Home > Gwinnett.talk > Archives > 2006 > November
November 2006
These boots were delayed for talking
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Gwinnett County Commission nearly outlawed the practice of car booting at a meeting of the board last Tuesday.
We know what you’re thinking. How can anybody be booting cars in a county where paid parking spaces are as scarce as a Nancy Sinatra “greatest hits” album?
Apparently, it’s been a problem at Wild Bill’s in Duluth. Patrons, who for one reason or another have left cars overnight in the parking lots of adjacent businesses, have returned the next morning to find their cars have been booted.
The commission put the brakes on the proposal after hearing from the owner of a car-booting company and a board member of a condominium association which boots the cars of residents who don’t pay their dues and visitors who overstay their welcome.
The board is scheduled to take up the matter again at its Tuesday night meeting.
It rhymes with Mojo, Cocoa, Hobo, Yo-Yo
Commissioner Mike Beaudreau has accepted that many, if not most, of his colleagues and constituents will never pronounce his name right.
His name is pronounced Bo-dro. Yet the Gwinnett commissioner is constantly called Boo-dro, even by people who know better.
The latter pronunciation, Beaudreau said, is common among French descendants from Louisiana. But Beaudreau’s ancestors are French Canadian, which is why he pronounces his name differently from folks in the Big Easy.
“I’ve come to accept that it’s a different name,” Beaudreau said. “They could call me a lot worse.”
Snellville gets a new tag office
Gwinnett’s second drive-through tag office is now open for business. County commissioners last week held a ribbon cutting for the new Lenora Church Road facility. The new office replaces the county’s old tag office on Oak Road.
Bannister, Beaudreau complete course
We didn’t know such a thing existed, but Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and Commissioner Mike Beaudreau recently were honored by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia for completing the organization’s 48-hour government course.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Gwinnett Insider
Parenting 101: Getting kids to eat veggies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE ISSUE: THE STALEMATE
You beg them. You bribe them. You cover it with cheese. But your kids still scrunch up their noses at a piping hot plate of asparagus —- Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww!
The screech echoes through the kitchen. Your darlings have become critics without even taking a bite.
Not even the ambience of the cartoon-themed place setting you spent $25 on because you thought you could get your kid to eat anything if it was served up on SpongeBob’s smiling mug seems to be making the side more appealing.
Time to consult the experts —- and to grab the aluminum foil.
THE EXPERT ADVICE
The Pediatricians/nutritionists:
Pediatricians say it may take at least 10 to 15 attempts before a toddler is willing to try a new food. And if your picky eater is nearly a tween, getting them to eat their veggies will take more than persistence. It will take some creativity.
Picky eaters dislike foods for a variety of reasons —- they are bitter, spicy, funny-looking, colored weird or are difficult to chew.
Here’s how to get your picky eater to try something different:
Change the texture. Appearance is important. Cut ridges in vegetables or grill them so they have stripes like a tiger. You can make more fun shapes with a cookie cutter. For a small child, eating veggies then becomes a safari adventure.
Create veggie art. Your child may polish off his vegetables if you make it a game that combines fun and art. Design edible faces with carrot circles for eyes, green beans for eyebrows, baby sweet corn for a nose, cabbage for hair and a broccoli tree for the mouth. Kids will have a blast creating their own faces or solving the puzzle when you put the nose where the eyes should be.
Dip it, smear it. Give your kids a choice of dips like cheese or ranch dressing to go with their vegetables. Toddlers especially like smearing. Show them how to use their fingers or a small table knife to coat the vegetable with a special treat. Serve with dinner or as a snack.
Try a new cooking style. Cook vegetables as a stir fry, which allows kids to try colorful vegetables with a variety of sauces. You also can serve them crunchy by steaming or microwaving them. Both processes will give vegetables more bite and will encourage your kids to pick them up and eat them as finger foods. Don’t forget to offer sauce.
