SOON MOTORISTS on Mitchell Road in Norcross will see art on the long brown retaining wall, provided by students. Teachers are working to break the mosaic-making process into steps that can be easily worked on for artists in kindergarten as well as at the high school level. Working on the project are, from left, Jennifer Freeman, Keif Schleife, Linn Zamora, Bobbie Adamczyk. For more on this story, see Upcoming below. (Photo by Tixie Fowler.)
EDITOR’S NOTENote early voting locations and times
Early voting in the March 1 Presidential Primary continues through February 26 at the Gwinnett Elections office in Lawrenceville at 454 Grayson Highway during the week. The office will be open on two Saturdays, Feb. 13 and 20, for voting. Meanwhile, voting at several satellite offices around the county begins February 20 and continues through February 26. Satellite voting locations include:
- Bogan Park Community Center, 2723 North Bogan Road, Buford.
- George Pierce Park Center, 55 Buford Highway, Suwanee.
- Lucky Shoals Park Center, 4651 Britt Road, Norcross.
- Shorty Howell Park Center, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth.
- Dacula Activity Building, 2735 Auburn Avenue, Dacula.
- Lenora Park Activity Room, 4515 Lenora Church Road, Snellville.
- Mountain Park Activity Building, 1063 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain
TODAY’S FOCUS: GGC Professor Contributes to Study on “Black Holes”
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Wounded Warrior Project Under Fire for High Overhead
ANOTHER VIEW: There’s Satisfaction in Teaching ‘English as Second Language’ Classes
SPOTLIGHT: Hayes Family Auto Dealerships
FEEDBACK: Two Views on Police Chases
UPCOMING: Coalition Plans Veterans Head Count; Needs Items for “Blessing Bags”
NOTABLE: GGC Names Lori Buckheister Vice President for Advancement
GEORGIA TIDBIT: de Soto Was First European To Visit Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
TODAY’S QUOTE: Here’s Another Way To Look at February 14
MYSTERY PHOTO: Can You Tell Us Something about This Dog
TODAY’S FOCUSGGC professor among those contributing to “Black Holes”
By Sally Ramey
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Feb. 12, 2016 — Black holes are the subject of much fascination, not just in science but also in popular media. For example, the 2014 movie Interstellar portrays a fast-rotating, supermassive black hole, into which the protagonist falls in order to probe its center.
Such a scenario may be more than the stuff of Hollywood magic, according to a research team led by Dr. Lior Burko, associate professor of physics at Georgia Gwinnett College, and including Gaurav Khanna, associate professor of physics at UMass Dartmouth, and Anil Zenginoǧlu, science coordinator at the Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling at the University of Maryland.
Burko
At the center of a black hole, density and gravity are infinite and the laws of physics and space-time, as we know them, cease to exist. The mysteries of this phenomenon have driven scientists to push the boundaries of what is known about black holes. Supercomputers are required to run the complex computer simulations used in this kind of research.
Dr. Burko says: “Non-rotating black holes have been studied in computer simulations for decades. We developed a first-of-its-kind computer simulation of how physical fields evolve on the approach to the center of a rotating black hole.”
The complexity of the simulation led the scientists to develop a new model that will help other researchers further understand black holes. The simulation also revealed a result that might come as a surprise for those familiar with the usual portrayal of black holes.
Burko adds: “It has often been assumed that objects approaching a black hole are crushed by the increasing gravity. However, we found that while gravitational forces increase and become infinite, they do so fast enough that their interaction allows physical objects to stay intact as they move toward the center of the black hole. Therefore, the simulation is consistent with aspects of popular science fiction scenarios in which black holes are used as portals for hyperspace travel, which require space ships, and the astronauts within them, to stay intact.”
The team’s work will appear in a paper in the Feb. 9 edition of Rapid Communication in Physical Review D, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Physical Society. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation.
Critical to the project was the novel supercomputing support from UMass Dartmouth’s Center for Scientific Computing & Visualization Research (CSCVR). Khanna serves as associate director of the CSCVR, which provides services for collaborative research in the computational sciences within the university and with researchers at other universities, national labs and industry.
Khanna says: “This has never been done before, although there has been lots of speculation for decades on what actually happens inside a black hole. The problem is very challenging – requiring development of many new mathematical and computational techniques. I expect this to be a new additional area of focus for my research program over the next several years.”
Burko joined the Georgia Gwinnett faculty in 2014. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from The Technion – Israel School of Technology in Haifa, Israel. Burko has held faculty positions at institutions such as the University of Utah and University of Alabama at Huntsville. His research interests include computer simulation/modeling, gravitational physics, black holes, space-time singularities and physics education.
