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February 2008
A night on the town in Snellville
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At a party last Saturday I overheard a woman mention that she and several friends were going to see “Godspell” at the new theater in town. She invited another guest to come along, and a lively conversation ensued over the current show by the New London Theatre in Snellville.
New London, a community theater that has presented about 50 shows since it was founded in 2000, has done so using the facilities of schools and churches. However, “Godspell” is the premier production for the theater’s first real home - a small, renovated movie theater tucked in the corner of Snellville Plaza.
The conversation may not seem remarkable. In my mind, though, the discussion and the theater’s new home represent a significant step for Snellville. New London is no longer a group in search of a stage; it is a destination. The theater - together with restaurants in that strip shopping center — give the heart of Snellville the beginning of what could be - dare I say it? - an entertainment district.
“Godspell” is performed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It began Feb. 15 and wraps up this weekend. I attended Feb. 16 during the inaugural weekend. I wasn’t disappointed. The show was entertaining, I bumped into friends who had also ventured out that Saturday night, and the setting was intimate. The new theater features stadium seating for just over 100, a small lobby, concession stand and offstage areas.
Kirk Buis, co-founder and executive director of New London, said the earlier theater, known as the Jerry Lewis Cinema, closed in the ’80s. The space has since served other functions — recently it was a store selling rugs.
The theater’s transformation cost $35,000, which was raised by volunteers. While Buis hopes to make further improvements (balcony seating and more lighting), those must wait for additional funds.
“The thing that impresses me is the way the community has come together to support this,” said Susan McKenzie of Grayson, whose daughter Hope has participated in many New London shows, including “Godspell.” “People would show up and be washing the windows with Windex. Willie [McKenzie’s husband] and I got latches for the bathroom doors. Someone painted this mural [in the lobby]. It’s just been great! It’s very uplifting.”
New London Theatre shares a shopping center with an assortment of restaurants. There’s Provino’s Italian Restaurant — a landmark that is almost always crowded. There’s Sri Thai’s Kitchen and Sushi Bar, which has received good reviews and enjoys a steady stream of customers.
Two new names have been added.
Trinity Bistro, formerly Bagel Time Café and Deli, still offers bagel and coffee fare, but has added daily specials, an expanded line of sandwiches, dinner offerings, some Cajun dishes and Southern cuisine, including vegetables. Add the jazz background music, and the tiny bistro is a welcome addition to dining options in Snellville.
I dropped by for lunch recently and talked to owner Hank Reid, who previously managed other corporate restaurants that opened and closed in the same shopping center (Woody’s BBQ and Ground Round Grill and Bar). As I stood in line, regular customers told me how much they like the place.
Reid feels he has found his niche with the smaller, family-owned enterprise and looks forward to seeing how he can work with the theater and become a community mainstay.
Another new name is Snellville Diner, which opened late last year and serves breakfast, as well as Greek, Italian, Mexican and American fare. The place has seen good crowds, particularly on the weekends, and its open-24-hours schedule is something rare in this area.
“We used to live in Decatur, and when we moved out here and would come home late from seeing the symphony, nothing would be open,” said Laura Gravely of Snellville. Gravely and her husband went to see “Godspell” the same night I did and afterward stopped at the diner for a bite to eat.
Last week, however, the diner experienced problems. The store received a failing grade of 29 on a heath department inspection and closed its doors for several days to correct problems with kitchen and storage procedures and a plumbing issue. An inspection three days later was a 64. The next day’s inspection was 100. They reopened Feb. 23.
General managers Adam Elkurd and Nicholas Hahalis said the violations were the result of personnel issues that arose during a breakup of the original partnership owning the restaurant. One partner is buying out the other, a transaction that should be complete within weeks, they said. But during the process, there were problems with workers being uncooperative and not following instructions, Elkurd and Hahalis said. Eight employees have been replaced, and classes are being held for other workers, they said.
“We are sorry,” Elkurd said, “But we took care of it. They [customers] don’t have to worry. It will be even better than what it was before.”
Hahalis said business after the reopening has been about 85 percent of what it was before the temporary closing. He and Elkurd are optimistic people will return.
They may be right. As I left the diner Tuesday, a bus from Southern Plantation Retirement Community in Loganville pulled up and unloaded passengers. Another couple came to try the restaurant for the first time, excited by the foot-tall cakes and pastries in the display case.
Snellville does not lack shopping and dining offerings along its major strips. The city also is served by movie theaters and a bowling alley. But a theater within walking distance of restaurants provides a different feel to the city.
