BIG RECOGNITION: Helping prepare one million meals for Gwinnett seniors, Catherine Montgomery (center) was recognized recently by Gwinnett Senior Services at the Pinckneyville Recreation Center during a three-center picnic (fried chicken, beans, slaw, cookie. It was tasty, too!) She has prepared meals for 28 years. At the left is Pat Baker, Gwinnett Seniors Division Director, while Pat Milhous, dietician with Gwinnett Health and Human Services, is at the right.

TODAY'S FOCUS
:: Sweeping animal reforms sought

ELLIOTT BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE
:: Schedule of Forum's endorsements

FEEDBACK
:: Two more for Hall of Fame

UPCOMING
:: Nine 10-minute plays, art zone, more

NOTABLE
:: Fats, oil, grease to power plant

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_:: TODAY'S QUOTE: On repairmen

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TODAY'S FOCUS
Animal Advisory Council seeks sweeping reforms
By RANDY DeCARLO
Special to GwinnettForum.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., May 25, 2010 -- After two years of discussion, the Gwinnett Animal Advisory Council has passed a sweeping reform recommendation which will be submitted to the Board of Commissioners. Prior to this reform measure being passed, the Animal Advisory Council was the only advisory committee in the county that did not include a member appointed by each of the elected commissioners. This change should streamline a process of keeping elected officials in the loop concerning animal related and shelter issues.

There is also a provision that will seek out a knowledgeable resource to deal specifically with feline issues in the county. With nine out of ten cats being killed in Gwinnett's new shelter, this position is critical in not only reducing shelter costs but in being more supportive of those who rescue cats. It will also lead to a much more compassionate feral cat program being implemented as well.

The changes also attempt to re-allocate resources towards animal needs that have changed as the county has grown. Specifically, the Extension Services position has been eliminated and in its place a representative for large breed animals will join the Council. Also, the Gwinnett Humane Society representative has been eliminated and replaced with a person who will act as a rescue liaison for the rescue community at large.

There is also a shift in the communication process which will have the council reporting directly to the Board of Commissioners. The past system had recommendations routed first through Animal Control's chain of command.

All of these changes will streamline the process and make the Animal Advisory Council much more reactive to the issues that seem to plague our community. A special thanks goes out to Tim Montgomery and Carla Brown for their exhaustive efforts in bringing this advisory committee in line with all the other 20 plus committees in Gwinnett which provide information to elected officials. These changes will make the communication between citizens and the BOC much easier to facilitate in the future.

A special thanks goes out to the current Animal Advisory Council for making a courageous vote to approve a much needed change to benefit all the citizens with pets.

While the work of turning around the shelter has only started, this was a major first step. Pet owners of Gwinnett are confident that we will see much more volunteer participation from a diverse group of local citizens who have the skills, knowledge and tenacity to make Gwinnett a much more compassionate home for even our homeless pets.

Pet owners will be joining forces with other local animal advocacy efforts that are reaching out to build a citizen army to put an end to killing healthy adoptable pets. Gwinnett has always been a leader in the Atlanta area. Now it's time to lead the way where all pets will have every opportunity to be placed in loving homes as opposed to having their lives taken in our new shelter.

Please support our effort by writing your commissioners and requesting a speedy passage of the "Animal Advisory Reform Resolution."

EEB PERSPECTIVE
Here's Forum schedule for primary endorsements
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher

MAY 25, 2010 -- Newspapers, and even other legitimate media, have a responsibility besides just presenting the news. They must inform their followers with additional information they often know about issues and candidates.

Brack

One way is to endorse candidates in political races. Over the 10 years that GwinnettForum has been published, we have not previously endorsed candidates for office. Yet this year, we are embarking on this venture, mainly because the major daily newspaper in Atlanta, the Journal-Constitution, surprised its readers earlier this year when it announced it would not have endorsements.

What? That's what irresponsible, veteran newspaper people will tell you. Yet this is a new era, with newspapers no longer led by those with long tenure in the field.