EEB PERSPECTIVEWounded Warrior Project under fire for high overhead
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
FEB. 12, 2016 — People shower lots of attention on military veterans today.
Perhaps it’s because we now have an all-volunteer military. Maybe it’s because with the proliferation of media now, the average American knows more about our troops engaged in military activity all over the world. Perhaps it’s the new patriotism since 9/11. Whatever the reason, people in our country shower a lot of attention on helping veterans of the military service.
As you might suspect, with many organizations seeking to help these veterans, you might find some rotten apples with phony organizations. Some groups say that they are helping veterans, when it’s only a ruse to raise money, with much of it going to their own pockets.
One of the biggest of these groups raising money for veterans is the Wounded Warrior Project, based out of Jacksonville, Fla. The Project has veered away from what its founder, John Melia, first envisioned. As reported in several media, including a front-page lead article in The New York Times recently, it now spends millions on lavish dinners, first class travel, hotel and meals, through aggressive fund raising, and causing wonder if it is way off its mission of helping veterans.
The Times reported that 40 percent of its donations in 2014 went to overhead, as it focuses less on veterans and more on money.
You may have been the target of the Wounded Warrior Project. Think back, in the last few months, did you get a mailing that told you on the envelope (and you could see through a window) “Yes, That’s a REAL STAMP” inside! One recent letter asked “What links it to someone who was severely burned in Afghanistan?” The letter inside had a place for the recipient to check off to send $10, $15, $25, $35 or a higher amount to the project. The letter read that the sender attached the 49 cent stamp “….because wounded service members urgently need your response to the 2016 (local city) WWP Fund Drive now.”
The letter also told of the “agony beyond words” that one soldier suffered in Afghanistan from “burns over 70 percent of his body….and more than 70 painful surgeries” upon his return from Afghanistan. (Note the emotional tone.)
The Wounded Warrior Project was preying upon you to pull money out of your pocket. It works time over time so that the Project now gets in more than $375 million a year in contributions. This comes largely though mail, and mostly from people over age 65.
But in 2014, over 40 percent, or $124 million, went for overhead. (Its chief executive was paid $475,000 in compensation in 2014.) A similar veteran’s group spent only 8 percent on overhead. What’s up?
Today’s Wounded Warrior Project is far different from what its founder, John Melia, envisioned when he started raising money to distribute backpacks with socks, CD players, toothpaste and other items to veterans in military hospitals. Media, injured in a helicopter crash in 1992 in Somalia, remembered the little attention he received in military hospitals when recuperating.
Soon the Wounded Warrior Project was growing, though leaders of the project were not in sync with Mr. Melia’s original idea. Eventually, he was ousted from the organization he founded.
While the Wounded Warrior Project helps many, its manner raises questions of just how effective the dollars you contribute are. Its high overhead makes people wonder.
One suggestion: why give to charities who solicit funds for veterans via phone or mail, when many local worthwhile groups work for veterans?
Our suggestion: give locally to whom you know.
ANOTHER VIEWThere’s satisfaction from teaching in English as second language
By Debra Houston
FEB. 12, 2016 — Political operatives often give the word “immigrant” a negative connotation. Happily, churches are more magnanimous. In fact, as you roam about Gwinnett, you may notice church signs announcing “ESL Classes.” If so, that church offers English as a Second Language to foreign-born adults. Except for buying a workbook at a nominal fee, the classes are free. Childcare is also commonly available without charge.
Last year I became a substitute ESL teacher at First Baptist Church of Lilburn. My church isn’t the only place of worship that offers ESL. With a GOOGLE search, I counted at least 15 Protestant and Catholic churches that offer classes on various days and times.
At Lilburn, our students come from all over the world. As soon as they walk through the door, they receive a warm hello. We serve coffee and cookies during break and a ride home after class if needed. We let them know we see them as part of our community.
We offer varying levels of instruction based on the person’s fluency in English. The first class I taught was filled with students who spoke no English, and according to the rules, neither they nor I could speak anything but English inside the classroom. So there is no “Spanish lingo” allowed, let’s say, if you teach a primarily Hispanic class. It was challenging for me to connect that first day, but we began with the basics – the English alphabet and simple vocabulary words.
Since I began teaching ESL, I feel more relaxed about engaging in conversation with immigrants outside of church, especially now that I’ve learned to give them time to form responses in English. And I more clearly see them as individuals and less as a politicized group. So it goes with most volunteer work, the helper receives benefits in ways one could never predict.
