GwinnettForum | Number 20.42 | June 16, 2020
TIME-LAPSE BRIDGE BUILDING: The new pedestrian bridge over Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners has been erected. For a fascinating three minute video of the erection of this bridge, and all the work that went into it, click here.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Groups Combine To Present Online Norcross Nature Youth Camp Soon
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Election Counting of Returns Continues; Some Local Races Still in Doubt
SPOTLIGHT: Gateway85 Gwinnett
FEEDBACK: Remembering the Humanity Shown by the Neighborhood Policeman
UPCOMING: Gwinnett Courts To Inaugurate Electronic Filing of Documents June 24
NOTABLE: Snellville Officials Proud of the Way Youth Organized Parade
RECOMMENDED: The Empty Family by Colm Toibin
GEORGIA TIDBIT: After 1970, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Unravels
MYSTERY PHOTO: Identify This Furniture and Location for the new Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: Roving Photographer Finds More Dinosaurs Gracing the County
Groups combine for online Norcross Nature Youth Camp 
By Karen Bass
NORCROSS, Ga. | When COVID-19 shut down their plans for a summer camp, organizers of the “Norcross Nature Camp” refused to let the pandemic win. Aware that many parents are worried about keeping little ones busy in the upcoming weeks, the team adapted their plans to include activities the entire family could enjoy. Then they partnered with the best teacher on Earth – Mother Nature.
Bass
The online fun begins the week of July 7, with 24 participants engaging weekly via Zoom on either Tuesdays or Thursdays throughout July. Registration fee is $10; scholarships are available. To register and for more information (including the complete Zoom schedule), please visit www.ccnorcross.org/events.
Each week in July, experienced educators from Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross Garden Club and the Norcross-based non-profit Gardens for Growing Community, will facilitate a non-denominational Nature Camp for children in Pre-K through Second Grade. Sponsored in part by the Gwinnett County Soil and Water Conservation District, the revamped camp experience combines outdoor fun and virtual sharing.
Weekly themes focus on Plants/Soil, Water, Wildlife, and Human Impacts on Nature. The “camp” will take place in outdoor areas that are close to home, such as the backyard or a nearby green space. The young “campers” will participate in nature-themed projects using many materials already found at home and items they can hunt for outside. A pre-packaged “activity bag” will include additional items plus easy-to-follow instructions for Nature-based Art, Science and reading activities.
Parents are encouraged to engage other siblings and to join the fun themselves, with the opportunity to share their family’s creations on the program’s social media platforms. In addition, the first 24 children to sign up for the Nature Camp will enjoy weekly instructor-led sessions on the online platform Zoom. The virtual sharing will include a “show and tell” supplemented with short videos and interactive learning. Both English and Spanish speakers will be on hand throughout each session and available afterwards to answer parent questions.
Although access to the online sessions are limited, 100 activity bags will be distributed to the community. The fun begins on July 2 when registered families are invited to pick up an activity bag between 10 a.m. and noon in the community garden located at Christ Church Episcopal (400 Holcomb Bridge Road, Norcross).
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Election count continues; Some local races still in doubt
Gwinnett County with precinct divisions shown.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 16, 2020 | Elections returns in Gwinnett County are still not final after voting a week ago. Officials tell GwinnettForum that they hope to finish the counting of multiple absentee votes by possibly this week and certify the election.
As a result of the slow counting, several key races are still up in air, since final results are not in. The 7th District Congressional race for Democrats, and the races for seats on the county commission and legislature are still in question.
Latest estimates are that about 180,000 people voted in Gwinnett. That includes about 75,000 who voted in person on election day; 85,330 absentees who voted by mail; and 19,952 people who voted in person in advance.
Officials have been whittling a record number of absentee ballots since the polls closed. Because of the many candidates in the Gwinnett races, the local absentee ballot had to be printed on two sheets, which makes counting more difficult and takes longer. Right now, ballots have for several days been counted for up to 16 hours a day without let-up. Even when the absentees are finished, there will still be provisional ballots to contend with. At present, officials can give no solid guess to the end of the counting.
If you go to the Gwinnett Elections site here, you can see new totals each day, as more ballots are counted.
However, you may get the wrong impression that all the votes are counted, since the site says that 156 of 156 precincts are reported. But that does not include Absentee Ballots. In reality, it would be best for the county to consider Absentee Ballots as its own precinct (Phantom No. 157), so that it would not appear that all ballots would be counted.