Help your kids find their inner green thumb. Start a vegetable garden so your kids can eat the vegetables they grow or take your child to a farmers’ market so they can pick out fresh produce and learn how vegetables grow. Invite them to help you cook. If they make it, they may be more eager to try it.
The Mom:
When it comes to getting her son to eat his veggies, Suwanee mom Andre Shillow is a veteran supersleuth of the garden variety —- garden vegetable, that is.
Shillow cloaks her vegetables in masterful disguises. “I make a lot of casserole dishes,” the mother of two said.
Vegetables also can be slipped easily into pizzas, pasta sauces, soups, vats of chili and omelets. Shillow doesn’t miss the opportunity to add something green to breakfast. She mixes in spinach to the breakfast bacon and cheese omelet she makes for her family.
Her 21-month-old Dylan doesn’t seem to mind. Shillow, a payroll specialist, made sure to introduce Dylan to vegetables as early as possible. His favorite vegetable now, says Shillow, is sweet corn. Broccoli and cheese is a close second.
“He won’t eat raw vegetables because of the taste,” Shillow said of her son. “Even with salad dressing, he will [eat] it off and leave the vegetable.”
If casserole is not on the Shillows’ dinner menu, the cheese dip isn’t working, or watching his older sister Amber eat isn’t inspiring Dylan to do the same, Shillow tries the mix method. It rarely fails.
“I will either mix [Dylan’s vegetables] with rice or mashed potatoes,” she said. That way, he gets a veggie surprise with every bite of his favorite starches. “He loves to eat.”
VEGETABLE DO’S AND DON’TS
Do make servings small so the child won’t be intimidated by a mound of green mush.
Do make meal time fun. It should be a relaxing, family event with pleasant conversation and good food where kids can feel free to try new things.
Do set the example by eating your vegetables and enjoying them.
Do add vegetables early. Babies and toddlers should be exposed to a variety of foods including vegetables.
Do seek a physician’s help if your child begins to lose weight, gags or vomits certain foods or has heartburn. Certain diseases and abnormalities can present as picky eating. Let a doctor rule them out.
Don’t try to force your kids to eat things they don’t want or punish them for refusing to try something new. If you are concerned about their nutrition, consider a multivitamin or get them to eat more fruits if they don’t like vegetables. Fruits can replace them in a diet.
Don’t bribe your kid to get them to eat their vegetables. The child is sometimes happier avoiding the food they dislike rather than eating the desired one.
Don’t cook to order. If your children know that you will make their favorite foods if they refuse to eat, it is unlikely that they will try anything unfamiliar at meal time.
Sources: www.keepkidshealty.com, www.iVillage.co.uk, www.mayoclinic.com, www.uofmchildrenshospital.org, www.anred.com, www.thedietchannel.com
TRY IT AT HOME
Cookbooks
“Baking with Mommy Cookbook: Recipes for Kid-Size Ovens,” by Kristen Joyal
“The Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook,” by Leslie Hammond
“Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Soup!” by Emeril Lagasse
Vegetable fiction for kids
“Why Should I Eat Well,” by Claire Llewellyn
“The Trouble With Cauliflower,” by Jane Sutton
“Little Pea,” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
“Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!” by Candace Fleming & G. Brian Karas
“Pizza for the Queen,” by Nancy Castaldo
“D.W. the Picky Eater,” by Marc Brown
“Eat Your Peas, Louise!” by Pegeen Snow
“I Will Never NOT EVER Eat a Tomato,” by Lauren Child
“Gregory the Terrible Eater,” by Mitchell Sharmat
“No More Vegetables,” by Nicole Rubel
“Rabbit Food,” by Suzanna Gretz
“The Lima Bean Monster,” by Dan Yaccarino
“Just Try It!” by Christianne C. Jones
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Parenting 101
Honey, we’re surrounded by Democrats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett Democrats looking for a sliver of hope after the Nov. 7 elections might want to take a look at the results of the Georgia House District 95 contest.
