavy rail transit study which assessed the feasibility and need for rail transit service along the I-85 corridor. The study evaluated a route from the Doraville MARTA station to Gwinnett Place Mall. Some of the key findings in that study include:
At that time, the CID also completed a countywide public opinion poll in December, 2007 to gauge the level of support within the community. The poll indicated that Gwinnettians felt that traffic congestion was the most significant problem in the county and that they support the development of alternative modes of transportation in Gwinnett. Chuck Warbington, executive director for Gwinnett Village CID, says: "The study and poll let us know right away that the demand and need were there, but that we had to find an alternative to heavy rail in this particular corridor both from a cost perspective as well as when it would be open for use." In September 2008, Gwinnett Village CID and Gwinnett Place CID contracted HDR Engineering, Inc. to prepare a light rail study for the same corridor. The idea for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) technology stems from lower construction costs ($50-90 million/mile), less impact on the community, and a shorter construction time. The study examined possible routes (with multiple alternatives) as outlined in Metro Atlanta's regional transit plan called Concept 3. The general route follows transit service along the I-85 corridor connecting the Doraville transit station to the Gwinnett Arena. The study focused on a basic ridership forecast, environmental screening and estimated capital and operating costs. "We are excited to see the results of this study," said Warbington. "It's the first step of many toward building an effective regional transportation system in Gwinnett County. Our goal is not only to ease congestion for Gwinnett commuters, but also to spur economic development and revitalization throughout the southwestern portion of Gwinnett County." * * * * * * The Gwinnett Village
CID is a special benefit district supported by area commercial property
owners, which aims to improve southwest Gwinnett County's aging infrastructure,
security issues and property values. The mission of the Gwinnett Village
CID is to increase property values, promote business development and improve
the quality of life for all those who live, work and play in the village.
Visit us online at http://www.gwinnettvillage.com. ELLIOTT
BRACK JUNE 12, 2009 – Returning home to Minnesota after visiting with us at our house in 1990, Col. Ken Murphy stopped by Lynchburg, Tenn., and toured the Jack Daniels Distillery.
Murphy,
my former commanding officer when I was in the Army in Europe in 1961,
had stayed in touch with me. When coming to Georgia for paratrooper reunions
at Fort Benning, he and his wife, Marge, stayed with us several days on
two occasions. (Talk about a fish out of water, this Quartermaster officer
and wife attending paratrooper reunions with the Murphys must have been
pretty obvious!) The letters are interesting. They might tell of polecats hanging out around my “property,” or a photo of our “land,” and one time, I distinctly remember a guy wrote telling about the fire ant problem around the ‘land.” Most recently, a letter from Larry Moorehead, Moore County Agricultural Agent, suggesting what type of livestock might be best for this “real estate.” This recent letter is a gem, and we thought you might enjoy it:
Colonel Ken Murphy has passed on now, but his purchase of land for me in Tennessee lives on. What a creative public relations program it is for the distillery!
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today GwinnettForum welcomes a new underwriter. Precision Planning, Inc. is a multi-disciplined design firm based in Lawrenceville, Georgia with a 26-year history of successful projects. In-house capabilities include Architecture; LEED® Project Management; Civil, Transportation and Structural Engineering; Water Resources Engineering; Landscape Architecture; Interior Design; Land and City Planning; Land Surveying; and Grant Administration. PPI has worked diligently to improve the quality of life for Georgia communities through creative, innovative planned developments, through the design of essential infrastructure and public buildings, and through promoting good planning and development principles. Employees and principals are involved in numerous civic, charitable and community based efforts in and around Gwinnett County. For more information, visit our website at www.ppi.us or call 770-338-8103.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: The mighty brown bear at Precision Planning is a sad sight, not something anyone should be proud to exhibit. Why is it deemed a celebratory act to lie in wait for a living creature that is innocently going about its daily activities, and then shoot it dead for no reason? The bear wasn't charging, the bear posed no threat, but it just happened to be unlucky enough to walk into the scope of someone who thinks killing animals is a great way to pass the time. What a pathetic mindset. If I needed the services of an engineering/architectural firm, you can believe I'd never retain a company that proudly displays death.
Calls dream dinner nothing less than caloric nightmare Editor’s the Forum: Cindy Evans's "dream dinner around Gwinnett" (Forum, June 5) is a caloric nightmare. At a minimum, this meal - assuming that she consumes merely a half portion of the spinach dip -- clocks in at more than 2,100 calories, which is nearly 1.5 times the DAILY caloric intake for an average woman, and just over half what a man should consume. This dream is more like a nightmare, unless you're a cardiologist, gym owner, pharmaceutical company or Weight Watchers counselor.
