GwinnettForum | Number 22.21 | March 28, 2023
MESMERIZED: Two youths, a young lady and young man, seem mesmerized by a giant bubble seeming to emerge from an attendee at a previous Suwanee Arts Festival. Mark your calendar now for the next Suwanee Arts Festival which will be September 16-17, 2023. The theme is “Wild Wild Fest.”
TODAY’S FOCUS: When will the key GOP leaders openly condemn Trump?
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Perfect word: have you ever been gobsmacked?
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett County Public Library
ANOTHER VIEW: Resist! Don’t get caught up in all this “Wokeness”
FEEDBACK: Appreciates valuable alternative of Gwinnett Tech
UPCOMING: Sculptor Basil Watson offers artist tour April 1 at Hudgens
NOTABLE: Gwinnett Chamber announces winners of VALOR awards
RECOMMENDED: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Macon is home of Georgia’s largest arts and science museum
MYSTERY PHOTO: Can you tell us where these houses are located?
LAGNIAPPE: Signing of legislation creating the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit
CALENDAR: King statue unveiling planned for April 1
When will the key GOP leaders openly condemn Trump?
“The President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction… (Trump can) exercise his power to pardon (himself) if he so desired.” — Rudy Giuliani
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Will former President Donald Trump finally be brought to justice?
Trump is too shrewd to believe Giuliani’s words. They are just red meat for the blind, hungry, alienated base. The former President’s highly respected original attorneys were cooperating with the Justice Department. Read the Bob Woodward book, to get more detail.
These competent lawyers were pushed out (for obvious reasons). His subsequent lawyers, fronted by a tremendous public relations campaign conducted by self-aggrandizing showman Rudy Giuliani, tried to build a case for our former President being above the law.
Trump’s unconstitutional declaration that he as President could just redirect military funds, appropriated by Congress for other purposes, to build a wall should have come as no surprise.
The then President stubbornly refused to testify before Robert Mueller, the Special Prosecutor, instead having his attorneys submit written answers in his name. According to his advisers, he was just “too busy” (playing golf?). In any case, per them and not the constitution, the rule of law should not apply to a sitting president who can’t be indicted. Of course, he is no longer in that position.
Trump has also totally undercut our free press, a key part of any democracy. According to Trump: “We have a crooked media” and a “Fake media.” Regarding the New York Times, one of the best papers in the world, Trump told Hannity: “They don’t write good.”
Solely due to financial considerations, Fox and other right-wing propaganda media outlets still support Trump. But behind the scenes, they say: “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.” (Tucker Carlson of Fox).
I was born in a democratic Republic which was born at great cost in lives and treasure. Our country saved my father and grandparents, French refugees, from virtually certain death by the Nazis. That is the nation that I love and revere.
Imperfect as it is, the United States has been a bright beacon of light for the rest of the world. Unfortunately, we no longer are that shining light on the hill, as surveys of our allies confirm. The docile leadership of my former party, the Republicans, has enabled the rule of law to be subverted by our past President and his politico supporters.
Trump told Jimmy Fallon: “I will apologize in the distant future if I am ever wrong.” Well, it is past time for him to do exactly that and come clean. But, he will never do so. Instead, he will continue to crow to his small base about a “witch hunt.” He’ll never understand, or probably better, cannot comprehend how bad he is.
The ultimate question is: “When will McCarthy, McConnell and the rest of the GOP leadership put their nation above their party, directly state their concerns, and clearly condemn Trump?” Goldwater has gone down in history as a patriot because of his leading role in the Nixon resignation. History will not be as kind to the present leaders of the GOP because of their failure to accept reality.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Perfect word: Have you ever been gobsmacked?
Universal joint for a 1940 Chevrolet.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
March 28, 2023 | Ever been “gobsmacked?”
The Jeff Davis Ledger out of Hazlehurst, in a story by Mary Ann Anderson, used that word in describing how one of their county commissioners looked when his fellow commissioners voted him off a local board where he had served for 20 years.
The word means “astonishment.” As the story goes, “And gobsmacked was the look on Ocmulgee Commissioner Van Wooten’s face when to his surprise, he was suddenly and without warning removed in a vote (3-2) as Jeff Davis County’s representative from the membership of Seven Rivers Resource and Conservation and Development Council.”
