GwinnettForum | Number 20.63 | Aug. 28, 2020
HERE’S A DRONE VIEW of the new not-yet-opened pedestrian bridge across Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners. To the left is the Forum shopping center, with the Town Center on the right. The drone photograph was taken by Peter Chen.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Virus Muddles Brexit Talks, Stalling Before December Deadline
EEB PERSPECTIVE: These Days I Look Forward To Getting More Robocalls!
ANOTHER VIEW: Other Democratic Countries Use Innovation, Intelligence for Problems
SPOTLIGHT: Renasant Bank
FEEDBACK: Forum Column Draws Several Responses from Readers
UPCOMING: New GGC Graduate Looks Forward to Teaching at Elementary Level
NOTABLE: Snellville Officials Break Ground on Its Greenway Trail
RECOMMENDED: Before and After by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Poet Rosemary Daniell Continues Contributions to Literary Heritage
MYSTERY PHOTO: Artistic Mystery Photo Is Set in Location Many Have Seen
LAGNIAPPE: Photographs Show Landmarks of Eastern Continental Divide Here
Virus muddles Brexit talks, stalling before Dec. deadline
By Darryl McDonald
LONDON, England | Has Brexit as COVID-19 stopped negotiations with the EU?
The answer is yes and no! The main European countries have been through a tough time with COVID-19. Now having seen off the main spike, they are experiencing a gradual second spike. The United Kingdom (UK), which has had the largest death rate in Europe, currently around 41,500, appears to be holding back on the second spike although there are a number of localized lockdowns, mainly in the Northern areas. The additional fear is the coming of winter and the annual flu season may be more troublesome.
So how has this pandemic affected the progress of Brexit? The year started with optimism of the UK reaching a deal by the end of August and allowing a suitable period of transition before December 31, 2020. However, the EU wanted an extension into 2021 but the UK refused and stated that a “No Deal” would be preferable to a longer period. But just as we reached this point, the coronavirus struck in March and all the heads of state became embroiled in the fight against the pandemic. Negotiations had to be put on the backburner.
But it was inevitable, because of the Brexit deadline, it could not be left for long, so both the backroom teams were tasked to open the negotiations by video conference and get the ball rolling. But as you can imagine not much was being agreed without the heads of state, and the talks stalled! Also, at this time Boris Johnson himself caught COVID-19 and was hospitalized for over a week and nearly had to be put on a ventilator before recovering. He took a few weeks to recuperate and decided it was time to take back control of the negotiations.
Unfortunately, here we are today nearly at the initial deadline, and we are not even close to an agreement. Why? The EU, rather than taking the logical way of looking at all parts of the Deal and coming to agreements on the easier elements and leaving the more delicate ones to the end, have done the opposite.
They have stated that unless the UK agrees to a closer relationship with the EU and a deal on the Fishery Policy, they are not prepared to go any further with the negotiations. At this stage there is no way the UK wants closer links with the EU. That was the main issue for leaving the EU in the first place. Without fishing in UK waters, the EU fishing fleet would suffer a huge loss of supply.
With this bit of an impasse, it looks like we are heading for a “No Deal” in the middle of a pandemic. This is definitely not looking good for the UK’s economic outlook for 2021. Yet this is not dissimilar to the situation with Brexit last year. Know what? I expect something will happen at the last minute. We’ll just have to wait and see!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
These days, I look forward to getting more robocalls!
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 28, 2020 | It’s good to get a new play toy. And this one gives me so much power!
It’s a new telephone system for our house. The old three-phone set went kerflurry, so we started looking. Came up with a three-phone Panasonic system that is more modern, causing the new excitement. Cost was reasonable at $52, which I seem to remember was cheaper than the previous three-phone set.
You see, that old telephone system was maybe at least 10-12 years old, and did not have all the bells and whistles of a modern system. The big feature that the new system is giving us joy is a quick way to block unwanted calls! Simply enough, it’s named “Call Block.”
Of course, for me, it must be fairly simple to use. It was easy to set up.
Now when I get a robocall, all I have to do is push “Call Block.” To make sure that I don’t go around blocking calls from people that I know, the phone then asks, in effect, “Are you sure you want to block this number?” and displays the number. And if I do, there’s one more step. I must respond by pushing the “Yes” button. And that number is blocked!
