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October 2007
Kids, un-zip your yaps!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anybody remember Brian Bown?
He’s the former Snellville high school teacher who tried, unsuccessfully, to knock down Georgia’s 1994 Moment of Silence Law.
Bown’s name is popping up in Illinois newspaper stories about that state’s new moment of silence law. Bown is now a middle school teacher in Waukegan, Ill.
“It’s déjà vu,” Bown told the Chicago Tribune last week. “It’s the same things, the same arguments being said 13 years later.”
Bown sued the Gwinnett County school system a decade ago. In the federal suit, Bown, then a South Gwinnett High School teacher, claimed that a church had prodded public school students to take Bibles to class and say the Lord’s Prayer during their classroom’s moment of silence.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Bown’s suit.
Bown says he may repeat that court battle in Illinois.
He also told the Tribune that he plans to protest the new law by walking out of class when teachers start telling their students to collectively stop talking for a minute every morning.
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Richardson preached but choir didn’t sing along
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Glenn Richardson went to the Gwinnett Chamber Thursday night to sell a roomful of local politicians and business leaders on his plan to remake Georgia’s tax code.
The Georgia House speaker didn’t seem to win many converts.
“I found a lot of inaccuracies in his statements,” said Lorraine Green, a county commissioner.
Richardson proposes erasing all property taxes in Georgia. To do that, he’d tack the state’s 4 percent sales tax on 127 types of purchases currently exempted from it, like food and medicine.
Then Richardson would parcel the extra money to every local government and school board in the state. That would make up for the roughly $9 billion they’d lose if they could no longer tax people’s property, he says.
No doubt, most folks would give up paying property taxes quicker than an bushel of catfish can start stinking.
But to county commissioners, mayors and school board members, Richardson’s tax pitch sounds a little like telling a kid he’ll get more allowance if he shuts down his lemonade stand.
“I wonder what he [Richardson] would think,” said Sugar Hill Mayor Gary Pirkle, “if all tax collections in Georgia went to Washington to be divvied up by the federal government.”
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Tell us about your favorite teacher?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In Gwinnett, six teachers are in the running to become the county’s Teacher of the Year. You can read about them here.
But we want to know about your own “teacher of the year.” That one educator who made you love math or turned you on to a good book.
Tell us, who was your favorite teacher?
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Why go to a movie when you can watch Snellville politics?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometimes we feel like getting a bowl of popcorn when we read the latest Internet screeds from the Snellville mayoral race.
Last week, Joe Anderson, the political activist — or gadfly, depending on your point of view, complained of harassment from the Bruce Garraway campaign.
Anderson, you may recall, is a supporter of Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, the incumbent Garraway wants to toss out of office. Last week, Anderson’s cellphone was flooded with calls from residents who’d been transferred to his line by an automatic voice message dialing service.
The callers told Anderson they’d just received a recorded telephone message from Garraway telling them about Anderson’s “inappropriate relationship” with the mayor.
In an Oct. 17 letter to the Snellville City Council, Garraway called on the Council to investigate that “inappropriate” relationship.
We’re not quite sure what that meant. But Garraway thought it was inappropriate for gadflies and elected officials to plot political strategy and then go out and say mean things about their opponents.
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Gwinnett gets full-time drug prosecutor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
District Attorney Danny Porter last week hired the county’s first lawyer who will exclusively prosecute drug cases.
Porter hired the attorney, Michael Smith, with $120,000 in federal, state and local grant funding from the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
HIDTA, as the program is called, funds drug case task forces, training and “prosecution initiatives,” according to a news release from the county communications office.
“[Smith] is a former state prosecutor from Florida who was assigned to the U.S. attorney’s office as a money laundering expert,” Porter said. “He has been a prosecutor for more than 15 years and has prosecuted complex drug conspiracy and money laundering cases both in federal and state court.”
U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, chairman of the HIDTA board, said hiring Smith “is an important part of our collaborative effort to address the scourge of drug trafficking in the metropolitan Atlanta area.”
“We’re grateful to the Gwinnett County Commission, Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and District Attorney Danny Porter for helping create this new position,” Nahmias said.
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Is Shackelford now a Gwinnettian?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We didn’t see Wayne Shackelford cringe when he got called a “Gwinnettian” last week.
It happened during an awards presentation by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
“He’s been an outstanding American and especially a Gwinnettian all of his life,” Chairman Charles Bannister said.