We’ve already told you that Democrat George Wilson of Stone Mountain in Gwinnett gave incumbent state Rep. Robert Mumford (R-Conyers) a bit of a scare. Mumford was declared the winner after several days of counting.
But taking a closer look at the district, which takes in parts of Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale counties, shows that a serious change is taking place in that electorate. Gwinnett, by the way, has the largest population of the three counties in the district.
In comparing election results from 2002 and 2006, we found a reversal in the voting patterns in the five precincts in the Gwinnett portion of the 95th.
Four years ago, then-Gov. Roy Barnes lost all five of them to Sonny Perdue. This year, Democrat Mark Taylor easily carried four precincts and played to a near draw in the fifth.
And this year, Wilson collected the most votes in Gwinnett and Newton. He carried all five precincts in Gwinnett. Mumford won because he carried his home county, Rockdale, by a large margin.
Mayor! What? Now?
Rex Millsaps got a head start on his new job Monday when the Lawrenceville City Council named him acting mayor.
Millsaps, who was elected to the post on Nov. 7, was scheduled to take office on New Year’s Day. But the death of outgoing mayor Bobby Sikes three days before the election prompted the council last week to give Millsaps an eight-week jump on his new job.
The board’s vote was unanimous.
After a moment of picture taking at the podium with his four children, six grandchildren, three in-laws and his wife, Millsaps immediately went to work.
The new mayor says he’s been going nonstop ever since. “I’ve been mayor for 49 hours and I’ve been through 60 hours of meetings,” Millsaps said. “I just have a lot to learn. I’m just getting on the horse and holding on.”
Kenerly castle makes Tour of Homes
Kevin Kenerly booted himself and his family out of his own house this weekend so strangers could get a chance to check it out.
The Gwinnett Commissioner’s massive mountain lodge-style home was included in the Gwinnett Children Shelter’s annual Tour of Homes this weekend.
Visitors got a rare treat. A few weeks prior to the tour, Kenerly cleared his office at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center of his sports memorabilia and put the memorabilia on display in the basement of his home. And it’s more than pictures of his Pee-Wee football team.
Kenerly’s collection includes 68 helmets autographed by college and professional players. His collection includes NFL legends such as Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre and Joe Namath. He even has former pro star Dan Marino’s high school football helmet.
Kenerly says his collection is going to stay at his home.
“It actually looks better here,” Kenerly said.
Kevin’s not in his office … He just about never is
Kenerly’s removal of his sports paraphernalia from his office at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center set off some buzz that the commissioner had decided to quit working there.
That’s no news flash, Kenerly says.
“I’ve always worked out of my house,” Kenerly said. “I haven’t used my office in years.”
We won’t raise your pay, but we’ll give you more to do
When the Republicans took control of the Georgia Senate in 2002, they whacked some of the powers of then-Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Democrat.
Now with the office going to a Republican, Casey Cagle, Republicans want to puff the job back up again. To that end, Cagle has named a transition team, which includes a Gwinnettian, state Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth).
It’s not clear what powers they intend to give Cagle, but one possibility would be returning to the lieutenant governor the authority to appoint committee chairs.
If Cagle were to get back the power of those appointments, could it doom Sen. Don Balfour as Rules Chairman? A lot of folks seem to think Balfour backed Cagle’s opponent in the Republican primary.
But Balfour says he didn’t. He said he sat the primary election out and then backed Cagle in the general election. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Casey and I don’t expect there will be any change,” Balfour said.
Here’s the punch line: Taxes are down!
Lower county taxes than ‘99?
No way!
Way, says Gwinnett County.
According to an analysis by the county’s tax assessors office, Gwinnett homeowners today are paying significantly lower property taxes to fund county operations than they did in 1999.
The county’s analysis found declines in taxpayer bills by as much as 10 percent. For example, a home appraised at $162,100 in 1999 had a tax bill of $701.49 that year for county government operations. In 2006, the bill is $626.95.
