GwinnettForum | Number 21.17 | Mar. 8, 2022
THIS GIANT AMPHITHEATER dates back to 90 A.D. and is located in the city of Arles, France. For a glimpse into a road trip to this city, with its legacy of Vincent van Gogh, go to Another view below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: People and place continue to evolve, bringing possibilities
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Timing of school board nonpartisan election is flawed
ANOTHER VIEW: Remembering two trips to Arles, and the art of van Gogh
SPOTLIGHT: Aurora Theatre
FEEDBACK: Yet another transit study; what’s the count now?
UPCOMING: Redner leaving Community Foundation; it seeks new leader
NOTABLE: PCOM students bring Two Step CPR to Mall
RECOMMENDED: The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Ga. Tech Poet Larry Rubin focused on historical images
MYSTERY PHOTO: It’s a small building, but was mighty important
LAGNIAPPE: Bird photos from Bali on display in Lawrenceville
CALENDAR: Senior living options is the topic tonight at Five Forks Branch Library
People and place continue to evolve, bringing possibilities
Nicole Hendrickson, chair of Gwinnett County Council. Photo provided.
By Deborah Tuff
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | After her first full year in office, Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson last week addressed residents and businesspeople during her second State of the County address.
She said: “In Gwinnett, our kaleidoscope is the lens through which we view progress, which represents Gwinnett County as we vibrantly connect the unique people, place and promise of our community.”
Hendrickson called Gwinnett’s people as “Our greatest asset.” The 2020 Census shows the county’s population is close to a million people, or about nine percent of Georgia’s total population. She added that 26 percent of all Gwinnettians came from other countries.
“Last year, we took the first steps toward creating an equity action plan to help us bring our people to the forefront,” she said. “The plan will analyze our current policies and practices and chart a path forward to ensure we center equity in County government operations. It is our desire to ensure that no family or community is left behind.”
The chairwoman said that one bridge has been built with education. Through partnerships with the Gwinnett County Public Schools, leaders have invested in early childhood education programs that offer enriching courses for newborns, toddlers and children up to age 8. The Building Brains Anywhere program focuses on literacy, STEAM and nature. B2 Anywhere also provides suggestions for caregivers to help children thrive.
From newborns to seniors, Chairwoman Hendrickson noted that our population over the age of 60 has nearly doubled since the turn of the century, meaning that providing adequate resources to support our seniors and their caregivers will have to be a priority.
She says: “Our work to continually improve services and quality of life is an example of the ‘Gwinnett Standard.’ It showcases our promise — to support our vibrantly connected community by delivering superior services.” In keeping with that standard, the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center opened earlier this year. It’s a place where budding entrepreneurs receive mentoring and connections to valuable resources. A partnership between the County and Georgia Gwinnett College, the center offers coworking and office space, classes, workshops, business coaching and peer learning. The inaugural group is already hard at work.
She concludes: “Through the kaleidoscope, our dynamic people and place will continue to evolve, bringing everchanging possibilities… and through it all, we’re counting on community leaders like you to help us uplift our vibrant people and keep Gwinnett the preferred community where everyone thrives.”
Hendrickson presented three Standard Bearer Awards during her talk, each representing an aspect of Gwinnett’s kaleidoscope.
- Chef Hank Reid with Lettum Eat was honored in the People category for providing high-quality meals to people facing food insecurity. Chef Hank became a partner with the County, donating healthy meals during drive-up food distribution events.
- The Place award went to Plaza las Americas for embracing Gwinnett’s unique spirit and providing an inclusive environment. The community center served as a host site for the County’s year-end vaccine events and was chosen by Comcast as a home for its Internet Essentials program and Lift Zone to boost digital literacy and academic achievement.
- The Gwinnett County Grants Division was recognized with the Promise award for its work to use federal pandemic-relief funding efficiently and effectively. Funds were used for PPE to protect first responders, support for struggling businesses, emergency rental and utility assistance, and gift cards for vaccine incentives.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Timing of school board nonpartisan election is flawed
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 8, 2022 | Gwinnett voters will elect two members of the school board in 2022, and this vote will be in a nonpartisan election.
However, we feel the change in the law to require a nonpartisan election is flawed. You see, the people writing the new regulations never considered the best way to have a nonpartisan election. They just went along with the requirements in the only other non-partisan election in Gwinnett, where judges are elected.
