NEW SUBSTATION: The City of Suwanee now has a state-of-the-art police substation east of Interstate 85, at 2966 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, which will also be a training center. The new 7,100 square foot facility, which cost $1.99 million, opened last week. The building was designed by Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh and Associates, and built by Hogan Construction.

Issue 12.44 | Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012

TODAY'S FOCUS
:: Lilburnite promoted with Public Health

ELLIOTT BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE
:: More benefits of living in U.S.

FEEDBACK
:: Education, vision, charter schools

UPCOMING
:: Arts campaign, Norcross clean-up

NOTABLE
:: Evermre activities, Brooks sworn in

ALSO INSIDE

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
:: GA-PCOM

GEORGIA TIDBIT
:: Morris Museum of Art

LAGNIAPPE
:: County fair continues

GWINNETT CALENDAR
:: Lots of events on tap

TODAY'S QUOTE
:: Shortest distance between two

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TODAY'S FOCUS
Lilburnite promoted to rear admiral with U.S. Public Health
Special to GwinnettForum

LILBURN, Ga., Sept. 18, 2012 -- Dr. David Ashley, a resident of Lilburn for more than 30 years, has been recognized by the U.S. Public Health Service by being promoted to Rear Admiral, Lower Half-which also carries the rank of Assistant Surgeon General. Effective August 17, the announcement included promotion of 19 officers of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service to Rear Admiral, bringing to 30 the number of Assistant Surgeon Generals in the Public Health Service.

Ashley

Dr. Ashley is the director, Office of Science at the Center for Tobacco Products with the Food and Drug Administration in Atlanta. He has held this position for two years and, with this promotion, will continue to serve in this position. Prior to working for the FDA, Rear Admiral Ashley worked for over 27 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the National Center for Environmental Health.

He has previously been recognized for his work with tobacco regulation and the importance of this work to the health of the country. The laws giving the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco were passed in May, 2009. Dr. Ashley became the director in the Office of Science in the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) in June, 2010.

The Office of Science at CTP is responsible for identifying, developing, and enhancing the science related to tobacco products, their use, and resulting morbidity and mortality so that regulatory decisions will have the greatest impact on improving public health.

To accomplish this goal they provide the scientific support for regulations and guidance, review tobacco product applications, evaluate the knowledge basis for regulatory decisions, and carry out research to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge related to tobacco product regulation.

Dr. Ashley was born in Macon, Georgia, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He received his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry from Emory University in 1982. Before taking on his current position at FDA, Dr. Ashley worked at the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starting in 1983. At CDC, Dr. Ashley directed a branch of 87 scientists with a diverse public health mission including biomarkers of heavy metals, of volatile organic compounds, and of tobacco use. Additional research included analysis of chemical constituents of tobacco products.

He has performed extensive research related to the impact of cigarette design and contents on the emissions from tobacco products, how people use the product and resulting biomarkers of exposure. He has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters related to biophysics, environmental chemicals, biomarkers of exposure and the constituents of tobacco and tobacco smoke. He was a contributing author for the recent Surgeon General's Report entitled How Tobacco Causes Disease-
the Biology and Behavioral Basis for Tobacco-Attributable Disease. He has presented extensively at scientific meetings on the chemistry of tobacco and tobacco smoke and biomarkers of exposure.

Dr. Ashley serves on the World Health Organization (WHO) Study Group for Tobacco Product Regulation and was the Chair of the WHO Tobacco Laboratory Network from 2006 until 2010.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Do we recognize the quiet we have living here?
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com

SEPT. 18, 2012 -- A recent trip to Europe caused me to do some different thinking, including understanding a new appreciation of how lucky we are to be living in the United States of America.

Brack

Over the years, we've been privileged to live overseas for 3.5 years, and to visit many countries in Europe, Asia and South and Central America. Yet this time we came back with a new understanding of life in America.

Granted, we enjoy many benefits from living in the USA; many freedoms other nationalities don't enjoy. But let's think in a new way. Perhaps this doesn't apply to you. But do you realize how very quiet it is for many of us living in Gwinnett?

On any afternoon or night, sitting on a bench in our front yard, there is an eerie quiet and calmness of life in suburbia, in this particular case, in Norcross. Granted, through the trees I can barely hear the very quiet murmur of cars on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, perhaps a half mile or more away. From time to time, perhaps every 30 minutes, an airplane might take off or land at Peachtree DeKalb Airport, relatively quietly whining over our house.