All I know of Jeff Davis County politics is what I read in that county’s newspaper, where Publisher Tommy Purser has labored for years. That community may be the best example in Georgia where confusing local governmental operations, often made at the whim of petty politicians in the city and county, had caused the area to deteriorate. The area has recently lost population, and because of the antics of its leaders, is hard-pressed to locate new industry there. It’s sad.
Infighting among politicos will harm a community every time, and make it even harder to prosper.
Are you mystified as I am about why it is taking so long for the Fulton County District Attorney to finalize what the special Grand Jury investigated concerning the Donald Trump affair and “stolen” votes in Georgia?
It’s been more than a month now since the Grand Jury investigation was concluded. Yet no word from District Attorney Fanni Williams as to her conclusion. While there may be compelling reasons to delay, moving forward people are asking questions as to why the report isn’t forthcoming.
I keep remembering the passage: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Even Donald Trump should want this investigation completed one way or the other. After all, he wouldn’t want it to be going on should he run for president again.
Meanwhile, we wait and question.
Hopefully, this week the Georgia Legislature will complete its 2023 session. As usual, it can’t come too soon for us. We feel none of us are entirely safe while it is meeting.
Years ago one of the soap companies had a jingle, which we still remember. It brought up an item that so far the Legislature has not found a way to impose. Remember the Ajax singing commercial: “You’ll stop paying the Elbow Tax when you start cleaning with Ajax!”
Just bringing this up may give some legislator an idea to introduce a bill to charge us an Elbow Tax. Maybe this should have been left unsaid.
Universal joints: Many of you may not know what a universal joint is, but from the days of my youth, I learned about them. I remember my father often repairing the universal joint on our 1940 Chevrolet. Apparently, this General Motors car had an often malfunctioning universal joint, since my father would often be on his back under the car replacing that joint.
Universal joints are X-shaped parts typically made of steel with a bearing cap at each end that allows the vehicle’s rigid driveshaft to connect.
Best place to understand this is to look at a six-tire truck with a high body. Under the truck, you can see this steel shaft extending from the motor to the area of the back axle. When the truck is in motion, this shaft turns, sending power from the motor to the back tires. The universal joints are where this shaft connects at each end. Now you know!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett County Public Library
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Resist! Don’t get caught up in all this “wokeness”
Photo by Rob Larsen on Flickr.com
(Editor’s note: Andy Brack, named best columnist in South Carolina in 2022 by the S.C. Press Association, is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. –eeb)
By Andy Brack
CHARLESTON, S.C. | Somebody at a book event recently asked, “Are you woke?” My response: “Just what does that mean?”
Her response: Deer-in-the-headlights. She didn’t know. She sputtered and changed the subject.
But this kind of silliness is going on too much. She was just yammering about something she’d heard from talking heads on television or from some lemming politician spouting off to further the nation’s culture wars. Pitiful.
If you have become enamored with using the word “woke” to describe what’s happening in politics, it’s time to, well, wake up. You’re being used by language.
“Wokeness” is nothing more than a manufactured linguistic frame to stir and steer your thoughts in ways that are a modern-day conservative equivalent of those hippies who looked at the world through “rose-colored glasses.”
MAGA-enhanced Republicans on language steroids are trying to get you to believe that regular Americans who are kind, inclusive, thoughtful and who respect diversity and freedom, are little more than pawns in a cabal to take away your guns, gender and religion. Hogwash.
What these zealots really want you to do is step back in time to an America filled with more racism and less opportunity. They want a new-day version of plantation economics and society built on fundamentalism, fear and a convenient rewrite of history that ignores the American dream for all, regardless of skin color or economic status. When it comes down to brass tacks, they want our shining experiment with democracy and our envied marketplace for ideas and capitalism to fail, only to be replaced by an autocratic tyranny.
Resist.
Linguist George Lakoff wrote a popular 2004 political manifesto for progressives on how to frame issues politically. The book, Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, instantly highlights the power of words. Once you’re told to not think of an elephant, you can’t get the image of an elephant out of your head.
Now almost 20 years later, elephantine conservatives have hoisted progressives on Lakoff’s linguistic petard with all of this “wokeness” nonsense — insisting that Americans reinterpret how they think of culture in a cynical and fully transparent ploy to brush past reality.
Republican presidential candidates, desperately trying to stir audiences, throw about wokeism like beads at Mardi Gras to attack progressives and political correctness. Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, for example, recently pandered, “Wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic, hands down.” Really? The term comes up frequently in speeches by former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. It’s like they have a new word toy and can’t keep from playing with it.=
Most Americans see through the nonsense. According to a recent USA Today/Ipsos poll, 56 percent of people surveyed — including a third of Republicans — said wokeness meant “to be informed, educated on and aware of social injustices.” They didn’t buy the conservative wordsmithing link to political correctness.
