SCULPTOUR: Sculptures of all kind, similar to this one, which is entitled "Weathervane," will be seen in Suwanee for the next two years as part of the Public Arts Commission's third Suwanee SculpTour. It's part of the program to display public art in downtown Suwanee. The next SculpTour will be extended to nearly two years, from May 2013 until March 2015. More details are in Notable below.

Issue 12.70 | Friday, Dec. 21, 2012

TODAY'S FOCUS
:: Keep record by recycling Yule trees

ELLIOTT BRACK'S PERSPECTIVE
:: Fort Daniel, Chambliss, letters

FEEDBACK
:: Responses on gun laws column

UPCOMING
:: Youth tour, GGC complex

NOTABLE
:: SculpTour program, more

ALSO INSIDE

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
:: EMC Security

GEORGIA TIDBIT
:: Thomas County native becomes poet

LAGNIAPPE
:: Red, white and blue tree

GWINNETT CALENDAR
:: Lots of events on tap

TODAY'S QUOTE
:: Serling on TV documentaries

OUR SPONSORS

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TODAY'S FOCUS
Clean and Beautiful offers tree chipping ever since 1984
By CONNIE WIGGINS
Special to GwinnettForum.com | Permalink

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Dec. 21, 2012 -- Beginning the day after Christmas, our Gwinnett community will continue the annual tradition of Christmas Tree Recycling through Keep Georgia Beautiful's "Bring One for the Chipper Program."

The annual tradition of Christmas Tree Recycling began in 1984 as a partnership between Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, 13 local governments, Georgia Power and Jackson EMC, to reduce the illegal dumping of trees on roadsides. It is estimated that Gwinnettians have recycled more than 1,400,000 trees and saved valuable landfill space since the program began.

Residents are encouraged to give back to nature and bring their Christmas tree, stripped of all lights and decorations, to one of approximately 30 local drop-off locations listed below between December 26 and January 18. Artificial trees will not be accepted.

Real Christmas trees are biodegradable. They can be easily reused or recycled for mulch and other purposes. Most of the mulch will be used to improve walking trails and beautify Gwinnett County parks. Precious landfill space will also be saved as the average Christmas tree weighs twenty pounds and fills up almost as much landfill space as a washing machine.

Once the trees are collected from the drop-off locations, community volunteers will chip them into mulch at the "Bring One for the Chipper" event, scheduled for Saturday, January 26, from 9 a.m. until noon, at Bethesda Park in Lawrenceville. Residents interested in volunteering at this event should visit the Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful website or call 770-822-5187. All volunteers must be at least 14 years of age to participate.

For the past nine years we have recycled the most trees in the state. Annually, Gwinnettians recycle one out of every six Christmas trees recycled in Georgia. Placed end to end, the trees collected in Gwinnett last year would stretch from Norcross to the city of Forsyth, Georgia. More than 25,000 trees were recycled last year. However, because of the economy, we expect fewer trees this year.

Participating drop-off locations are listed below, and on the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful website, www.gwinnettcb.org.

Christmas tree drop-off sites in Gwinnett County are:

ELLIOTT BRACK
Hurrah for commissioners, Chambliss and letter writers
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com | Permalink

DEC. 21, 2012 -- Three short items for catching up today.

Brack

First, here's a big Whoop-di-do for the Gwinnett County Commission finding funds to purchase the four acres of the endangered Fort Daniel site, up in the Hog Mountain community.

Why this is so important is that the site is one of the most historic in Gwinnett, having been the location of a military fort, really a "listening post" in the early days of Georgia, even before Gwinnett was a county. There was a possibility the site might not get funds for protecting it. Though details have not been thoroughly researched yet, there is indication that construction of the first fort on the site began at least as early as 1811. The fort became more important once the War of 1812 began, since the native Indians were aligned with the British.

Later on, the fort was connected with another fort, where Peachtree Creek dumps into the Chattahoochee River. That site was named Fort Gilmer. The road connecting the two forts took the general path of the ridgeline from one fort to the other…..which we know today as the Eastern Continental Divide.