The Gwinnett Elections site has done a good job on devising this online report. However, it would be great to list how many ballots remain uncounted, as of what date and time, to give a clear picture of the election.
From the last version of the count, posted Monday morning, here are key races still pending:
Congress, 7th District: At this count, it appears that Carolyn Bourdeaux could win the Democratic nomination without a runoff, now with 50.87 percent of the vote, or 33,882 votes. In second place is Brenda Lopez Romero at 13 percent, or 8,656 votes.
Democratic Commission Chairman: Nicole Love Hendrickson is close to winning this nomination, having 49.17 percent of the vote, or 46,732 votes. Three persons are close with 13 percent each: Lee Thompson, 13.89 percent or 13,202 votes; Curt Thompson, 13.79 percent with 13,108 votes; and Desmond Nembhard, 13.47 percent of 12,804 votes. That’s a mighty close contest to get in the runoff, if Ms. Hendrickson does not top 50 percent!
GOP County Commission, Post 3: Ben Archer has 46.74 percent, or 7,563 votes, with Matt DeReimer second with 29.02 percent, or 4,696 votes.
Democratic County Commission Post 5: Derrick Wilson is out in front with 33.98 percent, or 10,808 votes, while two guys vie for the run-off spot: Jasper Watkins, 20.28 percent, or 6,452 votes; while John Moye has 19.79 percent of 6,294 votes.
Democratic School Board, Post 1: Another close race. Karen Watkins presently leads with 50.54 percent, or 12,275 votes, while Segun Adeyina has 49.46 percent or 12,014 votes.
A State Senate District 9 Democratic race could have a runoff. Nikki Merritt has 47.15 percent of the vote, or 11,165 votes; Gab Okoye runs second with 27.68 percent, or 6,553 votes.
In the Democratic District 41 race, Kim Jackson has 46.65 percent of 1,905 votes, while Mohammed Jahangir Hossain is second with 20.69 percent or 845 votes.
No other legislative races are in doubt.
So Gwinnett awaits the final returns a little while more! Don’t you know the candidates must be on pins and needles? Thank them, next time you see them, for offering for office.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gateway85 Gwinnett
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Gateway85 Gwinnett and is a self-taxing community improvement district that includes just over 800 commercial property owners with a property value of over $1 billion. Gateway85 includes the southwestern part of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Buford Highway, Indian Trail Road, and Beaver Ruin Road. Gateway85 is one of six CIDs to be created in Gwinnett County and is the largest of all CIDs in the state. The community is an economic powerhouse that helps fuel the regional economy. More than 3,000 businesses (employing roughly 34,000 people) call Gateway85 home. The jobs in the district account for almost 12 percent of Gwinnett County’s total employment and support $2 billion in annual payroll. Gateway85’s mission is to improve property values through increased security, decreased traffic congestion, and general improvements to the curb appeal of the area. The CID moved their offices to 1770 Indian Trail-Lilburn Road, Norcross and recently rebranded to reflect the strong future of this area. It was previously known as Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District. For more information visit https://www.gateway85.com/ or call 770-449-6542.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Remembering humanity shown by neighborhood policeman
Editor, the Forum:
No doubt something needs adjusting in contested police arrests. Both the officer and the suspect are competing for control. The officer needs non-lethal devices to neutralize and subdue the suspect for the justice system to process.
We can’t step away from the idea that a major community of the country feels like hunted prey. They see police with quotas armed for battle setting off each day like deer hunters in November. Their neighborhood is a stocked property of a hunting club.
That’s one mindset. That neighborhood is under many pressures. Poor housing, poor income, poor healthcare, poor education for the children. So, in comes the police guys outfitted for Kandahar. It’s like close-order drill for drunks.
Remember that famous term of the 90’s corporate world, “Process Improvement?” Another is that great “Cool Hand Luke” scene where we heard the classic, immortal movie phrase, “What we have here is failure to communicate.”
From growing up, I still remember “Burnsy,” the borough policeman, who stopped at the bottom of our driveway as I washed the family car. I would be happy to see him and sit crossed legged at the bottom of the drive and we’d talk like father and son. He watched out for everyone in our neighborhood, and we felt his gentle hand. If someone got sick in my neighborhood, by noon we all knew about it.
