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GGC tells of approval of first housing to open next year
By Merri M. Brantley
Special to GwinnettForum

LAWRENCEVILLE, Aug. 22, 2008 -- By August 2009, around 200 Georgia Gwinnett College students will move into the institution's first student housing facilities. These modern dorms will represent Phase I of student housing at GGC - now scheduled to be completed in 2009 -- just in time for next year's fall semester.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the ground lease and rental agreement for GGC's new student housing at their monthly Board meeting this week, setting in motion the college's plan to break ground and begin building the first of five planned residence halls that eventually will house 1,000 students in apartment-like "pods" within the various 3-4 story units. A new structured parking deck that will allow for 985 vehicles also is in the plans and should be completed in tandem with the housing, which is scheduled to be finalized in 2010.

Georgia Gwinnett College President Daniel J. Kaufman says: "This is yet another significant milestone in the college's short history. The students who attend GGC now and our future students deserve to have affordable on-campus housing, and we are anticipating a positive reaction to the new residential halls."

Board of Regents Chairman Richard Tucker of Suwanee said that the resident halls will contribute to the overall interest in the college and will be an important factor as the University System meets the demands of the growing student population in Georgia. "The Board was delighted to approve this outstanding plan to allow student housing at our newest college," Tucker said. "Student housing will contribute to the achievement of GGC's goal of providing a comprehensive educational experience for its students."

The dorms will be 21st Century living at its finest. In fact they're not dorms at all. Each of the resident hall apartments will house anywhere from 4 to 12 students and include living areas, fully-equipped kitchens and one bathroom for every two students, Maurice Blount, director of facilities at GGC said. Resident directors and advisors will live in designated quarters throughout the residential areas. The resident housing also will include seminar rooms where students can hold activities---fully integrating residence life into academic life.

Dr. Stanley Preczewski, vice president for academic and student affairs, says: "The resident housing is a critical piece in our retention, progression and graduation goals. We want these students to be educated here, make friends here and really achieve the across-the-board college experience. We believe that the resident halls we've envisioned and designed will contribute greatly to what our students are looking for in the 21st century."

The $80 million housing development and parking deck are part of a public/private venture in partnership with Place Properties. Groundbreaking on the new facilities should take place later this year. Financing for the dorms initially will be provided in conjunction with the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation; however ultimately will be paid for through lease fees from students.

College administrators also are planning to implement additions to the initial 200 units in subsequent years. Blount said that the college will add another 1,500 housing units and an additional parking deck following the completion of Phase I.

Wayne Mason, chairman of the GGC Foundation's real estate committee, says: "Georgia Gwinnett College already has proven to be a boon to Gwinnett County. Adding the housing to the property is going to bring more interest to GGC and to the area. The enthusiasm for the college is overwhelming in our community and as the college grows I believe the fervor surrounding the home of the Grizzlies will grow as well."

Some presidential race thoughts concerning Gwinnett
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher

AUG. 22, 2008 -- It's quiz time today. With presidential politics hot and heavy, let's go back in United States history and give you a test to see if you can match the president with his slogan during his campaign for office. For answers, see the bottom of the column.

One presidential candidate will be stopping in Gwinnett, we hear from the Gwinnett Rotary Club. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, will address the Rotarians on September 9 at their meeting at 12:15 p.m. at the 1818 Club.

J.K. Murphy, the program chair, said that the club waived their usual ban on inviting politicos to accommodate presidential candidates. He said that the club was inviting the other two presidential contenders, but so far, had not heard back from their offices.

You would think that Gwinnett, though it normally votes Republican, might be a good place for presidential candidates to stop. After all, it is the home of three-quarters of a million people, and a vote is a vote in what some see as a contested rate for the electoral votes in Georgia. And if both major candidates are truly in contention to take the state, Gwinnett has a pot full of votes for both Republicans and Democrats. And if the candidates are truly competitive, a vote in Gwinnett is as good as a vote any other place, and there are a lot of votes in Gwinnett.

We remember it was in 1992 that George H.W. Bush pulled a big crowd in downtown Norcross when his campaign train stopped for a few minutes there.

President Bush got off the train and spoke for a few minutes from the lawn of the Norcross Depot. Lillian Webb, who was county commission chairman at the time and who had a big hand in arranging for the train stop, chatted with Barbara Bush and other bigwigs.

