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Gwinnettian finds Pittsburgh, Pa., enjoyable place to visit
By Barbara Warbington
Special to GwinnettForum.com

HOG MOUNTAIN, Ga., June 12, 2007 -- Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Pittsburgh, Penn. From the late 1800's and through mid-1950, Pittsburgh was the world's leading producer of steel, thus earning the nickname of the "Steel City" and nicknamed the "Smoky City" from smoke generated of numerous steel mills. Others call Pittsburgh the "City of Bridges" because it has more than any other city in the country, nearly 500 (some say 700). Many of the magnificent steel bridges still being used today were built prior to 1900.

In 1754, French troops built Fort Duquesne at the fork of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which together form the Ohio River. In 1758, after defeating the French troops, British troops built Fort Pitt to honor William Pitt, then prime minister of Britain, and the community became Pittsburgh. After the Revolutionary War, Pittsburgh became a starting point for pioneers traveling west and was incorporated as a borough in 1794. Many Americans are not aware of the important significance of Pittsburgh in early American history.

Downtown Pittsburgh lies in the same wedge-shaped area between the rivers. This area, now called the Golden Triangle, features skyscrapers that house major American corporations, including Alcoa, Mellon Bank, PPG Industries and USX Corporation. During the late 1800's, steel manufacturers supplied great amounts of steel to build bridges, factories, and railroads all over America. The city produced more steel during World War II than both Germany and Japan.

Smoke from factories and steel mills caused great pollution in Pittsburgh during those high-production years. However, after the war ended, the city began a strict smoke-control program. Soon, the city had eliminated most of the smog and grime from the air and in 1950, private investors began to build Gateway Center in the Golden Triangle. This began the evolution to an industrial research center from the steel-producing giant it once was.

One of my favorite places is Mount Washington (named after General George Washington) that overlooks downtown Pittsburgh. It rises 450 feet and stretches for several miles along the Monongahela River, and features observation decks and restaurants that offer spectacular views of Pittsburgh.

The homes along the main street of Mount Washington overlooking Pittsburgh were built around 1900 and appear elegant but small by today's standards. Because of the spectacular view of the city below, they are very pricey, starting at around $1 million upwards. Local folks say the view is the most spectacular view of an entire city that can be found anywhere in the US. Two small cable cars, known as Duquesne Incline built in 1877, carry visitors and local folks along 793 feet of track up and down Mount Washington every 15 minutes year round.

Since this time of year is prom time, we saw lots of local high school "prommers" having their pictures made on the overlook decks with the spectacular view of the city as a background. The overlooks at night are breathtaking!

Another historical building I just fell in love with was the William Penn Hotel, built in 1906. It has been acquired by the Omni Hotel Corporation and has undergone extensive renovation, keeping the original Victorian design and integrity of the hotel. Visitors to Pittsburgh should plan at least one night‚s stay in this grand hotel.

It's fun for me to visit historical places. Pittsburgh certainly fits that category. My view of Pittsburgh as a dirty, smoky industrial city has really changed. Pittsburgh is a beautiful and vibrant city, one I highly recommend.

Gwinnett schools have key ally in county's senior citizens
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

JUNE 12, 2007 -- Gwinnett School Board officials have recently completed meetings around the county concerning how to finance the school system in the near future.

Specifically, the school board, though not proposing a tax increase for the next school year, still was required to have the meetings since its upcoming budget needed the same millage as last year, in the face of some properties in the county being re-evaluated.
Since the upcoming millage would not be "revenue neutral," the meetings were required.

The higher budget is needed to meet the challenge of an estimated 7,200 more students in the school for 2007-08, up to 159,000 students! To accommodate this growth, the county is opening four new schools, one replacement school, and will see the completion of 13 additions at existing schools by term's start in August.

A contributing factor to Gwinnett's school budget for the current year is the reduction of $13 million in funding from the State of Georgia. This puts even more burden on Gwinnett property taxes in funding school operations. Over the last five years, the state government has cut Gwinnett's school financing by $116 million with its Quality Basic Education formula.

The Gwinnett school millage will be the same as last year, 20.55 mills. Taxpayers whose property was not reassessed in 2007 will pay the same tax as last year. Interestingly, in the mid-to-late 1990s, the Gwinnett school tax was a higher rate, 21.85 mills, without E-SPLOST funding for school construction.