But all in all, for the most part, it's quiet even when in the yard. Then, when going to sleep inside the house, you barely hear anything at all. Sometimes, if we listen closely, we can hear it raining, or hear the wind blowing if a storm is brewing, or hear the satisfying sound of a distant train. But mostly, and nearly all the time, it's quiet.

Now add in another element: many more Americans are living in cities than every before. And more and more people are in apartments or condos. Yet at least in some cities, in suburbia, and in the rural areas, many Americans live in individual homes. Some live in mega mansions, of course, but for the most part, the homes are modest two-or-three bedroom houses on individual lots.

Is this unusual? Yessiree, particularly compared to where most of the people of developed nations live, in cities, where the highest density and most people live close to one another in flats, apartments and condos. In our most populated areas, no matter what the continent (including the USA), a higher and higher percent live in the cities, and not in single family housing, we suggest.

Do you realize and appreciate the benefits we have in the United States by living as most people do in Gwinnett in quiet areas, and in individual homes?

There's a certain calmness and contentment in living this way. There is privacy, and even some isolation from everyday life in such situations. Of course, there is often also grass to cut, garbage to wheel to the curb, and leaky pipes to fix, and taxes to pay…..in our method of living. But isn't it wonderful? Not enough of us really appreciate it.

All this came to our mind when hearing heavy street traffic at night in Madrid recently. There were also loud voices of people walking down a street at all hours of the night. And there was the understanding that many Spaniards, and people of other nations, who routinely live in areas sometimes not larger than our garages. One told me: "That's why we go out to eat so much, and enjoy our parks so thoroughly." Makes sense.

Granted, our lives in the USA have problems. But most of us never recognize how lucky we are to be living in Gwinnett County (or Salt Lake City or other great places) in the calm and quiet of our individual homes.

SPOTLIGHT
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Professional healthcare programs leading to doctorate degrees in Pharmacy and Osteopathic Medicine are offered at Georgia Campus - Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee, Ga. Graduate degrees at the master's level are offered in Organizational Development and Leadership and Biomedical Sciences. In addition, GA-PCOM has partnered with Brenau University in Gainesville (Ga.) to offer a five-year Physician Assistant degree, as well as an optional MBA with a healthcare focus for DO and PharmD candidates. An additional cohort for the PA degree is being developed at Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga. Information about these program offerings is available at 678-225-7500 or www.pcom.edu.

• For a list of other underwriters of this forum, click here.

FEEDBACK
Suggests graduate medical education residencies for list

Editor, the Forum:

In reading your GwinnettForum.com posting last week about Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett County, may I be so bold as to recommend an addition to your list -- the creation of graduate medical education residencies in Gwinnett County. Great strides are being made in collaboration with multiple partners. Keeping this significant issue at the forefront of our community's broad agenda will prove most beneficial to efforts ensuring that Georgia's medical school graduates from all of our medical colleges remain here in our community/ state to practice.

-- Bryan Ginn, chief campus officer, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Is your child "vision ready" for the school year?

Editor, the Forum:

Is your child "Vision Ready" for school?

Since about 80 percent of learning in a child's first 12 years is through vision, it is important to ensure that school-age children can see properly. Prevent Blindness America and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend annual vision screenings for children ages three through six, with follow-ups throughout the school years. We encourage parents to take their child to an eye doctor for an eye exam by age four or before he enters school.

Five percent of preschool children have significant visual impairment. Many of these children will develop amblyopia or "lazy eye" blindness if their conditions are not diagnosed and treated early.

Childhood vision issues are not always apparent because children learn to compensate for their vision loss as they develop. If a child rubs her eyes often, loses or covers one eye to see, squints more than usual, or turns her head to the side to watch TV, she may have a vision issue. Visit www.pbga.org to learn more.

-- Jenny Pomeroy, Atlanta, CEO, Prevent Blindness Georgia

Charter school question removes local school board authority

Editor, the Forum:

In the next election, Georgians will have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment concerning Charter Schools. Charter Schools can be a good thing as children trapped in failing public schools can benefit from them. However, a constitutional amendment is not needed to establish Charter Schools since a mechanism for establishing them already exists. Many Charter Schools are already operating.