But the biggest connection to local history is the name of the road connecting these two forts. Fort Gilmer was known as the fort at the Standing Peachtree…..and that's where all these many Peachtree Roads in Metro Atlanta got their names. Then the whammy: it wasn't a peach tree at the fort, since a peach tree won't grow in a wet river bottom……but a "Pitch" tree, that is, pine tree, making all the many Peachtree streets….roads…..traces…..mis-named. But who want to live on Pinetree Road?

ANY TIME a sitting politician changes a position for a good reason, this politician should be applauded, no matter the reason for the change.

Chambliss

So we salute Senator Saxby Chambliss today, as he sounded even more reasonable recently when he renounced his early pledge of 20 years ago of "No new taxes." While we understand the popularity of that ill-advised pledge, it's not a very good position for a thinking politician, since it doesn't give the politico any room to maneuver.

After all, the very essence of leadership in our government must be nothing shy of continual compromise. Since you can't get everything you want, we hope the people we elect will stay shy of specific promises, and go to the Statehouse or to Congress and pledge only to "do their best" for their constituency. That may mean "trading" with other elected officials to get legislation passed, of course, without compromising broad positions. But if you put yourself in a box (like no new taxes), you are less effective, since you can't maneuver politically.

So, hats off to Senator Chambliss! Now let's hope that his new position will lead to solutions of situations like this pending "fiscal cliff."

TAKE A GANDER today below at the several letters responding to our earlier comments on the Connecticut shootings, and our highlighting the National Rifle Association and automatic weapons as the core of the problem.

What we enjoy about the Forum is stimulating people on both sides of an issue to sit down, and put their thoughts on paper, all for the benefit of our readers. Remember, this is a "forum of public opinion," so keep those letters coming if you have thoughts on this, or other topics you consider important. We ask that you try to limit them to 300 words, so we can get more letters in. Be sure to tell us the town you live in when you write.

Such letters show people exercising their First Amendment rights, which we are pleased to print!

SPOTLIGHT
EMC Security

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is EMC Security, headquartered in Lawrenceville. EMC Security provides residential and commercial security with the same service and values that its parent companies, Jackson EMC, Walton EMC and GreyStone Power, have delivered for over 70 years. EMC Security's newest division, EMC Home Technology, delivers all a home's technology needs, including entertainment networks, home theaters and whole house music/intercom. Call EMC Security at 770/963-0305 or visit their website, www. emcsecurity.com.

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

FEEDBACK
Letters, letters, letters on shooting tragedy in Connecticut

Editor, the Forum:

I think you might want to clarify your verbiage in regards to weapons. By definition an automatic weapon would be one where you pull the trigger and as long as you hold down the trigger it will fire at a rapid rate until you let go. This kind of weapon is highly regulated by federal law (you have to register it with the ATF, FBI background check, etc), as it should be. The term "machine gun" is also a synonym here. Think the Rambo movies and this is a fully automatic machine gun. This type of weapon is extremely hard to acquire and if you eventually jump through all the federal hoops, they can be tens of thousands of dollars.

My understanding is that the type of weapon used in the Connecticut shootings was an AR-15 based semi-automatic gun. Semi-automatic means that you pull the trigger once and one round fires, to fire again you have to release and pull the trigger again to fire another round. You can continue that until the magazine is emptied. EVERY modern pistol works this way, as well as "assault rifles" that the public can buy, some styles of shotguns and even some hunting rifles. Some of the confusion may be that the military uses a different version of the AR-15 that can be fired in fully automatic mode.

Hope this helps in your further commentary about gun control. I personally have mixed emotions about it after the recent shootings. Somehow we have to prevent unstable people from having access to firearms. But at the same time still support my right to defend my family and sometimes that might require a pistol or assault rifle. If there is a major natural disaster with food shortages or whatever the local police are going to have their hands too full to come running to your house to defend you.

-- Matt Johnson, Dacula

Dear Matt: Appreciate your explanation. Perhaps we should extend the automatic regulations to semi-automatic, too, the way the Second Amendment was when it was first written in post-Revolution days? ---eeb

Editor, the Forum:

Thank you for your strong stand on assault weapons. So many assault weapons are on the market now that the law must also ban the sale of magazines. Yes, the government must purchase such weapons from dealers and from individuals and establish stiff penalties for violation of the law.

Banning assault weapons and magazines does not limit our freedom. Proclaiming that these weapons cannot be banned and must be available to every individual increases the worship, especially by the deranged person who wants to commit mass murder. The horrifying direction of this society must be changed. We must veer slightly to the left.