“Most Americans understand that to be woke is to be tuned in to injustices around us,” Ipsos pollster Cliff Young said in one report. “But for a key segment of Republicans who make up the Trump-DeSantis base, “woke” is a clear trigger for the worst of the politically correct, emerging multicultural majority.”
Don’t get fooled that “wokeism” is a real thing. It’s something they want you to believe.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Appreciates valuable alternative of Gwinnett Tech
Editor, the Forum:
Let me say I enjoyed the article on increased enrollment at Gwinnett Tech.
For too long, tech schools have been looked down upon as inferior to universities. They provide a valuable alternative to many students where a four year college degree is not appropriate to their interests or maybe not affordable at this time.
There are many well-paying careers available to graduates of technical college programs. It looks like with the financial costs and the lack of employment opportunities with some four year college programs students are looking more toward the numerous programs offered at these institutions.
From welding and air conditioning service to nursing and IT careers, many of these jobs are very much in demand and excellent salaries and with bright futures.
We are very fortunate to have Gwinnett Tech in our community and should hope that it continues to grow and service the needs of students and employers in our area.
– Dan Mackaben, Lawrenceville
Dear Dan: well said. What impresses me about Gwinnett Tech is that 99 percent of its graduates immediately get jobs, and that other one percent declines to enter the job market, sometimes because of raising children. –eeb
Gloomy about the long-term future of our country
Editor, the Forum:
Perhaps I do sound strident, but I recognize much more than most people that our Republic is in danger of destruction from within and without. I am not a right-wing radical but a freedom-loving Army veteran (26 years) who sees my country being destroyed bit by bit. I am very proud of my Confederate heritage and know that the Civil War had many causes with slavery not being primary.
I don’t like Donald Trump and I hope he leaves the stage, but I like most of his pro-American policies. The media certainly appears to be a tool of the Democrat Party and has never treated Trump fairly. Joe Biden is incompetent and is just a figurehead shielding Marxists who are actively harming our country.
I decry the current degradation of our military. As a former US Army Infantryman, Intelligence Analyst, Anti-Terrorism Instructor and Counter-Intelligence Agent I am painfully aware of the many dangers facing our country and the inability and refusal of our civilian and military leaders to effectively protect and defend our nation. I no longer encourage my grandchildren to join the military.
“Wokeness” is destroying our nation from within as evidenced by on-going actions to destroy not only Confederate monuments but those of Washington, Grant, Sherman, Columbus and numerous others. Might I suggest you research what President Eisenhower thought of Robert E. Lee and why Ike had portraits of Lee in his office? (Ike considered Lee to be a great American).
I see a media that has been influenced by the radicals of the 1960’s destroying the very First Amendment that provides the protection the media currently enjoys, for now. So, please enjoy your current journalistic freedoms, while you can, because the trend of the Democrat Party is to void the First Amendment protections you likely cherish.
– Ernest Wade, Loganville
Two readers respond to perspective concerning District Attorney
Editor, the Forum:
Thank you for your brave and honest article about operations in the District Attorney’s office.
The 2020 election hurt Gwinnett County in so many ways. I was completely shocked at how much our taxes went up. An increase of $800 in one year was a complete shock to us. We are feeling a part of Dekalb instead of Gwinnett.
We had shots fired in our neighborhood before the 4th of July and the police didn’t show up for two hours. Our neighbor got a voicemail that said Gwinnett County Police Department was busy and to please call back! North Georgia is looking better and better!
Thanks again for your honest opinion. That is something missing in Journalism these days!
– Patrick Burchins, Lilburn
Editor, the Forum:
Your perspective on the District Attorney is a well-thought out and researched article and shows everyone why local journalism is a requirement to showcase government officials when they are not performing. Thank you.
– George Wilson, Stone Mountain
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, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
Sculptor Watson offers artist tour April 1 at Hudgens
Watson. Photo provided.
Renowned sculptor Basil Watson will conduct a free artist tour, Saturday, April 1, from 2 to 4 p.m., and host a closing exhibition reception and book signing on April 15, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning in Duluth.
Watson’s solo exhibition of sculptures and drawings titled, “My People: The Drawings and Sculpture of Basil Watson” is on display in the Fowler Gallery of the Hudgens Center. The show highlights Watson’s 45 years as a working artist.
