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Issue 9.63 | Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 | Forward to your friends! |
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD FEEDBACK UPCOMING NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE _::
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Meet a sponsor |
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TODAY'S
FOCUS LOGANVILLE,
Ga., Nov. 6, 2009 – The Georgia Department of Transportation has
begun construction on the widening of Georgia Highway 20 from Grayson
to near Loganville, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA).
The project
will widen the existing two lane roadway to a four lane divided highway
from Cooper/Ozora Roads to Brand Road. The estimated construction cost
is $10.9 million for this 2.7 mile long project. The completion date for
the project is December 31, 2011. Gary’s Grading and Pipeline Inc.
is the project’s contractor. Georgia DOT is responsible for 70 percent of Georgia’s $932 million in highway system ARRA funds. The remaining 30 percent is divided among the state’s 15 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and designated rural areas. The MPOs, in conjunction with the Department, are funding projects from these respective allocations. The state also received $144 million in stimulus funds for public transit and Georgia DOT has awarded related local grants totaling approximately $39 million. Georgia is eligible for additional highway, rail and aviation grants from funds totaling $12.1 billion. The ARRA is a national effort to create jobs and transform America’s economy to compete in the 21st century. Nationwide, some $48 billion in stimulus investments are being made in transportation infrastructure, including highways, public transit, high speed rail and aviation. Georgia DOT has created a Web page devoted to stimulus activities to provide specific program information and promote transparency of the process. All selected ARRA stimulus projects are fully funded by the federal government; no state or local matching funds are required. Georgia
DOT cost estimates are projections of the possible total cost of a project
to the Department. Estimates are tentative and preliminary. They include,
but are not limited to, items such as contingencies, possible costs associated
with utility conflicts, project inspections, testing and engineering.
These are potential costs to the Department, not to a project’s contractor;
thus, they will not be reflected in contractor bids. EEB
PERSPECTIVE NOV. 6, 2009 – Congratulations to Dr. Freida Hill, a former Gwinnettian, who has been named chancellor of the 27-campus Alabama Community College system, run by the Alabama Board of Education.
She has been deputy commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia for the past two years, and was assistant commissioner for two years. She was previously president of South Georgia Technical College in Thomasville for five years.
When in Gwinnett, Dr. Hill was first dean, then vice president for economic development at Gwinnett Tech from 1992-98. She was also a 1995 member of the Leadership Gwinnett class. Freida Hill is a native of Tennessee, and completed her associate degree at Hiawassee Junior College in Madisonville, Tenn. Her undergraduate work was at Samford College in Birmingham, Ala., then she finished her master’s and doctorate degree at the University of Georgia. She is expected to assume her new duties in Montgomery around the first of the year. Dr. Hill would fill the post vacated by Bradley Byrne, who resigned in May to run for governor of Alabama. * * * * * Georgia Gators? Out of Valdosta, we saw a report this week that there are 5,868 Georgia tags on the highway with the University of Florida Gator logo on them, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division. As a comparison, the DMV says that there are 61,281 autos and trucks with the University of Georgia Bulldogs tags on them. The sight of those Gator tags ought to stir the ire of Georgia football fans, especially after the recent losses in Jacksonville. But consider this: Florida beats Georgia in overall supporters with the state’s flagship colors on them. In Florida, 480,361 Gators tags were issued in the last five years, according to that state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Hey, you alumni of Georgia: barking at Gator tags won’t help. * * * * * Sports fans galore must populate Gwinnett. Dave and Buster’s, which already operated a large sports bar-restaurant in Duluth near the Costco store, is now planning to open a second Gwinnett location at Discover Mills. It will be in the former Jillian’s location. Dave and Buster’s restaurants have been in existence for more than 20 years. Co-founders Dave Corriveau and Buster Corley pioneered the concept of an upscale restaurant/entertainment venue by merging their respective areas of expertise (Corley was a restaurateur, Corriveau a pub/arcade owner). Their goal was to create an establishment with good food, refreshing beverages and fun games in a classy yet festive setting. Dave and Buster’s – Sugarloaf is the largest of their three Georgia’s locations. At the Discover Mills location, Dave and Buster’s will have 12 billiards tables, 16 lane bowling alley, a state-of-the-art sports bar and no telling how many big televisions sets. It won’t be a location for a quiet dinner, we suspect. The firm operates 58 locations around the country. * * * * * Dan Garson died last week. Many in Gwinnett felt the loss of the guy who headed the Lovable Company. At one time the headquarters was in Norcross, which later was moved to Buford, where the firm had a garment plant. It was a worldwide company, too, and Garson was a key leader in his industry, and in liberal causes in Atlanta. Mr. Garson was a notable person in the early days of Gwinnett’s development, and we owe him and his family much. Dan Garson: 1920-2009: may you rest in peace. ABOUT
