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An innovative way to recognize why
time "really matters"
By
Knox Summerour
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: Gwinnett native Knox Summerour
is seeking a musical career in California. He is a graduate of
the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and has a master's degree
in music from the University of Georgia. -eeb)
ALHAMBRA, Calif., Feb. 19, 2008 -- Time gets away from us all.
Many of us constantly busy ourselves, to quell screaming voices
inside our heads or to quench the need to feel important, and to
such people at such times, time seems to move as midmorning highway
traffic.
C.S. Lewis in his writings often remarks how "irreconcilable"
humans are to time. "My, how he's grown", or "Man,
time flies" and "Where does the time go?" Some of
us says it another way: "Wow, do you realize Christmas is almost
here!"
In the normal course of a week, we hear or speak these pleadings
more than a few times, entreating time to slow down. Even if you're
not one who keeps yourself busy just to be able to impress others
when they ask ("Life has been crazy busy lately!" is one
you hear often these days), we still look back at the end of the
month and think, "Wow, is this it?"
It was only a year or two ago when I reflected on the passing of
a certain year and said to myself, "Wow, is that what a year
is like? Was it really a year ago that I moved here? Was it really
a full year ago when we met? Since we last saw each other? Is a
year really that short?" And it was at this very moment that
I realized, if a year is really this short, and I only have, oh,
50 or so of these left, I can't waste a single one. I can't spend
a moment more doing something I don't enjoy, living a life I don't
want, hiding what's inside from myself or from those close to me,
and regretting not having really gone for it and just settled for
what the doldrums and cynicisms and conventions and traditions of
life hand out to me.
A friend recently put it to me in a way that made much sense out
of it all, this time dilemma. When we're younger, say from age 10
until age 18, 20, or 23, a year seems like such a long time, because
at that point in one's life, it is.
At age 17, a year is nearly six percent of your total life lived.
At my current age, 27, a year is 3.7 percent of my life, or 37 percent
shorter than when you were age 17.
So it's not surprising that it appears that not everyone's years
are really the same length, fairly factoring individual perception.
This was something I previously hadn't even thought about in relation
to time and growing up. What a huge impact "growing older"
has on your life! Growing older, as it turns out, is really, in
temporal terms and to put it oxymoronically, "growing shorter."
Man, how time flies.
Adding another cent to sales tax amounts to
major tax hike
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
FEB. 19, 2008 -- "Whoa! Stop! That's enough!"
Brack |
We're talking about adding another penny to the state sales tax,
a new ploy by politicians for about anything they want these days.
It's getting to be a little much.
And ironically, this comes from people who say they don't want
to raise taxes. But taking a mere tax penny out of my or your pocket
is nothing more than raising taxes!
What makes this doubly ironic is that it is coming from the Republican-controlled
Georgia Legislature. You would think that Republicans would be intent
on holding back feeding more taxes into the public domain. But the
GOP members in recent years have done nothing less than use "tax
and spend" methods Democrats formerly were accused of doing.
If you want proof, look no further than the ever-mounting federal
debt under the Bush Administration. Where are the true conservative
Republicans today?
Now comes a proposal to allow Georgia counties to determine if
they want to tax themselves for transportation through a local optional
sales tax. That is on the heels of local jurisdictions having opportunity,
first, for a penny collected with a local optional sales tax for
county infrastructure…..followed by another penny of local
optional sales taxes for education. That's two cents added to the
Georgia sales tax.
Now they want another? Tomorrow there will probably come another
such measure, for another no doubt good purpose. Will these continued
suggestions to having pennies proposed for specific purposes ever
end?
Do Republicans think such a penny is not a tax? It surely is, and
everyone pays. Of course, if instead the GOP members proposed a
new tax to come from property, wealthy landowners would protest
the continued heaping of more taxes on them.
It's time to note that we don't need more pennies taken from us
buyers of everything from shaving cream to lawn mowers.
A study by the Center
for a Better South, done by Sarah Beth Coffey of Atlanta in
2006 showed the level that the various southern states were imposing
on its residents for sales tax collection. Using 2004 figures, Ms.
Coffey showed the tax level:
While this table shows that in most states, the actual state sales
tax is low, such as in Alabama at four per cent, the maximum state
and local sales tax in Alabama, for instance, can be 11 per cent!
Heaping on of local sales taxes is still a hidden way of taxing
people, allowing the died-in-the-wool and lobby-fed politician to
say: "But our state sales tax is only four percent" and
actually be honest and factual, though slippery.
Such elusiveness doesn't need to continue. Granted, the times are
sometimes difficult, and lawmakers have to pinch every penny they
can. However, continuing to heap on the retail shopper hidden tax
collections for worthy purposes can go too far. A penny matters!
Lawmakers need to be more creative in their approach to pay for
new services. What would really surprise us is for one of them to
say: "We need to raises taxes if you want this project."
To get more services, such as public transit, will take more taxes.