It gets easier. If the phone caller has hung up, I can still block the last call. The nice part, too, is that if I push “Call Block” while the line is still open, that automatically shuts down the call. I don’t even have to listen further to the intruder.
Now you people who always have the latest gadgets might not think all this is all that wonderful. You may have been using a “Call Block” system for years, and recognize how far I am behind times. But, after all, our previous phone system was working, so why get rid of it? Of course, had I known about “Call Block” when the previous system was in good condition, granted, I might have been tempted to spend a few dollars, and get a new system to eliminate these unwanted calls. But my understanding of the latest technology is so limited that I’ll admit I didn’t know it was available.
Just look at me now! I’m wanting to get robocalls. It’s a pure pleasure to be able to see the situation at hand and take immediate action! I no longer have to listen to an offer offering me a free wheelchair which I don’t need that Medicare will pay for, or a chance to contribute to some police officer’s association, or to vote for so-and-so.
Actually, I don’t so much mind the political robocalls. At least that gives me some idea of the tactics that the candidate is using in the election. It might give me a reason to vote against that candidate.
Previously I have routinely had calls from some local political officials, on a much too frequent basis, and have heard that person’s reasons tell how they are working for me. The call can sometimes turn against that political officer, once I understand that candidate’s position. Every office-seeker isn’t all that astute or reasonable with their views.
So, hurrah! for my newly-discovered play toy! Robocalls, ring me! I’ll enjoy zapping you!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Other Democratic countries use innovation, intelligence
By George Wilson, contributing columnist
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. | It’s always good management and governance to look and compare what other Democratic countries, states and rivals do to solve their problems. Issues like healthcare, education, infrastructure, taxation, and various social nets are just a few examples. This proven principal and common sense-approach works. For example, let’s look at a few countries.
In regards to COVID-19, some examples that have done an outstanding job handling this health crisis include New Zealand and Taiwan. Specifically, Taiwan has had only 450 cases and seven deaths.
What makes a difference? Taiwan has a national health card (first proposed by President Clinton in 1993). Each time a medical procedure occurs; the results go into a national database that alerts authorities to COVID-19 outbreaks. This, of course, allows for immediate contact tracing and then quarantining.
Taiwan tried to understand the possible route of transmission of this disease, and there were two possible ways. One is through droplets and the other one is through contact. In order for them to stop the transmission through droplets, the Taiwanese encouraged people to wear masks. It proved to be very useful. For those confirmed cases, they traced, isolated their contacts and put them in quarantine. The commander of the Central Epidemic Command Center, who is also the health minister, went on television every day and did live interviews with the press corps in Taiwan.
Their press asked all kinds of questions, and the commander tried to elaborate as much as possible. Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings in New York were a good example of such open communications in this country.
Through this very transparent way,Taiwan created a bond and a trust between the government and the people. When the government told the people that this is probably something they needed to do, people followed.
Contrast that with President Trump’s bungled attempts to communicate with the American people and then tragically dissolving responsibility to states and cities without any plan. Taiwan is an example of how a democratic society can respond quickly to a crisis and protect the interests of its citizens.
Meanwhile, we struggle to implement the elementary three basics, face covering, distancing and hand washing. Moreover, obtaining PPE supplies, testing and getting timely test results is a disaster.
We can look at other countries or possible ideas for many problems that we have. For examples: the rate of recidivism for former prisoners. Norway ranks the lowest at 20 percent; we rank the highest at 76.6 percent. Portugal legalized all drugs and put in clinics for addicts. Consequently, drug usage dropped dramatically and so did incarceration rates. Gun violence and deaths are much lower in all industrialized countries. Finland’s education system is ranked number one in the world.
In short, the United States needs problem solvers elected, not ignorance; certainly not more “greatness.”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Renasant Bank
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s sponsor is Renasant Bank, which has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Miss. bakery. Since then, we have grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with approximately $13.9 billion in assets, approximately 2,500 associates, and more than 200 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of our banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people we serve. At Renasant Bank, we understand you because we work and live alongside you every day.