Several aspects of this constitutional amendment run counter to many peoples' core beliefs about government, including the following:

1) If local government can adequately provide a service, the decision about it should be left at the local level. This amendment will make it possible for Charter School applicants who have been disapproved by the local board of education to obtain approval from a new state charter commission and to also obtain both state and local funding, despite the local boards' turn down of the initial application. Currently, if the local board of education turns down an application, the decision can be appealed to the State Board of Education; however, this will not continue to be the procedure if this amendment passes. This arrangement is a state "power grab" that will assist rejected applicants in doing an "end run" around local boards' proper authority to approve and fund local educational endeavors.

2) People should have an opportunity to elect officials who govern. This amendment takes the governance away from the locally elected officials and gives it to an appointed state commission.

3) Government should be limited. This amendment creates a new bureaucracy appointed by politicians in the form of a state commission to administer Charter Schools. (I wonder what this will cost.)

4) A world class public education should be provided every student in Georgia. Funding for public education (K -12) has been reduced over the past eight years by $5.7 billion. If Georgia cannot adequately fund the current public education program, how is the state going to finance a whole new system of Charter Schools administered by a new bureaucracy that is in addition to it current system of education?

For these reasons, this constitutional amendment should be defeated and that legislators and the governor who have aggressively promoted this amendment should be carefully evaluated in terms of their core beliefs about the appropriate function of government and their commitment to the support of public education before they are re-elected to office.

-- J. Paul Copeland, Johns Creek

(Editor's Note: Mr. Copeland is a retired educator with 31 years experience as a Teacher, Principal, and Assistant Superintendent.-eeb)

• We welcome your letters and thoughts. Our policy: We encourage readers to submit feedback (or letters to the editor). Send your thoughts to the editor at elliott@brack.net. We will edit for length and clarity. Make sure to include your name and the city where you live. Submission of a comment grants permission for us to reprint. Please keep your comments to 300 words or less. However, we will consider longer articles (no more than 500 words) for featuring in Today's Focus as space allows.
  

UPCOMING
"Atlanta Art Lives Here" launched at the Hudgens Center

Launched in Duluth at the Hudgens Center recently was the second campaign entitled, "Atlanta Art Lives Here," a marketing collaboration to raise awareness of the region's robust arts and culture offerings, and its important role in the local economy and community. Some 25 Metro Atlanta arts organizations are participating.

Some of billboards and advertisements in the campaign feature a photo by Richard Calmes featuring Suwanee Performing Arts dancer, North Gwinnett High graduate and Georgia Tech freshman Christina Leamon performing at Barefoot in the Park Festival in Duluth.

"Atlanta Art Lives Here" launched in 2011 with 15 organizations in response to unique challenges facing the arts industry in the region, including limited public funding compared to other states. The campaign is organized by www.AtlantaPlanIt.com, a service of Public Broadcasting Atlanta. Participating organizations contributed more than $20,000 in cash or in-kind support for this campaign, increasing the reach of the advertising and amplifying its presence in the community to more than double that of last year.

The arts have a significant impact on the overall well-being of the ten-county Atlanta region. According to Americans for the Arts and Atlanta Regional Commission's 2011 research, the arts in our region generated approximately $500 million in revenue and account for more than 63,000 jobs.

Participating Organizations: Alliance Theatre, Arts at Emory, Arts at GSU, ArtWorks! Gwinnett, Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta Chamber Players, The Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Radio Theatre Company, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, The Celtic Company, Center for Puppetry Arts, Emory Center for Ethics, Ferst Center Presents, Flux Projects, The Georgia Ballet, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare, GSU Center for Collaborative & International Arts (CENCIA), Georgia State University School of Music, Horizon Theatre Company, Hudgens Center for the Arts, Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University, Roswell Presents, Underground Atlanta.

Norcross schedules Clean-Up and Recycling Day for Sept. 29

September 29 is the date for the fall "Neighborhood Clean-Up and Recycling Day" in Norcross, one of the city's two annual Clean-up and Recycling Events. It is also part of its "CAN" Do for Hunger food drive effort. Environmentally-minded people from all over metro Atlanta regularly attend this event and have compiled as much as 10,561 pounds of shredded paper (equal to saving 90 trees), around 9,000 pounds of recyclable electronics and almost 13 tons of trash and debris in a single event.

