Free
automatic delivery. Click here to subscribe.
|
Free
automatic delivery. Click here to subscribe.
|
|
Issue 9.33 | Friday, July 24, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
|
|
McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE _::
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Meet a sponsor |
ABOUT US GwinnettForum.com is a twice-weekly online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. Contact us today. SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM |
|
TODAY'S
FOCUS STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga., July 24, 2009 -- On August 29, United Way Women's Legacy in Gwinnett will host its sixth annual Legacy Awards Event at the Evergreen Marriott Conference Center in Stone Mountain. The signature event will include a fashion show where Gwinnett's key women will be honored for their exemplary contributions to the community of their time, talent, treasure and legacy. The four honorees were selected through a rigorous process. A selection committee of 15, led by 2007 Time Award Honoree Carole Boyce, was made up of past recipients and other women. Boyce says: "There are simply so many wonderful women who are deserving of such a prestigious award. We should all be proud of the strength and value women contribute to making Gwinnett a world-class community. We are proud to recognize these four women as 2009 United Way Women's Legacy Award Honorees. The 2009 United Way Women's Legacy Award honorees are:
Since its inception in 2004, the Legacy Awards has raised more than $224,000, benefiting more than 37 Gwinnett-based nonprofits. Founded in 1999, United Way Women's Legacy in Gwinnett, mobilizes women to become powerful philanthropists through leadership, fundraising and advocacy helping to make metropolitan Atlanta a place where all individuals and families thrive. To purchase
tickets and for more information, contact Tracy Christian at 404-527-8804
or tchristian@unitedwayatlanta.org
or United Way in Gwinnett at 678-417-6434. EEB
PERSPECTIVE JULY 24, 2009 -- Bill Atkinson and Ray Gunnin, chairman and a member of the Gwinnett County Commission around 1972, made a visit to Fort McPherson to see newly-appointed Army Secretary Howard "Bo" Callaway.
The result of that meeting was that Callaway signed an order granting Gwinnett approval through the Corps of Engineers to withdraw water for Lake Lanier. That's been the basis for Gwinnett being the only county in the area to pull its water from Lake Lanier. That permit fueled all the growth that has taken place in Gwinnett since that time. Callaway based his granting of the permit on legislation by Sen. Richard Russell introduced to the Congress back in 1946 to have an intake in the lake, if built. That was no mention of the senator's action in recent court announcements.
A Federal judge recently gave Georgia three years before Gwinnett has to stop its withdrawal of water from Lake Lanier. The county, thus, becomes the central county embroiled in the "water wars" with Florida, Alabama, and even Tennessee. The Columbus, Ga., talented trial attorney Jim Butler knows something about Gwinnett. He lived for a time in Duluth when growing up, spent his teen years in Cumming, and was a reporter for the Gwinnett Daily News in the early 1970s before going to law school. He also served for several years on the board of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Speaking at the Gwinnett Rotary Club on July 14, a few days before the judge handed down his water decree, Butler outlined three scenarios where Gwinnett and Georgia could face dangers in their pursuit of water. His first possibility was that Georgia could "lose" before the Federal judge deciding the suit between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Three days later, came that decision, with indeed, Georgia (and Gwinnett) on the losing side. After such a ruling, Butler said the next possible remedy was in the Congress. "But Georgia has made the three adjacent states mad. And do the math: in the House of Representatives, the vote is 47-13 against Georgia, and in the Senate, it's 6-2."
