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Issue 9.36 | Tuesday, August 4, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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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 |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS
GAINESVILLE, Va., August 4, 2009 -- I pulled into the driveway at my new Lilburn home with my husband and our three year old on a steamy August day in 1972, adding to the count of Gwinnett's then 72,000 residents . I had no friends, no job, no family in Lilburn. I was desperate to establish my sense of community -- my place -- from that dark green home in Killian Hill Manor. By 1974, I had discovered friends, a job, and had family who visited regularly. I also discovered I was powerless, a virtual sheep, to the political powers that ran Gwinnett then---the Democrat shepherds. The county government, like so many in the South at that time, had a benevolent facade, a shepherd-like attitude toward its citizens, those of us who made up the other 99 percent. It would take 10 years for Gwinnett's elected officials to reflect its political diversity. It would take that long to establish the Republican Party to the mix in Gwinnett. Our activist upstarts were not well-liked among those who ran the Courthouse, nor were we appreciated by many of the old county families. The press thought our work was fruitless. Elliott Brack, then with Gwinnett Daily News, in an election eve editorial compared my GOP efforts as leading the [Republican] "sheep to slaughter!" Well, not exactly. We elected local Republicans to statewide and county offices early on and continued that trend into the 1980 presidential year when Gwinnett votes helped elect GOP's Mack Mattingly to succeed Herman Talmadge for U.S. Senate. Later they would help put Ronald Reagan in the White House. In the earliest years, when our candidate recruiting was less than stellar, we were the brunt of jokes about our political ineptness. Late one night I answered a phone call to hear a disguised male voice growling a stream of venomous language. The gist was "Get OUT of Gwinnett and take all those @#!& Republicans with you." I figured he was drunk, until he carefully spelled out his threat: He was coming to my house to break both of my legs and stuff them "where the sun never shines." He definitely had my attention then! I asked him when he was coming. When he didn't speak, I suggested that he give me a half hour. I needed a little time to round up my neighbors so they could line my driveway and wave as he drove up. That guy never called back. But there would be others who did. The more the GOP gained political ground, the more harassment calls we got. There were threats we took seriously and some came from unexpected places. As GOP chairman, my job included collecting filing forms and fees from our candidates and personally turning them in before the deadline to the Clerk of Court for their names to appear on the ballot. One year a GOP candidate for Gwinnett County sheriff failed to pay his filing fee, became hostile, and threatened to stop me from filing anyone's forms on time. We discovered he was really a Democrat with a scheme to prevent all local Republican candidates from qualifying for any races that year. We were wary of asking for local law enforcement assistance, so my trip to the Clerk of Court that day included a Georgia State Police escort. All GOP candidates' names appeared on the ballot that November without a hint of the effort it took to make that possible. In 1984,
17 of 18 winners in local races were Republicans. As that tumultuous decade
closed, Gwinnett had a new political party in the driver's seat. I helped
make that happen. EEB
PERSPECTIVE AUG. 4, 2009 -- Just curious, we wondered just how much those two advertising phrases about Gwinnett County on the twin water towers on Interstate 85 near Jimmy Carter Boulevard are worth.
After all, those towers have had the "Gwinnett Is Great" message for years, and then saw the augmentation of another message, "Success Lives Here" a few years back. So for at least 35 years, Gwinnett County has told all those millions of automobiles and trucks passing by just what the county thought of itself. The two slogans have been powerful messages, and no doubt have led to many a motorist realizing that there was something special going on within Gwinnett. And now the county commission, through its Water Department, wants to dismantle the water towers….and halt this messaging to Interstate drivers. So, if the county decided instead to promote itself on one of the many billboards nearby, just what would it cost in dollars and cents? It's not cheap, we learned from one of the billboard companies that regularly keeps the billboards filled with advertising messages.