Since we want to move people about efficiently, trains will work,
and can benefit the public. Remember, highways are mostly used for
moving people, and cost us taxes, but we don't yell and scream that
such road taxes are not useful. A tax for rail movement of people
would also benefit us all. Would. But it doesn't have to be paid
for with a sales tax!
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Suggests
slight change in procedure when you are voting
Editor, the Forum:
The idea to hire high school seniors to work at the polling places
is an excellent idea.
I, too, had the same experience, a very nice elderly lady who could
not find my name. Your idea is excellent for all the reasons you
give.
I would also suggest a change in the process of voting. First you
would be found in the computer (of course, by a registered high
school senior), then a printer would issue a slip of paper with
everything on it which you are now required to fill in by hand.
Having it already printed would mean that all you had to do was
sign it.
With the required voter ID there would be no fraud and I doubt
that they compare what you fill out with what is in the computer
anyway. They certainly did not in my case. Once they found me in
the computer I got my card and was sent on my way.
-- Hoyt Tuggle, Lawrenceville
Dear Hoyt: Good suggestion for a reasonable change.
Perhaps once they found you on the computer, they could ask you
for your address, so if you had moved, they could change it immediately,
and print that correct address on the computer. It would also
bring your information up to date. -eeb
Battle
of Badges coming Feb. 25 to Gladiators' hockey game
The Fourth annual "Battle of the Badges" to benefit Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta is set at the Gwinnett Arena on Sunday, February
24.
More than 100 patients who attend Camp Braveheart will welcome
the Gwinnett Gladiators and the Augusta Lynx to the ice at the Arena
at Gwinnett Center on February 24. Following the game, the Metro
Atlanta Police and Fire Hockey League will battle it out with Southwest
Florida Firefighters at the "Battle of the Badges" hockey
game.
With a special focus on child safety, the day will feature pre-game
demonstrations with more than 30 Police, Fire and Public Safety
units. On hand at 2 p.m. before the game will be a fire safety house,
K-9 unit, fire engines, police vehicles, SWAT and helicopters. The
units will all be on the Plaza outside the Arena.
Chamber, HavenTrust
Bank to host small business awards
Nominations are now being accepted by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
for the small business person of the year. Deadline for submitting
the nominations is February 22.
Anyone may nominate a client, vendor or even their own business
to vie for the honor for 2008. The Gwinnett Chamber's 2008 Pinnacle
Small Business Awards will select Gwinnett's top entrepreneur as
its Small Business Person of the Year. The chamber will also pick
the top businesses in three categories by employee count: 1-10;
11-149; and 150+ employees.
The overall Small Business of the Year winner will represent Gwinnett
and participate in Georgia's Small Business of the Year competition.
The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and HavenTrust Bank will host
the Pinnacle Small Business Awards on Thursday, April 17, at 6:30
p.m. at the Atlanta Hilton Northeast.
New 155-acre section
of Peachtree Ridge Park opens
Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation has opened up a section of
the new 155.7-acre Peachtree Ridge Park in Suwanee for citizens
to enjoy.
Now open is one mile of paved multi-purpose trails with 0.23-mile
handicap accessible loop, a playground, large pavilion, basketball
courts, restroom facility and an open play area. A football field
with a lighted walking track opened in fall 2007.
The INSPIRE program (Intramural Sports that Promote Inclusion,
Respect, and Excellence) is part of the Peachtree Ridge Youth Athletic
Association and provides athletics for individuals with special
needs, is part of the Peachtree Ridge Youth Athletic Association.
The first phase of construction was funded through the 2005 Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Peachtree Ridge Park is located
at 3170 Suwanee Creek Road.
Contract let for extension
of Sugarloaf to New Hope Road
Construction will begin soon on the extension of Sugarloaf Parkway
from Georgia Highway 20 southeast of Lawrenceville to a new interchange
to be built at New Hope Road. Two years ago the county awarded the
design contract that kicked off the engineering and land acquisition
associated with this project, and now has awarded the contract.
E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc., was the lowest of six bidders at about
$23.5 million for the 2.7 mile project. The work is scheduled to
take 30 months but a first-ever clause in the contract provides
a financial incentive to finish ahead of schedule.
Construction will begin by upgrading the eastern intersection with
Highway 20 where Sugarloaf Parkway currently ends, providing new
turn lanes at the intersection. A bridge will carry Sugarloaf traffic
over Chandler Road to a temporary end at the New Hope Road interchange.
The county will eventually extend Sugarloaf Parkway beyond New Hope
Road to Georgia Highway 316, providing a four-lane, cross-county
highway all the way from Duluth to Dacula.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has also indicated their
commitment for an additional $5 million for the remaining two sections
of Phase I of Sugarloaf Parkway Extension to Georgia Highway 316.
Aurora Theatre adds
education director to its staff
Aurora Theatre has added a director of education to its staff.
She is Susan Reid, the seventh full-time employee, who will head
the educational programs of the theatre and will help create a theatre
training program for young people, to be called Aurora Academy and
Conservatory. It will kick off a summer camp this June, aiming at
the nearly 200,000 children who live in Gwinnett County.