It’s one I like.
Permalink | Comments (33) | Categories: Susan Gast
I object! Pursuant to Rule 4-B …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Across Gwinnett — and beyond — top students in our high schools have temporarily set aside their interests — soccer, yearbook, literary magazine, school pageants — to take sides for and against a student charged with selling marijuana to an undercover police officer.
Sandy Bryant, an honors student and science club president, is accused of selling pot to undercover officer Chris Ewing in exchange for Ewing finishing a chemistry report.
Are the charges true? Or was Bryant set up by Ewing because the officer was under pressure to make a quick arrest?
Students have spent months studying the statements and evidence and learning points of law. They’ve practiced arguments as they walk the halls between classes. This weekend they’ll enter a courtroom at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center to present their case.
When they do, it will be easy for observers to forget that Bryant and Ewing don’t exist and that the alleged crime never occurred. Participants in the Georgia Mock Trial Competition make fiction seem real.
Ten schools in Gwinnett will send teams to the regional mock trial competition Friday night and Saturday. (Yep, that’s right. High school basketball won’t be the only match-up in town.)
More than 100 kids will take part, and about 100 attorneys and judges volunteer their time as well. The winner of the mock trial regionals will proceed to the state finals March 12-16, also at Gwinnett’s government center in Lawrenceville.
I was invited to watch the Brookwood High School team practice Monday at Snellville City Hall. (President’s Day may have been a holiday for most high schoolers, but these students were toiling away.)
Gwinnett Juvenile Court Judge Phyllis Miller and attorneys Larry H. Tatum and Warren Auld (a Snellville City Council member) worked as coaches, volunteer positions they have filled for years.
Brookwood teacher Colleen Blankenship, who has supervised the team for so long that her 8-year-old twins have become experts, also delivered pointers. Parents and a team-building expert weighed in as well.
Just the sheer volume of memorization of text and legal jargon was enough to make my head spin. Not to mention the way the kids cloaked themselves in the personalities they developed for their characters. I was impressed. And I caught myself wondering, “Was Sandy guilty or not?”
Gwinnett has a strong tradition in the mock trial competition. Gwinnett’s region is the largest in the state, Miller said, and competition is high.
In recent years, Wesleyan School in Norcross and Brookwood have earned top honors at regionals. South Gwinnett High School was the state champion in 1995 and 1991 and won the national championship in 1995.
Other local high schools participating this year are Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Meadowcreek, Norcross, Peachtree Ridge and Shiloh.
Students in mock trial don’t all join because they want to be attorneys.
“I’m interested in going into theatrics,” said Regan de Loggans, a junior. “The witness work helps in building characters.”
“I wanted to do an extracurricular activity that’s actually educational,” said Aireane Montgomery, a junior.
“Actually the last thing I ever wanted to do was be a lawyer,” said Maheen Shermohammed, a senior who’s thinking of majoring in neuroscience or social services. “ But I do love public speaking.”
Shermohammed is more into science, but her older brother was in Mock Trial, and somehow it became a family tradition, she said.
Others — such as senior Samantha Albert and freshman Can Tu Le —are interested in pursuing a career in law.
It can be challenging to fit the study and practice for Mock Trial around regular school studies, but the kids seem to manage.
“I find myself finding the most random times to practice,” Albert said. “Like, when changing classes, I’ll start saying my part.”
“One of the really cool things is about how diverse the group is,” Miller said. “We have black, white, Vietnamese, Muslim - just a very diverse group. ”
Miller says she has seen shrinking violets become articulate speakers through involvement in the mock trial. Tatum said he actually has learned a legal idea or two from the kids that he has been able to use in practice.
In recent weeks, the group has met five times a week, some on weekends. Often they meet at Miller’s house.
“I love to cook, so having a crowd is a plus,” Miller said. “And they eat like locusts.”
“After all of the time I spend in Juvenile Court, it’s great to come and work with these kids. … It’s such a positive program.”
Permalink | Comments (17) | Categories: Susan Gast
Oh, the embarrassment of it all!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How do you feel about your town?
Proud?
Some Snellville citizens would say “embarrassed.”
In fact, several took the podium at Monday’s city council meeting to tell leaders just that.
“Don’t you hear the snickers and laughter?” Wayne Blackburn asked them. “… Ya’ll embarrass us.”
Blackburn implored council members to forget about the divisions among them and focus on “what’s best for the city of Snellville.”
Patricia Port, a member of the Snellville Planning Commission, expressed similar sentiments.