Only the older elephants are going to remember this, but Shackelford once publicly derided the term (pronounced Gwin-ee-shun). For the uninitiated, a Gwinnettian is a Gwinnett County resident.
“There’s no such word in my vocabulary. It is grammatically incorrect, and it’s an incorrect description of what we are,” Shackelford said during an interview in 1988.
The former state transportation czar and Gwinnett County administrator was responding to a reporter’s question about the origin of the word.
But Shackelford was talking like a Gwinnettian after receiving his award Tuesday.
“I grew up,” Shackelford said. “I like it now.”
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Cal Warlick / On Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It’s not one of the 7 words you can’t say on TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kevin Kenerly came up with a blunt way to inform potential buyers and trespassers that the property they’re interested in has been cited for violating the county’s zoning codes.
“Why don’t we just put up a big yellow sign that says ‘This Property Sucks,’ ” Kenerly said.
The District 4 commissioner made this suggestion during a meeting with his elected colleagues and county staffers about changing the county’s property maintenance ordinance.
Sounds OK with us, but would Kenerly’s placard be OK under Gwinnett’s sign ordinance?
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Snellville residents making mudpies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The rhetoric’s getting a bit puffy in Snellville.
Recently a backer of Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer filed a formal complaint against the incumbent’s challenger Bruce Garraway for “diversion of resources.”
The diversion? Getting the police chief to send an officer to open the former councilman’s car after Garraway had locked his keys in it. In response Garraway fired off a news release insisting that he was only taking advantage of a police service available to all Snellville residents.
(Snellville police Chief Roy Whitehead has since discontinued the practice.)
Garraway didn’t stop there.
He issued an official request that the Snellville City Council investigate “potential conflicts of interest and collusion” between Oberholtzer and Joe Anderson, the filer of the “diversion” complaint against Garraway.
“Mr. Anderson is a former City Council member who left Snellville in the middle of his term, but who’s spent the last several years as a professional gadfly and troublemaker, using leaked information from Mayor Oberholtzer to fuel his various manias,” Garraway said in his prepared statement. “His unhealthy obsession with Snellville politics now threatens the good name and professional reputation of Roy Whitehead. Frankly, that’s repugnant.”
So what we’re talking about is one accusation of inappropriate use of a car jimmie with a countercharge of consorting with a gadfly. Right?
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New flyover bridges
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thousands of motorists made their first commute Monday on one of two bridges that opened Saturday as part of a $147 million overhaul of the I-85 and Ga. 316 interchange.
Were you one of them? How good was your commute this morning? Could these flyover bridges be the solution to the area’s traffic problem?
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What does your church do?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Churches have started ministries that are intended to provide a safe haven for church members and non-members who might feel lost or even ashamed of their circumstances.
Tell us about your church in Gwinnett. What social issue is it involved in?
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Snellville residents making mudpies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The rhetoric’s getting a bit puffy in Snellville.
Recently a backer of Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer filed a formal complaint against the incumbent’s challenger Bruce Garraway for “diversion of resources.”
The diversion? Getting the police chief to send an officer to open the former councilman’s car after Garraway had locked his keys in it. In response Garraway fired off a news release insisting that he was only taking advantage of a police service available to all Snellville residents.
(Snellville police Chief Roy Whitehead has since discontinued the practice.)
Garraway didn’t stop there.
He issued an official request that the Snellville City Council investigate “potential conflicts of interest and collusion” between Oberholtzer and Joe Anderson, the filer of the “diversion” complaint against Garraway.
“Mr. Anderson is a former City Council member who left Snellville in the middle of his term, but who’s spent the last several years as a professional gadfly and troublemaker, using leaked information from Mayor Oberholtzer to fuel his various manias,” Garraway said in his prepared statement. “His unhealthy obsession with Snellville politics now threatens the good name and professional reputation of Roy Whitehead. Frankly, that’s repugnant.”
So what we’re talking about is one accusation of inappropriate use of a car jimmie with a countercharge of consorting with a gadfly. Right?
It’s not one of the 7 words you can’t say on TV
Kevin Kenerly came up with a blunt way to inform potential buyers and trespassers that the property they’re interested in has been cited for violating the county’s zoning codes.
“Why don’t we just put up a big yellow sign that says ‘This Property Sucks,’ ” Kenerly said.
The District 4 commissioner made this suggestion during a meeting with his elected colleagues and county staffers about changing the county’s property maintenance ordinance.
Sounds OK with us, but would Kenerly’s placard be OK under Gwinnett’s sign ordinance?
Is Shackelford now a Gwinnettian?