-- Alma Bowen, Gainesville

Editor, the Forum:

Under current U.S. law, automatic weapons are already illegal to own unless one is a licensed gun dealer or collector. An automatic weapon is one which can discharge multiple rounds with a single trigger pull. That sort of weapon is not what was used in Newtown.

The weapons used by Mr. Lanza were semi-automatic, which means that the spent round is ejected and the new round is loaded automatically, but each firing sequence must be initiated with a unique trigger pull.

While I appreciate your emotional response to a very emotional situation, these discussions should begin and end with facts, and not hysteria.

-- Rick Hammond, Duluth

Editor, the Forum:

I agree with banning automatic weapons or look a-likes and the 30, 60, and 100 shot clips as well -maybe first.

-- Herb Hamby, Lawrenceville

Editor, the Forum:

We read, and agree, with your article on "Gun Control." It is clearly written. EVERYONE should be able to understand !!! NO ASSAULT WEAPONS ( except for military and law enforcement) has nothing to do with taking away our gun rights. It is just using common sense.

-- Dr. and Mrs. Donald Dove, Grayson

Dear Doves: Why can't we get other letters that are short and to the point like yours?--eeb

Editor, the Forum:

"Cannons, howitzers, battleships, AK-47's and automatic pistols?" You left out bazookas! Come on now, you can do better.

It seems from the content of your article on the sale of automatic weapons, that you want to blame the NRA for the recent slaughter at the school in Newtown, Conn.
Then, you insinuate that some NRA members don't have a conscience.

I am a Life member of the NRA, since 1974. I have a conscience and resent the implication that NRA members are a bunch of unfeeling louts. A lot of us are former military, patriots, love our country, and are alarmed at the direction our beloved country is moving.

As for the sale of "automatic weapons," being ex-Army yourself, you know better and should be ashamed of yourself for printing this misinformation. You are referring to "semi-automatic" weapons, as the type the punk in Newtown used to slaughter those blessed little children and adults. The AR-15 rifle is a semi-automatic, magazine fed rifle in 5.56 mm caliber,(.223 Remington). It is not select fire, as M-16 is.

Fully automatic weapons can only be legally owned by individuals who first must apply for a permit through the BATFE. (Bureau of Alcohol, Tax, Firearms and Explosives.) An extensive background check is done on the applicant and he or she is not necessarily guaranteed a permit.

One cannot walk into a gun shop in the U.S. and purchase a fully automatic firearm. I don't know of any that sells them anyway. You should print an explanation of this, or maybe a retraction?

Please don't let your emotions get you in lock-step with the likes of Chuck Schumer, Feinstein, Bloomburg or Hillary. They all have an agenda.

"Gun control" is all about "people control" and you better believe it! Being a history buff, especially a military history buff, I remember what all the past despots did when they came into power. First, they banned all firearms. Hitler and Stalin did it. Look at England. (or Great Britain, whatever )….what a mess.

-- David Earl Tyre, Jesup

Dear David: Yikes! We left out bazookas! At least the original one was not semi-automatic. Feel better now that you have vented? I knew all the time you had a conscience, but question the direction of your thinking, just like you question mine. I stand by, with your technical changes, what was said in the original article. --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
Jackson EMC seeks applicants for Washington youth tour

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) will send four exceptional student delegates on an all-expense paid leadership trip to Washington, D.C., June 13-20 for the 2013 Washington Youth Tour (WYT).

Candidates must be a high school sophomore or junior at least 16 years of age at the time of the trip, with demonstrated leadership, academic excellence and interested in learning about leadership, civic service, American history and U.S. government. Nominees will be chosen by their high school guidance counselors/teachers or are home-schooled students living in a Jackson EMC member's household who are interested in the program.

The four winners of this award will earn the title of a WYT delegate and an all-expense paid leadership trip to Washington, D.C., joining more than 100 of Georgia's brightest students and roughly 1,500 students sponsored by electric membership cooperatives across the country.

Randall Pugh, president and CEO of Jackson EMC says: "Beyond the educational value of the trip and the back stage pass to countless historical and inspirational sites, students are given the opportunity to grow and develop their leadership potential."

