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Agreements guarantee GPC transfers to four-year colleges
By Beverly James
Special to GwinnettForum.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Aug. 10, 2007 -- Georgia Perimeter College has signed historic transfer agreements with eight other University System colleges and private universities that will guarantee GPC students seats at those schools to complete their college education.

The transfer admission guarantees -- or TAGs -- allow students who meet certain criteria, including a grade point average which ranges from 2.80 to 2.00 (depending upon the institution), to transfer to Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, the University of West Georgia, Oglethorpe University, Strayer University, Clayton State University, Clark Atlanta University and North Georgia College and State University.

GPC president Dr. Anthony Tricoli says: "This type of transfer guarantee is new for students at Georgia Perimeter College. He added that the college is in the process of finalizing several other TAG agreements. "We are excited that our students will have a number of guaranteed transfer options to complete their bachelor's degrees."

The intent of the agreements is for students to complete core courses at Georgia Perimeter and receive a guarantee to begin upper division work immediately at their chosen four-year colleges. "This process will allow for a seamless and streamlined transfer," Tricoli said. "Students can complete their education in a timely manner and save money by taking all their core courses at GPC's more affordable tuition rates."
Inspired by the history of academic success Georgia Perimeter students experience when they graduate and transfer to four-year schools, Tricoli began working on securing the transfer agreements shortly after assuming the college presidency last fall.

He says: "The TAGs we have signed with the universities are a direct result of our students' success at these institutions, and they recognize the great work our faculty do at GPC in preparing our students for upper division work."

Georgia State University provost Ron Henry concurs: "GPC is our largest transfer institution and its students have the best record of successful graduation," he said. "This new TAG will only enhance our already close relationship and provide many students an opportunity to graduate from college."

According to Dr. Virginia Michelich, vice president for Educational Affairs, "Georgia Perimeter students maintain their GPA after transfer to four-year institutions and are at the level of students who begin at those four-year institutions." She credits GPC's high academic standards and excellent, caring faculty for preparing students well for upper level coursework.

Students who want to take advantage of one of the TAG agreements need to plan ahead, however, as they must complete during the fall of the year before they are seeking transfer an "intent to transfer" form. In addition, students must meet the receiving institution's application deadline.

Students should complete their entire core curriculum-at least 60 hours with a minimum GPA specified in the agreement between the institutions -before transferring. The guarantee applies to general admission but not necessarily admission to a specific major. Students should consult with their GPC college advisors for complete information and requirements.

Tricoli says further: "As the largest provider of transfer students in the University System, we are happy to offer this additional, very important opportunity to our students. The goal of the agreements is to minimize barriers to transfer and to increase the number of students who successfully complete the baccalaureate degree."

It was the coldest August morning I have ever experienced
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

AYERS ROCK, Australia, Aug. 10, 2007 -- It was the coldest morning in August that I had ever spent.

Arising at 5:15 a.m., I was to catch a shuttle at 5:45 a.m. for a 12-mile ride to this famous red rock in the middle of Australia to see the change in color of the rock at sunrise. The temperature was 3 degrees Celsius -- about 37 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather was still, with a slight breeze.

Our group of eight in a van was among the first to arrive at the rock. Once arriving, the driver prepared hot tea and coffee, and told us that it would be at least an hour before sunrise. We could watch the rock as it slowly changed colors.

My outfit, cotton pants, a light jacket and cotton sweater over a cotton shirt, didn't help much. I also pulled out a wool scarf for added warmth. We shivered, moved about and walked looking at the rock to keep the cold away. It didn't help. And the rock didn't move at all..

Gradually, other vans, buses and private cars gathered at the Sunrise Watching Area east of the rock. Before it was over, there must have been 300 people to 400 people shifting from foot to foot waiting for the rock to shine.

Australia has three main tourist attractions: the rock, reef and road. This refers to Ayers Rock; the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Queensland; the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, which a friend had conducted me to earlier in the trip. My visit to the middle of the continent (three hours from Sydney by jet) was specifically to see Ayers Rock to compare it to Stone Mountain.

