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Issue 11.65 | Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 TODAY'S FOCUS ELLIOTT
BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE FEEDBACK UPCOMING
NOTABLE ALSO INSIDE IN
THE SPOTLIGHT GEORGIA
TIDBIT LAGNIAPPE GWINNETT
CALENDAR TODAY'S
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TODAY'S FOCUS ATLANTA, Ga., Nov. 11, 2011 -- The Center for an Educated Georgia recently released a report Real Reforms, Real Results - Florida's Kids Outperform Georgia's Kids: Can We Turn the Tide?
After decades as a world leader in academic achievement, American children have fallen behind many developed nations. Georgia ranks near the bottom nationally in most measures of K-12 academic achievement. In the past, students in Georgia outperformed students in Florida on an important national benchmark for learning progress (the NAEP Fourth grade reading test). Florida enacted its A+ Reform Plan in 1999, combining accountability, transparency, and parental choice with other far-reaching changes. Now Florida's students outperform Georgia's students. Even more significant, its low-income and minority students have made striking improvements. The report details steps Georgia lawmakers and the Department of Education can take to drastically improve the quality of education in our state by following Florida's example. Important
first steps include:
The report also shows that Florida's reforms have increased the number of high-performing low-income and minority students. At Georgia Family Council's Center for an Educated Georgia, we believe education in Georgia must be reformed, and it must be reformed now to create a brighter future for our children that includes stable jobs, strong families, and the tools needed to face and overcome challenges. The report was commissioned by the Center for an Educated Georgia and written by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D., senior advisor of policy and research at the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
About the Center for an Educated Georgia The Center for an Educated Georgia is a research, education, and grassroots organization working to ensure that all Georgia students receive a quality education. CEG is a division of the nonprofit organization, the Georgia Family Council. Created in 2008, CEG is the only state-based organization that works on a broad spectrum of education choice and reform issues with the goal of improving K-12 education quality and access in Georgia. For more information, please see http://www.educatedgeorgia.org/. ANOTHER FOCUS
NORCROSS, Ga., Nov. 11, 2011 -- My husband's high school choir group was asked to reunite this year to sing on October 16 as part of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of Oak Grove United Methodist Church, which is located in northeastern DeKalb County, about 10 miles from Norcross. Their group practiced on the Saturday afternoon before, and enjoyed barbecue together on Saturday evening.
At the barbecue I talked to one of the choir members, who now lives in Chicago, and we exchanged details on our backgrounds. He spoke of being an event planner in Chicago, and I talked about my job as the Welcome Center coordinator for the City of Norcross. I told him how much I have enjoyed putting together the various art and historical exhibits we have brought to the community. He told me about working on events for Oprah Winfrey. But he also told of handling the decorating and planning for President Obama's inauguration party and 50th birthday party. After a few more pleasantries, he popped a question: "I have a decorating assignment that I think you could help me with. Would you like to go to Washington, D.C. for a week to be part of the team that will be decorating the White House for Christmas this year?" It was as simple as that! At first, my jaw dropped and I didn't think that he was serious. But, as we talked, he assured me that he was indeed serious, and gave me all of his contact information. Since then I have been contacted by his agency to give them my personal information needed for a security background check. I've started planning for the trip. It is now only a few weeks until I leave! I am beyond excited about this honor! I realize that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the White House from the inside. I look forward to being surrounded by all of the history. I remember seeing a story on Good Morning America a few years ago where Laura Bush showed the various rooms that had been decorated with massive trees and gorgeous ornaments. I was struck by the grandeur of the rooms. The thought that I am going to be standing (and working) in those very rooms seems surreal. I was told that on our last afternoon the First Lady throws the volunteers a reception. There, possibly, I will be able to catch a glimpse of the president. As each
day passes, I become more acutely aware of what a wonderful opportunity
this is for me. EEB PERSPECTIVE NOV. 11, 2011 -- Congratulations all around to those of you who were instrumental in casting a winning ballot on Wednesday.