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Why put the country and presidency to 4 more Trump years
To the Editor:
Gregg Stopher’s last comment about perhaps there being “one last” opportunity to “turn back” the “tide” of Democratic Party control is a surprising admission from a conservative. It acknowledges what we all know, the arc of history bends leftward.
There are many reasons for this. Demographic trends coupled with educational and cultural progressive biases are the primary drivers. The coupe de grâce however was the COVID-19 pandemic and the understandable fiscal and monetary policies put in place to save the economy. These policies have laid the groundwork for the eventual de facto acceptance of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which the left embraces and according to classical economic theory, cannot end well.
But the point is this, given this eventuality, why put the country and the office of the presidency, through four more years of Donald Trump? To what end? To have him abuse his powers further and thereby provide even more precedents for his Democratic successors to use against the American people? It’s something to think about.
— Theirn (TJ) Scott, Lawrenceville
Concludes that, indeed, mis-education is running rampant
Editor the Forum:
Quoting Mr. Stopher: “Although the public education system has failed us miserably with respect to educating our young people about the evils of socialism/communism/fascism…” He forgot to add Authoritarianism. Nazi Party was the national Socialist Party, (a dictatorship), as were/are communist countries.
All Dictatorships hide behind conflated definitions. His choice represents the worst of any public official in Presidential history.
I agree though, that mis-education runs rampant.
— Ashley Herndon, Oceanside, Calif.
Views several recent pronouncements in a different vein
Editor, the Forum:
Like many supporters of Trump, Mr. Stopher provides partial truths as evidence. Here are other facts that I hope give a broader view of Trump’s accomplishments.
- Black and Hispanic unemployment in 2020 is more than 10.2 percent. Not something that Trump should be proud about.
- In 2020 food stamp usage is 13 percent and Trump tried to reduce eligibility by making it more difficult to apply during a pandemic.
- The First Step Act was a bipartisan effort by the Congress not a Trump accomplishment. So was the VA Choice Act.
- Opportunity Zones, according to the Institutional Investor, had only mixed success, with many investments counter-productive for economically-distressed areas.
- Historically Black Universities have received $85 million more under the present budget but Trump did not “save” HBCU schools as he claims.
It is unfortunate that support for this president is based on half truths.
— Alan Schneiberg, Sugar Hill
Hear! Hear! for views presented in Forum by Stopher
Editor, the Forum:
Hear! Hear! for Gregg Stopher! Finally a fair conservative view. Although you still have us
two progressives to one conservative.
— Jim Savedelis, Duluth
Now Jim: You know we accept many varied views, no matter the writer’s views.—eeb
What USA needs in coming election is uniter, not divider
Editor, the Forum:
Let me comment on Mr. Stopher’s article. First, I would like to correct the statement about Trump signing the Veterans Choice Act. Actually, President Obama signed that act on August 7, 2014. President Trump signed the Veterans Choice Program Extension Act of April 18, 2020. When questioned about this at a recent news conference Mr. Trump chose to end the news conference rather than to acknowledge that Obama had signed the original act.
Regarding the abandoning of previous policy positions, the GOP used to believe in free trade, limited executive power, and fiscal restraint. With Trump as its leader it now apparently supports managed trade, unbridled presidential power, and unlimited debt.
My most serious concern with President Trump’s leadership was voiced most succinctly by James Mattis, Trump’s first Secretary of Defense and a distinguished former general. Mattis said, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”
That’s it in a nutshell. President Trump is a divider, not a uniter. In my opinion, that is the exact opposite of what America needs at this moment in history.
— John Titus, 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
New GGC graduate looks forward to elementary teaching
Alma Eligio of Norcross always knew that she wanted to teach someday. She always looked up to her teachers at Meadowcreek High School, especially the special education staff, who inspired her to pursue a college degree in special education.
Eligio
Eligio tried a couple of large schools in her early days of college. She had some trouble finding a comfortable environment. She became attracted to Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) because of its proximity to her home, as well as its affordability, small class sizes and diverse student body.
“I felt that by going to a smaller school, I’d have more time with my teachers” Eligio sys.