On the day, American Security Shredding will be at City Hall from 9 a.m. until noon (or until truck is full) collecting up to five medium size boxes per vehicle. Electronics Recycling offers the opportunity to properly dispose of old cell phones, computers and keyboards at the Norcross Community Center.

Those participating in the event are asked to bring canned or non-perishable goods to support the 2012 "CAN" Do for Hunger Campaign.

City of Norcross residents have the additional ability to use the city dumpsters for disposal of large and unrecyclable items. The dumpsters are located at the Norcross Public Works facility at 345 Lively Street, and will be accessible for free between 8am and 3pm.

Community recycling and clean-up events are an important part of Norcross' efforts to minimize impact on the local environment. In 2011, the city earned a Certified Gold Level award as a "Green Community," recognition by the Atlanta Regional Commission for excellence in environmental protection and sustainability practices.

For complete info including costs, locations and what materials will be allowed at Norcross' Recycling and Clean Up Day event, visit www.norcrossga.net and on the Code Enforcement page under "resources" view the flyers. Or contact Philomena Robertson, Norcross Code Enforcement Supervisor, at 770-448-7327 or probertson@norcrossga.net.

NOTABLE
Evermore CID lists major activity along U.S. Highway 78

Evermore Community Improvement District (CID) last week released 10 "good news" items happening along the U.S. Highway 78 corridor in Gwinnett County. Director Jim Brooks says that these items include:

Jim Brooks

1. The relocation and renovation for the Toyota, Scion dealership at U.S. Highway 78 and Ross Road is complete. The renovation cost exceeded $2.8 million.

2. Burlington Coat Factory opens it's newest concept store on September 22 in a newly remodeled 65,000 square foot space, (formerly a Publix Store) at U.S. Highway 78 and Killian Hill Road. This business required a new median break from the eastbound lane of U.S. 78, which is nearing completion.

3. A new Hyundai dealership will be located at Ross Road and U.S. 78, in the former Baranco dealership.

4. The Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery opened August 29at McGee and Cambridge Roads in Snellville. This store is the second store of its kind in Georgia.

5. The entirely new LA Fitness building, at 65,000 square feet, at the former Kroger building in East Park Place, is currently underway and should be completed before the end of the year. In addition to the added square footage, and a new building, developers are revitalizing the entire shopping center, adding new façade, resurfacing parking areas and adding improved lighting to enhance the overall design of a an out dated strip center.

6. Big Lots has moved into a vacant Staples location in the Stone Mountain Square Shopping Center.

7. The former Harley Davidson location at U.S>Highway 78 and Ross Road has been sold and a new national auto franchise will be locating in that facility soon.

8. The right-of-way acquisition has begun on the Walton Court Realignment Project. This phase of the project should be completed by the end of the year.

9. Hewatt to Britt parallel road project is in the final stages of the Environmental Assessment.

10. The Britt to Highpoint Road to Old U.S. 78 project is about to receive funding for the connection from Britt to Highpoint. In a letter received last week from the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Evermore (CID) was awarded $500,000 in LMIG (Local Maintenance Improvement Grant) funds.

SurgiTech students win merit award from national group

Gwinnett Technical College (GTC) has received the annual Merit Award from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) for achieving a 100 percent graduate pass rate on the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) examination for the most recent examination cycle.

T.C. Parker, Surgical Technology program director, Gwinnett Tech, says: "We are so proud of our students and graduates, as well as the instructors who contributed to their success, and prouder still to have so many Gwinnett Tech CSTs at work in our area hospitals and facilities providing exceptional care to their patients."

Gwinnett Tech's surgical technology students consistently score above the national average on the CST examination, with the college's pass rate among first-time exam takers consistently at 90 percent or higher. For the three-year period from 2009 - 2012, Gwinnett Tech's pass rate for all surgical technology students taking the CST examination was 92 percent, according to the NBSTSA.

Gwinnett Tech has long offered a diploma in Surgical Technology, which takes about a year to complete. The college was just approved to now offer an associate degree in Surgical Technology, a two-year program.