With that in mind, GwinnettForum made the decision that it would endorse candidates for local offices, and in statewide and local Congressional races. We do not take this step without trepidation. No doubt in some races where there are several good candidates, we will upset some people and their followers. However, we feel the need to suggest to our readers the candidates we think will make the best officials, and therefore will endorse in both the primary and the General Election. We are now in the process of spending 30 minutes with as many candidates as possible, as they schedule time with us.

Our schedule shows:

• June 29: Governor, lieutenant governor and Congressional races.
  
• June 25: Down-ballot statewide races.
  
• June 22: Candidates for Gwinnett offices.

On July 16, the Friday before the primary, we will restate the endorsements. We want to allow plenty of time between the endorsements and the primary so that our readers may respond if they question our endorsements. Please note, however, that the last date we will print comment about the primary races will be July 13, so that anything printed in the Forum will give reader time to respond before the elections.

* * * * *

Our first endorsement came the third week we were a weekly publisher. That was in the summer of 1962, when we endorsed Carl Sanders for governor.

Sanders

That brought an immediate response the next day from the late Grace Ginter, a very irate woman, a Marvin Griffin supporter, who was pounding on the newspaper counter as she talked to me, saying: "You have no right to tell me how to vote!" She was mad.

"Wait, wait," we came back, "We told you who the newspaper was endorsing, not how you should vote."

Grace was not satisfied with that. After going around with her for a few minutes, I suggested a letter to the editor. Her immediate reaction was: "You won't print it."

"Whoa," we said, "You can't say that yet. Send me the letter, and see." She did and we printed her support of Marvin. It was one of the best moves that I ever made in newspapering, for Grace went around town telling people that though you might not agree with the new editor, that he would print letters differing with him. And in effect, she became a champion for us. It set the tone for all my 13 years at that weekly newspaper..

So we suggest: write us when you have differing opinion, and we'll print it. All we ask is that you keep it short, and not libel anyone. Tell the community the way you think. Many of you write already. We appreciate the time you go to in composing your thoughts.

One more element about the coming election: we are inviting candidates to answer the same five questions. We'll run their responses in GwinnettForum beginning June 15, to allow these candidates to speak directly to the voters, for you to read their views, to make up your mind on how to vote.

ABOUT OUR SPONSORS
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The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Graphic Communications Corporation of Lawrenceville, a WBENC and a NWBOC certified female-owned and managed company. Graphic Communications is a dynamic full-service print, large-format inkjet and photographic output, fulfillment, point-of-purchase and multi-media communications company. The firm has a digital media and graphic design department for both print and Internet use. Graphic Communications has been awarded the Chain of Custody certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC). Only a select group of printers in Georgia can provide eco-conscious customers with paper with the FSC, SFI or PEFC logos, which ensure that the paper is from a well-managed, certified, sustainable forest and that the chain of custody from forest to pulp and to paper manufacturer to merchant---has not been broken. Graphic Communications' biggest strength is its ability to meet tight deadlines along with the ever-present demands for high quality and attention to detail. This ability makes the printing process seamless for its clients. Three of its greatest competitive advantages are: 1) listening, 2) being organized for speed, and 3) being detail fanatics. All of its associates are committed to giving customers exactly what they want, when they want it. Simply, at Graphic Communications, the customer's needs are the driving forces behind everything it does, from investment in technology to the friendly voices that still answer the telephone. For more information, go to http://www.gccprint.com.

• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: http://www.gwinnettforum.com/about/sponsors.htm

FEEDBACK
Suggests two more names for Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame

Editor, The Forum

Here are two suggestions for next year's Gwinnett Sports Hall of Fame:

Cecil Morris: Cecil Morris coached at Duluth High School from 1970-90 with a record there of 150 wins, 82 losses and 7 ties. Overall, in 26 years of coaching in Georgia, he compiled a record of 168-103-8. During his career at Duluth, his teams won six region championships (1969,71,72,73,75 and 80) and three North Georgia Championships (1973,75 and 78). He was named "Sportsman of the Decade" in 1990 by the Atlanta Journal/Gwinnett Extra newspaper.