Only one semi-finalist will be selected to represent their high school. Applicants must submit their application packet to their counselor or guidance office immediately. Deadlines vary by school.

All of the details, an application and FAQ's are available from high school counselors or on the cooperative's website at www.jacksonemc.com/youthtour.

Progress being made on Georgia Gwinnett athletic complex

The Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies are preparing to hit the fields in February as construction of GGC's $13.5 million Varsity Athletics Complex hums along near the campus' main entrance on Collins Hill Road.

This phase of the project includes baseball and softball complexes as well as the program's Athletics building, concessions, ticketing and restroom facilities. In September, GGC opened its synthetic turf soccer field, which sits just below the current construction site.

The Grizzlies' new home for baseball will include an 800-seat stadium, a press box and a natural grass playing field. The softball complex will feature seating for 500 with a similar press box and natural grass playing surface.

To this point, dugouts on each field have been installed and playing surfaces leveled while the bleachers begin to take shape behind the backstop areas. A separate batting cage structure is being built adjacent to the home team baseball bullpen.

The 25,000-square foot Athletics building, a two-story structure, will include office space for coaches and administration, team locker rooms, a weight room, training areas and academic support space. Additional features include reception and storage areas, laundry facilities and an elevator. It is expected to open later in the spring.

Another multi-purpose structure is nearing completion at the rear of the complex. This smaller building will accommodate fan needs with game day ticket sales, concessions and restroom facilities.

A detailed timeline of construction photos and all the latest on spring game schedules can be found on www.GrizzlyAthletics.com.

NOTABLE
Suwanee seeking outdoor sculptures for 2-year exhibits

Suwanee's Public Arts Commission seeks proposals from artists or teams of artists for original outdoor sculptures to be included in the third Suwanee SculpTour, a public art exhibit in downtown Suwanee. The next SculpTour will be extended to a period of nearly two years, from May 2013-March 2015.

Economic and Community Development Director Denise Brinson says: "SculpTour has received an enthusiastic, positive response from visitors and the community. The current exhibit has been so popular that we'll be sorry to see it go in March after only 10 months. So, for that reason as well as to make more efficient use of private funding resources, we've decided to extend SculpTour to a 22-month exhibit period."

The deadline for submissions is January 25, 2013. The Request for Proposals is available on the Business Matters/Requests for Proposals page at www.suwanee.com.

The Public Arts Commission will select between 10 and 20 sculptures, depending on available funding for the 2013 SculpTour exhibit, which will open in May. Selected artists will receive a stipend for loaning their sculpture to the exhibit. At the end of the exhibit in March 2015, again depending upon funding, the City of Suwanee may purchase one or more of the pieces for display in one of Suwanee's public spaces.

Submissions will be evaluated based upon originality/creativity, relation to architecture and themes of downtown Suwanee, general community appeal, maintenance/longevity, quality of materials and execution, ease of installation, and other factors.

SculpTour is a component of the City of Suwanee's commitment to public art as a way to enhance quality of life and economic development as well as to further distinguish Suwanee as a vibrant, creative community.

Lawrenceville nurse Hayes wins hospital heroes award

Gwinnett Medical Center's Gayle Hayes, R.N., has been awarded the prestigious Georgia Hospital Heroes Award at the Georgia Hospital Association's (GHA) annual Hospital Heroes Awards luncheon recently in Atlanta. Hayes, who was one of only 10 individuals statewide to receive the award, was recognized for her tireless work in helping veterans as well as her daily dedication to supporting her colleagues.

Hayes has not only been a nurse at Gwinnett Medical Center for several years, she has also helped staff the IMPACT program, a comprehensive perioperative medical assessment program for patients undergoing elective surgery. The program is designed to reduce the incidence of complications.

In the community, Hayes volunteers as a qualified CPR instructor to keep the hospital's requirements up to date. She was recently named to the board of directors for Creative Enterprises in Lawrenceville, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting adults with disabilities find employment. She is also a master gardener, and gives her time to help special needs adults grow their own gardens.

GHA's Hospital Heroes Awards are presented every year to 10 individuals who display outstanding service to the health care field; in addition, one individual is presented with a Lifetime Achievement award, signifying at least 30 years of service.