At GGC she found several professors who helped her in her educational journey. She remembers fondly the assistance from Dr. Jennifer Greene, assistant professor of literacy education and Eligio’s first instructor in GGC’s teacher’s preparation program. “She was very patient. She was always there to teach me,” Eligo said. “Even though it was my first class, the things that she taught us are things that I’m continuing to use.”
Eligio also said fond memories of Dr. Mary Kelly, associate professor of teacher education, who was “a constant source of advice.” As one of Eligio’s points of contact during the field experience portions of her studies, Kelly always made herself available to help her students, says Eligio.
GGC’s special education majors are certified to teach K-12, so Eligio obtained field experience for elementary, middle and high school levels. Feeling unprepared at the beginning of her two years of field studies, Eligio quickly learned from her mentors. As her training drew to a close, Eligio felt a calling to work at the elementary school level. She obtained a position at Meadowcreek Elementary – the same school she’d attended as a child.
Eligio, a first-generation college graduate, feels confident that she’ll be able to live up to the examples set by her role models, and give her students every educational opportunity they need to succeed. “It’s what I’ve always wanted,” Eligio says. “I just know that I’m going to see every kid I work with just like the little me who used to be there.”
Snellville officials break ground on its Greenway Trail
TRAIL BEGINNING: Snellville officials ceremonially dig the dirt for the start of a new trail in the city. From left are Councilmembers Solange Destang, Cristy Lenski and Tod Warner, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Emanuel, Mayor Barbara Bender and Councilwoman Gretchen Schulz.
Snellville officials broke ground on the Greenway Trail Monday, a project which will provide a trail system around the city’s The Grove at Towne Center development.
The Greenway Plan also calls for a 4.5-milepath from Snellville to Lawrenceville largely following North Road and Old Snellville Highway. This would allow cyclists and pedestrians to travel on quieter roads away from the fast and heavy traffic on Georgia Highway 124. It also serves to provide additional connection to Alexander Park, between the two cities.
On July 27, Mayor and Council approved a $1.1 million contract to the Dickerson Group for Phase 1 of the Greenway Trail. City Manager Butch Sanders said about $400,000 of that money will go toward stormwater improvements in the Towne Center.
Phase 1 of the project, the Towne Center Spine, is a 0.7-mile trail running parallel to Wisteria Drive along a mostly dry creek bed. This greenway will serve as a “border” more with the rear of the Towne Center. It will also be another connection from City Hall and the Senior Center to North Road, Scenic Highway and the neighborhoods abutting the north end of Snellville’s downtown.
Phase 2 of the project, to begin at a later date, will travel from Oak Road to Main Street in front of First Baptist Church to Church Street to Fremont Street. It will then connect to a path off Fremont Street into the Briscoe Park public use area.
There are also plans for a Main Street West (U.S. Highway78) trail. At almost five miles in length, this is the longest and most ambitious of the greenways being planned by the city and Gwinnett County for the area. The goal is to give Snellville and the South Gwinnett area a connection to the existing trail network around Stone Mountain.
Before and After by Judy Christie and Lisa Wingate
From Karen Harris, Stone Mountain: Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours, joins forces with journalist Judy Christie to locate child survivors of Georgia Tan, who kidnapped and sold children to well-healed and otherwise childless couples from 1920-1950. They plan to get together with survivors in Memphis Tenn. the home of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The stories of the survivors are both gripping and heartbreaking, though many are laced with hope, forgiveness and understanding. The attendees open up to others sharing stories, finding long lost relatives and most importantly, find the missing pieces of their family history and identity. Many of the attendees who are interviewed in this book read Before We were Yours and were motivated to learn about their adoptions because this story was their story. This book is the fictional story that has a historical basis with real people the reader will meet and grow with through the shared experiences.
An invitation: what b ooks, 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
Poet Daniell continues contributions to literary heritage
Rosemary Hughes Daniell was born in Atlanta on November 29, 1935, to Melissa Ruth Connell and Parker McDonald Hughes, a tire salesman. She was the older of two daughters. After dropping out of Tucker High School in Tucker at age 16, she married Larry Ramos, an army cook with whom she had a son, David. Ramos was abusive, and the marriage soon broke up. She married Sidney Daniell, an architect, in 1956, and they had two daughters, Laura and Darcy. They divorced in 1968, and in 1969 she married Jonathan Coppelman, also a writer. She and Coppelman divorced in 1976.