If you or someone you know is interested in ESL, check first with your local community church. ESL is growing in popularity and ever expanding. We want all our communities to feel included and have the ability to speak English.
UNDERWRITERSHayes Automotive
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s sponsor is Hayes Automotive family of dealerships with Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. Mike, Tim and Ted Hayes of Lawrenceville and Gainesville with Terry Hayes of Baldwin and Stan Roberts of Toccoa invite you into their showrooms to look over their line-up of automobiles and trucks. Hayes has been in the automotive business for over 40 years, and is North Georgia’s oldest family-owned dealerships. The family is the winner of the 2002 Georgia Family Business of the Year Award.
- Check their web sites at: www.hayeschrysler.com or www.hayeschevrolet.com or www.hayesgmcars.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
Says there is a digital way to reduce police chases
Editor, the Forum:
Your police chase solution in the last edition of GwinnettForum is seriously flawed. Limiting the authority of the police to chase within their jurisdiction would actually encourage more chases. Criminals would commit their crimes with the intent to run in the hope that they could outrun the police and get away with the crime. Even if they were not being chased, they would take the chance that being far enough away would ensure they are not pursued.
Also remember that when police chase someone they don’t know why the person is running. When someone runs from a minor offense and takes the chances they take the police are forced to assume that this person must have other reasons for running, or perhaps even be guilty of a much more serious crime.
Your idea doesn’t solve the problem of chases nor prevent them, nor does it serve the public good by allowing an avenue for someone to escape justice.
The only real solution is the one that fixes the problem, not the one that assigns blame. The solution is to have the ability for the police to shut off the car if it tries to get away. Cars now use computers to control the engine, a signal from the police car, even a radio signal could slow it down to five mph and allow it to safely stop. I am sure we can come up with a protocol that would allow this without endangering our individual freedoms.
This also can help to lower your insurance and reduce car thefts by allowing the police to shut down a car if you report it stolen, as well as probably help track it also. And while we are at it, why not also let this computer record just like the recorders on modern aircraft. Now instead of “he said she said” in court you can have the computer record of just exactly what did happen at the crash, especially if it also included a dash camera. This would also lower your insurance costs, reduce costs for the police to investigate crashes, reduce time roads are shut down for these investigations and save money and time in court.
You know technology can be overwhelming or it can serve our needs. We just have to decide if we want to embrace it. And this does solve the problem, rather than trying to find the blame.
— Charles Blair, Lawrenceville
Dear Charles: Anything that can reduce chases is great. Your idea sounds like it has merit. The key here is to reduce unnecessary deaths resulting from chases. Thanks for letting us know of it. –eeb
Letting criminals off scot-free during chases makes no sense
Editor, the Forum:
While the deaths from police chases are regrettable I think letting a fleeing criminal off scot-free simply by crossing a jurisdiction line makes no sense. I think it would only embolden a criminal to run at that point. Think back on the old television series Dukes of Hazard or one of several movies produced back in the 70s and 80s where an officer comes across a possible ne’er-do-well and a chase ensues. The chase starts because the possible criminal is running from the law, a crime in itself. To allow criminal races to cross over a city border as to escape the law is not the answer
To George Wilson’s point: we have had two very powerful “real ‘political revolutions’ with a massive voter turnout that replaces Congress” over the last couple of years. We elected Republicans and sent many Democrats home. Despite what you believe, most Americans do not want to become Europe, we do not want to continue the fall into a welfare state where the government provides our every need.
— Tim Sullivan, Buford
- Send Feedback and Letters to: elliott@brack.net
Coalition plans veterans’ head count; needs items for “blessing bags”
For the first time in Gwinnett County, Homeless Veterans will count!
The Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services is conducting a Veterans Homeless Point in Time Count on March 27. Agencies across Gwinnett who serve the homeless and veteran populations will assist with collecting information about veteran homelessness. The Veteran Homeless Point in Time Count will establish a baseline for future resource allocation and allow agencies to better provide for those who have served our Country.
When the agency encounters a homeless vet, it anticipates providing the veteran with a “blessing bag.” This bag is its way of letting these homeless veterans know someone in the community cares about them. Items needed for the bag include: bottled water, snacks (like energy bars), washcloth and soap, toothbrush and paste, and hand-sanitizer.
The coalition needs about 300 each of these items bagged into gallon sized clear baggies. “Blessing bags” cost approximately $5 each. Donations of the actual items or monetary contributions are welcome.
- For more information, please contact Ellen Gerstein at 678-376-7887 or ellen@gwinnettcoalition.org.
