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County marks Earth Day by adopting
solid waste plan
By
Connie Wiggins
Executive Director, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., April 25, 2008 -- The Gwinnett County Board
of Commissioners this week marked Earth Day 2008 by adopting a new
Solid Waste Management Plan that will significantly expand recycling
opportunities, save energy, reduce greenhouse gases and enhance
Gwinnett's quality of life.
The plan, which will be implemented in 2009, increases considerably
the number of materials accepted for recycling in unincorporated
Gwinnett County. It also reduces truck traffic, noise and pollution
in neighborhoods by streamlining the number of service providers.
The new plan designates one service provider for each of the eight
residential unincorporated zones, and it ensures the pickup of all
residential garbage.
Less than 10 percent of the residential waste in Gwinnett County
is currently recycled, reused or composted. In order to capture
these wasted resources, the County plans to boost the number of
recyclable materials fivefold to 35, more than any other community
in Georgia. Residents will be able to recycle all types of paper
including cardboard, plastics 1-7, aluminum items, metal cans and
glass.
Recycling not only provides economic and environmental benefits,
it also substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions. If Gwinnett
County were to recycle 23 percent of its solid waste stream by 2017
(the current goal), the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would
be equivalent to taking 36,533 cars off the road every year and
the energy savings would equal the annual energy use of 14,610 households.
In addition, limiting the number of waste collection trucks in each
neighborhood weekly, from an estimated 12 to 18 trucks to only two
or three, will reduce fuel consumption, noise and air pollution.
"Earth Day reminds us that individuals can make a difference,"
said Board Chairman Charles Bannister, "While not everyone
can drive a hybrid or purchase new appliances, anyone can recycle.
Gwinnett's new Solid Waste Management Plan will lead to a better
tomorrow, not only for us but for our children and grandchildren."
You can view the Solid Waste Management Plan by visiting www.gwinnettcounty.com
and looking under County News. For more information about the new
solid waste management system, please visit www.gwinnettcb.org.
Facing uphill battle, still Hillary hangs
in for nomination
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
APRIL 25, 2008 -- Barack Obama ought to be running a little scared
these days. For though he has won many state primaries, and seems
to have an insurmountable lead over Hillary Clinton in the run-up
to the Democratic Party convention, still he can't shake Miss Hillary
off.
Brack |
She hangs in there, tenacious as ever, and holds out the possibility
that she can still win the Democratic nomination.
Even a staunch Republican this week said: "She's really impressed
me the way she has stayed in there. We'll give her credit for that."
Since it's apparent that neither Obama or Clinton will finish the
primary battle with the number of delegates sewn up for the nomination,
now the party chair, former Gov. Howard Dean, is calling for the
so-called "superdelegates" to make their choices known
by the end of the primary season. He's hoping that this will work
to cement the party together and avoid a drawn-out, no-holds-barred
fight at the Denver convention August 25-28.
However, that's not necessarily how it will play out this time,
nor has played out in the past. And after all, why do you hold a
nominating convention? It's the time when all the players come to
the same spot, and almost literally, "slug it out" to
see who can become the nominee. In conventions in the past, that's
meant smoke-filled rooms, with supporters of the different candidates
button-holing (or scarf admiring for the ladies) delegates trying
to convince them to support their candidate.
In recent years, that's not the way it has happened. Candidates
have sewn up the race well in advance of the convention. It even
made you wonder why hold the convention at all.
This year the Democrats have a chance to showcase their talents
in front of a larger national audience, that is, if the nominee
is not decided by the opening of the convention.
What Mr. Dean and the national Democrats may fear is that waiting
until the convention to select the nominee may cause more harm to
the party than knowing the nominee in advance of the convention.
But as Mr. Obama said this week, once the standard bearer is chosen,
most Democrats will line up behind their party, for they certainly
don't want to vote of Republican.
There's another element to the Democratic race this year: no matter
which candidate emerges as the winner, it will be a significantly
different year, as the Democrats choose a nominee unlike any in
the past: either a woman or a black candidate. That selection alone
will show Americans that the Democrats aren't doing "business
as usual" and energize the party as never before. This year,
then, becomes a historic occasion for the Democrats, as the choices
of American voters will see something entirely different in the
nominee of the party. It could tip the balance in the General Election.
For the moment, the story is that though having a tough time, Hillary
Clinton is still in the race. Though her choice is slim, she still
has a possibility of becoming her party's nominee. The decision
on the nominee may have to wait until the Denver convention to be
determined. Hillary won't mind. That seems now her only chance,
and scares Barack Obama.
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Remembers
that the United States is a republic
Editor, the Forum:
It appears Ms. Durant in the April
22 edition of GwinnettForum is a product of our wonderful
government education. Last time I checked, we live in a republic,
not a democracy. If this is truly her understanding of our form
of government, she is not the one to be encouraging others to participate
in our government processes.
I understand the message she is trying to convey, but she is doing
herself and those she is trying to reach a great disservice by using
incorrect terminology. Leave that to our ill informed politicians
who spout this kind of rubbish on a daily basis. In the same issue,
I agree with Mr. Malone. Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid are,
without a doubt, the biggest debacles in our lifetime. Successful
models my foot!