The festivities on April 15 will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.“My People: The Drawings and Sculpture of Basil Watson” will run through April 15.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Watson is the son of internationally renowned painter Barrington Watson and studied at the Jamaica School of Art. He then established a successful career as Jamaica’s leading sculptor and his work there includes monumental works on the campuses of the nation’s three primary universities and signature works at the two major stadia.
In 2016, the Government of Jamaica awarded Watson the Order of Distinction (Commander) in recognition of his contributions to the field of art.
Watson emigrated to the United States in 2002 and established his home and studio in Lawrenceville. He has completed major works in China, Guatemala, the United Kingdom and throughout the United States.
He created the Martin Luther King “Hope Moving Forward” statue in Atlanta. His other works have honored the Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, Queen Elizabeth II and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.
Gwinnett Stripers opening night coming on March 31
In advance of Opening Night on March 31, the Gwinnett Stripers announced today the updates and new additions that fans will experience at Coolray Field in 2023.
Through a new partnership with the all-in-one digital personal finance company, SoFi, Coolray Field’s premium location for groups of 100-plus will now be known as the “SoFi Super Suite.” The entire space has been updated with SoFi’s vibrant turquoise colorway and includes sleek, modern furniture.
The Stripers have partnered with another innovative Georgia-based brand, Pontoon Brewing Company, to introduce the “Pontoon Brewing Boathouse.” Located behind Section 105, they will also have a menu of premium food options, including new additions like Pontoon Wings, the Cuban Sandwich, Crab Cake Sandwich, and Fish Tacos.
On Opening Night (March 31) at Coolray Field, the Stripers take on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at 7:05 p.m. Single-game tickets for all 2023 home games are on sale now at GoStripers.com/tickets.
Gwinnett Chamber announces winners of VALOR awards
The Gwinnett Chamber VALOR Awards honor local public safety officials for their exceptional acts of bravery and service to the local community. They were presented last week. The event honored award winners in multiple categories including two civilian life-saving awards, a first in the program’s 18-year history; and one Purple Heart award.
Senior Correctional Officer Scott Ozburn Riner who was killed in the line of duty while serving his community, was awarded the Purple Heart. This rare award was presented in grateful memory of Officer Riner for his exceptional legacy and ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve the people of Gwinnett. His wife, Elana, and son, Taylor, were in attendance to accept this award on his behalf. The Purple Heart, not awarded every year, is a rare and exceptional honor bestowed on a public safety professional who has been critically injured or killed in the line of duty.
Lt. Bill Stevens was posthumously honored with the Legacy Award for his lifelong public service, and his work to help launch and grow the VALOR Awards program.
Two Public Safety Civilian Partnership Awards were bestowed for the first time in the VALOR program’s 18-year history to Rocio Rocha for her bravery to lead several family members to safety amid a house fire. A similar award went to Patricia Rodriguez who courageously drove a bus full of children from an active shooter situation, keeping every child free from injury during the incident.
The Medal of Merit, given to a public safety professional who demonstrates exceptional commitment to community both on- and off-duty, was presented to Corporal Mike Johnson with the Lilburn Police Department.
The Public Safety Awards honored those individuals who have performed their jobs with exceptional skill, expertise, innovation, and results. This year, a person, a unit, and a communications officer received this honor.
- The Public Safety Person of the Year went to Corporal Danielle Reed with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
- The Gwinnett County Police Department Homicide Unit received the Public Safety Unit of the Year award.
- Communications Officer II Andrea Goins with the Gwinnett County Police Department received the Public Safety Communications Officer of the Year award.
The Life Saving Award, presented to a public safety professional who acted in a life-threatening situation where an individual’s life was in jeopardy, was given to School Resource Officer Ronetta Coates with Gwinnett County Public Schools Police.
The Medal of Valor – gold, silver, and bronze levels – recognized those individuals who exhibited bravery and heroism in situations of extreme danger, heightened emergency, and/or risk of injury and death.
- The Gold Medal of Valor was presented to Firefighter/Paramedic Captain Jason Weese, Firemedic Senior Fred Rosser, and Firemedic Senior Matthew Burton with Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services.
- The Silver Medal of Valor was awarded to Corporal Aaron Carlyle and K-9 Officer Kai and Officers Anthony Ottilo and Nicholas Senchak with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
- The Bronze Medal of Valor was given to Lt. Bryan Reavis, Sergeants Todd Heller and Richard Lacey, and Corporals William Webb and David Duren of the Gwinnett County Police Department SWAT team.