"That would be between $2,700 and $4,000," we were told. "For how long?" we asked. "Oh, that's only for a month." Therefore, to proclaim those twin messages, even if only on one billboard, the advertising and public image cost to the county would be approximately $40,000 to $50,000 annually. Or $80,000 to 100,000 for a different message on two boards. And that doesn't include maintenance. Yet the decision has been made by the county, apparently not appealable, that the twin water tanks must go. The county says they no longer are needed for water storage, and even if empty, the maintenance cost would be high. But is this reasonable? What we anticipate that has happened is that some number-cruncher saw the opportunity to stir the pot a bit, proclaim a "savings" to the county by tearing down the towers. But even tearing them down will cost $300,000, or the cost of a minimum of six years of an advertising message. What's it worth to proclaim your position as one of the greatest counties around? We know that the cost to do so on a billboard is $50,000 a year. Looking at it another way, what's the cost to the county for it not to advertise? * * * * * What Gwinnett County, with these twin messages, has been up to all these years has simply been part of a promotion to create a perception of creativeness and innovation in the county. After all, here were two water standpipes along a major thoroughfare. Why not utilize these open towers? All it cost was a little sign-painting every few years. And look at the simple results! We need to ferret out who came up with this concept and give them due recognition. Such a promotion was a wonderful yet simple way for Gwinnett to put a label on itself. And now it is threatened. We say
keep the twin towers, and yes, continue to tell the world what Gwinnett
thinks of itself. The minimum cost of keeping the towers painted is well
worth it. Then Gwinnett can continue to reap benefits as it has for years. ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: This is in response to the comments made by Laura Stickell about the year-round school option. As an educator in Gwinnett, I agree with the year-round school concept. I too, have friends in other counties that enjoy the program for some of the same reasons mentioned. Vacations at off peak times are less expensive. Let's look at it as a fable like the Tortoise and the Hare. We are currently in the Hare mode. We rush through the curriculum, because we have to teach to satisfy and cover the all important test score issue. The students memorize the materials, learn some of it, and we must move on. I vote for Mr. Tortoise's approach. We learn the materials, rest our brains and bodies then move on to the next subject. Slower, and steadier. We retain more, actually learn more, and have treated our bodies and brains with respect. In the end we do win. We win with better educated students and young adults who are not burned out on cramming and over scheduling by the time they finish high school. Yes, we do live in a rat race society, but I believe it is time we teach our children that they don't have to do EVERYTHING all at once in order to succeed in life.
UPCOMING Aurora Theatre's 14th season will be its biggest ever starting with Cole Porter's most triumphant musical. Kiss Me, Kate, which ran on Broadway for an astounding 1,077 performances, but local theatre goers will only have 26 chances to catch this masterpiece of the jazz era.
Taking
its inspiration from Shakespeare, Kiss Me, Kate recounts the backstage
and onstage antics of two feuding romantic couples during a touring production
of The Taming of the Shrew. Kiss Me, Kate reminds us, all is fair
in love and war, especially when it is a battle of the sexes. The five-time
Tony Award winning revival score sparkles with one hit song after another
- including Another Op'nin', Another Show, Wunderbar, From This Moment
On, and Too Darn Hot. Time's a'wasting! Get ready to plant fall garden now University of Georgia Extension Agent Robert Brannen says that it's time to get ready for a fall garden.
"We still have about 100 days until frost closes our gardens for the winter. In the meantime, we can enjoy one more crop of vegetables this year." For more information, contact the Gwinnett Extension Service office at 678-377-4010 or gwinnettextension.org Planting times for the Gwinnett area for the following vegetables are:
For more information, contact the Gwinnett Extension Service office at 678-377-4010 or gwinnettextension.org. GGC now offers joint enrollment to high school students High school students may now take college courses at Georgia Gwinnett College while earning their high school diploma, through GGC's Joint Enrollment program.
Joint Enrollment
allows students to take University System of Georgia General Education
curriculum courses such as mathematics, English, history and biology.
To qualify, students must have a minimum 480 verbal and 460 math score
on the SAT-1 and a combined SAT score of 970 or a minimum of 21 English
and 19 mathematics score on the ACT and a composite score of 20. They
also must have a high school grade point average of 3.0 in College Preparatory
Curriculum classes. Students also must have a plan to complete the University
System of Georgia's College Preparatory Curriculum on schedule and must
secure their parents' or guardian's permission. NOTABLE The IMPACT! Group announces that Gwinnett-based attorney Tracey Mason Blasi has joined the agency's Board of Directors. A native of Gwinnett County, Ms. Blasi specializes in land use and condemnation law. Her professional knowledge and lifetime of service in Gwinnett will help the IMPACT! Group assist a greater number of clients and create new affordable housing options for working residents.