He coached numerous All-State players and served as the Head Coach of the North team in the Georgia High School All-Star game in 1981. His most well-known player was George Rogers, who attended the University of South Carolina, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1980 and later was the number one draft choice of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. The playing field at Duluth High is named "Cecil Morris Field".

* * * *

Nick Green: Nick Green graduated from Duluth High School in1997. He then played baseball at Georgia Perimeter College and was drafted in the 32nd round by the Atlanta Braves in 1998. In 2004, he was called up to the Atlanta major league club, where he spent the entire season, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2005. He also has spent time on the major league rosters of the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and currently plays with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2010). While with the Red Sox in 2009, he won the Red Sox Jensen Spirit Award. While at Duluth High he won all-county honors in baseball and basketball. In 2009, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Duluth High.

-- Charles Summerour, Duluth

We encourage readers to submit feedback or letters to the editor. Send your thoughts to editor at elliott@brack.net. We will edit for length and clarity. Make sure to include your name and city where you live. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Please keep your comment to 200 words or less. However, if you write 500 words, we'll consider it for Today's Focus.

UPCOMING
Nine 10-Minute plays presentation begins June 3 in Norcross

A series of nine 10-minute plays by local playwrights is set for Lionheart Theatre 10 College Street, in Norcross beginning June 3-13 on Thursday through Sunday. The plays are all set in backyards.

The plays are:

• Awkward Silences by Kelly Young-Silverman;
• Common Ground by Raymond Fast;
  
• Jubilee Catalog Sales by David L. Fisher;
  
• Moonlight by James Beck;
  
• Much, Much Later by Susan M. Steadman;
• One Beer by David Allan Dodson;
• Pony Rides are for Girls by David Marshall Silverman;
  
• The Powell Plot by Daniel Carter Brown; and
• Two Guys Fishing by Nick Boretz.

Directors include James Beck, Chris Brooks, Jason B. Caldwell, Tanya Carroll, Carolyn Choe, Kimberly Oberheu, Kevin Kincheloe, Bob Smith and Travis Young

For more details and reservations call 404-519-7591, or email jpbeck99@yahoo.com or visit www.onionmanproductions.com.

Kudzu Art Zone opens show featuring summer on June 4

A summer exhibit, "A Southern Summer-Feel the Heat," opens June 4 at Kudzu Art Zone in Norcross. Temperature can be conveyed as color, shape, even texture. The only limitation is the artist's imagination. The exhibit gives that Kudzu Art Zone membership an opportunity to portray their vision of heat in all its facets. The artworks reflect the vision using abstract to realist styles. Works are available for purchase by discerning collectors.

The new show is presented in the Kudzu Art Zone gallery at 116 Carlyle Street in historic downtown Norcross. An opening awards reception is Friday, June 4, 7-9 p.m. and the exhibit continues through Saturday, July 24. Gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. This juried show continues a tradition of sharing high quality, locally created artworks with the public.

Area artists and art patrons are encouraged to join this growing arts organization. Ongoing opportunities to exhibit art, enjoy instruction, or network with fellow artists are only some of the benefits of membership. For more information call 770-840-9844 or visit Kudzu Art Zone on the web at: http://www.kudzuartzone.org.

GGC to offer science-tech camp for middle, high students

Georgia Gwinnett College's School of Science and Technology is offering GGC Tech Camp, a hands-on, experience-based week of exposure to the computing future. Designed for middle- and high-school students, GGC Tech Camp participants will have a five-day schedule of demonstrations, laboratory exercises, discussion groups, and presentations. Camp week for middle school girls is June 7-11, and June 14-18 for middle school boys. High school students may attend a coed program the week of June 21-25.

Middle-school students also will build and program LEGO Mindstorms robots with sounds, motion, and sensors. High school students will create a video game with the Freely Available Networked Game engine in JavaWIDE, and develop animated stories and virtual worlds in Alice.