In particular, hats off to the new mayor of Snellville, Kelly Kautz; Suwanee, Jimmy Burnette; and Lilburn, Johnny Crist. Now that you three are elected, the real hard work begins of trying to balance your city's budgets. And you thought getting elected was difficult? Congratulations are in order for the group that backed the Peachtree Corners vote for cityhood, the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association. However, we suspect that this group originally thought that passage would be much easier than it was. The vote for cityhood was much closer than most suspected, 57-43 percent. The organized "No" crowd did a good job in putting forth their ideas. Just take a look at the map showing which areas voted for cityhood, and you can see that primarily the traditional Peachtree Corners area between Peachtree Parkway and the Chattahoochee River carried the day. The areas not thought of as being in Peachtree Corners (the areas in blue) were against being included within the city. Most of the blue area is what was originally surprisingly included in the Peachtree Corners Overlay District. Another surprising element in Tuesday's election was how close the idea of Norcross annexation was. The part east of the city (toward Interstate 85) passed at first what looked like one vote, 83-82. But when absentee ballots were counted, the vote 88-82, as all five absentees were for the measure. As for
the major item on the overall Gwinnett County ballot, the E-SPLOST, it
won the day, but by the closest vote ever, roughly 60-40 percent. (Actual
Yes vote: 60.42 percent). In 2006, the E-SPLOST had passed the county
with 66.35 percent. Here's a map of the E-SPLOST vote in the county:
On the matter of an area being incorporated as a city, it seems reasonable that on such far-reaching measures, these proposals should require a "super majority," say 60 percent. As the law is now written, any incorporation only requires at least 50.1 percent of the people in an area could approve such a measure. On a matter so serious as incorporation, a simple majority of the vote seems not strong enough for a change of this magnitude, hence the idea of the super majority. Then on the Norcross annexation question, the state law is woefully silent on another aspect: it seems only a simple majority of the area to be incorporated is needed. However, citizens of the town into which the area would be incorporated in effect do not have a vote on the question. It would seem far more fair if both the area under question for being included in the city, and the citizens of the city itself, had a say in the matter. After all, the area being brought into the city could seriously alter the budget of the city and can also change the direction the enlarged city is going. Granted, some will point out that this power whether to include portions of land to be included in a city is a matter best decided by the elected City Council. We would argue that such a substantial change, like Sunday alcohol sales, or package store sales, ought to be decided by those registered to vote in the city. It's like our Congress: both houses have to approve a measure. Both those in, and outside the city, should have a voice in wide-scale annexations. ABOUT OUR SPONSORS FEEDBACK Editor, the Forum: Thanks for the question! Voting today (yuh, just one measure on my ballot, SPLOST, that's a waste of money, maybe ONLINE voting?) there was again nobody in line at 8:30 a.m.
It irks me that many of these absentee ballots are from currently serving military servicepersons that might not be actually counted! I was a Voting Officer more times than I care to remember, encouraging and helping unit members request absentee ballots in preparation for local elections "back home," only to realize in later years how many of these are "disqualified" for stupid reasons (no postage from APOs?) It doesn't take that much government manpower to operate early voting in this county or any other, especially based on current turnout. Now we need to focus on encouraging turnout, that's the bigger issue.
You must get out and vote in any type of weather Editor, the Forum: A modern "patriot" said recently, "I will do anything to protect my freedom but the weather outside is frightful." I guess I don't have a lot of major problems with the practice of Early Voting in our Presidential General Elections. Every four years I usually go into the voting booth and do my duty before the big day comes around. Having said the above, it hit me as sad when I heard a radio commentator talk about Early Voting before the 2008 Presidential Election. He gave as a reason for voting early the fact that it might be raining on Election Day. What kind of country would we have today if any number of great patriots and lovers of freedom had stayed home and not done what they did when they did it because it happened to be raining that day?
Feels USA is halfway to anarchy and revolution Editor, the Forum: In the Middle Ages, kings provided food, clothing and shelter to the serfs in exchange for labor around the kingdom. Plantation owners provided food, clothing and shelter for slaves in exchange for work on the plantation. Ivan Pavlov trained his dogs to react favorably to commands by providing them with food and shelter. The organ grinder's monkey doffs its hat and poses in response to the owner providing treats. Politicians have taken that technique to a new level of perfection. Modern practitioners of the art not only train their constituents to vote the way most beneficial to the trainer, but also to pay vast sums of money to get the politician the job of controller in the first place. It seems strange to spend $100,000,000 for a job that only pays $400,000 annually. Of course the trainer did not have to spend his money, his supplicants donated the amount. There just has to be an exchange of favors hidden somewhere in the politician and donors' agendas. We can assume that becoming ultra-wealthy while in office is one of the exchange benefits. Today the method of training is called voting for entitlements; food stamps, education vouchers, subsidized housing, extended unemployment benefits, and others, enough to cause the recipient of those goodies to vote the way their trainers dictate. When the takers fail to comply with their providers demands, they face impoverishment. The Democrats have become masters of mind-control psychology. When perusing ancient history it's easy to see that when dependents become too demanding and their wants are not satisfied, first there are sit-ins, then protest marches, then rioting and anarchy and then revolutions. I would guess we're about half-way there.