If the Congress doesn't solve the problem, the other recourse, Butler said, "Is economic. And we are already way behind in this, if it is either building more reservoirs, or conserving water. For both of these, its takes years and years for this to happen, and we haven't even started." The upshot is that on all three topics listed by Butler, the courts, the Congress, and the economic possibility, Georgia and Gwinnett are already way, way behind the eight ball. Yet while the judge turned his ruling on the original intent of what Lake Lanier was built for, reason must enter the picture. For in the meantime, not only did Secretary Callaway and the Corps of Engineers grant Gwinnett a permit to withdraw water from the lake, but they did it with no evil intention, and with the realization that such a permit would further the economic development of what was then a vastly-under-developed area with close proximity to a major city expanding. It will take months, even years, to resolve the water question. Reasonable people ought to be able to sit down and work out a workable compromise. But it will take arduous work under trying circumstances. It's time to get started.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. The Gwinnett County Public Library provides free access to its electronic and physical collections and information, as well as its services and programs. In addition, the library hosts two community-wide special events, Gwinnett Reads and the Gwinnett Reading Festival. The library system consists of 14 branches in Gwinnett County, all of which offer free use of library computers and wireless internet. For more information on resources, services and events, please visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD ARCHIVE
UPCOMING The iconic water tanks that proudly proclaim "Success Lives Here" and "Gwinnett Is Great" to hundreds of thousands of motorists on Interstate will soon be no more. The first tank, built in 1968, was followed by another in 1972. The tanks are on a list of facilities and equipment made obsolete by recent water system improvements.
The two
famous tanks, a pumping station and a radio tower share a landlocked site
off Goshen Springs Road near Jimmy Carter Boulevard adjacent to Interstate
85. Together the tanks once held two million gallons of water and helped
pressurize water mains in the area as well as provide water for times
of high consumption. But upgrades to the Norcross Pump Station and the
installation of a new 24-inch main connecting the water distribution system
on both sides of the railroad through the city of Norcross negated the
useful function of these tanks. The decommission of all these tanks and pump stations will save about $100,000 in annual operating costs plus another $100,000 in annual capital costs.. Homeowners plan race to support county fire, police
A 5K and one mile fun run to support the Gwinnett County Fire and Police will be held on September 12, 2009 at 8 a.m. in Hamilton Mill, supported by the homeowner's association. Participants
will receive quality t-shirts with the race logo and other items. In addition,
there will be other activities, prizes, music, a moon walk, demonstrations
and food. Those wanting to participate in the event, click here to register. Cartersville museum to open two Grand Canyon exhibits On August
8, 2009, the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville opens two exhibitions
celebrating the Grand Canyon - "Painting the Canyon: Selected Works
from Grand Canyon Collections" and "Lasting Light: 125 Years
of Grand Canyon Photography."The exhibitions will be on display in
the museum's Special Exhibition Gallery through October 25. While deep
in geological history, it is only within the last 150 years that the Grand
Canyon was explored by adventurers and artists. Today, it stands as an
icon of America and continues to inspire painters, photographers, and
those who view their images. NOTABLE The City of Suwanee expects to activate its new HAWK pedestrian beacon within the next few weeks. Located at Buford Highway and Town Center Avenue, the HAWK (High Intensity Activated Crosswalk) signal, developed initially in Tucson, Ariz., will be used in Suwanee to provide safer pedestrian accessibility between Town Center and historic Old Town.
Suwanee's HAWK pedestrian signal is the first in Georgia and one of only a handful nationwide. The HAWK uses a unique configuration of flashing lights and symbols to signal drivers and pedestrians. To signal oncoming vehicular traffic, two red indicators are placed next to each other horizontally with one yellow indicator beneath them.
Studies have found that use of the HAWK signals in Tucson have reduced accidents involving pedestrians and that the beacon is one of the most effective means used nationally to assist pedestrians in crossing busy streets safely. A YouTube video produced by the Tucson Department of Transportation demonstrates how the HAWK pedestrian signal works. Norcross firm wins master plan award for project in Albany Jordan, Jones asnd Goulding (JJG), an engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and consulting services firm, received an Honor Award from the Georgia chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recognizing JJG's overall excellence and outstanding design of the Ray Charles Plaza located in Albany, Ga. The Honor Award was presented to JJG at the annual Georgia ASLA Professional Awards program which recognizes professional excellence and outstanding examples of landscape architecture by Georgia-based landscape architects. The awards honor works that represent the forefront of the landscape architecture profession and embody high levels of creativity, imagination and a respect for the environment. JJG was selected by Albany Tomorrow, a nonprofit corporation founded by community leaders to serve as the implementer of the Albany Downtown Riverfront Master Plan, to design a public park dedicated to the memory of Albany native and world-recognized entertainer, Ray Charles. Tapping its talented team of designers and landscape architects, JJG helped create a unique plan for a musically themed public plaza to serve as a tourist attraction, community space and multi-media experience within the city's growing riverfront area. The award recognition called attention to additional interpretive design elements and features JJG integrated into the plaza including walkways and concrete seats designed as piano keyboards and musical notes; a Braille dedication plaque and a miniature statue replica for the visually impaired; native live oaks and longleaf pines to take advantage of environmentally suitable and indigenous foliage, and; swing benches, seat walls and small picnic pavilions for shade. Snellville's Balfour heads US State Legislators Conference
Sen. Don Balfour of Snellville) is the new president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Balfour was sworn in Wednesday at the NCSL Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Penn. Balfour, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, is the first Georgia legislator elected to NCSL office since its founding in 1975. Previous to that appointment he served on the NCSL Executive Committee as an at-large member. NCSL is a bipartisan group serving all 50 state legislatures and their staffs as well as U.S. commonwealths and territories. The organization develops research and promotes idea and policy exchanges among its members on various state issues. NCSL also advocates and represents state government interests before Congress and Federal agencies.