The program fee is $195, and financial aid is available for a limited number of students, based on free or reduced lunch status at school or parental unemployment. To register, visit http://hercules.ggc.edu/ggctechcamp/. There is a $10 non-refundable application fee. Qualified students are accepted until the camp program is full. The priority registration deadline is June 1. For more information contact Betty Wood at 678-407-5431.

Snellville to offer swimming lessons beginning June 7

The City of Snellville Parks and Recreation Department is currently registering for swim lessons. Persons may register at the T. W. Briscoe Park Office at 2500 Sawyer Parkway in Two week sessions are available for all ages, starting at six months.

Beginner lessons for all ages will last 30 minutes. Parent-assisted swim lessons for ages six months to three years are available. Classes will be held on Saturday mornings starting June 5 through July 31.

Lessons for Preschool Levels 1 and 2 and Levels 1 through 6 for all ages will start June 7 and continue through August 19. Levels 1, 2, and 3 have morning or evening classes available. Levels 4, 5, and 6 have evening classes only. These sessions will last 30 minutes and be held Monday through Thursday in two week sessions.

The fee is $60 per session for non-residents and $45 per session for city residents. For more information call the Park Office weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 770-985-3535 or visit www.snellville.org.

NOTABLE
Fats, oils, grease to power Gwinnett waste energy plant

Gwinnett County will soon offer restaurants and food processing facilities a disposal option for fats, oils and grease (FOG) after commissioners approved a $3 million construction contract recently. The County will use the waste materials to generate electricity.

A digester at the F.W. Hill Plant in Gwinnett.

Crowder Construction Company of Apex N.C. received the design-build contract that is funded entirely by stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy. The receiving station will be built in an existing structure at the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center near Buford. It will help produce methane gas that will be burned to drive a 2.1-megawatt generator.

The facility will provide an environmentally-friendly and stable disposal option for fats, oils and grease along with high strength waste (e.g., by-products from food processing companies) approved by the state. Disposal fees will be commercially competitive.

A sister project to recover waste heat from power generation started last year under a $5 million grant of stimulus funds from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. The County put up $500,000 and must pay back $2 million over 20 years at a two percent annual interest rate. Water Resources Deputy Director Ron Peters said the two projects will pay for themselves in energy savings over four to six years. The self-generated electricity will reduce annual operating costs at the Hill plant by about $800,000 a year.

The waste heat recovery unit of the power generation system will help warm the anaerobic sludge digesters that produce methane gas. Lynn Smarr, acting water resources director says: "The electricity generated by these projects could power 1,450 homes for a year and would equal the annual carbon sequestration of 2,588 acres of pine forest."

The generator that is currently under construction is scheduled for completion by February 2011 with completion of the FOG receiving facility by fall 2011. Gwinnett County will soon offer restaurants and food processing facilities a disposal option for fats, oils and grease (FOG) after commissioners approved a $3 million construction contract on Tuesday.

Students win Walton EMC Operation Round Up scholarships

More than a dozen local students will have a little easier time paying for college thanks to Walton Electric Membership Corporation's (EMC) Operation Round Up program. The charity recently recognized outstanding young people with Round Up scholarships totaling $58,750.

The scholarships are made possible through an endowment funded by unclaimed refunds from electric accounts. After unsuccessful attempts to find the owners of the refunds, Georgia law allows EMCs to use the money for community development projects. No regular Round Up donations are used to fund scholarships.

Winners from the Gwinnett area include Austin Smith, Jeffrey Rogers, Michelle Breaud, Ashley Stone, Michael Johnson, Hope Casey (Brookwood High School); Katelyn Hawk, Emily Guteirrez (George Walton Academy); Cheney Cohen (Loganville Christian Academy); Keon Reid, Joshua Joiner, Drew Kelly, Camille Beam (Grayson High School); Ya'Kera Floyd (Apalachee High School); Eric Newman, Matt Newman (Dacula High School); Mark Hadden (Parkview High School); Anna Taylor (Holy Innocents' Episcopal School) and Shelby Burgen (Loganville High School).

RECOMMENDED
Got a review on a book, restaurant?