One ace-in-the-hole that Gwinnett school officials have is one group of citizens, who may be far more interested in schools than the School Board might realize.

For 2007 taxes, there are 15,904 properties in the county which do not pay any school taxes. These are owned senior citizens who qualify for an exemption, with income limits, from school taxes.

The savings can be substantial for seniors. A qualifying senior living in a home valued at $200,000 would pay $729 in total taxes, but would pay $1,750 if the school taxes were included. At present the School Board portion of the local ad valorem taxes in Gwinnett amounts to 59 per cent of the tax bill.

While these seniors don't have to pay a school tax, in general they would favor a high quality school system and adequate school taxes to fund it. Here's why:

Interestingly, those who are exempted from paying school taxes, the seniors, favor higher quality schools, and generally will support increased spending for them. This is a reverse twist. They have "representation without taxation" you might say. They are therefore politically powerful, especially when you remember that seniors often are among the groups with the highest turnout in elections. The seniors are a key reason as to why Gwinnett has basically supported its public school education. It ensures that good quality schools will continue to be a key element in Gwinnett's maturation.

Georgia's newest and Gwinnett County's only medical college, Georgia Campus-Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM), began its second year by adding an evening master's degree program in biomedical sciences to its degree options. The College, in its medical degree program, combines the course load of medical school with added emphasis on the relationship between the body's structure and its function. More than 220 students are enrolled in the osteopathic physician and bio-med programs. GA-PCOM, which opened in August 2005 at 625 Old Peachtree Road, Suwanee, seeks to recruit and educate medical students from Georgia and the surrounding states and encourage them to remain in the region thereby helping improve access to healthcare in medically underserved areas. Call 678-225-7532 for additional information. More: PCOM.

Your column speculating on the Sopranos last episode seems to take a shot at corporate America. I find it amusing that the very next section of the Forum -- About our Sponsors -- begins with "The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. "

So is corporate America evil like the Mafia or public spirited like the Forum sponsors? Or have we just defined hype?

A town hall meeting to discuss the Norcross schools cluster will be held Thursday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center in downtown Norcross. Schools in the cluster include Beaver Ridge, Stripling, Peachtree, Simpson and Norcross Elementary, Summerour and Pinckneyville Middle, and Norcross High.

Norcross Neighbors, Norcross Business Association and The Norcross Times are sponsors of the meeting.

Topics will include:

For more information, contact Rip Robertson at 770-448-2122 Ext 191 or Andrew Hixson at 678-292-1221.

Touchstone Homes will bring Music & Lyrics to the big screen at Suwanee's Town Center Cinema on Saturday, June 16. This free outdoor movie presentation will begin at dusk (approximately 8:45 p.m.) at Town Center Park, located at the intersection of Buford Highway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.

Released earlier this year, Music & Lyrics is a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. The movie follows a washed-up but charismatic '80s pop star who teams with a quirky plant lady with a flair for words as they try to make beautiful music together for his comeback opportunity.

On Friday, June 15, Hometown favorite and 2007 Dove Awards nominee Honi Deaton and Dream will perform at 7 p.m., at the Burnette-Rogers Pavilion on Main Street in historic Old Town. This free concert is part of Suwanee's Music Main Street series.

Honi Deaton and Dream may call Suwanee home, but their bluegrass performances have taken them to venues, festivals, and theaters across the United States and Canada. The band was recognized earlier this year when the Bluegrass Gospel Time album on which their music appears was nominated for a Gospel Music Association Dove Award in the Bluegrass Special Event Album of the Year category.

Thomson Healthcare has recognized Gwinnett Medical Center for excellence in clinical quality and performance improvement with the presentation of the third annual Insight Awards. Winners of the 2007 awards were announced May 9 in Las Vegas.

Gwinnett Medical Center won the Insight Award for clinical quality in stroke care through applying best practices to identify, diagnose, and treat stroke patients in the most efficient and clinically appropriate manner possible. The facility is certified by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center and offers comprehensive stroke care from diagnosis to rehabilitation.

Thomson Healthcare is a provider of decision support solutions that help organizations across the healthcare industry improve clinical and business performance.