Reid |
Ms. Reid is no stranger to Aurora Theatre. Over the last four years,
she has directed several shows at the Aurora. Ms. Reid holds a master
of fine arts degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro
and a B.A. in English from Randolph-Macon Woman's College. She served
as head of the fine arts acting program at Columbus State University
for three years, where she was instrumental in redefining the theatre
curriculum.
The Director of Education position fulfills the theatre's fundamental
goal of creating a new generation of theatergoers, thus enhancing
the overall arts community in Gwinnett. Future initiatives include
the formation of a senior ensemble and a Spanish Ensemble that will
perform under the Aurora Theatre roof.
EMC Security offers
new home technology service
With more and more homebuilders and homeowners seeking houses that
offer the most modern technological innovations, EMC Security is
building on its expertise in advanced wiring to establish a new
division, EMC Home Technology.
EMC Security President, Vince Raia says: "In today's market,
buyers are looking for home technology that allows them to combine
information, communication, entertainment and home automation in
ways that improve the quality of their lives and provide step-saving
solutions. We believe EMC Home Technology will provide a one-stop
shopping experience for their home technology needs, offered by
a company that has a well-deserved reputation for quality and service.
Our experience in providing advanced wiring is a natural springboard
to integrating all of a home's technology needs---Internet connectivity----in
every room that networks all home computers, digital satellite or
cable TV distributed throughout the home, home theaters, whole house
music and intercom, as well as home networking that integrates security,
lighting, audio and heating and air conditioning.
Ralph M. Collier, an award-winning Metro-Atlanta residential builder
and developer with more than 30 years' experience, will represent
EMC Home Technology, working with area builders to meet their home
technology needs. A Certified Professional Home Builder and member
of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Georgia Home Builders
Association and National Association of Home Builders, Collier received
several Professionalism Awards as well as Builder magazine's Groundbreaker
2000 Award.
He says: "Builders are looking for amenities that set their
homes apart from those of their competitors. And, with the slow-down
in the home resale market, many homeowners are staying put and remodeling
or adding to their existing home."
Builders and consumers who are interested in home technology projects
may contact EMC Home Technology at 770-963-0305 or contact Collier
at rcollier@emcsecurity.com.
A joint venture of Jackson EMC, Walton EMC and GreyStone Power
Corporation, EMC Security began offering local security service
and monitoring in June 1998. Since that time, the company has grown
to more than 24,000 monitored customers in the metro-Atlanta/Northeast
Georgia area. Headquartered in Lawrenceville, the company has since
2003 been consistently ranked among the top 100 security firms in
the nation by Security Distributing and Marketing (SDM), a security
industry publication.
- 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
John Slaton
of Atlanta served two terms as governor
John
Slaton was Georgia's 60th governor, serving two terms, 1911-12
and 1913-15. He was also a state representative and state senator,
and he practiced law in Atlanta. Slaton was born on December 25,
1866, near Greenville in Meriwether County. After the Civil War
his father came to Atlanta, where he was superintendent of the public
schools.
Slaton |
Slaton attended Sam Bailey Institute in Griffin and graduated from
Boys' High School in Atlanta in 1880. He received a master of arts
degree with highest honors from the University of Georgia in 1886
and was admitted to the bar in 1887.
Slaton was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives from
Fulton County in 1896 and served until 1909. During the last four
of these years he also served as Speaker of the House. In 1909 he
was elected to the state senate from the 35th District, a position
he held until 1913. Serving as president of the senate, Slaton was
appointed acting governor after Governor Hoke Smith was elected
to the U.S. Senate in 1911. Slaton served in that capacity from
1911 to 1912, when Joseph M. Brown won a term as governor. Subsequently,
Slaton was elected to the governorship in his own right and served
from 1913 to 1915.
As governor, Slaton preserved the state-owned Western and Atlantic
Railroad from the competition of a parallel route, worked out a
tax equalization program, paid teachers' salaries in full, and established
such confidence in the stability of the state that when he refinanced
the maturing bond issue of several million dollars, the Georgia
bonds brought a higher price than those offered by the state of
New York.
Slaton's most notable act as governor was commuting Leo Frank's
death sentence in 1915. Frank had been convicted of murdering Mary
Phagan, a young worker in the pencil factory he managed, on what
many saw as flimsy evidence.
After his governorship Slaton never held another elected position.
He served as president of the Georgia Bar Association in 1928-29
and chaired the Board of Law Examiners for twenty-nine years. He
was also a member of the General Council of the American Bar Association.
Slaton's story was presented on NBC's Profiles in Courage series
in 1964 and in a television movie with actor Jack Lemmon playing
Slaton. Slaton died on January 11, 1955, in Atlanta and is buried
in Oakland Cemetery.
Thought about carrying
your burdens, no matter how heavy
"Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall.
Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live
sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And
this is all that life really means."
-- Author Robert Louis Stevenson, (1850-1894), via Roy McCreary,
Dacula.
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is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
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