That’s counting a 22.5 percent hike in the home’s tax appraised value.
Gwinnett officials credit the lower taxes to the county’s steadily growing tax digest, which has resulted in increased collections, which has led to several millage reductions in the past decade.
They also credited voter-approved 1 percent sales tax increases that funded road construction, parks, public buildings and other infrastructure improvements that otherwise might have been financed through the county’s general fund.
So you won’t blow your coffee across the breakfast table, we must remind you that this only deals with the one-third of property tax bills county property owners pay for services from the county government.
Nearly all of the remaining two-thirds funds Gwinnett’s public school system.
Pay your bill. The tax man already has cometh
If you haven’t paid your property tax bill, you’re late. The deadline was Wednesday. There’s an automatic 5 percent penalty for missing the due date. Also, interest on unpaid bills will accrue by at a rate of 1 percent a month. Nuff said.
And those the tax man owes
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service released the names of 370 Gwinnett County taxpayers who have a refund or two coming to them — that is, they do if the IRS can figure out where to send the check.
Here’s a breakdown, by city, of the number of taxpayers the IRS owes in Gwinnett: Norcross 114, Lawrenceville 83, Duluth 77, Lilburn 24, Loganville 15, Snellville 13, Buford 13, Dacula 8, Suwanee 8, Grayson 7, Sugar Hill 4, Auburn 2, Braselton 1, Centerville 1.
To see whether you’re on the list, go to ajc.com/gwinnett.
Permalink | | Categories: Gwinnett Insider
Salute a military veteran
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Send your thanks to a specific veteran or any that have served this country.
Forum: What should be done about Gwinnett Village crime?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District has hired The CrimeFighters LLC of New York to look at the area’s crime problems. Gwinnett Village encompasses the area around Norcross and Lilburn. Overall, the company says 12.3 percent of the county’s population lives in Gwinnett Village. In 2006 it has accounted for 43 percent Gwinnett County’s prostitution-related arrests, 32 percent of drug distribution cases and 33 percent of armed robberies.
What do you think should be done about crime in Gwinnett Village?
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Forum
Sound off on the election
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We want to hear from Gwinnettians on national, statewide and local races. Any surprises? What do you think of the congressional balance of power? What about the Perdue victory? Were you passionate about any of the issues in Gwinnett?
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Gwinnett Government
Sound off on the election
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We want to hear from Gwinnettians on national, statewide and local races. Any surprises? What do you think of the congressional balance of power? What about the Perdue victory? Were you passionate about any of the issues in Gwinnett?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Gwinnett Government
Voting today? What are key issues?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett County predicted a 30 percent turnout today, but there are indications more voters are showing up. Have you voted or are you planning to? What were the key issues for you? Do you have any predictions on who will control Congress?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Gwinnett Government
Football Pick ‘Em
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Which is the better Gwinnett game this Friday: Parkview at Brookwood or Norcross at North Gwinnett?
Permalink | Comments (15) | Categories: Forum
What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s no time like now to thank a certain someone or group for the blessings in your life.
For Thanksgiving, we’re asking Gwinnett residents to share what they are grateful for this season, or in years past.
If you or your child has a Thanksgiving drawing, please email it to kjensen@ajc.com with a brief description. Call 770-263-3631 with any questions on sending it in.
Some responses and images will appear in the AJC Gwinnett News print edition later this month.
So, pass the cranberries and share your stories below… Be sure to include your full name and where you live.
Voting machines think it’s still Daylight Saving Time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t be alarmed by your voting machine Tuesday.
It’ll record your vote, election officials insist.
It just can’t tell time.
That’s because election workers forgot to change the time on the machines when running their standard pre-election tests on them early last month.
“The reports are going to show the election taking place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” Elections Supervisor Lynn Ledford said. “As long as everyone’s vote gets counted, it doesn’t matter what time it comes in.”