More cameras coming and Jimmy Carter Blvd.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners acted on several new initiatives this week. Here’s a recap:
More cameras: Gwinnett Police will soon install more cameras across the county. The Flock cameras record passing vehicles’ tag number and categorize each vehicle by its build, make and color. Police are notified in real time if a car is stolen, a person is wanted or someone is missing. Since 2020, Gwinnett Police have recovered 585 stolen cars and 526 wanted persons using the Flock cameras. Gwinnett Police currently have access to 772 Flock cameras, most of which are owned by homeowners associations and community improvement districts. The Board authorized the purchase of 97 new cameras at a cost of $279,600 to enhance coverage around Gwinnett.
Businesses relief: The County will work with the FORWARD firm to help Gwinnett businesses impacted by the effects of the pandemic. Nearly $6 million is available, and applications will be available on GwinnettCounty.com within the next month.
JCB update: Redevelopment of Jimmy Carter Boulevard is one step closer to becoming a reality. As part of an ongoing Livable Centers Initiative study looking into the viability of progress in the area, the 10-year plan includes water infrastructure improvements, traffic and sidewalk infrastructure improvements, and Gwinnett County’s involvement in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing.
Jackson EMC Foundation awards $69,559 in grants
A $15,000 Jackson EMC Foundation check to Gwinnett-Walton Habitat for Humanity will provide supplies for its latest house build. At the check presentation were from left Jennifer Fennell, Jackson EMC Gwinnett district manager; Beauty Baldwin, Jackson EMC Foundation Board member; and Brent Bohanan, Gwinnett-Walton Habitat for Humanity Executive Director.
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total of $69,550 in grants for organizations during its recent meeting, including $35,000 to organizations serving Gwinnett County.
- $15,000 to Gwinnett-Walton Habitat for Humanity, to provide a HVAC unit, interior trim, doors, cabinets, flooring and vanities for house #154 in Gwinnett County.
- $10,000 to Angel House, to provide entrance and program fees at the Gainesville recovery residence for women throughout the Jackson EMC service area with alcohol and/or drug addiction.
- $10,000 to H.O.P.E., Inc.(Helping Other People Be Empowered) in Duluth to help low-income single parents in Gwinnett, Hall and Jackson counties with childcare and housing, enabling them to attend classes and earn a college degree.
The Housekeeper and the Professor, by Yoko Ogawa
By Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: “Sweet” is the word that comes to mind when describing this 180-page novel. A housekeeper is assigned to work at the home of a brilliant mathematics professor, but quickly learns that he was injured in a car crash in 1979 and can only remember his life up to that point. Since then, the professor’s short-term memory lasts only 80 minutes, so the housekeeper has to introduce herself to him – not only every day – but sometimes several times a day. Add to the story the fact that the professor mostly speaks a language of bewildering mathematics and that the housekeeper has a young son who visits after school. I couldn’t follow the math, but the underlying story is about the sweet relationship these three humans manage to create for themselves and the challenges they face in doing so. There’s no big plot line but, overall, it is a positive, warmhearted story.
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
Macon is home of Georgia’s largest arts and science museum
Established in 1956, the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon is Georgia’s largest institution devoted to the arts and sciences.
It serves as a regional resource for lifelong learning and enrichment by providing exhibitions and programming of scientific, historical, cultural, and artistic value. The museum offers a multidisciplinary facility housing art and science galleries, a planetarium and observatory, the three-story interactive Discovery House, a live-animal complex, nature trails, and an off-site nature preserve. The museum has an annual visitation of nearly 100,000 people per year, including 25,000 schoolchildren.
The museum became a Smithsonian affiliate in January 2005, allowing local curators to access the Washington-based institution’s 143 million-item collection.
Each year the museum showcases an extensive schedule of changing and permanent exhibitions in the arts and sciences. In the last several years the museum has shown such exhibitions as Fired by Genius: The Ceramics of Pablo Picasso; Mysteries of Egypt; A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie; Sunlight and Shadow: American Impressionism; Dinosaurs: The Invasion; and The Art of Tiffany.
In addition, the museum preserves nearly 5,000 cultural objects in its permanent collection, including an early cubist etching by Pablo Picasso and a lamp by Louis Comfort Tiffany, as well as many paintings, ceramics, textiles, and other decorative and fine works of art. The museum’s natural science collection includes rocks, minerals, shells, and a 40-million-year-old whale fossil, Zygorhiza, or Ziggy, which was discovered at a Georgia kaolin mine.