Feels E-SPLOST is blank check to build school palaces Editor, the Forum: I must comment on the recent E-SPLOST passage. We, as taxpayers, continue to give our school officials a blank check to build palaces in lieu of buildings dedicated to learning. We should not be in a contest to see who can build the nicest facilities. Schools can be built that are functional and decor appropriate without the extremes I am seeing in recently opened buildings. Now, after all these fancy buildings are built, we who pay property taxes will pay the extra utility and upkeep bills which they create. Also, my understanding is that the school officials can now go out and borrow millions of dollars and pay interest on this money instead of using the funds from taxes as they come in.
UPCOMING Christmas
Canteen 2011 is Aurora Theatre's original annual holiday musical extravaganza.
This living Christmas card overflows with nostalgic music that will evoke
warm holiday memories for the 16th consecutive year. Gwinnett County's
longest running theatrical holiday tradition combines the sentimentality
of a television variety special with the high energy of a USO show.
The opening
of Gwinnett County's only cold-weather emergency shelter for homeless
women and children has been delayed. Carol Love Karpf, SaltLight Center
director, said a lack of volunteers to stay overnight caused the delay
from a scheduled Monday opening. About 60 people have attended two sessions.
More training sessions are slated. SaltLight
will serve single women and women with children when it launches services
as part of Family Promise of Gwinnett County, an Interfaith Hospitality
Network of 30 local congregations that provide shelter and support services
for homeless families in Gwinnett. It is part of a national network that
includes 171 affiliates in 41 states. Two workshops set Nov. 15-16 on Social Security Duluth's Terry Swaim is providing a workshop to educate baby boomers on Social Security planning. He is a registered representative, INVEST Financial Corp. The workshop will be both Tuesday and Wednesday, November 15-16, at Gwinnett Community Bank in Duluth at noon. To help people better understand the Social Security system, this workshop will cover five factors to consider when deciding to apply for benefits. The educational workshop is entitled "Savvy Social Security Planning: What Baby Boomers Need to Know to Maximize Retirement Income." Individuals may RSVP to Amanda Jackson at 678-473-6741. NOTABLE A new venture,
The Little Shop Of Arts And Antiques, will mark its Grand Opening November
16 in Lawrenceville. Ribbon cutting begins at 11 a.m. at 162 Crogan Street. The greenway was one of the primary goals of the Gwinnett County Open Space and Greenways Master Plan completed in 2002 to increase connectivity via a system of greenway trails and reduce environmental impacts of development. In addition to the mile and a quarter built at George Pierce Park, there is an additional 2.7 miles of the Ivy Creek Greenway that runs from the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center to the Mall of Georgia area. The next phase of Ivy Creek Greenway construction will begin next year, extending the trail from the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center through the woods at the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center towards I-985. Eventually the trails will link, for a total length of seven miles. RECOMMENDED
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Rice, Georgia's first staple crop, was the most important commercial agricultural commodity in the Lowcountry from the middle of the 18th century until the early 20th century. Rice arrived in America with European and African migrants as part of the so-called Columbian Exchange of plants, animals, and germs. Over time, profits from the production and sale of the cereal formed the basis of many great fortunes in coastal Georgia.
During the first decades of serious rice production in Georgia, rice was grown both in inland freshwater swamps in the coastal counties and along the colony's principal tidal rivers. By the mid-1760s migrant South Carolinians and Georgians alike were operating sizable (and profitable) rice plantations not only along the Savannah River but also along the Ogeechee, the Altamaha, and the Satilla. These four rivers, along with the St. Marys, where rice cultivation developed a bit later, were to constitute the principal "rice rivers" over the course of the entire history of rice cultivation in Georgia. Some rice was also grown in other parts of Georgia in later periods, particularly in the decades after the Civil War (1861-65), though the "tidal zones" of these five rivers became synonymous with the cultivation of rice.
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TODAY'S QUOTE "If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That's the lesson. That lesson alone, will save you a lot of grief. Even doubt means don't."
