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Below you'll find recent comments by Gwinnett Forum readers
about issues of the day:
FEEDBACK
6/28: Minor league
sports needs adoption
by the community to be successful
(Editor's Note: Jerry Queen formerly lived in
Lawrenceville and in Buford. He is former baseball coach and teacher
at Marist School in Atlanta, and once built houses in Gwinnett before
moving to LaFayette, La.)
Editor, the Forum:
I just saw an article about the new Gwinnett hockey team. It looks
like they may be taking the name the Forum offered, the "Buttons."
That would be great!
Minor league hockey was real popular here in LaFayette when it
first came to town. Its attendance averaged 7-8,000 per game. It
is now down to less than 3,000 per game and this team was first
in the league this year.
Not certain why the interest has dropped but when the team was
first developed, the players, coaches, etc., exerted real efforts
to become a part of the community. They appeared on TV in advertisements,
showed up at youth league hockey games, etc.
Most of that no longer takes place. It seems the franchise took
a lot for granted. There is still an interest but folks are not
forking over the bucks to see the games.
Gwinnett has a much larger population base but if the team does
not become part of the community it will be just another source
of occasional entertainment.
Minor league franchises in any sport must be adopted by the community
if they are to cause an impact in the area. Most of the players
are still hungry enough to show the enthusiasm that the fans can
attach to. Owners and general managers must learn this and do what
ever it takes to make it happen.
Gwinnett continues to grow! Have been talking to some of my old
coaching buddies in Georgia. The Francouer kid from over at Parkview,
in a lot of opinions, may be the best athlete to come from the state
in the last 25 years. Only time will tell. Wished I could have seen
him play.
Getting hot here and the indoors is soon to be my comfort until
September.
- - Jerry Queen, LaFayette, La.
6/25: Found Soperton
newspaper a great place
to start career which landed in Gwinnett
Editor, the Forum:
I was saddened to hear about Mr. James Windsor's death. (See
Forum of May 31, 2002.) Mr. Windsor offered me my first job
as a 16 year old in Soperton. I thought it was the opportunity of
a lifetime....selling advertisements for the newspaper, writing
a weekly teen column and feature articles and doing sports photography.
I also worked a summer or two at his Higgstown office helping put
the paper together. That was surely a learning experience.
I was fortunate enough to win a Georgia Press Association Award
for a baseball photo that I took my senior year in high school.
Mr. Windsor was kind enough to let me go to the GPA Convention at
Jekyll the following summer and even let me bring a college friend
with me.
Mr. Windsor was good to his associates and I'm sure he will be
missed by many people. Many a day I would stop by the news office
when I was home visiting from Macon (Mercer University) or Atlanta,
where I moved after college. He and Bill Ricks were always there
for an interesting conversation and were always glad to see me.
I always felt welcomed. My father passed away in 1993 and my mother
moved to Monroe in 1999, so I had not seen Mr. Windsor since that
time.
I didn't stay in journalism, but I must say I learned much from
the experiences I gained working at the Soperton News. I have spent
the last 16 years in non-profit work, ten years with the National
Office of the Arthritis Foundation, three with Athens Regional Foundation
and three years with the Gwinnett Hospital System Foundation, currenty
as director of annual giving.
-- Cynthia Chandler, Lawrenceville
6/21: Lots of us sit
in traffic and wonder, "What if?"
Editor, the Forum:
Your info on the Northern Arc makes a lot of sense.
Dallas Texas has already gone through and continues to go through
a tremendous amount of growth on its main highways and in the northern
parts surrounding "BIG D". They began with loop 12 around
Dallas just like 285. During the past 10 years they have added two
more highways looping around Dallas, that has taken a tremendous
load off the main highways.
They were also considering double decking the northern highway
out of downtown to Richardson, Plano, and further north. Instead
they went
with the two loops that have helped.
Just like Atlanta, Dallas will never catch up to the growth needs
with roads. Having lived in both cities during these years of growth,
I would rather drive in Dallas than Atlanta because of the new highways
up north that make access around and to the city much easier, although
the traffic is still terrible.
Until we get transportation systems with rail as in most European
cities, we will always be sitting in traffic wondering, "What
if?"
-- Randy Brown, Daytona Beach, Fla.
6/18: Gwinnett Relay
for Life tops $2 million mark!
Editor, the Forum:
We are ready to report the following numbers for the American Cancer
Society's Gwinnett County Relay For Life: $2,028,859.67 (gross)
so we have met and exceeded our goal!!!
Our net is currently $1,970,525.50 which may also reach $2 million
as we continue our Relay count until August 31, 2002! Thanks again
for agreeing to put our thank you to the community on the Forum.
-- Joslyn Bacalis, Co-Chair Gwinnett Relay For Life 2002 and
-- Nancy Stanbery-Kellam, Co-Chair Gwinnett Relay For Life 2002
6/14: Says Barnes
not faring well in South Georgia
Editor, the Forum:
In reference to Roy Barnes; he is toast in South Georgia. People
are sore as hell down here about his pandering to the blacks. The
state flag issue is bigger than those North Georgia "Yankees"
want to believe. Education comes to mind, also.
-- David Earl Tyre, Jesup
6/14: Says foo on
politicians who keep recyclers at bay
Editor, the Forum:
Good to see your article on recycling Gwinnett waste water. It
has been technologically feasible for a number of years to do this.
But it has been
politically incorrect. I don't salute bureaucrats very often, but
it is called for here, and foo on the politicrats who have kept
the "recyclers" at
bay. The situation needs much more publicity.
-- E. F. Stuart, Norcross
6/4: About ways to
spend Memorial Day
Editor, the Forum:
"War and remembrance." Sounds catchy. When I get some
time I might write a bestselling book and sell the movie rights
for a TV mini-series.
About six years ago a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Gwinnett section, was referred to me by my American Legion post
commander asking what I planned to do on Memorial Day? (She heard
I did exciting and patriotic things on this day.)
Unfortunately she and I or both were a little late because by this
time all I was doing was remembering and spending time with family:
exciting for me but it doesn't sell papers. She thanked me and went
on to the next name on her list. That may have been this veteran's
15 minutes in the spotlight.
This year I spent time with family but still remembered. I lowered
my front yard flag to half staff until noon at which time I raised
it back to full mast. Now that I am home I can do this. There have
been other Memorial Days when I couldn't.
When I was in Vietnam (Cambodia to be specific) in 1970 Memorial
Day was unfortunately more often than annually. As a National Guardsman
and Army Reservist for the 26 years, most were spent in places like
Forts Benning, Stewart, Bragg, Gordon, Jackson, Campbell, and Drum
and Camps like Shelby and Santiago.
When not out of town, there were the many years at the National
Cemetery in Marietta, the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center
in Lawrenceville, Forts McPherson and Gillem. Now I spend time with
the family that sacrificed the time required to do the above and
we always remember.
Remember....it's impossible to forget!
-- Howard N. Williams, Jr., Snellville
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Forum for future publication.
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