The flaw in the system is that we’ll be picking new members of the school board when the least number of people are voting, at the primary election in May, instead of at the General Election in the fall.
Can you imagine that Sen. Clint Dixon, who spearheaded the new legislation, was so intent on making the School Board election non-partisan that he never realized that it would come when the least number of people are voting?
In the 2020 primary election in Gwinnett, 159,800 people cast ballots. In the General Election, 416,458 Gwinnettians voted. That’s a difference of 256,658 more people voting in the General Election! That’s a whopping difference! Abraham Lincoln said: “Trust the people.” It’ll be far better to have heard the will of the larger majority of the people in picking board members. Yes, trust the people.
We must remember that the primary is a method to nominate a party candidate to oppose the other party candidate in the November election. It just so happens that Georgia for some reason also elects non-partisan judges during the primary. However, one of GwinnettForum’s Continuing Objectives for Gwinnett County is to require judges elected in the General Election, when a much larger number of voters would be picking the judges.
We have little problem with having school board members elected on a non-partisan basis. However, it appears that the new change is an attempt by Republicans to continue to elect closet Republicans to the board.
It also flies in the face that Gwinnett must have had a pretty good school board in past years, since the Gwinnett school system has been repeatedly ranked among the best systems in the entire nation. The guidance given by the partisan-elected school board must have been pretty good. It makes you ask of the method of picking board members: “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
Georgians have seen some bad legislation proposed during this session of the Legislature. Without labeling the school board non-partisan change as good or bad, its introduction is another reason Georgians should re-examine just how much time it wants to give legislators to serve in the Georgia House or Senate.
Yes, we’re thinking of another of our Continuing Objectives, the one which proposes that the Georgia Legislature ought to meet once for 40 days every two years, instead of the present once a year every year. What a relief that would be for the Georgia voters! They would benefit in allowing only half the time the legislators have to introduce bad legislation. Right now, meeting every year, over and over many bad legislative bills are introduced each session. Luckily, many do not pass. No doubt each voter can name one or two bills of bad legislation, which the voter hopes does not pass.
So, let’s limit the time the legislators have to foul up our Constitution, like in Texas, when the legislature meets once every two years.
Meanwhile, we’re hoping that the 2022 school board election, while nonpartisan, attracts good candidates. Gwinnett legislators should see to it that the time of electing non-partisan school board members be at the General Election, when significantly more Gwinnettians vote.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Remembering two trips to Arles, and the art of van Gogh
(Editor’s note: Sometimes your most cherished memories are something that happened years ago. One of the Forum’s best mystery photo spotters remembers two trips he took more than 20 years ago to the south of France to visit the City of Arles. That town today has a population of 52,886 and continues to focus on tourists and agriculture as its major businesses. –eeb)
By George Graf
PALMYRA, Va. | When living years ago in Europe, I was an admirer of the artist Vincent van Gogh. Therefore, I could not pass up a road trip to Arles, France, where van Gogh produced a massive amount of fantastic work. According to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, he lived here for 444 days and produced over 200 paintings, over 100 drawings and watercolors, and wrote some 200 letters. He was busy!
George Graf, 20 years ago
This is also where he cut off his left ear with a razor while suffering from severe depression. Another account says his artist friend Gauguin came to stay with him in Arles and the two men worked together for almost two months. However, tensions developed and on December 23, 1888, in a fit of dementia or possibly a violent argument, van Gogh threatened his friend with a knife before turning it on himself and mutilating his earlobe. After which, he could later recall nothing about the event.
Van Gogh’s living in Arles was accidental. Before Arles, van Gogh was living in Paris and became weary of the cold so he grabbed a train to Marseille. Because of some difficulty, the train stopped in Arles on the way to Marseille and van Gogh exited the train presumably to stretch his legs, and there and then he fell in love with Arles and stayed. In 1888, he wrote a letter to his brother Theo who was a Dutch art dealer and told him “Ideas for work are coming in abundance…I am going like a painting-locomotive”. But the frantic pace later led to his mental meltdown.
The color yellow became the hallmark of his work during his time in Arles. Van Gogh rented space in a yellow house, but it was unfortunately bombed in 1944 during World War II and later demolished.
