4/28: On controlling political signs, dark money and more

STUDENT BUILT DOGHOUSE: Fifth-grade students at Parkview Christian School in Lilburn have built a doghouse for the Lilburn Police Department’s new K9 dog. Students from left are: Christine Belay, Trevor Mills, Sam Thompson, Luke Waterworth, Jeremy Huff, Andrew Mobley. Adults, from left are:  Police Chief Bruce Hedley; Fifth-grade Teacher Joanne Gray;  Capt. Christy Wentzell; K9 Officer AJ Ajanovic; and Community Outreach Officer Mike Johnson. Read more details in Notable below. (Photo by Nikki Perry.)

TODAY’S FOCUS: Voting Season Gives Rise To Proposal To Control Those Political Signs

EEB PERSPECTIVE: Book Puts Light on the Way Big Money Influences Politics

SPOTLIGHT: Lail Family Dentistry

FEEDBACK: Values Academic Freedom and Open and Vigorous Debate of Issues

UPCOMING: GEHC Plans GreenFest on April 30 to Commemorate Earth Day

NOTABLE: Gwinnett Tech Foundation Awards the first Nana Grant to Amber Aur

RECOMMENDED: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

GEORGIA TIDBIT: Italian Born Artist Athos Menaboni Finds Success in Atlanta

TODAY’S QUOTE: Why Does Mankind Recognize This But Acts the Way It Does?

MYSTERY PHOTO: Neat Building Begs You To Identify Where It’s Located

CALENDAR: ArtFest on the Lawrenceville Lawn Saturday, April 29

Voting season gives rise to proposal to control those political signs

By Howard Hoffman, Peachtree Corners  |  It was the briefest of respites as my television set today again renewed the onslaught of those interminable political ads telling me “He is a liar,” “Too liberal,”  and “Doesn’t even live here.” I am expecting the next round to include…”And his mother wears combat boots.” Damning stuff.

Hoffman

Perhaps the most obnoxious and insulting refrain is, “He’s not one of us.” What does that mean?  Should I assume that WE are all the same—ideology, sex, race, or political persuasion?

No matter one’s party affiliation, haven’t we all had enough of these focus-group., heavily researched, TV political ads that run ad nauseam? There’s almost no commercial time left for my dose of prescription drug ads for tired blood, leaky bladder or irritable bowels.

Millions are spent on these ads and I must wonder how effective they are? Maybe the first umpteen times there’s a message of sorts…but after weeks and weeks of hearing and seeing these…I doubt much true persuasion results.

I went through a busy intersection today and there they were—well after a week since the election….those silly little political signs with a candidate’s name and maybe a smart 3-4 word slogan.  “NO MORE TAXES….NEED TERM LIMITS… GOOD HEAD OF HAIR.”

Again, will this silly cluster of signs move me to vote for someone just because they are everywhere? I think not.

They may have some effect, I will admit.

In our neighborhood, we have a neighbor, who is active politically. A fellow neighbor once told us, “I am not involved in politics too much, but when I see a sign for a candidate in her yard…I automatically vote for the opponent.”

So, in a strange way, there may be some value in a yard sign. They are at least noticed. During the recent Presidential election we had a sign (that we took in each night ) in our front yard.. The one night it was left out, someone thought it a good idea to take it. Maybe they thought it cluttered our yard?

Here’s a thought. The energetic volunteers that stick these signs everywhere…often are not so good at removing them once the election is over. How about when someone registers for office, they are charged a fee ($5,000). And for every sign that remains… say, ten days after the election, the candidate  pays $10 each to have them removed by the county?  They get back their money ($5,000) if all their signs are taken down.  The funds collected go toward Meals on Wheels or some other worthwhile cause.

Maybe this is something both parties can agree on?

• Have a comment?  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Book puts light on the way big money influences politics

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher |  It may be one of the most important books of recent times, in that is shows our country what big money can do in government. The book is Dark Money, by Jane Mayer, a staff writer for The New Yorker.  The subtitle is The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right.

The book traces the way big money is used to move the agenda of our nation…..and meanwhile, helping benefit those with……big money.

It traces the Koch family, Richard Mellon Scaife, John M. Olin, and the Bradley Brothers.  While by definition, it does not seek to highlight the billionaires on the left who want to move their agendas (read George Soros, et al), it still remains worthy as it details the shenanigans used to try to influence our nation.