We didn’t see Wayne Shackelford cringe when he got called a “Gwinnettian” last week.
It happened during an awards presentation by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
“He’s been an outstanding American and especially a Gwinnettian all of his life,” Chairman Charles Bannister said.
Only the older elephants are going to remember this, but Shackelford once publicly derided the term (pronounced Gwin-ee-shun). For the uninitiated, a Gwinnettian is a Gwinnett County resident.
“There’s no such word in my vocabulary. It is grammatically incorrect, and it’s an incorrect description of what we are,” Shackelford said during an interview in 1988.
The former state transportation czar and Gwinnett County administrator was responding to a reporter’s question about the origin of the word.
But Shackelford was talking like a Gwinnettian after receiving his award Tuesday. “I grew up,” Shackelford said. “I like it now.”
Gwinnett gets full-time drug prosecutor
District Attorney Danny Porter last week hired the county’s first lawyer who will exclusively prosecute drug cases.
Porter hired the attorney, Michael Smith, with $120,000 in federal, state and local grant funding from the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
HIDTA, as the program is called, funds drug case task forces, training and “prosecution initiatives,” according to a news release from the county communications office.
“[Smith] is a former state prosecutor from Florida who was assigned to the U.S. attorney’s office as a money laundering expert,” Porter said. “He has been a prosecutor for more than 15 years and has prosecuted complex drug conspiracy and money laundering cases both in federal and state court.”
U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, chairman of the HIDTA board, said hiring Smith “is an important part of our collaborative effort to address the scourge of drug trafficking in the metropolitan Atlanta area.”
“We’re grateful to the Gwinnett County Commission, Commission Chairman Charles Bannister and District Attorney Danny Porter for helping create this new position,” Nahmias said.
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Planning commissioner picked for state board
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed Julianne Thompson to the state Children’s Trust Fund Commission.
Thompson, president of Casa Bella Interiors and a member of the Gwinnett County Planning Commission, will represent the 7th Congressional District on the panel.
The commission promotes community-based programs to combat child abuse and neglect in Georgia.
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Cal Warlick / On Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Awards and honors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The National Association of Counties gave Gwinnett County a Center for Sustainable Communities Award.
The association announced Friday that Gwinnett and nine other counties had won the award for 2006-07. Gwinnett was honored for the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, which opened a year ago near the Mall of Georgia.
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Music, magic and little politics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shirley Lasseter will hold a “fall festival” Oct. 25 to boost her campaign for the District 1 seat on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
Lasseter’s event is scheduled to take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Kurts restaurant at 4225 River Green Parkway in Duluth. Lasseter, the outgoing mayor of that city, opted not to seek re-election this year to run for a seat on the Board of Commissioners in 2008.
“We are running this campaign for the families of Gwinnett County, and we wanted to hold a fall festival where their children could be safe and have fun,” Lasseter said.
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Richardson to face tough crowd?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce has invited House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) to talk to chamber members about his controversial plan to wipe out all property taxes in Georgia.
Richardson is scheduled to appear at the chamber’s Duluth headquarters at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 25.
The House speaker will try to sell members on his “4 PLUS 4 = 0” plan. Richardson proposes replacing all property taxes collected by local governments and school boards with added sales taxes on all goods and services, including food and health care.
Those items are currently exempted from the state’s 4 percent sales tax. Under Richardson’s plan, the state would parcel out the added sales tax revenue to local governments and school boards across the state.
The concept is politically popular, but critics say Richardson’s plan is based on fuzzy math. Not only that, but it gives the state nearly all the power local governments and school boards currently have to tax themselves, they say.
Some Gwinnett political and business leaders fear that if Richardson’s plan is passed and approved by voters in a referendum, this bustling county would get shortchanged. They also worry that Gwinnett’s share of sales tax revenue could come with policy strings attached.
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Heard heads state credit card probe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Rep. John Heard (R-Lawrenceville) will lead a probe of possible misuse of state-issued credit cards by government employees.
Heard leads the state House Special Projects Sub-Committee of Appropriations. On Thursday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans) assigned Heard to look into allegations that government credit cards had been used to buy diamond rings and trips to spas.
A recent state audit found suspicious credit charges running into the tens of thousands of dollars. They include $40,000 charged by a Georgia Tech employee to pay for her son’s car insurance and her cellphone bills and to buy digital cameras and a diamond ring.
In a prepared statement, Heard said, “as representatives of the citizens of Georgia, we take the responsibility of the public trust very seriously and will demand that the employees of our state do the same.”