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Man-made intracoastal channels need constant dredging

During the postbellum period, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the regular dredging of Georgia's inland waterway. Certain sections of the waterway, primarily those behind the barrier islands where the tides meet and cause shoaling (or dividings), require periodic dredging. Such examples are the Florida Passage-Bear River segment between Ossabaw Island and the Bryan County mainland, North Newport River west of St. Catherines Island, Buttermilk Sound northwest of St. Simons Island, and Jekyll Creek and the Cumberland Dividings.

The inland waterway on the Georgia coast also passes through two areas known as "narrows," with both areas exhibiting a tendency to shoal. Narrows along the inside route have posed problems for mariners since colonial times. Colonial surveyor William Gerard DeBrahm noted the presence of a narrows on a 1770 map of Amelia Island, which is located just south of Cumberland and is today part of Florida.

The narrows was indicated by a "pine tree-a mark to go through the Narrows . . . at this branch the Tides meet." At Skidaway Narrows south of Savannah and west of Skidaway Island, and at Creighton Narrows in McIntosh County between Creighton and Sapelo islands, dredging has been necessary since the early 1900s to keep the channel open.

These narrows are man-made channels. During the 19th century, steamboats approaching Savannah from the south were required to take a circuitous passage between Skidaway and Wassaw islands through Romerly Marsh, which was navigable only at high tide. Along the west side of Sapelo Island, vessels had to negotiate Mud River, a wide, shallow stream that, as its name implies, was navigable only at high tide. Steamboats frequently ran aground. To eliminate these navigational difficulties, the Corps of Engineers, with congressional appropriations, dredged cuts through the marsh at Skidaway Narrows in 1905 and Creighton Narrows in 1908.

• Click here to access the Georgia Encyclopedia

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© 2010, 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
Why sometimes repairmen are entirely unnecessary

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."

-- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001).

MODERN HISTORY OF GWINNETT

If you have delayed ordering the history of Gwinnett published in 2009, there are only two copies left. Most fast to secure your copy of Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta. Call 770 840 1003 to reserve your copy!

Hurry. No second printing is anticipated. Get this local bestseller before the supply is exhausted!

Go to http://www.elliottbrack.com/ to order, or buy the book at a local bookstore shown on the site.

The books are available at:

• Books for Less in downtown Snellville and Lawrenceville (Highway 20 near the Braves park);
• Labaire Pottery, downtown Norcross

MORE EEB PERSPECTIVE

	7/6: On classic movies
	7/2: Malcolm Gwinnett
	6/29: State legislative picks
	6/25: Statewide candidate picks
	6/22: Congressional endorsements
	6/18: Voters get big changes
	6/15: Do rigid candidates listen?
	6/11: Interviewing candidates
	6/8: Westmorelands' legacy
	6/4: Parade for Guard unit
	6/2: California voting proposition
	5/28: Web site on Vietnam casualties
	5/25: Forum to make endorsements
	5/21: Rogers not in Hall?
	5/18: Metro media not mainstream
	5/14: Fire ants to whoppers
	5/11: New park, library
	5/7: New interchanges
	5/4: Governor's race
	EEB index of columns

MORE RECENT COMMENTARY

	7/6: Callina: Vacation rentals
	7/2: Williams: Gwinnett Place
	6/18: Olson: Korean pottery
	6/15: Nelson: Enviro Center
	6/11: Sherman: Far East mission
	6/8: A. Brack: BetterGulf.org site
	6/4: Sorenson: Waste plan to start
	6/2: Fincher: GACS-Rwanda ties
	5/28: Enright: Preventing foreclosures
	5/25: DeCarlo: Animal reforms
	5/21: DeVos: Pleasant Hill Rd.
	5/18: Methodist Society mission
	5/14: Herndon: 5 to be inducted
	5/11: Jones: Civil War reflections
	5/7: Pattie: Spring allergies
	5/4: Olson: Hudgens' contest
	COMMENTARY INDEX

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 770-497-1888, or email to info@gwinnettforum.com.

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.

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