The Hospital System also announced that VHA Inc., a national health care alliance, has recognized Gwinnett Medical Center for its efforts to provide healthcare that matches the needs of its community with a 2007 VHA Leadership Award for Community Benefit. The hospital was honored at VHA's Leadership Conference in Denver on May 20. Gwinnett Medical Center is one of only five hospitals nationwide to be recognized for its efforts to serve community health needs.

Gwinnett Medical Center was recognized for having a comprehensive community benefit strategy and providing an effective communications plan to tell the community benefit story.

Gwinnett Tech has introduced a new program to address the growing need for trained professionals in emergency preparedness and management. The college's new public/private crisis manager certificate program provides businesses with skilled professionals that have the relevant knowledge needed to provide emergency sustainability and business continuity.

Gwinnett Tech is the only technical college in the state to offer this certificate. Gwinnett Tech designed the new program specifically for the growing number of businesses addressing business continuity planning and critical response. The certificate program serves as an introduction to the overall field of emergency management.

The program is essential for existing or aspiring business continuity planners, risk managers, and human resource professionals. The public/private crisis management certificate program can be completed in three quarters, and much of the course work can be completed online. Credits earned can be applied toward Gwinnett Tech's associate degree in emergency management.

To learn more about Gwinnett Tech's new public/private crisis manager certificate program, call Gwinnett Tech at 770.962.7580 or visit www.GwinnettTech.edu.

The Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner will mail 2007 property tax bills July 15, 2007. Installment dates for 2007 property tax payments are Sept. 15 and Nov. 15, 2007. Also new this year, more property tax payment locations will be available to customers.

As in the past, only one bill will be mailed. It includes payment coupons and reply envelopes for both installment payments. First installment amounts shown on tax bills must be paid by Sept. 15, 2007, or taxpayers may pay the entire amount by this date. The second installment will be due Nov. 15, 2007. Installments not paid by the stated due dates will incur a five percent penalty. In addition, interest will begin to accrue at the rate of one percent per month beginning on Nov. 16.

Gwinnett taxpayers will have the option of making 2007 property tax payments in person at two Tax Commissioner locations: the Property Tax Customer Service Office in the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville and at the Tax Commissioner's North Gwinnett Motor Vehicle tag office, located on Mall of Georgia Boulevard in Buford. Both of these locations will process property tax payments and provide receipts to taxpayers. Also, each tag office location has a payment drop-off location that can be used anytime.

Late in 1778 Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell was dispatched by the British commander in chief in North America, Sir Henry Clinton, to proceed against Savannah. Through his Georgia campaign, particularly his capture of Savannah and Augusta, Campbell achieved one of the few unqualified British successes in the American Revolution.

Baptized at Inveraray, Argyllshire, Scotland, on August 24, 1739, Archibald Campbell entered the British army as an engineer, and with the outbreak of the Seven Years War (1756-63), participated in 1757 in raids on the French coast. He also served in the expeditions to capture the Carribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Dominique, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Grenada. As the war escalated, Campbell was posted to North America where he served as a captain in the 78th Regiment of Foot, or Fraser's Highlanders, until he was seriously wounded during the capture of Quebec, Canada, in 1759. At the end of the Seven Years War, Fraser's Highlanders were disbanded, Campbell joined the British East India Company.

With the outbreak of revolution in America, Campbell recruited for and received a commission of lieutenant colonel in the 71st (Fraser's) Highlanders. Captured by patriot forces in Boston Harbor on June 16, 1776, he was exchanged for Ethan Allen on May 6, 1778.

On November 8, 1778, Campbell received unexpected orders to take command of 3,000 men sailing the next day from New York to invade Georgia. The expedition captured Savannah in late December. He next led a column into the interior and captured Augusta on January 31, 1779. When Georgia Loyalists failed to appear there, Campbell began a withdrawal on February 14. While awaiting transportation from Savannah to England to marry Amelia, daughter of the artist Allan Ramsey, Archibald Campbell restored the colonial government under his commission as civil governor. Thus Georgia became the only part of the United States ever reduced back to the status of a colony.

Campbell continued his distinguished career. He ended the American Revolution as lieutenant governor and major general in Jamaica (1779-81). In 1782 he was appointed governor of Jamaica. He became a Knight of the Bath in 1785 and served as governor of Madras from 1786 to 1789. Campbell died March 31, 1791, in London and is buried in Westminster Abbey

"Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings."

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