Help! Help! I’ve voted, and I can’t get out!
About 10 voters attempting to beat the Election Day rush became temporary hostages of the Gwinnett elections office last week.
Elections Supervisor Lynn Ledford assures us it wasn’t intentional.
On Monday, the first of day of early voting for the Tuesday elections, the doors of the county’s new Grayson Highway office somehow locked themselves shut with a few voters inside.
“It happened around 10 a.m. A man at the door was saying he couldn’t get in. So I went to open it, but I couldn’t,” Ledford said.
Maintenance workers showed up in about five minutes to fix the doors, and soon voters entered and left the building without incident.
“We all laughed about it,” said Ledford, who chalked up the incident to the building settling. The elections office moved in August from the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center to a refurbished Wal-Mart.
“We basically moved into a new house, and we’re just working out the bugs,” Ledford said.
We may be too young to vote, but at least our machines work
The election’s already over for Georgia schoolchildren who took part in a nationwide online election last week. More than half a million students, including attendants of Killian Hill Christian School in Lilburn, voted, according to Killian Hill teacher Bruce Garraway, who just also happens to be a Snellville city councilman.
In Georgia, the underaged voters gave GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue a blowout victory over Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.
The down-ballot results were more interesting. The presence of Libertarians and a write-in option for student voters put Democrats and Republicans running for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner in runoffs.
In perhaps the biggest surprise of all, an incumbent Republican congressman from GOP-dominated Gwinnett was forced into a runoff with Democrat Allan Burns, who received the most votes.
Then again, maybe the students had no idea who “Tom Linder” was. The ballot drafters should have identified him as U.S. Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.).
Speaking of the congressman
Linder put his political muscle behind a referendum campaign for “tax allocation districts”
We know what you’re thinking. What in H-E-double baseball bats is that?
We can’t really answer the question in this space. Simply put, TADs, as they are commonly known, are a method of economic revitalization.
If voters approve the so-called Redevelopment Powers Act referendum Tuesday, the County Commission could create TADs in blighted areas. Then, all new property tax revenue collected from these areas would be set aside to be used exclusively to rehabilitate sidewalks, built streetscapes, etc.
Got it? Well Linder didn’t do much better. In a 34-second recorded phone message dialed to 75,000 Gwinnett households last week — that’s about as easy as summarizing “Moby Dick” in a half-minute — the congressmen defined TADs by what they are not.
“There’ll be no tax increase, and this has absolutely nothing to do with eminent domain,” Linder stated.
Any clearer now?
Gwinnett County wins sewage award
Perhaps that’s an indelicate description.
But the Construction Management Association of America gave the county’s Department of Water Resources a coveted 2006 Project Achievement Award last week.
The award in CMAA’s “infrastructure over $100 million” category was for the 40 million-gallon-a-day expansion of the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center.
That’s where the stuff from your potty gets cleaned up so the water can go back into the river.
Conway and Porter back Hunstein
Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway and District Attorney Danny Porter last week joined a long list of lawyers and law enforcement officers who are publicly backing incumbent Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein over challenger Mike Wiggins.
If you have watched your TV this month, this is about the nastiest race going in Georgia right now.
Wiggins calls Hunstein a liberal softie who once overruled a jury to free a rapist. Hunstein accused Wiggins of being so obnoxious that he threatened to kill his own sister.
It’s supposed to be non-partisan race, but top Georgia Republicans, including the governor, have thrown their support to Wiggins, while prosecutors, defense attorneys and sheriffs — Republican and Democrat alike — support Hunstein. Hunstein is also backed by former Democratic U.S. Sen. Zell Miller and former GOP Attorney General Michael Bowers.
Conway’s support is so fervent that’s he organized a group of Hunstein volunteers to distribute 450 signs near voting precincts Monday night.
“She’s done a good job,” Conway said. “She’s got a proven track record.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Gwinnett Insider