UPCOMING Gwinnett residents are invited to attend a series of public forums to provide additional feedback on delivery of solid waste services. The public forum schedule is as follows:
Lilburn CID effort to be kicked off on July 14 The Lilburn
Community Partnership Inc., a non-profit group of community leaders and
business and properties owners, is continuing an effort to create a new
Community Improvement District (CID). Anything Goes coming up at Lawrenceville Prelude to Fourth Celebrate the nation's independence at Lawrenceville's fifth Annual "Prelude to the 4th" on the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse lawn (185 Crogan St.). Aurora Theatre will be presenting a special, outdoor concert version of Cole Porter's classic Broadway farce, Anything Goes, on Friday, July 3. Families and friends can enjoy free lawn seating or rent tables and order catering packages from local restaurants on the eve of Independence Day. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. with lawn seating available starting at 5:30 p.m. Tables for six are available for rental for only $150 by contacting the LTTA office at 678-226-2639. NOTABLE After a brief suspension, the City of Lilburn has re-activated red light cameras at two intersections, Indian Trail and Lawrenceville Highway and Beaver Ruin Road and Lawrenceville Highway. The City of Lilburn temporarily suspended the red light cameras in March 2009. Bill Johnsa, Lilburn city manager, says: “The State added one second to the amber setting and we saw a temporary decrease in citations. After a few months with the red light cameras deactivated, people again began to run the red lights at a dangerous rate. We believe the red light cameras are the best way to stop people that run red lights.” Since the
inception of the program, accidents at the intersections monitored by
cameras have been significantly reduced. The Quinn House, a full-service non-profit 501(c)(3) and volunteer outreach serving Gwinnett County, is appealing to Gwinnett residents to help them replenish the shrinking food pantry that helps supplement thousands of people in our area. Gene Brinkley, director of the outreach, says: “We know the whole country is struggling. I recently read that one in ten Americans in this country right now don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Our Food Pantry is at its lowest level in years so we need the help of those in Gwinnett who want to donate on a local level. There are lots of folks in the county who depend on us right now for their next meal.” Among the items badly needed are all canned food (meats, vegetables, fruit, sauces) along with dry shelf items such as pasta, rice, cereal, etc. For a complete list of all needed items, please visit the website at www.thequinnhouse.com or drop off at The Quinn House, 120 South Perry Street, Lawrenceville from 8:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. weekdays and from 1-6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Gwinnett Tech picks Melissa Johnson for top service award Gwinnett Technical College honored more than 300 students for academic excellence and achievement at the college’s recent annual Awards Ceremony. It recognized Melissa Johnson with the 2009 Distinguished Student Award.
Honored for excellence in her field of study and for her leadership and volunteerism on campus, Johnson is graduating this month in the Radiologic Technology program. A member of both National Technical Honor Society and Phi Theta Kappa, she has 3.89 grade point average. Johnson helped create a student-to-student mentoring program and tutors fellow students after hours, on weekends and even on her spring break. She served the college as a Student Ambassador and participated in a host of community service projects, both on and off campus. Johnson was selected from a group of five finalists which included Jimmie Dominy, Commercial Construction; Vanessa Jatho, Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management; Darcie Johnson, Business Management; and Mary Stoklas, Early Childhood Care and Education.
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA Denmark
Groover was a legislator from Middle Georgia who was involved in some
of the state's most controversial political events, including two redesigns
of the state flag. Groover was born on June 30, 1922, in Quitman, in Brooks County. His father sold mules, watermelons, and insurance. Groover married four times and had seven children. He was a decorated marine pilot during World War II (1941-45), serving in the famed "Black Sheep Squadron" and was named posthumously to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002. Groover attended law school at the University of Georgia and received his degree in 1948, setting the stage for a long career in both law and politics. He was elected to the state House of Representatives on four separate occasions—and later ousted from office by the voters each time for a variety of political and personal reasons. He represented house districts from Bibb County or Jones County over five decades: 1953-57, 1963-65, 1971-75, and 1983-95. He was
considered one of the shrewdest members of the General Assembly because
of his prodigious memory for legislation. During his years as a lawmaker,
Groover would arrive at the capitol early in the morning and read the
text of every bill that had been introduced. He could quickly detect the
flaws in a bill that would result in its being declared unconstitutional—or
craft amendments to the bill that would make it impossible to pass. Groover was closely involved in several notorious events that still have an impact on state politics today. On the last day of the 1964 legislative session, as the house was debating a congressional redistricting bill, Groover hung from the railing of the house visitors' gallery and tried to stop the clock on the wall before it reached midnight and signaled the formal end of the session. As the clock crashed to the floor of the house chamber, a photographer snapped a picture of Groover hanging from the gallery that was printed in newspapers around the country and became an iconic image of Georgia politics. In 1956 Groover was the house floor leader for Governor Marvin Griffin and helped pass the bill that changed the state flag to include the Confederate battle emblem. That change in the flag, Groover acknowledged later, was a defiant response to federal court decisions striking down racially segregated schools. When Governor Roy Barnes made another attempt to change the flag in 2001, he enlisted the support of Groover, who was 78 years old. On the day that a bill was introduced to change the flag design, Groover made a dramatic appearance before the House Rules Committee to urge adoption. "It has become the most divisive issue on the political spectrum and needs to be put to rest," he said. "It would bring to an end this cauldron of discord that adversely affects our lives and the future of our children and grandchildren." The bill passed and the flag design was changed, although the resulting controversy would mean Barnes's defeat when he ran again for governor in 2002. Groover died less than three months after that last, dramatic political appearance in support of a new state flag, on April 18, 2001.
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TODAY'S
QUOTE "Men are born with two eyes, but only one tongue, in order that they should see twice as much as they say."
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