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McLEMORE'S
WORLD
FEEDBACK Thanks for printing the letter about the response to highway beautification. While we were visiting Graceland in Memphis, Tenn., we met a group of people from England who had flown from London to Atlanta, who were then bused to the surrounding attractions. They were amazed at the cleanliness of Atlanta! They had asked the bus driver how the area was kept in such good condition. He told them some of the credit should go to the volunteers from the penal system who are allowed to pick up trash along the major highways, but much more credit should go to private citizens who CARE about their city. We should all take pride in our great Metro area and keep it clean and beautiful. Too often we see fast food containers and trash thrown out along along the streets. What are such people thinking? Where are their manners? Don't they CARE about the future of our children? Be PROUD of our cities! Make it a good example to other cities and feel better about yourself!
UPCOMING Staff from
the Gwinnett County Stormwater Management Division will host a public
tour of a stream restoration project in Collins Hill Park on Friday, Nov.
6 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the park, located at 2000 Collins Hill Road
in Lawrenceville. Deadline at end of year in Snap Suwanee photo competition Have you snapped a photograph of the Suwanee community that’s worth a thousand words? If so, your picture could be a winner in the 2010 Snap Suwanee photo competition. Snap Suwanee is an ongoing contest, though entries must be received by December 31, 2009 to be considered for the 2010 exhibit. They will be on display at City Hall around March 1. Pictures submitted to the Snap Suwanee Photo Contest should be taken within the City of Suwanee limits, preferably within the last two years. Ideally, photos will be taken at identifiable Suwanee locations which convey a sense of the community. Applications must accompany entries and are available online in the What’s New/Events section at www.suwanee.com. High-resolution digital photos are preferred and may be submitted to SnapSuwanee@suwanee.com. The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers. More than 130 photos from 49 photographers were submitted in the 2009 competition. The 14 winning photos will remain on display at City Hall until the 2010 exhibit is ready. Fantasy series author to speak in Norcross and Clarkston Gwinnett
County Public Library will present Brandon Sanderson, author of The Gathering
Storm, which was released recently. It is Book 12 of The Wheel of Time®
and the first of three novels to make the conclusion to the beloved and
international bestselling fantasy series. The presentation is November
13 at 7 p.m. at the Norcross Arts and Cultural Center. It is free to the
public.
Mr. Sanderson will also be at the Writer’s Institute at Georgia Perimeter College for a reading at 3:30 p.m. on November 13. That session will be at the college’s Clarkston Campus at 555 North Indian Creek Drive at the Cole Auditorium. Sanderson is the author of the “Mistborne” fantasy series and was recently chosen by the widow of sci-fi/fantasy legend Robert Jordan to complete Jordan’s epic “Wheel of Time” cycle. This event is part of Sanderson’s national book tour to promote the next installment in the cycle, “The Gathering Storm.” Harriett McDougal, Robert Jordan’s widow and editor, will also be in attendance at the Norcross meeting. Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Neb. He teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University and lives in Utah with his wife and children. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed first novel Elantris, the Mistborn trilogy, the middle grade “Alcatraz” series and Warbreaker. For more information about the event, please visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154. Technical forum to discuss digital landscape for 2010 On November
17, the Gwinnett Technology Forum will present: Technology in 2010: What
to Deploy, What to Watch, and What to Ignore. Web marketing strategist
and founder and organizer of the Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs, Mike Schinkel,
will be leading a panel of industry experts discussing what the technology
landscape for 2010 looks like. He will also suggest how to navigate through
the hype to find the technology applications that will most benefit your
business. Topics covered will include Google Wave, Windows 7, Mobile Geolocation
and more. Tannery Row Artists have autumn show underway The Tannery Row Artists gallery in Buford now has the artists’ colony autumn show on display. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon until 5 p.m. Paintings in the show are 3x4 foot canvases. Also on display is 3-D art. .
