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Issue 9.48| Tuesday, Sept. 15, 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. NOW ON TWITTER! SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Sept. 15, 2009 -- Thursday, September 17, 2009, begins the national celebration of Constitution Week. The week-long commemoration of America's most important document is one of our country's least known official observances. Our Constitution stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties and freedom, and to ensure those unalienable rights to every American.
The tradition of celebrating the Constitution was started many years ago by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). In 1955, the Daughters petitioned Congress to set aside September 17-23 each year to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into Public Law 915 on August 2, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The aims of the celebration are to:
The United States of America functions as a republic under the Constitution, which is the oldest document still in active use that outlines the self-government of a people. This landmark idea that men had the inalienable right as individuals to be free and live their lives under their own governance was the impetus of the American Revolution. Today, the Constitution stands as an icon of freedom for people around the world. DAR President General, Linda Gist Calvin says: "Constitution Week is the perfect opportunity to read and study this great document which is the safeguard of our American liberties. We encourage all citizens across the country to take time this week to reflect on our heritage of freedom."
DAR has served America for 119 years as its foremost cheerleader. In 1928, the Daughters began work on a building as a memorial to the Constitution. John Russell Pope, architect of the Jefferson Memorial, was commissioned to design the performing arts center, known as DAR Constitution Hall. Today, DAR Constitution Hall is the only structure erected in tribute to the Constitution of the United States of America. There are two DAR chapters in Gwinnett. The Philadelphia Winn chapter, organized in 1982, has Beth DeLorme as its regent. The William Day chapter, founded in 1998, is in Duluth, where Jo Ann Chewing is regent. Known as
the largest women's patriotic organization in the world, DAR has over
165,000 members with approximately 3,000 chapters in all 50 states and
11 foreign countries. The DAR has long promoted patriotism through commemorative
celebrations, memorials, scholarships and activities for children, and
programs for new immigrants. For more information about DAR and its programs
visit www.dar.org or
call (202) 628-1776. EEB
PERSPECTIVE FOLLY BEACH, S.C., Sept. 15, 2009 -- Stay away from the beach for a while, and you forget the allure of a seaside community. It doesn't matter where you are. We Georgians often visit St. Simons Island, Tybee Beach or one of the many Florida beaches. The same allure is attractive even at the cold beaches of the northeast or Oregon. You can be in Australia or Holland or on the Mediterranean, and there's still the distinct feeling that comes to a beach community.
It's just a feeling of living in a far different world when at the shore. Some beaches are glitzy, visited by the Glamour People, while others are rundown, a mere approximation of what they must have been in their former lives. Yet no matter where, beach communities each have one thing in common: relatively high real estate prices, since there's no more beach being made. It's because so many people want beach property, and beach property prices tend to rise faster than inland territory. (With today's tough economic times, it's a great window to buy beach property, if you can afford it. For sure, beach prices will soon be rising, ahead of the economic recovery.) The water itself is the allure of beach communities, with people dipping into the surf. Then there is sunning on the beach, or even engaging in vigorous sports, such as volleyball or soccer, or just building sand castles. Many coming to the beach are young. Sometimes whole carloads of youth unload from a single car, tearing into the water and enjoying themselves. This often means a thriving night life at the beach, with youth crowding the watering holes, listening to usually-loud music, and having a good time. Another factor of most beach communities: even with the boisterousness of youths, is that there's still a slower pace of life, more fun-filled than mere business. Many people get up to a daily routine of walking along the beach, either in early morning, just before dusk, or right out in the middle of the day in bright sunshine. Summer means lots going on at any beach, though off-seasons are some of the best moments at the beach, when it seems like you nearly have it to yourself. Beach communities usually seem to have their own list of characters of one type or another, who populate the area. They ride their bikes or perhaps golf carts along the usually flat roadways and trails, soaking up the sun, which you can tell by their almost-leather-like skin. They have been around for a while, it's obvious, and seem to have few cares. Why would they? They live at a playground! Those of us who live far-away from the beach probably fret too much about perceived drawbacks: sand tracked into the houses, higher prices at most stores, the constant movement of people in and out, with fewer year-round residents; and the remote possibility that all could be dramatically changed by the ominous presence of bad weather. Hardened beach lovers never think twice about it. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," they tell you, and then you realize that they might, literally. Yet there is something mighty comforting in just taking it easy at the beach, with the constant sound of the surf either in your ear or nearby, the lazy pace, the different approach to life……all making life pretty nice along any coast. ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is EMC Security, headquartered in Lawrenceville. EMC Security provides residential and commercial security with the same service and values that its parent companies, Jackson EMC, Walton EMC and GreyStone Power, have delivered for over 70 years. EMC Security's newest division, EMC Home Technology, delivers all a home's technology needs, including entertainment networks, home theaters and whole house music/intercom. Call EMC Security at 770/963-0305 or visit their website, www. emcsecurity.com.