They two monoliths are similar in that they both rise spectacularly out of the plain. Ayers Rock is taller, 1,131 feet compared to 825 for Stone Mountain. Both are about the same distance around, 5.64 for Ayers Rock, and about five miles for Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain is gray granite, and Ayers Rock is a sandstone primarily of feldspar that changes color according to the sun. Both at sunrise and sundown, the light lines make Ayers Rock a bright orange-red. In the middle of the day, it is more crimson to burnt orange. It is ever changing.

Aboriginal people consider the mountain sacred, with only their men supposed to walk on the mountain. Today tourists are told to respect the Aboriginal people and not walk up the mountain, but it is not prohibited. In fact, there is a walkway with a handpipe all the way up one side of the mountain. I didn't have to resist much to keep off the rock. It was a long way up. I saw enough by walking for nearly two hours around the base.

What is different from Stone Mountain is that the rock is the only thing you see for miles and miles, while Stone Mountain is in the middle of urban development. The area around Ayers Rock is mostly flat, flat, flat….not for a few miles, but for hundreds of miles. The vast outback, as seen from the air, is a lonely and virtually moon-like in its boring best, mostly rock and sand, and a few trees that grow to perhaps 10 feet in 25 years. There is seldom rain, though you can see ruts for the way to eventually run off, if any.

Shortly after the sunrise, with the full rays of the sun striking the rock and making it bright in color, we left, going back to the hotel. We were a little disappointed in sunrise, for we thought the sunset colors were more brilliant. And it was far less cold at sunset.

We had come a far way to see an Ayers Rock sunrise, but we never thought it would be as cold in August as it was!

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's featured sponsor is Gwinnett Community Bank of Duluth, Member, FDIC. Tom Martin heads this bank, which operates out of its facilities on Buford Highway, near the intersection of Rogers Bridge and Old Peachtree Road. The Duluth office number is 770-476-2775. There is also a Suwanee location at 3463 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road in Suwanee. The phone number for the Suwanee branch is 770-497-5252. The web site is http://www.gwinnettcommunitybank.com.

Gwinnett Police Chief Charles Walters got approval from the Board of Commissioners Tuesday to apply for a $447,787 grant to help fund a system of warning sirens.

Waters says: "This would be the first phase of a plan to eventually cover all 447 square miles of the county. We plan to locate 11 sirens along the 20-mile path of the 1998 tornado that affected Peachtree Corners, Technology Park, Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Cardinal Lake, Sugarloaf, Lawrenceville-Suwanee and Collins Hill." That tornado damaged 2,400 buildings at a cost of more than $125 million.

The sirens would be capable of giving both tone and voice warnings in various languages. "We have become a heavily populated county yet we've had to rely on news media broadcasts and weather radios to warn residents of impending natural disasters, and redundancy of information is critical," Board Chairman Charles Bannister said. "I applaud Chief Walters and Homeland Security Director Major Alan Doss for planning and developing this much-needed supplemental warning system."

The sirens would be located on county property at the following proposed locations: Holcomb Bridge Park, Pinckneyville Park, Shorty Howell Park, McDaniel Farm Park, Fire Stations 4, 19, 7, and 21, Peachtree Ridge High School, Collins Hill High School and Gwinnett Center. These locations are tentative and ultimately will be determined through topographic and other studies.

The Board agreed to provide a 25 percent match of almost $112,000 if the proposed grant from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is approved next year.

Gwinnett County commissioners approved the sale of $12 million in Development Authority bonds to help pay for a new parking deck adjacent to The Arena at Gwinnett Center. Financial Services Director Lisa Johnsa said the bonds would be repaid with proceeds from the County's hotel/motel tax.

The three-story deck will add about 950 new parking spaces plus 5,000 square feet of meeting space on the top level. The new meeting space will have easy access to the upper level concourse of The Arena and will primarily be used for functions before and after Arena events. Additional funding will include $6 million from the County's tourism fund and another million from the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc.