Particularly what makes the book worthy is the fact that these billionaires are using government via the creation of non-profit entities, and getting a tax write-off for millions of dollars of contributions to these non-profits, all to benefit themselves.  They could not easily have as much power over our government without using tax-deductible contributions, to see their ideas put in common use…..and eventually gain their own advantage.

To understand how deeply this is ingrained in our tax system today, look at the history of the non-profit foundation. John D. Rockefeller sought permission in 1909 from Congress to set up a private foundation whose broad mission would be to prevent and relieve suffering and promote knowledge and progress.

There were critics, including Teddy Roosevelt, of this approach, who is on record saying “No amount of charity in spending such fortunes can compensate in any way for the misconduct in acquiring them.”  Foundations as such would be a “menace to the welfare of society,” and some said they were “anti-democratic” and would “undermine political equality.”  So Congress didn’t approve the measure.

So Rockefeller turned to New York state’s legislature, which eventually approved in 1913 the Rockefeller Foundation, the first of its kind, initially limited to promoting only education, science and religion.

The foundations patterned after the Rockefeller Foundation grew slowly. Only 200 foundations were in existence by 1930. But soon the growth took off, to 2,000 by 1950; to 30,000 in 1985…..to 100,000 in 2013. Wow! What growth!

Why?

At first, the foundations were not even tax deductible. But when the federal income tax was installed in 1931, the wealthy saw a chance. They convinced Congress that “unless they were granted a special tax break, philanthropists might no longer donate their fortunes for public purposes,” Mayer says. Eventually, those giving to foundations got unlimited charitable deductions.

That move gave billionaires a way to cut their taxes by donations to their own privately-run foundations, then through virtual control of the foundations, determine what it would do with its money…….which might just coincidently help with their own ideas of how our nation might move to benefit the donors.

And so grew the many, many foundations, funded and run by the wealthy, making sure that the foundations got into causes that they wanted to see put forward……right wing and left wing. Those making contributions to these private foundations were trying to influence the government so that they and their children would remain in that lofty position of power.

Of course, many foundations are worthy and beneficial. We can only applaud them.

But one observer has called the way some private foundations are run today “a completely irresponsible institution, answerable to nobody.”

The big money in politics these days comes from the wealthy, through their own private foundations. Some call this anti-democratic, and not always benefitting society.

Thank you, Jane Mayer, for this solid reporting.

• Have a comment?  Send to:  elliott@brack.net

Lail Family Dentistry

The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Lail Family Dentistry is a true family practice in Duluth, Georgia.  The doctors have been dedicated to serving the community whether in-office or through community involvement for the last 48 years.  Dr. Wallace Lail started his private practice in Duluth in 1969. At that time there were only seven other dentists practicing in Gwinnett County.  Dr. Slade Lail started his own dental practice in Duluth in 1997 and combined the two practices in 2011.  While Dr. Wallace Lail continues to work part time, Dr. Slade Lail’s cousin, Dr. Lisa Moss, has joined the team helping to treat their family of patients. The Lails’ family dental practice always put the needs of the patients first. This tradition carries on as their “hometown” practice continues to treat, in some cases, several generations of local families and those families that have recently arrived in the community.

• Go to www.drlail.com for more information, or call (770) 476-2400 to make an appointment.
• For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.

Values academic freedom and open, vigorous debate of issues

Editor, the Forum:

As a college student, I came to value academic freedom and the open and vigorous debate of issues. A professor instilled in me the belief that freedom of ideas and speech should nowhere be more honored than in the halls of academia.

In recent months I have been disturbed by the seeming rejection of these values by students as they have sought to deny persons espousing unpopular positions, or even persons with whom they disagree, from speaking on campus. Such actions are, in my opinion, harmful to free speech, sincere learning and the functioning of our democracy.

Recently two professors, Robert George of Princeton and Cornel West of Harvard, issued a statement entitled: “Truth Seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression.” The two men are polar opposites politically, but are friends and colleagues, and have jointly taught at least one course. In the statement they declare that the pursuit of knowledge and the maintenance of a free and democratic society require the cultivation and practice of the virtues of intellectual humility, openness of mind, and love of truth.