Jace Brooks takes office as newest county commissioner

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has a new member, as Jace Brooks, pictured on the left, was sworn in as District 1 commissioner on Monday by Probate Court Judge Jim Clarke, pictured on the right. Brooks will attend his first commission meeting Tuesday.

Brooks was the only candidate to qualify for the special election in November to fill the rest of Shirley Lasseter's term and he has no opposition in the general election to begin a full four-year term in January. Brooks and his wife, Kirste, have twin 11 year olds. His wife is a math teacher in Gwinnett County Public Schools.

RECOMMENDED
Newspaper Titan:
The Infamous Life and Monumental Times of Cissy Patterson
By Amanda Smith

"Every now and then you run across a book that really surprises you. That's this book, telling much more than just the story of the publisher of the Washington TimesHerald just before and after World War II. Granted, it goes into great detail, sometimes too much detail it seems, into the early life, and then the ramifications after her death, of Eleanor Medill (Sissy) Patterson Gizycka Schlesinger (1881-1948). Though the purpose of the book is to chronicle Sissy, where the particularly interesting passages come are also in the life of Chicago and Washington society, and the no-holds barred way Sissy, as publisher, glorified people she liked, and skewered those she did not. She faced many libel suits. Meanwhile, we get glimpses of her son-in-law, Columnist Drew Pearson, himself a questionable figure, and many well-known politicos and social figures. Author Amanda Smith, who edited the letters of Joseph P. Kennedy, has done a superb job." ---eeb

• 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
Morris Museum of Art in Augusta dedicated to art of the South

The Morris Museum of Art opened in 1992 as the first museum in the country dedicated to documenting the art and artists of the South. Located on the riverfront in downtown Augusta, the museum seeks to preserve and enhance a regional cultural legacy by showcasing the history of painting in the South through a broad-based survey collection of paintings and drawings. In 2007 the museum received a Governor's Award in the Humanities.

From the main entrance in the Augusta Riverfront Center, visitors enter a lobby of classic design, passing through intimate galleries dedicated to various themes, time periods, and art movements-from antebellum portraiture to Civil War (1861-65) scenes, from abundant southern still lifes to atmospheric southern landscapes. Other galleries are devoted to the African American image in southern art, impressionism in the South, the modernist influence on twentieth-century southern artists, and contemporary southern art.

The Morris Museum of Art was founded by William S. Morris III, chairman and chief executive officer of the Augusta-based Morris Communications Corporation, in memory of his parents. Chartered in 1985 as a nonprofit foundation, the museum found its mission and focus in 1989 with the purchase of a collection of southern art from Robert P. Coggins of Marietta. Works from this private collection had toured museums throughout the Southeast in 1984-87 as an exhibit entitled Art and Artists of the South. This acquisition, and additional works acquired from Coggins's estate after his death, formed the foundation on which the Morris Museum's extensive collection has been built. With the opening of the Morris Museum of Art, painting in the South is enjoying new emphasis and long-overdue recognition.

The museum's collection of works by artists who were born in the South or whose works reflect a discernible southern influence includes some 2,500 objects, primarily paintings and works on paper.

The collection ranges from the delicate watercolors of such early artist-naturalists as John Abbot, who lived in Burke County in the 1700s, to nineteenth-century landscapes by Henry Ossawa Tanner and Joseph Rusling Meeker, to a monumental commissioned work by Robert Rauschenberg that features images of Augusta. Jasper Johns, who was born in Augusta, is represented in the collection. Georgia native Benny Andrews and his father, George Andrews, a self-taught artist who became known as the "Dot Man" in Madison, are also represented. Among the other Georgia artists in the collection are Nell Choate Jones, Lamar Dodd, Augusta Oelschig, Alexander John Drysdale, Hattie Saussy, Art Rosenbaum, Don Cooper, William Posey Silva, Nellie Mae Rowe, and the Murphy family of Savannah.

The museum also has extensive holdings of works by Elliott Daingerfield, a major nineteenth-century symbolist painter who lived in New York and in Blowing Rock, North Carolina; Will Henry Stevens, an early modernist who was born in Indiana and worked in both North Carolina and Louisiana; and Alfred Hutty, a Woodstock, New York, artist who moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and spearheaded an early-twentieth-century artistic renaissance.