Arles street
I visited Arles twice. I found this gem of a city steeped in Roman history, while quiet and intriguing. The very narrow streets, however, challenged my Volvo driving skills to the max.
The imposing Roman amphitheater in the middle of town is circled by a plethora of cafes, brasseries and outdoor vendors selling colorful wares. The amphitheater was constructed in 90 A.D. with over 120 arches. For four centuries it was the site of bloody gladiator battles, chariot races and theater performances. Our large arenas in the USA don’t seem to last longer than a few decades before being demolished for a new and more spectacular version.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, the amphitheater was converted into a fortress, encircling houses and chapels. Today, the amphitheater is used for traditional bullfighting, and plays and concerts are also held here. The Arles Amphitheater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Aurora Theatre
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s sponsor is Aurora Theatre, home to the best live entertainment in northeast Georgia. Aurora Theatre presents Broadway’s best alongside exciting works of contemporary theater. Aurora Theatre manages Lawrenceville Arts Center (LAC) in partnership with the City of Lawrenceville. This $45 million world-class facility with five venues, has the ability to host a wide variety of performances, weddings, celebrations and community events both indoors and outdoors. Nestled on the historic downtown square, Lawrenceville Arts Center has FREE attached covered parking and is surrounded by restaurants and shops. Now on stage, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella with performances in LAC’s 500-seat Clyde and Sandra Strickland Grand Stage Theatre, March 11 – April 3, 2022. Get tickets to this or any of the over 20 different arts events taking place on the newly expanded campus.
- For more information or to purchase tickets: http://www.auroratheatre.com or call 678-226-6222
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
Yet another transit study; what’s the count now?
Editor, the Forum:
The county, I saw, approved another $1.5 million contract for a new transit study. How many is that now and how much has this cost?
With such transit issues, why do the commissioners continue to approve all of these giant apartment and townhome communities. Why continue clogging the streets with more cars when there is no plan on how to move all of these people effectively?
Do we really need to cut down every tree and jam more housing into every inch of Gwinnett? There are other counties here who build up without destroying what is left here.
The first item in the transit plan should be to reign in development. People buy homes in areas that are zoned single family and then the commissioners approve zoning changes, often to multi-family, without regard to the neighborhood.
Uncontrolled growth leads to more pollution, a strain on public services, and a lower standard of living overall. The only winners are the speculators, developers, and builders who could care less as long as there is money to be made.
Look back 15 years or so at Gwinnett and do you like it better now? Development does not always equal progress.
– Dan Mackaben, Lawrenceville
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Redner leaving Community Foundation; it seeks new leader
Redner
The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia (CFNEG) is searching for a new leader, as President and CEO Randy Redner will leave the foundation later this year. CFNEG has retained Grant Partners to conduct the CEO search.
In his announcement, Redner explained: “Little did I know in 2020, when I first announced that I would transition out of the Community Foundation, that less than a month later we would be faced with a global crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. As the board and I quickly realized how serious this would be, we also realized it was not the time to change leadership, so I committed to leading the Community Foundation for another few years to help our community through this crisis. Now is the time for me to make this transition plan a reality. I’m not retiring, just ‘career downsizing’ as I’ve heard some call it!”
Redner joined the Community Foundation in May 2015 as executive director. Since then, his leadership, vision and drive has enabled the Community Foundation to achieve record results. Under his guidance, the Community Foundation has, in the last five years, including making grants of nearly $50 million, for a total of over $100+ million since 1985.
It has also welcomed more than 150 new funds since 2017, grown assets under management to more than $80 million; created a Legacy Society with 30 founding members and future gifts of an estimated $30+ million; and been deeply involved in the non-profit community.
With the Community Foundation’s rapid growth, it is now seeking another person to join Director of Fundholder Experience Britt Ramroop’s efforts. This position will oversee a portion of the Community Foundation’s fundholder portfolio.
Prior to joining the Community Foundation in 2015, Redner spent 20 years in the corporate world before transitioning to the nonprofit sector. In 2000, he became the executive director of Habitat for Humanity North Fulton. In 2005, Redner joined the Gwinnett chapter of the American Cancer Society responsible for the largest Relay For Life event in the world, growing the Gwinnett Relay to raising over $2.7 million. These successes led Redner to be promoted to vice president for Georgia. In 2013 he moved to The United Methodist Children’s Home to help rebuild their fundraising, marketing and communications and volunteer programs.