What has been lost is that closeness to the local policeman. In its absence, there is a need for netting or other envelopement systems to safely secure a suspect who needs to be arrested. Simply shooting a running suspect who has broken control is not acceptable. The military has developed nonlethal weapons. I think nets shot out over a 25 foot radius would be an effective and inexpensive capture device in a cylinder that a policeman could employ.
— Byron Gilbert, Duluth
During pandemic, take stock, reach out, hug your children
Editor, the Forum:
As a former psychologist, I am increasingly concerned about the potential for a mental health crises. We are in an unprecedented period of stress that must have serious effects on the psyche of people.
Such stressors as isolation, job loss, financial worries, family conflict, uncertainty, and fear of illness can have devastating effects. Under such stress people can feel depressed, anxious, confused, helpless, and suicidal. Poor concentration, anger, low energy, and physical illness are the results.
These symptoms can snowball into a personal crisis resulting in family conflict, physical harm to self and family, and mental breakdown. In order to combat these negative effects, I encourage each of us to take stock of the positives and to reach out to family, friends, and to seek professional help. Go to church, go for a walk, call a friend, hug your children, and realize that we will overcome.
— Alan Schneiberg, Ph.D., Sugar Hil
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
Gwinnett courts to start electronic document filing June 24
The Gwinnett County Clerk of Superior and State Courts announces the start of electronic-filing for criminal cases beginning June 24, 2020, via Tyler Technologies’ Odyssey eFileGA. Attorneys and self-represented parties will have the option to electronically file into existing criminal cases starting that day.
Tiana Garner, chief deputy clerk of the Gwinnett County Clerk’s office, stresses the ease of participation in this effort. “When we initiate criminal e-filing on June 24, it will not only make access to justice more convenient, but it will also aid in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by decreasing in-person contact at the Clerk’s office. Protecting the public and our employees is a top priority.”
Criminal e-filing is another step forward in the Court’s efforts to become a paperless environment. E-filing was mandated in Superior Court and State Court Civil Divisions in January 2019. Magistrate Court Civil Division began permissive e-filing in December 2019. E-filing systems allow attorneys and self-represented parties to file the vast majority of pleadings, appeals and other documents from any place that they can access the internet and at any time of day.
Clerk of Superior Court Richard Alexander says: “By investing in technology, we continue to increase efficiencies resulting in considerable cost savings to taxpayers. Currently, business processes require the Clerk of Courts’ staff to scan paper documents into the official records of the court and enter case data into the Court’s case management system manually. With e-filings, once documents are accepted, they can be imported into the case management system and docket entries notated instantaneously. The expanded e-filing platform will allow the processing of documents in a fraction of the time currently spent processing paper in the traditional manner.”
Frequently asked questions, filing instructions and training opportunities can be found at www.odysseyefilega.com. Additionally, the Clerk’s staff can provide hands-on assistance at the courthouse.
West to become chief of Gwinnett County Police Department
Gwinnett County is getting a new chief of its police department, after current Chief Tom Doran resigned after eight months on the job and will retire. The new head of the Department will be Deputy Chief Brett West, a 29 year veteran of the Department. The announcement of the change comes from Gwinnett County Administrator Glenn Stephens.
McClure
West
Stephens points out that West is the sixth consecutive police chief to have begun his career with the Gwinnett County Police Department. He assumes his new role July 18. Replacing him as deputy chief will be J.D. McClure, who began his career with the department in 1996 and currently serves as assistant chief. McClure’s promotion will place him over the department’s operations bureau, which consists of the Uniform Patrol Division and Criminal Investigations Division.
West, who joined the Department as a police officer in 1991, said he looks forward to leading the department of 878 sworn officers and nearly 300 support personnel.
“I am humbled by the confidence instilled in me by County leadership and by the men and women who dutifully serve and protect every day,” West said. “Together we will continue to uphold the highest standards of law enforcement services to Gwinnett County residents, businesses and visitors.”
West holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbus State University and has logged nearly 3,200 hours of specialized training, which includes graduating from both the 247th Session of the FBI National Academy in 2011 and Class XV of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College in 2005.
Doran issued a statement saying: “I have been very fortunate to be a member of this great agency for nearly 27 years and will cherish every experience and memory. As I close this chapter of my life, I can say without reservation that serving alongside the dedicated men and women of the Gwinnett County Police Department has been the greatest honor of my life.”