The Tannery Row buildings have been in existence since the early 1900’s, and were once part of the Bona Allen properties. What was once a place where leather goods were produced is now offices, restaurants and the Artist Colony. The colony currently has 17 working artists in separate, unique studios. The Web site is http://www.tanneryrowartistcolony.com. It is located at 554 West Main Street in Buford. Aurora Theater’s Christmas Canteen to mark 14th season Celebrating 14 seasons, Aurora Theatre’s nostalgic musical extravaganza, Christmas Canteen, is a winter wonderland that just keeps getting better! It's Christmastime “All Over the World” as the cast of 2008 returns. Along with the Festival of Trees in the lobby, the show allows theatre-goers to get in the mood for the holidays. The play debuts November 27 and continues through December 20 on Thursdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a 10 a.m. presentation on December 2 and 10, plus another show on December 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $16-30. For reservations, call 678 226 6222. NOTABLE The Georgia
Department of Transportation is launching a new resource for teen
drivers and their parents. The Web site, “Teen Driving Safety 101,”
www.dot.ga.gov/teendriving,
is a “one-stop” information portal providing information on
driving laws, safety tips and travel information to help teens stay safe
behind the wheel. The Web
site was developed in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Highway
Safety, the Department of Driver Services, and Riverdale High School’s
Technology Team. In addition to these partners, the site includes links
to other government agencies and sites with information about teen driving
laws and general travel information.
GEORGIA
ENCYCLOPEDIA Lizzie Rutherford is credited as the originator of Confederate Memorial Day, which honors the memory of Confederate soldiers each year in states across the South. While the origins of Confederate Memorial Day are somewhat obscure, many historians believe that a group of women in Columbus, under the leadership of Rutherford, created the annual observance. Elizabeth Rutherford was born on June 1, 1833. Very little is known about her personal life. During the Civil War (1861-65) Rutherford lived in Columbus, where she was active in the Soldiers' Aid Society, and in 1868 she married Captain Roswell Ellis, who had served in the "Columbus Guards." Early in 1866 Rutherford told a friend about a novel she had been reading which mentioned the custom of caring for the graves of dead heroes. Rutherford suggested that a special day should be set aside in order to decorate Confederate soldiers' graves and thereby honor them in perpetuity. Her suggestion was warmly received by the other women of the Columbus Soldiers' Aid Society, and they transformed their group into the Ladies' Memorial Association. In March 1866 the new group wrote to Soldiers' Aid Societies throughout the South to encourage them to unite in decorating soldiers' graves on April 26, the date of General Joseph E. Johnston's surrender. After Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Johnston, who had been charged with Georgia's defense, surrendered the remaining major Confederate field army to Union General William T. Sherman in North Carolina. Rutherford died on March 31, 1873, and was buried, appropriately enough, in Linwood Cemetery, with the soldiers she had sought to memorialize. Her marker, erected by the Lizzie Rutherford Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy (established in 1898), calls her "Soldiers' Friend" and observes that she was the person who suggested Confederate Memorial Day. In 1874, the year after her death, the Georgia General Assembly officially added a public holiday, "The 26th day of April in each year—commonly known as Memorial Day." By the end of the century many Southern communities were observing the event, and the formation of the Confederated Southern Memorial Association in Louisville, Ky., in May, 1900 led to the widespread adoption of Confederate Memorial Day. 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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TODAY'S
QUOTE "Do not try to live for ever. You will not succeed."
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. Get yours before they're gone. Go to www.elliottbrack.com to order, or buy the book at a local bookstore shown on the site. The books are available at:
MORE RECENT COMMENTARY
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PHOTO
CONTEST: No, winter’s not here yet. This frigid picture by Shawn
Nollen was one of the 14 prizewinners in last year’s photo competition
in the City of Suwanee, now on display at the City Hall. The city is currently
accepting photos in the 2009 Snap Suwanee contest. The deadline is December
31. Photos must be taken within the Suwanee city limits. For more details,
see 