“Each one of you up there needs to grow up,” Port told them, reminding them that as a voter she expects better city leadership. “I hope you all clean up your act.”
What preceded these remarks was a council meeting that left many an observer shaking his head.
You may have read the particulars in an earlier news story (If not, click here to catch up.).
It wasn’t pretty.
Of course, there are two sides to the story.
One says those who criticized the mayor and raised questions about a budget expense and the mayor’s self-appointment as interim city manager were doing what they were elected to do — watching out for the public interest.
The other says the criticisms were part of a political witch hunt and that the mayor acted to keep the meeting on track and protect city employees.
What is clear is that some citizens are tired of it all.
Dennis Lawton, who has lived in Snellville for 15 years and served on the Snellville Planning Commission, said he has long been embarrassed by the general demeanor of the city’s elected leadership. He worries about the effect it has on work that needs to be done to keep Snellville a thriving hub of south Gwinnett in the face of competition from neighboring growth areas.
Lawton’s main concern Monday was how the city had allowed the issue of finding a new city manager to become a state of “emergency,” which permitted the mayor to authorize himself as a temporary replacement. The city has known for months that its interim city manager would leave Feb.13. So why was more emphasis not placed on the search for a new manager, Lawton asked.
Suzanne Krieger shared that concern, telling the council and mayor “this is not an emergency; this is politics.” She encouraged a look at other options, saying “a dictatorship should not be allowed.”
The frustrations over Snellville’s political climate are understandable.
People are tired of games. They are weary of elected officials who poke at each other publicly or who are snide, sarcastic, unprofessional or hateful. Politics should not impede progress.
To be fair, not all of Snellville’s council members jumped into the fray Monday. To be fair, there are good people and good ideas on both sides of the legendary divide. But the intense and continued controversy overshadows all that is good.
Another point made Monday also should be remembered.
Despite Krieger’s concerns, she told the council she appreciates hearing the different opinions of members - that she doesn’t expect or want all disagreements to be hidden behind the scenes.
It’s an important statement.
Government proceedings can reflect differences and still be professional. A balance is possible.
If Snellville’s elected officials should ever embark on a quest for harmony, openness does not have to be sacrificed.
Permalink | Comments (41) | Categories: Susan Gast
Road improvements and creative driving
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Time for a shout-out.
And a bit of a “shout-at.”
Both involve Snellville traffic.
If you’ve never tried to maneuver through our city during evening rush hour, count your blessings and move on. You can skip this commentary and instead read about Britney or Paris or a plan to double bus fares in Gwinnett - all three of which reflect similar levels of wisdom and sensitivity.
If, however, you have found yourself locked in the southbound, got-to-get-home line-ups along Ga. 124 and North Road, this one’s for you.
The shout-out goes to the city of Snellville and Gwinnett County for — just last month — making North Road a southbound, one-way corridor from Wisteria Road to Oak Road. This reduces southbound backup by allowing weary travelers on North Road to more quickly turn left onto Wisteria, a major route home.
Moms who have watched their children outgrow car seats while waiting to make that turn salute you, local leaders. Now, instead of three or four cars getting through each light, about 12 to 14 are making it, according to unscientific monitoring by the city.
Another improvement is on the way, said Snellville City Manager Jim Brooks. A right turn lane will be added to North Road at Wisteria to further relieve southbound traffic — though a date for the work is uncertain.
North Road’s problems were created by people trying to avoid the notorious backup a block away on Ga. 124.
If necessity is the mother of invention, our fellow travelers are clearly some mighty needy — and inventive — folk.
Further proof presented itself to me on a couple of different occasions recently as I waited in the snake of southbound traffic to turn left from Ga. 124 to Wisteria.
(This is where my “shout-at” comes in.)
Drivers more important than the rest of us — you know the ones I’m talking about — breezed by those of us in line with our left lights blinking. They scooted a half-block farther, made a U-turn on Ga. 124 and then doubled back to smoothly turn right onto Wisteria.
What ingenuity! What imagination! What incredible arrogance!
I wavered between being impressed and outraged.
Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead said Wednesday he hadn’t heard about this latest trick. But he wasn’t surprised. Drivers cut across private property, cruise along in turning lanes and try assorted maneuvers to get ahead of the crowd, he said.
The funny thing is, he said, many times it is all for naught.
“Often when they cut through private property, by the time they get back on the road, they are farther behind,” Whitehead said.
:-)
What new or creative driving techniques have you noticed? Has the change at North Road improved your ride?
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Susan Gast
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