You can participate in Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend
This weekend (February 12-15) is The Great Backyard Bird Count—an all-ages activity. Anyone can participate, if they just look out the window for at least 15 minutes and identify and count the birds they see. See a description of the Count from the website, as well as a link to the website. The information collected by these “citizen-scientists” is compiled by Cornell University and has proven very useful in the study of bird populations and habits.
“The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers to experts, and you can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world.”
Norcross area students anticipating creating art along Mitchell Road
Can art transform a community, celebrate nature and create a sense of pride? In Norcross, the question begins with a long brown wall on Mitchell Road, and the enthusiastic leadership of local public school art teachers.
Spearheaded by artist and Norcross Elementary Art teacher Bobbie Adamczyk, the vision is to turn this plain brown wall into a celebration of Community and Nature. Over 2,500 young artists in Norcross schools grades K – 12 will help create colorful mosaics depicting nature’s seasonal colors and wildlife, as well as the diversity of their community, while their parents and other interested volunteers will be invited to help paint part of the design and install the students’ mosaic work into a finished piece.
Adamczyk explains: “This project is about much more than just transforming a wall into public art. I am awed by the kids’ excitement and how they’re really getting out into their community to tell people what’s going on and to invite them to participate. There are wonderful things happening on so many levels!”
Students are also rallying their families, community volunteers and local businesses to help raise funds for art supplies. To date, a GoFundMe.com campaign has raised about one quarter of what is needed to create the mural, including a $1,000 Kickstarter grant awarded by the local nonprofit Gardens4GrowingCommunity, which promotes environmental education and connecting people with nature.
Opportunities are in the works for volunteers to cut approximately 300 circles out of the cement board to create the mosaic pieces, as well as paint part of the mural. For updates, and to donate to the project, please visit www.gardens4growingcommunity.com/mitchell-road-mural-project or the Mitchell Wall Project on Face Book. The fundraising goal is $5,000 to cover material costs, including a finish that will make it easy to clean the wall if the art gets tagged.
NOTABLEGGC Names Buckheister as vice president for advancement
Buckheister
Lori M. Buckheister has been named Georgia Gwinnett College’s new vice president for Advancement, says President Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski. “We are delighted to welcome Ms. Buckheister to the GGC leadership team. Her experience in higher education advancement will serve her well as she assumes this role and further strengthens the efforts of the college and the GGC Foundation to provide resources that support student success through the areas of alumni relations, development and advancement services.”
For the past three years, Buckheister has served as GGC’s associate vice president for development. She has been responsible for providing leadership in the key areas of annual giving, principal gifts, corporate and foundation relations, gift planning, prospect development, gift management, information management and stewardship,
Buckheister came to GGC in 2006 as the director of development. She assisted in the administration of GGC’s Foundation and led the creation and implementation of the college’s strategic development plan. Buckheister was previously the director of major gifts for the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C.
She began her career in university advancement as director of gift stewardship at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Buckheister also served as the director of Development for Reynolda House Museum of American Art at Wake Forest.
Buckheister earned her master’s of art degree in religion from Wake Forest University and her bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. She is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett. She and her husband, Davis, live in Suwanee, with their two children, Celia and Lena.
County to build new medical examiner’s office and morgue
Gwinnett commissioners have approved building a new morgue and medical examiner’s office. The morgue space will have three state-of- the art autopsy stations plus a laboratory and space for evidence processing and storage.
The $5.7 million facility consisting of 15,000-square-feet will be built on 5.6 acres the county owns at 320 Hurricane Shoals Road in Lawrenceville. It will have office space for the Medical Examiner, medical staff, investigators and administrative staff along with a family conference room and respite area. Examiners will not only conduct autopsies and investigations but also accommodate the relatives and friends of the deceased at a difficult time in their lives.
McKnight Construction Company Inc. is the contractor, with an estimated completion date of spring 2017. The building was designed by Precision Planning Inc. to achieve LEED Certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility will be designed with energy and water efficient fixtures and will be built using environmentally friendly practices and materials.
Recycling Bank of Gwinnett to end operations at end of April
The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett will end operations by the end of April, 2016, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Board President Bartow Morgan said this week. The operations now will concentrate on educating citizens about recycling.
Morgan said: “The closure of the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett speaks to the impact our recycling education and engagement efforts have had on our citizens. An overwhelming majority of Gwinnett County residents and most businesses have access to curbside recycling programs or on-site recycling collection through a variety of private sector haulers. The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett is simply no longer needed by the public like it was when it first opened in 1986. Of course, this move in no way means that we are getting out of the recycling ‘business’ altogether. Quite the contrary. GCB can improve recycling best through educating and engaging people upfront to be clever consumers and responsible recyclers.”