(To be continued)

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GWINNETTOBITS.com

Visit this site to see details of the upcoming funerals of Gwinnett Countians from local funeral homes. On the site, sign up at top right and we'll send you GwinnettObits each day.

Click on the names below to see details of their funerals.

• Visit GwinnettObits.com

TODAY'S QUOTE
What's the shortest distance between people?

"A smile is the shortest distance between two people."

-- Danish classical pianist with humor Victor Borge (1909-2000), via Lowell Douglas, Atlanta.

MORE COPIES AVAILABLE
Gwinnett history book in second printing

Previously out of print, Elliott Brack's 850-page history, "Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta," is now available again. Since its original publication, the book was declared the winner of the 2010 Award of Excellence for documenting Georgia history by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. It is also the winner of the Gwinnett Historical Society's Whitworth-Flanigan Award for 2011 for preserving the history of Gwinnett County.The book includes 143 demographic and historic tables, with more than 4,000 names in the index, and 10,000 names in the appendix.Two versions of the book are available. The hardback edition is priced at $75, while a softback edition is $40. Books are available at:

• Atlanta History Center, Atlanta
• Books for Less, Buford
  
• Gwinnett Historical Society, Lawrenceville
  
• Parsons Gifts and Cards, Duluth
  
• Vargas and Harbin Gallery, Norcross

You can also order books through the Internet. To do that, go to www.elliottbrack.com to place your order. For mail orders, there is a $5 shipping and handling fee. Purchases are also subject to the 6 percent Georgia sales tax.

SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM

GWINNETT CALENDAR

THIS WEEK

(NEW) Probe College Fair: 6 p.m., Sept. 19, Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. Hosted by Gwinnett Technical College, this fair gives high school students and parents a chance to explore a wide range of college options. There is no charge. Probe is a nine week fall tour of 58 college fairs held at various venues across Georgia.

General Membership Meeting of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce: 11:30 a.m., Sept. 19, The 1818 Club in Duluth. Speaker will be J. Alvin Wilbanks, Gwinnett School Superintendent. Details: 770 232-3000, or www.gwinnettchamber.org.

(NEW) Power Lunch of Buford Business Alliance: Noon, Sept. 20, Mirko Pasta, 3265 Sardis Church Road in Buford. A speaker from the University of Georgia Small Business Center will talk on "free services to small businesses." Details.

(NEW) Third Thursday Arts Party: 6 p.m., Sept. 20, Kudzu Arts Center, 116 Carlyle Street, Norcross. The 12x12 Xtravaganza will be the highlight, more than 70 art pieces of 12x12 inches available at silent auction with bids starting at $60. Normal gallery hours are from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturdays.

Joint Replacement Clinic: 7:30 a.m., Sept. 21, 1818 Club, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. This free healthcare breakfast is sponsored by Gwinnett Medical Center to tell of the latest advancement in joint replacement. Speakers will be Drs. Mary Jo Albert and Gary Levengood, talking about hip and knee replacement.

COMING SOON

(NEW) Stuart Woods luncheon: Doors open 11 a.m. for noon lunch, Sept. 26, Garden Plaza, 230 Collins Industrial Way in Lawrenceville. Woods will discuss his autobiographical, Blue Water, Green Skipper. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Proceeds benefit Gwinnett County Public Library.

Harvest Ball benefitting Norcross Cluster schools: 7 p.m., Sept. 28, Northeast Atlanta Hilton, 5993 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Norcross. Tickets are $50 per person. Black tie optional. Food, surprise activities, dancing and silent auction. For more details, contact rheaven@norcrosscsp.org.

Genealogical workshop: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 29, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Lawrenceville at 3355 Sugarloaf Parkway. Sponsored by the church, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, William Day Chapter, and Sons of the American Revolution, Atlanta Chapter. Learn how to use census records, courthouse records and other sources, many on the Internet, to start to research and document your family history.

Children's author to appear: Gwinnett Kid's Read, Too! features children's author Carmen Deedy. She will appears on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Lawrenceville Library Branch, 1001 Lawrenceville Highway. She will greet fans and promote her newest book Return of the Library Dragon. Illustrator Michael White will also make an appearance.

Sign-Up Time for Gwinnett Great Days of Service. This year's event will be held on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6, 2012 with over 300 different projects to choose from. This annual event offers Gwinnett residents the opportunity to donate their time and energy to doing community service and helping those in need. For more information and to sign up, visit this site.