They encourage one to listen attentively and respectfully to intelligent people who challenge one’s beliefs and who represent causes one disagrees with and points of view one does not share. They oppose efforts to silence those with whom we disagree – especially on college and university campuses.

They maintain that all of us should be willing to engage with anyone who is prepared to do business in the currency of truth – seeking discourse by offering reasons, marshaling evidence and making arguments. They oppose those who question motives, stigmatize those who dissent and disrupt presentations. While respecting the right to peaceably protest, they ask, if before exercising that right, might it not be better to listen respectfully and to try to learn from a person with whom one disagrees.

If you would like to read the entire statement you may do so at jmadison@Princeton.edu. If you wish, it will give you the opportunity to sign on as one who does agree.

— John Titus, Peachtree Corners

Compares President Trump to a wet bar of slippery soap

Editor, the Forum:

I think I have been proven correct when I referred to candidate Trump as a wet bar of soap.  It may prove effective in keeping leaders off-balance.  It certainly feeds the panting media.

His nemesis is the divided majority on Congress that will trap him in executive orders like his predecessor.  Republicans need some team- building events like corporations do.  Otherwise, the wet bar of soap will keep getting smaller and smaller just like in the shower.

It seems like President Obama opened Pandora’s Box, and President Trump is trying to get everything back in.  Too many messes!

— Byron Gilbert, Peachtree Corners

Send us your thoughts:  We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum.  Please limit comments to 300 words.  We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length.  Send feedback and letters to:    elliott@brack.net

GEHC plans GreenFest on April 30 to commemorate Earth Day

More than one billion people worldwide now participate in Earth Day activities each April.  The Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (GEHC) plans to join in the global celebration and promote more sustainable and environmentally conscious decisions in our daily lives at its first GreenFest.

This event takes place at the GEHC on Sunday, April 30, from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m.  The program fee for the event is $8 per person. Children two-years-old and younger and GEHC members are free.

The event includes many crafts, games and activities that encourage people to get in touch with nature.  Guests can roll up their sleeves and assist with the planting of the Chesser-Williams Heritage Garden, learn about the practice of composting and discover how to establish a home vermiculture bin.

Throughout the event, special tours and hikes are set for specific times.  Visitors can enjoy an extended, guided trek into the GEHC Forest at 3 p.m. The trek includes a local tree identification investigation, birding, a look at the animals that call the forest home and much more. (Come prepared to walk one to two miles and wear appropriate footwear.)

Ever wonder what happens to the water when you flush your toilet, run your dishwasher or wash your clothes?  Wonder no more!  Enjoy a guided tour of the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Plant on the GEHC’s tram.  Discover the amazing process Gwinnett County utilizes to treat your wastewater. Tours take place at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Children assist with natural pest control by participating in a Ladybug Lookout class at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.  They learn the ladybug’s lifecycle and discover the many benefits of having ladybugs in the backyard. Stories and songs under the trees takes place at 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. as families enjoy spending time together in nature.

Summerour musicians to play with Symphony Orchestra April 30

The international celebration “El Dia del Nino” is taking root in Norcross on Sunday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m. at Summerour Middle School. Upbeat, joyful music from Mexican and Latin American composers will be conducted by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra violinist Juan Ramirez, instructing musicians of Summerour orchestra and band, Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program as they perform alongside members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

The Summerour Middle School Band Program has been rated “Superior” in all areas by Large Group Performance Evaluation (LGPE) for the past four years. The Orchestra Program is currently rated Superior in Sight Reading and Excellent in the area of Stage. Under the direction of Ricardo Rodriguez and Hermes Mejia, Summerour’s band and orchestra students perform at several events throughout the year, including the Atlanta Jazz Festival in Piedmont Park and Norcross High school football and basketball games.

This event is free and open to the public. No reservations are required.

Norcross plans series of events for the “Sweet Sounds of Summer”

Enjoy the “sweet sounds of summer” in downtown Norcross and get ready for some serious fun as the city kicks off an exciting lineup of events beginning in May. It is designed to encourage citizens and neighbors to explore and enjoy downtown Norcross.