Harbin wants Heard’s committee to question the directors of all of Georgia’s 129 state agencies about possible credit card abuse.
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The stars at night are big and bright …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you had trouble reaching your county commissioner or favorite Gwinnett chamber member last week, chances are he or she was in Collin County, Texas.
As many as 60 Gwinnett and metro Atlanta political, business and community leaders went there for the chamber’s second “Strategic Leadership Visit.”
The chamber news release describes it as “a sojourn to a county that is coping with or has mastered some of the same issues Gwinnett now face or may face in the future.”
The chamber put together one of these events a year ago and sent a delegation of many of the same folks to Fairfax County, Va.
The chamber picked Collin County because it’s an affluent suburb of Dallas and faces some of the same problems, er, sorry, “challenges,” with population growth, attracting industry and improving transportation, according to the chamber’s news release.
What does Collin County have that Gwinnett doesn’t? The Collin County Farm Museum, which this weekend will host the English Springer Spaniel Association Show.
Whatever, we much prefer learning about the wonders of wastewater treatment at this county’s one-of-a-kind Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center.
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Cal Warlick / On Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Perdue to Insider: Are you blind?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We didn’t actually hear directly from the governor. We’re probably a little bit too far down the food chain for that.
But a spokeswoman for Sonny Perdue took exception with our recent observation that we hadn’t seen him around Gwinnett much lately.
“Believe it or not, every once in a while the governor has meetings and events that we don’t broadcast to you guys in the media, so he can actually get some work done,” Perdue spokeswoman Heather Teilhet wrote in an e-mail to G.I. last week. “Imagine that!”
Teilhet said Perdue has actually been to Gwinnett every month since mid-May. Two of his visits were private meetings with Scientific Atlanta and a real estate investment management firm. Perdue delivered speeches at the state GOP convention in Duluth last May, and Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful in Lawrenceville last month.
Sorry, governor, perhaps we could make it up to you by taking you to lunch. How ‘bout Little Gardens in Duluth? Our treat.
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Everybody is somebody on YouTube
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week we told you about Mike Beaudreau’s campaign announcement on the Internet.
It turns out that Snellville politicians have found YouTube, too. Or perhaps, YouTube has found them.
Either way, there are several videos of portions of City Council meetings posted on the site. Unless you’re a Snellville political junkie, these clips may mean nothing to you.
But a couple of them have become campaign fodder in this year’s City Council election. On one blog titled “Snellville Shenanigans,” local activist Brenda Lee posted an item critical of Councilwoman Kelly Kautz. It included a link to a YouTube video of a council meeting. In the video, according to Lee, Kautz “childishly challenges” a local businessman and accuses him of threatening her.
We checked out the clip, and it didn’t quite live up to its billing.
In a barely audible recording, Kautz asks the businessman, “Is that a threat?”
The clip doesn’t include his purported threat, but Kautz is smiling as she listens to the man.
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Snellville peaceniks to Insider: Thanks for making fun of us.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few days ago, Dorothy Shaw sent us a thank-you note for our little story about her peace rally in Snellville last month.
“Your article about the probability of failure for our last peace rally in Snellville proved to be a real impetus to get people to our rally,” Shaw wrote. “We had 35 people and overwhelming support from the passers-by. The best rally ever outside of Atlanta proper.”
Shaw is a local activist with MoveOn.org and one of the organizers of the “Iraq moratorium” rally held in Snellville on Sept. 21.
In our column, published the previous Sunday (“Peace rally in Snellville? Huh?”), we questioned just how successful a peace rally would be in a staunchly conservative town run by an argumentative bunch of politicians who are more likely to fight over whose statue to build or which name gets stamped on a building.
Shaw’s group was out in force last Thursday night in protest of President Bush’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.
The group plans to return to Snellville for a second peace rally on Friday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m.
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Anti-Green campaign button in Gwinnett?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Another political junkie last week gave us what appears to be an anti-Lorraine Green campaign button.
We’re not entirely sure that’s what it is. The lapel pin doesn’t provide much information about where it came from.
It contains nothing more than the word “GREEN” in green letters with an orange international “Do Not” symbol slashed in front of it.
The words “made in Mexico” are stamped in tiny print on the side.
Green said Friday she hadn’t seen one.
Her 2008 primary election opponent, Charles Bannister, said it’s not one of his.
We’re not sure what impact the anti-Green button might have. Would it enrage Mexico detractors or tip Gwinnett’s Irish vote (if there is one)?