Third Annual Gala of the Northeast Atlanta Ballet: Sept. 29, Northwood Country Club. Now in its 16th season, the goal of the night is to raise $25,000 toward providing high quality, affordable arts programming, with live orchestra for all performances, and unsurpassed performing opportunities for aspiring dancers. More.

(NEW) Ninth Annual Suwanee Music Festival: Oct. 6, Town Center Park, sponsored by Amigos for Christ. Music begins at 10 a.m. and continues through beginning of The Lovin' Spoonful presentation at 7:30 p.m. Events for all ages at $10 per person. Details.

MORE EEB PERSPECTIVE

12/14: Army-Navy game 12/11: Who stole American dream? 12/7: Lock 'em in a room 12/4: On Partnership Gwinnett 11/30: Hera Lighting 11/27: Voting out scalawags 11/20: Arts alive in Gwinnett 11/16: Hope Clinic needs help 11/13: Casino coming? 11/9: GOP and Georgia Dems 11/6: Early voting, more 11/2: Will Sandy impact election? 10/30: Georgia and GI Bill 10/26: Barge making name 10/23: Our 2012 endorsements 10/19: Pet peeves, more 10/15: Long plane flights 10/12: NO on Amendment 1 10/9: Elisha Winn Fair 10/5: Lots of construction 10/2: Texting while walking 9/28: WSB sets lower bar 9/25: State Archive fracas 9/21: Charter concerns 9/18: Benefits of living here 9/14: Continuing objectives 9/11: Trip to France, Spain 9/7: Community pride 8/31: Conversation on guns 8/24: More robocalls ahead 8/21: Newspaper museum 8/17: Seem easier to vote? 8/14: Western ridges, fall line 8/10: Runoff endorsements 8/7: New UGA health campus 8/3: Primaries raise more questions EEB index of columns

  FOCUS ARCHIVES

12/14: C. Brack: Give a little 12/11: Goodman: Suwanee's art 12/7: Duke: Director of Encouragement 12/4: Dorough: Food co-op 11/30: McHenry: CID redevelopment 11/27: Sutt: Gwinnett arts' questions 11/20: Urrutia: Grad wins award 11/16: Collins: Las Vegas 11/13: Barksdale: Storm prep 11/9: Houston: Kettle Creek 11/6: Stilo: Christmas Canteen 11/2: Crews: View Point Health 10/30: Willis: Amendment One 10/26: Brown: Doc's research 10/19: Hudgens Prize jurors picked 10/15: Urrutia: $2 million gift to GGC 10/12: Young: Lilburn city hall 10/9: Long: Charter schools 10/5: Jones: PGA golf to return 10/2: DeWilde: Suwanee's red code 9/28: Stilo: Pinter's Betrayal 9/21: Love: Model for Nigeria 9/21: Walsh: Childhood obesity 9/18: Ashley promoted 9/14: Wiener: CID's initiative 9/11: Olson: $50K Hudgens contest 9/7: Stilo: Acting classes for all 8/31: Havenga: Great Days of Service 8/24: Griswold: Casino for OFS site 8/21: Brooks: Taking the Megabus 8/17: Summerour: Newspaper family 8/14: Sharp: Newport visit 8/10: Thomas: On schizophrenia 8/7: Carraway: Amendment wording 8/3: Willis: Ready for school parents? COMMENTARY INDEX

CONTINUING OBJECTIVES FOR GWINNETT

Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests that Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. Read more.

• Development of a two-party system for local offices
• Transparent operations to restore faith in Gwinnett's County Commission
• Moving statewide non-partisan judge election runoffs to the General Election
• Light rail for Gwinnett from Doraville MARTA station to Gwinnett Arena
• Extension of Gwinnett Place CID area to include Arena and Discovery Mills Mall
• Banning of tobacco in all Gwinnett parks
• Making Briscoe Field a commercial airport for jet-age travel
• Approval of Educational SPLOST in 2013
• More diverse candidates for political offices and appointment to local boards
• Physical move of former St. Gerard's Catholic Church in Buffalo, N.Y., to Norcross
• Creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett
• Advancement and expansion of city and Gwinnett historical societies
• Stronger regulation of late-night establishments with alcoholic licenses
  

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