After the Bush talk, Norcross Mayor Maurice Allen, who had greeted him, was the only local resident to board the rear club car of the train with the president. Allen remembers: "He thanked me for the hospitality of the city, and we made some small talk. A photographer was there to take our picture, but he ran out of film, this being before digital cameras. So while he loaded the camera, it was a bit awkward for the president and me. Neither of us knew what to say. The night before the president and Bill Clinton had debated, and I told Mr. Bush that he did well in the debate. He laughed, and by then the photographer was ready, so he shot the photo. I got off the train, and it pulled out."

Those answers to the presidential quiz: 1-f; 2-j; 3-h; 4-d; 5-i; 6-b;7-c;8-a;9-e;10-g.

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(Editor's Note: Cartoonist Bill McLemore is recovering from surgery at his home in LaGrange. Cheer him with a card at 301 North Greenwood Avenue, LaGrange, Ga. 30240. This cartoon is a re-run from 2003. What's changed?-eeb)

University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams will be among the speakers at the August 27 dedication ceremony for UGA's new Gwinnett Campus facility, located at 2530 Sever Road in Lawrenceville, just off Interstate-85 at the Old Peachtree Road exit. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m., with a reception and tours of the building immediately following.

Other speakers include Richard Tucker, chair of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; Jan Sandor, assistant vice president for academic affairs at the Gwinnett Campus; and Hazel McMullin, deputy director of human resources for Gwinnett County, who is pursuing a master's degree in public administration at the Gwinnett Campus.

UGA programs now occupy 60,000 square feet of the building on Sever Road known as the Intellicenter. The move from the campus previously shared with Georgia Gwinnett College took place this summer.

Bob Boehmer, who oversees UGA's extended campuses in Gwinnett, Griffin and Tifton, says: "We now have more space to accommodate our growing academic and continuing education programs in Gwinnett. The building is very accessible and provides flexible space for offices and classrooms of various sizes. Faculty, staff and students have been very enthusiastic about the new location."

UGA has offered graduate degree programs in Gwinnett since the mid-1980s, but increased the number and variety of programs in recent years. Current offerings include master's degrees from several UGA schools and colleges including the Terry College of Business, the School of Public and International Affairs, the School of Social Work, and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The College of Education offers both master's and specialist (Ed.S.) degrees and is now offering a doctoral program in counseling and student personnel services. UGA's College of Pharmacy offers certificate programs in pharmaceutical and biomedical regulatory affairs and in clinical trials management.

In addition to graduate programs, continuing education programs are offered at the new location. Programs are provided by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, which also offers customized training for businesses and organizations. The Small Business Development Center and the Educational Technology Training Center operated by UGA's College of Education also have offices in the new facility and provide professional training programs.

For more information on the new Gwinnett Campus facility, see http://www.uga.edu/gwinnett/.

Gwinnett will get a new $15 million emergency operations center. A state-of-the-art E-911 communications center, emergency operations center and backup data center is to be built adjoining Gwinnett Police headquarters on Hi-Hope Road in Lawrenceville. The annex will also house police technical support and professional standards units.

Assistant Police Chief Mike Reonas says that the one-story, 45,000 square-foot annex building with associated parking will accommodate 180 employees and allow much-needed additional offices to be built later in vacated space at the current headquarters. He adds: "This project provides new, fully equipped and furnished emergency management facilities that will serve the county for the next 20 years or more."

Construction at the nine-acre site is expected to begin next month with occupancy in early 2010. Leading the design team for the building is architect Michael Katzin of HOK (Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, Inc.). Other firms involved include Ross Drulis Cusenbery Architecture, Inc., Pond and Company, Inc., Newcomb & Boyd, Gleeds USA, Inc. and RCC Consultants. The general contractor for the project will be Manhattan Construction Co.

County Project Manager Jeff Hairston noted that the building design meets Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards for "hardened first responder facilities."

Suwanee's Movies on Main Street classic sci-fi movie series will close Saturday, August 23, with a double-feature presentation of Young Frankenstein and Oedipus Wrecks. The movies will begin at dusk at the Burnette-Rogers Pavilion on Main Street in historic Old Town.

The Movies on Main Street selections are intended for adults and teens. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, picnic suppers or snacks, and (non-alcoholic) beverages to the Burnette-Rogers Pavilion. Snacks, soda, and water will be available on site.

Tax allocation district (TAD) experts indicate property within the Gwinnett Place CID is well positioned to benefit from this unique redevelopment resource.