The Summer Concert Series kicks off on Friday, May 26 and continues thru September in Thrasher Park. On June 17, the Bluesberry and Beer Festival will be held in Betty Mauldin Park and Jones St. from 3 to 10 p.m. Don’t forget to look for Norcross’ downtown merchants and restaurants that will be creating signature “Bluesberry” cocktails, desserts, specials and more!

Jazz in the Alley returns once again on June 24 as Betty Mauldin Park is transformed into a street party with a funky vibe for four great concerts into September. And summertime wouldn’t be complete without a celebration of America’s Independence. On July 3, the City of Norcross will light up night sky at its signature Red White & BOOM celebration complete with fireworks and family fun.

Event Details:

Summer Concert Series, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. at Thrasher Park: May 26; The Rupert’s Orchestra; June 9:  Mike Veal;
June 23: Party at the Limit; July 14: Breakfast Club; July 31: Liverpool Legends;
 August 1: Tayo City Rockers;  August 28: A-Town A-List; 
and September 1: A1A.

Memorial Day Celebration, May 29 from noon 1 p.m. at Thrasher Park.

Bluesberry and Beer Festival, June 17 from 3 to 10 p.m. at Betty Mauldin Park.

Jazz in the Alley Series , June 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Betty Mauldin Park:  June 24, Julie Dexter; July 22, Laura Coyle and Mylah; August 26, Eric Thomas; and September 16, Nelson Ramos.

Red White and BOOM!: July 3 from 3 to  11 p.m. in Historic Downtown Norcross for Fireworks, Food Trucks, Inflatables, Music, Art Vendors, and Signature Drinks!

• For a complete listing of this summer’s events, including exciting happenings at Norcross Community Market, Discovery Garden Park and the downtown merchants’ new “First Thursdays” event, visit www.aplacetoimagine.com.

Gwinnett Tech Foundation awards the first Nana Grant to Aur

Aur

The Gwinnett Tech Foundation awarded its inaugural Nana Grant to Amber Aur, a health sciences student at Gwinnett Technical College. Nana Grants seek to provide childcare grants to eligible student mothers attending Georgia’s public technical colleges and universities.

Aur is the first student at Gwinnett Tech to receive a Nana Grant. She is studying Diagnostic Medical Sonography. She has a 4.0 GPA and is on track to graduate spring semester 2018. While she focuses on her studies, her two-year-old son is enrolled and thriving at the D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Education Center, located on the campus of Gwinnett Technical College. The Nana Grant and other financial support she receives from the Gwinnett Tech Foundation allows Aur to be able to afford quality early childhood education for her son, while investing in her education as well.

Amber shares, “I moved to Georgia three years ago from Pennsylvania. I don’t have any family here to help with my son. If it weren’t for the Hudgens Early Education Center I would not be able to attend school and get a career to not only make my life better, but most importantly his.” Aur continues, “I was so nervous about finding a daycare center I am comfortable with. The Hudgens Center is the best place for my son while I am at school. I truly enjoy everything about it.”

The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at Gwinnett Tech is a rigorous program that requires students to take two registries – Abdomen and OBGYN. But Aur plans to push herself even further to get registered in vascular, pediatrics and breast sonography as well. She says, “All of these areas have great medical advances to help discover and cure pathological diseases early and to save many lives. I hope one day to be a travel sonographer and make a difference all around the world.”

Fifth graders present Lilburn Police with K-9 doghouse

Parkview Christian School recently presented the Lilburn Police Department with a handmade doghouse for its new K9 dog.

Students in Joanne Gray’s fifth-grade class measured the wood and assembled the doghouse, learning some lessons in mathematics and teamwork along the way. Officers worked side-by-side with the children, except for K9 Officer AJ Ajanovic. The students  insisted the final product should be a surprise for him.

During an unveiling ceremony, Principal Cindy Nation said, “I believe these fifth graders have learned some life lessons they’ll never forget. And to quote one of them, they will never look at a police officer the same way, and I think that’s due to the relationships that your officers have built with these students.”

The project began with an assignment to do something that would positively impact the community. Community Relations Officer Mike Johnson said: “Even though this is the end of a project, it’s actually the beginning of bigger works to come, because these fifth-graders are going to continue to do things to help other people.”