FEEDBACK With all
due respect, President Obama has already been given a chance. He has made
over 25 speeches on Obama-care, and has either not listened to the public,
or ignored them completely. Seniors and others opposed to adding another
trillion dollars to the deficit want to be assured that their care will
not be cut and that taxes will not be raised. Nowhere in all the talk
has there been any explanation as to how the health care plan will be
funded, or how, suddenly, 500 billion plus dollars will magically be found
from Medicare. If there is fraud, and I am sure there is, there is no
law that prevents the administration from announcing, today, that they
will start looking for fraud. We don't need a new bill to allow that.
Can fraud only be weeded out if we spend a trillion dollars on health
care? Why not now?
Clear words of reason concerning Obama's health ideas Editor, the Forum: I just
read your column "Give
the President a Chance." What a pleasure to read clear words
of reason concerning current politics.
UPCOMING Do you crave a special outing to rekindle the romance in your relationship? Have you been looking for a unique opportunity to show the one you love how much they mean to you? The merchants of downtown Historic Buford have heard your cries and are launching the inaugural evening of Romance in Historic Buford on Friday September 25 from 5:30 until 10 p.m. Long ago couples would stroll Buford's Main Street delighting in treats of flowers and candy, enjoying dinner together, and taking rides in a horse drawn carriage as they gazed into each other's eyes and made memories together. Reminiscent of those historic days gone by, Buford's Main Street merchants are recreating that old world charm, setting the stage for a romantic evening for all to enjoy. Come experience candle lit streets, elegant dining, flower vendors, chocolate makers, ice cream carts, horse drawn carriages, jewelry makers, local artists, live music, and the sound of the train that's sure to take you back in time. Historic Buford's five Main Street restaurants will offer romantic dinner specials for couples to enjoy. It's the perfect date night designed to light or rekindle the romance in your life. Historic Buford was developed and put on the map as the world leader in leather tanning and production, primarily because of the efforts of the Allen Family, who operated the country's largest tannery, as well as the world's largest horse collar factory. Today art galleries, quaint shops, upscale restaurants, and music venues are just a few of the delights Historic Buford has to offer. For additional information about Romance in Historic Buford go to www.visitbuford.com. Photography exhibit from Gwinnett Tech on display The 2009 graduates of Gwinnett Technical College's Commercial Photography program are displaying their work in a portfolio presentation, at ART Station in Stone Mountain. The show will continue through Oct. 31, and will then move to Gwinnett Tech's on campus Media Gallery beginning Nov. 5 for additional public viewing.
The portfolio presentation includes portrait, still life, photojournalism, landscape and fine arts projects from each student Gwinnett Tech offers an associate in applied science degree in commercial photography, which includes a specialization in digital imaging. The program, which can be completed in two years, provides a rich multi-disciplinary environment for digital and traditional media instruction, research and practice. Lab and studio areas are equipped with cutting-edge digital equipment, Apple computers and Epson printers, along with traditional studio equipment and lighting. ART Station is located at 5384 Manor Drive, Stone Mountain, in the historic Village of Stone Mountain. Suwanee Citizen's Police Academy starts on Sept. 29 The Suwanee Police Department is offering an eight-week Citizen's Police Academy that begins on September 29. The program offers Suwanee residents and businesspeople a way to get a glimpse behind the badge and to develop a better understanding of the issues, tactics, and risks associated with law enforcement. Classes, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, cover a variety of topics, including crime scene processing, traffic stops, responding to burglary calls, crime prevention, narcotics identification, and motor vehicle stops. Deadline
for notarized applications is Friday, September 18; applications are available
online at www.suwanee.com.