Stephens said of Doran: “During Tom’s tenure, our police department has become essentially fully staffed, including those officers in training, something we have not seen in many years. This reflects the department’s reputation as an excellent place of employment and for service to our community,” said Stephens. “Fortunately we have in Brett a deeply knowledgeable and respected public safety professional to take the helm of the department. The police department shines as an example of the succession planning and leadership development we strive to develop throughout our organization, and I am confident both Brett and J.D. will continue the tradition of setting the Gwinnett standard for excellence and community policing.”
Snellville officials proud of the way youths organized parade
More than 500 engaged protestors marched from First Baptist Church Snellville to the Towne Green Wednesday calling for racial equality following the death of George Floyd.
A view of the peaceful protest in Snellville.
The event was organized by South Gwinnett High School students and recent graduates, led by Carrick Henry, who worked with city officials including Councilmembers Cristy Lenski and Solange Destang and the Snellville Police Department to keep the event safe, organized and peaceful.
City Manager Butch Sanders says: “We are very proud of these young people and their commitment to raising awareness about critical issues affecting our society. Snellville celebrates its diverse community and we are going to work to keep our neighbors together and continue to support minority-owned businesses.”
The event featured speeches from students and others including Gwinnett County School Board Member Everton Blair and South Gwinnett High Principal Dorothy Jarrett. The event was capped off when Mayor Barbara Bender and City Council presented the event organizers with a resolution condemning racism, which the Council had adopted Monday night.
Bender encouraged those at the rally to stay involved in the community and come to the City with any concerns or issues. She said: “I would really encourage you all to be involved. My door is always open. If you’d like to come in and talk, I’d love to have a conversation with you.”
Sugar Hill is 2nd Gwinnett city to adopt anti-racism measure
Sugar Hill City Council has enacted a resolution condemning racism and committing to safeguard the community against the damages that racism causes, stating that “racism, bigotry and hate have no place in our community.” A similarly-wording resolution was adopted last week by the Snellville City Council.
Prior to the reading of the resolution, Councilmember Taylor Anderson stated, “It’s not good enough to be not racist, we must be anti-racist.” Mayor Steve Edwards added, “As leaders of the City of Sugar Hill, we must set the example and stand by our words.”
The resolution follows a peaceful protest on June 1 led by some of the community’s youth, faith leaders and city council members.
The Empty Family, by Colm Toibin
From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: Irish author Colm Toibin’s collection of short stories, ‘The Empty Family’ is a deeply affecting collection of events in the lives of characters searching for love as an affirmation of lives fully lived. There are those mourning love lost and others looking for love from within the secret spaces of hearts broken and remade by life occurrences. Finally, there are those who are trying to relive events in the hopes of identifying a resolution that answers questions about the meaning of family in its fullest sense. In ‘New Spain”’Carme returns to her home of origin to claim her inheritance from her grandmother. She finds the family so altered that it is difficult to find her place in this new terrain. Tolbin’s writing style is fluid, accessible and will touch the interior spaces of readers deftly ani with grace.
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee unravels
(Continued from previous edition)
Atlanta has been a center for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activity. Home to a sizable black professional and middle class and five historically black colleges and universities, Atlanta was also Martin Luther King III’s birthplace and home to the SCLC. In October 1960 SNCC held its second conference in Atlanta and chose the city as its headquarters. Immediately following the conference, SNCC staged massive sit-ins at the lunch counters of several Atlanta department stores, including Rich’s. Several students were arrested, as was King.
Soon after the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party failed to unseat the state’s all-white delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J., SNCC volunteers returned their attention to Atlanta. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered reapportionment for the Georgia state legislature during the 1964 General Assembly session, creating several new voting districts. Fulton County and the city of Atlanta, which together had only three legislators, gained an additional twenty-one seats. A reapportionment election was held on June 16, 1965, and Julian Bond, the longtime SNCC communications director, was elected to the 136th district, defeating a local minister and the dean of Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University).
During the campaign Bond emphasized personal contact, going door-to-door and asking residents in the all-black district what was needed. Concluding that their problems were largely economic, he devised a platform that included a $2 minimum wage, improved urban renewal programs, the repeal of the right-to-work law, and an end to the literacy test for voters.