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is currently in discussions with community partners to launch a recycling app which will serve a variety of functions. These include a list of recyclable materials that are accepted curbside, locations that accept recyclables, and alerts about upcoming community recycling. GCB also plans to partner with local communities to host recycling events throughout the year, and present more content on its website to educate the public about proper ways to recycle.
Lilburn Farmers Market to open 7th season on June 3
The Lilburn Farmers Market is gearing up for its seventh season this summer of bringing locally grown and made fresh produce to the area. The market committee is looking for new vendors of all types. The products to be sold must be made or grown by the producer. For more information about the Lilburn Farmers Market go to the website at www.lilburnfarmersmarket.org for the application and policy handbook.
The Lilburn Farmers Market is pleased to again double EBT/SNAP benefits on qualifying food items.
The market will open for the summer season on June 3, 2016 from 4-8 pm and will be open every Friday night until the end of August. The market is located at 1400 Killian Hill Road, Lilburn on the campus of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church. There is free parking and plenty to do in addition to shopping for tasty treats, plus kids activities, live local music, food trucks and various non-profits on hand to provide information about their missions.
RECOMMENDED- An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
De Soto Was first European to visit Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
The Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto was the first European to travel into the Blue Ridge Mountains, probably visiting the Nacoochee Valley and a site near Carters Lake. Naturalist William Bartram was introduced to the diverse plant life of the southern Appalachians by way of Georgia’s Blue Ridge on a well-chronicled trip he made through the area in 1775.
Bartram found few white settlers in the region, which was populated with Cherokee Indians. The Cherokees, or their predecessors, are believed to have settled in Georgia’s mountains as early as the mid-1400s, and they developed an agricultural society, raising crops of corn, beans, and melons. They also hunted deer and bear, and used many native plants for medicinal purposes.
By the end of the 18th century, English, German, Scots-Irish, and other European settlers began arriving in Cherokee territory in significant numbers. The Cherokees were friendly at first but fought with settlers when provoked.
After gold was discovered in Lumpkin and White counties in the late 1820s, the ensuing gold rush of the 1830s, along with a more general western migration by land-hungry settlers, precipitated the eviction of the Cherokees and their forced migration to Oklahoma on the infamous Trail of Tears in 1838-39. The cooler climate and scenic beauty of the region led to the establishment of antebellum summer resorts in Clarkesville, Cleveland, and Tallulah Falls.
Many Blue Ridge communities, which were relatively removed from the market economy of Georgia’s plantation system and included very few slaves, were divided in their loyalties when the state seceded from the Union and the Civil War (1861-65) began. Parts of the region suffered from intense guerrilla warfare as a result of those divisions, as did other parts of southern Appalachia.
After the Civil War, the copper industry developed along the Tennessee-Georgia border, causing great damage to the forests because of the large amounts of timber needed to fuel copper smelters. Even greater forest damage resulted from the lumber industry that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. Mountain forests were stripped bare of trees by major logging operations centered near the towns of Dahlonega, Ellijay, and Helen, as well as by numerous smaller sawmills. Similar devastations of other forests around the nation prompted the creation of a national movement to restore and preserve forests. Georgia’s Blue Ridge mountain lands were some of the first acquired by the U.S. government for this purpose.
The Chattahoochee National Forest was established in 1937. Since then, one of the most important benefits of the Chattahoochee forest has been a clean water source for metropolitan Atlanta.
It was also during the late nineteenth century that the production of illegal alcohol—particularly corn whiskey and apple or peach brandy—generated moonshine “wars” throughout the southern mountains. These wars extended well into the twentieth century and were particularly intense in Georgia’s Blue Ridge, where Internal Revenue Service agents, or “revenuers,” did battle with mountain residents who resented and resisted paying federal taxes on this traditional staple of mountain agriculture.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Tell us what you know about this dog
There could be two correct answers to this edition’s Mystery Photo, which is of a dog. But what dog and where do you recognize this pup from? Send in your thought to elliott@brack.net, and include your hometown.
Three people recognized the Mystery Photo of last week, which was sent in by Ross Lenhart of Pawleys Island, S.C. Mike Tennant of Johns Creek correctly wrote: “Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. gave some additional facts: “Spring House, The Greenbrier Resort, White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The Spring House Gazebo designated the original sulphur spring outlet.”
Then this from Rob Keith of Peachtree Corners: “Hey, I finally know one – it’s the Springhouse at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.”
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