The Discovery House provides an interactive adventure for children of all ages. Three floors of hands-on exhibitions explore art, science, and the humanities. Nestled next to the Discovery House is the Backyard, which is centered on a replica of a banyan tree. The Backyard is home to the museum’s live collection of animals, featuring an alligator, Geoffrey’s tamarins (small monkeys native to the Central American rainforest), a kinkajou (a small, nocturnal, arboreal mammal related to the raccoon and found in the wild from Mexico southward), a variety of snakes and birds, and much more.
Visitors can journey to the vast reaches of space in the Mark Smith Planetarium, where the night sky is recreated with more than 4,000 twinkling stars. Planetarium shows are presented daily, and a weekly program provides the latest information about current and upcoming celestial events. Telescope and meteorite clinics offer the experience of selecting and using a telescope and identifying meteorites. Visitors may also use the museum observatory’s telescope to view celestial objects.
Brown’s Mount, a 200-acre satellite site for environmental education southeast of Macon, allows for the study of multiple habitats, microhabitats, and wildlife. The museum provides a variety of programs at Brown’s Mount, including day and evening hikes, educational camps, and curriculum programs for school groups.
The museum’s newly restored on-site nature trails offer visitors a close-up view of native plants and animals. Of special interest along one of the trails is a grouping of concrete forms called Ruins and Rituals created by Athens artist Beverly Buchanan. She donated the interactive sculpture to the museum in 1979, intending for visitors to walk around it, climb on top of it, and regard it from different viewpoints.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Can you figure out where these houses are located?
Today’s mystery photo is not a composite. It is a single photo, which appears to be houses stacked on top of each other. The distinctive colors might help you identify this image. Get to noodling and send your guess to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
What we thought would be an easy Mystery Photo turned out to be difficult, perhaps because the photo probably had not been exhibited anywhere before. The photo came from Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill. Though several readers “gave up” saying the photo was difficult to spot, only George Graf of Palmyra, Va. got it correct, when he wrote: “Looks like Sims Lake Park in Suwanee, Georgia, but very hard to verify with this clip.” Attaboy, George!
>>> SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
History making signing: Former Gov. Ernie Vandiver signs legislation to create the Gwinnett County Judicial Circuit in 1960. The two Gwinnett representatives, Handsel G. Morgan and Earl P. Story, witnessed the signing. The Gwinnett Judicial Circuit began on Jan. 1, 1961, with Charles Pittard its first judge, who served until 1985. The second judge of the circuit was Reid Merritt, a former district attorney, who took office as judge on July l, 1972, and served until 1986.
King statue unveiling: On Saturday April 1, 2023, at Rodney Cook Sr. Peace Park, in downtown Atlanta, will be at the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I’ve Been to the Mountaintop statue. The statue is the work of Gwinnett artist Kathy Fincher, now of Clayton, and Artist Stan Mullin of Athens. It will be unveiled at the World Peace Revival Movement inaugural World Peace Legacy Award. The awards will be presented by Ambassador Andrew Young, passing on to the next generation of Dr. King’s Beloved Community to further his mission of peace and nonviolence. This award is being presented to nine recipients who personify these ideals and have showcased them in their dedication and commitment to the community. Two recipients are from Gwinnett: Dr. Calvin Watts, superintendent of Gwinnett County Public Schools, and Congressman Rich McCormick.
Food Giveaway on Saturday, April 1 at Berkmar High School, 408 Pleasant Hill Road, Lilburn., from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. First come, first served, until one meal kit per car runs out. Sponsored by FeedMyPeople.org.
Snellville’s Commerce Club will meet at noon on April 4 at the Snellville City Hall. State Senator Nikki Merritt will report on the 2023 legislative session. Sen. Merritt was re-elected to serve Georgia’s Senate in 2022. In the first year of her second term Sen. Merritt serves as the vice-chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, chairwoman of the Gwinnett Senate Delegation, and also on the Advisory Board of the Gwinnett Reentry Alliance. Sen. Merritt resides in Grayson with her husband and two teenage children.
Eighth annual Duluth Rotary Club Car Show will be Saturday, April 8, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in downtown Duluth. The family-friendly event is free to the public. For refreshments and shopping, downtown eateries and retailers will remain open for business.
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