Tom Merkel,
president/executive director of The IMPACT! Group says: "As a nonprofit
housing organization, we look forward to having Tracey on our board. Her
knowledge of housing development and her professional background will
allow us to more effectively serve Gwinnett residents during this difficult
economic time." Fund-raising for open heart surgery program at 70% of goal The Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation fund-raising for the campaign supporting an open heart surgical program is 70 percent complete; $5.6 million has been raised out of the projected $8 million goal.
The campaign began in earnest after Gwinnett Medical Center's Open Heart is in Your Hands effort to support bringing advanced cardiac services to Gwinnett yielded more than 1,000 letters of support from members of the community and helped the hospital secure approval for the program from the Department of Community Health. Donations will be used to build additional surgical suites and accompanying facilities required to operate the open heart program, anticipated to begin in 2011. It takes $25 of revenue to generate one dollar on the bottom line for reinvestment in new equipment and facilities. Philanthropy is the most efficient way to add to the hospital's bottom line. Every dollar generated through contributed income goes directly to the bottom line. Those contributions can be applied much more quickly to fund programs and expand services to better serve our community. For more information on the open heart program, please visit www.openheartgwinnett.org. Walton EMC Web sites chosen best In two categories Walton Electric Membership Corporation's electric and gas company Web sites have been hailed as best at the Cooperative Communicators Association's annual communications contest. Both won their respective categories, with the gas Web site landing first in the Web Site-External for Public category and the electric Web site topping the Web Site-External for Members category.
The electric site went on to be picked as Best of Class in the entire Programs and Projects division from among 154 other entries. Judges gave the entry the highest possible score for its imaginative, creative presentation of information. "It makes a dry subject matter fun," said Matt Fangman, one of the division judges, who also noted the entry's 'people-centric' approach. "Compared to the other entries, it felt the most relevant to the audience and the end result has the most impact for the money spent."
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA Major Archibald
Butt was a journalist, U.S. Army officer and military aide to U.S.
presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. During his tenure
of service to President Taft, Butt perished in the sinking of the Titanic.
Archibald
Willingham Butt was born in Augusta in 1865. He attended the University
of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., graduating in 1888. He focused on a career
in journalism, working for the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Macon
Telegraph. Afterward, he was in Washington, D.C., as a correspondent for
several southern newspapers, including the Atlanta Constitution, Augusta
Chronicle, and Savannah News. Butt was appointed secretary of the American
embassy in Mexico City, Mexico. At the
outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Butt left Mexico and returned
to the United States, where he joined the army as an officer. After almost
four years of service in the Philippines, Butt returned to Washington,
D.C. He was sent to Cuba with the army of occupation. His excellent service
in Cuba prompted President Roosevelt to appoint him as his personal military
aide. Butt served as Roosevelt's military aide from April 1908 until March 1909, when Roosevelt's second term ended. Butt had built a friendship with the incoming president, William Howard Taft and he was asked to stay on as military aide. President Taft had encouraged Butt to take a vacation, and Butt left for Europe on March 2, 1912.
While in
Europe, Butt's only official business was to call on Pope Pius X at the
Vatican, in Rome, Italy, where he delivered a personal message to the
pope from the president. Butt headed for home and boarded the Titanic
on April 10. Five days later, the luxury liner struck an iceberg and sank
in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Butt's remains were never found. A memorial service was held in the Butt family home on May 2, 1912, with Taft in attendance. The Butt Memorial Bridge, which spans the Augusta Canal, was erected in downtown Augusta in Butt's honor. President Taft returned to Augusta for the dedication of the bridge in 1914, on the second anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The bridge is the only Titanic memorial in Georgia. 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
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© 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 "A true friend is one who likes you despite your achievements."
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