Maybe it has nothing to do with next year’s race for chairman of the Gwinnett County commissioners. Perhaps it was made by somebody who simply doesn’t like the color, or the political party that goes by the same name.
Whatever reason, we wouldn’t advise wearing one on St. Patrick’s Day.
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Composting and gardening workshop
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What: Gwinnett County will hold a free workshop on how to turn banana peels, egg shells, tea bags and drier lint into fertile soil. The workshop also will offer tips on how to prepare plants for the winter, proper pruning and how to take some of the sweat out of landscaping.
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 8
Where: Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville.
Info: Call 678-376-7126 or visit www.cleanwatercampaign.com to register.
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Recycling potty water a step closer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Army Corps of Engineers on Friday gave Gwinnett County the go-ahead to run pipe from the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center to Lake Lanier.
Here’s the straight poop: The new pipeline will enable the county to send the contents of your toilet back to metro Atlanta’s reservoir, where it can be converted to drinking water.
No, no, no. The icky stuff won’t go straight back to the lake. It will be “reclaimed,” county officials say. That means it’ll be made clean enough to drink again.
The reclamation system, which is expected to go online by late 2009, is expected to return 10 million gallons of water daily to the lake.
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Beaudreau on the big screen … sort of
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We told Mike Beaudreau we’d try to beat rush hour traffic to his get to campaign announcement last Tuesday evening. We failed, but we were able to watch all 7 minutes and 13 seconds of it on YouTube. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6epIHqDa9Bw. By the way, Beaudreau isn’t running for president as we speculated in last week’s column. He was just being coy when he refused to say publicly what office he’s seeking. Surprise, surprise. Beaudreau is running for re-election as Gwinnett’s District 3 Commissioner.
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Perdue sighting in Gwinnett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A couple of weeks ago, we noted that Gov. Sonny Perdue hadn’t been seen much around Gwinnett since his re-election.
Last Wednesday, the governor was the featured speaker at the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful luncheon in Duluth. It’s an annual event.
Perdue spoke mostly about the need for “a statewide comprehensive water plan.”
Perdue pointed to statistics that showed that water use is growing faster than population. Between 1985 and 2000, he said, the state’s population of water customers grew by 44 percent. During the same period, water use grew by 50 percent.
“We need a thoughtful, unified plan that truly meets our long-term needs for a stable, secure and clean water supply,” Perdue said.
Public hearings on a draft of a proposed comprehensive water plan for Georgia are being held around the state. The final plan is expected to be presented to the Georgia Legislature next year.
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Desperate Doggies get new digs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett officials last week cut the ribbon on the county’s new animal shelter.
Get this, it cost the county nearly $6 million to get the joint up and running.
There’s no HBO, no whirlpool, no exercise room. There are no pillows with doggy and kitty treats on them.
But the new Lawrenceville facility at 884 Winder Highway features a little lake and woods where dogs can go for walks. The 33,000-square-foot building, which is twice as large as the old shelter, also is partitioned into sections with separate ventilation and water systems to prevent the spread of diseases.
The Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center building, as it is formally known, also is the new home for the Gwinnett police department’s K-9 unit.
The shelter is equipped with on-site surgical amenities so strays headed to new homes won’t overpopulate the species. The old shelter did not offer neutering.
Humans looking for a new best friend can go to www.gwinnettcounty.com to see pictures of potential pet cats, dogs and other animals, and to find out how to adopt them.
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Ron, Hermione, Gwinnett loves us!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The county made famous by a mother’s crusade to rid public schools of Harry Potter books was recently honored by the folks who publish them.
Random House Books on Tape named the Gwinnett County Public Library system as a finalist in its “Jim Dale at Your Library” contest.
Dale — for those who don’t know the difference between a bludger and a boggart — narrates the Potter books on tape.
Alas, Gwinnett County didn’t win the grand prize, which was an appearance and reading of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by Dale himself.
But according to a news release, the library system “was chosen as one of only 45 semifinalists from the more than 1,000 entries submitted by libraries from across the country.”
(Hmm, 45 semifinalists. Did they all transfigure themselves to reach that level?).
The contest was to create the best series of library-sponsored events for the release of the latest Harry Potter tome.
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Lorraine Green? Running for what?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’d like to offer our sincerest apologies to Lorraine Green, for overlooking her e-mail announcement that she’s running for Gwinnett Commission chairwoman on Friday.
It was blocked by our spam filter.
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