-- Larry Partain, Norcross
Reader gives us another
picky, picky, picky correction
Editor, the Forum:
While I applaud the effort by Ms. Durant and AKA Sorority, Inc.
for getting younger folks to register to vote, the lead paragraph
of her column contained two blatant inaccuracies that, unfortunately,
a majority of people believe to be true.
The first error in fact is that we do not live in a democracy.
We live in a republic. We elect fellow citizens to represent us.
The second error is the "right to vote." Believe it or
not, nowhere in our constitution does it guarantee the "right
to vote," yet I'll bet 99 people out of 100 mistakenly think
that it is a "right." I view it more as a privilege and
a civic duty. I know that I might be a little nit-picky here and
I do respect Ms. Durant for her efforts. But I thought these clarifications
should be pointed out.
-- Craig Heighton, Hoschton
Dear Larry and Craig: Yes, I will agree with
both of you: picky, picky, picky. Yet look at the 19th amendment,
where there is mention of the right to vote:
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State
on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation."
Hybrid
agriculture?
Another great carton from Bill McLemore:
Braselton
Antique and Garden Festival set this weekend
The semi-annual Braselton Antique and Gardening Festival "goes
green before green became cool" this weekend by offering workshops
in addition to the booths of antiques, vintage items, collectibles
and gardening merchandise.
Scheduled for Saturday (9 a.m. until 6 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.
to 5 p.m.) in Braselton Park. all events, exhibits and workshops
are free. Food and beverage vendors will be in the park.
Workshops are hosted by area professionals. Subjects include drought-tolerant
plants, vegetable gardening and dividing/planting day lilies. Information
on water conservation, forest fire prevention and growing organic
foods will be offered by exhibitors.
Admission and parking are free at the two-day events. The Braselton
Park is located one block west of Georgia Highway 53 in downtown
Braselton (Exit 129 from Interstate-85). For further information,
telephone 706-654-3693.
Open house is Saturday,
May 3, for Safe Drinking Water
In celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water
Act, the Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources will hold
an open house for the public at the Shoal Creek Water Production
Facility on Saturday, May 3, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There will be facility tours, hayrides, arts and crafts, complimentary
lunch and refreshments. Admission to the event is free. The facility
is located at 1755 Buford Dam Road in Buford. For more information
about this event, contact Dana Garland at (770) 904-3201.
Suwanee jazz concert
season to open on Friday, May 2
Bob Baldwin will be the featured performer at the opening concert
of the 2008 Suwanee jazz concert series at Town Center Park Friday,
May 2. The free concert begins at 7 p.m. The concert series will
once again bring some of metro Atlanta's - and the country's - hottest
jazz performers to the Town Center stage on a monthly basis through
October.
Baldwin's most recent release, NEWURBANJAZZ.COM,
fuses jazz and funk with vocals and highlights his ability to weave
life's experience into music while creating inventive harmonies.
Baldwin, who has worked with a variety of other artists, currently
hosts the New Urban Jazz Lounge on 107.5 WJZZ. Opening for Baldwin
is saxophonist Jeff Sparks. Sparks blends various genres, ranging
from classical soul to contemporary jazz to hip-hop, on his soprano
sax.
Bring picnics, blankets, and low-back chairs to these free concerts
at Town Center Park. Food, beer, and wine will be available for
purchase. The park is located at the intersection of Buford Highway
and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.
Atlanta Thriller Bookfest
highlights local authors for signings
The Atlanta Thriller Bookfest author discussion and signings is
set for the Collins Hills Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library
on May 3, from noon until 5:30 p.m. The library is at 455 Camp Perrin
Road.
This Atlanta area festival features several bestselling mystery,
suspense and horror writers. Included will be Sallie Bissell, David
Fulmer, Robert Greer, Jeff Long, Greg Loomis, Philip Nutman, Patricia
Sprinkle, Jaclyn Weldon White and others. Go to the website to find
out what time each author will appear www.gwinnettpl.org
or call 770-978-5154.
Keynote speaker New York Times bestselling author Ridley
Pearson will speak and sign his books at 4:30 p.m. This event is
free and is sponsored by Eagle Eye Bookstore and the Gwinnett County
Public Library system.
High school rivals
compete as friends in Little Mermaid
Who would have thought the Brookwood vs. Parkview rivalry would
extend beyond the end zone and onto the stage?
Ballerinas Genevieve Colangelo (Parkview High School sophomore)
and Katie Lamp'l (Brookwood High School junior) will take that Gwinnett
County rivalry to the dance floor at the Gwinnett Center May 16-18,
when they portray everyone's favorite mermaid in the Northeast Atlanta
Ballet's production of The Little Mermaid. Although Genevieve
and Katie attend rival high schools, they have taken classes together
for over ten years at the Lilburn School of Ballet and remain good
friends even though they often compete for the same roles.
The family friendly ballet features colorful sets and costumes,
dancing fish, limber lobsters, prowling urchins, sparkly sea horses,
and, of course, the most enchanting mermaids.