Dick LoPresti, board chair of the Community Foundation, says: “The Community Foundation’s team and board of directors has nothing but the highest praise for Randy’s work and leadership during his time here, and everyone would like to have him stay engaged at a certain level.”
During the next few months, Redner will be working with the Community Foundation’s CEO transition team to ensure a smooth leadership transition. The members of that team include Dick LoPresti; Mike Levengood, Bill McCargo; Kim Hartsock; Tommy Welch; Scott Jordan; Wayne Ellison; Ronda Leary; Scott Phelan; and Jill Edwards.
Norcross considering expanding its public housing
The City of Norcross is aiming to replace its current public housing, with new buildings that will provide up to 180 residences. The current housing, built in the 1960s, currently has 44 residences and is expected to be torn down. This location is on a 5.8 acre tract on Garner Street, off Mitchell Road. The project is proposed as a joint development of Norcross Housing Authority and its partner, Walton Homes.
The proposal was presented recently to the Norcross Planning and Zoning Board. It is anticipated that the City Council could hear of the proposal on April 4. The city is expected to seek funding through a program managed by the state Department of Community Affairs.
PCOM students bring Two Step CPR to Mall
There was a lot of life-saving learning taking place at the Mall of Georgia in Buford recently. Twenty-five Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia students volunteered their time to teach community members National Two Step CPR. This simplified technique teaches participants the benefits of cardiopulmonary resuscitation without utilizing mouth-to-mouth rescue. As the name implies National Two Step CPR consists of two steps: 1) call 911; and 2) to push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives. National Two Step CPR aims at engaging and educating citizens on the benefits of compressions-only/hands-only CPR. Since inception, this project has trained more than 22,000 in the proper compressions-only CPR technique, with the help of 700 medical students across the nation each year.
William Day DAR chapter names history essay winners
The William Day Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Duluth has announced winners of their American History Essay Contest. From left are DAR member and Essay Chairman Kris White; fifth-grade winner Denym Lambert; fifth-grader runner-up Jamauri Chadwick; and fifth-grader runner-up Lance Bilbrew, all of Cooper Elementary School; and fifth-grade runner-up Kristina Donaldson, of Rock Springs Elementary School; and William Day Regent Deborah Bush. Not pictured is the sixth grade winner, Naa Oyo Quartey-Papafino from North Springs Middle School and Angel Lewis, Stripling Elementary School. The essay topic, “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” marked the 100th anniversary November 11, 2021, of the dedication of the Tomb in Washington, D.C. Students were asked to imagine that they had a brother who lost his life on the battlefields of France during World War I, and further imagine they were invited to attend the 1921 dedication.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: Sorrel Sparrow is a renowned New England gardener who with her three sisters has weathered a difficult time. She is contacted by the Kirkwoods, a well-known English family, who have a garden that will not thrive. Their Shakespeare Garden is plagued with rot and what feels like a poison essence that defies regeneration. Sorrel’s gift is nurturing plants and flowers with a touch of magic. She accepts the challenge and is greeted by a family that, though buoyant, is also harboring secrets related to the garden and a church on the grounds. A romance buds with Andrew, the brother of Lady Kirkwood. As Sorrel works in the garden, the mystery of the failing garden deepens along with her bonds with the family. As events unfold, she becomes aware of how her gifts and her fate are tied to the health of the Shakespeare Garden that she is working to save.
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
Ga. Tech poet Larry Rubin focused on historical images
Larry Jerome Rubin published hundreds of poems in literary magazines and four volumes of selected verse after moving to Atlanta in 1950. He began a long academic career as an English professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1956.
Though Rubin appeared in several collections of contemporary southern poets, his poems focused on historical images and the inner self rather than any particular time or place. Rubin was a self-described romantic poet whose inspirations included Emily Dickinson and whose writing included several articles on American romantic literature.
Rubin was born in 1930 in Bayonne, N.J., the son of Lillian Strongin and Abraham Joseph Rubin. Reared in Miami Beach, Fla., he studied briefly at New York’s Columbia University (1949-50) and earned degrees in journalism (B.A., 1951; M.A., 1952) and English (Ph.D., 1956) at Emory University in Atlanta. Immediately after receiving his doctorate, he became an instructor at Georgia Tech and eventually rose to full professor.