In the late 1950s or early 1960s Daniell took a continuing education class at Emory University and fell in love with modern poetry. She began writing poetry herself. While participating in a writers’ group in Atlanta, she met the poet James Dickey, who influenced her early work. Though Dickey encouraged her to write, he was not sympathetic to the poetry of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, whom Daniell greatly admired.
In 1975 she published her first book of poetry, A Sexual Tour of the Deep South. The following year her second poetry book, The Feathered Trees, was published.
During this time Daniell became involved in activities that encouraged the appreciation of writers and writing. From 1971 to 1972 she served as the director of Georgia’s Poetry in the Schools Program, a national program that gives students the opportunity to work with published poets. In 1974 Daniell received a grant for poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts; she was awarded another for fiction in 1981, the same year in which she founded a creative writing workshop for women in Savannah. Similar workshops soon opened in Atlanta and in Charleston, S.C.
Two years later Daniell named the workshop Zona Rosa, Spanish for “pink zone.” The workshops, which she still teaches, have been a critical part of her writing career. In 1987 Daniell received a grant in fiction from the Georgia Council for the Arts. Over the course of her career, she has also been granted residencies with the Ossabaw Island Project, the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Arkansas, and Yaddo in New York.
Daniell lives in Savannah with her fourth husband, Timothy Zane Ward, whom she married in 1987. In 2008 Daniell received a Governor’s Award in the Humanities for her contributions to Georgia’s literary heritage.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Artistic Mystery Photo is set in location many have seen
Here’s a beautiful, simple photo. Forget the stemware. From the few clues, can you identify this location? There’s not much to go on, but perhaps more than first meets the eye. Tell us where it’s located by sending to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
Several people had guesses, but only two readers pinpointed the last Mystery Photo in Ketchikan, Alaska. The photo came from Thomas Merkel of Berkeley Lake.
Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex. wrote: “Today’s mystery photo is of the busy port in Ketchikan, Alaska, just across the Tongass Narrows which separate the town of Ketchikan from its airport on nearby Gravina Island. The harbor consists of the two biggest working marinas for local fishermen in Ketchikan, the fifth-most populous city in Alaska. (The town’s annual rainfall is 150 inches!)
“Here are a few more ‘fun facts’ about Ketchikan, otherwise known as the “Salmon Capital of the World:
- It’s not unusual to have up to six cruise ships visiting Ketchikan at any one time. As many as 528 cruise ships dock at Bar Harbor in Ketchikan each year and, on average, each of the 1,140,000 visitors spend only 8-hours ashore.
- There are over 80 Native American Totem Poles located throughout Ketchikan; the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles.
- The famous ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ the $398 million project that was ridiculed by Sarah Palin during a 2008 campaign speech, was intended to replace the five-minute car/pedestrian ferry ride ferry that connects Ketchikan with its airport on Gravina Island. The bridge was never built.
- Code 99950, the highest numbered ZIP code in the USA, is for Ketchikan.
- There is not a lot of grass in Ketchikan, so high school students use a gravel field to play football. Ouch!”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. also identified the photo.
Photographs show landmarks of Eastern Continental Divide
Norcross monument.
Here’re several views from Miriam Machida of Duluth of landmarks in Gwinnett commemorating the Eastern Continental Divide, which runs through Duluth and Norcross. Both towns have erected monuments to explain this topographical feature which defines the watershed of Eastern United States. Duluth’s monument, a granite obelisk, is located on the West Lawrenceville Street side of Town Green. The Norcross monument, a sculpture suggesting flowing water, is located in Thrasher Park at Park Drive and North Peachtree Street. The nine-foot Duluth marker, designed by Rob and Carmen Ponder, was made of granite from Elberton, Ga., and weighs 3,600 pounds. The Norcross marker, copper with a stone base, was designed by Jennifer Freeman of Duluth. It is of a mosaic design with two intertwining streams, which convey the flow of water to the east and west, representing the effects of the Eastern Continental Divide.(Installation photo by Chris McGahee.)
In Duluth
Installation in Duluth
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