The Northeast Atlanta Ballet, founded by artistic director Jennifer
B. Gordon in 1996, is the official company in residence of the Lilburn
School of Ballet, found at www.northeastatlantaballet.org.
Tickets are available through the Lilburn School of Ballet (770)
921-7277, the Gwinnett Center box office and all Ticketmaster outlets.
Gwinnett Medical Center
wins Beacon critical care award
Gwinnett Medical Center is the only hospital in Georgia to win
the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence twice. The award is
given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
to recognize the nation's top hospital critical care units. Beacon
Award winners have exhibited the highest quality standards, exceptional
care of patients and their families and healthy work environments.
Joanne Culvern, RN, CCRN, clinical manager of the ICU at GMC, says:
"Our Beacon Award journey has constantly challenged us to raise
the bar for quality patient care standards and a healthy work environment.
The ICU staff has embraced tremendous change and become engaged
in transforming the care that is delivered in our unit. The staff
has discovered how their individual contributions directly impact
patient outcomes. We are proud to meet AACN's rigorous criteria
for critical care excellence and appreciate the recognition for
our achievements."
Critical care units that are recognized by the AACN as a Beacon
Award recipient, the unit must have:
- Excellence in the intensive care environments in which nurses
work and critically ill patients are cared for;
- Recognized excellence of the highest quality measures, processes,
structures and outcomes; and
- Collaboration, communication and partnerships that support healing
and humane environments.
Steverino's
in Duluth
"My husband, Mark, and I ate recently at the newly-opened
Steverino's in downtown Duluth on the town green. The staff was
friendly and our food was tasty. We also enjoyed their patio dining.
I ordered a spinach and chicken calzone ($8 or so), which I would
recommend, and had their bottled Fiji water with it. My husband
got a small sausage pizza that he liked ($7ish). Their address is
3117 Main Street, Duluth, and the phone number is 770-622-2110.
They also do take out and catering. Next time we go, we may try
the baked apple pizza, which sounds tempting!"
-- Cindy Evans, Duluth
- 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
Progressivism
sees increasing leadership of women
One of the more distinguishing features of the Progressive
movement in Georgia, as nationwide, was the initiative and increasing
leadership taken by women, black and white, on a variety of fronts.
Most of these were urban-based and middle-class women, eager to
move beyond the domestic sphere dictated by Victorian America, who
organized and became politically active.
White Georgians, such as Helen Dortch Longstreet, Nellie Peters
Black, and Julia Flisch, and African Americans, such as Lugenia
Burns Hope and Selena Sloan Butler, worked through women's clubs,
neighborhood associations (primarily black), and other charitable
and civic organizations to raise consciousness and lobby legislators
for the reforms they most ardently supported.
A number of women were active on several fronts, even when those
causes may have seemed contradictory in ideological terms. Ella
Gertrude Clanton Thomas of Augusta, for example, held leadership
positions in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Augusta,
and was president of the Georgia Woman Suffrage Association. She
crusaded for a state industrial school for girls and for more humane
treatment of female prisoners in the state's jails. Yet she was
also a leading proponent of more conservative "Lost Cause"
efforts to commemorate the Confederacy and Confederate soldiers.
Rebecca Latimer Felton championed prohibition and woman suffrage
and attacked the convict lease system, yet she defended cotton mill
owners against charges of child labor abuses and defended not only
black disfranchisement but lynching as well.
The culmination of women's efforts was their campaign to win the
right to vote. Georgia's woman suffrage advocates began organizing
as early as 1890. National leaders and prominent Progressive reformers
like Susan B. Anthony and Jane Addams made supportive appearances
in the state, while Rebecca Latimer Felton, Mary Latimer McLendon,
Frances Smith Whiteside (Hoke Smith's sister), and many of the women
mentioned above worked to build support among Georgia's women and
the public.
Yet they faced formidable opposition from other women, such as
Mildred Lewis Rutherford and Dolly Blount Lamar, who headed the
Georgia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. Pro-suffrage advocates
faced a losing battle in a conservative state that was the first
in the nation, in 1919, to reject the Nineteenth Amendment. Yet
Georgia women finally gained the right to vote with the ratification
of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
(To be continued)
Results if Christopher
Columbus had an advisory committee
"If Columbus had an advisory committee, he would probably
still be at the dock."
-- Former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg (1908-1990,
via Roy McCreary, Dacula.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2008, 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.
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BIG HONOR.
Spectral Response of Duluth has been named Georgia's Manufacturer
of the Year in the small company category. Shown at the awards ceremony
are (from left): Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle; Ron Jackson, commissioner,
Department of Technical and Adult Education; Kevin Melendy, president,
Spectral Response; Laurie Steward, Spectral human resource manager;
Ken Stewart, commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development;
and David Shockley, Spectral director of operations. Since its 1987
beginnings with two employees in a Gwinnett County garage, Spectral
Response has grown to occupy 50,000 feet of production area with
125 full-time employees. Today the company is the largest buyer
of electronic components and printed circuit boards in the Atlanta
market. Announcement of the award came at the annual awards ceremony
as a highlight of Georgia Manufacturing Appreciation Week, which
is co-hosted by the Department of Technical and Adult Education
(DTAE) and the Department of Economic Development. 