Officer Ajanovic will travel to North Carolina on May 1 to begin training with the one-year-old Belgian Malinois named Ajax. The duo will be back in Lilburn and patrolling the roads by summer.

The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware

Reviewed by Karen Harris, Stone Mountain  |  Lo Blalock boards the Aurora, a luxurious ship, with the goal of conducting what she hopes will be riveting interviews with passengers to increase the likelihood of promotion with Velocity, where she is employed.  Initially the trip is routine, with the ship offering amenities that would be the envy of her colleagues. Then one night she hears a terrifying scream and what sounds like a body being thrown overboard. Lo reports this, but it seems that all passengers are accounted for. The tension and menace builds as Lo continues to try and find out what happened despite a dire warning to ‘stop digging.’ Author Ruth Ware has written a show-stopper modern day horror story, a psychological journey to the depths of fear. This is my first book written by this author.   Recommended for those who like to cuddle up on a cold night with a scary title!

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

Italian-born artist Menaboni finds success in Atlanta

Italian-born artist Athos Menaboni arrived in Georgia in the late 1920s and remained active until his death at the age of 94. His early career focused primarily on corporate projects, including the creation of murals for clients in Atlanta, before he turned to painting birds from life, usually in pairs and in their natural habitats. Today Menaboni is best known for his numerous paintings of more than 150 different species of birds native to the Atlanta region.

Menaboni

Athos Rodolfo Giorgio Alessandro Menaboni developed a profound respect for and love of nature from his early childhood in the seaport of Livorno, Italy.

The second of five children, he was born on October 20, 1895. His father was a ship chandler and successful businessman, which allowed the family to live prosperously. The family vacationed in the mountains of Tuscany and often captured wild animals as potential family pets. Babbo Menaboni built an aviary to house the increasing number of wild birds that his family brought home.

Menaboni’s artistic talent was evident in childhood, and at the age of nine he studied with Ugo Manaresi, a marine painter. Two years later the child became an apprentice to Charles Doudelet, a Belgian artist who specialized in painting murals. He then studied with the sculptor Pietro Gori and later attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy, until the outbreak in 1914 of World War I in Europe. The teenager joined the Italian army and served for four years.

Loath to join the family business after the war, Menaboni joined the crew of the U.S. vessel Colethraps under Captain John Hashagen, a friend of the family who sponsored Menaboni upon his arrival in Norfolk, Va., in 1921. This sponsorship allowed Menaboni to stay in the country, and he later became a citizen in 1936. He lived initially in New York City, where he struggled financially and socially because he barely spoke English. In 1924 he left New York to serve as art director and interior decorator for a resort on Davis Island in Tampa Bay, Fla., remaining there until the resort went bankrupt in 1926.

Menaboni was briefly employed as an interior designer for a shrine temple in Macon, Ga., before settling in Atlanta, where he remained for the rest of his long life. At first Menaboni lived in a boarding house on 11th Street, where he fortuitously met Sara Regina Arnold, the niece of his landlords and a student at Shorter College in her hometown of Rome. After a one-year courtship, the couple married on August 14, 1928, and Sara soon began juggling multiple roles as Menaboni’s social secretary, allowing him the solitude he craved as an artist; as his agent, sending his work to galleries and actively seeking clients for him; as his collaborator, supplying text to accompany his ornithological drawings; and as his partner in making their home a sanctuary for wildlife.

(To be continued)

• To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org

Neat building begs you to identify where it’s located

This Mystery Photo looks like activities can still take place around it. The place looks neat, has a stream nearby and appears functional. Figure out where it is located and send in your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include your hometown.

George Graf of Palmyra, Va. scored again, as the only  person determining where the recent Mystery Photo was located. The photo came from Jerry Colley of Alpharetta. Graf correctly identified the Willett Hotel, in Toomsboro, Ga. He wrote: “This historic 1890s hotel was once the center of activity in Toomsboro. Now after years of decline, its 16 rooms and 14 baths have been fully restored. It is presently unoccupied and listed for sale.  According to the Toomsboro Facebook page, Toomsboro was once a thriving community, but has fallen into a state of disrepair.  It is one of the few places where you can buy the whole town ($2.45 million per Atlanta Magazine) with every kind of building including the historic inn, a syrup mill, an opera house, a school house, a railroad depot, a cotton warehouse, a restaurant, a barbershop, a water wheel, a grist mill, a work shop, a filling station, and several houses.  The town is located approximately 20 miles east of Macon with a population of 600.”