Applicants must be at least 19 years old; preference is given to Suwanee
residents or to those who work in the City of Suwanee. NOTABLE Work began
last week on the extension of McGinnis Ferry Road in Gwinnett County funded
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA is a national effort to create jobs and transform America's economy to compete in the 21st century. Georgia Gwinnett College part of national First Year program Georgia Gwinnett College is one of 12 four-year institutions selected to participate in a national higher education project. The "Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year" project is sponsored by the Policy Center on the First Year of College, and seeks to develop and refine the overall approach to educating first-year students. GGC's has named the initiative the "First Year Matters." Research has long indicated that new students who are successfully integrated into college are much more likely to succeed. Many colleges, therefore, work especially hard to create a first-rate experience for new students. Since February of 2003, the Foundations of Excellence project has involved only 300 two- and four-year colleges and universities across the country in implementing policies which constitute a model first year. Georgia Gwinnett will work with the Policy Center throughout 2009-2010. GGC will measure its effectiveness in recruiting, admitting, orienting, supporting, advising and teaching new students, both entering freshmen and transfer students. It will then be able to make programmatic improvements that will enhance student learning, success and persistence.
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA The term Federal Road refers to either of two early-19th-century thoroughfares. Both connected the borders of Georgia with western settlements. These roads facilitated a surge of westward migration, expanded regional trade and communication, and contributed to the removal of the Creeks and Cherokees to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma.
The roads were one instance of the federal government's agenda of "internal improvements," government-subsidized projects that would tie together the trade and people of the young nation. With the goal of joining settlements in Tennessee and Alabama more closely with those in Georgia, the government negotiated a series of fraudulent treaties with the Creek and Cherokee Indians. In 1805, through the Treaty of Tellico with the Cherokees and the Treaty of Washington with the Creeks, the government gained the right to open and operate roads through Indian lands. The surveying and constructing of the road through Cherokee lands began around 1810. The name notwithstanding, the federal government took little role in building this road, leaving it instead to the governments of Georgia and Tennessee, and to Cherokee entrepreneurs. Much of the route followed an old Cherokee trading path. The road connected Georgia with Nashville and Knoxville, both frontier settlements in Tennessee. The federal government played a more direct role in the building of the road through Creek lands. In 1806 the Postal Department oversaw the clearing of a horse path running from Athens to Fort Stoddert, north of Mobile, Ala., and then on to New Orleans, La. In 1811 the U.S. Army rerouted and widened this path, adhering closely to the route of the old Lower Creek trading path. It began at Fort Wilkinson near Milledgeville, then the state capital, and headed southwest. At present-day Macon it entered the lands of the Lower Creeks, heading on toward the Chattahoochee River about nine miles south of Columbus. Mail carriers, western settlers and slaves, evangelical itinerants, the military in the War of 1812 (1812-15) and the Seminole War, and European travelers in stagecoaches used the roads. The hordes of pioneers who traveled west on these roads wanted new land and a chance at upward mobility. Soon after, however, the road ceased to be a mechanism for change, as railroads were laid out in the 1830s and 1840s, taking over many of the functions that the roads had once served. 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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>> SPECIAL NOTICE TO GWINNETT Those interested in the history of Gwinnett need to know that the recently published book: Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta, has sold fast, with the first editions about sold out. There are less than 50 books remaining unsold. If you want the book for yourself, or to buy for a present for someone this year, you need to take action. Go to www.elliottbrack.com to order, or buy the book at a local bookstore shown on the site. (In full disclosure, the book is authored by the publisher of this Forum, and this notice is intended not so much to hawk, but to inform, those who have delayed purchase. -eeb) The books are available at these sites:
Socrates says there's one way to find yourself "To find yourself, think for yourself. "
MORE RECENT COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOKSHELF 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:
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