The 100-acre Gwinnett Center includes the 13,000-seat Arena that opened in 2003 plus a 700-seat Performing Arts Center, the Hudgens Center for the Arts, and a convention center with exhibit halls, meeting rooms, and ballroom space. It is located at I-85 and Sugarloaf Parkway near Duluth.

The Arena, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary next February, has received many honors in its short existence including a nomination by Billboard Magazine as venue of the year and remaining one of TicketMaster's top 10 venues for ticket sales in the southeast region.

All three bond rating agencies - Fitch, Standard & Poor's, and Moody's - have reaffirmed their AAA ratings of Gwinnett County for the 10th straight year. Fitch reports, "The County's financial position is strong, as general government financial operations continue to benefit from strong taxable property growth, prudent financial management and healthy reserve policies." Moody's states that "Gwinnett County's financial position remains strong given current fund balance levels, sophisticated financial management and a history of stable trends." Standard & Poor's reports that, "The County maintains very strong financial operations."

The City of Snellville is seeking to develop a public input committee for the Baker's Rock Park project, a property is located along Springdale Road. It is a 29.3-acre, protected granite outcrop containing unique flora and fauna along with vernal pools.

Cyndee Bonacci, director of Parks and Recreation, says that "This property is such a precious gem for the City of Snellville. We must be careful in preserving and protecting this distinctive environment for generations to come." The City has awarded the design contract to EDAW, Inc., a landscape architecture and planning firm, to design the project.

Those interested are encouraged to contact the park office at 770-985-3535 or email Cyndee Bonacci at cbonacci@snellville.org to have their name and contact information added to the Baker's Rock Input Committee list. The first public input meeting will be held in the next few weeks, so check www.snellville.org for details.

"Trying to understand more about Australia, we read a new author while on the airplane visiting in Australia. Modern-day Kerry Greenwood writes mysteries about a female detective far ahead of her time, which is Australia in the 1920s and 1930s. She breaks new ground as she solves problems. This book tells of the early-day drug trade, and one way it was brought to Australia. Meanwhile, the detective, Phryne Fisher, breaks new ground as she applies her skillful mind to breaking through barriers and mysteries in her unique style. It's not a heavy book, but makes for fast reading, especially if you enjoy a spirited person."---eeb

In 1936 archaeologist Arthur R. Kelly located the remains of a fortified trading establishment in the midst of a Creek Indian archaeological site on the Ocmulgee National Monument. Although historical documentation is lacking, it appeared to be an English trading house established while the Creek Indians were living in the area of present-day Macon during the period 1690-1718. The post is believed to have been burned in the Yemasee War of 1715.

Excavations have turned up all sorts of artifacts, including axes, clay pipes, beads, knives, swords, bullets, flints, pistols, and muskets. The remains of the trading post consisted of two buildings surrounded by a five-sided stockade with posts set in a narrow ditch (the stockade wall of the trading post is now outlined by concrete bumpers) and further enclosed on four sides by a larger moatlike ditch. The stockade enclosed an area of approximately one-quarter acre. A depressed roadway, believed to be part of the old Creek trading path, leads up to the compound ruins.

Excavations of the trading house also have revealed a number of Native American graves, with European trade goods primarily from English sources. Archaeological evidence indicates that the trading house was not present continuously throughout the Creek period. Archaeologist Gregory Waselkov suggests that the fortified settlement probably dates to the period after 1702, when English-backed Creeks from this area attacked Spanish missions in present Florida. Expecting reprisals, they built fortifications but probably did not need them after the Creeks destroyed the Apalachee missions in and around present Tallahassee, Fla., in 1704.

Archaeologist Carol Mason argues that the remains are from the Hitchiti town of Ocmulgee, the residence of English trader James Lucas. Based on his interpretation of the Herbert Map of 1725, archaeologist Marvin Smith suggests that the complex may be the town of Kasihta. While the exact identification of the town and trading establishment is controversial, it may well be the origin point for English-backed Creek raiders who destroyed the Spanish missions in present Florida in 1702 and again in 1704.

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