Having received a Smith-Mundt Award from the U.S. State Department, Rubin taught American literature during the 1961-62 academic year at the Jagiellonian University of Kraków in Poland. He also spent three years overseas as a visiting Fulbright scholar—at the University of Bergen in Norway in 1966-67, at the Free University of West Berlin in 1969-70, and at the University of Innsbruck in 1971-72.
Rubin had already published numerous poems in literary magazines when “Instructions for Dying” won the Poetry Society of America’s Reynolds Lyric Award in 1961. His first volume of poetry, The World’s Old Way, appeared in 1962. Its introductory poem, “The Bachelor,” introduced Rubin’s signature persona, the bachelor-poet. In a Faustian vow to the solitary artist’s life, he traded the prospect of immortality through one’s children for a childless life spent conjuring magic from words. The World’s Old Way won the Georgia Writers Association’s Literary Achievement Award and Oglethorpe University’s Sidney Lanier Award (named for Georgia poet Sidney Lanier) for a first book of poems.
The Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists named him Georgia Poet of the Year in 1967 for Lanced in Light and again in 1975 for All My Mirrors Lie, his third book.
After retiring from Georgia Tech in 1999, Rubin continued to travel and write. A career member of the College English Association, a professional organization of teacher-scholars, he directed the association’s annual poetry workshop. In 2001, the CEA presented Rubin with its Life Membership Award. Emory University holds a collection of Rubin’s papers, which he donated before his death in 2018.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
It’s a tiny building, but something important happened here
It’s a small building, but an important event took place here. See if you can pinpoint where this photograph was taken, and tell us the importance of the building. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net, and include your town where you live.
Three photo-spotters, all regulars, recognized the most recent Mystery Photo. Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill wrote: “This is Holy Trinity Church Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, Ukraine. It is also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. It’s an Eastern Orthodox Church and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” Also identifying it was George Graf of Palmyra, Va., and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., who wrote, saying: “As can been seen in the photo, the church sits atop the Holy Gates, the main entrance to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves), a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery built in 1051. The Gate Church of the Trinity was originally built in 1106-1108 as a Kievan Rus’ style church, but has been destroyed and reconstructed many times throughout its long history. In its current form, the church is built in a Ukrainian Baroque style. Let’s all hope that this ornate UNESCO site remains intact and is not destroyed yet again by the Russian forces that are surrounding Kiev today.”
The photo was contributed by Chuck Cimarik of Peachtree Corners.
Bird photos from Bali on display at L’ville Senior Center
Roving Photographer Frank Sharp is displaying his Bali Bird collection at the Senior Center in Lawrenceville at Rhodes Jordan Park. He made these photos in Bali, Indonesia in the past. These same photos were part of his exhibition at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Sharp says: “Interestingly there are many bird parks in Asia, but few here. It is partly a cultural reason. In the United States it is said that man’s best friend is the dog but in Asia man’s best friend is the bird.”
The Sandwich Generation: Senior Living Options, will be Tuesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Five Forks Library Branch, 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road, Lawrenceville. Learn signs to watch out for in determining when an older adult may need safer housing and how to choose the best option.
Sixth annual Paddy’s Day Pathfest in Braselton on March 12, from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. along Georgia Highway 211. Gather your feather boas, green tutus, four leaf clovers and Paddy’s Day tee-shirts and join in the festival golf cart parade along the LifePath. Teams get four hours to putter around the LifePath completing challenges to finish a Quest. Details: www.BraseltonLifePath.com.
In 2022, Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States on Sunday, March 13, Larry Zani of Kairserslauten, Germany, tells us. In Europe their “Summer Time” begins on Sunday, March 27. During those two weeks, time zone differences between most of the U.S. and Europe will be one hour less than usual. Of note — The European Union voted in 2019 to abolish the practice of seasonal clock changes at a future date. However, because of COVID, arrangements to scrap the clock changes were put on the back burner in most countries, including Germany. Remember for Daylight Saving Time, clocks are turned forward one hour.
Sundays in Suwanee Series with bestselling author Vanessa Riley will take place on Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m. at the Suwanee Library Branch, 361 Main Street, Suwanee. Join the award-winning author as she discusses her historical novel, Island Queen, based on the true-life story of Dorothy “Doll” Kirwan Thomas, a free Black woman who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.
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