SNCC changed dramatically in direction and philosophy during 1966, when Stokely Carmichael succeeded John Lewis as chair of the organization. The change came about in part because of the new Atlanta Project. Headed by Bill Ware, the Atlanta Project emerged in the wake of riots in the African American communities of Vine City and Summerhill (which were in Bond’s district). The Atlanta Project aimed to increase black community “control over the public decisions which affect” their lives. According to historian Clayborne Carson, project members emphasized racial identity as a means to eliminate racial inferiority and political impotence and, unlike SNCC members, embraced racial separatist doctrines. Although Carmichael initially opposed Atlanta Project staff, he became greatly influenced by many of their positions, some of which he adopted as SNCC chairman.
The separatist nature of the Atlanta Project ran counter to the national SNCC leadership, and within a year after Carmichael assumed SNCC leadership, he had fired all Atlanta Project workers, effectively ending the program. The project’s spirit would live on through such federally sponsored programs as Model Cities.
Despite his firing of the Atlanta Project staff, Carmichael came to embrace racial separatism, eject SNCC’s white members, and issue a call for Black Power, which emphasized racial dignity, black self-reliance, and the use of violence as a legitimate means of self-defense. Under Carmichael’s successor, H. Rap Brown, SNCC became more controversial. During Brown’s tenure, SNCC increasingly collaborated with the Black Panther Party, a radical political organization founded in 1966 in Oakland, Calif., that attracted a similar demographic as SNCC—young, urban African Americans. Members of the Black Panther Party rejected the nonviolent principles that dominated the civil rights movement. In 1968 Brown changed SNCC’s name, substituting “national” for “nonviolent.” By that time SNCC bore little resemblance to its original form. Facing legal troubles, Brown went into hiding in 1970, and what remained of the organization quickly unraveled.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Identify this furniture, location for the new Mystery Photo
Today’s Mystery Photo is a piece of furniture of a particular design. Identify this furniture and tell where it is located. Then send your answer to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
A photograph sent in by Frank Studer of Greenville, S.C. was the last Mystery Photo. Frank writes of it, saying: “The Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse in Evansville, Ind. was once the center of local government. Construction started in the spring of 1888 and was completed in November 1890 and occupied in early 1891. It sits in the heart of downtown Evansville. The building was designed by architect Henry W. Wolters of Louisville, Ky. The 19th century German Beaux-Arts architecture masterpiece cost $379,450 to build. The Old Courthouse occupies an entire city block, bounded by Court, Fourth, Vine and Fifth Streets, with each side being encrusted with sculptures and stone carvings in Indiana limestone. The 14 main statues of human figures are the work of Franz Engelsmann, who studied under the great German masters before setting up his studio in Chicago.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote: “Before the courthouse was built, the site was a basin where canal boats on the Wabash and Erie Canal would deliver cargo and turn around for the return trip north. After the advent of the railroads and the canal’s abandonment, the site was filled in and the courthouse was constructed upon it. A tunnel runs beneath Vine Street connecting the Old Courthouse to the Old Vanderburgh County Jail.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. adds: “Today’s stunningly beautiful mystery photo is of the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse, located in the historical part of Downtown Evansville, Indiana, near where the Ohio River makes a sharp ‘U-turn’, approximately 145-miles southwest of Indianapolis.
“The building continued to be used as the seat of the Vanderburgh County government until it was vacated in May 1969, after which there were preliminary plans to demolish the building as part of a modernization effort in downtown Evansville. However, the high cost estimates for razing the structure ultimately saved it from destruction, and the courthouse was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 1970. After much-needed preservation and restoration, the Old Courthouse now houses the County Engineer and Veteran Service offices, as well as highly sought-after office space for private parties and events.’
Dinosaur time
Through cooperation of the Disney Company, Gwinnett Parks have placed models of dinosaurs around the county, and Roving Photographer Frank Sharp has been diligent in spotting them. Here are three photos, from Tribble Mill and Alexander Park. See if you can find dinosaurs at other Gwinnett parks.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
Meet our team
- Editor and publisher: Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
- Managing editor: Betsy Brack
- Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
- Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
- Contributing columnist: Debra Houston
- Contributing columnist: George Wilson
More
- Location: We are located in Suite 225, 40 Technology Park, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 30092.
- Work with us: If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.
Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.
- Click to subscribe.
- Unsubscribe. We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.
© 2020, 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.
Follow Us