Patrick is new Buford human services coordinator

Gwinnett Health and Human Services Division Director Pat Baker recently announced that Norcross Human Services Center Coordinator Ingrid Patrick is succeeding Harriet Wharton as the Buford Human Services Center coordinator.

Patrick

At Harriet's retirement party, Baker noted her deepest appreciation for "Harriet's 15 years of dedicated service to Gwinnettians young and old." She added, "Harriet has attended many meetings and worked on many projects, so she has earned the right to spend lots more time with her husband and grandchildren."

Patrick says: "Anyone who has worked with me in Norcross or on committees with me, knows that I am always looking to start new programs that meet the community's needs. I am very excited about exploring all the opportunities that might unfold at my new location, but I am going to miss many great friends and partners in Norcross."

Gwinnett Place CID names two new board members

Two new members were elected at a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District. They are:

• Debra Irving of Snellville serves as property manager of Gwinnett Place Mall for McKinley, Inc. She previously served for 18 years in commercial property management for Connolly Realty Services, Inc., a Gwinnett-based full service development company. She is a graduate of Jacksonville State University.
  
  
• Craig Kaufman has 25 years of experience in real estate/development and management. He is the founder of Kaufman Realty Group. Prior to forming Kaufman, he worked as a financial analyst and real estate consultant in New York City and St. Louis. He holds an undergraduate and graduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

In 2012 the American Diabetes Association honored Kaufman with the Father of the Year award. He serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Camp Sunshine, a non-profit organization that holds year-round programs and summer camps for children with cancer. He also serves on the board of the Jewish Education Loan Fund and on the regional board of the Anti-Defamation League.

RECOMMENDED

• 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
Georgia poet Van K. Brock now living in Tucson

(Part 2 of 2)

In 1970 Vandall Kline Brock joined the faculty at Florida State University, where he helped found a new writing program. He served as both teacher and co-director for the program, which eventually achieved a national reputation. Brock also founded Anhinga Press in 1972. Based in Tallahassee, Anhinga began as a small organization that sought to bring writers together. Anhinga continues to thrive and holds an annual competition for poetry, a tradition that began in 1983.

Brock's personal publishing career also met with success. Beginning in the summer of 1961 his poems appeared in anthologies and in such publications as the New Yorker, Georgia Review, and Yale Review. He also published several chatbooks. In 1977 the periodical Poets in the South published a 42-page feature on Brock that included a critical essay on his poetry and a selection of his work.

Along with his work with Anhinga Press, Brock also served as the poetry editor of National Forum: The Journal of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society from 1978 to 1984. In the 1990s he founded and became the editor of International Quarterly.

Following his teaching and publishing house successes, Brock published a series of full-length collections, including Spelunking (1978), The Hard Essential Landscape (1979), The Window (1981), and Unspeakable Strangers: Descents into the Dark Self, Ascents into Light (1995). Unspeakable Strangers, perhaps Brock's most powerful work, deals with the Holocaust. Brock released a new collection of poetry called Lightered: New and Selected Poems in 2005.

Brock retired from Florida State University in 1999. He lives in Tucson, Ariz., with his second wife, Flavia Maria Da Silveira Lobo, a Brazilian writer and translator, and two sons.

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© 2012, 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.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The next edition of GwinnettForum will be published December 28. There will be no edition on December 25 and January 1. Happy holidays. -- eeb

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
Rod Serling on producing probing television documentaries

"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper."

-- American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator Rod Serling (1924 - 1975)

GREAT GIFT
Looking for that perfect, unique gift?

Consider a book about Gwinnett history.

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
  
• 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.

Or call me (Elliott Brack) at 770 840 1003 and tell me how to dedicate a book to a friend (or to you) as he adds his signature!

SEARCH GWINNETT FORUM

GWINNETT CALENDAR

Lawrenceville Rings: 6 p.m. until midnight, Dec. 31, historic courthouse, downtown Lawrenceville. The 9th annual New Year's Eve Celebration will feature be family fun, inflatables, dancing, shopping, and at midnight, fireworks to usher in the new year. Free lawn seating for a 9 p.m. concert. Details online.

MORE EEB PERSPECTIVE

FOCUS ARCHIVES

12/21: Wiggins: Recycle trees 12/18: Two canal cruises to take 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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