Spring Gala of the Norcross High School Foundation for Excellence, on April 28 at 7 p.m. at The Carlyle House in downtown Norcross. Celebrate the accomplishments of the year and thank the community supporters and donors. Three Hall of Fame honorees will be special guests: Keith Maloof, Melvin Melton and Alex Ward. Enjoy the live auction.  Tickets are $100 and may be purchased through www.norcrosshighfoundation.org.

(NEW) ArtFest on the Lawrenceville Lawn is this Saturday, April 29. Local artisans will fill the park with handmade works of art and craft for you to inspect…..and to boy!  Over 40 vendors are expected. There will also be a chalk art competition open to all ages, beginning at 9 a.m., with judging at 1 p.m. See performances by Central Gwinnett students, local musicians and students from the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre. For Saturday night only, at 7 p.m. there will be a performance of the Broadway musical, Hair Spray, at the Aurora Theatre, sponsored by United Community Bank. More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/402867830049627/ .

Author Visit: Gwinnett County Public Library will host John Sandford on Monday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center in Norcross.  This event is free and open to the public.  Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Eagle Eye Book Shop. John Sandford is the pseudonym of John Roswell Camp.  Camp won the Pulitzer Prize in journalism and was one of four finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.  As John Sandford, Camp is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and will discuss his new novel Golden Prey.  Golden Prey is the 27th book in the Prey series of thrillers featuring Lucas Davenport. For more information, visit www.gwinnettpl.org or call 770-978-5154.

(NEW) Job Fair on May 4 at 11 a.m. at the Five Forks Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library, 2780 Five Forks Road. Gwinnett County Public Library, in partnership with Goodwill of North Georgia, is holding this Job Fair on Thursday, May 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  This event is free and open to the public.  Bring your resume, dress professionally, and get hired!

Author Visit: Gwinnett County Public Library will host Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author, on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Aurora Theatre, 153 East Crogan Street, Lawrenceville.  This event is free and open to the public.  Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Eagle Eye Book Shop. For more information, please visit www.gwinnettpl.org.

Quarry Crusher Run will be May 6 at the Vulcan Materials Quarry, at 1707 Beaver Ruin Road in Norcross, to benefit the Gwinnett County Public Schools. Starting time is 8 a.m. Descend 600 feet to the bottom of the quarry before you begin your climb out! See if you are up to the challenge. It’s two miles down, and of course, another two miles back. Test yourself! For details, visit quarrycrusherrun.com/atlanta to register.

(NEW) Third Annual Gwinnett Beer Fest at Coolray Field is back on May 6.  This event takes place INSIDE the baseball stadium, with hundreds of beers surrounding the entire concourse and berm. There will be 25-30 rare or exclusive beers, catered food and one hour early entry. Taste unlimited samples of craft beer from 1-5pm. Tickets are on sale now at gwinnettbeerfest.com. Tickets are $45 for General Admission ($50 at the door) and $110 for VIP.

Mayberry Moments will be Saturday, May 6 at 8 p.m. at the Red Clay Theater in Duluth. Come meet original Andy Griffith show cast members Maggie Peterson, who played Charlene Darling, and Rodney Dillard, one of the Darling family brothers. Also see David Browning, also known as The Mayberry Deputy, a portrayal of Barney Fife. For tickets, visit http://eddieowenpresents.com.

(NEW) Southern Wings Bid Club meeting on May 8 at 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Judicial and Administration Center will feature a presentation by Richard Hall: “Warbler Wonderland: What Georgia’s Warbler Tell Us About Our Changing World.”

HANDYMAN SERVICES: Whatever your home maintenance problem is, Isaias Rodriguez can help. An experienced painter, he is dependable in installing or repairing siding, gutters, ceramic tile, plumbing, garage doors, or any other problem around your home. He’ll even fix your bike! He is originally from Mexico and has been in Georgia since 1996. He is legally allowed to work in the United States and is insured. Give him a call at his home in Norcross at 404-569-8825 or email him at rodriguez_isais@yahoo.com. Visit his Facebook page at Neza construction and home repair to see some of his past work.

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