Leaders with the CID are in discussions with real estate advisors to establish an area TAD for greater Gwinnett Place. The CID's Board of Directors recognizes TADs as one of the most powerful tools available. Area property owners also know that a TAD can help them achieve their redevelopment vision for the future.

Joe Allen, Gwinnett Place CID executive director, says: "The CID has several potential catalyst sites, and a TAD would allow us to attract a higher quality of development by providing needed infrastructure improvements that will overcome the challenges caused by traffic congestion in our area. TADs are said to work well in areas where property is under-used and in need of infrastructure improvements to spur revitalization. A TAD could be key to helping us assist those who will upgrade our area in the future."

The CID will work closely with TAD consultants to define a clear set of objectives and identify potential projects. The CID will also work to create an accompanying redevelopment plan for the proposed Gwinnett Place TAD as required by the Georgia Redevelopment Powers law.

The CID is anticipated having a TAD proposal ready to submit for Gwinnett County's review and consideration this fall.

Gwinnett Technical College has launched Gwinnett Trees Count, an on-campus urban forestry project supported by the Georgia Forestry Commission's (GFC) Urban & Community Forestry Grant Program.

The college has received funding from the GFC grant program to develop a campus tree inventory and educational website, with the resources available to the community and faculty, staff and students. The project is part of a statewide effort to enhance Georgia's community forests and build awareness of their positive impact.

Sharon Bartels, Gwinnett Tech president, says: "We at Gwinnett Tech recognize the countless benefits of our community forests. We're pleased that through the Georgia Forestry Commission's funding, we'll be able to share our campus environmental resources with the community as a whole."

Through Gwinnett Trees Count, Gwinnett Tech's grounds department will now inventory over 900 trees in the maintained areas of the college's 87-acre campus, making the inventory available to the community through an interactive website.

Gail Zorn, Gwinnett Tech's Campus Horticulturist, explains: "The information will identity the type of tree, which trees are suitable to a particular landscape, serve as a guide to growth patterns, and make the public more aware of the value of trees to our community.

The resources created through Gwinnett Trees Count will also be used by faculty, staff and students in Gwinnett Tech's Horticulture program. GTC offers an associate degree and diploma in Environmental Horticulture, and certificate options in landscape design, horticulture installation, site planning, and other specialties.

Adams joins Emory Eastside as clinical pharmacy head

Phalba L. Adams, R. Ph. has joined Emory Eastside Medical Center as the clinical pharmacy director. Adams brings extensive experience in development, education and quality management.

Her pharmacy clinical experience has included 18 years in retail pharmacy, as staff pharmacist and hospital pharmacy director, including staff and management positions in Louisiana, Texas and Nevada. Adams has been with HCA, Emory Eastside's parent company, for 8 years.

Adams received her Bachelor's of Science Degree in Pharmacy from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, and is a member of Pharmacotherapeutic Council of the Georgia Hospital Association. She lives in Lilburn, with her daughter.

Peyton Anderson, owner and publisher of the Macon Telegraph and News for nearly twenty years, was a prominent business leader in middle Georgia. His most remarkable contributions to his hometown came after his death, however.

Peyton Tooke Anderson Jr. was born in 1907 in Macon. Newspapers were the Anderson family's business. Anderson's uncle W. T. Anderson was the editor and publisher of the Macon Telegraph and, later, the Macon News for more than 30 years. His father, P. T. Anderson, was the vice president of the company. His uncle Eugene Anderson wrote a column for the Telegraph. At the age of nine Anderson took his first paying job, sweeping the floors at the offices of the Macon Telegraph.

Anderson attended the U.S. Naval Academy for two years, but a sports injury forced him to leave school. He returned to Macon and worked in the Telegraph 's advertising department before becoming the circulation manager. Anderson served in the U.S. Navy during World War II (1941-45) as a public relations officer.

After his discharge from the navy in 1945, Anderson worked in Alabama as the publisher of the Gadsden Times until his return to the Macon Telegraph and News in 1947. Four years later he became the sole owner of the papers that his family had long published.
Anderson was known as a newspaperman's newspaperman. Dedicated to publishing the truth without any consideration for friendship or advertising dollars, he hired the best editors he could find and then let them do their jobs without interference.

Anderson, a strong supporter of Macon and middle Georgia, believed in giving back to the community. In 1969 Anderson sold the Macon Telegraph and News to Knight Newspapers and retired. At his death in 1988, the bulk of his fortune, approximately $35 million, was bequeathed to the Peyton Anderson Foundation to be used for the benefit of Macon and middle Georgia.

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