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA Clarence Jordan, a white Southern Baptist minister, co-founded Koinonia Farm in Sumter County and translated many New Testament books into the "Cotton Patch" versions, colloquial interpretations set in the American South. Jordan committed his ministry to racial reconciliation and economic justice. A gifted preacher and teacher, he was a popular and frequent speaker at progressive religious gatherings across the United States from the 1940s through the 1960s.
Clarence Leonard Jordan was born on July 29, 1912, in Talbotton. One of his brothers, Robert H. Jordan, served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia and as chief justice from 1980 to 1982. In 1933 Jordan earned a B.S. degree in agriculture from the University of Georgia, where he was editor of the Georgia Agriculturist and state president of the Baptist Student Union. Jordan entered the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. in 1933 and served as pastor of three rural churches while earning a Th.M. degree (1936) and a Ph.D. degree in the New Testament (1939). Jordan married Florence Kroeger of Louisville, Ky., in 1936. Jordan moved his family to rural Georgia and, with Mabel and Martin England, established Koinonia Farm in 1942. Jordan decided to incorporate his agricultural training into his ministry and established Koinonia Farm as a Christian community in which members pooled their resources into a common treasury and treated all persons as equals, regardless of race or class. Koinonia taught local farmers, black and white, advanced farming techniques to increase production and profit in an effort to break the cycle of poverty that trapped so many local families. Koinonia also endorsed pacifism, a practice that made the community a target during World War II (1941-45). The farm's racially integrated working and living environment invited such severe violence, prosecution, and economic boycott during the Jim Crow era of the 1950s that the community became nearly dormant. In 1968 Koinonia Farm reincorporated as Koinonia Partners and launched an ambitious but pragmatic low-cost, interest-free house-building program that eventually evolved into Habitat for Humanity. Jordan led Koinonia from 1942 through 1969. He also traveled widely as a speaker and translated much of the New Testament into the Cotton Patch versions. Jordan died of a heart attack on October 29, 1969, while working at Koinonia on a Cotton Patch translation. Florence Jordan died of cancer at Koinonia on June 17, 1987, and both are buried at Koinonia. CREDITS GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more. Send
your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue
to Gwinnett Forum for future
publication.
© 2009, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. |
TODAY'S
QUOTE "Once a woman has forgiven a man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast."
MORE RECENT COMMENTARY
MODERN HISTORY OF GWINNETT
NOW IN STORES! You can purchase the book now at several locations:
Or order directly from elliottbrack.com and get a signed copy. The book consists
of 850 pages, including more than 143 demographic and historic tables,
with more than 4,000 names in the index, and 10,000 names in the appendix. Here are some other good reads that you might want to consider reading:
FOR CHARITY. You can give "A Gift of Laughter," a great book of cartoons by Bill McLemore, to help raise money for Rainbow Village. At just $20, it's a fun way to help. To order, call 770 840 1003, or 770 446 3800, or email to info@gwinnettforum.com. SISTER PUBLICATIONS We encourage you to check out our sister publications:
© 2001-2009, Gwinnett Forum.com is Gwinnett County's online community forum for commentary that explores pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA. PHONE:
770.840.1003 |
|