MORE COPIES
Two versions of the
book will be available. The hardback edition will be People placing an
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Veteran's Day Ceremony, at Fallen Heroes Memorial, Gwinnett County Courthouse, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. This event will pay tribute to Gwinnett veterans and Fallen Heroes. Speaker will be Dr. Dan Kaufman, a retired Army brigadier general, and now president of Georgia Gwinnett College. The ceremony will be shown on TVGwinnett at 7:30 p.m. and this will also be available on the Gwinnett County website. Ethical Program, Sierra Club of Gwinnett: 7 p.m., Nov. 11, Berkmar High School. Speaking will be Katie Preston of Interfaith Light and Power focusing on the ethics and moral obligation of environmental preservation. Concert To Honor Veterans, by the Stone Mountain Barbershoppers, at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center. Times: 8:30 p.m., Nov. 11; and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Nov. 12. The program features musical selections that bring back memories of "Route 66." For more details, visit online. (NEW) New Exhibit, "Lateral Thinking," is up now through Jan.14 at Kudzu Art Zone, 116 Carlyle Street in Norcross. Admission is free. Artists were challenged to construct images from a list of unrelated objects to explore their reaction to disparate items. (NEW) "Still Life," an exhibit of the work of the last year of David Gentry, opens Nov. 12 at the Pinckneyville Park Community Recreation Center, 4650 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. His work includes memory snapshots in ceramics, metalwork, painting, drawing and photography. A reception will be held Dec. 1 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more info, visit www.gwinnettparks.com. (NEW) America Recycles Day: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 12, Recycling Bank of Gwinnett, 4300 Satellite Boulevard. Residents can drop off 60 different types of recyclables Sensitive documents can also be shredded for no cost at the event. Visit www.gwinnettcb.org for a listing of recyclables and other locations. Harvest Homecoming Dance: 7 p.m., Nov. 12, Racquet Club of the South. To benefit the Norcross Cluster School Partnership. Tickets are $40. Order online at www.norcrosscsp.org. Fourth Annual LaJazz: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Nov. 13 at Footprints Cafe in Lawrenceville and the same time Nov. 20 at Purple Rain in Duluth. Both events benefit Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Gwinnett Pearls of Service Foundation. More info. General Meeting, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Nov. 16, at 11:30 a.m. at the 1818 Club, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway. Speaker will be David Ralston, speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. Info: 678-957-4958. Program on Confederate Generals: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 21, in the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse Speaker: Robert Jones, president of Kennesaw Historic Society. His topic will focus on the best and worst Confederate generals. Colored Pencil Odyssey exhibition of six artists: Now through Nov. 25, St. Edward's Episcopal Church, 737 Moon Road in Lawrenceville. These 24 drawings are from members of the Atlanta chapter of the Colored Pencil Society. The gallery is free to the public, with viewing hours 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 770-963-6128.
© 2001-2011, 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 |
Out
of this election, here are two different thoughts, which if proved viable,
would require state legislation.
The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's underwriter is The IMPACT! Group,
a full-service housing assistance agency based in Lawrenceville. The IMPACT!
Group provides a range of housing assistance services, including foreclosure
prevention, homebuyer education, financial education, and transitional
housing to the residents of Gwinnett County and greater Atlanta. In the
past year alone, the agency operated over 60 percent of the transitional
housing units available to homeless families in Gwinnett and provided
over 5,000 of your neighbors with housing counseling and education. Awarded
the 2009 D. Scott Hudgens Humanitarian Award by the Gwinnett Chamber of
Commerce, The IMPACT! Group is able to provide all of its services in
both English and Spanish. If you or a loved one are facing a home foreclosure
or are looking to access down payment assistance to buy a home, The IMPACT!
Group may be able to help. All IMPACT! housing counselors are HUD-certified
and all homeowner counseling sessions are kept confidential. Visit their
Web site at: 
Early
voting is good because absentee ballots are many times "disqualified"
due to stray marks, no marks, wrong marks, etc. You can't disqualify a
live person unless they are not entitled to vote to begin with! 
New
this year, part of the show is in homage to the proud tradition of country
music and the Grand Ole Opry. For the 8th year, Aurora Theatre in support
of the United States Marine Corps and their annual Toys for Tots drive,
hosts our Festival of Trees. For the fifth year, there are nearly 30 trees
decorating the halls of Aurora Theatre, ranging from the whimsically clever
to the breathtakingly spectacular. In addition to toys, patrons are encouraged
to contribute food that will be donated to the local food banks through
the Holtkamp Can Challenge. Cast a vote for your favorite tree with a
new unwrapped toy or a non-perishable food item to help ensure that everyone
has a great holiday season.
This
is a vintage gift shop with a twist, as it hosts regular writing classes,
book signings, art openings, a monthly book club meeting, open microphone
nights for writers, and is the home of The Gwinnett County Writers Guild.
Here you will find an eclectic assortment of treasures that include vintage
western wear, cowboy boots, vintage white lacy dresses, sparkling evening
wear, silver-plate, one-of-a-kind jewelry creations, and vintage and modern
art. Weekend events are scheduled throughout each month. The shop moved
from Old Town Lilburn to historic downtown Lawrenceville on October l.
"I
loved Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank. I laughed out loud
often. Here the two sisters say:
